Michael Whitaker Articles - Page 5

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 […]

The Vancouver Canucks continue to struggle when it comes to putting together consistent performances. They’ve fallen well short of the 2023-24 squad that convincingly won the Pacific Division and also advanced to Game 7 of the Western Conference Semi-Finals. Only a single point out of fifth place in the division this season, the Flames have […]

The San Jose Sharks have once again trudged through an incredibly difficult rebuilding season that has them in last place in the Pacific Division by a wide margin. They’ll once again be nowhere close to a playoff spot, now making it several years since they last qualified. As the NHL Trade Deadline approaches, Sharks general […]

The last thing that the struggling Edmonton Oilers need right now is to be missing their top defenseman. Unfortunately, they won’t have Darnell Nurse available to them for Thursday night’s showdown against the Florida Panthers in a rematch of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final. Nurse was named a scratch and is dealing with an injury […]

Thanks to an ankle injury he suffered during exhibition play, the Los Angeles Kings were forced to play the first several months of the 2024-25 NHL season without veteran defenseman and assistant captain Drew Doughty. And while he recently returned to the Kings lineup and also played for Team Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off […]

The 2025 NHL trade deadline is on the horizon, and speculation continues to abound regarding the future of star forward Mikko Rantanen with the Carolina Hurricanes. Having already been traded to Carolina from the Colorado Avalanche last month, what are the chances that Rantanen could soon return to the Western Conference? Not only are several […]

Losing top defenseman Adam Fox is the last thing that the New York Rangers need right now, but the unfortunate reality is that is their current situation. Fox has been placed on Injured Reserve by the Rangers after getting hurt during their 6-1 win over the New York Islanders at UBS Arena on Tuesday night. […]

It’s now been over a decade since the Los Angeles Kings last won the Stanley Cup, though two top players who were a part of the 2012 and 2014 championship squads remain on the roster in Drew Doughty and Anze Kopitar. The Kings, who are in third place in the Pacific Division with 69 points, […]

The Florida Panthers are the defending Stanley Cup champions, so they will have a hard time finding people to feel sorry for them now that forward Matthew Tkachuk has been injured and isn’t expected to be available for an indefinite amount of time. If he were to be out long-term, could the defending champs look […]

Once again, the Colorado Avalanche have been forced to play a lengthy period of time without forward Valeri Nichushkin — and once again, they’re preparing to welcome him back into their lineup. The Avalanche, who host the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night at Ball Arena in Denver, will have Nichushkin back for the first […]

It’s been a struggle for the Pittsburgh Penguins the last handful of seasons, as they’ve now missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for two straight years and are on track for a third straight miss unless something changes in a hurry. Despite their struggles, team captain and franchise icon Sidney Crosby has no desire to go […]

The Toronto Maple Leafs returned to their NHL scheduling on Saturday night against the visiting Carolina Hurricanes, but the memory of the painful 4 Nations Face-Off tournament loss still lingered for Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews. Matthews, who is the captain of the Leafs and was also named captain of Team USA, failed to score […]

While the New York Islanders have been banged up this season with several key players missing considerable time, they’re getting a bit of positive news on injured defenseman Noah Dobson. Unavailable to the Islanders since getting hurt on January 20 against the Columbus Blue Jackets and having missed the last nine straight games, Dobson has […]

It’s been a long time coming for the Seattle Kraken, but for the first time in ages, they’ll be getting their on-ice veteran leader back into the lineup. Captain Jordan Eberle, who hasn’t played since getting hurt against the Chicago Blackhawks on November 14, will be back int the lineup when the Kraken face the […]

Now that the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament has concluded, the Vancouver Canucks have welcomed back Elias Pettersson and Kevin Lankinen, both of whom were participants for Team Sweden and Team Finland, respectively. Unfortunately, they’ve announced a discouraging health update on Pettersson; he’s not expected to be able to play in Saturday’s Canucks game against the […]

Former New York Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens is regarded as one of the game’s greats at his position, having earned over 350 victories and 4,600 strikeouts while picking up seven Cy Young awards during his career which included tenures with the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, and Houston Astros. He also helped the Yankees […]

Are the Los Angeles Rams contemplating a trade of quarterback Matthew Stafford? Stafford, who has had a dispute with the Rams regarding his contract and has had his name pop up in trade rumors, has reportedly been given permission to talk about opportunities with other NFL clubs. NFL Insider Tom Pelissero explained as much while […]

The 4 Nations Face-Off tournament is now complete, as Team Canada forward Connor McDavid delivered the knockout blow against Team USA in Thursday night’s deciding game at TD Garden in Boston. But despite the historic goal, he kept the focus on the rest of his teammates who helped make it possible, via The New York […]

Despite entering the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament with serious question marks in goal, Team Canada was able to get a heroic performance from Jordan Binnington in Thursday’s championship game in Boston at TD Garden. Binnington turned back the clock and delivered a clutch outing reminiscent of his Game 7 Stanley Cup-winning victory for the St. […]

The Nashville Predators have been one of the biggest disappointments in the National Hockey League this season. They entered the campaign with bonafide Stanley Cup expectations thanks to the additions of Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, and Brady Skjei, and they also re-signed goaltender Juuse Saros to an eight-year contract extension. However, the Predators have been […]

Team USA and Team Canada are duking it out for the right to call themselves the champions of the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament, but the former is playing without a key part of their lineup. Defenseman Charlie McAvoy is out for Thursday night’s game and possibly longer for the Boston Bruins thanks to an infection […]

The Los Angeles Dodgers have thrown around some serious money during this offseason, signing Blake Snell for $182 million, Tanner Scott for $72 million, Teoscar Hernandez for $66 million, Blake Treinen for $22 million, and a handful of other contracts. This comes a year after they signed Shohei Ohtani for a whopping $700 million. Oh, […]

It would be difficult for fans of the St. Louis Blues to imagine life without their captain Brayden Schenn. After all, he was instrumental in the franchise’s first and only Stanley Cup victory to date in 2019. During that postseason run, Schenn contributed five goals with seven assists and later lifted the Stanley Cup alongside […]