NHL

1:53 PM ET Associated Press DALLAS — Dallas Stars forward Denis Gurianov is taking an indefinite leave of absence for unspecified family reasons. The team said Wednesday when announcing the leave that it would not provide further details on 25-year-old Gurianov’s absence. Gurianov is in his sixth season with the Stars. He is one of

7:00 AM ET There’s NHL draft hype, and then there’s what heralds the arrival of Connor Bedard. He’s been called “magical” and “otherworldly,” a player that can “change the fortunes of a franchise” by himself. While NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has proclaimed that his teams don’t tank, there are a handful this season that seem

8:20 AM ET On Dec. 3, the New York Rangers were nearing an abyss. Things came to a pressure point during the home game against the Chicago Blackhawks, one of the worst teams in the league. En route to another loss, captain Jacob Trouba had enough. The defenseman laid out two massive hits, got into

6:44 PM ET Associated Press SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose Sharks forward Tomas Hertl has been suspended two games for a high-stick penalty against the Calgary Flames‘ Elias Lindholm. Hertl received a minor penalty for the infraction on Sunday night. The NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced Monday that Hertl will miss two games

3:42 PM ET Associated Press PHILADELPHIA — Flyers forward Cam Atkinson will have neck surgery Wednesday and miss the entire season, another setback for one of the worst teams in the NHL. The 33-year-old has not played at all this season. Atkinson scored 23 goals and had 50 points last season in his first year

1:06 PM ET Associated Press TORONTO — The Maple Leafs acquired Dryden Hunt from the Colorado Avalanche for fellow forward Denis Malgin on Monday. Hunt has put up 14 goals and 42 points in 193 regular-season games in parts of six NHL seasons with the Florida Panthers, Arizona Coyotes, New York Rangers and Avalanche. He

Dec 19, 2022 Associated Press EDMONTON, Alberta — The Edmonton Oilers signed goaltender Stuart Skinner to a three-year, $7.8 million contract extension Monday. The 24-year-old from Edmonton has a 9-8-1 record, a 2.83 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage for the Oilers this season. He was drafted by Edmonton in the third round (78th)

4:43 PM ET Associated Press LAS VEGAS — Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo returned to practice Saturday morning after a nine-game absence he took when his 4-year-old daughter became seriously ill. Pietrangelo said he felt comfortable that his daughter, Evelyn, was progressing well enough that he could return in time for Saturday night’s home game

2:07 PM ET Associated Press LONDON, Ontario — London Knights center Abakar Kazbekov has died, the team and the Ontario Hockey League announced Saturday. He was 18. No other details were provided in the joint statement. Kazbekov, who was from Russia, played in a 5-2 home victory over the Owen Sound Attack on Friday. Statement

3:37 PM ET Associated Press Hockey Canada has a new board of directors. Now the real work begins. The national sport organization’s members elected a slate of candidates to fill nine vacant board seats with a vote Saturday at its annual winter meeting. Retired judge Hugh L. Fraser is Hockey Canada’s new chair, while former

3:06 PM ET The NHL has discussed expanding its regular season from 82 to 84 games in an effort to create more regional rivalry matchups, sources confirmed to ESPN. The league has been considering alternatives to its current schedule after some teams complained about an imbalanced number of divisional games against rivals. Currently, each team

3:14 PM ET Kristen Shelton Detroit Red Wings forward Jakub Vrana has been reinstated by the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program, the league announced Friday. On Oct. 19, Vrana entered the program that is designed to offer players treatment for mental health and ranging to substance abuse. He is now available to rejoin Detroit’s lineup while

7:05 AM ET The NHL trade market has been gummed up by a lack of salary-cap room this season. It also doesn’t help that so many teams are within a reasonable distance of playoff seeds, unable to determine their position in the market. When the NHL trade deadline arrives on March 3, the contenders and

7:00 AM ET The big news of the week in the hockey world was Alex Ovechkin scoring a hat trick against the Chicago Blackhawks to reach 800 goals, becoming the third player in NHL history to do so. As Ovi has been on this recent goal-scoring heater, his Washington Capitals have won eight of their

11:50 PM ET ESPN News Services NEW YORK — Mitch Marner‘s franchise record points streak was snapped at 23 games as the Toronto Maple Leafs fell to the New York Rangers 3-1 on Thursday night. Marner’s streak was the longest in seven seasons and the longest in the 105 year history of the Maple Leafs.

Dec 15, 2022 Associated Press SUNRISE, Fla. — Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang scored in his third game back since having a stroke, and the Penguins beat the Florida Panthers 4-2 on Thursday night. Letang had the stroke Nov. 28, returned to practice 10 days later and got back in the lineup Saturday against Buffalo.

9:45 AM ET Spend five or 10 minutes talking with any woman who has been fortunate enough to play for the United States national hockey team. At some point in that discussion, they will share why the need to make time for others remains so important for their sport because they understand the value of

12:48 AM ET Alex Ovechkin has trademarked “THE GR8 CHASE” as he closes in on Wayne Gretzky’s all-time NHL goals record, the star’s marketing team and the Washington Capitals told ESPN. Ovechkin and his family have been working on the multilayered marketing and business platform along with the Capitals, the NHL, the NHL Players’ Association