Michael Whitaker Articles - Page 18

While the Colorado Avalanche have managed to rebound somewhat with two straight wins after initially starting the 2024-25 season with a stunning 0-4 record, one matter of business that management has turned their attention to is a new contract for star forward Mikko Rantanen. But according to the latest reports, the two sides aren’t progressing […]

The Vancouver Canucks have played the young 2024-25 NHL season without the services of newly re-signed forward Dakota Joshua, who missed all of Training Camp and the exhibition schedule after undergoing surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his testicle. But the good news is that his rehabilitation has gone well, and according to the […]

The Toronto Maple Leafs made a significant leadership change during the offseason, with John Tavares stepping down as captain after five seasons and Auston Matthews assuming the role. Matthews became the first American-born captain in franchise history. Having recently signed a five-year contract extension, Matthews continues to be one of the NHL’s most dangerous goal-scorers. […]

The rebuilding San Jose Sharks have been in the National Hockey League’s basement for the last handful of seasons, but they won the 2024 Draft Lottery and used the pick to select Boston College phenom Macklin Celebrini. While that’s the good news, the bad news is that the Sharks are still looking for their first […]

The New Orleans Saints have been overwhelmed by injuries so far in the 2024 season, especially after wide receiver Rashid Shaheed was declared out for the year with a knee injury. To bolster their offense, the Saints have signed former Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who was recently released by the Buffalo Bills. […]

The San Francisco 49ers lost much more than just their matchup on Sunday against the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. In the first place, Brandon Aiyuk suffered a torn ACL and MCL; his season is over. And now, wide receiver Deebo Samuel has been hospitalized due to pneumonia as well as fluid in […]

The Chicago Blackhawks reloaded in the offseason, bringing in several new players specifically to surround 2023 first-overall draft pick Connor Bedard with more talent. While this may not lead to a playoff spot this season, the hope is that they’ll be trending in that direction in the near future. But ahead of their matchup Tuesday […]

A frightening scene unfolded at Acrisure Stadium during Sunday night’s game between the visiting New York Jets and the Pittsburgh Steelers, as Jets guard Xavier Newman suffered a severe head injury after a hard hit. He collided with Steelers linebacker Patrick Queen immediately after CB Beanie Bishop’s interception of quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ pass; he fell […]

The Kansas City Chiefs improved to a perfect 6-0 on Sunday afternoon, defeating the San Francisco 49ers at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara by a 28-18 final; the loss dropped the 49ers to 3-4 through seven games. And while the 49ers lost running back Brandon Aiyuk to a suspected torn ACL, the Chiefs had to […]

Losing to the Kansas City Chiefs for the fourth straight time, including two Super Bowl defeats, wasn’t the only setback for the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday afternoon at Levi’s Stadium. Running back Brandon Aiyuk exited the game with time ticking down in the first half with a lower-body injury. After taking a pass from […]

The Kansas City Chiefs managed to extend their perfect record to 6-0, securing another victory on Sunday afternoon against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium. This game marked a rematch of Super Bowl LVIII from earlier this year in which the Chiefs prevailed. But for fans who have openly expressed their belief that the […]

Top NFL players have been plagued by injuries lately, and now the San Francisco 49ers have joined that unfortunate trend. Star wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk suffered a concerning leg injury during Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs and was carted off to the locker room. Aiyuk had just hauled in a pass from quarterback […]

The Boston Bruins made their first-ever visit to the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, facing off against the Utah Hockey Club for the first time since the franchise, formerly known as the Arizona Coyotes, relocated to its new home. The Utah HC secured a 2-1 overtime victory with Michael Kesselring scoring the game-winning goal. But […]

It’s been a rough season for the Carolina Panthers, who have won only one of their first six games played in 2024 and find themselves trailing on Sunday afternoon against the Washington Commanders at Northwest Stadium. And starting quarterback Andy Dalton is feeling the wrath of frustrated Panthers fans – especially after he threw a […]

The Colorado Avalanche have announced the latest with forward Jonathan Drouin, who broke out last season with his best statistical output since the 2018-19 campaign. Unfortunately, the news isn’t good. Drouin, who suffered an injury during Colorado’s opening night loss on October 9 against the Vegas Golden Knights, has been placed on Injured Reserve. The […]

The Detroit Lions are already without one of the most important figures on their team thanks to the gruesome leg injury suffered by defensive end Aidan Hutchinson in last week’s win over the Dallas Cowboys. Sunday afternoon against the division rival Minnesota Vikings, they suffered another significant setback. Running back David Montgomery went down with […]

The Colorado Avalanche secured their first victory of the season on Friday, edging out the Anaheim Ducks with a 4-3 overtime win. Nathan MacKinnon, who notched an impressive 51 goals and 89 assists last season, scored the game-winning goal. Despite finally securing their first win of the season, the early struggles of the Avalanche persist, […]

The New York Islanders are in action on home ice at UBS Arena against the visiting Montreal Canadiens, but they’ve suffered a significant loss from their lineup. Forward Anthony Duclair, who is playing in his first season with the Islanders after signing as a free agent during the offseason, departed the game after he fell […]

While the Detroit Lions dominated the Dallas Cowboys last Sunday, their victory came at a heavy cost. Defensive end Aidan Hutchinson suffered a gruesome leg injury early in the third quarter, breaking both the tibia and fibula in his left leg. His regular season has officially ended as he begins the road to recovery. However, […]

The Toronto Maple Leafs made multiple additions to their roster during the offseason, among them being former Florida Panthers forward Steven Lorentz. He was part of the Panthers squad of 2023-24 that brought the Stanley Cup to Sunrise for the first time in franchise history; he contributed two goals and an assist in 16 postseason […]

In one of the more surprising storylines of the 2024-25 NHL season, the Nashville Predators have fallen to 0-5 in their first five games. Their latest setback came in a 5-2 loss on home ice to the Detroit Red Wings, who had shut them out 3-0 exactly one week earlier. The Predators struck first with […]

The Toronto Maple Leafs are back in action on Saturday night for an Original Six clash against the historic rival New York Rangers, but one veteran member of the host Leafs will once again be wearing street clothes while the rest of his teammates take the ice. Former Montreal Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty, whom the […]

The New York Rangers are on a roll to begin the 2024-25 NHL season, having won four of their first five games while picking up points in every game at the same time. And ahead of Saturday night’s Original Six clash against the Toronto Maple Leafs, they’ve made a lineup change that sees some serious […]

The Ottawa Senators acquired a major upgrade between the pipes during the offseason, acquiring former Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender Linus Ullmark from the Boston Bruins and sending the struggling Joonas Korpisalo back to Boston in return; they soon locked up Ullmark with a four-year contract extension. However, Ullmark has only played in two games with his […]

The New York Rangers are off to a strong start in the 2024-25 NHL season, posting a 3-0-1 record through four games, bolstered by standout performances from stars like Artemi Panarin, Adam Fox and Chris Kreider. However, an intriguing storyline surrounds the future of goaltender Igor Shesterkin, who reportedly turned down an $88 million contract […]

The Boston Bruins were quite active during the offseason, making several roster changes that included both key additions and notable departures. Among those who left the team were Jake DeBrusk, Linus Ullmark, Kevin Shattenkirk, Pat Maroon, James van Riemsdyk, Danton Heinen, and Matt Grzelcyk. On the flip side, the Bruins welcomed new faces, including goaltender […]

The Toronto Maple Leafs have been without goaltender Joseph Woll to start the 2024-25 season due to injury. Fortunately, Anthony Stolarz and Dennis Hildeby have stepped up, helping the team to a 3-1 record through the first four games. The Leafs’ most recent win was a commanding 6-2 triumph over the Los Angeles Kings. And […]

The Vancouver Canucks secured their first victory of the season on Thursday night, defeating the Florida Panthers in overtime. J.T. Miller scored the game-winning goal just 2:09 into the extra period, clinching the extra point for the visiting Canucks. For the Panthers, it was their third game in the last four days and they also […]

Several NHL goaltenders have recently secured new contracts with their respective teams. Jeremy Swayman of the Boston Bruins, Jake Oettinger of the Dallas Stars, Linus Ullmark of the Ottawa Senators, and Joey Daccord of the Seattle Kraken have all signed new deals in recent weeks, solidifying their roles between the pipes for the foreseeable future. […]

It appears another starting goaltender has secured a lucrative long-term deal. Following the Boston Bruins’ decision to sign Jeremy Swayman to a massive eight-year contract, the Dallas Stars have finalized a similar deal with their star netminder, Jake Oettinger. The Stars signed Oettinger to an eight-year, $66 million extension on Thursday, the team announced. That’s […]

The Boston Bruins have now suffered back-to-back losses to division rival Florida Panthers, the same team that has eliminated them from the playoffs for the past two seasons. Their latest setback came in a 4-3 defeat at TD Garden on Monday, leaving the Bruins with a 2-2 record through their first four games. This follows […]

It was a night of milestones at PPG Paints Arena on Wednesday, as the Pittsburgh Penguins hosted the Buffalo Sabres. Captain Sidney Crosby became the 10th player in NHL history to reach 1,600 points, and now fellow Penguins legend and future Hall of Famer Evgeni Malkin has achieved a historic milestone of his own. His […]

Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby has achieved nearly everything possible in his remarkable NHL career and is a guaranteed first-ballot Hall of Famer whenever he retires. On Wednesday night, he added another milestone to his already illustrious career. With an assist on Bryan Rust’s first-period goal against the Buffalo Sabres at PPG Paints Arena, Crosby […]

The Toronto Maple Leafs are back in action on Wednesday evening, bringing in the Los Angeles Kings to Scotiabank Arena. But ahead of the matchup, first-year Leafs bench boss Craig Berube spoke at length about the early performance of forward Max Domi. Domi, who was re-signed to a four-year contract extension by the Leafs during […]

The Colorado Avalanche are off to a rough start in the 2024-25 NHL season, having lost all three of their games so far. While it’s still early, their winless start is already raising concerns. In the meantime, one of their cornerstone players is up for a contract extension and is in line for a major […]

While the Utah HC is off to a strong 3-1 start through their first four games of the 2024-25 NHL season following their relocation from the desert, they’ve been dealt some major adversity in the injury department. Defenseman Sean Durzi sustained an injury during Monday’s loss against the New Jersey Devils; he took a hard […]

It’s been just under two months since the hockey world was rocked by the shocking and tragic death of Columbus Blue Jackets forward Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew, both of whom were killed while cycling in New Jersey after being struck by a drunken driver. It was especially tragic considering that both brothers were […]

The Nashville Predators were widely considered one of the most improved teams heading into the 2024-25 NHL season, which makes their 0-3 start—their worst in over 15 years—all the more puzzling. The Predators made significant moves in free agency, signing former Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos to a four-year deal and bringing in Jonathan […]

The Edmonton Oilers have stumbled out of the gate for the second consecutive year, dropping their first three games of the 2024-25 season despite entering the campaign viewed by most pundits at the favorites to win the Stanley Cup after falling just one game short earlier this spring. It’s a movie that Oilers fans have […]