12:45 AM ET Associated Press SPOKANE, Wash. — The concourses of the Spokane Arena were jammed. The merchandise lines snaked through the crowds, causing bottlenecks as fans filed in for their first glimpse of the Seattle Kraken. There seems to be little doubt about the popularity and reach of the NHL’s newest franchise, even when
NHL
4:40 PM ET HC Kremenchuk forward Andrei Deniskin is facing disciplinary action from the Ukrainian Hockey League after making a racist gesture toward American-born defenseman Jalen Smereck of HC Donbass, who is Black. In the second period of their game on Sunday, Deniskin shouted at Smereck and then pantomimed unpeeling a banana and eating it.
8:10 PM ET ESPN News Services ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Blues signed longtime president of hockey operations and general manager Doug Armstrong to a five-year contract extension Saturday. Armstrong, 57, was named the organization’s 11th general manager after the 2009-10 season after joining the Blues as assistant general manager in 2008. “When I
4:19 PM ET ESPN News Services OTTAWA, Ontario — The Ottawa Senators acquired Zach Sanford on Saturday, sending St. Louis native Logan Brown to the Blues in exchange for the veteran forward. St. Louis also received a conditional 2022 draft pick from Ottawa. Sanford had 10 goals and 16 points in 52 games for the
6:03 AM ET Associated Press ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — French official Luc Tardif was elected president of the International Ice Hockey Federation on Saturday ahead of the return of NHL players to the Olympics in February. Tardif, who was born and raised in Canada, beat German candidate Franz Reindl by 67 votes to 39 in
6:10 PM ET Associated Press CHICAGO — An attorney who represents a former Chicago Blackhawks player who alleges he was sexually assaulted by a then-assistant coach in 2010 says her client has been interviewed as part of the team’s review of the accusations. A former federal prosecutor has been hired by the Blackhawks to conduct
12:18 PM ET Philadelphia Flyers forward Kevin Hayes admitted it was a conversation that he had been dreading, but on Friday he spoke for the first time about the death of his brother Jimmy Hayes last month. “My brother was a special person. He touched a lot of lives,” Kevin Hayes said in an emotional
11:57 AM ET Associated Press CHICAGO — Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Kevin Lankinen and forward Mike Hardman were held out of practice Friday because of the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol. The announcement on the team’s second day of training camp doesn’t necessarily mean that either player tested positive. General manager Stan Bowman said Thursday that the team
9:33 AM ET The Washington Capitals are the first NHL team to sell advertising on its jerseys. Washington announced a multi-year partnership with Caesars Entertainment that will place a Caesars Sportsbook logo on Capitals home and third jerseys beginning in the 2022-23 season. It is a 3-x-3.5-inch patch positioned on the upper right chest area
7:54 PM ET The NHL anticipates 30 of its 32 arenas will open at 100% capacity for the 2021-22 season, according to a memo circulated to teams this week. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Montreal Canadiens are expected to open at 33% capacity, or around 7,500 fans. The Vancouver Canucks will open at less than