There’s this perception about the hockey media: that we’re all bitterly jealous of the players we cover, because we secretly want their careers. Nothing could be further from the truth: Most of us are bitterly jealous of the executives who sign those players, because secretly we want their careers. We create trades. We grade drafts. […]
Continue readingArizona Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet made news during the NHL’s season pause for a painful reason. “This is when you get cocky rollerblading,” Tocchet tweeted last month, along with a couple of images of nasty scrapes on his body. Since then, he has rediscovered biking. “I’ve explored Arizona a little bit more than I would […]
Continue readingIt’s created by a coach attempting to mesh three players together into a cohesive unit; it’ll stick around for anywhere from a few periods to a few games; and then it’s either broken up, with the spare parts added to different lines, or it passes the chemistry test, living on for months or perhaps for […]
Continue readingWe don’t yet know that much about it — like where it will be played and when. But we do know that “The Match: Champions for Charity” is planned for next month, likely in Florida, with Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady as participants. Proceeds from the event will benefit various charitable […]
Continue readingNow, we can add game show host to his list of many roles. The New Jersey Devils defenseman is the host of “NHL Hat Trick Trivia,” a weekly trivia show that features fan contests and celebrity guest appearances by everyone from country music stars to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. The show airs every Saturday on […]
Continue readingHe doesn’t know when the offseason begins or when it ends or how long it lasts. He doesn’t know how the coronavirus shutdown will affect the financial ability of NHL teams to offer him a contract, nor how much escrow will be withheld from that contract to make up the owners’ revenue shortfall this season. […]
Continue readingThe 2019-20 season was shaping up to be a good one, and there were plenty of positive stories across the league. To cheer you up during this lonely time, we revisited a feel-good story for every team this season: Note: Emily Kaplan handled the Metro and Central divisions, while Greg Wyshynski wrote on the Atlantic […]
Continue readingAlthough it feels like it’s been quite a bit longer, the NHL declared a “pause” on its 2019-20 season on March 12 due to the coronavirus pandemic, with the theoretical possibility of hitting “unpause” and resuming the regular season and playoffs (or just the latter) in some fashion at some point in the future. In […]
Continue readingIt’s hard to believe, but we’re staring down the final month of the 2019-20 NHL regular season. For this week’s ESPN Power Rankings, we identified the X factor for each team down the stretch. How we rank: The ESPN hockey editorial staff submits selections ranking teams 1-31, and those results are tabulated to the list […]
Continue readingRecency 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 […]
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