The NHL’s 2021-22 season gets underway Tuesday but on Monday was when all the fun happened. Rosters were due to the league by 5 p.m. ET as teams had to get down to 23 players. While Monday’s roster trimming doesn’t immediately impact the wheeling and dealing, per se, it does provide useful hints as to how teams are approaching systems, styles, personnel and overall roster functionality. […]

The  Avalanche is preparing for the season while also thinking about playing against each other in February. As many as eight, maybe nine Avs could represent their countries at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics in February. Two have already been selected when all teams disclosed their top-three picks last week. Left-wing Gabe Landeskog was in Sweden’s trio and right Mikko […]

Greg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer. The Florida Panthers have secured their franchise center with a blockbuster contract. Aleksander Barkov has agreed to an eight-year, $80 million contract with the Panthers, a source told ESPN on Friday. The majority of the contract consists of signing-bonus money. It’s the largest contract in total dollars ever handed out by the Panthers. […]

Avalanche goalie Pavel Francouz, who missed all of last season because of double hip surgeries, will begin this season on injured reserve with another lower-body ailment, the team announced Thursday. Francouz left Tuesday’s preseason game against the Vegas Golden Knights midway through the second period. He appeared to favor his right leg, where he pointed to the closest referee in […]

Avalanche rookie defenseman Justin Barron had an interesting summer in Eastern Canada, skating almost daily with three esteemed forwards from his hometown of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon, Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby and Boston’s Brad Marchand are shoo-ins for Canada’s 2022 Olympic team, and Barron — who will play in his third preseason game Tuesday night — said trying to […]

The 2021-22 NHL season is just around the corner and, while the awards won’t be handed out for a handful of months, the debate is already raging regarding who will take home the hardware. Last year saw a few expected names in Connor McDavid (Hart Trophy), Auston Matthews (Rocket Richard Trophy) and Aleksander Barkov (Selke Trophy). There were a bunch […]

Avalanche color analyst Peter McNab is a selfless individual. He seems to deeply concern himself with others in need, perhaps more than his own welfare at times. It’s time the Colorado hockey community stands up for the University of Denver alum and 2021 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame inductee who is battling cancer. Peter, you had an exceptional 954-game NHL […]

NEWARK, N.J. — In the second episode of the Amazon Prime Original docuseries, “All or Nothing: Toronto Maple Leafs,” fans are taken inside the short-lived tenure of Jimmy Vesey in 2021. “We brought you here with a good opportunity in wanting you to make a difference,” coach Sheldon Keefe tells Vesey after pulling him aside for a one-on-one. “I want […]

Greg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer. The NHL anticipates 30 of its 32 arenas will open at 100% capacity for the 2021-22 season, according to a memo circulated to teams this week. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Montreal Canadiens are expected to open at 33% capacity, or around 7,500 fans. The Vancouver Canucks will open at less than capacity, […]

Emily Kaplan is ESPN’s national NHL reporter. Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin will miss at least the first two months of the 2021-22 NHL season as he recovers from knee surgery, general manager Ron Hextall announced on Thursday. Pittsburgh will begin its season without its two biggest stars; captain Sidney Crosby is sidelined as he recovers from wrist surgery he […]