Edmonton owes $28,000 for a December 2019 stay and an additional $27,000 for its last road trip before the COVID-19 pandemic in March.
The team has placed the blame on an accounting glitch compounded by a timeline miscommunication. The Oilers plan on paying the bills and having the situation resolved in the next couple of days.
“We have the same challenges as every business navigating through the far-reaching, negative impacts of the global pandemic,” according to a team statement obtained by Tychkowski. “We are working diligently through our business operations and attending to outstanding issues from the unexpected stoppage of last season.
“The Crescent Court Hotel has been a good partner and we are working cooperatively with them to resolve this matter.”
Edmonton says the unpaid bills are simply for its block of rooms and not any property damage or restaurant tabs. The luxury inn has been the team's hotel of choice in Dallas for several years.
Oilers owner Daryl Katz has a net worth of $3.5 billion, according to Forbes.
Wayne Gretzky is second to none in the hockey world, but he'll happily play second fiddle to support a certain golfer in the family.
The Great One posed with Dustin Johnson while wearing full Masters caddie attire after the world No. 1 won the tournament in record fashion Sunday, as Paulina Gretzky's friend, Kristina Melnichenko, captured in her Instagram story.
"Be the ball, @DJohnsonPGA." - Wayne Gretzky, probably ⛳️
Johnson is engaged to Paulina, Wayne's daughter, and they have two young sons. The elder Gretzky has often supported Johnson in person at his events, though he now appears to have taken things to an entirely new level.
Given they've only existed for three seasons, the Golden Knights don't have much history to draw from. They decided to honor the now-defunct IHL's Las Vegas Thunder in a blend with their current colors, but it clashes terribly.
This one is a head-scratcher. The Jets have donned some of the nicest threads in league history, but the decision to drown out the blue with a grey base is a complete disaster.
At first glance, the return of the original sabertooth feels like the only retro thing about the Predators' remix. But the striping along the arms is also an homage to the earliest edition of the club's uniform, which hasn't varied much over its relatively brief history.
The Maple Leafs' 1970-inspired design was a promising idea, but incorporating grey into a scheme that's only ever used two colors makes no sense. The logo doesn't seem to match the rest of the outfit, either.
The Blue Jackets pay homage to their original emblem in this retro thread, but going with red as the primary color doesn't feel like the right choice for a club that's donned several strong shades of blue over its existence.
The Canucks have used so many unique color palettes throughout their history, and it feels like they could have done more with this opportunity. Perhaps the stick-and-puck logo in a flying-skate theme?
The Flyers have never had an alternative logo, and why would they? The classic winged "P" has been worked into a sharp look inspired by the mid-90s Flyers and the Legion of Doom line featuring Eric Lindros, John LeClair, and Mikael Renberg.
In a traditional sense, the Ducks' design doesn't make for a look that will stand the test of time. But Anaheim embraced its roots and went all-out, which we have to respect.
Tampa's old logo is better than its current one, and the defending Stanley Cup champions' clean design certainly passes the test for this exercise. That said, there's nothing particularly special about the Lightning's latest jersey.
The Islanders don't have a ton to work with in terms of retro looks without bringing back the polarizing "Highliner" logo. Still, this uniform is sharp. The design pays homage to the dynasty of the early 1980s, while the navy blue is a tribute to the team's one-time primary color.
This looks more like an alternate for the Senators' new full-time look than a textbook Reverse Retro, but it does look good. The red is a solid complement to Ottawa's regular home and away sets.
A wordmark logo is typically a cop-out, but the Penguins' diagonal print immediately takes us back to the magical days of Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr, which has to tickle hockey fans everywhere.
The Blackhawks throw it back to the 1940s and '50s with this retro fix. It's simple yet very sharp, and reversing the red-and-black color scheme is a neat idea.
The opportunity to bring back the Capitals' screaming eagle was a can't-miss, and the decision to go with red as the primary color actually works quite well. The slanted wordmark at the bottom is also a nice touch to this patriotic outfit.
Bringing back the red uniform is a daring but excellent move for the Blues' retro set. This classic was worn by some of the greatest players to ever suit up for the franchise, including Wayne Gretzky, Brett Hull, and Chris Pronger.
The NHL needs more bold color choices, and Arizona's purple kit fits the bill. The Kachina head truly shines in front of a vibrant background, and the desert details along the bottom artfully pay homage to the Coyotes' history and home state.
Florida's leaping panther is miles ahead of the logo the team wears today, and the navy blue is a perfect backdrop for the rest of the club's beaming colors. This should stick around as the Panthers' full-time alternate.
"Blasty" has made a triumphant return. With the Flames reinstating their 1980s look on a full-time basis earlier this offseason, the fiery horse head was the correct choice for their throwback.
It's hard to go wrong sporting one of the world's most iconic landmarks. Lady Liberty is an absolute classic, and the Rangers made the wise decision bringing her back in this classy retro look.
The Devils' remix takes us back to the franchise's birth in 1982. Introducing green as the primary color is a bold tribute to the club's original look, and it works extremely well in this unique and nostalgic uniform.
After primarily using black for their alternate designs in recent years, the Bruins opted for a shift to yellow, and we dig it. The simplified spoked "B" and vintage bear-head shoulder patch are excellent touches as well.
Many would consider it blasphemous for the Canadiens to ever stray for their basic home and away kits, but you'd be crazy to deny this look turned out perfectly.
This design practically sparkles. The Oilers shifted to a darker scheme at the dawn of the Adidas era, and it's difficult to understand why. The orange shoulders bring a slightly unusual look, but combining them with blue detailing and an untouchable logo makes for one gorgeous sweater.
This blend of old and new is simply wonderful. The unique mix of green, yellow, and white is synonymous with the Minnesota North Stars, and the Wild's current logo is one of the best in sports. It's a pretty strong recipe for an all-time look.
The Hurricanes have recently honored the Whalers' classic look, but they've never dawned this slick version of the outfit. The grey base instead of the green is a new twist, but the former color is the only one shared by both iterations of the franchise.
Colorado's remix is simply flawless. The logo is a nod to the franchise's roots in Quebec, as are the fleurs-de-lis along the bottom of the jersey. The powder blue and Avalanche maroon make for a perfect color scheme that beautifully ties together the club's past and present.
While nothing is set in stone, it seems inevitable that the NHL will have an all-Canadian division to begin the upcoming season given the nation's current border restrictions. If that's the case, Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk doesn't like his team's chances.
"No," Melnyk told The Bob McCown Podcast when asked if he liked the idea of an all-Canadian division. "I'll tell you why, it's a hockey reason. This is not our year. I think we'll be competitive, but this is the year the Canadian teams are all better. Every one of them, including mine. But I'm still at the beginning of my rise up. Everybody else was good and they're getting better."
The Senators finished with the second-worst record in the NHL a year ago. Meanwhile, the other six Canadian teams all qualified for the league's expanded postseason in August.
"From a hockey point of view, it's exciting," Melnyk continued. "We would be playing a lot of Montreal, Toronto, and Winnipeg. That's fine. We will play the other Canadian teams. That's fine. But from a pure hockey point of view it's a tough, tough, tough division. We don't get to play the weaker teams. They're all good."
In a normal regular season, the Sens would've been guaranteed four or five games against the Detroit Red Wings - the only team to finish below Ottawa in last year's standings. They also would've had four or five contests versus the Buffalo Sabres, who also failed to qualify for the expanded postseason.
University of Wisconsin head coach Tony Granato isn't happy Hockey Canada is prying away one of his best players for a significant portion of the college season.
Granato is frustrated the governing body of Canadian hockey is taking Dylan Holloway - the Edmonton Oilers' first-round pick in this year's draft - for its lengthy evaluation camp ahead of the upcoming World Junior Hockey Championship. The promising forward will miss the final 10 games of the NCAA campaign's first half as a result.
"They've said all along that they need and want and he has to be here," Granato told the Wisconsin State Journal's Todd D. Milewski after a victory over Notre Dame on Saturday. "So from my side of things, I don't think it's right because his opportunity here to get ready for a world junior tournament playing games like this is a heck of a lot better than scrimmaging (with) 20 of your teammates that you're going to be in the tournament with."
Holloway left the Badgers on Sunday to fly to Red Deer, Alberta, site of the 28-day camp. The tournament ultimately begins Dec. 25 in Edmonton.
By contrast, USA Hockey plans to begin gathering players around Dec. 10 and already hosted initial evaluation sessions in October, according to Milewski. Wisconsin star and Montreal Canadiens prospect Cole Caufield could be among those considered for the U.S. squad.
Holloway, a sophomore center, scored the game-winner in highlight-reel fashion Saturday after tallying in the season opener Friday. Hockey Canada cut him at its evaluation camp before the previous world junior tournament.
Florida is using its modern gold-and-red color scheme while utilizing the team's secondary logo of a palm tree and hockey stick as the shoulder crest. Hopefully the original ferocious Panther logo makes it on the front as the primary logo.
Montreal Canadiens
Des détails de notre histoire, renouvelés pour le futur. #ReverseRetro adidas disponible très bientôt
Tampa Bay is using its old Lightning crest as a shoulder patch, and the club is sticking with the classic blue-and-white combo. The design takes its inspiration from 2004, the first season the Lightning won the Stanley Cup.
The Leafs are surprisingly introducing grey, with a simple blue maple leaf as the shoulder patch. The sweater will be based on the team's design from 1970, but it doesn't seem like Toronto will push as many boundaries as some other teams.
The Penguins really didn't include much in their teaser. Due to the amount of outdoor games that have featured Pittsburgh in recent years, the team may need to get extra creative to give us a design we haven't seen.
Washington is sticking with its current color combination, but the Capitals teased the logo used at the start of the Alex Ovechkin era. Consider us intrigued.
The Predators are bringing back their old silver sleeves, though that part of the jersey isn't as shiny as it was before. Pair that with some excess yellow, and these sweaters could get wild.
While the other relocated franchises are featuring their roots in some way, the Jets decided not to pay tribute to the Atlanta Thrashers' unique colors.
The Flames are seemingly keeping it simple. The team's current primary logo is the shoulder patch, and the club is going with a predominantly black color scheme.
