NHL News

2:58 PM ET Associated Press Wayne Gretzky is optimistic the NHL will be able to resume at some point this summer. Gretzky told The Associated Press on Sunday he’s hopeful hockey and other sports will be able to come back from the coronavirus pandemic and serve as a positive sign that conditions are improving. “I

3:58 PM ET Calling it an “unbelievable tragedy,” coach Dave Tippett remembered Edmonton Oilers forward Colby Cave, who died April 11 after suffering a brain bleed earlier that week. “Just an outstanding young man that I really feel for,” Tippett said of the 25-year-old Cave on Friday during an NHL media call. “He grew up

12:48 PM ET NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr on Saturday said he has not yet had any discussions with the NHL about specific neutral-site locations for a potential Stanley Cup playoffs this summer. “Other than the general understanding that they’re looking at all possibilities, which includes neutral sites — neutral being defined as a place

7:57 PM ET Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Columbus Blue Jackets signed All-Star goaltender Joonas Korpisalo to a two-year contract Friday worth a reported $5.6 million. Korpisalo, who turns 26 on April 28, set single-season career records in multiple categories — including games played, wins and goals-against average — after taking over as the

7:30 AM ET Dean Evason waited 21 years for an opportunity that might have lasted 12 games. He was named the head coach of the Minnesota Wild on Valentine’s Day, replacing Bruce Boudreau. The 55-year-old Evason first stepped behind the bench with the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers back in 1999, the season his professional playing career

7:30 AM ET Jim Corsi is the Columbus Blue Jackets‘ goaltending development coach, working with the organization’s prospects around the world. He’s also the goaltending coach for Columbus’ AHL team and a part-time scout for the draft. In other words: Corsi travels a lot to teach, evaluate and share his experiences about goaltending. In mid-January,

9:17 AM ET P.K. Subban has been a Norris Trophy-winning defenseman, a philanthropist, the subject of a reality show and part of a celebrity power couple with his fiancée, Olympic gold-medal-winning ski racer Lindsey Vonn. Now, we can add game show host to his list of many roles. The New Jersey Devils defenseman is the

8:30 AM ET This is what a pending unrestricted free agent in the NHL is thinking right now: He 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

12:01 PM ET Steve Fainaru Close ESPN Senior Writer Winner, 2008 Pulitzer Prize in International Reporting Four-time first-place winner in Associated Press Sports Editors competition Co-author of New York Times best-selling book, “League of Denial” Mark Fainaru-Wada Close ESPN Staff Writer Investigative reporter for ESPN’s Enterprise and Investigative Unit since 2007 Co-author of New York

7:30 AM ET Despite the shutting down of all hockey seasons, a number of prospects really stood out and helped surpass previous expectations over the course of the incomplete season. We take a look at one prospect from each organization who broke out, performing at a high enough level to build some capital within their

7:30 AM ET In 2013, director Kevin Connolly’s “Big Shot” was released as part of ESPN’s “30 for 30” documentary series. It chronicled the fraudulent attempt by a Dallas businessman named John Spano to buy the New York Islanders for $165 million, and the subsequent fallout. It was notable for featuring a sit-down interview with

7:30 AM ET After Florence Schelling retired from hockey in 2018, she became a consultant. She hated it. “That was really not my kind of job,” said Schelling, the longtime goaltender of the Swiss national team. “I really didn’t like it.” Six months in, she quit, and in February, 2019 went on a ski vacation

7:30 AM ET The 2019-20 hockey season was incomplete for most leagues. But even with playoff-less campaigns, we still have a large sample of prospect game play and plenty of evidence of progression. And we can certainly still name a Prospect of the Year based on what we saw throughout the season. Last season’s Prospect

7:00 AM ET It has been 32 days since the NHL decided to hit the pause button on the 2019-20 season, joining a staggering list of cancellations and postponements related to COVID-19. As players, execs and fans continue to adjust to the new normal, we will be providing updates every Monday, answering all the burning

6:44 PM ET Penn State junior defenseman Cole Hults signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the Los Angeles Kings, the team announced Saturday. Hults will skip his senior season with the Nittany Lions to join the Kings, who drafted him in the fifth round in 2017. Hults, 21, had 17 goals 78 points in 111

11:09 PM ET Scott Perunovich, a junior defenseman from Minnesota Duluth, has won the 2020 Hobey Baker Award, given annually to the top NCAA men’s ice hockey player. “I’m extremely honored and humbled to be this year’s Hobey Baker Award recipient,” Perunovich said during an interview with SportsCenter. Perunovich is the sixth Minnesota Duluth player

7:03 PM ET The Chicago Blackhawks‘ top defensive prospect, Ian Mitchell, has decided to forgo his senior season at Denver and sign an entry-level NHL contract, a source confirmed to ESPN. Mitchell has not yet signed a contract, but both sides agreed on terms. Barstool Sports first reported the agreement. Mitchell, 21, was a second-round

5:25 PM ET Associated Press TORONTO — Pat Stapleton, a longtime NHL defenseman who famously kept an air of mystery over whether he possessed the puck from the winning goal of the 1972 Summit Series, has died. He was 79. The Strathroy Rockets, a Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League team with which Stapleton was involved,