Colin Gallant Articles - Page 18

The Minnesota Wild missed the playoffs for the first time in five seasons in 2024-25 — and general manager Bill Guerin sees no reason why history needs to repeat itself next year. “I think we certainly have the players in place that there’s no reason we can’t make the playoffs,” Guerin said recently, per NHL.com’s […]

After back-to-back dead last finishes in the Metropolitan Division, the Columbus Blue Jackets are hoping to finally climb out of the basement in 2024-25. Despite some hope that the team could take the next step forward last season, the roster was riddled with injuries and overall bad luck. Patrik Laine played just 18 games before […]

After a half-decade as the captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, John Tavares officially passed the honor along to Auston Matthews on Wednesday at Scotiabank Arena. “I’m incredibly humbled to be named captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs,” Matthews said shortly after being named the franchise’s 26th on-ice leader, per NHL.com. “I’m honored to follow […]

Although there was some hope that the Anaheim Ducks would take a step forward last season — especially with the additions of Alex Killorn and Radko Gudas in free agency — the team struggled mightily once again in 2023-24. It was the sixth straight postseason-less campaign for the Ducks, who continue to rebuild but do […]

It’s very possible that Colorado Avalanche star forward Valeri Nichushkin has already played his last game in the National Hockey League. The 29-year-old was placed in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program in the middle of the Avs’ second-round series against the Dallas Stars in the middle of May, and his future remains unknown. The power […]

The Seattle Kraken have the opposite of a long and storied history, breaking into the NHL as an expansion team and the league’s 32nd franchise in 2021-22. After the incredible success of the Vegas Golden Knights in their inaugural campaign — the franchise marched all the way to the Stanley Cup Final back in 2018 […]

Trade rumors continue to swirl around Columbus Blue Jackets sniper Patrik Laine, who was cleared by the NHL/NHLPA Player’s Assistance Program earlier this summer. The 26-year-old has requested a move out of Ohio, and potential suitors now have the green light to inquire about the former 44-goal scorer. Multiple teams are reportedly interested in the […]

The Vancouver Canucks were one of the big surprises of the 2023-24 National Hockey League campaign, following up three consecutive playoff-less seasons by winning the Pacific Division and taking the eventual Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers to seven games in Round 2. Although the year ended in crushing disappointment — losing a Game 7 at […]

It’s been tough sledding for the Minnesota Wild over the last couple of seasons, which is to be expected as the club has continued to be hindered by the massive buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. Mercifully, this is the last year that the two veterans will cost a fortune, with the franchise set […]

Seth Jarvis broke out in his third full season with the Carolina Hurricanes, fitting like a glove on the top line alongside Sebastian Aho and enjoying career bests across the board. The 22-year-old amassed 33 goals and 67 points over 81 regular-season games, adding another five goals and nine points in 11 Stanley Cup Playoff […]

Macklin Celebrini is just weeks away from his first National Hockey League training camp with the San Jose Sharks — and the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft is ready to help turn the club into a contender. “I couldn’t be more excited,” the 18-year-old phenom said at the Hobey Baker Memorial […]

Ryan Lindgren was on the road to an arbitration hearing, but that will no longer be necessary after the bruising defenseman signed a one-year, $4.5 million contract extension with the New York Rangers on Tuesday. The 26-year-old was a pending restricted free agent, but can now focus on helping the Rangers in their quest for […]

Although the Nashville Predators were not expected to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2023-24 after missing the year before, the Preds went on an incredible run in the second half of the season. Nashville won 16 games in 18 tries to put the hockey world on notice, eventually finishing 47-30-5 and occupying the top […]

After a mostly unsuccessful run as the Arizona Coyotes — the franchise made just one Stanley Cup Playoff appearance in 10 tries after shedding the Phoenix label — professional hockey will now head to Salt Lake City in 2024-25 and beyond. And Utah HC general manager Bill Armstrong got the green light from new owner […]

Coco Gauff is out of the women’s singles draw at the 2024 Paris Olympics after losing 7-6 (7), 6-2 to Croatian Donna Vekic in a Round of 16 match that was marred by controversy on Tuesday morning. Gauff lost the first set tiebreak despite being up 4-1, but things deteriorated for the American in the […]

In 2021-22, the Calgary Flames were the class of the Pacific Division, winning 50 games for just the third time in franchise history and looking like a juggernaut heading into the playoffs. Although the run was ended by the Edmonton Oilers in Round 2 — who themselves lost to the eventual champion Colorado Avalanche — […]

The San Jose Sharks were just terrible in 2023-24 — there’s no sugar coating it. Without a single star player anywhere on the roster, the squad was doomed to mediocrity in the fifth year of the rebuild. The Sharks were one of the best teams of the 2000s to not win a Stanley Cup, and […]

The Washington Capitals returned to the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2024 after a rare miss the season before, but it was the team’s worst showing in the postseason during the Alex Ovechkin era. The Great Eight himself didn’t record a single point in a series for the first time in his career, the Caps were […]

Despite signing Oliver Wahlstrom to a one-year contract earlier this week, the New York Islanders are still expected to move on from the former first-round pick ahead of the 2024-25 National Hockey League campaign. There were high hopes for the American when he was selected No. 11 overall in the 2018 NHL Draft, but the […]

Rafael Harvey-Pinard was expected to start the 2024-25 season in a bottom-six role with the Montreal Canadiens, but that will no longer be the case after the 25-year-old broke his leg, the team announced. “Forward Rafael Harvey-Pinard underwent successful surgery on Thursday after suffering a broken leg. The recovery period for the 25-year-old winger is […]

Columbus Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine was cleared by the NHL/NHLPA player’s assistance program on Friday, as first reported by Sportsnet hockey insider Elliotte Friedman. And with that, the other 31 National Hockey League teams can officially look into acquiring the sniper, who has expressed a desire for a change of scenery. “Good news on […]

The New Jersey Devils entered the 2023-24 season with sky-high expectations after finishing third in the National Hockey League the year before and winning a playoff round for the first time since marching all the way to the Stanley Cup Final in 2012. With an excellent young core and a solid veteran supporting cast, there […]

Along with the San Jose Sharks, the Chicago Blackhawks were absolutely awful in 2023-24. Take Connor Bedard out of the equation — which happened for six weeks when the phenom broke his jaw — and the Hawks were barely worth watching. But general manager Kyle Davidson was one of the busier executives in NHL free […]

Just minutes after Travis Konecny tweeted that he “isn’t going anywhere,” the Philadelphia Flyers locked him up to one of the richest contracts in franchise history. Konecny and the Flyers agreed to a massive eight-year, $70 million extension on Thursday, the team announced. “Travis Konecny is an integral part of the fabric of our team […]

Matvei Michkov has only been in North America for a matter of days, but the young Russian phenom is already saying all the right things as he prepares for his first National Hockey League campaign in 2024-25. After touching down at JFK airport in New York earlier this week, the 19-year-old was introduced in a […]

Free agent frenzy was quiet for the Montreal Canadiens in 2024, which makes sense as the most storied franchise in all of hockey continues the rebuild. The Habs won just 30 games in 2023-24, missing the postseason for the third straight year and finishing dead last in the Atlantic Division. The squad was again hit […]

Just weeks after Ken Holland and the Edmonton Oilers parted ways, the franchise found its new general manager and executive vice president of hockey operations on Wednesday. The Oilers will tab former Chicago Blackhawks executive Stan Bowman for the role, who hasn’t been involved in the sport since the Hawks’ 2010 sexual assault scandal came […]

Kevin Hayes experienced the worst season of his National Hockey League career in 2023-24 with the St. Louis Blues, scoring just 13 goals and 29 points over 79 games. But after being traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins earlier this offseason, the 32-year-old is confident he can bounce back next year. “I still think I can […]

The Philadelphia Flyers have not really been busy at all this offseason, which was to be expected after general manager Danny Briere said as much after the 2023-24 season. But, despite that, it’s been an exciting one for Philly fans. Matvei Michkov, who was selected No. 7 overall in the 2023 NHL Draft and not […]

Kirill Marchenko was one of the Columbus Blue Jackets’ best players throughout the 2023-24 NHL campaign, but despite a standout year from the Russian winger, he remains without a contract heading into next season. The restricted free agent will be headed for arbitration on July 31 in Toronto if he and the Jackets front office […]

The Buffalo Sabres have made a couple of interesting trades this offseason, including acquiring former fifth-round pick Beck Malenstyn from the Washington Capitals on June 29. And the franchise avoided arbitration with the restricted free agent, signing him to a two-year, $2.70 million contract on Tuesday, the team announced. “This guy is a player who’s […]

Despite winning the President’s Trophy in 2023-24 as the National Hockey League’s premier regular-season team, the New York Rangers were again unable to bring a Stanley Cup to the Big Apple after losing to the eventual champion Florida Panthers in the East Final. It’s now been over 30 years since Mark Messier led the Blueshirts […]

The Minnesota Wild have already made one trade this offseason, shipping out Vinni Lettieri to the Boston Bruins in exchange for Jakub Lauko. The 24-year-old is a former third-round pick by the B’s, and figures to start the 2024-25 NHL season on the team’s fourth line. Besides signing Yakov Trenin from the Nashville Predators and […]

The St. Louis Blues were on top of the hockey world after going from worst-to-first in 2018-19, en route to the franchise’s first Stanley Cup. The Blues went on an all-time run, highlighted by winning Game 7 against the Boston Bruins in an always-hostile TD Garden. It was the last seven-game series in a championship […]

The Ottawa Senators were oh-so-close to being a team of destiny in 2017, taking the Pittsburgh Penguins to seven games in the Eastern Conference Final and eventually losing in heartbreaking fashion in double overtime. The Pens would go on to win the Stanley Cup that postseason, and the Sens have yet to make the playoffs […]

Despite 13 straight National Hockey League seasons without a playoff appearance — the longest such drought in North American professional sports — the Buffalo Sabres continue to struggle to make meaningful progress. In 2023-24, the club floundered again, finishing sixth place in the Atlantic Division with a 39-37-6 record. It wasn’t a terrible season by […]

Although there was some hope that the 2023-24 Columbus Blue Jackets could surprise the hockey world and make a push for the playoffs — especially after acquiring Damon Severson and Ivan Provorov last offseason — the campaign went off the rails pretty quickly and never got back on track. When the dust settled, the Jackets […]

It’s no secret that Jake DeBrusk’s seven-year tenure with the Boston Bruins was not without its challenges — the 27-year-old did ask for a trade on two different occasions, after all. And after signing with the Vancouver Canucks in free agency on July 1, the former first-round pick broke his silence on the trade requests […]

The Seattle Kraken nearly went nuclear in just their second season of existence in 2022-23, defeating the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche in Round 1 and coming within one victory of advancing all the way to the Western Conference Final. It was a hugely encouraging campaign in the State of Washington, providing hope that […]