Latest blog entries about NHL
On April 15th in 2010, Canucks netminder Roberto Luongo lodged his goalie stick into the back of his pads after making a spectacular overtime save against the Kings' Jack Johnson in Game 1 of the Western Conference Quarter-finals. After a 15 second struggle, Luongo untangled the lumber in time to stop a shot from Brad Richardson as play returned to his end. Vancouver went on to beat Los Angeles
Barcelona great Lionel Messi has made a surprise move and become the new owner of Spanish third division side Cornella. The club announced the news in a statement on their website (you can read the full text here): “UE Cornellà announces that Argentinian footballer and eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Leo Messi has formalized the acquisition […]
written in collaboration with Alec Brownscombe It has been a long time since the Toronto Maple Leafs were this bad. In case you’d somehow forgotten – or haven’t followed the team for more than a decade – the vultures are always ready to strike when the Maple Leafs appear moribund. Case in point, a story […] The post On cost-cutting, AI, Pelley, and the Maple Leafs’ 2025-26 season from hell appeared first on Maple Leafs Hotstove .
Everyone in Washington, and around the hockey world, wants to know if Alex Ovechkin played his final NHL game against the Columbus Blue Jackets in the Capitals' season finale Tuesday night. He was asked the question on Thursday morning. And his answer, while not the exact response we've all been hoping for, certainly dropped a strong hint: “I’m pretty sure it’s not my last game. I hope it’s not my last game, against Columbus.”—Alex Ovechkin in his final media availability of the 2025-26 season...
Mornin’! The Blackhawks are finishing up their 2025-26 season with exit interviews on Thursday morning, followed by press conferences from the players, coach Jeff Blashill, and general manager Kyle Davidson fresh off his contract extension. We’ll update this post as the day moves along, so check back here as players offer their final thoughts on the prior 82 games! (Quotes below may be edited for shortened for the sake of brevity and/or clarity sake.) [Update, 4:30 p.m.] Going t...
As Game 1 approaches, the Minnesota Wild are going to have to navigate a crowded net. They have two starting-caliber goalies, but just one of Filip Gustavsson or Jesper Wallstead Wallstedt can occupy the crease at a time. Of all of John Hynes' decisions, this will be the easiest to second-guess. If...
When the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs began, the Flyers were months beyond a rather good run in February and March. However, the pandemic put an end to many things, including the regular season. In August, the playoffs began, with a three-game round-robin leaving Philadelphia as the top seed in the Eastern Conference. The seeding meant the Flyers had a first-round bye, waiting for their opponent to emerge from a best-of-five series. Montreal defeated Toronto, and the Flyers opened the playoffs on...
81 games down, one to go. The Golden Knights clinched the Pacific Division with a win over Seattle on Wednesday, but the Oilers still have plenty at stake in their regular-season finale against Vancouver. A win would secure second place and home-ice advantage in the first round. A regulation loss could drop Edmonton into a…
The 2025-26 New Jersey Devils season will be another forgettable one in the team’s history. With playoff aspirations and the hope of a deeper run than anything in the last decade, the team couldn’t build any consistency and as a result will miss the postseason again. Tom Fitzgerald was even let go as GM and […]
On locker cleanout day, captain Auston Matthews discussed the team’s failure this season, his future with the organization, and the current uncertainty at the management level. Opening Statement: Matthews on the failed 2025-26 season Matthews: Before we get going, this was a tough year and a frustrating year. We didn’t meet the goals or expectations […] The post Auston Matthews on whether he still believes he can win in Toronto: “I do… I think we’re all hopeful this is just a one-off” appea...
On locker cleanout day, Chris Tanev discussed his injury-plagued season, his health outlook for next year, and the uncertainty surrounding the organization’s future at the management level. How are you feeling physically? Tanev: I’m doing well. I was just in New York on Monday to see the doctor about the surgery I had. Everything is […] The post Chris Tanev on his injury-plagued 2025-26 season with the Leafs: “I’m disappointed in how I was only able to play 11 games and let a lot of people d...
It was locker cleanout day for the Toronto Maple Leafs —a lot earlier than usual this season, as their first year out of the playoffs in a decade wrapped up. Auston Matthews, whose season was ended even more prematurely last month after the Radko Gudas takedown , faced the media today for the first time to speak about the Leafs' future, and his own. And as you'd expect, he played his cards close to the vest. But simply because there's so much uncertainty around the franchise at thi...
A look at the projected lineups and pre-game interviews.
The Rangers won their final game, moved to fourth in draft lottery odds, and gave us one last reminder of why this year was so hard to watch.
Aaron Scott Jr. was rated a 5-star (0.9835) in the 247Sports Composite and the number one overall prospect from the state of Ohio in the 2024 class. As a recruit he took official visits to Oregon, Michigan, and Ohio State in June of 2023 before committing to the Buckeyes in July and signing with them […]
On locker cleanout day, head coach Craig Berube discussed his uncertain future, the team’s failures this season, and the organization’s outlook moving forward. What is your message to the players, as you see them for the last time until training camp? Berube: Individually, we’re meeting with every player and going over their year and the […] The post Craig Berube on whether Mitch Marner was sorely missed this season: “That is not the reason this season happened” appeared first on Maple Leafs...
For the first time in six years, the Philadelphia Flyers are back in the Stanley Cup playoffs and naturally, the hockey Gods have tasked them with the Pittsburgh Penguins as a first round matchup. With both teams entering the season as relative longshots to qualify for the postseason at all, their matchup represents a golden opportunity for either club to get one over on their Keystone State Rival. At face value, this is a battle of underdogs. The Penguins assembled an island of misfit to...
The New York Islanders are done for 2025-26, but the Bridgeport Islanders live on for a while before they’re done forever. With a playoff spot already clinched, Bridgeport was the scene of Semyon Varlamov’s comeback attempt last night, his first pro action since 2024: Meanwhile, back at the NHL level, the Islanders picked up the […]
The NHL regular season wrapped on Wednesday night. Unfortunately for hockey fans around central Ohio, the Columbus Blue Jackets fell just short of making the postseason for the first time since the 2019-20 season where the playoffs were held in the bubble. This marks the second straight season where the Blue Jackets were officially eliminated […]
Of the two possible problems for the Edmonton Oilers, the one they currently have is the preferred option, I reckon. Would you rather the Oilers be scoring at will, but struggling to suppress goals against? Well, we’ve seen that, and it hasn’t been a long-term winning strategy. The Oilers know it too, and there’s a…
Joe's on a cruise, so Chip is here to help Eric send off Jonathan Quick, relitigate the Fortescue scratch, and figure out what NHL agents actually know about running a franchise.
A’s 6, Rangers 5
Back-to-back hat tricks, a goalie fight, and the Islanders doing Islanders things. The Ombudsman has the receipts on everything Joe and Chip got right—and wrong—this week.
The Athletic had a tremendous piece about the dreadful season that Toronto endured off the ice this year and the organizational problems from top to bottom that have turned the top team that Kyle Dubas built into one of chaos and dysfunction. The whole thing is wildly entertaining as an outside observers to watch the […]
After a horrible 2025-26 season, the Vancouver Canucks should continue to make changes to their roster during the summer. Nils Hoglander could be a trade candidate to watch from the Canucks, as he has come up in the rumor mill before and could use a change of scenery. Because of this, let's look at three teams that could target Hoglander during the offseason. Pittsburgh Penguins The Penguins have made it clear that they are not afraid to take chances on young players who need fresh start...
The week's most-read NHL posts, emailed every Monday.