8:00 PM ET We can finally close the scouting notebook on the 2019 NHL draft. Two hundred and seventeen names were called, and all 31 teams walk away from Vancouver with some new prospects to develop. But not everyone navigated the draft board the same way, and while some teams should be ecstatic about their
NHL
11:32 PM ET Greg WyshynskiESPN VANCOUVER – If restricted free-agent star forward Mitch Marner plans on signing an offer sheet to set his price tag, there’s no guarantee the Toronto Maple Leafs will match it, according to general manager Kyle Dubas. Marner, who led the team with 94 points last season, is one of three
11:00 PM ET Greg WyshynskiESPN VANCOUVER — After several embarrassing officiating controversies overshadowed the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the National Hockey League significantly increased the scope of its referees’ video review capabilities and added a third category to its coach’s challenges at Thursday’s general managers meeting in Vancouver. “We view this as evolutionary. We don’t want
6:04 PM ET Tampa Bay Lightning forward Ryan Callahan is being placed on long-term injured reserve after he was diagnosed with a serious back issue. the team announced. General manager Julien BriseBois said that doctors recommended that he no longer play hockey because of degenerative disc disease of his lumbar spine. “He’s such a proud
10:25 AM ET Emily KaplanESPN Noelle Needham’s hockey journey almost ended on her family’s cow farm. When knee injuries and surgeries cut short her playing career at Minnesota State Mankato in 2007, the 21-year-old figured she should try the family business. So she returned home to Elkton, South Dakota, and took out a “beginning farmer”
10:48 AM ET The Vancouver Canucks have signed defenseman Alexander Edler to a two-year, $12 million contract, general manager Jim Benning announced Thursday. The 33-year-old Edler, who would have become an unrestricted free agent next month, has been a consistent presence on the blue line in Vancouver for his entire 13-year career. He is coming
10:40 AM ET Associated Press TORONTO — Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews will be on the cover of the EA Sports video game “NHL 20.” The 21-year-old forward was named as the featured player Wednesday night at the NHL Awards in Las Vegas. Says Matthews: “If you look at the long list of guys who
8:41 AM ET Greg WyshynskiESPN LAS VEGAS — The NHL being a “copycat league” is as much of an ingrained offseason cliché as “there’s a gentlemen’s agreement not to tender offer sheets.” The assumption goes like this: Teams that thrive in the Stanley Cup playoffs reset the template for how to win in the NHL.
11:34 PM ET Emily KaplanESPN LAS VEGAS — Nine months after Robin Lehner publicly revealed his battle with bipolar disorder and substance abuse, the New York Islanders goalie won the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, awarded to the NHL player who “best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey.” “I took that first
10:31 PM ET ESPN News Services LAS VEGAS — Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning was awarded the Hart Trophy, given to the NHL’s most valuable player, on Wednesday night at the NHL Awards in Las Vegas. The Russian right wing won the award for the first time after his prolific 128-point regular season.