John Tavares has yet to step on the ice for the New York Islanders, but he's already making an impact for the once-proud franchise that has been aimlessly stumbling along a path of mediocrity for the past decade-and-a-half. This is, after all, a franchise that hasn't won a playoff series since David Volek beat Tom Barrasso in double-overtime way back in 1993.
Can Tavares, an 18-year-old phenom, change all of that? Well, he certainly can't hurt. Heading into Friday's NHL Entry Draft, there were rumors that the Islanders might be leaning toward either Swedish defenseman Victor Hedman or Brampton center Matt Duchene with the top pick. In the end, the team selected Tavares, and already Islanders fans are roaring their approval in the form of cold hard cash.
It's officially the offseason, meaning the time is right to look into the future. We begin our division-by-division preview of the potential wheeling and dealing with the Northeast Division.
Brian Burke begins his rebuild of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Dany Heatley wants out of Ottawa and just what is Boston going to do with Phil Kessel and a limited amount of salary cap space?
The Boston Bruins had their season come to a somewhat unexpected end in the second round of the NHL playoffs by losing in seven games to the Carolina Hurricanes a little over a week ago. While the 2009-10 season has yet to begin, the Bruins have already suffered their first (potential) loss as forward Phil Kessel recently had surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff and labrum. According to WBZ in Boston, the surgery could keep him on the shelf for as long as six months.
Assuming he misses that much time, he would be back on the ice sometime around the end of November or early December.
After jumping out to a 1-0 series lead in the Western Conference Final, Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock held a press conference on Monday and fielded a variety of questions from the media. For the most part, it was your typical, run-of-the-mill press conference.
About half way through, a reporter started asking Babcock about how he once joked that he was ready for the salary cap to break up the young talent the Chicago Blackhawks have assembled over the years. In Babcock's mind, he wasn't joking.
The defending champs claim the top spot in this week's power rankings, while the Anaheim Ducks and Carolina Hurricanes make jumps of their own as they look to earn playoff berths in their respective conferences.
There's also a new team taking over the basement, thanks to a pair of blowout losses on home ice in the past week.
Newsmakers in the NHL is a weekday morning attempt to clear yesterday's rebounds and look to the day ahead.
Ducks 7, Avalanche 2: This game won't be showing up on the career highlight film for Andrew Raycroft, as the veteran netminder surrendered four goals on just eight shots during the second period of Anaheim's 7-2 thrashing of Colorado. Corey Perry scored a pair of goals for the Ducks, while rookie Andrew Ebbett added a goal and two assists in the win.
Weeks of rumors, innuendo, and e5s will finally come to a head on Wednesday. At 3pm Eastern, the NHL trade deadline will pass. You can follow all the activity with our NHL Trade Deadline Tracker.
Entering play Tuesday night, 23 NHL teams are either in a playoff position or within six points of one. While this is great for the playoff races, it's not so good for the deadline. It minimizes the number of potential sellers, drives up the trade market for the few players who should be available, and leaves us wondering if any big deals will go down. Here's a look at how the Eastern Conference looks heading into the deadline.
The Clash once posed the question: Should I stay or should I go now? We take a look at the big names surrounding the NHL trade deadline and whether they'll be staying in place or going to finish the season in another city.
The Tampa Bay Lightning haven't lived up to the preseason hype, as they currently sit in the No. 13 spot in the Eastern Conference, 16 points out of a playoff spot. They've already fired Barry Melrose, and have been bombarded with trade rumors surrounding their captain, Vincent Lecavalier, and the possibility of him being shipped to his hometown of Montreal.
Another player that's supposedly on the block is right wing Martin St. Louis -- an exciting player that's still putting up a point per game, even at the age of 33.
The Bruins and Capitals helped kick off the second half of the NHL season on Tuesday, and the top two teams in the Eastern Conference did not disappoint in Boston's 3-2 overtime win.
While it was an exciting game for much of the night, the best action came in the overtime period as goaltenders Tim Thomas and Jose Theodore exchanged incredible saves at each end of the ice. Following a Niklas Backstrom hooking penalty, David Krejci sent a pass through the slot only to have it bounce off Shaone Morrison's skate and find the back of the net behind Theodore for the game-winner.
John Tavares has yet to step on the ice for the New York Islanders, but he's already making an impact for the once-proud franchise that has been aimlessly stumbling along a path of mediocrity for the past decade-and-a-half. This is, after all, a franchise that hasn't won a playoff series since David Volek beat Tom Barrasso in double-overtime way back in 1993. 
It's officially the offseason, meaning the time is right to look into the future. We begin our division-by-division preview of the potential wheeling and dealing with the Northeast Division. 
The Boston Bruins had their season come to a somewhat unexpected end in the second round of the NHL playoffs by losing in seven games to the Carolina Hurricanes a little over a week ago. While the 2009-10 season has yet to begin, the Bruins have already suffered their first (potential) loss as forward 
After jumping out to a 1-0 series lead in the Western Conference Final, Red Wings head coach 
For the third time in three weeks we have a new team on top of our power rankings, as the NHL-leading San Jose Sharks take over the top spot. 
The defending champs claim the top spot in this week's power rankings, while the Anaheim Ducks and Carolina Hurricanes make jumps of their own as they look to earn playoff berths in their respective conferences.
Newsmakers in the NHL is a weekday morning attempt to clear yesterday's rebounds and look to the day ahead.
Weeks of rumors, innuendo, and 
The Clash once posed the question: Should I stay or should I go now? 
The Bruins and Capitals helped kick off the second half of the NHL season on Tuesday, and the top two teams in the Eastern Conference did not disappoint in Boston's 
