The NHL has postponed three key offseason events, with the draft, scouting combine, and awards show pushed back due to coronavirus concerns, the league announced Wednesday.

The 2020 draft was slated for June 26-27 in Montreal, with Quebec native Alexis Lafreniere the projected top pick.

The scouting combine was to take place June 1-6 in Buffalo, and Las Vegas was set to host the annual awards show for the 11th consecutive year on June 18.

New dates for the events are yet to be determined, but the release states "the location, timing, and format of the 2020 NHL Draft (and draft lottery) will be announced when details are finalized."

The NHL shut down all operations on March 12, and the league is still in the process of determining its next steps.

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Hockey manufacturer Bauer is pivoting from on-ice equipment to producing face shields for medical workers during the COVID-19 crisis.

Bauer hopes to ship out the shields to hospitals throughout Canada as early as next week, CEO Ed Kinnaly told ESPN's Emily Kaplan. By Wednesday morning, Bauer's facility in Quebec had taken orders for 100,000 units, and the company is looking to expand sales to the United States as well.

"In the U.S., honestly, the word is not out yet," Kinnaly said. "We've been doing outreach to various medical entities."

"We're also going to use our social channels to basically let the medical community know that we have the ability to produce these," he added.

The project is helping Bauer keep a portion of its workers employed during the pandemic. The face shields will be shipped on a first-come, first-served basis.

"Frankly I wish we could do more," Kinnaly said. "Any way we can help, we're going to try."

Bauer is one of the most popular hockey manufacturers in the world. The company's list of sponsored NHL players includes Patrick Kane, Jack Eichel, Henrik Lundqvist, and Nikita Kucherov.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs and pending unrestricted free agent forward Kyle Clifford are mutually interested in a contract extension.

“Kyle has really liked it and enjoyed it so far,” Clifford’s agent, Todd Reynolds, told the Toronto Sun's Terry Koshan of his client's time with the Leafs. “It’s something we would be interested in and it’s something that the Leafs are interested in.”

Talks about a new deal aren't imminent, as the NHL has plenty to figure out during its coronavirus-induced break that began March 12.

Clifford was acquired from the Los Angeles Kings along with goaltender Jack Campbell in exchange for Trevor Moore and a pair of draft picks. Clifford played 16 contests with the Maple Leafs before the season was postponed, registering three points while providing a physical element the team lacked before he arrived.

The 29-year-old is in the final season of a five-year pact that pays him $1.6 million annually. Clifford is one of four pending UFAs on the Leafs' books, along with Jason Spezza, Tyson Barrie, and Cody Ceci.

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North Vancouver native Connor Bedard has been granted exceptional status to play in the WHL next season as a 15-year-old, the league announced Tuesday.

"BC Hockey would like to congratulate Connor on being announced as the first player from Western Canada to be granted exceptional status in the CHL and WHL," said BC hockey chief executive officer Barry Petrachenko. "Throughout the evaluation process, Connor has displayed the tremendous potential he has both mentally and physically to be able to be granted exceptional status."

Bedard is the first player to earn exceptional status in the WHL. Six other players in CHL history have been given the unique distinction: Connor McDavid, John Tavares, Aaron Ekblad, Sean Day, and Shane Wright in the OHL, and Joe Veleno in the QMJHL.

Bedard is a forward listed at 5-foot-8 and 165 pounds. He played for West Vancouver Academy’s U18 team in the Canadian Sports School Hockey League (CSSHL) this past season, notching 43 goals and 41 assists in 36 games.

The WHL Bantam Draft is set for April 22.

The CHL recently shut down all three of its leagues for the remainder of the regular season and playoffs due to coronavirus concerns.

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The NHL has instructed its players and team staff to extend their ongoing self-isolation by 10 days due to the spread of the coronavirus, reports Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.

The decision was relayed to general managers and league officials in a conference call on Tuesday, Johnston adds.

On March 16, the NHL permitted players to fly home if they self-quarantined through March 27. The new protocol will take the quarantine period to at least April 6.

The league shut down operations on March 12 and has been weighing several options for potentially resuming play. At this point, a priority for the league is ensuring the 2020-21 schedule isn't affected by playing out the remainder of the current season.

Meanwhile, two members of the Ottawa Senators are the only NHL players who've been known to test positive for the virus.

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Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price and his wife, Angela, are donating $50,000 to the Breakfast Club of Canada's emergency fund in an effort to help children at risk of food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We are lucky to have everything we do when so many people lack access to healthy food," Angela Price said in a statement, according to Sportsnet. "We feel compelled to do our part so that the most vulnerable children and communities in the country, including Indigenous communities, aren't victims of food insecurity during this crisis."

The NHL has been shut down since March 12 due to the outbreak.

Prior to the postponement, Price owned a 27-25-6 record along with a .909 save percentage.

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The New York Islanders have no intention on letting star forward Mathew Barzal slip away once he hits restricted free agency at the end of the 2019-20 season.

General manager Lou Lamoriello confirmed as much in a recent Q&A with Isles fans on the club's website when asked whether he'd match a potential offer sheet for the 22-year-old.

"It is our intention to not allow it to get to that point, but should that happen, the answer is yes," Lamoriello said.

Barzal's entry-level deal is soon to expire, and he's one of the top RFA's on the board this summer. It was offer sheet pandemonium last offseason as an unprecedented amount of young superstars were due big money on their second contracts.

Only one offer sheet ultimately came about, as the Montreal Canadiens unsuccessfully tried to poach forward Sebastian Aho from the Carolina Hurricanes.

Barzal was drafted 16th overall by the Isles in 2015, and he's led New York in scoring in each of his three full seasons in the NHL. This year, he was on track to do the same before the league went on pause, registering 60 points in 68 games.

Defensemen Ryan Pulock and Devon Toews are also RFA's Lamoriello needs to take care of this offseason, but Barzal is the No. 1 priority by a landslide, as he could reasonably become the team's highest-paid player.

The Islanders are projected to have just over $12.6 million in space for 2020-21, according to Cap Friendly. However, with the NHL's revenue streams shut down for the foreseeable future due to the coronavirus, it's unclear what next season's salary cap will be.

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The Boston Bruins have put together a plan to pay part-time TD Garden staff if the NHL's coronavirus-induced hiatus results in full game cancellations, the team announced Saturday.

"The Jacobs family has established a $1.5-million fund for the Boston Bruins and TD Garden part-time gameday associates who will be financially burdened if the six remaining regular-season Bruins games are not played. We thank our associates for their patience and understanding while we worked through the complexity of this unprecedented situation," the team statement reads.

The Bruins are the last of 31 NHL teams to announce compensation for their workers. On Thursday, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey called out the organization's lack of action.

"I just want them to act, I just want them to step up and do something," Healey told the Boston Herald's Marisa Ingemi. "Do something for their workers. Every other (NHL) team has said they are going to provide financial support for hourly workers who have been hurt by this, and that runs the range of paying their salaries or paying for their living expenses … I just want them to act now."

The NHL announced the suspension of the 2019-20 season on March 13.

The Bruins currently sit atop the frozen NHL standings with 100 points through 70 games.

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The Calgary Flames double-dipped into the college free-agent pool, signing defensemen Colton Poolman out of North Dakota and Connor Mackey from Minnesota State, the team announced Friday.

Both deals are one-year, entry-level contracts.

Poolman, 24, finished his senior year in 2019-20 with 17 points in 31 games.

Mackey, 23, registered 24 points in 36 games in his third NCAA season.

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NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly is leaving the door wide open on how things may look if the league's suspended regular season ultimately resumes.

"I'm really not positioned a week into this to rule out anything," Daly said, according to The Canadian Press. "The possibilities on how this plays out and what we're able to come up with as an end to the 2019-20 season is almost endless."

The NHL, NHLPA, and Board of Governors have explored numerous scheduling options since everything came to a halt March 13 due to the global coronavirus pandemic. However, Daly recently said one of the league's top priorities is ensuring the 2020-21 schedule isn't compromised.

Daly has worked for the NHL since 1996, a tenure that's featured two labor-related work stoppages, but he admitted the league's current circumstances are unprecedented.

"I've never seen anything quite like it," Daly said. "There was serious concern about the situation. But I certainly didn't see it unfolding and unraveling as quickly as it did from the point that we ended that meeting to having to pause the season roughly one week later.

"It was quick."

The NHL doesn't have a clear timeline on when things may resume but announced earlier this week that all players must self-quarantine through at least March 27.

On Tuesday, an unidentified Ottawa Senator was the first NHL player to test positive for COVID-19.

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