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The NHL and NHLPA announced Friday the postponement of its 2020 international games due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The NHLPA and the NHL remain committed to maintaining and growing our international presence," the two sides said in a statement. "We hope that our fans overseas understand the need to postpone the 2020 games, but we look forward to being back with them in 2021."

The Boston Bruins and Nashville Predators were slated to open their 2020-21 campaigns in Prague, Czech Republic while the Colorado Avalanche and Columbus Blue Jackets were scheduled to play a pair of games in Helsinki, Finland later in the fall.

"We are disappointed by the postponement of our trip to Finland, but look forward to having the opportunity to play in front of Finland's passionate hockey fans in the future," said Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen in a statement. Kekalainen is a native of Kuopio, Finland and was the NHL's first European-born general manager.

Boston was also to complete its training camp in Germany and then play Adler Mannheim in an exhibition game. The Predators were going to wrap up their training camp in Switzerland before taking on SC Bern.

The league was also looking to schedule an event in China for the 2020-21 season, though deputy commissioner Bill Daly ruled that as "unlikely" in early March, according to ESPN's Emily Kaplan.

The NHL began its Global Series games in 2017. The 2020 event would have marked the fourth straight year, and ninth time overall, that the league has traveled to Europe to play regular-season games.

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Hall of Fame goaltender Gerry Cheevers has added more fuel to the longtime rivalry between the Boston Bruins and the Montreal Canadiens.

The former Bruin criticized Canadiens puck-stopper Carey Price on Thursday while praising Boston's current netminder, Tuukka Rask.

"I love Tuukka," Cheevers said, according to NBC Sports Boston's Joe Haggerty. "He's big, he fills the net. I would say he's in (the) top two or three in the league.

"Not a Price fan," Cheevers continued. "He hasn't won. He loses certain games he shouldn't."

Rask won the Stanley Cup with the Bruins in 2011, although he didn't play a single minute during their playoff run. He has twice helped Boston reach the final as its starting netminder.

Although Price has never led the Canadiens to a championship, the British Columbia native has had tremendous success on the international stage. Price earned gold medals at the 2007 World Junior Championship, the 2014 Sochi Olympics, and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey with Team Canada.

Price was also dominant during the Canadiens' playoff run in 2014, guiding the club to the Eastern Conference Final before suffering a season-ending leg injury in Game 1 against the New York Rangers. Montreal went on to lose the series in six games.

Cheevers played 12 seasons with Boston, earning a pair of Stanley Cups in 1970 and 1972. He ranks fourth on the Bruins' all-time wins list with 226.

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Jeremy Leipsic, the brother of Washington Capitals forward Brendan Leipsic, has been released from the University of Manitoba men's hockey team after a series of offensive group messages on Instagram went viral Wednesday night, the University's athletic director Gene Muller announced Thursday, per the Winnipeg Sun's Scott Billeck.

"Bison Sports was extremely disappointed to learn of the comments made made by the group of prominent hockey players, including one of our own, who were involved in the group chat that has emerged online," Muller said. "We condemn any such remarks and attitudes as they are offensive, reprehensible, and have absolutely no place in our sport or in our programs.

"Leadership, respect, and integrity are core values of the Bison Sports community and as a result of this situation, we have taken the action to release the current student-athlete from the program."

Screenshots of the messages showed the Leipsic brothers and their peers making crude comments on several different topics. The NHL released a statement Wednesday condemning such behaviour, and one Capitals spokesperson said the team "will handle the matter internally," in regard to Brendan's involvement.

Brendan also issued an apology on Twitter after the screenshots were released.

Jeremy was in his sophomore season with the Bisons after playing parts of three campaigns with the Portage Terriers of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League.

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The Florida Panthers have signed forward Grigori Denisenko to a three-year, entry-level deal, the team announced Tuesday.

"Grigori is an exciting, dynamic, and highly skilled young forward who has been a top player on the international stage and served as captain of Team Russia at the World Juniors," Panthers general manager Dale Tallon said. "We are thrilled for his bright future with the Panthers for years to come."

Florida selected Denisenko with the 15th overall pick in the 2018 draft.

The 19-year-old tallied six goals and 12 points through 38 games in 2019-20 with the KHL's Yaroslavl Lokomotiv.

Serving as the captain for Russia at the 2020 world juniors, Denisenko posted a team-best nine points in seven games to help lead the nation to a silver medal.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs inked star KHL defenseman Mikko Lehtonen to a one-year, entry-level deal on Monday in hopes of adding a valuable piece to the lineup without making a trade or using a draft pick.

With this deal coming to fruition, let's take a look back at the best players who made an immediate impact in their transition from the KHL since the league's inception in 2008.

For players to qualify on this list, the transition had to be direct, which means those who made stops in any other league between their journey from the KHL to the NHL are omitted. Additionally, players who signed immediately with the club that drafted them and went straight into the NHL, such as Vladimir Tarasenko, are not included.

Artemi Panarin

Panarin was pegged as one of the top players in Europe at the time of his NHL arrival, but we doubt the Chicago Blackhawks - who brought him over on a two-year, $7-million deal in 2015-16 - thought he'd immediately turn into a bona fide star.

The dynamic winger racked up 30 goals and 77 points in his first season in North America to earn the Calder Trophy as the NHL's top rookie. Though he was 24 at the time and slightly older than a traditional first-year player, Panarin finished with 21 more points than the next-closest rookie.

Four years later, Panarin has turned himself into a Hart Trophy candidate with the New York Rangers and is the second-highest-paid player in the league. He ranks fifth among all players with 415 points in 391 games since arriving in the NHL.

Nikita Gusev

At only 26 years of age, Gusev had already cracked the top 15 in all-time KHL scoring with 332 points in 391 contests. The rebuilding New Jersey Devils saw his potential and acquired his rights from the Vegas Golden Knights last July before inking the Russian to a two-year, $9-million deal.

It took some time for Gusev to get comfortable in the NHL, which could have been a byproduct of the Devils' poor start. After contributing just 15 points through his first 30 games, the 5-foot-9 winger racked up 29 points in the following 36 contests and currently sits second on the team in scoring with the season suspended. Gusev was playing at a 54-point pace over 82 games, which would have led the Devils in 2018-19.

Sergei Bobrovsky

Bobrovsky signed a three-year, entry-level deal with the Philadelphia Flyers in May 2010 and didn't take long to seize his opportunity.

With goaltender Michael Leighton injured in training camp in 2010, the then-22-year-old puck-stopper cracked the Flyers' roster and never looked back. That season, Bobrovsky won 11 of his first 14 starts and took over the starting role. Over 56 appearances, he owned a 2.59 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage to finish seventh in Calder Trophy voting.

Two years later, Bobrovsky joined the Columbus Blue Jackets and captured his first Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top netminder.

Ilya Mikheyev

Mikheyev was enjoying a ton of success in his first NHL season with the Maple Leafs, but a scary wrist laceration he suffered in December has kept him out of the club's lineup ever since.

The 25-year-old winger is like a water bug on the ice, covering a ton of space with his blistering speed and tireless motor. Through 39 games, Mikheyev racked up eight goals and 23 points while logging 15:15 of ice time per game. He also served as a valuable member on the club's penalty kill.

Though Lehtonen plays a different position than Mikheyev, Leafs fans will hope the Finnish rearguard can make a similar impact during his first season in North America.

Nikita Zaitsev

Has Zaitsev excelled to become a steady NHL blue-liner? Not exactly. But remember, we're talking about immediate impact, and the Russian rearguard played his best hockey during his first year in the league with the 2016-17 Maple Leafs.

Zaitsev was relied upon to provide defensive depth on a young, up-and-coming Leafs roster, and was up to the task. The 6-foot-2 rearguard ranked second on the club among defensemen in both points (36) and average ice time (22:01) while leading the team with 136 blocked shots through 82 games.

Rewarded with a seven-year, $31.5-million contract, Zaitsev has failed to live up to expectations ever since.

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The Stanley Cup is difficult to win, and the superstars on our list of players who fell short are living proof.

Some legends, such as Rod Brind'Amour and Dave Andreychuk, were fortunate enough to capture the Cup in the final years of their careers. For Ray Bourque, the championship-clinching win came in his final game. But for others, years of consistently elite play wasn't enough to arrive at hockey's summit.

Superstars such as Eric Lindros, Pavel Bure, and Cam Neely were dominant during their heydays, but their careers were rather short-lived relative to the players below. Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau haven't yet called it quits, so we've omitted them from the list too.

With that covered, here are the 10 best players to never win a Stanley Cup.

Marcel Dionne

Career stats (regular season)

Furthest he advanced: Second round

The Los Angeles Kings legend owns the unfortunate distinction of being the only retired player on the NHL's top 15 all-time scoring list to never win the Stanley Cup.

Despite an illustrious 18-year career, Dionne didn't come close to a title. The 5-foot-8 forward signed multiple deals with the Kings in his prime, but the team couldn't assemble a championship-caliber cast around him. Dionne's teams (the Kings, Detroit Red Wings, and New York Rangers) won over 40 regular-season games just once, and he made it past the first round of the playoffs only three times.

With six 50-plus-goal and seven 100-plus-point seasons, Dionne is the greatest player in league history to never win a Stanley Cup.

Jarome Iginla

Career stats

Furthest he advanced: Stanley Cup Final

Iginla, the longtime Calgary Flames captain, did everything right during his 20-year Hall of Fame-caliber career, winning several major individual awards while cementing himself as one of the greatest leaders ever.

The Alberta native collected multiple titles at the junior and international levels, but he couldn't haul in a Stanley Cup despite coming as close as it gets with the Flames in 2004. Few plays in NHL history better illustrate the "game of inches" sports adage than Martin Gelinas' near-go-ahead goal late in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final that would have likely landed Iginla his elusive championship.

Adam Oates

Career stats

Furthest he advanced: Stanley Cup Final

Oates made the playoffs in 15 of 19 seasons with six different teams, but he never ended a campaign by lifting the Stanley Cup. He leads players without a championship in postseason points while ranking 27th in all-time playoff scoring.

The Hall of Fame forward was the driving force alongside goal-scorer Peter Bondra while leading the Washington Capitals to their first-ever Stanley Cup Final in 1998. Unfortunately, the Capitals were no match for the Detroit Red Wings, who promptly completed the sweep for their second straight title.

Six years later, Oates found himself back in the final with the Anaheim Ducks. However, the Ducks lost a heartbreaking Game 7 to the New Jersey Devils in what would prove to be Oates' final postseason game.

Mats Sundin

Career stats

Furthest he advanced: Conference finals

Sundin made the postseason 10 times during his Hall of Fame career, but he failed to go all the way despite a pair of trips to the conference finals with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The towering Swede ranks second in Maple Leafs postseason scoring. However, he was never given a strong enough supporting cast to beat the likes of Philadelphia and New Jersey in the early 2000s. Had Sundin been at full health during Toronto's conference final run in 2002, perhaps he would have made a difference. But the juggernaut Detroit Red Wings, who were destined for the title, awaited at the finish line.

Dale Hawerchuk

Career stats

Furthest he advanced: Stanley Cup Final

Hawerchuk made the playoffs in all but one of his 16 NHL seasons, but he was unable to get over the hump while facing stiff competition. The eventual Stanley Cup champion ousted Hawerchuk's squad seven times during his 15 playoff runs with three different teams.

While playing for the Winnipeg Jets in the 80s, Hawerchuk never made it out of the second round, with the dynastic Edmonton Oilers halting his team six times over eight years. In the early 90s with the Buffalo Sabres, Hawerchuk bumped into another insurmountable foe, bowing out twice to the Montreal Canadiens.

His best shot at the Cup came as a member of the Philadelphia Flyers during Hawerchuk's final NHL season. With the likes of John LeClair and a young Lindros leading the way, the Flyers made it to the final. But yet another dynasty stood in Hawerchuk's way, and the Red Wings swept the Flyers.

Mike Gartner

Career stats

Furthest he advanced: Conference finals

Despite playing for some strong teams over his 19-year career, Gartner retired without a championship in 1998.

If it weren't for a late-season trade in 1994, Gartner likely wouldn't be on this list. The New York Rangers flipped the Ontario native to the Maple Leafs at the trade deadline, and months later, the Rangers were celebrating a Stanley Cup title. Ironically, Gartner's postseason run with the Leafs that same spring was the longest of his career, as the team lost to the Vancouver Canucks in the Western Conference Final.

Gartner's teams made the playoffs in each of the following four seasons, but he never advanced beyond the opening round.

Roberto Luongo

Career stats

Furthest he advanced: Stanley Cup Final

It didn't help that Luongo spent over half his career playing behind poor Florida Panthers teams. The 6-foot-3 puck-stopper's best shot at a championship came during his time with the Vancouver Canucks, but the built-to-win club couldn't take advantage while its Stanley Cup window was open.

Luongo ranks third all time in wins, but he's the only netminder within the top five to be denied a Stanley Cup. He came as close to winning as possible, losing Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final to the Boston Bruins in 2011.

Peter Stastny

Career stats

Furthest he advanced: Conference finals

Stastny notched 100-plus points in each of his first six NHL seasons and ranks seventh all time in points per game (1.26), but he never hoisted the Stanley Cup.

Though Stastny was the heart and soul of some strong Quebec Nordiques teams throughout the 80s, the superior New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers always seemed to stand in the club's way. Stastny reached the conference finals twice with Quebec before being dealt to the New Jersey Devils during the 1989-90 campaign.

Pierre Turgeon

Career numbers

Furthest he advanced: Conference finals

For whatever reason, Turgeon's name isn't frequently mentioned during discussions about former greats of the game. Maybe that's because he couldn't cement his legacy while bouncing around to middling teams. Regardless, winning a Stanley Cup certainly would have helped.

Turgeon's postseason prime came in the late 90s with the St. Louis Blues. The club consistently finished near the top of the standings, but it often ran into a fellow Western Conference powerhouse. From 1997 to 2001, the eventual champion eliminated Turgeon's Blues four times.

Gilbert Perreault

Career stats

Furthest he advanced: Stanley Cup Final

Perreault played all 17 of his acclaimed seasons with the Buffalo Sabres, and he was included in some of the most talented teams the franchise has ever assembled.

With Rick Martin and Rene Robert flanking him, Perreault centered "the French Connection," a line that dominated throughout the 70s. That iteration of the Sabres made several competitive postseason runs, including a loss to the Flyers in the 1975 final.

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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Sunday that if the NHL season resumes, players who fly into Canada while the border remains closed would need to follow quarantine policies due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

"I think it's a question we'll have to look into," Trudeau said in a press briefing, according to The Canadian Press. "Certainly, at a strict minimum, anyone who arrives from another country will have to follow all the rules of quarantine in an extremely strict manner, but we're not there yet in our discussions with the NHL.

"We recognize that it's a possibility, but it depends on an enormous amount of things, and I don't want to speculate on this until there's more discussion."

The NHL has reportedly discussed stationing teams in up to four hub cities not deemed to be coronavirus hotspots in order to complete its season, with Toronto and Columbus, Ohio, apparently being considered the front-runners. Edmonton is also reportedly bidding to host some of the season's remaining games.

On Wednesday, the NHL and NHLPA said in a joint statement that they may be able to move onto "Phase 2" of a return plan by mid-to-late-May. At that point, teams would be allowed to begin opening practice facilities for small group workouts.

It was reported in April that NHL commissioner Gary Bettman had plans to connect directly with Trudeau to discuss potential testing options for the coronavirus.

Eight NHL players had tested positive for COVID-19, but all have since recovered.

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The Edmonton Oilers are "full steam ahead" in their bid to be one of the NHL's hosts for games if the season resumes this summer," TSN's Ryan Rishaug reported Friday.

The process is "looking fairly optimistic," as Alberta health officials have been open to speaking with the Oilers and further talks are planned for next week to discuss how hosting games in Edmonton could potentially work, according to Rishaug.

Though no decisions have been made, the NHL has reportedly intensified talks about a potential plan to station teams at up to four hub cities not deemed to be coronavirus hotspots, where the season would be completed. Toronto and Columbus are apparently among the leading contenders.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said Wednesday that the league hopes to move to the second stage of an eventual return over the next month. At that point, teams would be allowed to begin opening practice facilities for small group workouts.

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The Calgary Flames have inked Swedish defenseman Johannes Kinnvall to a two-year, entry-level contract, the team announced Wednesday.

Kinnvall, 22, will remain in Sweden next season and come to North America ahead of the 2021-22 campaign.

The right-handed-shooting blue-liner recorded career highs in assists (29) and points (40) while also netting 11 goals through 51 games for HV71 of the Swedish Hockey League this season. Kinnvall has totaled 23 goals and 62 points in 121 games through three campaigns overseas.

The Flames also signed 2018 sixth-round pick Emilio Pettersen to a three-year, entry-level deal Monday.

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Calgary Flames forward Elias Lindholm isn't high on the idea of playing without spectators if the NHL season resumes.

"That's going to be tough," Lindholm told Sportsnet 960's "Boomer in The Morning" on Tuesday. "The fans is pretty much the whole game. Without the fans, there wouldn’t be any games."

The NHL reportedly discussed finishing the season in up to four different hub cities that are not considered coronavirus hotspots. However, fans would not be permitted to attend games due to public health and safety concerns.

Lindholm is used to a packed house at the Scotiabank Saddledome, as Calgary ranks sixth in attendance this season, drawing 18,751 spectators per game, according to ESPN. The 25-year-old believes it would be difficult to replicate the same level of energy and intensity on the ice in a much quieter environment.

"I think every time you go and play in front of a full building, you're pumped up and fired up, and when you're playing in front of just a couple thousand, you kind of have to motivate yourself for that," Lindholm said. "Now without fans, I don't know. … It's tough to imagine playing without fans. It's going to be a tough thing to do for sure."

Other figures around the league have shared similar sentiments. Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon said games without fans would "be called the YMCA." Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand said playing in an empty arena would "be like a practice," per CLNS Media's Mike Petraglia.

On the flip side, Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper thinks players wouldn't even notice the lack of spectators in the heat of the game.

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