Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Players

Latest On Hub Cities And NHL’s Decision Not To Quarantine For Training Camps

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The NHL and Players’ Association have yet to finalize their return-to-play agreement, but the presumptive deal sets players to arrive in hub cities for competitive play in less than a month. While players will be quarantined during their time in the hubs, they are unrestricted right now, charged with managing their own exposure risk until hub-play begins, per Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press.

With no quarantine for training camps, players carry the hefty responsibility of policing themselves. The plan, more or less, is for players to simply stay home when they’re not skating. Whyno provides a quote from Carolinas Medical Center medical director of infection prevention Katie Passaretti, who adds the proper gravitas to the situation. Said Passaretti:

“You have a whole bunch of people in close proximity to each other for prolonged periods of time, they may be traveling together exposed to other individuals that you don’t know who they’ve been exposed to. Any time you’re bringing groups together and then sending them back out into the world, there’s potential for further spread if one of those individuals was asymptotically infected or early in the stages of symptomatic infection.”

Concern for player safety is well-caused, especially as coronavirus cases rise approaching the July 10 opening date for training camps. Whether defined as the much-anticipated second wave or “hot spots,” the numbers have to be concerning to players and their families. Florida experienced a new single-day high of coronavirus just today with over 8,942 confirmed cases, per Ben Conarck and Daniel Chang of the Miami Herald. Nearly a quarter of Florida’s confirmed have been newly reported in the last week, a disconcerting sign for a state that’s seen more than 3,400 deaths.

Meanwhile, it’s unclear where these health concerns fall in the hierarchy of criteria for selecting hub cities for postseason play. Vancouver Minister of Health Adrian Dix was personally disappointed the NHL couldn’t find its way to British Columbia, per Patrick Johnston of The Province. Dix said, “Vancouver — and anybody who’s paying any attention at all knows this — is the best possible place for them to come. Because we enforce public health rules in British Columbia thoroughly and completely. This is the reason to come.”

Ontario – still in the running – had a record low number of confirmed cases combined with a record-high number of tests, per Rob Ferguson of the Toronto Star. That’s certainly good news, but Ontario is also continuing to let asymptomatic workers return to their offices, tweets Richard Zussman of Global BC. The exact protocols for what happens when a player or staff member does test positive remains at issue in finalizing the hub locations.

Stateside, there were a record number of COVID-19 cases on Wednesday (34,500 cases), per Whyno. There’s even some concern that a Nevada strain of the coronavirus is spreading more rapidly than others, per Mary Hynes of the Las Vegas Journal-Review, though there’s still significant debate over the veracity of those claims. With Vegas expected to win one of the hub awards, the conditions in and around the city are surely being tracked closely by NHL officials. According to the New York Times coronavirus tracker, cases in Nevada are on the rise with 483 new cases on Tuesday marking a single-day high.

All in all, there’s clearly a ton of information for the NHL and NHLPA to process – and that’s not likely to change even after the hub locations are finalized. It’s not surprising the announcement was delayed from Monday, the original decision date. Still, with the July 10 training camp date looming and competitive play not much further off, the league is staring down a crucial 24-48 hours of decision-making.

Snapshots: Vancouver, Michigan, CBA

at CDT | by 6 Comments

As hinted at by reports earlier today, Vancouver is officially out as a potential hub city for the NHL postseason. Once considered a favorite along side Las Vegas, the British Columbia metropolis nevertheless ended up as an underwhelming option in the eyes of the league. The club released a statement thanking those whose efforts went into Vancouver’s hub city campaign but acknowledging that they are out of the running. This result is believed to have stemmed from the Vancouver group’s inability to have a plan in place for responding to a positive COVID-19 test that would not lead to a stoppage in play. In Vancouver’s stead, Edmonton and Toronto are expected to receive more attention while Los Angeles and Chicago still remain in the running. By all accounts, Las Vegas has already secured its spot and just one city is left to be determined.

  • The University of Michigan has announced their 2020-21 recruiting class and, while all of these names have previously been revealed over the past few years, the talent involved warrants a reminder. The Wolverines are bringing in an elite group to Ann Arbor next season, headlined by a pair of potential 2020 first-round picks. Neither Thomas Bordeleau nor Brendan Brisson are guaranteed to be selected on Day One, the American forwards stand a good chance of earning a late-round selection. Fellow forward Philippe Lapointe, son of long-time NHLer Martin Lapointe, is also expected to be drafted at some point this year. Goaltender Erik Portillo has already gone through the draft process and landed at No. 67 to the Buffalo Sabres last year. The Swedish prospect may sit for a year, but will certainly start for Michigan at some point soon. Yet, what might be more exciting for Wolverine fans are not the past or present draft products, but the future. Hulking two-way defenseman Owen Power and super skilled center Kent Johnson round out the recruiting class as two of the top prospects available in the 2021 Draft. Michigan will groom them for a season before one or both very likely get the chance to bolt for the NHL in 2021-22.
  • Comments made by New York Rangers superstar Artemi Panarin have brought the escrow issue back to the forefront of NHL labor relations as the league and players’ association continue to work toward a CBA extension. Panarin went so far as to say that players should not report to Phase 3 training camps without a new deal in place that corrects the current escrow crisis. The two side are indeed making progress in CBA talks and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that escrow terms may even be close to complete. Friedman notes relays that a plan is in place that would cap escrow at 20% for the 2020-21 season, but would include a one-season-only 10 per cent salary deferral, protecting owners in the short term while returning money to the players down the road. As part of the agreement though, the salary cap could remain stagnant at the current $81.5MM upper limit for the next three seasons with the potential for it to potentially go up in 2022-23.
  • The New York Post’s Larry Brooks reports that these CBA terms could be packaged with the Return to Play Plan in a vote facing every member of the NHLPA. While recent player movement, especially out of Europe, and participation in voluntary activities would indicate that the players are on board with the proposed Return to Play plan, there is no indication of their feeling on the current escrow and salary cap issues and how that might impact the ability for both key policies to receive a majority vote.

Snapshots: Hub Favorites, Phase 2, Postseason Rules

at CDT | by 10 Comments

Six cities remain in the hunt as potential hub locations for when the NHL returns to play. As things stand right now, Vegas and either Vancouver or Edmonton are the frontrunners, per The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun. Toronto, Chicago, and Los Angeles remain outside contenders – but they are still very much in the hunt. Of course, Vegas, Vancouver, and Edmonton are all in the Western Conference, meaning one of the Golden Knights, Canucks, or Oilers would play their games at home – should LeBrun’s hunch prove correct. The NHL isn’t overly concerned, per LeBrun, because without fans present, the games would still qualify as technically neutrally located, even though whichever team does stay home would enjoy a certain amount of comfort in their home building. Finding the best, safest fit to house 12 teams at a time is the priority for now, over maintaining a perfect degree of parity. Let’s check in on the other tidbits of news that have eeked out over the last few hours concerning the NHL’s return to play…

  • Phase 2 takes another step forward tomorrow, allowing for up to 12 skaters to share the ice at a time during workouts, tweets Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston. Only six skaters had been allowed at a time up until now. A successful expansion could prove a crucial development given the recent rash of COVID-19 cases popping up across the sports landscape.
  • We also now know – thanks to NHL deputy commissioner Billy Daly – that each of the 24 participating teams will play one or two exhibition games prior to the round-robin and play-in phases of the NHL postseason, per Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer. That’s not a ton of ice time to ready the troops, but with such a small window of viability, it makes sense to limit player exposure prior to any games of consequence.
  • In a more logistical matter, the NHL and Players’ Association have agreed to extend contracts and visas for players whose contracts were going to expire on June 30th, tweets CapFriendly. That’s not to indicate a more comprehensive agreement between the two sides, as will be required before the NHL officially returns to play. The matter of expiring contracts appears to have been agreed upon as a solitary issue.
  • Teams will have 30 players available for July 10 training camps, with playoff rosters trimmed to 28, per Ben Kuzma of Postmedia Sports. For camp and the playoffs, teams will be granted an unlimited number of goalies. Being as only 6 members of each team have been allowed to share the ice at a time through today, the scope of the NHL’s undertaking will clearly require heavy-lifting from logistics and operations departments.

NHL Will Not Change Phase 3 Start Date In Response To Positive COVID Tests

at CDT | by 15 Comments

It was a rude awakening for the NHL yesterday. With Phase 2 voluntary workouts underway and excitement finally starting to build toward resuming the 2019-20 season later this summer, it seemed like everything might come to a screeching halt following yesterday’s revelation that 11 players had tested positive for Coronavirus, including Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews, since workouts began on June 8. Additionally, the Tampa Bay Lightning had to shut down their arena and stop all workouts with three players and two staff members among the many new COVID cases in the state of Florida. The NHL shut down in the first place in part to avoid the spread of the virus among its players and staff, but the early signs show that re-starting the league this soon might not be possible if this remains a key objective.

Not so fast though, says the league. Michael Russo and James Mirtle of The Athletic released an in-depth piece earlier today that details the many concerns that player and other stakeholders have with the NHL’s plans to resume play, especially following the positive test confirmed yesterday. Yet, the most important piece of the article is this: the NHL is not considering delaying the start of Phase 3 at this time. The next stage in the league’s plan to return to play is to open training camps on July 10, just under three weeks from now. This would set up the start of the expanded postseason for early August, a timeline that the league hopes would allow them to complete the season, take time off for the off-season, and begin the 2020-21 campaign before the start of the new year. As of right now, 11 positive COVID tests are not enough for the NHL to slow their plan of attack.

Of course, the one caveat to all of these plans is that the players have not yet agreed to the terms of the return to play plan. While the NHL and NHLPA have worked together to approve a potential format that the majority of teams and players felt was fair, there still needs to be a formal vote in which the players agree to return from the league’s pause. With positive cases on the rise, concerns over the conditions related to returning to play, and some players still struggling with simply returning to their teams, all well detailed by Russo and Mirtle, a “yes” vote may not be as easy as it once seemed.

Nashville Goalies Prepare To Face Off

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Nashville Predators are mentally preparing to take on the Arizona Coyotes in their Stanley Cup Qualilfier whenever play resumes, a matchup that would presumably paint the Preds (.565 winning percentage) as favorites over the Coyotes (.529 winning percentage). Before that matchup, however, the Predators have to decide on a lead netminder for the five-game series. Both rostered goaltenders will get an equal shake at nabbing the top spot, per NHL.com’s Mike G. Morreale. One of Pekka Rinne or Juuse Saros will start the series against the Coyotes in the net, but it’s going to depend on who is the most ready.

Based on resume alone, Rinne would be the easy choice. He’s anchored the Predators defense since 2008-2009, won the Vezina Trophy just two seasons ago, and the 37-year-old is 21st all-time with 2.42 Goals Against Average.

But in the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately department, Saros might have the edge. The 24-year-old started a career-high 34 games this season while registering a .914 save percentage. By contrast, Rinne got the starting nod in 35 games but managed just a .895 save percentage. There are a couple of teams facing this brand of a changing of the guard in goal – the Golden Knights and Capitals, for example – and the decision is a peculiar one for these clubs.

Rinne has the track record, without a doubt, and Saros could very well be the goaltender of the future, but the task at hand for the Predators is deciding who will be more ready for playoff action under these peculiar circumstances. It might be that the younger Saros will be able to get his body up to speed faster. Or it could be that the veteran Rinne is more capable of handling the mental challenge of maintaining focus amid a global pandemic. It’ll be up to the Predators’ brain trust to decide.

Morreale provides this quote from Nashville coach John Hynes: “It’s a different thing for players now; they’ve got to leave their families, go to a hub city. Families aren’t going to be part of it. You’re not coming home after games, so this is all about the team, it’s all about the Nashville Predators and playing for the guy next to you. It’s also playing for their families and how do we incorporate this to commit to the level you need to commit to win in the playoffs.”

One Trade The Islanders Would Like To Have Back

at CDT | by 7 Comments

While we await the return of the NHL, it’s a great time to look back at some of the influential transactions in NHL history. Yesterday we looked at the Capitals ill-fated midseason acquisition of winger Martin Erat. The deal cost them Filip Forsberg, who has developed the way Nashville hoped he would, while Erat provided little value at all during his short stay in Washington. But if we’re going to look at trades that helped shape our current era of NHL hockey – for better or worse – we should start at the top (or the bottom).

For trades worth second-guessing, there are very few as satisfying as the deal made between the Islanders and Senators way back in 2001. The deal sent Zdeno Chara to Ottawa along with Bill Muckalt and a 1st-round pick in exchange for Alexei Yashin. It’s frankly amazing that a deal from 2001 would include players still contributing in the NHL today, some nineteen years later, but that speaks to the impact of this transaction.

To find where the Islanders went wrong, there’s no better place to start than with Chara. Lots must go right for a player to reach his full potential, but that’s exactly what happened after Chara went to Ottawa. The deal came after Chara spent parts of four seasons in Long Island, and the then-23-year-old hadn’t really taken off. He was coming off a season in which he played in 82 games, but managed only 9 points and a plus/minus of -27. The Islanders weren’t a playoff team, finishing the 2000-2001 season in fifth place with 52 points.

Of course, things went much better for Chara from that point forth, as the hulking blueliner earned six Norris nominations (one win), seven All-Star honors, and he won a Stanley Cup with the Bruins in 2011. He’s also the NHL’s active leader in Plus/Minus (288) and Defensive Win Shares (99). The Senators only got four seasons from Chara, but they were among the best regular-season teams in the NHL during those years, making the playoffs each of those four seasons, and even managed to beat the Islanders in the first round of the 2002-2003 playoffs.

To make matters worse, Chara wasn’t the only piece the Islanders sent out on that ill-fated day in 2001. Bill Muckalt also went north in that deal, though the right-winger is at least one piece Islanders’ fans don’t have to lose sleep over. He played just one season in Ottawa, and he would be out of the league not two years later.

There’s one final piece. The Islanders sent the 2nd overall selection in the draft to the Senators, a pick that turned into center Jason Spezza. Spezza starred in the middle for eleven years in Ottawa, making two All-Star teams as one of the game’s stellar goal creators. He’s 91st all-time in the NHL now in Adjusted Points (1015) and 92nd all-time in Assists (599). At age-37, he’s a veteran presence on a Toronto Maple Leafs team that will look to enter the playoff field with a win against Columbus whenever play resumes.

Considering the Senators nabbed two all-timers from New York, this has to qualify as a pretty good deal for them. But there’s a give-and-take to every good deal right? Perhaps not so much. The Senators sent Alexei Yashin to the Islanders. Yashin was a fine player, just a year removed from a second-place finish for the Hart Trophy, but they gave up a lot to get him. To make matters worse, the Islanders doubled down and gave him a 10-year, $84MM contract less than three months after the trade, a contract that would have paid Yashin through his age-37 season. For examples of players remaining viable that deep into their careers, we need not look any further than Chara and Spezza. Unfortunately, the Islanders bet on the wrong horse. Yashin wouldn’t come close to recouping the value the Islanders poured into him. They bought him out after the sixth year.

Snapshots: Face Shields, Seattle Expansion, Toronto’s Hub Pitch

at CDT | by 3 Comments

Some people around the NHL are exploring protections for players and other essential personnel for when play resumes. The focus of negotiations between the league and the NHLPA have largely focused on safety precautions and testing procedures for COVID-19, but those at Bauer, a hockey equipment manufacturer, is in talks with the league about an off-ice, lightweight visor that could help protect players and coaches, per Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press. A full face-shield for spectators will be met with some skepticism – as these types of changes often are – but Bauer vice president of global marketing Mary-Kay Messier is convinced that their new “integrated cap shield” could be benefit those near the ice. Said Messier, “There’s quite a lot of yelling from coaches. So when you think about and you talk about that yelling or loud talking that you are at greater risk for the droplets, I would say it is a very viable option at a lot of different levels.” 

  • The NHL’s next expansion team is set for Seattle, but they’re not rushing to reveal details like the team name – at least not yet, writes Sean Leahy of NBC Sports. Leahy provides a quote from Seattle hockey CEO Tod Leiweke, who said, “It’s not the right time. Vegas did it a year out. We’ve got ample time, and the thing this organization will never be is tone deaf. So we’ve got to pick the right time, and we’ve got to make sure all of our ducks are in a row.” Other benchmarks remain more-or-less on track, including the construction on the KeyArena. There may be a small delay, but nothing that will impact the ultimate timeline of bringing the NHL to Seattle. 
  • There are many practical concerns for resuming play in any of the potential hub cities, though Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gave some hope to those host cities by supporting the idea of the NHL returning to play and allowing for provinces to make some decisions about best practices. Logistics and health concerns aside, The Star’s Kevin McGran makes the case for Toronto, citing the many restaurant and hotel options, as well as rink availability. Obviously, any potential hub city will have to provide many options on all three counts. McGran also notes that more NHL players hail from the greater Toronto area than anywhere else, which could help ease player concerns about being away from their families. Another boon to Toronto’s chances is the presence of Sportsnet, a national TV rightsholder.

Snapshots: Resuming Play, Viewing Experience, Blackhawks

at CDT | by 3 Comments

The NHL and the NHL Players’ Association has thus far avoided much of the public acrimony that’s developed between other leagues and their players (namely, the MLB, but to a lesser extent, the NBA as well). But the largest hurdle is yet to come, per ESPN’s Emily Kaplan and Greg Wyshynski. There is, of course, the final decision on the two hub cities, which will be put to a vote once the league makes their decision. But the conditions within those hubs are likely to be the biggest barrier to resuming play. Namely, players aren’t wild about being sequestered away from their families, reports Kaplan and Wyshynski. A major factor going into the selection of the hub cities is the extent of accommodations and dining options available, but those issues have largely been framed as a means to maintain player morale – not necessarily to accommodate families. Needless to say, these are not minor issues, and the players will surely have much to say on the issue when it comes time for the Phase 3 and Phase 4 votes. More from around the league on returning to action…

  • In other parts of the hockey-verse, discussions are underway to alter the viewing experience of the NHL as we know it should play resume without fans, per The Athletic’s Sean Fitz-Gerald. Obviously, without fans present, the ambiance of playoff hockey is going to be much, much different. That said, interested parties are working on ways to make it work. Some ideas being kicked around are putting microphones on the players or lighting the ice to make it appear spotlit (blacking out the seats as much as possible). Of course, these are largely cosmetic issues for TV networks to work on while the logistics of returning to play are still being litigated. Regardless, expect at least a new wrinkle or two to your NHL broadcast if/when NHL players are back on the ice.
  • For their part, the Blackhawks are looking inward as they prepare for a potential play-in series against the Oilers, per Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Chicago Sports. With coaches not allowed on the ice with players until the training camp portion of the reboot begins, players are focusing on their own conditioning and timing. That’s likely the plan moving forward, at least for the Blackhawks and coach Jeremy Colliton, who said, “For now, the focus has been our own players and their development and how can we improve within ourselves watching video of our own game. That’s how training camp will be, too. But as we get closer to that series, we’ll dig deeper and make sure we’ve covered all the bases.”

Peter Laviolette Considered Favorite For Devils Head Coach

at CDT | by 8 Comments

Just yesterday it was reported that the New Jersey Devils had trimmed the list of candidates for their vacant head coach position to just four names. Given the long off-season awaiting the club, it seemed curious that they were moving quickly on the search, especially as they have yet to finalize their GM position as well. Yet, the Devils don’t seem to be slowing down. Only 24 hours later, a four-man list that included interim head coach Alain Nasreddine and three unknowns has now produced a favorite. TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that Peter Laviolette has emerged as the favorite for the position.

Laviolette, 55, should not come as surprise as the top candidate on the Devils’ list, as he is arguably the best coach on the open market right now. Laviolette was most recently the head coach of the Nashville Predators, fired to the surprise of many back in January despite a winning record on the year and having led the Predators to the playoffs in each of his five full seasons with the team. Should Laviolette be the selection for New Jersey, it would become the fifth NHL franchise that he has led, joining the Predators, New York Islanders, Carolina Hurricanes, and Philadelphia Flyers. Laviolette has been a head coach in the league in 18 seasons dating all the way back to 2001-02, when he was the youngest bench boss in the league at 36. Laviolette has totaled more than 1200 games in his NHL coaching career and holds a .588 regular season points percentage, a Stanley Cup title with the Hurricanes in 2005-06, three Finals appearances, and 11 playoff appearances. The Boston native also won a Calder Cup and AHL Coach of the Year honors with the Providence Bruins, which ignited his NHL career.

Beyond the accolades, Laviolette’s style may also explain his top position among the Devils’ candidates. An intense personality, it shows in Laviolette’s fast-paced style and aggressive offensive game plans. Meanwhile, New Jersey has a young, skilled roster of players who can keep up with the taxing style that Laviolette prefers. The problem is that they have looked slow, disorganized, and unmotivated too often over the past few years. Former Predator P.K. Subban especially would likely enjoy being back in Laviolette’s system. Laviolette could help to turn the team around in a hurry, especially if his presence can also help the cap-comfortable Devils recruit some top free agents this summer.

Laviolette’s hiring is not set in stone. Dreger even admits that the uncertain status of interim GM Tom Fitzgerald could keep an official hire from happening soon. However, Laviolette certainly makes sense as the Devils’ top pick and would be an exciting addition to a franchise that desperately needs to take a step forward next season.

Playoff Notes: Player Concerns, Round Robin, Tampa Bay

at CDT | by 6 Comments

It certainly seems like an NHL postseason is on the way, as the NHLPA approved continued talks of a 24-team playoff format on Friday. However, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun echoed the sentiment of the NHLPA’s statement when he reported that there are still concerns among the players. This initial vote was merely to continue making progress on the rough format of a 24-team structure, but there are details that still need to be hammered out. Specifically, LeBrun states that the players would prefer re-seeding after each round rather than the proposed bracket format. Further, the players were told that there is still indecision over whether that initial round of teams 5-12 in each conference would be a best-of-five or a best-of-seven series. The NHLPA will need to re-evaluate a final proposal before the league can make any official announcement.

  • The idea of re-seeding does seem to be a more balanced and fair system for implementing this playoff structure. As currently proposed, the top seed in each conference would play the No. 8 or No. 9 team in the second round, while any of the other three bye seeds could wind up with an easier match-up following a bye in the first round. Especially if the first round is a best-of-five series, which would be more prone to upsets, the bracket format creates equity concerns. As Sportsnet’s Luke Fox describes, it also de-values the proposed round robin games between the top-four bye teams in each conference. This format is also still to be finalized, but the proposal was that the results of this round robin tournament would determine the seeding of those four bye teams. As Fox notes, if there is no real advantage to having the top seed in the bracket structure then there is not much to fight for in the round robin.
  • One of the two teams who voted against the proposed 24-team playoff format was the Tampa Bay Lightning. Alex Killorn, the team’s NHLPA rep, spoke with The Athletic’s Joe Smith about the reasons why the team did not support the decision. Killorn stated that his team did not feel that it was fair for teams that likely would not have made the playoffs under the normal circumstances to not only have a shot in this expanded field, but also to have a better chance of moving on with a limited five-game series. Tampa also took issue with the preparedness of the teams who had earned byes, a point that would be emphasized further if – as LeBrun and Fox warn – the bracket system leads to a round robin for the first-round bye teams that lacks real meaning. These are fair points made by Killorn and the Lightning, but it seems that without the details of the playoff structure formalized yet, these concerns could be quelled by seven-game series in the first-round and re-seeding after the round rather than a bracket structure.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top