McDavid would be proud to match Sid’s 500-point mark: ‘He’s a great guy to follow’

Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid enters Wednesday's matchup with the Winnipeg Jets on the precipice of a significant career milestone that would only strengthen the link between him and his childhood hero if it's accomplished.

McDavid currently sits at 499 career points in 368 games, and he'll reach the 500-mark in the same number of contests as Sidney Crosby if he finds the scoresheet against the Jets.

The incredible coincidence has caught McDavid's attention.

"That's pretty cool. A guy I grew up watching," McDavid said, according to Sportsnet's Mark Spector. "He's done a couple of other things I'm trying to do, with all of his Cups and stuff. That stuff is more important, but if (500) happens, great.

"He's done everything I want to do - he's a great guy to follow. He's done everything he has set his mind to."

If McDavid matches Crosby, they'll tie as the eighth-fastest players in NHL history to notch 500 points. Here's how No. 87 and 97 stack up all-time:

Rank Player No. of Games
1 Wayne Gretzky 234
2 Mario Lemieux 287
3 Peter Stastny 322
4 Mike Bossy 349
5 Eric Lindros 352
6 Jarri Kurri 356
7 Bryan Trottier 362
8 Crosby 369
9 Kent Nilsson 372
10 Alex Ovechkin 373

McDavid, who leads the NHL in scoring this season with 30 points in 17 games, has 26 points in 17 career games against Winnipeg. While matching Crosby in this specific stat seems likely, McDavid has a long way to go to match Sid The Kid's overall resume.

Crosby had earned two Art Ross trophies, an MVP, a Rocket Richard, and two Stanley Cup Finals appearances that yielded one championship through the first five seasons of his career - McDavid is currently in the early stages of his sixth NHL campaign.

In the years since, Crosby has added one more Art Ross, an MVP, and a Rocket Richard, along with two more Cups and two Conn Smythe's to his trophy case.

McDavid has claimed an MVP and two scoring titles to date.

Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Bracket: What’s the GOAT dynasty?

The time's come to crown sports' greatest dynasty.

Sixteen contenders enter our bracket, with regions broken down by league: MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL. Vote below, and vote all week!

Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Coyotes slam report on organizational turmoil as ‘harassment campaign’

The Arizona Coyotes denounced an article from The Athletic's Katie Strang published Tuesday reporting a great deal of financial and interpersonal turmoil within the organization under owner Alex Meruelo, who took over in July 2019.

"We are very disappointed that The Athletic, for several months, has condoned a harassment campaign against Mr. Alex Meruelo, the Arizona Coyotes, the Meruelo Group, and dozens of current employees and former employees," part of a statement from the Coyotes read.

"We question the potential reliance by The Athletic on disgruntled ex-employees who have proven to be untrustworthy and lacking in candor on confidential non-public information, and on vendors with whom the club secured negotiated settlements to undo years of financial mismanagement under prior ownership and club leadership."

Seyfarth Shaw law firm met with Coyotes employees this year to investigate potential financial irregularities, workplace culture, and at least one case of alleged sexual harassment, Strang reports.

Law firm representatives reportedly inquired about the accuracy of the financial documents the Coyotes provided to third parties and the NHL, allegations of intimidation and threats against employees, and COVID-19 protocols and compliance.

The team was also reportedly late in paying several players' signing bonuses in 2020 and didn't issue per diem payments in the playoff bubble as mandated by the CBA, leading the NHLPA to become involved.

According to Strang, Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong, who was hired in September, emailed hockey operations staff warning that any "unauthorized distribution of any club information will not be permitted and is grounds for disciplinary action, up to immediate termination."

The email was obtained by The Athletic, and Armstrong later told Strang he believed that files had been stolen from his computer and the person responsible would be going to jail.

Eight vendors also told Strang that the Coyotes had outstanding or overdue balances or had negotiated a reduction in their debt.

The Coyotes declined interview requests for Strang's story.

Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Coyotes slam report on organizational turmoil as ‘harassment campaign’

The Arizona Coyotes denounced an article from The Athletic's Katie Strang published Tuesday reporting a great deal of financial and interpersonal turmoil within the organization under owner Alex Meruelo, who took over in July 2019.

"We are very disappointed that The Athletic, for several months, has condoned a harassment campaign against Mr. Alex Meruelo, the Arizona Coyotes, the Meruelo Group, and dozens of current employees and former employees," part of a statement from the Coyotes read.

"We question the potential reliance by The Athletic on disgruntled ex-employees who have proven to be untrustworthy and lacking in candor on confidential non-public information, and on vendors with whom the club secured negotiated settlements to undo years of financial mismanagement under prior ownership and club leadership."

Seyfarth Shaw law firm met with Coyotes employees this year to investigate potential financial irregularities, workplace culture, and at least one case of alleged sexual harassment, Strang reports.

Law firm representatives reportedly inquired about the accuracy of the financial documents the Coyotes provided to third parties and the NHL, allegations of intimidation and threats against employees, and COVID-19 protocols and compliance.

The team was also reportedly late in paying several players' signing bonuses in 2020 and didn't issue per diem payments in the playoff bubble as mandated by the CBA, leading the NHLPA to become involved.

According to Strang, Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong, who was hired in September, emailed hockey operations staff warning that any "unauthorized distribution of any club information will not be permitted and is grounds for disciplinary action, up to immediate termination."

The email was obtained by The Athletic, and Armstrong later told Strang he believed that files had been stolen from his computer and the person responsible would be going to jail.

Eight vendors also told Strang that the Coyotes had outstanding or overdue balances or had negotiated a reduction in their debt.

The Coyotes declined interview requests for Strang's story.

Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

NHL announces makeup dates for 29 postponed games

The NHL announced the rescheduling of 29 games featuring 15 different teams on Tuesday.

The makeup dates primarily affect teams within the East and West Divisions.

All times ET.

Matchup Original date New date (time)
Devils at Capitals March 7 Feb. 21 (7 p.m.)
Wild at Sharks April 23 Feb. 22 (10 p.m.)
Wild at Avalanche Feb. 4 Feb. 24 (9 p.m.)
Avalanche at Coyotes Feb. 25 Feb. 26 (9 p.m.)
Coyotes at Kings April 23 March 3 (10 p.m.)
Devils at Bruins Feb.15 March 7 (5 p.m.)
Capitals at Flyers April 27 March 7 (7 p.m.)
Islanders at Devils April 27 March 14 (5 p.m.)
Capitals at Sabres Feb. 11 March 15 (7 p.m.)
Ducks at Avalanche March 31 March 16 (9 p.m.)
Coyotes at Wild Feb. 6 March 16 (8 p.m.)
Coyotes at Ducks March 16 March 20 (10 p.m.)
Rangers at Capitals Feb. 21 March 20 (7 p.m.)
Islanders at Flyers April 25 March 22 (7 p.m.)
Blues at Wild Feb. 11 March 25 (8 p.m.)
Ducks at Blues March 27 March 28 (5 p.m.)
Coyotes at Avalanche Feb. 9 March 31 (9:30 p.m.)
Capitals at Sabres Feb. 13 April 9 (7 p.m.)
Wild at Blues April 11 April 10 (8 p.m.)
Bruins at Capitals April 10 April 11 (7 p.m.)
Coyotes at Avalanche Feb. 11 April 12 (9 p.m.)
Blues at Wild Feb. 9 April 12 (8 p.m.)
Coyotes at Wild Feb. 7 April 14 (9 p.m.)
Avalanche at Blues Feb. 6 April 14 (9 p.m.)
Wild at Kings Feb. 13 April 23 (10 p.m.)
Devils at Flyers Feb. 11 April 25 (6 p.m.)
Islanders at Capitals March 15 April 27 (7 p.m.)
Flyers at Devils April 1 April 27 (7 p.m.)
Devils at Flyers Feb. 13 May 10 (7 p.m.)

Six additional games will be rescheduled at a later date.

COVID-19 postponements have hit the league hard in the early goings of the season, but deputy commissioner Bill Daly recently said the NHL is confident it can complete the entire 2021 schedule.

Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Blackhawks become 3rd NHL team to partner with PWHPA

The Chicago Blackhawks have partnered with the Professional Women's Hockey Player's Association (PWHPA) and will host two Dream Gap Tour events in March, the team announced Tuesday.

The games will occur on March 6 at the United Center and March 7 at the Fifth Third Arena. The first contest will be aired on NBCSN.

"Our athletes are excited to play at the United Center. More than the game, this partnership helps advance our mission of creating a sustainable pro women's hockey league that showcases the outstanding skills of our athletes and allows young girls to dream just as the boys do today," PWHPA operations consultant Jayna Hefford said.

The Blackhawks are the third NHL franchise to team up with the PWHPA this season, joining the New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs. Chicago also hosted women's hockey events in 2020.

Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Daly confident NHL can finish full season amid wave of postponements

The NHL has faced numerous hurdles with COVID-19 since the season's start just over a month ago. The league has postponed more than 30 games so far, and nearly a hundred players have appeared on the COVID-19 protocol list from 27 different teams.

Despite the setbacks, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly is confident the league will complete its 56-game schedule and finish the campaign on time.

"We have postponed and had to reschedule 35 games. We've been able to do that fairly seamlessly," Daly told ESPN's Greg Wyshynski and Emily Kaplan on Monday. "I hope that the number of postponements and rescheduling goes down as we go forward, but we haven't even really eaten at all into the buffer period we built into the end of the schedule."

Prior to the beginning of the season on Jan. 13, the NHL announced that the regular season would end on May 8, with playoffs starting May 11. The Stanley Cup is expected to be awarded by July 9.

The league has yet to reschedule some postponed games, and the postseason may get pushed back to make up contests at the end of the regular season. Daly said the league prepared for this scenario and included some flexibility when it created the schedule.

"We've always said we want to be done by the middle of July," Daly said. "Whether that's July 10 or whether that's July 20, I couldn't tell you. As I sit here, we have some flexibility. But that's certainly the zone that we're targeting."

Eighteen teams have already played at least a quarter of their season (14 games), while a club like the New Jersey Devils has hit the ice for just nine contests.

With a wave of players being affected by COVID-19 since the season's start, Daly added he isn't shocked by the numbers given the league's size.

"Quite frankly, we have a lot of players involved, right? We have a lot more than the NBA - around 725 players on active rosters plus taxi squad players plus AHL players. There are just a lot of players around," Daly said.

"Would I have hoped for less cases and fewer outbreaks among clubs? The answer to that is yes. Whether I can say it was a surprise to me, I'm not sure it necessarily is."

Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.