31 Thoughts: Will NHL players suit up at 2022 Winter Games?

• IOC, IIHF clearing roadblocks for NHL involvement at 2022 Games• Leafs play waiting game with defencemen• Buffalo may make moves around the periphery

Before we really get into the meat of this blog: If it hadn’t been for the great work by Anaheim’s training staff, St. Louis’s training staff, and Anaheim’s doctor and paramedics, there would be an awful feeling around the sport on Wednesday. There aren’t enough superlatives to describe this performance under pressure. All the best to Jay Bouwmeester and his family.

There is a saying I love: “The surest predictor of future behaviour is… past behaviour.” And when it comes to the NHL’s Olympic participation, that behaviour is all about peace.

The NHLers first went to the Games in 1998. Prior to that, both the league and the NHLPA agreed to waive rights to re-open the CBA to ensure no disruption.

The last opportunity was 2018. Yes, there was the fight over travel costs, insurance, hospitality and marketing rights, but, 15 months beforehand, the NHL made it clear it would agree to Olympic participation in exchange for a CBA extension. The proposal was not accepted, and the league passed. (Both sides must sign off on going.)

Last week, the International Olympic Committee and the International Ice Hockey Federation threw a Trevor Bauer curveball into NHL/NHLPA haggling over the 2022 Beijing Games. According to a couple of sources, it was made clear there was a commitment to coverage of charters, hosting, hotels, etc. There were also opportunities presented for use of the Beijing Olympic logo and event highlights across NHL/NHLPA platforms, a breakthrough both wanted. The IOC is notoriously stingy about access for non-rightsholders. Think of a mother bear protecting her cub.

“These discussions were encouraging and there were some proposals put forth on the issues,” IIHF Communications Manager Adam Steiss wrote in an email. “However nothing was confirmed by any of the parties involved, and more work needs to be done to get the NHL players back to the Olympic Games.”

Translation: Both sides know what’s on the table; we need a written agreement. Oh, and the league/players have to get to the altar.

The proposals came as a surprise, since, as recently as October, the IOC/IIHF weren’t indicating this level of co-operation. What changed things? There are lots of theories, from the IOC feeling the hockey tournament isn’t as good to Olympic/NHL rightsholder NBC demanding it to China itself being determined to put on the best show to improve its international reputation. Whatever the case, with compromise imminent, the NHL shifted the focus, moving from costs and marketing to labour. That irritated the players, especially since the current CBA is now locked in until at least Sept. 15, 2022 — almost seven months after the Beijing Olympics conclude.

There’s zero reason to consider playing any further regular-season or exhibition games in China if this opportunity disappears. It’s a waste.

As one source pointed out, there’s technically no end date to the CBA. According to Article 3, Section 3.1, “This Agreement… shall remain in full force and effect until midnight New York time on September 15, 2022, and shall remain in effect from year-to-year thereafter unless and until either party shall deliver to the other a written notice of termination of this Agreement at least 120 days prior to September 15, 2022 or not less than a like period in any year thereafter.”

Both sides could choose to keep going on a year-to-year basis as long as they wish. Clearly, the NHL wants more of a guarantee than that. (I suspect keeping the peace into the next U.S. television deal is a significant factor.)

When the league cancelled on South Korea, there was disappointment, but I also heard from plenty of people who understood the reasoning from a business/financial point of view. Eliminating that concern puts the NHL in position for public flogging, which is one reason I’m inclined to believe it gets worked out. Another is that the players signalled last September they are not anxious for a fight when they voted not to re-open the CBA.

Both spent Monday and Tuesday in bargaining sessions, with more scheduled for next week. At All-Star Weekend, Commissioner Gary Bettman was asked about a deadline for announcing participation.

“I’ll know it when I see it, when we get there,” he answered. “Obviously first and foremost it has to do with releasing a schedule, right? That’s the game-changer one way or the other.”

For this season, the schedule was released on June 25, 2019.

31 THOUGHTS

1. Ultimately, credit goes to the players, who have gutted it out and put the Jets in playoff contention during a challenging season, led by Connor Hellebuyck. But here’s why I’m a Paul Maurice truther: It would have been easy for the vibe around Winnipeg to be toxic with everything that happened at the start of the year. Maurice would not let that occur. The coach sets the tone. The players take it from there. Well-deserved extension.

2. When it comes to Shea Weber, sounds like Montreal’s philosophy is, “Hope for the best, brace yourself for the worst.” The Canadiens await a clear timeline.

3. In Ottawa, most of the trade talk surrounds Jean-Gabriel Pageau, but if there’s an increased presence around AHL Belleville this weekend, there’s a logical explanation. Max Veronneau is expected to return from injury, and he is available. A year ago, he was a heavily recruited NCAA free agent. The Senators have a large prospect pool, and it is not easy to carve your place.

4. Edmonton made it clear in the Taylor Hall sweepstakes they weren’t interested in moving their first-rounder for a rental. I’m not convinced they’d want to move Jesse Puljujarvi for one. They don’t want to touch their top defence prospects. I don’t think any of that changes with Connor McDavid injured. The only way I’d see any of that changing is if a difference-maker with term or team control is in the picture.

5. Talks are underway between the Rangers and Chris Kreider, although New York continues to do its due diligence on his trade value.

6. In Buffalo, there’s a lot of talk about what major moves the Sabres can make, although there’s a decent chance they make moves around the periphery of their lineup. Among those who’d garner interest: recently acquired Michael Frolik, Johan Larsson (playoff nastiness written all over him), Evan Rodrigues and Conor Sheary.

7. Minnesota GM Bill Guerin’s first words to Calen Addison after the trade from Pittsburgh: “Did you miss me?”

Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman talk to a lot of people around the hockey world, and then they tell listeners all about what they’ve heard and what they think about it.

8. Guerin told the Star-Tribune’s Sarah McLellan, “If there is quit, there will be more trades,” but the Wild told him not to worry with a 4–0 shutout of Vegas. What he’s hoping for is the the Ryan Donatos, Jordan Greenways and Luke Kunins take advantage of Jason Zucker’s move to Pittsburgh. (Left unsaid is that it also creates a 2020–21 opening for Kirill Kaprizov.)

“Don’t assume more is coming,” the GM said. “That’s not necessarily the case.”

Guerin wouldn’t discuss specifics, but, according to industry buzz, the most asked-about player on his roster is Jonas Brodin, followed by Mathew Dumba. (I’d bet there’s a bit for Marcus Foligno, too.) I don’t get the sense he’s inclined to do anything with either, unless it involves an elite centre, or maybe a No. 2 centre, providing that includes something extra — like a couple of first-rounders or something along those lines.

Whatever the case, Guerin could have made several moves already, but showed patience. The biggest beneficiary may be the Wild itself, because it would have been easy to give up on Kevin Fiala, now on a tear.

“Big difference,” Guerin said. “He’s driven.”

9. I once had a conversation with Kevin Lowe about trading with Glen Sather after the latter left for Manhattan. Lowe talked about the various emotions you go through making your first major trades, especially if it is with a friend/mentor. I asked Guerin if he was concerned about making a deal with Rutherford, his former boss.

“No,” he answered. “I know that with Jim, you’re going to get a fair shake.”

10. What is it with Florida defencemen who score as forwards? Mark Pysyk had a career night last week in Toronto, with a hat trick in a critical win. Michael Matheson had a goal and two assists in another huge victory, Tuesday against the Devils. Matheson has six more years to go on a contract with a $4.875-million AAV, but the cash goes up towards the end. The Panthers have explored the market for him, and I think there are teams that do like him. But the contract complicates it.

11. Toronto will likely wait until an upcoming doctor’s appointment for Morgan Rielly before deciding what to do with any cap room due to long-term injury. They probably won’t have clarity on Cody Ceci until after the deadline. And they continue to negotiate with Jake Muzzin.

12. I don’t think Anaheim is particularly interested in moving their key pieces — from Josh Manson, to Cam Fowler, to Hampus Lindholm, to Jakob Silfverberg, to Rickard Rakell. You’re really going to have to move the needle. Ondrej Kase is a possibility, and there are teams who like him — although he has missed two straight games after being hit by Muzzin. I could see contenders eying Derek Grant. He’s had a strong year and doesn’t come at an enormous cost.

13. Last week, I mentioned the Devils looking at “hockey trades,” not just rentals. I think they are looking for young players, maybe guys who would get more of an opportunity there than in their current situation. Players who can grow with Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes.

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14. Nashville’s going to have an interesting decision with Mikael Granlund. Just as they play themselves into a playoff spot, they play themselves out of it. Granlund had a shift in Calgary that was as good as any I saw this season. He’s only increased his value to them, or to someone else.

15. The Winnipeg Free Press’s Mike McIntyre had a trade rumour last week involving Kyle Connor and Bowan Byram. (The actual one I heard was Connor for Byram and Vladeslav Kamenev.) There were multiple denials when I looked into it. I do think Kamenev wants more of an opportunity to play.

16. Had some feedback last week on the Dustin Byfuglien grievance. From what I understand, if he’d returned to play, the NHLPA felt he had a good chance to win. Since he decided against playing this season, their confidence level decreased. (The NHL was going to fight it with every fibre of its being.)

17. Wanted to mention a fun 10 minutes Tuesday after Arizona’s skate in Toronto. The Coyotes were in Montreal the night before, so it was just head coach Rick Tocchet, goalie coach Corey Schwab, defenceman Aaron Ness and forward Michael Grabner. Tocchet was into it. He was on the ice, battling away. Ness had to readjust his helmet a couple of times after some board battles with him.

“It’s just good to get on the ice,” Tocchet said after. “I was talking with Paul Coffey, and we were saying how coaching is so stressful, it’s good to go out there and compete.”

You could tell the players, in particular, enjoyed having their coach see up close how much they wanted to be in the lineup.

18. It was also interesting to see Grabner and Tocchet discuss practice philosophies. In the west, it is harder to find practice time, so they shared ideas on how you can get things done. Grabner talked about Boston always making sure there was time to work on face-off plays, because the Bruins scored on one days earlier against the Coyotes. And they thought about different ways to use the pre-game warmup. Unexpected bonus of lucking into the right spot. Really interesting.

19. Looking forward to Daniel and Henrik Sedin’s sweater retirement on Scotiabank Wednesday Night Hockey. The thing I remember most from the 1999 draft is Brian Burke walking onto the floor, and media members swarming to see if he’d pulled it off.

You had to see Daniel and Henrik in-person to truly appreciate their games. Their subtle genius didn’t always translate on television. Initially, I didn’t think they should have played in Edmonton on the final night of their careers, because I thought they should have finished in Vancouver. But seeing Oilers fans send them off with such an ovation was a truly excellent epilogue to their careers, an understanding the greatness is recognized everywhere. It takes thick skin to play 20 years in Canada. They took a lot of abuse on and off the ice, but kept on ticking. That is true toughness.

20. Chris Johnston reported last weekend on Headlines that Ilya Mikheyev’s gruesome skate-cut injury on Dec. 27 renewed calls for making added wrist protection mandatory. Four prototypes are being researched, with selected players being asked to try the different versions. As an aside, good to see Mikheyev skate this week.

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21. It’s taken me a few weeks to finish working on this, but, during All-Star Weekend, I spent a little over an hour with New Jersey Devils president Jake Reynolds, who was promoted to that position in September. We talked at length about the ups and downs of the last eight months, and how the organization navigates this challenge, instead of running away from it.

“The night of the lottery, we had 75 employees watching together,” Reynolds said. “They went nuts when we won. There were 9,000 RSVPs for our draft party.”

Several times during our conversation, Reynolds referenced how loyal the hard-core Devils fan base is, and how excited they were about Jack Hughes.

“That night, I was driving back to Philadelphia (the team’s owners also own the NBA’s 76ers) and I got a call from (CEO) Scott O’Neil. He said, ‘Get ready.’ I was wondering what else could be happening. He said, ‘We’re making a move for P.K. Subban.’”

22. There was enormous optimism for 2019-20. From June to December 2018, the team’s website ranged from 26th to 31st in the NHL with regards to unique visits, time spent, articles read and video watches. From June to December 2019, it jumped to between eighth and 14th. Prior to the draft, the Devils’ all-time record for video starts in one day was 13,117. Since June, that number’s been beaten 38 times, with a new high of 41,504.

An example of something that worked well was Hughes’s first “goal” as a Devil:

*technically* Jack’s first goal at The Rock

He stopped by the #NJDevils sales floor to fire some shots pic.twitter.com/gM3OaPYhPF

— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) June 25, 2019

(Weak glove hand, there.)

As everyone now knows, this season did not unfold as hoped, or expected. But Reynolds, who joined the 76ers as they began their descent into “The Process,” is calmly confident in the proper path. (A primer: After a 34-48 2012–13, the 76ers didn’t just demolish their foundation — they fired it into the sun. Over the next three seasons, they went 47-199, including 10-72 in 2015-16, second-worst in NBA history.)

Let’s be honest: The 76ers are not the Raptors (