"That is a work in progress, influenced largely by what we're hearing from the medical experts, and we talk to some pretty highly placed people without name-dropping," Commissioner Gary Bettman said Wednesday.[url=https://www.nhl-facemasks.com/tennessee-titans.html]Tennessee Titans for NHL Face Masks[/url]

But, as I watched Steven Stamkos hoist the Cup late last night, I couldn’t help but realize what an amazing accomplishment the NHL pulled off. Against all odds, the 2019-20 season was completed and a Stanley Cup Champion was crowned.

Players on an AHL contract are eligible to be assigned to an ECHL team. The ECHL is scheduled to begin its regular season Dec. 11. For example, Syracuse of the AHL assigned four players on an AHL contract to Orlando of the ECHL on Monday. Those players will be in Orlando's training camp. Players on an NHL contract, even if they're expected to play in the AHL, are not eligible to be assigned to an ECHL team. It's possible that the NHL and NHL Players' Association could come to an agreement that allows players on an NHL contract to play in the ECHL. The AHL does not have authority regarding movement of players who are on an NHL contract.

The Lightning look ripe for a giveaway, I'll give you that. By that I mean losing a valuable player like Cirelli or Cernak, each a restricted free agent, because of the salary cap issues. They have to move players out to sign them. Are the Sharks a team that can swoop in and make something happen? Sure. It comes down to who or what they're willing to part with. But they wouldn't be alone as a suitor for either Cirelli, a forward, or Cernak, a defenseman. They are two of the most valuable remaining RFAs, so as much as the Lightning might be in a bind when it comes to the cap, if they are eventually resigned to having to move one or both of these players, they likely could drum up a pretty good bidding war and stock their NHL Draft capital in a meaningful way. Remember, Tampa Bay's only first-round pick in the past three years was forward Nolan Foote (No. 27 in the 2019 NHL Draft), and he was traded to the New Jersey Devils with the Lightning's first-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft for forward Blake Coleman on Feb. 26. Of the Lightning's 10 first-round picks since 2010, only goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy (No. 19 in the 2012 NHL Draft) and defenseman Cal Foote (No. 14 in the 2017 NHL Draft) are with the team.

San Jose, by the way, would likely love to have a player like Cernak to play on the right side behind Erik Karlsson and Brent Burns.