NHL 2019-20 season Fantasy & Chat thread

**mr. leisure** · 04-06-20, 10:29 AM

NHL players help health care workers in fight against coronavirus

Panarin, Bobrovsky, Varlamov arrange purchase of N95 masks during pandemic

NHL players have united to help health care workers during the coronavirus pandemic.

Artemi Panarin of the New York Rangers, Sergei Bobrovsky of the Florida Panthers and Semyon Varlamov, along with his New York Islanders teammates, purchased and arranged delivery of N95 masks to hospitals in their market over the past few days to aid health care workers in the fight against the coronavirus.
The players arranged the purchase of the masks and the donations. The NHL season has been paused since March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus.
Panarin, a forward in his first season with the Rangers, donated 1,500 masks to Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. They were delivered Friday.
"We are so grateful for Artemi Panarin's incredibly generous gift of N95 masks to HSS," said Dr. Bryan Kelly, the surgeon-in-chief at Hospital for Special Surgery. "Along with his teammates, Panarin also created a video thanking HSS for our commitment to helping NYC during this pandemic. On behalf of every clinical staff member at HSS, we would like to offer our heartfelt thanks to Panarin for his generosity during this time. Additionally, we'd like to thank Jim Ramsay, head athletic trainer for the Rangers, for his help coordinating their efforts."
Bobrovsky, who in his first season as Panthers goalie donated $100,000 to help BB&T Center workers stabalize their situations with no events at the venue, donated thousands of masks to multiple hospitals in the Fort Lauderdale, Florida area.
Varlamov, also a goalie in his first season with New York, led his Islanders teammates in donating 3,000 masks to Northwell Health system on Long Island that were delivered Thursday.

**yisman** · 04-06-20, 07:11 PM

https://sports.yahoo.com/nhl-playoff-scenarios-run-gamut-where-182525743--nhl.html

Shorts and skates don’t usually mix. Maintaining NHL-quality ice in August or holding a Stanley Cup Final in September? Those are far from the norm, too.
With the NHL playoffs, which were to begin Wednesday, on indefinite hold because of the coronavirus pandemic, anything and everything is on the table if Commissioner Gary Bettman’s objective to complete the season is to be realized.
What the format will be, when play might realistically resume and whether the NHL might require games at neutral sites - how’s North Dakota sound? - is anyone’s guess.
“Those are all fair questions but not ones that we have to resolve right away,” NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly told The Associated Press by email, likening the situation for the league to a "a multi-faceted puzzle.”

**mr. leisure** · 04-07-20, 10:52 AM

Barabanov signs one-year, entry-level contract with Maple Leafs

Forward two-time KHL champion, won gold medal at 2018 PyeongChang Olympics

Alexander Barabanov signed a one-year, entry-level contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday for the 2020-21 season.

The 25-year-old forward had 20 points (11 goals, nine assists) in 43 games with SKA St. Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League this season. He had 137 points (62 goals, 75 assists) in 262 KHL games during his seven seasons in the league and helped SKA St. Petersburg win the Gagarin Cup championship in 2015 and 2017.
Barabanov also had two points (one goal, one assist) in six games to help Olympic Athletes of Russia win the gold medal at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics.
"He's a winger, he's strong, he's not tall but a very strong player," Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas said March 31. "[He has] great playmaking ability [and is] very good in tight.
"One of the other things we like about him is his ability to make plays under pressure. His ability to win pucks, protect pucks when people come after him and use his strength to be able to do that. A playmaking winger who can also produce at the net."

**yisman** · 04-07-20, 09:18 PM

https://sports.yahoo.com/oilers-cave-medically-induced-coma-brain-bleed-193341074--nhl.html

Edmonton Oilers forward Colby Cave has been placed in a medically induced coma after suffering a brain bleed.
The Oilers said Tuesday on their Twitter account that the brain bleed happened overnight and that Cave was in the critical care unit at Toronto's Sunnybrook Hospital.
A 25-year-old from Battleford, Saskatchewan, Cave scored once in 11 appearances with Edmonton this season. He had 11 goals and 23 points in 44 games with the American Hockey League's Bakersfield Condors.

**mr. leisure** · 04-07-20, 11:22 PM

Originally posted by yisman

https://sports.yahoo.com/oilers-cave...1074--nhl.html

Edmonton Oilers forward Colby Cave has been placed in a medically induced coma after suffering a brain bleed.
The Oilers said Tuesday on their Twitter account that the brain bleed happened overnight and that Cave was in the critical care unit at Toronto's Sunnybrook Hospital.
A 25-year-old from Battleford, Saskatchewan, Cave scored once in 11 appearances with Edmonton this season. He had 11 goals and 23 points in 44 games with the American Hockey League's Bakersfield Condors.

Horrible story , hope somehow he can recover from this .

**yisman** · 04-08-20, 10:44 PM

https://sports.yahoo.com/bettman-rai...6452--nhl.html

For the first time since halting play four weeks ago, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman raised the possibility Tuesday of not completing the regular season in order to squeeze in time to award the Stanley Cup.
Bettman also acknowledged during an interview with NBCSN the league is considering having games played at neutral sites in the event not all teams will be allowed into their home rinks.

**yisman** · 04-09-20, 05:09 PM

https://twitter.com/bokamotoESPN/status/1248369584807145473

**yisman** · 04-09-20, 10:34 PM

that was UFC, the last American sport to keel over

**mr. leisure** · 04-09-20, 11:23 PM

Originally posted by yisman

that was UFC, the last American sport to keel over

Didnt see how that was going to work when I heard about it .

**yisman** · 04-10-20, 10:49 PM

Tom Webster, the former NHL and WHA forward who went on to coach the New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings, died Friday. He was 71.
The Carolina Hurricanes announced Webster's death. Webster scored 53 goals and helped the franchise - then the New England Whalers - win the World Hockey Association's first title in 1972-73. He also was an assistant coach in Carolina, and son-in-law L.J. Scarpace was the team's video coach.

TORONTO (AP) -- Pat Stapleton, the former NHL defenseman who famously kept an air of mystery over whether he possessed the puck from the winning goal of the 1972 Summit Series, has died. He was 79.
The Strathroy Rockets, a Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League team with which Stapleton was involved, said on its website he died Wednesday night. No cause was given.

**yisman** · 04-11-20, 01:17 PM

Oilers forward Colby Cave dies at the age of 25
Cave died after suffering a brain bleed earlier this week, his wife Emily shared on Saturday morning.

**mr. leisure** · 04-11-20, 02:34 PM

Originally posted by yisman

Oilers forward Colby Cave dies at the age of 25
Cave died after suffering a brain bleed earlier this week, his wife Emily shared on Saturday morning.

Sad news , RIP

**mr. leisure** · 04-12-20, 11:40 AM

Bruins remain hopeful of signing Krug to contract, GM says

Defenseman can become unrestricted free agent after season, has been 'big part' of success

Torey Krug has said wants to remain with the Boston Bruins following this season, and general manager Don Sweeney echoed those sentiments Friday.

"I dearly hope that Torey hasn't played his last game, this year or going forward," Sweeney said of the defenseman who can become an unrestricted free agent after this season. "He's been a big part of any success we've had as an organization. He's a special player both on and off the ice. He means a lot in the locker room and I think everybody could acknowledge his attributes on the ice and his importance to our team."
Krug, who turns 29 on Sunday, is a key member of the power-play unit and an important offensive and defensive presence on the second pair for the Bruins. He had 49 points (nine goals, 40 assists) in 61 games before the season was paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus. In seven seasons with the Bruins, Krug has 337 points (67 goals, 270 assists) in 523 games.
He is in the final season of a four-year, $21 million contract with an average annual value of $5.25 million.
"In [an NHL salary] cap world, we have to try and fit the pieces together," Sweeney said. "We've had very, very good discussions with Torey's group. We just haven't found a landing spot, and that's understandable, given the circumstances of where the cap is and, really, his value, both to us but also in a potential open-market situation."
Krug said Tuesday, "For me personally, I really hope I did not play my last game as a Boston Bruin. It's been a special place for me and my family to grow and my love for the game and playing in front of these fans, it's been very special to me."

Krug had 18 points (two goals, 16 assists) in 24 Stanley Cup Playoff games last season to help Boston advance to the Cup Final, which it lost to the St. Louis Blues in seven games. The Bruins (44-14-12) lead the NHL with 100 points this season.
"We're hopeful that we'll find a resolution with Torey and (agent) Lewis [Gross], but at this point in time we haven't been able to do so," Sweeney said. "But it's been very amicable. We've made our feelings perfectly clear that we respect and acknowledge what Torey has done and what he's capable of doing as a member of the Boston Bruins, and we hope that continues."
Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara also can also become an unrestricted free agent after the season. The 43-year-old captain has signed a one-year contract for each of the past two seasons.
"I think even Zdeno himself has reported that he would like to continue to play," Sweeney said. "The really unique relationship that we have as an organization with Zdeno, and this started a bunch of years ago, but the last three or four in particular, he has exercised the ability to show patience, allow us to plan accordingly and then adjust his own contractual situations. You saw him do two consecutive one-year deals, which was important for us in planning.
"That's an extension of the relationship he and (agent) Matt Keator have afforded us, and his legacy with the organization, how much he wants to continue to play, how much he's motivated to continue to play, allows him to take that time necessary."
The Bruins are being patient with Krug, Chara and the rest of their pending free agents, who include goalie Jaroslav Halak (unrestricted) and forward Jake DeBrusk (restricted).
"We run different parallels of rosters and things, [how] that would look like under one scenario versus another, and we try to forecast accordingly, having internal discussions," he said. "I've been in touch with all RFA and UFAs, and I think we've all agreed in some of those cases it's better to just wait."

**yisman** · 04-12-20, 10:43 PM

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Defenseman Kurtis MacDermid has agreed to a two-year, $1.75 million contract extension through the 2021-22 season with the Los Angeles Kings.

**mr. leisure** · 04-13-20, 11:05 AM

Hurricanes' Dougie Hamilton ready to play after broken leg

Carolina Hurricanes president and general manager Don Waddell said All-Star defenseman Dougie Hamilton, who broke his left leg in January, would be ready to play if the season resumes.
Hamilton needed surgery and had been listed as out indefinitely before the season was suspended amid the coronavirus pandemic. In a video conference with reporters Thursday, Waddell said Hamilton's rehab has gone well and that he would soon start work on the ice.

"If we were playing today, we would've sped up that on-the-ice performance over the last couple of weeks, so he's ready to go," Waddell said. "And just a matter of time before we put him on the ice and move forward from there. But yes, he'll be ready to play when we drop the puck."Waddell said there was no need for Hamilton to rush back on the ice in his recovery with the season suspended.
Additionally, Waddell said goaltender James Reimer is healthy again after being sidelined in February with a lower-body injury, noting he was close to returning when the season was suspended.

**yisman** · 04-13-20, 10:49 PM

maybe we can start the season again now

they were just waiting for Dougie to heal up!

**mr. leisure** · 04-14-20, 01:15 PM

Originally posted by yisman

maybe we can start the season again now

they were just waiting for Dougie to heal up!

Lets do it

**yisman** · 04-14-20, 10:36 PM

OfficialSCrosby

·
3m

PGA Tour officials are expected to announce this week their intention to resume the 2020 season which was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic on June 11-14 at the Charles Schwab Challenge, multiple sources told Golf Digest's Brian Wacker.

**mr. leisure** · 04-14-20, 11:43 PM

Originally posted by yisman

OfficialSCrosby

·
3m

PGA Tour officials are expected to announce this week their intention to resume the 2020 season which was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic on June 11-14 at the Charles Schwab Challenge, multiple sources told Golf Digest's Brian Wacker.

Seems like golf and nascar would be the easiest sports to hold with no fans in attendance .

**BigSpoon** · 04-15-20, 11:16 AM

Originally posted by mr. leisure

Seems like golf and nascar would be the easiest sports to hold with no fans in attendance .

Yeah, doesn't like good for the NHL or NBA coming back to finish the season though.

**yisman** · 04-15-20, 10:33 PM

MOSCOW (AP) -- Bill Peters made a return to professional hockey on Wednesday when he was appointed coach of Russian hockey club Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg.
Peters resigned as coach of the Calgary Flames last year following allegations he previously used racial slurs and struck players.
''I think as time goes on we all grow and improve and become better versions of ourselves, and I'm no different than that. You learn from all the experiences that you're in, and you become better,'' Peters said during a video conference call with Russian media.

**mr. leisure** · 04-15-20, 11:40 PM

Originally posted by yisman

MOSCOW (AP) -- Bill Peters made a return to professional hockey on Wednesday when he was appointed coach of Russian hockey club Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg.
Peters resigned as coach of the Calgary Flames last year following allegations he previously used racial slurs and struck players.
''I think as time goes on we all grow and improve and become better versions of ourselves, and I'm no different than that. You learn from all the experiences that you're in, and you become better,'' Peters said during a video conference call with Russian media.

Excommunicated

**BigSpoon** · 04-16-20, 10:16 AM

Originally posted by yisman

MOSCOW (AP) -- Bill Peters made a return to professional hockey on Wednesday when he was appointed coach of Russian hockey club Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg.
Peters resigned as coach of the Calgary Flames last year following allegations he previously used racial slurs and struck players.
''I think as time goes on we all grow and improve and become better versions of ourselves, and I'm no different than that. You learn from all the experiences that you're in, and you become better,'' Peters said during a video conference call with Russian media.

I'm sure he's a changed man already.

**yisman** · 04-16-20, 02:57 PM

MLS is planning to postpone matches at least through June 8 due to the spread of the coronavirus in the United States and Canada, according to multiple league sources.

The league has been suspended since March 12 and had previously targeted a May 10 return.The Sports Business Journal and The Athletic were the first to report a targeted return date of the second week in June. An announcement could come as quickly as Wednesday.

**yisman** · 04-17-20, 10:41 AM

Dustin Byfuglien's contract with Winnipeg has been terminated by mutual agreement.

**mr. leisure** · 04-17-20, 01:10 PM

Markov, longtime Canadiens defenseman, retires from hockey

41-year-old played 990 games in 16 seasons with Montreal

Andrei Markov, a 41-year-old defenseman who played 990 games during 16 seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, is retiring, according to his agent.

"Andrei will turn 42 this year and he must take care of his family," agent Sergey Isakov told La Presse. "He is a very smart guy and he understands that his time has come."
The Canadiens selected Markov, a native of Voskresensk, Russia, in the sixth round (No. 162) of the 1998 NHL Draft. He played two more seasons in Russia with Dynamo Moscow before joining Montreal for the start of the 2000-01 NHL season.
Markov scored 23 points (six goals, 17 assists) in 63 games as a rookie and then took a leap forward in 2002-03, scoring 37 points (13 goals, 24 assists) in 79 games. Markov had NHL career highs with 16 goals in 2007-08 and 64 points in 2008-09, and played in the NHL All-Star Game each of those seasons.
An ankle injury limited him to 45 games in 2009-10, and he missed all but 20 games during the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons with leg and knee injuries. But Markov was healthy again in 2012-13, playing all 48 games during the lockout-shortened season and scoring 30 points (10 goals, 20 assists). He played four more seasons with the Canadiens before signing with Ak Bars Kazan of the Kontinental Hockey League on July 28, 2017.
Markov finished his NHL career with 572 points (119 goals, 453 assists) in 990 games, and 32 points (five goals, 27 assists) in 89 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
"It was his dream to finish his career in Montreal," Isakov said. "He really wanted to, but there's nothing he can do about it. The general manager [Marc Bergevin] only wanted to offer a one-year contract (in 2017), while Andrei was looking for a two-year deal.
"After that, Andrei and I discussed the possibility of a return to Montreal, but it didn't materialize. It's too bad, because he really wanted to play 1,000 games for the Canadiens."
Markov played two seasons for Ak Bars Kazan and 23 games this season for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl.
"Hockey is over for him now," Isakov said. "He wants to spend time with his family."

**BigSpoon** · 04-18-20, 10:54 AM

Wow, Markov is 41 years old already. Time flies.

**mr. leisure** · 04-18-20, 12:59 PM

Originally posted by yisman

Dustin Byfuglien's contract with Winnipeg has been terminated by mutual agreement.

Thinking he might retire .

**yisman** · 04-18-20, 09:45 PM

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- The Columbus Blue Jackets signed All-Star goaltender Joonas Korpisalo to a two-year contract Friday worth a reported $5.6 million.
Korpisalo, who turns 26 on April 28, set single-season career records in multiple categories - including games played, wins and goals-against average - after taking over as the starter when Sergei Bobrovsky left via free agency. He was set to be a restricted free agent when his current contract expired after the 2019-20 season.

**BigSpoon** · 04-19-20, 12:12 AM

Originally posted by mr. leisure

Thinking he might retire .

I think he'll be back next season, whenever that is.

**mr. leisure** · 04-19-20, 12:28 AM

Originally posted by BigSpoon

I think he'll be back next season, whenever that is.

Hope your are right ,I always liked his game .

**yisman** · 04-19-20, 08:24 PM

I still don't understand what happens.

Seems he quit on the team. Didn't want to play for Winnipeg anymore. I guess they couldn't find a market for him to make a deal?

**mr. leisure** · 04-20-20, 09:25 PM

Kreider healed, expects to return for Rangers after pause

Forward fractured foot during game Feb. 28

Chris Kreider's fractured foot has healed, and the New York Rangers forward said Monday he should be able to play if the NHL season resumes.

Kreider was injured blocking a shot in a game at the Philadelphia Flyers on Feb. 28. He was expected to miss 4-6 weeks.
The NHL season has been paused since March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus. There is no timetable for when the season might resume.
"My foot feels good," Kreider said during a videoconference arranged by the NHL. "[My] foot was better a few weeks ago. I'm able to work on rehabbing it and getting it back to where it was now."
Kreider said he's been rehabbing at home in Connecticut, just outside New York City, since the pause.
"It gives me an opportunity to get outside a little bit, but really I haven't seen many people," Kreider said. "Just kind of slowly losing my mind [trying] to keep busy."
On Feb. 24, Kreider agreed to terms with the Rangers on a seven-year contract worth $6.5 million annually. He has 45 points (24 goals, 21 assists) in 63 games this season

**yisman** · 04-20-20, 10:46 PM

Wayne Gretzky is optimistic the NHL will be able to resume at some point this summer.
Wayne told The Associated Press on Sunday he's hopeful hockey and other sports will be able to come back from the coronavirus pandemic and serve as a positive sign that conditions are improving.
''I really believe somehow, someway, that the leadership in this country and in Canada, that we're going to figure this out,'' Gretzky said. ''And I really believe that we'll see hockey and some sort of other sports in June, July and August, albeit in a different way, but I really see it coming to fruition. I think it's going to happen.''

**BigSpoon** · 04-21-20, 12:56 AM

Originally posted by yisman

Wayne Gretzky is optimistic the NHL will be able to resume at some point this summer.
Wayne told The Associated Press on Sunday he's hopeful hockey and other sports will be able to come back from the coronavirus pandemic and serve as a positive sign that conditions are improving.
''I really believe somehow, someway, that the leadership in this country and in Canada, that we're going to figure this out,'' Gretzky said. ''And I really believe that we'll see hockey and some sort of other sports in June, July and August, albeit in a different way, but I really see it coming to fruition. I think it's going to happen.''

NHL in the summer seems unrealistic.