Michael Whitaker Articles - Page 2

The 2025-26 NHL season has not been what the Winnipeg Jets anticipated following their first President’s Trophy-winning campaign last year. They fully expected and planned on being in the mix for a playoff position in the Central Division, even despite the loss of longtime forward Nikolaj Ehlers to the Carolina Hurricanes via unrestricted free agency. […]

The Nashville Predators currently find themselves in the fifth overall spot in the NHL’s Central Division, and while a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs isn’t impossible, the chances aren’t strong. Because of their inconsistency, there are a handful of Predators players who could potentially be moved by soon-to-be-retired general manager Barry Trotz, who loaded […]

The San Jose Sharks have been one of the surprise teams of the 2025-26 NHL campaign, thanks in large part to the contributions of former first overall pick Macklin Celebrini, as well as fellow young players Will Smith and William Eklund. Right now, the Sharks are one point out of the second Wild Card postseason […]

The Philadelphia Flyers are currently three points outside of the final Wild Card position in the Eastern Conference after recently going through a prolonged losing skid, but they’ll have to continue attempting to battle their way back into a more advantageous position without forward Rodrigo Abols. He was injured during Philadelphia’s 6-3 loss to the […]

New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald gave his first press conference in several months amidst what has been a downer of a campaign for his club, who find themselves in the sixth overall spot in the Atlantic Division standings and have gone 3-6-1 in their last 10 total outings. The Devils, who picked up […]

The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan represent the first opportunity for NHL players since the 2014 Sochi Olympics to play for their respective nations, and the rosters for the United States, Sweden, and Canada have all been finalized. Both the United States and Canada feature no shortage of some of the biggest names in the […]

The St. Louis Blues have decided that young Russian-born forward Alexey Toropchenko is worth keeping around, and they’ve signed him to a contract extension that was made official on Monday afternoon. Toropchenko signed a two-year, $5 million extension with the Blues rather than entering unrestricted free agency over the offseason. His new cap hit of […]

Despite the fact that Dallas Cowboys linebacker Logan Wilson was healthy and available for their Week 17 matchup against the rival Washington Commanders, he ultimately didn’t play a single snap in what was a 30-23 Cowboys victory. Wilson, who was acquired by the Cowboys at the NFL Trade Deadline from the Cincinnati Bengals, had averaged […]

The New Jersey Devils recently welcomed Jack Hughes back to the lineup after he missed several weeks with a freak injury suffered last month while attending a team dinner. However, now that Hughes has returned, there appear to be hints of potential movement involving another member of the team, defenseman Dougie Hamilton. Hamilton, the second […]

The Carolina Hurricanes have one more game to play before the Christmas break, but they are going to be considerably shorthanded thanks to the injuries to both Seth Jarvis and Jaccob Slavin. The Hurricanes announced that Jarvis and Slavin are both unavailable and are considered week-to-week after both suffered upper-body injuries. “Hurricanes forward Seth Jarvis […]

The Chicago Blackhawks received some unfortunate injury news to one of their most important players, as forward Frank Nazar is going to be unavailable for at least a full month, according to head coach Jeff Blashill. Nazar was injured when he was struck with the puck that initially deflected off teammate Tyler Bertuzzi’s skate off […]

There have been multiple trades in the NHL so far this month, with various players heading to new cities. But there was also recently a trade between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Seattle Kraken that resulted in only one player switching addresses, and that was forward Mason Marchment. Marchment, who had been acquired by the […]

After the St. Louis Blues announced that forward Dylan Holloway was unavailable because of an ankle injury, they called up forward Otto Stenberg from the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds, and he would skate in his first NHL contest on Wednesday evening against the Winnipeg Jets at Enterprise Center. Not only did Stenberg get the traditional rookie […]

There was a blockbuster trade last week that took everyone by surprise, as the Minnesota Wild acquired defenseman Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks for a substantial package in return that included forwards Marco Rossi and Liam Ohgren, defenseman Zeev Buium and a first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. It was a major swing […]

The Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning have been rivals with one another for decades now, since their introduction into the NHL in the early 1990s, and the Lightning have a particular bone to pick with Panthers defenseman Seth Jones following his actions against forward Brandon Hagel in Monday evening’s matchup. Jones leveled Hagel with […]

There were two major trades in the National Hockey League on Friday, starting with the deal between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Edmonton Oilers involving goaltenders Tristan Jarry and Stuart Skinner. The Oilers traded Skinner, defenseman Brett Kulak and a 2029 second-round pick to the Penguins for Jarry and forward Sam Poulin. For Edmonton, they’re hoping […]

The New York Islanders have been without first-year Islanders forward Jonathan Drouin for the last five games, as he’s been unavailable after having to nurse an injury. However, there’s good news to be shared on that front. Drouin was a participant in Islanders practice for the second straight day, and according to the man himself, […]

The Colorado Avalanche are getting a major boost back into their lineup for Tuesday night’s tilt against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena, as head coach Jared Bednar has announced that goaltender Scott Wedgewood is ready to return to the crease. Wedgewood hasn’t played since last Tuesday when he suffered an injury against the Vancouver […]

The Tampa Bay Lightning have come to terms with veteran defenseman Ryan McDonagh on a three-year contract extension worth a total of $12.3 million, meaning he’ll carry a salary cap hit of $4.1 million over the following three seasons. McDonagh is currently in the final season of his contract with a salary cap hit of […]

Not only were the Washington Capitals defeated by a 4-3 score in a shootout during Friday evening’s game at Honda Center, but they also lost rookie forward Ryan Leonard following a controversial hit delivered by Ducks defenseman Jacob Trouba late in the opening 20 minutes of play. Trouba leveled Leonard with what appeared to be […]

The Dallas Stars remain one of the most dangerous teams in the Western Conference thanks to their usual standouts, Mikko Rantanen and Wyatt Johnston, who rank among the club’s leading scorers. One of the most offensively gifted players in the NHL, Rantanen is on pace for another elite season, having already recorded 11 goals and […]

The Vancouver Canucks are in the throes of another tough season, a situation all the more frustrating for themselves and their fans considering they’re only two seasons removed from being the top team in the Pacific Division. They haven’t adjusted as well to the new coaching methods of Adam Foote, who is in his first […]

The Toronto Maple Leafs have been anything but fully healthy this season, and based on the latest information from head coach Craig Berube, they’ve suffered another setback in the health of defenseman Brandon Carlo. Berube indicated that Carlo, who hasn’t played since November 13 because of a lower-body injury, has experienced a setback in his […]

While the San Jose Sharks have had a rough go of it in recent seasons, their consolation prize was that they were able to land several top young talents by fortunate luck in the NHL Draft Lottery, including 2024 first overall pick Macklin Celebrini. Celebrini is now playing in his sophomore NHL season, and he’s […]

It’s once again been a struggle for the Vancouver Canucks to find consistency, as they’re currently in seventh place in the Pacific Division with a subpar record of 9-12-2 through the first 23 games of the 2025-26 NHL campaign. Naturally, as a team struggles as the Canucks are, there are going to be trade rumors […]

The Detroit Lions survived a scare on Sunday afternoon against the New York Giants, fighting their way back from a double-digit deficit and seizing a 34-27 overtime victory at Ford Field in Detroit. Thanks to the win, the Lions improved their record to 7-4 with a key divisional matchup against the Green Bay Packers looming […]

The Ottawa Senators have been missing team captain Brady Tkachuk for nearly the entire 2025-26 campaign, as he was injured on Oct. 13 against the Nashville Predators when defenseman Roman Josi cross-checked him, resulting in a torn ligament that ultimately required surgery to fix. Tkachuk has been unavailable since then, but the good news for […]

Since the transformational trade that the Calgary Flames made with the Florida Panthers in the summer of 2022, both franchises have gone in separate directions. The Panthers have gone to the Stanley Cup Final in each of the last three seasons, winning twice. Meanwhile, the Flames have yet to appear in the Stanley Cup Playoffs […]

It’s been several years since the Anaheim Ducks have last played beyond the 82nd game of the regular season. In fact, they have one of the lengthier current postseason droughts in the NHL, having last brought postseason hockey to Honda Center in southern California in the spring of 2017. Things are far different in Anaheim […]

Before they managed to pick up a badly-needed victory on home ice on Monday evening, the New York Rangers decided to shake up the roster by calling up forward Gabriel Perreault from the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack. He had a productive start to the season in Hartford, scoring five goals with five assists in just […]

The 2025 Hockey Hall of Fame Class is officially set. All new inductees were honored before the Hockey Hall of Fame Game at Scotiabank Arena on Sunday, before the Toronto Maple Leafs’ tilt against the Carolina Hurricanes. One of them is former Maple Leafs forward Joe Thornton. Thornton, a former first overall draft pick of […]

It’s been a struggle in the early goings of the 2025-26 NHL season for the St. Louis Blues, who are in last place in the Central Division with a 5-8-2 record. If things continue on their present course, it won’t be long before several Blues players begin seeing their name arise in trade rumors. Brayden […]

One of the bigger surprises in the early goings of the 2025-26 NHL Season has been the fast start by the Pittsburgh Penguins, who are currently on a three-season postseason drought and were not projected by many to play beyond the regular season for what would be a fourth straight season. Despite their recent loss […]

The relationship between the New Jersey Devils and goaltender Jacob Markstrom has been extended for another two seasons beyond the current campaign, as it was recently announced that he affixed his signature to a two-year contract worth $12 million. That means he’ll have a salary cap hit of $6 million. This is Markstrom’s second season […]

It may be early in his young NHL career, but so far in a short sample size, the New York Islanders are getting everything and then some from Matthew Schaefer. Shaefer was the projected consensus first overall selection in the 2025 NHL Draft, and the Islanders indeed made him the top pick. And his most recent […]

As the Toronto Maple Leafs continue preparations to face Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday evening at Scotiabank Arena, they’ll be getting a critical component of their lineup back on the ice thanks to the return of William Nylander. Nylander has missed three of the last four games after he continued to feel […]

The Edmonton Oilers may have advanced to the Stanley Cup Final in each of the past two seasons, though they would ultimately fall short on both occasions at the hands of the Florida Panthers. The success of the Panthers in both series came in large part thanks to the goaltending of Sergei Bobrovsky, who has […]

It was nothing short of a frustrating loss for the Ottawa Senators earlier this week, as the rebuilding Chicago Blackhawks scored a whopping seven goals against them as part of a 7-3 blowout victory in the Windy City. Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark was victimized for six goals on just 19 shots against; Chicago’s seventh goal […]

It’s so far, so good for New York Islanders rookie defenseman Matthew Schaefer, who has lived up to his billing as the top overall selection in this year’s NHL Draft. The Islanders, who won the NHL Draft Lottery despite having been to the Stanley Cup Playoffs in five of the last seven seasons, made Schaefer […]