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SPORT-SCAN DAILY BRIEF NHL 3/18/2020 1172670 Senators player tests positive; they played the 1172695 Ottawa Senators player tests positive; they played the Kings and Ducks last week Kings and Ducks last week 1172671 Ottawa Senator is first NHL player to test positive for 1172696 Ottawa Senator is first NHL player to test positive for coronavirus coronavirus 1172697 Kings’ Mark Yannetti explains how COVID-19 has Arizona Coyotes impacted team’s scouting 1172672 NHL eyes training camp start date, sends players home amid coronavirus 1172698 Wild GM Bill Guerin has 'never seen anything like this' Bruins 1172699 Wild to pay part-time employees for suspended games 1172673 Bruins sign goalie prospect Jeremy Swayman 1172700 Wild GM Bill Guerin on coronavirus pandemic: ‘This is 1172674 Bruins fans have felt this pain before bigger than hockey’ 1172675 With Tom Brady gone, Patrice Bergeron is now the dean of the Boston sports scene MontrealCanadiens 1172676 Goalie Jeremy Swayman leaves Maine, signs deal with 1172701 Canadiens prospect Cole Caufield returning to Wisconsin Bruins next season 1172677 Shinzawa: Why Zdeno Chara looked up to Tom Brady 1172702 Meet Konstantin Okulov, the KHL star the Canadiens are 1172678 What if: Imagine Bruins winning all three Stanley Cups chasing they vied for in 2010s 1172679 How good communication made even more Nashville Predators valuable to Bruins defensemen 1172703 Bridgestone Arena workers will be paid for events canceled because of coronavirus 1172680 Sabres: Person who tested positive for COVID-19 attended March 5 game 1172704 When could the NJ Devils and NHL resume play? A public health expert weighs in Flames 1172705 Ottawa Senators' player tests positive for COVID-19, 1st 1172681 COVID-19: GoFundMe proceeds still earmarked for case in NHL part-time Saddledome staff 1172706 Senators player tests positive for coronavirus, becoming 1172682 Milan Lucic answers your questions: On fighting, feuds first NHL case and ‘Frozen 2’ 1172707 Coronavirus likely brings unceremonious end to Islanders' 1172683 Hurricanes announce plan to compensate event staff at doomed tenure in Brooklyn PNC Arena 1172684 Canes GM Don Waddell: On paying employees, the and player’s health 1172708 Henrik Lundqvist among Rangers headed home amid NHL’s coronavirus ‘pause’ Blackhawks 1172709 NHL award winners if the season is canceled because of 1172685 NBC Sports Chicago is rerunning the 1996 Bulls and 2010 coronavirus: Artemi Panarin nabs MVP in close race Blackhawks title runs and marking the 25th anniversary 1172686 Column: By taking care of workers, Ottawa Senators Blackhawks Chairman is taking on the 1172710 Ottawa Senators player becomes first NHLer to test coronavirus positive for COVID-19 1172687 NBC Sports Chicago to replay every Blackhawks and 1172711 Senators owner Eugene Melnyk steps up for part-time Bulls victory from 2010 and 1996 staff in Ottawa, Belleville 1172688 Rocky Wirtz confident Blackhawks’ management group 1172712 Senators player becomes first NHLer to test positive for will 'figure it out’ COVID-19 Stars Flyers 1172689 Subscriber-selected film room: 2014 Stars come back 1172713 Coronavirus makes for odd times for Flyers, other NHL against the Penguins teams | On the Fly 1172714 Amid coronavirus outbreak, a look at what reported Red Wings proposal by NHL players would mean for 2019-20 Flyers 1172690 Get to know Red Wings beat writer Ted Kulfan: He can't 1172715 Gritty finally gives a life update during NHL hiatus skate, seriously 1172691 Players reportedly propose July restart, award Stanley Penguins Cup in late September 1172716 Penguins to auction unused St. Patrick’s Day jerseys 1172717 Penguins sign undrafted college free agent Cam Lee Oilers 1172718 Relative of Sabres employee who was at game vs. 1172692 Sam Gagner back from Detroit, going through COVID-19 Penguins in Buffalo tests positive for coronavirus pause with family 1172719 Can this NHL season survive a 45 day pause? If so, how 1172693 JONES: NHL best bet to start play after COVID-19 pause can the playoffs work? 1172694 Peter Chiarelli wants to be a GM again. Has he learned 1172720 NHL is no stranger to canceling or delaying games from his Oilers mistakes? 1172721 Need your hockey fix? Meet the guy who's streaming simulated games live 1172722 Penguins sign Western 's Cam Lee to entry-level deal 1172723 Analysis: What might the NHL playoffs look like if play resumes? Jets 1172724 NHL pause has Sharks' feeling like he has 1172741 Frozen Four to frozen lake multiple seasons left 1172742 'We just barely made it': Former Jet Eric Fehr home, in 1172725 Senators player is NHL's first positive coronavirus test, in quarantine isolation 1172726 NHL issues memo to teams recommending self- World Leagues News quarantine amid coronavirus 1172757 Coronavirus and sports: Tokyo Olympic chief, player test positive St Louis Blues 1172758 More sports events have been postponed amid 1172727 Blues launch fund to help affected game day workers coronavirus outbreaks 1172728 Hockey fix: FSM to televise replays of Blues games 1172759 Factbox: Sports Events Still Ongoing Despite Coronavirus Pandemic 1172760 More questions than answers in rugby union's land of 1172729 Lightning fans can still watch games .... on replay coronavirus confusion 1172761 RFL admits clubs are under threat after suspending Maple Leafs season over coronavirus 1172730 and TSN wrestle with lineups, programming and 1172762 As coronavirus hits German sports, clubs fear crashing out life without live sports of the game 1172763 Coronavirus update: Should I attend a sporting event at a Canucks stadium? A youth sports tournament? 1172743 The 5 biggest ‘what-ifs’ about the Canucks that will most 1172764 Coronavirus and Australian sport – a list of the major likely go unanswered cancellations 1172765 WWE relocates WrestleMania 36 card to Performance Vegas Golden Knights Center in Orlando amid coronavirus pandemic 1172731 Golden Knights’ top 5 games: Here’s No. 3 on the RJ’s list 1172766 Juventus Player Tests Positive for Coronavirus 1172732 Golden Knights stay busy with chores, puzzles during NHL 1172767 Iditarod’s ‘Last Great Race’ fills the coronavirus sports pause void 1172733 Golden Knights push back season ticket payment due 1172768 An extended coronavirus shutdown may change sport as date we know it in Australia 1172734 ‘It’s just disappointing’: Golden Knights fans readjust plans 1172769 Coronavirus: Football industry 'could turn ugly quickly', with no games to attend says Fifpro general secretary 1172735 Golden Knights delay March season ticket payments 1172770 While the sports world falls silent, esports and streamers fill the void 1172771 Refunds may be available for sport events called off for 1172736 Caps' T.J. Oshie and wife Lauren welcome first son to the coronavirus family SPORT-SCAN, INC. 941-284-4129 1172737 Capitals defenseman Nick Jensen becomes a dad on St. Patrick's Day 1172738 With NHL season paused, a ranking of Capitals' best wins of 2019-20: No. 19 1172739 How to watch more Alex Ovechkin hat tricks on NBC Sports Washington 1172740 NHL 20 Caps simulation: Washington can't handle Edmonton's speed in shutout loss Websites 1172744 The Athletic / How the ECHL and its players are grappling with cancellation amid COVID-19 1172745 The Athletic / Analyzing different playoff formats to determine the fairest option 1172746 The Athletic / The Video Room: ’ -scoring hit next level thanks to one-timer 1172747 The Athletic / LeBrun: Why the idea of an August- September playoff scenario makes sense 1172748 The Athletic / Burnside: Six best hockey games I have covered 1172749 Sportsnet.ca / Ottawa Senators player is first NHLer to test positive for COVID-19 1172750 Sportsnet.ca / Breaking down the NHL's best shooters, what it means to be an elite sniper 1172751 Sportsnet.ca / Rick Vaive laments Matthews' missed shot at Maple Leafs goals record 1172752 Sportsnet.ca / How a flat salary cap could impact the 1172753 Sportsnet.ca / Zach Boychuk reflects on oddities of fan-less games in Swiss League 1172754 Sportsnet.ca / Comets GM dealing with hardship of brother's death, sending players home 1172755 TSN.CA / NHL players spitballing late-July return, August postseason 1172756 USA TODAY / NHL award winners if the season is canceled because of coronavirus: Artemi Panarin nabs MVP in clo 1172670 Anaheim Ducks

Ottawa Senators player tests positive; they played the Kings and Ducks last week

By HELENE ELLIOTTSPORTS COLUMNIST

A player on the Ottawa Senators has tested positive for the coronavirus, the club said in a statement late Tuesday, the first NHL player known to have tested positive for the virus. The Senators did not identify the player.

The Senators played the Ducks on March 10 at Honda Center in Anaheim and played the Kings the next night at Staples Center.

“The player has had mild symptoms and is in isolation,” the Senators’ statement said. “The Ottawa Senators are in the process of notifying anyone who has had known close contact with the athlete and are working with our team doctors and public health officials. As a result of this positive case, all members of the Ottawa Senators are requested to remain isolated, to monitor their health and seek advice from our team medical staff.”

The Senators played the Kings a day after the Lakers faced the Brooklyn Nets, who on Tuesday confirmed that four of their players had tested positive for the virus. The Nets used Staples Center’s visiting NBA locker room, which was used by the Kings last Wednesday to hold postgame news conferences.

Mike Altieri, senior vice president marketing, communications and content for AEG Sports and the Kings, said the Kings will contact team, staff or media who were in close proximity to the Nets’ locker room on March 10, “and ensure that they closely monitor how they feel in the coming days.” He also said no one in the Kings’ organization had come forward with symptoms resembling those consistent with the coronavirus.

Elliotte Friedman of Hockey Night in was the first to report the Senators player’s positive test.

The NHL put its season on hold last Thursday. Commissioner Gary Bettman has said he had hoped his league could continue competition and that NHL had made plans for games to be staged without spectators, but news that Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz had tested positive — and the dramatic move by the NBA to suspend its season last Wednesday — left Bettman no choice but to “pause” the NHL season.

Bettman said because many NHL and NBA teams share arenas he believed it was inevitable that an NHL player would test positive if play continued. The NHL has told players to self-quarantine at least through March 27 and to report any symptoms to club medical personnel. Players are not permitted to work out in club facilities.

Bettman said last Friday he was hopeful the league could “complete the season and get through the playoffs and award the Stanley Cup,” and on Monday the league outlined a possible opening of training camps in late April with play to begin in early May. Tuesday’s news probably would delay that timetable.

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Ottawa Senator is first NHL player to test positive for coronavirus

By ELLIOTT TEAFORD | [email protected] | Orange County Register

An Ottawa Senators player tested positive for the coronavirus, the team announced Tuesday, the first known case of an NHL player to be infected with COVID-19. The Senators said the unnamed player had mild symptoms and was in isolation.

The Senators played the Kings last Wednesday at Staples Center in their final game before the NHL suspended play Thursday morning. Ottawa also played the Ducks on March 10 at Honda Center and the San Jose Sharks on March 7 at SAP Center.

“The Ottawa Senators are in the process of notifying anyone who has had known close contact with the athlete and are working with our team doctors and public health officials,” the team said in a statement. “As a result of this positive case, all members of the Ottawa Senators are requested to remain isolated to monitor their health and seek advice from our team medical staff.

“The health of our players, fans and community remains our highest priority. We will continue to do everything we can to help ensure our players, staff, fans and the greater community remains safe and healthy during this time of uncertainty due to the spread of the coronavirus.”

A Kings spokesman said, “We are aware and have immediately engaged with our medical team to define next steps.” He said further information would become available Wednesday. A Ducks spokesperson also said he was aware of the positive test by the Ottawa player and would have more information Wednesday.

A part-time employee at SAP Center tested positive for COVID-19 last Thursday.

Santa Clara County health officials called for the Sharks to cancel their March 5 home game against the Minnesota Wild because of concerns over the spread of the coronavirus. The Sharks went ahead and played that game and their March 7 contest against the Senators.

San Jose also played a March 8 home game against the Colorado Avalanche.

The Senators had two days off before facing the Ducks at Honda Center and the Kings the following night at Staples Center. Four players for the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets, including Kevin Durant, tested positive for COVID- 19 after playing their final game at Staples Center before play was halted.

NHL and NBA teams use separate locker rooms at Staples Center.

Gary Bettman, the NHL’s commissioner, said he was hopeful the league could complete its season and award the Stanley Cup. Players who had been told last week by the league to self-isolate were informed they could return to their hometowns, but to remain in self-quarantine.

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NHL eyes training camp start date, sends players home amid coronavirus

BY MATT LAYMAN | MARCH 16, 2020 AT 1:26 PM

The issued a statement Monday regarding directives for players as the coronavirus pandemic has paused the league’s regular season.

The NHL said players could opt to return home effective immediately, including outside of North America. Otherwise, self-quarantine should continue through at least March 27. Team facilities may be open thereafter for small-group training sessions for players “on the same basis as in the offseason.”

The statement also eyed a possible training camp start date, saying that the league’s objective is to potentially have a training camp period “roughy 45 days into the 60-day period covered by the CDC’s directive.”

This likely refers to a CDC guideline issued Sunday that said groups of 50 or more people should not gather for the next eight weeks (56 days), which would put a potential league start date at May 10. Fifteen days prior to that would be April 25, the suggested target date for the start of training camp.

Of course, things have changed quickly and that timeline is anything but solidified.

A start of training camp on April 25, which seems like the most optimistic scenario herein, would put the NHL well beyond what would’ve otherwise been the end of its regular season. The Coyotes’ final regular season game was scheduled for April 4.

It’s hard to say now whether the remaining games will get played at all or how the playoffs will be decided and played or canceled altogether. The NCAA canceled the rest of its basketball events just as the sport crescendoed into its postseason.

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Bruins sign goalie prospect Jeremy Swayman

By MARISA INGEMI | [email protected] | Boston Herald

Maine’s hockey season ended prematurely, so fans didn’t get to see Jeremy Swayman on a bigger stage.

His next step, though, is a much bigger one.

Swayman, a top goaltending prospect, signed with the Bruins on Tuesday, the day after he was named the 68th recipient of the Walter Brown Award, presented annually to the best American-born college hockey player in New .

Maine officially announced the junior goalie was signing with the Bruins via Twitter. Swayman was the Bruins’ fourth-round pick in 2017 after playing with the of the USHL before heading to Orono.

In his junior season, Swayman had the best year of his career with a 2.07 goals against average and .939. The Black Bears were slated to host UConn in the quarterfinals of the tournament.

A native of Alaska, Swayman quickly rose through the ranks of top Bruins prospects and now enters the organization as their most promising goalie prospect. Whether he plays in the AHL or ECHL once hockey resumes remains to be seen, but AHL Providence head coach Jay Leach had praise for the young goalie earlier in the season.

“If and when (he goes to Providence), we’ll be happy to get him,” Leach said on March 6. “He’s a great player. It’s up to our management to get something done then we’ll go from there.”

Swayman has been the Black Bears’ No. 1 goalie since his freshman season, when he posted a 2.72 GAA and a .921 save percentage, but improved as Maine did to end the shortened college hockey season with the second best save percentage in the country. He also saw the most shots against in the nation.

Most recently, Swayman posted a 48-save performance against Providence in a 1-0 win that at the time clinched home ice for the Black Bears in the Hockey East tournament.

Swayman participated in the past three Bruins developmental camps before reporting back to Maine. Next time he reports to the Bruins, it’ll be as a pro, and he’ll be heading somewhere to play at the highest level he’s seen yet.

Boston Herald LOADED: 03.18.2020 1172674 Boston Bruins and whistles to pull the heart strings. Without prompting, Garden fans gave Orr a tear-inducing, six-minute standing ovation.

Brady, no doubt, will have one of those moments at Gillette Stadium. Bruins fans have felt this pain before But then again, because Orr only played 26 games after leaving Boston, Bruins fans were never forced to view him as a rival, as the enemy. He By STEVE CONROY | [email protected] | Boston Herald only played one game against the Bruins, on Dec. 1, 1976, (picked up a helper) and never at the Garden. We’ll have to see if Brady puts himself in the Pats’ crosshairs with the next uniform he dons.

For Patriots fans who believe their world has ended with the departure of And Orr didn’t choose St. Patrick’s Day to break Boston’s heart. Tom Brady — the undisputed greatest quarterback of all time — Bruins fans of a certain age know all about your pain. Boston Herald LOADED: 03.18.2020

Nearly 44 years ago, the exact same thing happened to them when Bobby Orr, misled by an agent who would later be convicted of malfeasance, left Boston to sign a multimillion-dollar contract with the .

The Bruins were the biggest sports story in Boston in the late 1960s and early ’70s, and it was organic. Without the help of social media, 24/7 sports networks, round-the-clock talk radio and team-run media propaganda departments, the Bruins became part of the fabric of everyday life here. The games broadcast on the old Channel 38 were appointment viewing. The album “Goal Bruins!,” which chronicled the 1969-70 Stanley Cup season, was strong competition for the Beatles and Stones on local turntables. Kids were picking “Derek” for their confirmation name.

And on a team chock full of both stars and characters, Orr was closer to a deity to the people of Boston. His dominance is in black and white in the record books. From 1968 to 1975, he owned the Norris Trophy. In ’69-70, he won the Norris, the Art Ross (most points), the Hart (MVP) and the Conn Smythe (Cup playoff MVP) and ’71-72, he won all but the Ross again.

But it wasn’t just that Orr was the best. It was how he became the best. His swashbuckling, end-to-end rushes would cost him dearly and end his career prematurely, but they were electrifying. He revolutionized the position. He was the first defenseman to score 40 goals and first to score 100 points. If all that wasn’t enough to endear him to Bruin fans, he blocked shots fearlessly and, when the gloves came off, Orr took care of his own business.

He was the best, he was an original — and he was ours.

Ours, until June 26, 1976. That’s when Orr, who’d arrived from Parry Sound, Ontario, a decade earlier, signed with the Blackhawks. Unlike Brady’s decision to leave, Orr’s was not a completely clear-eyed one. As chronicled by the late Russ Conway of the Lawrence Eagle-Tribune, Orr’s agent, Alan Eagleson, had kept a key part of the Bruins’ offer from the future Hall of Famer, who had wanted to remain in Boston. While the Blackhawks had offered a guaranteed $3 million, Eagleson had kept from Orr some details of the Bruins’ lucrative offer, which included an 18.5% ownership stake in the team. (In 1998, Eagleson would be convicted of mail fraud in a Boston federal court and later in Toronto for fraud and embezzlement of proceeds from the Canada Cup from 1984, ’87 and ’91.)

Reluctantly, Orr signed with Chicago, kicking off an incredibly painful chapter of Boston sports. Before the decade was out, a truly great Patriots team lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Oakland Raiders on the controversial “Sugar Bear” Ray Hamilton’s roughing the passer (Brady would take care of that bit of Raider karma), the Red Sox blew a 14.5-game AL East lead and then a one-game playoff to the Yankees and, as a final kick to the nether regions, the B’s lost a Game 7 in the Forum in the infamous too-many-men penalty.

If the rest of the country thinks Boston sports fans are spoiled and obnoxious, it was a hard-earned arrogance for our Boomers and Gen- Xers.

As painful as Orr’s departure was, there was little if any vitriol sent his way from Boston, only sadness that his virtuosity was silenced too soon. Due to the knee problems that had already been plaguing him with the Bruins, he was limited to just 20 games with the Hawks in 1976-77 (when he still managed 23 points), sat out the ’77-78 season and finally was forced to retire after six games in ’78-79 season, done at the age of 30.

If Brady’s post-New England career path is similar to Orr’s, the love from the fan base will never die. On Jan. 9, 1979, the Bruins invited him back to retire his No. 4 in a ceremony that needed none of the modern bells 1172675 Boston Bruins growing up. To see what he accomplished and what he’s done with the organization now as a GM, it’s pretty impressive.”

Perhaps Bergeron will even stick around Boston and try to be like Sakic With Tom Brady gone, Patrice Bergeron is now the dean of the Boston as a GM someday as well, a development that wouldn’t be surprising sports scene given his love for the game of hockey. But that’s a story for another day.

Bergeron has seen both sides of it and understands that sports are By Joe Haggerty March 17, 2020 10:00 AM ultimately a business with winning as the ultimate goal. But No. 37 is also as ready as he’ll ever be for his role as the dean of the Boston sports scene, and the kind of guy that represents our city perfectly with his unwavering leadership, gentlemanly approach and innate goodness that It’s hard to believe now thinking back to when Patrice Bergeron was a goes along with being one of the best players in the NHL. shy French-Canadian teenager unsure of his English and with a face full of peach fuzz, but the Bruins star center is now “the guy” on the Boston It’s your turn with the baton now, Bergie. It’s your city now. sports scene. Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 03.18.2020 With Tom Brady announcing on Instagram that his time with the New England Patriots has come to an end, Bergeron is now the longest- tenured Boston athlete dating back to his rookie NHL season in 2003-04 when the 18-year-old was the youngest player in the league.

Bergeron became one of the faces of the Boston sports scene during its golden era with Brady and Bill Belichick leading the Patriots, David Ortiz serving as the grinning face of a Red Sox team that won three World Series titles and Paul Pierce synonymous with the Boston Celtics. Pierce and now Brady eventually ended their careers with different teams, and Ortiz bowed out on top as a dominant hitter just three years after winning the 2013 World Series MVP.

Now, Bergeron is at the top of his game representing the Black and Gold at 34 years old and representing the Boston sports scene as the superstar that’s been here the longest. It’s something that isn’t lost on him, at all.

“It’s crazy to think that I’ve been here for almost half my life,” said Bergeron to NBC Sports Boston. “Boston feels like it’s my home. My kids were born here. It’s very special and close to my heart. I can’t say enough about the fans, and the city. Obviously, it makes me feel a little bit older and ages me a little bit that [I’m the longest-tenured guy].”

Watch all of David Pastrnak's goals from the 2019-20 season

With Bergeron signed for two more years following this season amid a year when he was on the cusp of setting a career-high mark in goals with 31 scores and 56 helpers in 61 games, it’s clear his reign as the face of Boston sports won’t end anytime soon. It’s also something that Bergeron is rightly proud of and exactly what he had in mind when he signed his current eight-year, $55 million contract with the B’s.

It’s a rarity these days and Bergeron knows it.

“It’s something that I’m really proud of. That I’ve been here my whole career and I was able to establish a connection with the city, and the people and obviously the organization, my teammates first and foremost and the friendships that I’ve built. I’m really happy with that,” said Bergeron to NBC Sports Boston. “You never know how your career is going to unfold and what’s going to happen looking forward. But I was so glad that I was able to work things out to stay here for my whole career. I’m really happy here.

“I honestly never imagined [going elsewhere]. I’ve always believed I was going to be here for my entire career. Even after my first year, there was never a doubt. It was one of those things where you know what you want, but you never know what the organization wants. I’m really glad it was mutual and that I’m still here. It’s been a great run.”

B's-Jackets simulation: McAvoy's late goal earns B's a point

Growing up in Quebec, Bergeron watched closely when Ray Bourque left Boston after a long Hall of Fame career with the Bruins and then won a Cup with Bergeron’s favorite Colorado Avalanche team. And Bergeron watched his all-time favorite player, Joe Sakic, stick with the Quebec Nordiques hockey club he adored as a kid and then win Cups with them once they moved the franchise out to Colorado in 1995.

“Obviously I watched Ray during his whole career while I was growing up and I was really happy he went to Colorado because I was a Nordiques fan growing up. He went to my team because I continued following them,” said Bergeron to NBC Sports Boston. “But a guy like Joe Sakic? He was with the Nordiques and then went to Colorado, and he was a true gentleman. I had a chance to meet him my first year and he was so nice to me. It was a quick conversation, but he was a guy I looked up to 1172676 Boston Bruins

Goalie Jeremy Swayman leaves Maine, signs deal with Bruins

By Joe McDonald Mar 17, 2020 3

The internal competition to become Tuukka Rask’s future replacement intensified on Tuesday when goalie prospect Jeremy Swayman signed an entry-level deal with the Bruins.

The 21-year-old will forego his senior season at the University of Maine to turn pro, the school announced.

“I really think they got somebody for the future. He’s somebody who is as driven as we’ve had here,” said Maine assistant coach Ben Guite. “The one thing that he’s done really well during his time here is mature and be able to have that razor-sharp focus on what he’s got to do.”

There hasn’t been much good news in the hockey world since the NHL suspended the season due to COVID-19, but Swayman’s signing is a positive for the Bruins. Boston selected the 6-foot-3, 200-pound netminder in the fourth round, 111th overall, in 2017 and many scouts believe his transition to the next level should be relatively smooth.

“At the pro level, those guys come in and they shoot better, shoot quicker and they’re more accurate, so I’m sure they’ll be a learning curve,” Guite said. “He’s an intelligent kid and ultra competitive, and I don’t doubt one bit he’ll handle the adversity as it comes.”

There were high expectations when he began his collegiate career at Maine and he finished his junior season with an 18-11-5 record and three shutouts. He led the NCAA with 1,099 saves.

“He’s an incredible athlete. He’s incredibly competitive and he’s a smart goalie,” Guite said. “He makes things look really, really simple because he skates so well. He’ll get on his feet to places where a lot of goalies get there on their stomach. He has the acrobatics in his bag to make it look fancy, but most of the time, he doesn’t have to because he reads the play so well.”

After Rask, who has one season remaining on his contract, and backup Jaroslav Halak, who becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1, the Bruins have built solid goaltending depth in the organization. Maxime Lagace, Daniel Vladar, Kyle Keyser and now Swayman will battle to be the future starting goalie for the Bruins.

“I’m super fortunate to be with the Bruins,” Swayman said earlier this month. “It’s an incredible organization with a great winning culture. I completely trust the staff with my development process. All I have to do is stop the puck. It’s a pretty simple game, so that’s what I’m going to do and that’ll get me to where I want to be.”

Earlier in the day, Swayman, a native of Alaska, was selected as the winner of the 2020 Walter Brown Award as the top American-born college hockey player in New England.

“What an incredible honor it is to receive this award!” Swayman tweeted. “This could not be possible without my amazing teammates, coaches, the university, the community of Orono, and the great state of Maine.”

He’s also nominated for the Hobey Baker Award, which goes to college hockey’s top player.

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Shinzawa: Why Zdeno Chara looked up to Tom Brady

By Fluto Shinzawa Mar 17, 2020 1

The 42-year-old Boston athlete is a champion. He is among his sport’s greatest of all time at fulfilling his specific responsibilities. Everybody knows who he is. He is committed to a plant-based diet.

For all of his accomplishments and celebrity status, 6-foot-9 Zdeno Chara still looks up to select company.

“Tom is obviously one of those guys with very specific things for specific goals,” Chara said of Tom Brady two years ago. “I look up to that. I see a guy who’s committed, disciplined, focused and devoted to be at his best all the time. That’s my goal: to be the best at whatever I do and the best I can be. I’m looking and searching for ways to improve. If that’s one thing that can make me better and improve, I will be dedicated and committed to it, just like Tom.”

Chara and I were chatting about his diet, which he started in the fall of 2017. By then, Brady’s routine at the kitchen table had become well- known.

I don’t recall the conversation in full. But I believe I had asked Chara if his nutritional shift made him believe he could pursue Brady-like longevity. Chara’s achievements since then — playing through a broken jaw in the 2019 Stanley Cup final, maintaining his title as the Bruins’ lead shutdown defenseman this season, exhibiting zero indications of steep decline — confirm that ZC33 can at least match Brady’s example, if not exceed it.

At the time, however, Chara was simply talking like a fanboy. I had asked Chara if he’d ever talked about nutrition with Brady. Chara replied that he had never met the quarterback. Chara even mentioned Brady’s busy lifestyle and questioned whether he’d have time to share some words.

They have become acquaintances since then. This past fall, Chara attended the opening of Brady’s TB12 Performance & Recovery Center. Last spring, Brady narrated a Stanley Cup video that Chara posted on his Instagram account.

Chara likes to take pictures with people he admires. He’s shared frames with Nicklas Lidstrom, Shaquille O’Neal, Lindsey Vonn and Brazilian soccer legend Kaka. Chara enjoys meeting athletes and people in other industries and learning from their expertise.

Chara once wondered if he’d ever meet Brady. Chara’s personal photo roll now includes red-carpet shots with the superstar quarterback.

Brady has said goodbye to Boston to play football elsewhere. I don’t get the sense that Chara would do something similar.

But there will come a time when Chara bids the Bruins and Boston farewell. I hope it is not too soon.

The Athletic LOADED: 03.18.2020 1172678 Boston Bruins seconds left in the first period. The Bruins then don’t head into the locker room dejected. They would come out in the second period with more confidence that they could erase St. Louis’ 1-0 advantage. If the Bruins What if: Imagine Bruins winning all three Stanley Cups they vied for in then score early in the second, it’s a new game. At that point, the team 2010s that scores the second goal probably wins the game. It’s entirely reasonable to foresee the Bruins winning the Cup in this scenario.

If the Bruins returned from the first intermission only down one, the line of By Joe McDonald Mar 17, 2020 20 Danton Heinen, Charlie Coyle and Marcus Johansson could have tied it on the first shift of the second period. That would have motivated

Bergeron’s line to respond with Boston’s second goal, and with the way Editor’s note: “What if” is a new series at The Athletic exploring what Rask was playing in the series, he might have stonewalled the Blues en might have happened if things had gone differently at significant points in route to the Cup. Rask would have won the Conn Smythe in that sports history. scenario.

Imagine the Team of the Decade for the 2010s resided right here in New Again, this is not to suggest a Bruins win in either of these scenarios England. would have been easy. There’s a reason the Blackhawks and Blues won the Cup. They outplayed the Bruins when it counted most. But the margin Well, the Team of the Decade does — in Foxboro, where the Patriots between the Chara-Bergeron Bruins being one-time Cup champions and won three Super Bowls and a record 125 games in the 2010s. But three-time champions is quite narrow. imagine another Team of the Decade was mounting multiple flags in New England: The Boston Bruins. So what would have changed had the Bruins won those Cups?

It’s not that far from reality. • Nathan Horton would have re-signed with the Bruins after 2013. He would have started the 2013-14 season on injured reserve to recover The Bruins won the Stanley Cup in 2011. They came oh-so-close to from the Stanley Cup run and maybe avoided the back issues that ended hoisting it in 2013 then again in 2019. his career prematurely. That line of Horton, Krejci and Lucic could have continued to do some damage. So let’s consider how things would have changed had the Bruins been able to close the deal in those two runner-up campaigns. • Under more tutelage from Bergeron on and off the ice, and Marchand would have matured and the Bruins wouldn’t have been forced First, let’s review: to trade Seguin in the summer of ’13. Eventually, once David Pastrnak 2013: The Bruins led the Blackhawks, 2-1, with two minutes remaining in emerged, Seguin would then play with Krejci, ending the annual search Game 6 of the final at TD Garden. Then the Blackhawks changed the to find a player worthy on his wing. course of NHL history with two goals in 17 seconds. They won the game, • The organization still would have wanted to play with more pace and 3-2, and the Cup. Suddenly, it was the Blackhawks establishing a younger players, so even with two Stanley Cup championships, the dynasty instead of the Bruins. Bruins still would have fired Claude Julien and replaced him with Bruce 2019: The Bruins won Game 6 of the final in St. Louis to force a deciding Cassidy. game back in Boston. But the Blues scored two goals in the first period of • Chara would have retired after claiming his third Cup in 2019. He would that contest and then ran away with a 4-1 victory to clinch the Cup on remain with the organization in a management position and would be Garden ice. expected to one day serve as team president after Cam Neely retires. In both of these seasons, the Cup was within reach for the Bruins. In • Tuukka Rask might be headed to the Hall of Fame. Bergeron and neither year was it a gimme, but with a different bounce or two of the Chara have already done enough to earn a place in Toronto. They didn’t puck, Zdeno Chara easily could have been hoisting the Cup next to Gary need these two more Cups to bolster their resume. But Rask, as a two- Bettman. time champion with a Vezina Trophy on his mantle, would have Let’s consider a path to a Bruins victory in both of those years. supercharged his case.

1. Against the Blackhawks, then-coach Joel Quenneville pulled goalie As we daydream about what might have been, one bright spot for Bruins Corey Crawford with 1:24 remaining in regulation of Game 6. Chicago fans is that this year’s team has the chance to erase some of those had sustained pressure in Boston’s zone. The Bruins had Chara, Dennis regrets. Well, they had a chance until the NHL’s move to suspend its Seidenberg, David Krejci, Nathan Horton and Milan Lucic. season due to the coronavirus pandemic put the rest of this season in doubt. Many point the finger at goalie Tuukka Rask, but if Lucic was a little quicker to pick up the Blackhawks’ Bryan Bickell, who scored the game- The Bruins went into the hiatus with an NHL-best 100 points, as they tying goal, then the end result could have favored the Bruins. On the became the first Boston team since 1980 to hit the century mark in points play, Bickell skated through the slot right in front of Lucic. Bickell then in three straight seasons. But what they’ve accomplished this season to camped out on the far post all alone before he received the pass from set themselves up for a playoff run is at risk, and there’s nothing they can Jonathan Toews. If Lucic pushed Bickell out of position, the puck would do about it but wait for the pandemic to move along and hope the NHL have squirted into the corner. can resume its season.

On the ensuing faceoff, then-coach Claude Julien kept Krejci’s line on the If it returns, the Bruins will seek to leave the disappointments of past ice. This was a situation where if Patrice Bergeron was healthy his line seasons behind them and become the first team in NHL history to win the would have been playing the shutdown role. Instead, the Blackhawks Cup after losing in Game 7 of the final the previous season. If it doesn’t, kept the momentum and capitalized. Before Dave Bolland’s game-winner then we’ll probably writing a what-if story about these 2020 Bruins in the with 58.3 seconds remaining, the puck was loose in the neutral zone. years to come. Krejci and Lucic failed to make a play on the puck and the Blackhawks The Athletic LOADED: 03.18.2020 created a rush that resulted in the tally.

Had Krejci’s line protected the slot area on Chicago’s second goal and then won the puck in the neutral zone on the third goal, the Bruins could have forced a Game 7 in Chicago. Since Bergeron had suffered a collapsed lung, separated shoulder, torn rib cartilage and broken rib and spent three days in the hospital, he would not have been available for that decisive game. However, if he was healthy the outcome might well have been different — allowing the Bruins to hoist the Cup on United Center ice for their second championship in three seasons.

2. Against the Blues, let’s say Brad Marchand doesn’t make his ill-timed line change at the end of the first period. The Bruins are in position to thwart Alex Pietrangelo’s push into their zone and he doesn’t score with 8 1172679 Boston Bruins Not only does Rask’s puck play reduce wear and tear on his defensemen, but it also initiates a faster and cleaner breakout. If Rask can beat the first forechecker to the puck and make a crisp exchange, How good communication made Tuukka Rask even more valuable to the defenseman can go up the ice before the second forechecker closes. Bruins defensemen “When I can get the puck facing up ice — he puts it right on my tape and I’m already looking up ice — it’s helpful in the aspect of knowing where the pressure’s going to be coming from,” defenseman Brandon Carlo By Fluto Shinzawa Mar 17, 2020 said. “Not having to skate onto it, turn around, be wondering where the next guy’s going to be. He’s done a really, really good job of that.”

The Athletic LOADED: 03.18.2020 Tuukka Rask is no Mike Smith. In that way, Rask has company. The Calgary goalie’s puckhandling is artwork, cool and consistent and crisp unlike that of any other member of his cohort.

This is not to say that Rask handles his battle axe like it’s a telephone pole. In fact, the Bruins ace has become smooth enough with his puck touches that he’s caught the attention of onlookers inside and outside the organization.

“I think it’s been excellent for us,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. “It’s something we’ve encouraged him to do, get out. I think it helps him to be more engaged in the game, personally. I never played the position, so I may be full of crap saying that. But I do believe it would help you out and it helps the (defense) out. I like the direction it’s gone. Hopefully, it keeps trending well.”

When asked about the Vezina-level season Rask has had before the NHL halting its season, one scout focused on puckhandling as the area of his game that improved the most. It was never one of Rask’s strengths. As laid-back as Rask appears when he’s on his game, similar nonchalance when playing the puck did not serve him well.

On Dec. 23, 2018, Rask made highlight clips for the wrong reason when he muffed a puck and ended up butt-first on Sebastian Aho. Somehow, Rask stuffed Aho. But Teuvo Teravainen scored on the rebound. Had Rask played the puck cleanly, all of this would have been avoided.

The issue has yet to flare up this season. Through 41 appearances, Rask has been a study of confidence, precision and persistence.

“I can’t recall any real negatives this year where Tuukka’s had any sort of plays where it’s really blown up on us,” Cassidy said. “It tells me right now with the eye test that it’s beneficial for us.”

Leaving the friendliness of the crease to play the puck is not easy. A goalie, practically untouchable in the blue paint, becomes fair game in the badlands of open ice. By the time a goalie tracks down the puck, a once-distant forechecker is no longer far away. To pursue a puck behind the net and turn your head away from enemies is as scary as running onto Storrow Drive.

It’s where Rask’s defensemen have played critical roles as air traffic controllers. When Rask turns away from the forecheck, his defensemen are responsible for telling him how to touch the puck. To initiate a goalie- to-defenseman pass, it’s usually a straightforward shout: “Backhand! Forehand!”

When the pressure is heavy, the command is “Hard!” If Rask hears that, he knows he has no other options besides rapping the puck around or off the wall to a posted-up winger.

“Just try to get it up in the glass,” defenseman Matt Grzelcyk said. “Get it up in the battle high near the blue line for the wingers. It’s not always going to be a clean play. When it is, it’s usually ‘backhand’ or ‘forehand.’ That way, (Rask and Jaroslav Halak) don’t have to look. They can just hear one of our voices and go.”

Of all the team’s defensemen, Grzelcyk may be the happiest to see Rask playing pucks so cleanly. As the slightest of the bunch, Grzelcyk is most at risk of something going wrong when he treads into a corner to retrieve the puck.

But when Rask takes the initiative, he relieves his defensemen of forechecking thunder. The more he touches the puck, the less his blueliners find themselves extracting their teeth from the glass. After several seasons of emphasizing productive chatter, the partnership between goalie and defensemen has reached its peak this season.

“It’s something we’ve been working on these past few years — working on that communication, building the trust so plays happen quick and he can dish it one way or another,” Grzelcyk said. “It’s huge when he has the confidence to come out.” 1172680 Buffalo Sabres

Sabres: Person who tested positive for COVID-19 attended March 5 game

By Keith McShea

A relative of a Buffalo Sabres employee recently tested positive for COVID-19 after attending a Sabres home game March 5, the team announced Tuesday morning.

According to the Sabres, the individual, who lives out of state and was asymptomatic at the time, sat in Section 211 for the game against the .

The Sabres said the Erie County Department of Health advised the Sabres that based on CDC Guidelines the asymptomatic individual would likely not have been infectious during the game.

The individual is in isolation outside New York State, had limited interactions in a visit to Buffalo on March 5-6, and did not show any symptoms of COVID-19 until several days after leaving the state, according to the Sabres.

The Erie County Department of Health has advised people who think they may have been exposed to someone who has COVID-19 to self- monitor their health for symptoms (cough, fever, shortness of breath) during the 14-day period since potential exposure. Health officials have said that COVID-19 can be contagious even if carriers are asymptomatic.

The Sabres' full statement:

“A relative of a Buffalo Sabres employee recently tested positive for COVID-19 outside of New York State. The diagnosed individual is receiving care and is in isolation outside of New York State. This individual does not reside in Western New York and had limited interactions during a recent visit to Buffalo between March 5 and 6. This individual returned home and did not show any symptoms of COVID-19 until several days after leaving the state.

"The individual was asymptomatic when they attended the Buffalo Sabres game on March 5 and sat in Section 211. We have been in contact with the Erie County Department of Health and they advised us that based on CDC Guidelines this asymptomatic individual would likely not be infectious during the game. During a press conference on March 16, the Erie County Department of Health advised all county residents that they should assume they have been exposed to COVID-19 in the recent past and to monitor symptoms of fever, cough or shortness of breath. Call your doctor for medical advice.

"We are supporting the family member in all ways possible and would like to thank them for their open communication with Sabres management and wish them a speedy recovery.

"The health and well-being of our employees and community is our top priority. The areas within KBC that this individual came in contact with were previously cleaned and will continue to be cleaned pursuant to CDC standards.

"Together, we will get through this challenging situation.”

Buffalo News LOADED: 03.18.2020 1172681 “They were like, ‘Wow, thank you so much! We were heartbroken and devastated when the Flames first announced it,’ ” he said. “They were overjoyed to see someone step in and do that.”

COVID-19: GoFundMe proceeds still earmarked for part-time Lau insists he doesn’t deserve all the credit for the GoFundMe effort. Saddledome staff He’s on a text chain with 11 friends, united by their love for the Flames, and they came up with the idea together.

Wes Gilbertson “Right when this ended, I messaged the group chat and said, ‘Hey, now that this is done, what else can we do? What’s next to help people nowadays?’ ” Lau said. “We were throwing around some ideas.” The organizer of a GoFundMe campaign that caught the attention of some of the Calgary Flames’ star players — and plenty of fans — plans Calgary Sun: LOADED: 03.18.2020 to ensure all the money raised will wind up in the wallets of part-time staffers at the Saddledome, even though they will now be compensated by the organization for cancelled shifts.

Raymond Lau, who launched a fundraising drive that ultimately racked up $81,075, received feedback from those who donated that it was important their contributions still go to support the hourly and event workers affected by the NHL’s pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lau hopes to meet with representatives of Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corp. (CSEC) to determine how the money can be divvied up.

“People donated expecting it to go to the employees,” said Lau, who also considered directing the cash to the Flames Foundation charity. “So even after the Flames stepped up, it will go to the employees.

“I’m open to listening to what they (CSEC) think is the best way to fairly distribute it.”

Lau added he would continue to update the GoFundMe page — donations closed Monday night — with the latest details.

The Flames initially informed hourly staff they wouldn’t be paid for shifts cancelled with more than 24 hours notice but, after intense public backlash, reversed that decision Sunday by announcing an “income bridge support program.”

Those eligible for employment insurance benefits will now receive a top- up payment from CSEC, which will provide an overall benefit of up to 95 per cent of regular average earnings — the maximum allowable by Service Canada — up until the end of the Flames’ regular season. The team had eight home dates remaining when the NHL halted action last Thursday.

Those not eligible for EI benefits because they have not worked sufficient hours will receive the equivalent CSEC top-up payment.

The GoFundMe campaign became a big story because of some of the names that popped up on the scroll of supporters. The skating stars and their wives pledged $63,000, more than three-quarters of the total.

Within a few hours of its launch Saturday evening, a handful of players — Mark Giordano, top-line and forwards Milan Lucic, and Sam Bennett — had already contributed, with some sharing the link on social media.

Two of the Flames’ significant others, Amber Brodie and Lauren Giordano, were also among the first to donate.

Even after CSEC announced its compensation program, the household names continued to support the fundraiser — Mikael Backlund, Dillon Dube, Travis Hamonic, Noah Hanifin, Mark Jankowski, Andrew Mangiapane, David Rittich and Matthew Tkachuk all chipped in Sunday.

When Tkachuk posted the link on Twitter, he wrote: “I can’t do my job without the help of them! #FlamesFamily”

I can’t do my job without the help of them! #FlamesFamily

Employee Fund for Calgary Flames Hourly Staff https://t.co/NZWKPsmICd

— Matthew Tkachuk (@TKACHUKycheese_) March 15, 2020

Lau, who worked as a game-night staffer at the Saddledome in the early- 2000s and is now a Flames’ season ticket-holder, checked his Facebook account Tuesday to discover a bunch of messages of gratitude from current employees. 1172682 Calgary Flames You know what? My daughters are into “Frozen 2,” but they’re not into it as much as they were into “Frozen 1.” Maybe because they’re older now. But I’ve definitely watched it five, six times, (laughs) so I do enjoy “Frozen Milan Lucic answers your questions: On fighting, feuds and ‘Frozen 2’ 2” — I’m not going to lie.

But as far as what I’m going to do when my career is over, honestly I don’t know. I don’t know if I want to get into coaching or management or By Scott Cruickshank Mar 17, 2020 4 player development or media or whatever. I honestly don’t know. But I’ve thought about doing stuff with mental-health awareness, just because

I’ve looked into that a lot lately and dealt with that. I’ve also thought about It had been a sign of the times — and, one day later, a protocol already just being there for my kids and not really doing much. But, honestly, as out of date. far as right now goes, I don’t really have a plan. I’m just trying to enjoy however many years I’ve got left in of the game I love to play. Following the Calgary Flames’ practice Wednesday — their last time on the ice, as it turned out — Milan Lucic fulfilled a previously arranged Milan, I just want to say both my son and I really appreciate you and your interview request by chatting on the phone to the reporter. play. As well, now that we see you up close, we have a far greater respect for your skills than we once did. We know you get a lot of While both he and the scribe were at the Saddledome. publicity for your physicality, but to state the obvious, you’re a very skilled player, too. Maybe you could speak to that. — Scott S. Then, as concern about the coronavirus began to spike, player access shifted from non-conventional to non-existent. Obviously, if you look at the last two calendar years, the puck hasn’t gone in for me like it used to. Every level I’ve played at, I’ve always been But on that day, despite the unprecedented circumstances, Lucic had able to score. I think when I really broke through and found my been his normal chatty self, merrily expounding on every question he confidence was in my second year in the WHL playing for the Vancouver was asked. Well, on nearly every question. Giants. I had 30 goals and 38 assists (in 2006-07) and I feel like I was (This past Sunday, Lucic was one of the Flames players to donate to the able to kind of get my touch after that. GoFundMe page in support of CSEC arena workers. He also tweeted out Every level growing up, I’ve always been able to score and all that fun a link to the fundraiser, which ended up drawing more than $81,000.) stuff. So, yeah, it’s something I’ve always had. I’m like everyone — you Here, then, are the big winger’s responses to The Athletic subscriber want to score, you like to score. Hopefully I can get a few more goals questions: here to end the year and help the team get into the playoffs.

Hey, Looch, what’s the story behind your NHL ’94/Tusken Raider-type Who’s the toughest guy you’ve fought against during your career? — DJ celebration? — Mike G. N.

You know what? It’s just something that me and Rasmus (Andersson) I would probably have to say Colton Orr. He hit me the hardest. He broke were doing in practice, just screwing around and scoring goals in my nose in four places when he hit me with a punch that fight. (Laughs) practice. So when I scored that goal on the power play after we called That one didn’t feel very good. that play in Arizona (on Dec. 10) … and executed it the way we did? Milan, you stoked for the inevitable (potential) postseason Battle of Because it was me and him, we looked at each other after we did it, so in a month? — Christopher D. that’s basically it. That’s the story behind it. I think it would be great. I mean, I played Boston-Montreal four times (in People seem to like it. It gives a little personality to the game. It’s not playoff series) in my career, so I think it would be on the same level as meant to be disrespectful or show anyone up. It’s just a bunch of guys that. I think it would be great for the players, I think it would be great for having fun and that’s basically it. the game, I think it would be great for the province of Alberta, and, most We obviously know that this is a serious business — and we all take the of all, I think it would be great for the fans. It would be awesome if that game very seriously — but at the end of the day you have to have some actually happened. fun, too. It’s just that little kid inside of you that comes out when you’re Looch, you’ve continued to play an extremely physical brand of hockey having fun with the game. for many years. Have your diet/workouts changed much as you’ve gotten Hi Milan, you are often regarded as a feared physical player in the older? — Mike B. league. How important do you think that physical play is in the current Workouts? Not so much. If anything my workouts have gotten smarter state of the game and has it changed significantly since you entered the instead of harder. I guess because when you’re younger you go as hard league (with Boston in 2007)? — Andre P. as you can. To be honest, the science within hockey training has evolved It’s definitely different. When I broke into the league, your fourth line was a lot over the last 15 years, so it’s become about working smarter over guys that played five, six minutes a night. I was a fourth-liner the first 45 working harder the last couple years. Actually, the last two years have games of my career. I think I averaged around six minutes. Those guys been my two best fitness-testing (results) of my career. would just go out and provide energy and try to make a big hit or get into I think I speak for everyone in here that knows what it’s like to eat as a a fight … kind of the same thing as your sixth D-man, too. You always kid in your early 20s … and as a guy that’s in his 30s now (laughs) — had a big guy on D that would kind of just be out there being physical, you can’t just eat anything you want. I’ve actually learned a lot about cross-checking guys, all that type of stuff. You don’t really see that any nutrition over the past three summers, so I’ve got a pretty good thing more. going on with that as well, especially in the offseason. The fourth lines now are playing up to 10 minutes a game and they do a Have you ever had off-ice conversations or beers with guys you’ve had lot more than those other things I just talked about. Obviously, the four- bad blood with on the ice? (Thinking Dale Weise and Mike Komisarek.) line game has evolved and the mobility of the back-end has evolved in a — Brendan O. big way. And, with that, I feel the game’s gone a little bit smaller — so the physicality isn’t there like it used to be. But I still think there’s the big hits (Long pause) Uh, no. and that kind of stuff. Especially because of the speed, when guys are knocking into each other, it seems guys are almost able to hit harder As someone with plenty of playoff hockey under his belt, what necessary now. elements does a team need to succeed in the postseason, and which are present on this Flames team? — Mark R. Hey, Looch, your favourite restaurant in Cow Town? — Hoyan C. I think our biggest strength is our depth. If you look at all the teams that So far of all the places that I’ve been to, I would say my favourite has are playing in June, they get contributions from guys throughout their been Ten Foot Henry. lineups — no matter if they’re a first-line player or a top-end D playing 20- plus minutes or if they’re a guy playing eight to 10 minutes a night. You What are your post-career plans? Are your daughters (Valentina and have different guys stepping up at different times. Nikolina) really into “Frozen 2”? I remember you saying they loved the first one. — Ilan S. I think that’s one of our best qualities here — our depth. On a night-to- night basis, all 12 of our forwards can make a difference and so can all six of our D and both of our goalies. Our depth is our strength. And when we play the right way, we’ve shown we can beat a team like Boston (5-2 on Feb. 25 at TD Garden), who’s had the best home record all season long.

There’s definitely a lot of great qualities on this team that I see.

The Athletic LOADED: 03.18.2020 1172683 Carolina Hurricanes

Hurricanes announce plan to compensate event staff at PNC Arena

BY CHIP ALEXANDER

The Carolina Hurricanes will compensate the PNC Arena and the team’s event staff for lost wages caused by the suspension of the 2019-20 season by the coronavirus pandemic.

Don Waddell, the Canes’ president and general manager, announced the decision Tuesday. Hourly staff will be compensated based on their expected workload during the Canes’ final seven March and April regular-season games at PNC Arena.

The funding will come from Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon, the Carolina Hurricanes Foundation and from a donation by the Hurricanes players. Dundon said Saturday that he had not asked the players to participate in the compensation plan but they wanted to be a part of it.

Waddell, in an interview Tuesday, said he first talked with Dundon on Thursday, when the NHL announced it was pausing the season, about a plan to pay the part-time workers at PNC Arena.

“I said we had a lot of employees who depend on their paycheck,” Waddell said. “People work second jobs for a reason. We have retirees who work for us but also people with second jobs who need that second income. I told him I want to look at it and he said put it together for him. We spent the next three days putting the spread sheet together, everybody who was on those spread sheets for the seven games. We added up the totals and I presented it to him this morning and it took him three seconds he said, ‘Let’s move forward, let’s pay them.’

“The players have been great. It just shows you the character of these players. They wanted to be a part of it and they contributed along with our foundation contribution. But the majority is coming from Tom.”

Waddell said the Hurricanes have about 1,400 part-time workers, and that for each Hurricanes game about 800 of that total would be working. Some work multiple games and some were scheduled to work all seven.

“I can’t say it affects every person (among the 1,400) but the schedule goes out at the beginning of the month and they had the option to sign for those games,” Waddell said. “Anyone who signed up before this happened and had already committed to work these games, we took care of them.”

PNC Arena’s food service, VAB Catering, will make a large food donation to the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle on Thursday. The Raleigh-based non- profit is providing emergency food to families affected by the coronavirus crisis.

The Canes said Tuesday that none of its players, coaches or staff members has exhibited any signs of COVID-19.

News Observer LOADED: 03.18.2020 1172684 Carolina Hurricanes positive side in thinking we’re gonna get back, but you always listen to the experts — and the most important thing is the . The most focal point is on the playoffs. If we have to bypass regular- Canes GM Don Waddell: On paying employees, the Stanley Cup and season games and go to the playoffs? So be it. player’s health As unfortunate as all this is, could there be a silver lining in how the injured Hurricanes players are progressing?

By Sara Civian Mar 17, 2020 6 For sure, Dougie Hamilton, now, 12 weeks he’ll be coming up here soon (in recovery) — and I can see him back as soon as early April. He’ll be back on the ice and working his way back. Brett Pesce, I don’t think it will matter a whole lot (because the recovery timeline is too long). These few weeks dealing with a global pandemic have been terrifying on a worldwide scale — especially when sports, which many of us use to James Reimer and Sami Vatanen were getting close as it was. cope with reality, are postponed. The Athletic LOADED: 03.18.2020 But at the same time, this unprecedented event has shown us how willing certain folks are to step up and help each other. Count the Carolina Hurricanes in as helpers. They announced Tuesday they will compensate PNC Arena and Hurricanes event staff for wages lost due to the NHL season’s pause.

The Athletic spoke with team president and GM Don Waddell on the phone Tuesday about that process, how he sees the rest of the season playing out and how injured Canes players are progressing.

First of all, how are you doing? What are you doing to stay busy?

We’ve actually had a lot of work to do, and now we can focus on some of the business side of some things I’ve kept on the back burner. Right now we’re working on the new practice facility, then obviously, we’re working on our building lease extension on (PNC Arena).

What were you thinking when members of the Utah Jazz tested positive for COVID-19, knowing the Hurricanes were in such close proximity?

First of all, I knew it was just a matter of time before an athlete got it. This isn’t a virus that is just going to avoid an athlete — or anyone. When we hear that, obviously, you want to take all the precautionary actions you can. We obviously didn’t know they tested positive until a few days later — we found out in Jersey. The hotel assured us everything was washed and clean. Our doctor (Josh Bloom) said it’s less than 1th of a tenth of one-thousandth percent chance (the Hurricanes would actually get the virus) — very slim but was a chance. I talked to both John (Forslund) and Zack (Brame) yesterday and they’re feeling as they normally would.

From there, what was the decision-making process like in terms of canceling the season?

We were hoping we could get through a few more games. Obviously, the more games you can play, the better for the league. But we knew once that player tested positive it was (done). Once that happened it then becomes higher visibility for the rest of the leagues.

What was the timeline leading up to the decision to compensate arena employees?

Tom (Dundon) and I talked last Thursday (right when the season was “paused”).

I said, “Tom, I don’t know if we want to talk about this right now, but we have a lot of people who this is their livelihood, then the part-time employees work these extra hours.” My staff that handles that had to figure out who was on the schedule for what games, a lot of spreadsheets and (figuring specifics out). We finally came up with it late last night — here’s what we have, let’s pay everyone for the games they were going to work, etc.

(Dundon) took about three seconds and said, “Let’s do it.”

I know some players stepped up in the effort to compensate workers. I was wondering if you knew specifics about who or what they were planning to do.

I don’t have all the particulars right now. (Captain) Jordan Staal reached out and said that if the Hurricanes were going to do something, he’d like to have the players contribute. They’ve (collectively) contributed to a dollar amount, and that shows the true character of our organization.

Tom’s writing the big check.

What’s your personal opinion on how the rest of the season should play out?

You want to play as many games as you can, because that’s best for the league. But that’s thinking 45 or so days, realistically. I’m always on the 1172685 Chicago Blackhawks Monday: Knicks at Bulls (Round 2, Game 1) from May 5, 1996.

March 24: Blackhawks at Predators (Round 1, Game 6) from April 26, 2010. NBC Sports Chicago is rerunning the 1996 Bulls and 2010 Blackhawks title runs and marking the 25th anniversary of Michael Jordan’s ‘I’m Back’ March 25: Knicks at Bulls (Round 2, Game 2) from May 7, 1996. fax with a special March 26: Canucks at Blackhawks (Round 2, Game 2) from May 3, 2010.

March 27: Bulls at Knicks (Round 2, Game 4) from May 12, 1996. By PHIL ROSENTHAL [Most read in Sports] After a whirlwind day on the NFL quarterback carousel, the Bears still are looking for one »

You may not be able to see ESPN’s documentary on Michael Jordan and March 28: Blackhawks at Canucks (Round 2, Game 3) from May 5, 2010. the Bulls yet, but NBC Sports Chicago is going to run every one of their postseason victories en route to the 1996 NBA title. March 29: Blackhawks at Canucks (Round 2, Game 4) from May 7, 2010.

That was the fourth Bulls championship of the ‘90s and the beginning of March 30: Knicks at Bulls (Round 2, Game 5) from May 14, 1996. the second three-peat, a showcase for Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis March 31: Blackhawks at Canucks (Round 2, Game 6) from May 11, Rodman, Toni Kukoc, Luc Longley, Ron Harper, Steve Kerr and others. 2010.

As a prelude to its first Bulls replay Wednesday, NBCSCH will run “I’m April 1: Magic at Bulls (conference finals, Game 1) from May 19, 1996. Back” at 6:30 p.m. The documentary recalls Jordan’s March 18, 1995, fax alerting the team he planned to return from his minor-league baseball [Most read in Sports] Column: Bears’ addition of Jimmy Graham is a sabbatical. reminder of free agency’s ‘dangerous waters’ »

Among those interviewed are former Jordan agent David Falk; basketball April 2: Blackhawks at Sharks (conference finals, Game 1) from May 16, players LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Dominique Wilkins and Chris 2010. Mullin; former NBA executive Brian McIntyre; Bulls photographer Bill April 3: Magic at Bulls (conference finals, Game 2) from May 21, 1996. Smith; Jordan trainer Tim Grover; and broadcasters Mark Giangreco and Marc Silverman. April 4: Blackhawks at Sharks (conference finals, Game 2) from May 18, 2010. The vintage reruns are part of the regional sports network’s stopgap effort to fill its prime-time schedule over the next month in lieu of live April 5: Bulls at Magic (conference finals, Game 3) from May 25, 1996. games because of the coronavirus pandemic. April 6: Bulls at Magic (conference finals, Game 4) from May 27, 1996. [Most read in Sports] Tracking the Bears’ moves in free agency: Robert Quinn provides upgrade at edge rusher; Leonard Floyd, Nick Williams, [Most read in Sports] Hoping the 10-part documentary about Michael Chase Daniel and Kevin Pierre-Louis headed elsewhere » Jordan and the ’97-98 Bulls will be released early? ESPN says ‘The Last Dance’ isn’t done yet. » The channel and digital platforms also are rerunning the Blackhawks’ postseason victories from their 2010 Stanley Cup championship run, their April 7: Sharks at Blackhawks (conference finals, Game 3) from May 21, first since 1961. The first ran Tuesday night. 2010.

We know you all need sports back in your life. That's why we'll be airing April 8: SuperSonics at Bulls (NBA Finals, Game 1) from June 5, 1996. some classic Blackhawks and Bulls games starting tonight! April 9: Sharks at Blackhawks (conference finals, Game 4) from May 23, #HawksRewind #BullsRewind https://t.co/MH8hpwQO2k 2010. — NBC Sports Chicago (@NBCSChicago) March 17, 2020 April 10: SuperSonics at Bulls (NBA Finals, Game 2) from June 7, 1996. These replays, nightly at 7 through April 16, will be available only to Breaking Sports Newsletter viewers within NBC Sports Chicago’s designated viewing territory. As it happens Marquee Sports Network, the Cubs’ new channel in partnership with Sinclair Broadcast Group, earlier announced it would run 14 Cubs games Be the first to know when sports news breaks with these alerts delivered from the 2016 postseason that netted the franchise’s first World Series to your inbox. championship since 1908. That begins Wednesday. April 11: Flyers at Blackhawks (Stanley Cup Final, Game 1) from May 29, Marquee Sports Network will air the 14 best games from the epic fall of 2010. 2016 with 'Run for the Ring', beginning March 18 at 7 p.m. [Most read in Sports] Cubs Q&A: When should the season start — and — Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) March 14, 2020 what about unused spring training tickets? Why was Adbert Alzolay optioned so early? » NBC Sports Chicago’s rerun schedule will be as follows: April 12: Flyers at Blackhawks (Stanley Cup Final, Game 2) from May 31, Tuesday: Predators at Blackhawks (Round 1, Game 2) from April 8, 2010. 2010. April 13: Bulls at SuperSonics (NBA Finals, Game 3) from June 9, 1996. [Most read in Sports] Column: Signing Robert Quinn makes Leonard Floyd another top-10 draft bust for Bears GM Ryan Pace. Will Mitch April 14: Flyers at Blackhawks (Stanley Cup Final, Game 5) from June 6, Trubisky be the next one? » 2010.

Wednesday: Heat at Bulls (Round 1, Game 1) from April 26, 1996. April 15: SuperSonics at Bulls (NBA Finals, Game 6) from June 16, 1996.

Thursday: Blackhawks at Predators (Round 1, Game 4) from April 22, April 16: Blackhawks at Flyers (Stanley Cup Final, Game 6) from June 9, 2010. 2010.

Friday: Heat at Bulls (Round 1, Game 2) from April 28, 1996. Chicago Tribune LOADED: 03.18.2020 Saturday: Predators at Blackhawks (Round 1, Game 5) from April 24, 2010.

Sunday: Bulls at Heat (Round 1, Game 3) from May 1, 1996.

[Most read in Sports] Tracking QBs in NFL free agency: Tom Brady is headed to the Bucs; Panthers have a deal with Teddy Bridgewater to replace Cam Newton » 1172686 Chicago Blackhawks “Let those players decide what they want to do.”

Wirtz, one of the more approachable owners in sports, has already heard from some of you. He was grocery shopping Sunday when a few Column: By taking care of United Center workers, Blackhawks Chairman customers stopped him and thanked him for taking care of the UC Rocky Wirtz is taking on the coronavirus the Chicago Way employees. Later on he was thanked by the owner of his favorite hot dog stand in Northfield, U Dawg U.

By PAUL SULLIVAN “We weren’t doing it to get patted on the back,” Wirtz said. “It was just the right thing to do. With all due respect, Jerry and I aren’t going to miss a paycheck. People have mortgages and families to feed.

Before getting down to business, the first question I had for Rocky Wirtz “My wife was working in a restaurant in Columbus () before we were was the same I have for everyone I know. married. She was a single parent and had to roll her quarters to have enough money for milk for her daughter. I have great empathy, and I Got enough toilet paper, Rocky? realize how lucky I am.” “Yeah,” he said. “I’ve got my toilet paper.” [Most read in Sports] Column: Signing Robert Quinn makes Leonard The 67-year-old Wirtz, chairman of the Blackhawks and president of their Floyd another top-10 draft bust for Bears GM Ryan Pace. Will Mitch parent company, the Wirtz Corporation, said he knows a few people in Trubisky be the next one? » the paper business. So he recently called up a buddy with connections Like most sports-obsessed fans in this town, Wirtz already misses and asked: “Why don’t you send six rolls of toilet paper to your friend?” watching games on TV, even aside from hockey. “He hung up on me,” Wirtz said with a laugh. “There’s only so much Turner Classic Movies a guy can watch,” he said. [Most read in Sports] Tracking the Bears’ moves in free agency: Robert “I like a lot of sports and have always been a Sox fan, even before Quinn provides upgrade at edge rusher; Leonard Floyd, Nick Williams, knowing Jerry. I’m missing all of it.” Chase Daniel and Kevin Pierre-Louis headed elsewhere » Asked if he thinks the NHL could salvage the playoffs if it’s able to return We’re going to need a few laughs to get through this thing — this new later this spring, Wirtz said he’s still hopeful the league can finish out the world of staying home and being responsible citizens to slow the spread regular season. of the coronavirus. It’s a tough stretch ahead, and we all have to help “Hopefully, if we open again, it’s going to be a mad dash to the finish each other get through it, from billionaires to pizza delivery drivers. line,” he said. “Who knows what’s going to happen? Some of the teams Wirtz really is just like the rest of us — only much richer, obviously, and were doing really well, and you break their momentum. ... Let’s put it this in a position where he can snap his fingers and help many of those way: We haven’t given up on the season, even though we were going to feeling the financial ramifications of the suspension of sports due to the be long shots. As they say, funnier things have happened.” coronavirus outbreak. At this point in the conversation, I had to break the bad news to Rocky On Saturday, Wirtz and Bulls Chairman announced a that I did give up on this season after those back-to-back losses to the plan to to pay about 1,200 United Center workers for the remainder of the Red Wings and Blues on March 6 and 8. “I was like, ‘Oh, c’mon,’ ” I told NHL and NBA seasons, a move every owner in both professional him. leagues should emulate. [Most read in Sports] NBC Sports Chicago is rerunning the 1996 Bulls The owners of the UC and the teams who call it home got together on the and 2010 Blackhawks title runs and marking the 25th anniversary of phone Friday with Bulls executives Michael Reinsdorf and Howard Pizer Michael Jordan’s ‘I’m Back’ fax with a special » and decided it needed to be done. But bureaucracy was holding things Wirtz laughed ... I think. Either way, whether the Hawks are still in it or up, so Wirtz and Jerry Reinsdorf decided just to do it together. not, he believes the hockey season will return in some form. “He said, ‘How many games do we have left?’ ” Wirtz said. “I said, ‘You Chicago Tribune Sports Newsletter have seven, we have seven, so 14 games.’ Jerry said, ‘That comes to about $3.5 million. Let’s pay our United Center employees.’ That’s all it Weekdays took. ... We just think it was the right thing to do.” A daily sports newsletter delivered to your inbox for your morning [Most read in Sports] Tracking QBs in NFL free agency: Tom Brady is commute. headed to the Bucs; Panthers have a deal with Teddy Bridgewater to replace Cam Newton » “This is a time when the league can be creative and figure out how to do it,” he said. “Maybe get a few games in without (fans), which certainly is It’s also the Chicago thing to do. an option.”

If you’ve lived through all the blizzards and heat waves we’ve endured, But for now, he’ll be keeping tabs on the Wirtz empire from home, trying you’ve seen how a big city can turn into a small town overnight. Lending to keep from going stir crazy like the rest of us. He laughed about going a helping hand in times of need is second nature in Chicago, which is to the store and finding the Coke aisle empty, except of course for the one reason Wirtz is confident we’ll get by with a little help from our Cherry Coke no one drinks. friends. Wait a minute, Rocky. Doesn’t the Wirtz Corporation include a beverage “One thing about Chicago, it’s folksy,” he said. “You travel a lot, to the distributorship? East Coast and West Coast, and you see how it’s different here. That’s why so many of our players, after they retire, they want to come back and “Yeah,” he said. “But we don’t sell Coke. Only wine and spirits.” live in Chicago. It’s a nice place to live because the people are so nice.” I told him we’ll be needing plenty of wine and spirits to get us through Some executives asked Wirtz if the athletes themselves shouldn’t kick in these next few months. some money for the UC employees with no games to work, as several “Don’t run out, Rocky.” NBA stars, including Kevin Love, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Zion Williamson, have done for their teams’ employees. Chicago Tribune LOADED: 03.18.2020

Wirtz said he didn’t want to tell players what to do.

[Most read in Sports] After a whirlwind day on the NFL quarterback carousel, the Bears still are looking for one »

“That’s their business,” he said. “I’d rather just make it ourselves. The last thing I want to do is have Player X say, ‘I’m going to give $100,000,’ and then does that put pressure on Player Y to do it too? 1172687 Chicago Blackhawks Saturday, March 28

Round 2-Game 3: Blackhawks at Vancouver (From 5/5/10 -- 5-2 Blackhawks win; Byfuglien scores hat trick) NBC Sports Chicago to replay every Blackhawks and Bulls victory from 2010 and 1996 playoffs Sunday, March 29

Round 2-Game 4: Blackhawks at Vancouver (From 5/7/10 -- 7-2 Blackhawks win; Toews hat trick and two assists) By NBC Sports Chicago March 17, 2020 2:34 PM Monday, March 30

Round 1-Game 5: New York at Bulls (From 5/14/96 -- 94-81 Bulls win; Chicago, IL (March 17, 2020) – NBC Sports Chicago has announced its MJ pumps in 35 sending Bulls to conference finals) primetime pro game replacement programming as the network will be re- airing all 16 Stanley Cup Playoffs wins from the Chicago Blackhawks Tuesday, March 31 2010 championship season, with this year marking the team’s 10th anniversary of their first NHL championship since 1961, along with all 15 Round 2-Game 6: Blackhawks at Vancouver (From 5/11/10 -- 5-1 victories from the incredible NBA Playoffs title run from Blackhawks win; Brouwer & Versteeg score :36 apart in series clincher) 1996. NBC Sports Chicago is currently scheduled to carry a “Classic” Wednesday, April 1 Blackhawks or Bulls telecast every evening at 7:00 PM CT starting tonight through Thursday, April 16. Authenticated NBC Sports Chicago Conference Finals-Game 1: Orlando at Bulls (From 5/19/96 – 121-83 subscribers can also stream every “Classic” match-up online via Bulls win; Bulls dominate 4th quarter 40-24 to offset solid road NBCSportsChicago.com/WatchLive. NOTE: Game replays will only be performances by Orlando’s O’Neal and Hardaway) made available to viewers within NBC Sports Chicago’s designated Thursday, April 2 viewing territory. Conference Finals-Game 1: Blackhawks at San Jose (From 5/16/10 -- 2- Please note NBC Sports Chicago’s Blackhawks & Bulls nightly 7:00 PM 1 Blackhawks win; Niemi 44 saves; goals from Sharp & Byfuglien) “Classic” game schedule beginning this evening: Friday, April 3 Tuesday, March 17 Conference Finals-Game 2: Orlando at Bulls (From 5/21/96 -- 93-88 Bulls Round 1-Game 2: Nashville at Blackhawks (From 4/18/10 -- 2-0 win; Shaq outscores MJ 36-35, but Bulls take 2-0 series lead to ORL) Blackhawks win; Niemi 23 saves, first playoff shutout since Belfour in ‘96) Saturday, April 4 Wednesday, March 18 Conference Finals-Game 2: Blackhawks at San Jose (From 5/18/10 -- 4- Round 1-Game 1: Miami at Bulls (From 4/26/96 -- 102-85 Bulls win; 2 Blackhawks win; goals from Ladd, Byfuglien & Toews) Jordan gets championship run in motion with 35 points) Sunday, April 5 Thursday, March 19 Conference Finals-Game 3: Bulls at Orlando (From 5/25/96 -- 86-67 Bulls Round 1-Game 4: Blackhawks at Nashville (From 4/22/10 -- 3-0 win; Bulls hold host Magic to just 10 points in 4th quarter, Rodman w/16 Blackhawks win; Niemi 33 saves, two goals from Sharp) boards) Friday, March 20 Monday, April 6 Round 1-Game 2: Miami at Bulls (From 4/28/96 -- 106-75 Bulls win; Conference Finals-Game 4: Bulls at Orlando (From 5/27/96 -- 106-101 Pippen w/24 pts, 8 rebounds and 8 assists) Bulls win; Jordan’s dominant 45-point performance completes series Saturday, March 21 sweep and sends Bulls back to the NBA Finals)

Round 1-Game 5: Nashville at Blackhawks (From 4/24/10 -- 5-4 OT Tuesday, April 7 Blackhawks win; Kane game-tying SHG w/:14 left in reg., Hossa OT Conference Finals-Game 3: San Jose at Blackhawks (From 5/21/10 -- 3- goal) 2 OT Blackhawks win; Byfuglien game-winner in OT) Sunday, March 22 Wednesday, April 8 Round 1-Game 3: Bulls at Miami (From 5/1/96 -- 112-91 Bulls win; NBA Finals-Game 1: Seattle at Bulls (From 6/5/96 -- 107-90 Bulls win; Pippen triple-double propels Bulls to series sweep) MJ and Pip pace Bulls with 28 and 21 points respectively, but Kukoc Monday, March 23 comes through with some key 4th quarter scoring to help Bulls take a 1-0 series lead) Round 2-Game 1: New York at Bulls (From 5/5/96 -- 91-84 Bulls win; MJ tears it up with 44 points in series opener) Thursday, April 9

Tuesday, March 24 Conference Finals-Game 4: San Jose at Blackhawks (From 5/23/10 -- 4- 2 Blackhawks win; Hawks reach Stanley Cup Final for first time since ‘92) Round 1-Game 6: Blackhawks at Nashville (From 4/26/10 -- 5-3 Blackhawks win; Toews go-ahead goal in 1st period caps opening round Friday, April 10 series clincher) NBA Finals-Game 2: Seattle at Bulls (From 6/7/96 -- 92-88 Bulls win; a Wednesday, March 25 superior game by Rodman, who grabbed 20 rebounds, including an NBA Finals record 11 from the offensive end, puts the Bulls up 2-0 and sends Round 1-Game 2: New York at Bulls (From 5/7/96 -- 91-80 Bulls win; the series to SEA) Rodman dominates the boards with 19 rebounds) Saturday, April 11 Thursday, March 26 Stanley Cup Final-Game 1: Philadelphia at Blackhawks (From 5/29/10 -- Round 2-Game 2: Vancouver at Blackhawks (From 5/3/10 -- 4-2 6-5 Blackhawks win; Kopecky GW in third period) Blackhawks win; Versteeg goal w/1:30 left in reg. proves to be GW) Sunday, April 12 Friday, March 27 Stanley Cup Final-Game 2: Philadelphia at Blackhawks (From 5/31/10 -- Round 1-Game 4: Bulls at New York (From 5/12/96 – 94-91 Bulls win; 2-1 Blackhawks win; Hossa & Eager score :28 apart) Bulls hold on to key road victory thanks in part to a solid offense outpourings via Jordan and Harper, along with the usual stellar defense Monday, April 13 provided by Rodman) NBA Finals-Game 3: Bulls at Seattle (From 6/9/96 -- 108-86 Bulls win; Jordan’s 36 points, along with a solid offensive effort from Longley w/19 pts gives Bulls a commanding 3-0 series lead)

Tuesday, April 14

Stanley Cup Final-Game 5: Philadelphia at Blackhawks (From 6/6/10 -- 7-4 Blackhawks win; pivotal victory featuring three 1st period goals)

Wednesday, April 15

NBA Finals-Game 6: Seattle at Bulls (From 6/16/96 -- 87-75 Bulls win; after dropping Games 4 & 5 in Seattle, the Bulls returned to the United Center on “Father’s Day” as NBA Finals MVP Michael Jordan pumps in 22 points, Rodman ties his own NBA Finals record with 11 offensive boards, and the Bulls conclude their historic 1995-96 season with their 4th NBA title)

Thursday, April 16

Stanley Cup Final-Game 6: Blackhawks at Philadelphia (4-3 OT Blackhawks win; Kane with memorable OT GW…Blackhawks earn first Stanley Cup Championship since 1961)

All games are 7:00 PM Central Time

Schedule Subject to Change

NOTE: For the latest news, analysis, team/league updates and team- specific podcasts, fans are urged to visit NBCSportsChicago.com or download the “MyTeams by NBC Sports” app.

NBC Sports Chicago, a partnership between the Chicago Blackhawks (NHL), Chicago Bulls (NBA), Chicago White Sox (MLB) and the NBC Sports Group, features over 275 live pro games in high definition each year. In addition, NBC Sports Chicago delivers extensive pre/post-game coverage for its core pro team partners, as well as Chicago Bears and Chicago Cubs multi-platform coverage, plus - local sports discussion programs that includes SportsTalk Live, and massive cross-platform coverage provided by the network’s growing digital platform, NBCSportsChicago.com, the “MyTeams by NBC Sports” app, and its variety of fan-focused social media outlets. Fans can follow the network on Twitter via @NBCSChicago.

NBC Sports Regional Networks is NBC Sports Group’s portfolio of nine regional networks that delivers more than 2,200 live sporting events and original content to more than 35 million homes. Aligned within Eastern and Western Divisions, the NBC Sports Regional Networks are: NBC Sports Boston, NBC Sports Philadelphia, NBC Sports Philadelphia +, NBC Sports Washington, NBC Sports Washington + and SNY; and NBC Sports Bay Area, NBC Sports , NBC Sports Chicago/NBC Sports Chicago+, and NBC Sports Northwest. For more information on NBC Sports Group properties, including press releases, photos, talent and executive bios, headshots and logos, please visit

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 03.18.2020 1172688 Chicago Blackhawks

Rocky Wirtz confident Blackhawks’ management group will 'figure it out’

By Charlie Roumeliotis March 17, 2020 8:00 AM

Before the NHL season was put on pause amid the COVID-19 crisis, the Blackhawks were on the verge of missing the playoffs for the third consecutive season. It’s unclear whether that will still be the case, given the creative ideas being thrown around as the league prepares to potentially modify its playoff format for this season if and when hockey returns.

Blackhawks Chairman Rocky Wirtz joined the latest Blackhawks Talk Podcast to discuss the unprecedented situation and admitted he's optimistic the season will finish in some capacity. He also talked about what went into the decision to suspend the NHL season, the dialogue he's had with the other 30 NHL owners and takes us through his conversation with Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf about paying United Center employees during the COVID-19 hiatus.

And yes, Wirtz even addressed the state of the franchise and strongly believed the Blackhawks' management group, led by President & CEO John McDonough and GM Stan Bowman, will steer the ship back on course.

"You look at everything,” Wirtz said. “You're looking at salaries, you're looking at free agents, you're looking at signing college players, free agents in Europe. The nice thing is, John McDonough and his crew, and Stan Bowman, in my humble opinion, we have a good organization. They will figure it out. On my epitaph and on my tombstone with my kids, I promise you, it's going to say: ‘Just figure it out.’ It's going to be the day I was born, the day I died and, 'Just figure it out.' They will figure it out. I promise you."

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 03.18.2020 1172689 Antoine Roussel was at his best in Dallas when he was feisty and effective with the puck. It’s hard to find a game where Roussel hasn’t been feisty or a pest, but on nights where he wasn’t an effective player — Subscriber-selected film room: 2014 Stars come back against the much like his last season in Dallas — he fell short as a pest, and his Penguins schtick felt old and played-out.

You can chirp and hustle, but the real daggers to an opponent are when a guy like that helps produce offensively. It’s one of the reasons that By Sean Shapiro Mar 17, 2020 9 Corey Perry is so vilified by many NHL fan bases: He was a dick to play against — there’s not a nice way to say it — and that’s much harder to

handle when a guy like that is constantly putting pucks into the net. Thanks to you, I’m writing about a game from 2014. This game provides a taste of Roussel at his best. He’s defending a Throughout this sports hiatus, we are going to pick at least one Dallas teammate after a big hit, he’s taking a path around the net that gets into Stars-related game a week, watch it and break it down. Marc-Andre Fleury’s way, and he also put the puck in the net to make the score 2-1 and pull Dallas back into this game. Sometimes it’ll be an old Dallas game. Sometimes it’ll be something on a prospect, or completely off the wall. Each week I’ll pick a list of four That goal took the wind out of Pittsburgh and pulled the Stars back into games, send out a Twitter poll and have you decide. the game. It’s also impossible to ignore Pascal Dupuis’ injury with 6:58 remaining when he was cross-checked by Alex Goligoski. While he was This week you picked the Oct. 16, 2014 matchup between the Stars and down, he was hit in the back on a slap shot by Kris Letang and was Pittsburgh Penguins. stretchered off the ice.

EACH WEEK DURING THE SUSPENSION WE ARE GOING TO PICK A Dupuis, who would skate again with the Penguins three days later, gave RANDOM STARS-RELATED GAME. I'LL WATCH IT IN FULL, CUT a thumbs up to the crowd, but it was a deflating moment for Pittsburgh. HIGHLIGHTS, AND I'LL BREAK IT DOWN. HERE ARE YOU OPTIONS Connected or not, the Penguins — who had looked very sharp until this FOR THIS WEEK. point of the game — failed to even get a shot on a three-on-one later in the middle period. — SEAN SHAPIRO (@SEANSHAPIRO) MARCH 15, 2020 Remember those lines we complained about earlier? Well, they changed So let’s pull up the tape. in the third period. We know how this game is going to end, but I did my best to try treating it Benn and Seguin remained a duo — Lindy Ruff was pretty consistent like a new game from start to finish. I didn’t look up the box score or read with keeping them together — and the wingers kept rotating between an old game story; this was as close as possible to a clean slate. Sceviour, Cole and Spezza. Putting Spezza on that line, particularly late And, like any clean slate, let’s complain about lines to start. in the game, turned into one of the key moves in this game as both Benn and Seguin had their best chances with Spezza on the wing. Jamie Benn – Tyler Seguin – Colton Sceviour For the first 45 minutes or so, the Penguins did a good job disrupting Erik Cole – Jason Spezza – Ales Hemsky Dallas’ zone entries. Pittsburgh would frequently stop the Stars at the blue line and against the Benn-Seguin line, the Penguins were willing to Antoine Roussel – Cody Eakin – Ryan Garbutt focus more on those two and allow Sceviour or Cole some added space. Patrick Eaves – Shawn Horcoff – Vernon Fiddler Giving that extra space to Spezza, however, led to more clean entries Alex Goligoski – Trevor Daley and unlocked things for Benn and Seguin since there was now another threat on the line to move the puck. Jordie Benn – Brendan Dillon Coincidentally or not, that’s how Dallas should have tied the game in this Patrik Nemeth – Kevin Connauton sequence.

Kari Lehtonen I’m not sure how that was ruled goalie interference, especially when Ok. Got that out of your system? Seguin was tripped by Malkin on the play. It should have been a penalty shot or at least a power play. Let’s go. I really don’t have a good answer. I’m sorry. The Penguins finished the 2014-15 season tied for the eighth-best power play in the NHL with a 19.3 percent conversion rate. The Dallas Stars Dallas did respond to the blown call. They charged back, hit the post and would finish the season tied for 19th on the penalty kill at 80.7 percent. Jamie Benn tied the game for real as he won the battle in front of the net. That wasn’t a good first-period combo for the Stars, who frankly should It’s a big goal, but the play that I spent more time thinking about after have been done in this game before the first intermission. watching the game was Benn’s faceoff win against Crosby and the shook off a poor excuse of a check by Jason Spezza, split ensuing drawn penalty with 10 seconds remaining. the defense and was tripped by Brendan Dillon before hitting the iron with Benn tried to win the draw forward a handful of times earlier in the game, a shot anyway. with moderate success. From what I saw, each of those attempts came Pittsburgh’s power play didn’t need much help, but the Stars still gave it in the neutral or defensive zone, where Benn was trying to create a quick to them when Jordie Benn inadvertently tipped a puck past Kari entry. Lehtonen. It was Crosby’s goal, as the superstar was looking for Chris And that’s what happened on this play where Benn goes around Crosby Kunitz cutting to the back post before Jordie Benn’s deflection. and draws the penalty.

Kunitz got his goal on the next Pittsburgh power play. He scored off the That sets up the dramatic finish that everyone remembers. Benn wins the rebound, but it was created by tremendous puck movement from the draw clean, Goligoski walks the line and passes to Spezza, who takes a Penguins. It’s a dream scenario of a power play for a coach — both fancy big wind-up to send a slap pass to Seguin for the game-winning goal with and zippy — and the Penguins are working hard to win the puck battles 2.9 seconds remaining. to create the space for that zip. It’s a great pass by Spezza. Like what we saw on Crosby’s goal in the The end result: A 2-0 score as the Penguins were 2-for-2 on the power first period, the defenders and goalie bite on the windup while Seguin play. does a tremendous job to settle the puck and get a clean shot off.

Evgeni Malkin should have put this game out of reach with 1:35 left in the Other Observations period. Crosby opens up for the one-timer, everyone bites on it, and he sends a slap pass to Malkin, who missed the net while Lehtonen was –Kari Lehtonen was rather good in this game when it came to stopping scrambling. the puck, but there were some questionable stick-handling decisions, and Sceviour bailed him out by diving to block an empty net after a turnover in the second period.

–Blake Comeau was noticeable for the Penguins. You always wonder about the genesis of a future signing and if games like this are part of why Jim Nill eventually brought him to Dallas.

–Of the Stars players in this lineup, only two — Benn and Seguin — are still with the team.

The Athletic LOADED: 03.18.2020 1172690 Detroit Red Wings

Get to know Red Wings beat writer Ted Kulfan: He can't skate, seriously

The Detroit NewsPublished 2:02 p.m. ET March 17, 2020 | Updated 2:02 p.m. ET March 17, 2020

Editor's note: As coronavirus sweeps the globe, shutting down so many entertainment options including sports, we thought this would be a good opportunity for you to get to know a little bit about us. Up today: Red Wings beat writer Ted Kulfan, who can be followed on Twitter @tkulfan. Also, check out Kulfan's weekly OctoPulse Podcast at detroitnews.com.

1. I attended and graduated from Dearborn Fordson and Wayne State University. While at Fordson, my senior year, we went 19-2 during basketball season (I was stuck mainly on the bench) and won the regional championship in track and field (I contributed points in the long jump; sixth in regionals) and the 800-meter relay (we were sixth, also, I think).

2. I also had the city of Dearborn’s best time in the 100 and 200 meters that season for a period of time* (*wind aided), but looking at the mirror, yes, that was 35 years and 80 pounds ago.

3. Except for a month during Christmas in college working at a toy store, and doing some work in high school for a catering firm, every penny I’ve ever earned has come from newspapers.

4. Like fellow sports writer James Hawkins, I failed swimming lessons as a kid. Now I avoid water deeper than 6 feet.

5. But I love the water, so go figure.

6. I met my wife — now months from our 25th anniversary — on my first full-time day at The Detroit News. I went to the old cafeteria to get coffee, saw her, we smiled at each other, and the rest is history.

7. I’ve covered hockey for over 20 years, but I don’t know how to skate. My son played through high school and loves the game, and I tried to learn, but didn’t come close to conquering the lessons.

8. I’d love to step foot in all 50 states. I’m at 37 right now.

9. If my wife and I are at home, not on working hours, chances are we are watching a black-and-white movie on Turner Classic Movies. I mean, like always. Our son will attest to that.

10. My parents came over from in the mid-1960s. Trust me, I’ve always known the best restaurants and bakeries in Hamtramck — and still do.

Ted, sorry, Theodore Kulfan in his younger days. We give that stache a 10 out of 10!

11. Coolest event I’ve covered — although I didn’t cover the Red Wings at the time — was them winning the 1997 Stanley Cup at Joe Louis Arena. I’ve never heard an eruption of noise like that.

12. But a close second was helping cover the 2012 World Series (thankfully the NHL players were locked out at the time).

13. OK, here it goes. I am an avid professional wrestling fan. I DVR several shows a week and listen to some podcasts. I started watching in elementary school, and have never really stopped.

14. My wife OK’d this: my celebrity crush is Brooke Shields.

15. Definitely, more of a dog person.

Detroit News LOADED: 03.18.2020 1172691 Detroit Red Wings

Players reportedly propose July restart, award Stanley Cup in late September

By Ansar Khan | [email protected]

The NHL is considering many options and open to various ideas of when to resume the season and what format to implement following this pause due to the coronavirus.

One plan formulated by some top players, according to Frank Saravalli of tsn.ca, would see training camps begin in early July and the regular season completed by late July. The playoffs would take place in August and September; the Stanley Cup awarded in late September.

The report says there would be a three-to-four week transition period in October for the draft and free agency. The 2020-21 regular season would begin in November and would feature a condensed 82-game schedule which would enable the calendar to revert back to normal (2021 playoffs starting in April, June draft, etc.).

The NHL’s release on Monday stated a potential for opening a training camp period roughly 45 days into the 60-day period covered by the Centers for Disease Control’s recommendation that no gatherings of more than 50 people be held for eight weeks. That would prevent games from being played until at least mid-May.

But according to tsn.ca, the players who kicked around this proposal don’t want to start too soon and then have to shut down again if a player tested positive for COVID-19 (so far, no NHL players have reported a positive test result).

They also realize by waiting longer, there would be a better chance of fans being able to attend games.

Michigan Live LOADED: 03.18.2020 1172692 you can use bands or do body-weight stuff. But it’s harder if a player has no equipment,” he said.

Gagner said he and wife Rachel are trying to set up a little home-school. Sam Gagner back from Detroit, going through COVID-19 pause with family “My oldest boy is 4 and a half and he was at Montessori school and he really likes it. He’s not going out, sacrifices everybody has to make to stop the spread of the virus.”

Jim Matheson, Edmonton Journal He’s got a backyard at his house, so the kids can get outside.

“Built a little tobogganing hill back there with some snow. It’s only day GARRIOCH: NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly says all options are on four, day five. I’m sure the longer it goes, we’ll run out things we can do the table for resuming ... but we’re staying busy,” he said.

Sam Gagner is back at his Edmonton home with his three little kids and If the Oiler players were to get the green light to skate in small, informal doctor wife Rachel, back from his three week change-of-life trade to groups, what would Gagner do. Ask to join in? Maybe not. Detroit, leaving a team in a wild playoff scramble to a team that will finish “The fortunate thing here is there’s outdoor rinks but I don’t know if last in a 31-team league. they’re maintaining those. I thought if it was cold enough, I could put a The long-time Oilers forward, in a 14-day self-quarantine until March 27, rink in our backyard. I could skate, the kids could skate. We had one is doing what many NHL dads are doing these days — trying to learn growing up,” he said. “I would know how to build my own.” new children’s games, thinking of outdoor, backyard activities for his kids, Edmonton Sun: LOADED: 03.18.2020 all under five. He’s healthy and so are his two boys and a girl and his wife watching TV and pouring over stories on the internet with people talking about COVID-19 and the spread across Europe, across the U.S., all the cases in Alberta now.

“It’s nice to have a doctor on call for sure,” laughed Gagner. “She has a lot of friends who are working on the front lines so to speak, seeing things going on at the hospitals … it’s a wake-up call, right?

“It’s really important to social distance so you’re not spreading the virus. You hear from her friends how much is happening at the hospitals and it continues to spread.”

The pause in the NHL schedule has been good and bad for Gagner.

“The silver lining is, I get to be back with my family. You don’t like the circumstances and you feel for lots of people out there … the arena workers who depend on the salaries, all that kind of stuff. But personally, getting back to my kids is the silver lining. Rachel had come to Detroit to visit but it was a lot of travel for the kids to get there and they’re all settled in here.”

Gagner flew back last weekend, after getting a small apartment not far from the rink in Detroit.

“The Wings were great. Last thing I need is to be in quarantine away from my family. They were first-class, the staff was very good to me, the arena’s very nice.”

Gagner got a shot to be on the Wings first power play unit and was hurt in his last game with Detroit but said it was minor.

It was a kick in the head leaving the Oilers because he’s never had even a single playoff game with them even though the unrestricted free-agent has played 542 games with Edmonton.

“Yeah, everybody wants to be in the playoffs, but it’s something you have to deal with. Playing in Edmonton for a lot of years where we weren’t a very good team and finally getting a chance to be a playoff team I was excited, but this is the business of it (trades),” said Gagner, certainly in limbo as a UFA. “I want to extend my career, I’m only 30 years old and I think I’ve had a good year and I’ve proved to people I have lots of hockey left. Wherever the opportunity presents itself.

“This is tough on everybody. When you go to a new team you want more time to get acclimated. Everybody thinking about the playoffs, but to have the league stop and the world stop, it’s definitely different.

“Nobody knows how the NHL will approach this. I know the CDC has directed an eight-week break for events with 50 people or more that kind of puts a timeline in everybody’s head on what the best-case scenario could be. That said, nobody really knows, things are fluid. As players you’re just trying to stay in shape.”

How does one do that when the NHL teams haven’t allowed players back into their facilities to use their gym or skate or anything else? And recreation centres are closed.

“This is really different from the NHL lockout because you could skate and play somewhere else (Europe). I’m fortunate I can stay in shape because I have a gym in my basement I put together with cardio equipment and some free weights but for the guys who don’t have that … 1172693 Edmonton Oilers “We’re just trying to have stuff for people to bet on. We’re getting tons of requests from people saying ‘Hey, can you put up this?’ Or ‘Can you put up that?’ People just want to have something to do.

JONES: NHL best bet to start play after COVID-19 pause “Obviously the daily stuff isn’t there anymore. March Madness was one of our biggest things of the year. The has been postponed. The Derby, they say, might be postponed. So we’re just going with Terry Jones the flow and seeing how it plays out.

“But you can still bet on the Stanley Cup or the NBA championship or the World Series or the Super Bowl. Will the NHL be the first major league in North America pro sports to return to action from all the COVID-19 pandemic postponements? “We even put up some odds on pro wrestling,” he said of the, er, scripted “sport”. Will the next NHL game be played June 1 or sooner? “With the UFC the other day, even though it was held without fans, we Those are now betting propositions that came to me via Jimmy Shapiro took in six to seven times more than the normal amount we usually take at BetOnLine (www.BetOnLine.ag). And they’re interesting. in on that event just because it was one of the only things going on. • What league will be the first to play? “While some of the horse race tracks are closing, there are several still – National Hockey League ……………….. 9 to 5. going and our horse racing numbers are up by quite a bit.

– …………………. 7 to 4. “But we’re spending a lot of our day just trying to figure what to put up. I mean NFL free agency is just starting. So we’re keeping an eye on that. – National Basketball Association …….. 5 to 2 There’s the NFL draft. We’re trying everyday to come up with something new.” – Major League Soccer ……………………… 4 to 1 Anyway, if you want my bet, I’d say the only way the NHL would be back Will the next NHL game be played June 1st or sooner? before next season now would be if they decided to play the rest of the – Yes ……………………………………….…………..3 to 1. way without fans in the stands.

– No ……………………………………………………..1 to 5. If you think that’s the plan, and if you haven’t spent all your money on toilet paper, place your bets. Setting odds is a science not of predicting outcome of sports events but trying to project the percentages of bets that might be made on any given Edmonton Sun: LOADED: 03.18.2020 outcome.

But what would make an oddsmaker set those odds other than the need to offer something to bet on?

With virtually the entire world of sports shutting down and Las Vegas casinos with their sports books and some horse racing tracks closing, there’s not much action except trying to figure out when, exactly, gamblers will have games to bet on again.

I was able to interview Adam Burns, book manager for Bet.On.Line.ag on how his team came up with these odds.

I wasn’t wrong, he confessed, of the need to dream up stuff to set a line on.

It was, he admitted, somewhat different than trying to determine the point spread of an NFL game or how many pucks the Boston Bruins might beat the Toronto Maple Leafs by in an NHL game.

“When you’re doing bets on this sort of thing and putting up odds, there are really no stats to go by. So we’re just scouring the media, especially in this Twitter age. We just looked at it logistically of which league would have the best chance to start first. We’re looking at what the leagues are saying and what people involved are saying.

“The NHL and major league baseball have almost the same odds. I think that the NHL sort of reluctantly postponed it is one of the reasons they’re up there.

“The NBA said (Monday) they probably won’t start until June if they start at all. So they’re not one of the favorites.”

The NHL on Monday announced that players, who had been all asked to remain in their NHL cities, could now return to their homes in other locations including outside of North America. It was also noted that after March 27, consideration would be given to opening club facilities for small groups to return to skating and the hope of having a small training camp after 45 days of the 60 of the directive in the USA.

When I asked if the ‘Who Will Play First?’ prop bet odds would be considered less scientific than normal odds Burns would post, he didn’t hesitate to answer.

“Yes. I’d say way less scientific. We’re putting it up but I expect you’ll see the odds move a lot more than lets say an NFL game. Unless the quarterback gets hurt or something, an NFL game that odd might move a half of a point based on the bets coming in. With these two lines we’ll see how the bets come in and base the odds on that. 1172694 Edmonton Oilers “I had one offer,” he told Garrioch. “In hindsight I should have waited but the development of Connor was very important and we felt that we had to clear some room for him — both salary room and room in the (dressing) Peter Chiarelli wants to be a GM again. Has he learned from his Oilers room.” mistakes? Chiarelli played hockey at Harvard University from 1983 to 1987. Less than a year after he left, the Harvard Business Review published an article regarding a business negotiating with a customer it absolutely By Jonathan Willis Mar 17, 2020 102 can’t afford to lose. The very first recommendation made in the piece is a business cliché: to know the point at which it’s necessary to walk away.

“Everyone agrees about the walkaway,” Thomas C. Keiser wrote in 1988. On Jan. 4, the Oilers made their lone trip to Boston this season. It was an “Whether you’re negotiating an arms deal with the Russians, a labor important game: a 4-1 win which represented an inflection point in Mike agreement with the UAW, or a contract you can’t afford to lose, you need Smith’s year and showed Edmonton could beat an elite team, even to have a walkaway: a combination of price, terms, and deliverables that coming off a month of poor results. represents the least you will accept. Without one, you have no Chiarelli was listed in attendance, representing the St. Louis Blues. I negotiating road map.” made a point of walking by his assigned seat as much as possible, just to As Chiarelli related the trade decision to Garrioch, he didn’t have a see if there was an opening to speak to him, in the event he was willing walkaway. He had to trade Hall. He got one offer. He had to trade Hall, to talk. I never saw him. so he took it. These are the sort of basic negotiating mistakes that one Until last week, nobody else had either, at least for a conversation on the hires a Harvard-educated lawyer, over some former player, so as to record. More than a year after being dismissed by the Oilers, Chiarelli avoid. broke his silence, sitting down for a meal with Postmedia’s Bruce Yet the notion that Chiarelli went to market with Hall and took the first Garrioch. Both have history in Ottawa: Chiarelli’s NHL career started in offer he got is so incredible that it almost defies belief. It also happens to the Sens’ front office and Garrioch has, of course, covered the team for be the opposite of what he said at the time. years. In the summer of 2016, Chiarelli wasn’t talking about the need to trade Much of the conversation centres on Chiarelli’s time with Edmonton, and Taylor Hall. Instead he was “the price that you have to pay” to upgrade throughout Chiarelli highlights what he sees as his key mistake: the the defence by acquiring Larsson. decision to accelerate the process of building a contender after the Oilers’ breakthrough in 2016-17. It’s an appealing argument, one to “The bottom line is that you’re going to have to pay a good price to get a which he repeatedly turned in the course of speaking with Garrioch. good player,” he said then. “That’s really what happened. It was a need that I felt was significant and really that was the bottom line in this “You go in with a longer look and in this day and age it’s easy to stray transaction.” from that longer look especially when you make the playoffs for the first time in 10 years and you win a round,” Chiarelli said. “I knew it was Were there issues with Hall? “No, there weren’t. I couldn’t stress more coming and I should have been more forceful in my position on where we that I had to improve our D.” were in the plan but it’s hard because you’ve got paying customers, an owner and people around you that feel you should take the next step.” What about changing team identity? “That may be a byproduct. It certainly wasn’t any primary objective.” That’s one example among many. It is the central theme of Chiarelli’s comments. It’s understandable, relatable and offers a catch-all for the Cap concerns? “A secondary benefit of this deal, but certainly not the subsequent problems in Edmonton. reason why we did it.”

The only problem is it doesn’t describe what actually happened. Was he in a rush to make the deal? “I wouldn’t call it a rush, but it might not have been there … That really wasn’t the dynamic. There was some Chiarelli certainly made mistakes in the aftermath of 2017, though not of other deals we were looking at and there were other reasons it had to the kind he describes. His only really significant trade that summer was happen today. Nothing really newsworthy, but we acted on it today.” shipping Jordan Eberle to the Islanders for Ryan Strome in a cost-cutting move, and that was hardly a panic deal aimed at making the Oilers In 2016, Chiarelli said he was looking at other offers, wasn’t worried immediate contenders. The panic moves wouldn’t come for more than a about Hall specifically and wasn’t making the deal to change team year, when Chiarelli’s job was on the line: things like flipping Strome for identity or because of cap concerns but rather because the defence Ryan Spooner, firing his coach a few days later and then spending real needed fixing. In 2020, he remembers needing to move Hall and taking assets on reserve defencemen Brandon Manning and Alex Petrovic. the only offer that was on the table. As explanations go, this is not an improvement. It’s an ugly list, but those mistakes were survivable. The mistakes which weren’t actually came before the success to which Garrioch and Chiarelli It’s jarring that more than a year after being dismissed by the Oilers, alike claim he was a casualty. Chiarelli’s explanation of what went wrong differs so markedly from what actually happened. When he looks at the mistakes, he doesn’t see the The trade of first- and second-round picks for Griffin Reinhart, for trades and signings of 2015 and 2016 as the issue. Instead he portrays example, look like exactly the kind of deal an antsy GM might make when himself as a victim of those successes. he’s deviating from his long-term plan. That came at the 2015 draft, though, before the Oilers had played a game under Chiarelli. “My biggest takeaway is that mistakes are made when you stray from a plan,” he told Garrioch. “That’s where I have to have the discipline I had The signing of Milan Lucic to an albatross contract (one which later before and having sat out a year you think about it every day about how forced Chiarelli’s successor to retain salary, risk a third- you’re going to approach your next job and how you’re going to stick to round pick and take on ’s hefty deal to get out of) is also the your beliefs and your approach.” kind of move a GM looking short term rather than long term. After all, plenty of good GMs have signed older players and found to their chagrin Garrioch sympathetically describes Chiarelli as “his own worst critic.” that those players’ best years were in the past. Yet that signing came not He’s right, though only unintentionally. in 2017, but as part of the nightmare free agent class of 2016, before the Even as he explicitly sells himself to league owners as a potential Oilers had played a postseason game under Chiarelli. general manager, Chiarelli seems not to understand what he actually did That was also the same summer Chiarelli dealt future NHL MVP Taylor wrong in leading the Oilers. He describes himself as a manager with a Hall to New Jersey for Adam Larsson. good plan who needed to be firmer in sticking to it, despite the fact that it was the plan rather than some deviation that doomed his tenure with Mostly the piece bypasses specific deals, but the Hall trade is an Edmonton. exception. After arguing that Edmonton needed to clear “breathing room” and cap space for Connor McDavid — it’s left unexplained how moving The Athletic LOADED: 03.18.2020 out Hall’s $6-million contract at left wing a few days before signing Lucic to a $6-million contract at left wing did that — Chiarelli makes a stunning admission which hasn’t been made publicly in the past. 1172695 Los Angeles Kings

Ottawa Senators player tests positive; they played the Kings and Ducks last week

By HELENE ELLIOTTSPORTS COLUMNIST

A player on the Ottawa Senators has tested positive for the coronavirus, the club said in a statement late Tuesday, the first NHL player known to have tested positive for the virus. The Senators did not identify the player.

The Senators played the Ducks on March 10 at Honda Center in Anaheim and played the Kings the next night at Staples Center.

“The player has had mild symptoms and is in isolation,” the Senators’ statement said. “The Ottawa Senators are in the process of notifying anyone who has had known close contact with the athlete and are working with our team doctors and public health officials. As a result of this positive case, all members of the Ottawa Senators are requested to remain isolated, to monitor their health and seek advice from our team medical staff.”

The Senators played the Kings a day after the Lakers faced the Brooklyn Nets, who on Tuesday confirmed that four of their players had tested positive for the virus. The Nets used Staples Center’s visiting NBA locker room, which was used by the Kings last Wednesday to hold postgame news conferences.

Mike Altieri, senior vice president marketing, communications and content for AEG Sports and the Kings, said the Kings will contact team, staff or media who were in close proximity to the Nets’ locker room on March 10, “and ensure that they closely monitor how they feel in the coming days.” He also said no one in the Kings’ organization had come forward with symptoms resembling those consistent with the coronavirus.

Elliotte Friedman of was the first to report the Senators player’s positive test.

The NHL put its season on hold last Thursday. Commissioner Gary Bettman has said he had hoped his league could continue competition and that NHL had made plans for games to be staged without spectators, but news that Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz had tested positive — and the dramatic move by the NBA to suspend its season last Wednesday — left Bettman no choice but to “pause” the NHL season.

Bettman said because many NHL and NBA teams share arenas he believed it was inevitable that an NHL player would test positive if play continued. The NHL has told players to self-quarantine at least through March 27 and to report any symptoms to club medical personnel. Players are not permitted to work out in club facilities.

Bettman said last Friday he was hopeful the league could “complete the season and get through the playoffs and award the Stanley Cup,” and on Monday the league outlined a possible opening of training camps in late April with play to begin in early May. Tuesday’s news probably would delay that timetable.

LA Times: LOADED: 03.18.2020 1172696 Los Angeles Kings

Ottawa Senator is first NHL player to test positive for coronavirus

By ELLIOTT TEAFORD | [email protected] | Orange County Register

An Ottawa Senators player tested positive for the coronavirus, the team announced Tuesday, the first known case of an NHL player to be infected with COVID-19. The Senators said the unnamed player had mild symptoms and was in isolation.

The Senators played the Kings last Wednesday at Staples Center in their final game before the NHL suspended play Thursday morning. Ottawa also played the Ducks on March 10 at Honda Center and the San Jose Sharks on March 7 at SAP Center.

“The Ottawa Senators are in the process of notifying anyone who has had known close contact with the athlete and are working with our team doctors and public health officials,” the team said in a statement. “As a result of this positive case, all members of the Ottawa Senators are requested to remain isolated to monitor their health and seek advice from our team medical staff.

“The health of our players, fans and community remains our highest priority. We will continue to do everything we can to help ensure our players, staff, fans and the greater community remains safe and healthy during this time of uncertainty due to the spread of the coronavirus.”

A Kings spokesman said, “We are aware and have immediately engaged with our medical team to define next steps.” He said further information would become available Wednesday. A Ducks spokesperson also said he was aware of the positive test by the Ottawa player and would have more information Wednesday.

A part-time employee at SAP Center tested positive for COVID-19 last Thursday.

Santa Clara County health officials called for the Sharks to cancel their March 5 home game against the Minnesota Wild because of concerns over the spread of the coronavirus. The Sharks went ahead and played that game and their March 7 contest against the Senators.

San Jose also played a March 8 home game against the Colorado Avalanche.

The Senators had two days off before facing the Ducks at Honda Center and the Kings the following night at Staples Center. Four players for the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets, including Kevin Durant, tested positive for COVID- 19 after playing their final game at Staples Center before play was halted.

NHL and NBA teams use separate locker rooms at Staples Center.

Gary Bettman, the NHL’s commissioner, said he was hopeful the league could complete its season and award the Stanley Cup. Players who had been told last week by the league to self-isolate were informed they could return to their hometowns, but to remain in self-quarantine.

Orange County Register: LOADED: 03.18.2020 1172697 Los Angeles Kings At this stage, the Kings’ draft list isn’t expected to change much.

“If there’s a big change in the list between April 25 and June 23, there’s a problem,” Yannetti said. “There might be some small changes, but you’re Kings’ Mark Yannetti explains how COVID-19 has impacted team’s talking about very small moves leading up to the draft, very rare. scouting “When you’re talking about making the second pick or the third pick or the fourth pick, you’re talking about guys really grouped closely together.”

By Lisa Dillman Mar 17, 2020 11 Last year, the Kings had four picks in the top 50 – Alex Turcotte (No. 5), Tobias Bjornfot (No. 22), Arthur Kaliyev (No. 33), and Samuel Fagemo (No. 50). They were able to pick Fagemo after trading with Montreal to LOS ANGELES — Sometimes, the art of scouting comes down to a final move up. visit, one more chance to see a teenage hockey prospect and make the decisive call on his possible future as an NHL player. Kaliyev’s stock dropped, and he was still available on Day 2, in the second round. In 2005, when the Kings were looking to deepen their pool of goaltending talent, Brian Putnam needed to see two prospects a final time before “With the 33rd pick, we had one guy ahead and two (other) guys very offering the last word to his bosses. Putnam, who now scouts for the close to each other – so three guys that were ahead of everybody,” said Tampa Bay Lightning, flew to Texas to watch Ben Bishop one weekend. Yannetti. “Each area (of your list), you’re going to have things like that. Later, he had one last look at the other on his radar, a high With Fagemo, we moved up. We wouldn’t have moved up if there were school player from Connecticut. other players we had in that same group.”

That was someone you may have eventually heard of: Jonathan Quick. Because of the current travel restrictions, the scouting methodology now will shift to reviewing more video as opposed to getting a final live look. Kings fans know the rest of the story quite well: Quick went on to win two Video can be a useful aid, but it also has its limitations. Stanley Cup championships, plus a and two William M. Jennings Trophies. Quick is living proof that third-round draft “Video is a great tool,” Yannetti said. “The way to use video — again I picks (which he was in 2005) can matter. So too does that last final won’t say how we use it — but there are ways to use and not to use scouting look, which can help sway an organization’s decision in one video. There are things you can’t do and there are things you can’t see. direction or another. “Video needs to be a complement to the overall meal. Most of the work is For this year’s draft — which could easily be one of the most important in done. Without the travel, the job can be done well now. If travel had been recent Kings history — it’s now almost a certainty that they won’t get a taken away from everybody in December or in November … once you chance for further in-game evaluations of the prospects on their watch get to February, the further you go, you can start managing it better. But list. There won’t be a last-minute Putnam-type visit to fill in the final you certainly need the live views.” blanks as the Kings strategize how to deploy their 11 selections in the Having so many picks at their disposal will allow the Kings a lot more upcoming draft, which includes one pick in the first round and three more flexibility at the draft, which is currently scheduled to take place in late in the second. June in Montreal.

Not only did the NHL put its season on pause last week, there has been “It allows you to entertain different scenarios,” Yannetti said. “You saw a worldwide work stoppage professionally because of the rapid spread of some of it last year. Having those extra picks allowed us to move in the the coronavirus. The brakes have also been put on junior and collegiate draft. It’s tough to tell right now. I subscribe more to the football hockey play in North America. philosophy. I don’t know why you would ever pick at your pick.”

In short, it’s not an ideal situation, but it’s also not the body blow it would The Massachusetts native is a big fan of how Bill Belichick of the New have been, had play ground to a halt earlier in the season. England Patriots handles the draft as general manager.

According to Mark Yannetti, the longtime Kings’ director of amateur “They’re moving forward. They’re moving back. They’re packaging scouting, he and his team of scouts already have amassed a “huge body things,” Yannetti said. “Last year we had a guy like Fagemo we liked and of knowledge” to themselves for the draft, adding that the leg we wanted to make sure we could get him. (Extra picks) allow you certain work on the Class of 2020 started in earnest last year. flexibility to do things and maybe move up, maybe package things.

(Our conversations about the 2020 draft were conducted before the NHL “In saying that, you have to have someone to move with.” season was put on pause.) A trading partner, in other words. By the time of our last interview, it was clear things were heading in this direction. But they subsequently unfolded with stunning swiftness last Yannetti added that it is getting harder and harder to make a move in the week. first round because teams are so protective of high draft capital.

Yannetti had actually planned to be on the road for USHL games in the “Teams are just a little more reluctant,” he said. “You can move up higher Midwest last weekend and then was expecting to make one final dive into in the second, maybe you can find someone to move in the first round. At Europe before the world came to a screeching halt. worst, it allows you to be proactive rather than reactive.”

Question: In the big picture, how important would this final stretch run Fans tend to get most excited about first-round picks. With the season on have been for the scouting staff? hold and no guidance yet as to how the draft lottery will play out, the Kings do not know how high their first-round pick will be. A recent surge “It would have just been lighting the candle on the cake,” answered in the standings — the Kings won seven games in a row heading into the Yannetti. “Most of the work has already been done. Every year, there are current “pause” — moved the Kings into 28th place in the overall probably two or three guys that, all of a sudden, come on later that you standings. Currently, the San Jose Sharks, Ottawa Senators, and Detroit want to get a final look at it. Red Wings trail them in the overall standings. Depending on how things “But you’re not talking about a lot of guys. For area (scouts), it’s not as play out in the draft lottery, the Kings will have a chance to move up. All important or tantamount. For a guy like me, the end of the season is season long, the consensus No. 1 pick has been Alexis Lafreniere of the probably more important than it is for the rest of the guys – to see one or Rimouski Oceanic. two (players) one final time. But other than that, the bulk of the work, the “You get on TV if you pick in the first round — go up on the stage, pomp, heavy lifting, is done.” and circumstance,” Yannetti said. “That appeals to a lot of people. It As an example of a player who came on in a meaningful way towards the appeals to your fan base. It’s exciting. It’s multi-layered. end of his draft year, Yannetti cited the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Jake “But it makes it harder to move in the first round because there is such a Guentzel, who finished his USHL season with Sioux City in 2013 on a 21- focus on it. Any time you move in the draft, you open yourself up to game point streak and made a surge up the draft boards. The Penguins criticism. You put the spotlight on yourself. That’s part of the reason it’s took him at No. 77, in the third round, which has turned into a great harder to move. The first-round picks are such a premium value. Teams bargain. Guentzel tied the rookie playoff scoring record in the Penguins used to throw them around like crazy. Now it’s the exact opposite.” Stanley Cup championship run in 2017 and scored 40 goals last season. Yannetti was asked: Did the Kings learn anything from how the 2019 draft unfolded that they can carry forward to this year’s event?

“I would hope that (Kings GM) Rob (Blake) is constantly learning something from us and the process of the draft,” Yannetti said. “And I would also hope we’re constantly learning from Rob in terms of his plan and philosophy.

“Last year, procedurally, was as good as we’ve ever done at a draft. It’ll take a couple of years to see if it’s as good a draft as it is perceived to be.

“We learned a lot of things and we put a lot of things into practice. Things fell right. Now with even more picks, we have to be even better at it.”

The Athletic LOADED: 03.18.2020 1172698 Minnesota Wild conditional on the Penguins making the playoffs; if they didn’t advance, they could defer the pick until next season.

What the NHL also hasn’t divulged, Guerin said, is potential schedule Wild GM Bill Guerin has 'never seen anything like this' scenarios should the league restart.

If that does happen, Guerin will have expectations for the Wild.

By Sarah McLellan Star Tribune MARCH 17, 2020 — 11:35PM “You play to win,” he said. “That mandate will never change.”

Hard to stop

This isn’t the first time Bill Guerin’s hockey career has been put on ice. Before the season went dark, the Wild was on the upswing — winning He experienced two lockouts as an NHL player, missing out on roughly a eight of its previous 11 games to land in contention for one of the season and a half of games, and was a development coach when the Western Conference’s two wild-card berths. The team sat in the first spot beginning of the 2012-13 campaign was wiped out. after its most recent game but fell to a point out of the playoffs during a layoff before the NHL halted play. But in those cases, players didn’t have to be holed up at home. They could work out in gyms and skate together, get out in the community. “I thought it was going really well,” Guerin said. “From the coaching staff to the players to the training staff, everybody was chipping in and doing Now, life is different. their part and had really come together. The players just carried out the game plan, and their battle level and compete level were extremely high. “I’ve never seen anything like this,” the Wild general manager said. “The They deserve a ton of credit for putting themselves in the position they whole world’s on hold. It’s not just Minnesota. It’s not just the United are now being that we had a terrible start and were right in the mix. States. It’s the whole world, and that’s what’s really bizarre about the whole thing. We’ve got to do what’s right. I think there’s just so many “I think and I hope that they realize their potential and that we are a good things at stake. The biggest thing is people’s health. team.”

“… All the sports leagues are doing the right thing. This is bigger than a That 8-3 run came with interim coach Dean Evason at the helm after he hockey game or a basketball game. This is serious.” replaced Bruce Boudreau, who was fired Feb. 14.

NHL action has been paused for almost a week, with the league Coaching consideration suspending its season Thursday in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Evason, who is 8-4 overall, and Guerin had a “transparent conversation,” and Evason’s status will remain unchanged for the time being. Guerin is Players have been asked to self-quarantine, and the hope is the NHL not interviewing potential candidates right now — “You can’t ask people might be able to reconvene with training camps at the end of April before to travel,” he said — and he wants to see how the season resolves potentially playing again. before making any moves.

Other than that, though, questions outnumber answers, and it’s amid this “He’s been great,” Guerin said of Evason. “He really has. He’s a really newfound uncertainty that Guerin continues to navigate his first season good communicator, and he’s fair and the clarity that guys have in their as general manager of the Wild. role and their game plan is really, really good. He gets it. He’s been around this game for a long time, and he played a long time, so he can “We’d just love to be back doing what we do,” Guerin said. “But it’s just talk to guys on their level as a player because he gets it and he’s very not the right time yet.” organized. Has a lot of strong attributes, that’s for sure.” Keeping tabs The holding pattern has jolted the Wild out of its usual rhythm and into Although the competition has ceased, with a fourth Wild game voided uncharted territory, and Guerin has thought of players like captain Mikko Tuesday night, Guerin isn’t completely idle. Koivu who have had the latter stages of their careers interrupted.

Throughout the day, he checks in with his hockey operations staff and, Still, Guerin is hopeful the 37-year-old Koivu and others will get to keep as usual during the season, the group will forecast and plan for the playing this season as long as no one’s safety is compromised. offseason and teams can still sign players. But even if the Wild did finally “This is such a unique time that we just have to take a step back and lock up prized prospect Kirill Kaprizov, he wouldn’t be eligible until next realize what’s important, and eventually we’ll get back on the ice,” Guerin season. said. “[We] just don’t know when.” Winger Kevin Fiala, the team’s leading scorer after a second-half tear, Star Tribune LOADED: 03.18.2020 can sign an extension this summer, but Guerin said the club hasn’t “gone down that path yet.” Before this season, Fiala signed a two-year, $6 million contract.

Right now, the Wild is exploring college free agents even though it wants to be mindful of its spending since the look of next season’s salary cap is up in the air.

“We’re not just going to stockpile players,” Guerin said. “If we can give him a legitimate opportunity and help him be an NHL player and have him help us, then we’ll do it. And we are involved in a few guys, so we’ll see how it goes.”

Video scouting

Getting a read on up-and-comers, however, has been affected because college hockey, the Canadian junior ranks and other development leagues have also stopped playing.

While Guerin mentioned the Wild has a video library it can comb, watching in person — and multiple times — is critical to making decisions. That’s a problem not exclusive to the Wild, as every other team in the NHL is in the same predicament.

The draft, scheduled for June 26 and 27 in Montreal, could be impeded, and Guerin is sure it will happen. So far, the NHL hasn’t said how the draft might change. It’s unclear what would happen to the first-round pick the Wild received in the Jason Zucker trade with Pittsburgh since it was 1172699 Minnesota Wild

Wild to pay part-time employees for suspended games

By Sarah McLellan MARCH 17, 2020 — 3:48PM

The Wild’s season remains on hold during the coronavirus pandemic, but the team’s part-time employees scheduled to work the final six games of the regular season will still get paid.

"This is an extremely difficult period of time for everyone," Wild owner Craig Leipold said in a statement released by the team on Tuesday. "I am very thankful for everything these part-time employees do for our organization and for our guests. I also want to say thank you to our Wild players, many of whom reached out during this process and all of whom are contributing to these efforts."

Aside from supporting its employees, the Wild and Xcel Energy Center have donated more than 2,400 pounds of perishable food items from the arena and Herbies On The Park to Catholic Charities Dorothy Day Place and Ronald McDonald House Charities since the NHL paused its season last Thursday.

Team president Matt Majka said in a statement the organization “has been in constant communication with state and local leaders to ensure that we are working in concert and offering our assistance to the greater Twin Cities and the State of Hockey as needed.”

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Wild GM Bill Guerin on coronavirus pandemic: ‘This is bigger than hockey’

By DANE MIZUTANI | [email protected] | Pioneer Press

Wild general manager Bill Guerin, like most people across the country, is simply trying to fill his days at this point.

While he still has work obligations that come with running the Wild front office, he was the first person to admit that things have been pretty dull since the NHL indefinitely suspended the 2019-20 season last week amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

“Does it stop completely? Not at all,” Guerin said Tuesday in an interview with the Pioneer Press. “Does it slow down significantly? Yes.”

There are still things Guerin has to get done. Just not at the rapid pace he’s used to during the season.

His days consist of helping out on the business side of operations, monitoring things like available college free agents, and yes, figuring out how soon he can get top prospect Kirill Kaprizov to the Twin Cities.

His nights consist of hanging out with his wife Kara, middle daughter Grace, son Liam, and youngest daughter Lexi. His eldest daughter Kayla is studying at Durham University in England and won’t return stateside.

“It’s awesome having them here,” Guerin said. “We had a serious game of Clue last night and I was accused of cheating twice.”

In that moment, an indistinguishable voice chimed in from the background, forcing him to immediately change course.

“Fine,” Guerin said. “I was caught cheating twice. I still lost. I’m not very good very good at that game.”

This is the new normal and could be for the foreseeable future after the federal government recommended Monday to avoid social gatherings of more than 10 people.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Guerin said. “And I never thought it would get to this point.”

But it has, and for that reason, the Wild GM is happy the NHL shut down last week.

“Personally, my first thought was, ‘OK. This is the right thing to do,’ ” he said. “The harder part is going to be as it goes along and we get further and further into it. I’ve played it out in my mind wondering if we can save the regular season. Nobody knows what’s going to happen.”

Guerin is holding out hope that the NHL will continue the 2019-20 season at some point. That would give the Wild (35-27-7, 77 points) an opportunity to chase down the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. They were one point behind the Nashville Predators for that final spot last week when the NHL hit pause.

“Just trying to think positively about it right now,” he said. “(The playoff race) was getting exciting, so I hope we get that chance to make a run.”

While it’s unclear how long the hiatus will last — commissioner Gary Bettman has yet to provide an official timeline — it still is a couple of months away at the very earliest. If the season does resume, Guerin emphasized the need for some sort of a training camp.

“Just some time for these guys to get back into it,” he said. “They might be elite athletes; they are also human beings. We want to make sure they aren’t put in a position where they can get easily injured.”

It’s only been a week and Guerin admitted he’s getting already antsy. He also understands the magnitude of the current situation.

“I know we’re doing the right thing,” he said. “This is bigger than hockey.”

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Canadiens prospect Cole Caufield returning to Wisconsin next season

STU COWAN, MONTREAL GAZETTE Updated: March 17, 2020

Cole Caufield will be heading back to university next season.

Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin announced Tuesday night that the 19- year-old right-winger will return to the Wisconsin Badgers for his sophomore year after posting 19-17-36 totals in 36 games this season.

The Canadiens selected the 5-foot-7, 162-pounder in the first round (15th overall) of last year’s NHL Draft. The decision to stay at university was made following a discussion between Caufield, the Badgers and the Canadiens.

“This additional year in the NCAA will benefit Cole and will allow him to continue developing his skills within the Badgers’ environment,” Bergevin said in a statement. “Cole is an important part of the ’ future and we will continue to follow his development with interest.”

Caufield became the first Badgers player to win an outright league scoring title this season with 24 points in 24 Big Ten Conference games. His 19 goals overall tied for the most among freshmen in NCAA hockey.

Two seasons ago, Caufield posted 72-28-100 totals in 64 games with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program’s U-18 team. Caufield’s 72 goals broke the previous record of 55 for the U-18 team that was set by Auston Matthews, selected No. 1 overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs at the 2016 NHL Draft. Caufield scored 126 goals in 123 career games with the U-18 team, breaking the previous record of 104 set by Phil Kessel, now with the Arizona Coyotes.

The Badgers will be without two of their other star players next season after centre Alex Turcotte and defenceman K’Andre Miller signed NHL contracts this month.

Turcotte was selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the first round (fifth overall) at last year’s NHL Draft and posted 9-17-26 totals in 29 games during his freshman season with the Badgers. Miller was selected by the New York Rangers in the first round (22nd overall) of the 2018 NHL Draft and had 7-11-18 totals in 36 games during his sophomore season with the Badgers.

Montreal Gazette LOADED: 03.18.2020 1172702 MontrealCanadiens Despite the fact he would be losing a lot of room to operate, Okulov’s mobility, reaction time and puck handling would lend themselves to him making a relatively smooth transition to the NHL’s style of play in tighter Meet Konstantin Okulov, the KHL star the Canadiens are chasing quarters.

“Obviously, guys like him or skilled hockey players, usually the less time they have, they usually do better because the better players always By Marc Antoine Godin Mar 17, 2020 30 make those quicker plays, and it benefits you,” Vey said. “Over here (in Russia), defenders have so much time to recover if they do get beat.”

There are, however, two elements of Okulov’s game that are somewhat The Canadiens paid extra attention to games involving CSKA Moscow in concerning to us. The first is that when there is a 1-on-1 battle in the the KHL all season, which might seem obvious due to the presence of corner of the rink, he has a tendency to remain static along the boards as their top defence prospect, Alexander Romanov. But aside from a passing option. That might simply be what he is told to do under Romanov, who averaged a mere 4:56 of ice time through the first round CSKA’s system on a big ice surface. But in Montreal, Claude Julien of the playoffs, the Canadiens’ pro scouts had another would be asking him to support his teammate more in the battle. Okulov reason to be keeping an eye on CSKA. often keeps his distance from the puck while waiting for the play to come His name is Konstantin Okulov. to him, something we used to observe in Nikita Scherbak’s game and something Jonathan Drouin worked hard to eliminate from his game this Okulov’s name has been linked all season to the Canadiens and Toronto season. Maple Leafs, the two teams who appear to be leading the chase to sign the 25-year-old forward. The Canadiens even began making inroads on Okulov, in an NHL environment, would be better off touching the puck this last season. more often, because he can be very creative when he has it on his stick.

The Canadiens have been cautiously optimistic about Okulov, a The second concerning element of his game is that Okulov is rarely the prototypical late bloomer who was ranked 105th by NHL Central Scouting one that engages in those puck battles. He is 6-foot and weighs 185 among European skaters for the 2013 draft and didn’t find a taker over pounds and, though he does not actively avoid the corners, his lack of his two years of draft eligibility. But listen to his CSKA teammate Linden strength shows when he gets there. He is left to hope he wins those Vey, who played most notably for the , and you will battles by using his stick as opposed to his body. see how it is of little surprise that Okulov is generating NHL interest now. “The big thing was his strength,” Vey said. “He’s got all the skills. You “I think he’s one of the most skilled guys on our team, maybe even in the watch him, he’s very crafty, he can shoot the puck, he’s a good goal league,” Vey said in an interview with The Athletic. “He’s really good at scorer, skates well. Because the ice is bigger here you don’t notice the carrying the puck, very shifty, and a good goal scorer. It’s so hard to strength as much, but in the NHL, it’s a physical game. It’s fast, it’s know how things would translate because the game is so different from physical and I think that would be the biggest adjustment for him. I think here to North America, but he’s got all the tools to be a good player.” everything else he kind of has; he’s very skilled and very smart.”

The difficulty of projecting how a KHL player will perform in the NHL is Okulov was good in the playoffs last year and he carried that into this not unique to Okulov. Vey suspects the rink dimensions make it tougher. season, where he put up 17 goals and 38 points in 56 games. That might The KHL is in the process of making their rinks smaller, but some teams look like modest production, but the KHL is not a league where players like CSKA have played games on three different sized surfaces this generally put up big numbers and CSKA in particular plays a very season. Some players stand out more on one specific rink size. defensive style.

“Bigger ice, it’s such a defensive game over here, teams just sit back, so So how did Okulov become such a relatively productive player? it tends to not have the speed of the NHL,” Vey said. “The NHL is such a “I think it’s just the confidence,” Vey said. “I didn’t know him from fast league now. Here it’s more set breakouts, set forechecks, all that previous years, but I think last year he just seemed like he didn’t have the stuff, where you’re always coming back and you have to beat four or five swagger, he didn’t always go into battles. One game you’d see him, the guys every time. It’s not that quick up, fast pace that the NHL has, so next game you wouldn’t see him. He’d play against the weaker teams that’s why I think it’s so hard to judge what people will do going to North and he would really shine, and then the next game he wouldn’t shine. But America.” now I find he’s gotten his confidence up; he battles a lot more this year. Okulov is an agile and mobile skater who can reach an impressive top He’s probably getting stronger as he gets older. He’s been a lot more speed. He uses it to carry the puck from zone to zone effectively and consistent, now he’s showing up in all the games. uses the middle of the ice for efficient zone entries, as we can see here. “It’s probably why he had a lot better year than he did the year before.” The next clip, however, shows why it might be difficult to project how Statistical analyst Byron Bader created an equivalency tool that allows effective Okulov’s skill set will be in the NHL. He takes full advantage of you to project a young player’s production in one league to what can be the lack of pressure on the puck carrier to try high-risk plays that, with a reasonably expected in the NHL. His model, which factors in age, the high-pressure forecheck, would lead to trouble. Here, Okulov escapes quality of the league the player is coming from and many other variables, pressure by skating back in his end, rushes the puck up the ice, executes counts the year preceding his draft eligibility, his draft year and the three an effective give-and-go in the neutral zone with Jiri Sekac and then following years. attempts a pass which, in the NHL, would have a very strong chance of being intercepted. Here, it is simply an example of a player controlling the source: HockeyProspecting.com play. According to Bader’s model, Okulov’s last two years of junior hockey in But it is only normal for Okulov to be confident in his passing ability the MHL suggested some potential for a future NHL career. His first KHL because he can really thread a needle with the puck. Here are a couple season – his draft plus-3 year – saw him take a serious step back. But of examples. the earlier a player hits some big numbers, the better his potential can be projected to be. This is why, despite a tough rookie season in the KHL, Okulov also uses his strong skating to come back in his own end, which the five years of Okulov’s career accounted for in Bader’s model gave allows him to transition good defence into good offence. In the following him a 46 percent chance of establishing himself in the NHL sequence, Okulov gets back to help break up a play and gets it going back the other way, allowing his team to get in a line change. Another model, this one published by Robb Vollman before he was hired by the Los Angeles Kings, takes over from there. The model is two years Okulov plays a classic Russian style in that he is not afraid to backtrack old, but it is likely to remain relatively accurate. According to Vollman’s into his own zone in order to better organize a rush. Here, he gets model, one point in the KHL is equivalent to 0.804 points in the NHL. possession in the neutral zone, hands it off to his defenceman and Okulov’s three seasons with CSKA, on average, would work out to an reloads to become a target for a return pass, ending the sequence with a equivalency of 41 points over an 82-game NHL season. scoring chance. But these are only statistical models, not real life, which is obviously far His puck skills coupled with his speed and strong defensive awareness more difficult to predict. We are talking about the KHL, where players like make Okulov a prime candidate to excel at 3-on-3, which is exactly what Linus Omark and Nigel Dawes dominate — players who were unable to CSKA did to great effect. establish themselves in the NHL. The transition towards the NHL can vary greatly. For every productive player like Nikita Gusev and Ilya Mikheyev, there are tons of examples like Jiri Sekac that simply don’t work out.

Agent Dan Milstein, who also represents Romanov, will be the one negotiating Okulov’s transfer to the NHL. Might that be an advantage for the Canadiens? No one knows, largely because there are numerous factors that will come into play here.

First off, KHL contracts are valid until April 30, but an interruption of the playoffs could force the league’s activities to extend past that date, meaning it is unclear whether Okulov would be eligible to sign as early as May 1.

Furthermore, the impact of the current NHL shut down could have an impact on next year’s salary cap, which would in turn impact which teams could jump in the race to secure Okulov’s services beyond next season. The Maple Leafs, for example, would obviously love to see the cap rise to $84 or $85 million, but they would have far less flexibility if it were to stay flat at $81.5 million.

Because of his age, Okulov can only sign a one-year entry level contract in the NHL, and he would become arbitration eligible as soon as that contract expired. This is the contract Mikheyev signed with the Maple Leafs last May.

In the KHL, the arrival of a hard salary cap to replace the current luxury tax risks creating a lag on player salaries. But more importantly, the devaluation of the ruble makes KHL salaries far less competitive than what the players can make abroad. According to Ilya Kovalchuk, in a conversation we had with him earlier this season, there will be several KHL free agents at the end of the season and he expects many of them to look for work in North America.

“He played for Red Army team, he’s really good,” Kovalchuk said of Okulov. “He just younger so I don’t know him much, but I’m good friends with few guys from their team, and especially this year I think he’s doing much better.”

Could Okulov become an NHL star? Probably not.

Could he be a better option than some of the role players we saw this season in Montreal? That is more realistic, and the Canadiens need to explore every possible avenue to improve this offseason.

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Bridgestone Arena workers will be paid for events canceled because of coronavirus

Paul Skrbina, Nashville TennesseanPublished 4:27 p.m. CT March 17, 2020

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is a pandemic. Reported illnesses range from very mild to severe, including death. Agencies anticipate widespread transmission will occur in the U.S. in coming months and recommend among other measures to slow the spread. Call your doctor and stay home if you are sick. Get more information at CDC.gov/coronavirus or contact the Tennessee Department of Health coronavirus information line at 877-857-2945 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. CT daily.

Employees at Bridgestone Arena will be paid for canceled events they were scheduled to work, such as the recent SEC men's basketball tournament, Predators CEO and President Sean Henry said last week.

"We're going to make them whole and pay them for those shifts," Henry said of those scheduled to work the SEC tournament. "Then we'll look at the rest of the remaining month going into April for what events will be missed as well and build a plan or a program throughout that.

"They really are the heroes of what we do each and every day. They are the pulse of what we are. We just think it's the right thing to do. We want to make sure we try to do the right thing for all of them."

A bigger-picture plan is still being discussed about how to proceed should more events be canceled in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

The NHL, along with the NBA, MLB, NCAA and other leagues, suspended play indefinitely last week because of concerns due to the coronavirus after NBA player Rudy Gobert tested positive for the virus. Four players on the New Jersey Nets tested positive for the virus, the team said Tuesday.

MLB announced Tuesday that all 30 of its teams would donate $1 million each to help cover lost wages for stadium employees.

Many NHL teams also have said they will pay arena employees during the hiatus. Approximately 1,100 people work various events at Bridgestone.

No games had been canceled at Bridgestone Arena as of Tuesday, but games have been postponed. The Predators' next scheduled home game — one of six left on the original schedule — was Thursday against the Avalanche.

The arena also is home to many concerts and other shows, some of which have been postponed. An MTV event on March 25 as well as a Billie Eilish concert on March 27 been postponed, as well as a Pearl Jam concert on April 2.

Friday's Jeff Dunham show was moved to July 10.

The Predators said ticket refunds will be issued for games if they are canceled.

The NHL said Tuesday players were free to leave their team's home cities and that they should "self-quarantine" through at least March 27, which was the same advice given when suspension of the season was announced.

Tennessean LOADED: 03.18.2020 1172704 New Jersey Devils “We're still on the rise, as you can see every day that we get more and more infections,” he said. “And as we get more and more testing, we're going to have more and more positives. The rates are still going up. So When could the NJ Devils and NHL resume play? A public health expert are the cases are still going up.” weighs in The timeline

New Jersey Devils goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood (29) makes a save Abbey Mastracco, NHL WriterPublished 4:00 a.m. ET March 18, 2020 on a close in shot by New York Rangers center Mika Zibanejad (93) during the second period at Madison Square Garden.

Initially, teams had hoped to resume play by April, possibly even May, Wednesday marks one week since Utah Jazz star Rudy Gobert tested though that seemed like a date. But a few days later it’s seeming positive for COVID-19 and the NBA, as well as the rest of the sports like a return to the 2019-20 season could be even further off than anyone world, came to a screeching halt. had imagined.

It seemed so shocking from the outside. Despite weeks of warnings Right now, the NHL hopes to hold an abbreviate training camp and get about the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus, everything seemed to players back on the ice in roughly 43 days. But with the NHL’s first happen in the blink of an eye. reported case of COVID-19 coming from the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday, that timeline is in doubt. A staff member of the Vancouver But it didn’t necessarily surprise those in the public health realm. Dr. Canucks also tested positive. Mitchel Rosen, Ph.D., was not quite as shocked as the rest of us. The incubation period is somewhere between 2-14 days after exposure “It’s not surprising that that happened,” Dr. Rosen, an associate and many people infected will never show symptoms, making it difficult to professor at the Rutgers School of Public Health and the director of the detect. But players continue to get tested, so more positives could be Center for Public Health Workforce Development said in a phone reported soon. interview this week. “We’ve seen other disease transmission that shows that infections are going to take place and we know that this is a pretty “None of the players should have had active infection or have been infectious disease that is relatively easily transmitted. So it’s not that exposed to active infection or active disease there in the last 14 days,” surprising.” Dr. Rosen said. “So projecting out two months, what does it look like at that point in terms of where the players have been and what potential An expert on preparedness, personal protective equipment, occupational exposures they've had within the last two weeks before that?” health and safety, and public health capacity development, Dr. Rosen is currently working with local New Jersey health departments to train first There are a lot of factors, like location and travel restrictions. But the responders with respirators. And he’s missing sports just as much as bottom line is that the containment is necessary before the NHL can even everyone else. think about letting anyone back on the ice.

This is only the sixth day without sports and we have yet to truly fill the “A lot is going to depend on, clearly, if anybody on the team is impacted void. The news seems to get more depressing by the hour and there are by it,” he said. “Is anybody coming from a community in which there is a only so many shows to binge before one needs a break to go scour the high prevalence or incidents of Covid-19? So there's a lot of variables in tristate area for toilet paper. So, what needs to happen in order for them there in terms of when you can start up.” to return? The league pulled the plug at the right time, minimizing the risk moving A spiking curve forward. But the situation is fluid so it’s difficult to pinpoint an exact timeframe. Deputy commissioner Bill Daly told the National Post this Mar 12, 2020; West Palm Beach, Florida, USA; A baseball fans wears a week that he expects the timeline to continue to evolve as the league mask and gloves during a spring training game between the Washington receives more information. Nationals and the at FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. “I don't think there's any way that we could guess at this point when that's gonna be,” Dr. Rosen said. “We just have to kind of follow the curve of The U.S. Centers for Disease Control released new guidelines over the infection and the mitigation process and see where we are and assess it weekend that muddied the waters of the timelines each of the individual at appropriate intervals to make informed scientific decisions of when the North American professional sports leagues had tentatively set in place groups of players can get back together.” for a return to action. The CDC recommended no gatherings of more than 50 people for at least eight weeks. What will sports look like when they return?

It seems like a bleak outlook for those hoping to return to normalcy There was some consideration given to playing NBA and NHL games sooner rather than later, and sports are part of our normal everyday life. without fans before the situation devolved but it devolved too quickly. But some of the people who love sports the most are the people who There has been speculation that when the two leagues hit play again, made the recommendations to put sports on hiatus. they’ll do so with empty stadiums.

Dr. Rosen is one of those people. Hockey is his favorite sport is hockey Hypothetically, it might make more sense to bring back baseball before and he was a New York Rangers season ticket-holder for many years but hockey and basketball, but it's negligible. he follows several sports, especially college sports as a professor at New Jersey’s largest university. Two minor league players in the New York Yankees’ organization tested positive for coronavirus so baseball is working with the same set of Dr. Rosen was excited about Rutger’s dream season and was just as parameters, despite the fact that they play on an open field and not in a disappointed as everyone else in Piscataway to see it all cut short before confined space. the Scarlet Knights could punch their first ticket to the NCAA Tournament in 29 years. Dr. Rosen is equally as sad for the Olympic sports seniors “Hypothetically, yes. The players are at distances from each other in the whose careers were cut short. field,” Dr. Rosen said. “But what about when they’re on the bench and in the clubhouse? There are 25 players on the roster, the coaches and Also, his son, Jonah, is a sports photographer for the Penn State Daily everyone else.” Collegian. Once the curve is flattened and it’s safe for everyone to resume normal But suspending sports and team activities is what’s best for everyone lives, then it should be safe for sports fans to return to games at all until we can flatten the curve and control the outbreak of coronavirus. venues. The curve is spiking and it's expected to continue to spike as we test more people. “I think once the health officials say that the disease is contained, then it would be safe to go back to normal operations,” he said. The growing numbers can seem jarring but don't let them scare you too much. The more we identify the positive carriers, the more chance we Will there be permanent changes? have for containment. As desperate as people will be in a month or two to have live sports again, many others might have some trepidation when it comes to going to games and being in large crowds. What used to feel like a community could end up feeling a little scary.

As a public health expert, Dr. Rosen looks at all large events with the same strategy: “Hazard assessment and hazard control.”

“It's like, what are the risks that I see here? And how can I control them?” he said. “You know, what's the way that I can reduce any type of exposure be infectious exposure, getting hit by a foul ball or anything like that. What are the hazards and how can I protect myself from it? I kind of do those kinds of risk assessments in my head all the time.”

After 9/11 he learned to look for exits. He never sits in foul ball territory at baseball games or seats where pucks can come over the netting at hockey games. Moving forward, fans might want to consider something like finding outdoor spaces to get a break from crowds and, of course, staying home if even slightly sick.

This isn’t the end of sports, it’s just a break. These decisions were made by leagues with input from public health experts like Dr. Rosen in an effort to keep fans and athletes safe and prevent a scenario in which sports are gone for more than the next eight weeks.

“I certainly hope that the population at large and the leagues and the fans and everybody looks at the importance of the work that their state and local public health authorities do every day to prevent these kinds of things,” Dr. Rosen said. “The things that don't happen that have been prevented by interventions that take place daily within our local, state and federal agencies that keep us safe every day. And they're doing that all the time… So keeping in touch with or being more cognizant of what the public health workforce does is something that will be helpful for everybody.”

Bergen Record LOADED: 03.18.2020 1172705 New Jersey Devils

Ottawa Senators' player tests positive for COVID-19, 1st case in NHL

Abbey Mastracco, NHL WriterPublished 12:21 a.m. ET March 18, 2020 | Updated 1:12 a.m. ET March 18, 2020

It was only a matter of time before COVID-19 hit the NHL and it finally happened Tuesday. The Ottawa Senators announced a positive coronavirus test for one of its players, marking the first known positive test in hockey’s highest league.

An Ottawa Senators player has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. The player has had mild symptoms and is in isolation.

The club declined to name the player in a late-night release. The player’s symptoms are described as mild and he is in quarantine. Other players and team personnel are being isolated to prevent the spread of the novel virus.

“The Ottawa Senators are in the process of notifying anyone who has had known close contact with the athlete and are working with our team doctors and public health officials,” the club said in a statement. “As a result of this positive case, all members of the Ottawa Senators are requested to remain isolated, to monitor their health and seek advice from our team medical staff.”

According to The Athletic's Hailey Salvian and James Mirtle, multiple other Ottawa players have reported symptoms.

There is speculation the exposure came from the Brooklyn Nets, who played at Staples Center one day before the Senators did and have four reported cases of coronavirus. The Nets were in Los Angeles' four-team facility one day before the Senators played the Kings in the final game before the league temporarily ceased operations.

It's unclear whether or not the two teams shared the same locker room, but Staples Center does not typically house the visiting NBA and NHL teams in the same locker rooms. The visitor's hockey locker room is much larger than the visitor's NBA locker room. The Los Angeles Kings typically utilize the NBA locker room for postgame media with the head coach. The two teams may have shared busses and/or other facilities.

Other teams have been tested but no positive tests have been reported. The Carolina Hurricanes are one of those teams. The team practiced at RWJBarnabas Health Hockey House in Newark one day before the league paused the season.

The league suspended operations Thursday and players were asked to self-quarantine all weekend in the cities of their hockey clubs. They were given permission Monday to head to their offseason homes. Players have been asked to self-quarantine until March 27, depending on their individual cities and any travel mandates that may be placed on them.

The league hopes to begin a training camp in roughly 43 days, with the goal of resuming the 2019-20 season shortly thereafter.

Bergen Record LOADED: 03.18.2020 1172706 New Jersey Devils

Senators player tests positive for coronavirus, becoming first NHL case

By ADRIAN COVERT

An unidentified Senators player has tested positive for the coronavirus. The player is the first known case to come from an NHL team.

Ottawa made the announcement late Tuesday night, saying that the player has mild symptoms and is in isolation.

“The Ottawa Senators are in the process of notifying anyone who has had known close contact with the athlete and are working with our team doctors and public health officials,” the team said in a statement. “As a result of this positive case, all members of the Ottawa Senators are requested to remain isolated, to monitor their health and seek advice from our team medical staff.”

The NHL suspended its season last week, one day after the NBA decided to suspend its season. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman still hopes to resume the season and hold the playoffs for a league that has handed out the Stanley Cup in all but two seasons since 1893: the shorted 1919 season (due to the Spanish Flu and the 2005 season (which was called off due to a lockout).

New York Daily News LOADED: 03.18.2020 1172707 New York Islanders Speaking of which, someone on eBay on Tuesday was offering an unused ticket to the Dodgers’ final game at Ebbets, with an asking price of a cool $1,249.99.

Coronavirus likely brings unceremonious end to Islanders' doomed Brooklyn fans were too disillusioned by the Dodgers’ impending move tenure in Brooklyn West to show up in big numbers. Their last four home games each drew fewer than 7,000 fans.

By Neil Best But there was a sense of the occasion during the shutout gem by McDevitt – who was born in Manhattan, by the way – backed by RBIs from Elmer Valo and Gil Hodges.

We can at least say this for the Islanders’ final game in Brooklyn: It Organist Gladys Gooding played farewell-themed music all night, attracted a crowd nearly double the size of the one that bade the including “After You’ve Gone” and “Thanks for the Memories.” Dodgers farewell 62 ½ years earlier. After the Pirates’ Dee Fondy grounded out to Dodgers shortstop Don Strange, but true: Only 6,702 fans showed up on Sept. 24, 1957, to Zimmer to end the game, Gooding had one last musical message for watch the Dodgers’ final game at Ebbets Field, a 2-0 victory over the departing fans. She played, “Auld Lang Syne.” Pirates behind a five-hit shutout by rookie Danny McDevitt. The music in Brooklyn has stopped for the Islanders now, and most fans The Islanders drew 12,788 for their March 3 game against the Canadiens are singing. at , a 6-2 loss. Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 03.18.2020 Other than that, though . . .

Let’s put it this way: The next 62 ½ years will not inspire a subgenre of literature dedicated to nostalgic paeans to the Islanders’ Brooklyn era by aging fans the way the Dodgers’ departure for Los Angeles did.

On the contrary, most fans were happy to learn late last month there were only three games left at Barclays, thanks to a plan pushed by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.

Then it turned out there was only one.

On a conference call on Monday, Newsday asked president of hockey operations about the status of the Islanders’ remaining slate in Brooklyn should the NHL return this spring following a “pause” during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said if the season were to resume after the final scheduled game at Barclays, the intention would be to play all remaining games at NYCB Live’s .

Then he noted the final scheduled game at Barclays was this Sunday against the Hurricanes – after one that was to be played against the Flames on Tuesday.

Question pretty much answered. “That would be a moot point at this point,” he said. In other words: See ya!

Look, this is no time to pile on Brooklyn and Barclays.

Sure, the plan to move the team there – announced in 2012 and executed in 2015 – was doomed from the start, by a bad commute for many fans (and players), bad ice, a bad configuration for hockey, etc.

And, of course, there was that SUV parked just beyond the corner of the rink at ice level, an ongoing source of derisive humor that illustrated the folly of it all and that finally disappeared this season.

But in the bigger picture, the detour to Barclays served a purpose.

It bought time for the ownership group to secure an arena deal at Belmont Park – a compromise location that makes good sense – and allowed for one last old-times’ sake stroll down the Coliseum’s memory lane.

And the Islanders did have their moments in Brooklyn, none bigger than John Tavares’ double- goal against the Panthers in 2016 that gave them their first playoff series victory since 1993.

That being said, the fact that the coronavirus pause presumably will deny Barclays an official Islanders sendoff marks an appropriately anticlimactic end.

If there are no more games there, the last one will be that dreadful loss to Montreal, in which the Islanders fell behind, 4-0.

Ryan Pulock scored their final goal, a power-play tally in the third period after the result no longer was in doubt.

Fans left grumbling about the loss, not knowing it was a quasi-historic occasion. Did they save their ticket stubs for future eBay auctions? Probably not. 1172708 New York Rangers

Henrik Lundqvist among Rangers headed home amid NHL’s coronavirus ‘pause’

By Larry BrooksMarch 17, 2020 | 12:46pm | Updated

Henrik Lundqvist is pondering whether to join Mika Zibanejad and Kaapo Kakko as Rangers who will spend the NHL coronavirus-induced “pause” at their European offseason homes.

“We have not decided 100% what we will do,” Lundqvist said via email. “Things change so fast. We might head back to Sweden to lay low for awhile.

“It is all very strange, like from a movie. Every four or five days, there is a new approach.”

Zibanejad has returned to Sweden while Kakko has returned to Finland. In addition, Ryan Strome is returning to his offseason home outside Toronto while Brett Howden is off to Winnipeg, Julien Gauthier to Montreal and Tony DeAngelo to Philadelphia.

It is likely there will be a greater exodus as the week evolves.

Under the latest NHL regulations that were enacted Monday morning following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation that mass gatherings of 50 or more people be banned for 60 days, players are permitted to return to their offseason homes. Players have been instructed to self-quarantine through at least March 27. Prior to that, players were expected to remain in their NHL home city.

New York Post LOADED: 03.18.2020 1172709 New York Rangers Despite the heavy workload, he ranks second in the league among goalies who have started at least 35 games with a .922 save percentage. Only Boston’s Tuukka Rask is better at .929 while playing 17 fewer NHL award winners if the season is canceled because of coronavirus: games. Artemi Panarin nabs MVP in close race But it’s the difficulty of the shots Hellebuyck is stopping that really sets him apart.

Vincent Z. Mercogliano, Rockland/Westchester Journal NewsPublished Goals Saved Above Expectation determines how goalies fare based on 9:02 a.m. ET March 17, 2020 | Updated 10:04 a.m. ET March 17, 2020 the likelihood of a shot resulting in a goal. A rebound near the crease is a much higher percentage shot than a slap shot from the blue line. According to Evolving Hockey, Hellebuyck’s GSAx for the season is 19.86, with no other goalie in double-digits. There’s no telling when – or if – the NHL season will continue. This was shaping up to be a very interesting race between three The league has been careful to call it a “pause,” not a cancelation, while promising defensemen. expressing hope that “we will be able to complete the season and award the Stanley Cup.” The NHL told its players Monday they can go to their Much of the NHL chatter has focused on Makar and Vancouver’s Quinn offseason homes but they must self-quarantine. Hughes, but having watched up close Adam Fox transform into the Rangers’ No. 1 defenseman, I can tell you he belongs in the The priority is keeping fans, players, coaches and everyone else involved conversation. And the numbers tell a similar story. with the league healthy and safe amid the coronavirus pandemic. But we also know that many fans are cooped up at home and missing the Hughes leads all rookies with 53 points (eight goals and 45 assists), with escape you find through sports. Makar behind him at 50 (12 goals and 38 assists). The difference is that Makar reached his total in 11 fewer games, as he missed time with an A casual fan could take a quick glance at the NHL’s scoring leaders and upper-body injury. conclude that Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl should win. He leads the league with 110 points (43 goals and 67 assists), which is 13 Fox is tied for fourth among rookies with 42 points (eight goals and 34 points better than teammate Connor McDavid at No. 2. points). His GAR of 14.9 ranks ahead of Hughes’ 11.1, with Makar besting both at 15.8. Case closed? Well, not quite. Makar’s had the best all-around season, with better defensive results Panarin is tied for third in scoring at 95 points (32 goals and 63 assists), than Hughes and better point production than Fox. He leads the trio in and the underlying stats reveal a compelling argument for the offseason’s points per game, GAR, GF%, CF% and a host of other categories. It top free-agent prize. comes down to how much you penalize him for only playing 57 games, According to Evolving Hockey, Panarin ranks as the top player in the compared to 68 for Hughes and 70 for Fox. league in Goals Above Replacement (GAR) and Wins Above I don’t think that’s enough to take the award away from the most Replacement (WAR). While there are legitimate questions about how deserving player. those advanced stats calculate value for each player, there is a significant gap between Panarin and Draisaitl in GAR (24.9 vs. 15.4) and Others to consider: Hughes; Fox; Mackenzie Blackwood (NJ); Elvis WAR (4.4 vs. 2.7). Merzlikins (CBJ)

Those stats, as well as numbers that indicate he’s been more valuable Jack Adams Award (coach): John Tortorella, defensively, such as goals against per 60 minutes (2.1 vs. 3.2), have helped Panarin gain traction around the league as a strong Hart Not only did the Blue Jackets lose potential Hart winner Panarin to free contender – especially considering his ability to elevate his teammates. agency, but perhaps no team in the league has been as devastated by injury. Panarin averages 1.27 goals for per 60 relative to his teammates, while Draisaitl sits at 0.74. Simply put, Panarin has driven more production for Last season’s No. 2 scorer Cam Atkinson was limited to 44 games with his team. He leads the NHL with 71 points at even strength, with Draisaitl an ankle injury, top defenseman Seth Jones has been out with a second at 66. Draisaitl leads the league with 44 power-play points, which fractured ankle since Feb. 8 and a host of others have missed significant have mostly come while on the ice with McDavid. time. Still, with young goalies and a cast of relative unknowns, Tortorella kept his team in the mix with a low-scoring, grind-it-out style of play. Since inking a seven-year, $81.5 million deal with New York in July, Panarin has carried the youngest roster in the league into playoff At the time the NHL paused the season, Columbus sat in one of the wild contention. That impact tilts the scale in his favor. card spots in the Eastern Conference.

The presumed favorite has been the Washington Capitals' John Carlson, Others considered: Alain Vigneault (PHI); Craig Berube (STL); Dave who leads all defensemen with 75 points (15 goals and 60 assists). But Tippett (EDM); Bruce Cassidy (BOS) this isn’t an award for the top point-producer. Bergen Record LOADED: 03.18.2020 Josi ranks second behind Carlson with 65 points (16 goals and 49 assists), with Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman ranking hird at 55 (11 goals and 44 assists). But both Josi and Hedman have outperformed Carlson in defensive metrics.

The Lightning average 1.97 goals allowed at five-on-five per every 60 minutes that Hedman plays and the Predators average 2.08 with Josi. The Capitals, on the other hand, average 3.0 goals allowed per 60 with Carlson on the ice. It’s the same story with WAR, with both Hedman and Jose at 3.2, compared to 1.4 for Carlson.

When taking the full picture into account, Josi feels like the right choice. He’s had a similar impact to Hedman in terms of preventing goals and he’s had a better offensive season than any defenseman besides Carlson.

While many of these choices are difficult, this one is obvious.

The 26-year-old has been the top-performing goalie in the league, posting a 31-21-5 record while tying with Montreal’s Carey Price for most appearances with 58. 1172710 Ottawa Senators

Ottawa Senators player becomes first NHLer to test positive for COVID- 19

ALISON MAH Updated: March 18, 2020

An Ottawa Senators player is the first National Hockey League player to test positive for COVID-19.

The player, who was not identified, had mild symptoms and is in isolation, the Senators said in a statement released just before midnight Tuesday.

The club said it was in the process of notifying anyone who had been in close contact with the player.

“As a result of this positive case, all members of the Ottawa Senators are requested to remain isolated, to monitor their health and seek advice from our team medical staff,” the statement said.

“The health of our players, fans, and community remains our highest priority. We will continue to do everything we can to help ensure our players, staff, fans and the greater community remain safe and healthy during this time of uncertainty due to the spread of the coronavirus.”

Previously, there had been more than a half-dozen in the National Basketball Association — two with the Utah Jazz, one with the Detroit Pistons and four with the New Jersey Nets — as of Tuesday evening.

Before the NHL suspended regular-season play last Thursday, the Senators had played three road games in California, including one in San Jose, where Santa Clara County health officials issued strong advisories at the start of the novel coronavirus outbreak in that region.

The Senators were supposed to fly to Chicago for a road game against the Blackhawks on Friday, but instead returned to Ottawa after the NHL announced the indefinite suspension of the season.

Ottawa Citizen LOADED: 03.18.2020 1172711 Ottawa Senators resume play — if it does at all this season — and Melnyk is prepared for either scenario.

“You plan for the worst but you’ve got to hope for the best. That’s the Senators owner Eugene Melnyk steps up for part-time staff in Ottawa, only way you can tackle these unprecedented events,” he said. Belleville The offices at the Canadian Tire Centre are quiet these days because, Melnyk noted, most staff are working from home, with the exception of employees who feel they must go in and security. A memo was sent to Bruce Garrioch staff on Monday telling them to work remotely whenever possible, and that will be the case until it’s deemed safe for everybody to return to the

office. Eugene Melnyk said Tuesday he wanted to ensure the part-timers would “I told everybody to work from home, and, if they have to come in, to take not suffer financially because games may not be played during the all the measures that everybody is talking about,” Melnyk said. “That’s for COVID-19 pandemic. their safety. You want to make sure nobody gets sick just to come to the Eugene Melnyk is lending a hand to the Ottawa Senators’ part-time office.” employees. Ottawa Sun LOADED: 03.18.2020 The Senators owner, who announced Monday night a plan to compensate part-time employees who may lose wages because of the postponement of games due to concern about the novel coronavirus, pledged Tuesday to pay the wages of those affected at Canadian Tire Centre and with the club’s affiliate in Belleville.

In a statement released Tuesday, Melnyk said he wanted to ensure the part-timers would not suffer financially because games may not be played in Ottawa or at Belleville’s CAA Arena.

“Eugene Melnyk, owner of the National Hockey League’s Ottawa Senators and the American Hockey League’s Belleville Senators, has personally pledged to pay part-time and hourly workers the income they would have otherwise received during the suspension of play due to the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting state of emergency in Ontario,” the Senators said in the statement.

The Senators have four National Hockey League home games remaining at Canadian Tire Centre this season, while Belleville has six games left on its home schedule. There are no guarantees the NHL will resume play for the 2019-20 season, and it appears the league won’t be back in action before mid-May at the earliest.

“Accordingly, Ottawa Senators part-time arena staff will receive income for the shifts scheduled through to and including April 4, the end of the NHL regular season. At the same time, Mr. Melnyk has personally committed to paying part-time arena employees of the Belleville Senators through to April 11, the end of the AHL regular season, and the first round of the Calder Cup playoffs,” the statement added.

The decision on how to handle pay for part-time employees is up to each NHL team. All seven Canadian-based clubs have now committed to ensuring part-time employees don’t lose wages with varying types of programs. The Calgary Flames and originally stated they wouldn’t go that route, but changed course after being heavily and publicly criticized in their markets.

Melnyk, speaking to this newspaper Tuesday from Barbados, where he’s self-isolating because of concerns about the spread of COVID-19, said the Senators didn’t make an announcement about part-time employees right away because they weren’t sure how many people would be affected and wanted to assess the situation.

He said he knew what those people meant to game-day experiences in Ottawa and Belleville.

“You have to take care of these people,” Melnyk said. “For some of them, this is their only job, and for some this is a hobby. My attitude for this: Whatever it takes, whatever they need, we’re there. This is the time to step up. If you’re ever thinking of helping out, this is the time, this is the place and these are the people that you do it for.

“These are my own people, these are people that work for us day in and day out, and I think it’s the right thing to do.”

Like everybody else, Melnyk is hopeful the Senators will take the ice again for the final 11 games of the season, but nobody knows yet if that will be the case. The Senators were supposed to play host to Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night, but that’s just one of the games that have been postponed.

Melnyk said he was in regular contact with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly in New York for updates on the situation. Everybody knows it will be a while before the league can 1172712 Ottawa Senators

Senators player becomes first NHLer to test positive for COVID-19

By Hailey Salvian and James Mirtle Mar 17, 2020

Editor’s note: The original version of this story reported the Senators used the same dressing room as the Nets at Staples Center. That has been corrected.

Hockey has its first case of COVID-19. And it might have come by way of the NBA.

An unnamed Ottawa Senators player tested positive for the virus, the team said in a release late Tuesday night. That player is experiencing mild symptoms and is now in isolation.

It is believed that multiple Senators players are ill and awaiting test results to determine how many have been infected.

The Senators recently completed a trip through California before the NHL shut down play on Thursday afternoon. It’s possible the infection occurred when the Senators played the Los Angeles Kings on March 11, the day after the Brooklyn Nets — the NBA team with four players who tested positive for COVID-19 — faced the Lakers at Staples Center.

That Senators-Kings game was the last NHL game completed before the shutdown went into effect last week.

Ottawa, however, also played games in San Jose and Anaheim earlier in the week, and players could have been infected in either location. The Senators’ game against the Sharks went ahead March 7 even after public health officials in Santa Clara County advised the public to avoid large gatherings in the area, which has become a COVID-19 hot zone.

Every member of the Senators is now in isolation “to monitor their health and seek advice from team medical staff,” according to the team.

The NHL put its season on pause last week amid concern over the spread of the pandemic. The decision came one day after the NBA suspended its season after Utah Jazz star Rudy Gobert tested positive for the virus.

“Following last night’s news that an NBA player has tested positive for coronavirus — and given that our leagues share so many facilities and locker rooms and it now seems likely that some member of the NHL community would test positive at some point — it is no longer appropriate to try to continue to play games at this time,” the NHL’s statement read.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Nets announced four players — including NBA All-Star Kevin Durant — tested positive for COVID-19.

The Athletic LOADED: 03.18.2020 1172713 Second-seeded Tampa Bay (.657) vs. third-seeded Washington (.652) The Flyers went 2-1 against the Bruins this season.

West Coronavirus makes for odd times for Flyers, other NHL teams | On the Fly Top-seeded St. Louis (.662) vs. fourth-seeded Dallas (.594)

Second-seeded Colorado (.657) vs. third-seeded Vegas (.606) by Sam Carchidi, Updated: March 17, 2020- 8:32 AM Stay tuned. The situation is fluid and changing by the day and, in some cases, by the minute.

Flyers defenseman Phil Myers scoring on Blue Jackets goalie Elvis It was odd sitting around a Tampa hotel Thursday afternoon, just down Merzlikins on Feb. 18 at the Wells Fargo Center. the street from where the Flyers were supposed to play the Lightning that night. Flyers defenseman Phil Myers scoring on Blue Jackets goalie Elvis Merzlikins on Feb. 18 at the Wells Fargo Center. It was odd because the close-knit Flyers were hanging out and heading to lunch like on any typical afternoon on the road. Things to know

If you didn’t know better, it was business as usual. Have a good lunch, go Flyers and Phillies fans who traveled to Florida are thrown a curveball by to a team meeting, catch a nap, and then head to the arena for what the coronavirus. would have been an intriguing matchup. NHL Players Association chief says practices might start soon. Was he But the players were well aware that something was in the works and being too optimistic? that their (revival) season was about to dramatically change. For all 31 NHL teams. A nice gesture by those in charge of the Wells Fargo Center.

“We’re just waiting,” right winger Jake Voracek said at the time, “to see Passionate Flyers fans spoke from the heart in this poll, but the NHL did what the league does. We know as much as you do.” the right thing.

About 90 minutes later, the NHL suspended the season because of the Mike Sielski’s column on the Flyers’ shot at a Cup being in jeopardy coronavirus outbreak. No one knows when or if the season will resume. because of a vile little bug.

You’re signed up to get this newsletter in your inbox twice a week during Rookie watch the Flyers season. If you like what you’re reading, tell your friends it’s If the season resumes and injured defenseman Phil Myers is able to free to sign up here. I want to know what you think, what we should add, return, he has an outside chance to lead NHL rookies in plus-minus and what you want to read, so send me feedback by email ratings. Myers is tied for second among rookies at plus-17, behind the ([email protected]) or on Twitter (@broadstbull). Thank you for Rangers’ Adam Fox (plus-22). reading. Since 1990, the Flyers have had just four defensemen make the NHL’s — Sam Carchidi ([email protected]) all-rookie team: Shayne Gostisbehere (2015-16), Joni Pitkanen (2003- Will Stanley Cup pursuit continue? 04), Janne Niinimaa (1996-97), and Chris Therien (1994-95).

The health of everyone, of course, is the No. 1 priority. The NHL’s top rookie defensemen this season have been Colorado’s (50 points, plus-12), Vancouver’s Quinn Hughes (53 points, But for the Flyers and their fans, the shutdown could not have come at a minus-10), and Fox (42 points, plus-22). worse time. The team was peaking. The Wells Fargo Center was percolating with excitement. A Stanley Cup playoff run seemed possible. Myers has 16 points. He was expected to miss the rest of the regular season because of a fractured patella in his right knee, but the NHL’s Tuesday would have brought another stiff challenge — and another pause might allow him to play some more regular-season games. game with a playoff feel — as St. Louis came to town. It would have been the first time Blues coach Craig Berube came “home” — he had spent 18 Joel Farabee (21 points in 52 games) and Nic Aube-Kubel (15 points in years with the Flyers organization as a coach or player — since leading 36 games) have been the Flyers’ leading rookie point producers. St. Louis to its first Stanley Cup last June. Important dates

That game will likely never be played, unless it’s held without fans. April 8: Scheduled start of NHL playoffs before the season was On Sunday night, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suspended. recommended the cancellation or postponement of all events with 50 June 26-27: NHL draft in Montreal. No word yet on if the dates will be people or more for the next eight weeks. That means if the NHL returns changed. before then, it would probably play in empty arenas. From the mailbag If the league waits eight weeks and returns May 10 — eight weeks from Sunday’s announcement — that would basically force the NHL to cancel Has the break because of COVID-19 done anything for the timeline of the rest of the regular season and, in all likelihood, alter the Stanley Cup Nolan Patrick? Do you think he might be ready to play if they start the playoffs so they don’t end in late July. Or later. playoffs on time? — @jason_dober via Twitter

In light of the CDC’s announcement, the NHL might want to change its Answer: Thanks for the question, Jason. As of last week, Patrick, who playoff format to shorten the postseason. has been battling a migraine disorder all season, was skating with the team but said his situation was status quo. No setbacks, but no progress, This is one of countless possibilities in an ever-evolving situation: Make it either. That means if they started the playoffs on time on April 8, which like it was in the old days, with the top four teams in each conference now seems like a long shot, he almost definitely won’t be ready to play. If qualifying for the playoffs. There would be best-of-seven quarterfinals, they started around, say, June 1, he might have a shot. semifinals, and finals. Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 03.18.2020 Each series would last about two weeks, meaning the season could end in late June.

If you ranked the teams by points percentage, the first round in each conference would look like this:

East

Top-seeded Boston (.714) vs. fourth-seeded Flyers (.645) 1172714 Philadelphia Flyers

Amid coronavirus outbreak, a look at what reported proposal by NHL players would mean for 2019-20 Flyers

By Jordan Hall March 17, 2020 7:15 PM

With the NHL currently out of commission because of the coronavirus outbreak, the league's players are experiencing ample time to think about what's ahead.

According to a report Tuesday night by TSN's Frank Seravalli, players have kicked around ideas between each other for a proposal to salvage the 2019-20 season.

Per the report, the proposal has play resume in July, extend through the summer and does not sacrifice the remainder of the regular season or any of 2020-21. It does, however, significantly shorten the ensuing offseason for the players and provides less rest during 2020-21, but if the league is out of action from mid-March to the beginning of July, you would think the players won't mind that trade-off. In a way, this time serves as their period of rest, recovery and training.

Below is a section of Seravalli's segment Tuesday on TSN's "Insider Trading" along with his breakdown of the reported proposal.

Now this is something that’s making its way to the NHLPA and at that point they’re hoping that they can present something like this to the NHL, where I’m told they’re ready and willing to consider any and all options at this point. The NHL is certainly not in a position to be closing the door on just about anything.

Clearly, there are a lot of steps to go for if this plan were to actually be put in action by the NHL. Obviously the concerns surrounding the coronavirus outbreak along with everyone's health and safety are of the highest level of importance.

But it's neat to see the players come up with this calculated idea and they're the ones who would be most impacted by the changes, so the league should certainly listen to its product.

How would such changes impact the Flyers? In a pretty positive way. The Flyers would undoubtedly love to finish this season in which they've constructed an impressive resurgence. They're in second place of the Metropolitan Division and one point behind the first-place Capitals with 13 games left on their schedule.

According to Hockey-Reference.com, the Flyers sport a 99.7 percent chance to make the playoffs, 30.5 percent chance to win the Metro and are projected to finish with 104 to 105 points. The Flyers haven't finished with 100-plus points since 2011-12, when the club last won a postseason series. The Flyers have a viable chance at a playoff run this season.

And of course, the lengthy hiatus would allow the Flyers (and everyone else, for that matter) to get healthier. As hot as the Flyers had been, they were set to finish the regular season without some key pieces. If this reported proposal were to be put in action, the Flyers would be at full force down the stretch and, who knows, could possibly even see the return of Nolan Patrick.

Uncertainty still hovers over the 2019-20 season. The Flyers will like their chances if they can see it through this summer.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 03.18.2020 1172715 Philadelphia Flyers

Gritty finally gives a life update during NHL hiatus

By Brooke Destra March 17, 2020 1:55 PM

Don’t worry everyone, Gritty is OK.

The widely-loved Flyers mascot did not tweet since the team’s last game at the Wells Fargo Center. There, Gritty trolled Brad Marchand for overskating the puck in a shootout "attempt" the previous time the Bruins were in Philadelphia.

It was a simpler time, that’s for sure.

A full week came and went and during that time, the NHL season had been put on hold. It’s been a difficult time adjusting for sure, but thankfully Gritty finally gave us the highly anticipated update everyone had been waiting for and in perfect Gritty fashion — a classic iPhone note.

With the toilet paper fort, Osmosis Jones (a.k.a the best movie you have ever been forced to watch in a science class) and possible immunity to COVID-19 … Gritty is doing just fine.

Leprequarantine. pic.twitter.com/CIrq0cwK51

— Gritty (@GrittyNHL) March 17, 2020

Now, I wonder ... how is Claw’d doing? Is Gritty social distancing by himself in the Wells Fargo Center or has he moved to a new home? Does Gritty have enough hotdogs to last until the season resumes? Can Gritty forward a P.O. box so I can send the first two seasons of Lost?

OK, I suppose there are still many unanswered questions. Hopefully a new updated note will come out soon.

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Penguins to auction unused St. Patrick’s Day jerseys

Tribune-Review TRIBUNE-REVIEW | Tuesday, March 17, 2020 5:34 p.m.

The Pittsburgh Penguins’ foundations will auction unused St. Patrick’s Days jerseys for the benefit of various charities including those geared towards aiding individuals impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Per a release issued by the team:

“The Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation today announced it will auction special green St. Patrick’s Day jerseys, with each player’s name and , to benefit local charitable efforts, including food banks and other community groups working on behalf of those impacted by coronavirus COVID-19. The auction will also include a selection of autographed St. Patrick’s Day pucks.”

The Penguins had originally ordered the jerseys for use by players in the warmup before the Sunday, March 15 game against the New York Islanders, which was postponed, as the NHL paused the season because of the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.

The auction will begin March 17th and run through March 24th.

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Penguins sign undrafted college free agent Cam Lee

SETH RORABAUGH | Tuesday, March 17, 2020 4:24 p.m.

Even as hockey has come to a halt due to the coronavirus, the business of hockey continues.

The Penguins have signed undrafted free agent defensman Cam Lee to a two-year entry-level contract.

The contract will begin during the 2020-21 season.

Lee, 23, just completed his NCAA career at Western Michigan. In 26 games this season, the left-handed defenseman had 21 points (three goals, 18 assists).

“Cam is a good-skating, offensive-minded defenseman that fits the current style of play in today’s NHL,” general manager Jim Rutherford said in a statement. “This signing adds more young depth at defense for us. We’re excited to have Cam as a member of the Penguins organization.”

A native of Ferguson’s Cove, Novia Scotia, Lee (6-foot, 190 pounds) attended the Penguins’ prospect development camp last summer as an invitee.

He is the nephew of former NHL star goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere.

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Relative of Sabres employee who was at game vs. Penguins in Buffalo tests positive for coronavirus

SETH RORABAUGH | Tuesday, March 17, 2020 10:54 a.m.

A family member of a Buffalo Sabres employee who attended a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y. on March 5 has tested positive for coronavirus.

The Sabres issued a statement on Thursday announcing the testing result.

During the 4-2 victory by the Penguins, the individual, who was not identified, sat in section 211.

The statement offered few specifics but did indicate the infected individual tested positive outside of New York.

In full, the statement reads:

“A relative of a Buffalo Sabres employee recently tested positive for covid-19 outside of New York State. The diagnosed individual is receiving care and is in isolation outside of New York State. This individual does not reside in Western New York and had limited interactions during a recent visit to Buffalo between March 5 and 6. This individual returned home and did not show any symptoms of covid-19 until several days after leaving the state.

“The individual was asymptomatic when they attended the Buffalo Sabres game on March 5 and sat in Section 211. We have been in contact with the Erie County Department of Health and they advised us that based on CDC Guidelines this asymptomatic individual would likely not be infectious during the game.

“During a press conference on March 16, the Erie County Department of Health advised all county residents that they should assume they have been exposed to covid-19 in the recent past and to monitor symptoms of fever, cough or shortness of breath. Call your doctor for medical advice.

“We are supporting the family member in all ways possible and would like to thank them for their open communication with Sabres management and wish them a speedy recovery.

“The health and well-being of our employees and community is our top priority. The areas within KeyBank Center that this individual came in contact with were previously cleaned and will continue to be cleaned pursuant to CDC standards.

“Together, we will get through this challenging situation.”

As is usually the case for Penguins games in Buffalo, a number of Penguins fans were in attendance at that game.

After a practice at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio on Wednesday, the Penguins traveled back to Pittsburgh Thursday and have not held any sort of team activity since because of the NHL’s indefinite pause as a precaution against the coronavirus.

On Monday, the NHL issued a statement suggesting teams would not be able to practice, let alone play, until late April or early May at the earliest.

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Can this NHL season survive a 45 day pause? If so, how can the playoffs work?

TIM BENZ | Tuesday, March 17, 2020 6:24 a.m.

No hockey. No problem for Brian Metzer and me during our weekly hockey podcast!

Eh, who am I kidding? It’s a problem.

But Metzer — the Penguins Radio Network host on 105.9 the X — and I make the most of it.

We pontificate over how the NHL could survive this summer if the league is allowed to resume.

I’ve given my scenario for a way to make that happen. Essentially, ditch the last few games of the regular season if need be. The top three teams from each division make the playoffs, as would usually be the case. Then, make teams Nos. 7-10 in each conference square off in two play-in series. Have the games occur in one venue, no travel, best-of-three, akin to what we see in college hockey.

Let’s see what Metz thinks of that idea.

We also kick around the idea of a return for Jake Guentzel and the notion of pushing back next year’s schedule as a way to accommodate a late- ending 2020.

After all, it sounds like hockey may not start back up for another 45 days at this point.

As far as the pressing news of the day, though, Metzer and I talk about our experiences with covid-19 grocery store hoarders, a hot item of interest at the sporting goods store and troublesome concerns about some looming concert dates.

Tribune Review LOADED: 03.18.2020 1172720 Pittsburgh Penguins retroactive to the start of the 1991-92 season. The brevity of that agreement would lead to future labor strife in the near future.

After the season was restarted, the Pittsburgh Penguins won their NHL is no stranger to canceling or delaying games second Stanley Cup, completing a four-game sweep of the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Final on June 1, marking the first time an NHL season concluded in June.

SETH RORABAUGH | Tuesday, March 17, 2020 12:08 p.m. Today, the Stanley Cup Final, even without any disruptions in the schedule, typically ends in mid-June.

Year: 1994 This isn’t the first time the NHL has delayed or canceled a season. Reason: League lockout The league has done it on five occasions with most of them being man- made issues. What happened: With new commissioner Gary Bettman in place, the NHL wanted to institute a salary cap or even a luxury tax upon players’ What makes this stoppage so unique is that it’s the first time in more than salaries after operating without a collective bargaining agreement during a century the league has halted games because of circumstances similar the 1993-94 season. to the ongoing coronavirus epidemic. Instead of waiting for players to strike, the owners opted for a lockout Here’s a brief look at the previous five stoppages the NHL has faced: after players had reported to training camp and participated in the Year: 1919 preseason.

Reason: Influenza pandemic With the possibility of an entire season being canceled becoming all too realistic, the league blinked first as it agreed to a new collective What happened: Following World War I, the Spanish Flu, as it became bargaining agreement that did not have any sort of containment on known colloquially, struck virtually every corner of the globe. The Pacific salaries aside from a cap on rookie salaries. Owners also won some Northwest was hit particularly hard in the late winter of 1919 by the time concessions in arbitration cases. the entire Stanley Cup Final was staged in Seattle. A shortened 48-game in-conference season began Jan. 20, 1995. During that era, the Stanley Cup was not the exclusive property of the NHL, which was founded in 1917. The NHL champion would face the Year: 2004 champion of the rival Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) for the Reason: League lockout Cup. A gentleman’s agreement called for the entire series to be played in the city of a league’s champion alternating between the NHL and PCHA. What happened: For the first and, thus far, only time in the history of As fate had it, the best-of-five series in 1919 would be hosted by the major North American professional sports, a league canceled an entire PCHA’s Seattle Metropolitans against the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens. season in 2004-05.

Hockey was very different 101 years ago as the NHL played with six Bettman and owners were determined to implement a salary cap. At the players on each side while the PCHA used seven. The leagues agreed to time, the league claimed it spent 76 percent of revenue on players’ alternate rules between games. salaries, a figure higher than the continent’s other major professional sports leagues. After the Metropolitans took a 2-1 lead after three games, the teams battled to a 0-0 tie which was halted after two overtimes (perpetual The NHLPA rejected all six salary cap models initially proposed by the overtime we’ve come to embrace was not yet a concept). Contemporary NHL. Proposals by the NHLPA which called for revenue sharing and a accounts considered it to be one of the greatest games ever played. luxury tax on the highest payrolls were rejected by the NHL.

That forced the powers-that-be to treat Game 5 as a replay of Game 4. Players eventually accepted a salary cap but an impasse persisted over Montreal won that contest, 4-3, in overtime to even the series and drive the cap being linked to league revenues. the series to a winner-take-all Game 6 on March 29. After a deadline for an agreement expired, Bettman formally canceled the Unfortunately, that game was never staged as a number of players came season Feb. 16, 2005. down with the flu, including several Canadiens who were hospitalized. The series was canceled a few hours before Game 6 on April 1. The league and players would not resume negotiations until June of 2005 and agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement, complete with a Four days later, Canadiens defenseman Joe Hall, a future inductee into salary cap linked to league revenues on June 22. the Hockey Hall of Fame, died from pneumonia which was brought on by the flu. The Stanley Cup acknowledges that lost season with a panel that reads:

Today, the Stanley Cup, which has the names of previous champions 2004–05 engraved on it, acknowledges the 1919 Final with a panel which simply Season Not Played reads: The ramifications of those dark months are still felt today. 1919 Without a season to base a draft order on, a weighted lottery was won by Montreal Canadiens the Penguins and allowed them to draft franchise forward Sidney Crosby. Seattle Metropolitans While the league has largely enjoyed stability from the cost certainly it Series Not Completed desired with a salary cap, the NHLPA went through several years of turmoil, going through several executive directors before hiring Donald Year: 1992 Fehr, the man who formerly led the powerful Major League Baseball Players Association. Reason: Players’ strike Year: 2012 What happened: The first and, to date, only players-initiated work stoppage in NHL history lasted only 10 days in early spring. The previous Reason: League lockout collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and NHLPA had expired before the start of the 1991-92 season. With the playoffs What happened: Following the expiration of the 2005 collective looming, players felt it was best to strike as owners typically made the bargaining agreement which established the salary cap, the NHL opted bulk of their revenue from the postseason. to stage another lockout in order to limit the players’ share of revenue, introduce limits on the length of contracts and change free agency rules. A new collective bargaining agreement was signed which gave players greater control over their likenesses for items such as trading cards and The split of revenue between the NHL and NHLPA was the base of the more rights as free agents. The agreement was only two years in length, dispute. Players had received 57 percent of revenue in 2011-12. Owners wished to drop that figure to 46 percent. Contractual limits also were a major issue as previously, there were few limits on the lengths of deals. The NHL wished to cap new contracts at four years.

After each side took one another to court throughout December, a resolution was reached in early January as the parties agreed to a 50 percent variance on revenue splits and a limit of eight years on contracts. An agreement was formalized by Jan. 12, 2013 and another 48-game in- conference season began Jan. 19.

This past summer, the NHL and NHLPA each had the option of reopening the agreement and causing it to expire by Sept. 15, 2020. Both sides declined to do so.

Tribune Review LOADED: 03.18.2020 1172721 Pittsburgh Penguins and standings, which makes streaming the games more worthwhile than just pointlessly broadcasting NHL matchups in a video game.

What kind of feedback have you received? Have people been grateful? Need your hockey fix? Meet the guy who's streaming simulated games I've received overall good feedback, I've had a couple dedicated viewers live since I started and it's nice to see that they are committed to following the streams and the results of games. I've also had a couple nice messages thanking me personally for putting the effort in to provide just a bit of ADAM BITTNER Pittsburgh Post-Gazette MAR 17, 2020 3:14 PM entertainment during this strange time in the world.

How accurate are the rosters compared to the present day?

The pickings for live sports during the coronavirus pandemic aren’t just The rosters are as accurate as I can make them. I have installed the slim. They’re basically non-existent. latest "roster update" that EA has put out for the game, but, since the last update was Feb 25th, I've made minor adjustments to rosters such as Tyson T. of Vancouver is looking to change that as best he can. The 21- removing currently injured players or making small tweaks to lineups. I year-old is picking up where the NHL left off in suspending its season last know that the rosters are not 100% perfect, so I welcome any fans that week by streaming simulations of games via EA’s “NHL 20” title on the may have more knowledge of their team than me to suggest changes I nights they were originally scheduled to be played in real life. should make to ensure better authenticity. The Penguins, for example, were supposed to play the New York Do you plan to do a stream for the playoffs based on the final standings? Islanders on Sunday night, so Tyson streamed a simulation that the Penguins lost in overtime, 4-3, despite two goals from forward Brandon Yes, I do plan on streaming the playoffs. That is why I am keeping track Tanev. of the scores/standings on my Twitter and on my Twitch channel page.

Analysis: What might the NHL playoffs look like if play resumes? What's been your favorite game on the stream so far?

IceTilt League My favorite game that I've streamed so far is probably the very first game I streamed. It was the Carolina Hurricanes vs. the New Jersey Devils. @IceTiltLeague The game started with four unanswered goals from the Devils, followed 3/15/2020 by two goals by the Hurricanes, which was then followed up by two more goals from the Devils. Then in the third period, the Hurricanes scored NYI/PIT FINAL: 4-3 (OT) four straight goals including one with 8 seconds left to tie the game 6-6 and send it to OT. The game went to a shootout where Carolina won in View image on TwitterView image on TwitterView image on Twitter the end. Definitely the most exciting game yet and it really excited me 1 that the first game was so thrilling even though it was just CPU vs CPU.

5:38 PM - Mar 15, 2020 This seems like a lot of work. Is it? Do you worry about getting burned out on it before the end of the season? Twitter Ads info and privacy It is a fair amount of work, however I enjoy it, so the stream which usually See IceTilt League's other Tweets lasts around 4-5 hours flies by and before I know it I'm on the final game Since the simulations in what Tyson is calling the IceTilt league on Twitch of the day and it's time to update the standings. I don't worry about have started, the Penguins have beaten Carolina and Columbus to getting burned out because I'm a diehard "hockey guy" down to my core. solidify their place in the standings, which he is tabulating as well to give I'm the kind of person that can spend hours a day playing NHL 20, while the games some weight. watching NHL games, then go out late night to play in a hockey game of my own and do it all again the next day. I'm also a person that needs to IceTilt League see projects through to the end, so even if I've got 2 people watching I'm going to make sure I'm streaming all of the games all the way to the @IceTiltLeague Stanley Cup final.

Updated #NHL standings after March 16th, 2020 games completed Do you watch all of the games? Or do you leave the room and just let the View image on TwitterView image on Twitter game do its thing from time to time?

2 I watch every game, I'm always at my desk managing the stream and making sure everything is going smoothly. Occasionally I'll leave the 10:52 PM - Mar 16, 2020 room to do something quick, but I don't have much time because I need to be ready to advance to the next period every 10 minutes or so. Twitter Ads info and privacy Who is your pick to win the virtual Stanley Cup? See IceTilt League's other Tweets My pick to win the virtual Stanley Cup is probably the Boston Bruins or You can follow the schedule of streams over at the IceTilt League Twitter Tampa Bay Lightning, simply because they have very talented teams and page. Games go off roughly every half hour on a given evening, and are already at the top of the standings. However, the Lightning are some adjustments are made to distribute the steams a bit more evenly playing poorly lately with two straight loses to Detroit and New Jersey. than in real life. What do you think of the Penguins' chances? It seems like they've It’s certainly not as good as the real thing, but it’s better than nothing, broken out of their recent real-world funk in the game right? So the Post-Gazette reached out an asked a few more questions about the experiment. Tyson’s answers are below. I think the Penguins have a decent shot at winning it all. They have a lot of firing power and just like in real life if you can score a lot you have a How did you get the idea to stream all of these games? good chance to win. The Penguins have scored three-plus goals in all 3 The idea to run a virtual league and simulate the rest of the NHL season games so far, if they keep up the scoring like that, I don't see why the schedule in NHL 20, as well as stream it, popped in my head just hours can't be a top contender. after I had found out that the real NHL would be "paused". Once I had Which team are you rooting for and how do you think it will perform? heard that there wouldn't be any more hockey to watch for a while, I immediately thought, "I guess I'll just play NHL 20 to entertain myself and I'm a Canucks fan so I hope they can find a way to make the playoffs. It's get my fix while the league is off". That's when it clicked for me, I had a big pileup for the wild card spots in the Western Conference so I hope recently bought a gaming capture device that allows me to record they find a way to get in the top 3 of the Pacific Division. If they do make gameplay footage from my Xbox in high quality to my PC, so I figured it the playoffs I don't expect them to go far, but it would be nice to see would be a unique idea to capture and stream NHL 20 games to see how some playoff hockey for once. the rest of the NHL season could theoretically play out. I also decided to make a dedicated Twitter account to keep track of scores, schedules, Any plans to dabble in any other sports/games? Like baseball? I don't have any current plans to expand this idea to different sports or games yet. However, if this league grew enough I suppose there's a possibility as long as people are willing to watch. I have noticed lately that a couple official accounts for pro teams have started streaming their games too such as the Montreal Canadiens and the Phoenix Suns in the NBA.

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Penguins sign Western Michigan's Cam Lee to entry-level deal

MIKE DEFABO Pittsburgh Post-Gazette MAR 17, 2020 4:13 PM

The Penguins waded into the college free agent market Tuesday, signing Western Michigan defenseman Cam Lee to a two-year, entry-level deal.

The contract begins during the 2020-21 season and will run through 2021-22.

“Cam is a good-skating, offensive-minded defenseman that fits the current style of play in today’s NHL,” Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford said in a statement. “This signing adds more young depth at defense for us. We’re excited to have Cam as a member of the Penguins organization.”

Lee, 23, played four seasons at Western Michigan, tallying 18 goals, 67 assists and 85 points. The 6-foot, 190-pound blue liner ranked first among Broncos defensemen in points in each of the last two seasons, including this year when he posted 21 points in 26 games.

Analysis: What might the NHL playoffs look like if play resumes?

Originally from Ferguson’s Cove, Novia Scotia, Lee has a distinguished hockey bloodline. His uncle is former NHL goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who appeared in more than 500 games and won the Stanley Cup with Anaheim in 2007.

“Dream come true!” Lee tweeted shortly after the announcement. “I am feeling so grateful to have this amazing opportunity with the Penguins organization. Thank you.”

The move should add some defensive depth to the Penguins’ prospect pool. The Penguins recently lost their top blue-line prospect, Calen Addison, in the trade that brought Jason Zucker to Pittsburgh. With Addison gone, some of the defensemen who are getting closer to the NHL are P.O. Joseph and Joseph Almari.

Lee becomes the second college free agent that the Penguins have signed this week, joining Dartmouth standout forward Drew O’Connor. This continues what’s been a trend under Rutherford. The Penguins have been willing to trade draft picks to maximize the Sidney Crosby/ Evgeni Malkin window. By picking up free agents from the college market, the Penguins are finding different ways to add depth and prospects.

Some of the other notable free agents who have come through the Penguins system include Conor Sheary, Carter Rowney, Zach Aston- Reese, Casey DeSmith and Jake Lucchini.

Post Gazette LOADED: 03.18.2020 1172723 Pittsburgh Penguins this pandemic — if the rest of the regular season is called off and your squad doesn’t make the playoff field. From a fairness standpoint, mediocre teams are owed nothing.

Analysis: What might the NHL playoffs look like if play resumes? But from a financial standpoint, it probably wouldn’t be a bad thing if places such as New York, Chicago, Montreal and Minnesota made it into the field.

MATT VENSEL Pittsburgh Post-Gazette MAR 17, 2020 1:02 PM That’s why a 24-team playoff format that Sportsnet’s Chris Johnson wrote about, or something similar, could be appealing to Bettman and

NHL owners. We are going to attempt to talk about hockey today, with a disclaimer that Under that proposed format, the Penguins, who are third in the there are more important things to worry about in our world than whether Metropolitan Division behind the Washington Capitals and the or not Gary Bettman hands somebody the Stanley Cup this spring or Philadelphia Flyers, would just miss out on a first-round bye. They would summer. start with a best-of-three series against the Montreal Canadiens, the last Another disclaimer: There is a legit chance that isn’t going to happen. Eastern team above the playoff cut.

Based on the latest recommendation from the Center for Disease From there, given time and scheduling constraints, additional playoff Control, that all events with 50 or more people be canceled for the next rounds may need to be only three or five games. Maybe it’s best-of-five eight weeks, the NHL has said the best-case scenario for players even for the conference finals and then we get back to best-of-seven for the being permitted to practice is around May 1. Again, that’s a best-case Stanley Cup final. scenario. It’s probably unrealistic. If and when the league gets the green light to resume will obviously have The story of this pandemic is evolving every day, the news seemingly a major impact on what the playoff format will look like. And that’s not bleaker each time. So let’s indulge the NHL and consider what the even mentioning where they will be played — maybe even in empty playoffs may look like. practice facilities.

Heck, it will give us something else to think about while we stand at least As Bettman has stressed in interviews, a lot of ideas will be put on the six feet apart in line waiting to get our hands on some pinot grigio before table. it’s gone. But Bettman also made it clear that, if the NHL ever gets to the point Bettman, the NHL commissioner, has made the media rounds in recent where the season is back on, he wants to ensure the “integrity” of the days to answer questions about the direction of the league. game is intact. Understandably, he doesn’t want to guess on the record about what the “The most important thing will be that when we come back,” the future may hold because he knows the circumstances we face could be commissioner told TSN on Monday, “the tournament or the competition much different a week from now. we put on [will have] integrity and [do] justice to the history and tradition Remember, a week ago the Penguins played what could be their last of the Stanley Cup.” game of the season, in a fairly crowded arena in New Jersey. Players got At this point, most hockey fans will probably take what they can get, even their first glimpse at the league’s new media access policy in the wake of if the NHL playoffs are a hybrid of dizzy-bat races and 18-skater the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, expecting that to be the new normal shootouts. for the playoff push. That would mean hockey was back and we had this pandemic under But the NHL, for now, is keeping the doors open for its Zambonis, hoping wraps. the U.S. and Canada have done and will continue to do enough to allow sports leagues to resume operations, even if games must be played in Post Gazette LOADED: 03.18.2020 empty arenas.

Bettman, in an interview with TSN, estimated that for an NHL game to take place, between 200 and 300 people must be on hand. That includes coaches, officials, training staff, doctors, maintenance workers, etc. It’s not just 40 players.

Plus, for financial reasons, the NHL really doesn’t want to have to play any games without paying ticket-holders in the barn to buy nachos, an I.C. Light and a Jack Johnson jersey. But the league knows it might have no other choice.

Money will be one of the main considerations if the NHL gets a chance to salvage this season, perhaps behind only the health of the public and NHL family.

Another major factor will be time. Let’s say the league gets the green light from health experts and government officials three months from now, in the middle of June. That wouldn’t give the NHL enough time to squeeze in the current playoff format, especially when you consider the need for arena availability.

Bettman has also said he hopes to have a normal 2020-21 season, which would put a bookend on how far out the league is willing to push a potential 2019-20 postseason. Talking to TSN, he mentioned going into July, maybe August.

That would force the NHL to get creative as it looks to determine a Stanley Cup champion while also trying to recoup as many lost millions as possible.

There has been speculation the league could expand the playoff field to 20 or 24 teams, essentially creating a play-in tourney to get into the regular field.

Look, hypothetically speaking, if your favorite team has a .500 points percentage, you shouldn’t cry foul — especially given the backdrop of 1172724 San Jose Sharks

NHL pause has Sharks' Joe Thornton feeling like he has multiple seasons left

By Brian Witt March 17, 2020 8:00 PM

The NHL has indefinitely paused its season in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. While it's not as if the unexpected break is bringing about an accelerated end to a season the Sharks were enjoying, no hockey simply is no fun for anyone -- fans especially included.

Reality dictates that there just aren't a whole lot of hockey positives to hang our hats on right now. However, the unprecedented developments could bring about some silver linings when the NHL ultimately resumes.

Case in point: Extending the longevity of some of the NHL's greatest players.

Joe Thornton was briefly disappointed he wasn't traded to a contender at the deadline, but soon after reiterated his commitment to San Jose. The 40-year-old was on a bit of a hot streak just prior to the season being paused with three goals in six games, and from the sounds of it, the extended break has only served to confirm that he still has plenty left in the tank.

Checked in with Joe Thornton today. Even if the NHL season resumes at some point, I'm not sure non-playoff teams will be involved. So I asked him about playing next season.``I have years to go!,'' Jumbo replied via text. So plan on seeing him next season (and maybe beyond)...

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) March 17, 2020

"I have years to go!" Thornton recently texted The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun.

Years, you say? As in, plural?

We could all use some good news right now, and for Sharks fans, that certainly qualifies.

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Senators player is NHL's first positive coronavirus test, in isolation

By Marcus White March 17, 2020 8:52 PM

An Ottawa Senators player is the NHL's first to test positive for the coronavirus, the team announced Tuesday night. The unnamed player "has mild symptoms and currently is in isolation," according to the team.

"The Ottawa Senators are in the process of notifying anyone who has had known close contact with the athlete and are working with our team doctors and public health officials," the statement said. "As a result of this positive case, all members of the Ottawa Senators are requested to remain isolated, to monitor their health and seek advice from our team medical staff."

Sportsnet's Elliotte Freidman first reported the news late Tuesday night.

The Senators' final three games before the NHL suspended its season were in California. Ottawa played the Sharks at SAP Center on March 7, followed by a back-to-back against the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings, respectively, on March 10 and 11. The Sharks said last Thursday that a part-time employee at SAP Center tested positive for the coronavirus.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said symptoms of the coronavirus, otherwise known as COVID-19, can manifest anywhere between two days and two weeks. California currently has 570 confirmed cases, according to the CDC, state officials and NBC News reporting. That total is the third-highest in the , behind Washington and New York. At least 100 people have died nationwide.

Santa Clara County, where the Sharks play, has issued a shelter-in-place order. Orange County, which hosts the Ducks, has barred public and private gatherings with some exceptions.

The NHL suspended its season last Thursday and later issued a memo all 31 teams ordering players to self-quarantine through March 27.

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NHL issues memo to teams recommending self-quarantine amid coronavirus

By Alex Didion March 17, 2020 9:00 AM

The coronavirus pandemic continues to overtake the sports world, as leagues and teams continue to suspend and cancel events in line with the Center for Disease Control’s recommendations on avoiding large gatherings and practicing social distancing.

The NHL took their policies a step further on Monday, issuing a memo to teams telling players to self-quarantine until at least March 27.

“After further discussions and in light of the CDC’s recommended eight- week ban on mass gatherings in the U.S., the League has agreed that Players can serve the “self-quarantine” period at the residence of their choosing through and including Friday, March 27, 2020 (unless a longer period may be required),’’ NHLPA executive director Don Fehr wrote. “The residence can be anywhere in the world.

"Please continue to pay attention to the Covid-19 travel advisories issued by the US and Canada, as well as other countries around the world. If you have any questions or need assistance, please let us know.’’

The NHL season has been on pause since Thursday, and while no NHL players have been reported to have the virus, a part-time employee at SAP Center in San Jose did test positive for the virus after working on Mar. 3.

In these uncertain times, team executives should be in constant contact with players and coaches.

It’s positive to see the NHL stepping up, and hopefully, these drastic steps will help in slowing the spread of the virus.

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Blues launch fund to help affected game day workers

Jacob Barker

ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Blues said they have launched a new fund to cushion the blow to game-day staff who are out of work due to the coronavirus-related suspension of the NHL season.

The fund is a collaboration between Blues ownership led by Tom Stillman, Blues players led by captain Alex Pietrangelo, and local donors, led by a $100,000 donation from Blues season ticket holder and entrepreneur Andy Frisella.

"It is gratifying to have multiple groups within the Blues family stepping up to support our game-night workers, although it's not surprising given the character of the people in our organization and in the community," Stillman said in a statement.

How much the fund has raised thus far was unclear. The Blues for Kids charitable foundation will administer it.

It appears the fund will only benefit the several hundred employees who are paid directly by the Blues organization on game nights. Another 400 or 500 employees work for concession contractor Levy Restaurants.

A spokesman for the Blues couldn't immediately be reached.

"The extent of what we can share is we are working with our individual partners, and state and local health departments to do what is right for our hourly team members and each community," a Levy spokesman said in a statement.

St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 03.18.2020 1172728 St Louis Blues

Hockey fix: FSM to televise replays of Blues games

Jim Thomas

In normal times, the Blues would be playing the Carolina Hurricanes at 6 p.m. Thursday, Justin Faulk’s return to Raleigh, N.C., where he spent his first eight NHL seasons and a matchup of two potential playoff teams.

Instead, those tuning into FOX Sports Midwest on Thursday evening will see hockey, but it will be the Blues against the Dallas Stars. It’s a replay of the Blues’ Oct. 5 home contest, and will be shown at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.

FSM announced Tuesday that it will show replays of Blues games played earlier this season on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday nights for the foreseeable future during the NHL’s suspension of play due to the coronavirus pandemic.

On Saturday, FSM will replay the Blues’ Oct. 7 game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Next week’s schedule features the Blues-Los Angeles Kings (from Oct. 24) on Tuesday, March 24; the Blues-Ottawa Senators (from Oct. 10) on Thursday, March 26; and the Blues-Colorado Avalanche game (from Oct. 21) on Saturday March 28.

All games will be televised at both 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Spoiler alert: the Blues win every one of those games. The Blues-Kings contest is the game in which Vladimir Tarasenko suffered his left shoulder injury.

St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 03.18.2020 1172729 Tampa Bay Lightning

Lightning fans can still watch games .... on replay

Fox Sports Sun will air replays of nine Tampa Bay wins in the next month to help fill the hockey void.

By Diana C. Nearhos

TAMPA — There’s no hockey right now, but Lightning fans can still get their fix in some form. Fox Sports Sun will re-live nine wins from this season.

Starting March 22 and running through April 14 (tentatively scheduled depending on what happens with the NHL), Fox Sports Sun will re-air games in prime time. The network is also replaying Heat, Magic and Panthers games. It is working on plans for Rays game, but Major League Baseball is not in season yet so that will look different.

March 22, 4 p.m. — Lightning 7, Maple Leafs 3 (Oct. 10): Brayden Point made his debut and we got our first look at the power line of Steven Stamkos, Point and Nikita Kucherov.

March, 24, 8 p.m. — Lightning 4, Bruins 3 (Oct. 17): Who doesn’t love a shootout win over a rival? This one was messy on special teams but a clinic five-on-five.

March 26, 8 p.m. — Lightning 7, Devils 6 (Oct. 30): Another game featuring extra hockey. The Lightning had to rally to beat one of the league’s worst teams in overtime.

March 31, 8 p.m. — Lightning 5, Sabres 3 (Nov. 9): Victor Hedman scored in his home country, as the Lightning closed out their second win over Buffalo in Stockholm.

April 2, 8 p.m. — Lightning 9, Rangers 3 (Nov. 14): The Lightning poured on goals (at even strength and on the power play) when they finally returned to Amalie Arena.

April 4, 8 p.m. — Lightning 5, Canadiens 4 (Dec. 28): Stamkos gifted the Lightning fans with a celebration of his 800th NHL point in this one.

April 6, 8 p.m. — Lightning 6, Sabres 4 (Dec. 31): The Lightning overcame another slow start and won their fourth straight, part of their first big win streak.

April 12, 4 p.m. — Lightning 9, Canucks 2 (Jan. 7): Carter Verhaeghe scored his first NHL hat trick as the Lightning won the battle of the win streaks.

April 14, 8 p.m. — Lightning 7, Jets 1 (Jan. 17): Another hat trick, this time it was Anthony Cirelli’s first. Alex Killorn also netted his 20th goal.

Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 03.18.2020 1172730 Toronto Maple Leafs began his day before the Toronto bars announced last call, with a show that began daily at 5:30 a.m.

On Monday, he announced the show was going on hiatus. Sportsnet and TSN wrestle with lineups, programming and life without “Hard to do the show without any actual scores,” he wrote on Twitter. live sports “But it’ll be back once all the sports are!”

The programming later in the day had also changed. Tim & Sid, the By Sean Fitz-Gerald Mar 17, 2020 established afternoon show that ran on both television and radio, was off the air. (“We’re temporarily off TV but hope to be back soon,” the show’s Twitter feed reported, adding it would return to the radio on Tuesday.)

Bryan Hayes, the host of OverDrive, on TSN 1050, was not in studio as At TSN, Hayes was not the only personality to report for duty from the afternoon drive show eased onto the air Monday. He was not even in somewhere other than the network campus at Channel Nine Court. the city, as it turned out, because like so many around Toronto, he had Morning show co-host Carlo Colaiacovo was also working from home, begun the week working from home. and it is believed the station is looking for ways for more personnel to follow that path. Specifically, he was under quarantine. Hayes had returned to work following a trip to Florida that was booked in “I’ve never done this before,” Hayes told his audience. November. He was on vacation when the NBA announced it was He had recently returned from Florida and was following guidelines suspending operations, with the NHL and every other league following established to help limit the spread of COVID-19, which meant he was suit. Having returned to Canada, Hayes said he was planning to stay at broadcasting from his home in suburban Brooklin, Ont. Hayes was home, under quarantine, for the recommended 14 days. appearing via Skype, while co-hosts Mark Roe and Jamie McLennan “With me being over Skype, I am going to slowly deteriorate over two were in studio. weeks, and everyone’s going to see it,” he said. “I’ve got a tan going right “You look magnificent,” McLennan said, “but blink twice if you’re being now. I am bronzed up. I look good. I feel good. I’m going to be so pasty held against your own will.” by the end of the week.

“This is the weirdest experience,” Hayes said. “I have Roots track pants “By the end of two weeks, it’s going to be disgusting.” on … that I do not intend on taking off for two weeks.” The Athletic LOADED: 03.18.2020 Sports have been postponed. Every major North American league has either paused or cancelled games in the face of a pandemic, and it is increasingly unclear when they might return. Sports networks — both television and radio — are still on the air, and they are still wrestling with the new normal.

With no live sports, the programming calendars have been decimated. There have been reports of part-time and freelance staff being laid off at both TSN and Sportsnet. More changes are also coming to the way live programming is produced at both Canadian networks.

Sportsnet has already (temporarily) ceased all live in-house production.

“Our primary focus remains the well-being of our employees, while we continue to serve sports fans during this unprecedented time,” Sportsnet said in a release issued on Monday.

Sportsnet signed a 12-year exclusive national rights deal worth $5.2- billion with the NHL seven years ago. When the league announced it was stopping play last week, four Canadian teams were in playoff position, with the Maple Leafs, Oilers, Flames and Jets.

The Blue Jays, owned by Sportsnet’s parent company, Inc., were within two weeks of Opening Day. It was going to be a busy time of year.

“With the lack of live sports programming, we are giving viewers a look back at memorable moments in sports with classic NHL, MLB, and NBA games plus other fan-favourite sports events,” Sportsnet said in its release on Monday.

More programming would be added soon, it said.

Sportsnet declined a request for an interview. TSN has also declined requests.

On Monday night, the Raptors were scheduled to host the Golden State Warriors for the first time since the two teams met in the NBA Finals last spring. The Flames and Oilers were both scheduled to play on the road. The Blue Jays were off, but would have played every day the rest of the week.

Instead, Sportsnet was showing the replay of a game from last year’s NHL playoffs, and another replay of a curling match. On TSN, viewers could choose between a replay of the NBA All-Star festivities, a 30 for 30 documentary on former NFL quarterback Michael Vick, or SportsCentre.

Sports radio needs fresh content, too.

Hugh Burrill had made it his job to be the first voice of live sports radio in Toronto. As host of The Scoreboard, on Sportsnet 590 The Fan, Burrill 1172731 Vegas Golden Knights The aftermath: The game was raucously celebrated in Las Vegas. In Toronto, hockey-crazy Canada’s largest city, not so much.

Leafs coach Mike Babcock was fired the next day, and the team Golden Knights’ top 5 games: Here’s No. 3 on the RJ’s list promoted American Hockey League coach Sheldon Keefe. The Leafs had the eighth-best points percentage in the NHL after the change.

It remains to be seen whether the 56-year-old Babcock, who has 700 By Ben Gotz Las Vegas Review-Journal March 17, 2020 - 5:49 PM wins, 14 playoff appearances and a Stanley Cup to his name, will coach again.

The Knights failed to build much off the win and switched up their Editor’s note: With the NHL season suspended indefinitely because of defensive zone coverage four games later. the coronavirus pandemic, the Review-Journal will count down the Golden Knights’ top five games of the season, in our opinion: Why it’s No. 3: One of the NHL’s star did something so spectacular it potentially ended a respected coach’s career. What else The game: Game No. 23, a 4-2 home win over the Toronto Maple Leafs needs to be said? on Nov. 19. LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 03.18.2020 The background: These teams must have felt as if they were looking in a mirror before puck drop.

The Knights and Maple Leafs entered the season with high expectations. They also had a hard time living up to them at the start of the season.

The Knights’ struggle to play consistent hockey was on full display early, and their 10-9-3 record showed it. The Leafs’ 9-9-4 mark was worse. More alarmingly, a Toronto team built around high-flying and highly paid forwards was tied for 12th in goals per game.

The Leafs were close to their breaking point. Turns out, this game was it.

What happened: Marc-Andre Fleury happened.

The Knights goaltender has not often been at his best this season, but he was in this game. The Leafs had a 39-29 edge in scoring chances and 21-13 edge in high-danger scoring chances. Fleury refused to be beaten.

His heroics allowed the Knights to build a 3-1 lead with 9:38 left after goals by forwards Cody Glass, Tomas Nosek and Mark Stone.

Toronto left wing Zach Hyman’s power-play goal with 7:13 remaining made the score 3-2 and set up a dramatic finish. The Maple Leafs began pressing for the tying goal until Fleury went deep into his bag of tricks to shut the door on them.

Toronto right wing Ilya Mikheyev skated to the left circle with less than four minutes left, and Fleury went to the top right corner of the crease to challenge the shot. The puck caromed off the post and to Leafs center Nic Petan near the bottom of the right circle.

Petan had a wide-open net and a goaltender out of position. Or so he thought.

Marc-Andre Fleury turned aside 31 shots, including this highlight-reel save, to become the seventh goaltender in NHL history to win 450 games. #NHLStats https://t.co/0HEsCof6iU pic.twitter.com/aRuiwpCrMO

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) November 20, 2019

As Petan lofted a backhand shot toward the crease, Fleury leaped — left glove hand outstretched — back toward the net. He snatched the puck out of the air with 3:43 to play, and the Knights’ lead was preserved.

That was it for Toronto. Cody Eakin scored an empty-net goal with 21 seconds remaining.

Game MVP: It’s going to the gravity-defying goaltender.

Fleury made 31 saves in winning his 450th game — the seventh goalie to hit that mark — and his one on Petan will stand the test of time. Fleury’s agent, Allan Walsh, dubbed it “the save of the century” on Twitter. It was No. 3 on Sportsnet’s top 10 saves of the season in February.

THE SAVE OF THE CENTURY!! https://t.co/GErkGBMq5x

— Allan Walsh (@walsha) November 20, 2019

It might not have been his best as a Knight — that honor might go to his playoff saves against Mark Scheifele, which the NHL included on its video of the best saves of the decade — but it was still great. And it’s likely going to be the moment he’s remembered for this season.

“I got a little giggle, a little smile,” Fleury said. “Just happy it didn’t go in. As a goalie, those are the saves that make you feel (like a skater feels when they score a goal). Those are the saves I love to play for.” 1172732 Vegas Golden Knights

Golden Knights stay busy with chores, puzzles during NHL pause

By David Schoen Las Vegas Review-Journal

Social media has become the best avenue to follow the Golden Knights and other players while the NHL season is on pause because of the coronavirus pandemic.

And a quick scan of Instagram on Tuesday showed the players are already getting cabin fever while following the league’s recommendation for self-quarantine through March 27.

Instead of facing the Dallas Stars on Tuesday in the Knights’ first home game in two weeks, goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury was putting together a baby gate, according to his wife’s Instagram story.

“Took him 35 years and a pandemic to start using tools,” was the caption.

Defenseman Nate Schmidt said he worked himself into a headache while trying to do a puzzle of a grizzly bear a day after he painted the laundry room in his house.

View this post on Instagram

It’s not my first time, but I’m no expert. Stay tuned. #painting

A post shared by Nate Schmidt (@nateschmidt88) on Mar 15, 2020 at 2:35pm PDT

Forward Alex Tuch appeared to be working on a 2,000-piece “Star Wars” puzzle, based on his Instagram story, but didn’t get far.

Forwards William Carrier and Tomas Nosek are taking advantage of the break to spend time with their newborn children.

Players’ proposal

With extra time on their hands, a group of players proposed a plan to the NHL for finishing the season after the coronavirus pandemic recedes, according to TSN.

The proposal includes a training camp period in early July and the completion of the regular season by the end of July.

The postseason would take place in August and September, followed by the draft and free agency in October.

Then, the 2020-21 season would begin in November with a full 82-game season.

The NHL has said it will consider all options as it monitors the fluid situation.

Knights delay ticket payment

The Knights pushed back the due date for the next season ticket payment in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

Todd Pollock, the team’s vice president for ticketing and suites, confirmed on his Twitter account that season ticket holders will not be charged Friday and the next payment is not due until April 20.

An email also went out to season ticket holders with the information.

LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 03.18.2020 1172733 Vegas Golden Knights

Golden Knights push back season ticket payment due date

By David Schoen Las Vegas Review-Journal March 17, 2020 - 10:37 am Updated March 17, 2020 - 11:15 am

The Golden Knights pushed back the due date for the next season ticket payment in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

Todd Pollock, the team’s vice president for ticketing and suites, confirmed on his Twitter account that season ticket holders will not be charged Friday and the next payment is not due until April 20.

VGK members: You will not be charged for your 2020 season ticket payment on Friday, 3/20, in light of the current events. Payments will resume on 4/20. Be safe and I cannot wait to "unpause" and see you at the Fortress in the future. Appreciate your support, GKG! #VegasBorn

— Todd Pollock (@ToddVGK) March 17, 2020

An email also went out to season ticket holders with the information.

LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 03.18.2020 1172734 Vegas Golden Knights

‘It’s just disappointing’: Golden Knights fans readjust plans with no games to attend

By Justin Emerson Wednesday, March 18, 2020 | 2 a.m.

The drive from Mammoth Lakes, Calif., to Las Vegas isn’t exactly a short one. It’s more than 300 miles, with a mile’s worth of elevation drop. It’s between Death Valley and Yosemite national parks and five hours from the Strip. Not a typical Tuesday night activity.

Still, Kyle Casey sure wishes he was able to make that drive last night.

Casey is like thousands of others who saw their Tuesday night plans shut down because of the coronavirus outbreak: with a Golden Knights ticket in hand but nowhere to go.

“It’s a nice reason to get out of town and the games are obviously an awesome, fun time,” Casey said. “We try to go to two a year, make a bit of a trip out of it.”

Tuesday night’s Golden Knights game was, of course, canceled. None will be played for the foreseeable future after the league postponed the remainder of its season last week over fears of COVID-19. Tickets to those games are expected to be valid when the games are made up or refunded if they are not played, though an official policy has not been put in place.

That’s small consolation now, though. Casey, 31, bought tickets in December for himself and his brother-in-law Andrew, a teacher in who planned to spend his spring break this week with Casey. He was going to fly into Las Vegas, they were going to go to the Golden Knights game against the Dallas Stars, and make the trek back to Mammoth Lakes. Now Andrew isn’t traveling at all.

The Golden Knights had already missed two road games, but last night’s suspended game against the Dallas Stars was the first time a professional hockey game should have happened in Las Vegas but didn’t. Missing a home game made the NHL-sized hole in Las Vegas that much more obvious, although even many fans seemed understanding.

“You can’t really be mad at preventing this illness from spreading. It is what it is about keeping people safe,” said partial season-ticket holder Andrew Choi, 31. “It’s just disappointing.”

Hockey games aren’t at the forefront of many people's day-to-day lives. Even Casey has bigger things to worry about — he manages a bar and restaurant in Mammoth Lakes where he is dealing with the bar closing and the restaurant transitioning to take-out only. Choi wrapped up our phone call and went to the grocery store to see what was still left.

But hockey is an escape. For three hours, 18,000-plus fans get to pack T-Mobile Arena and watch the first-place Golden Knights march toward a Pacific Division title. Few wanted the season to be postponed, though some were forced to start hoping for the possibility.

LAS VEGAS SUN LOADED: 03.18.2020 1172735 Vegas Golden Knights

Golden Knights delay March season ticket payments

By Justin Emerson Tuesday, March 17, 2020 | 11:05 a.m.

The Golden Knights sent an email to season ticket holders this morning informing them that this month’s payment will be delayed amid the coronavirus crisis.

Season ticket installment payments — six in total — started in January and are billed on the 20th of each month. This month’s payment has been pushed back to July, and billing will resume next month.

Season ticket holders have the option of staying on the scheduled payment schedule by contacting their ticket agent.

One season ticket holder said his job was not impacted by the coronavirus outbreak, but his girlfriend works at Wynn Las Vegas, which temporarily closed this week. He was worried about making the payment in what is, for the time being, a single-income household.

The NHL has suspended all games.

The Golden Knights have said the team is working with the league on a plan for what to do about tickets for postponed games. The team are asking fans to hold onto their tickets for now.

LAS VEGAS SUN LOADED: 03.18.2020 1172736 Washington Capitals

Caps' T.J. Oshie and wife Lauren welcome first son to the family

By Quinton Mayo March 17, 2020 6:29 PM

#BabyOshie2020 is finally here!

T.J. and Lauren Oshie welcomed in their newborn boy, Campbell Richard Oshie, the couple announced via Instagram on Tuesday.

"I finally got my golf partner for life yesterday," TJ said in a heartfelt caption Tuesday night. "Can't wait to get home so Lyla and Leni can hold their babe Bruvr for the first time!!"

View this post on Instagram

I finally got my golf partner for life yesterday! Please meet our little boy Campbell Richard Oshie! @lauren.oshie and Campbell are doing great!! Can’t wait to get home so Lyla and Leni can hold their babe Bruvr for the first time!! #LilOshBabe

A post shared by TJ Oshie (@tjoshie7) on Mar 17, 2020 at 3:00pm PDT

We'll go on a limb and say Campbell's little sisters are just as excited as we are -- if not more.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 03.18.2020 1172737 Washington Capitals

Capitals defenseman Nick Jensen becomes a dad on St. Patrick's Day

By J.J. Regan March 17, 2020 5:22 PM

Nick Jensen is officially a dad and it is sure to be a lucky little baby. Jensen and his wife, Jenner, welcomed in their first child, Lorenzo Luck Jensen, on Tuesday, St. Patrick's Day.

No, they did not go with the obvious choice of "Patrick" as the name, but he does have the middle name of "Luck" which was likely an ode to the date.

View this post on Instagram

Lorenzo Luck Jensen

A post shared by Jenner Jensen (@jennerjensen12) on Mar 17, 2020 at 2:07pm PDT

The Capitals also announced congratulations to the family via Twitter.

Congratulations to the Jensens on the birth of their baby boy Lorenzo Luck Jensen!

( : IG/ jennerjensen12) pic.twitter.com/zbe0uJx2c5

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) March 17, 2020

Congratulations to the Jensen's on their new little lucky addition!

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 03.18.2020 1172738 Washington Capitals WHAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT The Avalanche seemed determined to prevent Ovi from scoring goals

699 and 700. They bracketed him all night. Despite logging over 25 With NHL season paused, a ranking of Capitals' best wins of 2019-20: minutes of ice time, Ovechkin didn’t have a lot of good opportunities. You No. 19 knew it wasn’t going to be Ovechkin’s night when he got a face full of snow early in the game.

pic.twitter.com/JH0bof12ze By Mark Zaner March 17, 2020 12:39 PM — NBC Sports Capitals (@NBCSCapitals) February 14, 2020

We were also talking about Backstrom in postgame. Not just his goal, but While we wait for the NHL to hopefully resume its season, NBC Sports his leadership. After the Caps trudged back to the locker room down 2-0, Washington is looking back at the 20 best wins of the Capitals' season so Backstrom spent most of the first intermission reading his team the riot far. Mark Zaner, producer for Caps Faceoff Live and Caps Overtime Live, act. His speech seemed to do the trick: has watched every game. His rankings continue with No. 19, a 3-2 win against the Colorado Avalanche on Feb. 13 that featured a huge save "When he talks, everyone listens.” said Braden Holtby. “He doesn't say from Braden Holtby, a fiery speech from Nicklas Backstrom and a much- much all the time, I think that's part of why it means so much when he needed comeback. does. When he says something, it's time to listen. That's why he's been our backbone forever. That's why everyone follows him." WHAT HAPPENED Finally, a road trip to Denver, Phoenix and Las Vegas was always going With Alex Ovechkin two goals away from No. 700, and a large contingent to be a draw for Caps fans in the middle of February. Add in Ovechkin’s of Caps fans at the Pepsi Center in Denver, the game started about as chase for 700 and it was no surprise that there was a lot of red at the poorly as possible. Old friend Andre Burakovsky scored just 2:54 into the Pepsi Center. But there was A LOT of red. game and Mikko Rantanen added his 19th of the season later in the period. But this team has proven all season it is comfortable playing from To all the Caps fans tonight in Denver: behind. That’s never changed. The ice started tilting in Washington’s favor early in the second period. A bad line change by the Capitals led to We saw you a 2-on-1 for Ratanen and Nathan MacKinnon…which is definitely not a We heard you recipe for success. But Braden Holtby held his ground and made a great point-blank save on MacKinnon. We you#ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/dCZ9CFfShq

Less than five minutes later, Nicklas Backstrom got the Caps on the — Washington Capitals (@Capitals) February 14, 2020 board on the power play. Jakub Vrana found him standing alone in front of the net and Backstrom was able to tap home his 11th goal of the year. Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 03.18.2020

Washington got another power play opportunity in the third period. Lars Eller did the dirty work, digging the puck out from the corner and feeding John Carlson on the blue line. Carlson threw it on net and Tom Wilson deflected it past another old friend, goalie Philipp Grubauer, to tie the game.

With time running out, the Caps went back to the deflection to win it. With 2:04 remaining, T.J. Oshie deflected a Nick Jensen shot for his 22nd of the season. Grubauer’s 35 saves weren’t enough. Caps win 3-2.

...does this mean donuts? pic.twitter.com/SKtATnMWbP

— NBC Sports Capitals (@NBCSCapitals) February 14, 2020

MEMORABLE MOMENT

The penalty kill has probably been the most consistent part of the Capitals game all season long. They leaned on it heavily late in the second period. The Caps had to kill off a 5-on-3 that lasted for more than a minute. Down 5-on-3 is never good, but it’s even worse against Colorado with its ability to put MacKinnon, Ratanen and Gabriel Landeskog on the ice. A couple of key faceoff wins and a couple of Holtby saves did the trick and kept Washington within a goal at the second intermission.

WHY IT WAS SIGNIFICANT

It was the beginning of a 3-game Rocky Mountain road trip. The Capitals were coming off a shellacking in their previous two games, losing 7-2 to Philadelphia and 5-3 to the Islanders. They could have been staring at an extended losing streak if it wasn’t for this comeback.

Other than the stop on MacKinnon, Holtby didn’t have to make a lot of flashy saves. He was steady all night, keeping the Caps in the game while the offense found its legs later on. Even more importantly, it was Holtby’s best game in more than a month. Ilya Samsonov had effectively replaced him as the starting goaltender earlier in February, and Holtby was coming off that seven-goals allowed performance against the Flyers. This was the start that stabilized his season and got him back as Washington’s top netminder.

The most encouraging sign for the Caps came from their power play. From December 1st through February 11th, Washington’s power play was third worst in the NHL. While the power play still isn’t clicking on all cylinders, the 2-for-5 night against Colorado started getting the PP back on track. 1172739 Washington Capitals

How to watch more Alex Ovechkin hat tricks on NBC Sports Washington

By Ryan Wormeli March 17, 2020 11:46 AM

With hockey on hiatus, NBC Sports Washington is airing some of Alex Ovechkin's greatest performances of his career.

Here's the lineup for a few of his hat trick games playing on Tuesday. Check your channel finder here.

12 PM: Chasing Hockey Greatness (R)

12:30 PM: Ovi Hat Trick Rewind: Capitals @ Detroit Red Wings (R)

3 PM: Ovi Hat Trick Rewind: New Jersey Devils @ Capitals (R)

6 PM: Ovi Hat Trick Rewind: Capitals @ New York Islanders (R)

8:30 PM: Ovi Hat Trick Rewind: Los Angeles Kings @ Capitals (R)

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 03.18.2020 1172740 Washington Capitals A board battle ensued in the Caps' defensive zone and Siegenthaler came in to support. McDavid passed the puck back to the blue line then immediately cut off the wall to the net. Siegenthaler was a step slow to react and with McDavid, a step behind turned into several feet behind NHL 20 Caps simulation: Washington can't handle Edmonton's speed in when he got close to Holtby. Unfortunately for Washington, Holtby gave shutout loss up a rebound off the shot by Klefbom and McDavid was all alone for the easy tap-in.

Edmonton began to pour on the offense and the Caps had no answer for By J.J. Regan March 17, 2020 6:00 AM their cycle. McDavid set up the Oilers' second goal as he took the puck behind the goal line and found Kassian open. Edmonton added a third goal and it could have been a fourth just in that period alone without You can't win 'em all. The Capitals suffered their first simulated loss since Carlson hustling back on defense to break up a breakaway opportunity. the NHL season was paused, falling 4-0 to the Edmonton Oilers Monday in an EA Sports NHL 20 game. 2. Rebounds

Lines In addition to McDavid's rebound goal, Ennis also potted a rebound as he was the first to get to the puck off a shot from Yamamoto. The plan going in was to keep the same lines from Saturday's win over the Chicago Blackhawks, but T.J. Oshie's wife went into labor on Monday It's not that the defense played particularly poorly in this game, it didn't. so I had to shuffle some things. I wasn't going to keep Oshie in, I'm not a Dillon, in particular, had another strong game on the right. But besides monster. the fact that the Caps could not keep up with Edmonton's speed, they also could not beat them to loose pucks...practically ever. Edmonton Ilya Kovalchuk moved up to the second line, Richard Panik up to the third collected every rebound and scored twice doing so. and I gave Travis Boyd the spot on the fourth. Why Boyd over Brendan Leipsic? Because I wanted more offense in the lineup against Edmonton Would having a physical player like Radko Gudas in the lineup have and because Boyd has not played since Feb. 20. Leipsic's last game was helped or was this just a case of a fast team using the jets to their Feb. 23. advantage? That's something to think about when constructing the lineup for the next game. Alex Ovechkin - Evgeny Kuznetsov - Tom Wilson 3. Sustained offensive pressure Jakub Vrana - Nicklas Backstrom - Ilya Kovalchuk The first period was a very back and forth game with both sides trading Carl Hagelin - Lars Eller - Richard Panik good chances, but neither was able to sneak one past the netminder. The tide shifted in the second and third periods because the Oilers were Travis Boyd - Nic Dowd - Garnet Hathaway able to get sustained offensive zone time and the Caps were not. Jonas Siegenthaler - John Carlson Washington put together a number of good rush opportunities, but they were one and done with the puck quickly headed in the other direction. Dmitry Orlov - Brenden Dillon The defense did well against Edmonton's speedy rush opportunities, but Michal Kempny - Nick Jensen the Oilers were able to use their speed to cycle the puck effectively to find openings in the defense, get to rebounds and stay one step ahead of Braden Holtby the Caps.

The Oilers' lineup came from Edmonton writer for The Athletic, Jonathan Of the four goals, only one, McDavid's tally in the third period, came off Willis: the rush. The other three were long shifts in the offensive zone.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - Connor McDavid - Other notes

Tyler Ennis - Leon Draisaitl - Kailer Yamamoto What could have been

Andreas Athanasiou - Riley Sheahan - Josh Archibald This could have been a very different game as Boyd had a golden opportunity to score in the first period. James Neal - Jujhar Khaira - Alex Chiasson Dillon pounced on a loose puck near the defensive blue line, saw a lane, Oscar Klefbom - Adam Larsson and decided to take it up ice on the rush. Boyd joined him for the 2-on-1. Darnell Nurse - Ethan Bear Dillon delivered the pass, but it was a fraction of a second too late and just a bit in front of Boyd. WIth almost no angle on the empty net, Boyd Kris Russell - Caleb Jones instead sent the puck through the crease, missing what should have been the first goal of the game. And flip a coin for the goalie (I did and it was Mike Smith) It would have been a tough play to make but...when your last game in the Result: Oilers 4, Caps 0 lineup was on Feb. 20, you have to make those opportunities count. 1st period Snoop Dogg No goals Snoop Dogg was in the booth for the second period. I did not know that 2nd period was a thing in NHL 20. It's a shame it wasn't with Joe Beninati and . That would have been quite the trio. 0-1 Oilers goal: Connor McDavid from Oscar Klefbom and Adam Larsson Next game 0-2 Oilers goal: Zack Kassian from Connor McDavid and Oscar Klefbom Washington was scheduled to play the Columbus Blue Jackets in Ohio 0-3 Oilers goal: Tyler Ennis from Kailer Yamamoto and Leon Draisaitl on Thursday.

3rd period Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 03.18.2020 0-4 Oilers goal: Connor McDavid from Josh Archibald

How the Caps lost

1. The second period

The game was very even through the first 20 minutes. It was not a situation in which Holtby was bailing the team out and the Caps were just barely holding on. When the second period began, however, that's when the Oilers' speed took over. 1172741 Winnipeg Jets immediate payday and play the long game. It's hard to imagine there's anything left to prove at this level.

"It obviously sucks. Not really getting that chance to compete for a Frozen Four to frozen lake championship. We had a good team again this year. We had kinda caught fire at the right time. And it feels like it was kinda taken away from Jets prospect Samberg now playing the waiting game us."

— Dylan Samberg

By: Mike McIntyre | Posted: 03/17/2020 7:00 PM | Comments: 4 Throughout his season, Samberg has been in regular contact with Jimmy Roy and Mike Keane from the club's player development department.

They have seen several of his games in person. Dylan Samberg is on the line, a surprisingly clear phone connection "I'll talk with them, see what they're thinking, bounce some ideas off considering he's standing in the middle of a frozen lake near Warroad, them," said Samberg. "They're a great organization and they've treated Minn. me well." "Caught a 17-inch walleye this morning. A couple other small ones," the If the NHL were to resume at some point, in some form, Samberg could 21-year-old told me Tuesday afternoon. sign his entry-level contract with the team in the coming weeks and join SUPPLIED

Dylan Samberg, top Winnipeg Jets prospect, them down the stretch drive, in whatever form that would entail. Even if showing off a fish he caught Tuesday on Lake of the Woods.

he doesn't play right away, at least he would get acclimatized to his future hockey home. SUPPLIED "Right now it's just kind of a waiting game. Wait and see how it all pans Dylan Samberg, top Winnipeg Jets prospect, showing off a fish he caught out up there. Try to stay in shape as much as I can, kind of focus on that. Tuesday on Lake of the Woods. When the time comes that they resume, we'll go from there and see," said Samberg. Of course, I haven't called the top prospect of the Winnipeg Jets to talk fishing. Unfortunately, this is the only real excitement Samberg is likely to Like all athletes right now, Samberg is going to face some challenges see on the ice for the foreseeable future after the coronavirus pandemic sticking to a normal workout routine. Many of the rinks in and around his turned his professional life upside-down last week. home in Hermantown, Minn., are closed, along with gyms, to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Samberg was gearing up with his teammates at the University of Minnesota-Duluth to take a run at a third-straight national championship "There's some small youth rinks around the area that I'll probably contact when the stunning news came their way, just over 24 hours before their and see if i can get out there, even if it's just by myself," said Samberg, playoffs were to begin. who already has a strong connection to the Jets in fellow Hermantown resident Neal Pionk. "Last Wednesday, Thursday, everything kind of went downhill. I remember coming off the ice after practice Thursday and being told that "Right now it's just kind of a waiting game. Wait and see how it all pans our season was done. We were all like 'What?'" said Samberg, who was out up there. Try to stay in shape as much as I can, kind of focus on that. selected by the Jets in the second round (43rd overall) in the 2017 NHL When the time comes that they resume, we'll go from there and see." draft. Yes, the community of approximately 10,000 could soon have two The UMD Bulldogs had just finished up an impressive regular-season members patrolling the same blue-line. What's in the water down there? with a bang, rattling off five straight wins and outscoring opponents 22-6 in that span. They jumped to No. 4 in the NCAA Division 1 rankings with "I played with his brother, Nate, in high school, and Joe Pionk, who's now a 22-10-2 record. a manager at Omaha in the USHL, he was our manager at the time in high school," said Samberg. "It's obviously pretty cool. If I get the chance For Samberg, his plan appeared to be working out perfectly. The 6-4, it'll be cool to hang out with (Pionk) and get some pointers. It's nice to 215-pound defenceman resisted pressure from the Jets to turn pro last have someone there you know you can talk to." summer — general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff really wanted him in the fold — and opted to return to school for one more season with the goal of Looking back at how this Jets season has played out, you wonder what trying to grab a piece of history and become the first team since Michigan might have been had Samberg signed last summer. With the departures in the early 1950s to win the Frozen Four three straight times. of Jacob Trouba, Tyler Myers, Ben Chiarot and ultimately Dustin Byfuglien, he likely would have already played some NHL games at this And now? Well, the fact he's grabbed his bait and tackle and socially point. distanced himself in the Lake of The Woods tells the rather sad sporting story. Samberg has been watching the Jets closely all winter but is happy with the path he took, even if it's come to an unexpected ending. "It obviously sucks. Not really getting that chance to compete for a championship," said Samberg. "We had a good team again this year. We "I enjoyed my time at UMD and it's really where I wanted to go. Looking had kinda caught fire at the right time. And it feels like it was kinda taken back on it I don't regret it at all. It's tough to say but I'm glad with the away from us." decision that I made," he said.

Samberg's last regular-season contest was a memorable one, with Now another decision is on the horizon, one I expect will soon bring Samberg recording four assists in a 6-2 victory over St. Cloud State. He Samberg to Manitoba where the fishing is good but the hockey is even finished the campaign with a career-best 21 points (1 goal, 20 assists) in better. 28 regular-season games, with 18 penalty minutes and a plus-17 rating. "It's exciting to see where this goes. Hopefully this all blows over soon Samberg also had two assists in seven games with the United States enough and we can get everything back in order," he said. world junior team over the holidays. Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 03.18.2020 He's not sure where, or when, his next hockey game will take place.

One option is to put off turning pro once again and return to school next fall for his final season as a senior. While that is extremely unusual for prized prospects such as Samberg, could the idea of having some unfinished business lure him back for one more year?

"Obviously it's tough the way it ended. We wanted to go for another one. That's a big part of the reason I came back," he said.

Samberg told me last year, and again on Tuesday, that his biggest reason for staying in college was to get himself in prime position to play pro by honing his overall game. In that sense, he was willing to put off an 1172742 Winnipeg Jets “I think things are going to start getting crazy,” he said. “Being in Switzerland ahead of the curve here, I’m kind of seeing right now what was happening in Switzerland three weeks ago. I’m happy they’re shutting a lot of stuff down ahead of time. Switzerland took a little bit 'We just barely made it': Former Jet Eric Fehr home, in quarantine longer and it really spiralled out of control. So hopefully we’re able to contain it a bit better with the shutdowns we’ve had.

“And hopefully people actually respect the quarantines and stay away to Paul Friesen try to prevent it from spreading.”

His message: don’t take this thing lightly, no matter how young you are. With a pandemic closing international borders and shutting down travel, “The teenagers and younger adults feel OK, but it’s who you pass it former Winnipeg Jet Eric Fehr feels lucky to have got his wife and three along to that could really be detrimental. I think are respectful young kids out of a coronavirus hot-spot and back home to Manitoba. enough that they’ll do whatever they can to help each other out and stop Even if they are experiencing symptoms and can’t get through to health the spread.” officials to see if they should be tested. Fehr spent parts of 15 seasons in the NHL, mostly with Washington. The long-time NHLer from Winkler was playing in Switzerland when He’s played 652 career regular-season game, 35 for the Jets in 2011-12. COVID-19 started claiming victims. This season was his first in Europe since the 2012-13 lockout. “It was not a good feeling,” Fehr told the Winnipeg Sun, Tuesday. “As we were waiting for the season to cancel, and we could see the stuff in North Games without fans not the way to go America gaining speed on shutdowns and quarantines and stuff like that, we knew some flights would start getting cancelled. Empty buildings, less intense hockey.

“And things just progressively got worse over those two weeks. So we That’s what Eric Fehr experienced when his team, Geneva Servette, could see what was coming but we weren’t able to leave because we played games without crowds in the Swiss National League to prevent were under contract to the team.” the spread of the coronavirus.

The Swiss league finally pulled the plug, but there were no flights “It was weird,” Fehr said. “You don’t realize how important the fans are to available for three days. the game until they’re not there. You can hear everything on the ice. It looked like a practice or there was a scrimmage going on. It didn’t really “We just barely made it.” feel like a real game.”

Fehr and his family – wife Rachel, six-year-old daughter Ellie and sons There’s been talk of the NHL playing in empty buildings if it tries to finish Ben and Theo, aged three and one – finally got out of Geneva and back out this season. to Manitoba on Sunday. But the long-time NHL forward has his doubts about that happening. All that after a two-week delay to the Swiss National League season, a few games without any crowds and a boat load of stress as he and his “The big concern there is you’re going to start playing, and then one fellow imports scrambled to get home. person is going to get sick again and then everything has to cancel,” he said. “That was the big problem with us. They wanted to play, but there “One teammate, Tommy Wingels, heard a report from Trump at 3 a.m., were people around the league getting tested and didn’t know if they our time, that they were closing the (U.S.) borders at midnight the next were sick or not. And the rule was if one person gets sick in the league, day,” Fehr, 34, said. “So he booked a flight at 3 a.m. and left a couple the whole league gets cancelled. I would hate to see that in the NHL. hours later. Things happened really fast for the people from North America over there. “I’m not exactly an expert, but I feel like this isn’t something that just goes away.” “Now Switzerland is on a lock-down, as well as , and – everything around Switzerland is locked down completely, so Winnipeg Sun LOADED 03.18.2020 there’s really nowhere to go.”

One teammate who doesn’t have kids chose to stay in Geneva.

Another Canadian Fehr knows, Shawn Heshka of Melville, Sask., playing in Finland, had three potential flights cancelled and didn’t get his family out of that country.

“Once you have kids, it changes everything,” Fehr said.

Switzerland has mobilized its army to fight the virus amid reports its hospitals could collapse in 10 days if it keeps spreading at its current rate.

Here, Fehr and his wife have self-quarantined the family in their Winnipeg home, but can’t get through to an over-taxed Health Links line to determine if they should be tested.

“My wife and I have been calling since we landed, just to double-check because we have the sore throats and the cough, and that is one of the symptoms,” he said. “Everybody has good energy and there’s no fevers or anything. You just want to know for sure. We’ll keep trying, I guess. Hopefully that system gets improved a bit as more people need to get checked out.

“If there’s people with real fevers and real illnesses, I don’t think you want to wait two days to get a hold of them.”

As happy as they are just to be home for the first time since the hockey season began, Fehr and his wife worry about what’s to come.

Based on what they saw in Europe, it’s only going to get much, much worse here. 1172743 Vancouver Canucks differential is 58 goals for and 54 goals against, or plus-four. Shoot plus/minus into the sun.

Makar’s plus-12 underrates him too actually. Plus-12 seems good, but The 5 biggest ‘what-ifs’ about the Canucks that will most likely go because plus/minus makes no sense and doesn’t distinguish fairly unanswered between game states, it dings him for absurd things like shorthanded goals against and empty-net goals against too (Makar’s actual on-ice 5- on-5 goal differential is 57 goals for, 36 against or plus-21).

By Harman Dayal and Thomas Drance Mar 17, 2020 Now before you conclude that Hughes’ plus-four 5-on-5 goal differential indicates that Makar has been better, you have to take into account

context. The Avalanche have outscored their opponents in 5-on-5 We’ve probably seen the last of the 2019-20 regular season. situations by 47 goals this season, their goals for percentage at evens leads all teams in the NHL. Or, even without Makar, Colorado has While NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has made it clear that the goal outscored opponents by 27 goals. is to “resume play as soon as it is appropriate and prudent,” nobody knows at this juncture if that’s even possible. Considering the CDC The Canucks are in a different category, in terms of the overall quality of announcement over the weekend, it seems unlikely. their team. Vancouver scored 20 fewer goals at 5-on-5 than Colorado has and allowed 31 goals more. In fact, the Canucks have been Professional sports are an afterthought when compared with health and outscored by three overall. Formulated a different way, with Hughes on safety during a pandemic. That doesn’t make it easier for Canucks fans the ice, Vancouver has outscored their opponents by four and in all other that the 2019-20 season had to be suspended with Vancouver playing minutes have been outscored by seven. With Makar on the ice, the their most meaningful and exciting hockey in five years. Avalanche have outscored their opponents by a wider margin without Makar than they have with him. If the campaign were to end now, it’d be like watching a movie with a riveting plot that ends right before the climax. So many questions central That should be the closing argument, and that’s without getting into to the plot of the season remain unanswered. Hughes’ advantage by whatever other metrics you prefer — on-ice shots, shot attempts, expected goals, scoring chances. By every relevant With that in mind, here are five Canucks what-ifs that we may never get marker, Hughes just had a larger impact on his team than Makar had on the answers to. the Avalanche. 1. How historic would Quinn Hughes’ rookie season have been, and It would’ve been fun to make these closing arguments at length down the would he have won the Calder? stretch. We’ve reached the point where, in all likelihood, the 2019-20 regular 2. Would Thatcher Demko have risen to the occasion as an everyday season won’t continue. And among other things, the suspension of the starter? season deprives us of seeing the rarified the air that Quinn Hughes could have ascended to. Between Jacob Markstrom, Tyler Toffoli and Chris Tanev the Canucks have three high-profile UFAs with several pending RFAs, including Jake It’s perhaps the biggest Canucks ‘what-if’ of the suspended campaign. Virtanen, Troy Stecher and Adam Gaudette. Without getting into Hughes’ two-way mastery or his quick evolution into One shouldn’t expect the salary cap ceiling to rise by much and that a No. 1 defender that regularly leads a team in overall minutes played means Vancouver will be in a tough spot where they can’t afford to bring game in and game out, Hughes was on pace to rewrite the record books. everybody back. And not just the Canucks’ record books. Markstrom has been the Canucks’ MVP this year, but negotiations for his Consider the following: Hughes was poised to lead all rookies in scoring, next contract aren’t going to be easy and the Canucks’ approach will in regardless of position. He’d have been the first defender to do so since part be determined by how highly they think of Thatcher Demko. Brian Leetch in 1988-89. This stretch without Markstrom was supposed to give everyone a clearer At 53 points in 68 games, if he’d continued on roughly his .79 points per idea as to what exactly the Canucks have in Demko — does he have game trajectory, Hughes would have — if he’d stayed healthy — taken a starter potential and if so, how close is he to being ready for that role? run at the 65 points required to surpass Ray Bourque and get into the top-five top in scoring seasons by a rookie defender in NHL history. With the season suspended, it doesn’t feel like we’ve moved any closer to answers for those critical questions. Without question, Hughes would have netted the three points necessary to surpass ’s 50-year-old record for points by a Canucks On the surface, Demko’s pedestrian .906 save percentage in seven rookie defenceman. And he had a real shot — he would’ve got there starts following Markstrom’s injury doesn’t inspire confidence, but context based on his points per game pace — at surpassing Doug Lidster’s 63 is necessary. point season in 1986-87, which is currently the highest single scoring season by a Canucks defenceman. Imagine the initial shock and the mountainous pressure of being thrust into the everyday starter role as a rookie goalie with less than 40 NHL Would Hughes have won the Calder over a full season? He was certainly games under your belt with the team’s season on the line, in a pressure- a top candidate and would have strengthened his campaign if (a) he’d cooker Canadian market that hasn’t seen playoff hockey in five years. maintained his lead over Cale Makar by total points, (b) the Canucks had qualified for the postseason and (c) he’d started to do some truly silly The 24-year-old American looked understandably flustered and struggled stuff, like being the first NHL defender to lead all rookies in scoring in a through his first three starts, but rebounded admirably after. Demko gave generation and surpassing Bourque and Chris Chelios in scoring by a the team a chance to win in each of his last four games, posting a .915 rookie defender. save percentage. And now the season is paused just as he put together arguably his best game against the New York Islanders — a career-high However, Hughes won’t have 80+ games to cement his status over 45 save performance. Makar. And Makar’s last impression — a dominant three-point performance in an Avalanche overtime win — was an excellent final Settled in and building confidence, was Demko going to carry this steady impression on voters. form through to the end of the season, showing he has No. 1 goalie upside? Or were these last four games just another mini-high in a streaky Hughes should still win for the simple reason that he’s had a much larger campaign for the former second-round pick? two-way impact than Makar has. Unfortunately, it is not clear if PHWA voters, who decide the award, will be moved by this, even if they should If Demko indeed got on a roll to close out the year, you can just picture be. how much more complicated the offseason goalie dilemma would have been. Instead, it appears that we will enter the summer still not sure of Makar has the better plus-minus by a wide margin (plus-12 for Makar, Demko’s ability and potential. minus-10 for Hughes), but obviously, plus-minus does a bad job of really capturing a player’s two-way value or abilities. This case is illustrative of 3. Would Elias Pettersson have been the team’s matchup centre down why, so we’ll get into it. Hughes’ plus/minus is -10, but his 5-on-5 goal the stretch? In the final game before the NHL stoppage, Travis Green did something the 372 5-on-5 minutes Virtanen’s played since the New Year have been he’s rarely done before — he matched Elias Pettersson’s line against the alongside one of Pettersson or Horvat, compared to just 41.8 percent other team’s best players. before the calendar flipped to 2020.

New York Islanders’ top centre Mathew Barzal played almost 12 minutes Vastly increased PP2 opportunity has offset some of the even-strength of 5-on-5 action against Pettersson as opposed to just over two minutes regression — Virtanen’s registered a respectable six goals and 13 points against Bo Horvat, who’s otherwise been the team’s shutdown centre. in 29 games on the whole in the second half, but the final 13 games would have gone a long way in swaying the narrative of his season one Pettersson was essentially break-even in this matchup — controlling way or another. The 23-year-old added just five points in his last 18 exactly 50 percent of shot attempts and scoring chances against Barzal. games and if he continued fizzling out to close out the campaign, it would “I thought they handled it very well,” Green said of Pettersson’s have left a disappointing taste to an otherwise fruitful year. performance in the matchup role after the game. “I don’t know, today I On the other hand, a strong ending would have seen him cross the 20- just decided I was going to go with it. I think he’s getting close to that kind goal plateau, rebuild the early season hype and further solidify his strong of matchup. I think Barzal is kind of the same type of younger player. Just arbitration case. felt like it was a good fit tonight.” This season unquestionably represents a step forward offensively for This deviates from the plan that Green’s had for most of the season. In Virtanen, but the club will enter a crucial RFA negotiation not knowing for usually tasking Horvat’s line against the other team’s best players, Green certain how big of a stride it was. frees up Pettersson’s line and is essentially betting that the advantage they create against softer competition is going to be greater than any 5. If the Canucks had missed, would the organization have made potential loss that comes from having to use Horvat against the Barzals significant changes? of the NHL. There’s always pressure, scrutiny and uncharitable chatter in the So why might have Green changed that approach against the Islanders? Vancouver market. That’s the nature of the beast in a Canadian city where you’re the only representative of the big-four professional sports Most of it likely has to do with Brock Boeser’s return and where he would leagues. slot into the lineup. If we’re being honest though, most of this season was a day at the With Tyler Toffoli an almost perfect fit on the top line, Green must have carnival for the Canucks. There were brief, fleeting moments of crisis — felt reluctant to break that trio up despite how well Boeser has fit there. a tough November, the three-game losing streak in December, the After that, his options were to slot him with Horvat or with Adam sequence after the deadline culminating in the 5-3 loss in Columbus in Gaudette. Adding Boeser to Horvat’s line was the no-brainer decision, late February — but the Canucks mostly over-performed, played exciting but in doing so, it changed the identity of that line. hockey and seemed to be capturing the imagination and affections of the Substituting Loui Eriksson for Boeser changes the trio from a low-event, Vancouver market again. prevent line that excels defensively, to a group with substantially more A successful playoff run would’ve cemented that momentum. offensive firepower and less acumen away from the puck. As it stands though, the season is on pause and assuming we’ve seen Boeser’s improved a lot as a two-way player, but I’d imagine that Green the last of the 2019-20 regular season, it will be widely recorded as a felt a little reluctant to throw him in a matchup role in his first game back. success — albeit one abbreviated by COVID-19. Against the Islanders, he bet that Pettersson could hold his own against Barzal and that Horvat’s line could now be a legitimate strength that can For general manager Jim Benning, his signature offseason move, the create offensively with Boeser added to the mix. Miller trade, worked. Miller was dominant, exceeding all reasonable expectations in his inaugural Canucks campaign. And the Tyler Toffoli It would have been really interesting to see how that dynamic shifted in trade, which didn’t have a chance to play itself out, was off to a very the final 13 games. Green’s primary options moving forward would have auspicious start. been the following: Obviously, it’s more complicated than that, but this is a general overview Continue using Pettersson against the other team’s best players focusing on big historical themes. The fact is, it was possible that Go back to using Horvat’s line with Boeser in a hard match Benning was headed toward qualifying for the playoffs for the first time in five years on the back of a team led by recent star draft picks in Bump Toffoli down to Horvat’s line and use them in a matchup role if Pettersson and Hughes, with Miller leading all players acquired in the apprehensive of Boeser’s two-way game previous offseason in scoring and Toffoli leading all deadline acquisitions in scoring. That would’ve been quite the managerial run. The key to Green’s deployment decisions would have come down to how strong his belief is in Pettersson’s ability to battle top competition, as well For head coach Travis Green, meanwhile, he found a way to outperform as how much he trusts Boeser’s defensive game. the true talent level of this team, integrating another hotshot super rookie onto his roster ably and presiding over a significant year-over-year The final stretch would have implicitly revealed a lot about Green’s trust improvement in the club’s special teams performance. level in his top players. Questions and criticism still linger — Benning for the contract work and 4. Would Jake Virtanen have fizzled out to close the season? Green for the club’s defensive permissiveness — but that’s normal. This In early January, the case was made to the VIPs that while Jake Virtanen is Vancouver after all, questions and criticism are what we do. has improved offensively, his 47-point pace was unsustainable. One is left to wonder, however, what might’ve been if the season had Below you can see an excerpt from that piece that summarizes the main gone on uninterrupted and the Canucks had continued to fade during the points as to why. stretch.

The argument was that while Virtanen will eclipse 20 goals and 40 points If it had played out that way, certainly the pressure would’ve been high this season because of the luck that helped his hot start, he’s probably a around Green and Benning as the calendar turned over from March to true talent 30-40 point player, rather than someone you can consistently April. count on for 45-50 points per season moving forward. Green, touted for Jack Adams consideration by NHL.com writers in mid- Sure enough, Virtanen’s been slowed by regression from that point on. February, needs a contract extension to avoid lame-duck status this summer. A decision is going to have to made and an agreement struck. After scoring nine goals and 18 points at 5-on-5 through 40 games before January, Virtanen’s added just two goals and eight 5-on-5 points in 29 If Green’s Canucks had qualified for the playoffs while fending off other contests since. As you can imagine, it’s the two factors we discussed in challengers down the stretch, that would’ve very probably strengthened the piece — his individual points percentage (IPP) and shooting his bargaining position. Not to mention the resolve of Canucks percentage fell back down to Earth. management and ownership that he’s the guy to lead their promising young club into the next phase of their development as a team. This comes even though Virtanen has actually spent more time in the top-six during this run where he’s gone cold. Just north of 47 percent of As for Benning, he was extended before the season and Canucks ownership has been uncharacteristically patient with this rebuild during his tenure. Might that patience have been tested this time, if Vancouver had sagged out of the playoff picture down the stretch?

We’ll never know, but you can bet it would’ve been a massive topic of debate on local sports talk radio and in Canucks-centric forums across the internet through March and April … if the season was still going.

The Athletic LOADED: 03.18.2020 1172744 Websites On the morning of Monday, March 16, the last official day of the ECHL season, more than 3,000 kilometres (1,800 miles) east of Pacan’s Etobicoke apartment, Dean MacDonald, the owner of the Newfoundland Growlers and operator of their parent company, Deacon Sports and The Athletic / How the ECHL and its players are grappling with Entertainment, was trying to make sure his players could get home. cancellation amid COVID-19 He and the Growlers players had been meeting “five times” a day and he had just wrapped up one phone call when he hopped on another. The players were getting their physicals done as part of the mandatory By Scott Wheeler Mar 18, 2020 procedures they had to follow before leaving the team.

MacDonald, at this moment, is worried he may not be able to get When the news finally came on Thursday evening, David Pacan was at everyone off the island before the circumstances change. his apartment in Etobicoke, Ont., waiting to hear the inevitable but hoping “I’m very nervous that there’s going to be a national edict to stop travel. it couldn’t be true. The good news for us is there’s a whole lot more people trying to get The ECHL season was cancelled due to the outbreak of the novel back to Newf than leave Newf so that helps a little bit. It’s a bit of a coronavirus. Not paused. Not suspended. Cancelled. Rubik’s cube to be honest with you and I wish I could say that everything’s going to operate with military precision but it’s all new and Among the first things that came to his mind was that his Brampton every half hour there’s a new government mandate,” MacDonald said. Beast, two points away from securing a playoff position and third in their “It’s hectic but I’m pleased the players are in pretty good spirits. People division with eight regular season games remaining, weren’t going to get are starting to realize this is bigger than us.” to go on that playoff run after all. MacDonald’s first reaction when he heard the news was “Holy smokes, Quickly, though, real-life, non-hockey consequences began to creep in. are they going to shut down the skies? How do we get a bunch of guys In the days after the cancellation, the PHPA, the union that represents who are literally 20, 21, 22 years old home?” ECHL players, had met with the league to discuss next steps. In those meetings, the two parties agreed that player salaries would be terminated Now he’s in scramble mode. as of Monday, March 16. The Growlers are the only team in the ECHL where trains and buses Pacan, one of the league’s leading scorers in each of the last four aren’t an option for any of their players to get home, save the three seasons, a 2009 Chicago Blackhawks sixth-round draft pick, 2013 ECHL Newfoundlanders on the team. In recent days, domestic and international All-Rookie Team selection and veteran of more than 500 pro games, was flights out of Newfoundland have been cancelled. Among other things, among the first to speak out. they’re also worried about borders being shut to their American players, of which there are nearly 10. HEY @BIZNASTY2POINT0, THE @ECHL DOES NOT WANT TO PAY US FOR THE REST OF THE SEASON. PLEASE MESSAGE ME SO WE “My guess is as this thing is unfolding, the (players) are starting to get CAN FIGURE THIS OUT. nervous and they’re nervous not only for themselves and their own wellbeing but that of their families. So the first thing on a very human — DAVID PACAN (@PACMANTWOTWO) MARCH 15, 2020 level is ‘How do we let these guys know that we’re going to get on this as fast as possible to get them home?’” MacDonald said. In a league where many players are on week-to-week, low-paying contracts, the implications of three weeks of lost salary are real — and “We’ve got a great sense of urgency because if the skies shut down then immediate. you have a whole bunch of players who are really stranded. That’s not to say we can’t take them into our homes and look after them because as “With everything going on, it’s been tough, not just on us as players but Newfoundlanders we can but the priority is getting them home safe. Time just kind of the whole world right now. It’s not limited to hockey players. is the real issue here. Would we like to take a week or two to see how But as I found out that they didn’t want to pay us, that was a big hit to us, this unfolds? Yeah, that would be nice, but whoa, you’re putting players because we’re one of those leagues that some of us, a lot of us, live at risk. We wanted to be very up front with our players and to be blunt, paycheque to paycheque,” Pacan said on a phone call. the odds are this is going south so let’s get everyone rolling.” The ECHL’s collective bargaining agreement with the PHPA stipulated a With help from the Maple Leafs, the Growlers were able to make $13,300 weekly salary cap for a roster size of up to 20 players for the arrangements for the players. 2019-20 season, with a weekly salary floor of $10,100. In 2019-20, the weekly minimum salary was set to $480 for players who’d played in fewer “They’ve got to be one of the top organizations in professional sports. than 25 games and $520 for everyone else, not including per diems ($44 They do the right thing,” MacDonald said. “I have yet to see them on any a day for when teams are on the road). matter I’ve dealt with them not do the right thing. In that regard, we’re very fortunate.” Pacan guesses he’s going to be out $3,000-$4,000 for the remainder of the regular season, which represents a significant portion of his salary But the situation is complex and MacDonald is fully aware of why the without accounting for what he might have made during the playoffs. ECHL had to operate independently of the NHL and AHL in coming to the Because most ECHL players work part-time summer jobs as trainers or decision to cancel. hockey camp instructors, incomes that are also now likely to be lost, he worries about the livelihood of his peers. The financial implications for the ECHL could have been severe had the league attempted to wait out COVID-19 or return to play at a distant “It’s ridiculous. A lot of guys try to save money in this league for weddings future date. And, most importantly, there are people and public safety at or young kids and three weeks to us is a big deal for us. A lot of guys are play. taking it pretty hard right now,” he said. “Everyone in our league will take a significant financial hit, so that’s no “You’re losing the money from the summer job and from the last three fun, but in light of what’s happening, as you’re living it and realizing that weeks. If you were planning on getting married or saving for a home, the season is being cancelled, particularly for a team like us that’s that’s on hiatus. That little bit of money goes a long way to us.” playoff-bound as the defending champs, you start looking at what’s happening around you and you realize that this is a sport and we’re there Pacan considers himself one of the lucky ones. His wife works for a at the leisure of our fans and at this point our fans have a whole lot more roofing company that provides a necessary secondary income they can to worry about than whether our team is playing,” MacDonald said. lean on. “It’s just a new world order – or better said: a new world unorder. We just “To be honest with you, her work might also be on hold, but we do have a don’t know what’s coming down the pipe but we have a moral obligation secondary income which is huge for us. Maybe somebody else doesn’t to do that right thing and it’s as simple as that.” have a secondary income. Not everyone’s situation is the same,” he said. “I doubt anyone can live off the money they make in the ECHL, to be Across the sports world, that moral obligation has included many owners realistic. I don’t think they can live off of it in the summer. It’s a pretty in the world’s biggest professional sports leagues promising to continue stressful time.” to pay their players and part-time event staff. For MacDonald, the Growlers, and teams across the ECHL, that’s a more complicated “It has been a tough situation. (Our PHPA reps are) trying their best. proposition. There’s a lot of teams that don’t make as much money as certain teams so it’s difficult from that standpoint. But we’re hopeful that something will “The first order of business is our own staff so we’ve got to try to pretend happen and it’s always good to be vocal about it as well and to try to get that the season just ended early and we didn’t make the playoffs so now as many guys on board as we can to try to help out the situation.” we go into the preparation for next year. Our arena has been closed so there’s nothing to be done there right now. There’s not very many teams Above all else, Pacan also recognizes that he’s one of the lucky few who making any money in the ECHL. We don’t have TV rights or the revenue gets to play hockey for a living — or part of a living. streams that the big guys have and that’s just kind of where it is,” MacDonald said. “It’s always nice playing hockey and doing what you love and getting paid for it but it’s still a job for us. We have to provide and pay bills,” he said. Earlier in the morning, he’d talked to one of his players about that reality “Right now, I’m just trying to remain hopeful that something will come out in an effort to be open and transparent. Everyone had to come to terms of this.” with the fact that the Growlers, the defending Kelly Cup champions, were not going to be able to repeat. They all knew that was the easier pill to PHPA executive director Larry Landon did not return requests for swallow than the realities of everything else that cancellation would mean comment for this story. for the players and the owners. The Athletic LOADED: 03.18.2020 “The vast majority of teams in our league don’t make money. It wasn’t a one-way street. Both the league and the PHPA sat down and said ‘look, we’ve got all these teams that are marginal financially that if we ask for more out of them and they have to fold operations, well as a union next year you’re going to have less spots for ECHL contracts because it’s a smaller league,’” MacDonald said.

“So have you really accomplished anything when the season was going to be ending soon anyways? That’s the logic of it. I see both sides of it. There’s a quid pro quo here where there’s a few weeks salary lost from a player perspective but there’s also going to be 26 teams next year versus 20 teams next year and I’ve got jobs now for a lot more people than I would otherwise from a union perspective.”

By Tuesday evening, as the league prepared for life after cancellation, ECHL commissioner Ryan Crelin, in his second year on the job, was thankful for the PHPA’s cooperation throughout the craziness of the preceding week.

“Collective bargaining takes months, maybe years, and we had hours,” Crelin said.

He knew when NBA player Rudy Gobert was revealed to have contracted the virus that things were going to have to move quickly. Once the NBA moved to suspend its season, it was Crelin’s job to follow their lead, get on the phone with the NHL, and move forward, together, as a sport.

After the ECHL suspended its season, he took 24 hours to catch his breath before convening the league’s board of governors. The PHPA, he said, recognized the extraordinary times the two parties were in.

“There were a lot of moving pieces. You’ve got more ordinances coming out, more states and provincial governments are making decisions, and all the while the hockey in you wants to find a way to return to play and keep the playoffs alive. But at some point, you start hearing the same thing from both sides of the aisle as it relates to our league and it’s not an easy decision but it was the right decision,” Crelin said.

They also had to navigate what was already in the ECHL-PHPA collective bargaining agreement about the termination of a season.

“We’re trying to dot our Is and cross our Ts. So we invoked the end of season and you can talk about economics, but what about player safety and travel bans being put in place? We have European players, we have Canadians in the United States and Americans in Canada. There was just so much uncertainty,” Crelin said. “I believe we hit the pertinent points. There will no doubt be some pieces to pick up here but we’ll work as partners in hockey to figure that out.”

MacDonald hopes the damage to the league will be minimal, even if he acknowledges it might not be.

“It’s like being hit by a hurricane,” MacDonald said. “We’ll pick up the pieces after it comes through and life goes on.”

Meanwhile, Pacan is hopeful that some kind of severance can be worked out for ECHL players. His last few days haven’t been easy. He knows he’s not alone and he recognizes that things will get worse before they get better. But he’s trying to remain hopeful.

“You can think about all the money we’re losing from playoffs as well but at this point we just want the money from the regular season,” Pacan said. 1172745 Websites That would leave the following play-in scenarios based on the four different playoff pools.

It’s not a bad lineup of matchups, headlined by a Western Canada tilt The Athletic / Analyzing different playoff formats to determine the fairest between Calgary and Winnipeg and it’s easy to see too why the NHL option would be tantalized by the idea of a No. 5 versus No. 12 matchup given the two potential matchups on the docket (as well as the market size of the 12-seeds). Whether they deserve it is an entirely different story.

By Dom Luszczyszyn Mar 18, 2020 The idea that the NHL would subject two teams above 95 percent playoff chances to “earn” their spot against two teams that are at three percent

or worse would be completely asinine. It would render the first 70 games With the NHL on pause as the world collectively fights a global pandemic, of this season moot, allowing random variation to be the ultimate decider. there are more questions than answers regarding what the immediate In a play-in game, Pittsburgh’s playoff odds would drop from 96 percent future holds for the remainder of the league’s season. It’s murky, given to 63 percent while Dallas would go from 96 to 62 percent, a misguided the vast unknowns, but the obvious hope is that eventually the world transaction that would see Montreal jump from 0.1 percent to 37 percent returns to normal and hockey returns with it. What that will look like and Chicago from three percent to 38 percent. It’s these kinds of though is a big mystery. decisions the NHL should very much avoid if the season returns.

In an ideal world, the league resumes and finishes its 82-game season, For a No. 5 versus No. 12 series to be equitable to each team’s current but as the COVID-19 situation gets more serious and the suspension chances, the 12-seed would need to win four straight games against the timeline grows longer, that’s becoming more unlikely by the day. Based No. 5 seed, something they have a three percent chance of doing and on the information we have now – plus the fact the playoffs would need something the NHL probably won’t have time for (not to mention it would roughly two months to play out – the likeliest scenario seems to be that be even more gimmicky than a straight-up play-in game). the NHL will have to forego the rest of the regular season and skip The NHL’s solution to combat random variation will likely be to have each straight to the playoffs. play-in matchup decided by a three-game series, but that won’t be Assuming that’s the case, the big question is one of equity: what’s the enough to dissuade randomness. In fact, it would likely just be a waste of fairest way to distribute playoff spots in an unfinished season where no time the league probably won’t have. Surprisingly, extending a series to team has clinched yet? three games can actually be a detriment to the favourite in a close series (which most of these are) due to the power of home-ice advantage, There are essentially two schools of thought. Either the top eight in each which adds about 10 percentage points from an away game. conference advance as seeded or the league gives some of the top teams a bye and uses some time to orchestrate play-in game scenarios The turning point from where a three-game series is more beneficial to to figure out the rest of the seeding. No matter what the league does the favourite is if that team’s odds in a single game on home ice is 60 though, there’s simply no way to please everyone and make it perfectly percent, and though that applies to the two No. 5 versus No. 12 series, it fair, but the league can still aim to make things as fair as they possibly would only be an added benefit of just over one percent. It’s not enough. can. As a result, having a three-game series for each matchup would be Before the NHL suspended play, these were the playoff odds from five slightly less equitable in every playoff format compared to just a simple different sources: The Athletic, Hockey Viz, MoneyPuck, Sports Club one-game playoff. That should be really helpful knowledge given the time Stats and Hockey Reference. constraints the NHL will likely be under, though if the goal is to recoup gate revenue then it’s an understandable decision as there is little All five agree that there are 10 teams with playoff chances greater than discernible difference between playing one or three games with the 90 percent – all of which average to 94 percent or higher – and all five current matchups. agree that there are nine teams whose chances are lower than five percent, eight of which are effectively at zero percent. There should be There is, however, a sizeable difference depending on how many play-in no debate that the 10 teams in the first group deserve a spot and that the scenarios the league uses. Compared to just handing the top 16 teams a nine teams in the second group should be out. This is the math based on playoff spot where the total inequity is 425 percentage points, every the first 70-or-so games, and while the NHL doesn’t have to abide by single scenario that involves play-in games – yes, even the 24-team playoff odds from five independent sources, it should respect what each monstrosity – is a significantly more just option than no play-in games at team has done so far to make a decision that honours their play to date. all. The more the merrier. The math measuring playoff odds unanimously reinforces those results In the chart below, blue means the team benefits from the scenario, red and that shouldn’t be ignored. If the NHL were to run its own models, it means the scenario is a detriment. would likely come to the same conclusion. Surprisingly, a 24-team playoff isn’t the worst option available, but only It’s the 12 clubs in the middle where there’s a bit more disagreement in because it’s less just to eliminate Minnesota and Florida than it is to hand the math and it’s those 12 where the debate about what’s fair and what Montreal and Chicago a life raft. That the trend in equity completely isn’t will and should be held. reverses course in going from 22-team to 24-team should say it all, as it’s The way to measure equity is pretty straightforward. If the Minnesota a needless injection of randomness to the paths of four teams that Wild had a 53 percent chance of making the playoffs based on the deserve their current place in the playoff picture. average of five models, then immediately going to the playoffs would The evidence is clear. The NHL should increase the playoff pool with drop the team to zero. That would mean 53 percentage points lost by play-in game scenarios, especially if one game is as good as three such a decision. On the flip side, the New York Islanders at 55 percent probabilistically. The decision will come from where to draw the line as 18 would see a 45 percentage point gain. Add all the absolute differences teams is too strict and 24 teams is too lenient – 20 or 22 teams looks to up and you get a playoff format’s total inequity. be the sweet spot. There are pros and cons for both though, enough to If fairness is the goal (and that is a huge if given the likely revenues lost make sure not every team is perfectly happy. this season), then the best playoff format would be the one with the The main difference between 20- and 22-team playoffs is which teams lowest total inequity. I measured five potential formats: 16-team, 18- get the short end of the stick. The 20-team playoff is a bit more generous team, 20-team, 22-team and 24-team – the latter four of which would to teams closer to the bubble, but the Rangers losing 22 percent and the feature play-in games. Leafs gaining 22 percent isn’t exactly fair, nor is gifting Vancouver a spot The two biggest playoff pools – 22-team and 24-team – would mean the Canucks are 37 percentage points away from. A 22-team playoff either a restructuring of the format to go back to conference seeding handles some of those injustices but veers a little too much in the (yay!) or re-ordering teams based on divisions (boo!) and according to opposite direction where the detriment is now on the teams closest to a Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston, there’s a belief that the NHL will opt for the spot while the benefit is almost exclusively towards teams currently on latter. That means the Eastern Conference’s eighth-place team, Toronto, the outside. That isn’t fair either, even if it’s in total a bit more equitable would be a six-seed and the Western fifth-place team, Edmonton, would and only one team sees a 20 percentage point or higher be the fourth seed. Equity already doesn’t seem to be the highest priority. benefit/detriment compared to three for 20-team. There is one way to improve that and make sure Arizona isn’t given such a substantial benefit it doesn’t deserve and that’s leaning into a gimmicky scenario as outlined above. Make the 11-seed earn it by winning both games in a two-game playoff. The optics aren’t great for Toronto to gain another advantage given the team is being gifted a sixth seed it doesn’t deserve to maintain divisional balance, but based on every team’s current playoff odds, a move like that would go a long way to make things fairer across the board. Toronto’s and New York’s odds difference would drop to four percentage points, Vancouver’s would go to 14 percentage points in the other direction and Arizona would drop to eight percentage points. That would leave Carolina as the only team above 15 percentage points and no teams above 20. The total inequity: 115 percentage points. That’s about as good as you’re going to get without getting even more creative.

No matter what the case is, every solution sucks. The whole situation does. But if the NHL does resume, it will have to make some tough decisions. Its goal should be making one that doesn’t sully the first 70 games and creates the fairest landscape for every team. It won’t be an easy one.

The Athletic LOADED: 03.18.2020 1172746 Websites masterful space creators by drawing so much attention to themselves, Marner’s a better playmaker. Marner spots the trailer with more consistency, and layers his passes with more deception, giving Matthews all the space that he needs to tee-up the one-timer. The Athletic / The Video Room: Auston Matthews’ goal-scoring hit next level thanks to one-timer The Marner effect is also apparent in what Marner does away from the puck. Marner, with his constant motion and attention to detail, has such a strong off-puck gravitational pull. He makes the little plays, like activating into the middle lane or tying up a stick that creates space for his By Mitch Brown Mar 18, 2020 teammates behind him. That space gives Matthews’ more space for the one-timer.

The best players are the best because they continuously improve. More important than shooting ability for scoring goals is the ability to get Sometimes, they get faster, leaner, or stronger. Others, they refine a skill open. Matthews is exceptional at relocating without the puck to shoot. He to make it their own and bring their game to another level. finds pockets of space all over the ice with such frequency that there’s no discernible preferred location other than “the slot.” With his strength and Auston Matthews is one of these players. After being the No. 1 pick in the dexterity, he’s able to occupy even the tiniest pockets while keeping his 2016 draft, he reinvented his shooting mechanics – even though his body readied for a shot. shooting was his defining skill. He did it again the following offseason, taking the curl-and-drag wrister and making it his own. The one-timer allows Matthews to relocate to pockets of space further away from the net, without a loss in scoring threat. He’s added more Last summer, Matthews did it again, adding a one-timer. But after much range as a shooter – yet again – turning him into a threat to score from early-season hype (Matthews scored on two one-timers in his first three anywhere in the offensive zone. Now, Matthews can use the top left of games), it took the better part of three months for Matthews’ to start the circle not just for curl-and-drags, but also for one-timers. In the clip hitting the one-timer consistently. From December 21 – the game that below, Matthews’ feet are pointed toward the corner while he shoots Mitch Marner took William Nylander’s place alongside Matthews – to short-side on a spin-around one-timer – that’s incredible dexterity. when the NHL hit pause on the season, he had 11 goals on one-timers. On the topic of shooting dexterity, the best at taking one-timers adjust to The best way to understand the importance of the one-timer is through the pass. , for example, isn’t getting spoon-fed the addition of the curl-and-drag wrister. Before the curl-and-drag wrister perfect passes from John Carlson and Nicklas Backstrom every power emerged as Matthews’ defining weapon in 2017-18, he was already one play – he’s adjusting to receive every pass in his wheelhouse. And it just of the league’s most diverse finishers. A deceptive wrister gave Matthews so happens that his wheelhouse is larger than anyone else in the NHL. range, but he primarily scored around the net in just about every way Matthews isn’t Ovechkin-good at adjusting to the pass, but he’s near the possible: Backhand-forehand transitions through traffic, one-handed top of the league already. deflections, tip-ins with a defender on his back, shots placed high, low, and through limbs of the goaltender, and he was always ready to shoot Here’s an example of Matthews’ ability to one-time tricky passes. With with a weight shift crafted for every scenario. If there was one defining Marner creating space behind him, Tavares makes a cross-ice pass to skill, it was Matthews’ catch-and-release and two-touch shooting, which Matthews that’s headed just a bit behind Matthews’ skates. Since the comprised of 17 of Matthews’ 44 goals in his rookie season (and pass reception requires the player to be off-balance, most players turn playoffs). this pass into a catch-and-release shot. For Matthews, it’s a one-timer, shaving that split-second off to increase the likelihood of a goal. Matthews wasn’t content to just be a 40-goal scorer. So, he added the curl-and-drag, a shot that provides a solution to two of hockey’s trickiest The mechanics behind that shot are special. With both toes pointed problems: A well-positioned defender and a well-positioned goaltender. toward the corner, Matthews can’t have his hips square to the pass. The curl-and-drag motion of the shot sets-up the defender to be used as Much of the power in a one-timer comes from the rotation of the hips, the a screen, blocking the goaltender’s sightline of the puck. The motion 90-degree-or-so twist of the hips facing the puck and turning toward the simultaneously changes the angle of the shot, giving the shooter the net. Matthews has no hip rotation in that shot. The power’s coming from edge in the shooter-goaltender chess match. his upper-body and feet. That’s unreal.

Plenty of players have used the curl-and-drag wrister, set-up defenders The other part of adjusting to the pass is physically moving to be square for screens, or changed the angle in their shooting motion before to the pass. Matthews is a master of tracking the play, and he’s applied Matthews. But he’s perhaps the best at combining all three with such to setting up the one-timer. It’s especially noticeable on the power play, velocity. Of the 21 curl-and-drag wristers he’s scored on his career, no where Matthews makes little shuffles to end up in the right place just as two look the same. He’s used the curl-and-drag in catch-and-release the pass comes to him. shots, picking corners, shooting five-hole, or aiming between the blocker The one-timer has changed the complexion of the Leafs power play, with and torso. Matthews able to one-timer shots from both Marner and Nylander on The curl-and-drag wrister gave Matthews another tool to score with; it their off-sides. Since the game that Matthews’ found his one-timer in late- gave Matthews a larger finishing range. The curl-and-drag is primarily December, the Leafs power play is 31.8 percent, with Matthews scoring (but not exclusively) used on the strong-side, as the motion brings the six goals and adding five assists. puck closer to the middle of the ice. So, the shot didn’t open up the right While Matthews’ one-timer has been a story all season, the goals are just side of the ice (Matthews’ off-side) any more than previously. Which, starting to come. Matthews wasn’t taking one-timers last season – now, honestly, wasn’t a big deal – Matthews still shot and scored plenty from he has one of the best one-timers in the NHL. His ability to adapt to the the right side of the ice, but there was a tiny bit of a room to improve. pass and shoot anywhere around his feet without any loss in power or Enter: The one-timer. The one-timer is that tiny bit of improvement, but it placement is rare; it’s the type of improvement that only elite athletes has a significant impact. The one-timer went from zero percent of seem capable of. Matthews’ goals in 2016-17 to 27 percent this season, essentially The addition of the one-timer hasn’t come at a loss of Matthews’ replacing the catch-and-release and two-touch finishes in Matthews’ exceptional finishing talent around the net — it complements it. He can scoring output. still make those crazy deflections with a defender on his back. He’s still When in position for a one-timer, Matthews doesn’t have to catch the picking corners with a wrister that combines deception and an insanely pass anymore. Already one of the league’s quickest shooters before the quick release. And he’s made significant improvements to his defensive one-timer, Matthews doesn’t need a half-second to catch and shoot the game in these past couple months. puck anymore – he can simply hammer it. Here’s an example: Can Matthews hit 60? We may not find out this season but with this one- Last season, Matthews usually took that pass and stepped in before timer added to seemingly infinite shooting arsenal, it may be in his future. shooting – but by then, Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck’s likely ready for The Athletic LOADED: 03.18.2020 the shot, and a defender is pressuring Matthews. Instead, it’s a perfectly placed one-timer over the goaltender’s shoulder and just under the bar.

It’s no coincidence that Matthews’ one-timer scoring skyrocketed when Marner moved up to the top-line. While both Marner and Nylander are 1172747 Websites think the NHL would want to avoid overlapping with the Games as much as possible.

Now, as Seravalli reported, the players’ idea has some regular-season The Athletic / LeBrun: Why the idea of an August-September playoff games involved before the playoffs, which would be played in July. This scenario makes sense would allow the players to get up to speed, given the long layoff, while also evening-up the regular-season games played by each team. Sure, there would be a short training camp but some actual games before the playoffs would benefit them. By Pierre LeBrun Mar 17, 2020 One team executive I spoke with on Tuesday doesn’t like the idea of

regular-season games. He says we’re almost already at the point, given The NHL is going to need some out-of-the-box thinking to salvage – if the CDC’s recommendation of an eight-week social shutdown, where even possible – its 2020 Stanley Cup derby. jumping right to the playoffs makes the most sense.

And it appears that’s the exact approach some rather important stake- Especially, he says, because it makes very little sense for some non- holders are currently taking. playoff teams to come back after such a long layoff just so they can play a handful of games. According to my TSN colleague Frank Seravalli, some of the NHL’s top players have brainstormed about what a possible resumption of play Now there are all kinds of format ideas being kicked around both within might look like and what they’ve come up with is an August-September the NHL head office and from NHL team executives. Should the league playoff scenario. come back with a 20-team playoff? Twenty-two teams? Twenty-four teams? To be clear, this isn’t an official proposal from the NHL Players’ Association, at least not yet, just a few NHL players spit-balling at this Again, this particular team executive would prefer going straight to the stage. But it’s interesting. 16-team playoff.

This schedule would afford the league much more leeway as health “It doesn’t work for me that a team might come back after all this time authorities attempt to corral the COVID-19 threat over the coming weeks and play a best-of-three, let’s say, and be out in two games and that’s it,’’ and months. he argued.

As I also reported in our “Insider Trading” segment on Tuesday, it just so It’s worth repeating, who knows when we’ll have NHL hockey again. We happens that one NHL governor – who asked to remain anonymous – just don’t know with any certainty where this global health threat is has also endorsed a similar version of the August-September playoff headed. schedule and has already pitched it to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. But count me in as someone who likes the concept of August-September One of the concerns the governor pointed out to me on Tuesday was his playoffs. It’s far enough away to at least maybe have a chance of fear that if the NHL resumed play in May or June, and a player tested happening. positive, it would ground everything to a halt and end the season, this It beats the alternative, no hockey until next season, which will happen if time for good. playing games in May and June is not an option. That’s why he feels strongly that waiting longer is important. Not that Early days yet, but this latest idea is one I can live with. health experts are saying the coronavirus is going away anytime soon. All signs point to it getter worse before it can get better, but one hopes The Athletic LOADED: 03.18.2020 that by August, a better plan to fight the virus will be in place. Let’s hope!

Here is the loose timeline in this idea:

Proposal for re-starting season

Training camp

Early July

2019-20 season ends

Late July

Playoffs

August-September

Draft, free agency

October

2020-21 season begins

November

October just happens to be the month most NHL owners in many U.S. markets try to schedule as few games as possible in a normal NHL season. As this governor points out, it’s making the best out of a tough situation by having the offseason in that month.

There are ways to truncate next season, for starters by eliminating the “bye’’ weeks and the All-Star Game set for South Florida. Two moves that would require the players’ blessing.

But even the August-September playoffs can be tightened up. As one NHL GM suggested to me on Tuesday, you can schedule more back-to- backs in the same city. Currently, TV dictates that some series get spread out more. The bottom line is that there are ways to get a best-of- seven series played quicker.

A key element in all this is the Tokyo Olympics, which remain on at this point (we’ll see in the end), scheduled for July 24-Aug. 9. One would 1172748 Websites 3. Canada vs. USA, 2010 Vancouver Olympics, Canada Hockey Place, Feb. 28, 2010

It’s hard to imagine ever being part of an event as super-charged as the The Athletic / Burnside: Six best hockey games I have covered gold medal game at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Perhaps the greatest hockey tournament anywhere, anytime, ended with one of the greatest showdowns of all time. What sticks with me was the entire atmosphere in Vancouver leading up to the gold medal game between By Scott Burnside Mar 17, 2020 host Canada and the upstart Americans. The city and indeed the entire country were on tenterhooks the entire time. The U.S. had beaten Canada in the round robin and there was a “team of destiny” vibe So, we have some time on our hands, no? And it’s good to be diverted, surrounding Team USA heading into the gold medal game. The finale to think of happier times. So in the void left by the NHL’s decision to was set for 12:15 p.m. local time and people had been lining up for hours pause the season as a response to the spread of COVID-19, I got to to get into bars and restaurants to watch the game. Pierre LeBrun and I, thinking about games that left an impression on me. Games I was lucky who had been sharing a cramped one-bedroom unit at a downtown hotel enough to have been in attendance for that will stand the test of time now which in and of itself warrants a movie treatment or at least a “Saturday and long into the future. Night Live” skit, walked to Canada Hockey Place about three hours before puck drop. The lineup for security was already enormous. LeBrun The only restriction on this (and to separate it from a list I’ll provide later spied Marc-Andre Fleury and his family languishing in line. Fleury was about classic games you should be watching during this downtime) is the third goaltender for Team Canada and not dressing, so Pierre helped that it had to be a game I was covering. facilitate their entry to the arena. What sets this game apart from any So, without further ado, my top six games (with a few honorable other game I’ve covered is that once the game started there was the mentions thrown in for good measure). sense that every single person inside – and maybe outside, too – was holding their breath for the entire game. With each break in action the 1. Colorado Avalanche vs. Detroit Red Wings, Joe Louis Arena, March crowd exhaled and then seemed to hold it in again as Canada took a 2-0 26, 1997 lead in the second period. LeBrun and I had Corey Perry in the winning- I’d been a sports writer for less than three months when I made my way goal pool (a random draw) and I remember turning to LeBrun with about to the cramped press box at Joe Louis Arena for this late-season game three minutes to go and the score 2-1 Canada saying, never mind the between arch-rivals Detroit and Colorado. What I didn’t know about being money, let’s see some more hockey. I wasn’t kidding. Really. Moments a columnist, and specifically a hockey columnist, was, well, a whole lot. later Zach Parise scored to tie it with 24 seconds left in regulation and As an epic night of bloodshed, bad blood and vengeance unfolded, no send the game to overtime. If I’m being completely honest, there was a one could have imagined that this would be seen as a defining moment sense of both wonderment and sadness when Sidney Crosby scored the for a Red Wing team that had become chronic underachievers – golden goal 7:40 into overtime because it was a game that you simply especially not a neophyte sports scribe. I’ve never been one to subscribe never wanted to end. to the thought of a hockey fight as any kind of defining moment for a 4. Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Boston Bruins, Game 7 of Eastern player or team, but on a night that saw Darren McCarty exact mighty Conference final, TD Garden, May 27, 2011 revenge on Claude Lemieux for his devastating, dirty hit on Kris Draper in the 1996 playoffs and numerous other side bouts – including the unlikely Probably the greatest 1-0 game I’ve ever had the fortune to cover and spectacle of Mike Vernon duking it out with Patrick Roy and Igor Larionov one of the most gripping playoff games in more than 20 years of sitting in throwing down with Peter Forsberg – well, it’s not hard to see why this playoff press boxes. This series was terrific overall. A year earlier Boston moment would be something the Red Wings would harken back to a few choked up a 3-0 series lead against Philadelphia and it looked like they months later as they marched to their first Stanley Cup since 1955 and were going to be one-and-done against a pesky Montreal team in the first first of back-to-back championships. Among the curious elements of a round this spring. Tampa was enjoying its first brush with success under night full of curiosity was the fact that McCarty, who basically hunted new ownership and a new GM in Steve Yzerman. This conference final Lemieux down and throttled the legendary agitator, who was a virtual went back and forth and is noteworthy for, among other things, likely non-participant in the altercation, was assessed only a double-minor for saving Mike Smith’s career as he came in mid-series to spell a wearying the transgression. In true poetic justice, McCarty would score the Dwayne Roloson. But it was Roloson who returned to the net for Game 7 overtime winner in a 6-5 Red Wing decision. My only regret? That I’d in Boston, squaring off against soon to be playoff MVP and Vezina written the game column in a manner befitting the implications of the Trophy winner Tim Thomas. Both were veteran netminders proving that event. Not the last time I’ve had that regret, I can say. age was, indeed, relative. In fact, Roloson, whom I have always had friendly interactions with, at one point refused to answer a question I 2. Washington Capitals vs. Pittsburgh Penguins, Game 2 of Eastern posed about his age in a scrum. Later he would pull me out of the media Conference semifinal, Verizon Center, May 4, 2009 workroom to ask if I liked his joke. He thought it hilarious that my For the first few years after the 2004-05 lockout, I was on hand for pretty colleagues thought he was annoyed with me. Both Thomas and Roloson much every Sidney Crosby/Alex Ovechkin clash while working for were heroic in Game 7. The game was like liquid. No penalties (although ESPN.com. We narrowly missed a Crosby/Ovechkin playoff clash in if you ask Tampa officials there were simply no penalties called, but I 2008 when Philadelphia beat the Caps in overtime in Game 7 of the first digress). Boston carried the play and Roloson was steadfast, stopping 37 round of the playoffs (Joffrey Lupul scoring the OT winner on the power shots. But the one stop Roloson didn’t make, off Nathan Horton’s stick play, for those keeping track at home). But we finally got Sid and Ovi midway through an intense third period, was enough. Thomas pitched a head-to-head in the playoffs for the first time the following year. The 24-save shutout for a 1-0 win and sent Boston to the final and ultimately second-round series went the distance and remains one of the best I’ve a Stanley Cup. had the fortune of covering, but Game 2, in particular, was in and of itself 5. Chicago Blackhawks vs. Boston Bruins, Game 6 of Stanley Cup final, the equivalent of Ali vs. Foreman or Godzilla vs. King Kong – a TD Garden,, June 24, 2013 heavyweight battle between the two young faces of the game. Here’s how the scoring went: Crosby, Ovechkin, Crosby, (David Steckel), This was a terrific Stanley Cup final series right from the get-go, as the Ovechkin, Ovechkin, Crosby. The crazy thing is that the 4-3 Washington Bruins were looking to prove their seminal Cup win two years earlier was win gave the Caps a 2-0 series lead heading into Pittsburgh for Games 3 no fluke and Chicago was a dynasty in the making. After Milan Lucic and 4. I remember writing (boldly I might add) that there was a new scored midway through the third period to give Boston a 2-1 lead with power in the Eastern Conference and that power was Ovechkin and the time ticking down, it appeared almost certain that the series would head Capitals. Not quite. Crosby and the Penguins had a different narrative in back to the United Center for Game 7. Funny what you remember. In the mind as they won four of the next five games and went on to win the press box, my ESPN.com colleagues were scrambling to figure out Stanley Cup. The two great rivals have met three other times in the assignments for postgame but also trying to make plans to get ourselves playoffs (2016, 2017 and 2018) with the winner of each of those series back to Chicago. Craig Custance, now of The Athletic, was on hand and going on to win the Stanley Cup. But on this night in 2009, the full range was tasked with booking flights for himself, LeBrun and me. LeBrun and I of both iconic players’ skills was on display, creating an indelible image were hammering out our respective columns to set up what we that will remain for years. anticipated would be a banner finale to a season that had begun with a soul-sucking lockout. While we were doing that, Bryan Bickell scored with 1:16 left in regulation to tie the game off a great feed from Jonathan Toews with Corey Crawford on the bench. Just 17 seconds later Dave Bolland swatted home a loose puck after a point drive hit the post to the right of Boston netminder Tuukka Rask to give Chicago the lead. It was as though every single person in TD Garden had been gut-punched. As the clock ticked down and the Blackhawks began to celebrate what would be their second of three Stanley Cups between 2010 and 2015, I remember thinking this was a game that reminded us that humans, whether they’re coaches or players or plain old scribes, plan and hockey gods laugh.

6. Los Angeles Kings vs. Chicago Blackhawks, Game 5 of Western Conference final, United Center, May 28, 2014

This entire series would be near the top of the greatest of all time, let alone just the ones I’ve covered. An epic seven-game set that wasn’t decided until Alec Martinez’s overtime winner in Game 7 in Chicago. But even before that, there was Game 5. Los Angeles was up 3-1 in the series and looking to roll over the defending Stanley Cup champs in the conference final to avenge its loss the previous season in the conference final round. Game 5 was epic in every way but specifically will be remembered for one of the greatest stretches of overtime action that we’ve ever seen, highlighted the league’s two premier franchises at the time, both at the peak of their considerable powers. Throughout the series, coaches Darryl Sutter (Kings) and Joel Quenneville (Blackhawks) were content to match power against power with Los Angeles’ top center, Anze Kopitar, regularly squaring off against Chicago’s Jonathan Toews regardless of which building the teams were playing in. It was old school Los Angeles grinding and pounding away at the speedy, skilled but gritty Blackhawks. The Kings erased a 3-1 first period Blackhawks lead and eventually took a 4-3 lead into the third before Ben Smith tied it early in the final regulation frame. Jonathan Quick and Corey Crawford were outstanding, facing a total of 99 shots and both recording 40 saves on the night. Michal Handzus scored off a great feed from Brandon Saad and some misdirection from Patrick Kane, who drew the second assist at 2:04 of the second overtime. The first overtime took just 26 minutes in real-time to play, and when I looked down at my notebook at the end of the first overtime period, I had written only this: OT. That’s how good this game was.

Honorable Mention

• ’s last game in Canada, April 15, 1999: A game in which he was named first, second and third star, and fans spontaneously cheered “one more year” and the Senators lined up for a chance to shake Gretzky’s hand when it was over, ending in a 2-2 tie.

• Preseason game between Toronto and Detroit, 2000: called me into his office at Joe Louis Arena to ask me if I was there to write about how Dave Manson had bitten (allegedly) Martin Lapointe.

• March 29, 2001: When Flyer fan Chris Falcone, enraged after Toronto tough guy Tie Domi squirted water at him through the penalty box glass, ended up toppling into the penalty box and was, briefly, thrashed about by the legendary NHL brawler. Those of us in the press box in Philadelphia had the best view in the house. I still remember linesman Kevin Collins possibly saving Falcone’s life by guiding Domi out of the box.

• April 22, 2012, in Philadelphia: When the Flyers eliminated the hated Penguins in the opening round of the playoffs in a game that featured simultaneous fights between Crosby and Claude Giroux, and Kris Letang and Kimmo Timonen. Enough said.

• June 16, 1998: Game 4 of what might have been the most lifeless final series of all time but featured one of the most emotional postgame scenes ever when Detroit captain Steve Yzerman took the Stanley Cup from commissioner Gary Bettman after the Red Wings swept the Capitals and set it on the edge of Vladimir Konstantinov’s wheelchair. Konstantinov, of course, suffered permanent injuries after a limousine crash that followed the team’s Stanley Cup win the previous June. A picture of that moment hangs in my office as a reminder of the randomness of life.

The Athletic LOADED: 03.18.2020 1172749 Websites

Sportsnet.ca / Ottawa Senators player is first NHLer to test positive for COVID-19

Sportsnet Staff | March 17, 2020, 11:07 PM

Five days after the NHL announced it would pause its 2019-20 season, the first player in the league has tested positive for COVID-19.

According to a statement released late Tuesday, a member of the Ottawa Senators has tested positive. The player has mild symptoms and is in isolation.

“The Ottawa Senators are in the process of notifying anyone who has had known close contact with the athlete and are working with our team doctors and public health officials,” the statement says. “As a result of this positive case, all members of the Ottawa Senators are requested to remain isolated, to monitor their health and seek advice from our team medical staff.”

On Thursday, March 12, the NHL paused its season due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, but none of its players had tested positive for the disease until now. A day before the NHL’s decision, the NBA suspended its season following the news that Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz had tested positive and it was later discovered his teammate, Donovan Mitchell, had as well. One member of the Detroit Pistons and four members of the Brooklyn Nets were also found to have the virus.

In the days leading up to the shutdown, the Senators played all three teams from California, including the San Jose Sharks on March 7. That game was played one day after Santa Clara County, which includes the city of San Jose, recommended large gatherings be cancelled after 20 cases of COVID-19 were found in the region.

The Senators also played the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center, one day after the Nets played the Los Angeles Lakers in the same building. That game between the Senators and Kings was the final NHL game before the league shut down.

The #sens sent a couple players to Belleville to "self-isolate" immediately after that California trip and there's some relief in their AHL circle tonight that the positive COVID-19 test wasn't from that group.

— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) March 18, 2020

While this is the first instance of a player testing positive, a part-time employee at the Sharks’ arena SAP Center and one full-time office staff member for the Vancouver Canucks have also tested positive.

Characterized as a pandemic by the World Health Organization, the COVID-19 outbreak has led to cancellations and postponements across the sporting world and closed international borders as countries try to slow its spread.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has remained hopeful that the NHL will be able to finish its season and award a Stanley Cup in 2020. On Monday, players previously directed to remain in quarantine in their NHL cities were told they could go home, but to remain in quarantine once there.

Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 03.18.2020 1172750 Websites Meanwhile the best goal scorer of his generation, and in my opinion, of all time, has a surprisingly balanced approach. Ovechkin is known for shooting from the so-called Ovi Spot, but that’s mostly a power-play thing. At even strength, he’s just as likely to crash the net as he is to rip a Sportsnet.ca / Breaking down the NHL's best shooters, what it means to one-timer from there. be an elite sniper Going one layer deeper, let’s look at how these players get their scoring chances. Who benefits most by creating off the rush for example?

Andrew Berkshire | March 17, 2020, 5:00 PM Ordering by the combination of the three factors that create higher-quality scoring chances, we get another different name at the top of the list in

Pittsburgh Penguins scoring machine Jake Guentzel. Constantly playing Before the season began, we took a look at the best shooters in the NHL with either Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin certainly helps get Guentzel a at 5-vs-5 using the previous season’s data, breaking things down into shocking number of good looks at the net, but you don’t see Zack four different types of analysis in order to get as broad of an Kassian on here (no offence to him), so credit where it’s due — Guentzel understanding of what creates goals at even strength and who excels in is a part of the reason why he’s a chance machine at even strength. each area. Right behind Guentzel is a familiar name in Gallagher, who was also With the NHL’s season on hold, now is a great time to revisit that second on this graphic last season behind Arvidsson. Part of it is going to analysis and others like it to see how things have shaken out in 2019-20 be the pure volume of shots that Gallagher takes, but he doesn’t lack for so far. quality at all. Attacking in equal proportion off the rush and off the cycle, Gallagher forces himself into the conversation any way you slice it. Like I mentioned back in September, there will always be an element of goal scoring that’s lost in the data, some players are just more talented With a very similar profile to Gallagher, two Maple Leafs are next in line. than others and will score at a much higher rate on shots that may not be Auston Matthews is not a surprise — he’s been the NHL’s leading even- exceptionally dangerous for an average player. fits into that strength goal scorer since he entered the league. But how about William mould for example. Nylander? For a guy who many claim can’t hit the net, Nylander’s first 30- goal season isn’t a mirage — he’s creating a high volume of high-quality The most accurate way of viewing this would be to say who are the best chances. high-volume shooters in the NHL at 5-vs-5, and because there is an opportunity afforded by more ice time, we’re going to use pro-rated After them comes the premier rush attackers in the league, with Connor statistics to make sure we don’t miss a young player who may be ripping McDavid and MacKinnon using their blazing speed to put defenders on up the league in limited minutes. With that said, we also want to control their heels on a consistent basis. Both players have been less than for sample size as well, so we’ll limit this to forwards who have played at impressive off the cycle this season, likely due to a drop in quality of least 500 minutes at 5-vs-5, which gives us a group of 336. linemates due to injury for MacKinnon, and for McDavid, due to the Oilers deciding to put Draisaitl on his own line. With all that out of the way, let’s start with the best forwards at creating pure shot volume — every shot has a chance to beat a goalie, right? Lastly, what about pre-shot movement? Not just in general, but how well do these players quickly turn a pass into a shot on net? Let’s look at one- Last season’s even strength shot volume king has not been unseated, timers. with Brendan Gallagher producing a nearly identical stat line in comparison to last season — though he has put a slightly higher Here is where we see one of the NHL’s scoring leaders this season percentage of his attempts on net. Through injuries and another suddenly move from the middle to the top of the pack, as David Pastrnak tumultuous season in Montreal, Gallagher remains the picture of shooting has blown his competition away with his quick release after his consistency at 5-vs-5, a strong reminder of why he has earned his teammates find him with cross-ice passes. Pastrnak has a wicked one- reputations as one of the fiercest offensive zone competitors in the sport. timer, and the Bruins have leaned into that on a systemic level, which allows him to produce strong but not game-breaking levels of scoring Like last season, there are three other players who have managed over chances, and to make bank on a ridiculous number of them. seven shot attempts every 20 minutes of ice time, though they are completely different than last season. Filip Forsberg, Viktor Arvidsson, Guentzel is right there behind him, another sign of the great teammates and have all fallen back a bit, while Max Pacioretty, Alex he plays with and his ability to finish their plays off. Guentzel hasn’t Ovechkin, and Nathan MacKinnon have taken off. drawn into a game since Dec. 30, and you’ve got to think the Penguins miss him mightily. Pacioretty is the only player of the group of four who has hit the net on a higher-than-league-average percentage of his shot attempts, but Last season’s leader in percentage of slot shots that are one-timers was Ovechkin and Mackinnon being significantly below league average Sean Monahan, and he’s next up here. He’s actually increased his one- should tell you that missing the net or having your shots blocked are not timers a little bit, but Pastrnak and Guentzel have just been other worldly. big mitigating factors in scoring goals. Last season the one area where Matthews wasn’t among the top of the Volume is great, but now it’s time to drill down on the quality side of pack was in getting one-timers, where just over six per cent of his slot things, looking at the top 31 players (in honour of the league’s 31 teams) shots were of that type, but this season has seen a big change, with one- in scoring-chance production, to see what kind of quality chances they’re timers rocketing up to 15 per cent of his total shots on net from the slot. If producing with their shots on net. you’re looking for a reason why he’s gone from scoring at about a 45- goal pace per 82 games to 55 this year, that would be what I would point One of the fun parts of doing analysis like this is you get to say things like to. “Garnet Hathaway? Who?” Well Garnet Hathaway has played limited minutes for the Washington Capitals, and the journeyman has played a On the other end of the spectrum, McDavid was on pace for a third very specific role — namely getting to the front of the net. He only has straight 40-goal season with just over four per cent of his scoring nine goals to show for it this year, but per minute he’s scoring at a similar chances being one-timers. Someone get this guy a linemate who can pace to John Tavares at 5-vs-5. Tavares is having an off year, and I think pass. we all know Hathaway isn’t elite at 28 years old, but that’s a nice little This is also the area where Gallagher falls back a fair amount, but it’s secret tucked away in your depth forwards heading into the playoffs for interesting to note that while last season only about four per cent of his Washington. shots from the slot were one-timers, this season he’s close to 9.5 per Hathaway is an extreme outlier, but following him are two of the best net- cent, more than double. Phillip Danault growing as a playmaker has front players in the NHL in Brady Tkachuk and Gallagher, both experts at really helped Gallagher in that area, and Gallagher’s game diversifying a fighting for space and making teams pay for letting out rebounds. little bit beyond just being a net-front guy helps as well.

At the other end of the spectrum is MacKinnon, who isn’t that shy about One weird outlier here is MacKinnon, who seems to have to do a lot of getting to the net front, but much prefers to shoot from the high slot work on his own within the slot area, but creates a lot more danger from where he has more space to move and pick his spot. Many players that the perimeter than most forwards as well nearly 20 per cent of his shots fans would consider snipers are those who shoot more often from the from the outside being one-timers. high slot for these reasons. Even with all this information to draw on, I’m not sure a clear front-runner emerges here. Gallagher may have the best case, but with a career shooting percentage under 10 per cent, and shooting below his career average this year, can we really call him the best even strength shooter? In the end, how much you value the inputs that create goals compared to the actual goals themselves is a personal choice.

Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 03.18.2020 1172751 Websites “You know what, I feel bad for him because of what has happened,” he said. “I’m sure he’s disappointed because he’s not getting the opportunity to see if he can do it or not.”

Sportsnet.ca / Rick Vaive laments Matthews' missed shot at Maple Leafs For Vaive, who is currently observing a period of self-quarantine at home goals record in Niagara Falls, Ont., it’s a reminder of how much needs to go right to score 50 goals at any level of professional hockey.

You need good health, and some bounces, and a year where you play a Chris Johnston | March 17, 2020, 4:34 PM lot of games.

Somewhere on the other side of all this uncertainty brought on by coronavirus, he believes Matthews will line up those things yet again. TORONTO — Rick Vaive still remembers the date: March 24, 1982. “I think he can do it,” said Vaive. “I don’t see any reason why he can’t if He doesn’t even need to look it up. the season goes right and he doesn’t get hurt. That was the night he became the first player in Toronto Maple Leafs “Now he’s just got to hopefully look towards next year and say: ‘OK, well history to score 50 goals in a season and part of his march to setting the next year I’ll give it another shot.”’ franchise record at 54. Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 03.18.2020 It was a special time in Vaive’s career and his life, and it was something he was looking forward to reliving in the weeks ahead with Auston Matthews in hot pursuit of his place in history. Then everything came to an abrupt halt when the spread of the COVID-19 virus forced the NHL to pause its season.

“I think he had a good shot at it,” Vaive said of Matthews during a Tuesday afternoon phone conversation. “Maybe he wouldn’t have got to 54 or 55, but certainly he would have got to 50. Then, now, who knows? Obviously I don’t think they’re even going to play regular-season games, they’ll go right to the playoffs if they do resume.

“I feel bad for him because the circumstance is out of his control.”

In the grand scheme of what’s happening in the world right now, hockey records obviously matter little. But with a season unexpectedly halted in its final stages, it ranks high on the list of compelling storylines likely never to be seen through.

Matthews had 47 goals through 70 games when everything stopped — already tied for the seventh-best total in Leafs history. That put him on pace for a 55-goal season which would have established a new benchmark for the 103-year-old franchise.

“No one ever wants their records broken, but he was on the verge of doing that,” said Vaive. “I thought it would have been unbelievable. The fact that it’s been 38 years and a guy of his calibre is able to do it and that I could be there.

“It would have been a pretty special moment for him and for me. And for the organization as well.”

Vaive fondly remembers having Frank Mahovlich come into the dressing room at Maple Leafs Gardens the morning after he first hit the 50-goal milestone by beating St. Louis Blues goaltender .

Just 22 at that time — like Matthews is today — he’d raised the bar on Mahovlich’s previous franchise-best of 48 goals from 1960-61.

“He came in and congratulated me and said ‘That’s unbelievable’ and got pictures taken with me,” said Vaive. “For me that was an unbelievable moment because, you know, it’s Frank Mahovlich. I watched him for so many years.”

Vaive intended to share a similar exchange with Matthews if he wound up passing the baton this spring, and was even willing to travel to road games if the Leafs centre got in a position to do it.

Those two actually discussed the pursuit during the team’s “Blue and White Gala” event in January. They were seated at adjacent tables, with their backs to one another, when Vaive leaned over and said: “Are you going to break the record or what?”

“He said ‘Well, I’ve got a lot of work to do.’ And I said ‘Yeah, but I think you’re going to be able to do it. You’ve got a lot of games left and you’re a talented player, you’ve got a great shot, I’m pretty sure you’re going to be able to do it.’ He said ‘Well, we’ll see.”’

It meant something to the three-time 50-goal man just to have that kind of banter with Matthews.

Vaive was following the chase closely and doesn’t like the fact that Matthews will likely never get a shot at the final 12 games to try and score eight more goals. 1172752 Websites don’t detect any desire to do that, especially in light of Nylander’s 31-goal breakout performance.

That puts the Maple Leafs’ tradeable middle-class forwards on the same Sportsnet.ca / How a flat salary cap could impact the Toronto Maple shaky ground that Nazem Kadri, Patrick Marleau and Connor Brown Leafs found themselves in during the 2019 off-season.

Trading one or more of Kasperi Kapanen ($3.2 million through 2021-22), Andreas Johnsson ($3.4 million through 2022-23) or Alexander Kerfoot Luke Fox | March 17, 2020, 11:36 AM ($3.5 million through 2022-23) could alleviate Dubas’s cap pressures while giving an opponent a proven NHL forward in his mid-20s with cost

certainty. What a difference a week makes. Dubas & Co. have proven creative in finding ways to keep their high- Just seven days before the NHL hit pause on its season — and, by priced, elite talent in blue and white, but those signings were made on extension, its hockey-related revenue — deputy commissioner Bill Daly the presumption that the ceiling would only go in one direction. flew to Boca Raton, Fla., to bring the general managers good news. A flat or reduced salary cap would present a host of fresh challenges. The league’s salary cap was projected to jump up from 2019-20’s $81.5 There is pain coming. million to somewhere between $84 million and $88.2 million. Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 03.18.2020 An indefinite work stoppage and an unpredictable blow to the economy will certainly render those early cap guesstimates irrelevant and give GMs headaches.

While the NHL’s cap ceiling has yet to dip since its introduction in 2005- 06 (at $39 million), there is concern among players and execs that it may flatten at $81.5 million — or even regress. Horrible timing for the Torey Krugs and Taylor Halls of the world.

Historically, the most stagnant hockey’s cap has been was during the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign. Technically the ceiling dropped from $64.3 million to $60 million that season, but teams were permitted to spend a pro-rated $70.2 million over those 48 games. (In 2013-14, the cap returned to $64.3 million.)

All of this brings us to the most urgent COVID-19 question of all: “Yeah, but how does it affect the Toronto Maple Leafs?”

Even under that hopeful, increased cap, Kyle Dubas and capologist extraordinaire Brandon Pridham would’ve been facing some tricky issues:

• Upfront, Toronto has a pair of bargain-priced impending unrestricted free agents who’ve injected maturity and leadership into the group while delivering reliable bottom-six minutes. There is a case for trying to hang onto both Kyle Clifford ($800,000 cap hit) and Jason Spezza ($700,000), but would they continue to accept something near the league minimum?

• On the back end, the expectation is for UFAs Tyson Barrie and Cody Ceci to walk, clearing space for entry-level, cap-easing youngsters Rasmus Sandin and Timothy Liljegren. But surely two established veterans on the blue line — Morgan Rielly and Jake Muzzin, both lefties — isn’t enough to contend. So, who do you add via free agency or trade? And at what price?

• Less clear are the fates of the club’s restricted free agents, and there are some intriguing ones. While the underwhelming Denis Malgin ($750,000) and minor-leaguers Jeremy Bracco, Pontus Aberg and Adam Brooks could be retained easily, winger Ilya Mikheyev ($925,000) and defenceman Travis Dermott ($863,000) are valuable talents in line for nice raises. Depth centre Frederik Gauthier ($675,000) fills a void and has steadily improved. He, too, needs either pay bump or a suitable replacement, right?

• Technically, 2021 free agents are eligible to re-sign as early as July 1. In light of the new uncertainty, it makes sense for both players and executives to delay negotiations until there is a clearer cap projection. For the Leafs, this could mean playing wait-and-see with two core pieces: Zach Hyman and Frederik Andersen.

• Complicating the Leafs’ 2020-21 cap picture are the raises already committed to Muzzin, Pierre Engvall, Justin Holl and Jack Campbell. Combined, that’s an extra $4.25 million of the cap those players aren’t taking out of the 2019-20 pie — a sum Dubas surely would’ve thought absorbed by an increased ceiling.

Something’s gotta give.

With the raises already given and the ones on deck, salary will need to be shaved to address the gaping hole on the right side of the blue line.

The nuclear option, of course, would be breaking up the Big 4 — William Nylander, Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews and John Tavares — but we 1172753 Websites delayed by a last-minute invite to be an injury replacement at the Spengler Cup, where he won his second gold.

“It was definitely a weird year overall,” he chuckled. Sportsnet.ca / Zach Boychuk reflects on oddities of fan-less games in “I was planning on a nice, warm vacation, but it looks like that’s on hold Swiss League for a while.”

Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 03.18.2020 Eric Francis | March 17, 2020, 3:54 PM

Zach Boychuk still chuckles at the sight of the goofy green dragon roaming alone in the stands.

It was two-and-a-half weeks ago when the puck was about to drop on HC Fribourg-Gotteron’s second game played without fans in attendance.

With tensions high and playoff implications on the line, the lone sound of skates scraping on ice was interrupted when an unexpected visitor walked into the 6,500-seat BCF Arena in Fribourg, Switzerland.

“Our mascot showed up and he started banging his little drum before the game like he normally does,” said Boychuk, a 30-year-old forward from Airdrie, Alta., just outside Calgary, where he is now in quarantine.

“Both teams just started cracking up, laughing at this mascot. It was hilarious — the funniest thing ever. This green dragon is just banging away — even our coach is cracking up.”

Outside of broadcast personnel, a few media types, the training staffs and doctors, no one else was privy to the surreal — and suddenly hilarious — scene brought on by early Swiss measures to curb the spread of COVID-19.

“It was really, really odd to play with no fans — you could hear every single player chirping one another,” said Boychuk, a former 14th pick overall by Carolina, where he played the bulk of his 127 NHL games.

“The game meant so much, so it was so weird. Our coach ended up getting kicked out for yelling at the ref. Normally the crowd noise would have just drowned it out. But you could hear every single word so, boom — immediately tossed.”

Their previous game, played in front of 17,000 empty seats in Bern, marked Boychuk’s first return to the city in which his former club won last year’s National League title, setting the stage for more oddities.

“I was supposed to get my championship watch from the team, and there were no fans there, so they just gave it to me after in a little bag,” chuckled the junior star, who won two world junior titles and two Spengler Cups for Canada.

“I was like, ‘Oh, thanks.’”

Shortly after the team’s Feb. 29 game, the league postponed operations for two weeks, leaving him in limbo, near the Italian border in Fribourg.

“I think we were all hoping to play playoffs, but because of how close we were to Italy I think a lot of guys were getting pretty nervous about the situation,” said Boychuk.

On Thursday, the Swiss League became the seventh in Europe to cancel its season, putting the wheels in motion for Boychuk and his girlfriend to make a mad scramble home ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s ban on European flights.

He arrived in Calgary on Friday and went immediately to the family farm in Airdrie to be with his mother and step-dad, who just returned from Jamaica.

“We’re basically quarantining together,” he said of the group.

“We’ve been going for walks on gravel roads, staying away from people and doing workouts on TV.”

Boychuk found out Monday the head coach of a team he played a recent exhibition game against tested positive for the coronavirus.

“As far as I know, nobody had coronavirus, but I don’t think anybody really got tested,” said Boychuk, adding he’ll soon resume his tireless off- season social media work, which has earned him 860,000 Twitter followers.

The unknown is just the capper to a bizarre season in which the former KHLer wasn’t signed until late December, when his season debut was 1172754 Websites so that they are part of this, too. I could see these guys grow, and I just wanted to see them have an opportunity to finish this. But at some point you realize the world is in a different place.”

Sportsnet.ca / Comets GM dealing with hardship of brother's death, and Elliotte Friedman talk to a lot of people around the hockey sending players home world, and then they tell listeners all about what they’ve heard and what they think about it.

At age 44, Ryan Johnson manages with the same absolute conviction Iain MacIntyre | March 17, 2020, 6:41 PM and selflessness with which he played 701 NHL games over 15 professional seasons, building a career on hard work and fearlessness.

He lives in Nashville because he learned to love the city when Greg The spectrum of what we in prosperous nations consider hardship has played there and captained the Predators for the final seasons of his own veered as sharply as our lives have in the last week, and not because we 785-game NHL career, which was halted in 2006 by the discovery of a can’t watch sports or buy toilet paper, although in both cases we sure heart abnormality. wish we could. The boys grew up in Thunder Bay, Ont., and Ryan followed Greg to the But by any emotional measure, Monday was a very difficult day for Utica University of North Dakota, then the Canadian national team program, Comets general manager Ryan Johnson, whose big brother Greg – “my the AHL and NHL. hero” — would have turned 49 on March 16 had he not taken his own life last July. “I can’t lie to you and say this has been an easy time,” Ryan said when asked about the last nine months. “The only way I’ve approached things With his grief renewed over the loss of his brother, Johnson then had to most of my life is when I come across adversity, try to digest things and send away his hockey family when the American Hockey League, in understand them, and then move forward and try to get better. I see lockstep with the National Hockey League, extended indefinitely its adversity as a chance to get better.” suspension due to the coronavirus pandemic and dismissed its players to travel home. Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 03.18.2020 Johnson couldn’t even offer a proper goodbye. Nobody could, he said.

“It has been extremely hard,” Johnson told Sportsnet on Tuesday from Nashville, where he’s safely home with his wife and their two children. “Since this started, I felt a huge responsibility for the safety of my players and the safety of my staff.

“This was all done by phone and text. I just didn’t want a congregation of guys in the dressing room. Everybody is paying close attention to (the coronavirus), and we just couldn’t have that.”

Johnson, whose other job title is senior director of player development for the Vancouver Canucks, the Comets’ parent team, said he gave his minor-league players as much information as he could as professional hockey screeched to a halt from full speed over a couple of days last week.

He helped coordinate travel, which included bringing goalie Richard Bachman back from Sweden where he was sent in February on loan to IK Oscarshamn, and getting Nikolay Goldobin, Olli Juolevi and Lukas Jasek home to Europe.

He talked to North American players about whether to fly or drive.

“I just tried to give them as much information as I could so they could make the decision that was best for them,” Johnson said. “In the end, most of the Western Canadians just packed up their cars and started driving.”

To get them their gear from the arena, Johnson arranged a pickup “window” for each player because he didn’t want more than a couple there at a time. In some cases, trainer Damion Parmelee met them at the door with their equipment bags, so the players didn’t even enter the building.

The last time the team was together was for an optional skate on Thursday, when coach Trent Cull and his players learned that Friday’s home game against the Belleville Senators – and all future games, it turned out – had been postponed.

“No chance for exit meetings,” Johnson said. “No chance just to get together to say goodbye. That was something that a lot of guys expressed a problem with – no chance to talk in person and say goodbye. It doesn’t feel like there was closure.

“That was hard for me. I’m still trying to process this, and I’m not sure how to do it. If this is the end of the season, we know the team won’t be the same. It’s never the same.

“I care so much about these guys. From the moment we leave Vancouver (after NHL training camp), I let these players know 100 per cent that this is where I’m supposed to be, giving them the opportunity to grow as players and people and trying to help them any way we can. I’m not there to try to get myself another title or a promotion (to the NHL). I want them to use me to get there. Everything we do is to help them elevate themselves. We try to engage with their families and girlfriends 1172755 Websites awarded the Stanley Cup in an empty rink. But this would also give players and teams two runs at Lord Stanley inside 10 months.

4) Perhaps most significantly, this schedule would seem to preserve the TSN.CA / NHL players spitballing late-July return, August postseason integrity of the Stanley Cup. That is what NHL commissioner Gary Bettman mentioned in an interview on TSN 1050 Radio on Monday.

“The most important thing will be, if we come back, that the tournament Frank Seravalli or the competition that we put on has integrity and does justice to the history and tradition of the Stanley Cup,” Bettman said.

Bettman said the NHL is “looking at every option.” These are uncertain times for all, including the best hockey players on the planet. “Frankly, there’s way too much speculation,” Bettman said. “We don’t like to talk about things that we’re just thinking about, but we are thinking But some of hockey’s superstars have put their heads together, about everything. But yes, everything is on the table.” continuing to privately brainstorm a way for the National Hockey League to achieve some degree of certainty as to when the game will return. This isn’t speculation, this is what the NHL’s best and brightest players are actually talking about. Like you, they have seen reports from health experts that it may take until July or August for enough people to recover and build immunity to the Awarding the Stanley Cup in September would be strange. But annual COVID-19 pandemic. rites of spring will likely be moved to the fall. The Kentucky Derby has been moved to Sept. 5 and the Masters will likely soon follow. It’s going Hoping to resume play in May or early June seems overly optimistic. to take a lot of creativity and flexibility to come up with a plan in this So, this group of players has concocted an unofficial proposal: Let’s take imperfect world. a step back and chart out a return to the ice in late July. It’s an idea that This idea from an invested group of players might mark the germination has pinged back and forth in text messages among a small subsection of of the NHL’s best bet. some of the league’s players, where it has gained traction and support. TSN.CA LOADED: 03.18.2020 The plan would be to open training camps in early July.

Players aren’t fond of the idea of jumping right into the playoffs, so one idea is to begin a truncated conclusion to the regular season that wraps up by the end of July.

That would give teams with an unequal number of games played a chance to make their final cases for the postseason, while also providing “warm-up” contests for teams firmly in playoff position.

Then a two-month sprint for Lord Stanley would begin in August, with the Stanley Cup awarded by the end of September.

A three- to four-week transition period would follow in October with the draft, free agency and training camps.

Then the full 2020-21 regular season – a condensed, 82-game schedule – would commence in November with the Stanley Cup awarded again in late June, 2021.

The majority of players who have been presented with the proposal are in favour. It is now making its way to the NHL Players’ Association and then potentially to the NHL.

The belief is the NHL would certainly consider and take any proposal made by players. The league isn’t in a position to be closing the door on any idea at this point.

In fact, colleague Pierre LeBrun reported that one governor independently pitched the NHL on a similar proposal.

The two biggest concerns from the NHL’s point of view will be broadcast network availability (NBC has exclusive rights to the Tokyo Olympics in the U.S. from July 24 - Aug. 6) and arena availability.

Yes, there are also questions to be asked about the length of time out of action (August through November) for teams that don’t qualify for the playoffs in this proposal. Or about whether the time off during the transition period is enough for the two teams that go the distance. Or about how pending free agents will be protected during an unusual circumstance.

But the players’ plan seems to check a lot of boxes.

1) This plan allows players and teams time to properly prepare, taking stress off athletes who feel the pull to continue to train at a time that it is not safe to congregate at the rink. It also allows for a defined “off-season” which would be March through June.

2) Waiting would minimize the possibility of the NHL returning in fits and starts – for instance, if the NHL attempted to return in May or June and then a player or team staff member tested positive for COVID-19 during that process.

3) A July return would allow the NHL to properly market hockey’s return and maximize revenue to be recouped, since hockey could likely then be played in full arenas. NHL players aren’t keen on the idea of being 1172756 Websites he’s had a better offensive season than any defenseman besides Carlson.

Others considered: Hedman; Carlson; Alex Pietrangelo (STL); Charlie USA TODAY / NHL award winners if the season is canceled because of McAvoy (BOS); Dougie Hamilton (CAR) coronavirus: Artemi Panarin nabs MVP in close race Vezina Trophy (goaltender): Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets

While many of these choices are difficult, this one is obvious. Vincent Z. Mercogliano The 26-year-old has been the top-performing goalie in the league, posting a 31-21-5 record while tying with Montreal’s Carey Price for most appearances with 58. There’s no telling when – or if – the NHL season will continue. Despite the heavy workload, he ranks second in the league among The league has been careful to call it a “pause,” not a cancelation, while goalies who have started at least 35 games with a .922 save percentage. expressing hope that “we will be able to complete the season and award Only Boston’s Tuukka Rask is better at .929 while playing 17 fewer the Stanley Cup.” The NHL told its players Monday they can go to their games. offseason homes but they must self-quarantine. But it’s the difficulty of the shots Hellebuyck is stopping that really sets The priority is keeping fans, players, coaches and everyone else involved him apart. with the league healthy and safe amid the coronavirus pandemic. But we also know that many fans are cooped up at home and missing the Goals Saved Above Expectation determines how goalies fare based on escape you find through sports. the likelihood of a shot resulting in a goal. A rebound near the crease is a much higher percentage shot than a slap shot from the blue line. With that in mind, I tried my hand at picking regular-season award According to Evolving Hockey, Hellebuyck’s GSAx for the season is winners: 19.86, with no other goalie in double-digits.

Hart Trophy (MVP): Artemi Panarin, New York Rangers Others considered: Rask; Andrei Vasilevskiy (TB); Jordan Binnington (STL); Carter Hart (PHI) A casual fan could take a quick glance at the NHL’s scoring leaders and conclude that Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl should win. He Opinion: Four reasons why Patriots dynasty is over leads the league with 110 points (43 goals and 67 assists), which is 13 points better than teammate Connor McDavid at No. 2. Olympic athletes left scrambling as training centers close

Case closed? Well, not quite. NBA bracing for more positive coronavirus tests

Panarin is tied for third in scoring at 95 points (32 goals and 63 assists), Who will replace Tom Brady as Patriots' top QB? and the underlying stats reveal a compelling argument for the offseason’s Gallery: Sports world hit with cancellations top free-agent prize. Calder Trophy (rookie): Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche According to Evolving Hockey, Panarin ranks as the top player in the league in Goals Above Replacement (GAR) and Wins Above This was shaping up to be a very interesting race between three Replacement (WAR). While there are legitimate questions about how promising defensemen. those advanced stats calculate value for each player, there is a significant gap between Panarin and Draisaitl in GAR (24.9 vs. 15.4) and Much of the NHL chatter has focused on Makar and Vancouver’s Quinn WAR (4.4 vs. 2.7). Hughes, but having watched up close Adam Fox transform into the Rangers’ No. 1 defenseman, I can tell you he belongs in the Those stats, as well as numbers that indicate he’s been more valuable conversation. And the numbers tell a similar story. defensively, such as goals against per 60 minutes (2.1 vs. 3.2), have helped Panarin gain traction around the league as a strong Hart Hughes leads all rookies with 53 points (eight goals and 45 assists), with contender – especially considering his ability to elevate his teammates. Makar behind him at 50 (12 goals and 38 assists). The difference is that Makar reached his total in 11 fewer games, as he missed time with an Panarin averages 1.27 goals for per 60 relative to his teammates, while upper-body injury. Draisaitl sits at 0.74. Simply put, Panarin has driven more production for his team. He leads the NHL with 71 points at even strength, with Draisaitl Fox is tied for fourth among rookies with 42 points (eight goals and 34 second at 66. Draisaitl leads the league with 44 power-play points, which points). His GAR of 14.9 ranks ahead of Hughes’ 11.1, with Makar have mostly come while on the ice with McDavid. besting both at 15.8.

Since inking a seven-year, $81.5 million deal with New York in July, Makar’s had the best all-around season, with better defensive results Panarin has carried the youngest roster in the league into playoff than Hughes and better point production than Fox. He leads the trio in contention. That impact tilts the scale in his favor. points per game, GAR, GF%, CF% and a host of other categories. It comes down to how much you penalize him for only playing 57 games, Others considered: Draisaitl; McDavid; Nathan McKinnon (COL); David compared to 68 for Hughes and 70 for Fox. Pastrnak (BOS); Nikita Kucherov (TB). I don’t think that’s enough to take the award away from the most Norris Trophy (defenseman): Roman Josi, Nashville Predators deserving player.

The presumed favorite has been the Washington Capitals' John Carlson, Others to consider: Hughes; Fox; Mackenzie Blackwood (NJ); Elvis who leads all defensemen with 75 points (15 goals and 60 assists). But Merzlikins (CBJ) this isn’t an award for the top point-producer. Jack Adams Award (coach): John Tortorella, Columbus Blue Jackets Josi ranks second behind Carlson with 65 points (16 goals and 49 assists), with Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman ranking hird at 55 (11 goals Not only did the Blue Jackets lose potential Hart winner Panarin to free and 44 assists). But both Josi and Hedman have outperformed Carlson agency, but perhaps no team in the league has been as devastated by in defensive metrics. injury.

The Lightning average 1.97 goals allowed at five-on-five per every 60 Last season’s No. 2 scorer Cam Atkinson was limited to 44 games with minutes that Hedman plays and the Predators average 2.08 with Josi. an ankle injury, top defenseman Seth Jones has been out with a The Capitals, on the other hand, average 3.0 goals allowed per 60 with fractured ankle since Feb. 8 and a host of others have missed significant Carlson on the ice. It’s the same story with WAR, with both Hedman and time. Still, with young goalies and a cast of relative unknowns, Tortorella Jose at 3.2, compared to 1.4 for Carlson. kept his team in the mix with a low-scoring, grind-it-out style of play.

When taking the full picture into account, Josi feels like the right choice. At the time the NHL paused the season, Columbus sat in one of the wild He’s had a similar impact to Hedman in terms of preventing goals and card spots in the Eastern Conference. Others considered: Alain Vigneault (PHI); Craig Berube (STL); (EDM); Bruce Cassidy (BOS)

USA TODAY LOADED: 03.18.2020 1172757 World Leagues News "We are more in danger (here). It now appears... better to leave," he said. Other Chinese clubs, including Fabio Cannavaro's CSL champions Guangzhou Evergrande, who were in Dubai, and runners-up Beijing Coronavirus and sports: Tokyo Olympic chief, Bundesliga player test Guoan are among those who have recently returned to . positive -- Horse racing set to stop, big day for German football Today is the day where the DFL is expected to rule on the potential According to the Norwegian FA that is, who broke ranks on Tuesday to return of professional football to Germany but other sports are only just unilaterally announce that Euro 2020 would become Euro 2021 and be starting to shut down. Horse racing in Australia, Ireland and the UK, played between June 11 and July 11. Much more on that breaking story where about 250,000 people attended the recent Cheltenham Festival, is here. expected to start its closure processes today. -- Tokyo Olympic boss has virus Meanwhile, news agency Reuters reports that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will hold talks with heads of international sports Another positive diagnosis, and this one could have far-reaching organisations on Tuesday in response to the coronavirus outbreak. While implications. Japan Olympic Committee deputy chief Kozo Tashima the meeting unscheduled, it is not thought a decision on the future of the announced on Tuesday that he had contracted coronavirus. Games will be made. "Today, my test result showed positive for the new coronavirus," Tashima March 15 said in a statement, issued via the Japan Football Association, which he also heads. -- Bundesliga back after Easter? - reports "I have a mild fever. Examinations showed a symptom of pneumonia, but The Bundesliga could return to action as early as the middle of April, I'm fine. I will concentrate on treatment following doctors' advice," he according to reports in Germany. said. When the county's top 36 professional clubs meet in Frankfurt on Though officials have been largely positive about the chances of Tokyo Monday to discuss their next course of action, the German Football 2020 going ahead, Tashima's positive results has increased speculation League (DFL) is set to propose resuming competition on the weekend of that the spread of coronavirus may lead to their cancellation. His 17-18 April, football magazine 11Freunde reported on Sunday. announcement came as the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee said it Bundesliga matchday 26 was suspended on Friday due to the spread of would scale down festivities related to the Olympic torch relay to prevent the coronavirus and the DFL, according to the report, will recommend further spread of the virus. that matchdays 27, 28 and 29 also be postponed before play resumes in -- Hertha player tests positive mid-April. The four postponed matchdays would then be played mid- week in order to ensure the league is finished by the end of May. A second Bundesliga player, has tested positive for the coronavirus. After Paderborn's Luca Kilian, an unknown Hertha Berlin player has fallen ill. For many clubs, simply cancelling the season outright could be financially The club say "players, coaches and backroom staff will now undergo the disastrous. Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge was widely recommended 14-day isolation period." criticized for his remark that "professional football is also about finances" but, according to the German Press Agency (DPA), German clubs could A number of players in Germany's second tier have also contracted the stand to lose a combined estimate of around €750m ($833.4m) plunging virus. many of them into existential crisis and threatening thousands of jobs. March 16 Should the DFL's suggestion be accepted, however, matches will most probably continue to take place behind closed doors for the forseeable -- Bundesliga postponement ongoing future. After a meeting involving Bundesliga clubs and other stakeholders, the "We won't experience a normal football match for a long time," Borussia German football league (DFL) has confirmed that all games will be Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke told public broadcaster ARD on suspended until April 2, which we pretty much knew already. Sunday. "If we do play again this season, it will be behind closed doors - that much is clear." The DFL's CEO Christian Seifert spoke of the concerns about the tens of thousands of jobs that rely on football in Germany and said more games Former Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness remains skeptical. "I think behind closed doors were a real possibility. it's charlatan behavior to say what could happen in four weeks' time," he said on German television on Sunday. "We need to give the scientists "I am aware that football is viewed a billion-dollar business. But at the time to find a solution. Anything else is nonsense." centre of it all is the game itself, and the 56,000 jobs dependent on it every match day. Without sponsorship and ,TV income, those jobs and -- UEFA to suggest Euro 2020 delay the very existence of clubs is in danger," Seifert said. UEFA is set to suggest to national associations and clubs that Euro 2020 He also acknowledged that any decision made by UEFA tomorrow would be postponed when representatives convene for an emergency video- be key. conference call on Tuesday. -- Olympic chief remains confident on Games, public less so According to German broadcaster ZDF, European football's governing body will propose two alternative dates for the tournament, which is due The leader of the IOC's coordination commission for the Tokyo Olympics, to take place across 12 European countries from June 12 to July 12. John Coates, says he believes the Games will go ahead as planned. The first alternative, and the solution preferred by UEFA, is to postpone The Australian, who will have to go into government-mandated self- the tournament until summer 2021. However, this would be dependent isolation when he returns to his homeland this week from Olympic on FIFA President Gianni Infantino agreeing to put his plans for new, business in Europe, told the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper: "It's all expanded Club World Cup on ice. proceeding to start on the 24th of July.'' The second alternative would be to stage the tournament in autumn or However, a Kyodo News survey released on Monday showed that just winter 2020, although this could be problematic given the clubs' busy 24.5 per cent of Tokyo residents expect to see the Tokyo Games take calendars and, assuming national league competitions aren't cancelled place from July 24 to August 9 as planned, while 69.9 per cent do not. altogether, the potential need to catch up on postponed fixtures from this -- Wuhan footballers set to return to China season. German newspaper the Süddeutsche Zeitung reports that players from On Sunday, the president of the Italian Football Association, Gabriele Chinese Super League (CSL) outfit Wuhan Zall, based in the city where Gravina, also called for Euro 2020 to be postponed in order to complete the coronavirus was first reported, are to return to China. Like many other the season, which is currently suspended. teams and the Chinese national side, they had been training abroad - in "We will propose to UEFA the delay of the European championship," he Zall's case in Spain since January - but the spread of the virus will see told broadcaster SportMediaset. "We will try to get to the end of this them return. [Serie A] championship because it is fairer and more correct after the Wuhan will reportedly continue their chaotic pre-season preparations in many investments and sacrifices of our clubs." Shenzhen. Leo Baptistao, Wuhan's Brazilian forward, told Chinese media -- The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has confirmed to the before departing Spain that the situation "has flipped". Süddeutsche Zeitung that the international friendly between Spain and Germany, which was scheduled to take place in on 26 March, has been cancelled. Earlier this week, Germany's planned friendly against -- The German Football League (DFL) has suspended the Bundesliga Italy in Nuremberg on 31 March also fell victim to the coronavirus. and Bundesliga 2 seasons with immediate effect, dropping a plan to play this weekend in empty stadiums. The league board cited an increasing -- Olympics to go ahead as planned, says Japan number of suspected coronavirus cases affecting clubs in the top two The Tokyo Olympic Games will go ahead as planned, according to tiers as the reason behind the decision. Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. There have been over 1,500 cases -- Good news! Paderborn head coach Steffen Baumgart's coronavirus of the coronavirus and 28 deaths in the country, but Abe is certain that test has come back negative. However, the Bundesliga club have the Games, scheduled to begin on July 24, will happen. announced that they are still waiting on the results of tests involving "We will overcome the spread of the infection and host the Olympics some of their squad members. Therefore, tonight's game against without problem, as planned," Abe said. Düsseldorf is still hanging in the balance. However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) — not the -- Despite announcing on March 4 that everything would go ahead as Japanese government — will have the final say on whether Tokyo 2020 planned, a decision has been made to postpone the 2020 Masters takes place. tournament. Fred Riley, Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club, said on Friday: "Considering the latest information and expert analysis, we have -- The international showjumping and dressage tournament in Dortmund decided at this time to postpone the Masters Tournament, the Augusta was called off on Sunday after an order by city authorities. The event in National Women’s Amateur and the Drive, Chip and Putt National the Westfallenhallen had begun on Thursday despite the coronavirus Finals." outbreak and was due to finish later on Sunday. -- Former Denmark and Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel -- Wayne Rooney has criticized England's football authorities over how is one of a number of famous faces taking the World Health long they took to suspend matches in the country amid the coronavirus Organisations 'Safe Hands Challenge'. outbreak. -- Bundesliga side Paderborn have confirmed that head coach Steffen "Why did we wait until Friday? Why did it take Mikel Arteta to get ill for Baumgart has been tested for the coronavirus after presenting symptoms the game in England to do the right thing?" the former England and earlier this week. Results are expected this afternoon and could have an Manchester United captain wrote in his debut column for British effect on whether tonight's game against Düsseldorf goes ahead as newspaper the Sunday Times. planned. "For players, staff and their families it has been a worrying week — one -- Bayern Munich midfielder Thiago, appears not best pleased with the in which you felt a lack of leadership from the government and from the decision made by the DFL earlier today to go ahead with Bundesliga FA and . Matchday 26 before discussing a proposal to suspend the season. "After the emergency meeting, at last the right decision was made. Until -- races in Bahrain and Vietnam have been postponed in then it almost felt like footballers in England were being treated like light of the coronavirus, organizers have said. The decision follows the guinea pigs. If people's lives are at risk, that has to come first." cancellation of Sunday's . -- Germany's international friendly against Italy, scheduled for March 31, -- Given the increasing number of self-isolation cases that have impacted has unsurprisingly been canceled. The game was due to take place in a number of professional football clubs in England, the governing bodies Nuremberg but the city's council said it would refuse to host the game. have said "there is no alternative" but to suspend the season with immediate effect. On Friday afternoon a joint-statement was released Germany are also due to play Spain, another country badly affected by that promised "further updates" and "constant review". the virus, in Madrid on March 26. There has been no official announcement but everything points towards that game being called off "The FA, Premier League, EFL and FA Women’s Super League and FA too. Confirmation when it comes. Women’s Championship have collectively agreed to postpone the professional game in England until Friday 3 April at the earliest. This March 14 action, which will be kept under constant review, has been taken due to the increasing numbers of clubs taking steps to isolate their players and -- There is football! Matchday 10 of the Liga MX in Mexico, the country's staff because of the Covid-19 virus. It will also apply to all England team top flight, as well as the second division and the women's top flight will fixtures at every level and all FA competitions including the Emirates FA play football behind closed doors on Matchday 10. This came after a Cup and the Women’s FA Cup, along with academy and youth-team statement was released by the league itself. As of today, Mexico matches." currently has 15 confirmed cases of the coronavirus. -- UEFA have officially postponed all upcoming UEFA club competitions, -- According to Italian sports daily "La Gazzetta dello Sport" Serie A side releasing the following statement. Sampdoria, who already have five players infected with the coronavirus, have been hit by two more cases. The Genoa-based club said they "In the light of developments due to the spread of COVID-19 in Europe would not comment on more cases. and related decisions made by different governments, all UEFA club competitions matches scheduled next week are postponed. The -- Another day, another case of coronavirus in German football. Second- Champions League and Europa League quarter final draws have also division side have confirmed that their central defender been postponed." Stefan Thesker has tested positive for the virus. -- The DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga have released a statement regarding -- Italy's players' association has released a statement saying it is the league's plans to deal with the coronavirus pandemic. "saddened and outraged" that clubs are still calling on players to arrive for training sessions. "The DFL Executive Committee will propose that the games of both Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 be suspended from next Tuesday up to The statement explained that some clubs were bringing in players to train and including 2 April [the next international break] at a general meeting in small groups or for daily temperature checks. With Italy the worse next Monday. The goal is still to finish the season by the summer - from a European country to be hit by the virus, the capital in lockdown and all sporting point of view, but especially because an early end to the season sport suspended through April 3, this move is hugely controversial. could have consequences that could threaten the existence of some The PA added in their statement that forcing players to leave their home clubs." is "a shamefully irresponsible act." As things stands, Matchday 26's nine fixtures will go ahead as planned -- The latest players to test positive for COVID-19 are both from Italy, behind closed doors. Europe's worst affected region. Fiorentina players Patrick Cutrone and -- There are reports that Werder Bremen's game against Bayer German Pezzella plus club physiotherapist Stefano Dainelli have all Leverkusen on Monday could be called off completely. Local authorities tested positive. are anticipating crowds of more than 1,000 fans outside the stadium even -- The Premier League are set to meet on Thursday, March 19, to make if the game is played behind closed doors, which is the cause for a decision on the course of action for the season. At this stage, the concern. options seem to be to call it early, void the season and start again in -- The Ligue de Football Professionnel have voted to suspend Ligue 1 & August, or try to play out the remaining nine matchdays. Ligue 2 action until further notice owing to COVID-19. March 13 -- The Board of Control for Cricket in India have postponed the start of -- Paderborn defender Luca Kilian has tested positive for COVID-19. He the Indian Premier League (IPL) until April 15 amidst Coronavirus is the first player in the Bundesliga infected with coronavirus. outbreak threat. -- Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi has tested positive for the -- Second division side have announced that their entire coronavirus as Chelsea become the latest to enter self-quarantine. team have been put in "homebound quarantine" for 14 days after a "Callum displayed symptoms similar to a mild cold on Monday morning second member of their first-team squad, Jannes Horn, tested positive and has not been at the training ground since then as a precaution," said for coronavirus. As a result, the club have requested their upcoming a statement from the based club. The 19-year-old took to Twitter fixtures against Dynamo Dresden and VfL Osnabrück be postponed. with people waking up to the news in London on Friday morning. -- So far, we've not had any news to suggest the Bundesliga will be -- Formula 1 has canceled the Australian Grand Prix over coronavirus suspended, but all fixtures in the top division, including the headline Ruhr fears. The race, scheduled for Sunday, was the first on the 2020 season derby in Dortmund, will be played without fans. calendar. -- UEFA have made a statement, but one that falls some way short of March 12 addressing immediate concerns over public health. No blanket ban on games or an extension on games behind played closed doors. Instead, a -- London-based side Arsenal have confirmed that their manager, Mikel meeting via video link, on March 17 among its 'stakeholders' to discuss Arteta, has tested positive for COVID-19. Team personnel that came in what to do next. close contact with Arteta will now self-isolate, including the first-team squad and coaching staff, the club said. -- has announced that games in the top two flights of Spanish football - La Liga and La Liga 2 - have been postponed for the next two -- Arsenal's announcement comes after the Premier League confirmed weeks at least, with immediate effect. Furthermore, Real Madrid are in that the matches over the coming weekend would go ahead as quarantine after a player from the club's basketball team tested positive. scheduled — with spectators in the stadiums. Instead, England's top Real Madrid's sports teams use the same training complex. league will hold an emergency club meeting on Friday, March 13 to discuss the situation. -- Formula One team McLaren will not participate in the opening race of the season in Australia after a member of its team tested positive for the -- FIFA has delayed South American World Cup qualifiers, due to take virus. However, the race is still expected to go ahead, despite four other place on March 26-31, due to the coronavirus. The decision follows a suspected cases in the paddock. request from CONMEBOL, South America's football confederation, to move the matches to a later date. -- It has been reported in the Times newspaper that the English Premier League are close to announcing that upcoming games will be played -- CONMEBOL announced that next week's group stage games of the behind closed doors, but there has been no official confirmation on that Copa Libertadores, South America's version of Europe's Champions from the Premier League. It has been confirmed that three Leicester City League, have been postponed. players are self-isolating having shown the symptoms of the virus. -- The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL), Germany's top Basketball league, -- In the United States, the NBA has suspended play due to the has suspended its season indefinitely, the BBL said on its website. Clubs coronavirus pandemic after Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert tested positive will meet after 14 days to reassess the situation. Germany's women's for the virus. "The NBA will use this hiatus to determine the next steps for basketball league has canceled the rest of its season. moving forward in regard to the coronavirus pandemic,'' the league said -- The NCAA, the body that governs college sports in the United States, in a statement. has canceled all winter and spring championships. This includes the -- The Swiss league have taken the significant step of men's and women's March Madness basketball tournament, two of the canceling the season with immediate effect. All decisions regarding biggest events on the college sports calendar. champions, promotions and relegations will be decided in an -- Major League Baseball, the top baseball league in the US, is delaying extraordinary meeting scheduled for Friday. the start of the season by two weeks. The season was due to start on "We have a responsibility to protect our players, club members, and their March 26. The remainder of the league's preseason schedule has also health, and that is now a top priority," Denis Vaucher, Director of the been canceled. National League and the Swiss Leagues, said. -- The National Hockey League, North America's biggest ice hockey March 11 competition, has announced it is pausing its season. It said it would resume play "as soon as appropriate." The developmental American -- Another football player has tested positive for coronavirus - Juventus Hockey League and said they would follow and Italian international Daniele Rugani. The club statement now reads suit. that they are currently activating all the isolation procedures required by law, including those who have had contact with him. -- Several leading fan groups in Germany have called on the Bundesliga to postpone matches rather than play them behind closed doors. -- The NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments will now also be played without fans as the US tries to do its best to contain the spread -- Schalke, whose match against is to be played of the virus. The games will still take place, so as to allow fans the behind closed doors, encouraged their fans not to travel to Dortmund. chance to watch the game, but the atmosphere of the tournament will of "Due to current events, the team, coaching staff and all responsible course now be different. March Madness, as the tournament is known, persons of Schalke are pleading (to fans) not to go to Dortmund for the now takes on a very different meaning. # on Saturday," the club said in a tweet. -- Also in the US, the Seattle Sounders in the MLS have postponed their This plea comes after supporters of Borussia Mönchengladbach next game after consultation with their governor. "Nothing is more gathered outside of Borussia-Park for their side's 2-1 win over Cologne important than public safety and the wellbeing of our fans." on Wednesday. -- The Golden State Warriors have announced their NBA game vs. the -- The Dutch football association (KNVB) has canceled all football events, Nets at their home stadium will be played without fans. They have also both professional and amateur, until March 31, the KNVB said on its stated that all events at the Chase Center through March 21 will be website. canceled or postponed. They are the first NBA team to announce a game without fans. -- UEFA has announced that both of next Tuesday's Champions League matches — Manchester City vs. Real Madrid and Juventus vs. -- Second-division side Hannover 96's Timo Hübers has tested positive Olympique Lyon — have been postponed. for coronavirus. The 23-year-old defender is the first professional player in Germany known to have caught the virus. Real Madrid players are currently under quarantine after a basketball player tested positive for the virus. Juventus players are also under -- 's Europa League home game against Basel on quarantine after Daniele Rugani was also diagnosed with the virus. Thursday evening will take place with fans in attendance. However, Sunday's Bundesliga match between the Eagles and Borussia -- Major League Soccer has become the latest governing body to Mönchengladbach will be played behind closed doors. According to the suspend the current season following the coronavirus pandemic. The authorities in Frankfurt, the reason behind the decision is the "low" American soccer league, which began its new season just two weeks number of coronavirus cases present in the cities of Frankfurt and Basel ago, has called off play for the next month. whereas the Mönchengladbach area is one of Germany’s epicenters of the coronavirus outbreak. -- ATP have announced that there will be a six-week suspension of the men's tour. The WTA are yet to make an announcement on the "Our decision is based on the advice given to us by the experts," said the women's tour, but are expected to follow suit. However, the WTA have city of Frankfurt’s health office. confirmed the cancellation of the upcoming . -- The game between Union Berlin and Bayern Munich on Saturday will Monday's meeting came in light of a recommendation from German be held behind closed doors, the authorities in Berlin-Köpenick have Health Minister Jens Spahn, who has called for all events of over 1,000 said. people to be canceled. March 10 -- The police in the canton of Basel have announced that the Europa League match between FC Basel and Eintracht Frankfurt will not be -- Although there won't be fans inside the stadium for Borussia played in March 19 as planned due to the coronavirus. It was not Dortmund's second leg against PSG tomorrow, it looks like there might immediately known when and where the match could be held. The first be fans allowed outside. leg of their round-of-16 tie is to be played in Frankfurt on Thursday. -- The German Ice Hockey League (DEL) has ended its season early in -- The Paris police authority has announced that the second leg of the an attempt to stop the spread of the virus, leaving the 2020 season Champions League round of 16 fixture between Paris Saint-Germain and without a champion. This came hours after the Austrian league made a Borussia Dortmund is to be played behind closed doors due to concerns similar announcement. about the coronavirus outbreak. The police said in a statement that the -- Another Bundesliga game has been put behind closed doors to prevent move was to conform with measures adopted by the government to cope the spread of the virus. Hoffenheim have just announced their home with the spread of the virus. The health minister said that France, which game against Hertha Berlin will now be played without fans. has more than 1,100 confirmed cases and has had 19 deaths, has banned gatherings of more than 1,000 people to try and slow the spread Union Berlin on the other hand, have stated that after an extensive of COVID-19. Dortmund have a 2-1 advantage into the second leg. examination they have decided "not to issue an order preventing spectators from attending" the home game against Bayern Munich. -- The Leipzig health office, meanwhile, has confirmed that Tuesday's Champions League match between RB Leipzig and Tottenham Hotspur -- Germany vs Italy in Nuremberg on March 31 will be played without will go ahead as planned. fans, the DFB have announced. The game could yet be canceled depending on how long Italy's country-wide lockdown remains in force. -- French Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu has confirmed that Their game against Spain in Madrid is still expected to go ahead as France's final Six Nations rugby international game against Ireland has planned, but no decision in regards to coronavirus has been made. been postponed. Maracineanu did not specify the new date for the game. French media had earlier reported on Monday that all games on the final -- Saturday's Ruhr Derby between Borussia Dortmund and Schalke, day of rugby's Six Nations Championship on Saturday had been arguably the biggest derby in Germany, will be played behind closed postponed amid fears over the coronavirus outbreak. The move is in doors for the first time, Dortmund officials have confirmed. The 80,000- keeping with France's ban on all gatherings of more than 1,000 people. capacity Signal Iduna Park will be empty, but for club and match officials and selected media outlets. The city of Dortmund has said that, as things -- Japanese officials have postponed the start of the 12-team stand, Dortmund's match against Bayern Munich on April 4th is also professional baseball league season due to the spread of the expected to take place with no spectators. There is growing speculation coronavirus. The season was to open on March 20. The league had been that all Bundesliga games will be played behind closed doors this playing its preseason games in empty stadiums due to the virus. weekend, but we still await an official announcement. "I personally believe that we have no choice but to postpone at this -- It's also been confirmed that Bayern Munich's Champions League stage," the league's commissioner, Atsushi Saito, said. game against Chelsea on March 18 will also be played without Meanwhile, the head of the soccer J-League said it planned to extend its spectators. That's one of several upcoming Champions League games suspension of play, which is already in effect until March 18. across Europe that will close its doors to fans, with Spanish league, La Liga, announcing that all games will be played without fans until at least "At this moment I think it's very difficult to resume the matches,'' J- March 22, covering the next two rounds of top-tier fixtures in the country. League chairman Mitsuru Murai said. -- Wednesday's Bundesliga game between Borussia Mönchengladbach -- Basketball superstar LeBron James has said he won't play if his Los and Cologne is to be played behind closed doors due to the coronavirus Angeles Lakers are forced to hold games behind closed doors due to the outbreak. The city of Mönchengladbach announced the move in a outbreak. The National Basketball Association has reportedly told teams statement issued on Tuesday. The local derby, postponed from February to look into strategies on how to play without fans in the arena amid because of a storm, will be the first top-flight German football game to be concerns over the spread of coronavirus. played behind closed doors. "If I show up to the arena and there ain't no fans in the crowd, then I ain't German Health Minister Jens Spahn had previously recommended that playing. This ain't Europe," James said. events with more than 1,000 people be called off. The western state of North Rhine-Westphalia has been Germany's hardest hit by the outbreak. -- Organizers of the 2020 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, California, have announced the tournament "will not take place at this time due to March 9 concerns surrounding the coronavirus and the safety of the participants and attendees at the event." -- Late on Monday Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced that the country's top-flight Serie A football league will be suspended The first ATP Masters 1000 and WTA Premier Mandatory event of the because of the coronavirus crisis. year had been slated to kick off on Wednesday. "There is no reason why matches and sporting events should continue "The health and safety of the local community, fans, players, volunteers, and I am thinking of the football championship," Conte told a press sponsors, employees, vendors, and everyone involved with the event is conference in Rome. of paramount importance," said the tournament's director, . "We are prepared to hold the tournament on another date and will Italy's Olympic Committee (CONI) had recommended earlier in the day explore options," he added. that all sporting events in the country be suspended until April 3 to help contain the outbreak. The final Serie A game before Conte's The decision followed a confirmed coronavirus case in the Coachella announcement saw Sassuolo beat Brescia 3-0 behind closed doors in Valley, which prompted the Riverside County Public Health Department Reggio Emilia on Monday. to declare a public health emergency. --The presidency of the DFL, which operates the Bundesliga, met on March 8 Monday to discuss the rapidly developing outbreak of the coronavirus in Germany and its impact on the league. -- Despite the increased spread of the coronavirus, DFL CEO Christian Seifert is pushing for the German football season to end on schedule. In a statement released following the meeting, the DFL said that unless "The coronavirus puts the whole of society, and therefore football too, in local authorities order otherwise, all nine Bundesliga games on Matchday a difficult situation," Seifert said in a press release on Sunday. "Of 26 are to go ahead as planned. The DFL reiterated an earlier statement course, the health of the population and therefore of all football fans is in which it pointed to the need to get the season played in its entirety by our top priority. The aim must be to find the appropriate path between the summer. It also said that it could hold matches with a limited number justified precaution and excessive caution in different areas of life." of spectators, if so ordered by local authorities, and it said it would comply with whatever instructions are issued by local authorities. The -- German Health Minister Jens Spahn has called for more large public DFL ruled out canceling single games, but said it was open to delaying events to be canceled to help control the spread of the virus. Authorities entire matchdays between now and the end of May if necessary. In such have been criticized for allowing large sporting events such as the cases, it said the DFL would do so in consultation with the German FA Bundesliga to continue while other countries have already halted public (DFB) and the European governing body, UEFA. matches. "In light of the dynamic developments of the last couple of days, things him whether Germany might follow Switzerland in canceling professional need to change quickly," Spahn told dpa. The biggest upcoming sports matches. event this week is set to take place in Leipzig for the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 when Tottenham come to visit. The club have "We are in close consultation with the relevant authorities and the health tweeted that no decision has been made yet. offices. It's for them to make the decisions and we will follow their advice, and implement their decisions," he said. March 7 -- International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach has --The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) has called off the 2020 reiterated his assertion that this summer's Tokyo Olympics will be a Women's Ice Hockey Championship, which was to be hosted by Nova success despite the coronavirus outbreak. Scotia next month. "We are all healthy and looking forward to the meeting," a smiling Bach “It is with great regret that we must take this action," IIHF President René told reporters as he arrived at IOC headquarters in Lausanne for a Fasel said. "It was not an easy decision to make, as we were greatly meeting of the organization's executive board. looking forward to hosting this tournament in Canada. Nevertheless, the decision has been made due to safety concerns for the well-being of "We are preparing for a successful Olympic Games Tokyo 2020," he players, officials, and spectators." said. An IIHF statement said the cancelation of the women's tournament had Both Tokyo 2020 Olympics organizers and the IOC have repeatedly no bearing on planning for the men's tournament,to be hosted by stressed that the Games, slated to open on July 24, will go ahead as Switzerland in May. planned. March 6 Earlier on Tuesday, though, Japan's Olympics minister, Seiko Hashimoto appeared to raise the possibility of delaying the start of the -- The head virologist at Berlin's Charité, the oldest hospital in Germany's Games.Hashimoto said that Tokyo's contract with the IOC "could be capital, has called for all Bundesliga matches in the Rheinland region to interpreted as allowing a postponement" as long at the Games are held be postponed this weekend in light of a Coronavirus outbreak in in the 2020 calendar year. However, she added that the Japanese Heinsberg near Mönchengladbach. "Full stadiums with 10s of thousands government and Tokyo remained committed to the July 24 opening date. of fans - especially in areas like the Rheinland which have been strongly affected by the coronavirus - would have be stopped from a medical point There have been 1,000 confirmed coronavirus infections in Japan, with of view," said , Director at the Institute for Virology at 12 fatalities. the Charité. --UEFA announced on Tuesday that it has set up a working group with Borussia Mönchengladbach are due to face Borussia Dortmund in a the European Leagues association to handle any fixture congestion be clash that could prove decisive in the Bundesliga title race. Gladbach's caused by coronavirus postponements. stadium is less than 10 kilometers away from the Heinsberg area and, as The president of the Swiss FA, Dominique Blanc, warned of serious a result, the club have fans from the Heinsberg area not to attend, consequences for the sport. promising future recompensation of match tickets. Authorities have decided to let the game go ahead as planned. "Due to the coronavirus we are in a situation that could shake, for a part of us, professional football to its foundations," he said in an address to March 5 the UEFA Congress being held in Amsterdam. -- Italy has ordered all major sporting events to be played behind closed The Swiss soccer league (SFL) has been put on hold until at least March doors for a month, in a bid to curb the Coronavirus outbreak in the 23 after the clubs rejected the possibility of playing matches behind country. The governmental order will be in place until April 3 at the closed doors. earliest. Ten Serie A matches have already been postponed as a result of the virus, with two Italian Cup semifinals also being affected. FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who also addressed the conference, said it was "important to work with authorities but not to panic." -- The Six Nations rugby game between Italy and England, which was set to take place in Rome next week, has been postponed due to the March 2 Coronavirus, reports in the UK suggest. -- UEFA has said decisions over whether to cancel matches, including March 4 playoffs for the upcoming Euro 2020, due to the coronavirus, will be made by governments and health authorities. -- Thursday's second leg of Napoli's Italian Cup semifinal against has been postponed as the coronavirus epidemic continues to UEFA executives met in Amsterdam on Monday but spent only a few spread throughout the country. A Serie A statement said that the move minutes discussing the spread of the flu-like disease, which has seen came in accordance with an order from the prefect of Naples calling for sporting events canceled around the world. the game to be delayed. Napoli lead the semifinal 1-0. A new date for the second leg has not yet been announced. It has played havoc with domestic soccer in Italy where Sunday's clash between Juventus and Inter Milan was among six weekend games -- The health minister of Germany's North Rhine-Westphalia state has postponed. Last week, Inter played Bulgarian club Ludogorets in the said he does not believe Saturday's Bundesliga match between Borussia Europa League behind closed doors at their San Siro stadium. Mönchengladbach and Borussia Dortmund should be postponed, despite a coronavirus outbreak in the region. Karl-Josef Laumann said this "We're in touch with the authorities, we're in the hands of the local assumption was based on the fact that the local health authorities saw no authorities, and we'll deal with whatever they tell us," a UEFA spokesman reason for putting off the match. However, Gladbach have asked those said. from the Heinsberg to region, which has been the hardest hit in the state, -- RB Leipzig have apologized to a Japanese group who were ejected to voluntarily skip the game - in return for a full refund. from a Bundesliga game on Sunday due to fears -- Cycling teams confined to a luxury Abu Dhabi hotel have been about the coronavirus. Fans posted on Twitter on Monday about their instructed by the country's health authorities to remain in quarantine until experience of being asked to leave around 10 minutes into the match March 14 due to coronavirus concerns. Emirati authorities ordered the with Bayer Leverkusen. Leipzig on Monday confirmed the incident, lockdown of the Crowne Plaza in Yas Island and the nearby W hotel after saying stewards had made a mistake in attempting to follow guidelines two Italian participants involved in last week's UAE Tour were suspected from the Robert Koch Institute for dealing with groups from potentially of contracting coronavirus. high-risk areas for the virus. The club said they were attempting to Members of the French teams Cofidis and Groupama-FDJ as well as contact the group of fans affected to invite them to another game. Russia's Gazprom have been confined to the fourth floor of the Crowne March 1 Plaza since last Thursday. -- Many rugby, hockey, golf and tennis events in Singapore, Thailand or -- Clemens Fuest, the leader of IFO Institute for economic research, has China have been postponed or will not be played. warned of a "historic year for sports, in a bad sense," in light of the Coronavirus. -- The Chinese Grand Prix, scheduled for April 19, has been postponed by the sport's governing body FIA and Formula One. No new date has -- The German FA (DFB) has said it will follow the advice of the country's yet to emerge. health authorities on how to respond to the coronavirus outbreak. -- South Korea's pro soccer league has postponed the start of its new "I can give you a simple answer as we have don't have any medical season, while the Chinese FA said domestic games at all levels would expertise," DFB Vice President Rainer Koch said after a reporter asked also be postponed. -- The World Athletics Indoor Championships, due to be held between March 13 and 15 in Nanjing, have been postponed until next year. -- Five Serie A games were postponed on Saturday, including league leaders Juventus' home game against Inter Milan in Turin, in an attempt to contain the spread of a virus outbreak. The games were originally due to be played behind closed doors, but the decision to call them off was taken by the league as part of an urgent attempt to control the spread of the coronavirus. February 28 -- Bayern Munich have announced that as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, their players have been instructed not to sign autographs or pose for selfies with fans. This is a temporary measure. The club said they were in regular contact with the City of Munich's health department and the Robert Koch Institute, the German federal government agency responsible for disease control and prevention. -- Denmark's Michael Morkov has been instructed not to leave his Berlin hotel room while he awaits a test for the coronavirus after traveling there for the track cycling world championships from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The 34-year-old left for the German capital on Thursday, before the UAE Tour was canceled due to two Italian participants showing symptoms of the virus. All other riders and staff have since been confined to the Tour hotel. Morkov had been scheduled to compete in Berlin this weekend. The UAE Tour was scrapped after five stages and ahead of its scheduled conclusion on Sunday. -- The Swiss Football League has announced that it has canceled all first and second-division games for the coming weekend due to the coronavirus outbreak. This followed a government order that all events with more than 1,000 participants be put off until March 15 at the earliest. -- Bundesliga club RB Leipzig have instructed players and staff to avoid shaking hands, which is the customary greeting in Germany. Head coach Julian Nagelsmann told a press conference ahead of Leipzig's match against Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday that it was part of the club's policy meant to prevent the spread of viruses. "There is a ban on shaking hands; we greet each other with elbows," he said. Leipzig have also imposed a travel stop on all scouts, staff and players apart from match travel. -- English Premier League club Newcastle United have also introduced a handshake ban to protect against the spread of the coronavirus. "There's a ritual here that everybody shakes hands with everybody as soon as we see each other every morning -- we've stopped that on the advice of the doctor," Newcastle manager Steve Bruce said at a press conference ahead of their match against Burnley on Saturday. -- German professional sports leagues have been monitoring the situation regarding the coronavirus outbreak and are in contact with the relevant authorities. -- The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has said it is "fully committed" to holding the 2020 Games in Tokyo as planned despite the widening new coronavirus outbreak. IOC President Thomas Bach told Japanese media in a conference call late on Thursday that the IOC "is fully committed to a successful Olympic Games in Tokyo starting July 24." This came as the viral outbreak across Japan and dozens of other countries has fueled concerns about the Summer Games, with a swathe of other sports events, mainly in Asia, postponed or canceled. The Ireland-Italy Six Nations match on March 7 in Dublin was postponed on Wednesday following an outbreak of the virus in northern Italy. Several Serie A matches in northern Italy are to be played behind closed doors due to the outbreak. In the Europa League, Inter Milan beat Ludogorets 2-1 (4-1) at an empty San Siro, with the game played behind closed doors due to the coronavirus outbreak in the region. Deutsche Welle LOADED: 03.18.2020 1172758 World Leagues News Initially, the NBA postponed the Jazz's game against Oklahoma Thunder before it announced it would suspend the rest of the season after Wednesday night's games. More sports events have been postponed amid coronavirus outbreaks "The NBA will use this hiatus to determine next steps for moving forward in regard to the coronavirus pandemic," the NBA said in a statement.

NCAA pulls plug on March Madness By Amir Vera and Dakin Andone, CNN The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) on Thursday canceled its Division I basketball tournament -- and the biggest annual event in college basketball -- as well as other winter and spring NCAA (CNN)Since last week's announcements that the NBA would suspend its championships. season and the NCAA would cancel its annual men's and women's basketball tournament in response to the coronavirus outbreak, "This decision is based on the evolving Covid-19 public health threat, our numerous other sports leagues have followed suit. ability to ensure the events do not contribute to spread of the pandemic, and the impracticality of hosting such events at any time during this The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging Americans not academic year given ongoing decisions by other entities," NCAA said in a to attend events with more than 10 people. statement. Here's a look at the impact coronavirus has had on US sports: The NCAA previously said March Madness would proceed without any NASCAR postpones races until May fans, and that only essential staff members and family members would be allowed to attend. NASCAR postponed races in its national circuits through May 3, according to an announcement made Monday. NCAA President Mark Emmert statement on limiting attendance at NCAA events: https://t.co/TIHHJjdse5 pic.twitter.com/8I1HdceDfN The stock car racing body said it plans to hold a full season once the schedule resumes the weekend of May 8-9 in Martinsville, Virginia. — NCAA (@NCAA) March 11, 2020 Kentucky Derby postponed until September Multiple college conferences also canceled ongoing basketball tournaments, including the Big Ten Conference and the SEC, among The 146th Kentucky Derby will be postponed until September 5, others. according to reports from multiple media outlets in Louisville, where the race takes place. MLB calls off spring training, delays season At this point, it's not clear how the postponement may affect the other Major League Baseball will cancel its remaining spring training schedule races. and delay Opening Day -- scheduled for March 26 -- back by at least two weeks, the league said Thursday. Traditionally, the Kentucky Derby is run first, followed by the Preakness and Belmont Stakes. "Nothing is more important to us than the health and safety of our players, employees and fans," the league said in a statement. "MLB will UFC postpones next three fights continue to undertake the precautions and best practices recommended by public health experts. We send our best wishes to all individuals and The Ultimate Fighting Championship will postpone its next three events, communities that have been impacted by coronavirus." which were scheduled to take place March 21, 28 and April 11, according to UFC President Dana White. Statement from Major League Baseball: pic.twitter.com/0bWS5VTRPu UFC is the only major sporting league still in play this weekend despite — MLB (@MLB) March 12, 2020 coronavirus fears MLB plans to announce the postponement's impacts on the schedule at a UFC is the only major sporting league still in play this weekend despite later point, "with the hope of resuming normal operations as soon as coronavirus fears possible," the statement said. The March 21 fight was scheduled to be in London, but was postponed MLS sidelines games for a month because of travel restrictions between the US and , ESPN reported. Major League Soccer will suspend its season for 30 days while it reevaluates the impact of the coronavirus. The March 28 and April 11 fights were scheduled to take place in Las Vegas, according to UFC's website. "Our clubs were united today in the decision to temporarily suspend our season -- based on the advice and guidance from the Centers for The April 18 fight is still set to take place in Brooklyn, New York. White Disease Control and Prevention, Public Health Agency of Canada, and said he will look at relocating it, including moving it outside of the US, if other public health authorities, and in the best interest of our fans, necessary. players, officials and employees," MLS Commissioner Don Garber said in a statement. "We'd like to thank our fans for their continued support WWE to hold WrestleMania without fans during this challenging time." World Wrestling Entertainment announced Monday that it has decided to US Soccer calls off games through April hold WrestleMania without fans. US Soccer canceled games for the Men's and Women's National Teams WWE moving SmackDown and will hold it without a live audience through April. WWE moving SmackDown and will hold it without a live audience "With the health of our players, coaches, staff and fans as our main WrestleMania is WWE's biggest event of the year. priority, US Soccer has decided it was in the best interest to cancel the majority of our upcoming domestic and international camps at all levels, Tens of thousands of passionate wrestling fans were expected to fill the including our senior Men's and Women's National Team games in March Raymond James Stadium in Florida on April 5. Now, the event will be and April, due to the outbreak of COVID-19," US Soccer Chief Medical held at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando with only essential Officer George Chiampas said in a statement Thursday. personnel. The USMNT was set to play the in two matches later this NBA decides to suspend season month, while the USWNT was scheduled to host Australia on April 10 in Sandy, Utah, and on April 14 in San Jose, California. The National Basketball Association announced Wednesday night it would suspend its season after a player on the Utah Jazz tested positive NHL suspends season for coronavirus. The National Hockey League said it would suspend its season, effective A second Utah Jazz player tests positive for coronavirus, as a suspended immediately. NBA considers next steps The league had been preparing for the developments without "taking A second Utah Jazz player tests positive for coronavirus, as a suspended premature or unnecessary measures," Commissioner Gary Bettman said NBA considers next steps in a statement on Thursday. The NHL pauses the 2019-20 season. pic.twitter.com/bCi776ZFqX — NHL (@NHL) March 12, 2020 "However, following last night's news that an NBA player has tested positive for coronavirus -- and given that our leagues share so many facilities and locker rooms and it now seems likely that some member of the NHL community would test positive at some point -- it is no longer appropriate to try to continue to play games at this time," Bettman said. PGA Tour cancels events as the Masters postpones The PGA Tour announced late Thursday the Players Championship was canceled. The tour was also canceling all other events in the coming weeks through the Valero Texas Open (March 30 to April 5), it said in a statement. "We have pledged from the start to be responsible, thoughtful and transparent with our decision process," the Tour said. "We did everything possible to create a safe environment for our players in order to continue the event throughout the weekend, and we were endeavoring to give our fans a much-needed respite from the current climate." But the situation is rapidly changing, organizers wrote, and "the right thing to do for our players and our fans is to pause." Augusta National Golf Club said Friday it would postpone the Masters, which was set to tee off on April 9. The Boston Marathon gets postponed The Boston Marathon has been postponed until September 14, Mayor Marty Walsh said Friday. It was scheduled to take place on April 20. "Our expectation and the hope right now is that this date will get us to a safer place in relation to the spread of the coronavirus," Walsh said. The Boston Athletic Association, which organizes the race, said in a statement it understood the decision to postpone. "On matters of public health and safety we take our guidance from the officials entrusted with protecting the public in this area," CEO Tom Grilk said. "We understand our role, along with our partners, in ensuring a safe environment for all participants, volunteers, spectators, and supporters that meets the standards set by those officials." Cable News Network LOADED: 03.18.2020 1172759 World Leagues News LOADED: 03.18.2020

Factbox: Sports Events Still Ongoing Despite Coronavirus Pandemic

By Reuters

(Reuters) - Sports events around the world that have not been suspended, postponed or canceled due to the coronavirus outbreak: OLYMPICS ** The Olympics from July 24-August 9 in Tokyo have not been postponed or suspended. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will hold talks with heads of international sports organizations on March 17. ** The Tokyo 2020 Olympics torch lighting ceremony in ancient Olympia was held without spectators. ** The Tokyo 2020 Olympics flame handover ceremony in Athens on March 19 will be a scaled-down event with only a few Tokyo Games officials and torch bearers inside the stadium. SOCCER ** Australia's top flight A-League soccer competition has banned spectators for the rest of the 2019/20 season and faces a temporary hiatus due to quarantine restrictions that have affected two teams. Organizers are nonetheless planning to pack the final matches into a condensed schedule before the playoffs. ** The Copa America from June 12-July 12 in and is set to go ahead. ** Argentina's cup competition, the Copa de la Superliga, and the Brazilian state championships are being played without spectators in attendance. ** The Coral Tour Championship in Llandudno, Wales, from March 17-22 is going ahead as planned. ** The World Championships in Sheffield from April 18-May 4 is going ahead as of now. BOXING ** The European Olympic boxing qualifying tournament in London will be held without spectators from March 16-24. RUGBY ** 's July tests against Scotland and Georgia remain as scheduled but will be reviewed in April. RUGBY LEAGUE ** Australia's National Rugby League, the world's richest competition in the 13-man rugby code and the most popular spectator sport in the country's eastern states, is continuing for the time being at closed stadiums. MIXED MARTIAL ARTS ** A UFC mixed martial arts event in Brazil on March 14 went ahead in an empty arena. ** UFC Fight Night 171, which was to be held in London on March 21, will be relocated to a new venue, possibly in the United States. HORSE RACING ** The British Horseracing Authority confirmed races in England, Scotland and Wales until the end of March will take place without spectators in attendance. ** Australian races are also continuing in key markets but without fans AUSTRALIAN RULES FOOTBALL ** The top flight Australian Football League is expected to launch its season as scheduled in on Thursday but without fans in attendance and after organizers slashed the season to 17 rounds from 22. (Compiled by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar/Peter Rutherford) 1172760 World Leagues News Behind closed doors? Fine in theory; not much use if a single staff member from either team has to go into self-isolation. Summer rugby? Not unless next season’s programme can also be adjusted to avoid the prospect of 12 solid months of relentless playing and training. Too much More questions than answers in rugby union's land of coronavirus rugby can be even worse for your health, mental and physical, than too confusion little. The only certainties are these: no perfect solution exists and the next few months will be character-building.

Six Nations highlights Robert Kitson Hitting the snooze button on the Six Nations has rendered all the customary post-tournament awards redundant but, whatever unfolds in Exeter Chiefs entertain Bath at Sandy Park earlier this season. Like the autumn, it will be hard for anyone to overtake France’s scrum-half Liverpool in the Premier League the Premiership leaders would find it a Antoine Dupont as player of the championship or Justin Tipuric’s hollow victory to just be awarded the title. spectacular score for Wales at Twickenham as try of the campaign. Coach of the campaign? At the moment it is arguably a tie between two There are far more important things in life than a few weeks or, perhaps, defence coaches – Scotland’s Steve Tandy and France’s Shaun months without rugby. It is going to be a while before the world returns to Edwards – with England’s new forwards coach Matt Proudfoot also something approaching normality, never mind the oval-shaped segment making a difference. At least all of the above individuals will remember of it. That said, given every major league and tournament on the planet – the ill-starred 2020 championship with some fondness both club and international – is now affected to some degree, it is already clear rugby’s administrators in both hemispheres are staring into the One to watch abyss. Given there is presently no live rugby to watch, what better time to dust Unlike the upper echelons of top‑level football, rugby is not a sport cosily off a few all-time classics to prevent television audiences from collapsing insulated from the real world. CVC’s investment may change things – completely. In no particular order I would recommend watching the potentially at a price if the big fixtures are no longer on free-to-air following modern era games in full: British and Irish Lions v South Africa, television – but the game has mostly lived on its wits for the first 25 years second Test 2009; Lions v New Zealand second and third Tests 2017, of professionalism. When the sums have not quite added up, extra England v Scotland 2019, the 2019 Premiership final between Saracens money-spinning games have been added. Should the precise opposite and Exeter and the 2011 Heineken Cup final between Leinster and become unavoidable, what next? Costs and wages have risen steadily Northampton. There is likely to be plenty of time to dip even further back and even the healthier parts of the sport have already been feeling the into the archives in the coming months. pinch. As with the airline industry, rugby feels more vulnerable to the The Guardian LOADED: 03.18.2020 pandemic than most. It does not exactly help that the northern hemisphere club game’s most lucrative fixtures are scheduled to take place over the next three months. Industry insiders predict “huge consequences” if, for example, the shutdown ends up continuing until the summer. If, as is being suggested, the coronavirus outbreak does not peak in the UK before June, the remainder of the domestic season will effectively be toast. All this is strictly relative compared with the bigger picture but what do the harassed administrators do? Take the Premiership, for example. With nine rounds of the regular season and the play-offs to be completed, Exeter are five points clear at the top. The organisers are hoping to suspend the league for only five weeks but what if it turns out to be longer? Do they then freeze the standings and reluctantly cancel the rest of the season? With Saracens already relegated it could be a neater- than-usual outcome but what to do about the title? Handing it to Exeter with a large asterisk attached would hardly impress Sale Sharks, Northampton Saints or Bristol Bears; it would not thrill the Chiefs much either. Alternatively, might they refer the remaining regular season fixtures to some kind of independent pools panel, identify a notional top four and try to reschedule the semi-finals and final at some later date? Instinctively, that also feels unsatisfactory. Let’s say, for the sake of argument, such rescheduled knockout fixtures were held in August or the opening two weeks of September. None of the teams involved would have played any competitive rugby in the preceding six months, some players will have fallen out of contract and moved on in the interim. Would it be truly compelling drama or merely a case of going through the motions? Then again, imagine the sense of frustration – and the big commercial hit – for teams such as Exeter and Leinster should the rest of the season be declared null and void. Both sit atop their respective league/conference and have earned themselves prized home European quarter-finals. Then again, how much satisfaction is there in a hollow paper title victory, with no wild scenes of dressing-room celebration or bloodied sense of post- whistle achievement? Mentally it may just be easier, if not for those squad members moving on, to park all the mixed emotions and go again next season. And where does that leave the Championship and the RFU’s other national leagues? Easy enough in the Championship, in theory, where Newcastle Falcons are way clear of everyone else at the top and few could complain if they were awarded the title. But what about the precedent that would set? Take National League Two South where the top four sides – Taunton Titans, Tonbridge Juddians, Henley and Redruth – are separated by just six points with 25 gruelling rounds already played. Those of us who attended Taunton’s game with Esher at the weekend and – full disclosure – have had a family member playing for the Titans first XV this season have been on tenterhooks for weeks. If there has to be an artificial, abbreviated end to the campaign, it will be massively harsh on those missing out. 1172761 World Leagues News

RFL admits clubs are under threat after suspending season over coronavirus

Aaron Bower

The Rugby Football League’s chief executive, Ralph Rimmer, has conceded the future of many clubs could be under threat after it was unanimously agreed to postpone the season until at least next month. No rugby league will be played in the UK until 3 April at the earliest after representatives from across the game agreed to halt the season with immediate effect at a meeting in Huddersfield on Monday. Rimmer admitted that with finances tighter in rugby league than other mainstream sports, clubs are facing a precarious future owing to the virus. “I don’t think we can deny there is a threat to many clubs,” he said. “All of them have different business models but they are based on having a certain amount of home games. There’s a threat, we recognise it, but there’s a bigger picture and we all have to play our part.” Super League had carried on with its fixtures last weekend, insisting it was following government advice, but with the situation having worsened, the competition’s chief executive, Robert Elstone, conceded all parties within the sport must work together to ensure the sport survives a period of financial uncertainty. “Super League clearly is aware of the gravity of the situation,” he said. “We’re mindful of the communities in our game and, echoing what Ralph said, now is a period of time where we look at the implications and options. It’s a very fluid situation, which will change day to day, and ourselves and the RFL need to be closely joined in terms of what it means for fixtures and finance, and how we come out of this as healthy as we can.” With clubs from France and Canada in the competition, Elstone admitted that adds an extra dimension of difficulty when planning how and when the sport resumes. “We’re aware of that and whatever we decide in terms of future fixtures, those two overseas clubs will have a big bearing on what we can and can’t do. “Most fundamentally, we don’t know when the situation will change for the better, so we have to be very flexible and nimble. There’s a real need for solidarity in the whole sport. Our fans are terrific and we need them now more than ever, just like our partners.” Elstone said Super League clubs were unanimous in their decision to postpone. One of the sport’s most prominent owners, Wigan’s Ian Lenagan, said the main concern had to be the welfare of everyone involved. “At this time of great uncertainty across the world, our sport’s No 1 priority has to be the safety and wellbeing of everyone within our communities,” he said. “We were party to this decision and fully supportive of the measures decided. “Whilst the postponement of a large number of fixtures across the competition will present a logistical challenge like we’ve never seen before, we trust everyone connected to both Wigan Warriors and the Super League will understand the reasoning behind this stance. “Suspending the competition will add an element of certainty to our planning in a period that is otherwise filled with uncertainty. We will now take the appropriate steps to review all of our daily activities, our financial plans and implement a working schedule that ensures maximum protection for those within the club and everyone connected to it.” The Guardian LOADED: 03.18.2020 1172762 World Leagues News "Such decisions are widely accepted because they are based on a [club's] performance. But if they were armchair decisions, I doubt that this will be accepted," he says. As coronavirus hits German sports, clubs fear crashing out of the game Business models under threat Sports rights owners like Sky and DAZN that broadcast German Bundesliga games via their payTV channels also face a life-threatening In Germany's favorite sport, the saying goes that a football club just blow to their business models. They simply have no product, football needs to switch on the stadium lights and thousands will come to see games, anymore, but at the same time need to deliver to their fee-paying what's happening there. Even in the trying times of the coronavirus clients who had already bought their packages. outbreak, the saying was proved right, as the last regular game showed. The broadcasters who have the rights to the top two divisions could claim As the ref blew the kick-off whistle for Mönchengladbach versus Cologne compensation from DFL due to not being able to deliver their product. — a match decreed to be held behind closed doors due to coronavirus "It's a matter of private contractual agreements that are understandably fears — hundreds if not thousands of fans had gathered outside the not for the public," was Sky's response to an inquiry by German news stadium to cheer on their teams. The happening was far from ideal to agency DPA. slow the spread of the novel pathogen. The problem is that the league has no insurance for the lost TV income, It goes without saying that Germany's professional football league (DFL) one that could come into play were the season to be canceled due to the was forced to act, which it did on Friday (March 13) by pausing the coronavirus. And calls for the state to bail clubs and rights owners out are regular Bundesliga season for at least two matchdays until April 2. likely to fall on deaf ears. Runaway costs and lost revenue "In terms of support for sports clubs, including professional football, we are not planning to earmark money in the national budget," the German Christoph Breuer, a professor of sports business and management at the Interior Ministry said recently in response to an inquiry from sports news Sports College in Cologne, believes that DFL's move will have far- agency SID. But companies and other commercial enterprises, the reaching consequences for the clubs. ministry said, could ask the Economy Ministry for "liquidity support in the "Ticket sales are a key source of revenue for the clubs," he told DW. "In form of loans." addition to that, sponsorship money and income from television rights are Breuer also believes that it wouldn't be wise for wealthy football clubs to threatened because clubs are bound by contracts to play their games." ask for government aid. Instead, he argues, they should finally open As a matter of fact, should the season not continue after April 2, the 36 themselves up for big-money investors like in most European countries professional teams in the first and second divisions in the Bundesliga by dropping the 50+1 ownership rule that still shields German Bundesliga would look at a potential loss of €750 million ($836 million). The figure is clubs from foreign investors. a total of missing gate receipts, lost sponsorship money and outstanding Deutsche Welle LOADED: 03.18.2020 television money. Just the TV money from the last nine games likely not to be played would hit the clubs' bottom lines by €370 million. For a full season of 34 league games, they get a total of €1.4 billion. Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Jaochim Watzke Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Jaochim Watzke in a rare moment of unity The bosses of two clubs that stand to lose millions were among the most vocal. Borussia Dortmund's CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke spoke of "the biggest crisis" in German football. Before him, Bayern Munich's CEO, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, spoke in favor of continuing with the originally planned games behind closed doors on Matchday 26. "If this money was absent, it would be expected that many smaller and mid-sized clubs would have financial problems," Rummenigge said. Will lights go out in lower leagues? In Germany's third and fourth division football, the situation looks even more dramatic, says Breuer. Gate receipts there make up for a much bigger part of revenue than in the two top-flight divisions, and the clubs' liquid positions have been much more strained for years. "Two out of three third-division clubs are already deep in the red, while in the first division all clubs are profitable," he says And further down the German football pecking order, lights could go out altogether, he warns. Albert Ammermann is the deputy president of fifth- division club Kickers Emden, a club that's already suffered from a series of postponed matches due to bad weather. "Our club's [financial] situation has never been rosy, we cannot cope with any loss of income from ticket sales," he told DW. Schedule disruptions The coronavirus is not only plunging club finances into disarray, but also causes havoc in European game schedules. Even if the postponed Bundesliga matchdays are to be played at a later time, there are virtually no slots left in the tight football timetables. EURO2020 draw Will the coronavirus threaten European game schedules? Nothing can be ruled out anymore Subsequently, questions of relegation and promotion will arise, which according to Breyer are "extremely difficult to decide," because they may not be made on the pitch but instead based on the standings in unfinished league tables. 1172763 World Leagues News run the risk that your entire attendee list is put into a quarantine because there was someone there who is infected?

Basically, we’re most likely headed to closed stadiums for sporting Coronavirus update: Should I attend a sporting event at a stadium? A events, especially if this starts to spread like they think it might. youth sports tournament? How long will this last? We don’t know. Dr. Gottlieb pointed out that the virus seemed to struggle Nate Scott like with hot, humid air, and pointed toward July and August as a possible stop point, but those are estimated guesses. We aren’t sure how long this will go on. The spread of COVID-19, a strain of coronavirus, has quickly reached For now, we need to try to limit the spread of disease and give the global pandemic levels in countries like China and Italy and sent the global medical community time to work. If you can, avoid large gatherings, economy tumbling. especially large sporting events indoors. Global health experts have stated that the disease is past containment, LOADED: 03.18.2020 and we should now focus on limiting the spread to communities, especially those who are immunocompromised. With this in mind, we have answers to some of your questions about how to do so, especially with regards to sporting events. You may have tickets to an upcoming professional game, or a youth sporting tournament that your children are set to participate in. Should you attend? Does it make a difference if the event is indoors or outdoors? We have the best answers we could find. It’s not you … it’s others to worry about Before we get into anything, we should say: When deciding if to attend a large gathering, you need to think about the entire population. As of now, there hasn’t been much evidence that COVID-19 affects children. Because of this, you may not hesitate attending a children’s sporting tournament. But the main fear of COVID-19 is uncontainable spread. Doctors and researchers don’t know enough about this disease, and want to limit its growth before they understand it better and, hopefully, eventually design a vaccine. Even if you don’t personally feel threatened, or you don’t feel your children are, you can still carry and transmit the virus to elderly or immunocompromised people who are threatened by it. Avoid large crowds if you can, especially indoors In an interview with the USA TODAY Editorial Board, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, who served as commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration from 2017 to 2019, said: “I think right now, we should be limiting large gatherings, especially in areas where we know that there’s spread.” Gottlieb would go on to specify that large gatherings that are indoors are especially worrisome, as the disease transmits more easily there. If you can avoid large gatherings, especially indoors ones, like a youth tournament or a basketball agreement, you should do so. For outdoor events, especially if the weather is warm, it’s slightly more manageable a risk, but if you have heard about an outbreak in your area, you will probably want to avoid all large gatherings, indoors or out. Wash hands often, and definitely stay home if sick COVID-19 appears to spread through small droplets, which can be transmitted from the face or hands. This is why doctors are encouraging people to avoid touching their faces. Another way to combat the spread is to wash your hands often, and thoroughly. Likewise, even if you feel a small cough coming on, avoid other people. Stay home. Work from home if possible. The disease is believed to be transmittable even before symptoms come on, and even if you are just fighting a common cold, you should be limiting the transmission of any virus during a time like this. The decision may not be up to you More and more leagues around the world are canceling sporting events, or playing them behind closed doors. For now, public health experts are recommending cancelling large events played in cities with community spread, but not elsewhere … yet. Again, this is former FDA commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb: I think we’re going to be at a point very soon where we think of canceling sporting events (or holding) them in empty stadiums like they’re doing in South Korea. You don’t want to bring together a lot of people in closed spaces, especially indoors, where you can have easy transfer. Look at what happened with the CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) and AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) conferences. Do you want to continue to hold conferences and have to 1172764 World Leagues News have been postponed. The ITF said it remains committed to delivering the tournament and is working to find a suitable alternative date.

Rugby union Coronavirus and Australian sport – a list of the major cancellations Super Rugby has been postponed indefinitely just seven rounds into 18, after the announcement that travellers returning to New Zealand would have to self-isolate for 14 days made the international competition Guardian sport unviable. The Super W regular season finished at the weekend, but the last two weeks of the competition have been postponed. The AFL season has been cut from 23 rounds to 17, with all 18 teams to play each other once. A decision on whether the season will start as There is no guarantee the Wallabies’ three home Tests in July – against scheduled on Thursday, when Richmond are scheduled to play Carlton Ireland and Fiji – will go ahead. at the MCG, will be made on Wednesday. If it does go ahead, there won’t be any fans in attendance following the league’s assertion that games Basketball will be played behind closed doors “for the foreseeable future”. That The final two games of the NBL grand final series have been called off. decision was taken last week in the light of the Australian government’s Perth led the best-of-five series 2-1 and could have sealed the title with advice against holding gatherings of more than 500 people. The AFL victory in Wednesday’s game four, but the Sydney Kings expressed a confirmed on Monday that if one player tests positive for Covid-19, the reluctance to travel to Perth. The league is yet to confirm if a winner will AFL will shut down for at least 14 days. be crowned. Two rounds of the AFLW regular season remain; both are scheduled to Motor sport be played as planned, but behind closed doors. But there were reports at the weekend of the possibility of fast-tracking the grand final to next After the Australian Grand Prix was dramatically postponed at the last weekend, to ensure the completion of the season. If that were to be the minute on Friday, the FIA has confirmed that the Bahrain and Vietnam case, Fremantle would play Collingwood in the title decider. Grands Prix will now not take place on their scheduled dates. The Dutch Grand Prix on 3 May and the Spanish Grand Prix a week later are also in The VFL season, along with other state leagues including the SANFL, doubt. Meanwhile, Formula E has suspended its season until May, which WAFL, NEAFL and TSL – and their associated women’s competitions – means races in Paris, Seoul and Jakarta will be affected. have been postponed until at least 31 May. The ’s Melbourne 400 was cancelled with a Rugby league decision on subsequent meets yet to be made. But organisers have The NRL season started last week without restrictions on fans attending indicated their preference to reschedule rather than run for TV-only games, and will continue as planned in round two, although games will races. from this point on be played behind closed doors. The league CEO, Todd Cycling Greenberg, said on Monday that due to the quick-moving nature of the outbreak, it was keeping an open mind and would move in line with any Australian World Tour team Mitchelton-Scott has pulled out of all men’s future advice from the government and health authorities. and women’s events until at least 22 March as a precautionary measure. Cycling Australia released a statement this week advising that all The Women’s Premiership does not start for six months, while the State programs and events should proceed as scheduled, although it also of Origin series will be played in Adelaide, Sydney and Brisbane in June issued several recommendations for people attending those events. and July. No decision has been made on either of those series. The Paris-Nice race that was due to finish on Sunday looked set to be Football cancelled after the French Cycling Federation (FFC) announced the Football Federation Australia has announced the remaining six weeks of cancellation of all cycling events on French soil. The Giro d’Italia, which the A-League season will go ahead, as will the weekend’s W-League was due to begin in in May, has also been postponed. grand final, but both will be played behind closed doors. There is also the Swimming likelihood the rest of the A-League season will be compressed into three or four weeks, with shorter turnarounds in between matches. A decision April’s age swimming championships and national championships in on the finals series is yet to be made. Perth have been cancelled. Olympic and Paralympic trials are not scheduled to be contested until June. The Matildas’ upcoming fixtures against the US – in Utah on 11 April – and Canada – in Vancouver on 14 April – have both been cancelled. The A dedicated Covid-19 website has been created by the Australian Socceroos’ World Cup qualifiers have also been affected – Fifa and the Institute of Sport with up-to-date information on the virus and its AFC have postponed Asian qualifiers in March and June – although they relevance to sport. may instead look to set up fixtures with other nations. A decision on that is yet to be made. The Guardian LOADED: 03.18.2020 All grassroots football, including training and matches, has been suspended until 14 April. Netball It is currently the netball off-season, but with Super Netball scheduled to start at the beginning of May, Netball Australia – which has established a Covid-19 working group – is monitoring the situation. The competition’s official pre-season tournament, the Team Girls Cup, has been cancelled. Cricket The remainder of the Australian cricket season – at all levels – has been cancelled and NSW declared Sheffield Shield champions with the final on 27 March called off. The three-match ODI series between Australia’s men and New Zealand was called off after just one was able to be played, albeit without fans. Australia’s women were due to play ODI and T20 series in South Africa, starting on 22 March, but that tour has been suspended until further notice. CA said it was monitoring the situation before making a decision on international matches beyond that. Tennis The ATP Tour has been shut down for a minimum of six weeks and the WTA Tour has followed suit with a suspension of five weeks. The Fed Cup finals in Hungary next month, at which Australia were due to appear, 1172765 World Leagues News

WWE relocates WrestleMania 36 card to Performance Center in Orlando amid coronavirus pandemic

Brent Brookhouse

The growing coronavirus pandemic has drastically altered life for billions of people throughout the world, with large events and gatherings shut down, restrictions put in place on entertainment as well as dining and travel bans. WWE has already felt the impact of these changes by moving its weekly Raw and SmackDown television shows to the Performance Center in Orlando, and now WrestleMania -- the company's biggest show of the entire year -- will follow suit. Monday afternoon, shortly before the first relocated Raw airs live on USA from the Performance Center, WWE announced the relocation of WrestleMania 36 to its training ground in Orlando. "In coordination with local partners and government officials, WrestleMania and all related events in Tampa Bay will not take place," the WWE statement read. "However, WrestleMania will still stream live on Sunday, April 5 at 7 pm ET on WWE Network and be available on pay-per-view. Only essential personnel will be on the closed set at WWE's training facility in Orlando, Florida to produce WrestleMania." The event, which was to be held at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday, April 5 in Tampa, has been in jeopardy since the virus began to quickly spread throughout the United States. While Tampa city officials originally left the ball in WWE's court as to the future of the event, recent reports indicated a new pressure from those same officials for WWE to cancel the event, following in the footsteps of other sporting and entertainment options. While WrestleMania 36 will forge on, annual WrestleMania week staples NXT TakeOver and the WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremonies will not take place, according to a separate statement provided to CBS Sports. "The WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony and NXT TakeOver will not take place as previously scheduled," the statement read. "We will share further details as they become available." WrestleMania 36 was expected to bring in more than 70,000 fans to Raymond James Stadium at a time when the CDC has recommended any gathering of more than 50 people be canceled and President Donald Trump as recently as Monday advised limiting gatherings to 10 or fewer. WrestleMania has proven to be a major boost for the local economy with people flying from across the world for the event. "Our community has waited 36 years to host WrestleMania and while we are saddened that this unforeseen situation has led us to today's announcement, this is totally the right call for the safety and security of everyone involved," a statement from Tampa Bay Local Organizing Committee read. "A huge thank you to all of our local leaders and our friends at the WWE, as we collectively worked through the unprecedented fluidity of the last few weeks. The Team Tampa Bay- WWE partnership has never been stronger." Like recent and future Raw and SmackDown efforts, WrestleMania will take place without a crowd in attendance, a significant change from the massive atmosphere that usually accompanies the promotion's biggest event of the year. The event is headlined by Brock Lesnar defending his WWE championship against Drew McIntyre, WWE universal champion Goldberg putting the title up against Roman Reigns, John Cena vs. "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt and many more high-profile matches. The move also carries with it significant impact to the independent wrestling scene, which has turned WWE's signature weekend into a wrestling wonderland, with tens of shows taking place in the host city over the weekend. After the announcement, AIW promoter John Thorne tweeted, calling the situation "a worst case scenario." GCW promoter Brett Lauderdale, who, along with Joey Janela, created massive WrestleMania Weekend success "Joey Janela's Spring Break" and the follow-up gathering of independent promotions "The Collective" tweeted, "4 years of 24/7 wiped away. Heartbroken for everyone." CBS Sports LOADED: 03.18.2020 1172766 World Leagues News scheduled to end in May, in time for the quadrennial European championship.

Now, a working group that includes representatives from UEFA and a Juventus Player Tests Positive for Coronavirus delegation from the leagues has been set up to exchange information about ways to play the growing backlog of games. The next official discussion is set for Thursday. Nothing is off the table, according to a person familiar with the discussions, including weekend European By Tariq Panja matches and eliminating home-and-away ties — replacing them with single-elimination matches at closed or neutral venues — in this year’s competition. A player for Juventus, the Italian soccer champion, has tested positive for Covid-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, the club UEFA declined to comment on the talks, as did the European Club announced Wednesday, a worrisome development for a sport — and a Association. country — struggling to contain the outbreak. But at UEFA’s congress last week, when officials from Europe’s 55 The player, the 25-year-old defender Daniele Rugani, is believed to be nations met, the virus dominated discussions. UEFA’s secretary general, the first athlete in Italy’s top division to test positive. The team said in a Theo Theodoridis, said at the meeting that the leagues and UEFA may statement that Rugani was “currently asymptomatic,” but that the club need to be “flexible” in overcoming the calendar crunch. was following isolation procedures required by law for him and anyone New York Times LOADED: 03.18.2020 who has had contact with him. Rugani is not the first player in Europe to test positive for the disease — a German team, Hannover 96, confirmed earlier on Wednesday that one of its players had tested positive and was in isolation — but the implications for Juventus, and for European soccer, could be far more severe. Rugani was on the bench when Juventus played its title rival, Inter Milan, behind closed doors on Sunday, and his diagnosis means he, his teammates, his coaches and assorted staff members must be quarantined for 14 days. That will most likely make it impossible for Juventus to play its Champions League match against the French club Lyon on Tuesday, and the news could lead to a quarantine for Inter’s players and coaches as well. Get an informed guide to the global outbreak with our daily coronavirus newsletter. The Italian soccer season was already in jeopardy. While Juventus was to be allowed to play its Champions League match without spectators, Italy has banned all domestic sports events until April 3, and the entire country is on a broad lockdown — with travel between regions restricted, and commerce and daily life disrupted. Italy is among the countries worst hit by the coronavirus, with more than 12,000 confirmed cases and more than 800 deaths. Rugani’s diagnosis is likely to have ripple effects with even more teams; opponents who played against Juventus in recent weeks have already been notified. Rugani played against Brescia on Feb. 16 and Spal on Feb. 22, and was an unused substitute in the first game against Lyon in the Champions League and in Sunday’s match against Inter. Inter’s Europa League game this week with Spain’s Getafe had already been postponed after the Spanish authorities barred the Italian team from entering the country. In England, Manchester City’s Premier League game against Arsenal was called off after Evangelos Marinakis, the owner of Greek team Olympiacos, which played Arsenal late last month, confirmed he had the virus. Scheduling Concerns With the coronavirus cutting a wide swath through the European soccer calendar, competition organizers have been discussing a path that might allow them to complete their seasons, crown league champions and determine which clubs will be relegated or promoted for next season. The unprecedented disruptions have led to the possibility of solutions that have long been opposed by domestic leagues, including the prospect of playing Champions League and Europa League games on weekends. For years, domestic leagues have fiercely guarded those days for themselves, drawing a red line that European officials dared not cross. As recently as last year, the European Club Association, a trade body that represents Europe’s top leagues, reacted with fury when it was suggested that some Champions League games should be played on Saturdays and Sundays as part of a reform of the competition. “We will always protect our weekends,” the European Leagues deputy general secretary Alberto Colombo said last year when European soccer’s governing body, UEFA, and several top clubs first raised the possibility. “We will not allow European club competition to be played on weekends.” In the current climate, though, and amid the need for practical solutions, such intransigence is likely to be tested. While discussions about the reforms are continuing, they have been usurped by more pressing concerns about finishing the current club seasons, which had been 1172767 World Leagues News White Mountain checkpoint at 5:35 a.m. local time (9:35 in New York) Tuesday.

Waerner stepped off his sled, cloaked in an orange jacket, a miner’s Iditarod’s ‘Last Great Race’ fills the coronavirus sports void helmet on top of his head. It was pitch black and 9 degrees Fahrenheit, and he accepted both congratulations and a $2,500 check from a representative of Northern Bank. By Mike VaccaroMarch 17, 2020 | 10:11PM “This is a money-spending sport,” a grateful Waerner said before settling in for a mandatory eight-hour break. He looked fresh enough to carry on without one, and cover the final 77 miles in a jiffy, but his dogs would’ve US sports not immune to coronavirus 'new normal' whipped out picket signs if he’d tried, maybe place a call to Donald Fehr. Poor Nicolas Petit. He never had a chance, and he never knew it. (Back at the Iditarod’s New Jersey headquarters, Desmond and Fiona each rolled over in solidarity.) This was last week, as day by day, hour by hour, sports were vanishing from our landscape. Basketball? Gone. Baseball? Gone. Golf? Gone. For Elsewhere in the race, mushers were laughing about conditions that a time, it seemed like NASCAR might try to muddle on. But then ranged from unpredictable to slapstick. Paige Drobny, sitting in 10th NASCAR went away, too. The United States became a vast wasteland of place, paused during a checkpoint in Koyuk, was asked if she liked the sports. Nothing was left. conditions at this stage of the race, which traces the coastline of the Norton Sound of the Bering Sea. Only, that wasn’t quite right. “No! This year was just miserable! We got out there it was sloggy and Up in Alaska, the dogs kept running in the snow. Up there, they call the gross and disgusting and I started thinking, ‘Where are the rabid seals?’ Iditarod, without a trace of subtlety or modesty, “The Last Great Race.” And at some point my dogs started barking and looking to the right and I And so it is. They have had to modify it a little bit. They have had to alter looked out and saw a circle and thought, ‘Holy [cow], it’s a rabid seal! But some checkpoints, abandon others. But starting on March 7, at the it turned out just to be a circle …” ceremonial First Checkpoint on Fourth Avenue in downtown Anchorage, the Iditarod had mushed on gallantly and valiantly. Meanwhile, poor Nicolas Petit … I didn’t suspect I could get either my boss or my wife to qualify this as Yep. Petit. My guy. So it turns out, early on in his race, before he reached “essential” travel in the middle of a global pandemic, so I did the next the Nikolai checkpoint, he’d had something of an eventful day. All 12 or best thing: I dropped the $39 that allowed me to become an official his dogs vomited. One dog bit another. During one crazy 2-mile interlude, “Iditarod Insider.” This, mostly, means having 24-hour access to GPS the whole pack veered off course to chase a buffalo. tracking, standings updates and a live stream that mostly shows empty (And I get mad when the Airedale steals an English muffin off my plate.) snowy roads and teams of exhausted dogs snoring at checkpoints. SEE ALSO (This qualifies as family fun in a time of social distancing. A few days ago, half-snoozing on the couch, Desmond the Airedale and Fiona the Even sled dogs of the Iditarod aren't immune to drug scandals Westy joined me and were enraptured at the site of Mitch Seavey’s huskies splayed out in some snowy grassland. After studying the pros, He worried about the dogs getting frostbite. One of his dogs, named they quickly emulated them. They are both naturals.) Raven, had to be left behind at a checkpoint “and that breaks your heart,” Petit said. Turns out poor Raven was a little long in the tooth at age 8 for The most helpful feature is the chat room attached to the live stream. the task. “I should’ve brought a young up-and-comer,” he sighed. Now, I haven’t been much for chat rooms since 1997 or so, but this was a helpful place where my fellow Iditarod fanatics could get me up to The wild-buffalo chase doomed his chances. What was worse was the speed on what I’d been missing in all the years since 1973, when the first stray piece of meat left on the trail that one of his dogs, Rigal, spotted race went off. I asked early on who I should root for. and happily scarfed up. That didn’t sit too well with Joee, her teammate. Joee bit Rigal in the face. “Nicolas Petit,” I was told by a helpful fellow insider named HuskyHank. “He’s finished in the top 10 five times, never won. He’s worth your time Back in New Jersey, upon hearing that, Desmond the male Airedale and your interest.” stood up and said, “Damn right!” at Fiona the female Westy. OK, then. I’m a Petit man. I checked in on the live stream all day. I looked (EDITOR’S NOTE: This may not really have happened.) for updates. I subscribed to the Anchorage Daily News for a month. And “He’s a real talented athlete, but he’s a real butt,” Nicolas Petit said of then I saw this headline: “A HELLISH DAY AND THOUGHTS OF Joee, providing the sports quote of the year even if the other sports ever QUITTING.” do come back. Poor Nicolas Petit. What was the name of the guy in “A Bronx Tale,” who Petit pondered quitting the race but in the morning decided otherwise. He always lost every time he made a bet? It was “Mush.” was in 14th place at last check, the musher officially Mushed. And not for Damned if I hadn’t Mushed this poor musher, Petit. the first time I say, “Wait till next year!” The Iditarod wasn’t spared by COVID-19. The annual post-race festivities New York Post LOADED: 03.18.2020 in Nome have been called off. Two of the race’s 26 checkpoints on the “Northern Route” (the path the race takes in even-numbered years) were moved outside their host villages, including Unalakleet, a city on the Bering Sea where crowds were prohibited from gathering. Would-be spectators have been cautioned against flying in for the race’s finish, which will likely come sometime either Wednesday or Thursday when the leaders reach Nome, ending the 975-mile trek. Family members of some of the foreign-born mushers have already left for their homes in Norway and France and elsewhere. The mushers themselves have spent most of the race dozens, sometimes hundreds, of miles away from each other. So it is expected that they will be all right. SEE ALSO How animal activists are shaming indigenous people for their lifestyle “They do a very good job of social distancing,” Heidi Hedberg, Alaska’s public health director, quipped to the Washington Post. Right now, the favorite must be considered Thomas Waerner, of Torpa, Norway, who is running his second Iditarod. In his first, back in 2015, he was named rookie of the year. Waerner was the first musher to reach the 1172768 World Leagues News Your questions on coronavirus answered: What does self-isolation mean and how does it work?

Can I get a refund on my holiday? An extended coronavirus shutdown may change sport as we know it in Australia Why are schools still open in Australia? A big unknown is how clubs will deal with their members. The ABC has reviewed the membership terms and conditions of several AFL and NRL By Cody Atkinson, Sean Lawson and sport editor James Coventry clubs, and there were near universal statements articulating that refunds are entirely at the club's discretion. As global sport has ground to a shuddering halt over the past few days, They will be sorely tempted to retain this funding to help manage the Australia's two biggest football codes have become conspicuous outliers. crisis, despite the potentially fierce public relations backlash. It could also be a legal minefield. The NRL season began on schedule, while the AFL's men's competition could soon join its women's league in playing behind closed doors. Can clubs take the hit? A decision on whether to proceed will be handed down by the AFL As well as making money through broadcast deals and ticket sales, the Commission on Wednesday. codes also collect sponsorship and corporate hospitality revenue. This third major source of revenue is also likely to be hit if games aren't But why have both codes been so stubbornly determined to push through played, although it's harder to project any potential losses in sponsorship. the coronavirus crisis? Some clubs profit from relocating games. AFL clubs sell home games to "Our money will only last so long," said Australian Rugby League places like Canberra and Tasmania, while NRL clubs take games out Commission chairman Peter V'landys. west and into country areas. These agreements are lucrative but could be jeopardised by the lockouts. "Once it's extinguished, we are in big trouble." One way to measure a club's capacity to cope with the coronavirus crisis V'landys is right to be concerned. is to look at their cash reserves and net assets. If matches were to be suspended, the rivers of broadcast rights gold The AFL's richest clubs such as West Coast and Richmond have spare would be in danger of drying up. cash resources and other assets or investments to enable them to And when it comes to total revenue, TV is the lifeblood for both big winter absorb the huge revenue losses they're facing. Some clubs have codes. substantial side businesses, with a few AFL and NRL clubs heavily subsidised by social club gaming machines. Given the sheer size of these broadcasting arrangements, and the clubs' fixed costs, an extended hiatus would be catastrophic. Others are in a more precarious position and will be forced to either drastically cut costs — including staff — or to take new loans using Just one year of broadcast revenue is by itself more than either code's assets as equity. Some may need to be bailed out. cash reserves. That means that without even factoring in any other commercial impacts, neither could cover the loss of its broadcast money There are rough waters ahead. without having to beg or borrow. Australian Broadcasting Corporation LOADED: 03.18.2020 V'landys's early public plea for government assistance has been widely criticised, but is somewhat understandable in this context. Breaking down the latest news and research to understand how the world is living through an epidemic, this is the ABC's Coronacast. Without being privy to confidential commercial arrangements, it is hard to know who is liable for losses, and what is insured or agreed by contract. But we can safely assume that salvaging some of that broadcast revenue is imperative for both the NRL and AFL. With Super Rugby games rendered impossible by the new restrictions on travel, Rugby Australia also faces a loss of the international matches. Rugby union tests are the sport's financial backbone, drawing by far the biggest television audiences. The current uncertainty around scheduling has forced Rugby Australia to pause its negotiations over a new broadcast deal. Soccer is in a slightly different situation, given the transfer of Australia's major domestic leagues from FFA control to a transitional body. The W- League and A-League seasons are drawing to a close, so they have fewer remaining commitments to broadcasters. No entry Even if the NRL and AFL can keep their matches going over the next few weeks, television will be only way to watch them. The stadiums will be closed to fans in compliance with regulations banning large gatherings. Using the AFL as an example, the lockouts will remove a big chunk of the revenues that clubs rely on. However, the impact is not evenly spread. Attendances vary wildly between clubs and leagues. Some have big crowds or favourable rental deals for their stadiums, while some struggle to make money from attendance. Some clubs even lose money on home games. Ticket sales will be entirely lost for the months ahead. As the above chart shows, clubs spend money to make money. They will cut some costs as a result of not servicing memberships and running matchdays in that period, which will mean hardship or job losses for commercial, office, and event staff at clubs. Most clubs will lose a lot of their net revenue from closing their gates, but it may not affect smaller clubs as much considering they don't usually make a lot from their matchdays. 1172769 World Leagues News "When people do start going back to work, players won't be able to walk out of their apartments straight on to the pitch and play football. There will need to be time to get them back on their feet." Coronavirus: Football industry 'could turn ugly quickly', says Fifpro BBC Sport LOADED: 03.18.2020 general secretary

By Simon Stone

The football industry could "turn ugly quickly" as it struggles to come to terms with the coronavirus impact, said Jonas Baer-Hoffman, general secretary of world players' union Fifpro. Hoffman was on the first of today's three conference calls that resulted in Euro 2020 being moved back a year. Fifpro welcomed the move, saying it gave a chance to complete the club season, which is an economic priority. But Hoffman is worried that, with no timeframe for when games will start again in Europe's major leagues, football will not be able to cope financially with a long period with no action. "For the first time in decades, we're facing a real, consistent economic crisis in the industry," he said. Hoffman added: "We must look at the socio-economic impact of coronavirus. "Not just the players but other people employed through professional football - our industry employs hundreds of thousands. There is the potential for it to turn ugly very quickly. "For the majority of our membership, male and female, the loss of income is as threatening as for any other worker and we are getting the first messages of lay-offs of players, withholding of wages and clubs being threatened. "We know how football clubs budgets are managed. They're always right at the line or above it in terms of liquidity. "If we don't respond quickly in terms of stabilising the cash flow we could see mass redundancies and mass lay-offs of players and other staff within weeks. "In Ireland or the Nordic countries we have the first measure being taken that could affect the employment of players. Once those jobs are gone and those clubs are bankrupt, it is difficult for them to recover once coronavirus is over." Fifpro are talking to Uefa and world governing body Fifa as a matter of urgency, aiming to secure short-term loans or grants, or secure future payments not due. While this is the priority, there is the knowledge that once the game starts again, the need to make up for lost time will be huge. In moving Euro 2020, Uefa have created space for the club game to end its competitions - as yet, no-one is seriously considering abandoning them. Yet the desire is to finish the current campaign at the end of June, start the next one a few weeks later and then tag Euro 2020 on the end. "What's clear is when we do start it will be an incredibly tight schedule," said Hoffman. "We know how big a problem we have with the calendar when it comes to player welfare. In this scenario, the stress will be on the players. "We will have tough conversations about when to play which matches and it will have to be managed, but the players are realising that unless we find solutions and play out the seasons, they might be out of work." Fifpro have opened negotiations with Fifa about the difficulty of seasons running beyond the end of June and how that will work given most contracts expire at the end of May and June. One idea is emergency contract extensions that run for another couple of months, with a ban on players being transferred during that time. However, all planning is for a season that is hypothetical. "None of us know when our lives will be normal again - and putting 50,000 people in a stadium will not be the first thing we do," said Hoffman. 1172770 World Leagues News Increased interest in gaming is also evident on other fronts as people seek alternatives to live sports and its accompanying aspects. Draft Kings reported a 12 percent increase in active players of its League of Legends fantasy league, and will feature its biggest contest ever this While the sports world falls silent, esports and streamers fill the void week, with a $60,000 prize pool. A world of entertainment online By Noah Smith The current state of the sports world now gives people who have heard of esports, but may have not had time to check it out, a chance to do so. It also promotes opportunities for content creators, already celebrities to American stadiums have lain dormant for two weeks since the younger audiences, with a surge in school-age viewers with more time on coronavirus silenced nearly all sporting events. But in the vacuum, their hands with the closing of educational institutions. In Italy, for competitions rooted in online arenas are filling the entertainment void in a example, there has been a 66-percent viewership spike in minutes world increasingly confined to digital environments. watched from the first week of February to the past week when the national quarantine began, according to StreamElements, a company A number of esports leagues, which over the last decade have increased that provides tools for streamers’ online broadcasts. their mainstream visibility and legitimacy by repeatedly filling legendary arenas like Madison Square Garden and Staples Center with fans, are “I think all streamers should try to stream during the daytime to help continuing their competitions by returning to their online roots. Streaming keep school-age kids busy and engaged,” Turner “Tfue” Tenney, the matches online via sites like Twitch and YouTube, pro leagues for games world’s most-watched streamer, wrote in a text message to The like League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Overwatch Washington Post. “Personally, I will be streaming earlier and I will be and Call of Duty are now faced with an unasked for opportunity to encouraging kids to stream so parents can go on the Twitch app and see broaden their audience by showcasing its competitions to consumers them. Also, kids should educate themselves on Khan Academy while who may have previously preferred watching the NBA, NHL or NCAA school’s out, and read a book. … basketball tournaments. Similarly, as live event programming falls by the The unique, unlikely celebrity of Tfue wayside and schools shut down, content creators and streamers broadcasting themselves playing video games are faced with an influx of “Sadly with all major sports halted there’s a huge void, you know. Dude, I viewers. think all we can do as gamers is say, ‘Hey guys, watch us game on Twitch and enjoy our entertainment.’ Maybe we can game with out-of- “It’s certainly an opportunity for the space to demonstrate that esports work pro athletes, and get everyone on the platform and get through can scratch the itch on competition,” said Lee Trink, CEO of FaZe Clan, this,” he said. which fields a team in the Call of Duty League in addition to its stable of L.A.-based streamers. “The trains are continuing to run over at FaZe Some of the athletes who have expressed interest in joining the gaming Clan." community include the NBA’s Trae Young, Luka Doncic and Ja Morant — which was correctly predicted by Will Hershey, CEO of Roundhill Across what has become a highly-diversified esports landscape, certain Investments. leagues and games are better positioned to weather the uncertainty now facing the world. But the pervasive belief across the esports community “Traditional sports athletes who are out of a job, a lot are active gamers is that more people will discover and watch matches, even if revenue and streamers and I could see them gravitate toward Twitch to engage generation from live events is temporarily unavailable. with their fan base,” Hershey told The Post. “Canceled events impact a certain aspect of the fan experience, but Some have already jumped in. Monday, FaZe Clan announced a Pro-Am unlike traditional sports where the live event is a financial and economic Charity that is scheduled to feature Ben Simmons, Juju Smith-Schuster, driver of the overall experience, esports is different in that, from a Andre Drummond and Chad Ochocinco. broadcast perspective, so much of broadcast is focused on online and not as dependent on the live audience,” said Kent Wakeford, Co-founder FaZe’s head of esports, Erik Anderson, said the increased attention of Gen.G, an esports organization, and a member of the board of during this time could lead to improved output. directors for FLASHPOINT, a new league for the game Counter-Strike: “Maybe with people diving in, more ideas coming in, we can come up Global Offensive. “For the League of Legends World Championship at with fun stuff to fill the time,” he said. “If people are watching more, the Bird’s Nest in China there were 40,000 people, but 100 million people they’re going to demand a higher type of content.” were watching it online. And it is [those] 100 million people that are fueling the growth of the esports ecosystem to a much greater degree Bored Gen Z kids recreate March Madness in mom’s basement using than the actual events.” Twitch and an Xbox 360 That online audience has continued to grow over the past weeks as In addition to esports organizations and streamers having a chance to much of the world has stayed home to cope with the coronavirus grow their bases, some see a lane for particular games to grab more of outbreak. Citing internal figures, Wakeford said Gen.G has seen an 18.2 an audience, especially those games which are realistic and easy to percent bump in Chinese viewership over the last two months — which follow. has featured lockdowns in Wuhan and across the mainland — on live- streaming sites Douyu and Huya for its Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds “It’s about offering average Americans, causal players, games they can (PUBG) and League of Legends (LoL) teams. The first day of the ESL understand,” Hershey said. “Call of Duty has a position to come out of Pro League, which features the game Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, this really the strongest, as opposed to League of Legends. … I don’t see reported an audience increase to 146,000 viewers March 16’s matches, LoL clips on ESPN doing as well as Call of Duty.” compared to 115,000 a year ago, a 27-percent increase. Hershey also noted that sports games, which have not traditionally “I believe you’ll run out of things to watch on Netflix … so people will surf garnered massive viewership for their esports competitions, have an the web trying to find stuff to entertain themselves,” Michael Pachter, an opportunity to benefit as well. analyst at Wedbush Securities monitoring the video gaming market, said “The biggest difficulty with sports simulation games ever becoming top- of esports’ prospects. “There is an opportunity to expand their audience. tier esports was that there was always the option of watching real thing,” It won’t expand by 50 percent, but it could possibly expand to 20 Hershey said. “You take that out of the picture, and you absolutely could percent.” see NBA fans getting into NBA 2K.” Gaming as a whole is also seeing a boost, as evidenced when gaming In fact, the Phoenix Suns gave it a shot when they announced they would platform Steam hit an all-time high number of concurrent users on March finish their season virtually on NBA 2K20. The stream, the team’s first, at 15, with 20 million online and 6.2 million in-game. one point topped 12,000 concurrent viewers. Twitch declined to provide any figures around a change in viewership, ‘Esports seem to be on a safer ground’ but Sensor Tower, a research firm, shared data which showed sharp increases in first-time Twitch app downloads in Europe. Greece, Italy and The major esports leagues have taken various approaches in coping with Spain saw increases of 50 percent, 41 percent and 26 percent week- the coronavirus outbreak, though all have canceled live-audience events. over-week, respectively, over the past seven days, according to Randy The League of Legends Championship Series suspended operations Nelson, Sensor Towers’s Head of Mobile Insights. before announcing the resumption of league play from remote locations. A planned Spring Finals live event in Frisco, Texas was canceled. In the U.S., which is only now beginning to see lockdowns, first-time installs increased by 14 percent week-over-week, but Nelson pointed out ESL postponed its ESL One Dota 2 Major in L.A., though started its that the figure was still about 8 percent under the average weekly installs CS:GO Pro League with online play. The NBA 2K league postponed the for 2020. start of its season, originally scheduled to begin March 24. Other postponements include Apex Legends Global Series and the Rocket League Season 9 World Championship. Events associated with the newly minted Smash World Tour were also either postponed or allowed players to opt out without penalty to their league standing. Three women dreamed of joining the NBA 2K League. The road to the draft was a gauntlet of abuse and adversity. Pushing ahead, the Overwatch League said its matches would resume on March 21, but that all homestands — a major initiative for that league featuring regionally hosted weekend events and competitions — would be canceled through April. The league also canceled its Midseason Tournament with a pot of $1.05 million. Call of Duty League is also planning to go online-only. FLASHPOINT moved its regular season games from a crowd-less Culver City, California, studio to a remote setup and will not hold its playoffs in Stockholm, as originally planned. Can new Counter-Strike league be esports’ WWE? In addition to safety concerns, leagues also have to deal with technological issues, especially in games where a fraction of a second can mean the difference between winning and losing. The underlying issue is how long it takes data to get from a player’s machine to the game’s server, called ping. High ping leads to lag, which leads to an unfair playing field. Games like Fortnite organize players by region, thus increasing the chance everyone will have similar ping. “The bigger the game, the more global logistics, the more they’re probably hurting from this,” said Erik Anderson, head of sports for FaZe Clan. “Games that are more regionally focused are going to be fine.” The Overwatch League will have to deal with its teams competing across continents in North America and Asia. “We’re currently working on a revamped match schedule that will allow all teams around the world to begin competing in March while minimizing latency concerns,” an Overwatch League release stated last week. ESL’s Pro League faces a similar issue, deciding to group teams by location, thereby lessening the distance from the server. Though the leagues figure to lose money and exposure opportunities at the local level with these changes, industry analysts don’t expect the cuts to be too deep for the companies that own and operate these leagues. “Companies make money from games, not esports,” Pachter said. “There isn’t going to be an impact long term unless this is the Black Plague and if a recession is so deep it causes massive unemployment so people can’t afford to buy games. League of Legends World Championship isn’t about making money, it’s about promoting League of Legends.” The 2010s were a banner decade for big money and tech — and esports reaped the rewards Sponsors, which provide esports organizations with the lion’s share of their revenue, are also unconcerned. In fact, now that esports has the stage of competitive entertainment largely to itself, it is already attracting new business opportunities. Zenni, a direct to consumer eyewear company, which has a patch on the Chicago Bulls’ jersey and sponsors the San Francisco 49ers, is doubling down on its esports partnerships. “Currently esports seem to be on a safer ground just by their digitally- native existence and we’re obviously excited by that,” said Sean Pate, Zenni’s brand communications officer. Pate said Zenni is planning to announce more esports team sponsorships, which he called the “most sustainable” during this uncertain period. “If there was ever a time in sports history that digitally-native forms of entertainment would be top of mind, it’s now,” he said. Noah Smith is a regular contributor to The Washington Post LOADED: 03.18.2020 1172771 World Leagues News website reads: “You can relist your tickets if you’re not comfortable attending the event.”

LeBron says he wasn’t aware that the discussion about playing games Refunds may be available for sport events called off for coronavirus without fans was happening behind closed doors when he made his comments Friday. He’s revised his position, saying while he would be “disappointed” to play without fans, he and teammates will listen to experts. pic.twitter.com/VEOvNH3Jyk By MIRJAM SWANSON | [email protected] | Southern California News Group — Kyle Goon (@kylegoon) March 10, 2020 Southern California News Group LOADED: 03.18.2020 “Coronavirus Update: We have your back.” So read the subject line of the email that StubHub sent to customers Saturday evening informing them of their options if the events to which they bought tickets are called off. In recent days, sporting events around the world have been canceled or staged without fans as the coronavirus epidemic has grown. On Sunday in the United States, the BNP Paribas Open, a major tennis tournament that was scheduled to take place in Indian Wells starting this week, was canceled after local health officials declared a public health emergency in the Coachella Valley because of a confirmed coronavirus case. On Tuesday, the Ivy League announced that it canceled its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments and awarded its automatic NCAA Tournament bids to the regular-season champions, a decision that came the day after Santa Clara County canceled gatherings with more than 1,000 people, including events at the SAP Center scheduled in March that included the NHL’s San Jose Sharks’ three home games. U.S. sports leagues made the call Monday to keep media and other non- essential personnel out of locker rooms and clubhouses, but those leagues have yet to cancel games or to play them without fans present, although ESPN reported Monday that the NBA’s Board of Governors is expected to discuss those possibilities Wednesday. For now, Staples Center’s website reports that the venue is “closely monitoring the evolving coronavirus situation,” that it continues to welcome guests and that it has implemented preventative measures such as frequent cleaning and monitoring of high-touch areas and arena- wide end-of-event sanitation procedures in line with recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Los Angeles County Public Health Department. But with more U.S. cancellations likely forthcoming, ticket exchange companies such as StubHub and SeatGeek are letting customers know they can expect refunds if they used those services to purchase tickets to events that wind up being called off. In StubHub’s case, a fan who bought tickets to a canceled event can receive either a full refund or a coupon, to be used within 12 months, for 120 percent of the original purchase, according to the email sent to customers. In the FAQ section on the SeatGeek website, that ticket exchange firm said customers will be protected by the company’s “buyer guarantee” and their orders will be refunded in full. SeatGeek does not offer an option for a coupon to be used later. Conversely, SeatGeek indicated that in the case someone sold tickets to an event that is canceled due to the coronavirus: “Your sale will be canceled and you will not receive a payout.” You can “contact the original ticket company for a ticket refund,” StubHub said on its website. Fans who bought their tickets through AXS Ticketing will receive refunds if the event is canceled, according to Chandra, a customer service representative. She said AXS will be notified when an event is canceled, at which point refunds automatically will start being issued. Furthermore, if an event is postponed, AXS ticket holders either can hold onto their tickets or request a refund if they’re unable to attend the event on its new date. Similarly, TicketMaster’s website states that refunds will be processed following cancellations, and that the company also will send an email to “get in touch if your event is postponed. Your tickets will be valid for the rescheduled date, but if you can’t make it, you can get a refund.” In the case of a postponement, neither SeatGeek nor StubHub planned to issue refunds. And if a person does not want to attend an event that is on schedule to proceed because of the coronavirus, the two ticket exchanges recommend relisting the tickets for sale. An explanation the StubHub World Leagues News "We are more in danger (here). It now appears... better to leave," he said. Other Chinese clubs, including Fabio Cannavaro's CSL champions Guangzhou Evergrande, who were in Dubai, and runners-up Beijing Coronavirus and sports: Tokyo Olympic chief, Bundesliga player test Guoan are among those who have recently returned to China. positive -- Horse racing set to stop, big day for German football Today is the day where the DFL is expected to rule on the potential According to the Norwegian FA that is, who broke ranks on Tuesday to return of professional football to Germany but other sports are only just unilaterally announce that Euro 2020 would become Euro 2021 and be starting to shut down. Horse racing in Australia, Ireland and the UK, played between June 11 and July 11. Much more on that breaking story where about 250,000 people attended the recent Cheltenham Festival, is here. expected to start its closure processes today. -- Tokyo Olympic boss has virus Meanwhile, news agency Reuters reports that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will hold talks with heads of international sports Another positive diagnosis, and this one could have far-reaching organisations on Tuesday in response to the coronavirus outbreak. While implications. Japan Olympic Committee deputy chief Kozo Tashima the meeting unscheduled, it is not thought a decision on the future of the announced on Tuesday that he had contracted coronavirus. Games will be made. "Today, my test result showed positive for the new coronavirus," Tashima March 15 said in a statement, issued via the Japan Football Association, which he also heads. -- Bundesliga back after Easter? - reports "I have a mild fever. Examinations showed a symptom of pneumonia, but The Bundesliga could return to action as early as the middle of April, I'm fine. I will concentrate on treatment following doctors' advice," he according to reports in Germany. said. When the county's top 36 professional clubs meet in Frankfurt on Though officials have been largely positive about the chances of Tokyo Monday to discuss their next course of action, the German Football 2020 going ahead, Tashima's positive results has increased speculation League (DFL) is set to propose resuming competition on the weekend of that the spread of coronavirus may lead to their cancellation. His 17-18 April, football magazine 11Freunde reported on Sunday. announcement came as the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee said it Bundesliga matchday 26 was suspended on Friday due to the spread of would scale down festivities related to the Olympic torch relay to prevent the coronavirus and the DFL, according to the report, will recommend further spread of the virus. that matchdays 27, 28 and 29 also be postponed before play resumes in -- Hertha player tests positive mid-April. The four postponed matchdays would then be played mid- week in order to ensure the league is finished by the end of May. A second Bundesliga player, has tested positive for the coronavirus. After Paderborn's Luca Kilian, an unknown Hertha Berlin player has fallen ill. For many clubs, simply cancelling the season outright could be financially The club say "players, coaches and backroom staff will now undergo the disastrous. Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge was widely recommended 14-day isolation period." criticized for his remark that "professional football is also about finances" but, according to the German Press Agency (DPA), German clubs could A number of players in Germany's second tier have also contracted the stand to lose a combined estimate of around €750m ($833.4m) plunging virus. many of them into existential crisis and threatening thousands of jobs. March 16 Should the DFL's suggestion be accepted, however, matches will most probably continue to take place behind closed doors for the forseeable -- Bundesliga postponement ongoing future. After a meeting involving Bundesliga clubs and other stakeholders, the "We won't experience a normal football match for a long time," Borussia German football league (DFL) has confirmed that all games will be Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke told public broadcaster ARD on suspended until April 2, which we pretty much knew already. Sunday. "If we do play again this season, it will be behind closed doors - that much is clear." The DFL's CEO Christian Seifert spoke of the concerns about the tens of thousands of jobs that rely on football in Germany and said more games Former Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness remains skeptical. "I think behind closed doors were a real possibility. it's charlatan behavior to say what could happen in four weeks' time," he said on German television on Sunday. "We need to give the scientists "I am aware that football is viewed a billion-dollar business. But at the time to find a solution. Anything else is nonsense." centre of it all is the game itself, and the 56,000 jobs dependent on it every match day. Without sponsorship and ,TV income, those jobs and -- UEFA to suggest Euro 2020 delay the very existence of clubs is in danger," Seifert said. UEFA is set to suggest to national associations and clubs that Euro 2020 He also acknowledged that any decision made by UEFA tomorrow would be postponed when representatives convene for an emergency video- be key. conference call on Tuesday. -- Olympic chief remains confident on Games, public less so According to German broadcaster ZDF, European football's governing body will propose two alternative dates for the tournament, which is due The leader of the IOC's coordination commission for the Tokyo Olympics, to take place across 12 European countries from June 12 to July 12. John Coates, says he believes the Games will go ahead as planned. The first alternative, and the solution preferred by UEFA, is to postpone The Australian, who will have to go into government-mandated self- the tournament until summer 2021. However, this would be dependent isolation when he returns to his homeland this week from Olympic on FIFA President Gianni Infantino agreeing to put his plans for new, business in Europe, told the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper: "It's all expanded Club World Cup on ice. proceeding to start on the 24th of July.'' The second alternative would be to stage the tournament in autumn or However, a Kyodo News survey released on Monday showed that just winter 2020, although this could be problematic given the clubs' busy 24.5 per cent of Tokyo residents expect to see the Tokyo Games take calendars and, assuming national league competitions aren't cancelled place from July 24 to August 9 as planned, while 69.9 per cent do not. altogether, the potential need to catch up on postponed fixtures from this -- Wuhan footballers set to return to China season. German newspaper the Süddeutsche Zeitung reports that players from On Sunday, the president of the Italian Football Association, Gabriele Chinese Super League (CSL) outfit Wuhan Zall, based in the city where Gravina, also called for Euro 2020 to be postponed in order to complete the coronavirus was first reported, are to return to China. Like many other the Serie A season, which is currently suspended. teams and the Chinese national side, they had been training abroad - in "We will propose to UEFA the delay of the European championship," he Zall's case in Spain since January - but the spread of the virus will see told broadcaster SportMediaset. "We will try to get to the end of this them return. [Serie A] championship because it is fairer and more correct after the Wuhan will reportedly continue their chaotic pre-season preparations in many investments and sacrifices of our clubs." Shenzhen. Leo Baptistao, Wuhan's Brazilian forward, told Chinese media -- The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has confirmed to the before departing Spain that the situation "has flipped". Süddeutsche Zeitung that the international friendly between Spain and Germany, which was scheduled to take place in Madrid on 26 March, has been cancelled. Earlier this week, Germany's planned friendly against -- The German Football League (DFL) has suspended the Bundesliga Italy in Nuremberg on 31 March also fell victim to the coronavirus. and Bundesliga 2 seasons with immediate effect, dropping a plan to play this weekend in empty stadiums. The league board cited an increasing -- Olympics to go ahead as planned, says Japan number of suspected coronavirus cases affecting clubs in the top two The Tokyo Olympic Games will go ahead as planned, according to tiers as the reason behind the decision. Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. There have been over 1,500 cases -- Good news! Paderborn head coach Steffen Baumgart's coronavirus of the coronavirus and 28 deaths in the country, but Abe is certain that test has come back negative. However, the Bundesliga club have the Games, scheduled to begin on July 24, will happen. announced that they are still waiting on the results of tests involving "We will overcome the spread of the infection and host the Olympics some of their squad members. Therefore, tonight's game against without problem, as planned," Abe said. Düsseldorf is still hanging in the balance. However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) — not the -- Despite announcing on March 4 that everything would go ahead as Japanese government — will have the final say on whether Tokyo 2020 planned, a decision has been made to postpone the 2020 Masters takes place. tournament. Fred Riley, Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club, said on Friday: "Considering the latest information and expert analysis, we have -- The international showjumping and dressage tournament in Dortmund decided at this time to postpone the Masters Tournament, the Augusta was called off on Sunday after an order by city authorities. The event in National Women’s Amateur and the Drive, Chip and Putt National the Westfallenhallen had begun on Thursday despite the coronavirus Finals." outbreak and was due to finish later on Sunday. -- Former Denmark and Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel -- Wayne Rooney has criticized England's football authorities over how is one of a number of famous faces taking the World Health long they took to suspend matches in the country amid the coronavirus Organisations 'Safe Hands Challenge'. outbreak. -- Bundesliga side Paderborn have confirmed that head coach Steffen "Why did we wait until Friday? Why did it take Mikel Arteta to get ill for Baumgart has been tested for the coronavirus after presenting symptoms the game in England to do the right thing?" the former England and earlier this week. Results are expected this afternoon and could have an Manchester United captain wrote in his debut column for British effect on whether tonight's game against Düsseldorf goes ahead as newspaper the Sunday Times. planned. "For players, staff and their families it has been a worrying week — one -- Bayern Munich midfielder Thiago, appears not best pleased with the in which you felt a lack of leadership from the government and from the decision made by the DFL earlier today to go ahead with Bundesliga FA and Premier League. Matchday 26 before discussing a proposal to suspend the season. "After the emergency meeting, at last the right decision was made. Until -- Formula One races in Bahrain and Vietnam have been postponed in then it almost felt like footballers in England were being treated like light of the coronavirus, organizers have said. The decision follows the guinea pigs. If people's lives are at risk, that has to come first." cancellation of Sunday's Australian Grand Prix. -- Germany's international friendly against Italy, scheduled for March 31, -- Given the increasing number of self-isolation cases that have impacted has unsurprisingly been canceled. The game was due to take place in a number of professional football clubs in England, the governing bodies Nuremberg but the city's council said it would refuse to host the game. have said "there is no alternative" but to suspend the season with immediate effect. On Friday afternoon a joint-statement was released Germany are also due to play Spain, another country badly affected by that promised "further updates" and "constant review". the virus, in Madrid on March 26. There has been no official announcement but everything points towards that game being called off "The FA, Premier League, EFL and FA Women’s Super League and FA too. Confirmation when it comes. Women’s Championship have collectively agreed to postpone the professional game in England until Friday 3 April at the earliest. This March 14 action, which will be kept under constant review, has been taken due to the increasing numbers of clubs taking steps to isolate their players and -- There is football! Matchday 10 of the Liga MX in Mexico, the country's staff because of the Covid-19 virus. It will also apply to all England team top flight, as well as the second division and the women's top flight will fixtures at every level and all FA competitions including the Emirates FA play football behind closed doors on Matchday 10. This came after a Cup and the Women’s FA Cup, along with academy and youth-team statement was released by the league itself. As of today, Mexico matches." currently has 15 confirmed cases of the coronavirus. -- UEFA have officially postponed all upcoming UEFA club competitions, -- According to Italian sports daily "La Gazzetta dello Sport" Serie A side releasing the following statement. Sampdoria, who already have five players infected with the coronavirus, have been hit by two more cases. The Genoa-based club said they "In the light of developments due to the spread of COVID-19 in Europe would not comment on more cases. and related decisions made by different governments, all UEFA club competitions matches scheduled next week are postponed. The -- Another day, another case of coronavirus in German football. Second- Champions League and Europa League quarter final draws have also division side Holstein Kiel have confirmed that their central defender been postponed." Stefan Thesker has tested positive for the virus. -- The DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga have released a statement regarding -- Italy's players' association has released a statement saying it is the league's plans to deal with the coronavirus pandemic. "saddened and outraged" that clubs are still calling on players to arrive for training sessions. "The DFL Executive Committee will propose that the games of both Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 be suspended from next Tuesday up to The statement explained that some clubs were bringing in players to train and including 2 April [the next international break] at a general meeting in small groups or for daily temperature checks. With Italy the worse next Monday. The goal is still to finish the season by the summer - from a European country to be hit by the virus, the capital in lockdown and all sporting point of view, but especially because an early end to the season sport suspended through April 3, this move is hugely controversial. could have consequences that could threaten the existence of some The PA added in their statement that forcing players to leave their home clubs." is "a shamefully irresponsible act." As things stands, Matchday 26's nine fixtures will go ahead as planned -- The latest players to test positive for COVID-19 are both from Italy, behind closed doors. Europe's worst affected region. Fiorentina players Patrick Cutrone and -- There are reports that Werder Bremen's game against Bayer German Pezzella plus club physiotherapist Stefano Dainelli have all Leverkusen on Monday could be called off completely. Local authorities tested positive. are anticipating crowds of more than 1,000 fans outside the stadium even -- The Premier League are set to meet on Thursday, March 19, to make if the game is played behind closed doors, which is the cause for a decision on the course of action for the season. At this stage, the concern. options seem to be to call it early, void the season and start again in -- The Ligue de Football Professionnel have voted to suspend Ligue 1 & August, or try to play out the remaining nine matchdays. Ligue 2 action until further notice owing to COVID-19. March 13 -- The Board of Control for Cricket in India have postponed the start of -- Paderborn defender Luca Kilian has tested positive for COVID-19. He the Indian Premier League (IPL) until April 15 amidst Coronavirus is the first player in the Bundesliga infected with coronavirus. outbreak threat. -- Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi has tested positive for the -- Second division side Hannover 96 have announced that their entire coronavirus as Chelsea become the latest to enter self-quarantine. team have been put in "homebound quarantine" for 14 days after a "Callum displayed symptoms similar to a mild cold on Monday morning second member of their first-team squad, Jannes Horn, tested positive and has not been at the training ground since then as a precaution," said for coronavirus. As a result, the club have requested their upcoming a statement from the London based club. The 19-year-old took to Twitter fixtures against Dynamo Dresden and VfL Osnabrück be postponed. with people waking up to the news in London on Friday morning. -- So far, we've not had any news to suggest the Bundesliga will be -- Formula 1 has canceled the Australian Grand Prix over coronavirus suspended, but all fixtures in the top division, including the headline Ruhr fears. The race, scheduled for Sunday, was the first on the 2020 season derby in Dortmund, will be played without fans. calendar. -- UEFA have made a statement, but one that falls some way short of March 12 addressing immediate concerns over public health. No blanket ban on games or an extension on games behind played closed doors. Instead, a -- London-based side Arsenal have confirmed that their manager, Mikel meeting via video link, on March 17 among its 'stakeholders' to discuss Arteta, has tested positive for COVID-19. Team personnel that came in what to do next. close contact with Arteta will now self-isolate, including the first-team squad and coaching staff, the club said. -- La Liga has announced that games in the top two flights of Spanish football - La Liga and La Liga 2 - have been postponed for the next two -- Arsenal's announcement comes after the Premier League confirmed weeks at least, with immediate effect. Furthermore, Real Madrid are in that the matches over the coming weekend would go ahead as quarantine after a player from the club's basketball team tested positive. scheduled — with spectators in the stadiums. Instead, England's top Real Madrid's sports teams use the same training complex. league will hold an emergency club meeting on Friday, March 13 to discuss the situation. -- Formula One team McLaren will not participate in the opening race of the season in Australia after a member of its team tested positive for the -- FIFA has delayed South American World Cup qualifiers, due to take virus. However, the race is still expected to go ahead, despite four other place on March 26-31, due to the coronavirus. The decision follows a suspected cases in the paddock. request from CONMEBOL, South America's football confederation, to move the matches to a later date. -- It has been reported in the Times newspaper that the English Premier League are close to announcing that upcoming games will be played -- CONMEBOL announced that next week's group stage games of the behind closed doors, but there has been no official confirmation on that Copa Libertadores, South America's version of Europe's Champions from the Premier League. It has been confirmed that three Leicester City League, have been postponed. players are self-isolating having shown the symptoms of the virus. -- The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL), Germany's top Basketball league, -- In the United States, the NBA has suspended play due to the has suspended its season indefinitely, the BBL said on its website. Clubs coronavirus pandemic after Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert tested positive will meet after 14 days to reassess the situation. Germany's women's for the virus. "The NBA will use this hiatus to determine the next steps for basketball league has canceled the rest of its season. moving forward in regard to the coronavirus pandemic,'' the league said -- The NCAA, the body that governs college sports in the United States, in a statement. has canceled all winter and spring championships. This includes the -- The Swiss ice hockey league have taken the significant step of men's and women's March Madness basketball tournament, two of the canceling the season with immediate effect. All decisions regarding biggest events on the college sports calendar. champions, promotions and relegations will be decided in an -- Major League Baseball, the top baseball league in the US, is delaying extraordinary meeting scheduled for Friday. the start of the season by two weeks. The season was due to start on "We have a responsibility to protect our players, club members, and their March 26. The remainder of the league's preseason schedule has also health, and that is now a top priority," Denis Vaucher, Director of the been canceled. National League and the Swiss Leagues, said. -- The National Hockey League, North America's biggest ice hockey March 11 competition, has announced it is pausing its season. It said it would resume play "as soon as appropriate." The developmental American -- Another football player has tested positive for coronavirus - Juventus Hockey League and Canadian Hockey League said they would follow and Italian international Daniele Rugani. The club statement now reads suit. that they are currently activating all the isolation procedures required by law, including those who have had contact with him. -- Several leading fan groups in Germany have called on the Bundesliga to postpone matches rather than play them behind closed doors. -- The NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments will now also be played without fans as the US tries to do its best to contain the spread -- Schalke, whose match against Borussia Dortmund is to be played of the virus. The games will still take place, so as to allow fans the behind closed doors, encouraged their fans not to travel to Dortmund. chance to watch the game, but the atmosphere of the tournament will of "Due to current events, the team, coaching staff and all responsible course now be different. March Madness, as the tournament is known, persons of Schalke are pleading (to fans) not to go to Dortmund for the now takes on a very different meaning. #Revierderby on Saturday," the club said in a tweet. -- Also in the US, the Seattle Sounders in the MLS have postponed their This plea comes after supporters of Borussia Mönchengladbach next game after consultation with their governor. "Nothing is more gathered outside of Borussia-Park for their side's 2-1 win over Cologne important than public safety and the wellbeing of our fans." on Wednesday. -- The Golden State Warriors have announced their NBA game vs. the -- The Dutch football association (KNVB) has canceled all football events, Nets at their home stadium will be played without fans. They have also both professional and amateur, until March 31, the KNVB said on its stated that all events at the Chase Center through March 21 will be website. canceled or postponed. They are the first NBA team to announce a game without fans. -- UEFA has announced that both of next Tuesday's Champions League matches — Manchester City vs. Real Madrid and Juventus vs. -- Second-division side Hannover 96's Timo Hübers has tested positive Olympique Lyon — have been postponed. for coronavirus. The 23-year-old defender is the first professional player in Germany known to have caught the virus. Real Madrid players are currently under quarantine after a basketball player tested positive for the virus. Juventus players are also under -- Eintracht Frankfurt's Europa League home game against Basel on quarantine after Daniele Rugani was also diagnosed with the virus. Thursday evening will take place with fans in attendance. However, Sunday's Bundesliga match between the Eagles and Borussia -- Major League Soccer has become the latest governing body to Mönchengladbach will be played behind closed doors. According to the suspend the current season following the coronavirus pandemic. The authorities in Frankfurt, the reason behind the decision is the "low" American soccer league, which began its new season just two weeks number of coronavirus cases present in the cities of Frankfurt and Basel ago, has called off play for the next month. whereas the Mönchengladbach area is one of Germany’s epicenters of the coronavirus outbreak. -- ATP have announced that there will be a six-week suspension of the men's tennis tour. The WTA are yet to make an announcement on the "Our decision is based on the advice given to us by the experts," said the women's tour, but are expected to follow suit. However, the WTA have city of Frankfurt’s health office. confirmed the cancellation of the upcoming Miami Open. -- The game between Union Berlin and Bayern Munich on Saturday will Monday's meeting came in light of a recommendation from German be held behind closed doors, the authorities in Berlin-Köpenick have Health Minister Jens Spahn, who has called for all events of over 1,000 said. people to be canceled. March 10 -- The police in the canton of Basel have announced that the Europa League match between FC Basel and Eintracht Frankfurt will not be -- Although there won't be fans inside the stadium for Borussia played in March 19 as planned due to the coronavirus. It was not Dortmund's second leg against PSG tomorrow, it looks like there might immediately known when and where the match could be held. The first be fans allowed outside. leg of their round-of-16 tie is to be played in Frankfurt on Thursday. -- The German Ice Hockey League (DEL) has ended its season early in -- The Paris police authority has announced that the second leg of the an attempt to stop the spread of the virus, leaving the 2020 season Champions League round of 16 fixture between Paris Saint-Germain and without a champion. This came hours after the Austrian league made a Borussia Dortmund is to be played behind closed doors due to concerns similar announcement. about the coronavirus outbreak. The police said in a statement that the -- Another Bundesliga game has been put behind closed doors to prevent move was to conform with measures adopted by the government to cope the spread of the virus. Hoffenheim have just announced their home with the spread of the virus. The health minister said that France, which game against Hertha Berlin will now be played without fans. has more than 1,100 confirmed cases and has had 19 deaths, has banned gatherings of more than 1,000 people to try and slow the spread Union Berlin on the other hand, have stated that after an extensive of COVID-19. Dortmund have a 2-1 advantage into the second leg. examination they have decided "not to issue an order preventing spectators from attending" the home game against Bayern Munich. -- The Leipzig health office, meanwhile, has confirmed that Tuesday's Champions League match between RB Leipzig and Tottenham Hotspur -- Germany vs Italy in Nuremberg on March 31 will be played without will go ahead as planned. fans, the DFB have announced. The game could yet be canceled depending on how long Italy's country-wide lockdown remains in force. -- French Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu has confirmed that Their game against Spain in Madrid is still expected to go ahead as France's final Six Nations rugby international game against Ireland has planned, but no decision in regards to coronavirus has been made. been postponed. Maracineanu did not specify the new date for the game. French media had earlier reported on Monday that all games on the final -- Saturday's Ruhr Derby between Borussia Dortmund and Schalke, day of rugby's Six Nations Championship on Saturday had been arguably the biggest derby in Germany, will be played behind closed postponed amid fears over the coronavirus outbreak. The move is in doors for the first time, Dortmund officials have confirmed. The 80,000- keeping with France's ban on all gatherings of more than 1,000 people. capacity Signal Iduna Park will be empty, but for club and match officials and selected media outlets. The city of Dortmund has said that, as things -- Japanese officials have postponed the start of the 12-team stand, Dortmund's match against Bayern Munich on April 4th is also professional baseball league season due to the spread of the expected to take place with no spectators. There is growing speculation coronavirus. The season was to open on March 20. The league had been that all Bundesliga games will be played behind closed doors this playing its preseason games in empty stadiums due to the virus. weekend, but we still await an official announcement. "I personally believe that we have no choice but to postpone at this -- It's also been confirmed that Bayern Munich's Champions League stage," the league's commissioner, Atsushi Saito, said. game against Chelsea on March 18 will also be played without Meanwhile, the head of the soccer J-League said it planned to extend its spectators. That's one of several upcoming Champions League games suspension of play, which is already in effect until March 18. across Europe that will close its doors to fans, with Spanish league, La Liga, announcing that all games will be played without fans until at least "At this moment I think it's very difficult to resume the matches,'' J- March 22, covering the next two rounds of top-tier fixtures in the country. League chairman Mitsuru Murai said. -- Wednesday's Bundesliga game between Borussia Mönchengladbach -- Basketball superstar LeBron James has said he won't play if his Los and Cologne is to be played behind closed doors due to the coronavirus Angeles Lakers are forced to hold games behind closed doors due to the outbreak. The city of Mönchengladbach announced the move in a outbreak. The National Basketball Association has reportedly told teams statement issued on Tuesday. The local derby, postponed from February to look into strategies on how to play without fans in the arena amid because of a storm, will be the first top-flight German football game to be concerns over the spread of coronavirus. played behind closed doors. "If I show up to the arena and there ain't no fans in the crowd, then I ain't German Health Minister Jens Spahn had previously recommended that playing. This ain't Europe," James said. events with more than 1,000 people be called off. The western state of North Rhine-Westphalia has been Germany's hardest hit by the outbreak. -- Organizers of the 2020 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, California, have announced the tournament "will not take place at this time due to March 9 concerns surrounding the coronavirus and the safety of the participants and attendees at the event." -- Late on Monday Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced that the country's top-flight Serie A football league will be suspended The first ATP Masters 1000 and WTA Premier Mandatory event of the because of the coronavirus crisis. year had been slated to kick off on Wednesday. "There is no reason why matches and sporting events should continue "The health and safety of the local community, fans, players, volunteers, and I am thinking of the football championship," Conte told a press sponsors, employees, vendors, and everyone involved with the event is conference in Rome. of paramount importance," said the tournament's director, Tommy Haas. "We are prepared to hold the tournament on another date and will Italy's Olympic Committee (CONI) had recommended earlier in the day explore options," he added. that all sporting events in the country be suspended until April 3 to help contain the outbreak. The final Serie A game before Conte's The decision followed a confirmed coronavirus case in the Coachella announcement saw Sassuolo beat Brescia 3-0 behind closed doors in Valley, which prompted the Riverside County Public Health Department Reggio Emilia on Monday. to declare a public health emergency. --The presidency of the DFL, which operates the Bundesliga, met on March 8 Monday to discuss the rapidly developing outbreak of the coronavirus in Germany and its impact on the league. -- Despite the increased spread of the coronavirus, DFL CEO Christian Seifert is pushing for the German football season to end on schedule. In a statement released following the meeting, the DFL said that unless "The coronavirus puts the whole of society, and therefore football too, in local authorities order otherwise, all nine Bundesliga games on Matchday a difficult situation," Seifert said in a press release on Sunday. "Of 26 are to go ahead as planned. The DFL reiterated an earlier statement course, the health of the population and therefore of all football fans is in which it pointed to the need to get the season played in its entirety by our top priority. The aim must be to find the appropriate path between the summer. It also said that it could hold matches with a limited number justified precaution and excessive caution in different areas of life." of spectators, if so ordered by local authorities, and it said it would comply with whatever instructions are issued by local authorities. The -- German Health Minister Jens Spahn has called for more large public DFL ruled out canceling single games, but said it was open to delaying events to be canceled to help control the spread of the virus. Authorities entire matchdays between now and the end of May if necessary. In such have been criticized for allowing large sporting events such as the cases, it said the DFL would do so in consultation with the German FA Bundesliga to continue while other countries have already halted public (DFB) and the European governing body, UEFA. matches. "In light of the dynamic developments of the last couple of days, things him whether Germany might follow Switzerland in canceling professional need to change quickly," Spahn told dpa. The biggest upcoming sports matches. event this week is set to take place in Leipzig for the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 when Tottenham come to visit. The club have "We are in close consultation with the relevant authorities and the health tweeted that no decision has been made yet. offices. It's for them to make the decisions and we will follow their advice, and implement their decisions," he said. March 7 -- International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach has --The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) has called off the 2020 reiterated his assertion that this summer's Tokyo Olympics will be a Women's Ice Hockey Championship, which was to be hosted by Nova success despite the coronavirus outbreak. Scotia next month. "We are all healthy and looking forward to the meeting," a smiling Bach “It is with great regret that we must take this action," IIHF President René told reporters as he arrived at IOC headquarters in Lausanne for a Fasel said. "It was not an easy decision to make, as we were greatly meeting of the organization's executive board. looking forward to hosting this tournament in Canada. Nevertheless, the decision has been made due to safety concerns for the well-being of "We are preparing for a successful Olympic Games Tokyo 2020," he players, officials, and spectators." said. An IIHF statement said the cancelation of the women's tournament had Both Tokyo 2020 Olympics organizers and the IOC have repeatedly no bearing on planning for the men's tournament,to be hosted by stressed that the Games, slated to open on July 24, will go ahead as Switzerland in May. planned. March 6 Earlier on Tuesday, though, Japan's Olympics minister, Seiko Hashimoto appeared to raise the possibility of delaying the start of the -- The head virologist at Berlin's Charité, the oldest hospital in Germany's Games.Hashimoto said that Tokyo's contract with the IOC "could be capital, has called for all Bundesliga matches in the Rheinland region to interpreted as allowing a postponement" as long at the Games are held be postponed this weekend in light of a Coronavirus outbreak in in the 2020 calendar year. However, she added that the Japanese Heinsberg near Mönchengladbach. "Full stadiums with 10s of thousands government and Tokyo remained committed to the July 24 opening date. of fans - especially in areas like the Rheinland which have been strongly affected by the coronavirus - would have be stopped from a medical point There have been 1,000 confirmed coronavirus infections in Japan, with of view," said Christian Drosten, Director at the Institute for Virology at 12 fatalities. the Charité. --UEFA announced on Tuesday that it has set up a working group with Borussia Mönchengladbach are due to face Borussia Dortmund in a the European Leagues association to handle any fixture congestion be clash that could prove decisive in the Bundesliga title race. Gladbach's caused by coronavirus postponements. stadium is less than 10 kilometers away from the Heinsberg area and, as The president of the Swiss FA, Dominique Blanc, warned of serious a result, the club have fans from the Heinsberg area not to attend, consequences for the sport. promising future recompensation of match tickets. Authorities have decided to let the game go ahead as planned. "Due to the coronavirus we are in a situation that could shake, for a part of us, professional football to its foundations," he said in an address to March 5 the UEFA Congress being held in Amsterdam. -- Italy has ordered all major sporting events to be played behind closed The Swiss soccer league (SFL) has been put on hold until at least March doors for a month, in a bid to curb the Coronavirus outbreak in the 23 after the clubs rejected the possibility of playing matches behind country. The governmental order will be in place until April 3 at the closed doors. earliest. Ten Serie A matches have already been postponed as a result of the virus, with two Italian Cup semifinals also being affected. FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who also addressed the conference, said it was "important to work with authorities but not to panic." -- The Six Nations rugby game between Italy and England, which was set to take place in Rome next week, has been postponed due to the March 2 Coronavirus, reports in the UK suggest. -- UEFA has said decisions over whether to cancel matches, including March 4 playoffs for the upcoming Euro 2020, due to the coronavirus, will be made by governments and health authorities. -- Thursday's second leg of Napoli's Italian Cup semifinal against Inter Milan has been postponed as the coronavirus epidemic continues to UEFA executives met in Amsterdam on Monday but spent only a few spread throughout the country. A Serie A statement said that the move minutes discussing the spread of the flu-like disease, which has seen came in accordance with an order from the prefect of Naples calling for sporting events canceled around the world. the game to be delayed. Napoli lead the semifinal 1-0. A new date for the second leg has not yet been announced. It has played havoc with domestic soccer in Italy where Sunday's clash between Juventus and Inter Milan was among six weekend games -- The health minister of Germany's North Rhine-Westphalia state has postponed. Last week, Inter played Bulgarian club Ludogorets in the said he does not believe Saturday's Bundesliga match between Borussia Europa League behind closed doors at their San Siro stadium. Mönchengladbach and Borussia Dortmund should be postponed, despite a coronavirus outbreak in the region. Karl-Josef Laumann said this "We're in touch with the authorities, we're in the hands of the local assumption was based on the fact that the local health authorities saw no authorities, and we'll deal with whatever they tell us," a UEFA spokesman reason for putting off the match. However, Gladbach have asked those said. from the Heinsberg to region, which has been the hardest hit in the state, -- RB Leipzig have apologized to a Japanese group who were ejected to voluntarily skip the game - in return for a full refund. from a Bundesliga game on Sunday due to fears -- Cycling teams confined to a luxury Abu Dhabi hotel have been about the coronavirus. Fans posted on Twitter on Monday about their instructed by the country's health authorities to remain in quarantine until experience of being asked to leave around 10 minutes into the match March 14 due to coronavirus concerns. Emirati authorities ordered the with Bayer Leverkusen. Leipzig on Monday confirmed the incident, lockdown of the Crowne Plaza in Yas Island and the nearby W hotel after saying stewards had made a mistake in attempting to follow guidelines two Italian participants involved in last week's UAE Tour were suspected from the Robert Koch Institute for dealing with groups from potentially of contracting coronavirus. high-risk areas for the virus. The club said they were attempting to Members of the French teams Cofidis and Groupama-FDJ as well as contact the group of fans affected to invite them to another game. Russia's Gazprom have been confined to the fourth floor of the Crowne March 1 Plaza since last Thursday. -- Many rugby, hockey, golf and tennis events in Singapore, Thailand or -- Clemens Fuest, the leader of IFO Institute for economic research, has China have been postponed or will not be played. warned of a "historic year for sports, in a bad sense," in light of the Coronavirus. -- The Chinese Grand Prix, scheduled for April 19, has been postponed by the sport's governing body FIA and Formula One. No new date has -- The German FA (DFB) has said it will follow the advice of the country's yet to emerge. health authorities on how to respond to the coronavirus outbreak. -- South Korea's pro soccer league has postponed the start of its new "I can give you a simple answer as we have don't have any medical season, while the Chinese FA said domestic games at all levels would expertise," DFB Vice President Rainer Koch said after a reporter asked also be postponed. -- The World Athletics Indoor Championships, due to be held between March 13 and 15 in Nanjing, have been postponed until next year. -- Five Serie A games were postponed on Saturday, including league leaders Juventus' home game against Inter Milan in Turin, in an attempt to contain the spread of a virus outbreak. The games were originally due to be played behind closed doors, but the decision to call them off was taken by the league as part of an urgent attempt to control the spread of the coronavirus. February 28 -- Bayern Munich have announced that as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, their players have been instructed not to sign autographs or pose for selfies with fans. This is a temporary measure. The club said they were in regular contact with the City of Munich's health department and the Robert Koch Institute, the German federal government agency responsible for disease control and prevention. -- Denmark's Michael Morkov has been instructed not to leave his Berlin hotel room while he awaits a test for the coronavirus after traveling there for the track cycling world championships from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The 34-year-old left for the German capital on Thursday, before the UAE Tour was canceled due to two Italian participants showing symptoms of the virus. All other riders and staff have since been confined to the Tour hotel. Morkov had been scheduled to compete in Berlin this weekend. The UAE Tour was scrapped after five stages and ahead of its scheduled conclusion on Sunday. -- The Swiss Football League has announced that it has canceled all first and second-division games for the coming weekend due to the coronavirus outbreak. This followed a government order that all events with more than 1,000 participants be put off until March 15 at the earliest. -- Bundesliga club RB Leipzig have instructed players and staff to avoid shaking hands, which is the customary greeting in Germany. Head coach Julian Nagelsmann told a press conference ahead of Leipzig's match against Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday that it was part of the club's policy meant to prevent the spread of viruses. "There is a ban on shaking hands; we greet each other with elbows," he said. Leipzig have also imposed a travel stop on all scouts, staff and players apart from match travel. -- English Premier League club Newcastle United have also introduced a handshake ban to protect against the spread of the coronavirus. "There's a ritual here that everybody shakes hands with everybody as soon as we see each other every morning -- we've stopped that on the advice of the doctor," Newcastle manager Steve Bruce said at a press conference ahead of their match against Burnley on Saturday. -- German professional sports leagues have been monitoring the situation regarding the coronavirus outbreak and are in contact with the relevant authorities. -- The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has said it is "fully committed" to holding the 2020 Games in Tokyo as planned despite the widening new coronavirus outbreak. IOC President Thomas Bach told Japanese media in a conference call late on Thursday that the IOC "is fully committed to a successful Olympic Games in Tokyo starting July 24." This came as the viral outbreak across Japan and dozens of other countries has fueled concerns about the Summer Games, with a swathe of other sports events, mainly in Asia, postponed or canceled. The Ireland-Italy Six Nations match on March 7 in Dublin was postponed on Wednesday following an outbreak of the virus in northern Italy. Several Serie A matches in northern Italy are to be played behind closed doors due to the outbreak. In the Europa League, Inter Milan beat Ludogorets 2-1 (4-1) at an empty San Siro, with the game played behind closed doors due to the coronavirus outbreak in the region. Deutsche Welle LOADED: 03.18.2020 World Leagues News Initially, the NBA postponed the Jazz's game against Oklahoma Thunder before it announced it would suspend the rest of the season after Wednesday night's games. More sports events have been postponed amid coronavirus outbreaks "The NBA will use this hiatus to determine next steps for moving forward in regard to the coronavirus pandemic," the NBA said in a statement. By Amir Vera and Dakin Andone, CNN NCAA pulls plug on March Madness The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) on Thursday canceled its Division I basketball tournament -- and the biggest annual (CNN)Since last week's announcements that the NBA would suspend its event in college basketball -- as well as other winter and spring NCAA season and the NCAA would cancel its annual men's and women's championships. basketball tournament in response to the coronavirus outbreak, numerous other sports leagues have followed suit. "This decision is based on the evolving Covid-19 public health threat, our ability to ensure the events do not contribute to spread of the pandemic, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging Americans not and the impracticality of hosting such events at any time during this to attend events with more than 10 people. academic year given ongoing decisions by other entities," NCAA said in a statement. Here's a look at the impact coronavirus has had on US sports: The NCAA previously said March Madness would proceed without any NASCAR postpones races until May fans, and that only essential staff members and family members would be allowed to attend. NASCAR postponed races in its national circuits through May 3, according to an announcement made Monday. NCAA President Mark Emmert statement on limiting attendance at NCAA events: https://t.co/TIHHJjdse5 pic.twitter.com/8I1HdceDfN The stock car racing body said it plans to hold a full season once the schedule resumes the weekend of May 8-9 in Martinsville, Virginia. — NCAA (@NCAA) March 11, 2020 Kentucky Derby postponed until September Multiple college conferences also canceled ongoing basketball tournaments, including the Big Ten Conference and the SEC, among The 146th Kentucky Derby will be postponed until September 5, others. according to reports from multiple media outlets in Louisville, where the race takes place. MLB calls off spring training, delays season At this point, it's not clear how the postponement may affect the other Major League Baseball will cancel its remaining spring training schedule Triple Crown races. and delay Opening Day -- scheduled for March 26 -- back by at least two weeks, the league said Thursday. Traditionally, the Kentucky Derby is run first, followed by the Preakness and Belmont Stakes. "Nothing is more important to us than the health and safety of our players, employees and fans," the league said in a statement. "MLB will UFC postpones next three fights continue to undertake the precautions and best practices recommended The Ultimate Fighting Championship will postpone its next three events, by public health experts. We send our best wishes to all individuals and which were scheduled to take place March 21, 28 and April 11, according communities that have been impacted by coronavirus." to UFC President Dana White. Statement from Major League Baseball: pic.twitter.com/0bWS5VTRPu UFC is the only major sporting league still in play this weekend despite — MLB (@MLB) March 12, 2020 coronavirus fears MLB plans to announce the postponement's impacts on the schedule at a UFC is the only major sporting league still in play this weekend despite later point, "with the hope of resuming normal operations as soon as coronavirus fears possible," the statement said. The March 21 fight was scheduled to be in London, but was postponed MLS sidelines games for a month because of travel restrictions between the US and United Kingdom, ESPN reported. Major League Soccer will suspend its season for 30 days while it reevaluates the impact of the coronavirus. The March 28 and April 11 fights were scheduled to take place in Las Vegas, according to UFC's website. "Our clubs were united today in the decision to temporarily suspend our season -- based on the advice and guidance from the Centers for The April 18 fight is still set to take place in Brooklyn, New York. White Disease Control and Prevention, Public Health Agency of Canada, and said he will look at relocating it, including moving it outside of the US, if other public health authorities, and in the best interest of our fans, necessary. players, officials and employees," MLS Commissioner Don Garber said in WWE to hold WrestleMania without fans a statement. "We'd like to thank our fans for their continued support during this challenging time." World Wrestling Entertainment announced Monday that it has decided to hold WrestleMania without fans. US Soccer calls off games through April WWE moving SmackDown and will hold it without a live audience US Soccer canceled games for the Men's and Women's National Teams through April. WWE moving SmackDown and will hold it without a live audience "With the health of our players, coaches, staff and fans as our main WrestleMania is WWE's biggest event of the year. priority, US Soccer has decided it was in the best interest to cancel the majority of our upcoming domestic and international camps at all levels, Tens of thousands of passionate wrestling fans were expected to fill the including our senior Men's and Women's National Team games in March Raymond James Stadium in Florida on April 5. Now, the event will be and April, due to the outbreak of COVID-19," US Soccer Chief Medical held at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando with only essential Officer George Chiampas said in a statement Thursday. personnel. The USMNT was set to play the Netherlands in two matches later this NBA decides to suspend season month, while the USWNT was scheduled to host Australia on April 10 in The National Basketball Association announced Wednesday night it Sandy, Utah, and Brazil on April 14 in San Jose, California. would suspend its season after a player on the Utah Jazz tested positive NHL suspends season for coronavirus. The National Hockey League said it would suspend its season, effective A second Utah Jazz player tests positive for coronavirus, as a suspended immediately. NBA considers next steps The league had been preparing for the developments without "taking A second Utah Jazz player tests positive for coronavirus, as a suspended premature or unnecessary measures," Commissioner Gary Bettman said NBA considers next steps in a statement on Thursday. The NHL pauses the 2019-20 season. pic.twitter.com/bCi776ZFqX — NHL (@NHL) March 12, 2020 "However, following last night's news that an NBA player has tested positive for coronavirus -- and given that our leagues share so many facilities and locker rooms and it now seems likely that some member of the NHL community would test positive at some point -- it is no longer appropriate to try to continue to play games at this time," Bettman said. PGA Tour cancels events as the Masters postpones The PGA Tour announced late Thursday the Players Championship was canceled. The tour was also canceling all other events in the coming weeks through the Valero Texas Open (March 30 to April 5), it said in a statement. "We have pledged from the start to be responsible, thoughtful and transparent with our decision process," the Tour said. "We did everything possible to create a safe environment for our players in order to continue the event throughout the weekend, and we were endeavoring to give our fans a much-needed respite from the current climate." But the situation is rapidly changing, organizers wrote, and "the right thing to do for our players and our fans is to pause." Augusta National Golf Club said Friday it would postpone the Masters, which was set to tee off on April 9. The Boston Marathon gets postponed The Boston Marathon has been postponed until September 14, Mayor Marty Walsh said Friday. It was scheduled to take place on April 20. "Our expectation and the hope right now is that this date will get us to a safer place in relation to the spread of the coronavirus," Walsh said. The Boston Athletic Association, which organizes the race, said in a statement it understood the decision to postpone. "On matters of public health and safety we take our guidance from the officials entrusted with protecting the public in this area," CEO Tom Grilk said. "We understand our role, along with our partners, in ensuring a safe environment for all participants, volunteers, spectators, and supporters that meets the standards set by those officials." Cable News Network LOADED: 03.18.2020 World Leagues News LOADED: 03.18.2020

Factbox: Sports Events Still Ongoing Despite Coronavirus Pandemic

By Reuters

(Reuters) - Sports events around the world that have not been suspended, postponed or canceled due to the coronavirus outbreak: OLYMPICS ** The Olympics from July 24-August 9 in Tokyo have not been postponed or suspended. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will hold talks with heads of international sports organizations on March 17. ** The Tokyo 2020 Olympics torch lighting ceremony in ancient Olympia was held without spectators. ** The Tokyo 2020 Olympics flame handover ceremony in Athens on March 19 will be a scaled-down event with only a few Tokyo Games officials and torch bearers inside the stadium. SOCCER ** Australia's top flight A-League soccer competition has banned spectators for the rest of the 2019/20 season and faces a temporary hiatus due to quarantine restrictions that have affected two teams. Organizers are nonetheless planning to pack the final matches into a condensed schedule before the playoffs. ** The Copa America from June 12-July 12 in Argentina and Colombia is set to go ahead. ** Argentina's cup competition, the Copa de la Superliga, and the Brazilian state championships are being played without spectators in attendance. SNOOKER ** The Coral Tour Championship in Llandudno, Wales, from March 17-22 is going ahead as planned. ** The World Championships in Sheffield from April 18-May 4 is going ahead as of now. BOXING ** The European Olympic boxing qualifying tournament in London will be held without spectators from March 16-24. RUGBY ** South Africa's July tests against Scotland and Georgia remain as scheduled but will be reviewed in April. RUGBY LEAGUE ** Australia's National Rugby League, the world's richest competition in the 13-man rugby code and the most popular spectator sport in the country's eastern states, is continuing for the time being at closed stadiums. MIXED MARTIAL ARTS ** A UFC mixed martial arts event in Brazil on March 14 went ahead in an empty arena. ** UFC Fight Night 171, which was to be held in London on March 21, will be relocated to a new venue, possibly in the United States. HORSE RACING ** The British Horseracing Authority confirmed races in England, Scotland and Wales until the end of March will take place without spectators in attendance. ** Australian races are also continuing in key markets but without fans AUSTRALIAN RULES FOOTBALL ** The top flight Australian Football League is expected to launch its season as scheduled in Melbourne on Thursday but without fans in attendance and after organizers slashed the season to 17 rounds from 22. (Compiled by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar/Peter Rutherford) World Leagues News Behind closed doors? Fine in theory; not much use if a single staff member from either team has to go into self-isolation. Summer rugby? Not unless next season’s programme can also be adjusted to avoid the More questions than answers in rugby union's land of coronavirus prospect of 12 solid months of relentless playing and training. Too much confusion rugby can be even worse for your health, mental and physical, than too little. The only certainties are these: no perfect solution exists and the next few months will be character-building. Robert Kitson Six Nations highlights Hitting the snooze button on the Six Nations has rendered all the customary post-tournament awards redundant but, whatever unfolds in Exeter Chiefs entertain Bath at Sandy Park earlier this season. Like the autumn, it will be hard for anyone to overtake France’s scrum-half Liverpool in the Premier League the Premiership leaders would find it a Antoine Dupont as player of the championship or Justin Tipuric’s hollow victory to just be awarded the title. spectacular score for Wales at Twickenham as try of the campaign. Coach of the campaign? At the moment it is arguably a tie between two There are far more important things in life than a few weeks or, perhaps, defence coaches – Scotland’s Steve Tandy and France’s Shaun months without rugby. It is going to be a while before the world returns to Edwards – with England’s new forwards coach Matt Proudfoot also something approaching normality, never mind the oval-shaped segment making a difference. At least all of the above individuals will remember of it. That said, given every major league and tournament on the planet – the ill-starred 2020 championship with some fondness both club and international – is now affected to some degree, it is already clear rugby’s administrators in both hemispheres are staring into the One to watch abyss. Given there is presently no live rugby to watch, what better time to dust Unlike the upper echelons of top‑level football, rugby is not a sport cosily off a few all-time classics to prevent television audiences from collapsing insulated from the real world. CVC’s investment may change things – completely. In no particular order I would recommend watching the potentially at a price if the big fixtures are no longer on free-to-air following modern era games in full: British and Irish Lions v South Africa, television – but the game has mostly lived on its wits for the first 25 years second Test 2009; Lions v New Zealand second and third Tests 2017, of professionalism. When the sums have not quite added up, extra England v Scotland 2019, the 2019 Premiership final between Saracens money-spinning games have been added. Should the precise opposite and Exeter and the 2011 Heineken Cup final between Leinster and become unavoidable, what next? Costs and wages have risen steadily Northampton. There is likely to be plenty of time to dip even further back and even the healthier parts of the sport have already been feeling the into the archives in the coming months. pinch. As with the airline industry, rugby feels more vulnerable to the pandemic than most. The Guardian LOADED: 03.18.2020 It does not exactly help that the northern hemisphere club game’s most lucrative fixtures are scheduled to take place over the next three months. Industry insiders predict “huge consequences” if, for example, the shutdown ends up continuing until the summer. If, as is being suggested, the coronavirus outbreak does not peak in the UK before June, the remainder of the domestic season will effectively be toast. All this is strictly relative compared with the bigger picture but what do the harassed administrators do? Take the Premiership, for example. With nine rounds of the regular season and the play-offs to be completed, Exeter are five points clear at the top. The organisers are hoping to suspend the league for only five weeks but what if it turns out to be longer? Do they then freeze the standings and reluctantly cancel the rest of the season? With Saracens already relegated it could be a neater- than-usual outcome but what to do about the title? Handing it to Exeter with a large asterisk attached would hardly impress Sale Sharks, Northampton Saints or Bristol Bears; it would not thrill the Chiefs much either. Alternatively, might they refer the remaining regular season fixtures to some kind of independent pools panel, identify a notional top four and try to reschedule the semi-finals and final at some later date? Instinctively, that also feels unsatisfactory. Let’s say, for the sake of argument, such rescheduled knockout fixtures were held in August or the opening two weeks of September. None of the teams involved would have played any competitive rugby in the preceding six months, some players will have fallen out of contract and moved on in the interim. Would it be truly compelling drama or merely a case of going through the motions? Then again, imagine the sense of frustration – and the big commercial hit – for teams such as Exeter and Leinster should the rest of the season be declared null and void. Both sit atop their respective league/conference and have earned themselves prized home European quarter-finals. Then again, how much satisfaction is there in a hollow paper title victory, with no wild scenes of dressing-room celebration or bloodied sense of post- whistle achievement? Mentally it may just be easier, if not for those squad members moving on, to park all the mixed emotions and go again next season. And where does that leave the Championship and the RFU’s other national leagues? Easy enough in the Championship, in theory, where Newcastle Falcons are way clear of everyone else at the top and few could complain if they were awarded the title. But what about the precedent that would set? Take National League Two South where the top four sides – Taunton Titans, Tonbridge Juddians, Henley and Redruth – are separated by just six points with 25 gruelling rounds already played. Those of us who attended Taunton’s game with Esher at the weekend and – full disclosure – have had a family member playing for the Titans first XV this season have been on tenterhooks for weeks. If there has to be an artificial, abbreviated end to the campaign, it will be massively harsh on those missing out. World Leagues News

RFL admits clubs are under threat after suspending season over coronavirus

Aaron Bower

The Rugby Football League’s chief executive, Ralph Rimmer, has conceded the future of many clubs could be under threat after it was unanimously agreed to postpone the season until at least next month. No rugby league will be played in the UK until 3 April at the earliest after representatives from across the game agreed to halt the season with immediate effect at a meeting in Huddersfield on Monday. Rimmer admitted that with finances tighter in rugby league than other mainstream sports, clubs are facing a precarious future owing to the virus. “I don’t think we can deny there is a threat to many clubs,” he said. “All of them have different business models but they are based on having a certain amount of home games. There’s a threat, we recognise it, but there’s a bigger picture and we all have to play our part.” Super League had carried on with its fixtures last weekend, insisting it was following government advice, but with the situation having worsened, the competition’s chief executive, Robert Elstone, conceded all parties within the sport must work together to ensure the sport survives a period of financial uncertainty. “Super League clearly is aware of the gravity of the situation,” he said. “We’re mindful of the communities in our game and, echoing what Ralph said, now is a period of time where we look at the implications and options. It’s a very fluid situation, which will change day to day, and ourselves and the RFL need to be closely joined in terms of what it means for fixtures and finance, and how we come out of this as healthy as we can.” With clubs from France and Canada in the competition, Elstone admitted that adds an extra dimension of difficulty when planning how and when the sport resumes. “We’re aware of that and whatever we decide in terms of future fixtures, those two overseas clubs will have a big bearing on what we can and can’t do. “Most fundamentally, we don’t know when the situation will change for the better, so we have to be very flexible and nimble. There’s a real need for solidarity in the whole sport. Our fans are terrific and we need them now more than ever, just like our partners.” Elstone said Super League clubs were unanimous in their decision to postpone. One of the sport’s most prominent owners, Wigan’s Ian Lenagan, said the main concern had to be the welfare of everyone involved. “At this time of great uncertainty across the world, our sport’s No 1 priority has to be the safety and wellbeing of everyone within our communities,” he said. “We were party to this decision and fully supportive of the measures decided. “Whilst the postponement of a large number of fixtures across the competition will present a logistical challenge like we’ve never seen before, we trust everyone connected to both Wigan Warriors and the Super League will understand the reasoning behind this stance. “Suspending the competition will add an element of certainty to our planning in a period that is otherwise filled with uncertainty. We will now take the appropriate steps to review all of our daily activities, our financial plans and implement a working schedule that ensures maximum protection for those within the club and everyone connected to it.” The Guardian LOADED: 03.18.2020 World Leagues News "Such decisions are widely accepted because they are based on a [club's] performance. But if they were armchair decisions, I doubt that this will be accepted," he says. As coronavirus hits German sports, clubs fear crashing out of the game Business models under threat Sports rights owners like Sky and DAZN that broadcast German In Germany's favorite sport, the saying goes that a football club just Bundesliga games via their payTV channels also face a life-threatening needs to switch on the stadium lights and thousands will come to see blow to their business models. They simply have no product, football what's happening there. Even in the trying times of the coronavirus games, anymore, but at the same time need to deliver to their fee-paying outbreak, the saying was proved right, as the last regular game showed. clients who had already bought their packages. As the ref blew the kick-off whistle for Mönchengladbach versus Cologne The broadcasters who have the rights to the top two divisions could claim — a match decreed to be held behind closed doors due to coronavirus compensation from DFL due to not being able to deliver their product. fears — hundreds if not thousands of fans had gathered outside the "It's a matter of private contractual agreements that are understandably stadium to cheer on their teams. The happening was far from ideal to not for the public," was Sky's response to an inquiry by German news slow the spread of the novel pathogen. agency DPA. It goes without saying that Germany's professional football league (DFL) The problem is that the league has no insurance for the lost TV income, was forced to act, which it did on Friday (March 13) by pausing the one that could come into play were the season to be canceled due to the regular Bundesliga season for at least two matchdays until April 2. coronavirus. And calls for the state to bail clubs and rights owners out are likely to fall on deaf ears. Runaway costs and lost revenue "In terms of support for sports clubs, including professional football, we Christoph Breuer, a professor of sports business and management at the are not planning to earmark money in the national budget," the German Sports College in Cologne, believes that DFL's move will have far- Interior Ministry said recently in response to an inquiry from sports news reaching consequences for the clubs. agency SID. But companies and other commercial enterprises, the ministry said, could ask the Economy Ministry for "liquidity support in the "Ticket sales are a key source of revenue for the clubs," he told DW. "In form of loans." addition to that, sponsorship money and income from television rights are threatened because clubs are bound by contracts to play their games." Breuer also believes that it wouldn't be wise for wealthy football clubs to ask for government aid. Instead, he argues, they should finally open As a matter of fact, should the season not continue after April 2, the 36 themselves up for big-money investors like in most European countries professional teams in the first and second divisions in the Bundesliga by dropping the 50+1 ownership rule that still shields German Bundesliga would look at a potential loss of €750 million ($836 million). The figure is clubs from foreign investors. a total of missing gate receipts, lost sponsorship money and outstanding television money. Just the TV money from the last nine games likely not Deutsche Welle LOADED: 03.18.2020 to be played would hit the clubs' bottom lines by €370 million. For a full season of 34 league games, they get a total of €1.4 billion. Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Jaochim Watzke Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Jaochim Watzke in a rare moment of unity The bosses of two clubs that stand to lose millions were among the most vocal. Borussia Dortmund's CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke spoke of "the biggest crisis" in German football. Before him, Bayern Munich's CEO, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, spoke in favor of continuing with the originally planned games behind closed doors on Matchday 26. "If this money was absent, it would be expected that many smaller and mid-sized clubs would have financial problems," Rummenigge said. Will lights go out in lower leagues? In Germany's third and fourth division football, the situation looks even more dramatic, says Breuer. Gate receipts there make up for a much bigger part of revenue than in the two top-flight divisions, and the clubs' liquid positions have been much more strained for years. "Two out of three third-division clubs are already deep in the red, while in the first division all clubs are profitable," he says And further down the German football pecking order, lights could go out altogether, he warns. Albert Ammermann is the deputy president of fifth- division club Kickers Emden, a club that's already suffered from a series of postponed matches due to bad weather. "Our club's [financial] situation has never been rosy, we cannot cope with any loss of income from ticket sales," he told DW. Schedule disruptions The coronavirus is not only plunging club finances into disarray, but also causes havoc in European game schedules. Even if the postponed Bundesliga matchdays are to be played at a later time, there are virtually no slots left in the tight football timetables. EURO2020 draw Will the coronavirus threaten European game schedules? Nothing can be ruled out anymore Subsequently, questions of relegation and promotion will arise, which according to Breyer are "extremely difficult to decide," because they may not be made on the pitch but instead based on the standings in unfinished league tables. World Leagues News Basically, we’re most likely headed to closed stadiums for sporting events, especially if this starts to spread like they think it might.

How long will this last? Coronavirus update: Should I attend a sporting event at a stadium? A youth sports tournament? We don’t know. Dr. Gottlieb pointed out that the virus seemed to struggle with hot, humid air, and pointed toward July and August as a possible stop point, but those are estimated guesses. We aren’t sure how long Nate Scott like this will go on. For now, we need to try to limit the spread of disease and give the global medical community time to work. If you can, avoid large gatherings, The spread of COVID-19, a strain of coronavirus, has quickly reached especially large sporting events indoors. pandemic levels in countries like China and Italy and sent the global economy tumbling. LOADED: 03.18.2020 Global health experts have stated that the disease is past containment, and we should now focus on limiting the spread to communities, especially those who are immunocompromised. With this in mind, we have answers to some of your questions about how to do so, especially with regards to sporting events. You may have tickets to an upcoming professional game, or a youth sporting tournament that your children are set to participate in. Should you attend? Does it make a difference if the event is indoors or outdoors? We have the best answers we could find. It’s not you … it’s others to worry about Before we get into anything, we should say: When deciding if to attend a large gathering, you need to think about the entire population. As of now, there hasn’t been much evidence that COVID-19 affects children. Because of this, you may not hesitate attending a children’s sporting tournament. But the main fear of COVID-19 is uncontainable spread. Doctors and researchers don’t know enough about this disease, and want to limit its growth before they understand it better and, hopefully, eventually design a vaccine. Even if you don’t personally feel threatened, or you don’t feel your children are, you can still carry and transmit the virus to elderly or immunocompromised people who are threatened by it. Avoid large crowds if you can, especially indoors In an interview with the USA TODAY Editorial Board, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, who served as commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration from 2017 to 2019, said: “I think right now, we should be limiting large gatherings, especially in areas where we know that there’s spread.” Gottlieb would go on to specify that large gatherings that are indoors are especially worrisome, as the disease transmits more easily there. If you can avoid large gatherings, especially indoors ones, like a youth tournament or a basketball agreement, you should do so. For outdoor events, especially if the weather is warm, it’s slightly more manageable a risk, but if you have heard about an outbreak in your area, you will probably want to avoid all large gatherings, indoors or out. Wash hands often, and definitely stay home if sick COVID-19 appears to spread through small droplets, which can be transmitted from the face or hands. This is why doctors are encouraging people to avoid touching their faces. Another way to combat the spread is to wash your hands often, and thoroughly. Likewise, even if you feel a small cough coming on, avoid other people. Stay home. Work from home if possible. The disease is believed to be transmittable even before symptoms come on, and even if you are just fighting a common cold, you should be limiting the transmission of any virus during a time like this. The decision may not be up to you More and more leagues around the world are canceling sporting events, or playing them behind closed doors. For now, public health experts are recommending cancelling large events played in cities with community spread, but not elsewhere … yet. Again, this is former FDA commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb: I think we’re going to be at a point very soon where we think of canceling sporting events (or holding) them in empty stadiums like they’re doing in South Korea. You don’t want to bring together a lot of people in closed spaces, especially indoors, where you can have easy transfer. Look at what happened with the CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) and AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) conferences. Do you want to continue to hold conferences and have to run the risk that your entire attendee list is put into a quarantine because there was someone there who is infected? World Leagues News have been postponed. The ITF said it remains committed to delivering the tournament and is working to find a suitable alternative date.

Rugby union Coronavirus and Australian sport – a list of the major cancellations Super Rugby has been postponed indefinitely just seven rounds into 18, after the announcement that travellers returning to New Zealand would Guardian sport have to self-isolate for 14 days made the international competition unviable.

The Super W regular season finished at the weekend, but the last two The AFL season has been cut from 23 rounds to 17, with all 18 teams to weeks of the competition have been postponed. play each other once. A decision on whether the season will start as scheduled on Thursday, when Richmond are scheduled to play Carlton There is no guarantee the Wallabies’ three home Tests in July – against at the MCG, will be made on Wednesday. If it does go ahead, there won’t Ireland and Fiji – will go ahead. be any fans in attendance following the league’s assertion that games Basketball will be played behind closed doors “for the foreseeable future”. That decision was taken last week in the light of the Australian government’s The final two games of the NBL grand final series have been called off. advice against holding gatherings of more than 500 people. The AFL Perth led the best-of-five series 2-1 and could have sealed the title with confirmed on Monday that if one player tests positive for Covid-19, the victory in Wednesday’s game four, but the Sydney Kings expressed a AFL will shut down for at least 14 days. reluctance to travel to Perth. The league is yet to confirm if a winner will be crowned. Two rounds of the AFLW regular season remain; both are scheduled to be played as planned, but behind closed doors. But there were reports at Motor sport the weekend of the possibility of fast-tracking the grand final to next weekend, to ensure the completion of the season. If that were to be the After the Australian Grand Prix was dramatically postponed at the last case, Fremantle would play Collingwood in the title decider. minute on Friday, the FIA has confirmed that the Bahrain and Vietnam Grands Prix will now not take place on their scheduled dates. The Dutch The VFL season, along with other state leagues including the SANFL, Grand Prix on 3 May and the Spanish Grand Prix a week later are also in WAFL, NEAFL and TSL – and their associated women’s competitions – doubt. Meanwhile, Formula E has suspended its season until May, which have been postponed until at least 31 May. means races in Paris, Seoul and Jakarta will be affected. Rugby league The Supercars championship’s Melbourne 400 was cancelled with a decision on subsequent meets yet to be made. But organisers have The NRL season started last week without restrictions on fans attending indicated their preference to reschedule rather than run for TV-only games, and will continue as planned in round two, although games will races. from this point on be played behind closed doors. The league CEO, Todd Greenberg, said on Monday that due to the quick-moving nature of the Cycling outbreak, it was keeping an open mind and would move in line with any future advice from the government and health authorities. Australian World Tour team Mitchelton-Scott has pulled out of all men’s and women’s events until at least 22 March as a precautionary measure. The Women’s Premiership does not start for six months, while the State Cycling Australia released a statement this week advising that all of Origin series will be played in Adelaide, Sydney and Brisbane in June programs and events should proceed as scheduled, although it also and July. No decision has been made on either of those series. issued several recommendations for people attending those events. Football The Paris-Nice race that was due to finish on Sunday looked set to be cancelled after the French Cycling Federation (FFC) announced the Football Federation Australia has announced the remaining six weeks of cancellation of all cycling events on French soil. The Giro d’Italia, which the A-League season will go ahead, as will the weekend’s W-League was due to begin in Hungary in May, has also been postponed. grand final, but both will be played behind closed doors. There is also the likelihood the rest of the A-League season will be compressed into three Swimming or four weeks, with shorter turnarounds in between matches. A decision on the finals series is yet to be made. April’s age swimming championships and national championships in Perth have been cancelled. Olympic and Paralympic trials are not The Matildas’ upcoming fixtures against the US – in Utah on 11 April – scheduled to be contested until June. and Canada – in Vancouver on 14 April – have both been cancelled. The Socceroos’ World Cup qualifiers have also been affected – Fifa and the A dedicated Covid-19 website has been created by the Australian AFC have postponed Asian qualifiers in March and June – although they Institute of Sport with up-to-date information on the virus and its may instead look to set up fixtures with other nations. A decision on that relevance to sport. is yet to be made. The Guardian LOADED: 03.18.2020 All grassroots football, including training and matches, has been suspended until 14 April. Netball It is currently the netball off-season, but with Super Netball scheduled to start at the beginning of May, Netball Australia – which has established a Covid-19 working group – is monitoring the situation. The competition’s official pre-season tournament, the Team Girls Cup, has been cancelled. Cricket The remainder of the Australian cricket season – at all levels – has been cancelled and NSW declared Sheffield Shield champions with the final on 27 March called off. The three-match ODI series between Australia’s men and New Zealand was called off after just one was able to be played, albeit without fans. Australia’s women were due to play ODI and T20 series in South Africa, starting on 22 March, but that tour has been suspended until further notice. CA said it was monitoring the situation before making a decision on international matches beyond that. Tennis The ATP Tour has been shut down for a minimum of six weeks and the WTA Tour has followed suit with a suspension of five weeks. The Fed Cup finals in Hungary next month, at which Australia were due to appear, World Leagues News

WWE relocates WrestleMania 36 card to Performance Center in Orlando amid coronavirus pandemic

Brent Brookhouse

The growing coronavirus pandemic has drastically altered life for billions of people throughout the world, with large events and gatherings shut down, restrictions put in place on entertainment as well as dining and travel bans. WWE has already felt the impact of these changes by moving its weekly Raw and SmackDown television shows to the Performance Center in Orlando, and now WrestleMania -- the company's biggest show of the entire year -- will follow suit. Monday afternoon, shortly before the first relocated Raw airs live on USA from the Performance Center, WWE announced the relocation of WrestleMania 36 to its training ground in Orlando. "In coordination with local partners and government officials, WrestleMania and all related events in Tampa Bay will not take place," the WWE statement read. "However, WrestleMania will still stream live on Sunday, April 5 at 7 pm ET on WWE Network and be available on pay-per-view. Only essential personnel will be on the closed set at WWE's training facility in Orlando, Florida to produce WrestleMania." The event, which was to be held at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday, April 5 in Tampa, has been in jeopardy since the virus began to quickly spread throughout the United States. While Tampa city officials originally left the ball in WWE's court as to the future of the event, recent reports indicated a new pressure from those same officials for WWE to cancel the event, following in the footsteps of other sporting and entertainment options. While WrestleMania 36 will forge on, annual WrestleMania week staples NXT TakeOver and the WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremonies will not take place, according to a separate statement provided to CBS Sports. "The WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony and NXT TakeOver will not take place as previously scheduled," the statement read. "We will share further details as they become available." WrestleMania 36 was expected to bring in more than 70,000 fans to Raymond James Stadium at a time when the CDC has recommended any gathering of more than 50 people be canceled and President Donald Trump as recently as Monday advised limiting gatherings to 10 or fewer. WrestleMania has proven to be a major boost for the local economy with people flying from across the world for the event. "Our community has waited 36 years to host WrestleMania and while we are saddened that this unforeseen situation has led us to today's announcement, this is totally the right call for the safety and security of everyone involved," a statement from Tampa Bay Local Organizing Committee read. "A huge thank you to all of our local leaders and our friends at the WWE, as we collectively worked through the unprecedented fluidity of the last few weeks. The Team Tampa Bay- WWE partnership has never been stronger." Like recent and future Raw and SmackDown efforts, WrestleMania will take place without a crowd in attendance, a significant change from the massive atmosphere that usually accompanies the promotion's biggest event of the year. The event is headlined by Brock Lesnar defending his WWE championship against Drew McIntyre, WWE universal champion Goldberg putting the title up against Roman Reigns, John Cena vs. "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt and many more high-profile matches. The move also carries with it significant impact to the independent wrestling scene, which has turned WWE's signature weekend into a wrestling wonderland, with tens of shows taking place in the host city over the weekend. After the announcement, AIW promoter John Thorne tweeted, calling the situation "a worst case scenario." GCW promoter Brett Lauderdale, who, along with Joey Janela, created massive WrestleMania Weekend success "Joey Janela's Spring Break" and the follow-up gathering of independent promotions "The Collective" tweeted, "4 years of 24/7 wiped away. Heartbroken for everyone." CBS Sports LOADED: 03.18.2020 World Leagues News scheduled to end in May, in time for the quadrennial European championship.

Now, a working group that includes representatives from UEFA and a Juventus Player Tests Positive for Coronavirus delegation from the leagues has been set up to exchange information about ways to play the growing backlog of games. The next official discussion is set for Thursday. Nothing is off the table, according to a By Tariq Panja person familiar with the discussions, including weekend European matches and eliminating home-and-away ties — replacing them with single-elimination matches at closed or neutral venues — in this year’s competition. A player for Juventus, the Italian soccer champion, has tested positive for Covid-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, the club UEFA declined to comment on the talks, as did the European Club announced Wednesday, a worrisome development for a sport — and a Association. country — struggling to contain the outbreak. But at UEFA’s congress last week, when officials from Europe’s 55 The player, the 25-year-old defender Daniele Rugani, is believed to be nations met, the virus dominated discussions. UEFA’s secretary general, the first athlete in Italy’s top division to test positive. The team said in a Theo Theodoridis, said at the meeting that the leagues and UEFA may statement that Rugani was “currently asymptomatic,” but that the club need to be “flexible” in overcoming the calendar crunch. was following isolation procedures required by law for him and anyone who has had contact with him. New York Times LOADED: 03.18.2020 Rugani is not the first player in Europe to test positive for the disease — a German team, Hannover 96, confirmed earlier on Wednesday that one of its players had tested positive and was in isolation — but the implications for Juventus, and for European soccer, could be far more severe. Rugani was on the bench when Juventus played its title rival, Inter Milan, behind closed doors on Sunday, and his diagnosis means he, his teammates, his coaches and assorted staff members must be quarantined for 14 days. That will most likely make it impossible for Juventus to play its Champions League match against the French club Lyon on Tuesday, and the news could lead to a quarantine for Inter’s players and coaches as well. Get an informed guide to the global outbreak with our daily coronavirus newsletter. The Italian soccer season was already in jeopardy. While Juventus was to be allowed to play its Champions League match without spectators, Italy has banned all domestic sports events until April 3, and the entire country is on a broad lockdown — with travel between regions restricted, and commerce and daily life disrupted. Italy is among the countries worst hit by the coronavirus, with more than 12,000 confirmed cases and more than 800 deaths. Rugani’s diagnosis is likely to have ripple effects with even more teams; opponents who played against Juventus in recent weeks have already been notified. Rugani played against Brescia on Feb. 16 and Spal on Feb. 22, and was an unused substitute in the first game against Lyon in the Champions League and in Sunday’s match against Inter. Inter’s Europa League game this week with Spain’s Getafe had already been postponed after the Spanish authorities barred the Italian team from entering the country. In England, Manchester City’s Premier League game against Arsenal was called off after Evangelos Marinakis, the owner of Greek team Olympiacos, which played Arsenal late last month, confirmed he had the virus. Scheduling Concerns With the coronavirus cutting a wide swath through the European soccer calendar, competition organizers have been discussing a path that might allow them to complete their seasons, crown league champions and determine which clubs will be relegated or promoted for next season. The unprecedented disruptions have led to the possibility of solutions that have long been opposed by domestic leagues, including the prospect of playing Champions League and Europa League games on weekends. For years, domestic leagues have fiercely guarded those days for themselves, drawing a red line that European officials dared not cross. As recently as last year, the European Club Association, a trade body that represents Europe’s top leagues, reacted with fury when it was suggested that some Champions League games should be played on Saturdays and Sundays as part of a reform of the competition. “We will always protect our weekends,” the European Leagues deputy general secretary Alberto Colombo said last year when European soccer’s governing body, UEFA, and several top clubs first raised the possibility. “We will not allow European club competition to be played on weekends.” In the current climate, though, and amid the need for practical solutions, such intransigence is likely to be tested. While discussions about the reforms are continuing, they have been usurped by more pressing concerns about finishing the current club seasons, which had been World Leagues News Waerner stepped off his sled, cloaked in an orange jacket, a miner’s helmet on top of his head. It was pitch black and 9 degrees Fahrenheit, and he accepted both congratulations and a $2,500 check from a Iditarod’s ‘Last Great Race’ fills the coronavirus sports void representative of Northern Bank. “This is a money-spending sport,” a grateful Waerner said before settling in for a mandatory eight-hour break. He looked fresh enough to carry on By Mike VaccaroMarch 17, 2020 | 10:11PM without one, and cover the final 77 miles in a jiffy, but his dogs would’ve whipped out picket signs if he’d tried, maybe place a call to Donald Fehr.

(Back at the Iditarod’s New Jersey headquarters, Desmond and Fiona US sports not immune to coronavirus 'new normal' each rolled over in solidarity.) Poor Nicolas Petit. He never had a chance, and he never knew it. Elsewhere in the race, mushers were laughing about conditions that ranged from unpredictable to slapstick. Paige Drobny, sitting in 10th This was last week, as day by day, hour by hour, sports were vanishing place, paused during a checkpoint in Koyuk, was asked if she liked the from our landscape. Basketball? Gone. Baseball? Gone. Golf? Gone. For conditions at this stage of the race, which traces the coastline of the a time, it seemed like NASCAR might try to muddle on. But then Norton Sound of the Bering Sea. NASCAR went away, too. The United States became a vast wasteland of sports. Nothing was left. “No! This year was just miserable! We got out there it was sloggy and gross and disgusting and I started thinking, ‘Where are the rabid seals?’ Only, that wasn’t quite right. And at some point my dogs started barking and looking to the right and I Up in Alaska, the dogs kept running in the snow. Up there, they call the looked out and saw a circle and thought, ‘Holy [cow], it’s a rabid seal! But Iditarod, without a trace of subtlety or modesty, “The Last Great Race.” it turned out just to be a circle …” And so it is. They have had to modify it a little bit. They have had to alter Meanwhile, poor Nicolas Petit … some checkpoints, abandon others. But starting on March 7, at the ceremonial First Checkpoint on Fourth Avenue in downtown Anchorage, Yep. Petit. My guy. So it turns out, early on in his race, before he reached the Iditarod had mushed on gallantly and valiantly. the Nikolai checkpoint, he’d had something of an eventful day. All 12 or his dogs vomited. One dog bit another. During one crazy 2-mile interlude, I didn’t suspect I could get either my boss or my wife to qualify this as the whole pack veered off course to chase a buffalo. “essential” travel in the middle of a global pandemic, so I did the next best thing: I dropped the $39 that allowed me to become an official (And I get mad when the Airedale steals an English muffin off my plate.) “Iditarod Insider.” This, mostly, means having 24-hour access to GPS tracking, standings updates and a live stream that mostly shows empty SEE ALSO snowy roads and teams of exhausted dogs snoring at checkpoints. Even sled dogs of the Iditarod aren't immune to drug scandals (This qualifies as family fun in a time of social distancing. A few days ago, half-snoozing on the couch, Desmond the Airedale and Fiona the He worried about the dogs getting frostbite. One of his dogs, named Westy joined me and were enraptured at the site of Mitch Seavey’s Raven, had to be left behind at a checkpoint “and that breaks your heart,” huskies splayed out in some snowy grassland. After studying the pros, Petit said. Turns out poor Raven was a little long in the tooth at age 8 for they quickly emulated them. They are both naturals.) the task. “I should’ve brought a young up-and-comer,” he sighed. The most helpful feature is the chat room attached to the live stream. The wild-buffalo chase doomed his chances. What was worse was the Now, I haven’t been much for chat rooms since 1997 or so, but this was stray piece of meat left on the trail that one of his dogs, Rigal, spotted a helpful place where my fellow Iditarod fanatics could get me up to and happily scarfed up. That didn’t sit too well with Joee, her teammate. speed on what I’d been missing in all the years since 1973, when the first Joee bit Rigal in the face. race went off. I asked early on who I should root for. Back in New Jersey, upon hearing that, Desmond the male Airedale “Nicolas Petit,” I was told by a helpful fellow insider named HuskyHank. stood up and said, “Damn right!” at Fiona the female Westy. “He’s finished in the top 10 five times, never won. He’s worth your time (EDITOR’S NOTE: This may not really have happened.) and your interest.” “He’s a real talented athlete, but he’s a real butt,” Nicolas Petit said of OK, then. I’m a Petit man. I checked in on the live stream all day. I looked Joee, providing the sports quote of the year even if the other sports ever for updates. I subscribed to the Anchorage Daily News for a month. And do come back. then I saw this headline: “A HELLISH DAY AND THOUGHTS OF QUITTING.” Petit pondered quitting the race but in the morning decided otherwise. He was in 14th place at last check, the musher officially Mushed. And not for Poor Nicolas Petit. What was the name of the guy in “A Bronx Tale,” who the first time I say, “Wait till next year!” always lost every time he made a bet? It was “Mush.” New York Post LOADED: 03.18.2020 Damned if I hadn’t Mushed this poor musher, Petit. The Iditarod wasn’t spared by COVID-19. The annual post-race festivities in Nome have been called off. Two of the race’s 26 checkpoints on the “Northern Route” (the path the race takes in even-numbered years) were moved outside their host villages, including Unalakleet, a city on the Bering Sea where crowds were prohibited from gathering. Would-be spectators have been cautioned against flying in for the race’s finish, which will likely come sometime either Wednesday or Thursday when the leaders reach Nome, ending the 975-mile trek. Family members of some of the foreign-born mushers have already left for their homes in Norway and France and elsewhere. The mushers themselves have spent most of the race dozens, sometimes hundreds, of miles away from each other. So it is expected that they will be all right. SEE ALSO How animal activists are shaming indigenous people for their lifestyle “They do a very good job of social distancing,” Heidi Hedberg, Alaska’s public health director, quipped to the Washington Post. Right now, the favorite must be considered Thomas Waerner, of Torpa, Norway, who is running his second Iditarod. In his first, back in 2015, he was named rookie of the year. Waerner was the first musher to reach the White Mountain checkpoint at 5:35 a.m. local time (9:35 in New York) Tuesday. World Leagues News Your questions on coronavirus answered: What does self-isolation mean and how does it work? An extended coronavirus shutdown may change sport as we know it in Can I get a refund on my holiday? Australia Why are schools still open in Australia?

A big unknown is how clubs will deal with their members. The ABC has By Cody Atkinson, Sean Lawson and sport editor James Coventry reviewed the membership terms and conditions of several AFL and NRL clubs, and there were near universal statements articulating that refunds are entirely at the club's discretion. As global sport has ground to a shuddering halt over the past few days, They will be sorely tempted to retain this funding to help manage the Australia's two biggest football codes have become conspicuous outliers. crisis, despite the potentially fierce public relations backlash. It could also The NRL season began on schedule, while the AFL's men's competition be a legal minefield. could soon join its women's league in playing behind closed doors. Can clubs take the hit? A decision on whether to proceed will be handed down by the AFL As well as making money through broadcast deals and ticket sales, the Commission on Wednesday. codes also collect sponsorship and corporate hospitality revenue. This But why have both codes been so stubbornly determined to push through third major source of revenue is also likely to be hit if games aren't the coronavirus crisis? played, although it's harder to project any potential losses in sponsorship. "Our money will only last so long," said Australian Rugby League Some clubs profit from relocating games. AFL clubs sell home games to Commission chairman Peter V'landys. places like Canberra and Tasmania, while NRL clubs take games out west and into country areas. These agreements are lucrative but could "Once it's extinguished, we are in big trouble." be jeopardised by the lockouts. V'landys is right to be concerned. One way to measure a club's capacity to cope with the coronavirus crisis is to look at their cash reserves and net assets. If matches were to be suspended, the rivers of broadcast rights gold would be in danger of drying up. The AFL's richest clubs such as West Coast and Richmond have spare cash resources and other assets or investments to enable them to And when it comes to total revenue, TV is the lifeblood for both big winter absorb the huge revenue losses they're facing. Some clubs have codes. substantial side businesses, with a few AFL and NRL clubs heavily subsidised by social club gaming machines. Given the sheer size of these broadcasting arrangements, and the clubs' fixed costs, an extended hiatus would be catastrophic. Others are in a more precarious position and will be forced to either drastically cut costs — including staff — or to take new loans using Just one year of broadcast revenue is by itself more than either code's assets as equity. Some may need to be bailed out. cash reserves. That means that without even factoring in any other commercial impacts, neither could cover the loss of its broadcast money There are rough waters ahead. without having to beg or borrow. Australian Broadcasting Corporation LOADED: 03.18.2020 V'landys's early public plea for government assistance has been widely criticised, but is somewhat understandable in this context. Breaking down the latest news and research to understand how the world is living through an epidemic, this is the ABC's Coronacast. Without being privy to confidential commercial arrangements, it is hard to know who is liable for losses, and what is insured or agreed by contract. But we can safely assume that salvaging some of that broadcast revenue is imperative for both the NRL and AFL. With Super Rugby games rendered impossible by the new restrictions on travel, Rugby Australia also faces a loss of the international matches. Rugby union tests are the sport's financial backbone, drawing by far the biggest television audiences. The current uncertainty around scheduling has forced Rugby Australia to pause its negotiations over a new broadcast deal. Soccer is in a slightly different situation, given the transfer of Australia's major domestic leagues from FFA control to a transitional body. The W- League and A-League seasons are drawing to a close, so they have fewer remaining commitments to broadcasters. No entry Even if the NRL and AFL can keep their matches going over the next few weeks, television will be only way to watch them. The stadiums will be closed to fans in compliance with regulations banning large gatherings. Using the AFL as an example, the lockouts will remove a big chunk of the revenues that clubs rely on. However, the impact is not evenly spread. Attendances vary wildly between clubs and leagues. Some have big crowds or favourable rental deals for their stadiums, while some struggle to make money from attendance. Some clubs even lose money on home games. Ticket sales will be entirely lost for the months ahead. As the above chart shows, clubs spend money to make money. They will cut some costs as a result of not servicing memberships and running matchdays in that period, which will mean hardship or job losses for commercial, office, and event staff at clubs. Most clubs will lose a lot of their net revenue from closing their gates, but it may not affect smaller clubs as much considering they don't usually make a lot from their matchdays. World Leagues News BBC Sport LOADED: 03.18.2020

Coronavirus: Football industry 'could turn ugly quickly', says Fifpro general secretary

By Simon Stone

The football industry could "turn ugly quickly" as it struggles to come to terms with the coronavirus impact, said Jonas Baer-Hoffman, general secretary of world players' union Fifpro. Hoffman was on the first of today's three conference calls that resulted in Euro 2020 being moved back a year. Fifpro welcomed the move, saying it gave a chance to complete the club season, which is an economic priority. But Hoffman is worried that, with no timeframe for when games will start again in Europe's major leagues, football will not be able to cope financially with a long period with no action. "For the first time in decades, we're facing a real, consistent economic crisis in the industry," he said. Hoffman added: "We must look at the socio-economic impact of coronavirus. "Not just the players but other people employed through professional football - our industry employs hundreds of thousands. There is the potential for it to turn ugly very quickly. "For the majority of our membership, male and female, the loss of income is as threatening as for any other worker and we are getting the first messages of lay-offs of players, withholding of wages and clubs being threatened. "We know how football clubs budgets are managed. They're always right at the line or above it in terms of liquidity. "If we don't respond quickly in terms of stabilising the cash flow we could see mass redundancies and mass lay-offs of players and other staff within weeks. "In Ireland or the Nordic countries we have the first measure being taken that could affect the employment of players. Once those jobs are gone and those clubs are bankrupt, it is difficult for them to recover once coronavirus is over." Fifpro are talking to Uefa and world governing body Fifa as a matter of urgency, aiming to secure short-term loans or grants, or secure future payments not due. While this is the priority, there is the knowledge that once the game starts again, the need to make up for lost time will be huge. In moving Euro 2020, Uefa have created space for the club game to end its competitions - as yet, no-one is seriously considering abandoning them. Yet the desire is to finish the current campaign at the end of June, start the next one a few weeks later and then tag Euro 2020 on the end. "What's clear is when we do start it will be an incredibly tight schedule," said Hoffman. "We know how big a problem we have with the calendar when it comes to player welfare. In this scenario, the stress will be on the players. "We will have tough conversations about when to play which matches and it will have to be managed, but the players are realising that unless we find solutions and play out the seasons, they might be out of work." Fifpro have opened negotiations with Fifa about the difficulty of seasons running beyond the end of June and how that will work given most contracts expire at the end of May and June. One idea is emergency contract extensions that run for another couple of months, with a ban on players being transferred during that time. However, all planning is for a season that is hypothetical. "None of us know when our lives will be normal again - and putting 50,000 people in a stadium will not be the first thing we do," said Hoffman. "When people do start going back to work, players won't be able to walk out of their apartments straight on to the pitch and play football. There will need to be time to get them back on their feet." World Leagues News Increased interest in gaming is also evident on other fronts as people seek alternatives to live sports and its accompanying aspects. Draft Kings reported a 12 percent increase in active players of its League of While the sports world falls silent, esports and streamers fill the void Legends fantasy league, and will feature its biggest contest ever this week, with a $60,000 prize pool.

A world of entertainment online By Noah Smith The current state of the sports world now gives people who have heard of esports, but may have not had time to check it out, a chance to do so. It also promotes opportunities for content creators, already celebrities to American stadiums have lain dormant for two weeks since the younger audiences, with a surge in school-age viewers with more time on coronavirus silenced nearly all sporting events. But in the vacuum, their hands with the closing of educational institutions. In Italy, for competitions rooted in online arenas are filling the entertainment void in a example, there has been a 66-percent viewership spike in minutes world increasingly confined to digital environments. watched from the first week of February to the past week when the national quarantine began, according to StreamElements, a company A number of esports leagues, which over the last decade have increased that provides tools for streamers’ online broadcasts. their mainstream visibility and legitimacy by repeatedly filling legendary arenas like Madison Square Garden and Staples Center with fans, are “I think all streamers should try to stream during the daytime to help continuing their competitions by returning to their online roots. Streaming keep school-age kids busy and engaged,” Turner “Tfue” Tenney, the matches online via sites like Twitch and YouTube, pro leagues for games world’s most-watched streamer, wrote in a text message to The like League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Overwatch Washington Post. “Personally, I will be streaming earlier and I will be and Call of Duty are now faced with an unasked for opportunity to encouraging kids to stream so parents can go on the Twitch app and see broaden their audience by showcasing its competitions to consumers them. Also, kids should educate themselves on Khan Academy while who may have previously preferred watching the NBA, NHL or NCAA school’s out, and read a book. … basketball tournaments. Similarly, as live event programming falls by the wayside and schools shut down, content creators and streamers The unique, unlikely celebrity of Tfue broadcasting themselves playing video games are faced with an influx of viewers. “Sadly with all major sports halted there’s a huge void, you know. Dude, I think all we can do as gamers is say, ‘Hey guys, watch us game on “It’s certainly an opportunity for the space to demonstrate that esports Twitch and enjoy our entertainment.’ Maybe we can game with out-of- can scratch the itch on competition,” said Lee Trink, CEO of FaZe Clan, work pro athletes, and get everyone on the platform and get through which fields a team in the Call of Duty League in addition to its stable of this,” he said. L.A.-based streamers. “The trains are continuing to run over at FaZe Clan." Some of the athletes who have expressed interest in joining the gaming community include the NBA’s Trae Young, Luka Doncic and Ja Morant Across what has become a highly-diversified esports landscape, certain — which was correctly predicted by Will Hershey, CEO of Roundhill leagues and games are better positioned to weather the uncertainty now Investments. facing the world. But the pervasive belief across the esports community is that more people will discover and watch matches, even if revenue “Traditional sports athletes who are out of a job, a lot are active gamers generation from live events is temporarily unavailable. and streamers and I could see them gravitate toward Twitch to engage with their fan base,” Hershey told The Post. “Canceled events impact a certain aspect of the fan experience, but unlike traditional sports where the live event is a financial and economic Some have already jumped in. Monday, FaZe Clan announced a Pro-Am driver of the overall experience, esports is different in that, from a Charity that is scheduled to feature Ben Simmons, Juju Smith-Schuster, broadcast perspective, so much of broadcast is focused on online and Andre Drummond and Chad Ochocinco. not as dependent on the live audience,” said Kent Wakeford, Co-founder FaZe’s head of esports, Erik Anderson, said the increased attention of Gen.G, an esports organization, and a member of the board of during this time could lead to improved output. directors for FLASHPOINT, a new league for the game Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. “For the League of Legends World Championship at “Maybe with people diving in, more ideas coming in, we can come up the Bird’s Nest in China there were 40,000 people, but 100 million people with fun stuff to fill the time,” he said. “If people are watching more, were watching it online. And it is [those] 100 million people that are they’re going to demand a higher type of content.” fueling the growth of the esports ecosystem to a much greater degree than the actual events.” Bored Gen Z kids recreate March Madness in mom’s basement using Twitch and an Xbox 360 That online audience has continued to grow over the past weeks as much of the world has stayed home to cope with the coronavirus In addition to esports organizations and streamers having a chance to outbreak. Citing internal figures, Wakeford said Gen.G has seen an 18.2 grow their bases, some see a lane for particular games to grab more of percent bump in Chinese viewership over the last two months — which an audience, especially those games which are realistic and easy to has featured lockdowns in Wuhan and across the mainland — on live- follow. streaming sites Douyu and Huya for its Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds “It’s about offering average Americans, causal players, games they can (PUBG) and League of Legends (LoL) teams. The first day of the ESL understand,” Hershey said. “Call of Duty has a position to come out of Pro League, which features the game Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, this really the strongest, as opposed to League of Legends. … I don’t see reported an audience increase to 146,000 viewers March 16’s matches, LoL clips on ESPN doing as well as Call of Duty.” compared to 115,000 a year ago, a 27-percent increase. Hershey also noted that sports games, which have not traditionally “I believe you’ll run out of things to watch on Netflix … so people will surf garnered massive viewership for their esports competitions, have an the web trying to find stuff to entertain themselves,” Michael Pachter, an opportunity to benefit as well. analyst at Wedbush Securities monitoring the video gaming market, said of esports’ prospects. “There is an opportunity to expand their audience. “The biggest difficulty with sports simulation games ever becoming top- It won’t expand by 50 percent, but it could possibly expand to 20 tier esports was that there was always the option of watching real thing,” percent.” Hershey said. “You take that out of the picture, and you absolutely could see NBA fans getting into NBA 2K.” Gaming as a whole is also seeing a boost, as evidenced when gaming platform Steam hit an all-time high number of concurrent users on March In fact, the Phoenix Suns gave it a shot when they announced they would 15, with 20 million online and 6.2 million in-game. finish their season virtually on NBA 2K20. The stream, the team’s first, at one point topped 12,000 concurrent viewers. Twitch declined to provide any figures around a change in viewership, but Sensor Tower, a research firm, shared data which showed sharp ‘Esports seem to be on a safer ground’ increases in first-time Twitch app downloads in Europe. Greece, Italy and Spain saw increases of 50 percent, 41 percent and 26 percent week- The major esports leagues have taken various approaches in coping with over-week, respectively, over the past seven days, according to Randy the coronavirus outbreak, though all have canceled live-audience events. Nelson, Sensor Towers’s Head of Mobile Insights. The League of Legends Championship Series suspended operations before announcing the resumption of league play from remote locations. In the U.S., which is only now beginning to see lockdowns, first-time A planned Spring Finals live event in Frisco, Texas was canceled. installs increased by 14 percent week-over-week, but Nelson pointed out that the figure was still about 8 percent under the average weekly installs ESL postponed its ESL One Dota 2 Major in L.A., though started its for 2020. CS:GO Pro League with online play. The NBA 2K league postponed the start of its season, originally scheduled to begin March 24. Other postponements include Apex Legends Global Series and the Rocket League Season 9 World Championship. Events associated with the newly minted Smash World Tour were also either postponed or allowed players to opt out without penalty to their league standing. Three women dreamed of joining the NBA 2K League. The road to the draft was a gauntlet of abuse and adversity. Pushing ahead, the Overwatch League said its matches would resume on March 21, but that all homestands — a major initiative for that league featuring regionally hosted weekend events and competitions — would be canceled through April. The league also canceled its Midseason Tournament with a pot of $1.05 million. Call of Duty League is also planning to go online-only. FLASHPOINT moved its regular season games from a crowd-less Culver City, California, studio to a remote setup and will not hold its playoffs in Stockholm, as originally planned. Can new Counter-Strike league be esports’ WWE? In addition to safety concerns, leagues also have to deal with technological issues, especially in games where a fraction of a second can mean the difference between winning and losing. The underlying issue is how long it takes data to get from a player’s machine to the game’s server, called ping. High ping leads to lag, which leads to an unfair playing field. Games like Fortnite organize players by region, thus increasing the chance everyone will have similar ping. “The bigger the game, the more global logistics, the more they’re probably hurting from this,” said Erik Anderson, head of sports for FaZe Clan. “Games that are more regionally focused are going to be fine.” The Overwatch League will have to deal with its teams competing across continents in North America and Asia. “We’re currently working on a revamped match schedule that will allow all teams around the world to begin competing in March while minimizing latency concerns,” an Overwatch League release stated last week. ESL’s Pro League faces a similar issue, deciding to group teams by location, thereby lessening the distance from the server. Though the leagues figure to lose money and exposure opportunities at the local level with these changes, industry analysts don’t expect the cuts to be too deep for the companies that own and operate these leagues. “Companies make money from games, not esports,” Pachter said. “There isn’t going to be an impact long term unless this is the Black Plague and if a recession is so deep it causes massive unemployment so people can’t afford to buy games. League of Legends World Championship isn’t about making money, it’s about promoting League of Legends.” The 2010s were a banner decade for big money and tech — and esports reaped the rewards Sponsors, which provide esports organizations with the lion’s share of their revenue, are also unconcerned. In fact, now that esports has the stage of competitive entertainment largely to itself, it is already attracting new business opportunities. Zenni, a direct to consumer eyewear company, which has a patch on the Chicago Bulls’ jersey and sponsors the San Francisco 49ers, is doubling down on its esports partnerships. “Currently esports seem to be on a safer ground just by their digitally- native existence and we’re obviously excited by that,” said Sean Pate, Zenni’s brand communications officer. Pate said Zenni is planning to announce more esports team sponsorships, which he called the “most sustainable” during this uncertain period. “If there was ever a time in sports history that digitally-native forms of entertainment would be top of mind, it’s now,” he said. Noah Smith is a regular contributor to The Washington Post LOADED: 03.18.2020 World Leagues News LeBron says he wasn’t aware that the discussion about playing games without fans was happening behind closed doors when he made his comments Friday. He’s revised his position, saying while he would be Refunds may be available for sport events called off for coronavirus “disappointed” to play without fans, he and teammates will listen to experts. pic.twitter.com/VEOvNH3Jyk

— Kyle Goon (@kylegoon) March 10, 2020 By MIRJAM SWANSON | [email protected] | Southern California News Group Southern California News Group LOADED: 03.18.2020

“Coronavirus Update: We have your back.” So read the subject line of the email that StubHub sent to customers Saturday evening informing them of their options if the events to which they bought tickets are called off. In recent days, sporting events around the world have been canceled or staged without fans as the coronavirus epidemic has grown. On Sunday in the United States, the BNP Paribas Open, a major tennis tournament that was scheduled to take place in Indian Wells starting this week, was canceled after local health officials declared a public health emergency in the Coachella Valley because of a confirmed coronavirus case. On Tuesday, the Ivy League announced that it canceled its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments and awarded its automatic NCAA Tournament bids to the regular-season champions, a decision that came the day after Santa Clara County canceled gatherings with more than 1,000 people, including events at the SAP Center scheduled in March that included the NHL’s San Jose Sharks’ three home games. U.S. sports leagues made the call Monday to keep media and other non- essential personnel out of locker rooms and clubhouses, but those leagues have yet to cancel games or to play them without fans present, although ESPN reported Monday that the NBA’s Board of Governors is expected to discuss those possibilities Wednesday. For now, Staples Center’s website reports that the venue is “closely monitoring the evolving coronavirus situation,” that it continues to welcome guests and that it has implemented preventative measures such as frequent cleaning and monitoring of high-touch areas and arena- wide end-of-event sanitation procedures in line with recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Los Angeles County Public Health Department. But with more U.S. cancellations likely forthcoming, ticket exchange companies such as StubHub and SeatGeek are letting customers know they can expect refunds if they used those services to purchase tickets to events that wind up being called off. In StubHub’s case, a fan who bought tickets to a canceled event can receive either a full refund or a coupon, to be used within 12 months, for 120 percent of the original purchase, according to the email sent to customers. In the FAQ section on the SeatGeek website, that ticket exchange firm said customers will be protected by the company’s “buyer guarantee” and their orders will be refunded in full. SeatGeek does not offer an option for a coupon to be used later. Conversely, SeatGeek indicated that in the case someone sold tickets to an event that is canceled due to the coronavirus: “Your sale will be canceled and you will not receive a payout.” You can “contact the original ticket company for a ticket refund,” StubHub said on its website. Fans who bought their tickets through AXS Ticketing will receive refunds if the event is canceled, according to Chandra, a customer service representative. She said AXS will be notified when an event is canceled, at which point refunds automatically will start being issued. Furthermore, if an event is postponed, AXS ticket holders either can hold onto their tickets or request a refund if they’re unable to attend the event on its new date. Similarly, TicketMaster’s website states that refunds will be processed following cancellations, and that the company also will send an email to “get in touch if your event is postponed. Your tickets will be valid for the rescheduled date, but if you can’t make it, you can get a refund.” In the case of a postponement, neither SeatGeek nor StubHub planned to issue refunds. And if a person does not want to attend an event that is on schedule to proceed because of the coronavirus, the two ticket exchanges recommend relisting the tickets for sale. An explanation the StubHub website reads: “You can relist your tickets if you’re not comfortable attending the event.”