Hockey Page 421 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

You should probably prepare for a Patrick Kane MVP campaign again
As I’ve remarked a few times before, just because the shape and structure of the seasons have been so greatly altered hasn’t kept the favorites from reaching the top. It’s no different in the NHL, where all four divisions are led by the teams you would expect, and if they’re not, those teams are sim...

Kings and Wild star in NHL Color Rush
Sometimes, to the rare and broken people who think about these things, it can drive one to tears how the NHL and the people who run and market the game can’t make better use of just how good the sport can look on TV. Even in person, the NHL really hasn’t made use of it being the best live sport, and...

Kreider does it all but it’s not enough for hapless Rangers
In most sports, it’s fairly common to have an outstanding individual performance be nothing more than a silver lining in defeat....

Oops, I MF’d the Canadiens
Let me tell you about “the Motherfuck.”...

The Artemi Panarin story smells even more
Yesterday, we pointed out the fishiness of the Artemi Panarin story. While any story of domestic violence/sexual assault is worthy of a deeper look, the circumstances around this one didn’t quite add up from the start. One, the claim came from a stated political enemy of Panarin in former coach Andr...

NHL's Lake Tahoe Outdoor event was just thaw-ful
It’s Trash Talking Tuesday, and today I’m trashing the NHL for that debacle outdoor game at Lake Tahoe....

Is Russia fabricating the claim that Putin critic Artemi Panarin beat up an 18-year-old girl?
It’s probably easiest to start this layered story at the top. Artemi Panarin, star winger of the New York Rangers, is taking a leave of absence from the team as a story back in Russia broke today about him allegedly beating up a 18-year-old girl in a bar in Riga in 2011. While this may at first appe...
![NHL's Lake Tahoe Classic is an actual hot mess [UPDATED]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/xflfveb3yeyxvk3bw92g.png)
NHL's Lake Tahoe Classic is an actual hot mess [UPDATED]
Apparently it’s difficult to keep a 200-by-85 foot sheet of ice in pristine condition, appropriate for world-class ice sports, while it bakes under recently discovered celestial bodies that produce light and heat. Who knew?...

Hockey monster Mike Babcock lands job coaching college kids (this should go well)
Mike Babcock has long had a reputation of not being good at working with young players because he lacks the patience necessary to develop talent as part of a long-term plan. It was a major question mark from the time the Toronto Maple Leafs hired the two-time Olympic gold medal-winning coach, and Ba...

COVID puts Flyers' B Team in a bad spot for Lake Tahoe showcase
Because the NHL insists on trying to play a regular season during a pandemic and ecological disasters, there are going to be some ugly games....

Auston Matthews can’t miss this year
The Maple Leafs were able to clear some, if not all, the clouds of stink out of ScotiaBank Arena after their collapse against the Senators on Monday by beating those same Sens 2-1 last night. You can be sure the Steve Simmons ilk will still be referencing that pissing away of a four-goal lead to the...
![For the 47th time, just let the Coyotes die [UPDATED]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/a1hzlzsvdoe4bqqo186j.jpg)
For the 47th time, just let the Coyotes die [UPDATED]
There is a Sliding Doors scenario, where the NHL simply let Jim Balsillie buy the Arizona Coyotes and move them to Hamilton, Ontario, more than a decade ago. Would it have worked? Hard to know. Balsillie’s BlackBerry tanked not too long after the proposed buy-date, and could have led to a host of pr...

<i>The Hockey News</i> thinks being tall is diverse
Another day, another screw-up in the world of hockey when it comes to diversity. This time, it was The Hockey News....

The Lightning’s talent-development assembly line is humming along again
As we’ve commented in the past, even with most seasons across sports being thrown into upheaval, be it shortened preseasons or odd schedules and lineups that change on a daily basis thanks to COVID protocols, the chalk has remained at the top of the standings....

HEAR IT: Whale of a performance by NWHL star with a capella 'Brass Bonanza,' because why not?
The Carolina Hurricanes are not the Hartford Whalers....

Seven Flyers now on COVID list, and one of them, Oskar Lindblom, just got over cancer
Friday was a rare night in the NHL with no games postponed due to COVID-19 … because there were only two games scheduled to begin with....

Dallas Stars pull the ultimate dog-whistle #PleaseLikeMySport, fragile white people
It didn’t take tarot cards and an 800-number to figure out where the Mavericks/anthem debate was going to go. And never let it be said that the NHL and hockey in general would miss a chance to try and show just how traditional and loyal they are, while actually showing exactly what they really are. ...

Penguins’ pitiful pairing of Hextall & Burke shows NHL old useless boys network is alive as ever
Hiring practices in the major sports leagues have been under the microscope of late. Especially in the NFL, where overqualified Black candidates can’t seem to get jobs ahead of white ones that seemingly come from nowhere, or are retreads, or if you’re the Lions you find a guy who had spent the previ...

If you miss NFL refs not knowing the rules, the NHL has you covered
The day after the Super Bowl is a comedown for everyone, and probably more so in the midst of a pandemic where (if you’re logical) you’re stuck inside your house. The NHL and NBA seasons are in their dull bridge section, even in this shortened and changed schedule. Spring training is about to begin,...

Give Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl all the ice baths and chocolate milk
The “Battle Of Alberta,” the rivalry between the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames, has lacked a little something for a long while now. Which is a little weird to say about one of the league’s most bitter rivalries, as the two were the league’s best teams in the 80s and contesting playoff series th...