First Call: Gene Steratore weighs in on 3 controversial calls from Steelers-Dolphins; Phil Kessel ties Ironman streak
Tuesday’s “First Call” offers up some analysis of a few controversial calls in the Steelers-Dolphins game from Sunday night. Phil Kessel is ready to set an NHL record. The Penguins have another tough test out west. And a former WPIAL star made a big play on “Monday Night Football.” Gene,...
Broad Street Bully? John Tortorella insists he’s tamed in PhiladelphiaVideo
PHILADELPHIA — John Tortorella coaches the kind of Philadelphia Flyers team that can drive their fans to drink. Maybe the players, too. Feisty enough to try and fight his way into a visiting team’s locker room, Tortorella is poised enough to send his team a mission statement not through a...
Capitals’ Hagelin has surgery on eve of NHL opening night
ARLINGTON, Va. — Carl Hagelin is out indefinitely after undergoing hip surgery, leaving the Washington Capitals without three veteran forwards as the season begins. The team said Hagelin had an arthroscopic procedure Monday that is intended to address his chronically injured left hip. Hagelin, 34, has not played since taking...
Core exercise: Avs follow pattern of Stanley Cup championsVideo
Joe Sakic adopted a very practical approach to the task of molding the Colorado Avalanche roster that will attempt to repeat as Stanley Cup champions. “We know we’re not going to be able to sign everybody,” the NHL’s reigning general manager of the year said not long after his team...
Nino Niederreiter scores in debut, Predators top Sharks in Prague
PRAGUE — The Nashville Predators’ new additions made a quick impact in the NHL’s first regular-season game. Nino Niederreiter scored his debut goal for Nashville, which beat the San Jose Sharks, 4-1, in the Czech capital on Friday night. Kiefer Sherwood, another newcomer, became the first player to score this...
NHL’s East ‘have nots’ hoping to start challenging the eliteVideo
Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin aren’t getting any younger, and New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald isn’t shy about hoping that age finally catches up to the NHL Eastern Conference’s elite players. At the same time, Fitzgerald can appreciate it takes more than hope and age to level the...
Tim Benz: Less than a year from returning, Robert Morris hockey programs ramping up for comeback
Robert Morris University hockey coach Derek Schooley is aware of how time is marching along. He has a countdown clock on his phone. He sees it every day. “I believe 450 days is when I started it,” Schooley said. “It seemed like it was going to take forever. Now that...
Coaching carousel leaves 10 NHL teams with new face on bench
The coaching carousel spun a little faster than usual across the NHL, meaning nearly a third of the league will have someone new behind the bench this season. And not just bottom-feeders making changes. Ten teams go into the season next month with a new coach, from Presidents’ Trophy-winning Florida...
‘It’s not right’: Players want more from NHL against racism
For too long, Matt Dumba felt he was on his own dealing with racial taunts directed at him as a youngster growing up in Saskatchewan. It was no different for Dumba as an adult, one of just a handful of minority players in the National Hockey League. Even in a...
Quality of hockey, business booming as NHL begins new seasonVideo
Cale Makar won the Stanley Cup and earned playoff MVP honors after a season in which he was voted the NHL’s best defenseman. He may be the best hockey player in the world, and still he looks around at Connor McDavid, Patrick Kane, Auston Matthews and Colorado teammate Nathan MacKinnon...
Islanders agree to terms with Barzal on 8-year extension
Mathew Barzal has agreed to terms with the New York Islanders on an eight-year extension, a move that keeps the franchise’s top forward under contract for the balance of his prime. The deal is worth $73.2 million with an annual salary cap hit of $9.15 million, according to a person...
NHL goalie-go-round leaves 8 teams with a new starter in netVideo
Jake Oettinger did not have a contract with Dallas for much of the summer, but as a restricted free agent, he knew he would be playing for the Stars this season. With that certainty in mind, Oettinger watched with fascination as other goaltenders shuffled around the NHL. “It’s crazy,” he...
Former Penguins D Alex Goligoski approaches 1,000th career NHL game: ‘It goes really quick’
One, two, three, four. That’s it. That’s how many games the Wild’s Alex Goligoski is from 1,000 in his NHL career, and the defenseman knows it. “It’ll be cool,” Goligoski said. “It seems so crazy how fast it goes.” The Grand Rapids native was actually on track to reach the...
First Call: 1 Steeler wants less talk, more action on offense; Myles Garrett may play after crash; NHL health updates
In Thursday’s “First Call,” we have a blunt review of the Pittsburgh Steelers offense from one of their alumni in the media. Diontae Johnson has a succinct message for all the players on offense. Myles Garrett is recovering from his injuries sustained in a car wreck earlier this week; we...
Forward Johnny Gaudreau’s arrival energizes Blue Jackets
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Columbus Blue Jackets pulled off the improbable, landing the hottest free agent on the market in winger Johnny Gaudreau. The 29-year old Gaudreau had a career-high 115 points last season in his ninth year with Calgary. He was lured to Columbus with a seven-year deal worth...
First Call: Update on Jets plans at QB before playing Steelers; another milestone for Aaron Donald; rebuilding Matt Murray
Monday’s “First Call” looks at the New York Jets quarterback situation in advance of Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. We also have Aaron Donald’s latest milestone and a big day for a former Steeler in Miami. Plus, an in-depth piece about Matt Murray’s attempt to rediscover his game in...
Alex Ovechkin, banged-up Capitals return to ice for start of campVideo
ARLINGTON, Va. — The Washington Capitals opened training camp Thursday without two of the team’s top players. Nicklas Backstrom and big winger Tom Wilson are expected to miss at least the first portion of the season recovering from injuries. Wilson could be back as soon as December after rehabbing a...
Czech government: Russian NHL players unwanted in Prague
PRAGUE — NHL teams playing in the Czech capital next month have been told their Russian players are not welcome. The Czech Foreign Ministry has told the NHL of its stance because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The ministry declined to say whether the NHL has replied. The Nashville Predators...
Training camps open around NHL after another short offseason
Training camps open around the NHL on Thursday after another short offseason, a third in a row squeezed by the pandemic. That doesn’t bother Colorado Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon one bit. For one of hockey’s best players and his teammates, it’s already time to get back on the ice and...
AP source: Nathan MacKinnon signs 8-year deal, highest paid in NHL
DENVER — The Colorado Avalanche are making Nathan MacKinnon the highest-paid player in the NHL’s salary cap era. MacKinnon, who just turned 27 earlier this month, signed an eight-year contract that is worth $100.8 million, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. The person spoke to The Associated...
Longtime NHL defenseman Zdeno Chara, 45, retires as Bruin
BOSTON — Zdeno Chara announced his retirement Tuesday after playing 21 seasons in the NHL and captaining the Boston Bruins to the Stanley Cup in 2011. The 6-foot-9 defenseman from Slovakia is calling it a career at age 45. He returned to TD Garden in Boston to make that announcement...
P.K. Subban retires after 13 NHL seasons
Defenseman P.K. Subban announced his retirement from the NHL on Tuesday following 13 seasons playing for the Montreal Canadiens, Nashville Predators and New Jersey Devils. The 33-year-old former Norris Trophy winner shared the news on social media. Subban, who is from Toronto, registered 115 goals and 467 points in 824...
First Call: Huge TV ratings for Steelers game; Pittsburgh names to bet on for Dallas QB spot; Marian Hossa’s honor vs. Pens
Thursday’s “First Call” has some gaudy television ratings numbers for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2022 season opener. Bill Belichick gives some thoughts on the Steelers without T.J. Watt. A few Pittsburgh names are being tied to the Dallas Cowboys’ QB vacancy. And the Penguins are going to be sucked into some...
Quebec party leaders say new Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki must learn FrenchVideo
MONTREAL — Several of Quebec’s major party leaders say new Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki needs to learn French. Coalition Avenir Quebec leader Francois Legault said the Habs made an “excellent choice,” describing the center as one of the team’s best players, before adding that Suzuki now has to learn...
Canucks sign J.T. Miller to 7-year, $56 million contract
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — The Vancouver Canucks signed forward J.T. Miller to a seven-year, $56 million contract Friday. The 29-year-old Miller, who grew up in Coraopolis, was Vancouver’s leading scorer last season with 99 points on 32 goals and 67 assists in 80 games. He was set to become an...
