#nhl

#nhl

"He won't play tomorrow," Chicago coach Jeff Blashill said of the team's game at home against Detroit on Saturday night. "I won't know more info tomorrow, so don't ask me tomorrow. At some point through the weekend, I'll know more, so I'd probably have more info come Monday."

The International Ice Hockey Federation confirmed Monday that the ice surface to be used in Milan, Italy, for the 2026 Winter Olympics will be shorter than NHL-regulation size. Games at the two arenas will be played on rinks measuring 196.85 by 85.3 feet, while regular NHL dimensions are 200 by 85 feet. News of the size difference came as a surprise to participating players and, perhaps more importantly, to the NHL commissioner's office,

🏒 The gay hockey romance Heated Rivalry has been a massive hit, and the show has fans taking a closer look at the NHL -- the only major North American men's sports league with no current or former out gay players. Mey Rude explores whether that might change soon. Speaking of professional sports, the World Cup is coming to the U.S. this summer, and this week we learned that the Seattle-based game designated locally as the "Pride Match" will feature two countries where being gay is illegal.

While the NHL is concerned about the status of the ice hockey arena for the Milan-Cortina Games, sources told ESPN on Wednesday there are no indications the league would pull out of the event -- despite reports that the ice arena surface is about 3 feet too short. The NHL plans to send players to the 2026 Olympics in February for the first time since the 2014 Games in Sochi.

There might not be a tougher roster to crack in all of sports than Canada's in a best-on-best hockey tournament, and this will be the first Olympics with NHL players since 2014. The amount of elite talent Canada has to choose from is staggering. They could ice two teams and be in the mix for a gold medal with both. Star players and past Stanley Cup champions won't make the cut. Not everyone can be selected.

He feels way more comfortable and he's probably our best player on the wall, just with his ability to get pucks off the yellow and make plays. He's been very good. I also feel like he has less pressure playing on the wing, if that makes sense. Centerman, there's a lot going on defensively, offensively. I think now he's in that spot where he can just rely on his gift and he doesn't have to worry about anything else. I think that helped him.

Chychrun's streak continues as the Caps down the Leafs, LT makes his Vezina case and more in today's Caps Clips.

For years, American Thanksgiving has served as one of the NHL's most reliable predictive benchmarks. In the salary cap era, roughly 77 percent of teams sitting in a playoff spot on Thanksgiving ultimately qualify for the playoffs in April. Last season, 12 of 16 teams, or 75 percent, held their ground. It's a trend coaches, executives, and fans have leaned on for years to separate early-season pretenders from legitimate contenders.

"I'm going to say is [that] when you see the number, you have to lay off. Everybody knows that. You don't go through the guy," Roy said after the game. "I was in Colorado when [Rantanen] was drafted there. It's not his style. But at the same time, that should not be part of our game."

So, they come in the league in 2000. They haven't made round two of the playoffs ever. They haven't made the playoffs since 2020. They've missed the playoffs 20 of 25 times. The best Blue Jacket ever is Rick Nash. They've had 7 team captains: Lyle Odelein, Ray Whitney, Luke Richardson, Adam Foote, Rick Nash, Nick Foligno, and Boone Jenner. I've never heard a single conversation about the Blue Jackets.