Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin is taking leave of absence, returning to Sweden
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Buffalo Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin is taking a leave of absence and returning to Sweden to take care of a personal matter. “I will say this: He said everything is OK,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said Friday. “He’s got full support by our team.” Ruff said there’s...
Blues goalie Jordan Binnington ‘always planned’ to give Alex Ovechkin his 900th goal puckVideo
BUFFALO — St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington insists he always planned to hand over the puck Washington star Alexander Ovechkin scored in becoming the NHL’s first to reach 900 career goals. Binnington tucked the puck into his pants as the Capitals’ bench cleared celebrating Ovechkin’s milestone goal in a...
Alex Ovechkin scores 900th NHL goal with Washington Capitals
WASHINGTON — The NHL now has a 900-goal club. Charter member: Alex Ovechkin, of course. The Washington star pushed his record total to a new level Wednesday night, scoring against the St. Louis Blues to reach 900. The milestone came 2 minutes, 39 seconds into the second period. Ovechkin was...
NHL power rankings: 2024-25 non-playoff teams surprise early
USA Today Sports’ NHL points projections saw pretty much the status quo from the 2024-25 playoff field. The Utah Mammoth would replace the St. Louis Blues in the West and the Columbus Blue Jackets would replace the Montreal Canadiens in the East. But in the early going – emphasis on...
Rangers are beginning to find their identity with coach Mike Sullivan
TARRYTOWN, N.Y. — The way the New York Rangers have played early in the Mike Sullivan era wouldn’t light up a Broadway stage. It does bring the two-time Stanley Cup-winning coach some satisfaction. A month into games with Sullivan in charge, the Rangers have been way more successful at keeping...
Avalanche sign Martin Necas to 8-year, $92M contract extension
The Colorado Avalanche signed Martin Necas to an eight-year contract extension through 2034. Necas’ deal is worth $92 million, according to reports. When the contract kicks in starting with the 2026-27 NHL season, Necas will count $11.5 million against the salary cap annually. That is $500,000 a year less than...
Mammoth forward, Pittsburgh native Logan Cooley inks 8-year, $80M extension
The Utah Mammoth locked up center Logan Cooley with an eight-year, $80 million contract extension Wednesday. Cooley, 21, leads the team in goals (eight) and is tied for second in points (12) through 11 games this season. The Pittsburgh native has 121 points (53 goals, 68 assists) in 168 games...
Former NHL player Ryan Kesler faces criminal sexual conduct charges related to 16-year-old
Former NHL player Ryan Kesler has been arrested and charged with two misdemeanor counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct related to alleged inappropriate contact with a 16-year-old child earlier this year. Kesler, 41, was arraigned on Monday in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., and plead not guilty to the charges in court....
Report: Golden Knights to sign goalie Carter Hart to 2-year deal
Goaltender Carter Hart’s professional tryout with the Vegas Golden Knights is expected to convert to a two-year, $4 million contract, TSN reported Friday. Hart, one of five players acquitted of sexual assault charges stemming from an incident in 2018, agreed to a tryout contract with Vegas on Oct. 16. He...
Logan Cooley has natural hat trick and assist in 1st-period spree for MammothVideo
ST. LOUIS — Logan Cooley had a natural hat trick in a 4:48 span of the first period and also had an assist to help the Utah Mammoth take a 4-0 lead over the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night. The West Mifflin native assisted on Ian Cole’s opening goal,...
Jaromir Jagr is back: At 53, the former NHL great starts his 38th professional season
KLADNO, Czech Republic — At age 53, Jaromir Jagr began his 38th professional season by playing on the fourth line for his hometown Kladno Knights in a 3-1 victory over Vitkovice on Friday night in the Czech league. The former NHL great logged 10:08 minutes of ice time and joined...
Goalie Carter Hart, acquitted in Hockey Canada case, to join Knights
Goaltender Carter Hart, one of five players acquitted of sexual assault charges stemming from an incident in 2018, agreed to a tryout contract with the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday. Hart became eligible to sign with an NHL team after his acquittal of charges that came from a time when...
First Call: Joe Flacco downplays Mike Tomlin’s trade comments; Mike Sullivan’s Rangers shut out again
Wednesday’s “First Call” has Joe Flacco’s response to Mike Tomlin’s criticism of the Cleveland Browns trading him to Cincinnati. We have a health update on the Bengals heading into Thursday’s game against the Steelers. We also examine the officiating crew for that contest. And Mike Sullivan’s Rangers are off to...
Canadiens’ Lane Hutson lands lucrative 8-year deal after rookie of the year season
Montreal’s Lane Hutson is the latest young NHL defenseman to cash in with a major contract extension. The Canadiens announced that Hutson, 21, will average $8.85 million in the eight-year deal that he agreed to on Monday. The $70.8 million contract will start next season and run through 2033-34. Hutson...
Boqvist’s goal midway through 3rd lifts Cup champion Panthers over Blackhawks
Jesper Boqvist batted in the go-ahead goal with 10 minutes, 20 seconds left in the third period as the host Florida Panthers defeated the Chicago Blackhawks, 3-2, on Tuesday night in the season opener for both teams. Sergei Bobrovsky made 17 saves to earn the win for the two-time defending...
Islanders rookie, No. 1 overall pick Schaefer officially named to roster
After turning 18 a month ago, defenseman Matthew Schaefer now is set to make his NHL debut for the New York Islanders on Thursday in the team’s season opener. Schaefer, the No. 1 overall selection in June’s NHL Draft, officially was named to the Islanders’ roster Monday. New York will...
Connor McDavid signs 2-year, $25 million contract extension with the Edmonton Oilers
Connor McDavid signed his long-awaited contract extension with the Edmonton Oilers on Monday, refusing a raise on a short-term agreement as he pursues his first Stanley Cup championship. The three-time MVP and the only NHL organization he has played with finalized a two-year, $25 million contract on the eve of...
Edmonton Oilers are still class of Pacific Division for everyone else to chase
Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and the Edmonton Oilers, for all the questions swirling around them, remain the class of the Pacific Division when it comes to success when it matters most. Sure, McDavid is in the final year of his contract and goaltending remains an uncertainty, but they’ve won the...
The Stanley Cup still runs through Florida and an Atlantic Division as dominant as ever
Of the NHL’s four divisions, the Atlantic has stood above all recently, and that is not going to change this year if the threepeat-minded Florida Panthers have their say. No matter how many games — 314 including playoffs — the two-time defending champion Panthers have logged making three straight Stanley...
NHL’s Central Division remains a gantlet through the season and playoffs
Mikko Rantanen was a staple for Colorado, helping the Avalanche win the Stanley Cup as part of his dominant decade in Denver. Then, all of a sudden last winter he was gone, traded to Carolina and by spring back in the division with bitter rival Dallas. “Someone was like, ‘Yeah,...
Old guard still runs Metropolitan Division, though times could be changing soon
The winds are beginning to change in the NHL’s Metropolitan Division, though not before the old guard gets at least one more shot. Washington easily won the division last season and has much of the same lineup back, potentially with career goal scoring leader Alex Ovechkin playing his final season...
Panthers face daunting task of trying to win another Stanley Cup without captain Aleksander BarkovVideo
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Images of Aleksander Barkov hoisting the Stanley Cup are scattered all over the Florida Panthers’ team facility. It’s the ultimate reminder of the last two championship seasons: the team captain being the first one to lift hockey’s chalice. Now, the Panthers face perhaps the ultimate challenge:...
NHL sees benefits to changing landscape after NCAA allows CHL players to compete at U.S. collegesVideo
The NCAA’s decision allowing Canadian Hockey League players to compete at the U.S. college level for the first time won’t alter how the NHL evaluates draft-eligible talent. Wherever players are competing, the scouts will be there, NHL Central Scouting chief Dan Marr said. What Marr envisions changing as a result...
Islanders top pick Matthew Schaefer headlines NHL rookies to watchVideo
Matthew Schaefer being the first NHL No. 1 pick out of the Ontario Hockey League since Connor McDavid in 2015 is pressure enough. Then there’s following Connor Bedard and Macklin Celebrini into the league. Bedard with Chicago and Celebrini with San Jose immediately were put into prominent roles. Bedard won...
Here’s what to expect from the 9 NHL teams featuring new coachesVideo
Dan Muse and Mike Sullivan swapped ZIP codes over the summer, and they are among nine new coaches in the NHL this season. Muse took over for Sullivan as the Pittsburgh Penguins head coach after spending the past two seasons as an assistant coach with the New York Rangers. Sullivan,...
