This past Thursday, Oskar Lindblom officially rang the bell at Pennsylvania Hospital’s Abramson Cancer Center. The Flyers forward had been battling a rare form of bone cancer known as Ewing’s Sarcoma since December 2019. Both Lindblom and the Flyers posted videos of the bell ringing, a ceremonial act that patients perform once they have completed […]
Oskar Lindblom: Cancer-free and hopeful for a return — The Liberty Line
Is Sidney Crosby one of the best NHL players of all time? Bobby Orr certainly thinks so. The Boston Bruins legend told The Athletic’s Josh Yohe he thinks the Pittsburgh Penguins superstar belongs among the greats like himself, Mario Lemieux, Wayne Gretzky and Gordie Howe. And he’s not kidding around, either. “Please, please,” Orr said,…
Bobby Orr Believes Sidney Crosby Is Among Best NHL Players Of All Time — NESN.com
Is Sidney Crosby one of the best NHL players of all time? Bobby Orr certainly thinks so.
The Boston Bruins legend told The Athletic’s Josh Yohe he thinks the Pittsburgh Penguins superstar belongs among the greats like himself, Mario Lemieux, Wayne Gretzky and Gordie Howe. And he’s not kidding around, either.
“Please, please,” Orr said, per Yohe. “I want you to be very comfortable putting Sidney Crosby’s name with the rest of us. Just trust me on that one. He’s so, so special.” Don’t worry, Orr came with receipts. “First of all, if you ask those other guys on the list, I know that they’ll tell you the same thing I’m about to tell you. Sid belongs on that list,” Orr said. “Sure, there’s the talent that he has and the drive. But look at what he’s been through. That tells me something. Look at the injuries he’s dealt with, especially earlier in his career. He’s been beat up, hurt, been through so, so much. And through it all, look at what he’s accomplished.
“He’s won all of those Cups. He’s won the Olympics. Scored the goal to win it, in fact. The World Cups he’s won. The numbers he’s put up. Everything he’s done. He’s one of the greatest hockey players of all time.” Fair enough. In 984 career games, Crosby has amassed 1,263 points (462 goals, 801 assists) and a whopping 175 plus-minus. The three-time Stanley Cup champion currently holds several of NHL records, including youngest player to record 100 points in a season (18 years, 253 days), youngest NHL captain to win the Stanley Cup (21 years, 10 months, and 5 days) and youngest Art Ross Trophy and Lester B. Pearson Award winner. So yeah, Orr’s assessment definitely is valid.
Read more at: https://nesn.com/2020/06/bobby-orr-believes-sidney-crosby-is-among-best-nhl-players-of-all-time/
Frederik Andersen wants to be back in his crease this summer. Read More
Leafs’ Andersen seeks more info, but says “I want to play” this summer — Toronto Sun
Terry KoshanMore from Terry Koshan
Published:June 30, 2020
Updated:June 30, 2020 4:51 PM EDT
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Frederik Andersen wants to be back in his crease this summer.
The Maple Leafs goaltender would love nothing more than to try to help Toronto eliminate the Columbus Blue Jackets in the qualifying round of Phase 4 of the National Hockey League’s Return to Play plan.
Before that potentially happens, however, Andersen is willing to wait.
“I don’t think we have enough information yet,” Andersen said on Tuesday during a Zoom call with media, referring to which way he might vote on a return to play given the health issues regarding the COVID-19 pandemic that must be taken into account.
“The PA (NHL Players’ Association) and the league are still ironing that out and then we will see. It seems like it’s the 11th hour here, so hopefully things will progress in the next week or so because the July 10th goal (to open training camp) is coming up soon. I’ll make that decision once I get more info.
“The whole thing in general has to make sense. Safety is very important and probably the most important.
“I want to play. I don’t want to just sit and waste a summer and a season.”
The NHL announced on Monday that 26 players in total have tested positive for COVID-19 since June 8, including 15 who have reported to training facilities for optional workouts as part of Phase 2.
Andersen, who has been back in Toronto “for quite a bit now,” was asked what gives him confidence that it will be safe for the NHL to return to play games this summer.
“I’m not quite 100% confident yet,” Andersen said. “The league is very adamant in working toward that.
“I think once we get to the hub cities, everyone will have to be confident and the league will have a good setup. It’s a matter of getting there first.”
The announcement of the NHL’s two hub cities is expected relatively soon. Las Vegas, Toronto, Edmonton, Chicago and Los Angeles were the last cities to be in the running.
“If it is a bubble and it’s done the right way, I don’t think it really should matter (which cities are chosen),” Andersen said. “It could be anywhere. Whatever is the best setup, once we figure that out, I hope we should be good to go.”
And if the Leafs play in Toronto? Andersen doesn’t see that as an advantage.
“Once everyone is there, I think people will be familiar with the hotel, the rink, all that stuff,” Andersen said. “There won’t be fans, obviously, so I think all that stuff will be a pretty even playing field for everyone.”
Andersen had been staying with Leafs centre Auston Matthews initially during the NHL pause at Matthews’ home in Scottsdale, Ariz., but said he was in California working out with his personal trainer when the state of Arizona recently saw a spike in coronavirus cases. Andersen wouldn’t comment on Matthews’ positive COVID-19 test result, reported by the Toronto Sun’s Steve Simmons on June 19.
“Regarding everyone else and other people’s medical, I don’t want to comment on that,” Andersen said. “I don’t think it’s the right thing for me to do that.”
Andersen has been taking part in on-ice sessions at the Ford Performance Centre in the voluntary workouts, but otherwise must quarantine in his downtown condo until his two-week period is done. It will conclude before July 10, Andersen said.
“The Leafs have done an amazing job of cleaning the facility out there and I think they have done a really good job of setting us up for a safe environment,” Andersen said.
“I feel like I have been able to keep my good shape and work on things I could off the ice, but the on-ice timing is going to be key.”
And then, if the NHL has been able to properly move to Phase 4, a Leafs date with the Blue Jackets.
“They’re a deep team, a team we have to be ready for,” Andersen said. “It will be a tough task, but something we have to work on and getting confident we can win.”
Well, it is the Stanley Cup playoffs. So I guess you should expect a couple of overtimes. Read More
JONES: NHL hub city selection shouldn’t be about more than player safety — Edmonton Sun
Well, it is the Stanley Cup playoffs. So I guess you should expect a couple of overtimes.
The Great Hub City Series of 2020, the battle to co-host all of the games of COVID Cup, keeps getting extended.
We’re at the point now, however, where Edmonton has to be getting a complex.
At this point, you couldn’t be blamed for coming to the conclusion the NHL and NHL Players Association are trying to dodge the one location with the ultimate set-up in order to end up in a sexier city.
Let us review.
Las Vegas is a lock in the U.S. It’s Toronto, Edmonton or Vancouver as the Canadian city.
Hold it. Toronto is out. Their bid has fallen significantly short because they can’t match the safety bubble setups involving hotels and the arena that Vegas, Vancouver and Edmonton will be able to provide. It’s down to Edmonton or Vancouver in Canada to go with Vegas.
Hold it. Vancouver is out. Dr. Bonnie Henry has hit a snag when it comes to who is making the decisions on what happens to the other players on a team if someone tests positive during tournament play.
Hold it. Toronto has reshaped its bid by totally relocating its bubble away from the downtown arena and hotels to the Canadian National Exhibition grounds. It’s now down to Edmonton and Toronto.
Hold it … there’s still too much to get through here and the coronavirus numbers are going way up in Vegas. It’s going to overtime over the weekend, said NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly before heading to a New Jersey TV studio with commissioner Gary Bettman to conduct the NHL Draft Lottery.
So what’s this been like to be Oilers Entertainment Group vice-presidents Tim Shipton and Stuart Ballantyne, working their way through this putting all the pieces together, following the NHL wish lists to a T and offering everything Bettman and the league and players required and more?
And that’s complete with working out logical and reasoned logistics with Dr. Deena Hinshaw and her responsible Alberta health team?
I mean, what do they want?
They’re not on the phone asking if they can tweak this or tweak that? Just hold the phone, fellas.
Ballantyne and Shipton had nothing to say Friday and won’t until a decision has been made.
That Edmonton could finish third in this now dog and pony show is laughable.
Housing everybody at the CNE grounds in Toronto and commuting all 12 teams to Scotia Bank Arena for games and around the neighbourhood to practice ice is ludicrous in comparison to the Edmonton set-up.
In Edmonton, the players on all 12 teams would reside in the five-star J. W. Marriott hotel, secure in a bubble that includes an inordinate number of dressing rooms and a practice facility in Rogers Place, complete with a pedway between the hotel and arena.
Other people involved, staff, referees and TV people would be housed, in the first round, in the Delta and Sutton Place, a short walk away, with Edmonton police officers keeping them company to remain secure in the bubble.
I mean, compare the two.
If it’s just about hockey and life in the bubble, there’s no comparison.
How do you now come to the conclusion the league is hoping to trump the ideal set-up in Edmonton by bringing in a long list of other items into play?
• Sportsnet TV is based in Toronto.
• Hockey Night In Canada is based in Toronto.
• The NHL has offices in Toronto.
• The NHL war room is in Toronto.
• And don’t forget the Eastern Time zone.
It would be a lot easier to spread six televised games a day (even if start times are largely irrelevant with no fans in the stands) with one team in the Eastern Time zone and Vegas in the Pacific.
And it’s about Vegas.
Yes, the hotel room set up couldn’t be better anywhere else in the world. But has anybody noticed the coronavirus numbers since they reopened the casinos?
Oilers colour commentator Bob Stauffer has. He’s been keeping statistics on all this back to when the hub cities concept began.
Las Vegas has 12,204 cases (2,754 in the last week.)
Edmonton’s has had 925 total.
Vegas has 408 deaths to Edmonton’s 15 — only three in the last 56 days.
Nevada has 118 in intensive care compared to eight in Alberta and only two of them in Edmonton.
Vegas and Toronto?
If that’s how it ends up, the NHL will clearly have followed the NBA, locating to ESPN’s centre at Disney World in COVID-19 out-of-control Florida, into losing total focus on the main aim here.
If it’s all about player safety — and it should be — if the NHL loses Edmonton as a hub city, the NHL loses.
E-mail: tjones@postmedia.com
On Twitter: @ByTerryJones
Another city was taken off the short list for consideration to become one of two hub cities for the National Hockey League’s return-to-play plan. The Canucks confirmed on Thursday that Vancouver was out of the running via Twitter. “From the beggining, our goal was to help the NHL get hockey back on the ice if…
Vancouver Out As Potential NHL Return Hub City, Canucks Announce — NESN.com
In the bubble, Jason Spezza will trust. Read More
Positive coronavirus tests among NHL players don’t make Leafs’ Spezza less optimistic — Toronto Sun
In the bubble, Jason Spezza will trust.
That’s if the National Hockey League successfully advances to Phase 4 of its Return to Play plan in the midst of the COVID-19 global pandemic.
Spezza, the veteran Maple Leafs forward whose rosy outlook and experience carried considerable weight in the dressing room during the 2019-20 regular season, remains confident that the NHL is on the right track to resume games, even with the news late last week that 11 NHL players have tested positive for the coronavirus.
“There’s lots of people everywhere testing positive,” Spezza said on Tuesday during a Zoom call with media. “As players, we realize there is going to be some risk of a positive test.
“I put trust in the league and the PA (NHL Players’ Association) that we’re going to come up with a bubble scenario that will keep everybody safe. The biggest challenge would be getting to that point, because we’re not in a bubble scenario right now.”
The NHL announced five days ago that the 11 positive tests had resulted from the 200-plus NHL players who had been tested since June 8, when team facilities were permitted to open for voluntary training. Postmedia’s Steve Simmons reported that one of those players who had a positive test result was Leafs centre Auston Matthews, who has remained at his off-season home in Arizona to train.
“It probably becomes a bit of a reality check for making sure that everybody is doing everything possible hygiene-wise to make sure we are not spreading it,” Spezza said, speaking of the positive tests in general.
“We knew there was going to be positive tests. It’s probably good there has some positive tests because it gives us some practice on how to deal with it.”
Spezza has been enjoying the workouts at the Ford Performance Centre, skating in a group that includes forwards Kyle Clifford and Kasperi Kapanen, defenceman Calle Rosen and goaltender Eamon McAdam, a former Leafs farmhand who played for Adirondack of the ECHL last season.
As much as Spezza is glad to be back on the ice with an eye toward starting Phase 3 and training camp on July 10, the 37-year-old has taken full advantage of the NHL pause to spend as much time as possible with his wife Jennifer and their four daughters at their Toronto home. To that end, the family has been preparing for the idea that Spezza potentially will be away for at least several weeks, living in the Phase 4 bubble in one of the NHL’s two hub cities once the post-season starts.
“We have had family conversations about it and it’s not going to be easy, especially after having three months of probably the best family quality time I’ve ever had with my kids and wife,” Spezza said. “It’s going to be a big adjustment and there will be some tears involved.
“They understand that Daddy has a dream of trying to win a Stanley Cup and there are not too many more years left. It’s a big family sacrifice and they are on board with it.”
Spezza has been sticking close to home during the pandemic, noting that the Leafs have been helpful in ensuring players and their families have the resources to be safe.
At the same time, players will have to fight the temptation to get some normalcy back in their lives, especially with the NHL determined to hold the playoffs and eventually award the Stanley Cup.
“My bubble is pretty tight as it is and there is not a whole lot of going out and doing things,” Spezza said. “Most of my time has been spent going on walks with the kids, playing outside.
“I have avoided stores. The team did a phenomenal job in helping us with groceries and really doing everything possible to make sure we don’t have to be exposed if we absolutely don’t have to be.
“One of the biggest challenges for players is that as everything around us starts opening up, we almost have to tighten up because we’re going back to play and that is going to be an adjustment for us.
“We have to probably be a little more careful as we get close to training camp.”
Columbus is out as a potential hub city in the event the National Hockey League is successful in moving into Phase 4 of its Return to Play plan, and Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn., reportedly is no longer in the running either. Read More
Columbus, Minnesota out as NHL hub list for Phase 4 believed to be whittled to six — Toronto Sun
Hischier had thought about fulfilling it during the season, but with the Devils uncertain when they would return, it turned out to be the perfect option. * This article was originally published here
Devils’ Hischier spending NHL offseason in Swiss army — The Small Sports Blog
Associated PressJun 20, 2020, 3:43 PM EDTLeave a comment
With the New Jersey Devils missing out on the NHL’s 24-team return from the pause caused by the novel coronavirus, center Nico Hischier is putting his extended offseason to good use.
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 draft is fulfilling his military obligation to Switzerland, which has a mandatory 18-week service for men followed by three-week stints over the next six or seven years.
Hischier had thought about fulfilling it during the season, but with the Devils uncertain when they would return from the pause, it turned out to be the perfect option.
“One reason I did it was I needed to stay in shape,” Hischier said Saturday on a Zoom call. “I didn’t know where to go because gyms weren’t open and I couldn’t just work out at home. I just didn’t have the tools for a good workout there. For a couple weeks it worked, but I felt like I needed to go somewhere to be prepared when we had to go back and play again. Then the army came and they had a great solution because where I’m working right now, that’s a great building. They have everything there you need.”
The 21-year-old Hischier is in a special program for athletes, although the first four weeks of classes were held remotely because of the virus. He is now attending classes to learn emergency medical techniques, among other things, in the mornings and working out with fellow athletes in the afternoon, including some hockey players from the Swiss national team.
He is not learning how to march or drive a tank, and he’s not heading to the firing range to shoot an automatic weapon. The soldiers in Switzerland’s professional army do that.
Hischier does get a uniform and there are rules to follow. He works five days, goes home and returns the following week. He does not have a rank – yet.
“We didn’t do much army stuff yet,” Hichier said, although he expects jt will increase by the time he finishes in mid-August.
Hischier is coming off what he considers a disappointing season. Like most of the Devils, he played well after a bad start led to the firing of coach John Hynes and general manager Ray Shero. He finished with 14 goals and 22 assists in 58 games. New Jersey posted a 28-29-12 record, finishing 12-5-4 in the last 21 contests under interim coach Alain Nasreddine.
“Obviously, it wasn’t a year that we expect,” Hischier said. “A lot of things happened, obviously, with all those changes. It wasn’t easy. I think the biggest thing for us was that we had a really bad start. It’s always frustrating and not easy when you’re down in the standings and you have to catch up.”
Hischier felt he took a few steps forward in his third season, but the team’s lack of success took away from that.
With the late-season trade of defenseman Andy Greene, Hischier is open to the idea of replacing him as the Devils’ captain next season. He was an alternate captain this season.
“At the end of the day, I’m still a young player,” Hischier said. “I still got a long, long way to go, a lot of things that I don’t know yet. I need to learn.”
It’s like learning to be in the army in some ways.
The Maple Leafs star has been staying in Arizona.
Report: Auston Matthews tests positive for COVID-19 — ProHockeyTalk | NBC Sports
On May 25 the NHL announced its framework for Phase 2 of its four-step plan to resume play beginning in June. While it was just framework followed by a June 9th announcement by commissioner Gary Bettman about a 24-team playoff format, it was a step in the right direction and brought hope that we would […]
Tampa Bay Lightning Reportedly Close Training Facilities After Players, Staff Test Positive — BroBible
All has seemingly been going to plan, but Bob McKenzie delivered some unsettling news on Friday reporting that one team has had to close its training facilities after three players and two staff members tested positive for the coronavirus.
I believe it’s three players and two staff who tested positive. Remaining players and staff are being tested. If no further positive tests, expectation is training facility will re-open, Phase Two will continue. If there are further positive tests, well, we will see what happens.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) June 19, 2020
Following his initial tweets about the news, McKenzie revealed the team in question is the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The team in question is the Tampa Bay Lightning.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) June 19, 2020
Florida had its biggest spike yet in new coronavirus cases on June 18 with 3,208 new cases in just 24 hours. The latest numbers show that there are 85,926 confirmed cases in the state and 3,061 deaths.
Among the many takeaways from the NHL’s Phase 2 plans, it states that all members of every organization would have to be tested before they can begin training and subject to daily temperature checks while being forced to quarantine if they test positive. Social distancing measures is also supposed to be enforced during training to a point where you can’t even have a spotter while lifting.
The Tampa Bay Lightning are working out and trying to get back into game shape as the countdown to the season begins. Some European players have decided not to come to Tampa, yet. There are quarantined in their own country and will make the trip to Tampa when training camp officially opens on July 10th. […]
Who will make the Lightning playoff roster? — TampaBayProSports
Read More
Mitch Marner hopes NHL playoffs won’t be derailed — Toronto Sun
Mitch Marner has one eye on July 10, the scheduled opening of training camps for 24 NHL playoff teams, and the other on a worsening COVID-19 situation in the United States.
Three months after the league shut down, could it be the dreaded second wave of the disease derails the methodical plan to finish the 2019-20 season? Marner, the creative winger on the Maple Leafs, has faith the league will take every precaution as it nears a decision on the two hub cities who will host the tournament, at least one of them expected to be south of the border.
“I think they’re going to do what’s best for their athletes and make sure that they’re willing to look after us and take care of us,” Marner said Thursday on a conference call with Toronto reporters.
As he spoke, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey reversed a previous decision and authorized local governments to require face coverings in public as his state was flagged as one of the current COVID-19 hot
Marner was asked about two key Leafs who are there in Scottsdale who’ve yet to come back for the workouts at Ford Performance Centre. Leading scorer Auston Matthews and house guest/goalie Frederik Andersen have been in Arizona almost since the start of the lockdown.
The duo’s reasoning is they’d rather stay in their regimen of daily workouts than come home and be unable to leave their residence for a full 14 days under the Canadian quarantine. As July 10 nears, they and others hope the Canadian NHL cities get a bit of a break from the government and that practice facilities would be designated as part of the players’ restricted zone for the 14 days.
“All that stuff’s voluntary,” Marner said of his friends preference to wait it out.
Toronto has been in and out of the running among 10 NHL cities initially identified by commissioner Gary Bettman as potential hubs. Together with Vancouver and Edmonton, there is a push to have the Canadian government alter the two-week quarantine rule so at least one of the cities can reap some economic benefits from empty hotels being occupied by up to 50 players and staff of the 12 teams. Las Vegas is believed to be a favoured American
Marner and five to six Leafs at a time continue to work out in preparation for the best of five opening round series against the Columbus Blue Jackets, like the others, tentatively scheduled for sometime in August.
As expected, the Jackets announced Thursday that star defenceman Seth Jones will be ready for the series, activated off injured reserve with fellow blueliner Dean Kukan.`
The view from left field 