5:01 PM ET Associated Press SAN JOSE, Calif. — Missing the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time in more than two decades hasn’t altered the course San Jose Sharks general manager Doug Wilson wants to take. Wilson said there’s no need to tear down and rebuild a franchise that was a perennial contender

7:00 AM ET After a bubble-encased 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, we’re back to a more traditional setup for the 2021 postseason. However, there are some tweaks. Thanks to a one-year realignment, the first two rounds will be intra-divisional. Then, the four Cup semifinalists will be re-bracketed based on regular season record, with No. 1 facing

2:53 PM ET The Seattle Kraken have signed their first player. Luke Henman, a 21-year-old center, inked a three-year, entry-level contract with the NHL’s 32nd franchise on Wednesday. Henman, the team captain and leading scorer for Blainville-Boisbriand Armada (QMJHL), was a fourth-round draft pick of the Carolina Hurricanes in 2018. He went unsigned by the

7:00 AM ET The 2021 NHL season was — hopefully — the most unique campaign that any of us will witness. Arenas had reduced numbers of fans — or no fans — and as a result of the U.S.-Canada border being closed, the divisions had to be realigned to sequester the Canadian teams; that decision

11:16 AM ET The New York Rangers fired coach David Quinn and three of his assistant coaches on Wednesday, capping off a wild week and a half for the franchise. In addition to Quinn, assistant coaches David Oliver, Jacques Martin and Greg Brown also were fired, the team announced. Goalie coach Benoit Allaire was the

11:44 PM ET ESPN News Services WASHINGTON — The Washington Capitals got Alex Ovechkin back on the ice feeling “100%” heading into the playoffs. Winning was just a bonus. Michael Raffl scored from a tight angle with 1.8 seconds remaining, Ovechkin saw his first extended action since April 22 and the Capitals beat the short-handed

8:49 PM ET Jeremy WillisESPN.com The Philadelphia Flyers will not be going to the Stanley Cup playoffs and their season ends Monday night. Gritty, the Flyers’ mascot, is using the occasion to reflect on the season: “I got naked (a lot), played in a ball pit, rode a mechanical bull, vacationed in Tahoe, hired (and

7:00 AM ET If there’s anything we know about NHL hiring practices, it’s that they can be predictable. Since 2005-06, there have been 171 head coaching changes in the NHL — more than the NFL, NBA or MLB. However, 101 of the 171 new hires had previous head-coaching experience, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

11:19 PM ET ESPN News Services SUNRISE, Fla. — Daniel Walcott was already excited to be in his first NHL game. He got even more excited when he got to see how his debut would happen. The Tampa Bay Lightning started three Black forwards in their regular-season finale against the Florida Panthers on Monday night,

1:22 PM ET Star center Jack Eichel said there’s a disconnect between himself and the Buffalo Sabres over how his neck injury was handled this season, leaving his future with the franchise very much unsettled. Eichel missed the Sabres’ final 33 games of the season due to a herniated disk in his neck, an injury