Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour will have some tough decisions to make about his lineup if play resumes.
When the season was paused March 12, the Hurricanes had a handful of injuries - namely within their defensive group. Blue-liners Dougie Hamilton, Sami Vatanen, and Brett Pesce were all on the shelf, and now all three have a chance to return.
"There's going to be definitely a feeling-out process to see how everyone meshes, but those are pretty good options to be thrown into your team," Brind'Amour said, according to NHL.com's Dan Rosen.
He added, "If everybody is healthy then we have extras, so I think it's going to be a question of, really, how do they look by the time this camp is done? It's not like you get too long of a warmup period. When we start, every game counts, so we've got to go with whoever is ready."
Hamilton suffered a fractured fibula in January and is now expected to be ready for training camp. Vatanen - who was acquired at the trade deadline to fill the gap on the blue line - hasn't suited up in a game for the Hurricanes but is also expected to be available.
Meanwhile, Pesce - who had surgery in March - was expected to miss four-to-six months, but Brind'Amour now says that he's a "long shot" to return.
The coach noted that part of the difficulty in making lineup decisions is because he doesn't know how players have been training since the season was paused.
"It's not like we just picked up where we left off," Brind'Amour said. "I know guys are telling me they're doing OK, but I don't know how much training they're doing and where they're going to be at when we get started."
Training camps for all teams are expected to begin July 10.
Fifteen of the 250 players who reported to training facilities for Phase 2 of the NHL's return-to-play plan have tested positive for COVID-19, the league announced Monday.
An additional 11 players who didn't report for voluntary workouts have tested positive since the opening of Phase 2 on June 8.
All players who tested positive have self-isolated and followed CDC and Health Canada protocols.
Training camps (Phase 3) are scheduled to open July 10, and the NHL does not plan to quarantine teams in "bubbles" during that time.
Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy wouldn't mind if Toronto serves as one of the NHL's two hub cities.
"We've played well in that rink in the playoffs, for the most part," he said, according to WEEI's Scott McLaughlin.
The Bruins defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the past two postseasons, clinching each in a Game 7. Three of Toronto's last four playoff appearances ended in a Game 7 loss to the Bruins in the opening round, including the 2013 contest in which the Maples Leafs were up 4-1.
Cassidy became the Bruins' head coach in 2017, and the team owns a 3-3 playoff record at Scotiabank Arena since his hiring.
The NHL's hub cities are expected to be announced sometime this week, according to TSN's Bob McKenzie. He adds that Las Vegas and Toronto appear to be the front-runners, though it's still a "fluid process."
Toronto's latest proposal reportedly featured players and team personnel living in a 40-acre bubble on the grounds of the Canadian National Exhibition just outside the downtown core.
The Eastern Conference's No. 1-seeded Bruins received a bye to the first round of the playoffs and will jostle with the conference's other top-three teams for seeding while clubs ranked fifth through 12th partake in the qualifying round.
Only production staff for television and radio broadcasts are expected to be allowed inside the two hub-city bubbles if the NHL resumes play, which means play-by-play commentators and color analysts will likely work remotely.
"It's different," vice president of Sportsnet and NHL Production Rob Corte told CBC's Jim Morris. "A lot of the energy they draw is from within a building and the crowd. When you're in an arena you see everything. There's going to be things that will be missed or not seen just because it's not available to their eyesight."
Corte added that one feed will likely be produced for each game and supplied to all NHL rights-holders. Sportsnet will have its commentators watch games on monitors in Toronto, where a score bug and graphics will be added.
Many media-related details have yet to be finalized, though.
"Part of the challenge is, there's been so many different ideas and potential ways to do this," Corte said. "We've been having so many discussions, and when you think you're moving in a certain direction, then about 10 more questions come up that actually disqualify everything you have been thinking before.
Hockey Hall of Famer Ken Dryden - who's also an author, a lawyer, and, formerly, a politician - joins the show to discuss a variety of topics, including:
His thoughts on COVID-19, NHL's return-to-play plan
Why Scotty Bowman has lived a hockey life like no other
Getting into Bowman's mind for Dryden's 2019 book, "Scotty"
Breaking down the case for penalizing all hits to the head
Reaction to his thought-provoking book, "Game Change"
With the abundance of talent in today's game, there's no shortage of highlight-reel goals. Players continue to get more creative, finding new ways to bring fans out of their seats.
Now that the 2019-20 regular season is officially behind us, let's look back at the five best goals of the campaign.
5. Blake Coleman's one-handed wonder
Coleman's outstanding individual effort is a perfect example of why you should never give up on a play.
The Devils' crafty winger outworks Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dmitry Kulikov before catching an unsuspecting Laurent Brossoit deep in his net with a one-handed shovel shot while falling to the ice.
4. Sonny Milano torches Stars
Milano netted only seven goals in 2019-20, but his dazzling marker against the Dallas Stars was one of the filthiest of the season.
The winger walks around a helpless Roope Hintz - a forward who's completely exposed while covering for a defenseman - before going between his legs at high speed with two Stars on his tail. The degree of difficulty here is simply off the charts.
3. Matthew Tkachuk beats the buzzer in style
The timeliness and spontaneity of Tkachuk's incredible last-ditch effort gives him a slight edge over Milano in the between-the-legs-trickery department.
Not only does Tkachuk have the presence of mind to change his shot angle while flying through the slot at full speed, but he places the puck perfectly upstairs with only 1.4 seconds remaining in overtime. The 22-year-old was remarkably clutch that night, as Tkachuk also tied the game in the final minute of regulation.
2. Andrei Svechnikov does it again
Svechnikov's encore after becoming the first player to pull off "The Michigan" in an NHL game was an even better lacrosse-style tally.
Unlike the first time he executed the move, Svechnikov was in motion against the Jets. His ability to scoop the puck while traveling around the net at a high speed and tuck it past the 6-foot-4 Connor Hellebuyck took the awe-inspiring maneuver to another level.
1. McDavid leaves Rielly in the dust
McDavid's first goal in Toronto was one of his finest yet. Burning a player one-on-one in the fashion McDavid did shouldn't be possible at the highest level of hockey.
The Oilers captain hesitates just slightly before turning on the jets, completely duping Morgan Rielly prior to going top shelf for the finish. Being able to shift gears in a split second and put a skilled defenseman like Rielly on his heels is one of many reasons McDavid is the world's top talent.
Honorable mention: Pekka Rinne's 200-foot prayer
Scoring into an empty net is rarely a memorable feat. Unless you're a goalie, of course.
With the Predators up two goals late in the third period against the Chicago Blackhawks, Rinne found some space to shoot his shot. The Finnish puck-stopper fired a perfect 200-foot strike to become the first netminder since 2013-14 to score an NHL goal.
"Rocky I, II, III, V" and "Rocky Balboa" (1976, 1979, 1982, 1990, 2006)
Mickey Goldmill (Burgess Meredith), the short-tempered manager of Rocky Balboa, is a former boxer who finally gets a shot at a world title when Apollo Creed issues a surprising challenge to the "Italian Stallion." Mickey's relationship with Rocky is strained at first but blossoms into a father-son-like connection as the pair undergo countless hours of sweaty training sessions punctuated by lines from the manager such as, "You're gonna eat lightning, you're gonna crap thunder."
49. Lou Brown
"Major League" (1989) and "Major League II" (1994)
James Gammon plays the role of Cleveland Indians manager Brown, a surly skipper who leaves his job as a tire salesman to become the leader of a team meant to go nowhere. Throughout his tenure as Indians bench boss, Brown does a wonderful job of bonding his club through the use of hilarious props - including stripping down a cardboard cutout of mischievous owner Rachel Phelps - to get his team to win games.
48. Jess Bhamra
"Bend It Like Beckham" (2002)
Mirroring the film industry as a whole, the sports film canon hasn't featured a ton of diversity in the types of stories it's told. However, Jess (Parminder Nagra) is a great reminder that the love of the game can transcend race, gender, and religion. As the protagonist of "Bend It Like Beckham," Jess nimbly navigates both a Sikh community steeped in familial traditions and the world of amateur English football.
47. Carl Spackler
"Caddyshack" (1980)
Private golf clubs are known to be pristine, well-mannered, and stodgy. Groundskeeper Spackler (Bill Murray), on the other hand ... not so much. Between living in a dilapidated shack on the premises and attempting to eliminate the club's gopher problem with explosives, it's fair to wonder if Carl creates more trouble than he's worth.
46. Ernie McCracken
"Kingpin" (1996)
Back-to-back roles from Murray hit our rankings, with the latter being his portrayal of womanizing bowling veteran McCracken in "Kingpin." After losing to Roy Munson at the 1979 Odor-Eaters championship, McCracken shows a villainous side by setting his rival up in a game during which he loses his prized bowling hand. While "Big Ern" offers plenty of gut-busting comedy, nothing is funnier than his legendary comb-over.
45. White Goodman
"Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story" (2004)
There's nothing subtle about Goodman (Ben Stiller). The egomaniacal leader of the Globo Gym Purple Cobras struts around in leather and shoulder pads like "Macho Man" Randy Savage with a Napoleon complex. Goodman's over-the-top nature is made even funnier in comparison to everyman Peter LaFleur (Vince Vaughn).
44. Teddy KGB
"Rounders" (1998)
Teddy KGB (John Malkovich) is an underground poker-playing legend and antagonist to Matt Damon's character in Rounders. It may be hard to read the tells of the Russian mobster throughout his few appearances in the film, but when he's on screen, it's easy to fall in love with his card-playing caginess and undying love for Oreo cookies.
43. Harry Doyle
"Major League" (1989), "Major League II" (1994), and "Major League: Back to the Minors" (1998)
Real-life sportscaster and former player Bob Uecker is wise-cracking Indians announcer Doyle in the "Major League" flicks. Uecker's comedy throughout the films is unmatched as he constantly tries to paint a brighter picture of a team and its most embarrassing moments.
42. Isis
"Bring It On" (2000)
Don't be fooled by its bubbly appearance, "Bring It On" offers a nuanced - and evergreen - look at how privileged white performers appropriate and profit off the art and culture of Black creators. Isis (Gabrielle Union) is initially painted as an aggressor when, in reality, it's her predominantly Black and Latinx cheer squad whose routines have been unknowingly pilfered by Torrance's (Kirsten Dunst) suburban San Diego team.
41. Tony D'Amato
"Any Given Sunday" (1999)
Warning: Video contains coarse language.
It doesn't get much better than a legendary actor chewing the scenery as a head coach who sees football as a microcosm for the world at large. As Coach D'Amato, Al Pacino's "Inches" monologue has stood the test of time as one of the truly great inspirational pep talks in movie history.