9:30 AM ET The conversation I’ve been having inside my head this week: Hockey Brain: “Hooray, hockey’s comin’ back!” Cynical Brain: “This 24-team tournament and elaborate draft lottery are merely the framework for a possible return to finish the 2019-20 NHL season. It’s candy for the sugar-starved. It’s a shiny object for those seeking willful

7:00 AM ET When the NHL announced that a modified playoff format was in the works in an effort to resume play, starved hockey fans rejoiced. One of them is WWE superstar and Hall of Famer Adam “Edge” Copeland, who grew up just outside of Toronto. “[I feel] such joy that there’s going to be

4:53 PM ET Associated Press PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Penguins will head into whatever becomes of the NHL postseason without forward Nick Bjugstad. The team announced Wednesday that Bjugstad underwent spinal surgery to repair a herniated disk. General manager Jim Rutherford said the surgery was necessary after Bjugstad had a “setback” while recovering from a

4:53 PM ET Associated Press The NHL has advised its teams to prepare for a roster of 28 players and an unlimited amount of goaltenders for training camp and the playoffs if it can return this summer. Several general managers on Wednesday said they were told that would be the anticipated roster limit. Each team

9:30 AM ET With the 2019-20 NHL season on pause due to the coronavirus pandemic (here’s the latest update on where things stand), we’ve started the NHL Viewers Club, highlighting some of the most rewatchable games from this season — such as when EBUG David Ayres beat the Maple Leafs — along with some cool

5:01 PM ET The NHL will abandon the rest of the regular season and go straight into the playoffs with 24 teams instead of 16 if it is able to resume play, commissioner Gary Bettman said Tuesday. “As we seek some return to normalcy, this is an important day for NHL fans,” Bettman said of

5:01 PM ET Associated Press The NHL announced Tuesday it will abandon the rest of the regular season and go straight into the playoffs with 24 teams instead of 16 if it is able to resume play. Commissioner Gary Bettman said the decision is not a guarantee that games are coming back. The NHL and

7:00 AM ET It has been 75 days since the NHL hit the pause button on the 2019-20 season because of the coronavirus pandemic. As the cancellations and postponements around the world of sports continue, there have also been continuous nuggets of new information regarding the potential resumption of the season, the draft, the playoffs

10:33 AM ET The NHL is ready to move to Phase 2 of its plan to return to play, and will soon allow players to train in small groups at team facilities, according to a memo circulated to teams over the weekend. The NHL didn’t put an exact date on when Phase 2 will go

5:43 PM ET Associated Press Canada’s NHL teams have offered season-ticket holders rebate or refund options in acknowledgment that no more 2019-20 regular-season games will be played in front of fans in their respective buildings. In a four-day span May 13-16, all seven teams contacted their season-ticket bases with options and, in some cases, deadlines