7:00 AM ET Alex Ovechkin would prefer not to talk about breaking Wayne Gretzky‘s NHL career goal-scoring record. He’ll gladly talk about his cars, like his G-wagons and his Bentley coupe. Or the best high-end sushi joints on the road. He’ll happily indulge you about fashion: “Dolce, Dolce, Dolce,” he said, cataloguing his shirt, pants

2:37 AM ET ESPN News Services LOS ANGELES — Quinton Byfield, the second overall pick in the 2020 NHL draft, suffered a lower body injury during the third period of the Los Angeles Kings‘ 4-1 loss to the Arizona Coyotes in a preseason game Tuesday night. The 19-year-old center hit the corner boards awkwardly during

6:00 PM ET ESPN Fantasy With the 2021-22 NHL regular season set to drop the puck on October 12, we reached out to our experts here at ESPN Fantasy Hockey and the NHL on ESPN to get their takes on who are the breakout players they have their eyes on, and which rookies will make

10:20 AM ET Eric GomezMexico writer Over the last three decades, the NHL’s expansion into the American Sun Belt has served to diversify the league’s geography and fan profile. Markets with high Latino populations such as Phoenix, Dallas-Fort Worth and Miami have reaped the benefits. Now, the league is poised to make its next ambitious

8:12 PM ET Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Nashville Predators assistant coach Todd Richards is recovering from a heart attack. The Predators announced Monday that Richards, a former Minnesota and Columbus head coach, had the attack Friday. Richards has been released from a hospital and is resting at home in Nashville. “He is expected to

12:32 PM ET Philadelphia Flyers coach Alain Vigneault pushed back against accusations made by Vegas Golden Knights goalie Robin Lehner that appeared to implicate Vigneault and the Flyers in the medical malpractice of players. Lehner posted a series of tweets on Saturday about the treatment of players by NHL teams in an effort to bring

1:45 AM ET Vegas Golden Knights goalie Robin Lehner accused NHL teams of medical malpractice, including offering benzodiazepines and Ambien to players without prescriptions. Lehner made the allegations on Twitter Saturday in an effort, he told ESPN, to call attention to the surgery stalemate between his former teammate Jack Eichel and the Buffalo Sabres. The

1:45 PM ET Associated Press ARLINGTON, Va. — Washington Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom said Saturday he’s taking his hip injury rehab slowly and doesn’t know when he’ll be able to play. Backstrom has not skated during training camp and seems like a long shot to play in the season opener Oct. 13 against the New

10:02 PM ET Associated Press VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Vancouver Canucks general manager Jim Benning said Friday that defenseman Travis Hamonic isn’t opting out of the NHL season, but has yet to join the team. Benning said in a statement on Twitter that the 31-year-old player “remains at home, dealing with some personal matters” and

6:11 PM ET The Vancouver Canucks have signed young star center Elias Pettersson and defenseman Quinn Hughes, getting both restricted free agents in just under two weeks before the NHL season begins, according to multiple reports and confirmed by ESPN on Friday. Pettersson, 22, agreed to a three-year deal with an average annual value of