NHL Articles - Page 165

The Ottawa Senators were oh-so-close to being a team of destiny in 2017, taking the Pittsburgh Penguins to seven games in the Eastern Conference Final and eventually losing in heartbreaking fashion in double overtime. The Pens would go on to win the Stanley Cup that postseason, and the Sens have yet to make the playoffs […]

Despite 13 straight National Hockey League seasons without a playoff appearance — the longest such drought in North American professional sports — the Buffalo Sabres continue to struggle to make meaningful progress. In 2023-24, the club floundered again, finishing sixth place in the Atlantic Division with a 39-37-6 record. It wasn’t a terrible season by […]

Although there was some hope that the 2023-24 Columbus Blue Jackets could surprise the hockey world and make a push for the playoffs — especially after acquiring Damon Severson and Ivan Provorov last offseason — the campaign went off the rails pretty quickly and never got back on track. When the dust settled, the Jackets […]

The Los Angeles Kings drew the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the third straight season. And once again, they could not overcome Connor McDavid and Edmonton’s offensive attack. The Oilers defeated Los Angeles in five games as they went on to make the 2024 Stanley Cup Final. As a result, Los Angeles […]

Veteran defenseman Matt Grzelcyk can trace a lot of career moments to the city of Pittsburgh. The Boston Bruins drafted him in 2012 when the NHL Draft took place in the city. He debuted at PPG Paints Arena in 2016 before scoring his first career goal in that same building in 2017. Now, he will […]

The New Jersey Devils were among the favorites to contend for the Stanley Cup at the beginning of the 2023-24 season. Unfortunately, they didn’t come close to living up to those expectations. They struggled for large stretches of the season and ultimately missed the playoffs entirely. After 2024 NHL Free Agency, though, there is hope […]

The New York Rangers came close to the Stanley Cup Final once again in 2024. New York hoped to go on a deep playoff run when they hired Peter Laviolette as head coach last summer. Now, they are looking to finally get over the hump and actually make the Stanley Cup Final in 2025. They […]

This time last year, Oliver Ekman-Larsson was at a crossroads of sorts. The veteran rearguard had just been bought out by the Vancouver Canucks. And he joined the Florida Panthers in NHL Free Agency hoping to do something to revitalize his career. Now, he is a Stanley Cup champion and recently signed a four-year contract […]

The Vegas Golden Knights were on top of the world just over one calendar year ago, celebrating the first Stanley Cup victory in just the sixth year of their existence since entering the NHL. Essentially, the Golden Knights went from the loveable team that could to the League’s new villain, especially due to their creative […]

The Detroit Red Wings have made some big moves in NHL Free Agency. They kept veteran forward Patrick Kane on a one-year contract and signed two-time Stanley Cup champion Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year contract. They are likely done shopping the open market, but they have some items left to take care of. One of […]

It’s no secret that Jake DeBrusk’s seven-year tenure with the Boston Bruins was not without its challenges — the 27-year-old did ask for a trade on two different occasions, after all. And after signing with the Vancouver Canucks in free agency on July 1, the former first-round pick broke his silence on the trade requests […]

The Seattle Kraken nearly went nuclear in just their second season of existence in 2022-23, defeating the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche in Round 1 and coming within one victory of advancing all the way to the Western Conference Final. It was a hugely encouraging campaign in the State of Washington, providing hope that […]

The Carolina Hurricanes are in the midst of a mass exodus this offseason after watching a plethora of talent depart Raleigh, including forwards Jake Guentzel, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Teuvo Teravainen. And those might not be the only players on the move as youngsters Martin Necas and Seth Jarvis remain without a contract heading into 2024-25. […]

The Columbus Blue Jackets finished in the basement of the Eastern Conference in 2023-24 with just 66 points. Despite the offensive star power of Johnny Gaudreau and Patrik Laine, the Blue Jackets struggled to win games in head coach Pascal Vincent’s only season behind the bench. This summer, they brought in Gaudreau’s old teammate Sean […]

Riding a 13-year playoff drought, the Buffalo Sabres find themselves still struggling to make meaningful progress. This past season, the Sabres finished 12th in the East. With a young core established though and an abundance of cap space, free agency seemed like a good opportunity to make improvements to their roster. However, Buffalo stayed relatively […]

Shortly before free agent frenzy kicked off on July 1, the Utah Hockey Club didn’t have a single NHL defenseman under contract. Fast forward a couple of weeks and the club’s defense is arguably better than it’s been in the last decade. The league’s newest franchise had nothing but cap space heading into free agency, […]

The Tampa Bay Lightning made a big splash this offseason by trading for Jake Guentzel’s rights from the Carolina Hurricanes and signing him to a seven-year, $63 million contract that pays him $9 million per season. Guentzel could have become an unrestricted free agent, but he decided that the Lightning were the right team for […]

The Florida Panthers are in the midst of one of the shortest offseasons in National Hockey League history after defeating the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final on June 24. But that won’t matter too much to the franchise after the team brought a first-ever championship to South Beach. Still, even […]

Following a second straight first round exit, the Tampa Bay Lightning made some major shake-ups to their roster. After re-acquiring Ryan McDonagh from the Nashville Predators, then sending Mikhail Sergachev to Utah, the Lightning made their biggest moves up front in free agency. Tampa Bay signed Jake Guentzel to a seven-year contract, after acquiring him […]

Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers fell short of the Stanley Cup in 2024. They made a miraculous comeback in the Stanley Cup Final before falling in Game 7. McDavid won the Conn Smythe Trophy after turning in one of the greatest postseason performances in NHL history. But he and the franchise want to win […]

The Columbus Blue Jackets are looking to turn the corner sooner rather than later. They finished among the worst teams in the NHL this past season. And with a group of young prospects knocking on the door, now is the time for them to strike. In fact, they made one major move in NHL Free […]

The Vancouver Canucks ran into horrible injury luck in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Starting goalie Thatcher Demko was injured in Game 1 of their first round series against the Nashville Predators. Before Game 4, backup Casey DeSmith also picked up an injury. That led to the team turning to 23-year-old Arturs Silvos, who played well […]

The Calgary Flames were active on the trade front during the 2023-24. In a way, they had to be active given their situation. Multiple players were on the brink of NHL Free Agency. And with the team heading backwards, it appeared unlikely that they would retain most of them. Since last summer, the Flames have […]

Veteran NHL forward Joe Pavelski has considered retirement all offseason. He just completed his fifth season with the Dallas Stars and his 18th in the NHL. After falling short of the Stanley Cup Final, Pavelski is stepping away from the game of hockey for now. However, he almost made a return to California with the […]

The first wave of the National Hockey League free agency period has come to a close, and there was a whirlwind of activity that saw plenty of the bigger names change destinations. And perhaps no team made more meaningful and impactful additions to their squad than the Nashville Predators, who put the rest of the […]

There is going to come a time when Alex Ovechkin retires and the Washington Capitals inevitably return to a level of mediocrity the franchise hasn’t seen since before The Great Eight was drafted No. 1 overall in 2004. But not this day, say new general manager Chris Patrick and president of hockey operations Brian MacLellan. […]

The New York Rangers signed Braden Schneider to a short-term, two-year, $4.4 million contract extension on July 13. Schneider was a restricted free agent, along with Ryan Lindgren, two integral parts of the Rangers’ blueline. They also had Jack Roslovic left to re-sign, but he reached a deal with the Carolina Hurricanes. The Rangers now […]

The Los Angeles Kings signed Quinton Byfield to a five-year, $31.25 million contract extension on July 15. After his first three professional seasons, Byfield started to look like a disappointing draft pick. The Kings had Byfield split his time between the AHL and NHL for his first three seasons. In 2023-24, it was time for […]

The Nashville Predators have never won a Stanley Cup in the franchise’s 25-year history, but after a couple of huge offseason signings — including two-time champion Steven Stamkos — the squad is looking primed to compete for one for the first time since 2017. And Stamkos, who returned to Nashville this week for the first […]

The San Jose Sharks were not only the weakest team in the National Hockey League in 2023-24, but they put together one of the worst campaigns in the history of the league. Everyone knew this squad would struggle in the early stages of the rebuild, but probably no one expected a 19-win, 47-point season. That […]

The Boston Bruins didn’t recreate their historic season from 2022-23, but they did manage to grab the second seed in the Atlantic Division. The Bruins held first place for most of the season, but a late-season push by the Florida Panthers put them first. Advancing to the second round isn’t good enough for the Bruins […]

The Florida Panthers had a mission in the 2023-24 season. They wanted to return to the Stanley Cup Final and win the famed trophy after falling short a year ago. Actually, the Panthers had a brilliant run in 2023, upsetting the heavily favored Boston Bruins, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Carolina Hurricanes before losing […]

The St. Louis Blues are coming off a challenging 2023-24 season. The Blues are gearing up to bounce back during the offseason, but they received a potentially crushing injury update on veteran defenseman Torey Krug. The Blues announced that Krug has been diagnosed with pre-arthritic issues in his ankle, per Frank Seravalli. Krug is hoping […]

The Toronto Maple Leafs’ biggest splash in free agency was trading for Chris Tanev’s rights at the NHL Draft. The move helped them negotiate with Tanev before the free agency period opened, and they agreed to a six-year, $27 million contract. Tanev is the perfect player for Toronto’s defense core, but there are some concerns […]

The Edmonton Oilers may have come one win short of their first Stanley Cup in over 30 years, but CEO of hockey operations Jeff Jackson made it clear in NHL free agency that nothing short of a championship is the goal in 2025. Edmonton started last season horrifically, sitting near the bottom of the league […]

Joe Pavelski of the Dallas Stars announced that he will not be returning next season after playing 1,332 regular season games and 201 playoff games in the NHL, according to Sirius XM NHL Network Radio. After the Stars lost to the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Final, it was heavily hinted at from Joe […]

The Winnipeg Jets were in a great spot this past season. It looked like they were going to lose Mark Scheifele and Connor Hellebuyck. However, the pair signed long-term extensions to stay in Winnipeg. They were surprising moves, as Winnipeg has a stereotype that players don’t want to sign there and anyone already there wants […]

The Los Angeles Kings began their 2023-24 season on fire, owning a 13-4-3 record through the season’s first two months. They struggled through the middle of the season but ended in form again to grab the third-place spot in the Pacific Division. Their reward was a playoff date with their rival Edmonton Oilers for the […]

The Carolina Hurricanes have been Stanley Cup contenders for the better part of the last half-decade, but the franchise has been unable to get over the hump when it matters most. After getting swept by the Florida Panthers in the 2023 Eastern Conference Final, the Canes’ roster was even better in 2024, especially with the […]