Michael Whitaker Articles - Page 3

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 […]

Since joining the NHL in the 2000-01 season, the Columbus Blue Jackets have had a challenging history, qualifying for the Stanley Cup Playoffs just six times in 24 years. Despite featuring some talented players over the years, the team has never quite managed to come together as a true championship contender. Despite their struggles, the […]

Edmonton Oilers team captain Connor McDavid has the chance to become arguably the most high-profile unrestricted free agent to hit the open market perhaps in NHL history next offseason if things remain as they are right now. As it currently stands, McDavid is without a contract beyond the upcoming 2025-26 NHL season, which will be […]

The Los Angeles Kings will soon experience the end of an era with their franchise. Team captain Anze Kopitar announced on Thursday, the opening of training camp, that the upcoming 2025-26 NHL season will be the last of his career. It will mark the farewell tour of not only one of the great Kings players, […]

The 2024-25 NHL season was a volatile one for the New York Rangers, who failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs only a year after having won the President’s Trophy. Not only did they trade away team captain Jacob Trouba after reportedly threatening to waive him, but they also traded away forward Filip Chytil […]

Training camp has officially begun for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and it’s a bit of an unfamiliar situation after the so-called “Core Four” of Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews, John Tavares and William Nylander was split up for good with the major sign-and-trade deal of Marner to the Vegas Golden Knights. Now, the Maple Leafs are […]

One of the handful of acquisitions that the Edmonton Oilers made at the 2025 NHL trade deadline was defenseman Jake Walman, who had previously spent the entire season with the San Jose Sharks following a surprising trade from the Detroit Red Wings. Walman arrived in Edmonton having already scored six goals with 26 assists with […]

The Colorado Avalanche were introduced to the NHL in time for the 1995-96 season as they relocated to the Rocky Mountains after their identity as the Quebec Nordiques was no longer financially viable. They won the Stanley Cup in their first season of play in Colorado and remained a force in the Western Conference for […]

Fans of the Dallas Cowboys are still understandably upset after the trade of Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers shortly before the 2025 NFL season began. Parsons and the Cowboys were unable to come to terms on a new contract, a problem that was immediately solved upon his arrival in Green Bay, as he […]

The Philadelphia Flyers continue to trudge along in their rebuilding process under general manager and former Stanley Cup Playoff ace Daniel Briere, though many Flyers fans would argue that it’s not moving at a pace that they’re comfortable with. The latest season for the Flyers ended with upheaval in its closing days, with the termination […]

The Florida Panthers once again reached the mountaintop as Stanley Cup champions, claiming a second straight victory over the Edmonton Oilers. It was the first Stanley Cup Final rematch since 2008 and 2009, but unlike those series, where the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins each won once, Florida completed a clean sweep over the […]

The Pittsburgh Steelers celebrated a pair of wins over the weekend, starting with the revised contract for AP NFL All-Pro defensive tackle Cam Heyward on Saturday, followed by their season-opening 34-32 victory over the New York Jets on Sunday afternoon. It was also the regular-season debut in a Steelers uniform for former Jets quarterback Aaron […]

Michigan football’s quest for an undefeated season will not come to reality, as they suffered their first loss of their 2025 schedule by dropping a 24-13 decision to the Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday. The loss dropped the Wolverines to 1-1, while the Sooners improved to 2-0. It was only the second-ever meeting between the two […]

The Dallas Cowboys stunned their fans last week by trading All-Pro pass rusher Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers. Immediately after the trade, Parsons signed a four-year, $188 million deal, which included $120 million fully guaranteed. It’s a significant blow to the Cowboys, who failed to qualify for the playoffs last season. Even though […]

The Los Angeles Kings have been unable to get over the hump of the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the last four consecutive seasons, having lost on each occasion to the Edmonton Oilers. It’s enough to drive even the most passionate of fans mad knowing it’s been their fate to fall at […]

The bad news for the Winnipeg Jets is that, during their Game 6 series-ending loss to the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Semifinal, they lost defenseman Josh Morrissey to a leg injury, something that he also experienced two years prior in the postseason against the Vegas Golden Knights. The good news is that Morrissey […]

The version of the Toronto Maple Leafs that hits the ice for the 2025-26 NHL season will look different than the team that skated off the ice at Scotiabank Arena in dejection following their latest Game 7 postseason loss to the Florida Panthers. The most notable change for the Maple Leafs was the sign-and-trade of […]

The Calgary Flames have not played beyond the 82nd game of the regular season since the 2021-22 NHL season, when they advanced to the Western Conference Semi-Final against the provincial rival Edmonton Oilers. During that postseason, the late Johnny Gaudreau scored what was the biggest goal of his career in overtime of Game 7 in […]

There is perhaps no more hands-on executive in the four North American professional sports leagues than Jerry Jones, the team owner and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys. While the Cowboys enjoyed tremendous success in the 1990s under Jones’ ownership, which included two straight Super Bowl wins, Jones has garnered increased criticism and scrutiny for […]

While the Seattle Kraken missed the postseason last year, there is reason for optimism moving forward. The Kraken hired former New York Islanders coach Lane Lambert as the full-time replacement for Dan Bylsma, who was dismissed after just one season, while former Dallas Stars forward Mason Marchment is now a Kraken forward after being acquired […]

The San Jose Sharks endured yet another losing campaign in the 2024-25 NHL season, finishing at the bottom of the standings in the Western Conference while also making multiple trades along the way. One of the new players they brought in during the regular season was former Colorado Avalanche goaltender Alexandar Georgiev, who was included […]

The frustrating refrain for the Minnesota Wild continued earlier this spring, as they once again failed to make it out of the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Minnesota hasn’t advanced to the Western Conference Semifinal since 2015 when they defeated the St. Louis Blues in Round 1. The current Wild roster looks far […]

It wasn’t very long ago that the Chicago Blackhawks not only experienced the end of the dynasty that produced three Stanley Cup victories, but also began their slide toward the bottom of National Hockey League standings. There have been some frustrating times in recent years in the Windy City, but some of the consolation prizes […]