Michael Whitaker Articles - Page 11

The Toronto Maple Leafs are back in action on Thursday night, hoping to build off their 2-1 overtime victory over former head coach Sheldon Keefe and the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night. They host the struggling Anaheim Ducks at Scotiabank Arena, and every indication has been given that a key piece of their blue […]

The season for the Dallas Cowboys has all but officially fallen off the rails; they’ve won just five of their first 12 games, and are only ahead of the hapless New York Giants in the NFC East. Not only has quarterback Dak Prescott been lost for the season due to injury, but the Cowboys also […]

The Boston Bruins defeated the Philadelphia Flyers in overtime on Saturday afternoon at Boston’s TD Garden, but it was the fiery postgame comments from head coach John Tortorella that really stole the show. Furious with what he felt was clear embellishment from Bruins players, Tortorella blasted the officiating after his team was called for eight […]

The Utah Hockey Club are playing their inaugural season in Salt Lake City, the first campaign since relocating from Arizona and their former identity as the Coyotes. The decision by the NHL to move the Coyotes to Salt Lake City was a difficult one, as the league (and commissioner Gary Bettman in particular) had fought […]

The New York Islanders dropped a 5-2 decision at UBS Arena on Thursday night to the Seattle Kraken, but there was one player in particular who drew the public wrath of head coach Patrick Roy. Roy had words for forward Pierre Engvall, who had been designated a healthy scratch for New York’s previous game and […]

The Buffalo Sabres are once again trudging through the difficulties of another tough start to their season, and general manager Kevyn Adams recently dropped a rather sobering take about the realistic state of affairs in attracting top talent from across the NHL. The city of Buffalo is anything but a tropical destination, and the state […]

The New York Rangers addressed a significant roster move on Friday, trading former captain Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks while retaining his entire $8 million AAV. The cap space created by this move allowed the Rangers to resolve another critical matter of business. According to multiple reports, goaltender Igor Shesterkin has agreed to an […]

The Jacob Trouba era with the New York Rangers came to an official close on Friday afternoon, as he was sent to the Anaheim Ducks; New York received a fourth-round draft pick along with Urho Vaakanainen in return. Shortly after the deal became official, Rangers general manager Chris Drury released a statement thanking Trouba for […]

While most of the buzz is about the recent trade of Jacob Trouba from the New York Rangers to the Anaheim Ducks, there’s another deal to announce between Western and Eastern Conference opponents, though not nearly as significant. The Canadiens have traded for defenseman Noel Hoefenmayer from the Edmonton Oilers, and in return are sending […]

The Vancouver Canucks are currently without forward J.T. Miller, who has taken a personal leave of absence from the team. While no details have been disclosed about the issue Miller is facing, Canucks president Jim Rutherford wants fans and media to refrain from speculating about the reasons for his absence. “Don’t start making stuff up […]

The Buffalo Sabres hold the NHL’s longest postseason drought, having failed to play beyond Game 82 of the regular season since 2010-11. Based on their performance in the 2024-25 NHL campaign so far, that drought seems unlikely to end. The Sabres have lost five straight home games, including a humiliating 5-4 defeat to the Colorado […]

It’s been an extremely rough season for the Dallas Cowboys, who are all but assured of missing the postseason barring a late-season miracle, and who have already lost quarterback Dak Prescott for the rest of the year with a devastating hamstring injury. And just as concerning is the play of CeeDee Lamb, who has nine […]

The rebuilding San Jose Sharks appear ready to continue making moves, and general manager Mike Grier has shown that he’s not shy about continuing to wheel and deal in an effort to get his club out of the NHL basement. Among the players who could be dangled as trade bait in the near future is […]

The Chicago Blackhawks have announced a major change in leadership behind the bench, firing head coach Luke Richardson after another brutal start to their season and have named Rockford IceHogs head coach Anders Sorensen their interim coach. “Today I made the difficult decision to move on from Luke as our head coach. We thank him […]

The class of the NFL in 2024, the Detroit Lions are legitimate Super Bowl contenders for what seems like the first time in literally decades, the winners of 10 straight and with the potential to secure a playoff spot with one more win. But as they continue preparations for Thursday night’s game against the Green […]

The Montreal Canadiens defeated the New York Islanders by a 2-1 final score in overtime on Tuesday night at Bell Centre, a game that featured the regular season debut of first-year Habs forward Patrik Laine. Laine had missed the entire season up to Tuesday night after being injured in exhibition play following a questionable knee-on-knee […]

The Buffalo Sabres had everything in complete control on Tuesday night against the visiting Colorado Avalanche, taking a 4-0 lead in the opening 20 minutes of play thanks to a pair of goals from Tage Thompson along with goals from J.J. Peterka and Beck Malenstyn. It seemed like an easy two points was in the […]

The Washington Capitals secured the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference last season but faced a daunting challenge in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Presidents Trophy-winning New York Rangers. The Capitals were swiftly eliminated in a four-game sweep, during which captain Alex Ovechkin failed to record a single […]

It was a successful return to Denver for former Broncos draft pick Jerry Jeudy, who had himself a monster game for the Cleveland Browns, albeit in a losing effort. Despite the last, Browns coach Kevin Stefanski praised Jeudy’s performance against his former team, referring to him as a selfless player and saying he’d trade all […]

The Vancouver Canucks released unfortunate news on the injury front on Tuesday afternoon. They announced that defenseman Filip Hronek is expected to miss the next eight weeks while he recovers from a lower-body procedure. He hasn’t played since suffering an injury during their game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on November 27 at PPG Paints Arena. […]

The Edmonton Oilers have not only featured the greatest player in NHL history on their team at one point, but they also happen to boast the best current player in the league. Both Wayne Gretzky and Connor McDavid spent the first portion of their NHL careers with the Oilers, though Gretzky was ultimately traded to […]

The Denver Broncos got the job done on Monday Night Football against the Cleveland Browns, earning a 41-32 victory at Empower Field at Mile High and improving their record to 8-5 through 13 games. Meanwhile, the struggling Browns fell to 3-9. It was a wild game, as both teams traded multiple touchdowns while the Browns […]

The Calgary Flames will host the Columbus Blue Jackets at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Tuesday night, marking the first time this season that both teams that the late Johnny Gaudreau played for will face one another in the venue that Gaudreau called home for the first several years of his NHL career. Gaudreau and his […]

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Chicago Blackhawks are set to renew what was once a fierce Original Six rivalry when they battle one another on Monday night at Scotiabank Arena in downtown Toronto. It will mark the first time this season that reigning Calder Trophy winner Connor Bedard makes an appearance in Toronto, while it […]

Edmonton Oilers forward Jeff Skinner has once again run afoul of the National Hockey League thanks to his antics, and he’s been forced to once again write a check. He’s been fined $2,000 for embellishment, the second such time this season that he’s been in trouble for trying to draw a penalty by diving. The […]

Yet again, the Vegas Golden Knights have been forced to play without leader Mark Stone, who has been a frequent member of the team’s injured list; he hasn’t played since November 6 with a lower-body injury. But there’s good news to be shared. Stone re-joined his teammate for practice on Monday, though his status for […]

The Pittsburgh Steelers improved to 9-3 through 12 games in the 2024 season thanks to Sunday’s 44-38 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium. But there was a bit of controversy on the Steelers’ side, as wide receiver George Pickens was flagged for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in which he appeared to make a […]

The Pittsburgh Steelers improved to an impressive 9-3 in 2024 thanks to their 44-38 victory on Sunday afternoon against the host Cincinnati Bengals, who fell to 4-8. It was a vintage performance from quarterback Steelers Russell Wilson, who completed 29 of 38 passes for 414 yards and three touchdowns. Running back Najee Harris also had […]

It’s great to be a Michigan Wolverine! Michigan Football continues to bask in the glory of their fourth consecutive victory over the bitter rival Ohio State Buckeyes, a 13-10 triumph on Saturday afternoon at Ohio Stadium in Columbus. For first-year Wolverines coach Sherrone Moore, who replaced Jim Harbaugh following the National Championship, it was his […]

The Detroit Lions are ravaged by injuries right now, and general manager Brad Holmes has made an addition that could pay off in the long run. According to multiple reports, the Lions are signing former Tennesee Titans Pro Bowl safety Jamal Adams to their practice squad. ESPN’s Adam Schefter first reported the news on X. […]

The Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins were once both the toast of the Eastern Conference, but both franchises have fallen on difficult times of late – especially the Penguins. But that didn’t stop things from getting feisty during Friday night’s 2-1 victory by the Penguins over the Bruins at TD Garden. Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin […]

While hockey fans everywhere are still recovering from their Black Friday shopping sprees, there’s a trade to announce between the Eastern and Western Conference. The Minnesota Wild are acquiring David Jiricek from the Columbus Blue Jackets along with a fifth-round Draft selection, and in return are sending Daemon Hunt, a 2025 first-round pick, a 2027 […]

The misery for Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day against the arch-rival Michigan Wolverines continued on Saturday afternoon. Day had hoped to earn his first win over Michigan since 2019 and break a three-year losing skid. The Wolverines had no intention of granting Day’s wish, instead shocking the heavily favored Buckeyes in a low-scoring […]

It’s a broken record for Ryan Day and the No. 2 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes – they just can’t beat the Michigan Wolverines. Despite a down year following their first national championship since 1997 and entering the contest as heavy underdogs, the Michigan Wolverines still defeated their arch-nemesis Buckeyes, a 13-10 triumph at Ohio Stadium […]

The Montreal Canadiens haven’t qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs since their surprise run to the Stanley Cup Final in the 2020-21 NHL season, which was shortened due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, they’ve seen a pair of top players in defenseman (and captain) Shea Weber and goaltender Carey Price have to cease […]

It was a special night for Montreal Canadiens forward Cole Caufield as he and his teammates took on the Columbus Blue Jackets, and he fittingly scored a goal as a special tribute to the late Johnny Gaudreau. Among the many tributes pouring in from across the National Hockey League, Caufield made a symbolic gesture by […]

Any speculation regarding the future of quarterback Dak Prescott with the Dallas Cowboys was put to rest when they signed him to the richest deal in NFL history, a four-year, $240 million extension with $231 million guaranteed. Unfortunately, the 2024 NFL season has been an absolute disaster for both Prescott and the Cowboys. Not only did […]

The St. Louis Blues have already made a major change in leadership in the last week, terminating head coach Drew Bannister after former assistant coach Jim Montgomery became available. Blues general manager Doug Armstrong immediately swooped in and hired Montgomery just days after he was fired by the Boston Bruins; he also locked him up […]

Are the Philadelphia Flyers getting ready to unload defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen? During a recent segment of TSN’s Insider Trading, Darren Dreger stated that Flyers GM Daniel Briere could be looking to move on from the defensemen despite a handful of years remaining on his contract, via Philly Hockey Now. “Danny Briere is one of the […]