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New York Rangers Issued $250,000 Fine

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The New York Rangers have received a $250,000 fine from the NHL for their public comments on Tuesday, following the decision from the Department of Player Safety to not suspend Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson. The team called for the dismissal of DoPS head George Parros and will now pay a fine 50 times greater than the one they issued to Wilson in the first place.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman released this statement:

Public comments of the nature issued by the Rangers that were personal in nature and demeaning of a League executive will not be tolerated. While we don’t expect our Clubs to agree with every decision rendered by the Department of Player Safety, the extent to which the Rangers expressed their disagreement was unacceptable. It is terribly unfair to question George Parros’ professionalism and dedication to his role and the Department of Player Safety.

The Rangers have been a whirlwind of chaos since Wilson punched Pavel Buchnevich and threw Artemi Panarin to the ground on Monday night. They followed the statement by firing president John Davidson and general manager Jeff Gorton, though senior advisor Glenn Sather told reporters again today that the two incidents had nothing to do with each other. Last night, the Rangers tried to take matters into their own hands by responding physically in a rematch with the Capitals, taking more than 80 minutes in penalties. Buchnevich also is expected to receive a suspension after high-sticking Capitals forward Anthony Mantha.

The league has issued fines like this in the past. During the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs the San Jose Sharks were fined $100,000 for GM Doug Wilson’s comments on the suspension given to Raffi Torres. In that case, it was a manager defending the actions of one of his players, but the two situations are still very similar when it comes to the punishment handed down by the league.

At the very least, this indicates that the league is standing behind Parros and his department leadership (though that should come as no surprise).

NHL Reaches Seven-Year Agreement With Turner Sports

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Earlier this year, the NHL announced a long-term agreement with Disney and ESPN for the “A” package of their multimedia broadcast rights. The other portion of the rights, deemed the “B” package, was still involved in a bidding process that included the incumbent broadcaster NBC, Fox Sports, and CBS. Seemingly at the last minute, Turner Sports entered the fray and have signed a seven-year agreement with the NHL that will begin in the 2021-22 season. The agreement brings the Stanley Cup Playoffs to TNT and TBS for the first time, while also including up to 72 regular season games and the Winter Classic each season.

TNT will have live coverage of three Stanley Cup Finals over the seven years and half of the playoffs each season. The agreement also includes streaming and digital rights for HBO Max. League commissioner Gary Bettman released a statement on the deal:

Turner Sports is known for its outstanding sports coverage, quality and innovation and we are thrilled that this new partnership will provide our fans with the content they love on the platforms and devices of their choice. TNT is a proven and acclaimed destination for sports fans and we will also benefit from the deep connection Bleacher Report has with young digital-savvy fans. Having WarnerMedia join the NHL family as co-rightsholders for the next seven years gives us incredible reach, positions us well for the future as the media landscape continues to evolve, and will fuel continued growth for the NHL and our Clubs.

This means that the NHL is leaving NBC entirely starting next season. The new pair of agreements are expected to nearly triple the broadcast revenue for the NHL, giving it a good start on climbing its way out of the hole dug by the COVID-19 pandemic. That doesn’t mean the cap will rise right away, it is still expected to stay flat for a few more seasons, but it does help plot a path to financial stability for the league and eventually, an increased cap ceiling.

The Stanley Cup Final will be on ABC in 2022, 2024, 2026, and 2028, while Turner will have the rights for 2023, 2025, and 2027.

St. Louis Blues Legend Bob Plager Passes Away At 78

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Longtime St. Louis Blues defenseman Bob Plager passed away on Wednesday at the age of 78 due to injuries sustained in a car accident. Plager played 14 seasons in the NHL, from 1964 to 1978, including 11 years with the Blues after beginning his career with the New York Rangers. Though undersized for a defenseman at that time, especially one that focused primarily on the defensive aspects of the game, Plager was no pushover. His reputation on the ice was built on his physicality and smart defensive play, which made him a difficult match-up. Plager channeled his passionate and intelligent playing ability into a career beyond his playing days, serving as a scout, coach, and top executive. Plager’s reputation off the ice was one of kindness and humor.

Plager will always be remembered more for his connection to the Blues and to the city of St. Louis than for any one thing he did on or off the ice with the team. A member of the inaugural St. Louis Blues of 1967, Plager was the longest-serving member of that original roster. When he retired from playing, he jumped immediately into serving the club in other ways. Quite literally, too; Plager went from playing with the Blues and their CHL affiliate, the Salt Lake Golden Eagles, to coaching the Golden Eagles all over the course of one season. He then spent the next six years as a scout for St. Louis, three years as Assistant General Manager, and five years as Director of Player Development. He also had stints as head coach of the Blues and their IHL affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen, mixed in as well. Plager retired from hockey in 2000, having spent a combined 33 years in the service of the Blues. However, he very much remained involved with the team as an iconic alumnus.

The response to Plager’s passing has come from all corners of the hockey world. Tom Timmerman of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch collected comments from names such as former Blues coach Scotty Bowman, Blues owner Tom Stillman, a fellow Blues honoree in Bernie Federko, and current Blues GM Doug Armstrong in a detailed story on the life of a legend. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman also released a statement on Plager’s passing. Even Ben Bishop, goaltender for the rival Dallas Stars but also a St. Louis native, shared his memories of a man that meant so much to he and others who grew up in the city.

All of us at PHR send our condolences to the family and friends of Bob Plager and the hockey community of St. Louis.

North Division Notes: 2021-22, Quarantine Protocol, Sabourin

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Although the North Division was only intended to be a temporary alignment in 2020-21, the all-Canadian grouping has been popular north of the border. As a result, there are a number of teams hoping that the division might stay together for a while longer. Commissioner Gary Bettman was adamant earlier this week that the league will return to its normal divisional alignment next season, albeit with a small shift due to expansion. Yet, Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reports that several Canadian teams are hoping to get at least another year of national competition. Ironically, this only seems likely if there continue to be restrictions at the Canada-U.S. border through the summer and into next season; the same restrictions that are making trade acquisitions difficult for Canadian teams and could prevent the North Division winner from playing at home in the semifinal and potentially the Stanley Cup Final series. However, the teams in favor of the North Division remaining intact feel that the impact could be more important than any ill effects this season. Johnston notes that these teams can feel the excitement within the country of the reignited Canadian rivalries and want to see that expand with fans being allowed back into games, further boosting the focus on the league. However, there is a way for this to be accomplished without the North Division continuing. Discussions earlier this season centered around the value of continuing to push the regional, non-divisional rivalries that have sprouted this season simply by changing the way scheduling is handled, rather than through realignment. Furthering the emphasis on regional play through extra contents between geographically linked teams would not only continue to fuel the rivalries created or rediscovered this season, but is also a way to save money on travel as teams continue to deal with losses this season. Perhaps this is the way to go that will make both the NHL and their Canadian contingent happy.

  • As noted, there is more downside than upside for the NHL and Canadian clubs to continued border issues. The most pressing of these problems with the trade deadline approaching is the required 14-day quarantine for anyone crossing into Canada, a major holdup in player acquisitions. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reached out to Health Canada and found that, despite a report earlier this year, there has been no formal request made by the NHL to amend the quarantine rules for trade acquisitions. However, Friedman did not sound optimistic that any such proposal would be accepted anyway. Specifically, players have wondered whether they could avoid the quarantine period if an acquired player has been vaccinated, but Health Canada stated that they do not know enough about the impact of vaccination on transmission to allow such a change. Friedman notes that lobbying efforts continue from the league to strike some sort of agreement with the Canadian government to ease quarantine restrictions, but the likelihood seems low. With the deadline now a month away and nothing formal yet in the works, Canadian contenders will likely have to account for a two-week absence of any new players acquired from their American counterparts.
  • It didn’t take long for Toronto Maple Leafs forward Scott Sabourin to make his mark on this season, and not in a good way. After signing with the Leafs in Feburary, Sabourin was assigned to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies to get back into game shape and made his season debut against the Laval Rocket on Friday. On Saturday, the Leafs recalled him to their taxi squad, adding a physical, gritty veteran to their group of potential substitutes. Later in the day, the AHL announced that when Sabourin returns to the AHL, he will be suspended for one game; Toronto opted to send him down on Sunday to serve that ban. Sabourin crashed the Laval net late in Friday’s game and started an altercation with multiple opponents and the league deemed this was worthy of a suspension. With a one-game suspension, not to mention 17 penalty minutes, after just one game this year, Sabourin seems to be returning to the aggressive reputation that he has built in his AHL career rather than building on the progress he made as a more composed player with the Ottawa Senators last year.

League Notes: Draft, Alignment, Playoffs

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The 2021 NHL Entry Draft is not expected to be moved, deputy commissioner Bill Daly confirmed today during his media availability with Gary Bettman. The reported changes concerning the lottery will be put to a full board of governors vote next week after the executive committee approved it recently. The full draft event, which is scheduled for July 23-24, will happen without the benefit of a full year of in-person scouting and could certainly provide some fireworks.

More notes from the availability today:

  • The league is expecting to return to the previous divisional alignment next season, though there will still be the change of the Arizona Coyotes moving to the Central Division and the Seattle Kraken debuting in the Pacific. While there has been some excitement about the new geographic rivalries created this season, the plan has always been to go back to the previous divisions once things got back to normal.
  • On the note of the Kraken, Bettman explained that both the rink in Seattle and the one on Long Island are on schedule to open in time to start the 2021-22 season. Climate Pledge Arena (Kraken) and UBS Arena (Islanders) will give updated homes and new destinations while hopefully providing some stability for the two franchises.
  • When asked about where the winner of the North Division will play once the NHL is down to four teams in the playoffs, Daly explained there is still some time before a decision has to be made. The Conference Finals round is scheduled for some time in mid-June, meaning they won’t have to make a decision on whether the Canadian team will have to come to the U.S. to play for a while yet.

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/04/21

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Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 protocol. Today, commissioner Gary Bettman announced some in-arena adjustments for the league to follow, but also released a statement on the current situation:

With about 20 percent of our season played, we are mindful of the fact that we might be seeing a more aggressive transmission of the virus and will continue to make adjustments to our Protocols as we consult on a daily basis with, and adhere to, the recommendations of our medical advisors.

It is important to note that, while we have seen almost 100 players enter our COVID Protocols, fewer than half have done so because of confirmed positive tests – and, among that group, many have not been symptomatic. Our priority has been and will continue to be to act conservatively with an abundance of caution, understanding that there are many things about the transmission of COVID-19 that are still being discovered. As a result, we won’t hesitate to take additional measures as indicated by what we are learning and as directed by our medical advisors.

Here is the CPRA list for today:

Buffalo – Taylor Hall, Rasmus Ristolainen, Brandon Montour, Tobias Rieder, Jake McCabe*
Chicago – Adam Boqvist, Ryan Carpenter, Lucas Wallmark
Colorado – Tyson Jost, Gabriel Landeskog*
Dallas – Andrej Sekera
Los Angeles – Andreas Athanasiou, Blake Lizotte
Minnesota – Marcus Foligno, Nick Bjugstad, Nick Bonino, Joel Eriksson Ek, Marcus Johansson, Jared Spurgeon, Nico Sturm*
New Jersey – Connor Carrick, Kyle Palmieri, Sami Vatanen, Travis Zajac, Andreas Johnsson, Janne Kuokkanen, Michael McLeod, Pavel Zacha, Jack Hughes, Damon Severson, Ty Smith, Matt Tennyson, Jesper Bratt, Nathan Bastian, Nikita Gusev, Yegor Sharangovich
Pittsburgh – John Marino
Vegas – Alex Pietrangelo
Washington – Evgeny Kuznetsov, Ilya Samsonov
Winnipeg – Pierre-Luc Dubois

As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol

Players removed today: Filip Zadina, Detroit Red Wings; Aaron Dell, New Jersey Devils;

Of course, the list does not include Buffalo head coach Ralph Krueger, who has also tested positive and is isolating away from the team. McCabe joins four other important members of the Sabres that are sitting out, though it is not clear how many have actually tested positive.

The addition of Landeskog is also important to note, given that the Avalanche are not shutdown like the Minnesota Wild, their last opponent and have a game scheduled for Saturday afternoon. The team is already dealing with a long list of injuries and now will likely be without their captain as well.

It is important to note that Dell wasn’t actually on the list because of the outbreak among the Devils, but because of quarantine rules after he was claimed off waivers from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Unfortunately, he still won’t get to practice with his new team until the Devils go back to work.

*denotes new addition

Outdoor Games Being Discussed By Several NHL Teams

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It’s about that time in an NHL/NHLPA negotiation (or, not negotiation) where things start to get weird. With the league still trying to figure out a way through the upcoming season, with the financial climate so dire for many teams and with players refusing to budge on the agreement they made a few months ago, all kinds of revenue streams are being discussed.

One of those, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, is the possibility of holding games outdoors where fans could potentially attend. Friedman writes today that at least four teams are “investigating the possibility” of outdoor games, listing the Anaheim Ducks, Boston Bruins, Los Angeles Kings, and Pittsburgh Penguins. The Kings were apparently the first to consider the idea, though it’s important to note that NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told James Mirtle of The Athletic last month that holding more outdoor games was unlikely.

Still, following Friedman’s report came one from Pierre LeBrun, who writes that it’s not just those four teams considering the idea of holding multiple outdoor events. The Penguins, Bruins, and Kings are on his list of teams that would be open to hosting or taking part in outdoor games, but so too are the Carolina Hurricanes, Dallas Stars, and Nashville Predators.

It’s important to remember that even if the NHL caves and doesn’t amend the Memorandum of Understanding that was signed a few months ago, the players still would have to eventually pay back any salary that brings them over 50% of the hockey-related revenue. With no fans and very little revenue to be made, it seems likely that both sides would be open to out-of-the-box ideas like outdoor contests if it brought in ticket sales.

Still, those outdoor games also have a substantially increased cost, which is what Daly pointed out to Mirtle last month. As LeBrun writes, commissioner Gary Bettman is also worried that holding so many outdoor games could hurt the Winter Classic brand, which has been a success for the league in previous years. Those negatives may eventually win out in the end, but there is nothing stopping teams from exploring the option at this point.

Snapshots: Bouwmeester, CBA Talks, Orr

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The St. Louis Blues will move on without the services of veteran defenseman Jay Bouwmeester, who had been with the team since 2013 but saw his playing career come to an end after a cardiac episode last season. The 37-year-old hasn’t officially retired, but it seems unlikely that he would return to the ice. That doesn’t mean he’ll never be back with the Blues though, as St. Louis GM Doug Armstrong suggested on the Cam & Strick Podcast.

I would love to work with him. I would love to get him to do some scouting for us in the future. He’s one of those guys, he’s got a great hockey mind. Also, retirement is great until you’re home all the time. Now I’m not saying that he’s going to want to travel like a pro scout and do four games in five nights in five cities. But he can go into Calgary, up to Edmonton, he can go into Vancouver, he can come in when we’re there.

It’s hard to overstate just how well-respected Bouwmeester is around the league after a 1,240-game career. The proverbial “horse” on the blueline, he averaged more than 24 minutes a night over his long career, reaching incredible highs early on. In the 2007-08 season, for instance, Bouwmeester averaged 27:28 for the Florida Panthers, playing nearly half the game every night. If he did decide to hang up his skates and join a scouting department, St. Louis likely wouldn’t be the only team interested.

  • Gary Bettman spoke with Sports Business Journal today, and according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet was adamant that the NHL is not trying to “renegotiate” the deal they signed with the players earlier this year. Instead, he referred to “stresses on the system” which is mainly the fact that player contracts will make up more than 50 percent of the hockey-related revenue thanks to a depressed market. Overall as Frank Seravalli of TSN tweets, Bettman explained that he is disappointed with how the talks have been portrayed to this point.
  • Want some good news? How about a player named Bobby Orr earning Rookie of the Month honors in the QMJHL. The 17-year-old forward scored 13 points in his first 15 games for the Halifax Mooseheads, including scoring in all five held in November. Orr has worked his way up to the top line and is tied for the rookie scoring lead in the Q.

Snapshots: CBA Talks, COVID Restrictions, KHL

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There have been no serious negotiations between the NHL and NHLPA for more than a week, according to Kevin McGran. The two sides have been near-silent, a tactic that reminds McGran of the previous lockouts, including one in 2012 that he details in today’s piece for the Toronto Star. Other reporters and insiders have expressed the same thing over the past few days, but McGran’s piece includes one potentially jaw-dropping nugget—some league governors may have agreed to the memorandum of understanding on Gary Bettman’s recommendation, which guaranteed player salaries for the upcoming season, without actually reading it first.

It’s not clear at all when the two sides will finally agree on something, but McGran predicts an early-January deal that would have the season starting in February. That would potentially line up with the suggestion that Darren Dreger of TSN made on Twitter this morning, noting that even if a deal is reached soon, postponing training camps until after the holidays “has to be considered.”

  • Part of that consideration will be the varied county, state, provincial, and federal health guidelines. In Santa Clara County, where the San Jose Sharks reside, new restrictions have limited the preparation even further. Kevin Kurz of The Athletic relates a statement from the Sharks, which explains that the team is reviewing local options for rehab and training while revising their current voluntary programs. The San Francisco 49ers of the NFL, who are also based in Santa Clara, will hold their “home” games the next two weeks in Arizona. Remember, the Sharks are one of seven teams expected to receive an extra week of training camp before the season begins, after failing to qualify for the bubble postseason this summer.
  • While the NHL tries to get a season underway, the KHL continues to play as if little has changed. Today saw quite the transaction, with Magnus Paajarvi and Teemu Pulkkinen swapping teams. Paajarvi, 29, played nearly 500 games in the NHL before heading to the KHL in 2019 and will be going from Yaroslavl Lokomotiv to Dynamo Moscow. Pulkkinen, 28, has played the last three seasons in the KHL after a short NHL career and had 14 points for Moscow this season.

Snapshots: CBA Talks, Cirelli, Smirnov

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The heads of the NHL and NHLPA haven’t spoken directly in almost a week, according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic who tweets commissioner Gary Bettman and executive director Donald Fehr last talked on Thursday, November 19. LeBrun notes that the “communication stalemate is noteworthy” because of the near-constant dialogue the two had through the first part of the offseason.

While LeBrun once again tweets his confidence something will finally get done and points at the next week as an important stretch, Darren Dreger of TSN adds that it has been that way for a while now. Many have pointed to the end of November as a key threshold if the NHL still wants a January 1. start, something that looks more and more difficult to accomplish with every passing day. The biggest issue in talks continues to be amending the CBA that was agreed to just a few months ago.

  • After the Tampa Bay Lightning re-signed Mikhail Sergachev this afternoon, LeBrun reached out to the agent for Anthony Cirelli, who remains a restricted free agent without a contract for the 2020-21 season. Pat Morris of Newport Sports told LeBrun that there is “nothing new to report” in Cirelli’s contract talks. With the Lightning now close to $2MM over the salary cap ceiling, contracts for Cirelli and Erik Cernak will be very difficult to fit in without a corresponding move.
  • Denis Smirnov, a sixth-round pick of the Colorado Avalanche in 2017, has signed his first professional contract, inking a deal with the Utah Grizzlies of the ECHL. The Grizzlies signed a trio of players today, including the 23-year-old Smirnov who became an unrestricted free agent when the Avalanche failed to sign him this summer.

 

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