The L.A. Kings lost a member of their family last weekend as Danny Zollars passed away. The former Vice President of Game Entertainment and Marketing lost his battle with cancer.
The LA Kings are in mourning over the loss of a teammate & family member.
Danny Zollars, who died peacefully Saturday, was a shining example of our values: Family, Integrity, Excellence and Passion.
Our deepest love and condolences to Amy, Zoe and the entire Zollars family. pic.twitter.com/Ku51D6d4P1
— LA Kings (@LAKings) June 4, 2020
Zollars was an integral piece in designing the atmosphere for Kings games at Staples Center. He joined the team in 2011 at the start of its first Stanley Cup run this decade and helped create a fan experience that was befitting a championship team. The L.A. Times once described Zollars as ”the wizard behind the curtain” for the Kings.
I’ll continue to fight cancer in your honor…I love you brother! 💔
RIP Danny Zollars pic.twitter.com/IQh4QvDk90— Bailey LA Kings (@BaileyLAKings) June 1, 2020
We join the Kings in offering our condolences to the Zollars family.
On to the links…
- The NHL is moving to Phase 2 of its Return to Play plan on Monday, June 8. This means practice facilities can reopen for voluntary individual workouts and group workouts for up to six players at a time (along with a host of other details).
- The league still hasn’t technically agreed to restart games, but if and when they do, the plan is for each series after the qualifying round to be best-of-seven. Teams will also be re-seeded after each round instead of using playoff bracket.
- There’s an argument that playing into the summer works for the NHL in the long-term.
- Current and former NHL players have called upon the Greater Toronto Hockey League to release its data about penalties called for discriminatory slurs, but the GTHL is so far refusing to be transparent. In that vein, The Athletic looked at why white players in the NHL are starting to speak up about racism.
- Building a perfect hockey player continues at ESPN with goalies.
- A surprising number of Ducks fans are getting married in the Honda Center parking lot during the pandemic.
- And finally, a closer look at two-way defenseman prospect Cole Hults. /