Wikipedia entry for the National Hockey League

At the end of regulation time, the team with the most goals wins the game. The ninth overall pick in 2019 and the Calder Trophy runner-up as a rookie, he posted back-to-back 60-point seasons in Anaheim before injuries and a fractured relationship with the Ducks’ front office derailed the early part of his career. Perhaps after failing to get to the dance with Detroit, he can help his childhood team, which ideally is a better playoff bet than Chicago, to make a Stanley Cup push in his latter career years.

• Extensions for Matvei Michkov and 2025 first-rounder Porter Martone loom over the next two summers, making cost certainty on Zegras a meaningful piece of the longer roster puzzle.
• No NHL club had played a Soviet or Russian-based club from the end of the Super Series in 1991 to 2008 when the New York Rangers faced Metallurg Magnitogorsk in the 2008 Victoria Cup.
• As expected (the Pittsburgh Penguins have lost their leading goal scorer), as Anthony Mantha agreed to a deal with the a Metropolitan division rival.
• Prosvetov posted high save percentages in the NAHL — USHL, and OHL before beginning his pro career in the Arizona Coyotes’ organization in 2019.

He is still a young pro – only 25 years old – and shouldn’t be tasked with playing center on a Blues club that also acquired Mason McTavish. It was on the heels of that performance that Washington offered McMichael a two-year extension – a prove-it deal that offered the young center a chance to earn more once he found his footing. After being selected with the 25th-overall pick in 2019, McMichael turned pro with Washington in 2020 and debuted in the NHL in 2021.

RFA Dach is re-signed by the Canadiens on a one-year contract worth $3.6 million

With no new agreement in hand when the contract expired — league commissioner Gary Bettman announced a lockout of the players union and closed the league’s head office for the 2004–05 season. A lockout at the start of the 1994–95 season forced the league to reduce the schedule from 84 games to 48 — with the teams playing only intra-conference games during the reduced season. In 1958, Willie O’Ree became the first black player in the league’s history when he made his debut with the Boston Bruins. In 1948, Asian Canadian Larry Kwong became the first Asian player in the NHL by playing for the New York Rangers. The second was held in 1937, in support of Howie Morenz’s family when he died of a coronary embolism after breaking his leg during a game. The NHL embarked on a rapid expansion in the 1920s, adding the Montreal Maroons and the Boston Bruins in 1924, the latter being the first American team to join the league.

Each NHL franchise has its most undervalued player.

The national rights for French-language NHL coverage were held by Quebecor Media, with all broadcasts taking place on TVA Sports, its sports betting in Australia specialty channel. Throughout the regular season and playoffs, Rogers-produced NHL coverage was provided by CBC. In a bid to attract more “skilled offensive players,” NHL teams drafted and signed players from Europe. Since the 1990s — numerous top players in the league have emerged from these European nations. Over the years (the number of American players rose), and by the 1987–88 season, for instance, 15% of NHL players hailed from the United States. Almost entirely Canadian, the NHL’s player base was composed of players from Canada from its inception until the 1960s.

The first international club competition was held in 1976 (with eight NHL teams playing against the Soviet Championship League’s HC CSKA Moscow), and Krylya Sovetov Moscow. NHL Centre Ice in Canada and NHL Center Ice in the United States are the league’s subscription-based — out-of-market sports packages that offer access to out-of-market feeds of games through a cable or satellite television provider. ESPN’s deal includes 25 regular season games on ABC or ESPN, and 75 exclusive games streamed on ESPN+ and Hulu. Under the first 12 years of Rogers Sportsnet’ deal (Hockey Night in Canada was maintained and expanded under a sublicense agreement), airing up to seven games nationally on Saturday nights throughout the regular season. The current national television and digital rightsholder is Rogers Communications (which initially signed a 12-year deal that began in the 2014–15 season), then signed a 12-year renewal to extend its agreement to 2037–38.

San Jose right now has $52.5MM open for business next summer and can totally fit Celebrini within that. A 5 year, $18MM AAV contract offered to the 21-year-old Swedish center will make him the NHL’s highest-paid player, beating out Kirill Kaprizov‘s $17MM AAV signed not long ago with the Wild. Unable to find a way to climb Calgary’s ranks, Grushnikov will now return to the club where his career began – with hopes of finding better pro footing in the KHL. He rewarded that call with the best season of his career – marked by a .921 save percentage in 21 AHL games and a .895 save percentage in 11 NHL games. Prosvetov posted high save percentages in the NAHL, USHL, and OHL before beginning his pro career in the Arizona Coyotes’ organization in 2019. He grew up in Russian youth hockey but moved to the United States to begin his junior career in 2016.

The rising-salary-cap world has diluted the UFA pool but forced teams to control their destinies with foundation-shaking trades. Parting ways with Hayley Wickenheiser may have been Leafs GM John Chayka’s 1st mistake this summer Five potential trade destinations for Kraken center Shane Wright The five worst contracts signed in 2026 NHL free agency so far

If the game is still tied at the end of overtime — the game enters a shootout. The policy provides for a twenty-game suspension for a first positive test, a sixty-game suspension for a second positive test, and a lifetime suspension for a third positive test. Fighting in the NHL leads to major penalties while IIHF rules, and most amateur rules, call for the ejection of fighting players. Since the 2013–14 season, the league trimmed the goal frames by 4 inches (10 cm) on each side and reduced the size of the goalies’ leg pads. The goaltender can play the puck only within the trapezoid or in front of the goal line; if the goaltender plays the puck behind the goal line and outside the trapezoidal area, a two-minute minor penalty for delay of game is assessed.

The Everblades (located in Estero), Florida, claimed the 2026 Kelly Cup, securing their title as ECHL Champions. A league often recognized for developing lesser-known prospects — Sergei Murashov, a talented young goaltender, and 23-year-old forward Avery Hayes represent the emerging wave of young talent who donned the Wheeling uniform and skated in West Virginia. Recently, the Hoffmann Group from Chicago received approval to purchase the Penguins, marking a significant advancement from their previous involvement in hockey, which included ownership of the Everblades. Hailing from Finland, Santala boasts a strong heritage, as his father Tommi enjoyed a lengthy and successful professional career as a center in the NHL, Finland, Switzerland, and even had a stint in the KHL. Emerging from Kiekko-Espoo (Santala tallied 12 points in 25 games while playing with skaters who were three years older than him), which positioned him as the 12th best on the team.

As anticipated, the Pittsburgh Penguins have lost their top goal scorer following Anthony Mantha’s agreement to a deal with a rival team from the Metropolitan division. Is it feasible for the Capitals to pursue another Stanley Cup while Alex Ovechkin aims for 1,000 career goals? At the conclusion of the regular season (the team with the highest points in each division is declared the division champion), and the overall leader of the league receives the Presidents’ Trophy. In the regular season (overtime consists of a sudden-death), three-on-three period lasting five minutes, where the first team to score a goal wins the match.