11:34 AM ET ESPN News Services The New Jersey Devils have hired veteran coach Lindy Ruff as coach of one of the NHL’s youngest teams and removed the interim tag off Tom Fitzgerald’s title as general manager. The Devils have scheduled a 1 p.m. ET conference call. Ruff has been an assistant coach with the

7:20 AM ET Emily Cave Editor’s note: Edmonton Oilers forward Colby Cave died on April 11, after suffering a brain bleed earlier in the week. He was 25. His wife Emily shares her story here, as told to ESPN’s Emily Kaplan. When the hockey season paused for coronavirus, Colby and I returned to Canada. He

7:00 AM ET My favorite thing about the “return to play” documents released by the NHL and the NHLPA this week — besides the whole “here’s a way to bring hockey back this summer” thing — is the subtle renaming of their “hubs” as the much more heavy metal “Phase 4 Secure Zone,” which sounds

8:35 PM ET The NHL is targeting Dec. 1 as the start of the 2020-21 season, according to a memorandum of understanding obtained by ESPN that is being voted on by NHL players. The league’s board of governors also must approve it. The NHL Players’ Association on Wednesday began a full membership vote on a

3:50 PM ET Associated Press BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Buffalo Sabres dropped their lawsuit against the federal government after immigration officials reversed course by approving the team’s strength and conditioning coach’s petition for a green card. “The matter has been resolved amicably between both parties,” with Ed Gannon receiving approval for an EB-1 visa, the

1:12 PM ET Associated Press GLENDALE, Ariz. — Oliver Ekman-Larsson had knee surgery last summer, fully expecting it to help him have a healthy 2019-20 season. The Arizona Coyotes captain instead played with lingering pain, never able to fully recover. The NHL’s shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic was a huge letdown, but it at

7:00 AM ET NHL Insiders The 2020 NHL playoffs will be unlike any postseason that preceded them — and perhaps the last 24-team tourney the league stages for some time. But as with any edition of the Stanley Cup playoffs, goaltending will be a deciding factor on which teams advance, and which teams leave their

5:22 PM ET Associated Press International Ice Hockey Federation chief Rene’ Fasel is encouraged after learning the NHL’s pending labor deal opens the possibility of the world’s best players returning to the Olympics. Aside from the uncertainty raised by the coronavirus pandemic, Fasel told The Associated Press he doesn’t foresee any major stumbling blocks that

9:33 PM ET Associated Press CHICAGO — The Chicago Blackhawks say they will continue to use their team name because it honors a Native American leader who has been an inspiration to generations. “The Chicago Blackhawks name and logo symbolizes an important and historic person, Black Hawk of Illinois’ Sac & Fox Nation, whose leadership

7:00 AM ET The NHL’s 24-team tournament this summer promises to be one of the most unpredictable — if not fascinating — postseasons for hockey ever. The paused season due to the coronavirus pandemic provided significant extra time for injured stars to mend, and there are a number of intriguing lineup decisions that could have