NHL

Ryan S. Clark, NHL reporterOct 11, 2023, 01:12 AM ET Close Ryan S. Clark is an NHL reporter for ESPN. LAS VEGAS — The day it was announced Las Vegas was getting an NHL team. The way that team became a symbol of a city that was in pain before the Golden Knights even played

ESPN News Services Oct 10, 2023, 11:25 PM ET PITTSBURGH — Connor Bedard did not disappoint in his NHL debut. The Chicago Blackhawks rookie picked up an assist and dazzled occasionally with his skating as the Chicago Blackhawks rallied past Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2 on Tuesday night. The 18-year-old Bedard, the top

The 2023-24 NHL season begins Tuesday night with a tripleheader on ESPN and ESPN+, but we’re looking beyond those games. Will the Vegas Golden Knights repeat as Stanley Cup champs? Which team will top the standings in each division? Who will take home all of the individual hardware? We’ve gathered our cross-platform ESPN hockey family

Oct 10, 2023, 03:28 PM ET Former NHL coach and player Barry Melrose, who has been an Emmy Award-winning hockey analyst for ESPN since 1996, has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and is retiring, he announced Tuesday. “I’ve had over 50 extraordinary years playing, coaching and analyzing the world’s greatest game, hockey. It’s now time

Oct 10, 2023, 05:49 PM ET Forward Noah Gregor signed a one-year, $775,000 contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday. Gregor, 25, had joined the Maple Leafs on a professional tryout prior to training camp. He recorded 17 points (10 goals, seven assists) in 57 games last season with the San Jose Sharks. Gregor

Greg Wyshynski, ESPNOct 10, 2023, 01:50 PM ET Close Greg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer. The makers of Pride Tape are “extremely disappointed” by the NHL’s decision to ban players from using the rainbow-colored stick tape in support of the LGBTQ+ community this season. “The league has used language in recent days that would

Oct 10, 2023, 02:58 PM ET The Colorado Avalanche acquired defenseman Caleb Jones from the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday for forward Callahan Burke. Jones recorded a career-high 16 points (four goals, 12 assists) and averaged 19:13 of ice time in 73 games last season with the Chicago Blackhawks. He signed a one-year, $775,000 contract with

Oct 8, 2023, 03:42 PM ET The Vancouver Canucks obtained forward Sam Lafferty from the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday for a 2024 fifth-round pick. Lafferty, 28, can be an unrestricted free agent after this season. “As we work towards becoming a tougher team to play against, Sam will add some grit and sandpaper to

Oct 7, 2023, 04:53 PM ET The Ottawa Senators expected to have center Josh Norris in their lineup to begin the season, but it appears he won’t be ready after missing most of last season with a shoulder injury. Norris, 24, was penciled in to center Ottawa’s top power-play unit and likely open on a

Ryan S. Clark, NHL reporterOct 7, 2023, 04:30 PM ET Close Ryan S. Clark is an NHL reporter for ESPN. CENTENNIAL, Colo. — Coming here was not the only option. It was just the best one for Jonathan Drouin. Every choice has its consequences. Other NHL teams reached out to Drouin and his representatives about

Oct 7, 2023, 01:08 PM ET Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman signed a three-year, $12 million contract extension Saturday through the 2026-27 season. Hartman, 29, is entering his fifth season with the Wild. In 2022-23, he tallied 37 points (15 goals, 22 assists) in 59 games. He added 90 penalty minutes, a plus-seven rating and

Associated Press Oct 6, 2023, 04:10 PM ET CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. — Spencer Knight‘s comeback story will continue in Charlotte, after the Florida Panthers loaned their young goaltender to the team’s AHL affiliate on Friday. Knight hasn’t played in a game that counts for Florida since Feb. 18. The 22-year-old stepped away from hockey for

Oct 6, 2023, 01:08 PM ET Minnesota Wild captain Jared Spurgeon is considered week-to-week with an upper-body injury, the team announced Friday. Spurgeon suffered the injury after being checked into the boards by Chicago Blackhawks forward Reese Johnson during the first period of Minnesota’s 3-2 shootout win in preseason action Thursday. Spurgeon, a defenseman, totaled

The NHL is in a torch-passing mood as it enters the 2023-24 season. The Vegas Golden Knights are the reigning Stanley Cup champions, having earned their first title since coming into the league in 2017 as an expansion team. The Seattle Kraken defeated the 2022 champs, the Colorado Avalanche, for their first playoff series win

Associated Press Oct 5, 2023, 11:22 PM ET WENATCHEE, Wash. — Former NHL coach Kevin Constantine was fired as coach of the Wenatchee Wild on Thursday, a day after he was suspended indefinitely by the Western Hockey League for making “derogatory comments of a discriminatory nature.” In its first season in Washington after moving from

Oct 5, 2023, 08:44 PM ET Ten days before the 40th anniversary of the Saddledome opening, the Calgary Flames announced on Thursday that they have finalized an agreement with the City of Calgary, the Calgary Stampede and the Alberta provincial government to build a new arena. Construction is slated to begin next year on the

The Chicago Blackhawks have nearly doubled their season-ticket base thanks to the arrival of rookie phenom Connor Bedard. Bedard, 18, was the first overall pick in the 2023 draft and is one of the most-hyped prospects in years. When the Blackhawks won the draft lottery in May, the team sold $5.2 million in new season-ticket

NHL Insiders Oct 5, 2023, 07:00 AM ET We are just days away from opening night of the 2023-24 NHL season on Oct. 10, featuring a tripleheader on ESPN and ESPN+: Nashville Predators–Tampa Bay Lightning (5:30 p.m. ET), Chicago Blackhawks–Pittsburgh Penguins (8 p.m. ET) and Seattle Kraken–Vegas Golden Knights (10:30 p.m. ET), the latter of