2020 NHL Entry Draft July Ranking | On the Forecheck
Here’s Eric’s latest draft ranking. I was blown away by his scouting and coverage last year; it’s well worth a look.
Edmonton mayor: Storm causes damage but Oilers arena structurally sound | Sportsnet.ca
Do you ever get the feeling that the universe is trying to, I don’t know, give you a hint? Just a little one? A hint that MAYBE IT’S NOT A GREAT IDEA FOR THE NHL TO BE HOLDING THE PLAYOFFS, WHICH ARE A RECREATIONAL AND NON-MANDATORY ACTIVITY, IN THE MIDDLE OF AN ONGOING PANDEMIC? Baby-sized hint, really. Tiny one. In a whisper.
NHL Training Camp News Day 5 | NBC Sports | ProHockeyTalk
We’ve got players in quarantine, players emerging from quarantine, Steven Stamkos back from his latest injury, goalies, and speculation.
The cards are stacked against NWHL, PWHPA for the 2020-21 season | The Ice Garden
We know that the NHL will be back, but the NWHL and the PWHPA are both in a more difficult situation, trying to establish themselves and establish a market. Michelle Jay takes a look at the problems facing them and the possible solutions.
USA Hockey’s 2020 Sled Classic Canceled | On the Forecheck
Another disappointing piece of news.
NHL: Let Refs Vote for the Lady Byng Trophy | Scouting The Refs
This one feels like a no-brainer. We all know there are a lot of things that the refs won’t call–especially late in a close game–but that doesn’t mean that they don’t remember “oh, that guy, he’s trouble.” The PHWA? Maybe not so much.
Roundtable: NHL teams helped by break | ProHockeyTalk | NBC Sports
Spoiler alert: teams that have players who were injured but are now healthy are probably going to be doing better than they would have if they hadn’t had time to let their injured players get healthy again.
Hellebuyck, Vasilevskiy and Rask named finalists for Vezina Trophy | Sportsnet.ca
Did the Jets really have a team this year that wasn’t Connor Hellebuyck shutting it down? I genuinely can’t remember. This is the weird part about announcing awards four months after we last saw any hockey.
Awarding NHL Awards in the NWHL | The Ice Garden
Get your defensive forwards, your fair-play sportsmanship, and more.
Lehner: Mental health benefits to NHL return | ProHockeyTalk | NBC Sports
Robin Lehner makes some cogent points here–I and several of my friends have been struggling in this current structureless, directionless environment with no particular difference between days or specific things to look forward to–but I don’t know that the tradeoff here is good. I just don’t know that live sports, in a country that’s mishandled the COVID-19 response as badly as the US has, are the thing to do.
Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award finalists announced | NHL.com
Okay, I love this. This is not only today’s feel-good hockey story, there’s the knowledge that one of these people is actually going to get a shiny object in recognition of the great things they’ve been doing.
NHL training camps in U.S. a ‘reckless’ health risk for players, doctors say | TSN.ca
““You want to be charitable and maybe the NHL is so far into this that it’s just hard for them to pull back. But you look at this and say, ‘What are you thinking?’””
This is honestly how I feel about this. I know some of our readers have been saying that you don’t want to just keep reading us writing about what a terrible plan it is to go ahead with hockey during a pandemic, but holy yikes, y’all. There’s a point–and I think we’re past that point by now–where the sunk-cost fallacy is going to keep the NHL from canceling the move to the hub cities regardless of what happens over the next week or so.
Mr. Bettman, if you’re reading this: it’s not too late.