12:18 PM ET Ted Leonsis — the CEO of Monumental Sports and Entertainment, which owns the NBA’s Washington Wizards, WNBA’s Mystics and NHL’s Capitals — said he’s committed to paying his 1,500 part-time employees through April. “I felt that it was the right thing to do, to pay our part-time employees that signed up to

9:21 PM ET Associated Press Former Montreal Canadiens defenseman Andrei Markov retired from professional hockey Thursday. The 41-year-old Markov played 990 regular-season games for the Canadiens between 2000 and 2017 before returning home to Russia to finish his career. Markov spent his final three years in the Kontinental Hockey League, suiting up for the last

5:18 PM ET Associated Press ST. LOUIS — The defending Stanley Cup champion Blues made another move to fortify their future blue line by agreeing to terms Thursday with defenseman Marco Scandella on a four-year contract extension. The deal is worth $13.1 million — an annual salary-cap hit of $3.275 million through the 2023-24 season.

4:37 PM ET Associated Press Coach Jared Bednar says the three Colorado Avalanche players who tested positive for the coronavirus are feeling better. In a teleconference call Thursday, Bednar said the players adhered to the guidelines and self-isolated. “As far as I know, they’re all doing good and back with their families,” Bednar said. “Those

7:30 AM ET Dean Evason waited 21 years for an opportunity that might have lasted 12 games. He was named the head coach of the Minnesota Wild on Valentine’s Day, replacing Bruce Boudreau. The 55-year-old Evason first stepped behind the bench with the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers back in 1999, the season his professional playing career

11:25 AM ET Alex Ovechkin is just 188 goals away from tying Wayne Gretzky’s career record of 894. But while the NHL is on pause, fans will get the chance to see who truly is the NHL’s greatest goal scorer — in video games. Gretzky and Ovechkin have agreed to square off in EA Sports’

10:11 PM ET ESPN News Services Left wing Sammy Blais on Wednesday agreed to a two-year, $3 million contract extension with the St. Louis Blues, the team announced. The new deal carries an average annual value of $1.5 million, and keeps St. Louis from potentially losing Blais, 23, in restricted free agency after this season.

12:01 PM ET Steve Fainaru Close ESPN Senior Writer Winner, 2008 Pulitzer Prize in International Reporting Four-time first-place winner in Associated Press Sports Editors competition Co-author of New York Times best-selling book, “League of Denial” Mark Fainaru-Wada Close ESPN Staff Writer Investigative reporter for ESPN’s Enterprise and Investigative Unit since 2007 Co-author of New York

8:50 AM ET Bill Peters has been hired as the new head coach of Yekaterinburg Avtomobilist in Russia’s KHL. Peters, 53, resigned as coach of the Calgary Flames in November, days after a former player, Akim Aliu, came forward and said the coach directed racial epithets toward him while they were in the minors 10

7:25 PM ET Associated Press The parent company that oversees the NHL Buffalo Sabres announced a series of cost-cutting measures, including layoffs and furloughs affecting 125 employees as a result of the new coronavirus pandemic. Pegula Sports and Entertainment says 104 employees are being furloughed, while another 21 were laid off on Tuesday. A person