NHL Power Rankings: A new No. 1, plus the biggest surprises of the 2023-24 season

Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby prefers the NHL forego the rest of the regular season and head directly to the playoffs if games resume during this pandemic-interrupted spring. Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin is on the same page, saying he’d even be willing to finish two goals short of his ninth 50-goal season, which would tie the NHL record shared by Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy. ”Of course, you want to score 50, but right now, like everyone is saying, the most important thing is to stay safe and to get this thing done,” Ovechkin said Thursday.

Superstar John Tavares will cost Toronto $11 million annually for the next seven seasons, so how is management going to satisfy the financial demands of others?