The unique circumstances of the 2019-20 NHL season will give the Tampa Bay Lightning an opportunity no other club has ever enjoyed.

For the first time, the Stanley Cup winners' names will already be engraved when each member of the championship team gets their day with the trophy.

"We've been thinking outside of the box," Phil Pritchard, one of two keepers of the Cup, told the Tampa Bay Times' Eduardo A. Encina. "(We've been asking ourselves,) 'How can we make some positives in a non-traditional, kind of negative time in the world?' and this (was) one of them. Let's get the Cup engraved so when we do have that opportunity, the guys can celebrate it. So, it's a huge positive I think, and everyone (agreed) with it."

Usually, the champions' names are engraved just before the start of the following season, after each title-winning player has already spent their day with the Cup. Because of pandemic protocols pertaining to travel, the Lightning haven't had the chance to take turns bringing the trophy to their respective hometowns, according to Encina.

While waiting for the go-ahead to carry out that tradition, the hardware was sent to Montreal to be engraved.

"Not every player has seen their name on it as of yet," Pritchard said. "A lot have, and it's pretty cool. To me, if there's one thing we could do moving forward when we go back to, say, a regular year, I would push for that. The emotions are so powerful when someone sees their name on the Cup."

The Lightning won Lord Stanley's mug Sept. 28 and partied with it during their much-criticized parade two days later.

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The Pittsburgh Penguins and captain Sidney Crosby provided the surprise of a lifetime to fan Katie Dudas following the completion of her cancer treatment.

The organization invited Dudas to PPG Paints Arena for what she thought was an event for fans battling cancer. Instead, the Penguins hosted only her, providing a tour of the dressing room to gift her a custom jersey and then playing a video message.

"Hi Katie, congratulations on finishing your treatment," Crosby said. "I hear you're a pretty popular person at the games and also responsible for putting a lot of smiles on people's faces. On behalf of myself and the team, we just want to wish you much happiness and health moving forward, and just want to let you know how proud we are to have you on our team."

Dudas then rang the bell in the dressing room to signify the end of her treatments.

Each year, the NHL organizes Hockey Fights Cancer month in November.

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A giant van marked with the University of Vermont's colors and logos sat outside the duty-free shop. Men's hockey assistant coach Jeff Hill had borrowed the bulky vehicle from the Catamounts' varsity ski team to transport Dovar, Azzaro, one other freshman, and the players' luggage - clothes, hockey gear, televisions, microwaves - in one run.

Hill had briefed border authorities on the handoff plan and promised to quickly return stateside with three Canadians bound for the UVM campus in Burlington, some 40 miles south.

"In a way, it felt like I was smuggling them over the border," Hill told theScore with a laugh.

The Tinling family had driven the scenic two hours from Montreal to Burlington many times over the years. But this trip, like seemingly everything else in 2020, was strange - "surreal," as Azzaro put it. The two boys could cross the border, but Mom and Dad couldn't - not unless they wanted to endure a lengthy quarantine.

After a teary goodbye, the parents headed north and the van south. "It was weird, but it actually went pretty smoothly," said Dovar, the younger of the two brothers. "We pulled up to customs, did everything there, and we were off. It took about an hour, tops."

Strict protocols greeted them at UVM. Before exploring campus, the brothers were required to pass multiple COVID-19 tests while observing a 10-day quarantine. It wasn't the storybook going-off-to-college scene anyone had envisioned. But that's how it had to be to keep everyone safe and healthy.

Dovar, a top prospect for the 2021 NHL Draft, won't turn 18 until March. That makes him the youngest player in NCAA Division I hockey and the youngest Canadian NCAA player since Jonathan Toews and Simon Danis-Pepin dressed for North Dakota and Maine, respectively, in 2005-06.

This is the story of Dovar's rise through the ranks, why he chose UVM, and the part his older brother Azzaro, 20, has played in shaping him as a person and athlete.

The Tinling brothers, born three years and two months apart, grew up in Pointe-Claire, a low-density suburb of Montreal. The family home backs onto Lake Saint-Louis, which in the winter, with some light shoveling, can be converted into a frozen playground.

As kids, Dovar and Azzaro would come home from elementary school on their lunch break, lace up their skates, and spend 20-30 minutes on the lake. Their mom, Tracey, would fix sandwiches as the lifelong best buddies buzzed around. Most days it would be one-on-one; other times, someone was the goalie. They'd carve up the lake after school and on weekends, too.

"It was just fun to us," Azzaro said. "We didn't think anything of it at the time."

In organized hockey, the brothers were on independent timelines. Azzaro's birthday is in December, so he was four age groups ahead of Dovar. There was no scenario - not even in midget, where three cohorts play with and against each other in the Quebec system - in which their paths in minor hockey would cross.

The brothers insist Tracey and dad Adolphe never forced hockey upon them. Their love for the sport and drive to improve came naturally. Education, on the other hand, was a top priority in the Tinling household. Adolphe would often use his own story to deliver the message to the brothers and their sister Jordan, now 23.

From the mid-1960s to the mid-70s, Adolphe came of age in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, then one of Montreal's roughest areas. He promised himself he'd graduate high school, a promise he says saved his life.

"Around one-third of the guys I grew up with are dead," he said. "Around one-third are so screwed up because of being exposed to drugs and whatnot. And around one-third are in prison. Take away about 5%, and those are the people who got out and did OK."

In a roundabout way, it was this emphasis on education that finally brought Dovar and Azzaro together on the same team last season. Both had aspirations of earning a degree while pursuing the pro hockey path, and the Hawkesbury Hawks of the junior A Central Canada Hockey League happily made room for both forwards as they looked to maintain their NCAA eligibility. Azzaro, an intimidating, heavy winger, recorded 16 goals and 23 assists in 51 games in 2019-20, his second year with the Hawks. Dovar, meanwhile, claimed CCHL Rookie of the Year honors after recording 21 goals and 30 assists in 50 contests.

"He's a kid who has always played up to the level of competition," said Hill, who started recruiting Dovar to UVM at the beginning of his lone season in midget AAA.

Hawks head coach Rick Dorval liked the brothers' chemistry, so he kept them on the same line for the majority of the season. It seemed a wise move in Azzaro's eyes.

"I knew where he was before I would have to look," Azzaro said of his on-ice synergy with Dovar. "I can't even describe it. It's something you can't really say. I just knew where he would be. I knew his tendencies."

Dovar's tenure with Hawkesbury, though short-lived, was formative. He asserted himself against more physically mature players as a wiry 16-year-old and juggled the demands of multiple Team Canada tournaments and endless school assignments. "Last year," he said, "was definitely an interesting experience."

Hawkesbury, a small Ontario town that runs along the Ottawa River, is a 50-minute drive from Pointe-Claire, so the brothers lived at home. Azzaro, the self-proclaimed "suburban mom," would pick up Dovar from school and drive him to and from practices and games. The rides, sometimes running deep into the night or in the middle of a storm, became something to look forward to. With Azzaro in the driver's seat, Dovar rode shotgun and served as DJ, blasting "Return of the Mac," among other classics.

On the ice, there was no question Dovar was a burgeoning talent.

"He matured a lot, and as he matured, he became a really elite player," Dorval said. "I wouldn't be afraid to say that - if we were able to put on the playoffs - Dovar could have easily been one of the top three players in the postseason, and he could have been a big reason for us having a legitimate chance at winning a championship."

Jon Goyens, Dovar's midget coach, was originally hesitant about his star pupil playing junior A at 16. The CCHL is a hodgepodge of promising prospects and kids at the end of their competitive hockey careers. How might he fit into the mix?

"Well, it fit because he made it fit," Goyens said, labeling Dovar a hyper-observant "sponge."

"He's just not a kid I bet against. He's committed, he's dialed in."

A couple of weeks ago, NHL Central Scouting released its preliminary players-to-watch list for the 2021 draft. Four NCAA players made the list: Owen Power, Kent Johnson, Matthew Beniers, and Dovar. Power, Johnson, and Beniers - all from the University of Michigan - received "A" ratings, indicating they're candidates to go in the first round. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound Dovar was rated a notch below as a "B" prospect.

"Dovar's that Kyle Connor-type player," UVM head coach Todd Woodcroft said. "He's got really good vision. He's got very good patience with the puck."

Woodcroft's resume includes two decades behind NHL benches, most recently with the Winnipeg Jets as an assistant to head coach Paul Maurice. He's extremely familiar with Connor, Dovar's favorite player, after working with him on a daily basis in Winnipeg. Both forwards have slight builds, explosive hand speed, and off-the-charts hockey sense. Connor is an elite goal-scorer - the Michigan product has notched 31, 34, and 38 goals for the Jets in his first three full NHL seasons - and Woodcroft and Goyens believe Dovar could have a similar trajectory. Dovar, for his part, understands what he has to work on to get there.

"I'm a pass-first kind of player, but I also think I can score," he said. "I think my biggest asset is my hockey IQ, especially with the puck. I think I'm a strong skater as well. I could work a lot on every aspect of the game, but my play without the puck - defensively and also in the offensive zone - needs work."

First, Dovar must prove himself in the college hockey scene. Recruited heavily by a number of powerhouse hockey schools including Michigan, Michigan State, and Penn State, he settled on UVM. Household names Martin St. Louis, Tim Thomas, John LeClair, and Patrick Sharp are Catamounts alumni. Now Dovar - alongside Azzaro, the protective older brother - hopes to join that list over the next few years.

Every family attacks decision-making from its own unique angle. For the Tinlings, lists are a crucial, necessary part of the process. Ever since Dovar, Azzaro, and Jordan were young kids, they've leaned on one particular kind of list: pros and cons.

"It takes the emotion out of a decision," Azzaro said.

Dovar sat down on two separate occasions this past summer to craft lists relating to his hockey career. The first helped determine if UVM was the right school for him.

In the pros column, he scribbled four main points: He'd be on the same team and campus as his brother and best friend; he'd be joining a historic Hockey East program; he'd play a key role in revitalizing UVM hockey, which has fallen on hard times of late amid three straight losing seasons; and he'd be able to learn from Woodcroft, who was hired in April to replace longtime UVM bench boss Ken Sneddon.

Under cons, he outlined similar points with different twists: He'd be following in his brother's footsteps instead of charting his own path; he'd be joining a rebuilding team, not a powerhouse; and, by living 100 miles from home, he'd remain in his comfort zone.

"The pros completely outweighed the cons," Dovar ultimately concluded, and in June he officially committed to UVM for the 2021-22 season. He'd be 18 by then, a "true freshman" by NCAA standards. In the interim, he'd move west to Des Moines, Iowa, to suit up for the USHL's Buccaneers while taking Grade 12 classes at a local high school (high school in Quebec ends after Grade 11) and preparing for the SATs.

But not long after Dovar's commitment, Woodcroft volleyed an idea back to the Tinlings. Based on game tape, conversations between player and coach, and the NCAA softening its eligibility rules because of the coronavirus (no SATs, for example), Woodcroft thought Dovar could start college this fall, a full year ahead of schedule.

Fast-tracking was an enticing but overwhelming idea. "I had to sit down with both of my parents and really go over it," Dovar said. "I had to do more pros and cons."

Hovering over the obvious challenges of changing course were two external variables: The 2020-21 season would be Dovar's NHL draft year, and most - if not all - of the campaign would be played amid a pandemic. Would college hockey be the best setting to maximize exposure to NHL scouts? How much ice time would he get as an underager? How many games would UVM even play?

"I'd love to go as high as I can," Dovar said of the draft. "So you definitely take into account which spot is better for you. That played into my choice, getting to know and trusting coach Woodcroft and what he'll be able to do with this program while I'm here. Plus, coming from the NHL, he knows what teams want and how to mold a player."

After deep reflection, the pros column had won again.

"While his peers are playing in the USHL and playing against guys who are 18, 19, maybe 20, this guy's playing against people who are going to have a mortgage next year," Woodcroft said, sprinkling in some hyperbole to make his point.

At even strength, Dovar is slated to line up alongside Latvian center Ray Vitolins, also a freshman, and right-winger Alex Esposito, a senior from Connecticut. He'll also get time on the power play during UVM's 20-game schedule. Both team and player are prepared for growing pains.

"He's going to make mistakes, he's going to turn the puck over, he's going to get scored on, and he's going to get right back out there. That's how he's going to develop," Woodcroft said of Dovar, whose maturity, quiet attention to detail, and general disposition remind the coach of a young Steve Yzerman or Joe Sakic.

"He's a 17-year-old, but to me, he's a 27-year-old," Woodcroft said. "He's a wise and mature and humble guy. He just gets it, you know?"

Dovar and Azzaro share a room on the seventh floor of an on-campus dormitory. There's one fridge, one microwave, one TV, two desks, and two beds. On the wall hangs a pair of posters: one of Michael Jordan and another of Kobe Bryant. There's also a flag depicting a cartoon gorilla lifting weights. It's not hard to guess which pieces of wall art belong to whom. "He's a beast in the gym," Dovar said of Azzaro.

The brothers, along with UVM's other first-year players, talked recently about the opportunity before them, to one day be known as the freshman class that kick-started a successful and proud period of Catamounts hockey. The Nov. 26-27 weekend signals the beginning of the Woodcroft era with two games against UMass.

You can bet Adolphe and Tracey will be tuning in. You can also bet Dovar will try to heed some brotherly advice as the youngest kid on the ice.

"The biggest thing Azzaro's taught me over the years - I think I was 14 at the time - is that at some point, you have to realize age isn't a factor," Dovar said.

"Ever since then, I've stopped comparing ages. If you're a hockey player, you're a hockey player."

John Matisz is theScore's national hockey writer.

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Brandon Saad has yet to suit up for his new team, but the forward hopes to remain with the Colorado Avalanche beyond the upcoming season.

"We haven't had any discussions, I think it's a bit early, especially with not really knowing what's going on with the season and all that, but for me, thinking about it, Colorado has always been in my top because I want to win again," Saad said on the latest episode of the "NHL @TheRink" podcast. "So to be in a great spot like that, on a great team, and then you hear wonders about the city, so really, it seems like a great place where I want to play for a long time."

The 28-year-old, who added he would like to finish his career in Colorado, was traded to the Avalanche in October. Since signing a six-year contract with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2015, the forward has been dealt twice prior to the move to Colorado. He's set to be an unrestricted free agent at the conclusion of the 2020-21 season.

Saad has been an effective player throughout his career, scoring 20-plus goals in five different seasons and winning two Stanley Cups with the Blackhawks.

The forward is set to join a group that includes Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Gabriel Landeskog, and Cale Makar.

"It's a beautiful city," Saad added. "I'm looking forward to getting the season going because we have a hell of a team out there in Denver."

Securing a long-term deal with the Avalanche after this season may prove difficult, as Landeskog and Makar will also be due for new contracts.

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Brent Seabrook says he'll be ready to contribute next season and is motivated to prove it after having his 2019-20 campaign cut short by multiple surgeries.

"I feel like I'm 19 years old again trying to make the team," the Chicago Blackhawks defenseman told The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun earlier this week. "I'm skating and doing treatment and doing all these extra things here and there. Just trying to get prepared and ready, get the flexibility back - which was a battle for a while - and get the skating back, which has been great. The last two-to-three weeks I've felt really good on the ice. … It's been incredible."

Seabrook added that he has no plans to quit despite his injuries, advanced age, and declining production.

"I'm excited for training camp," he said. "I'm excited for the opportunity to get back out there and show everybody what I got. I'm not done playing hockey. I get that 35 is old in the sports world, but I don't feel old, I still feel young."

The blue-liner was limited to 32 games last season. He underwent three procedures over a six-week span beginning in late December, having his right shoulder repaired followed by both of his hips. The 15-year veteran, who played his final game of the campaign Dec. 15, tried to return for the playoffs but failed to crack Chicago's postseason roster.

Seabrook collected only four points while posting a 41.22 expected goals for percentage and a 41.53 scoring chances for rate during his abbreviated 2019-20 season.

He's spent his entire career with the Blackhawks, helping them win the Stanley Cup in 2010, 2013, and 2015. However, Seabrook's playing time has steadily declined in the years since those titles.

Seabrook has four years left on his contract at a cap hit of $6,875,000. The Blackhawks parted with two key members of their championship core this offseason, as goaltender Corey Crawford signed with the New Jersey Devils and forward Brandon Saad was traded to the Colorado Avalanche.

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The Ottawa Senators have signed veteran enforcer Micheal Haley to a one-year, two-way contract, the team announced Friday.

The deal is worth $700,000 at the NHL level.

"Micheal will bring experience, leadership, and additional physicality to our organization," general manager Pierre Dorion said. "He's looking forward to serving as a mentor for our young players."

Haley posted one goal in 22 games with the New York Rangers last season.

The 34-year-old has appeared in 270 career NHL contests. He's collected 32 points and 687 penalty minutes in stints with the New York Islanders, San Jose Sharks, Florida Panthers, and Rangers.

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