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2020 NHL draft class' best at everything: Top skater, shooter, defender and more We finally have a little more clarity on the 2020 NHL draft thanks to the recent announcement from commissioner Gary Bettman. While we had been preparing for a potential early-June draft, there's going to be some more time to sort this class out. But if you're rooting for one of the seven teams that will not be playing any more hockey this season and still have their first-round draft pick (sorry, San Jose), this look at what the top prospects do best among their peers might give you a little appetizer of what will be available.
NHL teams clear to reopen facilities Monday in Phase 2 of return-to-play plan On a "strictly voluntary basis," players can participate in small-group team training, with a maximum of six players at one time plus a limited number of staff members in the facility. This training will include small group sessions for on-ice workouts for players only, with no coaches or other team personnel allowed on the ice. Players must wear face coverings at all times in the facility, except when exercising or on the ice.
Lightning close facility due to coronavirus outbreak General manager Julien BriseBois said in a statement that the players have been self-isolating and "are asymptomatic other than a few cases of low-grade fever." Other players and staffers who have been at the facility are being tested. The Lightning and NHL will figure out how to proceed based on the results of those tests.
Canada to allow NHL to play during pandemic
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland announced Friday that the nation's top public health officer, and health officials in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario had signed off on the NHL plan. The NHL is targeting July 10 to open training camps, with games being played without fans present starting in late July or early August.
The Pittsburgh Penguins announced they are "voluntarily sidelining" nine players from their training camp roster after potential secondary exposure to an individual who tested positive for the coronavirus. NHL training camps opened on Monday, with teams scheduled to travel to hub cities on July 26 and begin games on Aug. 1. The Penguins will face the Montreal Canadiens in a five-game qualification round series. "The team learned of the possible secondary exposure on Sunday, July 12," the Penguins announced in a statement on Monday. "The decision to isolate this group of players was made out of an abundance of caution in an effort to avoid exposure to anyone else within the organization. The nine players will not participate until they are deemed safe in accordance with NHL protocol and further test results."
Oskar Lindblom signs 3-year extension with Flyers worth $9M Lindblom had 11 goals and 18 points in 30 games this season. He will not play again this season. Lindblom, 23, has not played since being diagnosed in December with Ewing's sarcoma, a cancerous tumor that grows in the bones or in the tissue around bones. He underwent his final treatment July 2 in Philadelphia.
Bruce Cassidy wins NHL's coach of year award Cassidy won his first Jack Adams for leading the Bruins to the Presidents' Trophy as the league's best regular-season team. They were six points ahead of the next-closest team in the standings when the season came to a halt in March.
Wild get Nick Bjugstad from Penguins for conditional '21 draft pick Bjugstad, who has 97 goals, 110 assists and 681 hits in 439 career NHL games, will be asked to fill the role of a checking center with the Wild that will presumably be vacated by the retirement of longtime captain Mikko Koivu.
**First Round** Eastern Conference No. 1 Philadelphia beat No. 8 Montreal: 4-2 No. 2 Tampa Bay beat No. 7 Columbus: 4-1 No. 6 New York beat No. 3 Washington: 4-1 No. 4 Boston beat No. 5 Carolina: 4-1 Western Conference No. 1 Vegas beat No. 8. Chicago: 4-1 No. 2 Colorado beat No. 7 Arizona: 4-1 No. 3 Dallas beat No. 6 Calgary: 4-2 No. 5. Vancouver beat No. 4 St.Louis: 4-2
**Conference Semifinals** Eastern Conference No. 6 New York beat No. 1 Philadelphia 4-3 No. 2 Tampa Bay beat No. 4 Boston 4-1 Western Conference No. 1 Vegas beat No. 5 Vancouver 4-3 No. 3 Dallas beat No. 2 Colorado 4-3
**Conference Finals** Eastern Conference
No. 2 Tampa Bay beat No. 6 New York 4-2 Western Conference
No. 3 Dallas beat No. 1 Vegas 4-1