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My first linemates: 25 stars recall their NHL origins
It’s like they’re opening up a pack of old hockey cards or thumbing through their high school yearbook. These are the teammates who were in the proverbial delivery room when they were born into professional hockey. Some have remained friends for life. ESPN asked 25 current and former NHL players about the first linemates they […]
Continue readingNHL Awards Watch: Hart Trophy race even more chaotic with one month left
Recency bias is very much a thing, considering that the ballots aren’t sent out until near the end of the season and the votes are sent in right up until the first game of the playoffs. This is especially true of the Hart Trophy race, for which players such as Taylor Hall, Corey Perry and […]
Continue readingHow the NHL trade deadline altered the playoff landscape
The NHL trade deadline came and went, and we were treated to a flurry of moves of varying degrees of importance to the playoff races. For the most part, it was a pretty sensible deadline, in that the teams currently contending for playoff spots were the ones that generally added to their rosters at the […]
Continue readingAnswering big U.S. hockey questions: Best moment, most underrated player, top women’s player and more
The best moment in U.S. hockey history (outside of the Miracle on Ice) The most underrated American player of all time Potential U.S.-born Hart Trophy winners on the horizon Challengers to Cammi Granato for the greatest American women’s player ever Winners of a theoretical 2020 international best-on-best men’s competition Let’s jump in. Greg Wyshynski, senior […]
Continue readingSeven trades we’d like to see before the NHL trade deadline
As we approach the NHL trade deadline on Monday, there’s some mild trepidation around the league that player movement on deadline day could be slower and less consequential than in years past. There are any number of reasons for that. The standings currently look like the type of abstract art where paint is randomly splashed […]
Continue readingWhy the Buffalo Sabres are the NHL’s biggest disaster
Peter Tripi is a passionate Buffalo Sabres fan, something increasingly rare for the moribund franchise. The kind of fan who shouts “Buffalo’s on the rise!” because it fires up other people, and because it’s what he inherently believed about his team. His family used to have season tickets before the resale market dried up like […]
Continue readingNHL Power Rankings: 1-31 poll, plus the best nickname on every team
One of the time-tested clichés about hockey is the manner by which its pedestrian and lazy nicknames are doled out. Shortening and adding a “-y” or pluralizing a last name. “Sutter” becomes “Sutts” or “Suttsy.” Yawn. But it’s not always like this. The NHL boasts plenty of nicknames that are memorable, interesting or inventive. And […]
Continue readingNHL trade deadline preview: Possible moves, latest rumors, what to watch for all 31 teams
Now that the 2020 NHL All-Star Weekend is in the rearview mirror, the league’s trade season is underway in earnest. The next several games for each team will be pivotal, as general managers decide whether their teams should be buyers, improving their chances for the Stanley Cup playoffs, or sellers, perhaps accelerating rebuilds. Get caught […]
Continue readingBlackhawks’ Patrick Kane calls Shooting Stars contest fun but ‘gimmicky’
ST. LOUIS — Patrick Kane said the newest NHL All-Star skills competition, which featured elevated players shooting pucks over the heads of fans at targets placed on the ice below, was “a little gimmicky,” even as he enjoyed winning the inaugural Shooting Stars challenge. “I’m kind of a fan of the original drills that used […]
Continue readingPair of Cup winners, St. Louis’ David Perron and Washington’s T.J. Oshie, among All-Star adds
After helping the Blues win the Stanley Cup last spring in his third stint with them, Perron is having one of the best seasons of his career. The 31-year-old Perron has 19 goals and 26 assists and is a first-time All-Star. “It’s real exciting,” Perron said. “Thanks to all the people in St. Louis that […]
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