St. Louis Blues forward Robby Fabbri will miss the remainder of training camp after re-injuring his surgically repaired left knee, the team announced Sunday.
For Fabbri, the news is the latest in a series of injury misfortunes. Last season the 21-year-old was limited to just 51 games after injuring his left ACL on Feb. 2, which saw him shut down for the season.
Before last season's injury, Fabbri had 11 goals and 29 points and was on pace to eclipse his total of 37 points from his rookie campaign. This year, Fabbri is expected to slot into the Blues' top-six.
The Pittsburgh Penguins still intend to visit the White House as Stanley Cup Champions, despite the animosity against President Donald Trump swirling in the sports world.
Tensions have risen in the past couple days after Trump revoked the Golden State Warriors' invitation to visit the White House and called out NFL owners and players regarding protests during the national anthem.
In June, the Penguins went on record saying they would visit the White House if they were invited, and on Sunday reaffirmed that sentiment in a press release, while making sure to note they support the rights of others to "express themselves":
The Pittsburgh Penguins respect the institution of the Office of the President, and the long tradition of championship teams visiting the White House. We attended White House ceremonies after previous championships - touring the historic building and visiting briefly with Presidents George H.W. Bush and Barack Obama - and have accepted an invitation to attend again this year.
Any agreement or disagreement with a president's politics, policies or agenda can be expressed in other ways. However, we very much respect the rights of other individuals and groups to express themselves as they see fit.
The Penguins' visit to the White House would mark their third in the last nine years after visits following Stanley Cup wins in 2009 and 2016.
Connor McDavid is the consensus No. 1 pick in fantasy hockey drafts, but there's a serious case to be made for Brent Burns being worthy of the top pick, regardless of the format.
Here are three of the strongest arguments for taking Burns first:
Forward production from a defenseman
Over the past two seasons, Burns has averaged 28 goals and 75.5 points. Those are numbers you'd get from Jets right-winger Blake Wheeler, and he's a lock to be picked in the first five rounds of fantasy drafts.
That type of production from defensemen is rare. Erik Karlsson is a perennial 70-point player (though it looks like he could miss the first month of the season), and Victor Hedman joined the 70-point club last season. After those three, though, the production drops off.
If a fantasy owner picks first overall, their second pick will be No. 24 in a 12-team league. With that pick, they'll still be able to snag a forward capable of playing at a point-per-game pace, but they won't be able to get a defenseman who can do so - not even close.
Centers shouldn't be the center of attention
If there's one position you can afford to wait on in fantasy hockey, it's center. Based on Yahoo's positional eligibility, here's how center depth stacks up against defense depth in terms of points from last season:
C
Rank
D
100
1
76
77
5
53
69
10
49
61
20
42
50
50
33
Even the 50th-ranked center racked up 50 points, whereas the 50th-ranked defenseman only tallied 33. Unless they make up for it in other categories, a player getting you only 33 points is essentially a waste of space. This makes getting the top defenseman all the more important.
Also, most standard fantasy hockey leagues require four defensemen and only two centers.
Shot generation will sustain production
There are many things that make Burns great, including his beard, but what truly separates him from the pack is his prolific shooting. He led the NHL in shots on goal last season with 320. The year prior, he racked up 353.
Not only does he single-handedly provide a massive advantage in one category every week, but his willingness to put pucks on net gives him a high floor year in and year out. In fact, he finished fifth in the league in rebounds created at five-on-five a year ago, according to Natural Stat Trick.
The Sharks may be trending downward, but Burns will continue to be the most productive defenseman in the NHL and the most valuable player in fantasy hockey.
Ottawa Senators captain Erik Karlsson resumed skating Saturday, marking the first time he has taken the ice since offseason surgery to repair torn tendons in his foot.
A post shared by Erik Karlsson (@erikkarlsson65) on
While no timeline has been set for Karlsson to make his season debut, he stated earlier this month that he's prepared to wait until he's fully healthy. That could delay his return until November, but the 27-year-old has accepted that a prolonged recovery may be necessary.
Karlsson played injured through most of last year's postseason, but still managed to put up 18 points in 19 games.
The captain of the Winnipeg Jets has a bone to pick.
Like many pro athletes, Blake Wheeler took to Twitter on Saturday to voice his frustration with President Donald Trump after he revoked a White House invite to the NBA champion Golden State Warriors.
The invitation was pulled after Warriors point guard Steph Curry made it known he was not interested in visiting the White House, a tradition reserved for championship teams of the big four leagues.
But if Curry doesn't want to come, he is no longer welcome, Trump said.
That didn't sit well with Wheeler, a native of Plymouth, Minn, who prior to joining the Jets spent time in Atlanta and Boston:
It's the First Amendment to our Constitution. The First one!!
While the Warriors won't be heading to Pennsylvania Avenue, the NHL's most recent champion, the Pittsburgh Penguins, have already made it known that they'd be happy to attend, if invited.
"The Pittsburgh Penguins would never turn down a visit to the White House and, if invited, we would go as a team," team president David Morehouse said in June.
Following the Bruins' Stanley Cup championship in 2011, former goaltender Tim Thomas took a pass on a trip to the White House - then home to the administration of Barack Obama - citing political differences with both parties.
"...Today I exercised my right as a free citizen, and did not visit the White House," Thomas said in 2012. "This was not about politics or party, as in my opinion both parties are responsible for the situation we are in as a country."
The China Games in Shanghai and Beijing over the last few days have, despite low fan turnout, pushed the game of hockey across borders that had previously never breached in the 100-year history of the NHL.
Cracking the massive untapped hockey market that is China will be a slow - but potentially profitable - process that won't happen overnight. But, in the long run, boosting the game in new, worldwide markets can only be good for the sport and the league.
With that said, China isn't the be-all and end-all of potential international markets the league could promote the game in.
Here's a look into three other international cities the NHL could visit next:
Gangneung, South Korea
In addition to already having brand new facilities like the arena in the coastal city of Gangneung, South Korea is a budding hockey market with a quality national team on the rise - South Korea qualified for the 2018 World Championship in Denmark next spring, the first time the country will be competing in a tournament of that magnitude.
Not only is the country seeing its on-ice product drastically improve, but the recently built stadiums are state of the art.
The rink in Gangneung will be used as one of the two sites for the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Games, and, despite the of lack of NHL Olympic involvement, South Korea is still primed to host a set of international games like the ones in China.
If the infrastructure in place isn't enough to sway the NHL, maybe the population of more than 50 million people will.
Belfast, Northern Ireland
Already home to the Giants of the Elite Ice Hockey League, the capital city of Northern Ireland has proven it can play host to some high-quality hockey, as Belfast hosted the 2017 IIHF Division 1 Championship in April.
On top of already having a niche market interested in the sport, Belfast also boasts a 10,000-plus capacity arena in the heart of the tourist district. It's an ideal location for a stadium considering the fact that in 2012 over 7 million tourists visited the city, spending nearly half-a-billion pounds in the process, according to Belfast City Council.
A place where hockey is already successful that also boasts a prime arena location seems like the ideal setting for the NHL to promote the game next.
Hamar, Norway
While Norway's national team has tasted more success than South Korea, it also has the groundwork laid to host a successful series of NHL games.
The city of Lillehammer hosted the Winter Games back in 1994, which resulted in the construction of multiple venues capable of accommodating hockey. One of those arenas is located only an hour and a half outside the capital city of Oslo in the town of Hamar.
Hamar is home to the "Northern Light Hall" which can seat up to 7,000 fans.
Despite being over 20 years old, the rink in Hamar could still be a suitable venue to host NHL games, as it recently underwent renovations and additions in 2016.
The country's national sport may still be cross-country skiing, but winter sports - and more specifically the game of hockey - have always been popular in Norway. Especially recently, as NHL players like the New York Rangers' Mats Zuccarello and Montreal Canadiens' Andreas Martinsen have rekindled the nation's interest in puck.
Gary Bettman and Co. would be wise to consider this northern destination.
NHL legend Phil Esposito, who starred for the Chicago Blackhawks, Boston Bruins, and New York Rangers through the 1960s and 1970s, feels the league missed the mark in showcasing its recent exhibition series in China.
The Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks faced off for two games in the world's most populous country, with one game in Shanghai and another in Beijing. However, both games failed to fill the seats.
"Personally, I think the NHL blew it," Esposito told Nathan VanderKlippe of the Globe and Mail. "You have got to promote. This game tonight - I looked in the papers. There wasn't a goddamn word about it. Not one word."
While attendance was low for the first game, the second game, held in Beijing, saw a closer-to-capacity crowd in the more intimate Wukesong Arena.
Game
Venue
Attendance
Capacity
Sept. 21
Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai
10 088
18 000 (56%)
Sept. 23
Wukesong Arena in Beijing
12 759
14 000 (91%)
The NHL remains steadfast about growing the game in China, and could consider future games in the country as part of its international growth strategy.
"I think we're coming away from this very encouraged with respect to the plan and the viability of the plan longer term," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told Nicholas J. Cotsonika of NHL.com. "It certainly is our hope and intention to continue to help grow the sport in China, both at the grassroots level but also bringing the best players and best teams in the world here hopefully on a regular basis going forward."
The NHL China Games was the league's first foray into Asia since the Nashville Predators and Pittsburgh Penguins played a pair of games in Saitama City, Japan, in 2000.
The talk of the NHL world over the past week has surrounded the league's imposed crackdown on slashing and its new strict policing of players cheating on faceoffs.
While the league insists the reinvigorated enforcement is in place to promote player safety and the integrity of the game, the players the penalties are supposed to protect are almost unanimously not in favor of them.
Except for the best hockey player on the planet, that is. "A lot of guys that use their feet won't like it," Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby said of the new rules, according to Pens Inside Scoop.
"I don't, so that's why I like it."
Crosby is coming off his worst season at the faceoff dot since he entered the league in 2005 - posting an average winning percentage of only 48.2 at even strength - so perhaps stricter penalties for guys cheating in the circle will lead to improved results.
