Morning Hits: Bettman, Wang, Smith, Pouliot, Maatta and Mayer
Eric Francis: Gary Bettman was named the 2014 Sports Executive of the Year at the Sports Business Awards. Chris Botta: Gary Bettman on the Islanders sale: "Charles (Wang) is still deciding what he wants to do. No decision has been made." Sarah…
Morning Hits: Ovechkin, Letang, Elliott, Murray, Beleskey and Andersen
Darren Dreger: Canadiens Therrien: "Really disappointed. He's our best player. Looking at incident it's a reckless play. Not first time Kreider goes at goalies. Mike Morreale: Reports are that Alex Ovechkin will miss only one game at the World Championships. Evgeni…
NHL Rumors II: Fighters, Boychuk, Martin, Johansen, Boyle and Stastny
Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe: The heavyweight fighters may be on the decline, and pending UFA tough guys may be on their last contract: Shawn Thorton, John Scott, Michael Haley, George Parros, Mike Rupp, Cam Janssen, Steve MacIntyre, Ben…
Morning Hits: Chara, Shaw, Lucic, Tavares, Jackman, Gustafsson and Konopka
David Pagnotta: Told that Bruins Zdeno Chara had fractured at least on finger during Game 4 of round two against the Canadiens. Chicago Blackhawks: Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville expects that forward Andrew Shaw could start skating this weekend. They will…
Morning Hits: Lucic, Iginla’s Bonuses, Alfredsson, Beleskey, Galchenyuk, Coyle, Ducks and Moulson
Bob McKenzie: If the Ducks beat the Kings, the Western Conference Final will open in Anaheim. If the Kings beat the Ducks, the series will start in Chicago. Darren Dreger: Canadiens Dale Weise said that Bruins Milan Lucic threatened him during…
NHL Video: Thornton Sprays Subban With Water … Fine Expected
Bruins Shawn Thornton sprays Canadiens P.K. Subban with water during play. Darren Dreger: Hockey Operations and Safety Department will discuss a potential fine for Thorton. John Shannon: Expect Thornton to be fined. Could be half of his one day salary.…
NHL Rumors: Lightning, Canadiens, Islanders, Red Wings, Penguins, Maple Leafs and Blue Jackets
Damian Cristodero of the Tampa Bay Times: The Lightning could look at dealing one of their goalies. Ben Bishop is their No. 1 goalie. Anders Lindback is a RFA. They recently signed Andrei Vasilevskiy to an entry-level contract. They also…
NHL Rumors II: Leafs, Predators, Blues, Wings, Avs, Sharks, Flyers and Offer Sheets
Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun: An NHL executive on pending RFA James Reimer: “If I’m the Leafs, I don’t make him a qualifying (restricted free agent) offer. The reason, you can’t get much for him in a trade. So…
Morning Hits: Habs-B’s, Rangers, Devils, Stars, Flyers, Lightning, Red Wings and Ducks
Louis Jean: The Canadiens and Bruins series will start on Thursday, with Game 2 on Saturday. Dejan Kovacevic: The Rangers are now 0-12 in playoff games since 2009 when they've had the series lead. Rich Chere: Devils GM Lou Lamoriello: "Realistically…
NHL Rumors II: Blue Jackets, Capitals, Islanders, Hurricanes, Leafs, Stalock and Gretzky
Craig Custance of ESPN: Some things that could happen with the Blue Jackets this offseason. 1. Lock up Ryan Johansen - Johansen is a RFA and they'll have to decide if they want to do a bridge deal or a…
NHL Rumors: Red Wings, Alfredsson, Capitals GM Candidates, Flames and Canucks
Craig Custance of ESPN: Some early offseason priorities for Red Wings GM Ken Holland. 1. Add an impact defenseman - the will have cap space this summer as David Legwand, Daniel Alfredsson, Mikael Samuelsson, Todd Bertuzzi, Kyle Quincey, Jonas Gustavsson…
NHL Rumors: Spezza, Callahan, Panthers, Canucks, Kulemin, Islanders and Habs Ticket Revenue
Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen: Warren thinks that Jason Spezza has likely played his last game in a Senators uniform. The Senators could trade Spezza for a package that includes a "harder"player that GM Bryan Murray is looking for.…