from Matt Larkin of The Hockey News, ...The client had begun his off-season program. Prentiss was putting him through the paces like it was any summer between seasons. Suddenly, the client stopped. “I just can’t get my head into this,” the client said. He had to walk away, mid-workout. His heart, body and mind weren’t in it. It was the bubble hangover. The client played for a team that made the NHL post-season tournament. He’d spent weeks and months training after the March-12 shutdown in hopes of peaking physically in time for the bubble. He trained inside the bubble. He played a rigorous schedule that commonly included three games in four nights and regular back-to-backs. Now he was embarking on an off-season workout plan with no confident understanding of whether the NHL would meet its planned return date of Jan. 1. And something just switched off. After a pattern of training, waiting, training, playing and training, then back to training…he wasn’t ready. Prentiss and his staff paused the program. The NHL just completed the first “bubble season” in its history. Doing so required unprecedented preparation for the athletes who competed inside. Once there, they endured unusual physical and mental strain during the tournament. Now that the athletes have left the bubble, they need a different timeline of recovery and workout-plan customization than in any other off-season. What has the experience been like from a training perspective for NHLers before, during and after the bubble? more

from Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic, Here’s how much each team has changed this offseason, from highest value added to most value subtracted. Detroit Red Wings Wins Added: 5.9 wins Salary Added: $14.9 million In: Marc Staal, Thomas Greiss, Vladislav Namestnikov, Troy Stecher, Bobby Ryan, Jon Merrill Out: Jonathan Ericsson, Justin Abdelkader, Jimmy Howard, Trevor Daley, Madison Bowey, Christoffer Ehn The worst team in hockey has only one way to go next season: up. That’s especially true with the offseason they had. No, they didn’t sign any big names that moved the needle — but they did replace serious drags with actual NHL calibre talent. Every player on the way out was a negative value player last season, worth a combined minus-4.6 wins. That’s where most of the team’s added value comes from: addition by subtraction. Aside from Marc Staal, who is comparable in value to the players on the way out, everyone else is projected to bring positive value. It may be small, but at least it’s on the right side of the ledger and not actively hurting the team. It may not make sense for a bad team like Detroit to sign all these players, but it helps create a less toxic environment of losing. There’s a difference between playing at a 45-point pace and one closer to 70. It still sucks but it’s a lot less demoralizing. read on (paid subscription) for more teams... The Wings did rank #1 in this category.

via Sportsnet's YouTube page, Sportsnet counts down the top 10 calls of Mike 'Doc' Emrick's legendary broadcasting career.  

from Curtis Pashelka of the Mercury News, It appears the Sharks and six other teams that did not qualify for the NHL’s postseason earlier this year will be allowed to have extra time to train and practice together before the start of any main training camp. This summer, general managers from the seven teams asked the NHL if they could get an extended training camp — possibly as long as two weeks — before the start of the 2020-21 regular season. The GMs were seeking the same chance to skate the 24 other teams got during Phase 3 of the NHL’s Return to Play before the start of the postseason. In an email to this newspaper, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly wrote the league and the NHL Players’ Association have a general agreement on the structure of extra pre-camp workouts for those seven teams, but have not yet finalized any details. continued

The TSN Hockey Insiders discuss what the Blackhawks' planned rebuild means for veterans such as Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, whether there's been any progress on determining when the next NHL season will begin, if players salaries will be prorated next year in the event of a shortened season, and the Maple Leafs' plans to be salary cap compliant. Watch at TSN

from The Malik Report, New Red Wings forward Bobby Ryan spoke with DetroitRedWings.com’s Art Regner today on “The Word on Woodward.” The interview starts at the 1:20 mark and goes for about 15 minutes, and Ryan is surprisingly forthright and up-front regarding his career trajectory while speaking with Regner. Give it a watch if you’re able to do so: watch at TMR or below.

A message to Blackhawks fans. pic.twitter.com/7wBXrJPDQ1 — Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 20, 2020

from Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times, “We have to spend money and we’re looking to spend money,” Francis said. That means contracts ordinarily considered “risky’’ or “bad’’ because of high salary won’t necessarily generate such fears for the Kraken. “It’s certainly one possibility that you could take on what some teams determine to be bad contracts,” Francis said. “But that’s not necessarily the case.” Francis said the Kraken still must spend “wisely” to avoid backloading too much salary for years they’ll need cap space to pay young entry draft picks and other prospects. They have ample space now, but that can quickly evaporate if Francis behaves like the kid in the proverbial candy store armed with Bonderman’s credit card. “Certainly, in today’s world, cap space is extremely valuable, so we’ve got to be careful as we build things.” Nevertheless, the NHL freezing its cap this coming season means teams previously expecting more room are scrambling to fit players within tighter confines. Which leaves the Kraken sitting pretty; the only team with 100% cap space available. “We were looking at that $85 million, $86 million cap when we started,” Francis said. “So, there are some teams in that situation where the cap staying flat kind of affects their planning and they may have to do different things.” more

There are still some notable names on the board as the NHL's free agent signing period goes into its third week. With over 60 names taken off the Top 100 compiled by TSN Senior Hockey Reporter Frank Seravalli, Mike Hoffman is still the top free agent available. Hoffman scored 29 goals and added 30 assists in 69 games last season. His cap hit for 2019-20 was $5,187,500. Erik Haula, Hoffman's teammate from last season is ranked second on the list. Veteran forward Corey Perry comes in an third. continue for the Top 37 list...

Luke Fox of Sportsnet takes a look at the top RFAs... 8. Tyler Bertuzzi Age: 25 Position: Left wing 2019-20 salary cap hit: $1.4 million Arbitration rights: Yes — and filed Bargaining chips: Made first All-Star Game appearance. Back-to-back 21-goal, 47-point seasons. Skates nearly 20 minutes a night. Organization has invested seven years developing him into a first-line threat. The latest: One of the few bright spots on a sad-sack Red Wings, Bertuzzi has over-delivered on his two-year, $2.8-million bridge pact signed back in 2018 and deserves a nice pay bump. Of the three pending RFA forwards GM Steve Yzerman still must make decisions on, Bertuzzi is the most essential. Yzerman has been busy rebuilding his roster through smart, low-risk UFA signings, while clearing out veterans through buyout (Justin Abdelkader) or simply letting them walk (Jimmy Howard, Trevor Daley, Jonathan Ericsson). Bertuzzi has 30-goal potential, brings grit to his game, and should be seen as a building block for a rebuild that needs as many as it can get. Negotiations with Yzerman have begun as the sides try to work out a deal prior to arbitration Oct. 25. more players, including Anthony Mantha at #11...

from Corey Pronman of The Athletic, ...this updated version of the 2020-21 organizational rankings includes all players from the 2016 to 2020 NHL drafts who were first-year eligible at their draft. In addition to ranking all the organizations from 1 to 31 based on this group of players, I’ve updated the ranking for each team’s players who are projected as legit NHLers or better. 13. Detroit Red Wings Pre-draft org ranking: No. 18 2020 NHL Draft grade: A- Things are getting better in Detroit. There’s still a lot of work to do given the Red Wings won 17 games last season. In terms of young players, they still need a lot more, particularly of the top of the lineup variety, but things are moving in the right direction. Their No. 4 pick Lucas Raymond has the potential to be one of the keys to ending the tough times. 1. Lucas Raymond, LW 2. Moritz Seider, D 3. Filip Hronek, D 4. Filip Zadina, RW 5. Joe Veleno, C 6. Jared McIsaac, D 7. Michael Rasmussen, C 8. William Wallinder, D 9. Dennis Cholowski, D 10. Jonatan Berggren, RW the other ($$$) teams

fromAndrew Marchand of the New York Post, While Kenny Albert is a strong candidate to replace Mike (Doc) Emrick on NBC’s coverage of the Stanley Cup Finals, a name that cannot be ruled out is Mike Tirico. Albert, 52, could very well be the next man up, as he is NBC’s No. 2 NHL play-by-play man, having done conference finals and the Olympics for years. But Tirico, the face of NBC Sports, figures to be in the discussion when its network executives decide what to do next. Tirico is a hockey guy and has called a few games for the network over the past few years. Tirico, 53, is the host of the Olympics, NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” studio show, the Triple Crown and the network’s golf events. He also calls Notre Dame football. He is scheduled to replace Al Michaels full-time on “Sunday Night Football” broadcasts after the 2022 Super Bowl.... Along with Albert, NBC also may look at John Forslund and young, up-and-comer Brendan Burke to succeed the legendary Emrick. more

from Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News, So where, and with whom, will the new guys play? Left wing – center – right wing Tyler Bertuzzi – Dylan Larkin – Anthony Mantha This line isn’t expected to be broken apart at this point, and why should it?... Vladislav Namestnikov – Robby Fabbri – Filip Zadina A caveat here is the possibility of simply flipping Fabbri and Namestnikov.... LLeft defense – right defense Danny DeKeyser – Filip Hronek This is assuming DeKeyser is healthy after missing the majority of last season to a herniated disc. But the Wings are confident DeKeyser will be able to play, and if he is, it’ll give the Wings a formidable top defensive pairing.... Marc Staal – Troy Stecher The two offseason additions should help stabilize the defense. Both Staal and Stecher had good defensive metrics last season and form a competitive shutdown pairing. a bit more (paid) on each of the above and other combos...

Meaning it is slow, very slow. As many of you know I don't post just to post, you know I am here and keeping an eye on things but today, nada. A bunch of tributes to 'Doc' Emrick but otherwise very slow. If you wish, start your own discussion in the comments.

from Phil Mushnick of the New York Post, Mike “Doc” Emrick, the incomparable Voice of the NHL, Monday morning will retire, as per a shared announcement with NBC Sports. Emrick, 74, rose from calling college and minor league hockey radio broadcasts to develop an enthralling style that emphasized superior, often mesmerizing play-by-play: Original on-the-fly, bull’s-eye descriptions; a great knowledge of the game; current and past anecdotal info, timed to perfection; strong, warm relationships with his color analysts; and a modest charm that radiated as real. He forced nothing. He just knew how to know. “I hope I can handle retirement OK,” he said Sunday night from his home in Michigan, “especially since I’ve never done it before. But I’ve just been extremely lucky for 50 years. And NBC has been so good to me, especially since the pandemic, when I was allowed to work from home in a studio NBC created. continued

from Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press, Yzerman’s progress is remarkable, even for a man who was known as a great competitor during his playing days. Here are 18 thoughts on his first 18 months in office. Depth charge Only having one effective line on offense was among the many things that hurt the Wings in 2019-20. Injuries to Mantha (28 games), Andreas Athanasiou (17) and Filip Zadina (17) limited coach Jeff Blashill’s options because the Wings had no depth. Yzerman addressed the dearth of effective forwards by signing Vladislav Namestnikov (2 years, $4 million) and Bobby Ryan (1 year, $1 million). Those two, along with Mantha, Bertuzzi, Fabbri, Zadina and Dylan Larkin give the Wings good options for the top six and beyond. Cleaning house Since Yzerman took over as GM two weeks after the end of the 2018-19 season, 13 NHL regulars are no longer part of the roster. In addition to buying out Abdelkader and trading de la Rose, Yzerman opted not to re-sign Howard, Thomas Vanek, Luke Witkowski, Trevor Daley, and Jonathan Ericsson, did not make qualifying offers to Martin Frk, Madison Bowey and Christoffer Ehn, and traded Andreas Athanasiou and Mike Green at the 2020 deadline.  That's 12. more ($$$0

Tampa will host the Super Bowl on Feb. 7 and Cooper was asked if his championship pedigree will guarantee him a seat or two for the big game at Raymond James Stadium. “I don’t think Jon Cooper gets the Super Bowl tickets, but I think the Stanley Cup gets them,” laughed Copper. “The Stanley Cup is like walking around with Mick Jagger. It gets whatever it wants.” -Jon Cooper, head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning.  Ted Clarke of the Prince George Citizen has much more with Cooper.

Joe Thornton on signing w/Toronto: It was "probably the hardest hockey decision I've ever had to make, but I truly believe Toronto, w/the roster they have with the guys they picked up this offseason, this team is ready to win now. I'm ready to win. I'm just excited." — Curtis Pashelka (@CurtisPashelka) October 18, 2020

The following is an excerpt from "The Big 50: The Detroit Red Wings," written by Free Press sports writer Helene St. James and published by Triumph Books. The book is available online and in bookstores. Steve Yzerman wearing another NHL team’s uniform? It boggles the mind. The Wings did talk to teams about trading The Captain. The first time was in 1992. Jimmy Devellano had been pushed upstairs to a senior vice president role, and owner Mike Ilitch brought in Bryan Murray as general manager and coach. Ten years had passed since Ilitch purchased the Wings, and there was still no Stanley Cup championship. Pat LaFontaine—the Waterford native the Wings really wanted to draft in 1983—had forced the Islanders to trade him in October 1991. He put up 46 goals in 1991–92, his first season with the Buffalo Sabres. “There was talk between Buffalo and Detroit about LaFontaine for Yzerman even up,” Devellano said in 2019. “There were talks. We didn’t make it happen. But it was considered.” Ultimately, Ilitch nixed the trade. The second time the Wings explored trading Yzerman was 1995. Scotty Bowman was in charge. Ken Holland was the assistant general manager. The Ottawa Senators were newly minted and having a terrible time; they weren’t competitive and they weren’t a draw. Their arena at that time, the Ottawa Civic Centre, only seated 9,500 —and still there were often more empty seats than filled ones.... When Yzerman found out his name had come up in trade talks, he fumed to reporters about how much it bothered him. “I can’t say I’m upset about the possibility of being traded,” he said. “I just expected to be treated like an adult. I would have thought that at some time somebody would have come to me and said, ‘Here’s what we’re thinking. Here’s why we’re doing this.’ I guess they’re not adult enough to do that. I thought I knew people in the organization well enough. I’ve always tried to be upfront and honest and I thought I deserved that in return—the good or the bad. I love this city and I love this hockey team. But life goes on. Hockey goes on. Careers go on. We’ll just wait and see what happens.” more

from Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer, As mentioned, the offseason is far from over, and maybe Fletcher has more moves that will strengthen the defense. If not, he is gambling that his blueliners make up for their defensive shortcomings with their offense. Yes, it would be exciting to watch, but would it be effective? “Why not?” Fletcher said when asked if Gostisbehere and Gustafsson could both be regulars. “I think Provorov’s elite defensively. [Travis] Sanheim and Myers, in my opinion, will become elite shutdown defensemen in this league. Justin Braun is an elite defender. [Robert] Hägg is a good defender. So why not have a couple guys that can spring your offense? If we can defend less, that would be a great thing.” Under Fletcher’s direction, the Flyers made major strides last season, so maybe his out-of-the-box offseason will pay dividends. But I still think something else is in the works. more

from Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun, - The signing of Joe Thornton, not long after the signing of Wayne Simmonds, not long after the return of Jason Spezza is Maple Leafs management’s not-so-quiet indictment of club leadership. None of the three elders have a whole lot of game left in their marvelous careers. But all three will be expected to show the way in the upcoming Leafs’ season, whenever that will be. At 41, Thornton is slower than slow in a fast man’s sport, and has had an elite NHL career. Whether he can contribute much as a player — maybe on the second power play, maybe down low in the offensive zone — the thinking of those who know him best is that his contribution will come from his natural leadership skills.... - Hard to figure out the Florida Panthers. In the past year they hired Joel Quenneville to coach, brought in Sergei Bobrovsky to play goal, replaced Dale Tallon with Bill Zito as general manager, and lost three decent forwards, Mike Hoffman, Evgeny Dadonov and Vinny Trocheck and defenceman Mike Matheson. Are they getting better? Getting worse? Hard to know. - How can Brian Burke be such a fine father and, at times, such a despicable human being? The way Burke writes about Steve Moore in his recent book, Burke’s Law, is enough to turn your stomach. Not a word of sympathy. It’s 16 years after the horrible incident that cost Moore his career, and Burke piles on him in the book, apparently sad about what happened to Todd Bertuzzi’s career, with not an ounce of empathy for the injured Moore, who he denigrates as a minor leaguer, like that meant it was OK to ruin his life. “To this day, I’m convinced that the injuries weren’t severe enough to end his career. I think he could have come back and played if he wanted to,” wrote Burke. The 10 or so pages on the subject in Burke’s Law border on disgraceful. more on the first topic an other hockey related notes...

from Bryan Burns of TampaBayLightning.com, With COVID restrictions continuing, there are sure to be more non-traditional ways of celebrating with the Stanley Cup for the Lightning this offseason. Pritchard is one of five people who guard and protect and shuttle the Cup from one place to the next. Pritchard was in the Edmonton bubble at the conclusion of the Cup Final - two of the southernmost teams in the NHL contesting the final in the League's northernmost city -- and carried the Cup along with Craig Campbell onto the ice before resting it on a table for the trophy presentation after the Lightning defeated the Dallas Stars in six games. He flew back to Tampa on the Bolts team charter, witnessed each player high-fiving Lightning owner Jeff Vinik as they deplaned, saw the emotional reunion of players, coaches and staff with their families on the tarmac following the lengthy postseason run spent entirely away from home. Pritchard will switch off with other Cup Keepers based on geography. For example, if the Cup's going west, he can rendezvous with another Cup Keeper in a connecting city and hand it over. This year, there won't be as many Cup Keepers because some of the guys only work in the summer. "They teach sports in schools, so they're not available," Pritchard said. This being 2020, the Stanley Cup was presented to the Lightning September 28, more than three months after it would typically be awarded. The Lightning organization will get to keep the Cup through October, November and December ahead of the NHL's targeted start date of January 1 for the 2020-21 season. read on

from Larry Brooks of the New York Post, NHL players who were on a team’s “freeze roster” as of March 16 will be paid 8.1 percent of their base 2020-21 salary on Oct. 31. Under terms of the Memorandum of Understanding between the league and the Players’ Association, that is the only payment these players will receive until the season commences. The rest of the hundreds of pro players who were on minor league rosters at the time of the COVID-19-induced pause … well, they will get nothing. Just as they apparently will get nothing until AHL and ECHL seasons begin. Let’s say, if they begin. For if the structure of the NHL’s 2020-21 is fraught with uncertainty, the entire minor league operation is in question. The AHL long ago announced that the season would begin on Dec. 4, but that appears to be wildly optimistic. More to the point, it is difficult to conceive how the minor leagues can proceed without gate-related revenue. The NHL has appointed a committee of club executives, including, but not limited to, Edmonton’s Ken Holland, Winnipeg’s Mark Chipman and Toronto’s Kyle Dubas, to investigate hypotheticals that might apply to the AHL and minor league seasons. continued plus other topics...

Matt Porter of the Boston Globe gives the winner tag to the Wings with their UFA signings.... Still a lottery team, but with several more legitimate NHL players on the roster (Thomas Greiss, Vlad Namestnikov, Bobby Ryan, Troy Stecher, Marc Staal, Jon Merrill), they may have added 20-30 points in the standings. Not that it gets them anywhere, but wins are building blocks. more winners and losers plus other hockey topics...

from David Staples of the Edmonton Journal,... This year he ranks 15th on the list of scariest contracts in the National Hockey League. The other Oilers connections here are sixth ranked Milan Lucic, who was a Peter Chiarelli signing in Edmonton on that infamous day of July 1, 2016, when a handful of scary contracts were handed out, with underachievers Lucic, Louie Eriksson, Andrew Ladd, Frans Nielsen, Kyle Okposo and David Backes all inking major deals. Nielsen was signed in Detroit by current Oilers GM Ken Holland, who we can hope learned his lesson, though there’s a rumour that Holland just offered goalie Jacob Markstrom a seven year, $35 million deal.... Here’s 30 more deals, which have now run their course, that didn’t go well. Ken Holland is in the middle of two of them, paying far too much for Justin Abdelkader and Stephen Weiss. more on bad contracts handed out around the league...

via Sportsnet, HC's Brian Burke discusses why it doesn't make a lick of sense for the Maple Leafs to bring in Joe Thornton in free agency, saying he loves him, but he's a piece they don't need right now.  

from the Toronto Maple Leafs, The Toronto Maple Leafs announced today that the hockey club has signed forward Joe Thornton to a one-year contract. The value of the contract is $700,000. Thornton, 41, skated in 70 regular season games with San Jose last season, registering 31 points (7 goals, 24 assists). In 1,636 career NHL regular season games between the Boston Bruins and San Jose Sharks, Thornton has recorded 1,509 points (420 goals, 1089 assists) while adding 133 points (31 goals, 102 assists) in 179 playoff games. The six-time All Star captured both the Art Ross Trophy and Hart Memorial Trophy in 2006. continued

via the YouTube page of the Detroit Red Wings, Fox Sports Detroit's John Keating hosts a conversation surrounding the Detroit Red Wings 2020 Draft Class with Ken Daniels, Trevor Thompson, Art Regner, and Ken Kal. Steve Yzerman (6:46) also joins the show to discuss the Red Wings draft.  

from Nicholas J. Cotsonika of NHL.com, Steve Yzerman has generated more optimism the past three weeks than the Detroit Red Wings have had since … well, since he took over as general manager April 19, 2019. He has passion, patience and a plan, and though the Red Wings are still early in their rebuilding process, you can see the path forward based on the NHL Draft, free agency and trades.... The Red Wings need difference-makers, and the most likely way to add them is through drafting and developing. They selected forward Lucas Raymond with the No. 4 pick of the 2020 NHL Draft on Oct. 6. He represents the highest pick they have had in three decades, since forward Keith Primeau at No. 3 in 1990. Perhaps he and defenseman Moritz Seider, the No. 6 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft and Detroit's first pick under Yzerman, can become cornerstones. But since former GM Ken Holland recognized their 25-season playoff streak was about to end in 2016-17, the Red Wings have been stockpiling picks to give themselves more lottery tickets. After selecting 10 players in Rounds 2-7 last year, including three in the second round, they selected 11 players in Rounds 2-7 on Oct. 7, including three in the second round and two in the third. They have three picks in the second round and two in the third next year. Can some of them blossom into stars one day? In the meantime, the Red Wings have to improve all parts of their roster and become more competitive, for their fans and the development of the players they already have. more

from Kevin Woodley at NHL.com, Brian Daccord helped pioneer one expansion of goalie-related jobs in the NHL. He hopes to do it again now as the Arizona Coyotes director of goaltending operations. Daccord was hired Sept. 25 to fill the newly created position, which also includes a role as special assistant to general manager Bill Armstrong, hired Sept. 17. Daccord begins the position five years after he was hired by the Toronto Maple Leafs as the first full-time goaltending scout in the NHL. He is one of two goalie-specific members of front offices across the League to have director in his title; Mitch Korn, director of goaltending for the New York Islanders, is the other. "For the last 25 years, I've been knee-deep in goaltending and I was so proud of my position in Toronto because I felt like it helped the goalie community," Daccord said. "It was another opportunity, and much like when (then-Toronto general manager) Lou [Lamoriello] hired me to be the first full-time goalie scout in the NHL, I feel like Bill also is now taking a big step as a general manager and being innovative by saying, 'I'm going to hire a director of goaltending operations.'" continued

I have never understood this type of comparison except for the 'we drafted this player in this round and maybe it will happen again' theory. from Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press, They are the long shots of the drafts, the players who, if they become regulars in the NHL, are referred to as "later-round gems." Notable players drafted in rounds 4-7 by the Detroit Red Wings include Sergei Fedorov, Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Gustav Nyquist, Darren Helm and Petr Mrazek. In the 2020 NHL draft, general manager Steve Yzerman and his scouting staff mined the later rounds for two forwards, two defensemen and one goaltender in hopes of adding a player or two to the rebuild. Two have impeccable hockey pedigrees, and all appear determined to overcome the odds of making the NHL from their draft slots. F Sam Stange, 4th round (No. 97 overall) This was quite a round for the Wings. Fedorov, three-time Stanley Cup champion, was taken at 74th overall in 1989, when NHL teams were wary of drafting Russians because of the Cold War. There’s also John Ogrodnick (drafted No. 66 in 1979), who played 558 games with the Wings, and Nyquist (No. 121, 2008), who recorded 295 points in 481 games in a Wings uniform. Stange (6 foot, 200 pounds) is in good hands, committed to play at Wisconsin, where he’ll be coached by former NHL’er and ex-Wings assistant coach Tony Granato. Stange projects as a power forward. “I’m a bigger, stronger forward who relies on my shot and my speed,” he said. “I also think I’m pretty responsible defensively, so I’d say I’m a two-way forward. One of the things I’m looking to work on is using my size and strength a little bit more, just being more physical.” more players

from Damien Cox at the Toronto Star, All the signs point to a league that is retreating and preparing for the worst. Players got their most recent paycheques in April, and are scheduled to get another regular paycheque on Oct. 31. That’s it until the next season begins. If and when it begins. Bettman’s bravado aside, the NHL is facing its toughest financial challenge since the days of the World Hockey Association. That challenge was met largely because the WHA owners ran out of cash. The coronavirus, however, doesn’t have a payroll to meet. It resolutely marches on, like Sherman to the sea. We can try to create chatter about whether Zach Bogosian will be better than Cody Ceci, how much signing Evgeny Dadonov will help Ottawa reach the salary floor, the merits of an all-Canadian division and whether Brendan Gallagher is worth the money. But it’s really all speculation that’s more idle than ever. The bubble season was a useful and effective delaying tactic. Now, the facts on the ground can’t be avoided with a trick play. For the foreseeable future, the coronavirus is kneeling on hockey’s neck. more

It's a week into free agency and a ton of big names have been crossed off the list after finding new homes, but questions remain on where some top players will be playing next season. The TSN Hockey Insiders discuss the latest news surrounding Patrik Laine and the Jets, Zdeno Chara’s future, the possibility of an all-Canadian division next season, and more. Watch at TSN

Kyle Aucoin, Jan Bednar and supposed to be Troy Stecher press conference. Aucoin first....  

from Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News, There are still teams looking to add and improve — and more than a few unrestricted free agents looking for jobs in this economically challenged time in the NHL. But there are plenty of conclusions to be drawn already from this wild offseason. Winners Detroit Red Wings: Look, the Red Wings aren’t going to make the playoffs, win the Stanley Cup, but they will be more competitive. After last season’s debacle, that’ll be a step forward. In trading for defenseman Marc Staal, and signing goalie Thomas Greiss, forwards Bobby Ryan and Vladislav Namestnikov, and defensemen Troy Stecher and Jon Merrill (Grand Blanc/Michigan), GM Steve Yzerman made no long-term, big-money commitments but added leadership and improved the roster. more winners and losers...