On The Eve of Their First Game In Months, the Bruins Ink Anders Bjork to a Three-Year Extension

Can you feel it in the air folks? Hockey is back! Sure, it's tough to get too geeked up about exhibition games in late July but let's remember that the last hockey games before this took place in mid-March. The Bruins play the Blue Jackets tomorrow night (7, NESN) in their lone exhibition game before their three seeding games begin this weekend as they play the Flyers on Sunday afternoon (3, NBC). With that in mind, Boston got some housekeeping done since in a normal year at this time, free agency in the NHL would basically be closed. B's GM Don Sweeney signed young forward Anders Bjork to a three-year (through the 2022-23 season) contract extension with an annual cap hit of $1.6 million.

Obviously, if you made a list of most important Bruins both in this (fingers crossed) restart and going forward, Bjork would be nowhere near the top of that group. However, wrapping up his third season in Boston and at the ripe old age of 23, you can begin to understand how valuable Bjork can be in the near future. Hampered by numerous injuries his first two years with the Bruins-where he played a combined 50 games-he finally was able to start to show his potential in 2019-20 by playing 58 games for the best team in the NHL.

He had nine goals (including one on the power play), 10 assists and he was plus-five. A lefty shot, he has played all over Boston's lineup and since this group reconvened a few weeks ago in Warrior Ice Arena in Brighton, he's been spotted all over the place from the first line (right wing when David Pastrnak was out) to the third line (he alternated at right wing with Karson Kuhlman) where he skated this afternoon at the team's practice in Toronto. With Ondrej Kase on the side of a milk carton and Nick Ritchie similarly nowhere to be seen lately, Bjork could have a bigger role than most outside the team expect in the NHL playoffs the next few months.

The pedigree has always been there for Bjork, a native of Wisconsin who was an alternate captain at Notre Dame where he had a decorated career. He also played for two years with the U.S. National development team (where many top American hockey players go; his B's teammate Matt Grzelcyk also spent time there) in 2012-14 before getting drafted in the fifth round (146th overall) by the Bruins in 2014. Anders agreed to an entry-level deal on May 30, 2017 and made the Bruins out of camp that following season, making his NHL debut on October 5 vs. Nashville.

No doubt these NHL playoffs will be different than any that have ever occurred before-in a bubble city with no crowds-but odds are that at least one of our favorite aspects of the best tournament in sports will hold true: there are always random guys for every team that step up in the biggest moments. I'm certainly not predicting any grandeur for Bjork but he fits the profile of someone who casual fans will be like "Who!?" when he scores an overtime goal in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Probably thanks to his time in Ann Arbor (with the U.S. team) and South Bend, he is mature beyond his years and has the defensive forward style game that the Black and Gold love so if he can stay healthy (the main variable for him), he could be an important piece for the Bruins in upcoming seasons with so many older forwards (like Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, David Krejci, etc.) eventually retiring.

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Six Patriots (and counting) Have Now Opted Out of the 2020 Season, What Are We Doing Here NFL?

From the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic that started in mid-March (which feels like it was roughly 150 years ago), the NFL of all the big-time professional sports leagues in America seemed the most difficult to safely return. While college football hasn't officially been cancelled yet for this fall, it's probably only a matter of time with so many players testing positive for Coronavirus since going back to their respective schools this summer. MLB started its laughably unorganized 60-game regular season last Thursday and already, there is an outbreak with the Miami Marlins (shocker!) suspending activities indefinitely after almost half of their team came down with this dreaded ailment. The NHL (with hub cities in Toronto and Edmonton) and the NBA (all at Disney World) have put together the most comprehensive plans for returning to action, they realized that the best option was to create bubble cities. With the sheer size of NFL rosters not to mention coaching and support staffs, that has never really been discussed for the world's most profitable sports league.

With teams around the NFL gathering at various times this week for the start of the most bizarre training camps in history (no preseason games whatsoever), you are starting to see players choose to opt out for 2020 with that deadline quickly approaching on Saturday. Perhaps it shouldn't come as a surprise that the New England Patriots (who have so many respected and smart veterans that have won multiple Super Bowls) are at the forefront of this topic because they've had a whopping six players so far punt on this ill-fated campaign. Illustrating how much things can drastically change in a single day during a pandemic, it all started last night as their new fullback Dan Vitale along with a backup offensive lineman Najee Toran (who?) were the first ones to opt out. No big deal, Bill Belichick loves fullbacks more than any other NFL head coach from the last 20+ years but you can literally find that dinosaur position anywhere (boxing gyms, MMA misfits, local rugby leagues, etc.). As for Toran, I had never heard of him before yesterday so again, no huge loss there.

Today was the sobering reality check for Pats fans as a team captain and one of their best overall players-linebacker Dont'a Hightower-as well as three other extremely valuable guys (in their roles)-running back/special teams ace Brandon Bolden, right tackle Marcus Cannon and safety Patrick Chung-all understandably opted out of 2020. I'm not usually into doom or gloom, but honestly what's the point of having the NFL this season if it poses so many long-term health risks to everyone involved? At least the league will rightfully pay guys who make the decision not to play based on a myriad of reasons (family, friends, personal health, etc), remember this is the same shameful group of owners that has no use for guaranteed contracts despite a majority of players having very short professional careers which are then compounded by life-long injuries and issues.

Don't get me wrong, I love football at every level. I never played it formally but there are countless lessons and positive elements to be gained from such a brutal activity. A fall and winter without high school football, NCAA football or the NFL would be bizarre beyond belief. Finally, fantasy football is by far the best of all fantasy sports. For instance, I'm in a Yahoo league with many buddies from high school that is the main thing that helps us keep in touch from year to year. Still, if the pandemic has taught has anything (let's be real, hopefully it's shined a light on many aspects of your own life), it's that sports aren't everything. Trust me, I am obsessed with sports. I have been a sportswriter for almost fourteen years (damn, I'm old) since I graduated from Providence College. There are more sides to me than just sports but I am as into them as anyone I know. That's not a humblebrag either. Regardless, putting people's health on the line for a football game or season is beyond reckless and absurd. The NFL is such a physically demanding sport plus you cannot socially distance yourself from your opponent or wear a mask while you play, so it is impossible to prevent positive Covid-19 tests from happening in large numbers with teams becoming the Marlins of football in no time. Woof.

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