EDMONTON — Kris Knoblauch speaks softly but the Edmonton Oilers’ coach carries balls the size of an Athabasca oil sands dump truck. To anyone who counts the decision as an obvious one to send out Cal Pickard for his first career Stanley Cup playoff start after the Oilers’ heart-stopping, 3-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night, well, should we count the ways that could’ve blown up? Knoblauch would have been second-guessed until the cows came home. Bet another spring of Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid magic on a 32-year-old journeyman who hasn’t been good enough or...…EDMONTON — Kris Knoblauch speaks softly but the Edmonton Oilers’ coach carries balls the size of an Athabasca oil sands dump truck. To anyone who counts the decision as an obvious one to send out Cal Pickard for his first career Stanley Cup playoff start after the Oilers’ heart-stopping, 3-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night, well, should we count the ways that could’ve blown up? Knoblauch would have been second-guessed until the cows came home. Bet another spring of Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid magic on a 32-year-old journeyman who hasn’t been good enough or...WW…

The contenders for Lord Stanley’s cup have been culled by half, eight teams left to sift through the rubble as they head into the offseason after a tantalizing two-week taste of the playoffs. With that, here are eight burning questions facing the eight NHL teams eliminated in Round 1: Certainly, Juuse Saros’ play in the Preds’ first-round loss to the Canucks took that conversation to another decibel level. It’s not that Saros struggled against Vancouver, it’s just that he appeared to be entirely gettable. Part of the reason you fend off offers for Saros at the trade deadline like GM Barry...…The contenders for Lord Stanley’s cup have been culled by half, eight teams left to sift through the rubble as they head into the offseason after a tantalizing two-week taste of the playoffs. With that, here are eight burning questions facing the eight NHL teams eliminated in Round 1: Certainly, Juuse Saros’ play in the Preds’ first-round loss to the Canucks took that conversation to another decibel level. It’s not that Saros struggled against Vancouver, it’s just that he appeared to be entirely gettable. Part of the reason you fend off offers for Saros at the trade deadline like GM Barry...WW…

Making preseason NHL predictions is a lot like throwing darts at your local watering hole on Tuesday nights. There will be the rare bullseye, many more misses, and some shots that just make you look plain drunk. Every season, there are at least a few things that happen that almost no one saw coming – like the Vancouver Canucks challenging for a Pacific Division title or Zach Hyman scoring 54 goals. With just a few days left on the regular season slate, it’s time to look back, audit our 32 bold predictions from October and add up all the scores: 1. Connor Bedard will become the...…Making preseason NHL predictions is a lot like throwing darts at your local watering hole on Tuesday nights. There will be the rare bullseye, many more misses, and some shots that just make you look plain drunk. Every season, there are at least a few things that happen that almost no one saw coming – like the Vancouver Canucks challenging for a Pacific Division title or Zach Hyman scoring 54 goals. With just a few days left on the regular season slate, it’s time to look back, audit our 32 bold predictions from October and add up all the scores: 1. Connor Bedard will become the...WW…

Odds byScotiabank Arena, Getty ImagesTSN Senior Hockey ReporterThe NHL and NHL Players’ Association have finalized a tentative agreement on Phase 3 and 4 protocols to open training camps and resume the 2019-20 season inside secure “bubbles” in Toronto and Edmonton.The two sides continue to hammer out language and details for memorandum of understanding (MOU) on an imminent, new six-year Collective Bargaining Agreement. When that is agreed upon, the entire package - the Phase 3 and 4 protocols and CBA extension - will need to be ratified by both the NHL’s Board of Governors and the...…Odds byScotiabank Arena, Getty ImagesTSN Senior Hockey ReporterThe NHL and NHL Players’ Association have finalized a tentative agreement on Phase 3 and 4 protocols to open training camps and resume the 2019-20 season inside secure “bubbles” in Toronto and Edmonton.The two sides continue to hammer out language and details for memorandum of understanding (MOU) on an imminent, new six-year Collective Bargaining Agreement. When that is agreed upon, the entire package - the Phase 3 and 4 protocols and CBA extension - will need to be ratified by both the NHL’s Board of Governors and the...WW…

Odds byAlex Pietrangelo, Icon Sportswire/Icon Sportswire/Getty ImagesTSN Senior Hockey ReporterIs it even still Canada Day if there is no Free Agent Frenzy to watch?For the first time since 2013, when the NHL was readjusting after a lockout-shortened season, there will be no rush to ink contracts today at 12:00 pm ET and dole out hundreds of millions of dollars.The NHL and NHL Players’ Association will still be busy, working through the holiday to hammer out a new Collective Bargaining Agreement in the hopes of finalizing a return to the ice later this month.But that leaves more than...…Odds byAlex Pietrangelo, Icon Sportswire/Icon Sportswire/Getty ImagesTSN Senior Hockey ReporterIs it even still Canada Day if there is no Free Agent Frenzy to watch?For the first time since 2013, when the NHL was readjusting after a lockout-shortened season, there will be no rush to ink contracts today at 12:00 pm ET and dole out hundreds of millions of dollars.The NHL and NHL Players’ Association will still be busy, working through the holiday to hammer out a new Collective Bargaining Agreement in the hopes of finalizing a return to the ice later this month.But that leaves more than...WW…

Odds byNHL Bubble, Getty ImagesTSN Senior Hockey ReporterAs much as he’s appreciated the NHL’s well-constructed bubbles in Toronto and Edmonton to award a Stanley Cup in 2020, Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper conceded Monday that it has been a grind.“Probably the best part of this thing will be when we check out,” Cooper said.The moving trucks are parked and ready to break it all down, whenever the bubble bursts this week in Edmonton and the Stanley Cup is hoisted.Now that they’ve pulled it off – with more than 33,000 negative tests conducted on players and team staff over the past...…Odds byNHL Bubble, Getty ImagesTSN Senior Hockey ReporterAs much as he’s appreciated the NHL’s well-constructed bubbles in Toronto and Edmonton to award a Stanley Cup in 2020, Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper conceded Monday that it has been a grind.“Probably the best part of this thing will be when we check out,” Cooper said.The moving trucks are parked and ready to break it all down, whenever the bubble bursts this week in Edmonton and the Stanley Cup is hoisted.Now that they’ve pulled it off – with more than 33,000 negative tests conducted on players and team staff over the past...WW…

Odds byPietrangelo/Hall/Krug, Getty ImagesTSN Senior Hockey ReporterCommissioner Gary Bettman reiterated the NHL’s desire for a full 82-game regular season last weekend, but the possibility of a shortened 2020-21 season has free agents bracing for impact ahead of a most unusual Free Agent Frenzy.The uncertainty surrounding next season will also likely give way to a new trend in structuring free agent contracts.That lack of input in structure is reportedly one of the reasons why the St. Louis Blues have been unable to reach an agreement with captain , who remains the No. 1 player on TSN’s...…Odds byPietrangelo/Hall/Krug, Getty ImagesTSN Senior Hockey ReporterCommissioner Gary Bettman reiterated the NHL’s desire for a full 82-game regular season last weekend, but the possibility of a shortened 2020-21 season has free agents bracing for impact ahead of a most unusual Free Agent Frenzy.The uncertainty surrounding next season will also likely give way to a new trend in structuring free agent contracts.That lack of input in structure is reportedly one of the reasons why the St. Louis Blues have been unable to reach an agreement with captain , who remains the No. 1 player on TSN’s...WW…

Odds byOliver Ekman-Larsson, The Canadian PressTSN Senior Hockey ReporterThe message was simple yet still jaw-dropping. When asked to size up the trade market as a whole, this is how one NHL general manager framed it on Wednesday:“The number of franchise-changing players available or being talked about each day is astonishing,” the GM said. “It’s just that no one has any room for them.”Welcome to the 2020 version of the NHL’s off-season with a frozen $81.5 million salary cap.There are now more than 50 names in play on the latest TSN Trade Bait board.Each team has an incredible number of...…Odds byOliver Ekman-Larsson, The Canadian PressTSN Senior Hockey ReporterThe message was simple yet still jaw-dropping. When asked to size up the trade market as a whole, this is how one NHL general manager framed it on Wednesday:“The number of franchise-changing players available or being talked about each day is astonishing,” the GM said. “It’s just that no one has any room for them.”Welcome to the 2020 version of the NHL’s off-season with a frozen $81.5 million salary cap.There are now more than 50 names in play on the latest TSN Trade Bait board.Each team has an incredible number of...WW…

Odds byTampa Bay Lightning, The Canadian PressTSN Senior Hockey Reporter“Tampa has asked to do it a little bit different this year,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said before presenting Lord Stanley’s silver chalice - and, well, who could argue? It is 2020, after all.And so, the Bolts bound around Bettman before he passed the Stanley Cup to captain and for one brief second the Tampa Bay Lightning captured an iconic moment together.Pyrotechnics exploded as Stamkos effortlessly hoisted 34.5 lbs of heaven that wiped away five years of failure and one of hockey’s most embarrassing defeats....…Odds byTampa Bay Lightning, The Canadian PressTSN Senior Hockey Reporter“Tampa has asked to do it a little bit different this year,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said before presenting Lord Stanley’s silver chalice - and, well, who could argue? It is 2020, after all.And so, the Bolts bound around Bettman before he passed the Stanley Cup to captain and for one brief second the Tampa Bay Lightning captured an iconic moment together.Pyrotechnics exploded as Stamkos effortlessly hoisted 34.5 lbs of heaven that wiped away five years of failure and one of hockey’s most embarrassing defeats....WW…

Odds byVirtanen, Kerfoot and Bennett, Getty ImagesTSN Senior Hockey ReporterWatching the Vegas Golden Knights nearly skate to their second Stanley Cup Final in three seasons of existence should have been a reminder to 31 other NHL teams that the Kraken are coming.NHL commissioner Gary Bettman unequivocally said on Saturday that the Seattle Kraken will debut in 2021-22 – one start date unfazed by the pandemic.The lesson is clear: The teams that waited until the last moment to get comfortable with their 2017 Expansion Draft protected list lot were leveraged by Vegas into unforced errors.That...…Odds byVirtanen, Kerfoot and Bennett, Getty ImagesTSN Senior Hockey ReporterWatching the Vegas Golden Knights nearly skate to their second Stanley Cup Final in three seasons of existence should have been a reminder to 31 other NHL teams that the Kraken are coming.NHL commissioner Gary Bettman unequivocally said on Saturday that the Seattle Kraken will debut in 2021-22 – one start date unfazed by the pandemic.The lesson is clear: The teams that waited until the last moment to get comfortable with their 2017 Expansion Draft protected list lot were leveraged by Vegas into unforced errors.That...WW…