NHL

7:02 PM ET Associated Press PRINCE ALBERT, Saskatchewan — Fred Sasakamoose, one of the first Indigenous players in the National Hockey League, has died after fighting COVID-19. He was 86. Sasakamoose’s son, Neil, said in a video posted on Facebook that his father died Tuesday in Prince Albert. “This COVID virus just did so much

2:04 PM ET New York Islanders defenseman Johnny Boychuk announced his retirement Wednesday due to an eye injury suffered during the 2019-20 NHL season. “I don’t even think it was a decision. When you play with it and realize there’s something wrong, and then you go and get tests, it really wasn’t a decision; it

10:02 AM ET The NWHL plans to hold its entire season — including the Isobel Cup playoffs — during a two-week span from Jan. 23 to Feb. 5 while in a bubble in Lake Placid, New York, the league announced Wednesday. The NWHL’s six teams will each play five games, facing each team in the

7:00 AM ET This Thursday is Thanksgiving, or as it’s known in the hockey community, “American Thanksgiving.” Which means it’s time for an annual tradition in this column: What we’re thankful for in hockey. As this is the 2020 edition of said tradition, I was a little concerned it would end up being slightly shorter

12:51 PM ET ESPN News Services The Columbus Blue Jackets said Tuesday that several players recently tested positive for COVID-19 while preparing for the new season and went into quarantine. The club has closed off-ice facilities at its training center as a precautionary measure and will keep them off-limits through the Thanksgiving holiday. NHL facilities

7:00 AM ET The 2020-21 season is fast approaching after an offseason unlike any other in NHL history. With the salary cap staying flat at $82.5 million for the foreseeable future — thanks to COVID-19’s impact on many aspects of the business — teams have never felt more strapped to stay compliant. In this exercise,

12:18 AM ET Four Vegas Golden Knights players have tested positive for COVID-19, the team confirmed on Monday night. “Those individual players have been self-isolating and are all recovering well,” the team said in a statement, without identifying which players tested positive. “As a precautionary measure, the Golden Knights off-ice player areas — locker room,

5:38 PM ET The Boston Bruins have signed forward Jake DeBrusk to a two-year extension worth $3.675 annually, the team announced Monday. DeBrusk, who was a restricted free agent, has been a big part of the Bruins’ secondary scoring on a team that boasts David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron at the top. He

12:01 PM ET The Chicago Blackhawks hired U.S. women’s national team captain Kendall Coyne Schofield as a player development coach and promoted Meghan Hunter, previously general manager Stan Bowman’s executive assistant, to director of hockey administration and amateur scout, the team announced on Monday. The news comes 10 days after Kim Ng was named general

8:00 AM ET Growing up, Max Domi always felt a little different. The Columbus Blue Jackets forward is an NHL legacy: His father, Tie Domi, was a cult hero for the New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs during a fight-filled 16-year career. “I didn’t realize I was so different than everyone else. I thought

7:27 PM ET The NHL and NHLPA are still hoping to begin the 2020-21 season on Jan. 1, but talks between the two sides hit a significant snag this week as players felt “blindsided” when owners asked to change the terms of their new CBA, just four months after it was agreed upon, according to

10:45 AM ET The National Hockey League is not exactly known for its ingenuity. Its most successful invention in the past 15 years was “a hockey game, but outside.” They moved from 5-on-5 overtime to 4-on-4 overtime, added a shootout, realized the shootout was terrible, and the solution was 3-on-3 hockey. Again, not exactly reinventing

3:25 PM ET The majority of American sports fans are waiting for the arrival of a COVID-19 vaccine before they feel comfortable returning to the bleachers, according to a new study conducted this past weekend. Two-thirds of the survey respondents said they would not attend an indoor sporting event without a vaccine — even if

12:03 PM ET The ECHL’s entire North Division has elected to voluntarily suspend operations for the 2020-21 season due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, sources confirm to ESPN. The six teams impacted are the Adirondack Thunder, an affiliate of the NHL’s New Jersey Devils; the Brampton Beast (Ottawa Senators); the Maine Mariners

7:00 AM ET Even before Julien Gauthier got to the NHL, he was a fascination to many NHL teams. “Every year at the scouting combine, there are players everyone is curious about,” said one NHL team exec. “In 2016, one of those guys was certainly Julien Gauthier. He was a late birthday and already played

3:41 PM ET Brett Peterson has been hired by the Florida Panthers, who believe that he is the first Black assistant general manager in NHL history. “If it means that we’re expanding opportunities for people in hockey, then I’m humbled. But this was a hockey hire,” Panthers general manager Bill Zito told ESPN on Tuesday.

9:00 AM ET It was the most abnormal postseason in NHL history, with 24 teams competing in two Canadian bubble arenas in front of empty seats. Yet its finale was inherently predictable: The Tampa Bay Lightning, among the wagering favorites before the tournament, raising the Stanley Cup in victory. But never tell Julien BriseBois the

1:14 PM ET Associated Press Just months after winning the Stanley Cup, officials with the Tampa Bay Lightning said Monday they are eliminating 30 positions in a sign that even winning a championship does not spare a team from the effects of the coronavirus. The positions were across the company and cut effective immediately, team