Pittsburgh Penguins forward Dominik Simon will be out six-to-seven months after undergoing surgery on his left shoulder on April 29, general manager Jim Rutherford announced Thursday.
Simon, 25, suffered the injury Feb. 29 during a game against the San Jose Sharks and missed the team's five contests before the season was suspended March 12.
The 5-foot-11 pivot has recorded seven goals and 22 points while logging 14:24 of average ice time through 64 games. He's set to become a restricted free agent at the end of the 2019-20 season.
Brooks, 24, made his NHL debut this season, appearing in seven games for the Maple Leafs while registering three assists. At the AHL level, Brooks managed 20 points in 29 games in 2019-20.
Toronto drafted the Winnipeg native in the fourth round of the 2016 draft.
Wendel Clark knows the Maple Leafs left everything on the ice 27 years ago later this month when Toronto famously fell to the Los Angeles Kings in Game 7 of the 1993 conference finals. One variable, though, was completely uncontrollable.
"We got Gretzky'd that night," Clark said in this week's episode of Puck Pursuit, theScore's hockey podcast, referring to the legend's memorable four-point performance in a 5-4 Kings road victory.
Clark scored twice - he was always clutch in Game 7s - but it wasn't enough.
"We played as hard as we could, as well as we could," Clark said. "We maybe didn't get a bounce here or there the odd time, but that's sports. That's why you play the game. As long as you leave it all on the ice and did what you could, there is no second-guessing anything."
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If the Leafs had defeated the Kings to advance to the 1993 Stanley Cup Final, the spotlight would have surely landed on superstar center Doug Gilmour. The man nicknamed "Killer" was in his prime. A tenacious workhorse with plenty of skill, Gilmour would have given the Montreal Canadiens, the eventual Cup champions, a fit every game.
"Really, from 1992 to 1994, I don't know if there was a better player in the NHL than Dougie," Clark said. "For what he did for our team and how he played in every single situation there was - offensively, defensively, penalty kill, and power play. … He could play at the (high) skill level, or he could play in the trenches as a little guy. And with his personality, we just jumped on the bandwagon when he was doing his thing."
Clark, 53, who retired from the NHL in 2000 with 564 points in 793 games, is self-isolating with his family. Regarding COVID-19, the former Leafs captain shared a message for hockey fans.
"The smarter we are now, the better off we'll be down the road," he said. "Let's not cut corners now."
To listen to Clark discuss his storied career, how the current Leafs squad can tap into toughness without acquiring enforcers, and much more, click below to hear the entire Puck Pursuit episode.
So much stands out when analyzing what make makes New York's uniforms gleam. The drop shadow on the iconic diagonal "Rangers" wordmark pops, and it looks even better on the big red numbers on the back of the sweaters. Elsewhere, bright red pants and quiet striping patterns define the identity of the NHL's most glamorous team.
19. Houston Oilers (1980s)
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Perfect uniformity of striping. It's rarer than you might think among the hundreds of pro sports uniforms. And it's arguably never looked better than it did on the defunct Oilers uniforms, with their gorgeous, and rare, color palette. Red, white, baby blue, white, red. Those stripes in that exact pattern are there on the helmet, sleeves, and pants. Home and road. Perfect uniformity. J.J. Watt is among the Houston Texans players who would love the chance to wear these as throwbacks, but the Tennessee Titans own the rights and aren't likely to gift them to their divisional rivals.
18. UCLA basketball (current)
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College basketball's most accomplished program, with a record 11 national championships, UCLA has looked the part for decades with a luminescent combination of bright blue and yellow, which confidently counterpunches the red donned by archrival USC. Both looks are great, but we're giving the edge to the Bruins in the battle of Los Angeles.
17. Michigan football (current)
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Back in the '30s, Michigan made an effort to shift away from the black-and-brown helmets worn by almost everyone else and invented the "winged" design still in use today. The maize and blue combination is remarkable on the jerseys and pants, too, but the Wolverines' lids are unquestionably one of the most instantly recognizable uniform features in sports.
16. Detroit Red Wings (current)
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Detroit's winged-wheel logo is so untouchable that, at one point, the Red Wings were the only NHL franchise to put captain's letters on the right side of the jersey in order to leave the famous crest unimpeded. We respect that immensely, and we also appreciate how the club has never added a third color into the mix.
15. St. Louis Cardinals (current)
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The Cardinals have a certain magic about them as one of baseball's model franchises. Part of it is the vast collection of Hall of Famers they've produced and the 11 World Series titles they've collected. Part of it is playing in a gorgeous ballpark. But don't overlook the uniforms. The two birds sitting on the bat is timeless and creative, and whether the Cards are wearing their homes, roads, or alternates, it's difficult to identify a single flaw in their setup.
14. Texas (football)
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There aren't many better atmospheres in sports than 100,000-plus ballistic Longhorns fans packed into Texas Memorial Stadium on a sunny Saturday in the fall, clad in burnt orange. The unique color is exclusive to Texas' historic program and features so many likable qualities: the minimalist longhorn outline on the helmet; the accent stripes on the sleeves; the all-white pants. The giant "Texas" across the chest is even acceptable, because we all know everything is bigger down there.
13. Boston Celtics (current)
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The Celtics have repped green and white to a record 17 NBA titles and formed an everlasting image along the way. Boston's experimented with black and gold over the years, which is difficult to fathom considering the club's regular set is flawless. Bonus points for the subtle shamrock feature on the waistband.
12. Los Angeles Dodgers (current)
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Does it get any cleaner than this? The Dodgers' home whites are beautiful, and any notable changes to them would cause a significant uproar from the world's uniform purists. The cursive font and famous "LA" logos on the sleeve and hat are nice on their own, but the bright red numbers on the front are a special tradition that puts a bow on arguably baseball's best getups.
11. Green Bay Packers (current)
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No logo changes, no color changes. The Packers have stuck with what works for decades. Even though they often play through dark and dreary conditions at Lambeau Field, Green Bay's uniforms always shine through as one of the most aesthetically pleasing in football and in all of sports. Green. Gold. Greatness.
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While many of the NHL's general managers seem opposed to holding the draft in June if the season remains paused, a representative for some of the prospects said they'd like it to happen sooner rather than later.
"Surprisingly, they want to get it over with," player agent Andy Scott told Postmedia's Bruce Garrioch. "They’d rather have the draft in June and not have all of the anxiety the entire summer of where they’re going to go in the draft. They’d rather ... understand what team owns their rights, and be able to have some communication with that team throughout the summer."
Scott works for Octagon Hockey, which is representing several draft-eligible players, including top-ranked European skater Tim Stuetzle. He also works with current players such as Leon Draisaitl, Patrik Laine, Kaapo Kakko, and Rasmus Ristolainen, according to PuckPedia.
The player rep believes time is of the essence when it comes to figuring out when the draft is going to be held.
"I think they need to make a decision soon on whether there’s going to be a draft in June because guys want to know," he said. "There needs to be at least a month of lead time to make sure everybody understands their marching orders."
The 2020 draft was originally scheduled for late June in Montreal before it was postponed in late March, less than two weeks after the league paused the season. In April, deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the league was considering conducting a virtual version of the draft in June before the season potentially resumes.
Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman publicly questioned the idea, Washington Capitals GM Brian MacLellan said most of their contemporaries don't want it, and outspoken player agent Allan Walsh echoed the latter when he said none of the GMs he'd spoken to were in favor of an early draft.
New Jersey Devils defenseman P.K. Subban still believes he's one of the league's top defenders despite his poor performance during the 2019-20 season.
"In my opinion, I'm still one of the top defensemen in the league," Subban said when asked how important winning a second Norris Trophy is to him in an interview with Men's Journal. "In the biggest games, in the biggest moments, I feel that I'm one of the players that teams would love to have on their team and that they can rely on, and that's always been my game."
Subban was in the midst of one of the worst seasons of his career before the NHL's current hiatus. He posted seven goals and 18 points in 68 games while averaging a career-low 22:07 of ice time in his debut campaign with the Devils.
The 31-year-old previously spent three seasons with the Nashville Predators and seven with the Montreal Canadiens. He played integral roles on both teams, reaching the Stanley Cup Finals with Nashville in 2017 and winning the Norris Trophy as a Canadien in 2013.
"The past two years, definitely, have been different experiences," Subban added. "When you're on a team like Nashville that's got one Presidents' Cup Trophy, Stanley Cup Finals, conference finals, winning divisions, and then going to (New Jersey, which) hasn't made the playoffs or has made it one year and out - and is a younger team - it's just a different situation.
"So, it's an adjustment, but I definitely believe that there's better things to come for me in my career, whether it's winning a Norris Trophy or Stanley Cup."
Subban has two seasons remaining on his eight-year, $72-million contract.
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B.C. Premier John Horgan shed some light on his conversation with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman after the two talked late Tuesday about the possibility of the province hosting NHL games if this season resumes.
"We had a wide-ranging discussion about our desire in British Columbia to support the NHL and the Vancouver Canucks - who have been initiating these discussions with government - to see if we could put in place a framework where the NHL could use Vancouver as a hub city in part of the many plans that are floating around out there ... about the Pacific Division having a hub," Horgan told the assembled media, including CBC, at a news conference Wednesday.
The premier said the league knows the province has handled the coronavirus pandemic relatively well, but also acknowledged hosting games wouldn't come without further challenges.
"Mr. Bettman and his team recognize that British Columbia has had a pretty positive response to COVID-19 in terms of flattening the curve," he added. "Mr. Bettman also knows that this is a hockey-crazy province (that) would be happy to have hockey take place here so that we could see current games on our televisions, but there are obstacles, obviously, in the way.
"(A) 14-day isolation period would be required effective today," Horgan continued. "Where we are in two weeks, three weeks, (or) four weeks is up to (provincial health officer) Dr. (Bonnie) Henry and how she feels we're doing at managing the curve as we restart the economy. But Mr. Bettman was well aware of that, as are the NHL Players Association representatives, who are focused on making sure the players are safe, and of course the NHL's concerned about players and the communities they operate in."
The premier also said he's listened to ideas from others, including a scenario in which B.C. would host all of the NHL games upon returning, citing the many WHL facilities across the province that could help facilitate that.
Also present on Tuesday's call was NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly and Lisa Beare, B.C.'s Minister of Tourism, Arts, and Culture, who is also responsible for sport in the province.
The Canucks were reportedly one of multiple teams that submitted bids to the NHL to serve as a hub for games. Earlier this month, Dr. Henry said there are ways B.C. could do so safely.
