New York Islanders head coach Barry Trotz has some regrets about how he handled his club before the NHL paused the season.
"Twenty-twenty hindsight is always a great thing, but I would do a few things different," he told Newsday's Andrew Gross. "Maybe practiced, at different times, more, just because the group needed it.
"Sometimes, I felt like we overcoached," Trotz added. "That's because we're so passionate about getting better. When I say you overcoach, you get away from what you do really well."
The Islanders were one of the NHL's best teams early in the season, going a franchise-record 17 straight games without a regulation loss from mid-October to late November. However, they cooled off down the stretch.
New York won only two of its final 13 games before the postponement, falling out of a playoff position. The club currently sits one point behind the Carolina Hurricanes and Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, albeit with two games in hand on Columbus.
Despite that slide, Trotz still believes the team would have made the postseason, or will, if and when play resumes.
"I wasn't worried we weren’t going to make the playoffs because we were trending, mentally, in the right way," he said. "Our mental mindset was going in the right direction."
Trotz is in his second campaign with the Islanders after helping the Washington Capitals win the Stanley Cup in 2018. He led New York into the postseason in 2018-19. That year, the Islanders swept the Pittsburgh Penguins in the opening round before getting swept by the Hurricanes in Round 2.
Brian Burke seems to enjoy opening up about his would-be trades that never came to fruition.
One week after saying his Anaheim Ducks made a better offer than the San Jose Sharks did for Joe Thornton in 2005, the former NHL general manager discussed another deal he didn't make, this time toward the end of his Toronto Maple Leafs tenure.
We were all in hard on Luongo around the time when I got fired. The price would have come down to a lot but we were in the mix. They asked for Gardiner, Kadri and two firsts. Way too step, even for @strombone1https://t.co/QNto0oM5XU
The Vancouver Canucks ended up shipping Roberto Luongo back to the Florida Panthers in March 2014 in a package deal that netted them Jacob Markstrom, their current No. 1 goalie.
During the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season, Jake Gardiner was in his second NHL campaign after registering 30 points across 75 games in his rookie year. Nazem Kadri was in the midst of his first full season with the Maple Leafs and went on to post 44 points in 48 games before playing another six largely productive years with the club.
As for the two first-round picks, it's unclear at which drafts they would have applied, but Toronto selected Frederik Gauthier 21st overall in 2013. The team chose William Nylander eighth overall the following year and Mitch Marner with the No. 4 pick in 2015.
Burke began guiding the Leafs in November 2008. He spent three seasons with the Ducks prior to that, winning the Stanley Cup in 2006-07. He also served as the Canucks GM from 1998 to 2004.
The longtime executive spent five seasons as president of hockey operations for the Calgary Flames from 2013 to 2018 before joining Sportsnet as a studio analyst.
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New York Islanders president of hockey operations Lou Lamoriello strongly believes the postponed NHL campaign will start up again in one form or another.
"I'm extremely optimistic that we will play at some time as far as this season," Lamoriello told Newsday's Andrew Gross on Thursday. "Whether it's in June, whether it's in July, whether it's in August, I'm not thinking about that. I'm just thinking, in my mind, knowing that we will play and using this time to get ready for that.
"But, prior to that, the most important thing is everyone staying safe and everyone doing the things in the best interest of their families because we're in a different world today."
The league postponed play March 12 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. On Tuesday, the NHL reportedly extended its self-quarantine directive for players until April 15.
Teams have reportedly been asked to provide available arena dates in August, and deputy commissioner Bill Daly subsequently said the league would try to fit games into that month if it had to do so.
P.K. Subban is in favor of having every team compete in a league-wide postseason when the NHL returns from its hiatus.
"It was kind of floated around. I remember around the pause time when everything kind of shut down, I saw a few things on social media and I like that," the New Jersey Devils defenseman said while appearing on ESPN's "First Take" on Thursday.
"For my team specifically, we were pushing to make the playoffs down the stretch, so I would like to see our team have an opportunity to compete for the Stanley Cup, but obviously as days go by ... if (the resumption of the season) did happen, I would love to see a 31-team playoff and give those pesky Devils an opportunity (to bring) the Stanley Cup back home to New Jersey, so I'd love to see that."
It remains to be seen how the league will conclude the campaign. Whether it resumes at all, how many teams would be involved in the playoffs, or whether the rest of the regular season would be scrapped are all questions that understandably remain unanswered.
Some stars, like Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, have said they'd be open to going straight into the playoffs upon a resumption of the season. However, Florida Panthers forward Aleksander Barkov believes his club deserves a chance to try to qualify for the postseason, as the team sat three points behind the third-place Toronto Maple Leafs in the Atlantic Division with a game in hand when the league halted operations on March 12.
The 31-team playoff is one of many radical ideas being suggested during the pause. At least one team has reportedly submitted a proposal that included a tournament for lottery teams to compete for the first overall pick.
Subban's squad had the third-worst record (28-29-12) in the Eastern Conference when the NHL postponed the season.
Two days after the NHL featured The Great One, Super Mario gets his turn.
On Wednesday, the league is revisiting the Pittsburgh Penguins' blowout win over the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on April 9, 1993. It was a truly memorable night for Mario Lemieux, who scored five of the Penguins' 10 goals and helped the club set an NHL record with its 16th straight victory.
Kral, who signed a three-year pact, racked up 49 points in 53 games with the WHL's Spokane Chiefs this season. The Maple Leafs selected the 20-year-old in the fifth round of the 2018 draft.
Rubins, who agreed to a two-year deal, spent this season with the AHL's Toronto Marlies after splitting 2018-19 between them and the ECHL's Newfoundland Growlers. The 22-year-old joined the Leafs organization when he signed with the Growlers in August 2018.
The NHL campaign remains paused, but more than a few players can still take some solace in the fact they made significant strides this season.
From those who unexpectedly burst onto the scene, to productive youngsters who took their game to the next level, here's a collection of players who broke out in 2019-20.
Dominik Kubalik
Few outside Kubalik's homeland or NHL market had heard of the Czech-born forward at the start of the season, but the 24-year-old rookie - whom the Los Angeles Kings drafted in the seventh round in 2013 before trading him to Chicago for a fifth-rounder in January 2019 - exploded for 30 goals in 68 games. His team boasts some elite playmakers, but Kubalik didn't play with Patrick Kane at even strength often and did much of his damage in a supporting role.
David Pastrnak
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Yes, Pastrnak was arguably already a star, having authored 30-goal efforts in each of the previous three campaigns. However, he rose to absolute superstardom in 2019-20, pouring in 48 goals and 95 points in 70 games. At the time of the postponement, Kubalik's 23-year-old countryman was tied for the league lead in goals, ranked third among all NHL skaters in points, and was on pace for 56 markers and 111 points over an 82-game span.
Mika Zibanejad
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Like Pastrnak, Zibanejad was coming off a 30-goal season of his own, but he became unstoppable as 2019-20 progressed. The New York Rangers center missed 13 games with an injury early on, but dominated upon returning. He piled up 41 goals and 75 points in 57 games - including a five-goal night in early March - and collected a mind-blowing 23 goals over the final 22 games, besting his 74-point output from 2018-19 in 25 fewer contests.
J.T. Miller
Jeff Vinnick / National Hockey League / Getty
Miller was a solid depth player for the Rangers and the Tampa Bay Lightning, but his production skyrocketed after the latter club traded him to the Vancouver Canucks in June. Playing alongside Elias Pettersson certainly factored into that, but nevertheless, Miller more than clicked with his new team, establishing career highs with 27 goals and 72 points in 69 games.
Kevin Fiala
Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / Getty
Only Zibanejad was hotter than Fiala down the stretch. The Minnesota Wild winger went on an absolute tear, pouring in 14 goals and 26 points over the final 18 games prior to the pause. Fiala ultimately tied his career high of 23 markers and surpassed his previous best of 25 assists by six in 16 fewer contests, producing 54 points in 64 games.
Tony DeAngelo
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Jacob Trouba was the big addition on the Rangers' blue line entering 2019-20, but DeAngelo nearly doubled Trouba's point total and posted surprisingly stellar offensive numbers in his third season with New York. DeAngelo tied for third among all NHL rearguards with 15 goals and ranked fourth in the league at his position with 53 points in 68 games, surpassing his previous career-bests by far.
Elvis Merzlikins
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Merzlikins was the Columbus Blue Jackets' goalie of the future, but he became the goalie of the present following an injury to starter Joonas Korpisalo in late December. After taking over as the starter, Merzlikins went 13-5-4 with a .935 save percentage with five shutouts in 23 games. He also led all NHL netminders in goals saved above average during that span.
Tristan Jarry
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Jarry began this season as the Pittsburgh Penguins' backup goalie, but he snatched the No. 1 job from Matt Murray and held onto it for a while after outplaying the two-time Stanley Cup champion. Jarry faltered right before the pause and effectively lost the starting gig, allowing 18 goals combined in four straight losses. However, he excelled beforehand, posting a .931 save percentage in 29 appearances prior to the four-game slide.
Bryan Rust
Harry How / Getty Images Sport / Getty
Rust was another Penguins player who enjoyed a breakout season. The 27-year-old forward had never registered more than 18 goals or 38 points in one campaign. However, he needed only 55 games to squash those career highs in 2019-20, piling up 27 markers and 56 points. He had some help from Evgeni Malkin, but it was an impressive campaign nonetheless.
Travis Konecny
Len Redkoles / National Hockey League / Getty
The Philadelphia Flyers were one of the NHL's best teams before the postponement, and Konecny played a significant role in that resurgence. The 23-year-old needed 15 fewer games to match his career-high 24-goal output, and bested his previous high of 49 points - achieved in 82 contests - with 61 in only 66 games. He was on pace for 73 points, which would have been a 24-point improvement over his 2018-19 production.
Pete DeBoer wouldn't be opposed to playing postseason games deep into the summer.
"I can imagine playoff hockey in Vegas in August. It would be 120 degrees, it would be awesome," the Vegas Golden Knights head coach told Greg Wyshynski and Emily Kaplan on the ESPN On Ice podcast Tuesday.
"You'd have to change the dress code for the players coming to the rink, but ... I think people by that point would be starving for hockey," the bench boss added.
DeBoer also expressed how difficult it would be to not conclude this campaign with a postseason.
"I know, to a man, the players want to have an ending to this season and want to end it the right way," he said. "I know (with) our group, (when) you get this far into a year, you can taste the Stanley Cup Playoffs and you want some closure to that. So, I think whether we play in July, August, (or) September, I'm all for figuring out a way to get some closure to this season before we roll into the next."
As the NHL remains paused amid the coronavirus pandemic, deputy commissioner Bill Daly said last week the league may have the ability to play in August and would fit games in if necessary. TSN's Bob McKenzie previously reported the NHL asked its teams for available August arena dates.
Daly has also indicated the league wants to avoid anything less than a full 2020-21 campaign.
When the NHL paused its season on March 12, the Golden Knights sat atop the Pacific Division with a 39-24-8 record.
Vegas played until June 7, 2018, back in its inaugural season, losing the Stanley Cup Final to the Washington Capitals in five games.
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Members of the NHL community are showing their appreciation for medical professionals battling the coronavirus pandemic on National Doctors' Day in the United States.
Toronto Maple Leafs captain John Tavares expressed concern over the situations in both his current and former NHL homes while acknowledging those who are most at risk.
"It's about people who are on the front lines of this in the hospitals, the nurses, doctors, (and) emergency responders," Detroit Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin said, according to the team. "They're the real heroes in this, so I appreciate everything they're doing for us right now."
The U.S. first observed Doctors' Day in 1933. It was declared a national holiday in 1990.
