Hockey fans pining for best-on-best international competition finally have something to look forward to.

The NHL, NHLPA, and IIHF announced on Friday that the world's top players will participate in the 2026 and 2030 Olympics. Plans for the 4 Nations Face-Off in 2025 were also finalized.

The NHL hasn't participated in a best-on-best tournament since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. Players haven't been to the Olympics since Sochi in 2014. An agreement for them to attend the 2022 Games in Beijing was foiled by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 4 Nations Face-Off will feature Canada, the United States, Finland, and Sweden. It's set to take place over nine days next February in two North American cities and will include a three-game round robin before a winner-take-all final. The tournament will void next year's All-Star festivities.

The NHL and NHLPA hope Friday's announcements will launch a new international calendar that would include a best-on-best tournament every two years. The organizations intend to host full World Cups in 2028 and 2032, per TSN's Pierre LeBrun.

Russia's status for 2026 Olympic hockey is up in the air, but IIHF president Luc Tardif said there will be a council meeting next week to determine if the country can participate in any sooner events, such as this year's world championships.

The 2026 Olympics are set to take place in Milan, Italy, and Tardif said the 2030 Games will be in France, according to Stephen Whyno of The Associated Press.

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The Los Angeles Kings fired head coach Todd McLellan on Friday and named Jim Hiller his interim replacement.

McLellan was in his fifth season with the club. Los Angeles has dropped to the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference after losing 14 of its last 17 games leading up to the All-Star break.

More to come.

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Elias Lindholm is pleased to put trade rumors behind him after being dealt from the Calgary Flames to the Vancouver Canucks earlier this week.

"Kinda had this in the back of my mind for a long time. So, I'm kinda happy it's over with," Lindholm said at All-Star festivities Thursday, according to Sportsnet's Luke Fox. "Get a fresh start. Go to a really good team. Hopefully, we can continue to do what they've been doing and have some fun later on."

Lindholm added, "I was ready. I was prepared for anything."

The Canucks acquired Lindholm for Andrei Kuzmenko, two picks, and two prospects to supplement a first-place roster looking to do damage in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Lindholm, a pending free agent, had been rumored to be a prime trade candidate since the end of Calgary's disappointing 2022-23 season. The Flames, currently six points back of a wild-card spot, have already sold off fellow pending UFAs Tyler Toffoli and Nikita Zadorov since Craig Conroy took over as general manager.

Calgary may not be done dealing, as Chris Tanev and Noah Hanifin are expected to generate buzz before the March 8 deadline as well.

Lindholm admitted he hasn't begun to think about potentially signing an extension with the Canucks, but the move to the West's top seed has him energized.

"Going to Vancouver, one of the best teams in the league. So many good players, good goaltending, good defensemen," Lindholm said. "I'm super excited and can't wait to get started."

Lindholm has registered 32 points in 49 games this season and is expected to be used in all situations for the Canucks.

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Getting ahead of the market the Canucks put themselves in a good position acquiring Elias Lindholm well ahead of the trade deadline. It's gives the team more time to allow him to find his fit in Vancouver. Plus Sat and Israel debate this week's overrated/underrated topics. 

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

Now that the Canucks have acquired Elias Lindholm, Sat Shah and Israel Fehr discuss what needs need to be addressed to fine tune the Canucks roster leading up to the trade deadline. Plus hear Patrik Allvin's press conference since the Lindholm trade. 

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

The NHL All-Star Player Draft returned for the first time since 2015 on Thursday night, as four captains took turns selecting their teams for Saturday's three-on-three tournament in Toronto.

The assistant captains had already been named along with the captains and celebrities in January.

For the final four picks, Toronto Maple Leafs legend Dave Keon handed out envelopes for each of the teams to select at random.

Here's how it went down:

Team Hughes

Captain: Quinn Hughes
Assistant: Elias Pettersson
Celebrity: Michael Bublé

Hughes nabbed the NHL's current 2023-24 points leader with the first overall pick, and the Vancouver star brought his goaltender into the fold with his second one. Hughes and Pettersson secured Boeser and Miller later on but weren't able to bring their newest teammate - a certain trade acquisition - into the fold. The Orlando-born Hughes picked six Americans: Demko, Connor, Tkachuk, Boeser, Miller, and Vatrano.

Team Matthews

Captain: Auston Matthews
Assistant: Morgan Rielly
Celebrity: Justin Bieber

Matthews and Rielly predictably employed a similar strategy to that of Team Hughes, making sure to snatch up their fellow Maple Leafs with their first two picks. The California-born, Arizona-raised Matthews also chose several of his countrymen: Oettinger, Keller, DeBrincat, and Trocheck.

Team MacKinnon

Captain: Nathan MacKinnon
Assistant: Cale Makar
Celebrity: Tate McRae

Just as we predicted Wednesday, MacKinnon took fellow Nova Scotian (and one of his offseason training partners) Crosby at his first opportunity. McRae, who's from Calgary, drafted the suddenly ex-Flame and now-Canuck, Lindholm, with the team's penultimate pick - much to the chagrin of Team Hughes.

Team McDavid

Captain: Connor McDavid
Assistant: Leon Draisaitl
Celebrity: Will Arnett

McDavid started things off by hauling in his namesake in goal but couldn't complete the Connor trifecta as Team Hughes snapped up Kyle a couple rounds later. McDavid - again, as we predicted - landed the goal-scorers ranked second (Reinhart) and third (Pastrnak) in the NHL this season, so this squad boasts plenty of firepower up top.

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The Philadelphia Flyers are unexpectedly in a playoff spot at the All-Star break, putting an anticipated trade-deadline seller in an unclear position.

One Flyer who may still be on the market is forward Scott Laughton. General manager Daniel Briere isn't eager to trade the 29-year-old but is taking calls to gauge interest from other teams, TSN's Darren Dreger reports.

Laughton has five goals and 20 points in 50 games this season after tallying a career-high 18 goals and 43 points in 2022-23. He's signed for two more years at a $3-million cap hit and has no trade protection.

As the Flyers have trended upward in the standings, Laughton's underlying metrics have gone in the opposite direction. His 44.2% Corsi For rating at five-on-five ranks second-last on the Flyers, according to Natural Stat Trick. He's been outscored 17-32 at even strength as well.

Laughton is one of the Flyers' top penalty killers, ranking second among Philadelphia forwards with 1:51 of shorthanded time per game.

A left-handed center, Laughton has won 49.7% of his 578 faceoffs this season. He's a career 49.8% at the dot.

The Flyers have been busy reshaping their roster since Briere took over in March 2023. Last summer, Philadelphia dealt Ivan Provorov and Kevin Hayes. Recently, disgruntled prospect Cutter Gauthier was traded for a package including Jamie Drysdale.

Briere also took care of a pair of restricted free agents on Jan. 26, signing Owen Tippett to a six-year pact with a $6.2-million average annual value and Ryan Poehling to a two-year deal with a $1.9-million cap hit.

The Flyers sit third in the Metropolitan Division with a 25-19-6 record.

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