[mr. leisure]

NHL schedule could combine hub format, home arenas in 2020-21
League seeking flexibility planning season amid coronavirus pandemic


Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said the NHL could start this season using one schedule model and transition to another.


Daly said a schedule model with multiple hub cities would allow for a safer and more controlled environment. Hub cities would allow for limited interactions with the outside world when teams are in market.


"You'd obviously want to put those hub cities in places that are experiencing positive experiences on the COVID side," Daly said. "You'd set up some dedicated space and restaurants for the players without the secure perimeters that we had in the bubble cities. That would be the benefit of hub cities. You would be in a situation where teams would travel in, play a bunch of games over a two-week time period and then be able to go home and spend time with their families and their own local practices facilities for a week, and cycle through a season that way."


Daly said the NHL and NHLPA remain in constant dialogue about how many games each team will play and what the divisional alignments will look like, and acknowledged some time constraints.


"Look, we know there is some urgency here, there is some urgency for making decisions, and while we want to drop the puck on Jan. 1 we also recognize that we're not going to rush into a bad decision just to make it," Daly said. "Whether that Jan. 1 can be a little later, we certainly have flexibility to move it later. We are in regular communication with the clubs. I think the players and the clubs have a fairly good understanding of what a Jan. 1 opening would require.


"Realistically, if we're going to start in the first part of January, mandatory training camps are going to have to start in the middle part of December. In some of our markets there continue to be quarantine requirements associated with players coming into town, so you factor those in and you back it up from there. I would ultimately concur with the conclusion that time is getting short."

Sounds good , Lets goooo

[yisman]

Boston Bruins are getting another jersey for the 2020-21 NHL season, and they gave fans a sneak preview on Sunday.T
The B's tweeted two photos of the upcoming "reverse retro" jersey, and there were a few notable items to take in.

[mr. leisure]

Like the Ducks retro jersey with wild wing .

[yisman]

When discussing possible NHL options for a 2020-21 season, much of the focus has been on “Where?” Yet, when it comes to logistics and making the schedule work, “When?” is another key factor for next season’s schedule.


As much as fans, NHL teams, and everyone involved would like answers now, the biggest takeaway is that it’s all a work in progress. And the work isn’t easy.

Interestingly, Daly still mentions Jan. 1 as the hopeful start date for when the 2020-21 NHL schedule can kick off. It remains a hope, though, while plans are as fluid as the COVID-19 rates can be in different regions.
Pandemic realities could force the NHL to mix and match setups, including doing both modified “bubble”/hub cities and also having teams operate in their own arenas — with or without fans. (Daly told NHL Rink that teams prefer to operate in their buildings, whether fans are there or not. For whatever that’s worth.)
Ultimately, the NHL needs to be willing to improvise. That goes for schedule and venue planning now, and possibly also during the 2020-21 NHL season.
“We have to build in flexibility for the hiccups that we expect will come along and have to expect will come along with potential COVID positives and contact tracing requirements,” Daly said, via the NHL Rink podcast. “Some of the difficulties that [Major League] Baseball went through and some of the difficulties that the NFL is currently dealing with, how do we address those situations in the context of our own schedule? Those are all the things we’re working on and those are all the things that keep us all up at night as we try to figure this out.”

[mr. leisure]

They are going to have to play in a bubble .

[yisman]

The Florida Panthers on Tuesday hired Brett Peterson as an assistant general manager, making him the first colored executive to hold that position in the NHL.

[mr. leisure]

Report: NHL players 'feel betrayed' after asked to make more financial concessions
Justin CuthbertThu, November 19, 2020, 8:51 AM PST·

The NHL and NHLPA may be headed down the same path as Major League Baseball — which is, having a contentious negotiation around the terms of its return to play plan — as tone-deaf bickering back and forth around money has begun to spill out into the public sphere.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman provided the latest update on the crucial — and souring — negotiations which before only recently were happening almost exclusively behind closed doors, reporting that players are “angry” and feel “betrayed” after the NHL asked that they take on more financial concessions than agreed upon in the deal brokered around the original return to play this past summer.
Friedman reports that the NHL laid out two options for the players to address the financial losses that have been proven to be grossly underestimated.
The first was to raise both the deferral payment percentage and escrow for this upcoming season, meaning that the cuts would be more significant, but limited to this season to allow the league to get back on its feet. The second option was a more significant ask in up-front deferral pay, and for escrow to be raised a few percentage points only in the final three years of the six-year deal brokered over the summer.
Under both scenarios, the players are being asked to forfeit more money through the escrow system, which clearly and understandably touched a nerve. Friedman reports that one player said “there were audible gasps” on the conference call when the options were presented, because it represents nothing more than forfeited wages.
Maybe less of an issue than the fact that several players have already received money in the form of a signing bonus that would exceed the deferral targets is the fact that a small minority of players only recently negotiated deals based on the escrow system finalized over the summer.
For example, the biggest free-agent signing, Alex Pietrangelo, had 56 percent of his total salary strategically backloaded into the final three years of his seven-year agreement in an effort to minimize escrow penalty and maximize his earnings. Should the NHLPA select the second option under what could ultimately be an ultimatum, Pietrangelo would be paying into escrow with the significant portion of his salary he only a few weeks ago successfully negotiated to protect.
If nothing else, it’s one of many issues that must be reconciled — or at least considered — as the NHL and NHLPA clash over money with the clock ticking toward the targeted Jan. 1 start date.
It’s officially crunch time.

[yisman]

yeah MLB is about to have a long labor stoppage because of this

surprised nBA hasn't had one.

[jrgum3]

yeah MLB is about to have a long labor stoppage because of this

surprised nBA hasn't had one.

All the leagues are losing money due to the pandemic so labor stoppages seem inevitable as much as it sucks for fans.

[yisman]

owners don't want to take the loss and the players certainly won't so all the leagues should be having major issues with revenues way down in 2020

MLB only played at all because Manfred used a clause to force the season

no agreement ever would've been reached

[mr. leisure]

Always about the money , next year is going to be a shit show .

[yisman]

surprise twist:

Toronto Raptors end up in Lightning's building rather than in tristate area or Nashville.

[mr. leisure]

The New York Rangers’ playoffs hopes just took a big hit

by Steve Paulus

With a COVID-19 related realignment of the NHL, the odds of the New York Rangers making the playoffs took a big hit

Just when it looked like the balance of power was shifting in the Metropolitan Division, giving hope to a possible playoff appearance for the New York Rangers, it looks like there will a realignment of the NHL and the Blueshirts will end up in the toughest division in hockey.
Greg Wyshynski first reported it, Elliotte Friedman confirmed it. Here is what the 2020-21 NHL will look like:
East Division:

• New York Rangers
• Boston Bruins
• Buffalo Sabres
• Carolina Hurricanes
• New Jersey Devils
• New York Islanders
• Philadelphia Flyers
• Washington Capitals

Canadian Division:

• Calgary Flames
• Edmonton Oilers
• Montreal Canadiens
• Ottawa Senators
• Toronto Maple Leafs
• Vancouver Canucks
• Winnipeg Jets

Central Division:

• Chicago Blackhawks
• Columbus Blue Jackets
• Detroit Red Wing
• Florida Panthers
• Nashville Predators,
• Pittsburgh Penguins
• St. Louis Blues
• Tampa Bay Lightning

West Division:

• Anaheim Duck
• Arizona Coyotes
• Colorado Avalanche
• Dallas Stars
• Los Angeles Kings
• Minnesota Wild
• San Jose Sharks,
• Vegas Golden Knights

How they compare

The difference in quality between these division is startling. Here are the points percentage for the four divisions:

• East Division: .593
• Central Division: .554
• Canada Division: .541
• West Division: .540

Eight teams in the NHL had a points percentage over .600. Three are in the East, three in the Central, two in the West and none in Canada. Five of the top 11 teams in the NHL are in the East.
Looking ahead at 2020-21, arguably, Buffalo is one of the most improved teams in the NHL and could be considered a playoff contender in the Atlantic Division. The only team in the new East that could have been considered a lock to miss the playoffs were the New Jersey Devils.
In the new Central, Detroit is awful and teams like Columbus and Pittsburgh are declining. The West boasts three of the worst teams in the NHL. The Canada division doesn’t feature a single team that finished with a .600 points percentage. The best percentage belongs to Edmonton whose .585 percentage was 12th best in the NHL.
It gets worse

You think that’s bad? It gets worse. Right now it appears that teams will only play teams within their own divisions in a 60 game season. That means eight games or more against teams in your division. Yes, Tampa gets to play Detroit and Ottawa eight times. The Rangers get to play Boston and Washington eight times.
It’s going to be great for rivalries, but the absence of any balance in the makeup of these division is glaring. Face it, in this format, the Rangers are going to be screwed.
Can they fix it?

If the NHL goes with the standard playoff format it will be totally unfair. That would put the top three teams in each division in the playoffs with two additional wild card teams. The NHL needs to scrap this completely and try to make playoff participation equitable. How they do that will be difficult.
A solution would be to forget about geography and the East-West alignment. Put the Canada Division into a Conference with the East. Put the Central and West Divisions together. Then, allow the top two teams in each division in the playoffs, and then pick the wild card teams from the best of the rest in their conference.
Even that won’t work that well. The Rangers could finish fifth in the East, but lose out on the wild card because the fourth place team in the Canada Division has a better record against weaker competition.
The only solution

The only answer is another expanded post season with a Stanley Cup Qualifier round. Even in that scenario it’s possible that the worst teams in the East will be better than playoff teams in the other divisions, but their records will be worst due to the level of competition. Would it be more fair to expand the pool beyond the top 24 teams?
A tough situation

No matter how you look at it, if this divisional alignment is what is adopted, the Rangers are in for a tough season. They will play more games against better teams than the teams in other divisions. The only good news is that their cohorts in the East will be in the same boat.
Chalk it up to another consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now it will be up to coach David Quinn and his players to see if they beat the odds and overcome the challenges presented by what looks like will be almost impossible odds. Can they do it? Absolutely. Just another story line that will make this season the most fascinating in franchise history.

[yisman]

Marleau Will Play Until He Breaks the Record

Patrick Marleau has a chance to go down in NHL history this season if he plays in 45 games or more. Should he, he’ll break the all-time games played record set by Gordie Howe. Unfortunately, there’s one slight issue.
As hurdles continue to pop up on the NHL season, some doubt is creeping in that the league will even get 45 games in, and should they, that Marleau will be injury free or productive enough to play in all 45 games. The winger says he has a plan.
At age 41, Marleau told NBC Bay Area’s Brodie Brazil that he’s already planning ahead to be ready for a 2021-22 campaign. He understands what’s going on and that he may need to stay in good enough shape to spread these 45 games out over two seasons.
The Latest on Mike Hoffman

While the Nashville Predators might still be in the mix for NHL free agent forward Mike Hoffman, There is some debate as to how interested the Columbus Blue Jackets might be.
Most believe the Predators are simply waiting for Hoffman’s ask to drop (which it may or may not do) while Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman seems to think that Hoffman could be with Blue Jackets in the next couple of weeks. Friedman reported during an appearance on NHL Network that the Blue Jackets remain ‘very interested’ in both Hoffman and Mikael Granlund.

[mr. leisure]

Khudobin expected to be ready for training camp for Stars after surgery

Goalie had nerve issue in arm; Bishop, Seguin recovering

by Tracey Myers @Tramyers_NHL

Anton Khudobin is expected to be ready for training camp after the Dallas Stars goalie had surgery to fix a nerve issue in his right arm in October.

"He's back to 100 percent and doing well," Stars general manager Jim Nill said Friday.
The NHL has targeted Jan. 1, 2021, as the start date for this season with camps opening in mid-December.
Khudobin, who signed a three-year, $10 million contract ($3.33 million average annual value) on Oct. 9, had surgery two days prior after he felt numbness in two fingers of his right hand during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The 34-year-old was 16-8-4 with a 2.22 goals-against average and .930 save percentage in 30 games (26 starts) for the Stars last season. He helped Dallas reach the Stanley Cup Final, where it was defeated in six games by the Tampa Bay Lightning, with a 14-10 record, 2.69 GAA, .917 save percentage and one shutout in 25 postseason games (24 starts).
Goalie Ben Bishop and forward Tyler Seguin have started the rehab process after each had surgery, Nill said. Bishop had surgery Oct. 21 to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee; Seguin had right hip arthroscopy and labral repair on Nov. 2. Each is expected to require four months of recovery.
Bishop, who was limited to three games in the postseason, was 1-2-0 with a 5.43 GAA and .844 save percentage after he was 21-16-4 with a 2.50 GAA, a .920 save percentage and two shutouts in 44 games (43 starts) during the regular season.
"It's just really time [with Bishop]," Nill said. "Where his injury was at in his knee, there's not a lot of blood flow in that area, so it just takes a lot of time for it to heal. But he's doing well and looking forward to getting back at it."
Seguin scored 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) in 26 postseason games after he led the Stars in the regular season with 50 points (17 goals, 33 assists) in 69 games. He has not missed a regular-season game since the 2015-16 season.
"[Seguin] is another week or 10 days on crutches, and then it should start to come pretty quick after that," Nill said.

[hotcross]

Lundqvist joins Capitals teammates for first time at informal skate

Goalie signed one-year contract Oct. 9 after playing 15 seasons with Rangers

[yisman]

https://www.espn.com/nhl/insider/sto...ine-challenges


The 2019-20 NHL season started on Oct. 2, 2019, and didn't finish until Sept. 28, 2020, thanks to a pause of nearly five months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of getting ready for Thanksgiving Week games, we're in the midst of the offseason, with the 2020 draft and much of free agency in the rearview mirror.
There's some uncertainty ahead in terms of when the 2020-21 season will begin, and what it will look like when it does. After discussions with league and team executives and other sources around the NHL, here's what we know -- and what we don't -- as of Nov. 23.
Where is the NHL in its planning for the 2020-21 season?

Wyshynski: Talks continue daily between the NHL and the NHLPA, with commissioner Gary Bettman still targeting a Jan. 1, 2021, opening date for the 2020-21 season. But the talks hit a bump in the road as the NHLPA, during an all-hands call this week, was told about two alterations to the collective bargaining agreement the two sides forged before last season was completed.

[hotcross]

Ovechkin is eighth in NHL history with 706 goals. At age 35, the Washington Capitals forward is 188 behind Gretzky.

Wayne Gretzky (894 goals)
Gordie Howe (801 goals)
Jaromir Jagr (766)
Brett Hull (741)
Marcel Dionne (731)
Phil Esposito (717)
Mike Gartner (708)

[mr. leisure]

Vegas Golden Knights say four players test positive for COVID-19

• 
  Greg WyshynskiESPN
  
  Four Vegas Golden Knights players have tested positive for COVID-19, the team confirmed on Monday night.
  "Those individual players have been self-isolating and are all recovering well," the team said in a statement, without identifying which players tested positive. "As a precautionary measure, the Golden Knights off-ice player areas -- locker room, lounge, gym, training room and video room -- will be closed to all players and team staff through the Thanksgiving holiday weekend."
  The news was first reported by TSN.
  The team announced that its practice facility, City National Arena, will remain open to the public, including hockey programming and the official team store, and that it will continue to operate under the guidelines set forth by the state of Nevada and local health officials.
  
  "We will continue to follow recommendations and guidance from the CDC, NHL and our local officials to ensure the health and safety of our community, players and staff," the Knights said.
  The NHL has yet to cement plans for the 2020-21 season, including when training camps will open. Players are taking part in informal skates, but the league is not in a phase of mandatory testing right now.
  

[yisman]

Now many months into the pandemic, and through an interruption, a restart and now a delay, quite a few NHL players — including several big names — have been among the hundreds of thousands diagnosed with COVID-19. What the league has managed to limit to this point, however, are considerable outbreaks involving players and staff members in team and league facilities.
That is, until now.
As the league and its players squabble — with one eye on the calendar — over the financial details around its second return to the ice amid a pandemic, members of both the Vegas Golden Knights and Columbus Blue Jackets have recently tested positive for the virus, forcing the temporary closure of both teams’ practice facilities.
TSN’s Frank Seravalli confirmed with the Blue Jackets that “several” have received positive diagnoses over the last seven-to-10 days, but also reports that he’s hearing that the amount of confirmed cases could be considered “significant.”

[mr. leisure]

Now many months into the pandemic, and through an interruption, a restart and now a delay, quite a few NHL players — including several big names — have been among the hundreds of thousands diagnosed with COVID-19. What the league has managed to limit to this point, however, are considerable outbreaks involving players and staff members in team and league facilities.
That is, until now.
As the league and its players squabble — with one eye on the calendar — over the financial details around its second return to the ice amid a pandemic, members of both the Vegas Golden Knights and Columbus Blue Jackets have recently tested positive for the virus, forcing the temporary closure of both teams’ practice facilities.
TSN’s Frank Seravalli confirmed with the Blue Jackets that “several” have received positive diagnoses over the last seven-to-10 days, but also reports that he’s hearing that the amount of confirmed cases could be considered “significant.”

Fuk , not good news at all .

[yisman]

Johnny Boychuk is ending his playing career because of an injury to his left eye, the New York Islanders defenseman said Wednesday.

The 36-year-old needed 90 stitches to close a skate cut to his eyelid sustained against the Montreal Canadiens on March 3.

[yisman]

Story brings to mind former Islanders D Bryan Berard

[mr. leisure]

Johnny Boychuk is ending his playing career because of an injury to his left eye, the New York Islanders defenseman said Wednesday.

The 36-year-old needed 90 stitches to close a skate cut to his eyelid sustained against the Montreal Canadiens on March 3.

Sad ending to his career , his was a really good player .

[yisman]

Seven weeks after NHL free agency opened, the market is still crowded with quality players looking for jobs — the reality created by flattening the salary cap but not allowing teams to shed players through compliance buyouts.
To be fair, most of the upper-tier unrestricted free agents were snapped up long ago. Game-changing top-six forwards and top-four defensemen are still valuable enough that teams found ways to fit them in. Forward Mike Hoffman, most recently with the Panthers, is the exception, but he reportedly has been weighing a number of competitive offers.
But for bottom-six forwards, third-pair defensemen and other depth players — even clearly NHL-caliber ones — it has proven difficult to convince general managers to meet their, say, $2 million salary demands when AHL players already under contract and making less than $1 million could be used to fill those spots instead.
As a result, tons of players who carried significant value less than a year ago are now patiently trying to find a home.
Among them are ex-Blackhawks Drake Caggiula and Slater Koekkoek, whom the Hawks let walk not because of poor play but to open up spots for newly committed, younger prospects. Caggiula, despite scoring only 15 points in 40 games last season, is a well-rounded wing who can capably play up and down the lineup. Koekkoek’s second half in 2019-20 was perhaps the most consistent stretch of his career. But so far, they remain unemployed.

[mr. leisure]

Money is getting tight everywhere .

[yisman]

If the NHL needs another $300 million in order to proceed with the 2020-21 season — and that is essentially what Sixth Avenue has represented to the NHLPA — why don’t Gary Bettman, Bill Daly and the Board of Directors simply ask Seattle to advance up to half of the $650 million expansion fee that is currently due before the Kraken’s inaugural 2021-22 season?
Wouldn’t that take care of it, and more appropriately than the owners approaching the players with hands out claiming that the league had massively miscalculated the impact of the pandemic even though the league ran models calculating the impact of the pandemic before agreeing to a six-year collective bargaining agreement extension four-plus months ago?
I’m serious. The NHL claims it requires immediate relief beyond the 10 percent deferral and 20 percent escrow cap established for this season by both parties. It is asking for an additional 16 percent deferral and another 5 percent added to the escrow cap. If that is the case, why shouldn’t the relief be provided from within the capitalist circle of 32 owners rather than from labor?

[BigSpoon]

Story brings to mind former Islanders D Bryan Berard

Berard played alot of his career with one eye.

[mr. leisure]

If the NHL needs another $300 million in order to proceed with the 2020-21 season — and that is essentially what Sixth Avenue has represented to the NHLPA — why don’t Gary Bettman, Bill Daly and the Board of Directors simply ask Seattle to advance up to half of the $650 million expansion fee that is currently due before the Kraken’s inaugural 2021-22 season?
Wouldn’t that take care of it, and more appropriately than the owners approaching the players with hands out claiming that the league had massively miscalculated the impact of the pandemic even though the league ran models calculating the impact of the pandemic before agreeing to a six-year collective bargaining agreement extension four-plus months ago?
I’m serious. The NHL claims it requires immediate relief beyond the 10 percent deferral and 20 percent escrow cap established for this season by both parties. It is asking for an additional 16 percent deferral and another 5 percent added to the escrow cap. If that is the case, why shouldn’t the relief be provided from within the capitalist circle of 32 owners rather than from labor?

Good article

[yisman]

For One Day, the N.H.L. Arena Moved to the Mountains; Pettersson, Demko, Edler, MacEwan, Stecher and Garrison with Patrick Chan flew up 6000 feet to a mountain lake for some shinny.


https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/11/29/sports/hockey/29-nhl-lake-hockey-elias-pettersson.html

[mr. leisure]

Kraken' fifth most-searched word of 2020 according to Merriam-Webster

Dictionary company publishes data that shows Seattle franchise nickname was popular lookup .

[yisman]

The NHL is still targeting an early January start for the upcoming season, despite no firm plans for the year being set in place.
A league source told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun on Tuesday that the target date for puck drop has not changed as talks with the NHLPA continue.
The statement came one day after TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reported Monday that while the league remains hopeful of an early January start, it is also considering postponing the start of training camps until after the holidays.

[mr. leisure]

The NHL is still targeting an early January start for the upcoming season, despite no firm plans for the year being set in place.
A league source told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun on Tuesday that the target date for puck drop has not changed as talks with the NHLPA continue.
The statement came one day after TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reported Monday that while the league remains hopeful of an early January start, it is also considering postponing the start of training camps until after the holidays.

Its not going to happen jan 1 .

[yisman]

Given what we’ve seen in 2020, there is almost nothing that can shock me anymore.

But I will admit a raised eyebrow when I recently heard the Pittsburgh Penguins were examining the feasibility of hosting multiple outdoor games to begin the shortened 2020-21 season.

Not just one outdoor game, which they’ve done before, but a number of them in the opening month of the season, according to sources.

The idea, of course, is that outdoor games allow for gate revenue from physically distanced attending fans. While fans currently are not allowed at Steelers games in Pittsburgh, the hope is that by January or February, fans may be allowed back into outdoor events — way ahead of the day fans will be allowed back inside an arena.

So yes, the Penguins have apparently let the NHL know of its interest to host at either Heinz Field or PNC Park.

They’re not alone. Other NHL teams have also expressed interest in hosting an outdoor game.

[mr. leisure]

Everybody trying to figure a way to get paid .