4:58 PM ET Associated Press MILAN — Mike Keenan was named coach of the Italy ice hockey team on Friday, giving the Stanley Cup winner a chance to guide the host country at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics. Keenan, who will be 76 in 2026, last coached China-based Kunlun Red Star in the KHL in 2017.
NHL
6:01 PM ET The Philadelphia Flyers signed defenseman Travis Sanheim to an eight-year, $50 million contract, the team announced Thursday. The deal will have an average annual value of $6.25 million. “Obviously, I’m really excited. It’s a huge day not only for me, but for my family and friends as well,” said Sanheim in a
7:00 AM ET One of the most tiresome things about the NHL awards is that we spend as much time debating their subjective parameters as we do which players and coaches should win them. Should the Norris Trophy rely so heavily on a defenseman’s offensive output? How much should team success factor into the Vezina
7:00 AM ET JAKE OETTINGER FELT INVINCIBLE. The Dallas Stars were in a Game 7 overtime against the Calgary Flames in the first round of last season’s playoffs. They were there because of Oettinger, the second-year goaltender who had stopped 208 of the 218 shots he had faced in the previous six games. The finale
10:55 PM ET ESPN News Services RALEIGH, N.C. — Columbus Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine left his team’s season opener in the second period with an apparent elbow injury. Skating towards a puck in the corner, to the right of the Carolina Hurricanes‘ net, Laine’s arm was pinned to the boards on a check from
10:28 PM ET Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Ian Cole was interviewed at the NHL office in New York for roughly an hour on Wednesday afternoon as part of the league’s investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against him, sources told ESPN. At the time of the interview, the person who posted a lengthy statement on Twitter
11:28 PM ET DENVER — Bowen Byram and Alex Newhook were toddlers. Cale Makar was 3. Nathan MacKinnon was 6. That is how long it has been since the Colorado Avalanche last hung a Stanley Cup banner in Denver. Wednesday brought an end to that drought, with the team raising the third championship banner in
3:58 PM ET Associated Press WASHINGTON — Veteran defenseman Anton Stralman parlayed his training camp tryout with the Boston Bruins into a contract with them, signing a $1 million deal for this season. The Bruins announced the agreement Wednesday before facing the Washington Capitals in each team’s season opener. Stralman won’t be eligible to play
10:52 AM ET Associated Press BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Buffalo Sabres continued locking up their young core of players by signing defenseman Mattias Samuelsson to a seven-year, $30 million contract on Wednesday. Samuelsson, 22, established himself as one of the team’s top blueliners in his second NHL season last year. He finished with 10 assists
10:26 AM ET Associated Press BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Buffalo Sabres signed coach Don Granato to a two-year contract extension Wednesday, rewarding him for the team’s improvement in his first full season. Granato had two years left on his existing contract and is now locked up through the 2025-26 season. He will make just under