NHL

2:01 PM ET The St. Louis Blues have signed free-agent winger Brandon Saad of the rival Colorado Avalanche. Saad, 28, agreed to a five-year contract worth $22.5 million, for a $4.5 million cap hit. He had 15 goals and 9 assists in 24 games last season, in his only season with the Avalanche. He has

9:00 AM ET For months, we heard about the NHL’s pandemic economy, the flat salary cap and how difficult making deals had become. Then the 2021 free agent market opened, and within 24 hours teams had spent over half a billion dollars. Nature is healing. Second-pairing defensemen are getting $5 million against the cap again.

11:17 PM ET As day turned to night on the first day of 2021 NHL free agency, it appeared that the Colorado Avalanche had missed out on all of their targets in the goalie market. Instead, GM Joe Sakic swung big, landing Darcy Kuemper from the Arizona Coyotes, in exchange for defenseman Conor Timmins, a

12:00 PM ET The NHL free agency signing period for 2021 is officially open. For each key player that signs a deal, we’ll assess the player’s fit with his new team, weigh whether the terms of the deal make sense, and serve up an overall grade for the team. We’ll continue to grade the most

7:17 AM ET Typically, NHL free agency begins on July 1 each offseason: a cherished tradition on Canada Day up north, and a pre-Independence Day festival of commerce for those of us in the United States. On July 1, 2021, the Stanley Cup had yet to be awarded. But 27 days later, we are ready

1:27 PM ET Since the Vegas Golden Knights‘ expansion draft in 2017, goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury has been the face of the franchise, whether it was on the ice, on billboards, in the media, or in the community. And now, in an unceremonious fashion, his tenure with the team appears over. On Tuesday, the Golden Knights

7:00 AM ET After 16 months of uncertainty, the hockey world is beginning to return to some sense of normalcy as the free-agent market ahead of the 2021-22 NHL season is set to open on Wednesday, July 28. Of course, there’s been nothing too normal about this summer thus far: In an effort to get

7:00 AM ET The NHL free-agent market officially opens on Wednesday — you can catch our simulcast of TSN’s “Free Agent Frenzy” coverage beginning at 11 a.m. ET on ESPN+ — as teams scramble to sign players who can be everything from the last pieces of a championship puzzle to the spackle around the holes

10:24 PM ET The Washington Capitals traded defenseman Brenden Dillon to the Winnipeg Jets on Monday night, in an attempt to alleviate both their salary cap crunch and their logjam on defense. The Jets traded a second-round pick in both 2022 and 2023 for the defenseman, who is entering his 11th NHL season and has

12:56 PM ET Associated Press Sam Bennett re-signed with the Florida Panthers on Monday, inking a four-year contract with the team that has been a good fit for him since he joined the squad at the trade deadline. Bennett put up six goals and nine assists for 15 points in 10 regular-season games with the

1:40 PM ET ESPN News Services The Vancouver Canucks placed Jake Virtanen on unconditional waivers Sunday for the purpose of buying out the final year of his contract. Canucks general manager Jim Benning confirmed the decision in an announcement on the team’s official Twitter account. Virtanen was placed on leave on May 1 after being

7:36 PM ET A long, long ride is over. The 2021 NHL draft had a bit everything. Consider the blockbuster trades, as stars like Seth Jones, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Jakub Voracek, Cam Atkinson and Sam Reinhart all changed teams. Consider the history, as one NCAA school had a record-breaking weekend. Consider the mystery, as the COVID

3:10 PM ET As Day 2 of the 2021 NHL draft got rolling, the Columbus Blue Jackets and Philadelphia Flyers elected to make a significant change to the makeup of their respective top-six forward groups, trading Cam Atkinson for Jakub Voracek in a one-for-one swap. It’s been a busy two days for Flyers GM Chuck

4:28 PM ET So far, the big trade that Buffalo Sabres fans are expecting — involving captain Jack Eichel — has not materialized. But GM Kevyn Adams continues to make tweaks to his organizational depth, with the latest move being trading Sam Reinhart to the Florida Panthers in exchange for a conditional 2022 first-round pick

8:45 PM ET There have been rumors percolating for months that Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Seth Jones could be on the move. On Friday, those rumors became reality. The Chicago Blackhawks landed Jones, along with a 2021 first-round pick (32nd overall), and a 2022 sixth-round pick from Columbus, in exchange for defenseman Adam Boqvist, Chicago’s

1:28 PM ET Associated Press Four years after Shane Doan hung up his skates, the Arizona Coyotes added his oldest son to the organization. The Coyotes took Josh Doan with the 37th pick in the NHL draft Saturday, bringing in a player homegrown in the Valley to the franchise his father was the face of

2:27 AM ET The first round of the 2021 NHL Draft was like a blockbuster summer movie. There were tantalizing trailers, in the form of three blockbuster trades that preceded the draft and impacted picks — including Rasmus Ristolainen to the Philadelphia Flyers, Oliver Ekman-Larsson to the Vancouver Canucks, and Seth Jones to the Chicago

6:15 PM ET ESPN staff The 2021 NHL draft is here, and we’re tracking all 224 picks over two days and seven rounds, starting with the Buffalo Sabres‘ selection at No. 1 overall. Follow along live Friday and Saturday for each selection. Plus, Greg Wyshynski will take a closer look at how each first-rounder fits