Michael Whitaker Articles - Page 2

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 […]

The Edmonton Oilers have had to begin the 2025-26 NHL season without Zach Hyman, who suffered a dislocated right wrist during Edmonton’s Western Conference Final matchup this spring against the Dallas Stars on May 27. Not only was he unavailable for their second consecutive loss in the Stanley Cup Final to the Florida Panthers, but […]

Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill has once again secured the long-term future of a player he clearly sees as a foundational piece for the foreseeable future, as defenseman Thomas Harley agreed to an eight-year contract extension that keeps him a member of the team through 2034. His new contract includes a $10.59 million salary […]

Among the NHL teams in dire straits in the early goings of the 2025-26 season are the New York Rangers. Not only did they miss the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2024-25, but they are on pace right now to easily miss once again based on their record through the first 10 games. They’ve won only […]

The Florida Panthers may be the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions, but their title defense is being tested to the limits thanks to a myriad of injuries to key players. That being said, they’ve been linked to longtime Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin, a former Conn Smythe Trophy winner and future Hall of Famer who […]

For the first time in 32 years, the Toronto Blue Jays are returning to the World Series. And a former member of the Toronto sports scene in Sheldon Keefe, who coached the Toronto Maple Leafs for several seasons and is now with the New Jersey Devils, couldn’t help but notice the tribute to current team […]

It’s no secret that the Buffalo Sabres are currently mired in the longest postseason drought in the National Hockey League today. They haven’t played beyond the 82nd game of the regular season since the 2010-11 NHL campaign, a span of 14 years and counting. Nearly all projections from NHL Insiders have the Sabres missing the […]

Vancouver Canucks forward Filip Chytil has become the latest victim of notorious Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson, and he’s since been placed on Injured Reserve. Chytil was hurt during Sunday evening’s game at Capital One Arena after he was leveled by Wilson in the neutral zone just a moment after he released the puck for […]

The Columbus Blue Jackets flirted with earning a Stanley Cup Playoff spot last season, but faded down the stretch and ultimately fell short. And so far in the 2025-26 NHL season, their record leaves plenty to be desired, and head coach Dean Evason wasn’t shy about letting them know about it. The Blue Jackets were […]

The Los Angeles Kings were considerably shorthanded when the Pittsburgh Penguins came to down for a Thursday evening matchup at Crypto.com Arena. The fact that team captain Anze Kopitar wasn’t available because of a lower-body injury was more insult to injury amidst what ultimately proved to be a 4-2 Kings loss to the Penguins. With […]

The Nashville Predators entered last season with legitimate Stanley Cup aspirations following the high-profile additions of Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, and Brady Skjei. The team also secured goaltender Juuse Saros with an eight-year contract extension. General manager Barry Trotz essentially went “all-in” to bring the Stanley Cup to Nashville for the first time, but the […]

One of the more interesting storylines surrounding the New York Rangers as they embark on their first season under the leadership of new head coach Mike Sullivan is the future of forward Artemi Panarin. He signed a seven-year contract with the club back in the 2019 offseason. Panarin is now playing the final season of […]

The New Jersey Devils are already facing some adversity in the early goings of the 2025-26 NHL season, and it’s been confirmed that they’ll be without one of the key members of the roster in goaltender Jacob Markstrom for the foreseeable future. Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe made the unfortunate announcement following practice on Wednesday […]

The Montreal Canadiens have made tremendous strides in their rebuilding process under general manager Kent Hughes and team president Jeff Gorton, and they’re being rewarded with new multiyear contracts to remain in place. On Tuesday, the Canadiens announced that both Hughes and Gorton had been extended for five years each, and they’ll be able to […]

Utah Mammoth defenseman Sean Durzi has experienced difficulties in remaining healthy, and he’ll be absent from the Mammoth lineup for the next several weeks following his latest ailment. Durzi was injured during his club’s overtime victory over the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena, and it was soon confirmed by the team that he would miss […]

The Edmonton Oilers have now gotten four contracts signed in recent days, the most important of which was team captain Connor McDavid’s extreme discount on accepting a $12.5 million cap hit over the next two seasons. The Oilers also signed a pair of defensemen in Jake Walman, who agreed to a seven-year contract, along with […]

The Detroit Lions once again find themselves at the top of the NFC North with a 4-1 record through the first five games of the 2025 NFL season, rebounding from a tough Week 1 loss against the division rival Green Bay Packers to rattle off four straight wins. Quarterback Jared Goff, who is now playing […]

The Utah Mammoth may have just missed out on securing a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in what was their first season in Salt Lake City following their relocation from Arizona and their former identity as the Coyotes, but they’ve already made an indelible impression on fans in the area. Every game at Delta […]

It was a difficult pill for fans in the Twin Cities to swallow as they had to watch their beloved Minnesota North Stars relocate from one of the hockey hotbeds in the United States to The Lone Star State. The North Stars were relocated to Dallas, where they dropped the “North” from their name and […]

The current Ottawa Senators, the second franchise to bear the Senators name, began play in the 1992-93 NHL season. The original Senators existed from 1883 to 1954 and competed in the NHL from 1917 to 1934, winning the Stanley Cup multiple times. The original Senators were relocated to Missouri in 1934 due to financial difficulties, […]

The Minnesota North Stars were painfully relocated to the Lone Star State, dropping the “North” from their name and beginning play as the Dallas Stars for the 1993-94 season. After 26 seasons and 17 postseason appearances, the Twin Cities were left without a professional team. However, the good news was that they wouldn’t have to […]

The Vegas Golden Knights burst onto the National Hockey League scene as an expansion team for the 2017-18 season. Despite low expectations, they shocked everyone by having a stellar regular season and advancing to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural campaign. The team also put the entire city of Las Vegas on their backs […]

The Los Angeles Kings joined the NHL during the expansion for the 1967-68 season, bringing professional hockey to Southern California and achieving moderate success despite several early postseason exits. Everything changed dramatically with the acquisition of the greatest player of all time in Wayne Gretzky, which boosted the franchise’s popularity and sparked new interest in […]

The 2025-26 NHL season has officially been confirmed as being the last in the career of Anze Kopitar, one of the longest tenured members of the organization who was a principal member of both Stanley Cup-winning squads of 2012 and 2014. Kopitar announced his intentions to retire after the upcoming campaign, citing the desire to […]

Not many people believed that a Walt Disney film would inspire a professional sports franchise. Still, the NHL was introduced to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in time for the 1993-94 season following the success of the eponymous movie starring Emilio Estevez. The franchise enjoyed periods of brief success that culminated in a Cinderella-style run […]