Be sure to like HockeyBuzz on facebook! For the latest Leafs updates or Follow @mikeinbuffalo on Twitter The National Hockey League is preparing for their 24 playoff clubs to travel to Toronto and Edmonton this weekend for the play-in round and round-robin, and on Monday the league released new testing numbers that showed that the spread of COVID-19 among players has slowed to a crawl. From July 13 to 17 (the first five days of training camp), only two positives were reported among the 2,618 tests administered to more than 800 players. If those small numbers continue for another week prior to reaching the hub cities, it is an encouraging sign that the league’s protocol have been able to keep things under control and may be able to avoid an outbreak once the playoffs get started on August 1. *******
The Columbus Blue Jackets were a club that benefited from the four-month break, as key players like Seth Jones, Cam Atkinson, and Oliver Bjorkstrand were able to recover from late-season injuries and will be available for the series against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The only significant absence from their lineup was expected to be winger Josh Anderson, who underwent what was thought to be season-ending shoulder surgery in March. According to the Athletic’s Aaron Portzline, Columbus GM Jarmo Kekalainen may add the big forward to the Blue Jackets final roster, but he is not expected to be ready to play against Toronto in early August. Similar to the Leafs situation with injured forward Andreas Johnsson, Anderson could be ready if Columbus reaches the Eastern Conference Final in mid-September. *******
Sportsnet has revealed their broadcast teams for the two hub cities. The Edmonton hub will feature newly added play-by-play man Chris Cuthbert along with Louis DeBrusk, while the Toronto hub will be Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson. The assignments make sense, since the Maple Leafs and Canadiens draw the most viewers across Canada and Sportsnet would want their #1 broadcast crew for those games. *******
Robertson hints, the Leafs hide
— Norman James (@IamNormanJames) July 19, 2020
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