10:02 PM ET Associated Press VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Vancouver Canucks general manager Jim Benning said Friday that defenseman Travis Hamonic isn’t opting out of the NHL season, but has yet to join the team. Benning said in a statement on Twitter that the 31-year-old player “remains at home, dealing with some personal matters” and
NHL
6:11 PM ET The Vancouver Canucks have signed young star center Elias Pettersson and defenseman Quinn Hughes, getting both restricted free agents in just under two weeks before the NHL season begins, a source told ESPN on Friday, confirming multiple reports. Pettersson, 22, agreed to a three-year deal with an average annual value of $7.35
3:39 PM ET The Columbus Blue Jackets announced that forward Zac Rinaldo, who has chosen not to receive a COVID-19 vaccination, will remain under contract but not play for them or their AHL affiliate to start the season. Rinaldo, 31, signed a one-year, $750,000 free-agent contract with the Jackets in the offseason. But the team
8:25 AM ET As the 2021-22 NHL season opens, the Arizona Coyotes are the only team with plans to fully relax their game-day dress code for players, according to an ESPN survey of all 32 teams. The NHL is the only one among the four North American major men’s professional sports league with a strict
7:00 AM ET Aesthetics matter in hockey. The player with the wooliest thicket of playoff beard competes with the might of King Leonidas of Sparta. The team that gets the spiffy state-of-the-art arena stands just a bit taller in its skates. I think the New York Islanders are a playoff team this season not because
9:12 AM ET The Ukrainian Hockey League has suspended HC Kremenchuk forward Andrei Deniskin for a minimum of three games for making a racist gesture at defenseman Jalen Smereck of HC Donbass in a game Sunday. The suspension includes an additional 10 games that Deniskin can avoid serving if he pays a fine. In the
4:10 PM ET NEWARK, N.J. — New Jersey Devils goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood said that he has chosen not to receive a COVID-19 vaccination, making him potentially unavailable for some of his team’s games this season. The 24-year-old starter said he’s “not currently” vaccinated, leaving open the possibility that he could still get the vaccine. He
12:50 PM ET Defenseman Jalen Smereck of HC Donbass said he won’t play another game in the Ukrainian Hockey League until Kremenchuk forward Andrei Deniskin is “removed from the league” for making a racist gesture to him on Sunday. In the second period of their game, Deniskin shouted at Smereck, who is Black, and then
7:00 AM ET Ranking the NHL’s goaltending tandems used to be a predictable process: Pencil in the Boston Bruins, Vegas Golden Knights, Dallas Stars and whoever the Tampa Bay Lightning have playing with Andrei Vasilevskiy at the top, and then figure out the rest. Unfortunately for us, and fortunately for the rest of the NHL,
9:11 PM ET Associated Press CHICAGO — Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Kevin Lankinen practiced Monday after he was removed from the COVID-19 protocol list. Lankinen had been held out since Friday. His absence doesn’t necessarily mean he tested positive for COVID-19. General manager Stan Bowman said last week that the team was 100% vaccinated. The 26-year-old