8:15 AM ET Greg WyshynskiESPN This dive into my favorite fantasy picks of the season precedes any of my 2018-19 NHL fantasy drafts. Specifying which players you find most enticing before the draft is a bit like entering a poker game with your cards stapled to your forehead, but so be it. Fun. Free. Easy.

10:46 AM ET Associated Press SUNRISE, Fla. — Aleksander Barkov is the new captain of the Florida Panthers. Barkov is taking over for forward Derek MacKenzie, who held the role for the past two seasons. The 23-year-old from Finland becomes the 10th player to be designated as Florida’s captain. The Panthers made the announcement Monday,

10:17 PM ET Associated Press CALGARY, Alberta — Clay Riddell, the billionaire oilman and co-owner of the NHL’s Calgary Flames, has died. He was 81. The Flames and Paramount Resources confirmed his death Sunday, with the oil and natural gas company saying he died Saturday. “We mourn the passing of a great man of industry,

8:11 AM ET The beauty — and perhaps the curse — of ranking NHL prospect systems is the massive amount of fluctuation even just one year can cause. It has a lot to do with players reaching the NHL very quickly more regularly, with the rising talent and the affordable cap hits making too easy

Sep 12, 2018 With the NHL season around the corner, teams are evaluating what they have from a prospect standpoint. Here’s a look at each Central Division team’s prospect pool heading into the 2018-19 NHL season, including the top players in the system. Some ground rules: • Players listed as “A” prospects project more comfortably

Sep 13, 2018 With the NHL season around the corner, NHL teams are evaluating what they have from a prospect standpoint. Here’s a look at each Pacific Division team’s prospect pool heading into the 2018-19 NHL season, including the top players in each system. Some ground rules: • Players listed as “A” prospects project more

5:48 PM ET Associated Press PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan is taking a leave of absence to be with his family following the death of his father, George. The Penguins said George Sullivan, 81, died on Saturday in Scituate, Massachusetts. Assistant coach Jacques Martin will run the day-to-day operations of the coaching staff

7:26 PM ET Associated Press SEATTLE — The Seattle City Council committee created to review plans for the renovation of KeyArena has unanimously approved the final transaction documents, setting the stage for full council approval of the arena plan later this month. The Select Committee on Civic Arenas voted 7-0 Friday to approve the plans

6:23 PM ET Emily KaplanESPN ARLINGTON, Va. — Stanley Cup-winning teams often worry about a championship hangover; a long, taxing playoff run can manifest with a slow start the following season. The Washington Capitals started training camp Friday fielding questions about an actual hangover. After all, since the moment captain Alex Ovechkin carried the Stanley

5:53 PM ET Associated Press ARLINGTON, Va. — The NHL questioned the Washington Capitals about re-signing Brooks Orpik after trading him to Colorado and cleared the Stanley Cup champions of any wrongdoing. General manager Brian MacLellan said the league questioned the Capitals for trading the veteran defenseman and then bringing him back at a cheaper