6:48 PM ET ESPN News Services GLENDALE, Ariz. — The start of Phil Kessel‘s desert tenure did not go according to plan, for him or the Arizona Coyotes. Expected to give the Coyotes a scoring jolt, Kessel instead labored, in large part due to a string of injuries. The NHL’s pandemic-caused pause has give the
NHL
9:08 AM ET The NHL has shifted its focus to selecting two Canadian hub cities, sources confirmed to ESPN. That would have the NHL resuming its season in Toronto and Edmonton later this summer. Nothing is final until players vote on the return-to-play proposal, which is not expected to happen until later this week. The
7:30 AM ET Minnesota Wild defenseman Matt Dumba had found some outlets during the NHL’s pause amid the coronavirus pandemic. Dumba, who is half Filipino, found an outlet for his frustration about the sport he loves as one of several minority players who founded the Hockey Diversity Alliance, an organization with the mission to “eradicate
12:01 AM ET NHL players that are due signing bonuses on July 1 are expected to be paid as scheduled, a source confirmed to ESPN. There is more than $300 million due to be paid to players on Wednesday, with the Toronto Maple Leafs leading the league with roughly $60 million owed. Contracts structured with
7:30 AM ET The 2020 NHL draft got one small baby step closer with the first lottery drawing. No, we still don’t know who will be drafting No. 1 overall, but the team order for pick Nos. 2-8 is at least set. It has been a much different process throughout. As 24 NHL teams gear
4:03 PM ET Associated Press DETROIT — The Red Wings plan to hold their training camp for the 2020-21 NHL season at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit because of concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. Red Wings executive vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman announced the decision Monday to stay home instead of going to
2:47 PM ET The NHL announced Monday that of the more than 250 players to participate in voluntary practices since June 8, there have been 15 confirmed positive tests for the coronavirus, which is roughly a 6% positive rate. The league has administered more than 1,450 tests to players in that time. The NHL also
7:30 AM ET Phase 3 of the NHL’s plan to return to play is under two weeks away, after the coronavirus pandemic forced a stoppage in mid-March. Training camps open July 10 ahead of the eventual 24-team tournament to be played in two hub cities. On top of that, we had the first stage of
7:30 AM ET The 2020 NHL draft lottery was unlike anything we’ve ever seen before, and so, too, will be the actual draft. So it only makes sense that our post-lottery mock draft is way different than most we’ve done in the past. Rather than slot the teams in a hypothetical order when we don’t
10:25 PM ET Greg Wyshynski Close ESPN Greg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer. Chris Peters Close ESPN Staff Writer Chris Peters is ESPN’s NHL draft and prospects analyst. The Chicago native previously covered the NHL for CBSSports.com and founded the popular independent blog UnitedStatesofHockey.com where he covered the game at all levels since 2010.
10:20 PM ET Associated Press Alexis Lafreniere was supposed to walk on stage Friday night in Montreal as the top pick in the NHL draft. After the COVID-19 pandemic paused the hockey season and postponed that possibility, Lafreniere was supposed to find out Friday night where he’d be going when the league held its draft
8:43 PM ET The NHL and the players are closing in on a new collective bargaining agreement that includes remedies for the league’s revenue losses due to the COVID-19 shutdown, sources confirmed to ESPN on Friday. One source indicated that a memorandum of understanding could be announced “as early as Sunday.” But that timing was
8:30 AM ET Associated Press Jason Spezza‘s confidence in the NHL returning has not been shaken by word of 11 fellow players testing positive for the coronavirus. Given his involvement in NHL Players’ Association talks, the veteran Toronto forward knew from doctors’ input there would be positive test results in hockey just as there have
6:30 PM ET New York Rangers star Artemi Panarin said that if the NHL and the NHLPA can’t agree on a fix for the league’s financial system, then players should not report to training camps this summer. “For nearly two decades, the players have protected the owners’ income with escrow, including throughout this pandemic crisis,
8:19 PM ET The Vancouver Canucks announced that their city will not be a 12-team “hub” if the NHL restarts its season this summer, despite speculation it had been one of the front-runners. “From the beginning, our goal was to help the NHL get hockey back on the ice if we could. Although Vancouver won’t
3:49 PM ET Associated Press MIAMI — Aleksander Barkov started his hockey life as a 4-year-old for the Tappara club in his hometown of Tampere, Finland. Two decades later, Barkov is investing in his roots. The Florida Panthers captain has become the third-largest investor in the Tappara club, a deal that was announced Thursday. The
10:00 AM ET The most frustrated I’ve ever been with the Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee was 10 years ago, when its members snubbed coach Pat Burns. He was dying of cancer. “I know my life is nearing its end, and I accept that,” Burns said in April of that year. The Hall of
2:02 PM ET Amazon secured naming rights for Seattle’s downtown arena that will house the new NHL team as well as the WNBA’s Storm, but the company’s name will not appear anywhere on the building. Instead, the arena will be called Climate Pledge Arena and will feature several green initiatives. “I think this is going