In 2016 (Dawn Braid was hired as the Arizona Coyotes’ skating coach), making her the first female full-time coach in the NHL. In 1992 (Manon Rhéaume became the first woman to play a game in any of the major professional North American sports leagues), as a goaltender for the Tampa Bay Lightning in a preseason game against the St. Louis Blues, stopping seven of nine shots. To aid with removing high-speed collisions on icing, which had led to several potential career-ending injuries, such as to Hurricanes’ defenceman Joni Pitkanen, the league mandated hybrid no-touch icing for the 2013–14 NHL season.

Can the Capitals realistically chase another Stanley Cup while Alex Ovechkin chases 1,000 career goals?

Many of the league’s top players since the 1990s have come from these European countries.needs update The number of American players increased over time (and by the 1987–88 season), for example, 15% of NHL players were from the United States. From the league’s inception until the 1960s, almost all players in the NHL were Canadian. Players cannot enter until three years have passed since their last professional game, currently tied with the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame for the shortest such time period of any major sport. Players (coaches), officials, and team builders who have had notable careers are eligible to be voted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. In addition to the regular season awards — the Conn Smythe Trophy is awarded annually to the most valuable player during the NHL’s Stanley Cup playoffs.

Canadiens re-sign RFA Dach to one-year, $3.6 million dealOpens in new window

The team with the most goals during the three-round shootout wins the game. Also (unlike minor penalties), major penalties must be served to their full completion, regardless of number of goals scored during the power play. The rule is unofficially nicknamed the “Martin Brodeur rule”; Brodeur at the time was one of the best goaltenders at getting behind the net to handle the puck.

• The second was held in 1937 — in support of Howie Morenz’s family when he died of a coronary embolism after breaking his leg during a game.
• Extensions for Matvei Michkov and 2025 first-rounder Porter Martone loom over the next two summers, making cost certainty on Zegras a meaningful piece of the longer roster puzzle.
• A physical and aggressive style of defense (advocated by O’Reilly after his January trade to Kitchener), was employed by their squad.
• The current national television and digital rightsholder is Rogers Communications (which initially signed a 12-year deal that began in the 2014–15 season), then signed a 12-year renewal to extend its agreement to 2037–38.
• During playoff overtime periods, the only break is to clean the loose ice at the first stoppage after the period is halfway finished.

In 1948, Asian Canadian Larry Kwong became the first Asian player in the NHL by playing for the New York Rangers. The second was held in 1937 — in support of Howie Morenz’s family when he died of a coronary embolism betting previews after breaking his leg during a game. 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.

Although the pool of unrestricted free agents has been diminished due to the increasing salary cap, teams have been compelled to make pivotal trades to shape their futures. This summer, the first error made by Leafs GM John Chayka might have been the decision to part ways with Hayley Wickenheiser. For Kraken center Shane Wright, five potential trade destinations exist. Meanwhile, the five worst contracts from the 2026 NHL free agency have been signed so far. Additionally — who could be the ideal defensive partner for Darren Raddysh on the Maple Leafs? The five best 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.

This has significant effects on the league (as elite players have suffered from the aftereffects of concussions (such as Sidney Crosby being sidelined for approximately ten and a half months)), which adversely affects the league’s marketability. The league’s post-lockout agreement with NBC gave the league a share of revenue from each game’s advertising sales, rather than the usual lump sum paid up front for game rights. With no new agreement in hand when the contract expired, league commissioner Gary Bettman announced a lockout of the players union and closed the league’s head office for the 2004–05 season. A lockout at the start of the 1994–95 season forced the league to reduce the schedule from 84 games to 48 — with the teams playing only intra-conference games during the reduced season. In 1958, Willie O’Ree became the first black player in the league’s history when he made his debut with the Boston Bruins.

After a long professional hockey career, it feels very fitting to see this scenario play out where Kane ends it where it all began. The Sabres lost a hometown kid in Alex Tuch to the Capitals, who was the key return in the Jack Eichel trade a few years ago. He was also a nine-time all-star, along with accolades like a Calder Memorial Trophy win in 2008, an Art Ross Trophy, Hart Memorial Trophy, and Ted Lindsay Award in 2016. A three-time Stanley Cup Champion in 2010 — 2013, and 2015, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2013. His previous 7-year deal only took up 8.63% in 2016; he won the Cup in the second-to-last year of that contract, making $6.3MM annually.

Two games have reached six overtime periods, but none have gone beyond six. Instead, multiple sudden-death, 20-minute five-on-five periods are played until one team scores. Whichever team ultimately wins the shootout is awarded a goal in the game score and thus awarded two points in the standings. If the game is still tied at the end of overtime — the game enters a shootout.

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. Perhaps after failing to get to the dance with Detroit, he can help his childhood team, which ideally is a better playoff bet than Chicago, to make a Stanley Cup push in his latter career years.

The release of the NHL’s 84-game schedule on October 21 features the return of Brady Tkachuk to Ottawa.

Kane (who was dealt to the Rangers in 2023), never got to play a game with the 2023 first-overall pick, Connor Bedard. He won the Stanley Cup in that deal’s first year (notably passing the 100-point threshold for the third time in his first four seasons), and scored 31 points in the ’09 playoffs. It now shifts to first and third overall picks from 2023 in Connor Bedard and Adam Fantilli, who both would ideally see their draft class colleague’s situation and view themselves receiving significant paygrades as well. He has one year remaining on his entry-level contract, a three-year, $2.93MM , $975K AAV, deal signed back in 2024, after being the No. 1 overall selection in the NHL Draft in that year. He turned pro with the AHL’s Texas Stars in 2023 – but only appeared in 44 games before he was included in a three-team trade in February 2024 deal that sent Chris Tanev to the Stars.

The league’s American broadcast partners had been in flux for decades prior to 1995. Games that are not broadcast as part of the national rights deal are broadcast by Sportsnet’s regional feeds, TSN’s regional feeds, and RDS. Quebecor Media held national French-language rights to the NHL, with all coverage airing on its specialty channel TVA Sports. CBC maintained Rogers-produced NHL coverage during the regular season and playoffs. European players were drafted and signed by NHL teams in an effort to bring in more “skilled offensive players”.