Blackhawks place Jonathan Toews on long-term injured reserveVideo
CHICAGO — Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews will miss at least 10 games and 24 days after the team placed him on long-term injured reserve Thursday because of an unspecified illness. The 32-year-old Toews announced before the start of training camp last month he was experiencing symptoms that left him...
Bruins retiring jersey of NHL barrier breaker Willie O’ReeVideo
BOSTON — More than 60 years after he broke the NHL’s color barrier, Willie O’Ree soon will add another milestone to his career. The Boston Bruins announced Tuesday that O’Ree will have his No. 22 jersey retired before the team’s Feb. 18 game against the New Jersey Devils. It will...
NHL to host 2 outdoor games in Lake Tahoe this season
The NHL played outdoors in the shadow of the Green Monster at Fenway Park, on consecutive days at Dodger Stadium and Yankee Stadium, and at Chicago’s Soldier Field. This year’s outdoor games will be in a unique, picturesque setting: along the shores of Lake Tahoe. The NHL announced Monday it...
NHL offseason moves influenced by coronavirus’ impact on cap
Jeff Skinner was enjoying an afternoon in his parents’ backyard when suddenly the Buffalo Sabres forward thought his father was pulling an April Fools’ joke on him in mid-September. “My dad came out and told me that Eric Staal is on our team,” Skinner said upon learning Buffalo acquired his...
Commissioner Gary Bettman says NHL will lose more than $1 billion by playing this season
The NHL will lose more than a billion dollars by staging the 2020-21 season in largely empty arenas, commissioner Gary Bettman said Monday, but owners and players are intent on playing a 56-game schedule to provide diversion for fans and keep hockey on the sports map. The delayed and shortened...
Mike Milbury out as NHL analyst with NBC Sports
NBC Sports is moving on from long-time hockey analyst Mike Milbury. As the NHL season gets ready to start on Wednesday, NBC Sports announced their game and studio commentators. Milbury was not on the list. “We are grateful to Mike for all of his contributions to our coverage for 14...
NHL taxi squads to help teams stay on ice in pandemic
The NHL is bracing for bumps as it aims to pull off a season during the covid-19 pandemic, and they’re hoping taxi squads will help teams overcome outbreaks to stay on the ice. Alas, the defending Western Conference champion Dallas Stars have already had to postpone their season-opening game later...
NHL embarks on season that will be like ’56 playoff games’
The NHL has started seasons of fewer than 82 games in January and played into the summer to award the Stanley Cup. Just not like this. When the puck drops on the regular season in five rinks Jan. 13, it will be the start of a 56-game sprint to the...
Virus concerns hit Dallas, Columbus as NHL season looms
The NHL said Friday that six Dallas Stars players and two staff members have tested positive for covid-19 in a development that will push back the opener for the defending Western Conference champions by nearly a week. The Columbus Blue Jackets also held a number of players off the ice...
NHL training camps open with sense of urgencyVideo
Peter Laviolette pulled the mask away from his face to bark out instructions while pointing every which way with his stick, then put the mask back on and skated around to show his new players what to do. It was the first day of training camp for Laviolette and the...
Canada approves NHL camps; decisions on games up to provincesVideo
OTTAWA, Ontario — The Canadian government, citing “national interest grounds,” gave its approval Thursday for the start of NHL training camps. It issued an exemption to the mandatory 14-day quarantine period for NHL players and team staff to return to the country. The five provinces with NHL franchises, however, must...
Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews sidelined indefinitely by illness
CHICAGO — Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews will miss the start of training camp because of an illness, and there is no timetable for his return. The 32-year-old Toews said Tuesday he has been experiencing symptoms that have left him feeling “drained and lethargic.” “I am extremely disappointed, but it...
Henrik Lundqvist says he’s scheduled for open-heart surgery
Henrik Lundqvist said Monday he’s scheduled for open-heart surgery after tests revealed a heart condition that kept him from continuing to play goal in the NHL. Lundqvist wrote on Twitter that he’s set to have an aortic valve, aortic root and ascending aortic replacement. He did not say when. “(The)...
NHL teams begin to unveil helmet advertisementsVideo
There will be advertisements on NHL players’ helmets this season as teams try to recoup revenue lost to the pandemic. The New Jersey Devils, Washington Capitals and Nashville Predators became the first teams to unveil helmet ads Tuesday. It’s a one-year trial with fans not allowed in most arenas and...
First Call: Past, present Steelers mourn Kevin Greene; NHL team mocks JuJu; Ryan Shazier vents
Tuesday’s “First Call” gives us wide-ranging reaction to the passing of Hall of Fame Steelers linebacker Kevin Greene. Another former Steelers star has seen enough of the team’s offense. Myles Garrett is still dealing with covid-19 aftereffects. And everybody is piling on JuJu Smith-Schuster. I mean everybody. Remembering a star...
NHL eyes division play only; Sharks to play in ArizonaVideo
The NHL is preparing for a pandemic-altered regular season limited to divisional play while trying to determine if the league’s seven Canadian teams will be allowed to play in their country. Taxi squads also are coming back as part of a tentative return-to-play plan reached Friday, and at least one...
Ontario mulls how all-Canadian division in NHL might work
TORONTO — Ontario’s minister of sport says the provincial government is examining how a Canadian division in the NHL might work. Lisa MacLeod says discussions about the league’s return-to-play plan are being studied by Ontario public health authorities, the province’s chief medical officer of health and officials from Toronto and...
Goalie Henrik Lundqvist to miss season with heart condition
WASHINGTON — Star goalie Henrik Lundqvist will sit out the upcoming NHL season because of a heart condition, he said Thursday, about two months after he joined the Washington Capitals following 15 years with the New York Rangers. Calling it “a pretty tough and emotional day” in a video posted...
AP source: NHL players balk at changing CBA, league moves on
NHL players have balked at changing the collective bargaining agreement, and the league is preparing to open the season Jan. 13 after starting training camp on New Year’s Day, a person with knowledge of the situation told the Associated Press on Tuesday. Owners and players, with the hopes of getting...
AP Source: NHL now focusing on mid-January season start date
Time has all but run out on the NHL’s hope to start the season Jan. 1, with the league and NHL Players’ Association now focusing their discussions on opening play in mid-January, a person familiar with the talks told The Associated Press on Friday. A mid-January start date has become...
Gary Bettman: NHL players have to decide to pay now or later
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman warned players Wednesday they are likely going to have to pay one way or another to make up for the league’s projected lost revenue whenever the 2020-21 season gets underway. Speaking on a Sports Business Journal panel, Bettman stressed the NHL is not attempting to reopen...
Time running short for NHL to start next season Jan. 1
A far cry from the standings at Thanksgiving serving as a barometer of which teams are most likely to make the playoffs, the NHL heads into the U.S. holiday without a firm plan announced for next season. The league and players are running out of time to start the season...
NHL could go with temporary realignment for next seasonVideo
The NHL could go with a temporary realignment of its teams for next season during the covid-19 pandemic. The league also is contemplating a reduced schedule and temporary hubs. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said realignment could help with ongoing travel restrictions for Canada and mandated quarantines for visiting certain states...
Sewickley’s Furman South had an unusual road to becoming an NHL referee
Like many of us, for nearly eight months, Furman South has largely been idle. Employed as an NHL referee, the native of Sewickley hasn’t worked a game since all of hockey was brought to a halt in mid-March because of the coronavirus pandemic. Had South pursued his first choice of...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: OHL goes way overboard with covid restrictions
The Ontario Hockey League is considered Major Junior: the top level of the sport for players aged 16-21. Seven of the 31 first-round picks in this year’s NHL Draft came from the OHL. That includes center Quinton Byfield of Sudbury, who went second overall to Los Angeles. It’s serious hockey...
