The NHL had to get involved to ensure the Ottawa Senators paid their coaching staff after the club significantly slashed salaries across the organization.
The Senators enacted a pay cut of 50% for all club staff, reports TSN's Frank Seravalli.
In response to that decision, Ottawa's coaches appealed to the league for relief, and "with the NHL’s involvement, Senators coaches were recently reinstated to full pay retroactive to July 13," according to Seravalli.
At least 17 NHL teams have reportedly cut hockey operations staff members' pay amid the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the Senators' 50% reduction is the largest in the league, and it's twice the size of the next-closest team that initiated a similar all-staff salary decrease (the Pittsburgh Penguins, although their 25% hit will extend through Nov. 30).
The Dallas Stars trimmed pay by 30% in June and 20% before that month, but reinstated those salaries to the full amounts dating back to July 13, the day NHL training camps opened before the league resumed play.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are the only Canadian team that hasn't issued a staff pay cut, according to Seravalli.
The pandemic's effect on league and team finances has been well documented. The NHL temporarily cut employee salaries by 25% following the outbreak in March, and numerous teams subsequently slashed the pay of arena workers and front-office staff.
The Professional Hockey Writers Association votes on the annual honor at the end of the regular season. The award is bestowed upon "the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game."
NHL Player Safety deemed the collision to be "a forceful hit from behind on a defenseless player no longer in possession of the puck." It marks the first suspension of Killorn's career.
Nelson was initially shaken up and forced to leave the game, but he later returned after passing concussion protocol.
Killorn plays a top-six role and posted career highs in goals (28) and points (49) in 68 games this season, so his presence in Game 3 will be missed.
While a start date for the 2020-21 NHL season remains up in the air, deputy commissioner Bill Daly revealed the league continues to aim for a typical 82-game regular season.
"I think there are always ways to play. I think what you choose to do in terms of playing is really the more complicated question," Daly said, according to The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun and Scott Burnside. "How do you put on a season? We remain certainly intent on trying to have an 82-game regular season. Whether that's possible or not is yet to be seen."
He continued, "I think we'd be foolish not to take advantage of the lead time we have to make the best decisions we can make. ... I do believe we're going to have a season, I just can't tell you what it looks like right now."
The NHL season typically begins in early October, but the COVID-19 pandemic has delayed the offseason by months. The draft and free agency are now set for the beginning of October.
When operations were paused March 12, the league worked tirelessly to formulate a plan to complete the season. The bubbles were eventually created, and games have been played for over a month with nearly zero issues.
Daly believes hosting games during the summer has worked and said the NHL may do it again next year if that's what it takes to complete a full season.
"Yes, that's a possibility," Daly added. "If anything was proven this summer, it's that having three games a day in these facilities in the heart of August wasn't problematic. A lot of people thought we'd be playing on wet surfaces, but that didn't transpire. The ice held up, the ice quality is generally good. So, playing in the summer is not a problem for us."
Daly admitted that while the bubble system has worked for the postseason, it's not plausible to force teams into bubbles for an entire regular season.
While it was initially believed the NHL would resume play for the 2020-21 season around Dec. 1, Daly confirmed it may end up being a bit later.
"What I'd say to that is that it really almost entirely depends on what it is we decide to do, and how we're going to approach it," he said. "If I had to handicap it today, it's probably less likely than more that we would start on Dec. 1. But that's not set in stone by any means."
Ottawa Senators defenseman Mark Borowiecki may find himself in a different jersey during the 2020-21 season for the first time in his career.
"As of right now, we feel it’s highly likely that we’ll be testing the waters of free agency for the first time in Mark’s career," his agent, Steve Bartlett, said, according to The Athletic's Hailey Salvian.
"I feel there’s a lot to Mark that makes sense for a number of teams."
Bartlett went on to confirm that it isn't a matter of the Senators undervaluing Borowiecki's place with the team, but rather that it's just about his client exploring what free agency has to offer.
The 31-year-old has quickly turned into a fan favorite in Ottawa since the Senators drafted him in 2008. He posted a career-high seven goals and 18 points in just 53 games during the 2019-20 season.
Back in February, general manager Pierre Dorion claimed that he hoped that he could make Borowiecki a Senator for life, according to TSN 1200.
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We split Game 2 of the conference finals, losing with the Stars while easily cashing the under in the Lightning's 2-1 win over the Islanders.
Let's push for the 2-0 in a pair of pivotal Game 3s.
Vegas Golden Knights (-165) @ Dallas Stars (+145)
Until the narrative surrounding this Golden Knights team changes, we're well-positioned to take advantage. Vegas is still viewed as an end-to-end, high-scoring, fun hockey team that produces a ton of goals at both ends. That couldn't be farther from the truth. This is a very good team, not a fun one.
Good morning, friends.
VGK "stuck pucks in the net" last night and we expect a lot of that as they continue to pace bubble teams in expected goal creation at 5v5.
Note how high the Knights sit in the above chart. That's down to the fact that they don't allow many opportunities. They possess the puck very well, which gives their opponents precious little to work with. The Stars' focus in this series is to fight strength (Vegas' puck possession) with strength (Dallas' ability to suppress offense), which is going to lead to low-scoring games.
The Knights' last five games have all stayed under the total (just 14 combined goals), and the under has cashed in 10 of their 14 playoff contests. The Stars have been a bit more friendly to over bettors, but that's largely due to some atrocious goaltending against the Colorado Avalanche. The underlying numbers suggest unders should have been much more profitable in that series.
Pick: Under 5.5 (-125)
Tampa Bay Lightning (-160) @ New York Islanders (+140)
Despite allowing 10 goals, the Islanders have done well to limit the Lightning's dynamic offense in this series. New York was undone by a pair of miserable goaltending efforts in Game 1, but through two games, Tampa has managed a total of just 3.02 expected goals for at five-on-five while being held to fewer than 10 high-danger scoring chances in each of them. That's an impressive feat given the Lightning had been averaging just shy of 2.5 expected five-on-five goals per game in the playoffs coming into the series.
The Islanders have nothing to show for their defensive success, however, as Nikita Kucherov's goal with 8.8 seconds left put them into a 2-0 hole in the series. Losing in that fashion would break a lot of teams, but that's not in the DNA of a Barry Trotz club.
Instead of closing up shop and folding on the season, look for the Islanders to put in their gutsiest effort of the series Friday. They need an offensive spark, and they'll get it in the form of last change as the home team. Trotz knows as well as anyone how to exploit this competitive edge, with the Islanders 5-2 in home games in the bubble, controlling 56.2% of the expected goal share in those contests.
Alex Moretto is a sports betting writer for theScore. A journalism graduate from Guelph-Humber University, he has worked in sports media for over a decade. He will bet on anything from the Super Bowl to amateur soccer, is too impatient for futures, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.
Nelson left the game briefly but later returned. He revealed after the game that he went through all the concussion protocols necessary to allow him to return, according to The Athletic's Arpon Basu.
The Washington Capitals' search for a new head coach seems to be picking up speed, with a number of seasoned veterans vying for the role.
After reportedly interviewing Peter Laviolette in August, Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan has also interviewed both Gerard Gallant and Mike Babcock, TSN's Pierre LeBrun reported on Wednesday's edition of "Insider Trading."
"Sources confirm (MacLellan) has interviewed Gerard Gallant, he has interviewed Peter Laviolette, and yes - he has interviewed Mike Babcock," LeBrun said. "And I think he wants to hire one of those three experienced coaches, I think within the next couple weeks."
The Capitals parted ways with Todd Reirden shortly after they were eliminated from the postseason. Reirden served as Washington's head coach for two seasons after the departure of Barry Trotz and has since been hired as an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Babcock had been a head coach in the NHL since the 2002-03 season before the Toronto Maple Leafs fired him early in the 2019-20 campaign. He made the playoffs 14 times in that span, winning the Stanley Cup once with the Detroit Red Wings in 2008.
Gallant is the least experienced of the three reported candidates, having only been an NHL head coach for nine seasons. He won the Jack Adams Award in 2018 after helping lead the Vegas Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season.
Laviolette has coached over 1,200 games in the NHL, most recently with the Nashville Predators. He led the Predators to the playoffs in all five of his full seasons with the team, including a trip to the finals in 2017. Nashville fired him in January.