Marc-Andre Fleury pranks and all, NHL could become Bubble Champions

Marc-Andre Fleury must feel like a professional angler trolling for bass along the Tennessee River. That much of a sure thing.

Forever known as one of (the best?) pranksters across the NHL, the Golden Knights goalie will soon travel with his team to a playoff hub in Edmonton, Alberta.

Yes. Fleury returned to the ice Friday for his first training camp practice.

You can stop hyperventilating now, Las Vegas.

Once in Edmonton, the top six Western Conference seeds will be housed at the JW Marriott as the coronavirus-generated postseason begins.

Think about it: All the down time between practices and games. All those teammates and opposing players. Fleury could play more tricks on unsuspecting sorts in one week than he has an entire career.

Just a suggestion: Should the hub have a snitch line similar to that of the NBA, where anonymous tips can be made about players and officials who might not be adhering to quarantine protocols, Fleury should call in and accuse the entire Colorado Avalanche roster of every possible infraction.

You know, so the Knights might at least come within three goals of them.

Bubble champs?

The NHL has a chance to look really good in terms of how it pulls off the whole inclusion concept. To eventually be named Bubble Champions. Hey, anything for the image of Alex Ovechkin partying like it’s 2018 again.

And yet it won’t take much for hockey to outshine those leagues already encased within mandated spaces.

Take the NBA. Players have complained about accommodations and food and even had a few leave the bubble for much better dinner options, which I assume meant 7-Eleven.

The scoundrels were immediately returned to quarantine.

There was also a leaguewide memo reminding players to dress appropriately when receiving room service, which probably means some dude was naked when answering the door for his mixed greens.

Things haven’t run smoothly over at the WNBA bubble, either, unless you consider shared pictures of bed bugs and dead worms and laundry rooms with mouse traps along the walls enchanting illustrations of one’s dwelling.

Numerous positive tests for the coronavirus threatened to burst the Major League Soccer bubble before it even opened. I guess the food is bad there, too.

As for those professional sports that already have gathered outside or soon will for a return to play, baseball has had ongoing testing problems, and, given how many protocol issues still must be resolved, I’m not certain the NFL even knows there is a pandemic.

It’s all a reminder of how impressive the NHL has been handling global chaos.

It came to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement. It should escape the first three phases of return relatively well in terms of positive cases. It smartly waited until the final minute to name hub cities while closely monitoring coronavirus numbers in several regions.

If the worst thing that comes from this regarding a hub city is recent water damage to Rogers Place in Edmonton, it will prove the most successful and splendid such endeavor in sports.

Leading the way

Think about that. The NHL. The Land of Gary Bettman.

Praised for its competence and instinct and progressive nature during crisis.

Who outside the league would have thunk it?

Well, actually, nobody.

“It’s a huge undertaking as far as what’s going on,” Knights coach Pete DeBoer said. “They’re giving us as much information (about the hub) as they can while moving through the process at the NHL level and in Edmonton.

“We have a veteran team. They know what’s at stake. These guys have been skating in Vegas for five weeks prior to camp, with the Strip 10 miles away and (COVID-19) cases starting to climb on a daily basis. They have shown the maturity to make the right decisions. I have total confidence and trust in our group.”

He also was asked about Fleury’s propensity for pranks and how many the veteran might pull off in the hub.

DeBoer laughed but didn’t directly address it.

I’m thinking that means he’s also in favor of snitching on the Avalanche.

Ed Graney is a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing and can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on Twitter.