Ontario mulls how all-Canadian division in NHL might work
TORONTO — Ontario’s minister of sport says the provincial government is examining how a Canadian division in the NHL might work. Lisa MacLeod says discussions about the league’s return-to-play plan are being studied by Ontario public health authorities, the province’s chief medical officer of health and officials from Toronto and...
Goalie Henrik Lundqvist to miss season with heart condition
WASHINGTON — Star goalie Henrik Lundqvist will sit out the upcoming NHL season because of a heart condition, he said Thursday, about two months after he joined the Washington Capitals following 15 years with the New York Rangers. Calling it “a pretty tough and emotional day” in a video posted...
AP source: NHL players balk at changing CBA, league moves on
NHL players have balked at changing the collective bargaining agreement, and the league is preparing to open the season Jan. 13 after starting training camp on New Year’s Day, a person with knowledge of the situation told the Associated Press on Tuesday. Owners and players, with the hopes of getting...
AP Source: NHL now focusing on mid-January season start date
Time has all but run out on the NHL’s hope to start the season Jan. 1, with the league and NHL Players’ Association now focusing their discussions on opening play in mid-January, a person familiar with the talks told The Associated Press on Friday. A mid-January start date has become...
Gary Bettman: NHL players have to decide to pay now or later
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman warned players Wednesday they are likely going to have to pay one way or another to make up for the league’s projected lost revenue whenever the 2020-21 season gets underway. Speaking on a Sports Business Journal panel, Bettman stressed the NHL is not attempting to reopen...
Time running short for NHL to start next season Jan. 1
A far cry from the standings at Thanksgiving serving as a barometer of which teams are most likely to make the playoffs, the NHL heads into the U.S. holiday without a firm plan announced for next season. The league and players are running out of time to start the season...
NHL could go with temporary realignment for next seasonVideo
The NHL could go with a temporary realignment of its teams for next season during the covid-19 pandemic. The league also is contemplating a reduced schedule and temporary hubs. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said realignment could help with ongoing travel restrictions for Canada and mandated quarantines for visiting certain states...
Sewickley’s Furman South had an unusual road to becoming an NHL referee
Like many of us, for nearly eight months, Furman South has largely been idle. Employed as an NHL referee, the native of Sewickley hasn’t worked a game since all of hockey was brought to a halt in mid-March because of the coronavirus pandemic. Had South pursued his first choice of...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: OHL goes way overboard with covid restrictions
The Ontario Hockey League is considered Major Junior: the top level of the sport for players aged 16-21. Seven of the 31 first-round picks in this year’s NHL Draft came from the OHL. That includes center Quinton Byfield of Sudbury, who went second overall to Los Angeles. It’s serious hockey...
Coyotes cut ties with draft pick who bullied Black classmateVideo
GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Arizona Coyotes renounced their rights Thursday to their top 2020 draft pick after saying they learned more about his bullying of a Black classmate with developmental disabilities four years ago. The team parted ways with Mitchell Miller after taking criticism for selecting him in the fourth...
Vegas signs Alex Pietrangelo, GM says he won’t trade Marc-Andre Fleury
Alex Pietrangelo is Vegas bound, and the Golden Knights are shuffling the deck to fit him in. Pietrangelo signed a $61.6 million, seven-year deal with Vegas on Monday that carries an $8.8 million annual salary cap hit through 2027. It’s the fifth-biggest cap hit for a defenseman in the NHL....
Sabres agree to sign Taylor Hall to 1-year, $8 million dealVideo
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Taylor Hall is betting on himself in a surprising destination. Hall agreed to sign an $8 million, one-year deal with the Buffalo Sabres, the team announced Sunday night. Hall joins his fourth NHL organization since being the No. 1 pick in the 2010 draft. He is reunited...
Avalanche get Gibsonia native Brandon Saad in trade with BlackhawksVideo
DENVER — The Colorado Avalanche acquired rugged winger Brandon Saad, a Gibsonia native, in a multiplayer trade with the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday. Colorado sent defensemen Nikita Zadorov and Anton Lindholm to Chicago for Saad and defenseman Dennis Gilbert. The Blackhawks also will retain $1 million of Saad’s $6 million...
Several Stanley Cup winners breaking up championship coreVideo
While Braden Holtby saw his split with the Washington Capitals coming, Patric Hornqvist, Corey Crawford and Alex Pietrangelo weren’t so lucky. Hornqvist was “blindsided” the Pittsburgh Penguins wanted to trade him. Crawford was “devastated” the Chicago Blackhawks were going in another direction. And Pietrangelo was caught off guard when the...
Lightning suffer losses on 1st day of NHL free agency
It didn’t take long for the bubble to begin bursting on the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Stanley Cup party. The effects of a flat salary cap took its toll on the Lightning less than two weeks after winning their second Stanley Cup. Tampa Bay bid farewell to defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, who...
Henrik Lundqvist signs with Capitals as goalie carousel spins in NHL free agencyVideo
Nets around the NHL will look very different next season after a flurry of musical goaltenders in free agency. Henrik Lundqvist is joining a team he tormented in the playoffs for years, Braden Holtby is leaving the franchise he led to the Stanley Cup, Jacob Markstrom got big bucks to...
NHL free agency an unknown given flat salary capVideo
After an easy decision atop the NHL Draft, general manager Jeff Gorton doesn’t know what his New York Rangers or any team will do when free agency opens on Friday. “I don’t think it’ll be like last year. That’s for sure,” Gorton said. It won’t be like any year in...
Salary-shedding Predators trade Nick Bonino to WildVideo
The Nashville Predators traded center Nick Bonino to the Minnesota Wild for forward Luke Kunin on Wednesday, a swap on the second day of the NHL Draft that sent two picks to the Wild and one back to the Predators. The 32-year-old Bonino, a former Pittsburgh Penguin, will carry a...
NY Rangers select Lafreniere with No. 1 pick in NHL DraftVideo
Alexis Lafreniere wanted to take the stage at Montreal’s Bell Centre near his home and hear his name announced at the NHL Draft. The playmaking forward had to settle for being selected first overall by the New York Rangers on Tuesday night. “Obviously, it’s different, and we didn’t expect that...
NHL targeting Jan. 1 to begin next seasonVideo
Commissioner Gary Bettman said Tuesday night the NHL is targeting a Jan. 1 start for next season. That declaration came after recent talks between the league and NHL Players’ Association. The new date is a month after the tentative Dec. 1 start. “It was just over a week ago that...
Connor McDavid tests positive for coronavirus
EDMONTON, Alberta — Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid has tested positive for COVID-19. McDavid, a 23-year-old forward, is self-quarantining at home and experiencing mild symptoms, according to the Oilers. “He will continue to be monitored and will follow all associated health protocols,” the team said Monday night in a statement....
Rangers have work to do despite having top pick in NHL draftVideo
New York Rangers president John Davidson refuses to get ahead of himself with his team in the unique position of holding the No. 1 pick in the NHL Draft while also coming off an appearance in the expanded 24-team playoffs. Exciting as it is having the opportunity to add someone...
L.A. Kings acquire former Penguins defenseman Maatta from BlackhawksVideo
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — The Los Angeles Kings acquired defenseman Olli Maatta from the Chicago Blackhawks in a trade for minor league forward Brad Morrison. The Kings announced the deal Sunday to acquire Maatta, a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Maatta spent last season with the Blackhawks...
Lightning wrap up marathon season by lifting Stanley CupVideo
Defenseman Ryan McDonagh was preparing to answer one last question regarding the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Stanley Cup championship when teammates Nikita Kucherov and Alex Killorn crashed the room, putting an abrupt and celebratory end to the news conference. “Who’s next? Next question,” Kucherov said, looking into the camera. With McDonagh...
Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos in rare company as injured Cup captain
EDMONTON, Alberta — Steven Stamkos greeted Game 4 overtime hero Kevin Shattenkirk with a hug in the tunnel after the game. After the Tampa Bay Lightning missed out on their first chance to win the Stanley Cup in double overtime a night later, Stamkos walked into the locker room to...
