And finally...

...hockey has returned. 

Lots of things have not returned since Coronapanic swept the world in March, but at least hockey has.

Granted, it did not feel like hockey at first, not with the stands empty and so many clubs sequestered in a particular city, all playing in the same arena with no real home team or visiting team.

But it was hockey nevertheless, and remains hockey nevertheless -- and is even playoff hockey since the NHL decided to nix the remainder of the regular season after that four-month delay. And I have glady adapted to it.

Thank God for that, because I have missed the diversion that this splendid game provides. So while I wait for other, more important facets of life to return, here are some thoughts about this long-interrupted 2019-20 NHL campaign.

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When the regular season got aborted at 85 percent of term, Alexander Ovechkin had 48 goals and was tied with David Pastrnak for tops in the league. That is a remarkable achievement, seeing as how it made 2019-20 the eleventh time in his career that he finished a season with 40 or more goals. The only other player in history to have pulled that off was Wayne Gretzky; and if Ovechkin hits the mark again next year, he will equal Gretzky's record of twelve 40-goal campaigns.

By finishing atop the board for 2019-20 (albeit in a tie) he pulled off another remarkable feat by securing his ninth Rocket Richard Trophy. Which is even more remarkable when you consider that he did it at the age of 34.

But what's even more remarkable than that is the fact that he's done it the last three seasons in a row, i.e. at the ages of 32, 33, and 34. And what's even more remarkable than that is the fact that he has also did it at the age of 30, meaning that with the lone exception of 2016-17, Ovechkin has so far led the NHL in goals in four out of the five seasons which have taken place since he's been "on the wrong side of 30."

Then again, he's topped the league in goals seven of the last eight seasons and nine of the last thirteen, so why, really, should anyone be surprised?

But what bugs me to no end, and drives me to write this segment, is that the early termination of this season denied Alexander Ovechkin the opportunity to finish with 50+ goals. The Caps had thirteen games left on the docket and he only needed two more markers, so it's almost certain he would have gotten them. That would have been his ninth time attaining that summit, which would have pulled him into a tie with Gretzky and Mike Bossy for the most 50-goal seasons in history.

I feel like he as a hockey player got robbed, and we as hockey fans got robbed as well. Damn.

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It sure feels like an era has ended in the Big Apple.

The dapper and unflappable Swede, Henrik Lundqvist, is Mr. New York Ranger Himself and ranks as one of the better goaltenders in NHL history. But he is 38, and his numbers have declined for a few years now, and he has a year left on his contract at a cap hit of $8.5 million. Plus, the team has two much cheaper goalies who outplayed him this year in Aleksandar Georgiev and Igor Shesterkin, both of whom are 24.

Oh, and there's this: Team president John Davidson said he spoke with Lundqvist at the end of the flight from Toronto after the Rangers' season ended, and said, "We will talk and see where we go. We made it clear that we aren't carrying three goalies next year. We gotta figure out what we are going to do."

It is almost impossible to picture Lundqvist wearing another organization's sweater, but it sure feels like the writing is on the wall. We shouldn't forget that Earl Campbell finished his career with the Saints, Joe Montana wound up in Kansas City, Michael Jordan suited up for the Washington Wizards, and Red Sox legend Wade Boggs donned a Yankees cap before everything was said and done. This stuff happens.

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Toronto somewhat rightly thinks of itself as the center of the hockey universe (though I disagree) and Pittsburgh somewhat rightly considers itself responsible for the creation of the NHL. 'Tis going to be interesting to see what those cities' franchises do in the offseason, for both are at a crossroads.

The Maple Leafs' core consists of John Tavares, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander, whose combined cap hit equals a whopping $40.489 million. That means almost half of Toronto's salary cap (49.68 percent) is tied up in just four players, none of whom is a defenseman.

Meanwhile, the Penguins' core consists of 33-year-old Sidney Crosby, 34-year-old Evgeni Malkin, and 33-year-old Kris Letang, each of whom has significant history of injury. This means that, incomprehensible though it might seem, Father Time could be pouncing at this very instant and aging this championship club out of its contender status, right as it rubs up against the salary cap and enters an off-season in which both of its goalies become free agents and are due big raises.

Toronto GM Kyle Dubas and Pittsburgh GM Jim Rutherford have each said they have no plans to tamper with their core. I think they should rethink that stance, though of course it's easy for me to say that from my armchair.

The Leafs are four years into their project, and what do they have to show for it? Sure they've made it to the post-season four straight times, but on all four of those occasions they've failed to advance past the first round. Offense is not the problem and goaltending is not the problem. Defense, however, most certainly is the problem, and has been the problem this whole time, yet the Leafs have not shown any progress in that area despite having four years to work on it. Something's gotta give.

Matthews and Tavares aren't going anywhere and it's hard to imagine the Leafs dealing away Marner, but what about Nylander? Surely there is a willing trade partner out there, some team that has plenty of D but needs offense and would be very enticed by Nylander's manageable contract. At less than $7 million per annum, his salary is not only significantly less than the rest of Toronto's core, but is also reasonable for his skill set and he is locked up at that figure for four more seasons. I think Dubas has to shop him... and call me crazy, but I think he should do the unspeakable and also listen to offers on Marner, seeing as how he would bring a bigger return than Nylander, and seeing as how trading him would have the added benefit of clearing his almost $11 million cap hit off the books.

As far as the Penguins are concerned, I would be actively shopping Letang if I was Jim Rutherford. Letang has been one of the most overrated blueliners on Earth ever since he first stepped on NHL ice, yet everybody talks about him like he should get Hall of Fame consideration. Whoever Rutherford trades him to is guaranteed to overpay because Letang's reputation is bigger than his game, so Rutherford might as well accept an overpayment and bring some new and improved and younger blood into Western PA.

Also, count me among the many observers who believe Rutherford should re-sign Tristan Jarry to man the Penguins' net while allowing Matt Murray to move on to other pastures.

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News broke earlier today that Hall of Fame pivot Dale Hawerchuk has passed away at the age of 57. It was stomach cancer that took him out way too soon. Pardon my French, but fuck cancer. I hate it.

Hawerchuk was the first true legend of the Winnipeg Jets after they joined the NHL. He tallied 103 points (45, 58) in his rookie season of 1981-82, making him the first player in NHL history to pass the century mark as a rookie. And the only person to do that since him is Sidney Crosby.

In 1987 he won a late-third-period, defensive-zone faceoff that sprung Wayne Gretzky, Larry Murphy, and Mario Lemieux up the ice on a jailbreak that resulted in Lemieux scoring the goal that broke a 5-5 tie between Team Canada and Team USSR, thus winning the hallowed Canada Cup for his home and native land (I'm hoping you don't mind me using this occasion to quote our northern neighbor's national anthem).

Hawerchuk was traded to Buffalo in a blockbuster trade in 1990. There he had another excellent stint, averaging more than a point per game during his five years with the Sabres.

He will be missed.