7:54 PM ET The NHL anticipates 30 of its 32 arenas will open at 100% capacity for the 2021-22 season, according to a memo circulated to teams this week. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Montreal Canadiens are expected to open at 33% capacity, or around 7,500 fans. The Vancouver Canucks will open at less than

7:22 PM ET Associated Press SEATTLE — It didn’t take long for Mark Giordano to get years of seeing red out of his system. The former longtime Calgary Flames defenseman didn’t even flinch Thursday while pulling on the jersey of a different team for the first time in his career. Give an assist to his

11:34 AM ET Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin will miss at least the first two months of the 2021-22 NHL season as he recovers from knee surgery, general manager Ron Hextall announced on Thursday. Pittsburgh will begin its season without its two biggest stars; captain Sidney Crosby is sidelined as he recovers from wrist surgery

7:00 AM ET Everyone has their favorite harbingers that a new NHL season is upon us. Fresh ice. Awkward player photos. Unsigned restricted free-agents threatening to sit out of meaningless games. Optimism in Toronto. Mine? The preseason penalty crackdown. Every year, the NHL’s hockey operations department, egged on by disgruntled and aggrieved general managers, zeroes

7:22 PM ET The NHL completed its gambling investigation of Evander Kane and said it has found no evidence that the San Jose Sharks forward bet on his own games. The investigation, which was conducted by Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP, in conjunction with NHL Security, was spurred by allegations in social media posts

1:32 PM ET Associated Press EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Goalie Cal Petersen has agreed to a three-year, $15 million contract extension with the Los Angeles Kings, the team announced Wednesday. Petersen’s extension begins in the 2022-23 season. He will play the upcoming season under a three-year, $2.575 million deal signed in July 2019. Petersen went

7:00 PM ET The Minnesota Wild and star forward Kirill Kaprizov ended their contract drama, as the restricted free agent signed a five-year, $45 million extension on Tuesday. The team announced the deal, which carries an average annual value of $9 million through the 2025-26 season, an extraordinary cap number for a player with just

6:38 PM ET Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Columbus Blue Jackets signed goaltender Elvis Merzlikins to a five-year, $27 million contract extension, the team announced Tuesday. Merzlikins will be in the final year of a two-year contract this season with a cap hit of $4 million. The new contract locks him up through the

1:46 PM ET The Columbus Blue Jackets announced that forward Zac Rinaldo will not be invited to their training camp because he’s unvaccinated against COVID-19. “Forward Zac Rinaldo, who we signed to a two-way contract this summer, is not vaccinated and because of that — and that’s his decision — the plan is to start

6:00 PM ET Associated Press TEMPE, Ariz. — The Arizona Coyotes have proposed a $1.7 billion development in Tempe that will include a hockey arena. Renderings released Monday by the Coyotes include proposed restaurants, shops and apartments on a 46-acre tract of land near downtown. The team said the arena would be funded by private