Find out the latest on COVID-19's impact on the sports world and when sports are returning by subscribing to Breaking News push notifications in the Sports and COVID-19 section.
NHL clubs are worried about the health of senior personnel in the event that the 2019-20 season is allowed to proceed.
Following a report that NBA general managers are weighing the risks of permitting older staffers to be around teams if the league's postponed campaign resumes, NHL teams have raised similar concerns, according to ESPN's Emily Kaplan, who added that a solution is yet to be determined.
The CDC says older adults are at higher risk of contracting the coronavirus. On average, eight of every 10 deaths reported in the U.S. have been adults who are 65 years of age or older.
The NHL - which paused its season amid the coronavirus pandemic on March 12 - is currently evaluating the feasibility of resuming play in several hub cities, presumably without fans present.
However, that likely won't happen for some time, as the second phase of the league's return-to-play plan - the reopening of club facilities - reportedly can't go ahead until "the large majority" of teams are given clearance to do so.
Red and blue is the most common color scheme in sports, but the Spanish giants are among the originators, having worn those colors since the club's foundation in 1899. Barca's vertical striped shirts are now recognized around the globe. The team has gotten a little too loose with its template in recent years while chasing merchandise dollars, even sporting hooped shirts in 2015-16, much to the dismay of fans. Give us the 2014-15 version of Barca's home kit, which was just about perfect with its simplicity.
79. Philadelphia Phillies (current)
Drew Hallowell / Getty Images Sport / Getty
The Phillies' home uniforms have largely been untouched since the '50s, and we don't see any reason to ever make significant changes. The font used across the front is one of the best in sports, and while multiple teams feature pinstripes, Philly is the only one that uses red.
78. Auburn football (current)
Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images Sport / Getty
College football has seen some ambitious uniform ideas over the years, but Auburn has stuck to a simple and effective design. Bright orange stands out nicely on the navy base, and opting for the university logo rather than using a tiger in a conference where three teams share the same nickname helps build an effective identity.
77. San Francisco Giants (current)
Lachlan Cunningham / Getty Images Sport / Getty
The Giants are one of the most storied franchises in MLB, and they look the part. With no names on the back, no numbers on the front, and a small logo on the sleeve, San Francisco nails the minimalist style. The "Giants" wordmark on the jersey and the interlocked "SF" on the front are perfect. Not to mention, the off-white base for the home uniform is absolutely beautiful.
76. Denver Nuggets (1980s)
Rocky Widner / National Basketball Association / Getty
The Nuggets' early-1980s overhaul brought about an entirely new look for the franchise - one that will live on forever as one of the most audacious in the history of sports design. The rainbow backdrop with the Denver skyline and the Rocky Mountains was a masterclass in creativity, and it hasn't been matched by the franchise in many redesign attempts. Is it over the top? Maybe. But we love the boldness.
75. Buffalo Sabres (1980s)
B Bennett / Bruce Bennett / Getty
Royal blue and yellow is the ultimate look for the Sabres, who've strayed away from their best uniform design for far too long. The logo featuring crossed swords and a charging buffalo has made a triumphant return in recent years, but the classic elements of the original uniform were missing. Thankfully, that's scheduled to change for the 2020-21 season.
74. Oregon football (2018)
Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / Getty
The Ducks have worn literally dozens of different uniform combinations over the last few decades, cementing their place as the most innovative sports team on the planet when it comes to aesthetics. Not all of the combinations were winners, and everyone has a personal favorite, but the all-green look with a satin-finished winged helmet that was sported in 2018 was a particularly appealing combo.
73. Pittsburgh Penguins (current)
Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / Getty
The Penguins made the switch from "Las Vegas gold" to "Pittsburgh gold" - aka yellow - in 2016. What a difference a few shades make. The Pens' digs instantly went from drab to vibrant, and they ought to remain that way from here on out. In the city of black and yellow, no team should wear anything else.
72. Buffalo Bills (current)
Brett Carlsen / Getty Images Sport / Getty
Many Bills fans have a soft spot for the red helmets of the team's Super Bowl era, or the "standing buffalo" logo of the O.J. Simpson era, but the best this team has ever looked is right now. The Bills' throwback-inspired set is tasteful and includes just enough unique quirks (like the red helmet stripe, which widens at the back to mimic the shape of the red slash on the team's logo) to stand as a modern classic.
71. Philadelphia Eagles (1970s)
Focus On Sport / Getty Images Sport / Getty
It is blasphemy for the Eagles' beloved Kelly green uniforms not to rank higher on our list? Perhaps, but in truth, there's not a ton that sets this uniform apart beyond that gorgeous color. The wings on the helmet are a little undefined (the representation on the Eagles' current midnight green helmets is superior). The 1970s jerseys with sleeve stripes are preferable to the much plainer 1960s version, which was worn by the Eagles as a throwback in 2010.
Although Edmonton Oilers star Leon Draisaitl was in the midst of the best year of his career before the 2019-20 season was paused, he admits the personal hardware at stake isn't at the top of his mind at the moment.
"There's more important things right now in the world going on and much more important than winning a trophy or anything like that," Draisaitl told TSN's Darren Dreger on "Dreger's Cafe."
When the season was paused on March 12, Draisaitl was running away in the Art Ross Trophy race with 110 points - 13 ahead of his teammate Connor McDavid. He was also seen as one of the front-runners in the race for the Hart Trophy.
The 24-year-old spent some time on a line with McDavid earlier this season, but ended up anchoring his own. Halfway through the year, the German was paired with Kailer Yamamoto and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and the trio began to wreak havoc on the ice.
"If I told you that I don't like playing with Connor I'd be lying into your face. Getting a chance to play with probably the best player in the world, it's special and it's a lot of fun, no question," Draisaitl added. "But you know the line that I had at the end there with Yamo and Nuge, we've been clicking and I think it made our team more dangerous and that's what we all want - we want a dangerous team and we don't want one dangerous line."
Draisaitl amassed 43 goals and 67 assists before the stoppage. Sitting fourth in the league in goals, he was also starting to sneak into the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy race.
Find out the latest on COVID-19's impact on the sports world and when sports are returning by subscribing to Breaking News push notifications in the Sports and COVID-19 section.
If the NHL does eventually return to the ice to finish off the 2019-20 season, teams won't be getting an unfair advantage in regards to training.
He continued: "Even though the majority of clubs may be able to open up, unless they can all open up at the same time or around the same time the NHL isn't going to allow players to go to their club facility again until the majority are able to do that."
With different guidelines set in place throughout North America for COVID-19, certain teams may be given the green light from their local government before others to return to work.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said last week that NHL players would not be exempt from the current strict quarantine policies if they enter the country.
Dreger added the NHL is "encouraged" by the markets that are loosening up, and the league is monitoring carefully for setbacks. He added the NHL remains hopeful it will be able to initiate Phase 2 in late May.
Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford is set to face yet another tough decision when it comes to managing his goaltenders.
"I'll say this: If we are going to keep both (Matt Murray and Tristan Jarry), we'd have to move a few things around on our team," Rutherford said, according to The Athletic's Josh Yohe. "There is a way to do things and to make that work, yes. There are some very, very tough decisions ahead."
Murray and Jarry, both 25, are set to be restricted free agents at the conclusion of the 2019-20 season. With more than $68 million already committed to the Penguins' 2020-21 roster, keeping the pair will be an even bigger challenge with so much uncertainty surrounding the future of the salary cap.
Rutherford compared the current situation to a similar one he faced in 2017 when he let longtime goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury go to the Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft.
"Letting (Fleury) go was really tough," Rutherford said. "I'd have loved to have kept them both (Murray and Fleury). Both great goaltenders, both championship goaltenders. But with Marc-Andre's cap number, it was just too hard to do without disrupting the rest of the team. And we may be in that place again. The cap isn't going up. No way is that happening. But we don't know precisely what it will be. And we know we have very good goalies in our system.
"So, we have to make some tough decisions coming up."
Jarry greatly outplayed Murray in his first full NHL season. He compiled a 20-12-1 record with a .921 save percentage and a 2.43 goals-against average while earning a spot in the All-Star Game.
Murray, meanwhile, struggled at times. He put together a 20-11-5 record to go with a .899 save percentage and 2.87 goals-against average. Still, the 25-year-old has an impressive resume after previously leading the Penguins to two Stanley Cup championships.
Find out the latest on COVID-19's impact on the sports world and when sports are returning by subscribing to Breaking News push notifications in the Sports and COVID-19 section.
"The general consensus amongst American players (on Canadian teams) is that we'll wait until we have a concrete plan before we go back," Holl told reporters, according to The Canadian Press' Joshua Clipperton. "Because you never know if you go back there and then you're sitting around for another month or two.
"Once we have a plan, being in Minnesota, I'll hop in the car that day basically and just drive back and then start that process, and hopefully I'll be good to go."
The NHL season has been on pause since March 12 amid the coronavirus pandemic. Many players left their clubs' cities for their hometowns once the league allowed them to do so while recommending they self-quarantine.
The Canada-U.S. border was closed to non-essential travel for 30 days on March 21. The closure was extended by another month on April 18.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Sunday that NHL players entering Canada would have to follow self-quarantine guidelines "in an extremely strict manner" if the season were to resume, cautioning that such a point in discussions hasn't yet been reached.
In the two drafts prior to 2008, the Blackhawks used first-round selections on Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. Beach was supposed to be the physical complement to the two young stars, but as the NHL continued to rely more on skill and less on toughness, the hulking 6-foot-3 power forward was left in the dust.
Beach is the only player to be picked 11th or higher between the 1993 and 2015 drafts to never appear in an NHL game. He had a solid junior career, but fighting was his best asset in the AHL, and that rarely warrants a promotion in today's game.
Perhaps if the Blackhawks were more inclined to prioritize skill, Karlsson would've been the pick. Imagine him joining Duncan Keith, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Brent Seabrook on the blue line? Maybe Chicago's dynasty would've added another Stanley Cup or two.
Colorado Avalanche
Ken Andersen / NHLPA - The Players Collection / Getty
If a team's biggest all-time bust is from the latter half of the first round, that means the organization generally does a pretty solid job drafting. But there's no denying Hishon was a major miss. He played in just 13 career NHL games, tallying one goal and one assist.
Hishon had a stellar junior career, but he suffered a concussion in the 2011 Memorial Cup right before turning pro. He ended up missing nearly two years with post-concussion syndrome, which was a major developmental setback.
The 2010 draft wasn't exactly loaded with talent in the back end of the first round, but there were evidently plenty of serviceable NHLers who could've provided far more value than Hishon.
Dallas Stars
Andre Ringuette / National Hockey League / Getty
The pick: Scott Glennie (No. 8, 2009) GM: Joe Nieuwendyk (2009-13) Could've had: Ryan Ellis (11), Nick Leddy (16), Chris Kreider (19)
Glennie was a prolific point producer in junior with the WHL's Brandon Wheat Kings, recording 308 points in 252 career games, but his offensive prowess never transitioned to the pros. His AHL career high in points was 39, and he played in just one NHL game. His career ended in 2016-17.
Glennie is one of two top-10 picks from 1993-15 to play in just one game or fewer. Brett Krahn, the No. 9 pick in 2000 by the Calgary Flames, is the other.
Just about any player from the first round of the 2009 draft would've been a better selection, but seeing Ellis go three picks later certainly stings for Stars fans.
The Wild have been pretty astute drafters in their existence, but Thelen was a huge swing and miss after never suiting up in an NHL game.
A local kid from Minnesota, the 6-foot-3, 212-pound defenseman had a stellar freshman season at Michigan State University, collecting 29 points in 42 games during his draft year. His sophomore campaign was disappointing, and he was dismissed from the program in 2005 for underage drinking the night before a game and missing a team function. Spartans head coach Rick Comley, who had previously criticized Thelen for being out of shape, said there was more than one incident.
Thelen joined the WHL's Prince Albert Raiders after his tenure at MSU, but he didn't produce like many expected, and he went unsigned by the Wild after his junior career.
To make matters worse, Thelen wasn't good enough to cut it in the AHL, either, playing all but 10 of his 220 career professional games in the ECHL. With back issues and a history of concussions, he retired at age 25.
It's a bad look when the three picks who directly followed Thelen all had productive NHL careers, but it helps that Dubnyk eventually ended up in Minnesota and enjoyed his best years with the Wild.
Nashville Predators
B Bennett / Bruce Bennett / Getty
The pick: Brian Finley (No. 6, 1999) GM: David Poile (1997-present) Could've had: Taylor Pyatt (8), Barret Jackman (17), Martin Havlat (26)
Drafting goalies in the first round, let alone the top 10, rarely works out. Poile learned this the hard way in 1999. In his defense, the draft that year is considered one of the worst ever.
Finley was outstanding in junior, leading the OHL's Barrie Colts to the franchise's only Memorial Cup appearance in 2000. He had some quality seasons in the AHL, too, but he never seized his NHL opportunity. In four career NHL games, he posted an .851 save percentage and a 4.70 goals-against average.
The Predators did strike gold later in the 1999 draft, though, selecting Martin Erat in the seventh round. He played in the fifth-most games of any player in the draft class, and was eventually traded for Filip Forsberg.
The Blues have been one of the league's most consistent franchises, picking in the top 10 just twice since 1990. Of those two selections, Alex Pietrangelo (No. 4, 2008) was a home run, and while Erik Johnson (No. 1, 2006) may not be "first overall great," a 776-game career and counting is far from a bust.
There's no denying Schwarz's status as a flop, though. In three AHL seasons he never posted a save percentage above .900, and in six career NHL games he compiled an .809 percentage and a 4.32 goals-against average.
If Pleau was set on taking a goaltender in the first round, Schneider would've been a better selection in hindsight. He's struggled in recent years, but was a brick wall over his first six NHL seasons.
Winnipeg Jets
B Bennett / Bruce Bennett / Getty
The pick: Patrik Stefan (No. 1, 1999) GM: Don Waddell (1998-10) Could've had: Daniel Sedin (2), Henrik Sedin (3), Tim Connolly (5)
Since arriving in Winnipeg, the Jets have not drafted any outright busts, so we had to dig deeper into the franchise's roots.
The Atlanta Thrashers had some woeful draft picks, but none worse than Stefan, who's arguably the biggest bust in NHL history. The Czech center played seven NHL seasons, but never surpassed the 40-point mark. In his final campaign, then with the Stars, Stefan took center stage in one of the worst gaffes of all time. It's hard not to feel bad for the guy.
The 1999 draft is considered one of the worst in the league's history, but if Waddell was afraid of selecting one Sedin without the other, taking Connolly, a highly skilled center who was eventually slowed down by injuries, would've been the better choice.
