NHL

The Edmonton Oilers say forward Colby Cave is out of emergency surgery after suffering a brain bleed. The team posted on Twitter that doctors removed a colloid cyst that was causing pressure on Cave's brain Tuesday. Cave's wife, Emily, said earlier on Instagram that doctors were ''fighting to keep him alive'' in surgery.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman acknowledges finishing the regular season and playoffs might not happen because of COVID-19 outbreak. A third Avalanche player tests positive.

For the first time since halting play four weeks ago, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman raised the possibility Tuesday of not completing the regular season in order to squeeze in time to award the Stanley Cup. Bettman also acknowledged during an interview with NBCSN the league is considering having games played at neutral sites in the event not all teams will be allowed into their home rinks. ''The best thing and the easiest thing would be if at some point we could complete the regular season and then go into the playoffs as we normally do,'' he said.

Edmonton Oilers center Colby Cave was placed in a medically induced coma and admitted to a hospital critical care unit Tuesday after a brain bleed, the NHL club said Tuesday. Cave was admitted to Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto after first being taken to hospital in nearby Barrie, Oilers general manager Ken Holland said. "I talked to Colby's wife (Emily) this morning," Holland said.

National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman acknowledged Tuesday the 2019-2020 season could be abandoned as administrators wait to see how the coronavirus pandemic unfolds across North America. In an interview with NBC Sports Network, Bettman said the NHL was leaving all options on the table as the league attempts to plot a course back to a resumption following its COVID-19 shutdown. The league halted play last month as the coronavirus crisis sent professional sports in the US grinding to a halt.

Fans have spoken, again, and the 1985 Edmonton Oilers are the best team in NHL history, beating out the 1977 Montreal Canadiens in the final vote.

Alexander Barabanov, who helped the Olympic Athletes from Russia capture gold in 2018 at Pyeongchang, signed a one-year NHL contract on Tuesday with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The 25-year-old right wing scored 11 goals in 43 games this season for his hometown club, SKA St. Petersburg, in the Kontinental Hockey League. Over seven campaigns with the club, Barabanov scored 62 goals and set up 75 more and helped SKA St. Petersburg win the Gagarin Cup championship in 2015 and 2017.

(All dates set before season was suspended until further notice.)

An eighth NHL player has tested positive for COVID-19. The league announced Tuesday that a third player from the Colorado Avalanche has the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The league says the player is in self-isolation and has not had close contact with teammates or Colorado staff members.

With the NHL playoffs, which were to begin Wednesday, on indefinite hold because of the coronavirus pandemic, anything and everything is on the table if Commissioner Gary Bettman’s objective to complete the season is to be realized. What the format will be, when play might realistically resume and whether the NHL might require games at neutral sites - how’s North Dakota sound? “Those are all fair questions but not ones that we have to resolve right away,� NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly told The Associated Press by email, likening the situation for the league to a "a multi-faceted puzzle.�

John Hynes has only been head coach of the Nashville Predators since early January, so he's trying to make up for some lost time with the NHL paused for the coronavirus pandemic and also make sure they're ready whenever hockey resumes. A big part of that has been getting to know each of his Predators much, much better. “We've gone through every single player,� Hynes told reporters Monday.

If the NHL goes directly to playoff hockey in the warmer months, it could leave some contenders out in the cold. The league may skip most if not all of the final 189 regular-season games that were put on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic. Teams had unequal amounts of games remaining when the season was frozen March 12, raising questions about how to determine who gets in.

Three minor league players in the Texas Rangers organization are in self-isolation after exhibiting symptoms consistent with the new coronavirus. Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said Monday that two of the three players had connections to family members who had tested positive for COVID-19. Daniels, who didn’t name the three players, said all were doing well, and were presumed positive even though they hadn’t been tested.

The unthinkable, at least for sports fans, already has happened. Presumably, the commissioners of this country’s major sports leagues already know that. If not, a brief review of what the chief medical officer of the NFL told Barry Wilner of The Associated Press is in order.

President Donald Trump talked to many U.S. pro sports leaders about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, saying he was looking forward to the resumption of competitions “as soon as we can.� “I want fans back in the arenas,� Trump said later in a briefing at the White House. A person with direct knowledge of the call said Trump believes the NFL season — scheduled to begin Sept. 10 — will start on time with fans in seats.

The grandmother of Baylor junior guard Moon Ursin has died in the New Orleans area after being infected with the coronavirus. Lady Bears coach Kim Mulkey, selected Saturday as part of the 2020 class for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, said she has been in contact with Ursin and her family since getting a call from the player’s mother. “You comfort through a phone as best you can,� said Mulkey, also a Louisiana native.

A hacker posted a racial slur hundreds of times in an online fan video chat Friday with a black New York Rangers prospect. The NHL team scrambled to disable the hacker on the Zoom chat with K’Andre Miller, the 20-year-old former Wisconsin defenseman drafted No. 22 overall in 2018. “A vile individual hijacked the chat to post racial slurs, which we disabled as soon as possible," the Rangers said in a statement.

The NCAA says hearings and oral arguments in infractions cases have been suspended through May 31 amid the coronavirus pandemic. The NCAA announced the move in a statement on its website Friday. The U.S. Tennis Association says its best not to play the sport right now because of the coronavirus pandemic.

San Jose Sharks general manager Doug Wilson isn’t ready to remove the interim head coach tag from Bob Boughner’s title yet. Noting the Sharks’ season is not officially over with the NHL on hiatus due to the coronavirus, Wilson voiced his support by saying Boughner has the edge in taking over the job on a permanent basis.

The Chicago Blackhawks have agreed to two-year contract extensions with forward Matthew Highmore and goaltender Kevin Lankinen. Highmore's agreement has an average annual value of $725,000, and Lankinen's extension carries an average annual value of $800,000. The Blackhawks also announced Thursday that forwards Evan Barratt and Andrei Altybarmakyan had agreed to entry-level contracts.

Major League Soccer has extended its training moratorium through April 24 because of the coronavirus outbreak. MLS teams were two games into the season when it was suspended on March 12. Golden Gate Fields in the San Francisco Bay area has been closed for live racing as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Tim Harrison made the long drive from South Carolina to his home just south of Boston with a lot on his mind. The ECHL season had just been canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic, and the 26-year-old wondered if he’d need to dig for oysters on the beach or do odd jobs around the neighborhood to make ends meet. The 26-team ECHL — a developmental pro league just below the American Hockey League — canceled its season in mid-March, three weeks before the playoffs.

Major League Soccer plans to cut the pay of some executives and front office personnel while the season is on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Wednesday. MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Deputy Commissioners Mark Abbott and Gary Stevenson will take 25% cuts in salary starting April 16, the person said on the condition of anonymity because the reductions were not announced publicly. Other cuts would range from 20% to 10% for managerial staff.

For the first time in its nearly century-and-a-half history, Wimbledon was canceled for a reason other than war, scrapped in 2020 on Wednesday because of the coronavirus pandemic. With Britain under a nationwide lockdown, the All England Club announced its decision to call off its storied two-week grass-court tennis tournament, something that hadn't happened to the sport's oldest Grand Slam event in 75 years. "It has weighed heavily on our minds that the staging of The Championships has only been interrupted previously by World Wars," club chairman Ian Hewitt said, “but, following thorough and extensive consideration of all scenarios, we believe that it is a measure of this global crisis that it is ultimately the right decision to cancel this year's Championships, and instead concentrate on how we can use the breadth of Wimbledon's resources to help those in our local communities and beyond."

A player for the Philadelphia Union has tested positive for coronavirus. It is Major League Soccer’s first player case of the virus that has caused the suspension of the season. The Union did not identify the player.

Canada's largest city, Toronto, announced Tuesday it is canceling all city-led and permitted events through June 30 amid the coronavirus pandemic. Mayor John Tory said that includes Pride Toronto in late June. Don Peat, a spokesman for the mayor, said it applies to events that get city permits like parades and festivals and does not include sports events like the Blue Jays, Raptors and Maple Leafs..

The NHL has extended its guideline for players and staff to self-quarantine until April 15 and it is possible the coronavirus pandemic could push that back even further. Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly confirmed the extension to the Associated Press in an email Tuesday. The NHL put its season on pause March 12 with 189 regular-season games remaining.

St. Louis Blues captain Alex Pietrangelo says teammate Jay Bouwmeester is in good health some seven weeks after having a cardioverter defibrillator implanted in his chest. Pietrangelo said he and his teammates have occasionally stopped in to see Bouwmeester while the NHL is on hiatus because of the coronavirus pandemic. Saying "Bow's good," the Blues veteran defenseman provided the update Tuesday during an NHL video conference call featuring Central Division players.

Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid is still regarded as the NHL’s top forward, while peers consider Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby the game's most complete player. Players voted 411 to 152 in favoring the NHL adopt the NBA’s dress-code policy, which requires players wearing “business or conservative attire� when arriving at and leaving a game. The NHLPA said 588 players participated in the 21-question poll, which covered topics involving skills, arenas, teams and off-ice fun.

The owners of the NHL's New Jersey Devils have made a six-figure donation to the state’s largest health care system for medical equipment to ensure the safety and proper protection of all healthcare workers and first responders during the coronavirus pandemic. Devils co-owners Josh Harris and David Blitzer and RWJBarnabas Health announced the donation Tuesday without saying the exact amount. The money was given to RWJBarnabas Health’s Emergency Response Fund to help combat the challenges faced by the medical community and its personnel.

Tyler Madden, whom the Kings acquired in the trade that sent Tyler Toffoli to Vancouver, signed a three-year entry-level contract with the team.

Kings' coach Todd McLellan was thrilled with progress of streaking Kings before season was stopped, but wishes he could have seen how group endured.

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Tyler Madden has signed a three-year contract with the Los Angeles Kings.

Manning. Jordan. Gretzky. These legends all left the teams that drafted them after 10-plus years. Let's review how they fared after leaving to see if we can gauge Brady's potential.

The site of the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York is going to be used for 350 temporary hospital beds and to prepare food packages during the coronavirus pandemic. U.S. Tennis Association spokesman Chris Widmaier says an area that houses indoor courts at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows will begin to be converted into a medical facility starting Tuesday.

With most sports around the world shutting down because of the coronavirus pandemic, longtime Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko is proudly keeping soccer and hockey arenas open. The move has the full support of Lukashenko, who took to the ice in an amateur hockey tournament on Saturday with a few hundred spectators in the stands. "It's better to die standing than to live on your knees," he said, defending Belarus' refusal to introduce isolation measures and border restrictions like its neighbors, such as Russia.

The Kings have found a way to stay connected with fans amid the coronavirus shutdown by replicating its schedule through video games.

The four NHL players known to have tested positive all faced the Kings at Staples Center in the last few days before the NHL suspended play March 12.

Former All-Star outfielder Jim Edmonds announced on his Instagram page that he went to the hospital to be tested for the coronavirus after displaying some symptoms. The 49-year-old Edmonds sent a video update Saturday night on his Instagram Story saying he was back home after testing positive for pneumonia for the first time in his life, but was awaiting results of tests for the coronavirus. “I'm just trying to rest up and get better,� Edmonds said, adding that he'd provide an update when he heard from doctors.

Trevor Zegras is in hockey limbo like everyone else, but he is hoping that signing with the Anaheim Ducks on Friday will serve as motivation until he can get back on the ice. ''The past week has been pretty much sitting and waiting,'' Zegras said during a conference call after inking a three-year deal. Zegras was the ninth overall pick in last year's NHL draft.

Anyone who scoffs at all these drastic measures to deal with the coronavirus outbreak, who wonders if it's really necessary to shut down sports around the world, needs a primer on the 1919 Stanley Cup Finals. Yep, there was once a Stanley Cup that had to be called off before the decisive game when Spanish flu swept through the teams. As every sport grapples with this unprecedented shutdown and ponders the proper timeline to safely get its athletes back on the fields and into the arenas, a championship hockey series from just over a century ago should at least be lurking in the back of everyone's mind.

Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence and his girlfriend have restarted their efforts to raise money for those affected by the new coronavirus. The two had set up a GoFundMe page earlier this week until told by Clemson compliance officials the site violated NCAA rules against using an athlete's name, image and likeness for crowd funding. Lawrence's girlfriend, Marissa Mowry, is a soccer player at Anderson University, about 15 miles from Clemson's campus.

National Hockey League officials still want to finish the regular season and stage a full playoffs despite a coronavirus pandemic shutdown, even if a Stanley Cup winner comes in August. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the league has asked arenas about availability to the end of August, aided by the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics freeing up television opportunities. "I think as time has gone on, we've recognized we might have a bigger window than we had originally thought with respect to the summer months and when we have to finish things to be ready for a full regular season next year," Daly said.

Ottawa Senators radio analyst Gord Wilson has tested positive for COVID-19. He is the third member of the NHL team's traveling party to have done so.

The Ducks signed Boston University center Trevor Zegras, whom they drafted ninth overall in 2019, to a three-year entry-level contract.

Kings captain Anze Kopitar says if the NHL can resume after the coronavirus pandemic subsides, it should continue the regular season and not go straight to the playoffs.

Clarkson junior forward Elizabeth Giguere has been selected as the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award winner, presented annually to the most outstanding player in women's college hockey. USA Hockey made the announcement on Friday. Giguere added 29 assists for the Golden Knights, who finished 25-6-6 and reached the NCAA Tournament.

Denver’s players, if they're so willing, have the same assignment each day: Go to their phone or tablet, launch an app and view their individualized daily workout plan that was created by the Nuggets’ strength and conditioning staff. For now, it’s the best idea the Nuggets have — as they, like every other NBA team, are figuring out new ways to do almost everything. Nobody knows when NBA players will be in a game again, with the season on hold because of the global coronavirus pandemic.

National Hockey League superstar Alex Ovechkin is chasing a host of scoring milestones, but he's more concerned about staying safe at home with his pregnant wife than returning to the ice. The 34-year-old Russian left wing for the Washington Capitals, a challenger to the all-time NHL goals record owned by legend Wayne Gretzky, shared the NHL lead with 48 goals when the season was halted March 12 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Ovechkin is two shy of his ninth 50-goal campaign, which would match Gretzky and Mike Bossy for the most in NHL history, and he could extend his own record by taking a ninth NHL season scoring crown.

USA Curling says additional participants at a tournament this month in Laurel, Maryland, have tested positive for the coronavirus. The United States Curling Association Club National Championships were held March 7-14 at Potomac Curling Club. USA Curling says it worked with the club to make sure all participants, officials and volunteers were notified as soon as a confirmation was received of the first positive test.

NHL star Sidney Crosby says he is taking the proper steps to keep himself and others around him safe from COVID-19, and he urged the public to follow suit by social distancing and staying home. "Seeing everyone take this serious and do what they need to do, not only for their own health but for people around them too, that's really the key part of all this," the Pittsburgh Penguins captain said during a conference call on Thursday. The NHL has indefinitely suspended its regular season amid the current pandemic, and the Colorado Avalanche said Thursday a player from their team has COVID-19, becoming the third NHL player known to test positive.