We last checked in with a rankings update in June, when the NHL was very much in limbo. Since then, we’ve had an extended playoffs, a draft, a long delay, and the start of a very different NHL season. Since then, we’ve revamped the default scoring to better reflect positional value and diverse skill sets […]
Continue readingMilan Hejduk was the last remaining member of the 2001 Stanley Cup-winning Colorado Avalanche to stay on the roster. But entering the 2012-13 season, Hejduk knew he would have a diminished role. He called teammate Gabriel Landeskog and told him to meet him and then-coach Joe Sacco for a meeting at the team facility when […]
Continue readingColumbus Blue Jackets center Pierre-Luc Dubois has requested a trade from the team, which is why interest around the league was piqued when he didn’t take a regular shift during the second period of the team’s 3-2 win over Detroit on Monday afternoon. Coach John Tortorella denied he “benched” the 22-year-old scorer. “You guys are […]
Continue readingFor this week’s Power Rankings, we identified our favorite move each team made this offseason. How we rank: The ESPN hockey editorial staff submits selections ranking teams 1-31 — taking into account past results and offseason additions — and those results are tabulated in the list featured here. Stanley Cup odds are courtesy of William […]
Continue readingThe word that typically defines free agency in the NHL is “uncertainty.” Players with expiring contracts enter a marketplace unsure of what their next deals will look like or where they’ll next call home. But in the 2020 free-agent frenzy, that uncertainty has reached previously unseen levels for players and teams. There’s a flat salary […]
Continue readingBoth are infamous for their fluctuation. Stock prices climb and fall and climb again. NHL teams and players exhibit the same streakiness from game to game. The goat on one night can become the G.O.A.T. by the end of the series. It’s the unpredictability that can enrich one’s life or turn one’s portfolio to trash. […]
Continue readingKevin Bieksa, former NHL defenseman and current hockey commentary savant on Sportsnet, recently told a story about how badly Nathan MacKinnon wanted to punch people in the face. They were representing Canada at the 2014 IIHF world championships. MacKinnon, 18 at the time, came up to him after practice, dropped his gloves and asked Bieksa […]
Continue readingThe 2020 NHL playoffs officially begin on Tuesday, as the 24-team tournament — with five-game qualification round series and round-robin seeding matchups — has moved on to a more recognizable, 16-team version. This round includes several matchups where revenge will be on the mind of one team (or both, for separate reasons), and based on […]
Continue readingThis is a critical juncture: Historically, NHL teams with a 2-0 lead in a seven-game playoff are 324-51 (.864) in those series. The Vegas Golden Knights are already there. Four more teams — the Colorado Avalanche, Philadelphia Flyers, New York Islanders and Vancouver Canucks — have a chance to join them Friday. Check out the […]
Continue readingJones pulled one of the jerseys out of the box, poured lighter fluid on it and lit it on fire in his driveway. He continued to burn jerseys from the box, documenting the process in a series of Instagram videos posted Wednesday. “I opened up my mailbox today, and I had these jerseys in my […]
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