TED LINDSAY

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price cites substance use as his reason for voluntarily entering the NHL’s player assistance program more than a month ago.

Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid ran away in the voting to win his second Hart Trophy as NHL MVP after leading the league in points.

Draisaitl has won the Hart Trophy as MVP after leading the NHL in scoring. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)EDMONTON, AB – The Stanley Cup Final is in Edmonton, and Oilers star Leon Draisaitl made history Monday night. Draisaitl became the first German player to win the Hart Trophy as MVP after leading the league in scoring with 110 points in 71 games. Draisaitl is the second Oilers player to win the Hart in the past four years following Connor McDavid, who is widely considered the best hockey player in the world. “But there’s nothing that comes ahead of the Stanley Cup.

FILE - In this Feb. 16, 2019, file photo, St. Louis Blues right wing Vladimir Tarasenko, right, is congratulated as he passes the team box after scoring a goal against the Colorado Avalanche during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Denver. Tarasenko makes his return after early season shoulder surgery that limited him to three goals in 10 games. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

Ditto for St. Louis, the defending Stanley Cup champions. The Blues and Avalanche were navigating through some key injuries before the season was halted in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. The hiatus allowed time to heal and now the top two teams in the Western Conference return as Cup favorites. The two teams get things rolling Sunday in Edmonton by facing each other to kick off a round-robin tournament to determine seeding in the West. It should be a fun ride.Back on the ice for the Blues is forward Vladimir Tarasenko, who underwent shoulder surgery in late October.

The NHL Hart Trophy voters agreed with NHL players in selecting Edmontons Leon Draisaitl, Colorados Nathan MacKinnon and Artemi Panarin of the New York Rangers as MVP award finalists. The finalists were announced by the NHL on Tuesday, and determined by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association. The 24-year-old Draisaitl is seeking to become the first German-born player to win the Hart after leading the NHL with 110 points (43 goals, 67 assists). The 28-year-old Russian was the NHL rookie of the year with Chicago in 2016, and a first-time Hart finalist. Panarin has an opportunity to become the fifth Rangers player to win the honor, and first since Mark Messier in 1992.

Iginla, the first Black player to lead the NHL in points and goals and to win an Olympic gold medal, is expected to headline the Hockey Hall of Fame's 2020 induction class, to be announced Wednesday, June 24, 2020. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP, File)Jarome Iginla headlines the Hockey Hall of Fame's class of 2020 after being elected Wednesday in his first year of eligibility. Iginla will be the fourth Black player inducted after Grant Fuhr, women's hockey pioneer Angela James and Willie ORee. Iginla and Fuhr are the only Black NHL players enshrined for their on-ice accomplishments, while O'Ree was chosen in the builder category in 2018 for breaking the league's color barrier 60 years earlier. He also won the Canadian junior Memorial Cup twice and world juniors, world championship and World Cup of Hockey once each.