Tuesday Afternoon Hockey Thoughts
from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet,
- GMs seen so far at the Under-18s: Doug Armstrong (St. Louis), Jim Benning (Vancouver), Ron Francis (Seattle) and Steve Yzerman (Detroit).
- During Monday’s Board of Governors’ meeting, Bettman made it very clear there would be serious consequences for post-season COVID outbreaks resulting from not following protocols. A couple of governors were left with the impression that if a team could not finish a series, it might have to forfeit.
- For awhile now, teams have indicated they’d like to reign in coaching/front-office salaries, and we’re going to get an indication of how serious that really is over the next little while. Carolina’s Tom Dundon is one owner who’s mentioned it, and the Hurricanes are working on an extension with Rod Brind’Amour — who sets the tone for a really good team.
A month ago, I’d heard it was a foregone conclusion, but was then warned it was a tougher grind than anyone hoped or wanted. I don’t believe Brind’Amour wants to go anywhere else, and I have always believed this gets done, but it’s been a challenge.
- McDavid’s 1.76 points per game is tied for 30th in NHL history. It’s the highest since Mario Lemieux’s 1.77 in 2000-01. Only Mike Bossy, Phil Esposito, Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri, Lemieux, Bernie Nicholls, Adam Oates, Bobby Orr and Steve Yzerman are ahead of that.
- On cross-checking, GMs were reminded of the standard: a push versus a punch with the stick. The former is okay, the latter is not. There’s a little more latitude in front of the net as opposed to elsewhere on the ice. There is supposed to be an allowance for net-front battling, which is where the subjectivity comes in and makes some people crazy.
more Thoughts, including a look at the Turner Sports deal....
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