NHL Hockey 3d Briefing
×Player Updates
Blues forward Robert Thomas espn.com will take a temporary leave of absence for personal reasons. Penguins captain Sidney Crosby espn.com will miss at least four weeks after being placed on injured reserve. Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov espn.com has set a target date for his season debut after September knee surgery. Stars forward Mikko Rantanen espn.com will be out for an extended period following an Olympic lower-body injury.
Olympic Impact
The United States' Olympic hockey gold medal win over Canada drew an average audience of 26 million viewers on NBC and Peacock in the U.S. U.S. men's Olympic team goaltender Connor Hellebuyck espn.com will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The gold medal-winning U.S. men's hockey team visited President Donald Trump at the White House and received a bipartisan standing ovation during the State of the Union address. The Hughes brothers espn.com addressed controversy over President Trump's comments about the women's hockey team.
Team Moves
The Kraken espn.com agreed to two-year contract extensions with forwards Ben Meyers and Ryan Winterton. The Penguins espn.com traded defenseman Brett Kulak to the NHL-best Avalanche for Samuel Girard and a 2028 pick. Kulak had been traded to Pittsburgh just in December.
Playoff Picture
With Olympic medals awarded, teams are now in a sprint to the end of the regular season. Several Olympic standouts and disappointments emerged from all 32 NHL teams during the tournament in Milan Cortina. Fantasy hockey analysts recommend adding certain players like Dostal and Laferriere following the Olympic break.