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,

To begin, I would like to thank Paul Kukla for giving us a home, and our Chief, Bill Houlihan. He is A2Y. Most of all, I would like to thank all 19 of you loyal Wingaholics that show up for game after torturous game. It's a wonderful thing that through think and thin, the 19 have stuck together here at A2Y. To say this season has not been the best season of Red Wings hockey would be a gross understatement. We all pretty much knew going in what to expect this year, and true to form, the Wings performance was as anticipated. There were ups and downs, but, that's okay, because it seemed to even out during the end of the season.

One upside was acquiring Jakub Vrana, Richard Panik, and draft picks at the trade deadline from the Caps, in a surprising trade for Anthony Mantha, who was once considered part of the "core", and, the rebuild. Who said trades are hard?

Vrana continues to impress, making this deal look all the better. We have been able to watch some of the youngsters, who, going forward, will be a part of this team. Veleno, the most recent, looks good. We don't know yet who will be back as far as some of our familiar guys that have been on the team for years. So for now, the Yzerplan seems to be on track, but, only time will tell.

This one's for you, Mom.

For the next sixty minutes, its a Live Blog!

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.

Before the puck drop on the Wings' final game of the season tonight, I wanted to thank all of you for your visits to A2Y/KK and to let you know I will be here.

The last game of the NHL regular season is Wednesday, May 19th and the playoffs start shortly thereafter.

I will be around for all of it plus any news coming from the Red Wings.

We still have the draft lottery, the actual draft and UFA period to look forward to.

I expect to be able to rest starting the second week of July and I just may hibernate for a month.

Again, thanks to making A2Y what it is, it would not be the same without you.

If I hear back from them, I will let you know.

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.

continued

added 4:32pm, NHL/NHLPA statement is below.

Bettman is almost 70 and has been on the job since the winter of 1992. Many of his key people have been with him for at least 20 years. The overall leadership looks tired and out of fresh answers. Once-profitable international hockey has vanished. Bettman couldn’t arm twist the NHLPA into starting the season on Jan. 1 and had to wait another 12 days until the union gave the okay. J.T. Miller of the Canucks stared down the league over COVID-related scheduling and the league backed down....

The 2020-21 season has been a massive headache for the NHL, and some of the pain has been self-inflicted. At some point, the league’s board of governors is going to start wondering if new blood at the top is needed.

-Damien Cox at the Toronto Star where you can read more on this topic.

from Michael Traikos,

When the inventor of a new type of hockey skate claims that it can make Connor McDavid even faster than he already is, the first instinct is to roll your eyes and add it to the pile of failed gimmicks collecting dust in the back of your local pro shop.

But Per Mars is not just another snake-oil salesman. And Marsblade is not just another version of the Reebok Pump.

Since 2011, the former NHLer-turned-inventor has been disrupting the in-line hockey market with his unique roller skates, which employ a “flow motion technology” that mimics an on-ice stride. In the past year, more than 300 NHLers have been using Marsblades as an off-ice training tool. That includes McDavid, Cale Makar, Quinn Hughes, Evgeni Malkin, Roman Josi and Auston Matthews, with the latter becoming an investor in the company.

This week, Shane Wright, who is projected to go No. 1 overall in the 2022 NHL entry draft, was named an official Marsblade ambassador.

If it’s a gimmick, then it’s a gimmick that is fooling a lot of high-end hockey players.

continued

from Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News,

Anyone who was wondering how seriously the Wings were taking these final two games, got their answer the second half of the game.

Instead of calling it a night, the Wings scored five unanswered goals.

"This group has been a group that's fought and competed and worked on a daily basis," coach Jeff Blashill said. "That showed tonight. Listen, we know we're playing two games and at the end of the day there's not a lot on the line.

"But I've talked about the importance of every NHL game and our guys understand that. They way they played, they didn't fold or quit, but kept grinding and we grounded our way back into the lead and did a good job in the third (period) of finding a way to win the hockey game.

"I like our group. I've said it a lot this year, there's a lot of character in the room."

more

from Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press,

Joe Veleno showed what he can do with the puck, and Jakub Vrana continued to make Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman look smart.

Vrana set up Veleno for his first NHL goal Friday at Nationwide Arena and then scored one of his own as the Wings played the first of back-to-back games against the Columbus Blue Jackets to wrap up their season.

The Wings rallied from a two-goal deficit to win, 5-2.

"It was a great second period," Veleno said. "We didn’t have the greatest of starts but we found a way to bear down and put it in the back of the net. It was a good effort from all the guys on the team."

continued

Below watch Joe Veleno's post game, on ice interview, Mickey Redmond and the extended game highlights

THREE HARD LAPS

* The idle and NHL-leading Hurricanes became the first team to capture a division crown this season, securing the No. 1 seed in the Discover Central.

* All four playoff spots in the Honda West are now accounted for after the Blues locked up the No. 4 seed with one point and an Avalanche regulation win over the Kings.

* The Stars earned a crucial win over the Lightning to keep their playoff hopes alive. Dallas trails Nashville by two points in the Discover Central and both teams have two games remaining.

First up we have Joe Veleno and Jeff Blashill, below are the game highlights.

First time the two Florida teams will meet in the playoffs.

Columbus lead the game 2-0 and it looked like one of those games where Detroit competes but can't score.

3:02 changed all that when the Wings went on a scoring rampage with 3 goals.

After 40 minutes the Wings were up 3-2.

Detroit added two empty net goals in the 3rd and the Wings win 5-2

Goals are below.

Team Stats

from Andrew Marchand of the New York Post,

ESPN is out on Wayne Gretzky, paving the way for The Great One potentially going to TNT as an analyst for its NHL studio coverage, The Post has learned.

Gretzky’s role with Turner would be akin to Charles Barkley’s on Inside The NBA. If a deal is done, Gretzky, 60, is expected to command in the $5 million per year range, according to sources.

Even in a time when ESPN/ABC is trying to make many of its broadcasters’ contracts more reasonable, it was willing to go to the $2 million range for Gretzky, sources said. The bidding, though, has now gotten too high and ESPN has decided to bow out.

continued

Do the Wings end the season with a couple of wins? Will they lose the last two games for possible better draft position? We all know the draft is always a gamble.

There are 19 Wingaholics anxiously awaiting the outcome of these last two games, which we all know could end up being a lose, lose for the Wings.

We’ll soon find out...

It’s a Live Blog!

via the YouTube page of The Bob McCown podcast,

Two Canadian broadcasting legends, CHRIS CUTHBERT and JIM HUGHSON join the podcast for a rare "Play-By-Play" edition of our friday roundtable talk.

Watch th 46 1/2 minute show below.

And speaking of three-on-three overtime, is anyone else enjoying it less this year? Or is it just me? Back before the coaches turned it into a tactical exercise, of constant regrouping — when it was a straight-out-exercise in trading chances — it was the best five minutes of any game. Now, it’s been dulled down to the point, where it’s marginally more interesting than the regulation 60 minutes, but nothing at all like the whirlwind it used to be.

-Eric Duhatschek of The Athletic where you can read ($$$) numerous topics including now what Rangers?

Watch the incident below.

added 5:36pm, One game suspension for kneeing, watch the explanation below.

from Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News,

Anyone who would have wagered that Erne would be leading the Red Wings in goals when this season ended is likely a very, very rich person today.

But given a larger opportunity — not necessarily just personal improvement — as the season progressed, Erne flourished with it.

“If you asked him, it’s more about getting more opportunity and he’s done a good job with it,” Blashill said. “With him, it’s getting more opportunity and he’s capitalized with the opportunity.”

Erne, 26, was a 2013 second-round draft pick of Tampa Bay, so there was always potential of being a good offensive player.

But his best season in three years in Tampa was a seven-goal season, before being traded to the Wings in one of general manager Steve Yzerman’s first moves in the summer of 2019.

Erne only had two goals and three assists last season with the Wings, but he heads into this final weekend with a career high in goals (11) and having tied a career high with 20 points.

As for Rasmussen, it is a case of a young player putting in the work during the long offseason and improving on the ice.

“From a year ago, and you include the summer as part of it, he’s clearly a better skater, clearly playing with more confidence and clearly a better defensive player,” Blashill said. “He’s come one of the furthest in terms of development.”

more

13 minutes of your time.

from the CP at TSN,

Canada is golden at the under-18 men's hockey championship after another strong performance from two of the youngest players at the tournament.

Led by 17-year-old captain Shane Wright and 15-year-old Connor Bedard, the Canadians beat Russia 5-3 on Thursday in the championship game, going undefeated along the way.

Wright had two goals and an assist while Bedard added a goal and a helper.

Brennan Othmann scored a highlight-reel between-the-legs goal for Canada, which got another from Logan Stankoven.

Benjamin Gaudreau made 31 saves and was named top goaltender at the 10-nation event.

Wright and Bedard — two of only seven players in Canadian Hockey League history to be granted exceptional player status to join major junior a year early — finished 2-3 in tournament scoring behind Russia's Matvei Michkov.

continued

Below, watch the goals from Connor Bedard during the tournament, note the video may be taken down due to IIHF restrictions.

Bedard is 15 years old, eligible for the 2023 NHL Draft and is 5' 9", 185 lbs.

from Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times,

“It’s the right decision because ESPN is the biggest sports platform in the United States, probably the world,” Zadorov said. “It’s definitely a step forward for us to sell the game. We’re going to bring more people, more population to watch [us]. And it’s a big step up with the money as well for us, which is going to help us in the future with the next [collective-bargaining agreement].”

The money is undoubtedly the biggest positive from a league-business standpoint. The NHL will net $645 million annually from ESPN and Turner, plus another roughly $400 million annually from its ongoing Rogers/Sportsnet contract in Canada. It previously received less than $300 million annually from its contracts with NBC and Disney (for online streaming).

The increased TV revenue will balance the books after a devastating financial year and help the salary cap rise again — although that isn’t expected for another year or two.

“It’ll be good to get some freshness after the year we all had with COVID and everything,” Hawks forward Brett Connolly said. “It’ll be different, but hopefully it’s an advantage, which I think it will be.”

more

via the NHL's YouTube page,

A celebration of the weird moments across the NHL including a stubborn stick, mysterious goalie blunders, Brady Tkachuk's 'Frank the Tank' celly and more!

from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

This wasn’t about the state of the rebuild. This was about the state of the Rangers union. And Jim Dolan, the Executive Chairman of Madison Square Garden Sports Corp., was not comfortable with it. So he acted. Decisively.

“I saw a weakness in the team that was not being addressed and I knew it needed to be,” Dolan told The Post during a telephone interview on Thursday in explaining why he dismissed president John Davidson and general manager Jeff Gorton. “I knew that we were missing a key component to us being a Stanley Cup contender.

“And that is the overall spirit and culture that goes with being a team. I believe that as good of a job as JD and Jeff have done, in speaking with them, it is clear to me that Chris Drury was going to be the right guy to lead the team forward.”

continued

from Neil Best of Newsday,