7:00 AM ET The 2021 NHL season is here! After awarding the Stanley Cup in September following a most unusual 2019-20 season, we’re back on the ice again. Four new divisions, 56-game schedules and, most importantly, 116 consecutive nights of NHL games, beginning Wednesday. For our first week of power rankings, we offer a reason
NHL
7:21 PM ET The NHL announced that 27 players had confirmed positive COVID-19 tests during training camps, which concluded Tuesday. Of those players, 17 were members of the Dallas Stars, who shut down their training facilities last Friday after an outbreak. Dallas’ first three games — at Florida on Thursday and Friday and at Tampa
6:04 PM ET Associated Press ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Wild have signed forward Marcus Foligno to a three-year, $9.3 million contract extension on Tuesday, as he comes off the best season of his NHL career. The deal takes a potential free agent off the market next summer and keeps Foligno in the fold
9:40 AM ET It’s challenging to keep up with the news during a typical NHL offseason. It’s doubly challenging to do so when that offseason begins in late September, ends in mid-January and every day in between presents another focus-devouring distraction from pressing issues like which team signed Radko Gudas. (Spoiler: It was the Florida
10:20 PM ET ESPN News Services The Dallas Stars will resume practicing on Tuesday, four days after six players and two staff members tested positive for COVID-19. Dallas had its first three games — at Florida on Thursday and Friday, and at Tampa Bay on Sunday — postponed. The defending Western Conference champions are now
6:05 PM ET NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said the league and its clubs will lose billions of dollars to stage an abridged 2021 season largely without fans, but he felt it was critical to play through the pandemic anyway. “Let me make something really clear: We’re coming back to play this season because we think
9:00 AM ET NHL Insiders The 2021 NHL season is set to start on Wednesday, with the Tampa Bay Lightning beginning their Stanley Cup defense. Senior NHL writer Greg Wyshynski, NHL writer Emily Kaplan and ESPN’s Arda Ocal are here with their best futures bets before the pucks drop. Odds courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook by
7:08 PM ET ESPN News Services NEWARK, N.J. — The New Jersey Devils have re-signed restricted free agent forward Jesper Bratt to a $5.5 million, two-year contract. Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald announced the deal on Sunday, four days before the season opener at home against the Boston Bruins. The 22-year-old Bratt will make just
7:46 PM ET Associated Press DETROIT — The Detroit Red Wings claimed defenseman Christian Djoos off waivers from the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday. The Red Wings announced the move. The 26-year-old Djoos played 11 games for Anaheim and Washington last season, finishing with a goal and two assists. He has five goals and 22 assists
12:42 PM ET Associated Press Mathew Barzal joined the New York Islanders on the ice Saturday for his first practice of training camp after agreeing to a three-year, $21 million contract. “I love the game, and I was anxious,” Barzal said. “I wanted to get out with the boys.” The 23-year-old star forward missed the
12:45 PM ET New Jersey Devils goaltender Corey Crawford, after taking an indefinite leave of absence from the team Friday for personal reasons, announced his retirement on Saturday. “I have been fortunate to have had a long career playing professional hockey for a living. I wanted to continue my career, but believe I’ve given all
6:55 PM ET Associated Press Pittsburgh Penguins Hall of Fame radio play-by-play announcer Mike Lange is taking an early intermission before starting his 46th season in the booth. The team announced Friday that the 72-year-old Lange will sit out the beginning of the 2021 season as a precaution due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “I’ve decided
1:06 PM ET New Jersey Devils goaltender Corey Crawford is taking an indefinite leave of absence from the team due to personal reasons, the team announced Friday. Crawford has not practiced since training camp opened for the team last week. His absences were first described as “maintenance days” by coach Lindy Ruff before the team
1:15 PM ET The Dallas Stars had six players and two staff members test positive for COVID-19, and the NHL expects the team will not open its 2020-21 season any earlier than Jan. 19. Those who tested positive are self-isolating and following CDC and NHL protocols. The positive tests have forced the Stars to close
7:00 AM ET The NHL drops the puck on the 2021 season on Jan. 13, and things are going to look different. It’s not just the abridged 56-game season length and temporary divisional realignment. The league also instituted several new rules. There’s one big on-ice change, which could simplify one of hockey’s most controversial rules
7:15 AM ET We’re just days away from embarking on a very different kind of NHL season, and it was fascinating to see how this year’s NHL Rank — our predictive ranking of the top 100 players for 2020-21 — played out. But it also got me thinking: How different will this list look in
5:49 PM ET Associated Press NEWARK, N.J. — The New Jersey Devils have re-signed defenseman Sami Vatanen less than a year after trading him to the Carolina Hurricanes. The Devils announced Thursday that the free agent was given a one-year, $2 million contract. “He’s highly competitive,” coach Lindy Ruff said after practice. “He’s another veteran
10:28 AM ET From Jan. 13 through May 8, there are NHL games scheduled every night as part of its truncated 56-game 2020-21 season. Every. Single. Night. On some nights, there’s just one game. If you’re itching to watch an NHL game on Jan. 25, for example, your option is the Ottawa Senators at the