Islanders planning Brooklyn escape to Queens: Report NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 24: Fans gather in the plaza prior to the game between the New York Islanders and the Florida Panthers. (Photo by Mike Stobe/NHLI via Getty Images) Are the New York Islanders planning their escape from Barclays Center? The Islanders are in talks with the Wilpon family, owners of the New York Mets, about building an … [Read more...]

Why NHL fired arbitrator from Dennis Wideman case (GETTY IMAGES) James Oldham has been the neutral arbitrator for the NHL and NHLPA for over a decade, hired to preside over grievances concerning the Collective Bargaining Agreement. But he no longer will. Oldham confirmed to Sports Business Daily’s Liz Mullen that the NHL had dismissed him after he overturned Gary Bettman’s ruling on one of … [Read more...]

Huge if True: How will the Canucks get a scoring winger? Getty Images [Breaking down the plausibility of the week’s biggest rumor.] For some inexplicable reason, the Vancouver Canucks continue to pursue a Jay Feaster-like pursuit of “going for it.” In this case, as in the case of the Calgary Flames several years ago, the “it” is merely making the playoffs, something more than half the teams … [Read more...]

Pavel Datsyuk skate urination video was prank show hoax One Man Show In “Ocean’s Eleven,” the only way the crew could successfully steal $150 million was to get past the most sophisticated security system in the world. And to do so (spoilers!), the key facet of their plan was to recreate Terry Benedict’s vault in a warehouse, as part of an elaborate ruse for the casino cameras. Filming an … [Read more...]

Marcus Johansson, Capitals meet in middle on 3-year deal   NHL It’s always heartwarming when a player and his team avoid some bitter arbitration hearing and work things out beforehand, isn’t it? Marcus Johansson wanted $5.25 million in arbitration. The Capitals were offering $3.85 million. On Wednesday, they agreed on a new three-year deal that pays the winger $13.75 million, or a $4.583 cap … [Read more...]

NHL in Seattle: New hope for arena plans? Getty Images Art Thiel has a theory. The veteran Seattle sports columnist, writing for Sportspress Northwest, sees it this way: Chris Hansen wants the NBA to return to Seattle. He wants to build an arena in the Sodo area of the city, and there’s opposition against it. He also has the clock ticking on a Memorandum of Understanding with the city that … [Read more...]

Wild try to shame Jordan Schroeder into contract surrender Getty Images Jordan Schroeder hasn’t exactly lit the NHL on fire during his four-year career, after being taken 22nd overall in 2009 by the Vancouver Canucks. He has 27 points in 107 games, including four points in 26 games with the Minnesota Wild last season, playing an average of 9:25 per game. But it’s within the 25-year-old … [Read more...]

John Tortorella talks Team USA winning World Cup in Canada Tortorella When it comes to the World Cup of Hockey, trying to determine each team’s driving motivations for an exhibition tournament in September has been fun. The Swedes want to beat the Finnish, and vice versa. Team North America wants to defeat their elders. Everyone wants to beat the Russian (as usual). And, just like in 2010, … [Read more...]

Are NHL teams moving away from analytics? Predators Matt Pfeffer is the analytics consultant who argued against the P.K. Subban trade and was subsequently let go by the Montreal Canadiens. And while “I was against the Subban for Shea Weber trade” isn’t exactly “I voted against the war in Iraq” on the against-the-grain scale, history is likely to prove him right and his former employers … [Read more...]

What We Learned: How Jamie Benn's deal affects Tavares, Marchand Jamie Benn No one needs to be convinced of Jamie Benn’s credentials for a bank-breaking contract. When most people heard “eight years at $9.5 million per,” it speaks to the quality of his play that the general reaction was, “Yeah, that sounds about right.” Here is a kid who turns 27 today, who led the league in scoring two … [Read more...]