Sports
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Should Celebrini and Smith be the Sharks' top two centers this season?
SAN JOSE, Calif. – There’s little question that Macklin Celebrini will provide a significant boost to this season’s San Jose Sharks team.
A tremendously skilled and dynamic two-way center with a nonstop motor and an off-the-charts compete level, Celebrini has the clear potential to be the Sharks’ next franchise player. By all accounts, ...Read more
Is Brayden Yager ready for the NHL right now? The Penguins say the door will be open.
PITTSBURGH — Kyle Dubas was waiting Friday with a message to deliver when the Pittsburgh Penguins’ prospects arrived in Cranberry, Pa., for the Penguins’ annual development camp.
Pittsburgh’s president of hockey operations, who has pivoted into something of a rebuild in his second year on the job, told 48 wide-eyed prospects in the room...Read more
Phil Thompson: Blackhawks have taken a step forward with veteran signings -- and should be judged accordingly
CHICAGO — A crooked smile crept across Chicago Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson’s face as he reflected on his full-circle moment with free-agent “pickup” Teuvo Teräväinen.
“It’s funny, this is way back … I picked Teuvo up from the airport when he first came over,” Davidson said. “I don’t even know if he remembers ...Read more
San Jose Sharks sign Macklin Celebrini to entry level contract
SAN JOSE, Calif. – The San Jose Sharks have signed center Macklin Celebrini, the first-overall selection in the 2024 NHL Draft, to a three-year, entry-level contract, starting a new era for the franchise.
“Macklin is not only a special player on the ice, but he is a poised, confident and intelligent young man off of it,” San Jose Sharks ...Read more
Geoff Baker: Kraken draft pick Nathan Villeneuve insists bounty on opponent is 'normally not who I am'
SEATTLE — There’s a clip from the iconic 1977 satirical hockey movie “Slap Shot” that briefly forced Kraken draft pick Nathan Villeneuve to stop using his cellphone.
“I was tired of opening my phone and seeing the same meme texted to me a thousand times,” Villeneuve, 18, said this week at the Kraken’s annual development camp after...Read more
Adam Hill: Sorry, fans, but Knights probably right on Jonathan Marchessault
LAS VEGAS — Golden Knights fans, it’s completely fine to be all in your feelings this week about the departures of some beloved players.
At the same time, it’s OK to acknowledge the organization probably made the right decision on most of those contracts, even if it feels like you are betraying people you have come to love cheering for ...Read more
Knights face uncertainty with goaltending after signing Samsonov
LAS VEGAS — Next season just became important for the Golden Knights’ goaltending department.
Not just for 2025, but beyond.
The Knights shook up their netminder situation in the span of 48 hours, starting with the trade of Logan Thompson to the Washington Capitals on Saturday.
They followed that by signing former Toronto Maple Leafs ...Read more
Steve Yzerman sees similarly competitive Red Wings team after free agency, trades
DETROIT — The Red Wings missed out on the playoffs on the final night of the regular season on a tiebreaker, after finishing with the same number of points as Washington.
The Wings certainly had the look of a playoff team, the feel of it. And heading into this season, after the first week of unrestricted free agency, general manager Steve ...Read more
Matt Calkins: Kraken hope Jessica Campbell's player-development success translates to NHL
SEATTLE — Refs? Check. Front office? Indeed. Scouting, skating coaches, video work — those boxes are a long way from blank.
But a woman behind the bench? A female assistant coach with no caveats? That's an NHL first.
And it happened here in Seattle.
That's a necessary introduction, because this is history. We've seen women break through ...Read more
Joe Starkey: Why are we pretending the Penguins are rebuilding? They're designed to win now.
PITTSBURGH — Here's a hot take: The Pittsburgh Penguins could actually be pretty good this season.
Here's a hotter one: Given the pedigree and paychecks of their top eight players or so, plus the pedigree and paycheck of their head coach, they should be pretty good. They do not deserve the benefit of low expectations.
What if their best ...Read more
Calm, mature Trey Augustine playing beyond his age, continues development with Red Wings
DETROIT — Sometimes, Red Savage will see Trey Augustine trudge along around Michigan State's Munn Arena and just shake his head.
"We call him Gramps sometimes because he's always waddling around the rink," said Savage, a Red Wings prospect talking about his MSU teammate and fellow Wings prospect. "You forget he's just a little 19-year-old. I ...Read more
How Sharks' Will Smith is getting bigger, stronger before first pro season
SAN JOSE, Calif. – During the first two days of the San Jose Sharks’ development camp this week, center Will Smith displayed the kind of skating, puckhandling, and vision that helped make him the fourth overall pick at last year’s NHL Draft.
But as he enters his first pro season after signing an entry-level contract with the Sharks in ...Read more
Flyers re-sign winger Bobby Brink to a two-year deal
PHILADELPHIA — Danny Briere wasn’t too worried about keeping Bobby Brink in Orange and Black. Every time he was asked, the Philadelphia Flyers general manager said “something will get done.”
And now it is.
The Flyers have re-signed Brink to a one-way, two-year contract with an annual average value of $1.5 million. Brink, who turns 23 ...Read more
Red Wings sign Vladimir Tarasenko, trade Robby Fabbri
DETROIT — The Red Wings headed into the long holiday weekend adding some needed offense — then traded some of it away.
The Wings signed free-agent forward Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year contract worth $9.5 million ($4.75 annual average value), then announced shortly afterward that they traded forward Robby Fabbri and a conditional 2025 ...Read more
Kraken name Jessica Campbell the NHL's first woman assistant coach
SEATTLE — Newest Seattle Kraken assistant coach Jessica Campbell has long said she feels she’s been treated no differently by the men working around her as she continued to break hockey barriers.
That sense of belonging should serve Saskatchewan, Canada, native Campbell, 32, well in her most groundbreaking role yet — announced Wednesday ...Read more
John Romano: Farewell, Godspeed and thank you, Steven Stamkos
TAMPA BAY, Fla. — We fall in love easily.
That’s what a sports fan does. Every new prospect is a potential romance, and every season’s end is another round of heartbreak. It’s not that we’re difficult, we just have certain qualities we demand of our athletic idols.
Like dignity. Loyalty and humility. Persistence, heart and a scorer�...Read more
Paul Zeise: Penguins should try to win now or rebuild. Stop trying to do both
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Penguins front office and ownership group are in a tough spot, so I understand what they are trying to do.
They are trying to have their cake and eat it, too. They are trying build for the future and win now. Kyle Dubas said as much Monday when he met with the media.
"We're not looking to simply squeak into the ...Read more
Penguins sign Sebastian Aho, the former Islanders defenseman, to multiyear deal
PITTSBURGH — The Penguins on Tuesday signed Sebastian Aho — no, not that Sebastian Aho, but the veteran NHL defenseman with the same name — to a two-year deal.
The contract carries an average annual value of $775,000 at the NHL level.
Aho, 28, is a lefty who has played 190 career games over five NHL seasons, all with the New York ...Read more
Kraken shed salary, open roster spot by trading Brian Dumoulin to Ducks
SEATTLE — On Tuesday, the Kraken freed up funds to pay their young talent and space for a homegrown defenseman waiting in the wings, dealing veteran Brian Dumoulin to the Anaheim Ducks for a fourth-round draft pick.
On Monday, the Kraken signed right-handed defenseman Brandon Montour to a seven-year, $50 million contract with an average ...Read more
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