Since the Montreal Canadiens opened training camp on July 13, Habs fans have been eagerly anticipating when they can see Nos Glorieux on the ice. Today, the NHL and its Quebec broadcast partners, TVA Sports, finally announced when the Habs are going to be back on the ice. An exhibition game between longtime rivals the Toronto Maple Leafs will be aired on July 28 at 7 p.m.After a few long months, the NHL's return-to-play announcement in May sent shockwaves around the league and initiated an intense sequence of preparations.When the hub cities of Edmonton and Toronto were finally decided upon in early July, anticipation ramped up among fans and players alike.Training camps kicked off shortly after the NHL announced its hub cities and for the past week, your Habs have been hard at work, shaking off the rust and getting their games back.While not technically in the playoffs, the Habs will face the Pittsburgh Penguins in a five-game play-in series to determine whether or not they'll make the playoffs.Over the past weekend, the Habs held their first official full-team scrimmage at their Brossard practice facility.The Habs are widely considered as underdogs against the Penguins but some outlets believe they might pull off an upset.Most importantly for the NHL, the play-in series and subsequent playoffs must go off without a hitch and follow the strictest public health regulations.This means that the Habs will have a limited staff on hand and that all players will need to be housed together with careful schedules to ensure no one gets sick.Games will also be hosted in empty arenas with limited contact between players and arena staff.Reports indicate that some Habs players tested positive for COVID-19 but as it stands, the team hasn't released any further details.Habs defenseman Karl Alzner is so far the only Habs player to opt-out of participating in the play-in series against the Penguins.According to the NHL's COVID-19 report on July 6, more than 2,900 tests were conducted league-wide.23 players apparently tested positive.It'll be a tricky thing to navigate and games won't look or sound the same at all, but hey, at least hockey is finally back!
Ruff, who was hired July 9, has coached 19 seasons in the NHL. He is sixth all-time in wins (736) and seventh in games coached (1,493). He'll try to turn around a team that has made the Stanley Cup Playoffs once in the past eight seasons.
But Gasol is determined to take another shot at the NBA. He has spoken before of possibly ending his career with FC Barcelona, where he starred before coming to the United States, but has consistently said he would prefer to remain in the NBA.
The New Jersey Devils are counting on offseason additions, players in the pipeline and a new coach to turn their fortunes around.
"The fact is, if I'm a player and I'm looking at a [salary] cap that's going to be basically flat for the term of what is now a six-year collective bargaining agreement and players for the next five or six years are going to be repaying what was overpaid, they have to ask themselves: Does this make sense?" Bettman said. "Just like there's a lot of issues we have to deal with where we say, does this make sense? Having said that ... what we're focused on is trying to get through the 2020-21 season so we can be back in position for 2021-22 for normalcy. Based off everything we're hearing from the medical experts ... we're hopeful and optimistic that we can return to normalcy by the time we get to '21-22."
Tennessee Titans for NHL Face Masks