Thursday Links, News and Notes: We’ve Got a Draft Lottery Date!

• In case you somehow missed it, the NHL announced their return to play and draft plan. You can go over all of the details for yourself, but the key info for Senators fans is this: the regular season is officially over, the draft lottery will take place June 26th, and the Sens have the same odds they did coming out of the last day of play - a 25% shot at 1st overall, and 62.3% odds of at least one top 3 pick
• If you’re also looking forward to some playoff/in hockey, no dates have been announced for that and they’re still trying to figure out where the games will be played. We do know the play-in match ups though. The Eastern Conference will see:/

#5 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. #12 Montreal Canadiens

#6 Carolina Hurricanes vs. #11 New York Rangers

#7 New York Islanders vs. #10 Florida Panthers

#8 Toronto Maple Leafs vs. #9 Columbus Blue Jackets

While the Western conference will get:

#5 Edmonton Oilers vs. #12 Chicago Blackhawks

#6 Nashville Predators vs. #11 Arizona Coyotes

#7 Vancouver Canucks vs. #10 Minnesota Wild

#8 Calgary Flames vs. #9 Winnipeg Jets

What is your pick for the (eventual) must-watch series out of those?

• There are 10 cities being considered for the two hubs, with three of them in Canada - Toronto, Edmonton and Vancouver. It sure sounds like the league wants to have one of the hubs north of the border, but the current border restrictions - specifically the 14 day quarantine requirement - are a problem. Gary Bettman and Bill Daly were asked about this, and here was Daly’s answer:/

If, in fact, we’re not able to really ‑‑ the interpretation of the quarantine consistent with our players’ ability to travel in and not have to do a strict self‑quarantine in a hotel room, I don’t think we’d be in a position ‑‑ I shouldn’t say I don’t think. We won’t be in a position to use any of the Canadian cities as a hub city. We’re faced with having to find a solution to that, and hopefully we can.

So it sounds like a Canadian hub city is off the board unless those restrictions are eased, or an exception is granted. Alberta Premier Jason Kenny has already asked the federal government to grant an exception for NHL players, BC Premier John Horgan has come out against the idea of an exception, and Ontario’s Minister of Sport Lisa MacLeod has said while they would like Toronto to be selected, they won’t be lobbying for it and that she thinks the NHL proposal would be able to meet the quarantine requirement (around the 10 minute mark)

• The Gatineau Olympiques have some new members of their ownership group, including Hull native and former Senator Derick Brassard. Brassard and two other Gatineau area business men have acquired a 10% stake in the team
• The ELC signing deadline is expected to be pushed back from June 1st to July 1st this year. That’s the deadline for teams to sign their (no-NCAA) draft picks from 2 years ago, or lose them back into the draft. The only Sens player on the list this year is Markus Nurmi
• Looking forward to later today, Pierre Dorion will be joining TSN1200 around 3:45pm /