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Sports fans love an underdog. Underdogs are what make it so great. We can assure you, sports wouldn’t be half as exciting as it is had the possibility of underdogs usurping favorites and upsets not been a thing. There’s nothing like watching a person or team given virtually no chance of overcoming certain odds triumph through adversity and become a powerhouse in the process.
NEW YORK (May 10, 2021) – Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid and Alberta Health Services program manager Aleem Rajani have been named the NHL’s “First Stars” for the week ending May 9.
Throughout the 2020-21 season the NHL is celebrating the remarkable efforts of the off-ice stars who make it possible for us to play our games amid a pandemic by honoring frontline healthcare heroes from the regions represented by the League’s weekly and monthly “Stars.”
via the NHL PR department,
The Professional Hockey Writers Association announced today the nominees for the 2021 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, presented annually to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to the game.
Each of the 31 PHWA member chapters nominated a player from the 31 NHL clubs they cover.
Ballots will soon be distributed to all PHWA members to determine the winner, which will be unveiled at the 2021 NHL Awards. Last season, each of the 31 nominees received at least one vote.
The National Hockey League (NHL) saw an additional nine franchises added in the period spanning 1990-2000. The league was also going through a stellar period with the likes of Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemiuex dominating and the successful EA video game franchise bringing a host of new fans.
Here we take a look at some of the stats for each of the new teams.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Jack Capuano (Cranston, R.I.), associate coach of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators, has been named head coach of the 2021 U.S. Men’s National Team that will compete in the upcoming International Ice Hockey Federation Men’s World Championship May 21-June 6 in Riga, Latvia.
Capuano will be joined by assistant coaches Nate Leaman (Providence, R.I./Providence College) and Adam Nightingale (Cheboygan, Mich./NTDP). In addition Kevin Reiter (Pittsburgh, Penn./NTDP) will serve as goaltending coach and Mike King (Center Conway, N.H./Ottawa Senators) as video coach.
“We’re extremely fortunate to have an outstanding coaching staff, led by Jack Capuano,” said Chris Drury, general manager of the U.S. Men’s National Team. “Their involvement with USA Hockey in various ways over the course of time and combined international experience will be of great benefit as we head into the tournament.”
from Ryan S. Clark of The Athletic,
What has it been like to have the best year of your career in what must be one of the most challenging years of your life?
It’s actually not. It’s not the most challenging year of my life. Not by a long shot. I have taken a lot of relief and the best I have felt in a long time. Yes, it’s been stressful to deal with a lot of the bankruptcy. It’s definitely been stressful. But it was a relief because I didn’t have to try and hide it anymore. I didn’t have to try to pretend. It was a big weight off my shoulders in a way. For years, I was dealing with all these things. It’s having that constant stress. Everybody has stress. But once I made that decision (to file for bankruptcy), people think it is the start of something. Really, it’s the end of this chapter of my life. I think that is where the big misconception is about this. I have a wife that I’ve been married to for almost three years. I have my daughter who turned 10 months two days ago. When you grow up, there’s different decisions you have to make. They are not always easy. But for me, it was the best decision I have made in a long time.
read on (paid)
THREE HARD LAPS
* The final playoff spot, Presidents’ Trophy and last division crown all are up for grabs on a nine-game Monday in the NHL.
* The Canadiens can lock up the 16th and final spot in the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs when they face the Oilers at Bell Centre. Montreal will clinch if they get at least one point.
* The Golden Knights will look to claim their third division title and first Presidents’ Trophy when they battle the Avalanche at T-Mobile Arena. Vegas would clinch both with a victory of any kind.
from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,
Adam Fox and K’Andre Miller have declined invitations to play for Team USA in the upcoming World Championship Tournament that will be played in Riga, Latvia, The Post has learned, while Alexis Lafreniere is expected to decline an invitation to represent Canada.
NHL players have lived under restrictions for months that did not apply to the general population and will face COVID-19 protocols during the tournament that will be played from May 21 through June 6. Lafreniere would face a quarantine upon returning from Latvia to his home in Quebec.
In addition, Miller has been in the New York area since last July and has not been home for close to 10 months. Lafreniere has been in the area since the first week of July and has not seen his parents or family since then. Both need time home and away from the rink.
Unsportsmanlike conduct.
from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,
...unfair as this might be, it will not be about whether Quinn deserves another chance off past performance and this time with a roster that is expected to be fortified with players who have attributes he has coveted throughout his tenure. And though Quinn is as fine and compassionate an individual you would ever hope to know and the Rangers would ever have behind the bench, it is not about that either.
It simply will be about whether Drury has confidence in Quinn to be the coach who can take the team to the next level or whether the chief hockey executive believes the Rangers need a coach with more experience and a background of NHL success to take the baton and take over the team. Remember that when Quinn was hired, the Rangers were looking for a developmental coach. That train has left Penn Station.
There is a queue of experienced coaches — a couple with Stanley Cups on their coaching resumes, a couple with Cups won as a player—forming to succeed Quinn even while he is still in place. Tortorella is available for a reunion, Mike Babcock is out there looking for a way back in, Rick Tocchet will be on the market, Gerard Gallant is seeking a job and so is Bruce Boudreau.
And never forget that Drury played the first four years of his career in Colorado with Patrick Roy, currently the GM-coach of Quebec in the QMJHL and who might have a special affinity for Alexis Lafreniere.
GLENDALE, ARIZONA --- Arizona Coyotes General Manager Bill Armstrong announced today that the Coyotes and Rick Tocchet have mutually agreed to part ways. Tocchet, whose contract expires on June 30, will not return as the Coyotes head coach next season. The Coyotes will begin their search for a new head coach immediately.
“After meeting with Rick, we have agreed that a coaching change is in the best interest of the club,” said Armstrong. “This was a very difficult decision, but we believe that it is time for a new direction and new leadership. Rick is a very good coach and an incredible person, and we sincerely appreciate all his hard work and dedication to the Coyotes the past four years. We are grateful for everything that he has done for our organization and wish him the best of luck in the future.”
via the Columbus Blue Jackets,
The Columbus Blue Jackets and head coach John Tortorella, whose contract expired at the end of the 2020-21 season, have mutually agreed to part ways, club General Manager and Alternate Governor Jarmo Kekalainen announced today.
A headline is not needed, just see the words Connor McDavid and start reading.
from Mark Spector of Sportsnet,
“Honestly, it’s impressive. I don’t think my English is good enough to find another word for it right now,” said Leon Draisaitl, whose second goal of the evening -- a patented McDavid-to-Draisaitl one-timer -- marked Connor McDavid’s 100th point in just 53 games this season. “Everyone, the 20 people who were in the building, were all counting.”
It is a crime that such a moment -- such a season -- could occur before section after section of empty chairs. You know the fans would have been counting, even if McDavid didn’t let on to being overly excited about this chase.
“I was trying not to think about it,” he said. “I was trying to get myself ready to go in the playoffs and keep my game where it needs to be. Obviously when you’re sitting around 96, 97, 98 points and you get to 99, it’s in the back of your mind. Thankfully I didn’t have to wait too long to get there.”
On a night when he needed four points to reach triple figures, McDavid crushed it before the second intermission -- a clinical, dominant and utterly breathtaking performance. This was a man that hasn’t met a challenge in this game that he hasn’t whipped, who had suddenly found a new one to tackle.
Like a math prodigy who stumbles upon some erotic new equation, or a virtuoso with a crazy hard piece of music, McDavid found himself four points away from 100 points with four games to play and a Saturday night game on the schedule.
Why not, he likely thought?
“It’s a thrill, and a memory,” said his head coach, Dave Tippett. “It solidifies that he is one of the top players to ever play the game. The level that he played at this year, what he’s accomplished, when you look at Wayne or Mario, it’s one of those years where he’s taken his talents to another level. It’s just elite.”
from Dave Poulin at the Toronto Star,
Wednesday. In and of itself it doesn’t mean much. It’s not a favourite day, no one tells you they can’t wait for Wednesday, there is no acronym TGIW. The day doesn’t stand out. But it’s as important as any other day, connecting Tuesday to Thursday. It’s the glue in the middle of the week.
Which leads me to Wednesday Boys. I’m introducing the term to define a group of important players on a strong hockey team. These aren’t the superstars, the first-line guys or the headline-grabbers but they are good NHL players. They’re not the highest paid but they make a good living. They’re in the middle of your lineup, filling secondary roles as defensive specialists and penalty killers. But they can chip in a critical goal at a key time, almost like once in a while when Wednesday happens to have a big holiday fall on it.
The idea of attracting the spotlight is not part of the Wednesday Boys’ makeup. They are all about doing their job at a high level within the framework of the team. Quietly. They’re not the guys that the autograph seekers go after. The only time they’re really famous may be when they go back to their hometowns in the summer, and are recognized as NHL players. They quietly grow to learn and appreciate their importance to a team, and the others in the locker room recognize it as well.
I say this in a complimentary fashion.
from Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun,
- What Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have combined for over a two-year period with the Edmonton Oilers is remarkably rare and historically improbable.
Last year, Draisaitl won the NHL scoring title and the Hart Trophy as most valuable player. McDavid finished second in scoring.
This season, McDavid is on his way to the breathtaking figure of 100 points or more in 56 games and will be the runaway winner of the Hart. Draisaitl, meanwhile, will finish second in the NHL in scoring.
At no time in NHL history have teammates gone 1-2, 2-1 in scoring, rotating the Hart Trophy in the process. Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito came close with the Boston Bruins in the late 1970s, but timing and voting didn’t necessarily work in their favour....
- What McDavid, Matthews and Marner have yet to accomplish — a playoff run of any kind with dominant scoring by them. McDavid has one career playoff series win. Matthews and Marner don’t have that much. And, really, one of the Oilers or Leafs should emerge from the Canadian division. And after that, who knows? What if you draw Colorado, which just went seven games with Vegas? Or what if you draw Washington, which somehow got through Boston and Pittsburgh? It’s impossible to figure in COVID times which teams are going to be whole and which will be struggling come playoff time.
- You don’t fire exceptional people; you’re lucky to have them. You don’t fire John Davidson. That’s just pointless. If a general manager adds Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Adam Fox, Kaapo Kakko, Alexis Lafreniere, K’Andre Miller to his lineup in a relatively short time, he shouldn’t get fired the way Jeff Gorton was. He should get a raise.
- Turner Sports thinks it might be able to turn Wayne Gretzky into the Charles Barkley of hockey, which is admirable. I like Gretzky and have known him forever, but I don’t see him being Barkley outrageous. Thoughtful yes. Reasoned yes. Outrageous no. Chris Pronger, might be able to do that. Brett Hull, possibly. Glenn Healy, if you can explain who he is.
more on the first topic plus more notes...
Who else but my Mother would wake up with me at 6:00am ro play catch with me on a warm summer morning?
Wo else but my Mom would take me to my first Wings game when I was six yeas old?
Who else would take my friends and me to a Saturday ladies day ball game at Tiger Stadium? My Mom knew a bargain too, 75 cents back then to watch the Bengals.
Who else would drive me to the local bars to collect their bottle caps from pop bottles? My Mom did, probably a hundred times, just so we could turn those caps in for a baseball or football.
My Mom treated me with kid gloves but on a few occasions, boxing gloves came in handy for her too.
I miss my Mom daily so give your mom a hug and one from me too.
If you are a mom, come here, allow me to tell you how great you are. This day is yours, but know you are special every day of the year.
THREE HARD LAPS
* Connor McDavid collected his fifth consecutive multi-point game, and fourth with at least three points over that span, to reach the 100-point mark in his 53rd contest of 2020-21.
* Only one playoff spot remains after the Predators defeated the Hurricanes to clinch the final berth in the Discover Central Division and set up a First Round series with Carolina.
* The Penguins (MassMutual East Division) and Maple Leafs (Scotia North Division) each locked up the No. 1 seed in their division. In the process, it was determined that the Capitals and Oilers would be the No. 2 seed in their respective divisions.
In 53 games, 1 goal and 3 assists tonight.
added 11:59pm, another view below...
from Aaron Portzline of The Athletic,
John Tortorella will not return as coach of the Blue Jackets next season, multiple sources told The Athletic.
The winningest coach in franchise history decided to move on when his contract expires this offseason, ending a six-year run in Columbus that included four playoff berths, the first playoff series win in franchise history, and some memorable and turbulent moments along the way.
continued ($$$)
A recommended watch, it is after all our game.
via Sportsnet,
The Hockey Night in Canada panel discuss the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals aftermath, and was what Tom Wilson did acceptable in the NHL anymore.
The HNIC panel discussed- The Canadiens discussing Marc Bergevin's future, the easing of Covid protocols, , the salary cap with the Leafs, Adam Larsson contract negotiations going well and Victor Hedman out tonight with a lower-body injury, is going to need surgery in the summer.
via Sportsnet,
from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,
Lost in the uproar created by the enfeebled Department of Player Safety’s failure to suspend Wilson, along came another example of inexplicable leniency from Parros’ office, which gave teh Flyers’ Shayne Gostisbehere just a two-game sentence for his cross-check that sent the Penguins’ Mark Friedman into the end boards after the Pittsburgh winger had scored an empty-net goal.
The puck was in the net. The play was over. Friedman began to swing away. Gostisbehere, one of two Flyers chasing, then delivered the gratuitous cross-check/shove. Not only was that dangerous, it was a breach of hockey etiquette, if not quite in the same territory as the 1993 Dale Hunter-Pierre Turgeon episode, but nevertheless entirely unacceptable.
Gostisbehere should have gotten 15 games to carry over into next season. Instead, he got two. That apparently was Parros’ statement.
more topics like this...
Finally, upon reading that the Rangers’ statement generated support for Parros among NHL general managers, I am reminded that was the august body of gentlemen who once gave VP of officiating Stephen Walkom a standing ovation.
from Frank Seravalli of TSN,
The NHL will relax its COVID-19 protocol for fully vaccinated teams in the Stanley Cup playoffs, according to a memo distributed to clubs on Friday.
The modified protocol will allow playoff-bound clubs greater freedoms with regards to masks, testing, team meetings, social gatherings and travel - once 85 per cent of a team’s traveling party is fully vaccinated.
The NHL considers a person fully vaccinated once two weeks have passed since receiving the final dose of an approved COVID-19 vaccine.
That is welcomed news to the 12 American-based NHL teams, many of which have already reached the 85-per cent vaccination threshold for their traveling party, which includes players, coaches and team personnel. But with slower vaccination rates and limited availability in Canada, the belief is none of the four playoff-bound Canadian clubs are anywhere close to that mark.
Here are the notable changes:
> Almost all of the accommodations made are for “fully vaccinated individuals.” As the NHL and its 31 clubs did not make the vaccine mandatory, there are believed to be one to two players per team - in many instances - who chose to not receive the vaccine. Any member of the traveling party who chose not to receive the vaccine must continue to abide by all of the previous (and stringent) preventative measures that were in place in the previous COVID-19 protocol.
added 4:32pm, NHL/NHLPA statement is below.
Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.
From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.
Email Paul anytime at [email protected]
