CANTLON’S CORNER: AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT…BUT STILL THE SAME 

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings

HARTFORD, CT – Game on! Well, sort of.

On Tuesday afternoon, NHL commissioner, Gary Bettman announced the outline of a plan to “Return-To-Play” that was agreed to between the players, and the league with the final details still being worked on.

On March 12, 2020, the NHL paused its season over coronavirus concerns. The league played 85 percent of its 2019-20 regular-season schedule (1,082 of 1,271 games) which began in early October.

“At the pause, we committed to resuming play only when it was appropriate and prudent,” Bettman said. “We are hopeful the ‘Return-To-Play’ plan will allow us to complete the season and award the Stanley Cup in a manner in which the health and safety of our players, on-ice officials, team staff, and associated individuals involved are paramount. Accordingly, an essential component of the Plan is a rigorous, regular schedule of testing.

“On the hockey side, the ‘Return-To-Play’ format reflects the league’s extraordinary competitive balance while honoring the tradition and integrity of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

“The ‘Return-To-Play’ plan is the result of weeks of constructive dialogue with the National Hockey League Players’ Association and we are grateful for their cooperation. We also thank our consulting health experts and the local, regional, and national authorities who are helping steer us through a complex set of issues.”

Here is the framework of the ‘Return-To-Play’;

Regular Season

The 2019-20 regular season has been declared concluded through games of March 11. The 189 games originally scheduled from March 12 – April 4 will not be played.

24 teams will resume play: those teams consist of the top 12 in each Conference on the basis of points percentage as of the games played on March 11.

Timeline

Since the League’s pause on March 12, the League has been in Phase 1 with teams having been instructed to self-isolate as much as possible.

Phase 2 – Early June

In early June, it is expected that teams will be permitted to return to home facilities for small groups, voluntary, as well as on-and-off-ice training.

Phase 3 – Not Earlier than First Half of July

It will not begin any earlier than the first half of July when formal training camps will begin after guidance from medical and civil authorities.

Phase 4 – Timing TBD

24 teams in 2 “hub” cities will compete in Seeding Round Robins, a Qualifying Round, and a conference-based Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The 2 “hub” cities will be selected from the following:

– Chicago, IL
– Columbus, OH
– Dallas, TX
– Edmonton, AB
– Las Vegas, NV
– Los Angeles, CA
– Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN
– Pittsburgh, PA
– Toronto, ON
– Vancouver, BC

Each Conference will be assigned a “hub” city with secure hotels, arena, practice facilities, and in-market transportation.

Teams will be limited to 50 personnel in the “hub” city with only a small number of support staff permitted to enter the event areas.

Timing and sites will be determined at a future date and will be dependent on COVID-19 conditions, testing ability, and government regulations.

Competitive Format

In each Conference, teams were seeded based on points percentage.

Round Robin: The top 4 teams will play for First Round seeding (regular-season overtime rules in effect).

Qualifying Round: The remaining 8 teams will play a Best-of-5 series to advance to the First Round (playoff overtime rules in effect)

First Round and Second Round: Format (seeding vs. bracket) and series lengths have yet to be determined.

Conference Finals and Stanley Cup Final: Best-of-7 series

The winners from the Qualifying Round play the top 4 seeds in the First Round. Individual First

Round series matchups remain to be determined.

City 1

Team Conf. Rank P%

1. Boston Bruins: .714
2. Tampa Bay Lightning: .657
3. Washington Capitals: .652
4. Philadelphia Flyers: .645
5. Pittsburgh Penguins: .623
6. Carolina Hurricanes: .596
7. New York Islanders: .588
8. Toronto Maple Leafs: .579
9. Columbus Blue Jackets: .579
10. Florida Panthers: .565
11. New York Rangers: .564
12. Montreal Canadiens: .500

City 1 – Round Robin for Seeding in First Round

1. Boston Bruins
2. Tampa Bay Lightning
3. Washington Capitals
4. Philadelphia Flyers

City 1 – Best-of-5 Qualifying Round

#5 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. #12 Montreal Canadiens
#6 Carolina Hurricanes vs. #11 New York Rangers
#7 New York Islanders vs. #10 Florida Panthers
#8 Toronto Maple Leafs vs. #9 Columbus Blue Jackets

City 2

Team Conf. Rank P%

1. St. Louis Blues: .662
2. Colorado Avalanche: .657
3. Vegas Golden Knights: .606
4. Dallas Stars: .594
5. Edmonton Oilers: .585
6. Nashville Predators: .565
7. Vancouver Canucks: .565
8. Calgary Flames: .564
9. Winnipeg Jets: .563
10. Minnesota Wild: .558
11. Arizona Coyotes: .529
12. Chicago Blackhawks: .514

City 2 – Round Robin for Seeding in First Round

1. St. Louis Blues
2. Colorado Avalanche
3. Vegas Golden Knights
4. Dallas Stars

City 2 – Best-of-5 Qualifying Round

#5 Edmonton Oilers vs. #12 Chicago Blackhawks
#6 Nashville Predators vs. #11 Arizona Coyotes
#7 Vancouver Canucks vs. #10 Minnesota Wild
#8 Calgary Flames vs. #9 Winnipeg Jets

NHL Draft

The NHL also announced the Draft Lottery system will be held after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup expanded playoff version.

PLAYER MOVEMENT

UCONN suffered a big loss to their offense for the upcoming hockey season. Ruslan Iskharov, a 2018 Second-Round pick (43rd overall) by the New York Islanders signed a one-year deal to play in Europe with TPS Turku (Finland-FEL).

Last season as a sophomore with the Huskies, Iskharov scored nine goals and had 21 points in 32 games, the same numbers as his Freshmen year.

It’s the second consecutive year that UCONN has seen a player exit for Europe. Matej Blumel was on campus for three weeks and never played a minute. The Edmonton Oilers draft pick signed a pro deal with HC Litvinov (Czech Republic-CEL).

Iskharov’s signing makes 30 college players who have turned professional in Europe including 25 underclassmen who have left school early.

Springfield’s Donald Audette signs a one-year deal with Lukko Rauma (Finland-FEL) for next year.

Kelly Klima, son of former NHL’er Petr Klima, is expected to leave the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners and head back to the Czech Republic and join his twin brother Kevin on HK Hradec Kralove (Czech Republic-CEL) making 20 AHL players heading for Europe next season. 14 of the league’s 31 teams have seen at least one player sign in Europe.

Brock Beukeboom (Greenwich), the son of former Hartford Wolf Pack assistant coach, Jeff Beukeboom, leaves the Odense Bulldogs (Denmark-DHL) and signs a deal with the Frederikshavn White Hawks (Denmark-DHL) next season.

The Bridgeport Sound Tigers should see three new faces at training camp as the parent NY Islanders signed three draft picks to entry-level contracts. They include Felix Bibeau from Chicoutimi (QMJHL) who was a 2019 sixth-round pick (178th overall) while he was with Rouyn-Noranda. Joining him will be Cole Coskey, the Islanders seventh-round pick (209th overall) in the 2019 NHL Draft. Coskey established career-highs in points (80), goals (34) and assists (46) in 62 games last season with the Saginaw Spirit of the Ontario Hockey League. Finally, Blade Jenkins, the Islanders fifth-round pick (134th overall) in the 2018 NHL Draft, scored 40 points (16 goals, 24 assists) in 47 games last season with the Saginaw Spirit of the Ontario Hockey League. The Jackson, Michigan native posted a career-high plus-12 rating in his third season with Saginaw. In 182 career OHL games, Jenkins recorded 143 points (59 goals, 84 assists). Jenkins, the Islanders fifth-round pick (134th overall) in the 2018 NHL Draft, scored 40 points (16 goals, 24 assists) in 47 games last season with the Saginaw Spirit of the Ontario Hockey League.

The NAHL Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks got three player commitments in Alex Duncan (Northern Cyclones-NCDC), Hank McDonough (Selects Academy at South Kent Prep U-18), and Jason Kleinhans (Kent School-CTPREP).

Three players from Alabama-Huntsville (WCHA) after the program has been terminated, have transferred to other schools. Liam Izyk (Boston College), Tanner Hickey (Arizona St.), and Josh Latta (UMASS-Lowell) who did so two weeks ago prior to the announcement.

The Long Island University Sharks announced on Tuesday that the school has named Colgate Assistant Coach, Brett Riley, to lead the newly added men’s hockey program slated to start with the 2020-21 season. “We are excited that Brett is joining our Shark Nation family,” LIU athletics director Dr. William Martinov Jr. said in a statement. “He has great experience with establishing a new program. He is a fantastic recruiter, and he understands the importance of an exceptional student-athlete experience.” Coaching is a major part of Riley’s family hockey tree as three family members have been the head coach at Army West Point over the past 70 years.

His grandfather, Jack, coached the Black Knights until 1986 when he was replaced by his son, Rob, Brett’s father. Rob Riley, is currently a scout for the NHL Buffalo Sabres and was replaced by his brother, Brian (Brett’s uncle), in 2004. Bill’s son, Bill Riley Jr., was the head coach at UMass Lowell (HE) from 1969 to 1991.

Brett has two cousins that were involved in the college hockey game, Jack (2013-18) and Brendan (2016-20). Both played at Mercyhurst (AHA), while Jack is now an assistant coach at Manhattanville (UCHC).

A native of South Hamilton, Mass., Riley graduated from Hobart College (UCHC that was in the ECAC West in those days) in 2014 with a Bachelor’s degree in history. He was a three-time ECAC West All-Academic Team selection in his four-year career with the Statesmen.

ECHL

There is plenty of speculation that the Montreal Canadians will be fielding an ECHL team in Trois-Rivieres (Three Rivers), Quebec.

The brand new $60 million (Canadian) Colisee de Trois-Rivieres is nearing completion, but like everything else, it too has been affected by COVID-19 and it’s opening will be delayed until December and not September as was initially hoped.

So any team will have to start in 2021-22.

The new building will have 4,390 seats and replaces the old Colisee that seated 2,700. That building was constructed in 1938 with 18 all-important corporate loge seats, two loge areas with universal access, and two VIP lounges.

The Canadiens are looking to extend their brand throughout Quebec and have all their hockey ops their. They appeal to the francophone fan base and are very much interested.

Their practice rink is in Brossard on the South Shore, and their AHL team is in Laval on the North Shore at Place Bell extending it so close to Quebec City 129 kilometers (80 miles) away would stamp the CH further north.

The one hitch is they don’t want the ECHL’s Newfoundland (St. John’s) Growlers owner Dean MacDonald involved.

“The Canadiens are willing to commit to becoming the principal associate for an ECHL team franchise,” said Montreal VP of Hockey Ops and Legal Affairs, John Sedgwick in a letter to the Trois-Rivieres Mayor Jean Lamarche that appeared in a French-language publication Le Nouvelliste Trois-Rivieres on January 16th.

In the same piece, France-Margaret Belanger, the Executive VP of Commercial Affairs for the Canadiens, made remarks to Lamarche stating that the Canadiens want to be involved, but the team wanted no affiliation with MacDonald, who helped run the AHL St. John’s IceCaps along with Glenn Stanford, when Montreal was there before the AHL team was moved to Laval.

Former NHL’er and local native, Marc-Andre Bergeron, who’s the owner of the local independent Can-AM minor league baseball team (the Aigles-Eagles), and a part NASCAR owner, has been hired by MacDonald’s group to work with the facility to become the main tenant. Perhaps they intend on purchasing an existing ECHL franchise and relocating them. That would seem like a logical business decision.

Last week, in a virtual meeting, progress seemed to have been made between the city and the representatives to bring minor pro hockey to the new arena.

“It was a very cordial meeting. It feels like we are on the same wavelength. It is moving forward. It remains complex as a file since there are catering, events, a ticket office that are involved, in particular, so there are points to be clarified before we can tie it all, except that I am confident that we are going in the right direction,” Bergeron stated. He is being assisted by consultant Mark Weightman, a former Montreal Alouettes executive at this meeting. “I think his presence was appreciated by the City. He can be useful in many sectors, with his experience. He was very involved in today’s discussion.” in a story published by Le Nouvelliste Trois Rivieres on May 19th.

Lamarche also wants the local college team at UQTR (the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivieres) Patriotes to play in the building, but the 14 home games in Canadian college hockey is not much, so a second major hockey tenant is needed.

The QMJHL is available, but they have said the league is not interested in expanding the arena located at the junction of Route 55 and 40 and is 30 kilometers (18.5 miles) from Shawinigan.

That Cataractes who had a great rivalry with the former Q team in the city, the Draveurs-Loggers (the first four years were called the Duc-Duke) (1969-1992) would need to be paid a territorial compensation if they went the junior route.

The QMJHL Commissioner of 30 years, Gilles Courteau, is a big proponent of the ECHL team in TR as it will allow a first pro step in Quebec for Q players and those who want to take the collegiate route would have UQTR there as well in an article in publication Le Nouvelliste Trois-Rivieres on January 26th.

The city of Montreal is 150 kilometers (93 miles) away and it makes perfect sense to have a team close enough to Laval for movement of several Canadiens prospects and injury recalls.

Finding several regional owners for an ECHL team in Trois Rivieres should be fairly easy to share the hockey ops and business expenses with the Canadiens with their vast fortune chipping in to make the difference.

The ECHL should also find good solid ownership to revive Manchester, NH market, and help complete the 32-32-32 hockey puzzle with the NHL and AHL that has been desired.

The local rink, the Jean-Guy Talbot Arena was built in the 1960’s was named for the defenseman who played for the Canadiens from 1955-1967 and played over 1,000 NHL games.

Jean Guy-Talbot 87, was the Rangers coach for one season (1977-78), the new Colisee will have a second rink to help local minor hockey.