When the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers take the ice at Madison Square Garden tonight, 3D animated versions of themselves will be taking to the ice at “Times Circle” as part of the first “NHL Big City Greens Classic.” Yes, cartoon versions of Alex Ovechkin, T.J. Oshie, Nicklas Backstrom, Tom Wilson, Patrick Kane, Artemi Panarin, Adam Fox, Jacob Trouba and every other player will be squaring off for this special event. How can I watch the “Big City Greens […]

Emily Kaplan is ESPN’s national NHL reporter. The Philadelphia Flyers have fired general manager and president of hockey operations Chuck Fletcher, the team announced Friday. “Over the past several seasons, our team simply has not lived up to that standard, so today, we will begin to chart a new path forward under a new leadership structure for Hockey Operations,” Flyers governor Dave Scott said in a statement. “This morning, we released Chuck Fletcher from his president and general manager responsibilities. […]

Tim Kavanagh is a senior NHL editor for ESPN. He’s a native of upstate New York. There are some who say that the Western Conference playoff race is merely about the order in which the eight teams currently in playoff position will finish. The numbers from FiveThirtyEight back that up to some degree, as only two non-playoff teams currently have playoff chances greater than 1%: the Nashville Predators (34%) and the Calgary Flames (22%). The East is an entirely different […]

LAS VEGAS — Jonathan Quick didn’t have the sharpest debut, but he did enough to notch his first victory with the Vegas Golden Knights Sunday in a 4-3 victory over the Montreal Canadiens. Quick, a two-time Stanley Cup champion acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday — two days after he was traded from the Los Angeles Kings — had 25 saves in the victory. “I felt pretty comfortable right from the get-go,” Quick said. “Obviously, a different setting, […]

Greg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer. I recently asked a Western Conference veteran for his take on the 2023 NHL trade deadline. “The East is insane. That’s my take.” It was as accurate and succinct a recap as one could apply to the days leading up to Friday, March 3, during which the West essentially became a feeder system for the East. The New York Islanders got the fun started by acquiring Bo Horvat from Vancouver. The New York […]

Greg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer. For the record, the 2023 NHL trade deadline is still scheduled for Friday, March 3, even if most of the league has decided to get their holiday shopping done early. According to CapFriendly, the average number of trades made in the 14 days leading to the trade deadline was 17.6 over the past 10 seasons. In 2022-23, there were 27 trades made in that time period as of Tuesday. Those trades included most […]

Ryan S. Clark is an NHL reporter for ESPN. Kristen Shilton is a national NHL reporter for ESPN. The NHL trade deadline is Friday at 3 p.m. ET. It’s already been an active trade season, with players such as Bo Horvat, Ryan O’Reilly, Vladimir Tarasenko, Dmitry Orlov and Timo Meier joining new teams. But many of the big names — including Patrick Kane, Jakob Chychrun and Erik Karlsson — have yet to move. And a number of teams have yet […]

The Winnipeg Jets, looking to boost their goal scoring for their stretch run, acquired veteran forward Nino Niederreiter from the Nashville Predators, a source told ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski on Saturday, in exchange for a draft choice. Niederreiter, 30, who signed a two-year deal with the Predators last summer, brings with him a $4 million average-annual value. He is a trusted finisher up front, and can add to an already deep offense the Jets have built in a clogged postseason race. […]

Ryan S. Clark is an NHL reporter for ESPN. Hours after they announced that both players would be held out for trade reasons, the Washington Capitals sent Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway to the Boston Bruins on Thursday. In return, the Capitals received Craig Smith, a 2023 first-round pick, a 2024 third-round pick and a 2025 second-round selection. The Minnesota Wild also announced they received a 2023 fifth-round pick and will retain 50% of Orlov’s salary. The signing rights to […]

EDMONTON, Alberta — Connor McDavid reached 800 career points and scored his 43rd and 44th goals in the third period to give the Edmonton Oilers a 4-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night. McDavid also assisted on Leon Draisaitl’s tying goal early in the third, with McDavid picking up his 800th point and Draisaitl his 700th on the play. Playing in his 545th game, McDavid became the fifth-fastest player in NHL history to hit the mark, behind Wayne […]