The NHL is an utter mess these days.
COVID-19 has depleted rosters across the league and forced postponements. Tighter Canadian pandemic protocols complicated matters, due to restrictions with border crossing and arena attendance.
Western Conference teams with postseason expectations — notably the Minnesota Wild and Edmonton Oilers — have fallen into troublesome funks. And the Chicago Blackhawks, Vancouver Canucks and Anaheim Ducks are in the midst of high-level management changes.