Welcome to the PHT Morning Skate, a collection of links from around the hockey world. Have a link you want to submit? Email us at phtblog@nbcsports.com.
Progress in return from Pandemic? 2020 NHL Draft updates
• Pierre LeBrun reports that the NHL and NHLPA made some progress regarding a possible 24-team playoff format. Naturally, LeBrun adds that there’s still a lot of work to be done. (TSN, with more at The Athletic [sub required], also check LeBrun’s Twitter thread)
• LeBrun, Bob McKenzie, and others gave recent updates that don’t sound great for an early-June 2020 NHL Draft. There’s still a lot of “to be determined” to all of this, of course. (Various reports, including Thursday’s edition of TSN Insider Trading.)
• Senators owner Eugene Melnyk spoke with FAN 590’s Roger Lajoie about a number of topics on Sunday. In expressing excitement for the 2020 NHL Draft, Melnyk said fans should start seeing signs of a competitive team as early as the 2020-21 season. “Now’s the time to enjoy the fruits of our labor.” (FAN 590/Ottawa Citizen)
• Speaking of drafts, David Staples painstakingly compared NHL experts vs. writers/pundits to see how well draft rankings pan out. Seems like it’s very close. If you’re even mildly interested to find out how accurate prognostications can be, this is worth a look. It might be even if you just want to kill some time. (Edmonton Journal)
• Chris Therien took the longform approach with his thoughts on how sports may change thanks to COVID-19. (Flyers)
Other hockey/NHL links (Fortnite fun included)
• Elliotte Friedman provides the lowdown on a class-action lawsuit being settled involving minimum wage in the CHL. (Sportsnet/CHL release)
• Looking back at how Dave Andrews helped to shape the AHL as we know it. (The Score)
• Really great look at Kings prospect Jaret Anderson-Dolan, who was raised by his two moms: Fran and Nancy. (Los Angeles Times)
• J.T. Compher and Zach Hyman teamed up to create “The NHLPA featuring Fortnite.” More than 60 NHLPA members are participating in the event, which is scheduled to stream on Monday from 2-5 p.m. ET. They’re playing as trios in the battle royale video game, with a charity prize pool of $200K. Hyman will be commentating, while Compher is going to be building walls very quickly and what not with teammates Nathan MacKinnon and Matt Nieto. (More on the event at NHLPA.com/event is set to stream on Twitch)
• Emily Kaplan put together a brilliant “grudge report” list. Kaplan picks one thing that each of the NHL’s 31 fan bases can’t seem to let go. Good stuff. (ESPN)
• Wild defenseman Matt Dumba saw his 2018-19 season cut short when he got injured fighting Matthew Tkachuk. Dumba contemplates a season ending prematurely for the second year in a row. Also, big news: he has a new dog. (Pioneer Press)
[More: November PHT Q&A with Dumba, which included his thoughts on fighting.]
• Darren McCarty dished on feuding with Claude Lemieux, fuming at Mike Babcock (but picking up some coaching tips), on the “Locked on Wings” podcast. (Locked on Wings/The Detroit News)
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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.