The Ontario government has announced its decision to loosen capacity limits in certain indoor and outdoor settings where proof of vaccination is required, allowing professional sports teams in the province to hold 100% capacity at their home games this season.
Before the change, indoor sports venues were only able to operate at 50% capacity up to a limit of 10,000, while the province set the capacity for outdoor sporting events at 75% with a maximum of 30,000 fans.
"As we continue to see more Ontarians roll up their sleeves with over 22 million doses administered, our government is cautiously lifting capacity limits in select settings where we know proof of vaccination requirements are providing an added layer of protection to Ontarians," Deputy Premier and Minister of Health Christine Elliott said in a statement.
The Leafswill open their season on Oct. 13 when they host the Montreal Canadiens, while the Raptors will kick things off at the Scotiabank Arena against the Washington Wizards on Oct. 20.
"Throughout the process of re-opening our venues to fans ... health and safety has been our shared top priority and we are overjoyed to see this day arrive when we are able to welcome a full venue to cheer on the Maple Leafs and Raptors," Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment president and CEO Michael Friisdahl wrote in a statement. "We look forward to a safe and enjoyable season."
The Senators' campaign begins on Oct. 14 at the Canadian Tire Centre versus the Maple Leafs.
The Vancouver Canucks are now the only NHL team in Canada not welcoming a full house. British Columbia is currently allowing 50% capacity at Canucks games.
It carries an average annual value of $10 million, and the Panthers are paying more than $70 million of the total in signing bonuses, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun.
Barkov won the Selke Trophy as the NHL's top defensive forward last season.
Over 50 games in 2021, the 26-year-old tied for ninth in the league with 26 goals and tied for 13th with 58 points. He ranked ninth in the NHL among forwards in average ice time, logging 20:56 per contest.
Barkov also posted stellar underlying numbers, authoring a 59.68 goals for percentage, a 60.86 expected goals for percentage, and a 60.16 scoring chances for percentage at five-on-five.
The Finnish center has one season left on his current contract, which carries a $5.9-million cap hit, according to CapFriendly. He signed that six-year pact with Florida in January 2016.
Barkov has spent his entire eight-year career with the Panthers, who drafted him second overall in 2013.
The Hart Trophy is dominated by forwards, with a center or winger claiming it 17 of the last 18 years.
Since the hardware consistently goes to high-scoring forwards on playoff teams, we can narrow down our player pool while looking for value. Let's get to our best bets.
Player
Odds to win
Connor McDavid
+250
Nathan MacKinnon
+650
Auston Matthews
+850
Nikita Kucherov
+1500
Artemi Panarin
+1900
David Pastrnak
+2000
Sebastian Aho
+2000
Andrei Vasilevskiy
+2100
Brayden Point
+2200
Mikko Rantanen
+2500
Mitch Marner
+2700
Brad Marchand
+3000
Mathew Barzal
+3000
Aleksander Barkov
+3200
Patrick Kane
+3200
Mark Stone
+3300
Kirill Kaprizov
+3400
Alexander Ovechkin
+4200
Jonathan Huberdeau
+4200
Max Pacioretty
+4200
Anze Kopitar
+4500
Cale Makar
+4500
Elias Pettersson
+4500
John Tavares
+4500
Kyle Connor
+4500
Marc-Andre Fleury
+4500
Mika Zibanejad
+4500
Quinn Hughes
+4500
Semyon Varlamov
+4500
Sidney Crosby
+5000
Note: Listed only those 45:1 or less with the exception being Sidney Crosby (+5000), who's referenced in this article.
Nathan MacKinnon (+600)
To win the Hart, you have to pile up the points for a powerhouse team or an underdog that sneaks into the playoffs on the back of its brightest star. MacKinnon definitely fits the former.
The Colorado Avalanche won more games than any other team over the last two years, and it was MacKinnon leading the charge. He produced at an eye-popping 110-point pace in 2019-20 and a 111-point pace this past season.
Though those outputs didn't earn him an MVP, he was firmly in the mix. He finished second to Leon Draisaitl in 2019-20 and third in 2020-21, so it's not as if he's going unnoticed.
If MacKinnon can sustain this level of production and also lead his team to another Presidents' Trophy, he has a strong chance of claiming his first Hart.
Nikita Kucherov (+1500)
I strongly considered Auston Matthews (+850) here - he's averaged 59 goals per 82 games over the last two years - but we're betting numbers rather than players, and more value lies with Kucherov.
Kucherov is one of the most dynamic talents in the league; he recorded 100 points, 128 points, and produced at a 103-point pace in the last three seasons, respectively.
Then, after missing an entire regular season, Kucherov jumped into the playoffs for the Tampa Bay Lightning and didn't skip a beat. He accumulated 32 points in 23 games, which equates to 114 points over a full season. And, again, this was without any game reps to get up to speed. He was thrown into the fire and dominated.
Call me crazy, but I think a consistent 100-plus point producer on a team that's won consecutive Stanley Cups has better than a ~6% chance of winning the Hart.
Sidney Crosby (+5000)
Crosby is a long shot, obviously, but these odds are too extreme. Yes, I realize he's past his peak and banged up right now. But I still see plenty of value here.
He finished fourth in Hart voting last year, and that was while averaging 1.12 points per game, which equates to 92 over a full year. That's impressive, sure, but not extraordinary.
Crosby is expected to miss only a week to start the season. For safety purposes, we can assume he'll miss two weeks. That's only five or six games, which wouldn't hold him back from contending for the award.
I have little doubt Crosby can match last season's output on a per game basis. He's still very much elite.
And he'll get a lot of praise if he can do that because of injury issues in Pittsburgh. The season hasn't even started and the Penguins have already lost star center Evgeni Malkin for at least the first two months.
That means, once again, the weight of the world will rest on Crosby's shoulders. If he can continue to excel offensively, while also garnering praise for his defensive game (perhaps more than deserved), he's going to get attention from voters.
A strong showing - at age 34 - from the longtime face of the league gives him better than a 2% chance of adding to his trophy collection.
Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.
"I have a full year," Forsberg said, according to The Athletic's Adam Vingan. "I feel like you have to play your contract out."
Forsberg is entering the final season of a six-year, $36-million deal. With the Swedish scoring threat not in any rush to sign on the dotted line, his agent, J.P. Barry, reportedly told The Athletic that talks regarding a new contract haven't begun with the Predators.
"The only thing I can worry about is playing as good as I possibly can and help the team win," Forsberg said. "At the end of the day, that's going to put me in the best spot for any negotiations."
The 27-year-old has recorded 385 points across 497 games as a Predator, ranking second among all Nashville skaters since joining the league during the 2012-13 season.
The Predators are potentially staring down a complex offseason following the 2021-22 campaign, as Forsberg and Mattias Ekholm are both set to become unrestricted free agents.
Ekholm has discussed an extension with the Predators all offseason, TSN's Pierre LeBrun said Thursday on "Insider Trading." However, the 31-year-old defenseman and his agent will reportedly shelve negotiations if he isn't signed by the start of the season.
The incident occurred in the second period of Wednesday's exhibition game in Winnipeg. Coleman received a minor penalty for boarding on the play, while Harkins left the game for concussion protocol but managed to return.
Coleman will miss Calgary's final preseason contest Friday, as well as his official debut as a Flame in the team's season opener on Oct. 16 against the Edmonton Oilers. However, he'll be allowed to suit up for Calgary's home opener against the Anaheim Ducks on Oct. 18.
This is the first time Coleman has received supplemental discipline in his NHL career. The 29-year-old signed a six-year deal with the Flames this offseason.
McElhinney spent the bulk of his career as a reliable backup netminder, collecting 94 wins and 12 shutouts in 197 starts while posting a .907 save percentage and 2.83 goals-against average.
Gadjovich, 22, potted 15 goals in 19 games with the AHL's Utica Comets last season. He's played in one career NHL game and racked up 17 penalty minutes.
The Canucks selected Gadjovich in the second round of the 2017 NHL Draft.
Despite having two of the best players on the planet, the Edmonton Oilers have failed to build a true contender over the last several years. Connor McDavid is set to begin his seventh NHL season and has just one playoff series win to his name.
After several significant offseason moves, it's starting to look like a make-or-break year. In this series, we'll examine the club's goalies, blue line, and forward group.
We finish things up with the forwards.
2020-21 stats
Player
GP
G
A
P
Connor McDavid
56
33
72
105
Leon Draisaitl
56
31
53
84
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
52
16
19
35
Zach Hyman*
43
15
18
33
Jesse Puljujarvi
55
15
10
25
Kailer Yamamoto
52
8
13
21
Warren Foegele*
53
10
10
20
Brendan Perlini**
21
9
7
16
Derek Ryan*
43
2
11
13
Colton Sceviour*
46
5
5
10
Tyler Benson**
36
10
26
36
Devin Shore
38
5
4
9
Zack Kassian
27
2
3
5
Kyle Turris
27
2
3
5
Ryan McLeod
10
0
1
1
*Did not play for Oilers last season **Did not play in NHL last season
The good
Codie McLachlan / Getty Images Sport / Getty
Let's start with the obvious. Edmonton possesses the league's most lethal one-two punch and has a chance in any game as long as McDavid and Draisaitl are healthy. That said, the depth behind the big guns has been an issue for much of the McDavid era, and general manager Ken Holland made a notable effort to address it this offseason.
Hyman is a tremendous fit for the Oilers and could post new career highs through the first couple of seasons of his seven-year contract. With Hyman joining Puljujarvi, Yamamoto, and Nugent-Hopkins, the Oilers' top six is formidable, to say the least.
Foegele is a useful addition to a bottom six that's long lacked the capabilities to supplement the Oilers' top dogs. Ryan was a quiet offseason acquisition, but his defensive acumen will be a tremendous asset when Edmonton is on the penalty kill or protecting a lead.
The bad
Jonathan Kozub / National Hockey League / Getty
The Oilers reinforced their offense, but some question marks remain. Veterans like Kassian and Turris must contribute far more consistently if they're to make a difference for the team and maintain everyday roles.
If both can bounce back, there aren't many holes in Edmonton's forward corps.
The grade
Rich Lam / Getty Images Sport / Getty
With questions in goal and on defense, Edmonton's firepower up front is clearly its biggest strength. And with two perennial Art Ross threats leading the charge, it's difficult to grade the Oilers harshly for leaning on what works.
But it can't only be up to McDavid and Draisaitl. The unstoppable duo produced at an otherworldly rate in a condensed campaign against weak competition last season; the Oilers can't rely solely on two players over 82 games against a full slate of opponents. All four forward lines will need to be consistently sharp for Edmonton to overcome its deficiencies on the blue line and in net.
The Oilers are likely to boast one of the league's most prolific offenses and a top power play in 2021-22, but neither was ever in question. How well the new forwards gel - and whether the returning pieces can take a step forward - will be key to Edmonton's success this season.
