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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.”

The three beat writers for the Wings all have articles up this morning and to read any of them, you need to be a subscriber.

from Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News,

Some intriguing decisions regarding the Red Wings are about to be made, including the one that might have the most importance.

Who is going to coach the Wings next season?

After Saturday’s 5-4 overtime loss in Columbus ended what was a promising yet another losing season, the future of coach Jeff Blashill becomes front and center for the immediate future.

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from Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press,

The Wings’ resilience made Blashill recall a saying favored by his predecessor, Mike Babcock.

“Babs used to talk about steadying the rudder,” Blashill said. “That was something he used to say lots. Our team did a good job of being steady on the rudder. We lost our way in that one stretch where we were missing those guys, but really if you look back, we’re seven games under .500, somewhere in that range. That COVID stretch was a tough stretch for us, but other than that, I thought we did a good job of responding when things went bad.

“I say this lots when I talk to people, I talk to businesses — like, it’s not about whether or not you get knocked down, you’re going to get knocked down. It’s if you continuously get back up. I thought our group continuously got back up. There’s a lot of good men in that room. On a night-to-night basis, we worked and competed to the Nth degree, and that’s something I’m proud of our group for.”

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from Ansar Khan of Mlive,

Now that Steve Yzerman’s second season as Detroit Red Wings general manager is over, the bulk of his work begins.

Yzerman has many items to cross off his checklist before players gather for training camp in mid-to-late September, in preparation for an NHL regular season that will start a week later than usual, on Oct. 12.

One task, figures to be completed quickly, as Yzerman indicated last month he will speak with coach Jeff Blashill immediately after the season to discuss his future.

Over the course of the next several weeks, and months, Yzerman has a number of decisions to make:

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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.