It looked for a while that the game between the Philadelphia Flyers and Ottawa Senators on March 5, 2004, might come and go without incident. That was a bit surprising because eight days earlier, Ottawa’s Martin Havlat whacked the Flyers’ Mark Recchi in the face with his stick and afterward, heated words and insinuations flew. … Read more
Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon or Nikita Kucherov: Who’s the NHL’s best player? It’s gotta be McDavid, right? Not so fast, a surprising number of NHL players say. “McDavid’s going to get all the votes, I’m sure,” one player told The Athletic. “But I think MacKinnon’s better right now.” The three may well end up in … Read more
Nikita Nesterenko had awakened from an afternoon nap on Monday when he received a cellphone notification. Nesterenko, a former Boston College forward now playing for the American Hockey League’s San Diego Gulls, saw the name of former college teammate Cutter Gauthier pop up in a post sent out by the Anaheim Ducks. “Originally, I felt … Read more
From the moment he was traded to the Anaheim Ducks on Monday, Cutter Gauthier has been pilloried in some circles, with social media-fueled attacks on his character after the Philadelphia Flyers effectively said good riddance to their former prize prospect. Gauthier answered questions Wednesday about the stunning deal, which saw the Flyers trade the 19-year-old … Read more
Seventeen years and more than 1,200 games ago, Andrew Cogliano remembers how difficult it was to traverse the state of California. The Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks were three of the biggest, heaviest teams in the league. If you had to play all three in succession? Well, good luck. Not only … Read more
WENDAKE, Quebec — The line reaches across the lobby to the glass door entrance 15 minutes before warmups for a hockey game in a low-level pro league just north of Quebec City. We pay $12 a ticket at a table next to the Wendake Sports Complex pro shop, where a game-worn Black Jack No. 87 … Read more
