RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Hurricanes are betting that trading for veteran defenseman Brent Burns will help a regular playoff team make an even deeper postseason push.
Getting another scoring option in winger Max Pacioretty essentially for free won’t hurt, either.
Evgeni Malkin decided to return to the Pittsburgh Penguins after all, Evander Kane chose to stay in Edmonton, and the goalie carousel kept spinning a day before the the NHL's free agency period opened.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Former Detroit Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill is joining the Tampa Bay Lightning as an assistant.
Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois announced the move Tuesday, selecting Blashill to replace Derek Lalonde on coach Jon Cooper’s staff.
Confronted by the harsh reality of the Tampa Bay Lightning moving on from him and with memories still fresh of being on the wrong side of the Stanley Cup championship handshake line, Ryan McDonagh approved a trade to the Nashville Predators.
The top players expected to be available in NHL free agency include an MVP candidate who might have the chance to go home and a veteran who flipped his old playoff script to become a Stanley Cup champion.
BOSTON (AP) — Jim Montgomery has a lot of work to do to prepare for his first season as the Boston Bruins' head 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 uniform for a 19th season.
San Jose Sharks coach Bob Boughner and his staff were fired two months after the regular season ended, a move the team said it made to clear the decks for the next general manager to pick new leadership behind the bench.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Lightning have accomplished one of their top offseason priorities, retaining forward Nick Paul with a seven-year contract worth just over $22 million.
General manager Julien BriseBois announced deal Friday, three days after saying the club was interested in re-signing Paul and two other key players headed toward free agency — forward Ondrej Palat and defenseman Jan Rutta.
DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings have hired Derek Lalonde to coach their rebuilding team, hoping the two-time Stanley Cup-winning assistant can make all the right moves to make the franchise relevant again.
DENVER (AP) — Nazem Kadri will be jubilantly waving to the fans at the parade Thursday through the streets of Denver.
Possibly waving goodbye, too.
Some tough decisions loom for the Colorado Avalanche after dethroning the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup Final.
CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Blackhawks were one of the NHL's worst teams last season, and their general manager is talking about a potentially long rebuilding process. They are listening to trade offers for their top goal scorer, and the situation at goaltender is murky at best.
NEW YORK (AP) — Nearly 14 million people watched the Golden State Warriors win its fourth NBA championship since 2015 by beating the Boston Celtics in the sixth game of their series.
The series that matched the NBA's most current dynasty against the one with the most championships overall averaged 12.3 million viewers, which was 24% more than the 2021 series between Milwaukee and Phoenix, the Nielsen company said.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Three consecutive trips to the Stanley Cup Final, two championships and a strong — though ultimately unsuccessful — bid for a third.
Any way you list the accomplishments, it’s been quite a run for the Tampa Bay Lightning, who feel they are nowhere close to being done after falling short of becoming the first team in nearly 40 years to win three consecutive NHL titles.
Twins Henrik and Daniel Sedin and Daniel Alfredsson have been elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame, a big day for Swedish hockey as they made up half of the class of 2022.
Goaltender Roberto Luongo, Finnish women’s star Riikka Sallinen and builder Herb Carnegie were also selected Monday for induction in November.
DENVER (AP) — Joe Sakic was so busy relishing and reminiscing that he nearly missed the team photo with the Stanley Cup before racing over just in time to join the on-ice celebration at Amalie Arena.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly presented the Stanley Cup to Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog on Friday night because Commissioner Gary Bettman was sidelined by the coronavirus.
Cale Makar led the Colorado Avalanche in scoring on the way to winning the Stanley Cup. It was no surprise the dynamic defenseman was the unanimous choice for the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Lightning didn’t relinquish their grip on the Stanley Cup without a fight.
Andrei Vasilevskiy rejected shot after shot, keeping the two-time defending champions’ quest for a threepeat alive.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon could not find the words. Gabriel Landeskog cracked a smile and a joke.
After years of playoff disappointments, the Colorado Avalanche are back atop hockey’s mountain after dethroning the two-time defending champions.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The status of a couple of key players remains uncertain for Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Colorado coach Jared Bednar says there’s a chance Game 1 overtime hero Andre Burakovsky could return Sunday night following a three-game absence from the best-of-seven series.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — If this is Ondrej Palat’s final playoff run with the Tampa Bay Lightning, he’s certainly making it count.
Soon he could be counting in the tens of millions of dollars on a new contract.
DENVER (AP) — Keep the champagne chilled. It's back to the slushy ice of Amalie Arena for the Colorado Avalanche after they failed to close out the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup Final.
“It's not supposed to be easy, and it's not going to be easy,” Avs captain Gabriel Landeskog said after Colorado's 3-2 loss in Game 5 sent this sensational series back to Tampa, where the Lightning can even things up Sunday night.
Jon Cooper backtracked and shifted a possible missed call to the rearview mirror with the expertise of a coach who has been here before. Counterpart Jared Bednar, on the verge of his first NHL championship, sought to settle the issue once and for all and move on.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The Colorado Avalanche are on the verge of their first Stanley Cup title since 2001, thanks to Nazem Kadri's overtime goal.
Even if the two-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning don't believe it should have counted.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper took one question during his postgame media session. Without getting into specifics about whether Colorado had too many men on the ice, he suggested the Avalanche’s overtime goal shouldn’t have counted.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The Colorado Avalanche got a key player back with the return of center Nazem Kadri for Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday night.
Kadri been out since injuring his thumb when he was boarded by Evander Kane in Game 3 of Colorado’s four-game sweep over the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Final.
Valeri Nichushkin stood in front of a poster of Alex Ovechkin hoisting the Stanley Cup on the eve of his first trip to the final and remembered what it was like to witness that moment.
“That was fun to watch when Ovi win it, especially when he celebrated,” he said.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Toronto’s Auston Matthews won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player on Tuesday night, becoming only the third Maple Leaf to win the award and the first since Ted Kennedy in 1954-55.
Peter DeBoer has twice gone to the Stanley Cup Final in his first season with a new team. Now he is the new coach of the Dallas Stars, who were there two summers ago.
“Every team that he has taken over has not only shown immediate improvement but has been ultra-competitive in the Stanley Cup playoffs,” Stars general manager Jim Nill said.
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — The Edmonton Oilers have given coach Jay Woodcroft a three-year contract extension for taking over the team in February and leading them to the NHL Western Conference final.
Backup goaltender Brian Elliott didn’t flinch while sitting on the bench, perhaps because he knew what was going through coach Jon Cooper’s head.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Steven Stamkos, Pat Maroon and Ondrej Palat each had a goal and an assist, and the Tampa Bay Lightning scored four times in the second period and beat the Colorado Avalanche 6-2 Monday night in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Colorado not only failed to take a stranglehold in the Stanley Cup Final after a 6-2 loss to Tampa Bay in Game 3 Monday night, but also wound up with goaltending questions.
Darcy Kuemper, after rarely being tested in a 7-0 win in Game 2 Saturday night that put the Avalanche up 2-0 in the series, was pulled midway through the second after giving up five goals on 22 shots
DENVER (AP) — It’s no secret Tampa Bay has played more hockey over the past two years than any other team in the NHL.
That may — finally — be taking a toll on the two-time defending champ Lightning against the Colorado Avalanche, who took a much shorter route to the Stanley Cup Final and lead the best-of-seven series 2-0 going into Game 3 on Monday in Tampa.
DENVER (AP) — Marinate on this for a quick moment: Colorado has 11 goals in the Stanley Cup Final so far, and not one from star forward Nathan MacKinnon.
The always-pushing-the-pace Avalanche are clicking on all cylinders, even with MacKinnon's scoring held in check and Nazem Kadri sidelined by a thumb injury.
DENVER (AP) — “Mr. Game 7” is back in the Stanley Cup Final, but in a much different role than before.
Three-time champion and 2014 playoff MVP Justin Williams is joining NHL Network as a guest analyst for Games 3 and 4 between the Colorado Avalanche and Tampa Bay Lightning.
DENVER (AP) — Cale Makar barely broke a smile after scoring his second goal and Colorado's seventh of the night. He fist-bumped Mikko Rantanen to thank him for the pass and skated to the bench.
He and the Avalanche are calm, confident and rolling.
DENVER (AP) — In between delivering checks on the ice, Jack Johnson hit the books just as hard.
The 35-year-old Colorado Avalanche defenseman earned his general studies degree this spring from the University of Michigan.
DENVER (AP) — The Tampa Bay Lightning's lean years helped them land Steven Stamkos with the first pick in the 2008 NHL draft and Victor Hedman second in 2009. Same for the Colorado Avalanche with Gabriel Landeskog going second in 2011, Nathan MacKinnon first in 2013 and Cale Makar fourth in 2017.
DENVER (AP) — Visitors to Ball Arena are reminded of the altitude challenge facing them as soon as they walk through the doors with a sign welcoming them to the “Mile High City, elevation 5,280 feet.”
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — John Tortorella is about the only NHL coach with such a motley compilation of highlight reels. There are censored versions of his rants. Uncensored versions. He’s angry at reporters.