NHL

7:00 AM ET The Seattle Kraken will be joining the NHL in an on-ice capacity at the start of the 2021-22 regular season. They’ve filled out their front office and coaching staff, but now they need some players. In order to fill out the roster, they will be selecting one player from 30 of the

9:54 PM ET Montreal Canadiens defenseman Shea Weber could miss next season and his NHL future is in doubt because of multiple injuries, a source confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday. According to multiple reports, Weber has been battling lingering foot, ankle, knee and thumb injuries. TVA Sports reported that the Canadiens will expose Weber in

5:35 PM ET Associated Press PITTSBURGH — Teddy Blueger is sticking with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The team announced Wednesday it signed the 26-year-old forward to a two-year contract with an average salary of $2.2 million. Blueger, who worked on Pittsburgh’s fourth line, tied a career high with 22 points (seven goals, 15 assists) in 43

7:00 AM ET The NHL is expanding to 32 teams beginning with the 2021-22 season, as the Seattle Kraken will join the Pacific Division. This sets up a natural regional rivalry with the Vancouver Canucks and brings the sport back to the city whose Metropolitans were the first team awarded the Stanley Cup in 1917.

9:20 PM ET Associated Press CHICAGO — Florida Panthers coach Joel Quenneville has offered to participate in the Chicago Blackhawks‘ review of allegations by a former player who says he was sexually assaulted by a then-assistant coach in 2010. Quenneville, 62, coached Chicago to three Stanley Cup titles over 10-plus seasons before he was fired

6:49 PM ET Associated Press SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Sharks have signed goaltender Josef Korenar to a one-year contract. San Jose, which has missed the playoffs the past two seasons, announced the deal on Tuesday. Korenar, 23, played in 10 games for the Sharks last season, coming in as a reserve on

7:00 AM ET TAMPA, Fla. — When Robbie Hall signed a new contract with ECHL’s Atlanta Gladiators in 2020, he felt like he was living the dream. The money wasn’t great — about $500 per week, before taxes — but it was double the $250 a week he was making in the SPHL. “I was

9:03 PM ET The Edmonton Oilers acquired Chicago Blackhawks veteran defenseman Duncan Keith and prospect forward Tim Soderlund on Monday in a trade for defenseman Caleb Jones and a conditional 2022 third-round pick, a source confirmed to ESPN. Which side comes out ahead in the deal? We grade both GMs here: Duncan Keith has three

5:54 PM ET Associated Press TAMPA, Fla. — Captain Steven Stamkos wore a T-shirt bearing the message “BACK TO BOAT,” setting the tone for another signature “Champa Bay” celebration. The back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning were toasted with a boat parade on the Hillsborough River for the second time in 10 months, with

10:50 AM ET Ron Francis and Dave Hakstol didn’t know they were participating in a four-week audition. They bonded at the 2019 IIHF world championships in Austria and Slovakia, where Francis was part of Team Canada’s management brain-trust and Hakstol was a member of the men’s team coaching staff. “I got to know him as

8:53 AM ET Every week, we’ll provide a recap and accompaniment to the latest episode of Quest for the Stanley Cup, the NHL docuseries about the playoffs available exclusively in the U.S. on ESPN+. This week we dive into Episode 6, titled “On the Cusp.” Describe this episode in 10 words or less Thirty charming,

8:30 AM ET Every week, we’ll provide a recap and accompaniment to the latest episode of Quest for the Stanley Cup, the NHL docuseries about the playoffs available exclusively in the U.S. on ESPN+. This week we dive into Episode 5, entitled “Chasing the Champs.” Describe this episode in 10 words or fewer The most

4:48 PM ET Associated Press Face masks were as prevalent as pucks throughout the NHL this past season, but documents show Canadian health officials wanted the league to take additional steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The league introduced a number of protocols in a bid to get back on the ice, including the

3:56 PM ET Associated Press Former NHL defenseman Bryan “Bugsy” Watson, who played for Scotty Bowman and with Doug Harvey and coached Wayne Gretzky, has died. He was 78. A Washington Capitals spokesperson said Friday that Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which owns the team, learned of his death Thursday from a member of Watson’s family.

1:34 PM ET Associated Press NEWARK, N.J. — The New Jersey Devils re-signed restricted free agent defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler to a two-year contract worth $2,250,000 on Friday. The contract has an average annual value of $1,125,000. The breakdown is as follows: $1,050,000 in the 2021-22 season and $1,200,000 in the 2022-23 season. The 24-year-old Siegenthaler

9:00 AM ET An announced crowd of 18,110 fans watched the Tampa Bay Lightning win the Stanley Cup on Wednesday night. That’s 18,110 more fans than attended their home opener on Jan. 13 against the Chicago Blackhawks at Amalie Arena, and 18,110 more fans than saw them raise last season’s Stanley Cup in the Edmonton,

10:52 PM ET As Tampa Bay Lightning fans drink up their team’s second straight Stanley Cup, they’ll soon be able to sip beer made from the ice on which it was won. Coors Light has used ice collected from the rink at Amalie Arena during the Stanley Cup Final to brew “Champions Ice,” a limited-edition

10:26 PM ET Star winger Vladimir Tarasenko has requested a trade from the St. Louis Blues, a source confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday. Tarasenko, 29, is in the seventh year of an eight-year, $60 million deal he signed in July 2015. He has a full no-trade clause to go along with 218 goals and 224