Primarily positioned on the wing, Zegras occasionally took on center responsibilities and contributed to Philadelphia’s late-season playoff efforts. Arbitration will not be necessary for the Philadelphia Flyers to finalize a new contract with star forward Trevor Zegras. After reaching the playoffs for the first time in 14 years, the Sabres are striving to stay competitive. Following a lengthy career in professional hockey, it seems quite appropriate that Kane is concluding his journey where it all started. The Sabres lost Alex Tuch, a local talent, to the Capitals, who was the key player received in the Jack Eichel trade a few years back.

Another significant prospect, forward Luca Santala, has signed an OHL Scholarship and Development Agreement with the London Knights of the OHL. Occasionally, the most important news in hockey isn’t related to trades or signings. The inaugural Winter Classic, an outdoor NHL regular-season game held on New Year’s Day in 2008, marked a major triumph for the league. In contrast to the Olympic tournament and Ice Hockey World Championships — NHL rules govern the World Cup of Hockey rather than those of the IIHF. Every May, the annual Ice Hockey World Championships take place concurrently with the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Expansion era

• In 1992 (Manon Rhéaume made history as the first female to participate in any major North American professional sports league by playing as a goaltender for the Tampa Bay Lightning in a preseason match against the St. Louis Blues), where she saved seven of nine shots.
• This has significant effects on the league (as elite players have suffered from the aftereffects of concussions (such as Sidney Crosby being sidelined for approximately ten and a half months)), which adversely affects the league’s marketability.
• 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.
• A shootout occurs if the game remains tied after overtime.
• The Sabres lost a hometown kid in Alex Tuch to the Capitals — who was the key return in the Jack Eichel trade a few years ago.
• He turned pro with the AHL’s Texas Stars in 2023 – but only appeared in 44 games before he was included in a three-team trade in February 2024 deal that sent Chris Tanev to the Stars.

A six-year deal will offer McMichael the security he needs to focus on winning that competition – and could land St. Louis with a high-value contract through his prime years. Buchnevich scored just 48 points in 81 games – and spent time on the fourth line late in the year. 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.

Can the Capitals realistically chase another Stanley Cup while Alex Ovechkin chases 1,000 career goals?

Most professional and major junior ice hockey leagues in North America base their rules on those established by the NHL. The NHL rules represent one of the two global standards for professional ice hockey (alongside the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) regulations), which are utilized in events like the Olympics. New ownership applications (collective bargaining), and league expansion are overseen by a committee chaired by Bettman and Jeremy Jacobs. The Atlantic and Metropolitan divisions make up the Eastern Conference — while the Western Conference comprises the Central and Pacific divisions. Each conference is divided into two divisions, featuring 16 teams per conference and 8 teams per division.

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 betting and predictions 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.

Canadiens re-sign RFA Dach to one-year, $3.6 million dealOpens in new window

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, based in Estero, Florida, brought home the 2026 Kelly Cup as ECHL Champions. Often a league for the less-heralded prospects — bright young goaltender Sergei Murashov and 23-year-old forward Avery Hayes form the next wave of younger talent who wore the Wheeling uniform and took to the ice in West Virginia. Last month the Chicago-based Hoffmann Group was granted approval to acquire the Penguins, quite the step up from their only other venture into the hockey world, owning the Everblades. A Finn with a strong pedigree — Santala’s father Tommi had a long and successful professional career as a center across the NHL, Finland, Switzerland, and even a stint in the KHL. Coming along as a product of Kiekko-Espoo (Santala recorded 12 points in 25 games playing alongside skaters three years his senior), good for 12th best on the team.

Penguins Announce ECHL Affiliation Changes

To minimize high-speed collisions on icing (which had caused several potential career-ending injuries like that of Hurricanes’ defenseman Joni Pitkanen), the league instituted hybrid no-touch icing for the 2013–14 NHL season. This has profound implications for the league since elite players, such as Sidney Crosby who was out for around ten and a half months due to concussion aftereffects, adversely impact the league’s marketability. The post-lockout deal between the league and NBC allowed the league to receive a portion of revenue from advertising sales for each game instead of the typical upfront lump sum for game rights. Lacking a new agreement when the contract expired — Gary Bettman, the league commissioner, declared a lockout of the players union and closed the league’s main office for the 2004–05 season. A lockout at the beginning of the 1994–95 season compelled the league to shorten its schedule from 84 games to 48, restricting teams to only intra-conference games during that reduced season.

The U.S. national rights were then held by NBC and OLN , later renamed Versus, then NBCSN, between the 2004–05 NHL lockout and 2021. The NHL primarily was then only available on cable television after 1981, airing on the USA Network, SportsChannel America, and ESPN at various times. The league’s American broadcast partners had been in flux for decades prior to 1995. Games that are not broadcast as part of the national rights deal are broadcast by Sportsnet’s regional feeds (TSN’s regional feeds), and RDS.