The prospective 2020-21 NHL season still has plenty of question marks: Will there be an all-Canadian division with hub cities? Will the teams play a full 82 games? The prospect of an all-Canadian division is appearing more and more likely as Covid-19 rages across North America and the world. Personally, if the league must play,
The San Jose Sharks are headlined by Tomas Hertl and Logan Couture, both great two-way centers. However, both had injury-riddled seasons in 2019-20, and the team was forced to utilize their young centers. Management also traded Barclay Goodrow at the deadline and lost Joe Thornton to free agency, making the Sharks’ lack of center depth
Trades provide each and every NHL team with the opportunity to immediately address glaring needs within their respective rosters. Good trades can set your franchise up for incredible success. Bad trades can leave you without a GM and needing to hire a new manager and coach in the offseason. The Edmonton Oilers are not the
10:45 AM ET The National Hockey League is not exactly known for its ingenuity. Its most successful invention in the past 15 years was “a hockey game, but outside.” They moved from 5-on-5 overtime to 4-on-4 overtime, added a shootout, realized the shootout was terrible, and the solution was 3-on-3 hockey. Again, not exactly reinventing
The NHL has asked its players to accept a pair of amendments to the six-year collective bargaining agreement the two sides signed in July to help the league return during the COVID-19 pandemic. The players learned of the request in a Thursday meeting with NHLPA executives. The league would like to raise the escrow caps
For the Corner Brook Minor Hockey Association, it was like being on the receiving end of an open-ice body check. It was in late March near the end of the 2018-19 season in Corner Brook, N.L., when league officials were informed they were thousands of dollars behind in payments for ice time. By the time officials got
The New Jersey Devils needed to give their offense a boost this offseason, and they did when they acquired Andreas Johnsson from the Toronto Maple Leafs in early October. Johnsson missed a good chunk of 2019-20 because of a knee injury, but he still produced at a 40-point pace. The season before, he finished with 20 goals
The NCAA has released its latest report on graduation rates for US college student-athletes. Of the four major sports (football, basketball, baseball, and ice hockey), hockey leads hands-down. NCAA hockey players have the highest graduation rate among the four major sports. (Courtesy NCAA) The graduation rate includes all student-athletes who complete their undergraduate degree within six
Everyone has their own opinion of what their favorite team should do when it comes to trades, starting players, how to operate the team, etc. I believe there are a few things the Minnesota Wild should have done differently this past season and what they should do going forward. Going Back in Time The biggest
As a hockey fan, I love digging up nuggets about players who interest me. What makes them tick off the ice? What hobbies do they enjoy? It makes for great water-cooler conversation and humanizes them to me. Sometimes we think of athletes as these super people who never make mistakes and are just programmed to
12:03 PM ET The ECHL’s entire North Division has elected to voluntarily suspend operations for the 2020-21 season due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, sources confirm to ESPN. The six teams impacted are the Adirondack Thunder, an affiliate of the NHL’s New Jersey Devils; the Brampton Beast (Ottawa Senators); the Maine Mariners
3:25 PM ET The majority of American sports fans are waiting for the arrival of a COVID-19 vaccine before they feel comfortable returning to the bleachers, according to a new study conducted this past weekend. Two-thirds of the survey respondents said they would not attend an indoor sporting event without a vaccine — even if
Shane Wright is well aware of the names to come before him. Wayne Gretzky, Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid are among the 16 year olds to suit up for Canada at the world junior hockey championship. Wright is going to do everything in his power to join that list. “It’s definitely crossed my mind,” the
Shane Wright is well aware of the names to come before him. Wayne Gretzky, Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid are among the 16 year olds to suit up for Canada at the world junior hockey championship. Wright is going to do everything in his power to join that list. “It’s definitely crossed my mind,” the
They need a nickname. How’s Jelvis or Korpikins? Maybe the Blue Blockers? Whatever you want to call them, the dynamic goalie tandem of Joonas Korpisalo and Elvis Merzlikins is likely the Columbus Blue Jackets’ greatest strength heading into the 2020-21 season. They are both 26 years old, entering their prime, and have shown flashes of
I’ll just say it. Overall, I don’t like the Adidas “Reverse Retro” jerseys. I don’t like how cartoonish most of them look, and I don’t like the fact that this is obviously another cash grab for both the National Hockey League and Adidas. The NHL is one of the most financially stable sports leagues in
After the significant changes this offseason, the makeup of the Minnesota Wild’s roster is drastically different from last season. If the team desires a playoff berth next season, it will be essential for several players to have breakout seasons. A breakout season from a young player can really impact a team’s outlook. The Wild saw
This morning in my email inbox, there was some good news for the world in general and for NHL hockey fans specifically. It’s been reported that now two companies (both Moderna and Pfizer) have created a vaccine that’s shown in clinical trials to be about 95% effective. As a result, there might be light at