They have handed out the Stanley Cup on 101 different occasions, but never like this. reporterchris looks at some storylines to keep an eye on as we prepare for the weird, wonderful, and certainly memorable return of the NHL:
Will it even matter that last year’s finalists, Boston and St.
“None of us have ever been in a series where seven of the teams are staying in the same hotel and it’s like minor hockey where if the game in front of you runs a little bit long you’re kind of waiting for that game to end in overtime or what have you,” said Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas.
And so the Maple Leafs are staying home in Toronto, while the Oilers remain grounded in Edmonton, albeit with none of the usual comforts. Players will move into hotels on July 26 just like everyone else and can only leave the secure zone under the same circumstances set out for all participants. “[We] felt it was unfair that the teams with a bye would not be as well prepared for a playoff series as the teams that had already basically played a playoff series to get into the playoffs,” NHLPA rep Alex Killorn told The Athletic in May.
Both looked more than capable of enduring the hard miles to challenge for it again. But how this layoff treats veteran teams is an open question: On one hand you’d expect the Blues and Bruins to benefit from the rest following the short summer, but they also boast rosters with plenty of fathers and family men who may be conflicted about jumping back into the grind in this manner.
Behind them were Vancouver’s Jacob Markstrom and Edmonton’s Mikko Koskinen , who posted career-best numbers.In fact, you might make the case the biggest beneficiaries from the extended break are the goalies who shouldered the heaviest workloads this year: Hellebuyck and Montreal’s Carey Price , followed by Toronto’s Frederik Andersen , Tampa’s Andrei Vasilevskiy and St. Louis’ Jordan Binnington .
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