Caps Clips: Wheels In Motion?

Your savory breakfast links:

• The Capitals and Bears extended their affiliation agreement through the 2023-24 season last Friday. [Rink, RMNB, Stars and Sticks, NoVa Caps]
• This week’s prospect review from NoVa Caps looked at blueliner Martin Fehervary. [NoVa Caps]
• Two former Capitals won KHL awards this week: Dmitrij Jaskin received the Golden Stick award (regular season MVP) and Alexander Semin received the Sergei Gimayov Prize for loyalty to hockey (best veteran player or coach). [FPC]
• Have any of you gotten so bored during quarantine that you downloaded TikTok? I’m guilty of doing that, and so are several NHL players and personalities. Whatever outlet works, right? [ESPN]
• Ted Leonsis hopped on CNN’s The Situation Room to discuss the return of sports, and he firmly believes all three of his teams (Capitals, Wizards, and Mystics) will play in 2020. [Stars and Sticks]
• You’ve presumably heard the “24-team playoff” scenario being floated around the NHL, which would admittedly be strange. However, let Sean McIndoe explain why it could be perfect for each team who would take part. [The Athletic]
• Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Tuesday that he was extending border restrictions between the US and Canada through June 21. How does that affect the NHL’s return-to-play plans? [AP, CBS Sports]
• Ottawa Senators skaters and local NHL players can hit the ice at a private rink in Ottawa starting this Thursday. The Ontario government granted the private facility approval to reopen as long as social distancing rules are followed. [Ottawa Sun]
• Former NHLer and current ELH skater Akim Aliu spoke out about the toxic nature of hockey culture in a powerful Players’ Tribune piece titled “Hockey Is Not for Everyone”. This is an absolute must-read, folks. [Players Tribune]
• Following his “Best Upgrades for In Every Team’s History” piece from last week, Sean McIndoe flipped the switch and took a look at the single biggest downgrade for every team. And no, the Capitals’ pick is not That Trade. [The Athletic]
• Steve Mayer, the NHL’s Chief Content Officer, joined Pierre LeBrun and Scott Burnside on the “Two-Man Advantage” podcast this week to discuss return-to-play scenarios. [The Athletic]
• The NHL and NHLPA are currently focusing solely on a 24-team conference-based return-to-play plan. [Sportsnet]
• In this week’s edition of 31 Thoughts, Elliotte Friedman focuses on the 24-team playoff proposal. [Sportsnet]
• Noted Perfect Human™ Lars Eller made one heck of a donation to a D.C. homeless shelter on Thursday: a UV light technology portal that deactivates viruses. [WaPo]
• The NHL is currently waiting on the NHLPA to vote on the 24-team return-to-play plan. [The Athletic]
• John Carlson joined the Wild’s Eric Staal on NBCSN’s “Lunch Talk Live” on Thursday to discuss concerns about the pandemic and the NHL’s return-to-play plan. [NBCSN]
• TSN’s hockey insiders Pierre LeBrun, Darren Dreger, and Bob McKenzie discussed, you guessed it, the NHL’s 24-team plan in yesterday’s Insider Trading segment. [TSN]
• In case you missed it, check out the results from the Caps fan survey Tarik El-Bashir conducted through The Athletic last week! [The Athletic]
• The Caps’ Braden Holtby and Pittsburgh’s Matt Murray spilled the beans on what it’s like facing Alex Ovechkin’s “Ovi Office” shot. [NoVa Caps]
• Don’t forget to keep up with our weekly puzzle series! So far, we have a Crossword, Word Search, Word Scramble, Spot the Difference 1, Spot the Difference 2, Build Your Own Lineup for $18, and Nickname Matching.
• Finally, happy birthday to Evgeny Kuznetsov, who turned 28 this Tuesday, and happy birthday to these former Capitals who celebrated birthdays this week: Tomas Fleischmann (36), Craig Patrick (74), Bill Mikkelson (72), Graham Mink (41), Patrick Wey (29), and Barrie Moore (45).

This week’s entertainment? Wednesday’s Caps Social: Goodest Boys Edition. Yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like: Caps’ Digital Correspondent Taryn Bray and NBCSW’s Joe Beninati were joined by Captain, Scout, and other doggos from around the league in a 45-minute GEM of a segment.