8:30 AM ET NHL free agency officially begins on Wednesday at noon ET, but it’s already been an absolutely wild offseason in hockey. With the salary cap rising by only $1 million from last season, teams have been forced into difficult decisions, such as: Still, some potential free agents removed themselves from the market by
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8:35 AM ET The four days between the end of the draft and the start of free agency occur at a frenetic pace behind the scenes. It’s crunch time for teams to sign their pending unrestricted free agents before they lose their coveted trump card: an eighth year on a contract. Front offices toggle between
8:45 AM ET Associated Press Montreal is finally getting its long-promised women’s pro hockey franchise, though the Premier Hockey Federation put the brakes on adding a second expansion team entering its eighth season, the league announced Tuesday. In unveiling the U.S.-based, privately backed league’s seventh franchise and second in Canada, PHF commissioner Reagan Carey said
12:20 AM ET The Pittsburgh Penguins signed veteran forward Rickard Rakell to a six-year contract extension, the team announced late Monday night. The contract runs through the 2027-28 season, and carries an average annual value of $5 million. Rakell, 29, among some of the trade-deadline departures from the Anaheim Ducks last season, found a fit
9:07 PM ET The Toronto Maple Leafs have acquired goaltender Matt Murray, a third-round selection in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft and a seventh-round selection in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for future considerations. Ottawa will retain 25% of Murray’s salary as part of the trade. Murray has two
7:02 PM ET The Colorado Avalanche signed pending unrestricted free agent Valeri Nichushkin to an eight-year extension, the club announced Monday. The contract is worth $49 million total with an annual average value of $6.1 million, sources told ESPN, confirming an initial report by The Athletic. Nichushkin just had the best regular season of his
6:54 PM ET ESPN News Services EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Forwards Carl Grundstrom and Lias Andersson agreed to contract extensions with the Los Angeles Kings on Monday. Grundstrom landed a two-year deal worth $2.6 million through the 2023-24 season, and Andersson agreed to a one-year deal for $750,000. Grundstrom scored a career-high 15 points in
6:32 PM ET Evgeni Malkin will test free agency for the first time in his career as the star center and the Pittsburgh Penguins remain at a contract impasse, an NHL source told ESPN on Monday, confirming a TSN report. Malkin, 35, has spent all 16 years of his career with the Penguins. He was
6:15 PM ET ESPN News Services BOSTON — Jim Montgomery has a lot of work to do to prepare for his first season as the Boston Bruins‘ coach. He knew just where to start: by reaching out to captain Patrice Bergeron to make sure the five-time Selke Award winner will be back in a Bruins
5:46 PM ET The Chicago Blackhawks did not extend qualifying offers to pending restricted-free-agent forwards Dylan Strome or Dominik Kubalik, making them unrestricted free agents on July 13. The deadline for NHL clubs to make offers to their restricted free agents was Monday at 5 p.m. ET. Those not qualified can begin officially signing with