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Travis Hamonic Opts Out Of NHL’s Return

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With the CBA now formally ratified, the narrow window for players to officially opt out of returning to play is now open.  Flames defenseman Travis Hamonic is the first to do so, as he released a statement through his agency Titan Sports 365 (Twitter link) indicating that he will not be participating for family reasons.  His daughter has had a significant battle with a life-threatening respiratory virus in the past while Hamonic has a new baby boy as well so he is erring on the side of caution.

Following the announcement, Flames GM Brad Treliving issued the following statement:

Earlier this evening Travis called me to inform us that he has decided to opt out of the NHL Return to Play Program. Travis explained that due to family considerations, he has made the difficult decision not to participate in the Stanley Cup Qualifier and Playoffs.

While we will miss Travis in our line-up, we understand and respect his decision. Our focus remains on preparation for training camp and our upcoming series in the NHL Qualifying Round.

Hamonic’s absence will be a notable one as, when healthy, he is one of Calgary’s most effective defensive blueliners.  He logged more than 21 minutes a night this season including a team-high 3:06 per night on the penalty kill on a unit that was inside the NHL’s top ten.  Their trade deadline additions of Derek Forbort and Erik Gustafsson will become that much more important now from a depth perspective, especially with the potential hesitance to bring back Juuso Valimaki.

As for Hamonic, the 29-year-old has now played his final game before being eligible to hit unrestricted free agency in October.  Him opting out shouldn’t hurt his market at all as his reputation of being a strong stay-at-home defender is well-known and earned so he should still be among the second tier of rearguards that should garner considerable interest this offseason.

NHL, NHLPA Ratify Return To Play, CBA Extension

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The NHL’s Board of Governors and the NHLPA have ratified their agreement that covers both a return to play for the 2019-20 season and an extension to the current CBA until 2026. The deal includes several tweaks to transaction and contract rules but will ensure financial stability for the players and labor peace for the next several years.

Frank Seravalli of TSN reports that the vote among players was 502-135 in favor of the agreement.

With the ratified deal in place the league’s Phase 3—training camp for those 24 teams involved in the expanded playoffs—is set to begin on Monday with games scheduled to kick off on August 1. The Stanley Cup is scheduled to be awarded in October, while the 2020-21 season will hopefully start in December.

The salary cap ceiling is expected to stay at $81.5MM for the 2020-21 season and potentially for several years thereafter.

Should any player wish to opt-out of the upcoming playoff tournament, he will be allowed to penalty-free as long as he does so in writing before 4pm on Monday. The MLB has recently seen several high-profile players opt-out of their shortened season, though they are not working out of hub cities and continuing to travel around North America. The NBA, which has set up a bubble in Florida, has also seen players opt-out including two-time All-Star Victor Oladipo.

The NHL has also announced that the 2020 Entry Draft has been tentatively scheduled for October 9-10. The second phase of the draft lottery will be held after the qualification round.

As part of the agreement, the NHL will once again be sending players to the Olympic Games.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman released the following statement:

Today, the NHL and the NHLPA announced a significant agreement that addresses the uncertainty everyone is dealing with, the framework for the completion of the 2019-20 season and the foundation for the continued long-term growth of our League. I thank NHLPA Executive Director Don Fehr and Special Assistant to the Executive Director Mathieu Schneider, the more than 700 NHL Players – particularly those who worked on our Return to Play Committee – and the NHL’s Board of Governors for coming together under extraordinary circumstances for the good of our game. While we have all worked very hard to try to address the risks of COVID-19, we know that health and safety are and will continue to be our priorities. We know that all of our fans are excited about our return to the ice next month and that has been our goal since we paused our season on March 12.

The league has also included a schedule for the first ten days of the qualification round.

Devils Hire Lindy Ruff As Head Coach, Remove Interim Tag From GM Tom Fitzgerald

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The Devils had been using their extended offseason to conduct a thorough search simultaneously for their new head coach and GM.  In the end, they’ve decided to change the coach and keep the team as the team announced in a pair of press releases that they have hired Lindy Ruff as their new head coach and removed the interim title from Tom Fitzgerald who now is their full-time general manager.

Managing partners Josh Harris and David Blitzer released the following statement about Fitzgerald’s promotion to the full-time role:

When Tom took over the role of GM in January, we were committed to moving the organization in a new direction. Having gone through the process of interviewing various candidates, including Tom, and reviewing his work in the interim, we feel that he is the best fit for the New Jersey Devils moving forward. Our decision was solidified by his ability to stabilize the organization, get solid returns at the trade deadline, make impressive plans for player development and hire a new coach in Lindy Ruff. We are very optimistic about our future and know we have great deal of talent, both on and off the ice. Together, we are excited to start a new chapter and are committed to becoming a consistent contender, which our fans deserve.

Meanwhile, Fitzgerald said the following regarding his decision to hire Ruff:

We are proud and excited to have Lindy Ruff join our organization as Head Coach. He is one of the most successful and respected coaches in the NHL, not only today, but in League history. His personality, experience, knowledge, work-ethic and focus will provide a calm presence in our locker room. He is the right coach at the right time for our organization. Lindy has a proven track record of getting the absolute best out of his players across the board- stars, role players and everyone in between. His teaching ability, and communication skills will be well-suited for our team, especially our young, developing players. Throughout his career, his teams have been greater than the sum of their parts. I look forward to working together with Lindy as the organization moves forward.

Ruff takes over from Alain Nasreddine who had previously held the interim title behind the bench.  Unlike Nasdreddine, who was a first-time bench boss in the NHL, Ruff comes to the team with plenty of experience.  He spent parts of 15 seasons as the head coach of the Sabres from 1997-18 through 2013-14 before being replaced by Ron Rolston mid-season, a move that has sparked a flurry of coaching turnover in that organization since then.  Ruff didn’t wait too long before getting another job though as in 2013, as he was named the head coach of the Stars, a role he held for four seasons.

Since being let go from Dallas in 2017, the 60-year-old has served as an assistant coach with the Rangers, a division rival of New Jersey so he’ll have some familiarity with the Devils.  While it was first thought that Ruff would finish up his contract with New York as they’re set to participate in the play-in round against Carolina, that will not be the case.  Instead, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that Gord Murphy, the associate coach at AHL Hartford, will join New York for their run and that Ruff’s departure is immediate.

Beyond Ruff and Nasreddine, three other veteran coaches were in consideration for the position.  Peter Laviolette, John Stevens, and Gerard Gallant were believed to be the other finalists.

As for Fitzgerald, it is hard to argue that the former player and veteran executive did not deserve the official GM role. A former Assistant GM for the Pittsburgh Penguins who has spent the past five years in the same role with the Devils, Fitzgerald was bumped to interim GM for New Jersey back in January went the team surprisingly parted ways with Ray Shero. In the weeks following, leading up to the trade deadline, Fitzgerald dealt impending free agents Sami Vatanen, Andy Greene, and Wayne Simmonds in separate deals for second-, fourth-, and fifth-round draft picks and prospect Janne Kuokkanen and in his biggest move landed prized prospect Nolan Foote and a 2020 first-round pick for forward Blake Coleman. Fitzgerald maximized the value of his expendable assets and showed he is a worthy deal-maker.

Whether Fitzgerald finds the same success with his first coaching hire however remains to be seen. There will be some that are critical of his choice to recycle Ruff, especially with the caliber of available coaches on the market, but judgement should be reserved until the product can be seen on the ice. Fortunately, Ruff, Fitzgerald, and company have a long offseason ahead of them and should be well-prepared by the time next season rolls around.

Kevin Weekes of the NHL Network was the first to report (via Twitter) the Ruff hiring and Fitzgerald’s promotion to the full-time role.

Zach Leach also contributed to this post.

NHL, NHLPA Reach CBA Extension

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The NHL and NHLPA have a tentative agreement in place for the memorandum of understanding on the CBA, per TSN’s Bob McKenzie. The NHL and NHLPA have both announced the deal.

The owners and the players must ratify the agreement with a vote, but this is definitely trending in a positive direction. Ratification could happen as soon as the end of this week, but there is no set deadline, per McKenzie. Per the agreement, Phase 3 will begin as planned on July 13, followed by travel to hub cities on July 26 and the beginning of play on August 1.

The full press release from the NHLPA reads as follows: “The National Hockey League (NHL) and National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) have reached a tentative agreement on a Return to Play Plan and Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that adds an additional four years to the term of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement and includes transition rules and a new critical dates calendar. As part of the tentative agreement, the following dates have been established: July 13  start of formal training camps; July 26  Clubs travel to hub cities; August 1  start of Qualifying Round. The tentative agreement is now subject to approval by the NHL’s Board of Governors, as well as the NHLPA’s Executive Board followed by the full NHLPA membership. The respective review and approval processes will take place over the next few days and there will be no further comment until those processes are completed.”

Given the troubled history between these two sides, that they could come to an agreement without a work stoppage under these rushed and dynamic conditions speaks volumes. The extended CBA will now expire on September 15, 2026, per NHL.com.  There are still plenty of hurdles ahead before August 1, but for now, it appears that the NHL will return in less than a month’s time.

NHL And NHLPA Agree On Return To Play Protocols

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While the work to finalize a CBA extension remains ongoing, it appears at least part of the final package to be voted on by the players has been completed.  TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports (Twitter thread) that the NHL and NHLPA have completed a 40-page document that will constitute the Return to Play protocols for the final two stages – training camp and the play-in round/postseason.  Some of the details are as follows, courtesy of McKenzie unless otherwise noted:

  • Rosters will be limited to 30 skaters for Phase 3 with unlimited goalies.  Only those that are eligible to play this season can be on the roster.  Teams will be permitted to bring a maximum of 52 people to the hub cities, per Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports on Twitter.  Of that group, there must be at least 31 players and three coaches.
  • Players can opt out without any penalty but must notify his club in writing no later than 4 PM CT on Tuesday.
  • All club personnel will be tested 48 hours before they are permitted to return to club facilities.  Once done, they will be tested every other day for the duration of their team’s games.
  • Players that are determined to be at a substantial risk of developing a serious illness if exposed to the coronavirus will be ruled unfit to play.  However, the player can request a second opinion if they so desire.
  • Clubs will not be permitted to make announcements regarding the positive test of a player or team member without prior approval from the league in conjunction with the NHLPA.
  • Players who leave Stage 4 (the play-in round, round robin for the top four teams in each conference, and the playoffs) without approval will be subject to consequences up to and including removal which would constitute a disqualification for the player, notes Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link).  Clubs can also be penalized if this happens in the form of fines and/or forfeiture of draft picks.
  • Players who leave with approval will be forced to quarantine and will need to clear four tests within a four-day period to return, reports TSN’s Frank Seravalli (Twitter link).
  • Families will be permitted to join the players once the Conference Finals are reached, Seravalli adds in a separate tweet.
  • There are clauses in the agreement with regards to what would be required to postpone or cancel the remaining phases, termed as circumstances that would “likely create a material risk to Player health and safety and/or jeopardize the integrity of the competition”, Friedman adds in another Twitter thread.

As this will be voted on as a package along with a Memorandum of Understanding for a new CBA, it’s possible that the opt-out date will be extended but as things stand, players won’t have much time to make a decision on whether or not to participate.  That should certainly make for a few interesting days ahead.

2020 NHL Draft Lottery Results

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Friday, June 26 was originally intended to be the opening night of the NHL Entry Draft.  However, the ongoing pandemic has changed things so instead, the league held its draft lottery on Friday night and given the circumstances, it was a rather unique one.  While 15 teams were involved, eight of them aren’t yet known and were simply classified as Qualifier Team A, Team B, etc.  This is because those slots are reserved for the eight teams that lose in the play-in round which is presently slated to take place in early August.

While it may seem premature to do the lottery now when more than half the specific teams aren’t known, it at least gave the seven teams that aren’t returning this season some clarity on where they will be selecting.

Before getting to the results and the subsequent fallout from them, here is a quick overview of what the odds were for the top pick heading into the event:

Detroit Red Wings – 18.5%
Ottawa Senators – 13.5%
Ottawa Senators (from San Jose Sharks) – 11.5%
Los Angeles Kings – 9.5%
Anaheim Ducks – 8.5%
New Jersey Devils – 7.5%
Buffalo Sabres – 6.5%
Qualifier Team A – 6.0%
Qualifier Team B – 5.0%
Qualifier Team C – 3.5%
Qualifier Team D – 3.0%
Qualifier Team E – 2.5%
Qualifier Team F – 2.0%
Qualifier Team G – 1.5%
Qualifier Team H – 1.0%

Separate drawings were done for the second and third selection as well with the odds changing based on who won the preceding selection.  The results were as follows:

1) Qualifier
2) Los Angeles
3) Ottawa (via San Jose)
4) Detroit
5) Ottawa
6) Anaheim
7) New Jersey
8) Buffalo

It’s certainly a tough result for the Red Wings as they drop three slots while Ottawa was unable to select him with their top (combined) odds.  Their bad fortune was good news for the Kings and a team-to-be-named later though and with a qualifier team getting one of the picks, there will be a second draft lottery held at a later date.  Each team that loses in the play-in round will have an identical 12.5% odds at the first pick with selections 9-15 being slotted by lowest point percentage during the regular season.  If the play-in round doesn’t occur, the remaining bottom eight teams will have the 12.5% odds in the second lottery, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link).

While the league didn’t announce which placeholder team ’won’ the pick, Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports (via Twitter) that it was Qualifier Team E.

The grand prize in this lottery is a chance to select Rimouski (QMJHL) winger Alexis Lafreniere, the CHL’s top player in each of the last two seasons.  He has been dominant at the major junior level, compiling 114 goals and 183 assists in just 173 games, one of which came as a 15-year-old underager.  He’s expected to be ready to make the jump to the NHL right away and be an impact player in a hurry.  We’ll be waiting a while yet to find out who gets him though.

Others expected to contend for early spots are Sudbury (OHL) center Quinton Byfield and Mannheim (DEL) forward Tim Stutzle, while Erie (OHL) defenseman Jamie Drysdale and St. Petersburg (VHL) goalie Yaroslav Askarov are believed to be the top players available at their respective positions.

Hockey Hall Of Fame Announces 2020 Class

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The Hockey Hall of Fame announced its 2020 class on Thursday.  Getting enshrined in the six-person class are Marian Hossa, Jarome Iginla, Kevin Lowe, Kim St-Pierre, and Doug Wilson in the player category as well as Ken Holland in the builder category.

Iginla’s admission in his first year of eligibility should come as no surprise.  He was a premier power forward for the majority of his 20-year NHL career.  He was a two-time winner of the Rocket Richard Trophy for scoring the most goals in a single season while he won the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s points leader in 2001-02 and the Pearson Award for MVP as voted by the players that same season.  Iginla sits 14th all-time in regular season games played with 1,554 while sitting 16th in goals (625), 64th in assists (675), and 34th in points (1,300).  He’s also one of only 34 players in league history with at least 1,000 points and 1,000 penalty minutes.

Hossa is another player who was elected in his first year of eligibility.  While technically he’s still an active player (he’s on Arizona’s books through 2020-21), his playing career ended back in 2017 due to a skin disorder and he has since missed the minimum three years to become eligible for induction.  He didn’t have the individual accolades that some others in this class had but he won a total of three Stanley Cups with Chicago (2010, 2013, and 2015) while reaching the Final in 2008 (Pittsburgh) and 2009 (Detroit) which made him the first player in NHL history to reach the Final in three straight years with three straight teams.  During the span of his 17-year career, only three players had more points than Hossa – Joe Thornton, Jaromir Jagr, and Iginla.  Hossa sits 57th all-time in points with 1,134 in 1,309 games.

While Iginla and Hossa got in on their first opportunity, this was Lowe’s 20th year of eligibility.  He was an impact defenseman for the Oilers during their pinnacle in the 1980s, winning five Stanley Cups with them as well as one with the Rangers in 1994.  He was never the most prolific offensively – his career high in points in a single season was 46 – but he was a very important defensive defender over his 1,254 games spanning 19 years.  He is tied for sixth all-time for playoff games by a defenseman as well with 214.

Wilson had an even longer wait than Lowe as he has been eligible for induction since 1996.  He was more of an offensive-minded blueliner throughout his 16-year NHL career and at the time of his retirement, he sat eighth overall in all-time points by a defenseman with 827.  He has since slipped to 15th overall with all but one of those now in the Hall of Fame.  Wilson won the Norris Trophy for the NHL’s top blueliner in 1982 and is Chicago’s franchise leader in goals, assists, and points by a defenseman.

St-Pierre becomes the first female goaltender to make it to the Hall.  She was a fixture for Canada on the international front, leading the way for them in international appearances by a goaltender with 89 and wins with 64.  She won nine medals at the World Championships (five gold, four silver) while taking home the best goalie award twice in those events.  She also has a trio of Olympic gold medals and one top goalie award in that tournament.  St-Pierre was also the first female player to win a regular season game in the men’s division of college hockey (CIS) while also winning two Clarkson Cups.

Holland has been involved in an NHL front office role since 1985 when he retired as a player in Detroit’s organization to join them as a scout.  He was promoted to the GM role in 1997 and the team took off.  They made the playoffs in each season under his watch through 2016 which extended their franchise record streak to 25 years.  During that time, the Red Wings were the winningest team in the league during the regular season and won four Stanley Cups.  Holland stepped down from Detroit in 2019 to become GM in Edmonton.  On the international front, he was part of the management team for two Olympics, two World Championships, and one World Cup.

Each year, the Hall of Fame is allowed elect up to a maximum of four male players, two female players and two builders (or one builder and one referee/linesman) so it was nearly a full class of inductees this time around.  A decision will be made by August with regards to the actual induction ceremony which typically takes place each November.

11 NHL Players Test Positive For COVID-19

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It has been a harrowing day throughout North American professional sports with plenty of positive tests being identified, including in the NHL.  The league released the following statement through their PR account on Twitter providing an update on their testing situation:

Since NHL Clubs were permitted to open their training facilities on June 8, all Players entering these facilities for voluntary training have been subject to mandatory testing for COVID-19.  Through today, in excess of 200 Players have undergone multiple testing.  A total of 11 of these Players have tested positive.  All Players who have tested positive have been self-isolated and are following CDC and Health Canada protocols.  The NHL will provide a weekly update on the number of tests administered to Players and the results of those tests.  The League will not be providing information on the identity of the Players or their Clubs.

The current protocol is that players are tested once upon arriving in their club city and must test negative before they can take to the ice.  Once that happened, they are tested a minimum of two times per week after that.

The league is currently in its second phase out of four in its Return to Play protocol with the third stage being the beginning of training camps and the fourth being the beginning of the play-in round or for the top four teams in each conference, a set of round robin games to determine postseason seeding.  As things stand, it’s only in that final stage that full quarantining rules will be in effect.  However, the final protocols are still being negotiated between the NHL and the NHLPA.

Auston Matthews Tests Positive For COVID-19

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Earlier today, reports surfaced that Tampa Bay wasn’t the only team that had a player test positive for COVID-19.  It appears that is indeed the case as Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun reports that Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews has tested positive for the virus and has gone into quarantine at his home in Arizona.  The team later released the following statement:

Per the National Hockey League protocol with respect to COVID-19, the Toronto Maple Leafs will not be commenting on reports surrounds testing for any of the club’s players or staff. A person’s medical information in this regard is private. The club will defer to the NHL’s policy on handling the disclosure of positive tests results, in that the league will provide updates on a regular basis with aggregate totals of the numbers of tests conducted and number of positive tests reported without disclosing either the identities of affected clubs or players.

Simmons notes that Matthews has been skating with several Coyotes players, some of which have tested positive as well although the names of those have not yet been released.  Maple Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen had been living with Matthews for part of this extended break in the schedule but is no longer in Arizona; Simmons adds that he has not tested positive.

There has been a spike in positive COVID-19 tests in several states in recent days and while NHL teams are able to resume training, there are no quarantine restrictions in place at this time as there will be if play resumes as planned later this summer.

Lightning Close Facilities Due To Positive COVID-19 Tests

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3:08 PM: Lightning GM Julien BriseBois released the following statement through Twitter concerning the positive tests:

We have learned that three players and additional staff members have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.  Those players have been self-isolated following CDC protocals and are asymptomatic other than a few cases of low-grade fever.  Those who have been in contact with these individuals have been notified.  The Lightning continue testing and are strictly following all NHL and government procedures as part of the league’s Phase 2 guidelines.  Upon receiving positive tests yesterday, team training facilities were immediately closed with all players and staff being sent home.  Those facilities will remain temporarily shut down until we can ensure a safe environment.

12:16 PM: While NHL facilities are open as part of the second phase of the NHL’s Return to Play plan, at least one will be shut down temporarily.  TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports (all Twitter links) that three Lightning players and two staff members have tested positive for COVID-19.  The expectation is that if all other players and staff test negative, the facility will re-open in the near future although Diana C. Nearhos of the Tampa Bay Times reports that Amalie Arena (where the team was skating) will be closed to non-essential staff until July 6th.

The identities of the players and staff were not identified.  As McKenzie noted in an Insider Trading appearance on Thursday, that information is unlikely to be made available.  The NHL (in conjunction with the NHLPA) appears to be shifting towards the approach of the NBA where an announcement will simply be made that someone tested positive without making any other type of identification.  To that end, Joe Smith, Michael Russo, and Craig Custance of The Athletic report (subscription required) that there are other positive cases around the league at the moment that have not been announced.

It’s worth noting that at this stage in the process, the skates are voluntary and as such, there is no league-mandated quarantine in place.  The expectation remains that if play resumes (likely in early August), there will be a full quarantine for both hub cities.

While one set of positive tests at this stage isn’t going to cause a significant setback, it certainly serves as a sobering reminder that there is still a long way to go towards a safe and healthy resumption of play as the pandemic continues on.

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