Welcome to Puck Pursuit, an interview-style podcast hosted by John Matisz, theScore's national hockey writer.

Subscribe to the show on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Spotify.

Travis Yost, a hockey writer for TSN.ca, joins the show to discuss a variety of topics, including:

• Return-to-play scenarios for the NHL
• Mark Scheifele's Jack Eichel Hart Trophy pick
• Alternative awards: Sophomore of the Year
• Alternative awards: Best Duo
• Alternative awards: Most Improved Player

... and more

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The dates for when the NHL might host its 2020 draft are undetermined, but deputy commissioner Bill Daly informed all teams in a memo that regardless of what's settled upon, it's going to be unfamiliar.

"... The fact of the matter is that whenever we hold the 2020 draft - in early June or ‘shoehorned’ into a short window in October or November - (it) is not going to be a typical NHL draft," Daly said, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

"It is not going to look the same; it is not going to feel the same; and it is not going to be the same," he continued. "While we may know more about next year’s landscape in terms of CBA, salary cap, escrow, etc., in November than we will in June, we are still not going to know everything, and there is still going to be a multitude of questions that have no answers.

"So, any comparison of the 2020 NHL draft to a typical year’s draft is not - and cannot be - an ‘apples to apples’ comparison."

Daly sent the memo to outline why the league prefers to host the draft in June - before the end of the 2019-20 season, if a return to the ice happens at all - rather than waiting until a champion is crowned, which this year could be deep into the fall.

If the draft occurs in June, the NHL has put together multiple ideas to make it fair with the uncompleted seasons, and right now the draft order is unclear.

Among the league's proposed scenarios are using points percentage to determine the draft order, picking only one winner through the lottery system with a maximum move-up of four spots, and giving teams that have traded conditional first-round picks seven days to work out a new solution, according to Friedman.

A decision on the draft is expected next week, Friedman adds.

The 2020 draft was originally slated for Montreal on June 26-27, but it was postponed in March due to COVID-19.

On Thursday, Steve Yzerman, the general manager of the last-place Detroit Red Wings, said he's yet to hear a good reason for why the draft should be held early.

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Before the Calgary Flames selected him with the sixth pick in the 2016 draft, Matthew Tkachuk believed that beginning his career on the opposite side of the Battle of Alberta was a lock.

The Flames' star winger said on Friday he thought the Edmonton Oilers were bound to select him at No. 4.

"Going through the whole draft process, I'm thinking of myself as a pretty good player at the time. You can ask anyone in the Flames organization, I thought I was going to Edmonton," Tkachuk told TSN 1050's "OverDrive." "After the draft, after all that stuff, I thought I was kind of a slam dunk to go fourth that year."

Entering the 2016 draft, the presumptive top three picks were Auston Matthews, Patrik Laine, and Jesse Puljujarvi. The first two picks went as planned, but the Columbus Blue Jackets went off the board at No. 3 and took Pierre-Luc Dubois. That allowed Puljujarvi to fall to the Oilers at No. 4, which many believed was a win for Edmonton.

Right up until the surprise Dubois pick, Tkachuk believed Edmonton was targeting him.

"Some people at the Edmonton table, you could ask them - they'd probably deny it - they were kind of staring me down and kind of giving me smiles," Tkachuk said.

"The only people that saw it were me and my mom, so we were like 'alright, we're going to Edmonton.' Then Pierre-Luc Dubois went third overall and you just see those phones starting to ring like crazy at the Edmonton table," he added. "They threw a jersey underneath the table, looked like they stripped off the name, then gave the jersey to Puljujarvi with the next pick."

The rest is history, and four years later, Tkachuk is the Oilers' No. 1 nemesis following his role in this season's highly publicized battle against Edmonton agitator Zack Kassian.

Looking back now, perhaps the Oilers should have gone with Tkachuk, who's posted 235 points in 293 career games, while Puljujarvi has spent the 2019-20 campaign in Finland after requesting a trade.

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The Boston Bruins signed goaltender Jaroslav Halak to a one-year extension worth $2.25 million, the team announced Friday.

Halak earned $2.75 million this season and was scheduled for unrestricted free agency at the conclusion of the campaign.

The Bruins have other key contributors who were playing on an expiring contract this season. Torey Krug and captain Zdeno Chara are also UFA's, while Jake DeBrusk and Matt Grzelcyk are RFA's.

Since joining the Bruins in 2018, Halak has helped form arguably the NHL's top goaltender duo alongside starter Tuukka Rask. In 71 appearances with Boston, Halak owns a .921 save percentage and a 40-17-10 record.

The soon-to-be 35-year-old previously had stints with the Montreal Canadiens, St. Louis Blues, and New York Islanders.

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Wayne Gretzky painted quite a picture when asked which two current NHLers he'd want as linemates if he could play today.

Jamie Drysdale, a projected top-five draft pick, posed the question to The Great One in a video chat with a collection of 2020 prospects. Gretzky's answer would be a dream scenario for hockey fans.

"There are so many players, that's a tough question," Gretzky said.

"But for me, probably Connor (McDavid) because of his speed, he would open up the ice," he added. "And then (Alex) Ovechkin, because if you get him the puck you know he's going to hit the net or at least have a chance to score. Those two guys would be fun to play with."

Gretzky also referenced Sidney Crosby, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and Leon Draisaitl while mulling over his answer, but ultimately settled on his heir in Edmonton and the man chasing down his all-time goals record.

No. 99's dream line has accumulated a combined 1,762 goals and 4,604 points, and 13 MVP awards.

Good luck slowing that trio down.

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The San Jose Sharks are "in the lead right now" to land KHL goalie Alexei Melnichuk, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun. However, no deal is done yet, and there reportedly remains tons of NHL interest in the 21-year-old netminder.

Melnichuk went 8-5-1 with a .930 save percentage and a 1.68 goals-against average with SKA Saint Petersburg in 2019-20. He was the youngest of SKA's three primary goalies and put up the best numbers of the trio.

Goaltending is a pressing organizational need for the Sharks. Starter Martin Jones is coming off his second straight abysmal season with a sub-.900 save percentage, but he's signed for four more years with a $5.75-million cap hit. With limited cap space, the Sharks can't splurge on a new puck-stopper. Backup Aaron Dell is a pending UFA.

Melnichuk would likely need some seasoning before contending for the starting gig, but the numbers indicate his potential.

One factor that could play into San Jose's ability to persuade Melnichuk to choose the Sharks is Evgeni Nabokov. The longtime NHL netminder is now the Sharks goalie coach. Not only is he a fellow Russian, but he also played for SKA during the 2010-11 season.

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Only an exclusive group of superhuman athletes have ever truly excelled at various sports during their careers. How much do you know about these multi-sport icons? Take our quiz below to find out.

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