Blackhawks fire coach Jeremy Colliton after rough startVideo
CHICAGO — The Chicago Blackhawks fired coach Jeremy Colliton on Saturday, dismissing the former NHL forward with the team off to a rough start in his fourth season. Colliton, who turns 37 in January, was in the first year of a two-year contract extension. Assistant coaches Tomas Mitell and Sheldon...
Sabres end 8-month stalemate by trading Jack Eichel to VegasVideo
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Jack Eichel lost nearly an entire season of his NHL career because of a stalemate over how to treat a neck injury. The deposed and now former Buffalo Sabres captain has finally gained some clarity — and control — over his future. It took eight months, but...
Sabres end 8-month stalemate by trading Jack Eichel to Vegas
BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Jack Eichel era in Buffalo is over, with a nasty public eight-month feud reaching a conclusion on Thursday when the Sabres traded their former captain and face of the franchise to the Vegas Golden Knights. The trade ends a stalemate between Eichel and Buffalo over how...
Wings, Coyotes, Sens, Sabres at different rebuilding stages
Last week, Jeff Blashill tried to go to the same restaurant where he had dinner in March 2020, before the NHL season shut down. He found the windows to be boarded up. The reminder of how many things have changed over the past 19 months was followed the next day...
NHL defends disciplinary decisions in Blackhawks scandal
Commissioner Gary Bettman on Monday defended the NHL’s decisions and discipline meted out following an investigation into the Chicago Blackhawks’ handling of sexual assault allegations in 2010. Bettman called the organization’s $2 million fine significant and stood by decisions to let Joel Quenneville coach one more game and not discipline...
Devils’ Jack Hughes out another 5 weeks with shoulder injury
NEWARK, N.J. — New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes will be sidelined at least another five weeks with a dislocated left shoulder. The Devils said Friday the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 draft was examined by Dr. Jonathan L. Glashow, the team’s orthopedic surgeon and chief medical officer....
Blackhawks ask Hall of Fame to cover assistant’s name on Cup
CHICAGO — Chicago Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz wants the Hockey Hall of Fame to cover the name of an assistant coach engraved on the Stanley Cup after the assistant was accused of sexually assaulting a player during the team’s run to the 2010 championship. In a letter addressed to Hall...
First Call: Steelers could face familiar foe vs. Browns; celebrating Sidney Crosby anniversary; James Conner keeps scoring
Friday’s “First Call” tells us that the Steelers better be prepared for a familiar foe when they visit the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. Another Browns player is already planning his post-touchdown celebration. We recognize a Sidney Crosby memory. And a former Steeler keeps ringing up points on the scoreboard. Ready...
Amid scandal, Joel Quenneville resigns as Florida Panthers coach
SUNRISE, Fla. — Joel Quenneville resigned as coach of the Florida Panthers on Thursday, two days after the second-winningest coach in NHL history was among those implicated for not swiftly responding to allegations by a Chicago Blackhawks player of being sexually assaulted by another coach during the 2010 Stanley Cup...
‘Animalism’: Chicago Blackhawks scandal raises culture questionsVideo
CHICAGO — For three weeks in 2010, they did nothing. That’s how long it took for the leadership of the Chicago Blackhawks to act on allegations that an assistant coach sexually assaulted a player. Three weeks. Three weeks that — more than a decade later — rocked a once-proud franchise...
Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov out 8-10 weeks after undergoing surgeryVideo
Tampa Bay Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov is expected to be out 8-10 weeks after undergoing an unspecified surgery for an unspecified lower-body injury. The two-time defending Stanley Cup champions announced Kucherov’s prognosis with no additional details Wednesday. The timeframe would mean Kucherov could be back just before or after the...
Time to panic? Vegas, Colorado, Toronto off to rough starts
By the time the St. Louis Blues won their fifth consecutive game to open the season, the Florida Panthers had already become the first team since 2015 to open with six victories in a row. Along with the Carolina Hurricanes and Edmonton Oilers, they made NHL history with four teams...
Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman resigns, team fined after sexual assault investigation
CHICAGO — The Chicago Blackhawks mishandled allegations that an assistant coach sexually assaulted a player during the team’s Stanley Cup run in 2010, according to an investigation commissioned by the franchise that cast a shadow over the NHL on Tuesday. Stan Bowman, Chicago’s general manager and president of hockey operations,...
‘Hanson Brother’ Steve Carlson announces cancer diagnosis, launches GoFundMe page
JOHNSTOWN — Traditionally, Steve Carlson puts on the foil during his appearances with the Hanson Brothers in the movie “Slap Shot” and numerous promotional or charity events in arenas throughout the world. Carlson, 66, recently made a much more serious announcement while using the Hanson Brothers iconic “Puttin’ on the...
Kraken’s home debut years in the makingVideo
SEATTLE — In the hierarchy of influential figures in Seattle’s sports history, Ken Johnsen’s name isn’t likely to be found even if his fingerprints are all over the landscape. More than two decades ago, Johnsen was heavily involved in the building of the stadium now named T-Mobile Park that kept...
NHL suspends Evander Kane 21 games for covid violations
SAN JOSE, Calif. — The NHL has suspended San Jose Sharks forward Evander Kane for 21 games for submitting a fake covid-19 vaccination card. The league on Monday announced the suspension without pay and said Kane will not be eligible to play until Nov. 30 at New Jersey. Kane will...
Bruins sign D Charlie McAvoy to 8-year, $76M extensionVideo
BOSTON — Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy has big plans for his newfound money after signing an eight-year, $76 million contract extension. “I might go get my dog a handful of bones,” he said Friday after agreeing to the deal that could keep him in Boston through 2030. “It’s such...
First Call: Seahawks watching other stars with injuries before playing Steelers; ex-Penguin scores in Kraken debut
As the Seattle Seahawks get set to play the Pittsburgh Steelers on “Sunday Night Football,” a few other big names are on the injury list besides just Russell Wilson. The franchise may be adding a recognizable quarterback to the roster as well. Two pitchers with Pirates ties got starts in...
Vegas beats Seattle to spoil Kraken’s debut
LAS VEGAS — Max Pacioretty scored twice and the Vegas Golden Knights spoiled the Seattle Kraken’s debut with a 4-3 win on Tuesday night. Vegas, which made its league debut four years ago, held off a rally from the NHL’s latest addition in what turned out to be a scrappy...
Current captains of every NHL team for 2023-24 season
Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby remains the longest-tenured captain in the NHL heading into the 2023-24 season, having earned the “C” in May 2007. Crosby’s run is followed by Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (2010) and Colorado Avalanche left wing Gabriel Landeskog (2012). Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand,...
Kraken have 5 players in covid protocol on eve of opener
SEATTLE — The Seattle Kraken are expected to be without five players for the season opener at Vegas because of covid-19 protocols, coach Dave Hakstol said Monday. Forwards Jared McCann, Joonas Donskoi and Marcus Johansson, and defenseman Jamie Oleksiak were placed on the league’s covid-19 protocol list on Monday. Forward...
Ovechkin begins 5-year contract chasing Gretzky’s goals mark
ARLINGTON, Va. — Wayne Gretzky’s 894 career goals has for a long time been one of hockey’s hallowed numbers, a record that would never be broken with scoring in the NHL so different now. But great players will keep coming after the “Great One.” Alex Ovechkin is ready to take...
Golden Knights, Avalanche appear to be teams to beat in West
The Vegas Golden Knights have made deep playoff runs in three of their four years and are used to being looked at as the team to beat in the Western Conference. Advancing in the postseason, though, is not going to satisfy a young franchise that lost in the Stanley Cup...
NHL Eastern Conference race still runs through ‘Champa Bay’
It’s going on 40 years since the NHL last celebrated a three-peat Stanley Cup champion as part of the New York Islanders’ run of four straight titles from 1980-83. The Lightning have won two straight, and defenseman Victor Hedman doesn’t see why Tampa Bay can’t make it three in a...
NHL preview: What to know about the 2021-22 season
There is more high-level hockey on tap over the next nine months than ever before. Thanks to the addition of the Seattle Kraken as the NHL’s 32nd franchise and the return to a full schedule, 1,312 regular-season games are set to be played before the start of the playoffs next...