9:30 AM ET The conversation I’ve been having inside my head this week: Hockey Brain: “Hooray, hockey’s comin’ back!” Cynical Brain: “This 24-team tournament and elaborate draft lottery are merely the framework for a possible return to finish the 2019-20 NHL season. It’s candy for the sugar-starved. It’s a shiny object for those seeking willful
NHL
7:00 AM ET When the NHL announced that a modified playoff format was in the works in an effort to resume play, starved hockey fans rejoiced. One of them is WWE superstar and Hall of Famer Adam “Edge” Copeland, who grew up just outside of Toronto. “[I feel] such joy that there’s going to be
7:00 AM ET Over the past two decades, there have been only two seasons in which USA Hockey reported dips in participation: 2004-05 and 2012-13. Both seasons corresponded with the NHL season being disrupted by a lockout. The NHL is desperate to return to the ice this summer to complete the 2019-20 season, award a
4:53 PM ET Associated Press The NHL has advised its teams to prepare for a roster of 28 players and an unlimited amount of goaltenders for training camp and the playoffs if it can return this summer. Several general managers on Wednesday said they were told that would be the anticipated roster limit. Each team
4:53 PM ET Associated Press PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Penguins will head into whatever becomes of the NHL postseason without forward Nick Bjugstad. The team announced Wednesday that Bjugstad underwent spinal surgery to repair a herniated disk. General manager Jim Rutherford said the surgery was necessary after Bjugstad had a “setback” while recovering from a
2:20 PM ET Associated Press Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman is keeping coach Jeff Blashill despite another lackluster season. Yzerman told reporters Wednesday that his previously announced plans to keep Blashill behind the bench have not changed. Blashill’s record over five seasons in Detroit is 153-194-52. The NHL abandoned the rest of the
2:22 PM ET Associated Press The Vancouver Canucks are considering moving training camp to the United States because of Canada’s 14-day mandatory quarantine requirement for those arriving in the country. Canucks general manager Jim Benning said the team is still in the early stages of that possibility. He said he has talked to colleagues with
11:41 AM ET Associated Press The Kontinental Hockey League says it plans to return on Sept. 2 to open the 2020-21 season. The last KHL game was played on March 12. The season was then suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic. The KHL is widely considered to be the strongest hockey league outside the NHL.
9:30 AM ET With the 2019-20 NHL season on pause due to the coronavirus pandemic (here’s the latest update on where things stand), we’ve started the NHL Viewers Club, highlighting some of the most rewatchable games from this season — such as when EBUG David Ayres beat the Maple Leafs — along with some cool
8:30 AM ET The National Hockey League has revealed its ambitious plans to complete the 2019-20 season, with the return of players to team training facilities ahead of a 24-team, conference-based postseason at two “hub” cities in North America during the summer. It’s a plan that involves 25,000 to 30,000 COVID-19 tests and other protocols