EVANDER KANE

The Columbus Blue Jackets landed the biggest prize on the opening day of NHL free agency by signing Johnny Gaudreau to a $68.25 million seven-year contract.

Evgeni Malkin is returning to the Pittsburgh Penguins after all.

Confronted by the harsh reality of the Tampa Bay Lightning moving on from him and with memories still fresh of being on the wrong side of the Stanley Cup championship handshake line, Ryan McDonagh approved a trade to the Nashville Predators. The Predators also lost to the Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche when they were swept out of the first round. In adding McDonagh and re-signing Filip Forsberg, Nashville hopes it’s beginning to close the gap on Colorado.

One Russian Stanley Cup winner is staying put.

The Colorado Avalanche got a key player back with the return of Nazem Kadri for Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Nazem Kadri had three assists in a 2:04 span in the second period, backup Pavel Francouz stopped 24 shots for his second career playoff shutout and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-0 on Thursday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.

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Each of the four teams remaining in the Stanley Cup playoffs has ties to the Detroit Red Wings, some more prominent than others. Longtime Red Wings general manager Ken Holland has reached the final four for the first time since 2009, in his third season with the Oilers. Here is a look at the series:Eastern Conference finalsN.Y. Rangers vs. Tampa BayRegular season: Rangers 52-24-6, 110 points; Lightning 51-23-8, 110 points. Season series: Rangers won 3-0. Season series: Colorado won 2-1-0.

The NHL is wrapping up the first round of the playoffs with a rare treat.

The Los Angeles Kings rebounded from back-to-back blowout losses to even their first-round playoff series with a 4-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 4.

Atlantic Division(2) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (3) Tampa Bay Lightning (Leafs lead 2-1)Time: 7 p.m. Yet, after going up 3-0, the two-time defending Stanley Cup Champs took the game over. Watch the NHL Playoffs on FuboTV (7-day free trial)WESTERN CONFERENCECentral Division(2) Minnesota Wild vs. (3) St. Louis Blues (Wild lead 2-1)Time: 4:30 p.m. Channel: TBSStream: Sling, DirecTV StreamAfter falling in game one, the Wild have answered back with a pair of strong offensive performances. Pacific Division(2) Edmonton Oilers vs. (3) Los Angeles Kings (Oilers lead 2-1)Time: 10 p.m.

Evander Kane picked up his first hat trick in a Stanley Cup playoff game, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman each had two goals, and the Edmonton Oilers dominated the Los Angeles Kings for the second straight game, posting a 8-2 victory in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series.

Evander Kane had a pair of goals and the Edmonton Oilers ended up with a 7-5 victory over the Detroit Red Wings after having an early 3-0 advantage.

The Detroit Red Wings battled back from a disastrous start Tuesday to tie the game twice in the third period but could not complete the comeback. The Red Wings (24-29-7) have lost a season-high six in a row (0-5-1). Raymond has 46 points, the most by a Red Wings rookie since Nicklas Lidstrom recorded 60 points in 1991-92. The Red Wings forced a turnover with their aggressive forechecking, led by Michael Rasmussen. The Red Wings continue their four-game trip Thursday Vancouver (10 p.m., Bally Sports Detroit).

NHL forward Evander Kane is urging Edmonton fans to give him a chance.

The NHL has cleared Evander Kane after an investigation into his cross-border travel during the holiday break, paving the way for him to join the Edmonton Oilers.

A person with direct knowledge of the decision tells The Associated Press that the NHL Players' Association has filed a grievance against the San Jose Sharks for terminating the remainder of Evander Kane’s contract.

The San Jose Sharks have placed forward Evander Kane on unconditional waivers with the intent to terminate the remainder of his $49 million, seven-year contract.

There was a league investigation into whether Kane submitted a fake vaccination card.

Several months after COVID-19 vaccinations were made widely available in the United States, vaccination status continues to disrupt professional and college sports.

The NHL has suspended San Jose Sharks forward Evander Kane for 21 games for submitting a fake COVID-19 vaccination card.

Some of the NHL's stars are not on the ice for the start of training camps.

The company may be wagering that the line between football and gambling will inevitably be erased.

The NHL has found no evidence that San Jose Sharks forward Evander Kane bet on NHL games or tried to throw games after investigating allegations made by his estranged wife.

San Jose Sharks forward Evander Kane has denied allegations his wife made on social media that he bet on NHL games, including against his own team.

The NHL said it will investigate an allegation made by Evander Kane’s wife that the San Jose Sharks forward bet on his own games and has intentionally tried to lose for gambling profit. The league said Saturday night on Twitter that it was made aware of the social media posts by Anna Kane and plans to conduct a full investigation. The NHL said: “The integrity of our game is paramount and the League takes these allegations very seriously.”

Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mark Stone (61) reacts after scoring a goal against the San Jose Sharks during the second period of an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021. San Jose was given the unbalanced schedule because of local restrictions that banned contact sports and practices, forcing the Sharks to hold training camp in Arizona. DEBOER’S RETURNThe game is the first back in San Jose for Vegas coach Peter DeBoer, who was fired by the Sharks in December 2019. He was hired last January by Vegas but hadn’t faced San Jose until Saturday. AdSIMEK SIDELINEDSharks D Radim Simek left in the second period after taking two hard hits from Marchessault.

(AP Photo/Andy Clayton-King, File)The Minnesota Wild traded goalie Devan Dubnyk and forward Ryan Donato to the San Jose Sharks in two separate deals on Monday, continuing their makeover under general manager Bill Guerin. The Sharks sent their fifth-round pick in the 2022 draft for Dubnyk and also received Minnesota's 2022 seventh-rounder in return. The Wild now own two 2021 picks from the Penguins, who traded next year's first-rounder to Minnesota for forward Jason Zucker. Donato, who is the son of former Bruins stalwart Ted Donato, has 29 goals and 28 assists in 130 career NHL games. The 26-year-old Soucy had seven goals, seven assists and a team-leading plus-16 rating in 55 games in his first full NHL season.

Sharks general manager Doug Wilson formally retained Boughner as San Jose's coach Tuesday, removing the interim tag to make him the ninth full-time head coach in franchise history. He’s very open-minded in looking to find solutions.”Boughner also hired Rocky Thompson as his associate coach and John Madden as an assistant coach. Mike Ricci, the former Sharks forward who became an assistant under Boughner, will be an NHL development coach. Thompson succeeded Boughner as the head coach at Windsor in 2015, and he won the Memorial Cup in 2017. He spent the past three seasons as head coach of the AHL's Cleveland Monsters, Columbus' top affiliate.

NBA referees march in support of players seeking an end to racial injustice in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020. Black men, Black women, Black kids. The two other playoff games for that day were also postponed, as were the three games set for Thursday. MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL: Seven games were postponed Thursday, a day after three games were called off. The MLS had no games scheduled for Thursday.

The NHL’s Thursday and Friday playoff games have been postponed in response to the outcry for racial injustice awareness after a Black man was shot by police in Wisconsin. The league said this was the decision of the players not to play the games and that the NHL honors that decision. The NHLPA and the NHL are committed to working to foster more inclusive and welcoming environments within our arenas, offices and beyond.”Statement from the National Hockey League Players’ Association and National Hockey League. The NHL, meanwhile, went ahead with its Stanley Cup playoff games on Wednesday. NHL players did not boycott, and the league allowed the players to make that decision.

NHL players are discussing options to protest racial injustice after the NBA and other professional sports leagues postponed games, according to a person with knowledge of those talks. Players in those leagues were protesting the shooting by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, of Jacob Blake, a Black man. He and Dumba, who gave an anti-racism speech on the opening night of the NHL restart and afterward knelt for the U.S. anthem, called on white players to take action about racial injustice. The NHL Players' Association is having those discussions ahead of two games scheduled for Thursday. Boston captain Zdeno Chara expressed support for NBA players but said it was too close to the 8 p.m. game time for players to have a serious discussion about not taking the ice.

The Hockey Diversity Alliance (HDA) has requested that the NHL suspend its Thursday playoff games in the name of human rights. UPDATE: NHL postpones games in response to outcry for racial justice awarenessSan Jose Sharks forward Evander Kane tweeted on behalf of the HDA:We the @TheOfficialHDA have formally requested the @NHL to suspend all playoff games today. The NHL, meanwhile, went ahead with its Stanley Cup playoff games on Wednesday. NHL players did not boycott, and the league allowed the players to make that decision. On Wednesday, Kane was among the long list of vocal critics of how the NHL and players handled the situation.

Seven current or former black NHL players formed the Hockey Diversity Alliance on Monday, creating another avenue to fight racism and intolerance in the sport. Our mission is to eradicate racism and intolerance in hockey, the group said in a letter. The Hockey Diversity Alliance will be independent of the NHL but hopes to work in tandem with the league to promote diversity and inclusion. He called on white athletes in hockey and others sports to also speak out, and more than 100 NHL players have posted on social media about the subject. In creating our alliance, we are confident we can inspire a new generation of hockey players and fans, the group said.

Kane has called on white athletes to speak up on race issues. Read: Chicago Blackhawks captain Toews issues strong statement on racism, pain, hateThe Detroit Red Wings issued a team statement this week. On Wednesday, the Red Wings shared statements from players Dylan Larkin and Sam Gagne:Larkin is likely just weeks away from being named Red Wings captain -- theyve been without one since Henrik Zetterbergs retirement in 2018. Gagner, meanwhile, just joined the Red Wings this winter through a trade that sent Andreas Athanasiou to Edmonton. Related: Red Wings historically bad season officially cut short -- heres whats next

For the NHL, a league with an overwhelming majority of white athletes, the issue is as important as ever, especially after a season filled with criticism about racism in hockey. Many black hockey players, such as Evander Kane of the San Jose Sharks, have been quick to speak out. Kane has called on white athletes to speak up on race issues. Heres what Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews posted to Instagram this week:"A lot of people may claim these riots and acts of destruction are a terrible response. It has pushed me to think, how much pain are black people and other minorities really feeling?