Michael Whitaker Articles - Page 9

The Vancouver Canucks are the reigning Pacific Division champions, but they’re going to be hard pressed to hold on to their division crown thanks to their inconsistent play this season. Additionally, the team has had to put up with a rift between top forwards Elias Pettersson and JT Miller; both players have separately denied that […]

The Edmonton Oilers have been without forward Evander Kane for the entire 2024-25 NHL season so far, but he’s inching closer to a return to action. The good news for Kane is that he’s back on the ice, writing on social media that it was his first time skating in a long time and that […]

The Tampa Bay Lightning underwent a major leadership transition during the offseason, as the Steven Stamkos era officially came to a close; he signed a four-year contract with the Nashville Predators after months of speculation that he wouldn’t be able to come to an agreement to remain with the only NHL team he’d ever played […]

The NHL salary cap, which has been in place since the start of the 2005-06 NHL season and was the reason for the lockout that wiped out the entire 2004-05 campaign, is expected to rise in time for next season. And the Washington Capitals, who are one of the biggest surprises in the League this […]

The Chicago Blackhawks teamed up with the Colorado Avalanche and Carolina Hurricanes on a monumental three-team trade earlier this week, sending forward Taylor Hall to the Hurricanes and receiving a draft pick in return. As part of the three-way deal, they also retained 50% of Mikko Rantanen’s salary; he was traded from Colorado to Carolina. […]

The Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs have been rivals for years, and met each other in the Stanley Cup Playoffs multiple times in the early 2000s, all series wins by Toronto. On Saturday night, the Maple Leafs invaded Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa – but it may as well have been a home game […]

One of the most consequential trades in recent NHL history was pulled off on Friday night, with several notable players changing locations. The Colorado Avalanche, Carolina Hurricanes and Chicago Blackhawks all combined for a monumental deal that resulted in Mikko Rantanen and Taylor Hall joining the Hurricanes, Martin Necas and Jack Drury (and draft picks) […]

In one of the most notable trades in recent National Hockey League history, the Carolina Hurricanes and Colorado Avalanche got together on an absolute stunner of a deal, while the Chicago Blackhawks were also involved. The full trade is as follows: Hurricanes receive: Mikko Rantanen from Colorado, Taylor Hall from Chicago Avalanche receive: Martin Necas, […]

The Chicago Blackhawks continue to struggle in the 2024-25 NHL season, finding themselves in the very last spot in the standings. Management clearly had higher expectations in 2023 first-round draft pick Connor Bedard’s sophomore season, and it resulted in the firing of head coach Luke Richardson in early December. One player that the club is […]

There weren’t many exciting moments for the Toronto Maple Leafs during Wednesday’s game at Scotiabank Arena, as they were defeated by a 5-1 final score by the Columbus Blue Jackets. However, there was one particularly thrilling aspect during the event involving enforcer Ryan Reaves. He dropped the gloves against Blue Jackets forward Mathieu Olivier in […]

The Minnesota Wild have been without two of the most important pieces in their lineup for multiple weeks, but that could soon be on the verge of changing. Forward Kirill Kaprizov, who has missed the last 12 games with a lower-body injury, took part in Minnesota’s line rushes during practice on Wednesday. According to head […]

The Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks don’t often get together on trades, but they did so earlier on Wednesday. And while the trade they executed wasn’t of earth-shattering proportions, it’s still notable that the two rivals would work with one another on swapping players. The Ducks acquired forward Justin Bailey from the San Jose […]

The Edmonton Oilers have already made a key signing to bolster their back end, signing veteran Swedish defenseman John Klingberg to a one-year, pro-rated contract for the remainder of the 2024-25 NHL season. But is general manager Stan Bowman finished adding? According to NHL Insider Pierre LeBrun, looks as though he could be interested in […]

The rivalry between the Vancouver Canucks and the Edmonton Oilers boiled over on Saturday night, as tempers flared between the two clubs in what was a 3-2 victory for the Canucks at Rogers Arena. The NHL Department of Player Safety ruled today that Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers would be serving a three-game suspension for his […]

The Ben Johnson era with the Detroit Lions is officially over. Less than 48 hours after the best season in Lions history came to a close at the hands of the Washington Commanders in the NFC Divisional round at Ford Field, Johnson has accepted the head coaching position with the Chicago Bears. One of the […]

There was a reported major trade in the works between the Vancouver Canucks and the New York Rangers that was called off. The deal was so close that the Canucks reportedly even considered not dressing Miller for their game on Saturday night against the Edmonton Oilers. However, the trade has fallen through. And now, we’ve […]

The season for the Detroit Lions, the best in their history, is hanging in the balance in the fourth quarter in Saturday night’s NFC Divisional showdown against the Washington Commanders at Ford Field. And thanks to a brutal mistake, the fate of the Lions may have been sealed. Detroit was whistled for having too many […]

The Florida Panthers will have to play the rest of Saturday night’s game against the visiting Anaheim Ducks without sniper Sam Reinhart. Reinhart was slapped with a five-minute major and a game misconduct after he caught Ducks forward Isac Lundestrom with a knee-on-knee hit late in the opening 20 minutes of play. Immediately, the incident […]

The Washington Capitals are in action on Saturday night against their historic rival Pittsburgh Penguins, who come to town with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and company for a 7:00 PM EST puck drop at Capital One Arena. At the same time, the NFL’s Washington Commanders are set to take on the Detroit Lions in the […]

The Vancouver Canucks find themselves in a rough position, having gone 1-5-1 in their last seven games. Their most recent setback was their 5-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night at Rogers Arena in downtown Vancouver. The Canucks are now 19-15-10, falling to fifth place in the Pacific Division. Canucks captain Quinn […]

Not only did the New York Islanders drop a 5-3 decision to the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night, but they’ve also now lost Maxim Tsyplakov for the next handful of games. He delivered an illegal headshot to Flyers’ forward Ryan Poehling, though he was ironically not penalized for it during the game. Maxim Tsyplakov is […]

The Colorado Avalanche have been without team captain Gabriel Landeskog since he helped lead them to the Stanley Cup in the spring of 2022. He’s undergone several surgeries and was hopeful to make a return to action at some point in the near future, but those plans were unfortunately put on hold. The good news […]

The Toronto Maple Leafs were dealt a devastating blow on the injury front on Thursday, as assistant captain John Tavares was injured during practice and has since been placed on Injured Reserve. Tavares is having a bounce-back season, having already scored 20 goals with 22 assists; before his injury, he was on pace to score […]

The Edmonton Oilers are the reigning Western Conference champions, having come within a single victory of the franchise’s first Stanley Cup since 1990 in a hard-fought, seven game series against the Florida Panthers. While the Panthers ultimately prevailed in the deciding seventh game, the Oilers appeared to be well set-up for a chance at another […]

While there continues to be rampant speculation that the Calgary Flames could choose to move on from defenseman Rasmus Andersson, that’s apparently not in the cards for Flames general manager Craig Conroy. According to NHL insider Pierre LeBrun in his latest “NHL Rumblings” piece for The Athletic, Conroy has informed Andersson that the speculation isn’t […]

The Dallas Cowboys will have a new head coach for the 2025 season, as they didn’t retain Mike McCarthy after the expiration of his contract. How exactly can the next head coach of the Cowboys have success? Former Cowboys coach Jason Garrett has some advice for whomever takes the job – don’t try and change […]

The Tampa Bay Lightning have established one of hockey’s winningest cultures in the last decade, resulting in back-to-back Stanley Cup victories and a third consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup Final. Needless to say, the expectations are high. And when a player violates those expectations, he must pay the price, regardless of his star status. […]

The Colorado Avalanche have yet to have forward Valeri Nichuskin in their lineup in the calendar year of 2025. He hasn’t played since their 5-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets on New Year’s Eve. He’s already missed six games, and it doesn’t look like the Avalanche can expect him back any time soon despite initially […]

The Montreal Canadiens will be without forward Emil Heineman for the forseeable future after he was involved in a traffic accident. They made the announcement on their official X account, providing the following update: “Emil Heineman was involved in a traffic accident yesterday as a pedestrian. Heineman sustained an upper-body injury and will be out […]

The Chicago Blackhawks suffered yet another defeat on Monday night, this time against the visiting Calgary Flames. Calgary earned a 5-2 victory, handing the Blackhawks their NHL-worst 28th loss of the 2024-25 season. It was an especially brutal performance for defenseman Seth Jones, who finished with a team-worst -4 rating and committed a particularly awful […]

The Los Angeles Rams are moving on in the NFL postseason, as they defeated the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC wild-card game on Monday night at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona by a 27-9 final score. The NFL moved the game from Sofi Stadium in Englewood, California to Arizona owing to public safety concerns […]

The Nashville Predators have been one of the most disappointing and surprising teams in the NHL so far in the 2024-25 season, as they were viewed by most as legitimate Stanley Cup contenders thanks to their high-spending offseason. Instead, they’re the second-worst team in the Western Conference. On Tuesday, the Predators will play the Vegas […]

Goaltender Anthony Stolarz hasn’t made an appearance in game action for the Toronto Maple Leafs since getting hurt on December 12 against his former team, the Anaheim Ducks, at Scotiabank Arena. He underwent a knee procedure to remove a loose body, or small piece of broken-off bone or cartilage, in his knee and was expected […]

The Boston Bruins have endured a difficult 2024-25 NHL season that resulted in them firing head coach Jim Montgomery thanks to their inconsistent play that failed to meet expectations. But adding to the drama of their season was an explosive report from WEEI’s Rich Keefe that there was an issue between longtime teammates Brad Marchand […]

The Philadelphia Flyers dismantled the Anaheim Ducks in Saturday’s game at Wells Fargo Center, winning in decisive fashion 6-0. But there was also some drama surrounding the contest, as it featured the return of former Flyers draft pick Cutter Gauthier to Philadelphia for the first time since he requested a trade out of town. He […]

The Montreal Canadiens hope to remain red-hot when they host the Western Conference-contending Dallas Stars on Saturday night at Bell Centre in downtown Montreal. And based on the latest reports, they could have one of their top forwards back in their lineup. Patrik Laine, who has missed the last handful of games while he dealt […]

It’s hard to believe, but the 2024-25 NHL season is already at the halfway point, and it won’t be long before the Trade Deadline arrives. Plenty of clubs will be looking to make key additions to their club in order to bolster their roster towards a postseason run. And according to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, the […]

While it’s become somewhat of an annual tradition for Philadelphia Flyers forward Scott Laughton to see his name included in trade rumors, a key Flyers insider doesn’t believe that he’s on the verge of being moved out of the City of Brotherly Love. Kevin Kurz of The Athletic poured cold water on the thought that […]

The Edmonton Oilers are the reigning Western Conference champions, and also came within one victory of winning their first Stanley Cup championship since the end of their dynasty days in 1990. And while the Oilers are comfortably in a postseason position while occupying the second overall place in the Pacific Division, they’re reportedly looking to […]