NHL Articles - Page 191

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 […]

The Dallas Stars were extremely close to the 2024 Stanley Cup Final. In fact, they took a 2-1 series lead over the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Finals. Unfortunately, they fell just short again. They lost to the Oilers in six games, leaving them searching for answers ahead of NHL Free Agency a few […]

The Chicago Blackhawks did not have a great 2023-24 NHL season. In fact, they finished as one of the worst teams in the league. This landed them the second overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, which they used on Artyom Levshunov. However, to add immediate support for Connor Bedard, they needed to be aggressive […]

The Vancouver Canucks won the Pacific Division in 2023-24 in rather surprising fashion. In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, they proved their division win was not a fluke. They defeated the Nashville Predators in the first round as they came within a game of the 2023 Western Conference Finals. They certainly had a lot to feel […]

The Detroit Red Wings seemed ready to make some noise during NHL Free Agency. They cleared cap space by trading Jake Walman to the San Jose Sharks. And while they kept Patrick Kane on a one-year deal, they still had some holes to fill with cap space to spare. Despite this, Detroit was rather quiet […]

The Nashville Predators have been fortunate enough to employ a pair of the NHL’s top players between the pipes over the last decade and a half, starting with franchise icon Pekka Rinne and his successor Juuse Saros. The Predators then landed another standout goaltender, selecting Yaroslav Askarov in the first-round of the 2020 NHL Draft. But […]

The Anaheim Ducks have not made a ton of moves through NHL Free Agency to this point. In fact, most of their notable moves have come through trades, such as trading for forward Robby Fabbri. However, they have done well to sign internal free agents. And they did it again on Monday with defenseman Jackson […]

The Los Angeles Kings have made a splash in the offseason with the franchise signing Quinton Byfield to a five-year extension deal, as reported on the team’s official website. “The LA Kings have signed forward Quinton Byfield to a five-year contract extension worth an average annual value (AAV) of $6,250,000 through the 2028-29 season,” the […]

The Carolina Hurricanes had an admirable run during the 2023-24 NHL season. Carolina had multiple stout contributors; however, one veteran will not be returning to the team or the NHL. Carolina is losing former Washington Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov to the KHL (Kontinental Hockey League) after a contract termination, The Hockey News (h/t championat.com). Before […]

It doesn’t seem like all that long ago when the New York Islanders were legitimate Stanley Cup contenders. The franchise advanced to back-to-back Eastern Conference Finals in 2020 and 2021, losing both times to a powerhouse Tampa Bay Lightning squad that went on to capture two consecutive championships. The Isles could have won both of […]

Nearly two weeks after Steven Stamkos left the Tampa Bay Lightning in free agency — the team he won two Stanley Cups with and captained for the last decade — the future Hall of Famer penned an emotional letter to the organization in The Players Tribune on Monday. Stamkos was selected No. 1 overall by […]

The Edmonton Oilers had a clear need during this offseason to get them to the NHL’s peak. After Kris Knoblauch’s hiring last season, they were one of the best teams and made it to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. However, the Oilers’ lack of offensive depth put them behind in their series against […]

For the first time in a long time, the Tampa Bay Lightning aren’t the best team in their state. The Florida Panthers began taking that crown last season when they made the Stanley Cup Final but solidified their place as the best when they won the Cup this season. The Panthers added insult to injury […]

The Ottawa Senators had some hype around them entering the 2023-24 NHL season. Unfortunately, the season didn’t go quite to plan. Ottawa never came close to contending for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2024. This season also saw them hire a new general manager and a new full-time head coach to lead the team. In […]

The New Jersey Devils missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs after a promising 2022-23 campaign. Many expected New Jersey to put in a real challenge for the Stanley Cup this past season. However, injuries and underperformance led to a down year. Now led behind the bench by Sheldon Keefe, the Devils hope to right the ship […]