NHL

1:13 PM ET Associated Press SEATTLE — The Seattle Kraken are free to make trades and sign players after making their final expansion payment to the NHL. Seattle owners paid $650 million to become the 32nd franchise. The Kraken begin play next season. “On behalf of the board of governors, I am delighted to officially

NHL It’s officially official: the Seattle Kraken are the NHL’s newest franchise. The owners of the team made their final expansion payment to the league and are now the 32nd team. Seattle’s ownership group paid a whopping $650 million to join the NHL and will begin play in the 2021-22 season. “On behalf of the

Seattle Kraken officially become the NHL’s 32nd team originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington Release the Kraken! The Seattle Kraken have officially become an NHL franchise. Per a Friday press release by the NHL, the Kraken will begin operations during the 2021-22 season and become the league’s 32nd team. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman joins many

7:00 AM ET NHL Insiders The end of the 2021 NHL season is fast approaching. While COVID-19 postponements have resulted in games extending until May 19, many of the playoff positions will have been solidified before then. As we begin predicting what the 2021 playoffs will look like — and who will ultimately win the

7:02 AM ET Tim KavanaghESPN.com Close Tim Kavanagh is a senior NHL editor for ESPN. He’s a native of upstate New York. The all-Canadian North Division has been a fun one to watch during the 2021 NHL season, featuring some of the NHL’s most ancient rivalries that have been rejuvenated with a new collection of

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) Elias Lindholm scored twice as the Calgary Flames beat the Edmonton Oilers 3-1 on Thursday night. Dillon Dube also scored for Calgray, and Jacob Markstrom stopped 30 shots while making his 10th straight start. The Flames pulled four points behind Montreal for the fourth and final playoff spot in the North Division.

It’s hard for teams to stay relevant in the salary cap era. We’ve seen the rise and fall of clubs like the Los Angeles Kings and Chicago Blackhawks. The Nashville Predators are competing for a chance to make the playoffs and if they succeed, they will have reached the postseason for seven straight seasons, which

Reuters Federer playing French Open with eye on Wimbledon – McEnroe Roger Federer’s decision to make his long-awaited Grand Slam return on his least favourite surface at next month’s French Open is part of a grand plan to peak in time for his beloved Wimbledon, according to ESPN commentator Patrick McEnroe. Federer, who due to

5:26 PM ET Associated Press CALGARY, Alberta — Byron “B.J.” Seaman, one of the founding owners of the Calgary Flames, has died. He was 97. He died Saturday in Calgary, according to McInnis and Holloway Funeral Home. James and his late brother Daryl “Doc” Seaman were co-owners of the NHL franchise for 30 years. They

4:03 PM ET Associated Press The American Hockey League will not crown a Calder Cup champion for a second consecutive season amid pandemic scheduling concerns. The trophy had been awarded every year from 1937 to 2019. The AHL allowed each of its five divisions created for this season to decide a playoff format. Only the

KLADNO, Czech Republic — Jaromir Jagr was celebrating on the ice again Thursday. The 49-year-old right winger had an assist to help his hometown club Kladno Knights return to the top Czech league by beating Jihlava 5-2 to clinch their playoff series 4-3. Jagr made his debut for Kladno as a teenager and returned to

Special to Yahoo Sports Hope you’ve been keeping up with your studies because it’s time for finals! It doesn’t matter whether you’re battling for first or for second-to-last. You have to be ready throughout the week — or in some cases, two weeks — to come out on top. Since we’re approaching the end of

8:00 AM ET Picture an NHL coach. Windbreaker with a team logo at the morning skate, business attire at the game. Frantically scribbling notes on a card or whiteboard, less concerned with a player’s “underlying numbers” than with “grit and jam.” Eschewing analytics for “their gut” during key decisions. Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan fits

The Canadian Press Family affair: Surtain, Samuel could go early in NFL draft Alabama’s Patrick Surtain II, Florida State’s Asante Samuel Jr. and Jaycee Horn of South Carolina are three of the top cornerbacks in this year’s NFL draft. If their names sound familiar, well, they should. Surtain is the son of a standout cornerback

USATSI Ducks goaltender Ryan Miller announced he will retire from the NHL at the end of the 2020-21 season, according to a press release by Anaheim on Thursday. Miller has been in the league for 18 years and is the all-time leader in wins among U.S.-born goaltenders with 390. Miller’s list of accomplishments is long.

9:00 AM ET Connor McDavid is going to win the Hart Trophy this season. They literally should just list his name three times as the winner and the finalists. No one else should even be in the conversation. As an example, Matt Larkin of The Hockey News noted that through April 26, the Edmonton Oilers

Welcome to the PHT Morning Skate, a collection of links from the NHL and around the hockey world. Have a link you want to submit for the PHT Morning Skate? Email us at phtblog@nbcsports. • Wild top pick Marco Rossi on his battle with COVID-19, which has kept him from playing this season: “They said

7:00 AM ET Tim KavanaghESPN.com Close Tim Kavanagh is a senior NHL editor for ESPN. He’s a native of upstate New York. On Wednesday in this space, we pondered whether any of the West Division teams would spoil a matchup between the Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche in the second round of the playoffs