The NHL has reportedly established a tentative plan for realigning its divisions for the 2020-21 season, and while some teams' playoff chances would clearly improve under the proposed format, other clubs could be in for a more difficult campaign.It goes without saying that a 56-game schedule would mean fewer contests in general, but some teams will certainly feel a difference in the quality of their foes.Assuming realignment follows the reported structure, here are five franchises that will be better served under the plan and five squads that won't be:Who benefitsTampa Bay Lightning Bruce Bennett / Getty Images Sport / GettyThe Lightning are the obvious winners here. The defending Stanley Cup champions get to play their toughest Atlantic Division foes less than they do in a typical campaign, and they're primed to steamroll the competition in a group that includes the depleted Chicago Blackhawks along with the mediocre Nashville Predators and Minnesota Wild.Throw in a couple of familiar, beatable Atlantic opponents in the Detroit Red Wings and Florida Panthers, and the Lightning could very easily cruise to the NHL's best record.Toronto Maple Leafs Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / GettyMuch like the Lightning, the Maple Leafs won't have to face their most dangerous Atlantic opponents as frequently in this scenario. There will be more western travel for Toronto in an all-Canadian division, but that will be offset by fewer matchups against both the reigning champs and the defending Presidents' Trophy winners.Dallas Stars Bruce Bennett / Getty Images Sport / GettyThe Stars are one of three Central Division contenders who will be better off under this realignment structure.Instead of their usual grind against a group of physically imposing or offensively talented rivals, the 2020 Stanley Cup finalists will get more games against the worst Pacific clubs - the Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings, and San Jose Sharks - while sharing their new division with only two of their Central counterparts.Colorado Avalanche Bruce Bennett / Getty Images Sport / GettyIt's a similar story for the Avalanche. Colorado will still have to deal with a couple of its best divisional adversaries on a regular basis, but it won't play the Central's other four clubs - all of which are at least moderately competitive - as often as usual.The Avalanche are looking to finally break through and compete for the Stanley Cup as many expect them to do; having an easier path in the regular season should help them come playoff time.St. Louis Blues Jeff Vinnick / Getty Images Sport / GettyThe Blues need to bounce back after following up their championship season with a first-round exit this past August, and a resurgence is more likely under this realignment. St. Louis will still routinely face the Stars and Avalanche, but playing the dregs of the Pacific instead of all six Central opponents will help the Blues get back on track.Who suffersBoston Bruins Boston Globe / Boston Globe / GettyIt was a disappointing 2019-20 campaign for the Bruins, but Boston could be in for more difficult times under this plan. While they won't have to contend with the Lightning and Maple Leafs as much, they'll still be inserted into the toughest of the four new divisions.The proposed realignment will see Boston grouped with three Metropolitan powers in the Washington Capitals, Philadelphia Flyers, and Pittsburgh Penguins, another solid Metro club in the New York Islanders, and a team on the rise in the New York Rangers. Not to mention the next squad on this list.Buffalo Sabres Bill Wippert / National Hockey League / GettyThe Sabres won't have the benefit of regularly facing the weaker Atlantic Division teams they're used to seeing. Instead, they'll join the Bruins in the league's most formidable group.That will be a tough break for Buffalo, especially after the offseason additions of Taylor Hall and Eric Staal. While the placement is ideal from a travel perspective, six of the Sabres' seven divisional opponents will likely be contenders, which could set them up for a major letdown after such a promising September and October.Arizona Coyotes Andy Devlin / National Hockey League / GettyThe Coyotes won't be the only Pacific Division team tasked with more battles against new rivals from the Central. But unlike the Ducks, Kings, and Sharks, Arizona is a borderline playoff-caliber squad; a tougher schedule could see the Coyotes fall out of the postseason picture entirely, particularly after the loss of Hall.Sure, Arizona will benefit from playing the Pacific's three worst clubs, but it will still have to face the defending Pacific champions - the Vegas Golden Knights - just as often, as well as a trio of Central squads that were largely better in 2019-20 than the three Canadian teams they're replacing.Vancouver Canucks Minas Panagiotakis / Getty Images Sport / GettyA move from the Pacific to the new all-Canadian division won't mean a major difference in the quality of competition for the Canucks, but it will be more grueling from a travel perspective.Vancouver - the NHL's western-most team - will have to regularly fly to Ontario, Quebec, and Manitoba in addition to its familiar destinations in Alberta. The reverse is true for the Maple Leafs, Senators, Canadiens, and Jets, but those four teams are more centrally located; the other three Canadian squads will all be worse off - most notably the club on the Pacific coast.New Jersey Devils Paul Bereswill / Getty Images Sport / GettyThe Devils don't appear ready to contend, but any hopes of taking a noticeable step forward in 2020-21 will be all but dashed by this realignment. Not only will New Jersey find itself grouped with the best of its usual Metropolitan competitors, but it will also have to deal with the Bruins and Sabres in what looks to be an unforgiving division.Continually playing the Capitals, Flyers, Penguins, Islanders, and Rangers is taxing enough already. Throw in one of the best teams in the league and a club that could be vastly improved, and the Devils will likely be at an even worse disadvantage than usual.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

In the lead-up to the 2021 World Junior Championship, we're taking a look back at each of the 18 Canadian teams to capture the gold medal, culminating Dec. 25 with the start of the latest edition of the tournament.Moscow was the setting of the 1988 world juniors as Canada claimed its third gold medal at the event with an undefeated seven-game run.Canada's triumph came one year after it was disqualified from the tournament thanks to the infamous "Punch-up in Piestany" in 1987. Players from Canada and the Soviet Union went toe to toe in the biggest brawl in tournament history, a melee that got so out of hand that officials eventually turned off the arena lights in a feeble attempt to end the madness.The rosterPlayerPositionAgeWarren BabeF19Rob BrownF19Dan CurrieF19Rob DimaioF19Theoren Fleury*F19Adam GravesF19Jody HullF18Sheldon KennedyF18Trevor LindenF17Mark PedersonF19Mark RecchiF19Joe SakicF18Eric DesjardinsD18Greg Hawgood*D19Chris Joseph*D18Marc LanielD19Wayne McBeanD18Scott McCradyD19Jeff HackettG19Jimmy Waite*G18*Denotes returning player

The NHL has mapped out a tentative realignment plan for the 2020-21 campaign as it attempts to ease travel amid the COVID-19 pandemic.The 31 teams will be split into four geographical divisions, with one being composed of all seven Canadian clubs, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun.NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said Tuesday that travel will be a main issue for the league and an all-Canadian division is a likely scenario.Here's a breakdown of the current plan, which hasn't been finalized and is still subject to change, LeBrun adds.Division 1TeamCalgary FlamesEdmonton OilersMontreal CanadiensOttawa SenatorsToronto Maple LeafsVancouver CanucksWinnipeg JetsDivision 2TeamBoston BruinsBuffalo SabresNew Jersey DevilsNew York IslandersNew York RangersPhiladelphia FlyersPittsburgh PenguinsWashington CapitalsDivision 3TeamCarolina HurricanesChicago BlackhawksColumbus Blue JacketsDetroit Red WingsFlorida PanthersMinnesota WildNashville PredatorsTampa Bay LightningDivision 4TeamAnaheim DucksArizona CoyotesColorado AvalancheDallas StarsLos Angeles KingsSan Jose SharksSt. Louis BluesVegas Golden KnightsThe NHL has targeted a Jan. 13 start date, and both the league and players apparently prefer to play a 56-game schedule.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Vegas Golden Knights' attempt to become salary cap compliant could lead to the departure of one of its original marquee players.Following Tuesday's report that Vegas is trying to move Max Pacioretty, the Golden Knights have also spoken to teams about trading Jonathan Marchessault and Marc-Andre Fleury, sources told The Athletic's Jesse Granger. Both players were members of the original 2017-18 squad that went to the Stanley Cup Final.The Golden Knights need to shed just $1 million to become cap compliant, so the team would only need to move one of these players - not all three.Marchessault is signed for four more seasons carrying a $5-million annual cap hit. The 29-year-old tallied 20-plus goals for the fourth consecutive season in 2019-20, registering 47 points in 66 games. There would usually be no shortage of suitors for a top-six forward on a fair contract in normal times, but the flat salary cap has left several teams with their hands tied.Fleury, 36, would seemingly be difficult to move. He has two years remaining on his deal with a $7-million annual cap hit, and his play declined last season. His .905 save percentage was tied for his lowest since 2005-06, and his -6.5 goals saved above average was the third-worst of his career.Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon said in October that Fleury wasn't going anywhere, despite re-signing fellow goaltender Robin Lehner to a five-year, $25-million deal.McCrimmon dug himself into a cap hole by signing prized free-agent blue-liner Alex Pietrangelo to a seven-year pact carrying an $8.8-million average annual value. It came at the cost of trading away Paul Stastny and Nate Schmidt for pennies on the dollar.NHL teams are allowed to be 10% over the salary cap during the offseason, but can't be higher than $81.5 million once the season starts. A Jan. 13 start date is reportedly the league's target now.If the Golden Knights want the ability to carry the usual 19-21 skaters without trading any of its top players, it may require the trade of two of the following four depth pieces: Tomas Nosek ($1.25M AAV), William Carrier ($1.4M), Nick Holden ($1.7M), and Ryan Reaves ($1.75M).Time is of the essence, and this offseason has not proven to be a seller's market.(Cap source: CapFriendly)Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

It hasn't been an ordinary time, but some things have remained consistent. For the sixth straight year, the New York Rangers have topped Forbes' list as the NHL's most valuable franchise.The Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Blackhawks, and Boston Bruins rounded out the top five. Largely due to lucrative local TV deals (specifically for New York, Toronto, and Montreal), these five teams accounted for nearly a quarter of the league's revenue. Forbes estimates the NHL would have lost $50 million if it weren't for these clubs.Other teams weren't as fortunate. Outside of the top five, only two teams - the Stanley Cup-winning Tampa Bay Lightning and the New York Islanders - didn't receive a negative value change. The Isles actually generated the league's second-lowest revenue, but the incoming Belmont Park Arena (expected to be ready for 2021-22) boosted the club's financial outlook.Overall, the average team fell 2% - the first decline since 2001. The league's total revenue decreased by 14% and its operating income was down 68%. All of this, of course, is largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.There were actually no changes to the order of the top 15 compared to 2019. Here's the full list:RankTeamValueValue change1New York Rangers$1.65B0%2Toronto Maple Leafs$1.5B0%3Montreal Canadiens$1.34B0%4Chicago Blackhawks$1.085B0%5Boston Bruins$1B0%6Los Angeles Kings$825M-3%7Philadelphia Flyers$800M-3%8Detroit Red Wings$775M-3%9Washington Capitals$750M-3%10Vancouver Canucks$725M-2%11Pittsburgh Penguins$650M-2%12Dallas Stars$575M-4%13Vegas Golden Knights$570M-2%14Edmonton Oilers$550M-4%15New Jersey Devils$530M-4%16New York Islanders$520M0%17San Jose Sharks$515M-5%18St. Louis Blues$510M-4%19Minnesota Wild$500M-2%20Calgary Flames$480M-4%21Tampa Bay Lightning$470M0%22Colorado Avalanche$465M-2%23Anaheim Ducks$460M-4%24Carolina Hurricanes$440M-2%25Nashville Predators$435M-5%26Ottawa Senators$430M-3%27Winnipeg Jets$405M-4%28Buffalo Sabres$385M-4%29Columbus Blue Jackets$310M-5%30Florida Panthers$295M-5%31Arizona Coyotes$285M-5%*Value change is over a one-year periodCopyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

While the NHL and NHLPA continue to work on a framework for the 2020-21 season, commissioner Gary Bettman says the league will likely need to realign, which would include an all-Canadian division."There are a lot of things we have to do to return to play. ... We have travel issues because of the restrictions at the border between Canada and the U.S. You can't go back and forth, so we're actually going to have to realign," Bettman told the "Maccabi USA Sports Show," according to NHL.com's Tom Gulitti."If everything stays the way it is, we're probably going to have to have a Canadian division and realign in the U.S., and we're trying to focus on dealing with all of those challenges."The all-Canadian division would include the Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, and Winnipeg Jets. It's unclear how the 24 U.S. clubs would realign.The NHL and NHLPA have reportedly dropped discussions regarding financial changes in an effort to begin a new season Jan. 13. Both sides apparently prefer to play a 56-game schedule in 2020-21.The NHL has a call scheduled for 4 p.m. on Wednesday with the league's Board of Governors to update the teams on the ongoing negotiations, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

In the lead-up to the 2021 World Junior Championship, we're taking a look back at each of the 18 Canadian teams to capture the gold medal, culminating Dec. 25 with the start of the latest edition of the tournament.Canada won its second gold medal at the 1985 world juniors, the ninth annual tournament. This tournament - like every WJHC through 1995 - consisted strictly of a round robin.The rosterPlayerPositionAgeBob BassenF19Brian BradleyF19Wendel ClarkF18Shayne CorsonF18Adam CreightonF19Dan GrattonF18Dan Hodgson*F19Jeff JacksonF19Greg JohnstonF19Claude LemieuxF19Stephane RicherF18Jim SandlakF18Yves BeaudoinD19Brad BerryD19Jeff BeukeboomD19Bobby DollasD19John MinerD19Selmar OdeleinD18Craig BillingtonG18Norm FosterG19*Denotes returning player

In the lead-up to the 2021 World Junior Championship, we're taking a look back at each of the 18 Canadian teams to capture the gold medal, culminating Dec. 25 with the start of the latest edition of the tournament.The 1982 world junior tournament was a memorable one for Canada for several reasons, but it was headlined by the fact the country won its first-ever world junior gold medal.It was also the first time the Canadian brain trust put together a true national junior team. Ultimately, the tourney was unforgettable because of what happened amid the gold-medal celebration.This was the sixth edition of the event and it was held primarily in Minnesota, with several games taking place in Manitoba and Ontario.The rosterPlayerPositionAgeScott Arniel*F19Paul Cyr*F18Bruce EakinF19Marc HabscheidF18Moe LemayF19Mike MollerF19Dave MorrisonF19Mark MorrisonF18Troy MurrayF19Pierre RiouxF19Todd StruebyF18Carey WilsonF19Paul BoutilierD18Garth ButcherD18Gord KluzakD17Randy MollerD18Gary NylundD18James PatrickD18Frank CapriceG19Mike MoffattG19*Denotes returning player

The Vegas Golden Knights are still searching for a way to become cap compliant ahead of next season and are looking to move Max Pacioretty to gain some relief."I'm told that the Vegas Golden Knights have doubled down in recent days and weeks in an attempt to try and move Max Pacioretty," reported TSN's Frank Seravalli on Tuesday's edition of "Insider Trading."The Golden Knights find themselves in a bit of a cap crunch after signing top free agent Alex Pietrangelo to a seven-year deal carrying an average annual value of $8.8 million. As of Dec. 8, the team is nearly $1 million over the league salary cap of $81.5 million.Pacioretty led Vegas in goals (32) and points (66) during the shortened 2019-20 campaign. The 32-year-old has three seasons left on his current deal, which carries an average annual value of $7 million.The Golden Knights were previously attempting to move players from their roster earlier in the offseason to become cap compliant, Seravalli added.Vegas traded for Pacioretty in a blockbuster deal with the Montreal Canadiens in 2018, sending away top prospect Nick Suzuki, forward Tomas Tatar, and a second-round pick to acquire the sniper.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Philadelphia Flyers re-signed defenseman Philippe Myers to a three-year deal with an average annual value of $2.55 million, the team announced Tuesday.The 23-year-old will remain a restricted free agent when the deal expires."We're happy to have Phil signed for the next three years," general manager Chuck Fletcher said. "He is a big, mobile, right-shot defenseman who progressed into a top-four role on our blue line last season. We look forward to his continued growth."Myers tallied four goals and 16 points while logging 17:06 of average ice time over 50 games for the Flyers last season. He added three goals and one assist through 16 playoff contests.Philadelphia signed the undrafted 6-foot-5 rearguard to an entry-level deal in 2015 after he attended training camp on an amateur tryout.The Flyers have $2.26 million in projected cap space with no outstanding restricted free agents, according to CapFriendly.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Florida Panthers have put together a powerful group of goaltending experts to spearhead the team's goalie development going forward, with Roberto Luongo leading the way.The team will take an innovative approach to netminder development and coaching with the creation of a new goaltending excellence department, the club announced Tuesday.Luongo will work in collaboration with Panthers goaltending coach Robb Tallas, his brother and Florida's AHL goaltending coach, Leo Luongo, and ex-goalie coach Francois Allaire.Allaire is set to join the team as a goaltending consultant. He's one of the league's most famed goalie coaches after working with Patrick Roy early in his career and helping to guide Jean-Sebastien Giguere to a Conn Smythe Trophy in 2003. Allaire retired from coaching in 2017."I'm proud and excited to be part of this encompassing new goaltending operation," Allaire said. "Our collection of goaltending knowledge is extraordinary, and our players will have the benefit of a collaborative, united coaching experience throughout their careers with the Panthers."The team's new approach will include scouting, and it'll aim to uniformly develop goalies at every level of the franchise's system."Upon joining the organization, a Panthers goaltender will experience consistent communication, guidance, and unified instruction from the goaltending excellence staff," the team said.Luongo, who is entering his second season with the Panthers as a special advisor to the general manager, says he's excited about the new opportunity to work with the other coaches and pass along their knowledge."This new endeavor for our organization is incredibly special. ... Each member of our goaltending excellence staff has traveled a different path and possesses a unique set of experiences and knowledge," Luongo said. "I have a tremendous deal of respect for this group and couldn't be more excited for the future."Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky is among the league's highest-paid netminders, and he endured one of the worst statistical seasons of his career in 2019-20, his first campaign with the team. The club also drafted top goalie prospect Spencer Knight 13th overall in 2019.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Team Canada has been cleared by Alberta Health Services to resume its World Junior Hockey Championship selection camp in Red Deer.Canada was forced to quarantine for 14 days after two players tested positive for COVID-19. Forwards Ridly Greig and Xavier Simoneau, along with defensemen Matthew Robertson, Daemon Hunt, and Matthew Millman, have been sent home after being deemed unfit to play, Hockey Canada's Scott Salmond announced.Greig, a 2020 first-round pick by the Ottawa Senators, is the most notable player heading home.Team Canada is expected to name its 25-man roster by Friday at the latest. All teams are scheduled to check into the Edmonton bubble Sunday before the tournament gets started Dec. 25.Canada isn't the only country to be affected by the virus. Sweden's head coach contracted COVID-19, and four players have been removed from its preliminary roster due to positive tests. Meanwhile, Germany had to part with two players who tested positive, including 2020 first-round pick Lukas Reichel.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The majority of players and owners think the upcoming NHL season should feature MLB-style three-game series, reports ESPN's Emily Kaplan and Greg Wyshynski.However, due to COVID-19 restrictions in California and Manitoba, it's possible the San Jose Sharks, Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks, and Winnipeg Jets won't be able to play in their home buildings to start the season.Those restrictions could be lifted before the season starts (Jan. 13 is reportedly the new target date). But if the regulations remain in place, temporarily relocating the teams in question to other NHL arenas to start the campaign is under consideration.Los Angeles and Anaheim were reportedly among the seven clubs that looked into playing home games outdoors. Anschutz Entertainment Group owns the Kings, Major League Soccer's LA Galaxy, and Dignity Health Sports Park - a 27,000-seat outdoor stadium in Carson, California. The Kings and Ducks have reportedly discussed sharing the facility.Using hybrid bubbles or hubs is still reportedly a possibility, too. If a hub city is used, teams would travel to a location for two weeks to play around 10 games. A squad would then return home for a week before going back to the hub. A hybrid bubble would be similar to the playoff bubbles in Toronto and Edmonton, but not nearly as strict.New Jersey, Columbus, and Las Vegas are reportedly three U.S. cities receiving attention to be potential hubs. Arenas in all three areas are home to only one primary tenant, with two sheets of ice on-site or nearby and enough hotel accommodations.If hubs or bubbles are required, it's possible the start of the season could be pushed back to early February.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

As we await word on the fate of the 2020-21 NHL season, theScore is revisiting innovative ideas from different corners of the hockey world. Consider this four-part series food for thought during a most unusual offseason. (Part 1 is about replacing the draft lottery. Part 2 is about teams picking their own playoff opponents. Part 3 is about implementing an Exception Player Rule.)––––––––––Roughly a dozen years before he earned a role with an NHL team, you could find Jack Han punching orders into a cash register a few steps from one of professional hockey's most iconic arenas.Han, now 31 years old but a high-schooler back then, helped with his parents' mobile fast-food stand near the Bell Centre on Montreal Canadiens game nights. Operated by Han and two cooks, the stand served burgers, paninis, and fries to passersby waiting for puck-drop. Following the rush, Han would hustle home to catch the game on TV."Working together in a commercial kitchen is really close to playing hockey," Han said in a recent interview.In both environments, individuals simply can't fulfill their duties in isolation, he added. Everyone must be positionally flexible. Courtesy Jack HanHan - who worked in the Toronto Maple Leafs organization as an NHL video and statistical analyst for the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons and an AHL assistant coach in 2019-20 - often uses food to explain and describe his takes on modern hockey. The approach has come in handy of late, with his Hockey Tactics Newsletter gaining notoriety following a four-part series that detailed an eyebrow-raising deployment strategy.The unconventional idea: Rather than the traditional three forwards and two defensemen on-ice configuration, coaches should consider deploying two forwards and three defensemen - 2F-3D for short - during five-on-five play.Icing one fewer forward seems counterintuitive, especially since most power-play units across the NHL feature four forwards and one defenseman. In theory, though, 2F-3D would provide tighter coverage in the defensive zone, and a distinct "three backs" look in transition through the neutral zone and on the attack in the offensive end. It would also give coaches the freedom to divide ice time more appropriately among their top players, regardless of position.However, not every NHL squad boasts the right mix of skaters to embrace the switch (i.e. teams with fewer than seven NHL-caliber defensemen), and those with the right mix probably wouldn't make the change on a permanent basis. It's not a one-size-fits-all idea aimed to overhaul the hockey playbook. John Russell / Getty ImagesHan is instead suggesting that, for coaches with access to a certain player pool, there may be an alternative formation hiding in plain sight. In fact, the 2F-3D concept is borrowed from the "inverted pyramid" deployment strategy in soccer. Basketball, too, has been reinventing its positional concepts for many years.Naturally, Han goes back to food to explain the nuances."All of this is in the spirit of respecting the ingredients that you have, right?" Han said. "If you have a lot of good forwards and not many good Ds, I don't see the point in (2F-3D). But, if it's the opposite, why not? If you're making burgers and you're out of buns, use a lettuce bun. Make the most of it."He notes, in terms of X's and O's, adopting the 2F-3D formation wouldn't be a great departure from the norm."If you watch hockey now without any preconceived notions of who plays what position, you would think that there's actually three D on the ice at various times in the game," he said.In one of his posts on the topic, Han breaks down a sequence from the bubbled postseason, in which Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh scored from the top of the circle. On the play, forward Nikita Kucherov assumed the role of the "third defenseman" by lingering high in the offensive zone. He's the so-called "F3" just inside the blue line."It is effectively a 2F-3D play, with wingback Mikhail Sergachev pinching down on the right half-wall to win a puck to fullback Nikita Kucherov, who dishes to McDonagh on the opposite wing," Han wrote.

COVID-19 is making its presence felt just over two weeks ahead of the World Junior Hockey Championship.Two German players - Lukas Reichel and Nino Kinder - have been ruled out of the tournament after testing positive for the virus, the team announced Tuesday. Reichel was chosen 17th overall by the Chicago Blackhawks at the 2020 draft and collected five points in seven games at last year's tournament.Additionally, Sweden removed Albin Grewe from its preliminary roster after he became the fourth player to test positive, joining William Wallinder, Karl Henriksson, and William Eklund, according to Hockeysverige's Uffe Bodin. Grewe and Wallinder are both Detroit Red Wings prospects, while Henriksson is a member of the New York Rangers organization.Tre Kronor's head coach, Tomas Monten, has also contracted COVID-19, per Bodin.Lastly, IIHF president Rene Fasel has tested positive, although he wasn't planning on traveling to Edmonton for the tournament, reports Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

It appears the NHL and NHLPA are putting their financial differences aside as they try to lock in a plan for the 2020-21 season.There will be no further discussions regarding financial changes to the memorandum of understanding that outlines the terms of the collective bargaining agreement the sides reached before play returned in August, TSN's Darren Dreger reports.The NHL's reported attempt at renegotiating the CBA ahead of the 2020-21 season sparked outrage among the players' association. Players originally agreed to defer 10% of their salaries with escrow capped at 20%, but the league asked them to defer 20% of their salaries and push escrow to 25%.NHL commissioner Gary Bettman refuted the reports and said the portrayal of the negotiations was "unfortunate" and "inaccurate."On Sunday, the players' association proposed more deferred money but didn't include an increase in escrow, according to Dreger.Both sides prefer to play a 56-game schedule in 2020-21 and are now aiming to start the season on Jan. 13, two days earlier than the previously known target date, Dreger added.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Vegas Golden Knights owner Bill Foley is confident the NHL will resume in 2021 but thinks it may happen later than the league currently hopes.A recent report from TSN's Pierre LeBrun indicates the league is moving on from its original Jan. 1 target with the NHL and NHLPA discussing a new start date."It may not start Jan. 15, it may slide a week or two, but we will be playing hockey and we'll be at T-Mobile," Foley said Monday during an interview with Fox Business."But, unfortunately, we may not have fans, which is really sad, especially for our team because we intend on winning the Stanley Cup this year," Foley added.On Monday night, TSN's Darren Dreger reported the NHL is now aiming for a Jan. 13 start.Negotiations between the league and the Players' Association recently stalled after the NHL asked players to defer 20% of their salaries along with escrow rising to 25%. The new collective bargaining agreement signed in July 2020 stated players will defer 10% of salaries with escrow limited to 20%.Regardless of a specific start date, the two parties need to reach an agreement soon if they intend to realistically drop the puck at any point in January. The league still needs to finalize divisional realignment on top of picking a schedule, while players outside of North America will likely need to adhere to 14-day quarantine periods before participating in two-week training camps.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

A Wayne Gretzky rookie card could set a new record when it's auctioned off later this week.The mint condition 1979 O-Pee-Chee Gretzky rookie card, which is being sold by Heritage Auctions, is expected to become the first hockey card to break the $1-million mark, according to Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star."We're really excited to have the king of hockey cards," Chris Ivy, Heritage's Dallas-based director of sports, told McGran. "The timing is phenomenal as far as the people that are interested in this type of thing and the current market. And Gretzky is the greatest of all time for his sport."There are only a handful of cards that have passed the $1-million threshold. This will be the first hockey card to do so." The card is one of only two 1979 O-Pee-Chee cards to receive a PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator) 10 gem mint status."When O-Pee-Chee was making these cards in 1979, they didn't lend themselves to be high grade. The paper stock that was used was susceptible to print defects," Ivy explained."There are centering issues. The way they cut O-Pee-Chee cards - they used wires (instead of blades). So as those wires dulled, you got those jagged edges. And you can see that jagged edge on this card. Collectors like that look of the jagged edge of the O-Pee-Chee cuts. But that didn't lend itself to high-grade examples either, because there could be chipping, issues in the corners."Bidding on the card is currently at $662,500 with three days remaining in the auction.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Ottawa Senators general manager Pierre Dorion believes his club is trending in the right direction entering the 2020-21 campaign.And despite being in just the third year of a rebuild, he's ready to see some progress."As an organization we’re climbing the charts," Dorion told the Ottawa Sun's Bruce Garrioch. "A lot of the hard work has been done. For us, now, it’s time to perform. We’re at a place where everyone’s on the same page for our immediate success and our future success."The Senators have finished 30th, 31st, and 30th in the league's standings over the last three seasons. Dorion is now aiming to build a team that can be a perennial contender."... We want to have a team, when they drop the puck on the first day of the year, that we know we’re going to be in the playoffs and we know can progress to win Cups," Dorion said. "These things don’t get done overnight. It was always part of the plan, and how we structured the plan, with the way the game has evolved, that we continued this evolution."We’re following the right path to have a Cup-contending team year-after-year-after-year as we move along in the rebuild."Making significant progress this season could be difficult. The NHL is widely expected to adopt an all-Canadian division for one year due to the country's border restrictions, an alignment that would place the Senators in a tough spot.The six other Canadian teams all qualified for the league's expanded postseason this summer. In a poll The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun conducted of NHL executives, scouts, and coaches from American teams, all 15 of them predicted the Sens would finish last in the all-Canadian division.Even Senators owner Eugene Melnyk said last month he doesn't like his team's chances in such a format, adding that "this is not our year."While he seems pessimistic about this season, Melnyk is confident about the future. In October, he said his team will be a "Stanley Cup winner within four years." That may seem bold, but the Sens are set up nicely for the future.Thomas Chabot and Brady Tkachuk are two key under-24 building blocks who have already proven themselves. The club's farm system is stocked with promising prospects who have received a taste of NHL action, such as Josh Norris, Alex Formenton, Drake Batherson, and Erik Brannstrom. Ottawa also added a trio of 2020 first-rounders to its pipeline in Tim Stuetzle, Jake Sanderson, and Ridly Greig.Dorion has assembled a stable of veterans for this upcoming season, too, including Matt Murray, Evgenii Dadonov, Austin Watson, Alex Galchenyuk, Erik Gudbranson, and Josh Brown.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Cincinnati Cyclones, Idaho Steelheads, and Kalamazoo Wings will be suspending play for the 2020-21 ECHL season, the league announced Monday.The three teams join the entire North Division - the Adirondack Thunder, Brampton Beast, Maine Mariners, Newfoundland Growlers, Reading Royals, and Worcester Railers - after each squad also made the decision to opt out.The Cyclones' NHL affiliate is the Buffalo Sabres, while the Steelheads are connected to the Dallas Stars, and the Wings are in the Vancouver Canucks' system.Under the league's COVID-19 policy, all players from the three teams are now free agents."This decision for our clubs was immensely difficult amidst the ever-changing landscape of the COVID-19 pandemic and the inability to return to play throughout our various jurisdictions,” ECHL commissioner Ryan Crelin said. “We look forward to returning fans and ECHL hockey in these great markets as they shift their focus to the 2021-22 season."There are now 15 ECHL teams expected to compete during the upcoming campaign set to begin on Dec. 11.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

As we await word on the fate of the 2020-21 NHL season, theScore is revisiting innovative ideas from different corners of the hockey world. Consider this four-part series food for thought during a most unusual offseason. (Part 1 is about replacing the draft lottery. Part 2 is about teams picking their own playoff opponents. The final installment arrives Tuesday.)––––––––––Like most highly competitive industries, hockey always has blue-sky ideas floating around behind the scenes - in boardrooms, press boxes, bars.Most of these concepts are such grand departures from the status quo that they rarely see the light of day. The "Exception Player Rule" idea is, fittingly, an exception to the rule.In April, NHL player agent Kurt Overhardt and his KO Sports associate Brian Schoelzel co-wrote a post for the agency's website titled, "KO Sports, Inc. Opinion: An Opportunity to Increase the Competitive Landscape in the NHL."Their post laid out the argument for exempting one player per team from salary-cap calculus. These exemptions would effectively free up tens of millions of dollars in cap space across the league each year and, in theory, ensure the NHL's revenue-driving stars receive compensation better aligned with the value they provide to their respective teams, the league, and the sport at large."From an economic standpoint, allowing one marquee player to get paid - if teams want to do it - while being able to keep the rest of the team together would benefit fans, and it would benefit the other players in the locker room, so there should be no resentment," Overhardt told theScore."It would also reward these guys who are the superstars and, right now, in my opinion, they're not being rewarded (appropriately)."Intrigued? Let's peel back the layers of this concept.The case for the Exception Player Rule Dave Sandford / Getty ImagesSince 2005, the NHL has used a "hard" salary cap, which prohibits teams from exceeding a specified payroll total - with no exceptions. These parameters make it incredibly difficult for teams to both retain their core players over the long term and pay their stars hefty annual salaries.The Chicago Blackhawks are a prime example of this conundrum. The Blackhawks won Stanley Cup titles in 2010, 2013, and 2015, but not without bidding farewell to key pieces seemingly every offseason to stay below the cap. Franchise cornerstones Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, both now 32, signed eight-year, $84-million deals in the summer of 2014. Today, their combined cap hit of $21 million constitutes a little more than 25% of Chicago's player payroll."Why not give teams the opportunity to exempt someone? And they can use it any way they want," said Overhardt, who's based in Denver and began representing NHL players in 1992. "In Chicago, for instance, if (owner Rocky) Wirtz determines he needs to pay - or wants to pay - Kane and Toews $10 million apiece, then that's great. He can make one of them the Exception Player and have $10 million available to give the other 22 guys."The Blackhawks are not alone. The Tampa Bay Lightning have managed their contracts fairly well over the past decade but are in a bind this offseason, chiefly because they employ too many quality players. The Edmonton Oilers' cap situation would look wildly different if Connor McDavid's league-high $12.5-million cap hit was excluded from the equation. The Toronto Maple Leafs handed their top young players big-ticket second contracts, and the team has already been forced to part with complementary youngsters like Connor Brown, Kasperi Kapanen, and Andreas Johnsson as a result."The Maple Leafs haven't won anything - like, nothing - and people are talking about how they're going to have to disassemble their core," Overhardt said.Overhardt shared the Exception Player idea with more than 30 clients before publishing. The players, he says, were generally supportive of the concept. (Though he didn't name names, KO Sports represents dozens of NHLers, notably Ryan Johansen, Jacob Trouba, Dylan Larkin, Jaccob Slavin, and John Gibson.)The longtime agent points to Nathan MacKinnon - an Octagon client - to further his point. Earning $6.3 million a season through 2022-23, the Colorado Avalanche center is arguably hockey's top bargain. He's due for a significant raise, though MacKinnon told Forbes last year he would "take less again" on his next deal if it meant keeping Colorado's enviable core intact."If you have a superstar like that, they shouldn't have to be making excuses to justify the money they should be making. They should be getting that money," Overhardt said. "The National Hockey League, including our clients and every other player in the league, is going to benefit from Nathan MacKinnon's play over the next 10 years."In short, the Exception Player Rule - which Major League Soccer has called the Designated Player Rule since 2007 - would throw a bone to teams that draft and develop players well, along with clubs that carry multiple star-level contracts on their books. (The "exception" label, it should be noted, could be applied to a drafted player, a player acquired via trade, or a player signed in free agency.)Compared to their counterparts in the NFL, NBA, and MLB, NHLers are underpaid relative to the health of their league. "The other three leagues have increased superstar players' salaries at a rate that much more accurately mirror their respective league's growth," Overhardt and Schoelzel wrote.Jaromir Jagr was the highest-paid NHL player in 1999-00. In a pre-cap world, the Hall of Fame forward made $10.4 million, which means McDavid's $12.5 million a decade later represents a 20% increase. The estimated average franchise value in the NHL rose by 351% over that period, according to Forbes. The salary cap, meanwhile, has risen by 109% since the league instituted it for the 2005-06 season.Compare that with MLB's Albert Belle making $11.9 million in 1999 and Mike Trout earning $33.5 million in 2019. That's an increase of 197%. According to Forbes, the estimated average franchise value in MLB - a league using a luxury-tax system - jumped 647% in that span."The NHL's top salary has only increased by 20.19% despite over 350% growth in franchise values," Overhardt and Schoelzel wrote. That means the NHL's franchise value has grown at a rate 17.3 times greater than the top salary. The gaps in the other three leagues are much smaller: NBA, 7.1 times greater; MLB, 3.3 times; NFL, 2.6 times.Pushback against the Exception Player Rule Douglas P. DeFelice / Getty ImagesThe initial response to the article was largely positive, Overhardt reports. Some owners he spoke with were "really excited there was actually creative thought" ready for public consumption. Still, there are critics. Here are Overhardt's rebuttals to a few common counterarguments:

Team USA announced multiple changes to its preliminary world junior roster on Sunday.The roster remains at 29 players, but defensemen Tyler Kleven and Hunter Skinner, along with netminder Logan Stein, will replace forwards Robert Mastrosimone, blue-liner Alex Vlasic, and goaltender Drew Commesso, who have each been deemed "not available to participate."Vlasic, Commesso, and Mastrosimone all play at Boston University. The school suspended all activities for the men's hockey team Thursday and canceled its season opener after someone associated with the program tested positive for COVID-19."It’s certainly heartbreaking for Robert, Alex, and Drew to not have the chance to make our team and we feel for them," general manager John Vanbiesbrouck said."But it’s great to have the depth we do and we’re pleased to welcome Tyler, Hunter, and Logan. We’re excited to get our camp underway and continue to work with our medical staff, the IIHF, and the government of Alberta to help provide the safest possible environment for everyone associated with our team."Team USA started its week-long camp Sunday at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Michigan. The 2021 world juniors are slated to begin on Dec. 25 in Edmonton.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Jon Cooper is living his best life as a Stanley Cup champion.The Tampa Bay Lightning head coach likened his experience with the prestigious trophy to walking around with a famous rockstar."Honestly, I can't explain the feeling," Cooper said earlier this week on the "Two-Man Advantage" podcast."People say, 'Well, what's it like?' I was like, 'You know what? Nobody really wants to see Jon Cooper or really cares, but as soon as you're with the Stanley Cup, it's like walking in with Mick Jagger.' It is such a remarkable trophy."The 53-year-old coached the Lightning to the franchise's second Stanley Cup victory in September. The club spent over two months in the NHL's playoff bubble before knocking off the Dallas Stars in six games.Cooper says he never gets tired of looking at what he and his club accomplished, as the trophy has remained in Tampa throughout most of the pandemic."At times I've had it in my house where it was just me or maybe my son, or my wife and it's the girls. You just look at it with that sense of accomplishment, but understanding it just exudes history," Cooper said."And you look at it and look at the names on it and the people that have won it and you know the sweat and tears and everything that went into winning it, and to think 100 years before that's happened."Despite spending their offseason navigating an extremely tight salary cap, the Lightning have the majority of their core intact next season and are in a strong position to make another title run.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Neil Armstrong, Hall of Fame NHL linesman and father of St. Louis Blues general manager Doug, died Sunday at the age of 87, the team announced.Armstrong officiated 1,744 regular-season NHL games from 1957 to 1978. After retiring as a linesman, he became a scout with the Montreal Canadiens. The Hall of Famer was inducted in 1991.Armstrong was in an assisted living home in Ontario battling dementia and Parkinson's disease. When his son Doug won the Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2019, he was able to bring the trophy to share with his father."Being able to share the Stanley Cup with him, to share the ring with him, we did it 20 years ago and to be able to share some of the experiences I've been through the past two decades with him, well, that's pretty special," Doug Armstrong said in 2019 according to NHL.com's Mike Zeisberger."He gets a big smile out of it and those are few and far between for him. So it's been great."Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

A local TV station in Boston has drawn some attention after casually interviewing Hall of Famer Jarome Iginla during its coverage of a snowstorm this weekend.The segment caught the eye of a Twitter user when Iginla suddenly appeared on screen:

Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk took a big gamble in deciding to rebuild his team from scratch over the past three years, and he's hoping it'll pay off."Nobody's done what I did. I don't care what anybody says," Melnyk told the Ottawa Sun's Bruce Garrioch. "Nobody has gone and gutted a team the way I did. We made a list … the top six guys gone. Show me a team, in any sport, where the top six guys are gone. This was specifically designed. You had to be a certain age to be part of it."He added: "We just had to put our chin up, take all the crap, and, in the end, just hope that you're right. If you're right, you're the king of the day, and if you're wrong, you're the bum of the day."After the Senators fell one overtime goal shy of reaching the Stanley Cup Final in 2017, Melnyk and general manager Pierre Dorion decided to completely overhaul the team and start anew. Ottawa has since traded all its top players from the 2016-17 season, including Erik Karlsson, Mike Hoffman, Mark Stone, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Kyle Turris, and Derick Brassard.The Senators have done a neat job drafting prospects over the past few years. Dynamic defenseman Thomas Chabot, brash forward Brady Tkachuk, and 2020 third overall pick Tim Stuetzle are projected to lead the team for years to come.Ottawa also added some savvy veterans this offseason, including forward Evgenii Dadonov and goaltender Matt Murray. With a plentiful group of prospects and some experienced leaders, Melnyk has high hopes for his team's future."Our scouting group is second to none," Melnyk said. "The beauty is we've got new, fresh blood coming in every year for the next five years with just what we've drafted so far. We've got some great talent."Melnyk continued: “We are locked in for some success. We've rounded off the team really nicely. We're well-positioned. I hope I'm right that we're not just competitive; we can dream the dream. My objective this season is to allow people to dream the dream."The dream is that we win the Stanley Cup and that we were able to build this from scratch. We put together a great team, it was thought through, and it came through as predicted."Melnyk has previously stated he believes his team will win a Stanley Cup in the next four years. The Senators are set to boast one of the league's youngest, most inexperienced lineups in 2020-21.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Vancouver Canucks general manager Jim Benning tried to find a new club for forward Loui Eriksson this offseason but failed to do so."We tried to get him a new team, a new opportunity, a fresh start. That didn't happen," Benning said Thursday on Sportsnet 650's "Starting Lineup.""As of right now, Loui is under contract with us. When he plays he can still kill penalties for us, he's a good defensive player."We wanted him to score more when we signed him, that hasn't happened. But he's still part of our team, part of our group. He's an experienced guy."Since signing a six-year, $36-million contract with the Canucks in 2016, Eriksson has failed to find his footing and produce at the level that he did earlier in his career.Eriksson was a six-time 20-plus goal-scorer before joining the Canucks, including two seasons where he notched 30 or more goals. He's totaled just 38 goals in 245 games during the four seasons he's spent in Vancouver.The 35-year-old was a healthy scratch on numerous occasions during the 2019-20 season and managed six goals and seven assists in 49 games. Last offseason, Benning confirmed he would look into trading Eriksson after the forward said he and head coach Travis Green "don't really get on 100 percent."Eriksson has two years remaining on his contract, carrying an average annual value of $6 million.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Ellert Vickström was already old by hockey standards - older than Joe Thornton is now - when his 6-year-old son, Timy, began to travel with him to away matchups in the lower ranks of the Swedish pro game. Ellert played left wing in Falun, his hometown and the site of a world-renowned medieval copper mine. His teammates were tight-knit, bonded by banter and the hands of poker they'd deal on the bus. Young Timy, impressionable and along for the ride, got hooked on team spirit and, in turn, on the sport.This was late in the 1990s. Timy is now 28 years old. He leads a Falun-based semi-pro team in scoring, and occasionally his shifts overlap with those of his captain, a beloved elder statesman who nonetheless poses a threat to his cred."Sometimes, I've wanted to shout at Ellert. I've almost been shouting, 'Dad!'" Timy said. "And then (I think), oh, f---. I can't say that."Such is life on the ice with the 64-year-old man who, as far as theScore can tell, is the oldest competitive hockey player on the planet. Safe to say he's the only Swede of his vintage with a hard wrist shot, abidingly good injury luck, and hope that the country's ongoing, pandemic-induced sports hiatus won't hasten the end of his career.Ellert Vickström. Supplied by BK Ockra Ellert Vickström hasn't missed a season since 1962, the year he joined his first Falun youth team. It was the same year Chris Chelios, to cite a more recognizable but less prolific iron man, was born. Where Chelios, the Hall of Fame defenseman, hung up his skates a decade ago after 1,651 NHL games, Vickström doesn't plan to retire until April - from his longtime day job, that is, as a paint factory and lab technician.His hockey future is less definite. The 2020-21 season is Vickström's 59th across all levels of the game, as well as his first playing alongside Timy for BK Ockra, the club he and his son helped found this year to compete in HockeyTrean, Sweden's fifth division. Leagues below the third tier have postponed play as Sweden combats a surge in coronavirus cases. That means Ellert and Timy are idling in Falun, having recently contracted and recovered from COVID-19 themselves."What to do?" Ellert said. "Just wait."Barred from practicing, hoping that the schedule will resume in the new year, the disruption has at least freed time for Vickström to consider the fruits of his longevity. He's gotten to represent a dozen teams: Kniva IK, Falu HC, Hälsinggårdens AIK. He scored four goals in an outdoor game for fourth-tier Sundborn around 1990. ("Some years ago" is his best estimate on the timing.) He played three games for BK Ockra this October before he fell ill with fever, cough, a headache, and pain in his bones, which laid him low for a couple of weeks.Ellert Vickström (25), 1988. Supplied by BK OckraPre-coronavirus, Vickström's health history was characterized by surprising fortune. The knocks he's suffered over six decades - broken ribs here, a puck to the nose there - all hurt but healed. That, sleeping well, and sticking to his home squat-and-bench-press regimen form the extent of his explanation for how he's still mobile. Vickström "doesn't go as fast as he used to," concedes BK Ockra forward Kalle Gunnarsson, a longtime teammate. "But he can still manage to get on the team for every match and be competitive.""I don't think I've done anything special," Vickström told theScore in a recent Zoom interview, though he added one more word to the wise: "Get yourself good teammates. That's good advice."Vickström's BK Ockra teammates are an eclectic bunch. They range in age from 16 (forwards Albin Eljas and Andrei Jansson) to 52 (reserve goalie Ulf Alexandersson), and they include a 38-year-old former KHL and Swedish Hockey League netminder, Daniel Sperrle, who once went six playoff games - 390 minutes and 12 seconds in all - without allowing a goal in the Russian second division.

Vancouver Canucks owner Francesco Aquilini appeared to fire longtime anthem singer Mark Donnelly after he confirmed he's singing at an anti-mask rally on Saturday.

The Minnesota Wild won't have one of their key playmakers in the lineup when the 2020-21 campaign begins.Mats Zuccarello will not be ready for the start of the season after undergoing right arm surgery several weeks ago, according to The Athletic's Michael Russo. The winger left his native Norway for Minnesota to consult with his team's medical staff, reports Russo.Doctors found a torn ligament in Zuccarello's arm, and the 33-year-old played through the injury for most of 2019-20, Russo adds. It's the same arm Zuccarello broke in his first game with the Dallas Stars in 2018-19.The 10-year veteran produced 15 goals and 22 assists in 65 games for the Wild last season. It was his first with Minnesota after signing a five-year, $30-million contract with the club as a free agent on July 1, 2019.Zuccarello spent his first eight campaigns and much of his ninth with the New York Rangers before they traded him to the Stars in February 2019. He ultimately played only two regular-season games and 13 playoff contests before signing with the Wild.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

As we await word on the fate of the 2020-21 NHL season, theScore is revisiting innovative ideas from different corners of the hockey world. Consider this four-part series food for thought during a most unusual offseason. (Part 1 is about replacing the draft lottery. Parts 3 and 4 will arrive Monday and Tuesday, respectively.)––––––––––Picture this: It's Sunday, April 7, 2019, hours removed from the NHL regular season and three days before playoff action begins. The Tampa Bay Lightning, who laid waste to the competition for the past six months - winning 62 of 82 games - have earned the right to choose their first-round opponent in the Eastern Conference. That pick is due to the league office in advance of a selection show airing Sunday night on national TV.It's a gigantic decision that could smooth their path through the first round. Or it could blow up in their face. Scott Audette / Getty ImagesTampa Bay could tap the Columbus Blue Jackets, who recorded the fewest points among East playoff clubs. Or perhaps the Lightning will pick the Carolina Hurricanes, who finished with just one extra point and don't boast a true No. 1 goalie. And then, there are the Toronto Maple Leafs, who are, essentially, Lightning Light.The Lightning were 3-0 in the regular season against both Columbus and Carolina and 3-1 against Toronto, a division rival. Now they get to pick their poison.In reality, the 2018-19 Lightning were automatically paired with the wild-card Blue Jackets, who went on to sweep Tampa Bay. Maybe the Hurricanes or Maple Leafs would have made quick work of the Lightning, too. But that's not the point.What matters is that such a decision would add a layer of suspense and intrigue to the NHL campaign. The top regular-season team each year claims the Presidents' Trophy and home-ice advantage for the duration of its playoff run. What if that club also had an influence on the first-round matchups? Dave Sandford / Getty ImagesThis hypothetical has played out at lower levels of hockey. Teams in the ICE Hockey League of Austria have been choosing opponents since the 2012-13 postseason in its "Playoff Pick." The Southern Professional Hockey League did something similar - called the "Challenge Round" - in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 postseasons."If you're the NHL and you want people to obsessively talk about you, have some drama," former SPHL president Jim Combs said in a recent interview.In the SPHL's case, the regular-season points leader picked its opponent from a pool of four teams that finished fifth through eighth in the standings for a best-of-three series. The second and third seeds in the 10-team, division-free league followed suit, leaving the fourth-place club to link up with the remaining playoff contender. (Teams were reseeded in the second round and paired according to their regular-season point totals.)The SPHL - which introduced three-on-three overtime in 2004, a decade before the NHL did - is a rung below the ECHL on the North American pro hockey ladder. Its franchises are clustered in the United States' Midwest and Southeast, in places like Huntsville, Alabama; Pensacola, Florida; and Peoria, Illinois. Therefore, travel factored into the decision-making process for teams tasked with choosing a playoff foe. The quality of the opponent, health of rosters, and recent performance were other variables commonly considered.In the first year of Combs' experiment, the league aired an event called the Challenge Round Selection Show. Former NHLer Terry Crisp and Alabama football radio voice Eli Gold co-hosted, and, after a live audience rained boos on Combs a la Gary Bettman, the president revealed each pick. YouTube screenshotIf it sounds gimmicky, that's because it was. But there was also an undeniable appeal to the whole gambit, and Combs - who left the SPHL in 2018 to pursue other opportunities - remains bullish on the idea."In the NHL, we already know who is going to play who. There's no point in talking about who's going to match up with who (as the regular season winds down) because it's already set by the standings," Combs said. "Well, with the Challenge Round, we put the onus on those top teams to pick who they think they can beat."Sometimes the one-seed doesn't want to touch the eight-seed because eight could have been terrible for the last two months but they got their best players back recently, are on a hot streak, winning lots over the last three weeks, and really have a lot of momentum coming into the playoffs. Now, what do they do?"Combs borrowed the idea from former NHL linesman and referee Lyle Seitz, who since 2011 has been the director of hockey operations for ICE. Seitz reports parallel benefits to the Challenge Round in his loop's Playoff Pick format, including heightened intensity in the regular season as teams jockey for position throughout the standings, great publicity for the postseason through a widely watched TV spectacle, bulletin-board material for the lower-end teams, and an extra incentive and reward for the elite clubs."The owners and players mostly like it," Seitz said. "The major complaints I get are from the coaches. It's not as if they don't like the idea, it's just that all the pressure's on them." Dave Sandford / Getty ImagesTherein lies the fundamental problem with the pick-your-opponent proposal, at least from the NHL's perspective. It's often dismissed as "bush league," or something below the standards of the world's top association. So, who among the owners, managers, coaches, and players would ever champion such an outside-the-box concept?"It might be great for (the SPHL), but it's not something I'd encourage our league to do, and I couldn't see it ever happening," Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill said in 2018."I don't like it," Washington Capitals GM Brian MacLellan told Craig Custance of The Athletic in March. "I like to play who you're supposed to play. You play a whole season to get your spot in the standings and you play it out. I imagine, if you're picking someone it'll be a little motivation to the team you're picking, 'Oh really? You're picking us?'"MacLellan raises a valid point. There's nothing wrong with the NHL playoffs' level of entertainment. The on-ice product sells itself year after year, sans gimmicks. And as the old saying goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.The NHL held a fantasy draft ahead of the annual All-Star Weekend for five years from 2011 through 2015, during which captains chose their teammates for the weekend. By all accounts, it went well in terms of production and buzz. A similar show before the playoffs would be an entirely different beast, however, with the stakes infinitely higher and tone much more serious."The fans liked it. The coaches hated it. It's a great idea until you pick a fight with someone," Combs said, laughing at the memory of the SPHL's experiment. "My favorite part about being involved in the Challenge Round was that I administered it, was involved in the show, but there was no pressure on me. I didn't have to pick an opponent, no one picked me." Chase Agnello-Dean / Getty ImagesThe selection show would be somewhat familiar to NHL fans, too. It would essentially serve as the draft lottery on steroids. Instead of Bill Daly flipping over a giant card to reveal who has the first overall pick, the NHL's deputy commissioner would unveil exactly how Playoff Team X feels about Playoff Team Y, manufacturing hysteria in multiple markets. The drama, then, would begin prior to Game 1 puck drop, not at some point during the series.Keith Yandle is in favor of the concept, though the Florida Panthers defenseman admitted last year he's probably in the minority. Combs said one NHL team absolutely loved the idea when the SPHL first unveiled its plans in 2017. An executive told him the club's hockey operations staff debated the merits of potential opponents for hours on end.There's a case to be made that the 2020-21 NHL season would be an ideal time to introduce the pick-your-opponent concept, as it will be a shortened campaign. TV ratings were down for the 24-team bubbled postseason, and this twist, which Major League Baseball has also discussed, would spice up the schedule. Let's not forget, changing the playoff format is not without precedent in the NHL."Is it a good thing? I would say 100%," Seitz said. "Would the NHL ever do it? I would say no. Because they follow traditions."John Matisz is theScore's national hockey writer.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The NHL shared multiple draft schedules for the 2020-21 season with the National Hockey League Players' Association on Thursday, including one for a 56-game campaign, sources told TSN's Frank Seravalli.The draft schedules are reportedly based on a Jan. 1 start date, but both sides have considered pushing that date back. A Jan. 15 start date is now being discussed as Jan. 1 no longer seems realistic, a source told TSN's Pierre LeBrun.A 52-game season is also under consideration, LeBrun adds, but both the NHL and the NHLPA reportedly prefer a 56-game schedule.It's clear the league won't play a full 82-game season since it apparently wants to conclude the Stanley Cup Final by early July, but it reportedly won't stage anything shorter than a 48-game slate; the league used a 48-game schedule during the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign.Seravalli added that these talks are unrelated to the NHL's recent economic requests.Discussions for the coming season hit a snag when the league asked players to defer 20% of their salaries with escrow rising to 25%. Players originally agreed to defer 10% of their salaries with escrow capped at 20% when the two sides agreed to a new CBA prior to the return to play.Commissioner Gary Bettman insisted Wednesday the league is "not trying to renegotiate" the CBA.The players' union is apparently prepared for the worst-case scenario. NHLPA lawyers are reportedly considering two courses of action should the league cancel the season: filing an unfair labor practice complaint or filing a grievance through an arbitrator.The league and the NHLPA seemingly need to settle their plans within the month in order to drop the puck in January. Teams will need at least two weeks of training camp, and some players arriving from outside North America may need to quarantine for 14 days before taking the ice.Additionally, the two sides have yet to agree on a format for the season, though an all-Canadian division seems inevitable given Canada's border restrictions. The league and the NHLPA have apparently discussed playing series of two-to-three games like those used in MLB, and at least seven teams reportedly want to play their home games outdoors.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Chris Driedger might have to wear his new mask at all times.The Florida Panthers goaltender provided an early glimpse of his new headgear Thursday night. It features both Baby Yoda and Din Djarin, the two primary protagonists from "The Mandalorian."

The NHL's two most recent first overall picks will not be released from their respective clubs for the upcoming world juniors.Hockey Canada confirmed New York Rangers prospect Alexis Lafreniere will not be available, while New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald said it's in 2019 No. 1 pick Jack Hughes' best interest to focus on his second NHL season."We need Jack to concentrate on the Devils," Fitzgerald told NHL.com's Mike Morreale. "The silver lining for Jack (and all of our young players) during this pandemic was a lengthy opportunity to gain strength and weight to compete in the NHL when we start."Prior to Thursday's announcement, senior vice president of Canada's national teams Scott Salmond said Lafreniere joining the club is "not out of the question."Lafreniere dominated the event in 2020, leading Canada to a gold medal and winning tournament MVP after posting 10 points in five games. His showing helped solidify his status as the NHL's top prospect, and the Rangers won the right to select him first overall in August.Hughes won a silver medal with the Americans in 2019. He posted 21 points over 61 games in his rookie campaign with the Devils this past season.This year's tournament is scheduled to begin Christmas Day in Edmonton.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The NHLPA is looking into potential countermeasures if the NHL opts to scrap the 2020-21 campaign, reports TSN's Rick Westhead.NHLPA lawyers are mulling two courses of action should the league cancel the season, according to Westhead. One would be filing an unfair labor practice complaint with the U.S. National Labor Relations Board, and the other would be a grievance through an arbitrator.The players' union would be seeking to ensure its members get paid if no games are played.Talks between the NHL and the NHLPA reportedly stalled recently after the league made a pair of proposals asking the players to defer at least twice the amount of salary they agreed to in July's updated CBA.Some players felt angry and betrayed in response to the NHL's latest offers, and agent Andy Scott said they shouldn't have to renegotiate an agreement both sides consented to four months ago.On Wednesday, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said the league wasn't trying to do that and expressed disapproval with the offers' portrayal.The CBA's terms could ultimately benefit either side. Article 5 states the league can "determine when, where, how and under what circumstances it wishes to operate (or) suspend" a season, as Westhead notes. However, Article 7 says, “Neither the league nor any club shall engage in a lockout during the term of this agreement."The NHL has long targeted Jan. 1 as the 2020-21 start date, but that's looking less likely now because teams would need several weeks for training camps and it's doubtful that players would want to open those over the holidays.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

While it's still unclear whether fans will be able to attend NHL games if and when the 2020-21 season begins, some teams are starting to get creative in order to potentially have spectators in attendance.At least four teams - the Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Boston Bruins - have investigated the idea of playing home games outdoors to allow people to attend, reports Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.The Carolina Hurricanes, Dallas Stars, and Nashville Predators have also told the league that they're interested in playing outdoors, reports The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun.The Kings were the first team to kick the idea around several months ago, Friedman added, as the team's ownership also owns Dignity Health Sports Park - a soccer stadium with a 27,000-person capacity that's home to the LA Galaxy.Meanwhile, the Bruins have talked to city officials about different options and are in an "exploratory phase" regarding using Fenway Park. The Penguins have looked into Heinz Field and PNC Park.Friedman cautions the plan is a long shot but adds teams are simply doing their due diligence by exploring all options. The costs of outdoor games are likely too high, and they would also require player approval.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

As we await word on the fate of the 2020-21 NHL season, theScore is revisiting innovative ideas from different corners of the hockey world. Consider this four-part series food for thought during a most unusual offseason. (Parts 2 to 4 will run Friday, Monday, and Tuesday.)––––––––––Adam Gold's idea about the NHL's draft order was hatched out of a moment of frustration back in March 2008. The regular season was nearly finished, the Steven Stamkos-headlined draft was approaching, and Gold - a die-hard St. Louis Blues fan - could only shake his head at the television."John Davidson shouldn't have to go on TV for an interview and have to say something like that," Gold recalls thinking as he watched the former Blues president promise fans their favorite hockey team wasn't losing on purpose.That surreal but not entirely unique scene - an executive feeling compelled to publicly assure supporters that winning, not losing, remains the goal every night - led to Gold developing what's now known as the "Gold Plan," or as he's called it since it was first publicized, the "NHL Draft Order Based on Mathematical Elimination."The premise is straightforward: rather than the league's worst teams entering a lottery each spring to determine the order of the upcoming draft, picks are doled out based on point accumulation starting when a team is mathematically eliminated from postseason contention. At the end of the regular season, the team with the most post-elimination points is awarded the first overall selection, followed by the team with the second-most, and so on.What are the benefits and drawbacks of this idea? Let's investigate.The case for the Gold Plan Jeff Vinnick / Getty ImagesThe core objective is to rewire the incentive system for teams outside the playoff picture. In this scenario, all 82 games would matter to all 31 teams because the NHL would reward winning over losing, which, in turn, would discourage teams from tanking to chase higher draft-lottery odds."The value of a win should always be more than the value of a loss," Gold, a 36-year-old data scientist working in agriculture, told theScore. "A fan from any team could look at the schedule of remaining games and want to win each or any game remaining."This mindset is in stark contrast with what the hockey world witnessed on March 26, 2015, when Buffalo Sabres fans were openly cheering for the opposing team, the Arizona Coyotes, during a late-season home game. The sparkling prize for finishing last that season was a 20% shot at the No. 1 draft pick, Connor McDavid. Sabres fans simply couldn't help themselves. (Of course, the last-place Sabres - who dropped that game in overtime - didn't end up winning the lottery. They picked another future star, Jack Eichel, at No. 2.)"The second you start convincing someone to cheer against you, you're one step closer to losing them as a fan," former Coyotes captain and Gold Plan supporter Shane Doan told Sarah McLellan of AZ Central a year later.Though the McDavid tankfest was an extreme example, there are legions of fans every year who come to a realization at some point in the second half of the season that their team's short-term ineptitude is better for the franchise's long-term outlook. So they cheer for penalties and goals against, losses, and losing streaks. And it's hard to blame them. The current system is closely linked to bottoming out in the standings, though it's also tempered by the luck of the lottery.Case in point, the upstart New York Rangers in October made Alexis Lafreniere the first overall pick after winning the lottery with just 2.5% odds. Meanwhile, the Detroit Red Wings, who are in the middle of a substantial rebuild, had no incentive to improve their roster for or during the 2019-20 season. Yet, on draft weekend, Detroit selected fourth despite entering the lottery with a league-high 18.5% odds of claiming the No. 1 pick.It was a miserable season for Red Wings fans, and Lafreniere is now a Ranger."The fear of a bitter ending is an emotional decision that limits season-ticket purchases, game attendance, merchandise sales, and fan support," Gold wrote in a 2010 paper for the Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports.If the NHL replaced the draft lottery with the Gold Plan, or some variant of it, the luck portion of determining the draft order would vanish, and the league's worst teams would still have a relatively strong chance at picking atop the draft.The Red Wings, for example, were eliminated from playoff contention with a loss to the New York Islanders on Feb. 21 in their 63rd game of the season. They would have had 19 games to collect points toward winning the Gold Plan race had the season completed as usual. As it was, they collected five points in the eight games they did play. The Ottawa Senators - the team with the second-fewest points last season - weren't eliminated until March 10 and would have had only 10 games to collect points. (Ottawa lost its only contest before the regular season was halted.)On the surface, the Gold Plan sure seems to be a smart alternative, balancing the opportunity to pick No. 1 overall with a reason to try to keep winning.The case against the Gold Plan Bill Smith / Getty ImagesThe plan first gained mainstream traction after Gold presented it at the 2012 MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, but it's not without its critics. Gold has attempted to address these arguments:

Thomas Vanek believes the NHL was a much rougher league earlier in his career."The last four-to-five years, besides (Zdeno) Chara, the league isn't that tough anymore. I think we can all agree on that," Vanek said on "The Instigators" podcast recently. "I think early on when we all played together and you got the (Chris) Prongers, the (Derian) Hatchers, that was tough."Standing in front of the net, there was no penalties back then. The ref would say, 'Hey, loosen up Pronger' and Pronger would look at the ref and was like 'Don't ever talk to me again.'"The 36-year-old skipped out on the 2019-20 season, but he hasn't officially retired yet. A veteran of over 1,000 NHL games, Vanek began his career in 2005 and last played during the 2018-19 campaign.Known for his goal-scoring abilities and net-front presence, Vanek has spent plenty of time battling in the crease. After playing throughout the last two decades, Vanek says he's seen a shift in how defensemen approach the game."I don't know if it was really dirty (in the past), that's the way it was - if you go in front of the net, you're taking a punishment," Vanek said. "Now the game has changed. You've got a lot of smaller defensemen who are more mobile. They cross-check a little bit, but those guys are nonexistent really anymore."The Austrian native has amassed 373 goals and 416 assists over 1,029 career games. He's also been given his fair share of penalties, totaling 547 penalty minutes.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford is preparing for the possibility that he won't be able to make deals with other clubs as easily as he usually does.Rutherford still plans to be proactive on the trade market if and when plans for the 2020-21 season are finalized, but he acknowledged transactions could be more complicated given travel restrictions amid the pandemic."If there are trades this season," Rutherford told The Athletic's Rob Rossi. "I don't know."The longtime executive believes the NHL could become similar to the NFL in the upcoming season in terms of having fewer in-season swaps."It's probably (going to be) more like football than ever," Rutherford said. "It's probably going to be more where you set your team and that's going to be your team."He added that though it's possible the policies are relaxed as the campaign progresses, he's going to try to fine-tune his roster as much as he can before the puck drops for the season opener."It may mean as the season goes along these restrictions get eased off a bit, and maybe you can start to do stuff, but these are some of the things I've started to think about," Rutherford said. "Like, you better get as many guys in place as you can because it may not be easy for somebody when the season starts."However, the 71-year-old cautioned that he doesn't know more than anyone else at this stage, adding that if he identifies any areas of need on his team, he'll try to address them immediately.Rutherford is one of the NHL's most active GMs when it comes to trades, having made 53 since taking the Penguins job in June 2014, according to Rossi. He's orchestrated several significant deals while with Pittsburgh, acquiring the likes of Phil Kessel and Patric Hornqvist for the Penguins' back-to-back titles before trading them both away in separate deals about one year apart.The three-time Stanley Cup-winning GM landed current Penguins forward Jason Zucker two weeks before the 2019-20 trade deadline. He also acquired winger Kasperi Kapanen - whom he originally sent to the Toronto Maple Leafs when he first nabbed Kessel in 2015 - and defenseman Mike Matheson in August and September, respectively.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Add co-owner of a professional hockey franchise to Tim Tebow's lengthy resume.The former NFL quarterback, aspiring MLB outfielder, and current ESPN analyst has joined the ownership group for the ECHL's Jacksonville Icemen, the affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets."I simply love Jacksonville," Tebow said in the official release. "I am excited to be a part of this new endeavor with the Icemen. It is important to me to invest back into the community that has meant so much to me. I look forward to including and expanding the Icemen's involvement in our Tim Tebow Foundation and other community initiatives."Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Myles Jack and former defensive end Reggie Hayward joined the ownership group with Tebow.The Icemen relocated to Jacksonville for the 2017-18 season. The club was formerly known as the Muskegon Fury, the Lumberjacks, and the Evansville Icemen.Their season is expected to begin Dec. 12.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

With several talented unrestricted free agents still on the open market, one prominent player representative believes the recent lack of action is due to the NHL and NHLPA struggling to pull together a plan for the 2020-21 campaign."In early November teams were calling every day. Now it’s every other day," the anonymous agent told The Athletic's Thomas Drance. "They’re still indicating interest, but some of them are waiting. And some of it is us. We want to wait too."We want to see what develops out of this. At this point, it doesn’t make sense to do something until we know what things look like … If we wanted to have signed already, we could’ve done that. Then again, those teams we could’ve signed with haven’t done anything else yet either. It’s like a very long engagement, or like there’s 31 people at the dance, but there’s just no dance partners."Some prominent names still available include perennial 30-goal threat Mike Hoffman, as well as Anthony Duclair, Andreas Athanasiou, Mikael Granlund, and Sami Vatanen.The NHL remains hopeful of starting next season in early January, but a lack of recent progress has brought on plenty of speculation.Commissioner Gary Bettman addressed the situation on Wednesday, refuting reports that the league is trying to swindle the players into renegotiating the CBA that was agreed upon by both sides prior to the return to play in August.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

With his future playing status still up in the air, St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong shared he would love to hire Jay Bouwmeester to work with his organization at some point in the near future."I would love to work with him. I would love to get him into some scouting for us in the future," Armstrong said on the "Cam & Strick Podcast.""He's one of those guys, he's got a great hockey mind - and also, retirement's great until you're home all the time. Now I'm not saying that he's going to want to travel like a pro scout and do four games in five nights in five cities, but he can go into Calgary, go up to Edmonton, go to Vancouver, he can come in when we're there."Bouwmeester suffered a cardiac episode during a game in February and subsequently underwent a heart procedure to install an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator, causing him to miss the rest of the 2019-20 season and playoffs.The Edmonton, Alberta, native spoke to the media late in February while he recovered and stated he didn't make any decisions at the time about his playing future. He's currently an unrestricted free agent and has not retired officially.Bouwmeester had an illustrious career to date after the Florida Panthers selected him third overall in the 2002 draft. The 37-year-old was named to two All-Star Games, won a Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2019, and won five gold medals with Team Canada in various international tournaments including the 2014 Olympics. He has appeared in 1,240 regular-season games during his 17-year career, tallying 424 points.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is refuting reports that the league is looking to renegotiate the recently established CBA with the players' association as the sides work toward a plan for the 2020-21 campaign."We've been absolutely unequivocal with the players that we're not trying to renegotiate," Bettman said Wednesday, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.Instead, the league is looking for ways to avoid "stresses on the system," Bettman adds, as players would be paid more than 50% of revenue under the deal that was established before the NHL's restart in August."Under our deal, and the one we've had for more than a decade with the players' association, whatever the revenues are the players only get 50%," Bettman said, according to Johnston. "And if we overpay them and they don't pay us back in the short term, they have to pay us back over time."There will be stresses on the system and we've had discussions about what those stresses are and how they might be dealt with, but we're not trying to say 'you must do X,Y, and Z.' We're trying to look for ways to continue to work together."Before the league's August return, the sides agreed to 10% salary deferrals for the 2020-21 campaign and to cap escrow at 20% before lowering it each campaign until 2022-23.Players have reportedly grown frustrated after the league offered two unfavorable financial proposals in an attempt to renegotiate. The first reportedly asked players to defer 20% of their salaries while escrow increases to 25%. The second asked them to defer 26% for next season, but escrow is left alone until Years 4-6 of the current collective bargaining agreement."I know it's been portrayed as something else and it's unfortunate and it's inaccurate, because at the end of the day, if the system gets stressed, it's going to be stressed for us both," Bettman continued.He also noted the league's target start date of Jan. 1 for the 2020-21 campaign is a "work in progress, influenced largely by medical experts," according to TSN's Frank Seravalli.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

North Dakota defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker and forward Jasper Weatherby plan to kneel while the national anthem plays before they begin their 2020-21 schedule Wednesday."We believe racial injustices and the (poor) treatment of minorities and people of color in this country needs to stop, and it needs to be improved all over America and all over the world," Weatherby told the Grand Forks Herald's Brad Elliott Schlossman. "For us, being able to have a platform in a place where there aren't a lot of people of color in hockey or in Grand Forks, it's a really interesting position for us to be in. It's a great platform."The players - who are both white - made a point of declaring their intentions prior to kneeling so their message is clear, according to Schlossman.Weatherby expects some people to disapprove, but that won't deter them from doing it."I think change is uncomfortable for a lot of people," he added. "If this (demonstration) is uncomfortable for you, it's a great opportunity to educate yourself and look inside and ask yourself, 'Why does that upset me?' and, 'Why is someone from my hometown doing this?' We hope the hockey community knows that we stand with people of color and we are not OK with the way people are being treated in this country."Bernard-Docker emphasized his ties to the military and said kneeling is, in fact, a way of showing solidarity."I have the utmost respect for the military and people who have served," he said. "I have no disrespect to veterans. I have two grandpas who fought in world wars. They have passed away now. But I have no doubt they would support what I'm fighting for, which is the right to be treated equally. People fought for our country so citizens could have fundamental rights. This is what the military fought for."Weatherby said they currently plan to kneel only before Wednesday's game.Both players are entering their junior seasons and are assistant captains for the top-ranked Fighting Hawks. Bernard-Docker is an Ottawa Senators prospect, and the NHL club selected him 26th overall in the 2018 draft. The San Jose Sharks chose Weatherby in the fourth round that same year.North Dakota will open its NCHC schedule against the Ohio-based Miami University on Wednesday at 4:35 p.m. ET.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Montreal Canadiens are optimistic blue-chip defensive prospect Alexander Romanov will make an instant impact as a rookie this season."Obviously we have to let him have a chance to come in and earn that spot and prove it, but it's there for him to do that," assistant coach Luke Richardson said, according to NHL.com's Jon Lane. "We've evaluated players before and you've seen them come out of the world juniors as stars and do very well in the NHL, so we're expecting nothing less than that for Romanov.""He's a very excitable player, exciting to watch," Richardson continued. "He plays with the passion and excitement. That's always fun and that'll look really great on a Saturday night in the Bell Centre."The Canadiens drafted Romanov 38th overall in 2018, and they signed him to a three-year, entry-level contract in July. He joined the Habs in Toronto for training camp before the NHL's return to play, but Romanov wasn't eligible to suit up in the qualifying round and playoffs.Bringing him over to North America burned a year of Romanov's entry-level deal. But that was worth it for Montreal, as head coach Claude Julien is already thinking about the Russian rearguard's spot in the lineup."If he's that good, he'll be a second pairing before you know it," Julien said. "But I think we allow him to develop and gain some experience at a comfortable pace and allow him to showcase what he's able to do."He's a very confident individual. Who knows where he's going to be once the season starts? This is a guy who can surprise a lot of people just because he's got those attributes, but he's also got the confidence to go with it, so he may be pushing a lot of people before you know it."Romanov has spent the past two seasons with CSKA Moscow in the KHL. His offensive production as a teenager in Russia's top league was pedestrian, but Romanov has established himself on the international stage. He was named to the Media All-Star Team at the 2019 and 2020 world juniors, and the blue-liner earned top defenseman honors at the former tournament.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Kyle Dubas has gained some perspective through defeat.Following another roller-coaster season for the Toronto Maple Leafs, their general manager says he underestimated the importance of veteran leadership."Why, after the first time, I just didn't realize it and learn it then and then apply it every time moving forward, that's just a mistake on my end," Dubas said, according to Sportsnet's Luke Fox. "Shame on me for that."Though the Leafs have made the postseason in four straight campaigns, the team has yet to make it beyond the first round. A disappointing five-game series loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2019-20 forced Dubas to rethink his previous position on the importance of leadership.The 35-year-old executive addressed the Leafs' need for more veteran voices during the offseason. Dubas re-signed Jason Spezza, brought in future Hall of Famer Joe Thornton, and inked Wayne Simmonds and TJ Brodie to add more experience and determination to the club's Stanley Cup pursuit."Those guys have a real increased sense of urgency to them," Dubas said. "Either time is running out on their career and they want to win - in the case of Spezza, Thornton, and Simmonds - or they've faced great disappointment in the past, like TJ Brodie and all the guys on our roster."However, Dubas did take the time to credit some of the pre-existing in-house leadership. He praised defenseman Morgan Rielly for doing "one of the most selfless things that I've seen" when Rielly volunteered to give his spot on the top power-play unit to Tyson Barrie to help the struggling rearguard find his confidence.The GM said over the weekend that he's relying on Rielly and the rest of the club's budding core to continue growing in order for the Leafs to reach their maximum potential.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The NHL isn't straying too far from its original goal of starting the season on Jan. 1, even though that date is just a month away and the format has yet to be determined.The league still hopes to drop the puck in early January, TSN's Pierre LeBrun reports.Obstacles appear to stem from the NHL and players' association's ongoing negotiations, but a source told LeBrun that talks have continued.Both sides agreed to a new six-year collective bargaining agreement before the league's return to play over the summer that accounted for the expected financial repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic. The union agreed to 10% salary deferrals with escrow capping at 20%. That money was agreed to be paid in three equal, interest-free installments in October 2022, 2023, 2024.However, the league has reportedly asked for players to defer 20% of their salaries while escrow increases to 25%. This request has reportedly left the players feeling angry and betrayed, as they came to an agreement less than six months ago.It was recently reported that NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr hadn't spoken to each other from Nov. 19 through at least Nov. 25, though the silence between the sides appears to be over.A recent spike in COVID-19 cases could also add to the challenge of starting the season on time. The NFL, for example, has been hit with a wave of positive tests, causing multiple game postponements and teams to play shorthanded.The format for the NHL season remains unclear, but an all-Canadian division appears likely given the country's current border restrictions. The league is also reportedly considering having teams play in their own rinks while conducting MLB-like series of two-to-three games. It was reported in early November that 48 games are the fewest that the league will agree to for the upcoming campaign.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The QMJHL is putting all of its activities on hold from Dec. 1 to Jan. 3, the league announced Monday, while adding that more details will be provided in the next few weeks.“The current situation with the pandemic in the regions in which we operate makes it extremely difficult to play games,” QMJHL commissioner Gilles Courteau said in a statement. “With the holidays just around the corner, the provinces in the Maritimes have restricted access and travel, while red zone restrictions in Quebec do not permit us to play.”Multiple QMJHL teams have experienced COVID-19 outbreaks since the league began its 2020-21 season in October. In the middle of that month, the QMJHL paused all games in Quebec. Then, about three weeks later, it relocated seven teams to a bubble in Quebec City.The WHL and OHL haven't opened their campaigns and are targeting start dates of Jan. 8 and Feb. 4, respectively.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The United States announced its preliminary roster for the 2021 world juniors on Monday.The 29 selected players - 10 returnees from the 2020 squad - will convene in Plymouth, Michigan, for training camp beginning Dec. 6. The tournament starts Christmas Day in Edmonton."We have a talented group and we’ll have some tough decisions to make," general manager John Vanbiesbrouck said. "We continue to benefit from a deep player pool, and that’s credit to all of the organizations and volunteers developing the next wave of American talent."ForwardsPlayerNHL rightsJohn BeecherBruinsMatthew Beniers2021 draft eligibleBrett BerardRangersMatthew BoldyWildThomas BordeleauSharksBobby BrinkFlyersBrendan BrissonGolden KnightsCole CaufieldCanadiensSam ColangeloDucksJohn FarinacciCoyotesArthur KaliyevKingsRobert MastrosimoneRed WingsPatrick MoynihanDevilsNick RobertsonMaple LeafsLandon SlaggertBlackhawksAlex TurcotteKingsTrevor ZegrasDucksThe United States have plenty of first-round talent up front; the group is headlined by blue-chip prospects Robertson, Caufield, and Turcotte. Zegras is another player to watch, as he led the club in scoring at last year's tournament with nine assists in five games.DefensePlayerNHL rightsBrock FaberKingsDrew HellesonAvalancheRyan JohnsonSabresJackson LaCombeDucksCam McDonaldN/AJake SandersonSenatorsHenry ThrunDucksAlex VlasicBlackhawksCam YorkFlyersThe American defensive corps is also ripe with promising prospects, primarily Sandersson - the fifth overall pick in 2020 - as well as York, and Thrun.GoaliesPlayerNHL rightsDrew CommessoBlackhawksSpencer KnightPanthersDustin WolfFlamesUSA's greatest strength may be in goal. Knight posted a .931 save percentage in 33 games at Boston College last season and is expected to take the No. 1 spot. Meanwhile, Wolf won CHL Goaltender of the Year in 2020 after a dominant campaign with the Everett Silvertips that saw him post a 34-10-2 record along with a .935 clip and 1.88 goals-against average.The United States is coming off a disappointing sixth-place finish at last year's event in Ostrava, Czech Republic. USA's quest for redemption starts on Christmas with a heavyweight tilt versus Russia.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Professional sports is a business, but fans often forget the human element. Player movement is constant, and friendships can be disrupted in the blink of an eye.Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy learned that the hard way this offseason when Torey Krug signed with the St. Louis Blues."'TK' was one of the first people who took me under his wing right away from the moment I got there," McAvoy told the "Cam & Strick Podcast," according to NHL.com. "We still work out (in the summers). He's just an unbelievable guy. Everybody (in St. Louis) is going to love him. … I'm still sad that he's not on our team, honestly."Krug spent nine seasons with the Bruins, tallying 337 points across 523 games. He inked a seven-year deal carrying an average annual value of $6.5 million with the Blues on Oct. 9 when free agency opened.It didn't appear as though Krug was eager to leave Boston. He was blunt following his signing, with the veteran saying he didn't even receive an offer from the Bruins.McAvoy believes Krug's presence will be missed dearly."It definitely doesn't really feel real, showing up to training camp that he's not going to be there," the 22-year-old said. "(St. Louis) got a (really good) hockey player."He's an unbelievably gifted defenseman, especially on the offensive side of the puck. He just sees the game so well. He's going to make the Blues a very good hockey team."Zdeno Chara also remains unsigned while pondering his future, which means Boston's blue line could look vastly different in 2021. Here's the team's projected top six:LDRDMatt GrzelcykCharlie McAvoyJeremy LauzonBrandon CarloJohn MooreConnor CliftonMcAvoy has already become one of the league's better two-way defenders. Now with three years already under his belt, many are projecting a breakout season for him offensively, especially if he gets some of Krug's power-play time."I'm definitely excited to be where I am and with this team," McAvoy said. "And I'm not really sure what's going to happen. This is kind of like a weird place to be. I (haven't) been in this position since I've been here where it kind of looks like we're restructuring a little bit on the back end."No one knows what's going to happen to (Chara) and all that. But whatever the challenge is, I know that I'll be ready for it."Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.