7:00 AM ET ESPN.com staff We’re officially on to the second week of the 2021-22 NHL season and two early-season marquee matchups are on the ESPN schedule on Tuesday. At 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+ and Hulu, the Colorado Avalanche will visit the Washington Capitals, while the Chicago Blackhawks will host the New York Islanders
NHL News
8:54 AM ET We are nearly a week into the 2021-22 NHL regular season, which is just enough time to start freaking out about teams and players defying or failing to meet expectations. Here’s a look a 10 first impressions made since the season started back on Tuesday, and whether they’re delusional or harbingers of
10:14 AM ET Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy has agreed to an eight-year, $76 million contract extension, a source told ESPN on Friday. The 23-year-old was due to be a restricted free agent after the season. McAvoy is in the final year of a three-year bridge deal that paid him $4.9 million annually and is
5:40 PM ET Former NHL player Jimmy Hayes had cocaine and fentanyl in his system when he died, his family told The Boston Globe on Sunday. Hayes was found dead at his home in the Boston suburbs on Aug. 23, the day after celebrating his son’s second birthday. He was 31. “I hope getting Jimmy’s
7:36 PM ET ESPN News Services LAS VEGAS — The Vegas Golden Knights lost two more players when forward Max Pacioretty and captain Mark Stone were injured Thursday against the Los Angeles Kings, adding two key names to the Golden Knights’ long list of inactives. Pacioretty is week to week after he broke a foot
11:49 AM ET The Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) — formerly the National Women’s Hockley League — announced on Friday an updated policy governing participation for transgender and non-binary athletes. The new policy will be in effect immediately for the 2021-2022 season. “Transgender and non-binary athletes deserve equal opportunity to compete in the Premier Hockey Federation,”
5:27 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — The NHL suspended Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin for a game for roughing Tampa Bay forward Mathieu Joseph. The league announced the penalty Friday, adding Larkin will give up $30,500 in pay that will go toward the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund. Larkin will miss Detroit’s home
7:00 AM ET ESPN.com staff Tonight is the first game of the 2021-22 NHL season that will be broadcast exclusively on ESPN+ and Hulu, and it should be a great one. We’ve got a captivating early-season matchup as reigning Calder Trophy winner Kirill Kaprizov and the Minnesota Wild head out west to take on John
7:00 AM ET WHEN ELVIS MERZLIKINS HEARD the Columbus Blue Jackets had another Latvian goalie in the organization, he was excited — but also confused. “My first question was: Who the hell is this guy?” Merzlikins says. “I had never heard about him, never knew about his existence.” That goalie was Matiss Kivlenieks, who came
8:15 AM ET The New York Islanders are going to win the 2022 Stanley Cup. “Please God, no,” wrote reader “Hockey Island,” whose Twitter profile includes an image of the team’s previous four championship banners from the 1980s. People like Mr. Island understand that my predicting the Stanley Cup winner is usually the kiss of
10:20 PM ET WASHINGTON, D.C. — Alex Ovechkin went from being a game-time decision to making more NHL history on Wednesday night. The Washington Capitals star scored twice in the team’s 5-1 victory over the New York Rangers, giving him 732 career goals in 1,198 games. Those goals moved him past Hockey Hall of Famer
3:53 PM ET Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Predators have signed defenseman Mattias Ekholm to a four-year, $25 million extension keeping him under contract through the 2025-26 season. The Predators announced the contract Wednesday at a news conference. General manager David Poile called Ekholm a foundational piece for the Predators and that they couldn’t
8:26 PM ET ESPN News Services TAMPA, Fla. — NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said the league has only four unvaccinated players as it opens up the 2021-22 season. Bettman was in attendance for the regular-season opener between the back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night. “Everybody banding together
7:00 AM ET ESPN.com staff The NHL returns to the ice on Tuesday night, and for the first time since the 2003-04 season it’s back on ESPN! At 7:30 p.m. ET, we’ll watch the Tampa Bay Lightning raise another Stanley Cup banner before taking on the Pittsburgh Penguins. Then at 10:15 p.m., the Vegas Golden
10:35 PM ET Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby will not play in Tuesday’s season opener against the Tampa Bay Lightning, he told Steve Levy in an interview that aired on Monday Night Football. Crosby, 34, made the trip to Tampa Bay and has begun practicing with the team, but he is still recovering from surgery
7:00 AM ET The Tampa Bay Lightning ended an unprecedented NHL season full of modifications and adjustments forced by the COVID-19 pandemic in July by hoisting the Stanley Cup for the second straight year. They’ll go for the three-peat in a 2021-22 campaign that sees the league revert to its normal alignment but features big
10:52 AM ET The Florida Panthers have secured their franchise center with a blockbuster contract. Aleksander Barkov has agreed to an eight-year, $80 million contract with the Panthers, a source told ESPN on Friday. The majority of the contract consists of signing-bonus money. It’s the largest contract in total dollars ever handed out by the
12:56 PM ET Associated Press The New York Rangers and top center Mika Zibanejad have agreed to an eight-year contract worth $68 million. Zibanejad, 28, will count $8.5 million against the salary cap beginning next season and through 2029-30. He was a point-per-game player last season with 24 goals and 26 assists in 50 games.