Can the Capitals realistically chase another Stanley Cup while Alex Ovechkin chases 1,000 career goals? At the end of the regular season (the team that finishes with the most points in each division is crowned the division champion), and betting picks and analysis the league’s overall leader is awarded the Presidents’ Trophy. During the regular season, overtime is a five-minute, three-on-three sudden-death period, in which whoever scores a goal first wins the game. At the end of regulation time, the team with the most goals wins the game. The ninth overall pick in 2019 and the Calder Trophy runner-up as a rookie, he posted back-to-back 60-point seasons in Anaheim before injuries and a fractured relationship with the Ducks’ front office derailed the early part of his career.
Does Yzerman’s absence as General Manager influence Larkin’s trade situation? Launches in a new window
The Maple Leafs have chosen Gavin McKenna as their top overall draft selection.
Known informally as the « Martin Brodeur rule, » this regulation was inspired by Brodeur — who was renowned for his exceptional ability to maneuver behind the net and manage the puck. A memorandum of understanding regarding the new agreement was signed on January 12 by the league and the Players’ Association — enabling teams to commence their training camps the following day, ahead of a condensed schedule of 48 games starting on January 19. Maurice « Rocket » Richard made history in 1945 by being the first player to net 50 goals during a single season of 50 games. The inaugural NHL All-Star Game took place in 1934 to support Ace Bailey, who had his career cut short by a brutal hit from Eddie Shore.
The NHL embarked on a rapid expansion in the 1920s, adding the Montreal Maroons and the Boston Bruins in 1924, the latter being the first American team to join the league. Following the conclusion of the regular season, 16 teams advance to the Stanley Cup playoffs, a four-round tournament that runs into June to determine the league champion. Salt Lake City was awarded an expansion franchise in 2024; it acquired the hockey assets of the Arizona Coyotes, which were deactivated, and established the Utah Hockey Club , now the Utah Mammoth,, thus maintaining the total number of teams at 32. The league added six new teams to double its size as a result of the 1967 NHL expansion, then increased to 18 teams by 1974, and to 21 teams due to the 1979 NHL expansion.
Organizational structure
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.
The rising-salary-cap world has diluted the UFA pool but forced teams to control their destinies with foundation-shaking trades. Parting ways with Hayley Wickenheiser may have been Leafs GM John Chayka’s 1st mistake this summer Five potential trade destinations for Kraken center Shane Wright The five worst contracts signed in 2026 NHL free agency so far
Even after locking up Zegras (the Flyers retain ample flexibility), with roughly $30MM in projected space before this deal. Zegras played primarily on the wing, with some looks at center, and helped drive Philadelphia’s push into the playoffs down the stretch. The Philadelphia Flyers will not require arbitration to get a new deal done with star forward Trevor Zegras. The Sabres are trying to remain competitive after making the playoffs for the first time in 14 years.
Merchandise sales were up 22 percent, and the number of unique visitors on the NHL.com website was up 17 percent during the playoffs after rising 29 percent in the regular season. The 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs saw the largest audience in the sport’s history « after a regular season that saw record-breaking business success, propelled largely by the NHL’s strategy of engaging fans through big events and robust digital offerings ». These improvements led NBC and the cable channel Versus to sign a 10-year broadcast deal — paying US$200 million per year for both American cable and broadcast rights; the deal will lead to further increases in television coverage on the NBC channels. The first exhibition game to feature an NHL team against a European-based team (aside from clubs based in the former Soviet Union) was in December 1977, when the New York Rangers faced Poldi Kladno of the Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League.
List of teams
Grushnikov spent a longer stint in Russia, growing through Russian youth hockey and playing one year in the country’s junior league – the MHL – before moving to a two-year career with the OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs. Prosvetov’s KHL rights were traded to Avangard to facilitate this deal, with forward prospect Maxim Sklokin headed back to the CSKA Moscow organization. Goaltender Ivan Prosvetov has signed a one-year deal with Avangard Omsk — sparking a move back to the KHL after a brief return to the AHL. Their squad played physical, in-your-face defense – a style championed by O’Reilly after he was traded to Kitchener in January. He scored 12 goals in his first 16 games of the season, flaunting a breakaway speed and heads-up playmaking that connected well with Washington’s veterans.
Occasionally, what makes headlines in hockey isn’t merely a signing or a trade. The Winter Classic, which is an outdoor NHL game played on New Year’s Day, made its successful debut in 2008, marking a significant milestone for the league. The World Cup of Hockey is played according to NHL regulations, distinguishing it from the Ice Hockey World Championships and the Olympic tournament, which follow IIHF rules. Every May — the Ice Hockey World Championships take place concurrently with the Stanley Cup playoffs. Between 1991 (after the Super Series concluded), and 2008, no NHL team had faced a Soviet or Russian club until the New York Rangers played against Metallurg Magnitogorsk in the 2008 Victoria Cup.