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Geoff Baker: Kraken still have their issues, but depth in forward lines isn't one of them
SEATTLE — So, the Kraken are only a month or so away from opening training camp and there’s already cautious optimism surrounding a team that finished with the NHL’s third-worst record last season.
Not that anyone is predicting a Stanley Cup championship. But I’ve seen references online to them being dark-horse playoff contenders and I ...Read more
Sharks defenseman Nikolai Knyzhov's horrible injury woes continue with Achilles tear
SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose Sharks defenseman Nikolai Knyzhov tore the Achilles tendon in his right leg during off-ice training, an injury that will keep him out for most, if not all, of the upcoming season.
The Sharks made the announcement Saturday, three days after Knyzhov underwent surgery in San Jose to repair the injury. Per the team, ...Read more
Golden Knights goaltender Robin Lehner expected to miss 2022-23 season
LAS VEGAS — Six weeks before the start of training camp, the Golden Knights found out they most likely will play the 2022-23 season without their starting goaltender.
Robin Lehner is expected to miss the season because of a hip injury that will require surgery, the team announced Thursday. An exact recovery timeline has not been determined.
...Read more
Luke DeCock: Max Pacioretty's Achilles snap leaves Hurricanes in goal gap, but team avoids cap trap
With an unfortunate and untimely fraying of collagen and elastin, what had been a near-perfect summer for the Carolina Hurricanes took a dramatic turn for the worse. The caveat on Max Pacioretty, obtained from the cap-caught Vegas Golden Knights for the princely sum of nothing, was that he was the elite finisher the Hurricanes so desperately ...Read more
Helene Elliott: Legendary Kings voice Bob Miller reflects on lessons learned from Vin Scully
LOS ANGELES — Exhale. Bob Miller is fine.
That's important to clarify because Miller, the play-by-play voice of the Kings for 44 seasons and a Hockey Hall of Fame honoree, disappeared in mid-sentence while paying tribute to Vin Scully during the Dodgers' postgame show on Spectrum Sportsnet LA a week ago.
One moment Miller was speaking via a ...Read more
Ron Cook: Sidney Crosby only aging like a fine wine
Number 87 was born on 8-7-87. That means Sidney Crosby turned 35 on Sunday. Can you believe it? Sid the Kid came into the NHL with the Penguins at 18 in 2005. Now he's closer to the big 4-0 than he is to 30? Where does time go?
What a perfect time to reflect.
I was in a dark room at Mellon Arena on July 22, 2005, watching the NHL draft lottery...Read more
New Kraken assistant Dave Lowry brings vast NHL playing experience to coaching staff
One of the more interesting things about last season’s Kraken coaching staff was the limited NHL playing experience within its ranks.
That changed Monday when the team announced that former longtime NHL winger Dave Lowry has been added as a fourth assistant to Dave Hakstol’s staff. Lowry, 57, tallied 164 goals over parts of 19 seasons with ...Read more
Geoff Baker: New affiliation almost dragged Kraken into hockey's reckoning with sexual misconduct
SEATTLE — That's one Kansas City-sized cow pie the Kraken just barely avoided stepping in last week upon announcing their latest minor league affiliate.
Hours after last Thursday's pact with the Kansas City Mavericks became official, social media was abuzz about the ECHL team last season employing a player, Ben Johnson, once imprisoned for ...Read more
Sharks sign restricted free agent Ferraro to four-year deal
Mario Ferraro will spend his mid-20s in San Jose after the Sharks announced Thursday that they’ve signed the restricted free agent defenseman to a four-year contract.
The 23-year-old Ferraro, who became an alternate captain for the Sharks last season, has grown into one of San Jose’s most reliable players on the blue line since debuting for...Read more
After weeks of speculation, Wild's Kaprizov expected back in Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS — The Wild's Kirill Kaprizov is expected to arrive in Minnesota later Tuesday, a source confirmed, a return that would clear up weeks-long speculation about whether the Russian star would be able to get back for next season.
Questions about Kaprizov's whereabouts and ability to travel to the United States intensified last month ...Read more
Paul Sullivan: With the futures of Toews and Kane in flux, Blackhawks' rebuild is 'draining' -- and has only just begun
CHICAGO — Jonathan Toews had an apt description of the Chicago Blackhawks rebuild during a recent interview with The Athletic.
“Really, really draining,” he said. “And exhausting.”
Truer words couldn’t be spoken, and the rebuild has only just begun. They don’t call him Captain Serious for nothing. Imagine how Toews will feel by ...Read more
Jeff Gordon: Blues stay in chase despite subtractions, but Colorado remains Cup favorite
Top NHL teams launched into damage control again this summer.
Facing a nearly flat salary cap, most contenders couldn’t improve. Instead, they tried to mitigate the impact of personnel losses suffered through free agency and salary-cutting trades.
The Blues lost power-play triggerman David Perron and goaltender Ville Husso, but many Central ...Read more
Kraken get another offensive boost by re-signing Ryan Donato
There was some buzz around the Kraken’s decision not to extend restricted free agent Ryan Donato a qualifying offer, but he’s back in the fold regardless.
On Wednesday Seattle announced it had re-signed the forward to a one-year contract worth $1.2 million. Donato, 26, put up a career-high 31 points (16 goals, 15 assists) in 74 games last ...Read more
Greg Cote: Costly but needed: How Matthew Tkachuk brings missing swagger, bravado to Florida Panthers
When your team’s fans have been waiting 28 seasons (a.k.a. “forever”) to celebrate a first championship, there are two things they don’t want to hear about from the folks running the franchise: Excuses. Or patience.
That is why the Florida Panthers made a coaching change last month despite the best regular season in club history. And ...Read more
Can David Quinn's hiring breathe new life into these Sharks players careers?
David Quinn has a lot of work ahead of him now that he’s been tabbed to be the next San Jose Sharks head coach.
Perhaps Quinn’s most important job will be trying to maximize the talents of the numerous veteran holdovers from last season’s team that went 32-37-13.
Only two NHL teams last season scored less than the Sharks, who had just ...Read more
Panthers make blockbuster trade, acquiring Tkachuk from Flames while sending off Huberdeau, Weegar
Bill Zito made his big offseason move.
The Florida Panthers on Friday night acquired forward Matthew Tkachuk from the Calgary Flames and signed him to an eight-year extension that runs through the 2029-2030 season.
The cost? Two of their core players in All-Star winger Jonathan Huberdeau and defenseman MacKenzie Weegar, forward prospect Cole ...Read more
Kraken acquire winger Oliver Bjorkstrand from Blue Jackets for two 2023 draft picks
SEATTLE — Some needed firepower was again added by the Kraken on Friday when the team acquired 28-goal-scoring Columbus Blue Jackets winger Oliver Bjorkstrand for a pair of 2023 draft picks.
Bjorkstrand, 27, a 6-foot, 177-pound onetime Portland Winterhawks junior product, is coming off a season in which he scored a career high for goals and ...Read more
Blackhawks form partnership with Sac and Fox Nation that includes language preservation and scholarships -- but name concerns still linger
CHICAGO — Robert Williamson didn’t know what to make of the Chicago Blackhawks at first.
“I don’t understand much about hockey. We’re a football state down here,” the Sac and Fox Nation council member told the Chicago Tribune with a thick Oklahoma twang.
The Blackhawks have the same name as a local casino and clinic — named after...Read more
Veteran Olli Maatta excited about joining up-and-coming Red Wings: 'I want to be part of it'
DETROIT — Admittedly it does feel like new Red Wings defenseman Olli Maatta has been around forever.
But you'd be surprised to learn, no, Maatta hasn't been around for 20 years. It only feels like it.
Maata, signed by the Wings to a one-year contract last week in free agency, himself is kind of shocked where the years have gone.
"It's kind ...Read more
Penguins, Kasperi Kapanen agree to 2-year contract
PITTSBURGH — The Penguins are giving Kasperi Kapanen one more chance — actually, two.
The club and the mercurial winger agreed to terms Thursday on a two-year contract. The deal runs through 2023-24 and carries a $3.2 million average annual value.
Kapanen just completed a three-year deal with the same exact $3.2 million AAV. The Penguins ...Read more
Popular Stories
- Geoff Baker: Kraken still have their issues, but depth in forward lines isn't one of them
- Golden Knights goaltender Robin Lehner expected to miss 2022-23 season
- Luke DeCock: Max Pacioretty's Achilles snap leaves Hurricanes in goal gap, but team avoids cap trap
- Helene Elliott: Legendary Kings voice Bob Miller reflects on lessons learned from Vin Scully
- Sharks defenseman Nikolai Knyzhov's horrible injury woes continue with Achilles tear
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