NHL

7:00 AM ET After 16 months of uncertainty, the hockey world is beginning to return to some sense of normalcy as the free-agent market ahead of the 2021-22 NHL season is set to open on Wednesday, July 28. Of course, there’s been nothing too normal about this summer thus far: In an effort to get

7:00 AM ET The NHL free-agent market officially opens on Wednesday — you can catch our simulcast of TSN’s “Free Agent Frenzy” coverage beginning at 11 a.m. ET on ESPN+ — as teams scramble to sign players who can be everything from the last pieces of a championship puzzle to the spackle around the holes

10:24 PM ET The Washington Capitals traded defenseman Brenden Dillon to the Winnipeg Jets on Monday night, in an attempt to alleviate both their salary cap crunch and their logjam on defense. The Jets traded a second-round pick in both 2022 and 2023 for the defenseman, who is entering his 11th NHL season and has

3:35 PM ET ESPN News Services NEWARK, N.J. — The New Jersey Devils acquired defenseman Christian Jaros from the San Jose Sharks on Monday in exchange for forward Nick Merkley. The Devils said they had agreed to a one-year, two-way contract with the restricted free agent. The contract is worth $800,000 at the NHL level

1:40 PM ET ESPN News Services The Vancouver Canucks placed Jake Virtanen on unconditional waivers Sunday for the purpose of buying out the final year of his contract. Canucks general manager Jim Benning confirmed the decision in an announcement on the team’s official Twitter account. Virtanen was placed on leave on May 1 after being

1:38 PM ET ESPN News Services Defenseman Marc Staal is staying put in Detroit. The Red Wings announced Sunday they had reached an agreement on a one-year extension with Staal. Terms were not disclosed but The Associated Press reports the contract is worth $2 million. The 34-year-old Staal returns to Detroit for a second year

7:36 PM ET A long, long ride is over. The 2021 NHL draft had a bit everything. Consider the blockbuster trades, as stars like Seth Jones, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Jakub Voracek, Cam Atkinson and Sam Reinhart all changed teams. Consider the history, as one NCAA school had a record-breaking weekend. Consider the mystery, as the COVID

3:10 PM ET As Day 2 of the 2021 NHL draft got rolling, the Columbus Blue Jackets and Philadelphia Flyers elected to make a significant change to the makeup of their respective top-six forward groups, trading Cam Atkinson for Jakub Voracek in a one-for-one swap. It’s been a busy two days for Flyers GM Chuck

4:28 PM ET So far, the big trade that Buffalo Sabres fans are expecting — involving captain Jack Eichel — has not materialized. But GM Kevyn Adams continues to make tweaks to his organizational depth, with the latest move being trading Sam Reinhart to the Florida Panthers in exchange for a conditional 2022 first-round pick

8:45 PM ET There have been rumors percolating for months that Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Seth Jones could be on the move. On Friday, those rumors became reality. The Chicago Blackhawks landed Jones, along with a 2021 first-round pick (32nd overall), and a 2022 sixth-round pick from Columbus, in exchange for defenseman Adam Boqvist, Chicago’s

2:27 AM ET The first round of the 2021 NHL Draft was like a blockbuster summer movie. There were tantalizing trailers, in the form of three blockbuster trades that preceded the draft and impacted picks — including Rasmus Ristolainen to the Philadelphia Flyers, Oliver Ekman-Larsson to the Vancouver Canucks, and Seth Jones to the Chicago

6:15 PM ET ESPN staff The 2021 NHL draft is here, and we’re tracking all 224 picks over two days and seven rounds, starting with the Buffalo Sabres‘ selection at No. 1 overall. Follow along live Friday and Saturday for each selection. Plus, Greg Wyshynski will take a closer look at how each first-rounder fits

7:00 AM ET Draft day is here! You’ve read through our top-50 prospect rankings, checked out the latest projections in Greg’s mock draft, learned more about what makes Owen Power such a great prospect from Emily’s story, and of course, digested the Seattle Kraken‘s expansion draft process thanks to our top takeaways file. Now, it’s

7:00 AM ET Aaron Ward has seen the University of Michigan men’s hockey program grow prestigiously since his last games as a Wolverine in 1993. The national championships and Frozen Four appearances. The “Children of Yost” in the stands at their fabled home arena, and their growing number of alumni in the NHL, from Max

6:35 PM ET If it seems to you like the 2020-21 NHL season just ended, you’re not incorrect: the Stanley Cup was awarded on July 7 to the Tampa Bay Lightning. But the league has spun forward to the offseason and preparations for 2021-22 quickly: The expansion draft was held Wednesday, in which the Seattle

7:00 AM ET Brent Flahr has seen his share of draft classes in his 20 years in the NHL, and the Philadelphia Flyers‘ assistant general manager believes the 2021 edition is going to be a fascinating one. The draft lottery picks, for example, could prove totally unpredictable. “It’s going to be a really interesting draft.

11:43 PM ET The Seattle Kraken selected their first group of players in the expansion draft on Wednesday night. Some arrived in person, the first to wear the newest NHL jerseys. Some had their names announced by flying fish and an octopus in the local aquarium, and some by Seattle SuperSonics legends Gary Payton and

8:41 PM ET The NHL’s newest expansion team, the Seattle Kraken, continues to take shape on Wednesday night with the 2021 expansion draft. Prior to the draft, 30 of the NHL’s other 31 teams had to set their lists of protected and available players; the Vegas Golden Knights, having just entered the league in 2017,