NHL Articles - Page 231

The Anaheim Ducks entered last season hoping they could push for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. And it’s hard to blame them for having those expectations for themselves. Anaheim finished the 2021-22 season with 76 points. With a core led by Trevor Zegras and breakout star Troy Terry, it made sense that the playoffs would be […]

The Columbus Blue Jackets have had some rough times recently. Last season saw them absolutely crater and finish in the bottom half of the league. This is in spite of their marquee signing of Johnny Gaudreau in NHL Free Agency. Unfortunately, things haven’t gotten off to the greatest start this summer given the Mike Babcock […]

The Los Angeles Kings have experienced disappointment in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in each of the last two seasons. Not only that, but it’s essentially been the same song and dance for them. They take on Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers in the first round. And after a hard-fought series, they just can’t overcome […]

The San Jose Sharks are long past the days of competing for the Stanley Cup. We saw this well before they finished seventh in the Pacific Division last season. San Jose is in the midst of what could be a long rebuild, and it may be hard for their fans to see the light at […]

The Anaheim Ducks announced that they have signed restricted free agent center Trevor Zegras to a three-year extension, and the contract gives him $5.75 million a year, according to Chris Johnston of TSN. Trevor Zegras is 22 years old and is a key part of the Ducks’ future. Despite playing on bad teams, Zegras has […]

The Philadelphia Flyers are in a bit of a transition period. Not necessarily in their roster-building philosophy, as the team is continuing their rebuilding process. But they are in a transition period in their front office. Former Flyers star Daniel Briere is now the team’s new general manager. And he made quite the first impression […]

The Winnipeg Jets are sporting a bit of a new look this upcoming season. I’m not even talking about the new jersey they unveiled recently, either. Winnipeg underwent some roster changes over the summer. New faces are coming to play prominent roles, while old faces are headed for greener pastures. It’s hard to project just […]

The Colorado Avalanche finally found themselves atop the hockey world in the summer of 2022. After years of coming close to the Stanley Cup Final, they managed to punch their ticket. What’s more, they managed to take down a Tampa Bay Lightning team gunning for their third Stanley Cup in a row. Many expected the […]

You’d be hard-pressed to find a team in the NHL with worse luck over the last few years than the Arizona Coyotes. And honestly, this isn’t even strictly about their on-ice performances. Many teams have had poor luck on the ice, especially in big moments. The Coyotes, however, can’t escape their bad luck no matter […]

The Dallas Stars took the eventual Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights to six games in the Western Conference Finals. Despite some shoddy defensive play, the Stars still managed to get on the precipice of the finals. It would have been their second trip to the finals in four seasons, but their young core continues […]

The New York Rangers posted 107 points during the 2022-23 season, which only landed them a third-place finish in the Metropolitan division. The Rangers went all-in at the trade deadline, landing Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrick Kane in moves that might have won them a Stanley Cup in the mid-2010s. However, in 2022, the veteran-heavy lineup […]

The Seattle Kraken had quite the sophomore season as an NHL franchise. They surprised many around the game of hockey en route to securing their first appearance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. And the surprises didn’t end there, as the Kraken came within one game of advancing to the Western Conference Final. This summer, Seattle […]

The New Jersey Devils broke out last season, emerging as a legitimate Stanley Cup contender. Unfortunately, they didn’t get a chance to directly compete for the Cup. Their playoff season ended in round two against the Carolina Hurricanes. But the Devils showed that they are a force to be reckoned with moving forward. New Jersey […]

The Pittsburgh Penguins had two options after missing the playoffs for the first time in 16 years. First, the team could blow it up and begin a rebuild. This would mean trading two franchise icons in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Their second option, however, was to put their faith in Crosby and Malkin to […]

The Detroit Red Wings are one of the more interesting teams to preview ahead of the 2023-24 NHL season. Detroit certainly improved this offseason and was one of the more active teams in NHL Free Agency this summer. However, it’s still up in the air just how much the team improved given the moves they […]

The latest injury update for Jake Guentzel is a positive one. Jake Guentzel participated in practice with the Pittsburgh Penguins Friday, doing so for the first time since he had ankle surgery on Aug. 4. Guentzel is set to travel with the Penguins to Halifax, Nova Scotia ahead of their preseason game “He’s progressing. We’re […]

The Tampa Bay Lightning have been at or near the top of the NHL standings for several years, but it may be much harder for them to hold to that status in 2023-24 with the news that goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy will miss at least 25 games this season after undergoing surgery on his back. Head […]

New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin didn’t put up the same numbers last season as he did in his Vezina Trophy-winning 2021-22 campaign, but the 27-year-old still was among the best netminders in the NHL. He thinks a fresh mindset this season will bring back some of the same success he had earlier in his […]

For the first time in National Hockey League history, there were two women coaches behind the bench for preseason action this week. Kori Cheverie and Jessica Campbell became the first women to coach an NHL team when they took up the role for the Pittsburgh Penguins and Seattle Kraken, respectively. Cheverie is one of six […]

The Boston Bruins are already midway through the preseason ahead of the 2023-2024 season, but the players are reflecting on last year’s heartbreaking playoff exit. The Bruins stormed through the regular season during the 2022-2023 season, breaking the NHL record for the most regular season wins with a win-loss record of 65-12. They accumulated over […]

The Minnesota Wild locked up a key piece of their offense on Friday, signing veteran Mats Zuccarello to a two-year, $8.25 million contract extension, the team announced. The 36-year-old is entering the final season of a five-year, $30 million contract he signed back in the summer of 2019. He was set to become an unrestricted […]

The Ottawa Senators continue to round out their hockey operations department and hired perhaps their biggest name yet on Friday. Owner Michael Andlauer announced that Steve Staios will join the Senators as the franchise’s president of hockey operations. “I am so excited that Steve is joining me in Ottawa to lead our hockey operations,” Andlauer […]

The Florida Panthers exceeded all expectations in 2022-23, going from a fringe playoff squad to the last team standing in the Eastern Conference. In a division that featured the greatest regular season team in history in the Boston Bruins, the team who had come out of the East for three consecutive seasons in the Tampa […]

This may be the year that the Toronto Maple Leafs are not looking up at any of their Atlantic Division competitors. The Maple Leafs have been a playoff participant for the last 7 seasons, and they are clearly one of the most offensively talented teams in the league. As they prepare for the 2023-24 season, […]

The Boston Bruins put together one of the greatest regular seasons in NHL history during the 2022-23 season, only for it to shockingly end with a first-round exit in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Perhaps the two men themselves knew it at the time, but the Bruins and their fans had to face a tough reality […]

At 26-years-old, Connor McDavid is already entering the conversation as one of the greatest hockey players of all time. He has been the best player in the National Hockey League for multiple years, and continues to get better after a ludicrous 64-goal, 153-point campaign in 2022-23. But, according to the Edmonton Oilers captain, there’s one […]

Mark Stone was probably not expecting to get absolutely hammered in his first taste of game action since winning the Stanley Cup with the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. But that’s exactly what happened after the superstar was on the wrong side of a gigantic hit from Los Angeles Kings forward […]

The Connor Bedard Show has officially begun in the National Hockey League. The most hyped prospect since Connor McDavid was exceptional in his preseason debut for the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night, registering two assists as the Hawks beat the St. Louis Blues 2-1 in overtime. The 18-year-old finished the night by making a great […]

Now the Boston Bruins find out how the other half lives. After last year’s record-setting season, Brad Marchand takes over as captain and leads the new-look Bruins into battle in the NHL’s Atlantic Division. This team is quite a bit different from the one that had a record 135 points last season and ran away […]

Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy reportedly underwent successful back surgery and is expected to make a complete recovery and miss about two months, according to the team’s announcement. With the NHL season around the corner, Andrei Vasilevskiy will be missing some time to start the regular season. Luckily, it does not seem to be […]

Connor Bedard will play his first preseason game with the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night, ushering in a new era in the Windy City. Gone are the perennial superstars and three-time Stanley Cup champions Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. No longer are the Hawks a constant threat to come out of the Western Conference come […]

Let’s start this bold predictions piece with a bold prediction: the 2023-24 Edmonton Oilers are the best team in the Western Conference without a recent Stanley Cup. To put it more simply: the Oilers are one of the premier squads in the West, along with the Colorado Avalanche (2022 SC champions) and Vegas Golden Knights […]

If you talk to any Ottawa fan about the goal for the Senators 2023-24 season, you’ll probably hear the same thing over and over: make the playoffs. The Senators haven’t qualified for the dance since advancing to the Eastern Conference Final in 2017, and fans across Canada’s national capital are itching for April hockey in […]

After missing over half of the 2022-23 season due to hip surgery, Washington Capitals star forward Nicklas Backstrom made a massive revelation from training camp on Wednesday. “I’m 100 percent,” the Stanley Cup champion confirmed to the Associated Press this week. “I’ve done everything I can this summer. I worked really hard and really excited […]

The Calgary Flames have lost their 2019 first-round pick before the puck drops on the 2023-24 season, after Jakob Pelletier suffered a shoulder injury in the team’s preseason tilt against the Seattle Kraken on Monday night. Pelletier was injured in the home half of a split-squad exhibition game at the Saddledome in Calgary, after he […]

It’s been a long few seasons for Ottawa Senators forward Josh Norris, who played just eight games in 2022-23 after suffering a shoulder injury that necessitated surgery and ended the 24-year-olds campaign. But after an offseason of recovery and rehab, the young star took a step in the right direction at training camp on Wednesday. […]

Last season, the Columbus Blue Jackets ran a bit of an experiment after losing center Sean Kuraly to injury. At the request of star sniper Patrik Laine, Columbus allowed the natural winger to play down the middle for two games. It seemed to work as the Finnish forward recorded four assists in two games. However, […]

The St. Louis Blues nearly traded veteran defenseman Torey Krug to the Philadelphia Flyers. It was a deal that would’ve shaken up the roster a bit, with defenseman Travis Sanheim and center Kevin Hayes due to come back the other way. In the end, Krug vetoed the trade through the use of his no-trade clause. […]

The Edmonton Oilers have the two best players in the world in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. However, that could soon change. Draisaitl hits the open market in 2025, and McDavid will follow suit in 2026. As a result, the pressure for the Oilers to win the Stanley Cup sooner rather than later is nearing […]