NHL

9:16 PM ET ESPN News Services The Tampa Bay Lightning were without coach Jon Cooper on Tuesday night in the only game left in the NHL this week after he was placed in COVID-19 protocol earlier in the day, according to the team. Assistant coach Derek Lalonde took his place running the bench in Las

10:18 AM ET ESPN staff The headlines on Monday night were stark, if unsurprising: The NHL was going to pause the 2021-22 season Wednesday, and resume after Christmas break, amid a spike in COVID-19 cases. This followed a flurry of team shutdowns that left a diminishing number of games on the schedule. In the aftermath,

7:00 AM ET Shane Wright remembers the first arm he was asked to autograph. “It was a forearm. I’ve signed a couple of them, actually,” he said. “Signing people’s skin has been a little weird for me.” Wright, 17, is a center for the Kingston Frontenacs of the Ontario Hockey League. He’s also the consensus

9:06 PM ET The NHL plans to pause its season on Wednesday, two days before its planned Christmas break, sources told ESPN on Monday evening. All NHL team facilities will be closed between Dec. 22 and 25 as the league tries to weather several COVID-19 outbreaks. Players are set to report back to team facilities

12:34 PM ET The NHL has shut down two more teams through the Christmas break as COVID-19 cases have continued rising around the league. On Monday, the Columbus Blue Jackets and Montreal Canadiens both had their team activities paused until after Dec. 26. They were the eighth and ninth teams that the NHL has closed

8:12 AM ET The year in hockey 2021 began with a 56-game season, impacted the COVID-19 pandemic, that saw the league’s 31 teams realigned into four new divisions. It ends with the teams back in their usual divisions, although there are now 32 of them thanks to the Seattle Kraken. Oh, and it’s once again

12:32 AM ET The Toronto Maple Leafs are pausing team activities through next Sunday because of the coronavirus, the NHL announced. The league said that a decision will be made in the coming days on when Toronto’s facilities will open again. The move comes as the league postponed 12 games involving U.S. teams playing Canadian-based

4:51 PM ET The NHL has suspended games involving cross-border travel until after the Christmas break, the league announced Sunday. The league postponed 12 games involving U.S. teams playing Canadian-based teams from Dec. 20 to Dec. 23, citing concern about “the fluid nature of federal travel restrictions.” The NHL has already seen 27 games postponed

2:40 PM ET The NHL made another round of postponements Saturday amid a growing number of COVID-19 cases around the league. Nashville and Boston will both be shut down through Christmas. The Predators have eight players and several coaches placed in COVID-19 protocols and were due to play Carolina on Sunday and Winnipeg on Tuesday.

12:26 PM ET Associated Press The NHL reintroduced stricter COVID-19 protocols Saturday that include daily testing and other steps in a bid to limit a growing outbreak among players and team personnel. The enhanced protocols will be put into effect immediately and last through Jan. 1 with an evaluation of their impact no later than

1:33 PM ET The NHL has postponed games for the Florida Panthers and Colorado Avalanche until after Christmas break. That news came down Friday as COVID-19 cases continue to climb throughout the NHL. At the time of publication, Florida had seven players in COVID protocols: Sam Bennett, Radko Gudas, Aaron Ekblad, Frank Vatrano, Ryan Lomberg,

10:58 AM ET Paul Maurice has resigned as coach of the Winnipeg Jets, the team announced on Friday. Maurice was in his ninth season as Jets coach, amassing a record of 315-223-62. Assistant coach Dave Lowry has agreed to become the team’s interim head coach ahead of Friday night’s home game against the Washington Capitals.

12:41 PM ET NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has reduced the suspension of Toronto Maple Leafs center Jason Spezza from six games to four for kneeing the head of Winnipeg Jets defenseman Neal Pionk on Dec. 5. Spezza had been suspended for six games by the Department of Player Safety, which had called the hit “reckless”

9:41 AM ET ESPN News Services Saturday’s game between the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins has been postponed, the NHL announced Friday. No makeup date for the game has been set. Montreal played in front of an empty arena Thursday for its 3-2 shootout win over the Philadelphia Flyers after Quebec public health officials requested

7:00 AM ET For the first time since the 2014 Sochi Games, the NHL is allowing its players to participate in the Winter Olympic men’s hockey tournament in Beijing next February. National pride and gold-medal glory are on the line for the best players in the world — provided they actually make it to China.

8:58 PM ET Associated Press VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Vancouver Canucks president and interim general manager Jim Rutherford continued to fill out his front office Thursday, making Stan Smyl vice president of hockey operations. The 62-year-old Smyl, a star player for the Canucks from 1978-91, will work closely with Rutherford on all hockey operations matters,

5:24 PM ET ESPN News Services The Montreal Canadiens and Philadelphia Flyers were to play in an empty Bell Centre on Thursday night due to a “spiraling rise” of COVID-19 cases. The Canadiens announced about two hours before puck drop that Quebec public health officials had requested that no fans attend the game. “We have

9:00 AM ET Hearing someone say that the NHL’s 3-on-3 overtime has gotten boring is like hearing someone say, “Hey, remember when pizza was good?” It’s pizza. Even when it’s bad, it’s good. I’ve chanted the same mantra about the 3-on-3 overtime format, which the NHL implemented in 2015 to end games before they reached