NHL News

5:07 PM ET ESPN News Services Michigan defenseman Owen Power has elected to return to school for his sophomore season rather than make the jump to the NHL after being selected with the No. 1 pick by the Buffalo Sabres in last month’s draft, according to multiple reports. In doing so, Power will become the

9:35 AM ET Saying “it’s time,” goaltender Henrik Lundqvist has announced his retirement, ending a legendary 15-year NHL career. “For the last 30 years, I have devoted my life to the game of hockey … and now it’s time to walk away from the game I love and begin a new chapter,” Lundqvist wrote in

7:30 AM ET When 18-year-old Caroline Harvey showed up to the U.S. women’s national team selection camp in June, she was the youngest player there. And she had no idea what her next few months would look like. If Harvey didn’t make the national hockey team, she was set to enroll for her freshman year

12:20 PM ET The NHL will allow teams to sell advertising on their jerseys beginning in the 2022-23 season. The measure has been approved by the board of governors, and teams are already having exploratory conversations with potential sponsors. To say those teams are salivating at the potential revenue the ads will generate is an

2:34 PM ET Associated Press GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Arizona Coyotes will host a “Rookie Faceoff” tournament in the desert next month. The team announced Wednesday that the six-team tournament will be held Sept. 17-20 at Gila River Arena and Ice Den Scottsdale, the Coyotes’ practice facility. The tournament will include Pacific Division teams Anaheim,

1:34 PM ET Associated Press ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Wild have signed Kevin Fiala to a one-year, $5.1 million contract. The team announced the deal with the 25-year-old Swiss forward on Monday. Fiala had 20 goals and 20 assists in 50 games last season with the Wild, leading the team with five game-winning

1:16 PM ET The NHL will have advertising on the front of team jerseys for the first time starting in the 2022-23 season, a source told ESPN. The league’s board of governors formally voted this month to approve jersey advertisements. The NHL had surveyed its teams and found the majority of them in favor of

7:00 AM ET Nikolaj Ehlers is a great example of the “breakout player” life cycle in the NHL. The Winnipeg Jets forward was heralded as a prospect, as the ninth overall pick in 2014. He made a leap in quality from his rookie season in 2015-16 to his second campaign in 2016-17, and then stayed

4:46 PM ET Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Nashville Predators have signed goaltender Juuse Saros to a four-year, $20 million contract. General manager David Poile announced the deal Monday. “Juuse has proven himself as one of the best young goaltenders in the NHL, and we are very pleased to have him remain our No.

9:16 PM ET Associated Press TORONTO — Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews had wrist surgery Friday and is expected to need a “minimum” of six weeks to recover. The team said Matthews, who won the Rocket Richard Trophy last season as the NHL’s top goal scorer, had the surgery following “consultations with specialists and

10:44 AM ET Star center Joe Thornton has signed a one-year deal with the Florida Panthers for the 24th season of his legendary career. Thornton, 42, will earn $750,000 on the deal, with no bonuses or incentives. “I think he looked at our roster, and he saw a fit with us, like we saw a

3:13 PM ET Associated Press WINNIPEG, Manitoba — The Winnipeg Jets have agreed to terms with forward Andrew Copp on a one-year contract. The deal is worth $3.6 million for Copp, who had 15 goals and 24 assists in 55 games for the Jets last season, adding two assists in eight playoff games. The 27-year-old

1:15 PM ET Associated Press WINNIPEG, Manitoba — The Winnipeg Jets have avoided arbitration and signed defenseman Neal Pionk to a four-year contract worth roughly $23.5 million. The 26-year-old Pionk will earn about $5.8 million per year, the team said in a statement Wednesday. The Jets acquired the Nebraska native in a 2019 trade with

6:36 PM ET The Florida Panthers have given their new forward Sam Reinhart a three-year contract, with multiple reports saying it carries an annual average value of $6.5 million. Reinhart, 25, was a restricted free agent. Florida got him from the Sabres last month for a first-round draft pick and goalie prospect Devon Levi. Reinhart’s

3:53 PM ET When the NHL released its 2021-22 regular-season schedule, it featured a Winter Olympic break from Feb. 7-22 with the caveat that “no final agreement or decision has been made regarding the possible participation of players.” If the NHL doesn’t send its players to the Beijing Games, it would switch to a revised

6:39 PM ET Hall of Fame goaltender Tony Esposito, who was a fixture for the Chicago Blackhawks, has died at the age of 78. Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz said in a statement that Esposito had a brief battle with pancreatic cancer. Chicago claimed Esposito from the Montreal Canadiens in what was then an intra-league draft

5:26 PM ET Associated Press CHICAGO — Longtime Chicago Blackhawks radio analyst Troy Murray says he has cancer. Murray said Monday he wanted “to let everyone know of the challenge that I’m currently facing.” He said he is confident he will beat the disease and looks forward “to being in the booth calling Blackhawk games

8:54 PM ET ESPN News Services The Washington Capitals re-signed goaltender Ilya Samsonov to a one-year, $2 million contract on Monday. Samsonov, 24, was a restricted free agent after posting a 13-4-1 mark last season with two shutouts. He struggled in the postseason — much like most of the Capitals did — dropping all of