Welcome to the PHT Morning Skate, a collection of links from the NHL and around the hockey world. Have a link you want to submit? Email us at phtblog@nbcsports.
• On Connor McDavid’s case to be dubbed the greatest player ever right now: “It’s eminently logical the best player of all-time would come from the present rather than the past.The level of competition has never been greater. The level of coaching never better. The level of preparation never more thorough. The level of play by an individual never higher. Howe, Orr, Gretzky and Lemieux were all steps forward in hockey’s evolutionary chain. But this corner says none of them, no matter how brilliant, ever played the game quite like McDavid.” [TSN]
• Why Rod Brind’Amour should resist going to Frederik Andersen for Game 5: “Even if he is ready/available, I would not go to Andersen on Thursday. To me, it just makes no sense deviating from a formula that has worked at home with Raanta generally being solid, especially at home. If and only if the Canes lose on Thursday and Raanta is ‘meh’ or worse would I consider turning to Andersen for [G]ame 6.” [Canes and Coffee]
• Avalanche defenseman Samuel Girard, out for the season with a broken sternum, attended the morning skate ahead of Game 4 and is in “good spirits,” according to Gabriel Landeskog. [NHL.com]
• “Call it gamesmanship or part of the code or whatever, but make no mistake: by refusing to comment [on threats directed at Kadri], Berube spoke volumes about an ongoing lack of empathy and understanding about the world and hockey’s place in it.” [Daily Faceoff]
"It's emotional."🥲
— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 24, 2022
Frans Nielsen saying goodbye to his incredible career.👋@DKIshockey #IIHFWorlds pic.twitter.com/LZQI1k1kkS
[NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs 2022 schedule, TV info]
• David Perron has been fined $5,000 by the NHL for cross-checking Nazem Kadri. [PHT]
• Why is Alex Ovechkin planning to start his off-season training earlier than usual? “I want to change something.” [Washington Hockey Now]
• Kelly McCrimmon is in no hurry to hire a new head coach for the Golden Knights. [Sin Bin Vegas]
• Finland and Latvia are expected to host the 2023 IIHF men’s World Championship that was originally scheduled to take place in Russia. [CBC]
• A look at how everything went so wrong for the Flyers this season. [NBC Sports Edge]
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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.