Bedard deserves criticism. He should be better than he has been. But the recent unloading of abuse felt almost coordinated, as though the powers that be in the national media had decided that Bedard was soft and entitled, was everything that was wrong with today’s game. Maybe Don Cherry had called a Zoom meeting.

The Chicago Blackhawks’ first practice since the NHL took a break for the 4 Nations Face-Off looked more like a series of training camp drills than a typical midseason session. They worked on passing and two-man rushes before breaking down into spirited group scrimmages.