Michael Whitaker Articles - Page 3

While the Toronto Maple Leafs have been one of the most successful National Hockey League franchises over the last several regular seasons, they have failed to advance past the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs every year they’ve qualified since 2013 other than one occasion. Maple Leafs fans worldwide celebrated with joy as now-former […]

It’s going to be a new situation for Nikita Grebenkin, who was acquired by the Philadelphia Flyers along with a 2027 first-round pick from the Toronto Maple Leafs for Scott Laughton, a 2025 fourth-round pick, and a 2027 sixth-round pick. Grebenkin sensed that a trade could be in the works thanks to the bevy of […]

It was one of the more surprising trades in recent memory that took place last Friday, as the Boston Bruins traded long-tenured forward and team captain Brad Marchand within their own division to the Florida Panthers. Marchand joins a Panthers team that is not only the defending Cup champion, but also the leader in the […]

The Florida Panthers have been dealt a major blow just weeks before they’re set to begin their Stanley Cup title defense. Defenseman Aaron Ekblad has been suspended for the next 20 games after violating the terms of the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program. The NHLPA released the following statement on Ekblad’s suspension via NHLPA.com: “Florida […]

The Utah Hockey Club is fighting and scratching for every single point available to them in the standings, as they’re on the cusp of a postseason position. But they’ve been hit with some harsh injury news, as defenseman Juuso Valimaki will miss the remainder of the 2024-25 NHL regular season and the start of next […]

There will be a new official leading goal scorer in National Hockey League history not named Wayne Gretzky for the first time in decades, and his name is Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals. Currently, Ovechkin is at 886 career goals, eight away from tying Gretzky’s record of 894 and nine away from passing him. […]

The Utah Hockey Club has announced that goaltender Connor Ingram has entered the National Hockey League Player Assistance Program. Ingram, who tragically lost his mother to breast cancer in December, explained in a social media post that he hasn’t been feeling like himself and that he’d be away indefinitely while receiving care, via The Bluefield […]

It was a day that fans of the Boston Bruins never thought would come, but now it’s the reality they’re dealing with: now-former captain Brad Marchand, who had been a staple on the roster since entering the NHL as a rookie in the 2010-11 NHL season, was traded to the Florida Panthers. Marchand is set […]

The Florida Panthers have added a massive piece to their lineup in their quest to repeat as Stanley Cup champions, trading for now-former Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand. Marchand joins a battle-tested team that has proven their metal come playoff time the last two straight years and adds valuable championship experience of his own as […]

It’s been another difficult year in Pittsburgh, as the Penguins are trudging through another season that will see them finish on the outside looking in at the Stanley Cup Playoffs for a third straight campaign. Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas has been busy, making several moves; the latest move he made was with his former […]

The Dallas Stars have pulled off one of the bigger master classes in making their club better and even more of a legitimate Stanley Cup contender on Friday. They’ve acquired Mikko Rantanen from the Carolina Hurricanes, and in return sent Logan Stankoven and two first-round picks to Carolina. Oh, and Stars general manager Jim Nill […]

The 2025 NHL Trade Deadline has arrived, and the Ottawa Senators have made a move by acquiring Dylan Cozens from the Buffalo Sabres Dylan Cozens along with Dennis Gilbert and a 2026 second-round draft pick. In return, the Senators sent Josh Norris and defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker to the Sabres. The trade of Norris clearly had […]

The San Jose Sharks are once again nowhere near the Stanley Cup Playoffs as they trudge through another extremely difficult season as part of their difficult rebuilding process. Even though they landed top overall pick Macklin Celebrini after winning the 2024 NHL Draft Lottery and added talent during the offseason, they still remain among the […]

Unsurprisingly, the Dallas Stars remain one of the top threats in the Western Conference to claim the Stanley Cup. At 40-19-2, they’re currently in second place in the NHL’s Central Division behind only the Winnipeg Jets and have their eyes set on a repeat trip to the Western Conference Final with a better ending this […]

The Tampa Bay Lightning lost top defenseman and captain Victor Hedman to injury during Thurdsay night’s wild 6-5 victory over the Buffalo Sabres at Amalie Arena; he managed to play less than three total minutes in the first period, and did not return. Hedman appeared to tweak something after battling for a loose puck behind […]

The St. Louis Blues have been dealt a considerable blow with the NHL Trade Deadline less than 24 hours away. General manager Doug Armstrong has announced that defenseman Colton Parayko is undergoing a scope in his knee after he was hurt on Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Kings. He will be re-evaluated in six […]

While the Anaheim Ducks are in action on Wednesday night against the division rival Vancouver Canucks hoping to keep their chase toward a postseason spot alive, they were dealt a considerable blow in the process. Goaltender John Gibson, who has dealt with various injury concerns during his career, was hurt and subsequently ruled out for […]

It’s been a busy day for the Utah Hockey Club, who have already re-signed forward Alex Kerfoot and defenseman Ian Cole to identical one-year, $3 million deals. But general manager Bill Armstrong still had one more move to announce before the night was over. Goaltender Karel Vejmelka has been re-signed to a five-year contract with […]

The Utah Hockey Club are playing their very first season in Salt Lake City after re-locating from the Phoenix metropolitan area, leaving behind their former identity as the Arizona Coyotes. And with the club on the cusp of a postseason spot, they’ve announced contract extensions for two key veteran players. Both forward Alex Kerfoot and […]

The biggest question mark for the Edmonton Oilers, just like it was last season, is their goaltending. Right now, the tandem of Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard isn’t striking fear into the hearts of their opponents and could very well prove to be their undoing in their quest for a repeat berth in the Stanley […]

A cloud of uncertainty is hanging over the Vancouver Canucks right now as the NHL trade deadline draws closer, now less than 48 hours away. The Canucks have already made multiple moves this season, including the blockbuster trade sending J.T. Miller to the New York Rangers along with sending Danton Heinen and Vincent Desharnais to […]

The Vancouver Canucks are on very shaky ground right now, having been completely inconsistent in their Pacific Division title defense. Unless a miracle occurs, they won’t be repeating as the top dog in the division and would be fortunate to land one of the final pair of Wild Card spots in the Western Conference. Right […]

The broken record with the tired refrain that fans of the Buffalo Sabres are beyond tired of hearing isn’t coming to a close just yet. Barring a miracle of historic proportions, the Sabres are going to finish outside of the postseason for the 14th straight year, which is the longest streak of non-playoff futility in […]

If ever there was a worst-case scenario for the New Jersey Devils to find themselves in just days away from the NHL Trade Deadline, they’re neck-deep in it. The Devils have announced that Jack Hughes has undergone successful surgery and will be unavailable to play for the remainder of the 2024-25 NHL Season, though he’s […]

We’ve already seen one goaltender on the move in the National Hockey League in recent days, and another is following suit on Wednesday afternoon. Just days after the Florida Panthers traded backup goaltender Spencer Knight to the Chicago Blackhawks as part of a package to acquire defenseman Seth Jones, the Panthers have acquired Vitek Vanecek […]

The Buffalo Sabres have the longest ongoing postseason drought of any of the 32 NHL clubs, having not appeared in the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2011. And all signs point toward that streak extending into 2025. The Sabres were embarrassed by the last-place San Jose Sharks in Tuesday night’s game, losing by a 6-2 final […]

It’s been anything but smooth sailing for the Vancouver Canucks this season, who entered the campaign with high expectations after winning the Pacific Division crown and advancing to Game 7 of the second round in 2023-24 but have anything but division champions this time around. Right now, they’re on the outside looking in at the […]

The Tampa Bay Lightning are only three years removed from their last appearance in the Stanley Cup Final in 2022, and that was after back-to-back Stanley Cup victories in 2020 and 2021. One player who was a part of those Cup-winning squads was forward Yanni Gourde, who was later exposed in the 2021 NHL Expansion […]

Edmonton Oilers forward Evander Kane has not played a single game for the defending Western Conference champions this season, but he’s been working his way toward a return to the ice and hopes to play at some point in 2024-25. But will it be with the Oilers? According to NHL insiders Chris Johnston and Pierre […]

The Vancouver Canucks have struggled with consistency in 2024-25, hardly resembling the team that won the Pacific Division crown last season and advanced to Game 7 of the Western Conference Semi-Finals. This season has been defined by in-house drama that resulted in a massive trade, with J.T. Miller sent packing to the New York Rangers […]

The Chicago Blackhawks are nowhere near a postseason spot and will once again miss the annual dance as they continue to trudge through another difficult rebuilding season. The Blackhawks have already made several moves this season, trading away veterans like Taylor Hall to the Carolina Hurricanes and more recently, defenseman Seth Jones to the Florida […]

The Washington Capitals had already taken care of an important matter of business this season, signing first-year Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson to a multi-year contract extension. And now, they’ve taken care of both goaltenders on the roster. On Monday morning, it was announce that the Capitals had re-signed goaltender Charlie Lindgren to a three-year deal […]

New Jersey Devils assistant captain Jack Hughes was forced from Sunday night’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights after he fell awkwardly into the boards late in the third period behind the Vegas net. He got tangled up with Jack Eichel, though he appeared to take the brunt of the impact with the boards. Eichel […]

New York Rangers forward Matt Rempe has already run afoul of the National Hockey League Department of Player Safety multiple times in his brief NHL career, and he could soon be getting another call as soon as tomorrow. During Sunday night’s game at Madison Square Garden against the Nashville Predators, Rempe clearly threw his elbow […]

Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews has solidified himself as one of the NHL’s top goal scorers so far in his career, which began as a rookie in the 2016-17 NHL season. While his numbers for 2024-25 aren’t what they were last season when he scored 69 goals to capture the Art Ross Trophy, he’s […]

This is not a good situation that the Vancouver Canucks are finding themselves in as the schedule officially hits crunch time with the NHL Trade Deadline now only days away. Following Saturday night’s loss to the Seattle Kraken, the Canucks are now 1-4 in their last five games. Even worse is that captain Quinn Hughes, […]

It appears as though the writing is on the wall for New York Rangers forward Reilly Smith when it comes to his future in the Big Apple. While the rest of his Rangers teammates will be in action on Sunday night against the Nashville Predators at Madison Square Garden, Smith will not be suiting up. […]

Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Seth Jones made no secret about the fact that he’s tired of the losing and doesn’t want to wait for the club to turn around their fortunes. But with a massive contract and considerable cap hit, finding a team to take him on was going to prove difficult. But in a stunning […]

As they enter the stretch run of their season, the Ottawa Senators are about to get three very valuable pieces of their team back on the ice. The Senators expect Josh Norris, Shane Pinto and Brady Tkachuk all to play on Saturday night against the lowly San Jose Sharks at Canadian Tire Centre, as they […]