After participating in a peaceful protest in Boston on Friday, Bruins captain Zdeno Chara shared some of his thoughts on the growing fight against racism and inequality in America.
"For the last 13 days I have been sick about George Floyd's murder. I have taken time to think and listen," Chara's statement on Saturday read. "Time to find bravery and time to try to find the right words, though I'll admit I'm still struggling.
"First thing is first and let me be clear: I stand with the black community. Black lives matter. There is no room in this world for racism, period."
The 43-year-old Slovakian acknowledged that as a foreigner in America, he's dealt with his share of adversity over the years. But Chara's challenges were "not made harder, or impossible" because of his skin color.
"I will never know what it's like to walk down a street and feel unsafe," his statement continued. "No one should have to experience that feeling. We have to take better care of each other and. Equality must be a priority. Anything less is unacceptable."
Chara made it clear he'll continue to educate himself and others going forward.
"I learned a lot yesterday and had good, honest conversations," he added. "Not only did we take steps in a walk but we made strides in learning and educating together. But it doesn't stop there.
"I will continue to stand - and walk - with you. I have your back."
The NHL has put the finishing touches on its 24-team playoff format.
The league announced Thursday that after the best-of-five play-in rounds, the remaining four series of the playoffs will all be best-of-seven. Teams will also be reseeded after each round, instead of using the traditional bracket.
The reseeding format will ensure that the highest surviving seed will play the lowest surviving seed in the next round, and so on.
The top four seeds in each conference will be determined by the three-game round robin that teams will participate in, with regular-season points percentage acting as the tiebreaker.
The players have been pushing for both items to be implemented in the league's return in order to keep the integrity of the playoffs, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.
There is still no tentative date that the NHL is aiming to return by. The league sent out a memo to teams late in May that it hopes to transition to Phase 2 of its return to play plan in early June, which would allow players to begin voluntarily working out at team facilities.
General manager Kyle Dubas understands there's a lot more that the Toronto Maple Leafs can and should do to help combat systemic racism.
"What the last week has shown us is that merely living a good life yourself and treating other people well yourself ... that's great, but it's not quite good enough in order to enact change in the greater swaths of society," Dubas said Wednesday on Sportsnet's "In Conversation with Ron MacLean."
"I think what we've learned, especially in the last number of days, is that with the Maple Leafs and with our players and with our staff ... we need to be doing more on the anti-racism side of things. Not only with our statements and our words and our tweets and what we put out there but with our actions, and we know that people will be watching us and holding us accountable in that regard."
Dubas added, "I won't hide it, it is reactionary rather than being proactive, which I certainly wish we were. And that's on me ... that we are reacting versus having a plan in place, and it's something that we will be better at as we move ahead."
The 34-year-old believes the onus ultimately falls on him to guide his players and staff in the right direction by providing leadership, education, and proper resources.
"What we're trying to do now is build out a proper protocol where we can educate our entire organization - meaning the Leafs - on what organizations they can get involved with if they want ... and how we can help them moving forward as well as what organizations can help best educate our group," he said.
Dubas is happy with what he's seen so far from his players and staff, many of whom have already reached out to see how they can help.
"One of the most positive movements that we've seen internally ... is that our players and our staff have all been reaching out and asking us what they can actually do rather than what they can say," Dubas said.
He continued, "In the last couple of days, as our players and our staff have asked what more can we do, we've begun to investigate different groups in Toronto, in Canada, and in the United States that our people can be involved with, whether it's donating their time, donating their platform and visibility to those different groups, or financial activism."
Former NHL goaltender Kevin Weekes believes the league can make progress with the multitude of racial issues it faces.
"I want to see people be real - you're real about other things - be real," Weekes said on the "ESPN on Ice with Wyshynski and Kaplan" podcast. "'Hey, you know what? This is a problem,' 'Hey, you know what? We do have qualified women, we do have qualified transgender people, we do have qualified people of color.'"
"... Let's just put the best people in the position," he continued.
"If you have knuckleheads, get them outta there," he added. "Root them out. You're gone. It's a three-year ban, it's a lifetime ban as a managerial person or coach. You're out. Bye. ... If you're a fan (who's racist)? Bye."
Weekes, who spent 11 seasons in the NHL, pointed to some personal experiences to highlight racial issues in hockey.
"If you're at your place of work, and I've had this numerous times, and ironically Philly being one of them - and I love Philly - but I've had this a lot of times. Why are you cheering for Allen Iverson? You're booing Donovan McNabb, but you're still cheering for him. But you're cheering for Allen Iverson, but now you're yelling racial epitaphs at me behind the bench?" Weekes said. "And then you're gonna come after Wayne Simmonds comes and you're gonna cheer for Wayne Simmonds?"
"As a black goalie specifically - and a lot of times, people in Canada will say, 'Oh, well that's an American problem' - they couldn't be any further from the truth," he said.
The now 45-year-old also said he would often be racially profiled on his way to the rink in Canada. He estimates it happened a "minimum 20 times."
"I'd have my goalie pads, and my two sticks, and my goalie bag, and next thing you know, cops pull me over. 'Hey, is this your vehicle? Can we see the license and registration?'" he said.
Weekes became the first black NHL analyst after retiring from the league in 2009. He currently works for the NHL Network.
With 16 teams now set to compete for the final eight postseason spots during the play-in round if the 2019-20 NHL campaign resumes this summer, some clubs will surely be leaning on a netminder to help secure a playoff berth.
Let's take a look at five goalies who can steal a play-in series.
Connor Hellebuyck
Jonathan Kozub / National Hockey League / Getty
The Winnipeg Jets' success this season started and ended with Hellebuyck. He was the team's backbone, carrying the Jets and keeping them in games, all while playing behind a decrepit defense and an injury-riddled squad.
He started the second-most games and finished second in wins. Hellebuyck also put together a 31-21-5 record alongside a .922 save percentage and a 2.57 goals-against average. He did that while facing the league's most shots (1,796) and high-danger shots (509).
The Jets only took on their play-in series opponent, the Calgary Flames, once this season, winning 2-1 in overtime. Hellebuyck shined, turning away 29 of 30 shots. After a hectic season, he would enter the play-in series following a ton of rest, and with a healthy team in front of him.
Pegged as a Vezina Trophy favorite this season, the 27-year-old can absolutely help steer the Jets past Calgary and into the playoffs.
Carey Price
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The unfair advantage the Montreal Canadiens could hold during a short play-in series with Price in net led to plenty of debate. Players have made their fear of Price clear, and they ultimately know best.
While he shows flashes of his former brilliance, Price's play this season was far from what's expected of him. Montreal has worked him hard, with Price leading the league in starts (58), and he's managed a mediocre 27-25-6 record, along with a .909 save percentage and a 2.79 goals-against average. He also trailed only Hellebuyck in shots faced (1,755) and high-danger shots against (469).
Similar to the Jets, the Canadiens will only succeed in their play-in series and take down the Pittsburgh Penguins if Price is in top form.
Sergei Bobrovsky
Eliot J. Schechter / National Hockey League / Getty
Coming into the 2019-20 season, expectations were sky-high for Bobrovsky. He inked a monster seven-year, $70-million contract with the Florida Panthers, and the Russian was seen as the team's missing piece to become a contender. Things didn't go as planned in the Sunshine State, and Bobrovsky failed to find his footing from the get-go.
Entering the season as the league's second-highest-paid goalie, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner posted one of his worst career campaigns, going 23-19-6 with a .900 save percentage and 3.23 goals-against average. Shifting to a new team isn't always easy, and he may have just needed time to settle.
The Panthers dropped all three of their contests this season against the New York Islanders, their play-in series opponent, but fingers can't be pointed at the goaltending. Bobrovsky started two of the three games, logging solid performances while stopping 34 of 36 shots in one outing, and 27 of 29 in the other.
Jacob Markstrom
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Markstrom was enjoying a career-best season for the Vancouver Canucks before getting injured in late February. With time on his side to fully recover and not rush back, Markstrom will look to pick up where he left off if the Canucks-Wild play-in series goes ahead.
The 30-year-old appeared in 43 games this campaign, compiling a 23-16-4 record and a .918 save percentage and 2.75 goals-against average. Before his injury, which would have sidelined him for most of what remained of the season, Markstrom's name was floating around in Vezina talks. He furthered his candidacy with a monster 49-save shutout against the Chicago Blackhawks on Feb. 12.
Markstrom faced the Wild three times this season, and he recorded only one good performance, allowing four goals on 37 shots in one loss, and three goals on 28 shots in the other defeat. He stopped 23 of 24 shots in the win.
The Canucks ranked fourth in the league in shots against per game (33.3), and if their defense can't suppress the Wild's offense, Markstrom will need to step up to the plate.
Elvis Merzlikins
Jeff Vinnick / National Hockey League / Getty
It's not entirely clear how the Blue Jackets will approach their goaltending situation for the team's potential play-in series against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Joonas Korpisalo could get the nod over Merzlikins to kick things off, or the two might split starts. However, Merzlikins put together a great rookie season, and he should be the go-to guy for the time being.
Merzlikins dropped the first eight contests he appeared in this season, but then he excelled when Korpisalo suffered an injury, and the Latvian netminder became the club's undisputed starter. At one point he went on an eight-game win streak, which included five shutouts. He produced a 13-9-8 record, with a .923 save percentage and 2.35 goals-against average in 33 games.
The 26-year-old has yet to face the Leafs in his career, but Merzlikins showed this season he can catch fire at any moment. He'll get the opportunity to continue his impressive rookie season, and will need to bring his A-game against a potent Toronto offense.
Former NHL forward Georges Laraque spoke Tuesday about the ongoing protests across North America in the fight against racism.
"I think racism, if we want it to stop it, it starts with one another, all ourselves. Because if you look at racism, yeah, we can say that some white people are racist towards black people, but there's even black people that are racist," Laraque said on "Oilers Now" with Bob Stauffer.
"If we want things to change, we all have to look at one another in the mirror and tell ourselves, 'OK, what kind of person am I?'" he added. "If I want change in society, I'm gonna start with myself. Accepting the differences because we're all one, we're all equal, and I gotta raise my kid the same way. Because until we all do so, if we don't raise all our kids the right way, things are never going to change and in 10 years we're going to have the same discussion."
Laraque, who retired in 2010, said he experienced racist taunts throughout his career, primarily during his years prior to entering the NHL.
He added that while posting messages on social media to raise awareness is helpful, there won't be actual progress until real action is taken.
"We have to look at one another and say, 'You know what? I'm going to be a change today, I'm going to be a good influence around people that are around me, so that this chain of racism that keeps going is going to stop on my side, on my family, in my circle of friends,'" he said.
The Anaheim Ducks signed defenseman Kodie Curran to a two-year contract, the league announced Monday.
Curran's deal carries an average annual value of $1 million, according to CapFriendly.
The 30-year-old was named MVP and Defenseman of the Year in the Swedish Hockey League this past season. He led all blue-liners with 12 goals and 37 assists in 48 games. His 49 points were the second most in the league.
Curran hasn't played in North America since the 2015-16 season. After spending five campaigns at the University of Calgary, he split one year between the ECHL and AHL. He then spent one season in Norway, one in Denmark, and the last two in Sweden.
Day, who was granted "exceptional status" into the OHL as a 15-year-old, was selected by the Rangers in the third round of the 2016 draft. He's just one of seven players - including John Tavares, Aaron Ekblad, and Connor McDavid - in CHL history to earn the honor.
The 22-year-old failed to crack the Rangers' NHL roster. He's spent the last two seasons in both the AHL and ECHL, amassing 18 points in 62 AHL games during his career.
Buffalo Sabres captain Jack Eichel didn't mince words when speaking about missing the playoffs for the fifth straight season since entering the league in 2015.
"Listen, I'm fed up with the losing and I'm frustrated. It's not an easy pill to swallow right now," Eichel said on a conference call Thursday, according to Postmedia's Michael Traikos. "It's been a tough past couple of months and a tough past five years."
After being selected second overall in the 2015 draft, Eichel quickly transitioned into an MVP-caliber player with the Sabres. In the 2019-20 season, he recorded 36 goals and 42 assists in 68 games.
Despite his individual success, the Sabres have failed to break free from the bottom of the league's standings. Since his rookie season, the team has finished in sixth place in the Atlantic Division twice, seventh once, and eighth twice.
The 23-year-old pointed to the newly developed 24-team playoff format as even more reason for his frustration. The Sabres narrowly missed the cut, sitting at 25th place.
"It adds to the frustration that you can't get to a 24-team playoff," Eichel said. "Our goal at the beginning of the season wasn't to make the 24-team playoff. It was to make a 16-team playoff."
He added: "In a situation like this, a lot of the teams that are going to continue to play. They probably thought they were going to be out of it. They’re going to gain valuable experience. Now we're not one of them. It adds to the frustration. It adds to it a lot."
Eichel has led his team in points over the past four seasons. He's recorded 137 goals and 200 assists in 354 career games.
Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara understands that the 24-team playoff may not be 100% fair, but also recognizes there are bigger things to worry about than the postseason format.
"You can’t really blame anyone or feel that it’s unfair. For us, we have to be grateful for the opportunity we're getting," Chara said, per Sportsnet. "When you kind of look at the real-life perspective, what other people's families, businesses go through … Not everybody is getting the same chance, lots of people lost a lot of financial support, businesses went down and they will never get the same opportunities, so we have to be grateful for the opportunity."
The Bruins were in the driver's seat to win the Atlantic Division prior to the season's pause. At the time of the stoppage, they sat eight points ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning with 12 games left on the schedule.
Under the new playoff format, the Bruins will need to partake in a three-game round robin to determine their seeding. Bruins president Cam Neely said Wednesday that he felt the format was "disappointing" for his team.
Chara added that while the situation to return to play isn't guaranteed, players will need to accept certain risks to compete for the Stanley Cup.
"There is going to be risk involved," Chara said, according to NBC Sports' Joe Haggerty. "We just have to manage what kind of risk we are willing to accept.”
