Ottawa Senators general manager Pierre Dorion is eagerly anticipating the NHL draft lottery, so much so that he's been using a simulator to conduct his own on a daily basis.
"Every morning, it's part of my routine," Dorion said Tuesday during a video conference call, according to Ian Mendes of TSN. "When we get one and two I stop. So, some days it takes a few minutes longer, but wherever we pick we know we're going to get three great players in the first round, especially two hopefully in the top five."
Dorion and the Senators hold three picks in the first round of this year's draft and can expect two of them - their own and the pick acquired from San Jose Sharks in the deal for Erik Karlsson - to be high-end selections. Based on the league standings when the NHL suspended play on March 12, the Senators own the second-best odds to win the lottery and the Sharks' chances are third-best.
The draft, originally scheduled for June 26-27 in Montreal, has been postponed indefinitely, but Dorion said the Senators will be prepared whenever it does proceed. He added that though Ottawa's scouting reports are incomplete due to the halting of hockey seasons worldwide, he's confident in his organization's ability to draft quality prospects.
"Now what we're doing is watching a lot of video of players," Dorion said. "It's good for us because when you've seen the players play and then you add the video element to it - which is what our scouts are doing - it will prepare us even better for this upcoming draft.
"For sure, we planned on doing some scouting after the trade deadline. But our scouting is in great hands under (chief amateur scout) Trent Mann. ... Under his tutelage, our scouts know what they needed to do."
Tampa Bay Lightning bench boss Jon Cooper insists he doesn't give much thought to last spring's embarrassing first-round sweep against the Columbus Blue Jackets, but with the current season suspended, he's hoping his 2019-20 squad gets its shot to compete for the Stanley Cup.
"That's, gosh, over a year ago," Cooper said of the sweep, according to The Athletic's Joe Smith. "There has been a lot of time in between. To be honest, I haven't even thought about that until you brought it up.
"We're a pretty focused group. For some teams, the season ending abruptly is just a turn of the page for next year. And there are a bunch of teams that this season stopping is getting in the way of people's unfinished business. I say we're in that group, but there's others too."
With the NHL campaign currently on pause, Tampa Bay sits second in the Atlantic Division. And after winning the Presidents' Trophy before bowing out last year, Cooper says his club hasn't taken its success for granted this time around.
"I just think our mentality was a little bit different. Last year, we had more of a feeling of, 'Oh, we’re bulletproof.' And this year, we don’t feel like that at all. There was an urgency level to this team that's heightened."
The season was officially suspended on March 12, and its status remains unclear. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said the league is continuing to explore all options, and that players would need at least two-to-three weeks of training camp if the campaign does resume.
The Edmonton Oilers and the family of the late Colby Cave have established a fund to carry on his memory, the club announced Tuesday.
Proceeds will be donated to community programs with an emphasis on mental health initiatives, and those that give underprivileged children access to sports.
Cave, who died at the age of 25 on Saturday after suffering a brain bleed earlier in the week, was a "committed and positive member of the communities in which he played, eagerly volunteering for charitable initiatives and always stopping to say hi to fans," according to the team.
The forward's death elicited an immediate outpouring of grief from all corners of the hockey world. Residents in his hometown of Battleford, Saskatchewan also showed support upon the family's return to the province by lining a local highway on Monday.
This week, theScore's hockey editors are evaluating the best captains from each NHL club since the 2000-01 season. The selections are based on individual and team success, as well as popularity and the character shown by the choices during their tenures in this era. The Vegas Golden Knights aren't included because they've never named a captain.
Scott Niedermayer may not have served as the Ducks' captain for as long as Ryan Getzlaf, but it's impossible to argue against the results that came with Niedermayer wearing the "C."
After winning multiple Stanley Cups with the New Jersey Devils, Niedermayer was the piece that pushed Anaheim over the top, helping the Ducks claim the title in 2007 while winning the Conn Smythe Trophy along the way. Niedermayer also posted his best individual seasons while captaining the Ducks, recording the three highest point totals of his career.
Arizona Coyotes
Christian Petersen / Getty Images Sport / Getty
Shane Doan was the Coyotes' unquestioned leader and face of the franchise for much of his career. He was the team's captain for 13 of his 21 seasons while spending his entire NHL career with the organization before retiring in 2017.
The former forward is the team's all-time leader in goals, assists, points, and games played. While Arizona didn't experience much playoff success during his time as captain, Doan helped the club make three straight postseason appearances from 2010 to 2012 (the Coyotes' only three berths since 2001-02), including a run to the Western Conference Final in 2012.
Calgary Flames
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If you created an NHL captain in a laboratory, they probably still wouldn't be as well suited for the role as Jarome Iginla.
The Flames' all-time leading scorer was everything you could ask for in a leader. If his team needed a big goal, the two-time "Rocket" Richard Trophy winner would find the back of the net. If a flip in momentum was required, the captain would deliver a thunderous hit. Mess with his teammates? Be prepared to eat some knuckles.
Calgary made the playoffs in each of Iginla's first five seasons donning the "C," with a run to the 2004 Stanley Cup Final highlighting that stretch.
Edmonton Oilers
Andy Devlin / National Hockey League / Getty
Some well-respected, blue-collar players have led the Oilers over the last couple of decades, including Jason Smith, Ethan Moreau, and Shawn Horcoff. However, the franchise hasn't had a leader like Connor McDavid since Mark Messier and Wayne Gretzky were around.
McDavid is the new face of the NHL. He's handled some rough times in Edmonton with maturity, and his fearless work ethic was shown during McDavid's grueling knee rehab this past summer. He's the no-brainer choice.
Los Angeles Kings
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While Anze Kopitar is clearly the superior player, the Kings enjoyed their best years with Dustin Brown as their captain, claiming the Stanley Cup in 2012 and 2014.
Brown isn't a superstar, but he was the heart and soul of a mostly competitive squad as Los Angeles' captain for eight seasons. Meanwhile, the more talented Kopitar's production has been inconsistent during his nearly four campaigns wearing the "C," and the Kings have been one of the NHL's worst teams over the last two years, though that's certainly not the veteran's fault alone.
Conversely, with Brown leading the charge, the Kings made the playoffs five straight times from 2010 to 2014, including a conference-final berth in 2013 between their Stanley Cup wins.
All three produced remarkably similar point totals during those spans, with Pavelski registering 276 points, Thornton notching 263, and Marleau collecting 283. However, Pavelski gets the edge due to his postseason results, with the team advancing as far as the conference finals twice during his tenure, including the franchise's only trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 2016.
Vancouver Canucks
Jeff Vinnick / National Hockey League / Getty
Henrik Sedin took over as captain from Roberto Luongo (remember that fun experiment?) for the 2010-11 season, beginning his run as the greatest captain in Canucks history.
Vancouver went to the Stanley Cup Final that season in its first of back-to-back Presidents' Trophy-winning campaigns. Hank posted 498 points in 602 games as captain, and his No. 33 was appropriately retired alongside his twin brother Daniel's No. 22 this past season.
Two-time Stanley Cup champion Kris Versteeg announced his retirement from professional hockey Tuesday.
“What a run it was," he said in a statement. "A kid from North Lethbridge who played on the streets every day, dreaming of playing in the NHL."
The 33-year-old spent 11 seasons in the NHL, last appearing in the 2017-18 campaign. He spent the majority of the last two seasons playing overseas.
Versteeg was a part of the 2010 Chicago Blackhawks' Cup-winning squad, tallying 14 points in 22 games during the playoffs. He was one of the club's many cap casualties after that season, getting traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs. His time with Toronto was short-lived, as he was dealt to the Philadelphia Flyers later that season before getting traded again to the Florida Panthers the following year.
The 5-foot-11 winger missed out on the second Stanley Cup of Chicago's dynasty in 2013 but returned to the Windy City in time to hoist the trophy in 2015. Following that season, he bounced around between the Carolina Hurricanes, Los Angeles Kings, and the Calgary Flames before his NHL career came to an end.
Versteeg tallied four 20-goal seasons, two 50-point seasons, and a total of 358 points in his 643-game career.
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The NHL's self-quarantine recommendation has been prolonged through April 30, the league announced Tuesday.
It had previously instructed players, coaches and staff to do so through April 15.
Kittle has a budding bromance with Nashville Predators forward Filip Forsberg, who both spend most of their summers in Nashville. They were introduced through their girlfriends.
"It's been really fun to be friends with someone in another sport. I think hockey is the hardest sport because I can't skate to save my life. I don't understand how they can move like they do," Kittle told The Athletic's Adam Vingan. "I have an appreciation for it, and being able to be a friend with one of the best hockey players in the NHL has been pretty cool for me."
Kittle's position requires a unique skill set in which he's forced to block like an offensive lineman but catch passes like a wide receiver. He was named an All-Pro after his second straight 1,000-yard season and helped the Niners reach the Super Bowl.
Despite possessing rare athleticism of his own, Kittle is blown away by what Forsberg and other NHLers are able to do on the ice.
"The fact that Fil is more comfortable on skates than he is on land or grass is just insane to me," Kittle said. "I have the fake ice and a hockey goal and I get out and shoot sometimes, especially now when I'm stuck at home. I don't know how they do that stuff while on skates. Everything that they do, they're playing at high speed at all times. It's physical. It's a grind. It's a ton of games. You're traveling everywhere. I just respect the grind.
"I just respect the whole game of hockey. I think, honestly, it's just a beautiful masterpiece when it's played well."
