Dallas Stars defenseman Roman Polak will play with a team in his native Czech Republic for the 2020-21 season and has little interest in returning to the NHL if the 2019-20 campaign is able to resume this summer.

"I will not lie, it is not for me," Polak, who is a pending unrestricted free agent, said, according to Pavel Barta of Czech outlet sport.cz. "The idea that I should jump on the ice after three weeks of training and start playing live. This is unimaginable at my age."

The 34-year-old rearguard said he'd return to the NHL this summer if the league's return plan comes to fruition, but guaranteed he'll be back in the Czech Republic next season.

"I am already determined to stay at home," Polak said. "If I really had to finish the NHL, I would go. But I will do everything to make it unnecessary. I will definitely be here next season."

Polak also opened up about his experience in Dallas, and admitted that wanting to return home has been something he's contemplated all year.

"Sometimes, I was sitting on the bench asking myself: 'What am I doing here? I don't want to be here,'" Polak told sport.cz, per The Athletic's Sean Shapiro.

"When Stephen Johns started playing again after two-year break caused by concussions, they gave him big ice time. And told me and Andrej Sekera, that we will be rotating. I play one game, he play another game ... it was difficult to find motivation, because there doesn't matter how well or badly I play; I won't play next game in any case."

Polak recorded four assists while logging 16:40 of average ice time per game over 41 contests with the Stars this season, his 14th in the NHL.

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Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse could take a page out of Michael Jordan's playbook to get himself fired up to play inside empty arenas.

As shown in "The Last Dance," a docuseries that follows the end of the Chicago Bulls' dynasty in 1997-98, Jordan would sometimes exaggerate narratives to motivate himself for a game. Whether it was another player winning MVP or an opponent talking trash, he'd play to prove he was the best. Nurse thinks something of that nature may prove useful when the NHL returns without fans.

"You see (Jordan's) mindset ... creating your own environment, creating your own fire," Nurse told Joshua Clipperton of The Canadian Press. "I think that's a test everyone in this situation is going to have to go through. Having the ability to create your own excitement."

Nurse's teammate, Connor McDavid, understands that playing games without spectators is necessary to stop the spread of COVID-19 but admits it'll be odd not to hear raucous crowds during the postseason.

"It's not going to be the same, there's no doubt about that," McDavid said. "It sucks, frankly, but we've got to do it to get back to playing hockey. I'm sure those fans will be cheering loud in their living rooms.

"It'll suck, but we gotta do what we gotta do."

NHL training camps are set to open July 10. It's still unclear when games will resume, but the Oilers will take on the Chicago Blackhawks in a best-of-five qualifying series to advance to the first round of the playoffs.

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Add another name to the list of Hall of Famers the Montreal Expos developed.

Youppi!, the beloved orange furball who spent over 20 years as the face of MLB's Expos before jumping to the NHL's Montreal Canadiens, was officially inducted into the Mascot Hall of Fame on Sunday. Youppi! is the first Canadian mascot to receive the honor.

Youppi! was presented with a Class of 2020 induction ring from the Mascot Hall of Fame, which is located in Whiting, Indiana.

While Youppi! wore Canadiens gear into the Hall on Sunday, the furry creature is most famous for serving as the Expos' mascot from 1979 until 2004, when the team moved to Washington. Youppi! was perhaps the most popular and visible member of the Expos franchise, and was involved in several notable incidents.

On Aug. 23, 1989, Youppi! became the first mascot in baseball history to be ejected from a game. After drawing the ire of Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda while dancing on the opposing dugout, umpire Bob Davidson gave Youppi! the boot.

When the Nationals didn't bring Youppi! with them to Washington, Montreal's hockey team adopted the lovable monster, making Youppi! the first mascot to separately represent two professional sports teams.

Baltimore's famous Oriole Bird, Boomer of the NBA's Indiana Pacers, and Blue of the NFL's Indianapolis Colts join Youppi! in the Mascot Hall of Fame's Class of 2020. All four inductees were honored in a virtual ceremony when they received congratulations from a host of notable fans, including the governor of Indiana.

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Evander Kane knows there's no truth to the idea that systemic racism doesn't exist north of the border.

"I'd walk up to any minority, if you're a Canadian citizen, and just ask them that same question you asked me," the San Jose Sharks forward told Sportsnet's "After Hours" in response to co-host Louie DeBrusk's question about those who say systemic racism isn't an issue in Canada. "You'd probably get the same answer. That's completely incorrect and inaccurate."

Kane grew up in Vancouver, and while the black community there isn't large, he pointed to the city's diversity as a whole and mentioned he's heard many stories from friends there who are minorities who've been victims of racism "on a regular basis."

"Just like myself growing up, wanting to play hockey as a minority, you get racist comments made to you all the time, and it was no different for them, and I think Canada kind of needs to take the rose-colored glasses off a little bit and realize it is a problem in our country as well," he said.

Kane noted that his father, Perry, has told him about racism the elder Kane endured both when he played hockey as a youth and as recently as last year, when he was pulled over and racially profiled by police.

The 28-year-old Kane then revealed that he can relate first-hand to that experience.

"It's actually happened to me," he said. "And I'm an NHL player who's from Canada. ... So, the whole notion that there's no systemic racism in Canada is just a crock of junk."

Kane is a co-head of the new Hockey Diversity Alliance, a group of current and former minority NHLers aiming to eradicate racism in hockey and society. He's been a leading voice in the anti-racism movement since George Floyd's death in late May. Kane called upon white athletes to speak up in the aftermath of that incident, and many players of varying backgrounds subsequently did so.

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Ryan Reaves says the ongoing fight against racial injustice is far more important than his rivalry with Evander Kane.

“I spoke to Evander and told him I want to jump in on this powerful message,” Reaves told the Las Vegas Review-Journal's Ed Graney. “We have to put aside our differences on the ice and come together for a much bigger cause."

The Vegas Golden Knights grinder and the San Jose Sharks star have frequently exchanged barbs - both on and off the ice - since facing off in a heated playoff series last spring.

Kane is among the most vocal black voices in hockey, and after George Floyd's death, he called on white athletes to speak up. The Sharks forward is a co-head of the newly formed Hockey Diversity Alliance, a group of black current and former NHLers seeking to eradicate racism from the game.

Reaves, who's also black, has ties to the police. The 33-year-old's father, Willard, served as a sargeant with the Manitoba Sheriff Services in Winnipeg following a five-year CFL career and a brief stint in the NFL. His great-great-great-grandfather was the legendary Bass Reeves, the first black deputy U.S. marshal west of the Mississippi River who some believe was the inspiration for "The Lone Ranger."

The movement to abolish or defund the police has gained significant steam since worldwide protests erupted following Floyd's death in police custody in late May. Reaves doesn't believe every current officer is corrupt, but he says we can't allow those who are to influence others.

“A lot of it stems from under-trained ignorance that every police force seems to have some - one, two, three, four cops - whatever the number is," the Golden Knights winger said. "The thing is not to let those bad apples trickle through an entire force.”

Numerous NHL players - including many of the league's white stars - have made their feelings about racism known over the last two weeks, and most of them did so after Kane's plea. Reaves has been pleased to see that response, particularly given the racial disparity that exists in the game.

“In hockey, it’s a predominantly white sport, so for a bunch of white hockey players to come out and speak about black issues, it’s probably tough for them," he said. "It’s not an easy subject to talk about, but I like how a lot of players are going about it."

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Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is eager to see the Windy City serve as one of the NHL's two hub locations.

"We're very excited at the possibility and have really tried to make the case for why Chicago should be chosen," Lightfoot told The Athletic's Scott Powers. "I'm hopeful we'll be successful.

"Although I expect the playoffs to be probably fan-less, we're still very well-situated to accommodate the league and the players. We have plenty of hotel space and got a great culture life here. I think everything they would want to put on with a best-in-class playoff experience is here in Chicago."

In addition to Chicago, the league is considering nine other cities for its two locations: Columbus, Dallas, Edmonton, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Pittsburgh, Toronto, and Vancouver.

The NHL is expected to announce its selections on June 22, according to John Katsilometes of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Safety will be a top priority in the league's decision, and Illinois has seen a steady dip in COVID-19 cases. The state's seven-day rolling average has decreased by about 69% over the last three weeks, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

"If I didn't feel like we were on a downward trajectory both in terms of number of cases, new cases reported, and all the other public health metrics, I would not feel comfortable," Lightfoot said. "But we have worked extraordinarily hard over these last three months to put us in a position - and first and foremost, our priority is our residents - that our residents would have confidence that we have engaged in a robust public health response to this deadly virus."

The Blackhawks qualified for the league's expanded 24-team postseason as the Western Conference's 12th seed. They're slated to meet the fifth-seeded Edmonton Oilers in a best-of-five play-in series for the right to advance to the first round of the playoffs.

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