After six forgettable seasons, Yakupov is out of the NHL, signing a one-year contract with the KHL’s SKA St. Petersburg last week. That doesn’t necessarily mean the 24-year-old won’t one day return to North America, but it does open up an opportunity to revisit the many mistakes made in the first round in 2012 — including the most egregious at No. 1, which set the Oilers back MORE: The truth about Nail Yakupov, an imperfect prospect set up to bust...

It’s been a difficult season for Columbus Blue Jackets starting goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. Slated to become an unrestricted free agent in July, the former Vezina Trophy winner is playing poorly in his contract year. Things came to a head after Bobrovsky was pulled during last Tuesday’s loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Rather than return to the bench, he reportedly went straight to the dressing room, showered and changed into street clothes....

Some teams, like the Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings, are rebuilding clubs that aren’t expected to be serious playoff contenders. However, interestingly, they’ve already been active in the trade market. On Oct. 7, the Senators acquired center Vladislav Namestnikov from the New York Rangers. Over two weeks later, the Wings picked up winger Brendan Perlini from the Chicago Blackhawks. Others, such as the San Jose Sharks and New Jersey Devils, were expected to be top playoff contenders this season; however, their lousy records in the early going threaten to scuttle their playoff hopes....

MORE: When is the 2018 NHL All-Star Game? The decision was immediately met with criticism. The Michigan musician has been accused in the past of racism, sexism and homophobia in his work and in his public statements. He has displayed the Confederate flag during many of his concert tours, and he made headlines for his profane comments about former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Rock (real name Robert James Ritchie) has denied being racist....

I watched every tidbit of coverage I could find, and not just because my team was in the game. The outdoor conditions, the massive crowd, the tradition of pond hockey carried out on such a huge platform … it was all so alluring. In the eight Winter Classics to date games focused on rivalries, which only added to the dynamic. MORE: The best of the NHL’s outdoor games | Penguins to host Flyers in outdoor game in 2017...

The league will employ independent “spotters” at every game during the 2015-16 season to help determine if a player is exhibiting visual signs of a concussion, deputy commissioner Bill Daly confirmed to Le Journal de Montreal on Monday. MORE: Career-ending concussions: Lindros’ first on list The league had instituted a new concussion protocol during the 2010-11 season that required players suspected of having a concussion to sit in a quiet room without distraction for a minimum of 15 minutes in order to efficiently be examined by team doctors....

For those who don’t remember, Halak played out of his mind in the Canadiens' upset over the top-seeded Capitals in ’10, including games where he stopped 45 of 47 shots, 37 of 38, 53 of 54 and finally, 41 of 42 in Game 7. He played pretty well against the Penguins, but didn’t face the barrage he survived against in the Capitals series. He parlayed that into a contract with the Blues, since the Canadiens decided to keep Carey Price and not him — a move that looks pretty good today....

The 2018 rumor mill already features a great many compelling storylines. And while pipe dreams of a John Tavares or Erik Karlsson blockbuster might qualify as a little too bold for the NHL’s taste, there’s enough rumors and speculation to keep things interesting right down to the final cutoff. TRADE TRACKER: Live updates, analysis on 2018 deadline day This year’s trade bait list features your usual crop of rentals. Buffalo’s Evander Kane, Detroit’s Mike Green and the Rangers’ Rick Nash — all pending unrestricted free agents — figure to swap their basement dwellings for a taste of the playoffs....

According to Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the Wild, who made Dumba, Scandella and Staal available for Wednesday’s expansion draft, agreed to losing Haula and Tuch instead in a deal with Vegas. Haula would have become a restricted free agent July 1. Russo reported he agreed to a multi-year deal with the Golden Knights during their exclusive free agency window, which closed at 10 a.m. ET Wednesday....

Organized by Colorado Avalanche forward J.T. Compher and Toronto Maple Leafs forward Zach Hyman, the participants will play four games of “trios” with the winner earning a $200,000 charity prize pool. “Once the season got shut down, me and my teammates were playing ‘Fortnite’ a little more,” Compher said in an interview with ESPN. “We kind of just came up with the idea of getting an NHL tournament together, where we could play against guys around the league....

On the official Pokémon Go blog, Niantic detailed the immediate and upcoming updates that will be implemented into the popular mobile game regarding Mega Evolution, including the Mega Energy requirement. Here’s what the blog said: When Mega Evolution was introduced to Pokémon Go a week ago, many trainers felt the requirements to Mega Evolve their Pokémon was too high and the amount of time it stays in its Mega form was too short....

However, in true playoff hockey fashion, he returned to the ice for the next period in Pittsburgh’s 4-1 victory againt Nashville. MORE: Best Penguins of all time Bonino is listed as a game-time decision for Game 3 on Saturday in Nashville because of a “lower-body injury.” But he’s not alone. The Penguins’ entire roster is listed as a game-time decision, coach Mike Sullivan said. It’s a move on par with John Calipari announcing that all of Kentucky’s basketball players, including walk-ons, were declaring for the 2016 NBA draft, and Sullivan revealed about as much information as Bill Belichick has in any press conference ever....

The 6-foot-9 Cleare came to Maryland two years ago as a highly touted recruit but started only 28 of 69 career games. He averaged 3.0 points and 2.5 rebounds as a sophomore this season. MORE: 2014-2015 Top 25 | Early entry draft list | Digger Phelps retiring The 6-6 Faust started 13 games as a junior this season. He averaged 9.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and two assists. Peters appeared in all 32 games as a freshman, averaging 4....

At just 19 years of age, Kyrgios took to centre court and knocked off Rafael Nadal in a huge Round of 16 upset, advancing to the quarter-finals of a grand slam for the first time. Fast-forward to 2022, and the 27-year-old Kyrgios is back in the quarter-finals after a five-set victory over Brandon Nakashima. Once again, he did on centre court. Kyrgios had a few mishaps during the clash with Nakashima, but ultimately proved too strong for the American with a 4-6 6-4 7-6 3-6 6-2 win, setting up a battle with Cristian Garin....

The Brooklyn rapper confirmed she was expecting her first child with husband Kenneth Petty in a series of Instagram posts on Monday. “#Preggers,” read the caption of one photo of Minaj keeling while cradling her bulging baby bump. Minaj had fans speculating that she may be on the road to motherhood when she joked about suffering from morning sickness during a Twitter question-and-answer session back in May. A fan asked the chart-topping rapper if she had cooked anything while lockdown over the coronavirus were in effect....

And now Minaj has said her family friend is willing to tell his story for the right price. Let’s recap: On Monday the rapper revealed that the reason she would not be attending the Met Gala is because she is still unvaccinated against COVID-19. “They want you to get vaccinated for the Met. if I get vaccinated it won’t for the Met. It’ll be once I feel I’ve done enough research,” she tweeted to her 22....

The real Dahmer is believed to have murdered 17 men and boys, many of whom were queer and people of color, between 1978 and 1991. Nash-Betts’ powerful performance has earned her heaps of praise, but she’s also aware of the backlash the show has received, with some arguing that it’s worked to retraumatize victims’ families. “I understand why some people may think that or see it that way, but I can only speak for myself,” Nash-Betts said....

For much of that time, I felt that I might become a patron saint of lost causes. Indeed, even as I face my last few days as a Member of the European Parliament, it is still hard to believe that Brexit is really happening. There are skirmishes to come over fishing rights, the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice, and the extent to which we break away from alignment with the EU’s rules....