Lake Tahoe set to host two outdoor games
The NHL played outdoors in the shadow of the Green Monster at Fenway Park, on consecutive days at Dodger Stadium and Yankee Stadium, and at Chicago’s Soldier Field.
This year’s outdoor games will be in a unique, picturesque setting: along the shores of Lake Tahoe.
The NHL announced Monday it will hold two games on an outdoor rink set up at Edgewood Golf Course in Stateline, Nev.
Vegas will play Colorado on Feb. 20 and Boston faces Philadelphia on Feb. 21 on a temporary rink set up on the 18th hole at Edgewood, site of the annual American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament.
“We went to Tahoe, a very small group, and we were blown away by the setting, the blank canvas that it presents for us,” NHL chief content producer Steve Mayer said. “It’s hosted major events before. We felt very confident, especially in a short time frame, that we would be able to hold a worldclass event and Tahoe will a great host. It was a pretty easy decision.”
The NHL has been conducting outdoor games since 2003 and the two in the NHL Outdoors at Lake Tahoe event will be the 31st and 32nd in the series.
Kane bankruptcy filing:
Sharks left winger Evander Kane filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in federal court, the Athletic reported. The filing listed $ 26.8 million in liabilities with assets of $ 10.2 million. The filing included a note that warns that Kane might not play this season because of health concerns, given the recent birth of his first child. Kane signed a sevenyear $ 49 million extension with San Jose in 2018.
New roster rules: The NHL is bracing for bumps as it aims to pull off a season during the pandemic and the hope is that taxi squads will help teams stay on the ice.
The defending Western Conference champion Dallas Stars already have had to postpone their season opener this week because six players and two staff members tested positive for the coronavirus. The Stars won’t face an opponent earlier than next Tuesday, when they’re scheduled to play at Tampa Bay in a Stanley Cup Finals rematch.
NHL teams get to have four to six players on taxi squads after they clear waivers, essentially expanding the size of the team beyond the 23man limit when teams submit their rosters to the league Tuesday.
Players on taxi squads can be put on the active roster as late as 2 p. m. Pacific on a game day, giving clubs a better chance of having four lines, three defensive pairings and two goaltenders even if rosters take a hit because of virusprotocols.
NBC opts for Babcock: Mike Milbury is out and Mike Babcock is in for NBC Sports’ coverage of the NHL this season. Milbury, who had been with the network since 2008, stepped away from broadcasting during the 2020 playoffs after drawing widespread criticism for saying players should be more focused in the league’s coronavirus bubble because there were “not even any women here to disrupt your concentration.”