The Edmonton Oilers entertainment group released a statement Thursday addressing flooding inside Rogers Place caused by a local storm but do not believe it will hinder plans to host the NHL's return in August.
"A significant storm came through earlier this evening. As a result, Rogers Place has suffered some water damage to the terminus of Ford Hall, along with some smaller leaks in other parts of the building," the statement said.
"We are assessing the damage and at this time are confident that it will not hamper our planning and preparation and we will be ready to host the return of NHL hockey as a hub city. We will share more information as it becomes available."
— same ol 🅽🅳, 90% more Dan (@theDanalytic) July 16, 2020
Training camps opened on Monday and teams are slated to arrive in their respective hub cities July 26 before the qualifying round begins Aug. 1.
Edmonton was selected to host the 12 Western Conference clubs for the league's resumption. The Oilers and Calgary Flames are slated to play an exhibition game at Rogers Place on July 28.
Calgary Flames general manager Brad Treliving came to the defense of his star winger Thursday and squashed rumors suggesting Johnny Gaudreau had been separated from the main group at training camp for disciplinary reasons.
"The groupings that we have on the ice have no conditioning issues or are not done for disciplinary issues. ... I want to dispel that notion," Treliving said, according to Postmedia's Wes Gilbertson.
Gaudreau has skated in a smaller group of nine players since the start of training camp Monday. Flames head coach Geoff Ward said the split was due to "circumstances that became apparent last week," according to Gilbertson.
The Flames GM praised the level of Gaudreau's game after speculation that the 26-year-old entered camp with poor conditioning.
"Johnny Gaudreau has never looked better," he said, per TSN's Jermain Franklin. "To focus on one guy is completely unfair. ... I can't speak high enough to the work level that Johnny has put in."
The 5-foot-9 forward's production sharply declined this season. Gaudreau played at a 21-goal and 67-point pace over 82 games after notching a career-best 36 goals and 99 points in 2018-19.
Calgary is slated to meet the Winnipeg Jets in a best-of-five play-in series beginning Aug. 1.
With the NHL salary cap remaining flat at $81.5 million for at least the 2020-21 season, players who are up for a payday are in an unfortunate position due to general managers needing to exercise caution during free agency this summer.
Whether it be to further prove their worth or improve on a rocky season, the following unrestricted free agents have a chance during the league's resumption to better their position to push the market this summer.
Taylor Hall, Coyotes
Norm Hall / National Hockey League / Getty
Current AAV: $6M
It's been a bit of a bumpy road for the Arizona Coyotes star since he captured the Hart Trophy with the New Jersey Devils in 2017-18. Hall amassed a career-high 93 points in 76 games during that award-winning season but has mustered only 89 points over 98 games in the two campaigns since.
Some of Hall's struggles can be attributed to injuries, while being traded midseason from one offensively strapped team to another certainly doesn't help, either. Regardless, Hall turns 29 in November, and this offseason likely presents his final shot at a big payday.
He has a large enough body of impressive work that the floor for his salary should remain quite high. With the salary cap remaining flat, however, Hall's play this postseason will go a long way in dictating just how much he'll be able to raise his value.
Braden Holtby, Capitals
Sara Schmidle / National Hockey League / Getty
Current AAV: $6.1M
Holtby has been mediocre at best over three consecutive campaigns and authored a career-low .897 save percentage in 2019-20 while starting fewer than 50 contests for the first time in five seasons. Despite his overall struggles, he boasted strong numbers during two consecutive postseasons and will hope to capture that playoff spark once again this summer.
He turns 31 in September, and with youngster Ilya Samsonov projecting to be the Washington Capitals' future No. 1 netminder, Holtby will be looking to prove he still deserves to be paid as a starter. With his recent decline, however, the 6-foot-2 puck-stopper hasn't afforded himself much room for error.
Holtby and Samsonov will likely share time in goal during the round-robin tournament, and if the former is outplayed by the talented Russian, he may not get much of a chance to bolster his case for a hefty contract.
Mikael Granlund, Predators
Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / Getty
Current AAV: $5.75M
Granlund likely would have been paid handsomely in free agency last summer despite struggling to end the campaign after being traded to the Nashville Predators at the deadline. Compounding that poor late-season stint with a hefty drop in production in 2019-20, however, may end up costing him.
As Granlund's numbers head in the wrong direction, so, too, does his age. He turns 29 next February, and teams may think twice before handing out a long-term deal with a relatively high average annual value to a declining player approaching his 30s. Granlund has a chance to redeem his recent subpar play with a strong postseason and prove he's worth the investment.
Tyson Barrie, Maple Leafs
Mark Blinch / National Hockey League / Getty
Current AAV: $5.5M
Like Granlund, Barrie is set to hit free agency following a down season that's somewhat overshadowed his prior success. One year removed from a career-best 14-goal, 59-point campaign in 2018-19, the Maple Leafs blue-liner wasn't quite as effective during his first season in Toronto.
Barrie's play improved after the Leafs replaced head coach Mike Babcock with Sheldon Keefe in November. His points per game spiked from 0.30 to 0.68 under Keefe, as he also experienced an increase in ice time.
Playing behind a potent offense under Keefe's free-wheeling system, Barrie will get plenty of opportunities this postseason to prove his value as an offensive defenseman. He also benefits from being a coveted right-shooting rearguard.
Robin Lehner, Golden Knights
Ethan Miller / Getty Images Sport / Getty
Current AAV: $5M
Lehner somehow earned only a one-year deal last summer in free agency following his career campaign with the New York Islanders in 2018-19. The Swedish puck-stopper continued his dominance this season for the defensively inept Chicago Blackhawks but landed on his fourth team in three seasons when he was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights in February.
Turning 29 in July, he's likely not looking for another short-term deal this summer. Lehner's faced with some tough internal competition in Vegas with Marc-Andre Fleury still in the fold, but successfully guarding the crease for one of the top Western Conference teams in the postseason will put him in a strong position to find a long-term home.
Winnipeg Jets sniper Patrik Laine apparently wasn't joking when he said in May there was a good chance he'd "look terrible" if the NHL returned this summer.
With games quickly approaching, the Finnish winger admits he's not quite up to speed following the league's four-month layoff.
"Still kind of far away," Laine told reporters about the current state of his game Wednesday, according to NHL.com. "It's kind of hard to see myself playing playoff hockey in two weeks.
"But just trying to make the most out of it and trying to be as well-prepared as I and as we can ... just try to work hard these next couple of weeks so we'll be ready when the puck drops."
Training camps began July 13 and the Jets are slated to take on the Calgary Flames in Game 1 of their best-of-five play-in series Aug. 1.
Jets head coach Paul Maurice isn't as worried about his young winger's current status, and said he anticipated his players showing some rust upon returning to the ice.
"He looks good, like he's shooting the puck right and he's running his routes," Maurice said of Laine. "Today we had a pretty darn good pace and we got some battling in today and, yeah, he looks right on.
"But I guess, I don't think anybody looks the way they're going to in about two weeks, we all expect that right?"
Laine bounced back from a setback year in 2018-19 with 28 goals and a career-best 35 assists through 68 games this season.
The Vegas Golden Knights will name their first captain in franchise history prior to the start of the 2020-21 campaign, head coach Pete DeBoer said Wednesday, according to The Athletic's Jesse Granger.
Forwards Mark Stone and Reilly Smith along with defensemen Deryk Engelland and Nate Schmidt currently serve as the four alternate captains. Smith and Engelland have held their roles since the club's inaugural 2017-18 season.
Winger Max Pacioretty is the only player on the Golden Knights' roster who has donned the "C" at the NHL level, serving as captain of the Montreal Canadiens for three seasons (2015-18).
The Golden Knights, Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators, and New Jersey Devils are the only teams in the league currently without a captain.
Washington Capitals forward Lars Eller expects to leave the Toronto bubble during Phase 4 of the NHL's return-to-play plan to attend the birth of his child.
The qualifying round of the 24-team playoff (Phase 4) begins Aug. 1, and Eller and his wife are expecting the birth of their second child on Aug. 8. The 31-year-old pivot said he thought about opting out of the league's return altogether.
"A lot of thoughts going into the decision," Eller said Tuesday, according to ESPN's Greg Wyshynski. "Weighing the pros and cons. We're going to have a new addition to our family in a couple of weeks. But at the same time, I want to be with my team and win another Cup.
"We're working on making the necessary arrangements so I can be there for the birth and then come back to the bubble after that."
Under the Phase 4 agreement between the NHL and NHLPA, players are permitted to leave the bubble for medical or personal reasons if authorized by their club's general manager.
However, those who leave the bubble must return a minimum of four consecutive negative test results over a four-day period. The player will be required to quarantine in their hotel room until such testing requirements are fulfilled.
Eller is confident an appropriate plan will be put in place for him to complete the trip safely.
"You're going to have to take a lot of precautions when you leave," Eller said. "Depending on how you're going to travel and who you travel with ... I'll have to serve some time inside the bubble and test a number of times before I could rejoin my team and play games. We're working on trying to figure out how to do this in the best possible way. But that's what's going to happen."
The Capitals are slated to compete against the Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Philadelphia Flyers in a round-robin tournament to establish the top four seeds in the Eastern Conference.
The deal will pay Sorokin $2 million, with half coming by way of a signing bonus and the other half as salary, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman
Sorokin, 24, inked a one-year pact for 2019-20 with the Islanders on Monday that allows him to join the club at training camp. However, he will not be permitted to play in Phase 4, which marks the beginning of the qualifying round.
The Russian puck-stopper has spent the previous five seasons with CSKA Moscow of the KHL. He posted a 1.50 goals-against average and a .935 save percentage over 40 appearances this season.
Sorokin was selected by New York in the third round of the 2014 NHL Draft.
The honor recognizes the most outstanding player in the NHL as selected by his peers.
Draisaitl is this season's Art Ross Trophy winner as the league's leading point- scorer. The Edmonton Oilers star tallied a career-high 110 points while adding 43 goals in 71 games.
MacKinnon was a force all season for the often shorthanded Colorado Avalanche, leading the club with 35 goals and 93 points in 69 games. The 6-foot pivot finished with 43 more points than his next closest teammate.
Panarin enjoyed a career campaign during his first season with the New York Rangers. The dazzling Russian set career bests in goals (32), assists (63), and points (95) to help accelerate the Blue Shirts' rebuild and lead the club to the 24-team qualifying round.
Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov earned the honor in 2018-19.
The Minnesota Wild have named Dean Evason as the fifth full-time head coach in franchise history, the team announced Monday.
Evason also signed a two-year extension with the franchise through the 2021-22 season.
The 55-year-old assumed head coaching duties in an interim capacity this season after Minnesota fired former bench boss Bruce Boudreau in February. Evason led the Wild to an 8-4-0 record before the league halted play on March 12.
"Dean has done a fantastic job as our interim head coach and deserves this opportunity," general manager Bill Guerin said. "I look forward to watching our team under his leadership going forward."
Evason is in his second season with Minnesota after joining the team as an assistant coach in June 2018. He previously spent six years as head coach of the AHL's Milwaukee Admirals (2012-18) and also served as an assistant with the Washington Capitals from 2005-12.
The Wild open training camp Monday under Phase 3 of the NHL's return-to-play protocol. Minnesota is set to play the Vancouver Canucks in a best-of-five play-in series once the qualifying round of the 24-team playoff (Phase 4) begins Aug. 1.
Matthews, 22, reportedly tested positive for the coronavirus in May and subsequently went into quarantine at his home in Arizona.
The 6-foot-3 pivot racked up a career-best 47 goals and 80 points over 70 games during the shortened 2019-20 season, leading the club in both of those categories. Matthews was scoring at a 55-goal pace over 82 games, which would have set a single-season franchise record.
Teams will report to training camp Monday for Phase 3 of the NHL's return-to-play plan before traveling to their respective hub cities July 26. The qualifying round gets underway Aug.1. The Maple Leafs will meet the Columbus Blue Jackets in their best-of-five play-in series.
