7:00 AM ET 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. While we’d usually be discussing our first-month takeaways on Nov. 2, we’re instead smack dab in the middle of the offseason, with the
NHL
10:57 PM ET Associated Press TORONTO — Ontario Premier Doug Ford is leaving the door open for bodychecking to remain in the Ontario Hockey League for the upcoming season. Ford tweeted Saturday night that he is working on a return-to-play plan with the OHL that would involve physical contact. He acknowledged that the plan would
5:01 PM ET Associated Press The Ontario Hockey League will not have bodychecking this season because of COVID-19. Lisa MacLeod, Ontario’s minister of sport, said Friday that removing purposeful physical contact from the game was necessary in preventing the spread of the coronavirus. MacLeod said the decision was influenced by the Quebec Major Junior Hockey
12:15 PM ET The Hockey Hall of Fame will not induct a Class of 2021 — allowing the 2020 inductees to have their own standalone celebration next year. In June, the HHOF announced it had elected six new members: players Marian Hossa, Jarome Iginla, Kevin Lowe, Kim St-Pierre and Doug Wilson, as well as Ken
6:13 PM ET Former Boston University hockey player Travis Roy, who was paralyzed after an injury in 1995 and became a philanthropist for spinal cord injury treatment, has died at 45. A family spokesperson told WCVB in Boston that Roy died in Vermont due to complications from a procedure he needed to maintain his quality
3:40 PM ET The Arizona Coyotes are renouncing the rights to draft pick Mitchell Miller after his history of assault and racism as a juvenile were spotlighted in a newspaper investigation. Miller, an 18-year-old defenseman committed to play at the University of North Dakota next season, was selected in the fourth round of the 2020
2:03 PM ET The NHL views it as an “important objective” to restore a normal cadence for the 2021-22 season, deputy commissioner Bill Daly told ESPN in an interview on Thursday. But first, the league must figure out what the 2020-21 season looks like — and despite targeting Jan. 1 as a start date, the
1:33 PM ET The NHL says that after conducting an outside investigation, allegations that former Florida Panthers GM Dale Tallon made “inappropriate racial, religious, and ethnic comments” while in the NHL bubble were not substantiated. The league received an anonymous tip in August that said Tallon used racially derogatory language while the team was in
1:39 PM ET Associated Press BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Sabres avoided an arbitration hearing by signing forward Victor Olofsson to a two-year, $6.1 million contract Thursday. Olofsson was a restricted free agent and coming off a season in which he finished seventh in the Calder Cup vote for rookie of the year honors. He was
12:57 PM ET Associated Press TAMPA, Fla. — The Lightning re-signed two depth players from their Stanley Cup-winning team on Thursday, bringing back forward Patrick Maroon and defenseman Luke Schenn. Maroon signed a two-year deal worth $1.8 million, while Schenn gets $900,000 for next season. Maroon and Schenn were among the newcomers who helped put