As it turned out, that the Maple Leafs didn’t have a first-round pick in the National Hockey League draft last year didn’t matter much. Read More
Led by Robertson, reasons for optimism emanNickate from Leafs’ draft class of 2019 — Toronto Sun.
A message of support and encouragement in the wake of the coronavirus came from John Tavares via social media on Wednesday night. Read More
Leafs captain Tavares posts message of support in wake of coronavirus — Toronto Sun.
By Terry Koshan
A message of support and encouragement in the wake of the coronavirus came from John Tavares via social media on Wednesday night.
“To all hockey fans in Toronto & beyond,” the note on Twitter from the Maple Leafs captain started, “let’s all play inside & play for each other.
“With this challenge comes great opportunity to enjoy quality time with family and loved ones. Let’s take care of each other by washing our hands frequently and practicing social distancing.
“To all the healthcare & frontline workers, thank you! Thank you for your courage, determination and hard work to fight this crisis. We are all extremely grateful.
“To Leafs nation, my teammates and I can’t wait until we get the opportunity again to put on our skates, and wear the Maple Leaf on our chest.
“Until then, let’s do everything we can to help each other by staying safe and healthy!”
Tavares’ message was accompanied by a photo of him holding son Jace, who was born last September.
There’s no clear answer as to if, and when, the NHL will return to action after the league paused its season March 12 due to the coronavirus outbreak. The playoffs were slated to start in April. But it’s unknown if the regular season will pick up where it left off or if the league will…
NHL Rumors: League Asks All 31 Teams For Available August Home Dates — NESN.com
The playoffs were slated to start in April. But it’s unknown if the regular season will pick up where it left off or if the league will go into an altered playoff format. For what it’s worth, commissioner Gary Bettman is optimistic a 2019-20 Stanley Cup champion will be crowned. But could the league be looking at playing games late into the summer?
TSN’s Bob McKenzie on Tuesday alluded to such on “Insider Trading.” “Earlier (Tuesday), the National Hockey League did request from each of its 31 member clubs to provide available home dates for the month of August,” McKenzie said. Of course, teams would need to figure out how to handle players who contracts expire June 30 if games were to be played well into the summer. The NHL also reportedly asked its players to continue self-quarantining until April 6 — an additional 10 days than the original March 27 plan. Even if games go into August and beyond, the NHL still plans to have a full 2020-21 season.
Read more at: https://nesn.com/2020/03/nhl-rumors-league-asks-all-31-teams-for-available-august-home-dates/
When the Maple Leafs skated off the ice 11 days ago — it seems more like weeks — after beating the Tampa Bay Lightning at Scotiabank Arena, none might have thought they could have just finished their final game as a member of the organization …. Read More
Salary cap issues could become greater problem for Leafs in wake of coronavirus — Toronto Sun.
For the Leafs headed for unrestricted free agency, a group that includes forwards Jason Spezza and Kyle Clifford and defencemen Tyson Barrie and Cody Ceci, that the game against Tampa concluded their respective tenures with the Leafs is a clear possibility in the wake of the pandemic.
With the future of the 2019-20 regular season up in the air — and with the status of the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs unclear — everything, as the saying goes, is on the table.
There’s no telling yet what the salary cap for the 2020-21 season will amount to once the NHL returns, whenever that may be. The $81.5-million US cap for this season was expected to rise to anywhere between $84 million and $88.2 million, based on numbers being projected at the conclusion of the general managers meetings in Florida two weeks ago.
Among the possibilities is that the cap could remain flat for next season, which could mean some trouble for the Leafs.
The Leafs have in the range of $77 million US committed to 17 players (including goalies Andersen and Jack Campbell) for ’20-21, using data from the web site capfriendly.com. Four restricted free agents with varying degrees of importance — forward Ilya Mikheyev, defenceman Travis Dermott and forwards Frederik Gauthier and Denis Malgin — are going to be looking for new contracts.
more…
Salary cap issues could become greater problem for Leafs in wake of coronavirus — Toronto Sun
Winning on the ice may be on hold at the moment for the Winnipeg Jets, but that’s not stopping them from doing so off of it. Read More
Jets players score in the clutch, donate $100K to Harvest — Winnipeg Sun.
Winning on the ice may be on hold at the moment for the Winnipeg Jets, but that’s not stopping them from doing so off of it.
While the National Hockey League hit the pause button on the 2019-20 regular season last week thanks to the coronavirus, Jets players came together to deliver a big win for Winnipeg Harvest on Friday.
A donation of $100,000 was made to the food bank, which feeds roughly 70,000 Manitobans each month.
“We know times are difficult right now,” read a tweet that was sent out by Mark Scheifele, Blake Wheeler and other players on Friday. “We know there are people in the community struggling. more…
Jets players score in the clutch, donate $100K to Harvest — Winnipeg Sun
Read More: The Maple Leafs’ ECHL championship farm team won’t get a chance to defend its title.
Leafs’ farm team rocked by COVID-19 closure — Toronto Sun
The Maple Leafs’ ECHL championship farm team won’t get a chance to defend its title.
But that’s the least of the problems for management of the Newfoundland Growlers, who had to recall the team from a road trip two time zones away, deal with the cancellation (not just postponement) of its entire season, then test and get its players off The Rock before borders and flights shut down.
“It’s disappointing for our people here, but as we live every day, you see how big (COVID-19) is globally,” Growlers Chief Operating Officer Glenn Stanford told Postmedia on Wednesday. “This is bigger than the sporting world.
“We were in the Toronto area, scheduled to play in Kalamazoo, Mich., on Thursday (March 12), made the decision to stay where we were and were instructed by the league to go home Saturday (on a commercial flight).”
The 26-team league’s board of governors and the Professional Hockey Players Association decided to end the regular season and playoffs that day.
More….
It took three days, a torrent of public criticism on social media and a fundraising campaign by an embarrassed fan, but the Winnipeg Jets are finally doing the right thing. Perhaps being linked to Ottawa owner Eugene Melnyk was what finally pushed the Jets to reach the land of common sense. On Thursday when the […]
FRIESEN: Jets finally end self-inflicted PR nightmare — Winnipeg Sun
