On Friday, the league announced its players will be allowed to participate in the Games scheduled to be held in Beijing from Feb. 4-20, 2022; the hockey tournament begins on Feb. 9. The NHL Players’ Association sent out a memo to its members announcing the agreement had been made. Players will have the ability to opt out of participation and there will not be any insurance provided for COVID-related illnesses....
Three trophies are based on regular season statistics, and therefore don’t necessitate nominees or a vote, but are presented to the winners at the ceremony. Dallas Stars forward Jamie Benn will be presented with the Art Ross Trophy for most points (87) and Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals will receive the Maurice “The Rocket” Richard Award for top goal scorer (53). Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price and Chicago Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford will accept the Jennings Award on behalf of their teams, which tied for the fewest goals allowed (189)....
The two-day event promises to be a busy one with a lot of trades expected. The biggest star who could be on the move is Maple Leafs forward Phil Kessel. Many teams are interested in trading for him, but because 30-plus goal scorers don’t come available often, the Leafs’ demands are high. MORE: The history of the NHL’s No. 1 draft picks | Meet Mich Marner, snake charmer The last time the NHL Draft was held in Sunrise, Fla....
From rematches to boiling-hot rivalries, hockey fans should be excited if some of these possibilities hold through the remainder of the regular season. Every team has at least 30 games remaining, so a lot could change before the playoffs are set in stone. It’s always nice to look at the playoff picture as it molds, though. NHL TRADE RUMORS: Chris Kreider | Alexandar Georgiev | Jason Zucker | Trevor Daley...
On Thursday night, in front of a sold-out crowd on Fan Appreciation Night at the Prudential Center, the Devils guaranteed they would go the entire season without falling from the top eight in the East, clinching a berth in the Stanley Cup playoffs with a 2-1 nail-biting win over the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs in their next-to-last game of the 2017-18 regular season. In so doing, the Devils snapped a five-year playoff drought, and their top player — and Hart Trophy candidate — Taylor Hall punched a ticket to the postseason for the first time in his eight-year National Hockey League career....
Maple Leafs forward Nazem Kadri has been suspended three games for “recklessly” boarding the Bruins’ Tommy Wingels during Thursday’s Game 1, the league announced Friday. MORE: Former Maple Leafs, Bruins share memories of 2013 Game 7 Late in the third period, Wingels hit the Leafs’ Mitch Marner with his elbow, then fell to the ice along the boards. With Wingels in a prone position, Kadri charged toward the play and followed through on a check directly to Wingels’ head, which slammed against the boards....
Marchand raced from the other side of the ice to greet Bergeron. It was Marchand’s first point of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Blue Jackets, and it helped stake the Bruins to an early two-goal lead in Game 4 at Nationwide Arena on Thursday. That moment won’t get half as much attention as the rest of Marchand’s night. He had three penalties — the first of which led to a penalty shot — in his first action since late in Game 3 when he punched Blue Jackets defenseman Scott Harrington in the back of the head....
After Boston put shots behind Andersen on a pair of power plays to take a 2-1 lead, Andersen went full-extension to put his glove in front of a Patrice Bergeron chip shot to keep his team down just one goal. Andersen entered this game with a .914 save percentage and 25 wins in the postseason.
Keep an eye on the Kings, Capitals and even the Flyers, who are moving up the rankings. Here is the complete breakdown of Sporting News’ NHL power rankings for Week 10. PREVIOUS POWER RANKINGS: Preseason | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 NHL Power Rankings 10.0 1. Tampa Bay Lightning 22-6-2, 46 pts (last week: 1)...
Heading into his third offseason as the Sabres general manager, Jason Botterill is likely feeling pressure from the club’s ownership and long-suffering Buffalo fans to jump-start a stalled rebuild. He wasted little time shaking things up behind the bench, firing head coach Phil Housley after two disappointing seasons. Finding a suitable replacement for Housley is an obvious priority. The Sabres are making their fifth coaching change since 2013 and there’s a critical need for stability behind the bench....
A week after cutting ties with longtime heart-and-soul defenseman Dan Girardi via a buyout, Gorton traded veteran center Derek Stepan and goaltender Antti Raanta to the Coyotes in exchange for 21-year-old defenseman Anthony DeAngelo and the seventh overall selection in Friday’s NHL Draft, which they used to select Swedish league forward Lias Andersson. “I don’t think we are an old team, but we’re a little bit in transition right now, so I tried to go and change our team up a little bit,” Gorton said at the team’s hotel in Chicago....
Lovejoy, 35, annnounced his retirement during a Wednesday evening appearance on NHL Network. He endured a long road to the NHL, turning pro in 2007 after four years of college hockey with Boston College and Dartmouth as an undrafted free agent. Lovejoy made his NHL debut on Dec. 8, 2008, but bounced back and forth between the Penguins and Pittsburgh’s AHL club until he was traded to Anaheim in 2013....
Alzner has experienced the daily preparation and grind, as well as the pain of playing through various injuries day after day. He’s on his own consecutive games played streak, having suited up for 589 straight heading into the All-Star break. “It’s very hard,” Alzner said after a recent Canadiens game. “I like to say it’s all luck, but some people don’t like it when I say that. You can get guys that are tougher than anyone I’ve ever seen, but there’s just nothing you can do about a freak accident....
Chubb suffered a calf injury during their 47-42 loss against the Chargers last week. He hasn’t returned to practice and was confirmed out Friday morning, according to a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. The two-time Pro-Bowler totaled 161 rushing yards and a 52-yard touchdown on 21 carries before he left the field. He’s totaled 558 yards and has four rushing touchdowns through five games. WEEK 6 PICKSStraight up | Against the spread...
Philadelphia has had quite the run of head coaches since Andy Reid first stepped foot in Philly. Reid became the organization’s winningest coach before he was let go. Chip Kelly was … well, not great, but Doug Pederson brought the franchise its first Super Bowl in the wake of Kelly’s failure. Now, Nick Sirianni has the Birds in position to win an NFC crown — and he’s got some long Philly green in his pocket....
Rumors emerged Thursday that Donovan has requested a designated player deal from Real Salt Lake and another team in the Eastern Conference. Donovan retired from the sport after the 2014 season but came back during the LA Galaxy’s 2016 campaign. While he won’t return to the Galaxy, Donovan looks to be in talks with a pair of MLS teams. Nicol said he wouldn’t sign the 34-year-old but would rather bring in a player from South America, like Uruguay international Nicolas Lodeiro, who joined the MLS Cup champion Seattle Sounders midseason from Boca Juniors....
MORE: Top 16 college basketball programs since 2000 Hayes later tweeted: “You make a company millions. They ‘pay’ you with only a college education (estimated UW $160,000). Fair right?” Marquette guard Duane Wilson posted three tweets about the sign, presumably, and didn’t have kinds things to say about Hayes’ public statement. Wilson’s opinion and resolve is admirable, but the subject of paying college athletes isn’t going away anytime soon — especially if preseason All-American selections like Hayes continue to trumpet the cause....
First, FedEx demanded the team change its name from Redskins. Why is that significant? FedEx holds the naming rights to the team’s stadium, and the company could pull it sponsorship worth many millions of dollars if the team doesn’t comply. And on Thursday night, Nike no longer carries any Washington Redskins merchandise on its website—although all other 31 teams in the NFL are represented. The move comes after the top three Redskins sponsors—Nike, FedEx and PepsiCo—each received a letter Wednesday signed by 87 different investors and shareholders whose total net worth is $620 billion....
Sydney announced on Tuesday that Ninkovic has signed a contract extension that will keep him with the Sky Blues for another year, with a significant pay increase meaning the 32-year-old will be a marquee player in 2017-18. Coach Graham Arnold has already set a target of defending Sydney’s A-League premiership-championship double next term and Ninkovic’s decision to stay will be vital if the Sky Blues are to do so....
