SEATTLE — On April 29, 2024, Ron Francis wore a black pullover and black pants to announce the firing of the Kraken’s first coach.

The general manager had signed Dave Hakstol to a contract extension barely nine months earlier, after he guided Seattle to a 46-28-8 record, 100 points and a playoff upset of the reigning Stanley Cup champion ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette published my year-end Penguins report card over the weekend. It included five A grades, a few failing marks and a whole lot of meh in the middle.

When I put out my player grades after each season, one question I always get from our readers is why I don't include coach Mike Sullivan. My response is that...Read more

DALLAS — The Colorado Avalanche had a chance to take complete control of this series. That chance slipped away into the Texas night.

Colin Blackwell, who didn’t play in Game 1, scored with 2:14 left in overtime of Game 2 of this Stanley Cup Playoffs first-round series to give the Dallas Stars a 4-3 victory on Monday night inside American ...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — Matthew Tkachuk got the puck in the slot early in the second period. He weaved and bobbed with the puck on his stick, trying to fake out Andrei Vasilevskiy before finally slipping a low wrist shot past the star goaltender for a power-play goal.

Tkachuk skated toward the bench, looked back to his teammates and raised his arms in ...Read more

RALEIGH, N.C. — Put Jordan Martinook in a playoff series with the New Jersey Devils and it’s like lighting a fuse.

The Carolina Hurricanes forward — who is more about hustle and grit than shooting and scoring — has turned into the best form of himself against the Devils in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Martinook has played with fire but ...Read more

DENVER — No more stashing No. 92 away for a rainy day. Storm clouds are forming near Chopper Circle.

“Gabe wanted to get in a groove and take warm-up and get in the room and be part of it,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said of captain Gabriel Landeskog’s activation and subsequent scratch before Monday’s overtime loss at Dallas. “So,...Read more

RALEIGH, N.C. — It’s all so weird to Brett Pesce. So weird. The New Jersey Devils’ team hotel is not far from where he lived in Raleigh, the neighborhood still so familiar. He played 35 playoff games in what’s now the Lenovo Center as a member of the home team, and Sunday afternoon was his first as a visitor.

Things that feel so ...Read more

SEATTLE — The Kraken restructuring became official Tuesday morning. The team's only general manager to date, Ron Francis was elevated to president of hockey operations while handing over some of the day-to-day business of roster management.

Jason Botterill, Kraken assistant general manager and one-time Buffalo Sabres general manager, will ...Read more

SEATTLE — For the second consecutive year, as the Stanley Cup playoffs surge on, the Kraken are reportedly looking for a coach. They will also have a new general manager, according to another report.

After just one year in charge, the Kraken fired coach Dan Bylsma on Monday, according to a report by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

The ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — The surprise standing ovation greeting Alex Ovechkin on Thursday at PPG Paints Arena was not only appropriate but pretty darn cool. A worthy, longtime rival to the Penguins' stars, Ovechkin was feted for breaking the NHL's all-time goal-scoring record, something many thought would never be touched.

But Ovechkin, now 39 and coming...Read more

The Golden Knights, under coach Bruce Cassidy, know how to start a playoff series.

Left wing Brett Howden scored twice to lead the Knights to a 4-2 win over the Minnesota Wild in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series at T-Mobile Arena on Sunday.

Right wing Pavel Dorofeyev and center Tomas Hertl also scored, while goaltender Adin Hill made...Read more

RALEIGH, N.C. — There are no friends in playoff hockey, certainly not in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

From the drop of the puck in the opening game, it becomes a mano a mano test all over the ice. The only acceptable outcome is to win the game, and players must be prepared to do anything to do it.

It might mean Seth Jarvis of the Carolina ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Danny Briere, the Flyers’ general manager, spent some time Saturday morning making a list. This was very relatable and reassuring. It was good to know that a National Hockey League general manager makes lists just like the rest of us conscientious adults do. Made me feel nice and solid inside. Except my lists usually are ...Read more

CHICAGO — Whatever you think of Kyle Davidson as Chicago Blackhawks general manager, you can’t say he doesn’t put his heart in it.

Looking back on the season, Davidson dealt with several curveballs: firing a coach, a player’s very public trade request and a worse-than-expected finish in the standings.

But the biggest bombshell was ...Read more

WINNIPEG, Manitoba – The Blues put themselves in position to get a needed road win in their first-round series of the Stanley Cup playoffs, but they couldn’t hold on to two leads and lost to the Winnipeg Jets, 5-3, on Saturday night at Canada Life Centre.

Kyle Connor scored with 1:36 to play after a faceoff following an icing call brought ...Read more

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Paul Maurice, a master of the spoken word, chose an uncommon word for a coach recently about his job: Joy.

As in delight.

As in sheer happiness

Have you heard a coach use that word around a pro sports team? Ever? But doesn’t it reflect what the Florida Panthers have built when held up against words slung by the ...Read more

DENVER — If trust is a two-way street, Valeri Nichushkin needs to stop kicking Stanley Cups to the curb.

“We trust him. And that’s the management, the coaches — everybody trusts him,” Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson told me this week before Colorado’s Stanley Cup playoff opener at Dallas on Saturday.

“If his teammates can trust...Read more