7:00 AM ET ESPN staff The gaze of the sports world will turn toward Seattle on Saturday night, as the Kraken are set to open their new barn, Climate Pledge Arena. For their first home game, they’ll host the geographic rival Vancouver Canucks, live on ESPN+ and Hulu at 7 p.m. PT/10 p.m. ET. To
NHL News
3:40 PM ET The Carolina Hurricanes trolled the Montreal Canadiens with a satirical website after defeating them on Thursday night, only to have that site hacked and turned into an anti-Carolina web page by Friday morning. After the Hurricanes beat the Canadiens in Montreal, the team sent out a website link to its 506,000 followers
9:40 PM ET Jack Eichel‘s camp is making one last attempt to convince Buffalo Sabres management to let him get his preferred surgery, sources told ESPN. Eichel, 24, has a herniated disk in his neck, and there is now urgency to have it addressed as soon as possible. Initially, Eichel was hopeful that the Sabres
9:00 AM ET The Jack Eichel saga in Buffalo has been quite the soap opera. But nothing in that saga was as odious and contentious as when the Sabres announced they were stripping their franchise player of his captaincy. “From our perspective and my perspective, I feel the captain is the heartbeat of your team,”
8:27 PM ET Associated Press EDMONTON, Alberta — The Edmonton Oilers placed goalie Mike Smith on injured reserve Wednesday because of a lower-body injury. The Oilers recalled goalie Stuart Skinner from the Bakersfield Condors in the American Hockey League. Smith, 39, was hurt in the second period of Edmonton’s 6-5 home victory over the Anaheim
9:00 AM ET The Premier Hockey Federation will make ESPN+ its exclusive U.S. broadcasting partner for the 2021-22 season, making the network home to all 60 regular-season games, the Isobel Cup playoffs and other special events. It marks the first time the PHF, which rebranded from the National Women’s Hockey League this year, will have
8:53 PM ET ESPN News Services NEW YORK — St. Louis Blues winger Pavel Buchnevich has been suspended two games for headbutting Arizona Coyotes forward Lawson Crouse. Buchnevich was thrown out Monday night late in the first period for the headbutt. He’ll miss the Blues’ upcoming games at Vegas on Wednesday and home against Los
7:50 AM ET John N. Minton III ON FEB. 7, 2018, 33-year-old Randel McCoy sits in his car, alone, in an empty parking lot. He’s processing the life-changing news he has just heard, contemplating a world in which he will slowly lose everything — his strength, his freedom, his life. Through tears, he reaches for
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
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