Bryant McBride watched the messages multiply. Blake Wheeler of the Winnipeg Jets on social media, calling for people to “stand with the black community and fundamentally change how the leadership in this country has dealt with racism.” Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks and Claude Giroux of the Philadelphia Flyers tweeting “Black Lives Matter.” Well […]
Continue readingThe NHL returned this past weekend to restart its season with a 24-team postseason tournament, featuring both a round-robin series for the top seeds and a best-of-five qualification round for the others. The league adopted an “All Day Hockey” approach, with puck drop of the first game on Saturday at noon ET, and start times […]
Continue readingVegas forward Ryan Reaves, one of the NHL’s few Black players, and goaltender Robin Lehner knelt with Dallas forward Tyler Seguin and Jason Dickinson before their round-robin postseason game in Edmonton, Alberta. The two Vegas players flanked the two Stars players as they took a knee on the blue line. Golden Knights coach Peter DeBoer […]
Continue readingThe first day of the NHL’s restarted season produced a few shocking moments, a few controversies and a speech that hockey fans won’t soon forget. Day 2 brings the start of the round-robin games among the top seeds and the rest of the qualification-round series, as the Eastern Conference postseason rolls on in Toronto while […]
Continue readingUnlike the traditional playoff format, the league is running a 24-team tournament, with 12 teams from each conference playing in fan-less arenas in Toronto (for the East) and Edmonton, Alberta (for the West). The top four teams in each conference are in the round of 16, and seeds 5 through 12 will square off to […]
Continue readingIt wasn’t just that the lowly Detroit Red Wings and Ottawa Senators lost out on the No. 1 pick. Everyone must cope with the fact that “Team E” — a squad that plays in the NHL’s 24-team postseason — gets the chance to draft No. 1 prospect Alexis Lafreniere. The eight losers in the qualifying […]
Continue readingThe most frustrated I’ve ever been with the Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee was 10 years ago, when its members snubbed coach Pat Burns. He was dying of cancer. “I know my life is nearing its end, and I accept that,” Burns said in April of that year. The Hall of Fame chose not […]
Continue readingFor the most part, the truncation of the season affects only the dynamics of two major awards: the Jack Adams for coach of the year, which the broadcasters vote on, and the Hart Trophy for league most valuable player, for which the PHWA members vote. These winners are influenced by their team’s place in the […]
Continue readingHe stood at the bench, lowered his head and raised his right fist in the air, becoming the first NHL player to engage in a peaceful demonstration during the national anthem in solidarity with athletes who protested in other sports. Brown had consulted military families beforehand about what they thought were appropriate ways to protest […]
Continue readingWhile there is no official timeline for when the NHL will resume play — or a decision on whether the rest of the regular-season games will be played or we’ll skip right to the Stanley Cup playoffs — there have been significant developments during the past seven days. Let’s get you caught up on all […]
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