The 2020 Maurice "Rocket" Richard race was gearing up for one of the best finishes in recent memory before the coronavirus pandemic forced the NHL to postpone its season.Alex Ovechkin, David Pastrnak, and Auston Matthews were in an intense battle at the top. Even Leon Draisaitl and Mika Zibanejad weren't completely out of it.PlayerTeamGPGAlex OvechkinWSH6848David PastrnakBOS7048Auston MatthewsTOR7047Leon DraisaitlEDM7143Mika ZibanejadNYR5741With five goals in as many games before play halted, Ovechkin was sparring with Pastrnak for the overall lead. Matthews, meanwhile, was hot on their tails with four tallies in six contests prior to the hiatus.Matthews spoke about racing against a legendary goal-scorer like Ovechkin during a video conference call Thursday."It's pretty cool and humbling to be in the same conversation as a guy like (Ovechkin)," Matthews said, according to TSN's Kristen Shilton. "Being in a scoring race with a guy like him, he's been a generational player and he's made a big impact beyond the game and led the way for lots of players and lots of guys."It's humbling, and hopefully, we can get back to playing hockey and can compete again, that's what everyone wants to do."The Great Eight sits eighth on the all-time goals list and has won eight "Rocket" Richard trophies, including six in the last seven years. Matthews is still seeking his first, but it'll be tough to capture as long as Ovi is blasting one-timers from his office at the left circle.Though he knows it's unfortunate fans may not get to see this year's race play out, Matthews acknowledged there are more important things at stake."It's obviously frustrating and disappointing to see the season go on pause," he said. "But when you think about those kinds of achievements and accomplishments, being close to scoring 50 goals and stuff like that, it all kind of becomes irrelevant when you're talking about human lives and what's been going on around the world."Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens met in the 1967 Stanley Cup Final. Only twice since then has the Stanley Cup Final featured two Canadian clubs. Relive Game 6 of the series, which is not only the final contest in the Original Six era, but the last moment of pure glory for one of the league's most historic franchises.Rewatch the stream below:Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

New Jersey Devils interim head coach Alain Nasreddine believes Jack Hughes needs to physically mature before he can take a step forward in his career."At this point, I just think it's time. There's no secret that he's young. He's 18, he's got to grow into his body, he's got to add some strength, he's got to add some muscles, and that's basically what's holding him back I would say right now," Nasreddine said on Sportsnet's Hockey Central on Thursday. "I think everyone can see the talent. Everyone can see what he can bring to the game, but right now, it's a tough league. It's a men's league."The 18-year-old is listed at 5-foot-10 and 170 pounds. According to NHL.com, only 22 players in the league are lighter.Hughes has been a major disappointment in his rookie season, tallying just 21 points in 61 games after being drafted first overall last summer. His 0.344 points per game would stand as the lowest mark by a first overall pick in a rookie season since Vincent Lecavalier (0.341) in 1998-99."Obviously (the point production) wasn't there this year but that doesn't mean he didn't progress," Nasreddine continued. "It doesn't mean he doesn't have the potential to become a star. It's just going to be a process and we just have to be patient, starting with himself, but eventually he will get there. When is that gonna be? Is that going to be if we come back in July, if we ever come back? Is it going to be next year? I don’t have the answer but at some point he's going to be an impactful player in the NHL."It's far too early to slap the bust label on Hughes. After all, he's just a year removed from setting the U.S. National Team Development Program's all-time record for points (228). However, he'll need to show more signs of progress in 2020-21, and Nasreddine believes hitting the weights will help significantly.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Find out the latest on COVID-19's impact on the sports world and when sports are returning by subscribing to Breaking News push notifications in the Sports and COVID-19 section.The NHL's "preference and its priority" is to hold regular-season games before the postseason begins, sources on Monday's Board of Governors call told TSN's Pierre LeBrun."Whether that's 82 (games) - probably not - 78, 76, 74, all possibilities mentioned on that call," LeBrun said on Thursday's edition of "Insider Trading."Teams around the league have already played as many as 71 games and as few as 68. Players on squads both inside the current playoff picture and outside of it have said they want some regular-season contests before the playoffs begin. Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, on the other hand, have both said they'd be open to going straight to the postseason.Additionally, time potentially used on finishing the regular season could carve into the league's ability to hold a full postseason. The eventual - and hopeful - Stanley Cup champion may not have to win the usual 16 games to hoist the trophy.During the same episode of "Insider Trading," TSN's Darren Dreger reported that in a "flash poll" with 24 general managers, 20 supported the idea of best-of-five series from the first round through the conference final, but they want a seven-game Stanley Cup Final."A couple" GMs were not in favor of this idea, arguing the playoffs have to be left the way it is with seven-game series all the way through. However, some executives were more open-minded."One GM said a best-of-three in Round 1, a best-of-five in Round 2, and then best-of-seven for the conference final and Stanley Cup Final," Dreger said. "And then one creative general manager suggested one-game series for the first three rounds, then a best-of-three in the Stanley Cup Final."Of course, none of this can be decided upon until there's a clear resumption date. That will ultimately decide how the postseason needs to be condensed - if there's time for any hockey at all.Deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the league will fit games in August if required, and that they want to avoid scenarios that prevent a full 2020-21 campaign.The NHL also reportedly mentioned Grand Forks, North Dakota, as a possible neutral site venue for games.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Find out the latest on COVID-19's impact on the sports world and when sports are returning by subscribing to Breaking News push notifications in the Sports and COVID-19 section.The Carolina Hurricanes are making sure they're prepared to play games at PNC Arena either without any fans at all or in front of a limited crowd."We have multiple plans. We have a task force that we've put in place internally to talk about all of these options. One of them is that we come back with no fans, and how we're going to deal with that," general manager Don Waddell said on a video conference call Thursday, according to ESPN's Greg Wyshynski."The second option is we come back and can only have - pick the number - 5,000 or 8,000 people in the building. The third option is that we can be totally open. We've talked at length and have plans for all of those situations."The Canes are one of the first teams to publicly acknowledge the possibility of hosting home games with a limited spectator capacity when - or if - the NHL returns to action after postponing its season due to the coronavirus pandemic.If the league is able to resume play, it may be forced to use neutral sites. Grand Forks, North Dakota, has reportedly been mentioned as one possible location."If you look around what's going on in the country, there are probably some cities that you don't think you can play in. If you're going to play regular-season games, it makes sense to come up with some neutral-site places. Obviously, if you're bringing 31 teams back, you're going to have multiple sites to go to," said Waddell.The Hurricanes were seeded as the Eastern Conference's first wild-card team when play came to a halt March 12.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Ottawa Senators inked forward Mark Kastelic to a three-year, entry-level contract, the team announced Thursday.Ottawa selected the 21-year-old in the fifth round of the 2019 NHL Draft."Since being drafted just last June, Mark has worked hard to earn this contract," general manager Pierre Dorion said. "We were pleased to see how he progressed in his overage season in Calgary, where he served as Hitmen captain for two consecutive seasons, and where he was on track to post his most productive major junior season. He's a solid two-way center who shows strong attention to detail in his play."The 6-foot-3 pivot led the Western Hockey League's Calgary Hitmen in both goals (38) and points (68) through 58 games in 2019-20, his fifth season with the club. Kastelic finished his major junior career ranked third in franchise history with 126 goals.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Edmonton Oilers forward Colby Cave remains in a medically induced coma at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto after recently suffering a brain bleed, his family said in a statement Thursday."Colby is still in a medically induced coma. This is giving his brain time to heal and rest from all he's been through," the statement reads. "We would like to thank the Oilers organization, the entire hockey community, all of our friends, and family, and everyone who has shown us love and support."We would like to send a big thank you to Colby's critical care team, neurosurgeons, and nurses at Sunnybrook Hospital. We appreciate all that you are doing for our Colby."Cave was admitted to hospital Monday after complaining about headaches and was later airlifted to Sunnybrook, where he entered intensive care.His wife, Emily, took to Instagram on Wednesday night to also provide an update."Please wake up. Please wake up. It's all I can keep asking, 'He's going to wake up right?' We need a miracle. Colby's parents and myself, got to see him through a window and talk to him with a walkie-talkie last night. We are no longer allowed to be in the hospital because COVID-19 rules. We have no idea when we will be allowed to see him again," she wrote. "The nurse has tied his wedding band to his ankle. I am dreaming of being able to touch you, hear your voice, squeeze your hand (three times), and kiss you again. I love you so much, and my heart is shattered into a million pieces without my best friend."Cave primarily spent his 2019-20 campaign with the Oilers' AHL affiliate in Bakersfield. The 25-year-old was with the Boston Bruins' organization before joining Edmonton last season.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Find out the latest on COVID-19's impact on the sports world and when sports are returning by subscribing to Breaking News push notifications in the Sports and COVID-19 section.Ottawa Senators head coach D.J. Smith confirmed Wednesday that the six members of the club - five players and one staff member - who fell ill to the coronavirus have fully recovered."I'm really glad that everybody in our organization and on that plane is now doing well, but it's certainly a scary time," Smith said, according to the Ottawa Sun's Bruce Garrioch.Smith said seeing the virus firsthand allowed the organization to appreciate its severity and act accordingly."Yeah, it hit us, but at the same time, it probably saved a lot of us because unless you see it up close that quickly, we probably got a little bit of a jump on this," he explained.Smith also admitted that when his team was in San Jose ahead of its March 7 contest against the Sharks, the city felt different after Santa Clara health authorities recommended the game be played without spectators. The Sharks did not follow that warning and went along with the game as planned."In San Jose, it was kind of weird, we got onto Santana Row and there wasn't really a lot of people out," Smith said. "Guys usually like to try and go for a walk and dinner - at that point, no one knew what we know now. Guys were aware, but I don't think there's any way of telling that it would have gotten to this level, certainly for us, anyway."The NHL season was officially suspended March 12. Since then, eight players in total - five Senators and three from the Colorado Avalanche - have tested positive for COVID-19.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Find line reports, best bets, and subscribe to push notifications in the Betting News section.Last week, we learned the Colorado Avalanche and New York Rangers built a reputation this season as road warriors.Now, let's scan all the way to the bottom of that list to expose the teams that bled bettors dry.Note: Profits listed for $100 bettor1. Detroit Red Wings, -$1,958This is the first list that accurately reflects which teams actually were the worst, or best, in a given category. Generally, long or short average lines have a large bearing on which teams are included, but the five teams with the worst records away from home this season are the five on this list.And no team has been worse on the road than the Red Wings, who've posted an abysmal 5-29 (14.7%) straight-up record away from home. They picked up their fourth road win Dec. 14 and were 1-16 from that point before the season was paused. Detroit hasn't been favored on the road since March 15, 2017.2. Ottawa Senators, -$1,640The Senators really haven't fared much better than the Red Wings, as they're 7-27 (20.6%) on the road. Notably, five of those seven wins came during a one-month stretch starting Nov. 4. They were 5-7 SU over that period, actually earning bettors $50 thanks to an average line of +166. Outside of that, Ottawa is 2-20, costing backers a hefty $1,690.3. Buffalo Sabres, -$1,000The season started off so well for the Sabres before taking a sharp turn for the worst - stop me if you've heard that before. Buffalo fans must feel as though they're watching the same bad movie on repeat. The Sabres were 4-3 on the road (+$215) to start the campaign and then proceeded to go 6-21 (-$1,215).4. Los Angeles Kings, -$820The Kings have been slightly worse than the Sabres, with a record of 10-26 compared to Buffalo's 10-24. However, thanks to a longer average line on the road (Los Angeles' +162 to Buffalo's +151), they sit fourth on this list. The Kings' struggles have been more pronounced as they travel further to visit their opponents. L.A. is a brutal 2-14 away to Eastern Conference teams this season, losing bettors a cool $1,095.5. San Jose Sharks, -$734When it comes to the teams on this list, the Sharks have been the most respected by oddsmakers, with an average line on the road of +140. That's largely due to the fact that San Jose entered the season with lofty expectations. Its average line on the road through the first two months of the campaign was +124, compared to +158 from January until the pause.Alex Moretto is a sports betting writer for theScore. A journalism graduate from Guelph-Humber University, he has worked in sports media for over a decade. He will bet on anything from the Super Bowl to amateur soccer, is too impatient for futures, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Sports history is littered with great teams that dominated their regular seasons only to fall short of ultimate glory in the playoffs. Our writers are paying tribute to those teams who were Almost Famous. After tackling MLB, NHL, and NFL, up next is another NHL edition.Rarely in sports does a decade, a familiar yet stilted unit of measurement, sum up an era so tidily. Three teams dominated the NHL in the 1970s: Bobby Orr’s Boston Bruins, the Broad Street Bully Philadelphia Flyers, and the dynastic Montreal Canadiens, who bridged Jean Beliveau's last hurrah with the incredible reign of Guy Lafleur, Ken Dryden, and company.Other franchises could have won a title; three came within games of doing so. But they never broke through, and some of history's longest Stanley Cup droughts persisted instead.Those poor recurrent runners-up were the Chicago Black Hawks - the name's two words weren't merged until 1986 - the New York Rangers, and the Buffalo Sabres, who each iced at least a few excellent teams at varying points of the '70s that invariably fell short in the playoffs. Sometimes they lost to each other. Sometimes they were favored in the Cup final against, say, Montreal, only to squander a two-goal lead at home in Game 7.Different strengths turned Chicago, New York, and Buffalo into contenders. The Rangers had starpower and were built to defend; the Sabres' famed French Connection line powered offenses that scored nearly 4.5 goals per game. All three aligned behind a common sob story: In a league that expanded in phases from 12 to 18 teams, they were on the right side of the competitive imbalance that ensued, but couldn't top the whole gauntlet in any one year.SeasonChampionRunner-up1969-70BostonSt. Louis1970-71MontrealCHICAGO1971-72BostonN.Y. RANGERS1972-73MontrealCHICAGO1973-74PhiladelphiaBoston1974-75PhiladelphiaBUFFALO1975-76MontrealPhiladelphia1976-77MontrealBoston1977-78MontrealBoston1978-79MontrealN.Y. RANGERSChicago was first to suffer from this period's particular cruelty.Three Hall of Famers - forwards Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita and goaltender Tony Esposito - played for the Black Hawks in the early '70s, an assemblage of top-tier talent on par with that of Boston (Orr, Phil Esposito) and Montreal as Beliveau handed the torch to Lafleur. Like several fellow contenders in a polarized league, coach Billy Reay's clubs frequently surpassed the 1.00 mark in Hockey Reference's Simple Rating System (SRS), which gauges a team's strength based on its schedule and goal differential. (By comparison, no 2019-20 team was above 0.75 when the season paused.)Chicago's regular-season promise was rendered hollow when Tony Esposito, who won the Vezina and Calder Trophies in 1970, flopped in a semifinal sweep that season against the soon-to-be-champion Bruins. The Black Hawks came similarly close in 1972, when a superior Rangers team edged them in the semis; 1973 was the year of a surprising run to the final following Hull's jump to the World Hockey Association; and 1974 ended, along with another Vezina season from Esposito, against Boston in six games.In all, Chicago's best five-year span produced losses in three semifinal series and two Cup finals. No playoff defeat hurt more than 1971, when Montreal's quarterfinal upset of all-time juggernaut Boston (SRS: 2.29) established Chicago as the remaining favorite. Up three games to two against the Canadiens in the final, the Black Hawks fell 4-3 in Game 6 in Montreal and then blew a 2-0 lead at home in the decisive matchup. Such is the risk of letting Jacques Lemaire aim, fire, and score from the neutral zone.Though Montreal delivered this smarting blow, Bruins-related misfortune bookended and shaped Chicago's lost half-decade. Black Hawks general manager Tommy Ivan kneecapped his team with an infamous 1967 trade that sent Phil Esposito to Beantown alongside Fred Stanfield and Ken Hodge. Chicago got one back on Boston by signing Orr in 1976 - after the mangling of the wondrous defenseman's left knee ensured his best days were behind him.Rather than end sometime in the '70s, the Black Hawks' spell without a Cup totaled 49 years (1961-2010). They were upstaged in that category by the Rangers, whose record 54-year drought (1940-1994) endured because the GAG Line wasn't able to buck it.Three Rangers teams were stellar in this era: 1971, 1972, and 1973. In the first of those years, they lost in the semis to a better Chicago squad; in the third, Chicago's semifinal win without Hull constituted a big upset. The intervening '72 season marked the peak of Jean Ratelle, Vic Hadfield, and Rod Gilbert's cumulative powers: these members of the GAG (goal-a-game) Line became the NHL's first trio to score 40 goals apiece. Bolstered by the Hall of Famers Brad Park on defense and Ed Giacomin in net, New York recorded a .699 points percentage despite losing Art Ross Trophy candidate Ratelle to a broken ankle in early March.The GAG Line (L-R): Hadfield, Ratelle, and Gilbert. Melchior DiGiacomo / Getty ImagesWhen the playoffs opened a month later, New York ousted the reigning champion Habs in six games and then swept Chicago, setting up a gem of a meeting for the Cup. Boston was the opponent, and though the Rangers held Phil Esposito without a goal all series, Ratelle managed just one assist after hastening his return from injury. The Bruins won Games 1, 2, and 4 by one goal. In Game 6 they clinched the title at Madison Square Garden with a 3-0 shutout, the product of a team effort that Orr, who scored the winner, described as a "perfect game."Like Chicago, the Rangers' best shot to win had faded by the time Buffalo, an expansion entrant in 1971, arrived on the scene in earnest. The franchise has never won a Cup, a deficiency that was consummated in the '70s despite four straight seasons of standout play. Led by Gilbert Perreault, Rick Martin, and Rene Robert - the French Connection line - the Sabres could skate with anyone and score in bunches. But after the comparably great Flyers beat them in the 1975 final, they went on to bow out in three consecutive second rounds.In that '75 season, Buffalo posted a .706 points percentage and then authored a signature six-game victory over the powerhouse Habs (SRS: 1.72) in the conference finals, delaying the dawn of Montreal's next dynasty by a year. Two memories resonate from the subsequent Cup final. One is the Fog Game, when humid weather and the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium's lack of air conditioning conspired to cloud the action at ice level. (How severe was the fog? We don't call Game 3 the Bat Game, even though Sabres center Jim Lorentz straight up killed one with his stick that same night.)The second memory: Bernie Parent shutting the door. Buffalo won the Fog Game 5-4 in overtime, but the Flyers' netminder still allowed only 11 goals in the series, stymying the Sabres' vaunted offense with a .937 save percentage. Parent cemented his Conn Smythe Trophy performance when the series returned to The Aud for Game 6: his 32 stops powered Philly's 2-0 Cup-clinching win.So went a decade that was uniquely unforgiving to all but a select few teams. Final confirmation of this trend came in 1979, when Lafleur, Lemaire, and Dryden's impossibly stacked Canadiens rolled to the title, their fourth in four years, with a five-game win in the Cup final.Montreal's vanquished opponent: the Rangers, who were nowhere near as loaded as in the GAG Line's heyday, but who resurged unexpectedly that season to pull off a seismic upset in the conference finals. With Phil Esposito - acquired from Boston for Park and Ratelle a few years earlier - in tow, the Rangers eliminated the heavily favored New York Islanders in six games, postponing the coronation of a new dynasty until 1980.Nick Faris is a features writer at theScore.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. 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As the No. 2-ranked North American skater ahead of the 2020 NHL Draft, Quinton Byfield has heard himself compared to numerous players, but one parallel seems to resonate more than the rest."Definitely drawing a couple comparisons out there. I think Evgeni Malkin. That's just an honor to be compared to that guy," Byfield told TSN. "He's a soon-to-be Hall of Famer."Here's a tale of the tape:PlayerMalkinByfieldPositionCCHandednessLLHeight6'36'4Weight195215The Pittsburgh Penguins selected Malkin No. 2 overall in 2004, and many project Byfield to go second overall at this year's draft behind Alexis Lafreniere.TSN's Craig Button is the most prominent draft analyst to draw the comparison. He called Byfield a "Malkin clone" last summer, and later said he has "Evgeni Malkin hands" ahead of the world juniors. The Athletic's Corey Pronman didn't make any player comparisons in his scouting report, but he did write that Byfield has "truly elite hands" and that his skating ability is the "foundation" of his game. That has Malkin written all over it.Byfield plans to try and emulate Malkin's game."I'll definitely watch as (many) Pittsburgh games as possible just to see what he does on the ice and how he plays," he said. "He's a big 200-foot center, and just (the) amazing offensive ability he has and just how he plays is unbelievable. I'll definitely watch him quite a bit and try and mold my game a little bit after him."NHL director of central scouting Dan Marr has also compared Byfield to the legendary Jean Beliveau. Either way, there are some lofty expectations for the 17-year-old.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Ottawa Senators head coach D.J. Smith wants growth from his core players, specifically on the mental side of the game."Whether we play this year or next, our mentality has to change," Smith told Sportsnet's Wayne Scanlan. "It's time for us to take a step. How big a step that is, we're going to find out. But we certainly need to take a step mentally, with the Tkachuks, Chabot, and Whites, etc."Thomas Chabot, 23, signed an eight-year, $64-million extension in September. Colin White, also 23, inked a six-year, $28.5-million contract in August. Besides those two players, only Nikita Zaitsev and Bobby Ryan are signed beyond next season. Brady Tkachuk, 20, probably won't take long to join them; he's eligible for an extension on July 1 - or whenever the new league year begins.Smith believes the best way for his team to progress is to create an internal belief that this group can contend."You watch the best teams, the Boston Bruins and the Washington Capitals, for example, when they come to the arena they expect to win every night," Smith continued. "I think every team wants to win every night - there's a difference between wanting to and knowing that you can win every night."The Senators did not do much winning this season. With most preseason prognosticators expecting a dead-last finish, they ranked 30th out of 31 teams when play came to a halt on March 12.But it's still early in the rebuilding process, and Smith will likely have more youngsters to groom next season. Ottawa projects to have the second and third overall picks in the upcoming draft, so it's possible the Sens' roster will feature another teenager or two in 2020-21. With fresh faces coming in, Tkachuk, Chabot, and White will be further counted upon as leaders - even if they're young in their own right.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Although Winnipeg Jets defense prospect Dylan Samberg signed his entry-level contract on Tuesday, it almost didn't happen.The Jets tried to get Samberg, a second-round pick in 2017, signed last summer, but he opted to return to the University of Minnesota Duluth for his junior season. He even considered going back again for his senior year so he could become an unrestricted free agent and sign with any team."You think about that stuff," he said Tuesday, according to Sportsnet's Sean Reynolds.The Jets haven't had much success luring big-name free agents to Winnipeg. With the exception of Mathieu Perreault, every skater on the roster signed for next season at over $1 million was either homegrown or acquired via trade. The organization prides itself on keeping its own talent, which makes the Samberg signing all the more important, especially with the team's depleted defense corps. Winnipeg lost Jacob Trouba, Dustin Byfuglien (presumably), Tyler Myers, and Ben Chiarot within the last year.A clear path to the NHL was part of Samberg's decision to sign."I know there’s a lot of opportunity up there which I’m really excited for," he said. "I felt like this is what I wanted to do."Josh Morrissey and Neal Pionk are locks for the team's back end next season. Tucker Poolman's job is likely safe as well, and deadline rental Dylan DeMelo could potentially be re-signed. Depending on what Winnipeg does this offseason, it could be a battle for the final two or three blue-line spots between youngsters Samberg, Ville Heinola, Logan Stanley, and Sami Niku.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

NHL Central Scouting released its final rankings for the 2020 draft Wednesday. Here's a look at the top 10 North American and international players.North AmericanRankPlayer (nationality)PositionTeam (league)1Alexis Lafreniere (CAN)LWRimouski (QMJHL)2Quinton Byfield (CAN)CSudbury (OHL)3Jamie Drysdale (CAN)DErie (OHL)4Jake Sanderson (USA)DU-18 (NTDP)5Cole Perfetti (CAN)CSaginaw (OHL)6Marco Rossi (AUT)COttawa (OHL)7Jack Quinn (CAN)RWOttawa (OHL)8Kaiden Guhle (CAN)DPrince Albert (WHL)9Braden Schneider (CAN)DBrandon (WHL)10Dawson Mercer (CAN)CChicoutimi (QMJHL)The full rankings for North American skaters can be found here.Leading the way in the North American group is consensus No. 1 overall pick Lafreniere, who had a gigantic draft year that included 112 points in 52 QMJHL games as well as a gold medal and tournament MVP honors at the world juniors.Byfield, another gold medalist with Canada, maintained his No. 2 spot after 82 points in 42 games with the Sudbury Wolves. Younger and bigger than Lafreniere, he's an enticing prospect who projects to be a strong two-way center in the pros.InternationalRankPlayer (nationality)PositionTeam (league)1Tim Stuetzle (GER)LWMannheim (DEL)2Alexander Holtz (SWE)RWDjurgarden (SHL)3Anton Lundell (FIN)CHIFK (Liiga)4Lucas Raymond (SWE)LWFrolunda (SHL)5Rodion Amirov (RUS)LWUFA (KHL)6Helge Grans (SWE)DMalmo Jr. (Swedish Jr.)7John-Jason Peterka (GER)RWMunchen (DEL)8Topi Niemela (FIN)DKarpat (Liiga)9Noel Gunler (SWE)RWLulea (SHL)10Roni Hirvonen (FIN)CAssat (Liiga)The full rankings for international skaters can be found here.Stuetzle maintains his No. 1 status atop the international board from the midseason rankings after posting 34 points in 41 games in Germany's top professional league as a 17- and 18-year-old.Swedish winger Holtz also held his spot at No. 2, but Lundell jumped up one position from the previous rankings and into the top three after registering 10 goals and 18 assists in 44 games with HIFK.The 2020 NHL Draft was scheduled to take place June 26-27 in Montreal but has been postponed due to coronavirus concerns. A new date hasn't been determined. The draft lottery to determine the order of picks is also up in the air as the league deals with the pandemic.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Florida Panthers netminder Sergei Bobrovsky agrees with teammate Aleksander Barkov that the NHL shouldn't jump right into the playoffs if the 2019-20 season resumes."I think it's not really fair, because it's still, I believe, 12 or 13 games (remaining)," Bobrovsky said Tuesday, according to Sportsnet's Luke Fox. "Lots of games, and we're right in the mix. We have the opportunity to be in there, and if they just cut it off, I don't think it's fair."Barkov shared the same sentiment in March. With the season on pause, the Panthers sit three points shy of a postseason berth with 13 games left. If the league decided to end the campaign and award the final playoff seeds based on points percentage, Florida would still miss out."From a sports standpoint, the season is 82 games and then the playoffs start," Bobrovsky said. "You just can't cut off where we are and move right into the playoffs."NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said Tuesday that the league continues to explore all options, though he admitted that completing the regular season "may not be possible."Bobrovsky inked a seven-year, $70-million pact with the Panthers in July, but has struggled to find his game in Sunrise. The 31-year-old puck-stopper owns a .900 save percentage through 50 games.Florida is in danger of missing the playoffs for a fourth straight campaign and the 17th time in the past two decades.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Find line reports, best bets, and subscribe to push notifications in the Betting News section.Last week, we looked at the five teams that were most profitable this season when it came to defending their rink.Here, we flip the coin and break down the clubs that caused bettors all sorts of headaches with their inability to make the most of home-ice advantage.Note: Profits listed for $100 bettor1. Montreal Canadiens, -$1,828Bettors who consistently backed the Canadiens to win in La Belle Province this season took an absolute bath. Not even the best atmosphere in hockey (according to several NHL player polls) could help Montreal to a good record at the Bell Centre in what was a lost year for Claude Julien's team after posting a top-five record on home ice last season.Only the Detroit Red Wings had a worse home record than the Habs (14-23 straight up, 37.8%). But the Canadiens sit comfortably atop this list with the Red Wings nowhere to be found because of their average line of -137 on home ice, compared to +165 for Detroit.2. Nashville Predators, -$1,167The Predators have typically been one of the league's more consistent teams on home ice, but that wasn't the case this year, as they posted a better record on the road (18-16 SU) than at home (17-18 SU).Nashville offers a prime example of how a bad stretch can skew season-long results, though. The Predators lost seven of eight at home between Oct. 31 and Dec. 3, most of them as large favorites, losing the $100 bettor $1,112 over that span - just $55 shy of their season total.3. Washington Capitals, -$824Coming into the season, the Capitals were not a team you would have expected to find on this list. Washington posted a cumulative win percentage of 66.2% over the previous three seasons, earning bettors a league-best $2,130 in profits over that span.However, in 2019-20, the Caps compiled an 18-15 SU record (54.5%). Paired with an average line of -188, that was enough to punish bettors.4. Toronto Maple Leafs, -$819Besides the Capitals, the Maple Leafs are the only team on this list that owned a winning record on home ice this season, albeit barely. Toronto went 18-16 SU (52.9%) but was undone by an inflated average line of -184. Only four teams had one shorter.Before Leafs fans blame Mike Babcock for this, it's worth noting they lost $387 (47% of $819) under Sheldon Keefe.5. Calgary Flames, -$806The Flames took a page out of the Predators' book, posting a winning record on their travels (20-17 SU) and a losing one at home (16-17). And like the Leafs, Calgary can't really blame its former coach. The Flames were 6-5 at home under Bill Peters and 10-12 at the Saddledome following his resignation.Alex Moretto is a sports betting writer for theScore. A journalism graduate from Guelph-Humber University, he has worked in sports media for over a decade. He will bet on anything from the Super Bowl to amateur soccer, is too impatient for futures, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

How much do you know about the NHL postseason and players who've won Lord Stanley's mug?Wednesday was supposed to be the start of this year's Stanley Cup Playoffs, but with hockey on hold for the foreseeable future, take the quiz below and see how your game stacks up against the competition.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Find out the latest on COVID-19's impact on the sports world and when sports are returning by subscribing to Breaking News push notifications in the Sports and COVID-19 section.Former Team Canada captain Hayley Wickenheiser and Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds are stepping up to help provide Canadian frontline health care workers with personal protective equipment as they continue to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.Wickenheiser, who is in her final year of medical school, said she'd been receiving texts from her friends in the field expressing their concerns about the shortage of equipment. When the Hall of Fame forward turned to social media to ask for help, Reynolds, a close friend, offered to help spread the call."It's been amazing," Wickenheiser told TSN's Gino Reda on Tuesday. "Some people have a lot to give and some people don't. Whether it's a dollar from a young student in India, to 200,000 masks coming up from Denver, people from all around the world have really (reached out). We've had 700 emails in 24 hours from folks that have legitimate things that they want to donate."The pair teamed up with Conquer COVID-19, a grassroots organization that's helping Canadian health care workers access PPE and other supplies to treat patients. Physicians and frontline workers can log onto the website to list what they need and the organization will try to deliver those items.

With sports on pause, theScore's redrafting 2015 across the Big Four - check out redrafts on MLB, NBA, and the NFL as we approach the five-year draft anniversaries.The 2015 draft is arguably the deepest in NHL history. The 2003 class may like to have a word, but draftees from '15 are littered across the league today. With this summer representing the five-year anniversary of that star-studded night in Sunrise, Florida, we decided to redraft the entire first round based on what we've learned since.1. Edmonton OilersOriginal pick: Connor McDavid

SC Bern of the National League in Switzerland has hired Florence Schelling as the team's new general manager, making her the first female GM in top-level men's pro hockey."In the evaluation process, we ended up with Florence Schelling," SC Bern CEO Marc Luthi said in a statement, according to ESPN's Emily Kaplan. "We came to the conclusion: Florence is the person we are looking for and want. Yes, Florence will be a pioneer, probably worldwide in her new role. But she's young, fresh, she'll bring a new perspective and break up existing structures."The 31-year-old has been Switzerland's starting goaltender for years, representing her country at 11 world championships and four Olympics. She was named tournament MVP in Sochi in 2014 after leading her team to a bronze medal.Schelling is also the first and only woman to play professionally with men in Switzerland, previously suiting up in the Men's National B League.SC Bern finished in ninth place out of 12 teams in 2019-20. The National League canceled the remainder of its season in March due to the coronavirus pandemic.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Find out the latest on COVID-19's impact on the sports world and when sports are returning by subscribing to Breaking News push notifications in the Sports and COVID-19 section.Florida Panthers netminder Sergei Bobrovsky was the first NHL player who made a donation to support part-time arena workers during the league's hiatus - a donation he believes was necessary."I tried to do the right thing," Bobrovsky said Tuesday, according to NHL.com's Nick Cotsonika. "The workers in the arena, they're a big part of our event, and they're a big part of our support, and there was the risk for them to lose their job and don't have the possibility to feed their family."Right now, it's a tough time for everybody, for the whole world, and for hockey as well."After the season was paused on March 12, the Panthers star donated $100,000 to support BB&T Center's part-time employees. He also recently donated thousands of N95 masks to South Florida hospitals.Meanwhile, Bobrovsky is quarantining at home and trying to stay ready for game action."For a goalie it's a little bit harder to train alone, especially (off) the ice," he said. "You need somebody to shoot on you. You need to see the puck, to read the players and stuff like that. At this point, at this moment, I don't have that possibility, so I can only build my body to be strong, to be fast, to be quick."Bobrovsky added that he's attempting to use the time off as an opportunity to get better. The 31-year-old struggled in his first season with the Panthers, putting together a 23-19-6 record with a 3.23 goals-against average and a .900 save percentage before the hiatus.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Calgary Flames general manager Brad Treliving is still optimistic about a return to the ice this season."We remain hopeful that at some point we'll be able to see what this team can accomplish if and when we get back together," Treliving said on a video conference call Tuesday, according to The Canadian Press.Treliving added that while he hopes for a return to hockey, he understands that it isn't a top priority in the world right now."What we're doing is way down on the list of important things. I've got family members, nieces and aunts, that are in the medical community," Treliving said. "The people on the front lines, we want to recognize them both in our city, our province, throughout the country, and globally."While reflecting on where Calgary stood prior to the league's hiatus, Treliving noted that the Flames were in third place in the Pacific Division, four points behind the Edmonton Oilers, and were scheduled to finish their season against their provincial rivals last Saturday."It's not lost on us Saturday night would have been a big night, the conclusion of the regular season and the final Battle of Alberta," Treliving said. "I'm sure there would have been lots of implications with that game and certainly leading up to start this week with the playoffs."Commissioner Gary Bettman said Tuesday that there is a possibility the regular season may not be completed, but that the league is still weighing its options amid the coronavirus pandemic.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Welcome to Puck Pursuit, an interview-style podcast hosted by John Matisz, theScore's national hockey writer.Subscribe to the show on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Spotify.Todd Humphrey, senior vice president of digital and fan experience for the still-to-be-named Seattle NHL franchise, joins the show to discuss a variety of topics, including:

Edmonton Oilers farmhand Colby Cave underwent emergency surgery Tuesday to remove a colloid cyst that was causing pressure on his brain, the team announced.Cave remains in a medically induced coma at Toronto's Sunnybrook Hospital.The 25-year-old's condition is not related to the coronavirus, his agent, Jason Davidson, told Sportsnet's Mark Spector.Cave played 11 games for the Oilers before the season was postponed. He's spent the majority of this campaign with the AHL's Bakersfield Condors.The forward, who's been with the Oilers for parts of the last two seasons, played in the Boston Bruins organization for five years to begin his career.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Find out the latest on COVID-19's impact on the sports world and when sports are returning by subscribing to Breaking News push notifications in the Sports and COVID-19 section.NHL commissioner Gary Bettman would like to complete the 2019-20 regular season once games are allowed to resume, but he's unsure if that option will still be on the table."The best thing - and the easiest thing - would be if at some point we could complete the regular season and then go into the playoffs as we normally do," Bettman told NBC Sports on Tuesday. "We understand that that may not be possible and that's why we're considering every conceivable alternative to deal with whatever the eventuality is."Again, it doesn't even pay to speculate because nobody in any of the sports knows enough now to make those profound decisions."When the NHL postponed play on March 12, every team had 14 or fewer games remaining in the regular season. On Tuesday, Bettman acknowledged that going straight to the playoffs could be unfair to bubble teams that believe they should have a shot to qualify.The commissioner added that while he's hopeful about salvaging the season, he understands the complexity of the situation at hand.“Our first focus is keeping everybody healthy and safe,” Bettman said. “We want to get back to playing for our fans, and for the love of the game, as soon as it makes sense and is safe to do so.”Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Find out the latest on COVID-19's impact on the sports world and when sports are returning by subscribing to Breaking News push notifications in the Sports and COVID-19 section.A third Colorado Avalanche player tested positive for COVID-19, the NHL announced Tuesday. The player is self-isolating and hasn't had close contact with other Avalanche players or staff.Eight players in the league have now tested positive, with five on the Ottawa Senators and three on the Avalanche.Last week, the NHL reportedly extended its self-quarantine period for players and staff until April 15.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Sports history is littered with great teams that dominated their regular seasons only to fall short of ultimate glory in the playoffs. Our writers are paying tribute to those teams who were Almost Famous. After tackling MLB in Part 1, the NHL's up next.Dynasties have long been one of my favorite things about sports. They're relatable to all fans and offer the fair-weather supporter either a bandwagon to hop on or something to complain about.When an NHL franchise has an opportunity to capture its third title in four years, fourth in six, or whatever number we feel constitutes a dynasty in that era, I'm all in. Why? Because sports are where we go to witness great feats, and a dynasty, at its core, is about a group of people accomplishing several great feats over a period longer than most can achieve. Dynasties are success to the extreme. They give us benchmarks, records, and history.M Hicks / Getty ImagesEnter the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings, who, had they won the Stanley Cup, would have sparked a heated debate. Detroit won in 1997 and 1998 and then again in 2002, so a 1996 Cup would have made it three championships in a row, and four titles over seven years, all accomplished with a handful of the same characters along for the ride.What separates this particular squad from a long list of excellent regular season teams that failed to win the Cup in the post-1967 expansion era - including recent entries like the 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning, 2010-11 Vancouver Canucks, 2009-10 Washington Capitals, and 2006-07 Buffalo Sabres - is, well, another long list. The 1995-96 Wings check off all the chef's kiss-worthy boxes associated with truly special teams.Led by captain Steve Yzerman and all-timer Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit finished the regular season with a 62-13-7 record and 131 points. This set a new mark for most wins in a single season (Tampa won 62 in 2018-19) and stands as the second-highest points total in a single season. The Wings had a whopping 27-point lead in the overall standings over the second-place Colorado Avalanche. Among the league's 26 teams, Detroit owned the league's best defense, third-best offense, top-ranked penalty kill, and second-ranked power play. This utter domination produced a plus-144 goal differential.Bruce Bennett / Getty ImagesSeven players from the 1995-96 roster are in the Hockey Hall of Fame: forwards Yzerman, Sergei Fedorov, Dino Ciccarelli, Igor Larionov, and defensemen Slava Fetisov, Paul Coffey, and Lidstrom. General manager Jim Devellano and head coach Scotty Bowman are also Hall inductees. Bowman, widely considered without equal in NHL coaching circles, took home his second and final Jack Adams Award in 1996 for molding and motivating such a feared, meticulous team."They're like bloodhounds. They smell blood and they go for the kill," is how CBC commentator Brian Hayward described Bowman's Wings during a playoff game. They were one of those rare teams capable of breaking through the defining characteristics of its era. In the clutch-and-grab NHL, they married high speed with puck control to dominate action at both ends. This wasn't a case of a group riding the coattails of a few superstars, either. Bowman, hired by the Wings in 1993, had plenty of intriguing options.The famous Russian Five of Larionov, Fedorov, Slava Kozlov, Fetisov, and Vladimir Konstantinov personified Detroit's brand of hockey. Borrowing from their collective experience with the Red Army team in the former Soviet Union, the five-man unit toyed with opponents, zooming the puck around with ease for long stretches of even-strength play. Their assigned positions were mere formalities in the free-flowing, puck-possession system Bowman allowed them to play.Fedorov led the 1995-96 Wings in scoring with 107 points in 78 games and also earned the second of three Selke trophies as best defensive forward. Yzerman, Coffey, Kozlov, and Larionov also recorded 70 or more points, while Keith Primeau, a towering power forward with soft hands, scored 27 goals, trailing Fedorov's 39, Yzerman's 36, and Kozlov's 36. A 35-year-old Ciccarelli, still a net-front monster, chipped in 22 goals in 64 games.Graig Abel / Getty ImagesA loveable troupe of role players and an understated goaltending tandem filled out Bowman's lineup card. All three members of the legendary Grind Line - Kris Draper between Kirk Maltby and Darren McCarty - were beginning to establish themselves as invaluable contributors. (Maltby was acquired via trade in March 1996.) Martin Lapointe and Stu Grimson provided grit and muscle on the wing. In goal, a young Chris Osgood appeared in 50 games, with 1989 Cup winner Mike Vernon serving as an overqualified backup in his second season in Detroit. The duo allowed only 181 goals in 82 games to claim the William Jennings Trophy.With a nearly identical roster, the 1994-95 Wings went on a deep playoff run, ultimately dropping four straight in the Cup final to the New Jersey Devils. That Red Wings team won the Presidents' Trophy in a lockout-shortened season and went 12-2 through the first three rounds, but couldn't finish the job against Martin Brodeur, Scott Stevens, and company. This dynamic led to a series of questions ahead of the 1996 postseason, especially: Would Yzerman, then 30 years old and in his 10th year as captain, finally win a Cup ring?In the first two rounds of the 1996 playoffs, it looked plausible. Detroit defeated the Winnipeg Jets in six games. Then they outlasted Wayne Gretzky, Brett Hull, and the St. Louis Blues in a hard-fought seven-game series. Detroit won the opening two games, lost the middle three, then won the final two. Yzerman scored the double-OT winner in Game 7, sending the Wings to Round 3 with a 1-0 win.The Western Conference final was a juicy matchup: Colorado versus Detroit, the two top regular-season teams. Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg versus Yzerman and Fedorov. The team that scored nine goals on Patrick Roy in the netminder's infamous last game in a Montreal Canadiens uniform versus the team that acquired Roy via trade from Montreal. Former Devils forward Claude Lemieux, the reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner, versus the Wings - again.That last matchup - Lemieux against a familiar foe - proved critical in a number of ways. In the first period of Game 6, Lemieux nailed Draper from behind, driving his face into the boards, earning a five-minute major in the process. But the Red Wings scored only once on the power play, and the Avalanche finished off Detroit hours later. Lemieux was eventually handed a two-game suspension, while Bowman's club was again left searching for answers, running out of gas against a dialed-in Avs club that would go on to win the Cup in four straight against the overmatched Florida Panthers. That it could happen after Yzerman's heroics in Game 7 against St. Louis, after the Yzerman moment the franchise had been waiting years for, made it all the more crushing.The Avs won their first Cup, but Lemieux's cheap shot on Draper is the lasting memory from the 1996 playoffs. It's the exact moment when a bubbling rivalry became a full-on fierce rivalry. Detroit-Colorado became must-see TV for the foreseeable future. Goalie fights and back-and-forth games; the two teams won four of the six next Cups, Detroit getting its revenge in every way in 1997. Tantalizing theater.Which begs the question: What's better - a dynasty or a rivalry? Hmm.John Matisz is theScore's national hockey writer.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Boston Bruins defenseman and pending unrestricted free agent Torey Krug said Tuesday he hopes the NHL's coronavirus-induced break doesn't mark the end of his time with the organization."For me personally, I really hope I did not play my last game as a Boston Bruin," Krug said on a conference call, according to Joe Haggerty of NBC Sports Boston. "It's been a special place for me and my family to grow. My love for the game and playing in front of these fans has been very special to me. But (this situation) hasn't given me any clarity."The 28-year-old is one of the top UFAs potentially available this summer."I can't put any assumptions on it, but I can only guess that things are going to look different from a salary-cap perspective next season," Krug said. "Team structures as well are going to be affected by it, but I have no clarity about it. ... It's just the reality of the situation."He added that there haven't been any negotiations with the Bruins since early March, but the two sides did open talks about a possible extension in October.The defenseman is in the final campaign of a four-year contract that carries a $5.25-million annual cap hit. The NHL's salary cap was projected to rise as high as $84 million before the pause, but the final figure is far from determined at this point.Krug signed with the Bruins as a college free agent out of Michigan State and played his first NHL game in 2012. He's racked up 337 points in 523 games, adding another 46 points in 62 career playoff contests.When the NHL went on pause March 12, the Bruins occupied first place with 100 points.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Find out the latest on COVID-19's impact on the sports world and when sports are returning by subscribing to Breaking News push notifications in the Sports and COVID-19 section.Bobby Orr is expressing his gratitude toward healthcare professionals in Boston battling the coronavirus pandemic.The hockey legend wrote a letter thanking workers at Massachusetts General Hospital. Here's the full note, which the hospital published Monday:

The Winnipeg Jets signed 2017 second-round pick Dylan Samberg to a three-year, entry-level contract with an average annual value of $1.175 million, the team announced Tuesday.Samberg spent the past three seasons at the University of Minnesota Duluth. He won back-to-back national championships with the Bulldogs and posted 21 points across 28 games in the 2019-20 campaign.The 21-year-old has also represented the United States at the world juniors on multiple occasions, capturing a bronze medal in 2018 and silver in 2019.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Find line reports, best bets, and subscribe to push notifications in the Betting News section.A week ago, we broke down the most profitable underdogs from the 2019-20 season.Now we visit the opposite end of that list, as we dive into the teams that just couldn't buy a win when the odds were stacked against them.Note: Profits listed for $100 bettor1. Detroit Red Wings, -$2,330Sheer volume makes the Red Wings runaway winners when it comes to the least profitable underdog in the NHL this season. If you bet $100 on Detroit every game it was a 'dog this season, you would have gifted books $2,330 of your hard-earned money. Only once throughout the entire season were the Red Wings favored, as they finished 17-53 on the campaign at plus-money. Stunningly, there was one team with a worse winning percentage as 'dogs this season, but more on that later ...2. Ottawa Senators, -$1,312The Senators were not that team. Ottawa finished 19-41 on the season with a longer line than its opponents. As big 'dogs, the Senators were a virtual lock to lose. They posted a 1-18 record (-$1,538) at +185 or longer. They were actually profitable when priced between +100 and +184, earning bettors $262 thanks to an 18-23 record.3. San Jose Sharks, -$889The 2019-20 season was an unmitigated disaster for the Sharks, who entered the season with Stanley Cup aspirations. Most of the damage was done in October, with the Sharks finishing the opening month of the season 1-7 as 'dogs (-$585). After bouncing back in November (4-0), they reached rock bottom in December, losing six in a row as 'dogs to start the month. Overall, the Sharks had the fourth-worst win percentage this season at plus-money (15-29, 34.1%).4. Arizona Coyotes, -$554A total of 11 teams in the league had worse records as underdogs this season than the Coyotes, who were done in by a short average line of +129. Nine of their 14 victories as 'dogs came with a line between -102 and +115, failing to erase enough from their 22 defeats to get them off this list.5. Toronto Maple Leafs, -$535The Maple Leafs owned the league's worst winning percentage as underdogs this season, posting a paltry 2-8 record at plus-money. They started the season 0-6 as 'dogs. The fact that they were underdogs just 10 times this season is revealing of the way they're perceived by the public; oddsmakers are forced to overvalue this team because of the attention it receives in the betting market.Alex Moretto is a sports betting writer for theScore. A journalism graduate from Guelph-Humber University, he has worked in sports media for over a decade. He will bet on anything from the Super Bowl to amateur soccer, is too impatient for futures, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Ottawa Senators are still the front-runners to sign KHL defenseman Artyom Zub, reports TSN's Darren Dreger.Zub, a 24-year-old right-handed shot, is coming off a season in which he posted a career-high 22 points in 57 games with SKA St. Petersburg.His 2019-20 campaign prematurely came to an end after one playoff game as the KHL canceled the remainder of its season in late March due to the coronavirus pandemic.Zub has represented Russia on the international level in numerous events, highlighted by a gold medal win at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have inked KHLer Alexander Barabanov to a one-year, entry-level contract for the 2020-21 season, the club announced Tuesday.Barabanov's deal is worth $925,000, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun. That's the exact amount Toronto paid Ilya Mikheyev when it signed him out of the same league last May.The Maple Leafs and Arizona Coyotes were reportedly the favorites to land Barabanov.The 25-year-old spent seven years in the KHL with SKA St. Petersburg, helping the team win the Gagarin Cup in 2015 and 2017. He produced a career-high 17 goals and 46 points across 58 games in 2018-19, but Barabanov managed only 11 goals and 20 points over 43 contests this season.He's represented Russia multiple times on the international stage, winning gold with the Olympic team in 2018, capturing bronze at the 2014 World Junior Hockey Championship, and playing at the World Championship on three occasions, winning bronze twice.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The 1980 All-Star Game was one of the most memorable in NHL history. It marked Gordie Howe's 23rd and final All-Star Game, and Wayne Gretzky's first. Other legends partaking in the contest included Phil and Tony Esposito, Bryan Trottier, Mike Bossy, Larry Robinson, Guy Lafleur, Gilbert Perreault, Marcel Dionne, and Darryl Sittler.Watch a replay of the stream below:Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Find out the latest on COVID-19's impact on the sports world and when sports are returning by subscribing to Breaking News push notifications in the Sports and COVID-19 section.Grand Forks, North Dakota, has been mentioned as a possible location for NHL postseason games, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported Sunday.Friedman added that nothing is imminent and that the NHL and NHL Players' Association are just "beginning to spitball scenarios." The two sides are expected to discuss other locations this week.Though several sites would be necessary, Ralph Engelstad Arena "makes sense," per Friedman. Home to the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks, the facility has eight NHL-ready locker rooms and two sheets of ice under one roof. Its location is also key amid the coronavirus pandemic, Friedman notes, as only three states - Montana, Wyoming, and Alaska - have lower population densities than North Dakota."The Ralph," as it's commonly called, has hosted large-scale hockey events before, including the 2005 World Junior Championship and the 2016 World Under-18s. In 2017, UND alumnus Zach Parise gave the facility high praise, dubbing its accommodations "better than every NHL locker room."North Dakota's willingness to host such events, hotel availability in Grand Forks, travel arrangements, and other necessary logistics are among the potential obstacles, Friedman added.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Find out the latest on COVID-19's impact on the sports world and when sports are returning by subscribing to Breaking News push notifications in the Sports and COVID-19 section.Milan Lucic's hopes of returning to the ice this season are dwindling."The optimism of getting back sooner than later, it's not there like it was a couple weeks ago," the Calgary Flames enforcer told TSN's Jermain Franklin.Lucic said he'd been "really excited" to potentially return to the playoffs after falling short in his last two years with the Edmonton Oilers.When action was halted on March 12, the Flames held third place in the Pacific Division. Lucic added that he'd play in empty arenas during the postseason if that's what it takes."If it comes down to playing with no fans, because that's the only option, I'm definitely all-in for that," he said.In any case, the NHL won't return to Calgary anytime soon, as the city has implemented a ban that prohibits large events, including pro sports games, until June 30. Meanwhile, the league has reportedly asked teams about arena availability in August.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Find out the latest on COVID-19's impact on the sports world and when sports are returning by subscribing to Breaking News push notifications in the Sports and COVID-19 section.Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot and teams in the city are making it clear where they stand on the potential return of sports in the near future.On Monday, Lightfoot and all professional sports franchises in Chicago unveiled a new awareness campaign, "We Are Not Playing," which encourages the public to comply with stay-at-home restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic, reports ESPN's Michele Steele. Those teams have agreed to use their platforms and players to communicate the messaging."We'd rather be here in Soldier Field, or Wrigley, or Sox park, or at the United Center, or Wintrust (Arena), cheering on our players and having a good time with our friends, but this crisis has changed almost everything - and particularly our sports," Lightfoot said. "Coming to these parks would be dangerous and deadly to ourselves and our city."

Find line reports, best bets, and subscribe to push notifications in the Betting News section.Last week, we broke down the favorites that made bettors the most money this season, with the Philadelphia Flyers topping the charts.Today, we'll look at the ones that simply didn't come through and made the biggest dent in betting profits.Note: Profits listed for $100 bettor1. Montreal Canadiens, -$1,617The only team with a worse winning percentage as a favorite this year is the Detroit Red Wings, who are 0-1. The Canadiens are a paltry 15-20 (42.9%) when laying juice, dealing bettors an absolute beating with an inflated average line of -150.Two factors that have absolutely killed the Canadiens are their records as home favorites (10-16, -$1,535) and against the Red Wings (0-4, -$800).2. Nashville Predators, -$1,324Despite spending the duration of the season out of a playoff spot, the Predators have been constantly overvalued by oddsmakers with an average line of -157 when favored. They're 25-25 as favorites, making them one of just eight teams with a winning percentage of 50 or lower in this spot.However, all of the bleeding came with Peter Laviolette as head coach. The Predators were 13-17 (-$1,467) as favorites before he was fired on Jan. 6.3. Washington Capitals, -$1,024The Capitals came in at fifth on our list of most profitable underdogs, so it's not much of a surprise to see them here. When they were favored this season, it was often by a lot, as only two teams managed to top their average line of -173.Washington actually had a winning record as the favorite, finishing 29-24, but having to consistently lay that much juice did bettors in.4. Vegas Golden Knights, -$762No team on this list has a better record as the favorite this campaign than the Golden Knights, who are 34-24 (58.6%). For Vegas, it's something of a tale of two seasons: the Golden Knights were 22-19 (-$1,081) as favorites under Gerard Gallant and 12-5 (+$319) under Peter DeBoer, who took over Jan. 15.If the season resumes, Vegas might play itself off this list.5. Anaheim Ducks, -$697The Ducks have been favored less often than any other team on this list and are level with the Canadiens for the second-worst win percentage when laying juice (42.9%, 9-12).Anaheim has lost bettors nearly $1,000 less than Montreal has, though, thanks to being favored in essentially half as many games. It's also been the beneficiary of an average line of just -129 as the favorite.Alex Moretto is a sports betting writer for theScore. A journalism graduate from Guelph-Humber University, he has worked in sports media for over a decade. He will bet on anything from the Super Bowl to amateur soccer, is too impatient for futures, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Pittsburgh Penguins forward Patrick Marleau is itching for a chance to compete for the Stanley Cup with his new club."It's a great opportunity for myself to get another shot at winning the Cup with the Penguins," Marleau said during a Zoom call on Monday. "Everything has been great with the organization, they've helped every step of the way. I'm looking forward to getting out of the house, and get back to normal and get out there and start playing again."The Penguins acquired Marleau at the February trade deadline, but the 40-year-old veteran appeared in just eight games with the team before the season was suspended March 12 due to the coronavirus pandemic.Competing in his 22nd NHL campaign, Marleau ranks fifth all time in regular-season games played (1,723) and has suited up in an additional 191 playoff contests, but he's yet to capture a championship.Despite his quest for the Cup, Marleau understands public safety remains the No. 1 priority and encouraged everyone to follow the appropriate protocol while self-isolating."Wash your hands for 20 seconds, don't touch your face when you go out. If you do have to go out to the grocery store do the essentials only and practice social distancing. I think the sooner we do all the right things, the sooner we'll be able to be in front of the fans and enjoy playing again and being with the fans."Led by franchise talents Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the Penguins have captured three Stanley Cups since 2009, including back-to-back titles in 2016 and '17, with the former coming against Marleau's old team, the San Jose Sharks.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The NHL offseason is not technically underway yet, but the league's pause presents a good time to ask one pressing offseason question for each Metropolitan Division team.Central | Atlantic | PacificCarolina HurricanesBruce Bennett / Getty Images Sport / GettyQ: Will the Hurricanes take a run at Robin Lehner?The Canes have no pressing needs to fill this summer, boasting impressive depth both up front and on the back end. However, an upgrade between the pipes wouldn't hurt.James Reimer and Petr Mrazek are both under contract for one more season, but they garnered mixed reviews in 2019-20. Reimer was solid, but Mrazek was mediocre at best.With cap space at his disposal, general manager Don Waddell could pursue Lehner, whom he sniffed around for prior to the trade deadline. While overpaying for goaltenders is never a good idea, Lehner is one of the league's best, and he would push the Hurricanes from a strong team to a legitimate Cup contender.Columbus Blue JacketsJamie Sabau / National Hockey League / GettyQ: Will the Blue Jackets trade Josh Anderson?After the trade deadline passed, TSN's Pierre LeBrun said: "I think there's a strong possibility" Anderson gets dealt this offseason.Anderson is coming off a lost campaign in which he skated in just 26 games due to injury and registered only four points. In 2018-19, he potted 27 goals, and the 6-foot-3, 222-pound winger was considered up there with Tom Wilson and Evander Kane as one of the league's top true power forwards.The 25-year-old is a pending restricted free agent and could become an unrestricted free agent after next season. The Blue Jackets have $15 million in projected cap space, but they have a handful of other pending RFAs due for raises, including Pierre-Luc Dubois and Elvis Merzlikins.The problem with trading Anderson now is the Blue Jackets would be selling low. But if they re-sign him to a one-year deal, he'd likely walk in free agency in 2021. GM Jarmo Kekalainen has a tough decision to make.New Jersey DevilsAndy Marlin / National Hockey League / GettyQ: Who will be hired as the team's new GM?There aren't any questions that can be asked about the Devils' offseason before there's a person in charge to make the decisions.Interim GM Tom Fitzgerald appears to be the clear front-runner for the permanent job. He's been with the club since 2015 and he's a coveted executive, as he was approached by both the Wild and Hurricanes for their recent GM vacancies.However, even though there's an obvious successor to Ray Shero in place, that hasn't stopped the Devils from exploring all of their options. The team reportedly interviewed former Canucks GM Mike Gillis and has plans to interview other candidates once the season is officially over.New York IslandersBruce Bennett / Getty Images Sport / GettyQ: What will Mathew Barzal's contract look like?Barzal's the best RFA set to hit the open market. Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello said he'll match any offer sheet for his star pivot, but with only $12.6 million in projected cap space, a team with lots of flexibility could theoretically sign Barzal to an offer sheet that's too expensive for the Isles.However, Lamoriello has a reputation as a stern negotiator. He's unlikely to give in to the player before July 1. Barzal, though, is one of the game's elite talents and could realistically demand Mitch Marner money (six years, average annual value of $10.893 million). He's worth it, too.A short-term bridge deal would make sense for both sides. The Isles would get Barzal at a lower AAV during their window to compete, and Barzal could get a chance to cash in again in two-to-three years. The AAV should still be relatively high, though. Even on a bridge deal, anything below $8 million would be an absolute bargain.New York RangersIcon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / GettyQ: How will the goaltending situation play out?The Rangers currently have three goalies in the fold: Igor Shesterkin, Alexandar Georgiev, and Henrik Lundqvist. That's too many cooks in the kitchen.Shesterkin is the goalie of both the present and future, so he isn't going anywhere. Lundqvist has one more year left on his contract, carrying a monstrous $8.5-million cap hit New York would love to see disappear. Georgiev, meanwhile, is a pending RFA.In a perfect world, Lundqvist retires and the Rangers can roll with the two young Russians. That seems unlikely to happen, though. The Rangers could buy out Lundqvist, but would they do that to a franchise icon?Trading Georgiev would seem like the way to go. However, New York's asking price for the 24-year-old appears to be ridiculously high. Something has to give. Going another season with three netminders is not a viable option.Philadelphia FlyersIcon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / GettyQ: Will Shayne Gostisbehere get moved?Gostisbehere has fallen out of favor in Philly. The 26-year-old tallied just 12 points in 42 games and was routinely a healthy scratch for the club this season. However, he's just two years removed from a 65-point campaign, and his $4.5-million cap hit through 2022-23 is quite enticing for other teams.Trading Gostisbehere this offseason would be selling low, but his departure would give the Flyers more flexibility to re-sign fellow defensemen Justin Braun (UFA), Robert Hagg (RFA), and Philippe Myers (RFA).Dealing Gostisbehere would've seemed unthinkable two years ago, but the emergence of Ivan Provorov and Travis Sanheim has made him expendable. It's time for Gostisbehere to get a fresh start.Pittsburgh PenguinsGerry Thomas / National Hockey League / GettyQ: Will the Penguins decide on a goalie of the future?The Penguins are fairly tight against the cap and both Matt Murray and Tristan Jarry are RFAs with arbitration rights after this season. GM Jim Rutherford may be forced to pick one goalie and trade the other, especially considering he has a quality backup in Casey DeSmith (career .917 save percentage in the NHL) sitting in the minors on a team-friendly deal (AAV of $1.25 million through 2022).If the Pens keep both Jarry and Murray, they'll almost certainly lose one of them to Seattle in the expansion draft.Murray is coming off a rough season with a .899 save percentage, but if Pittsburgh wants to bring him back, it seems unlikely he'd come cheaper than his current AAV of $3.75 million. It'd be tough to trade Murray, though, considering he helped the Pens win back-to-back Stanley Cups and is still just 25 years old.Jarry, meanwhile, played for just $675,000 this season but is due for a significant raise after posting a .921 save percentage in 33 games. If you're going by recency bias, Jarry, 24, is the goalie to keep, but he's still far less proven than Murray.Of course, perhaps Rutherford can sign them both, roll out the tandem for another year, and accept the fact he'll probably lose one of them to Seattle.Washington CapitalsPatrick Smith / Getty Images Sport / GettyQ: What will the Caps do with Braden Holtby coming off the books?The expiration of Holtby's contract gives Washington some options this offseason. The former Vezina Trophy winner was carrying a $6.1-million cap hit but his play between the pipes deteriorated, as he sported a .897 save percentage this season and was drastically outplayed by rookie Ilya Samsonov.The Capitals have nearly $13 million in projected cap space this summer and almost the entire team under contract for next season, with the exception of Holtby, Radko Gudas, Ilya Kovalchuk, and a few inexpensive RFAs.If GM Brian MacLellan is comfortable handing the reins to Samsonov, he could sign a cheap backup goalie and make a splash in free agency on a one-year deal. Alex Ovechkin and Jakub Vrana will need new contracts after next season, so MacLellan can't overpay someone beyond 2021. But for the first time in a while, the Caps have the flexibility to make some noise in free agency.(Salary source: CapFriendly)Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The NHL offseason is not technically underway yet, but the league's pause presents a good time to ask one pressing offseason question for each Central Division team.Metropolitan | Atlantic | PacificChicago BlackhawksJohn Russell / National Hockey League / GettyQ: How far can they go with the current mix?The Blackhawks are stuck in the middle. At times during the 2019-20 campaign, Chicago looked destined for a high lottery pick, yet there were stretches when a wild-card berth seemed like a possibility. The club still gets solid contributions from its championship core and has infused promising young talent such as Alex DeBrincat, Kirby Dach, and Adam Boqvist into the lineup, but can the windows between the old and new generations align for another run?General manager Stan Bowman won't have a ton of options to improve the roster this offseason. His recent track record in trades is underwhelming, and despite icing a team outside the playoff picture, he doesn't have much cap space to bring in help via free agency - especially given Chicago doesn't yet have a goalie under contract for next season.Colorado AvalancheDave Sandford / National Hockey League / GettyQ: What will they do with all that cap space?Joe Sakic has built a Stanley Cup-ready roster while doing a tremendous job of not surrendering many assets. He doesn't necessarily need to spend big this offseason, but he could if he wants to. The Avalanche project to have just over $24 million in available cap space this offseason, and while they'll have a number of players to re-sign, none of them should command big dollars, leaving plenty of spending room. Taylor Hall, anyone?That's probably a pie-in-the-sky fantasy, but it's feasible enough to dream about. And if big-game hunting isn't Sakic's style, he can still add more affordable pieces to make this team even scarier.Dallas StarsGlenn James / National Hockey League / GettyQ: Can they find goal-scorers?The Stars were in good shape to qualify for the playoffs before the season slammed on its brakes, but they certainly weren't bringing fans out of their seats. Dallas plays a relentless defensive game and boasts one of the best goaltending tandems in the NHL with Ben Bishop and Anton Khudobin, but the team also ranked 29th in goals for, ahead of only the Los Angeles Kings (by a single tally) and the lowly Detroit Red Wings. Confounding down years from core players Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, and Alex Radulov certainly didn't help.The Stars' stingy style of play can frustrate opponents on any given night, but they'll need to find offensive reinforcements to continue keeping up with their Central Division adversaries. Jim Nill tried to find scoring last offseason by bringing in veterans Corey Perry and Joe Pavelski, but neither player made much of an impact in 2019-20. It's time for Nill to get creative and try again because 2.5 goals per game won't cut it as a Cup contender.Minnesota WildBruce Kluckhohn / National Hockey League / GettyQ: Will they splurge on a new head coach?During his brief stint as Wild coach, Dean Evason has done a nice job, leading the club to an 8-4 record since the surprising dismissal of Bruce Boudreau in February. Is that enough for Minnesota to commit to Evason for next season while there are so many big-name coaches looking for employment?Mike Babcock, Gerrard Gallant, Peter Laviolette are all available, and any of them would be big gets for a retooling Minnesota team. General manager Bill Guerin said the WIld won't interview candidates during the league's hiatus, but will that change when the real offseason comes?Nashville PredatorsIcon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / GettyQ: Is this it for Pekka Rinne in Nashville?After a 14-year run, the writing could be on the wall for Rinne's impressive tenure with the Predators. The 37-year-old started just six of Nashville's 21 games before the pause, and he was mired in the worst season of his career, owning an .895 save percentage and a 3.17 goals-against average. Making matters worse for Rinne, heir apparent Juuse Saros was sensational after John Hynes took over as head coach, helping push Nashville back into the playoff mix.Rinne has one season remaining on his contract at a $5-million cap hit, and it remains to be seen if he'd be content finishing his career as a backup with the only team he's ever suited up for. Nashville won't have an easy time moving him either, as Rinne has a modified no-trade clause in his deal that allows him to select 10 potential destinations.No matter how it plays out, the Predators are facing a difficult scenario involving the most iconic player in franchise history.St. Louis BluesBruce Bennett / Getty Images Sport / GettyQ: Will Alex Pietrangelo hit open market?Whenever the free-agent market opens, Pietrangelo's status will be one of the most intriguing storylines to monitor. The Blues captain is set to become a UFA, and he has every right to command a pricey deal that St. Louis may not be able to afford. That said, Pietrangelo is also the heart and soul of the franchise, which is coming off a Stanley Cup win in 2018-19. Would he really want to leave?The Blues are projected to have $10 million in cap space for next season if there's a limit of $84 million, and they also need to sign RFA defenseman Vince Dunn along with a few other depth pieces. Pietrangelo is likely to earn between $8 million and $10 million annually on his next deal, and he's earned the right to request a long-term pact from the franchise he's been with since 2008.Will Doug Armstrong move someone out to clear cap room for his club's leader, or is a lucky team going to land a premier top-pairing blue-liner in free agency?Winnipeg JetsJonathan Kozub / National Hockey League / GettyQ: Will the Dustin Byfuglien saga be resolved?This has been a pressing question for the Jets throughout the 2019-20 campaign, and it'll be important for the club and Byfuglien to find a solution this offseason.The towering blue-liner was suspended without pay for failing to attend training camp, and the two sides were reportedly working toward a contract termination prior to the trade deadline. During the saga, Byfuglien underwent ankle surgery, and the NHLPA filed a grievance on his behalf after the defender claimed his injury never fully healed from a 2018-19 ailment despite the Jets deeming him healthy.Can Winnipeg finally find closure after all these months? Could it come via trade? Is Byfuglien healthy enough to play, and if he is, does he even want to? Finding these answers will be among the top offseason priorities for Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The NHL offseason is not technically underway yet, but the league's pause presents a good time to ask one pressing offseason question for each Atlantic Division team.Metropolitan | Central | PacificBoston BruinsRich Lam / Getty Images Sport / GettyQ: What will happen with Torey Krug?Krug is Boston's most important, and one of the league's most intriguing, pending unrestricted free agents. The diminutive blue-liner has averaged 53 points per 82 games in his career.The Bruins have a projected $22.7 million in cap space, but they also have multiple other pending free agents, most notably Jake DeBrusk, who's coming off his entry-level deal. Krug, who earned $5.25 million per year on his last deal, should receive upwards of $7 million per season on his next pact.Boston has a knack for retaining its players on team-friendly deals (including Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, and Charlie McAvoy). Will Krug follow suit? Or will he try and cash in on the open market?Buffalo SabresSara Schmidle / National Hockey League / GettyQ: Two-part question: Which defenseman will be moved, and how will they acquire a second-line center?The Sabres have to do two things this offseason: trade a defenseman; acquire a second-line center. Only time will tell if both can happen in the same move.The UFA market doesn't have the solution, unless you're a believer in Carl Soderberg, Derick Brassard, or Erik Haula. Internally, although the line of Victor Olofsson, Marcus Johansson, and Dominik Kahun gelled together well toward the end of the season, Johansson is better suited on the wing, not as a second-line center. Former top-10 pick Casey Mittelstadt has been a flop thus far.There's also a logjam defensively, specifically on the right side, with Rasmus Ristolainen, Brandon Montour, Henri Jokiharju, and Colin Miller in the fold. Ristolainen seems most likely to be moved, but he alone won't be enough to land a quality pivot. General manager Jason Botterill will have to get creative.Detroit Red WingsIcon Sportswire / Getty ImagesQ: Will Steve Yzerman start leaving his mark?Stevie Y has been the Red Wings' GM for nearly a full calendar year, but he's yet to make a splash. He's executed nine trades with Detroit, but only two (landing Robby Fabbri from the Blues and sending Andreas Athanasiou to the Oilers) have been of any significance.How patient will Yzerman be? He essentially kept the same club last summer and it worked as planned (?), as the Red Wings finished dead last in the NHL this season, ensuring them the best odds of drafting first overall. He didn't have much of a choice, though, as Detroit was hemmed in by cap constraints. This offseason, he'll have a projected $37.7 million in cap space.The Wings have a handful of restricted free agents to re-sign, most notably Anthony Mantha, Tyler Bertuzzi, and Fabbri. But Yzerman will still have plenty of money left over to make substantial improvements through free agency if he decides to be aggressive. Whether he wants to fast-track the rebuild or be content with collecting high draft picks for another couple of years remains to be seen.Florida PanthersEliot J. Schechter / National Hockey League / GettyQ: Will the Panthers break up their core?Though much of the Panthers' struggles this season can be placed on netminder Sergei Bobrovsky, it's safe to say the group as a whole underachieved. The club was aggressive last summer, bringing in Bobrovsky, defenseman Anton Stralman, forwards Brett Connolly and Noel Acciari, and head coach Joel Quenneville, but Florida still wasn't in a playoff spot before the season's hiatus.Center Vincent Trocheck was traded at the deadline for a suboptimal return, but Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman wondered in a March edition of his "31 Thoughts" column whether bigger changes could follow: "There are many potential changes on and off the ice," he wrote, "but what has other GMs buzzing is a belief the Panthers will strongly consider breaking up their core because the mix hasn't worked. Was the Vincent Trocheck deal just the tip of the iceberg?"Trading Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, or Aaron Ekblad would seem unthinkable. Keith Yandle has a no-movement clause, so it's unlikely to think he'd be willing to leave tax-free Florida. Mike Hoffman and Evgeni Dadonov, the other key members of the Panthers' core, are pending UFAs. What can be done to shake up the core? Would they let both Hoffman and Dadonov walk in free agency? That seems to be as dramatic as it might get.Montreal CanadiensMinas Panagiotakis / Getty Images Sport / GettyQ: Will Marc Bergevin go RFA hunting again?Bergevin stunned the hockey world last summer when he signed Sebastian Aho to a five-year, $42.27-million offer sheet. The shock was for two reasons: There hadn't been an offer sheet since 2013; the low-ball offer was a joke for a player of Aho's caliber. The Hurricanes didn't have to think twice before matching.However, perhaps the Canadiens GM has learned from this experience. Maybe he'll go after another RFA this summer and do what's necessary by overpaying so the opposing team is unable - or unwilling - to match.Montreal is in a good spot to go all-in for an RFA. The club has over $20 million in projected cap space, only one key free agent of its own in Max Domi (RFA), and plenty of draft picks. Plus, there's an incentive to win while Shea Weber and Carey Price are still effective players.Realistically, the Habs may be one dynamic forward, one quality defenseman, and a red-hot Price away from a team that could go on a deep playoff run. Yes, that's a lot to ask, but they can realistically sign an RFA to fill one of those holes. The Canadiens have the pockets to make life uncomfortable for the Islanders or Lightning if they sign Mathew Barzal or Mikhail Sergachev to an offer sheet. Both clubs are cap-strapped enough where they could have trouble matching a rich-enough offer.Ottawa SenatorsVaughn Ridley / Getty Images Sport / GettyQ: Will the lottery balls fall their way?This upcoming draft is undoubtedly the most important in Senators history. The club has seven selections in the first two rounds, including its own first-round pick and San Jose's first-rounder, giving them the second- and third-best odds, respectively, at the No. 1 overall pick.If Ottawa can win the lottery, selecting dynamic winger Alexis Lafreniere would speed up the rebuild and help fill the seats. If the club lands picks Nos. 2 and 3, snagging a potential franchise center in Quinton Byfield, plus either Tim Stutzle, Jamie Drysdale, or somebody else, the team will have an exceptional long-term outlook.However, if both of Ottawa's picks fall a few spots, landing a star player or two becomes much less of a guarantee. This would be a big blow to an organization in desperate need of high-end talent.Tampa Bay LightningIcon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / GettyQ: How will the Lightning stay cap compliant?Julien BriseBois has a tough task ahead. The Lightning have only $7.8 million in projected cap space and five pending RFAs. Two of them - Anthony Cirelli and Mikhail Sergachev - will not come cheap. It's obvious the Lightning will need to move a contract in order to sign Cirelli and Sergachev, but that could prove to be difficult.Eight of Tampa's 15 players under contract next season have a no-trade clause. Of the seven players without trade protection, only three make more than $1.8 million: Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, and Andrei Vasilevskiy. That trio isn't going anywhere.Ideally, the Lightning could trade Ondrej Palat ($5.3M), Yanni Gourde ($5.16M), or Tyler Johnson ($5M), but it's unlikely any of them would be willing to waive their full no-trade clauses to leave sunny, tax-free Florida. On July 1 (or whenever the new league year commences), Alex Killorn's full trade protection becomes a 16-team no-trade list. Even though he's coming off a career year and his $4.45-million cap hit is team-friendly, he'll likely be dealt via the process of elimination.Toronto Maple LeafsAndrew Francis Wallace / Toronto Star / GettyQ: How will the defense be addressed?It's no secret the Maple Leafs could stand to improve their blue line. Tyson Barrie and Cody Ceci are both pending UFAs and it's highly unlikely they'll be brought back. At least one defenseman needs to be added, but the club has just over $7 million in projected cap space, and RFAs Travis Dermott and Ilya Mikheyev are due for moderate raises.Targeting Alex Pietrangelo in free agency seems impossible at this point. Even lesser names, such as Travis Hamonic, Radko Gudas, or Dylan Demelo, would be tough to fit under the cap unless the Leafs move out a contract.Toronto does have plenty of depth on the wings, which could make Andreas Johnsson ($3.4M) or Kasperi Kapanen ($3.2M) expendable. The Leafs seem most likely to trade one of these wingers as part of a package for a top-four D-man, but it won't be easy.(Salary source: CapFriendly)Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The NHL offseason is not technically underway yet, but the league's pause presents a good time to ask one pressing offseason question for each Pacific Division team.Metropolitan | Central | AtlanticAnaheim DucksIcon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / GettyQ: What's the direction?Since winning four consecutive division titles from 2014-17, the Ducks have been stuck between a re-tool and a full-scale rebuild. After the team entered the league pause sitting 27th in the standings, scorching the earth in Anaheim appears to be the best option moving forward. Whether the organization feels the same remains to be seen.The Ducks currently don't have any skaters to truly build around, and superstar netminder John Gibson is coming off the worst season of his career. World juniors and Boston University star Trevor Zegras headlines a solid group of prospects, but continuing to add legitimate young assets through the draft is a must for general manager Bob Murray.Anaheim doesn't have an easy way out of its present mess and hasn't shown much - if any - desire to start from scratch. Is this the offseason the Ducks choose their path?Arizona CoyotesBruce Bennett / Getty ImagesQ: How severe will their punishment be?The Coyotes could face major consequences for their alleged recruitment infractions after the club was accused of performing illegal fitness testing on draft-eligible players.Arizona reportedly committed 20-plus violations and could face fines and draft-pick forfeitures as a result. The former could have especially large implications for the small-market Coyotes, as each infraction could apparently carry a fine of $250,000 or more. There's no firm timeline on when a verdict may come down, but losing that much money - along with draft selections - in an offseason that likely follows a non-playoff campaign would be a massive hit for the organization.Calgary FlamesDerek Leung / National Hockey League / GettyQ: Who returns on defense?Barring any contract extensions, the Flames will head into the offseason with defenders Travis Hamonic, TJ Brodie, Derek Forbort, Erik Gustafsson, and Michael Stone all hitting unrestricted free agency. Oliver Kylington is in need of a new deal too, but he's under team control as a restricted free agent.That leaves four Calgary blue-liners under contract for 2020-21, and a projected $19.4 million to fill the holes at the back as well as up front, according to CapFriendly. Keep in mind, the salary cap for next season is completely up in the air as the NHL continues to navigate the COVID-19 hiatus, so there's a realistic chance the Flames are dealing with a tighter budget than was once imagined.Due to those financial constraints, general manager Brad Treliving won't be able to keep everybody. So who will he choose? The Flames nearly dealt Brodie last offseason in a trade nixed by former Toronto Maple Leafs center Nazem Kadri. Hamonic, meanwhile, is a solid right-side option who shouldn't break the bank. Gustafsson only played seven games with his new club after Calgary traded for him at the deadline, so perhaps he'll be offered a new contract at a team-friendly price.Edmonton OilersCodie McLachlan / Getty Images Sport / GettyQ: What will they do to maintain success?It was playoffs or bust for the Oilers in 2019-20, and Edmonton appeared destined to achieve its goal and take a critical step forward in organizational growth before the season was stopped in its tracks in mid-March. How does Ken Holland ensure his club's playoff trajectory this season isn't a one-off like it was in 2016-17 - thus far the lone campaign of the Connor McDavid era to extend into the spring?Holland made a series of savvy moves at the deadline to give Edmonton real depth behind McDavid and Leon Draisaitl for the first time, and maintaining that strategy is imperative for further success. Signing restricted free agent Andreas Athanasiou to a new deal seems like a no-brainer, but what else can be done?The Oilers will need to continue finding cheap reinforcements up front and on the blue line while letting youngsters like Kailer Yamamoto, Ethan Bear, and, eventually, Evan Bouchard develop into NHL contributors. Perhaps the biggest factor, though, is in goal. Will Mike Smith sign on for another year, or is Mikko Koskinen the No. 1 after the offseason?Los Angeles KingsJeff Vinnick / National Hockey League / GettyQ: How deep can the prospect pool get?There's virtually nothing the Kings can do before the 2020-21 campaign to thrust themselves into contender status, but Rob Blake's plan to stockpile as many prospects as possible looks set to continue full steam ahead this offseason. Los Angeles already boasts arguably the deepest prospect pool of any NHL team, headlined by the likes of Alex Turcotte, Arthur Kaliyev, Samuel Fagemo, Gabe Vilardi, and several other blue-chip players.Blake has 11 picks at his disposal for the 2020 NHL Draft, including eight through the first four rounds, and his team has a good chance to earn a top-three selection. Is there such a thing as having too many good young players? Kudos to Blake and the Kings, because they seem intent on finding out.San Jose SharksEzra Shaw / Getty ImagesQ: How do they get back on track?The 2019-20 campaign was a disappointment of epic proportions for the Sharks. One season after advancing to the Western Conference Final, San Jose was a lock to miss the playoffs for just the second time since 1997 - and it wasn't even close. The club occupied 29th place in the league standings at the pause.Despite a strong veteran roster, the Sharks' season was cratered by injuries to key players and the NHL's second-worst save percentage - a dreadful .894 clip in all situations, according to Natural Stat Trick. Finding a new solution in goal has to be priority No. 1 for Doug Wilson, but it won't be an easy task. Martin Jones has four more years on a contract carrying a $5.75-million cap hit, and he's torpedoed his trade value with back-to-back poor campaigns.Wilson did add a 2020 first-round pick at the deadline, but dealing it to address goaltending - either as a sweetener to move Jones or as part of a package to add someone else - would leave his club with just two picks through the first four rounds of the upcoming draft. He'll need to get creative.Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / GettyVancouver CanucksQ: What does Jacob Markstrom sign for?Before the pandemic derailed the NHL season, an injury to Jacob Markstrom was in the process of sinking the Canucks' playoff hopes. The 30-year-old went down in late February and Vancouver managed only one regulation win in eight games without him. Before that, Markstrom played a huge role in pushing his club into the postseason picture, posting a 23-16-4 record with a .918 save percentage. Now, it's time for a new contract.Jim Benning has built a promising group in front of the netminder, but at this stage of the club's development, Markstrom is the Canucks' most important player. Still, Benning has to be wise about the contract. Giving a veteran goalie excess term is always risky, and while Markstrom deserves a hefty raise from his current $3.66-million cap hit, Vancouver will need plenty left over to pay Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes before the 2021-22 season.It's a delicate dilemma, and Benning has to get it right.Vegas Golden KnightsEthan Miller / Getty Images Sport / GettyQ: Will they keep Robin Lehner?The Golden Knights made a highly surprising yet savvy move at February's deadline, prying Lehner from the Blackhawks for a package built around a second-round pick. The acquisition gave Vegas, which occupied first place in the division at the pause, arguably the NHL's most formidable goaltending tandem in Lehner and Marc-Andre Fleury. With the former set for unrestricted free agency and the latter under contract for two more years at $7 million annually, will the Golden Knights find a way to keep both?For whatever reason, both of Lehner's previous teams - the Blackhawks and Islanders - balked at a long-term commitment despite his strong numbers and his demonstrated desire to stay with each club. Fleury, on the other hand, is a fan favorite who didn't play up to his usual standards in 2019-20, compiling a .905 save percentage through 48 starts.Lehner, 28, represents the perfect succession plan for the 35-year-old Fleury, but he'll have plenty of suitors who can likely offer him a larger role and potentially more money if he reaches free agency. If Lehner agrees to stay in Vegas, the team will be an even more potent powerhouse. If he goes, it may feel like the Golden Knights let a golden opportunity slip away.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Find out the latest on COVID-19's impact on the sports world and when sports are returning by subscribing to Breaking News push notifications in the Sports and COVID-19 section.A tribute for the victims of the 2017-18 Humboldt Broncos bus crash will be held online due to COVID-19 restrictions.The tribute will recognize the two-year anniversary of the accident that killed 16 people and injured 13 more. It will be held Monday at 2 p.m. ET on the city's website.The city originally planned to create a temporary exhibit comprised of memorabilia received following the tragedy.“In the midst of all the turmoil in the present world we want to make sure the lives lost and those that were changed forever two years ago are not forgotten,” Humboldt mayor Rob Muench said in a statement. “During this time of self-isolating and practicing physical distancing, it’s important to us that people still have a place to go to reflect and remember the tragedy and the outpouring of support that our community received on a global scale.”Humboldt's St. Augustine Catholic Church will ring its bells at 4:50 p.m. on Monday in recognition of the approximate time that the accident occurred.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid is challenging kids to stay fit while stuck inside.McDavid and his trainer, former NHL forward Gary Roberts, are starting a workout video series on their social media channels this week.

Hall of Fame defenseman Paul Coffey had to play through some of the hardest hitting days of the NHL. As a fan of what today's game has turned into, he's still yearning for the grittiness to return."The one thing I wish - and can I say again I love watching the game, it's great - I wish there was more hitting," Coffey said on Sportsnet's "Writer's Bloc" podcast. "I wasn't a hitter, but I’ll tell you what, if I had my proverbial head up my rear-end one game and I wasn't into it and somebody hit me, it certainly woke me up real fast. I think that part of the game is gone."Coffey further explained his reasoning for wanting the bigger hits to return."You put traffic, you start hitting guys, game gets a lot more interesting," he added. "The real players come out to play, the real players know how to think in traffic and that was an exciting part of the game that I don't know if it'll ever come back."Coffey, 58, ranks second among defensemen all time in goals, assists, and points, racking up 396 goals and 1,531 points in 1,409 career games. He also holds the record for the most goals by a defenseman in a season, popping in 48 in 1985-86.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews hopped on Instagram Live with his friend Justin Bieber on Sunday.The pair initially spoke about the Netflix hits "Tiger King" and "Love is Blind" before Bieber was able to get Matthews to divulge a bit of hockey information."My favorite hockey player of all time ... I have so many, but I think the two that kind of stand out the most to me are Shane Doan," Matthews told Bieber. "You know he was playing for the Coyotes, that's when I first got into hockey ... I've gotten to know him over the years, he's such a good person."For his second pick, Matthews went with a player he still faces off against today."Patrick Kane. Probably even still today, my favorite player to watch."Bieber then asked Matthews who the hardest player to defend in the league is, adding that he doesn't have to answer if he doesn't want to. Matthews declined the opt-out option and offered his thoughts."There's so many good players, it's kind of hard to just pinpoint one. We've played against Buffalo quite a lot, (Jack) Eichel's really good - playing against him, he's really strong," he said. "A guy like (Connor) McDavid obviously, he's really, really fast and does everything ... he's hard to keep up with ... so probably have to go with him."Bieber ended the call by complimenting Matthews' moustache, calling it "the best in the league."Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

New York Islanders head coach Barry Trotz has some regrets about how he handled his club before the NHL paused the season."Twenty-twenty hindsight is always a great thing, but I would do a few things different," he told Newsday's Andrew Gross. "Maybe practiced, at different times, more, just because the group needed it."Sometimes, I felt like we overcoached," Trotz added. "That's because we're so passionate about getting better. When I say you overcoach, you get away from what you do really well."The Islanders were one of the NHL's best teams early in the season, going a franchise-record 17 straight games without a regulation loss from mid-October to late November. However, they cooled off down the stretch.New York won only two of its final 13 games before the postponement, falling out of a playoff position. The club currently sits one point behind the Carolina Hurricanes and Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, albeit with two games in hand on Columbus.Despite that slide, Trotz still believes the team would have made the postseason, or will, if and when play resumes."I wasn't worried we weren’t going to make the playoffs because we were trending, mentally, in the right way," he said. "Our mental mindset was going in the right direction."Trotz is in his second campaign with the Islanders after helping the Washington Capitals win the Stanley Cup in 2018. He led New York into the postseason in 2018-19. That year, the Islanders swept the Pittsburgh Penguins in the opening round before getting swept by the Hurricanes in Round 2.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Find out the latest on COVID-19's impact on the sports world and when sports are returning by subscribing to Breaking News push notifications in the Sports and COVID-19 section.The Vegas Golden Knights started an initiative that will provide over 7,500 meals to doctors, nurses, and employees at local hospitals, the team announced Sunday.The initiative has been made possible thanks to donations from the Vegas Golden Knights Foundation, players, and staff.The players who have contributed so far include William Karlsson, Deryk Engelland, and Jon Merrill. Other donations from players may be announced at a later date, the team added."Medical professionals throughout Las Vegas are battling this virus on the frontlines in an effort to keep our families and community safe. They are true examples of what it means to be a Knight," Golden Knights Foundation president Kim Frank said. "We're proud to show our support for those working in healthcare across the Las Vegas Valley by providing thousands of meals over the coming weeks."Starting April 6, the team will provide 300 meals a day, five days a week for five weeks to preselected local partner hospitals.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

With a global pandemic suspending sporting events worldwide, athletes suddenly have tons of time on their hands. In the latest installment of our weekly NHL series, we look at how they've been keeping themselves entertained - and in shape - while self-isolating.Ovi confesses 😢Alex Ovechkin sat down with Men's Journal and answered a variety of questions, none juicier than, "When is the last time you cried?" Perhaps it was the birth of his son or winning the Stanley Cup. Nope, it was when he watched "The Notebook." You're definitely not alone, Alex.Matthews virtually visits SickKids 👊