The NHL and Turner Sports agreed to a seven-year media rights deal that includes regular-season, playoff, and Stanley Cup Final games televised on TNT and TBS beginning next season and running through 2027-28, the league announced Tuesday.
Turner Sports joins the Walt Disney Co. and ESPN - they agreed to a deal with the NHL in March - as the league's national media rights partners in the U.S. over the next seven seasons.
The company will air the Winter Classic in all seven campaigns; the Stanley Cup Final in 2023, 2025, and 2027; half of the playoffs; and 72 regular-season games. ABC will televise the Stanley Cup Final in 2022, 2024, 2026, and 2028 as part of the agreement with ESPN.
NBC is in the final season of a 10-year contract with the NHL and has been the league's national media rights partner since 2005. The company announced earlier this year that it didn't have plans to renew its deal.
Calgary Flames defenseman Noah Hanifin requires season-ending shoulder surgery for an injury he suffered during Saturday's contest against the Montreal Canadiens, the team announced Monday.
The injury occurred in the opening minutes of play. Hanifin headed straight to the locker room and didn't return.
Hanifin, 24, ranks fourth on the team in ice time per game (20:01) and has contributed four goals and 15 points over 47 outings this season.
The 6-foot-3 rearguard and defense partner Chris Tanev had formed one of the league's strongest pairings this season. Calgary owned a 59.27% share of expected goals for at five-on-five with the duo on the ice, which ranks second among all defense pairings with a minimum of 300 minutes played together, according to Natural Stat Trick.
The Flames have won five of their last seven games to put themselves back in the playoff race with nine contests remaining.
Winnipeg Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers will miss the rest of the regular season with an upper-body injury, head coach Paul Maurice said Monday.
Ehlers suffered the ailment Saturday after receiving a hit from Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Jake Muzzin, although he finished the contest.
The dynamic winger was enjoying a career campaign. Ehlers ranked second on the club in both goals (21) and points (46) through 47 games. He was playing at a career-best 36-goal pace over a full 82-game season.
The 29-year-old winger announced his retirement Monday after 10 NHL seasons, citing multiple concussions as the primary reason for hanging up his skates.
"There comes a time when every athlete needs to realize that health is a priority and a future with their family is most important," Shaw said. "That time for me is now.
"After several concussions, the doctors strongly recommend that I stop playing the game that I love, and for the first time in my life, I'm going to listen."
Shaw played just 14 games this campaign, with his last contest coming Feb. 9. He'll be placed on long-term injured reserve until his contract expires after next season.
The Ontario native, who was originally passed on twice in the NHL draft, was selected by Chicago in the fifth round in 2011. He carved out a memorable career with the Blackhawks and Montreal Canadiens.
Shaw tallied 116 goals and 247 points in 544 games between the two clubs and captured a pair of Stanley Cups with Chicago in 2013 and 2015.
Stillman, 23, was set to become a restricted free agent this offseason.
The Blackhawks acquired the 6-foot-1 blue-liner from the Florida Panthers in April. He's appeared in six games for Chicago, registering 16 hits while averaging 16:43 of ice time.
Originally selected by Florida in the fourth round of the 2016 draft, Stillman has notched five assists over 49 NHL contests.
— Here's Your Replay ⬇️ (@HeresYourReplay) April 19, 2021
This marks the third time Edler has been suspended during his 15-year NHL career. He missed three games for a hit to the head of San Jose Sharks forward Tomas Hertl during the 2013-14 campaign.
The 34-year-old was also suspended while representing Sweden at the 2013 world championships for kneeing Canadian forward Eric Staal. The ban carried over to the 2014 Sochi Olympics, causing Edler to miss the opening contest of the tournament.
Hyman, 28, is playing at a personal-best 29-goal pace over a full 82-game season. He's also averaging a career-high 19:22 of ice time per game and leads all Maple Leafs forwards with 69 hits.
"We just hope (Hyman) is ok," Maple Leafs captain John Tavares said after the game, according to Postmedia's Lance Hornby. "The elements he brings to our team, you can't replace.
"He's battled through so many things since I've been here. He was optimistic in the room (after), hopefully it's not serious."
The Canucks - who were playing their first game in nearly a month due to a COVID-19 outbreak - won the contest 3-2 in overtime.
Vancouver Canucks defenseman Alex Edler will have a hearing with the league Monday after kneeing Toronto Maple Leafs forward Zach Hyman during Sunday's contest, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced.
Edler received a five-minute major and a game misconduct on the play, while Hyman left the game and did not return.
Lyubushkin, 27, was set to become an unrestricted free agent in July.
The 6-foot-2 blue-liner has contributed one goal and one assist while averaging 15:30 of ice time over 31 outings this season. He also leads Coyotes defensemen with 77 hits.
Holloway, 19, was selected by Edmonton with the 14th overall pick at the 2020 NHL Draft.
The 6-foot-1 pivot tallied 11 goals and 35 points through 23 games during his sophomore season with the Wisconsin Badgers and was named to the All-Big Ten First Team.
Holloway also represented Team Canada at the 2021 world juniors, contributing one goal and one assist en route to earning a silver medal.
Welcome to the 13th edition of "Looking North," our weekly Friday dive into the all-Canadian division. This installment dates back to April 9.
There's no shortage of North Division plots to follow heading into the final stretch of the season. With many fresh faces entering the race following the trade deadline, we're in for quite the finish.
The Calgary Flames kept themselves in playoff contention with three straight wins last week. Calgary is 8-10-1 since hiring Darryl Sutter, but perhaps this group is starting to find its legs under Sutter's approach. Has the club found another gear? Or will it cool off and fizzle out down the stretch?
Meanwhile, the Winnipeg Jets tightened the gap behind the first-place Maple Leafs with a big win over Toronto on Thursday. After losing three straight games, the Leafs are just three points ahead of Winnipeg with three contests remaining between the sides.
The Ottawa Senators continue to show signs of improvement, while the Montreal Canadiens have struggled to gain momentum. Montreal picked up an impressive 4-2 victory over Toronto before laying an egg against Calgary at home two nights later.
With just one game on their schedule, the Edmonton Oilers have been idle since Saturday's loss to the Flames, and the Vancouver Canucks remain sidelined due to the club's COVID-19 outbreak.
The rundown
Team
Points over last week
Flames
6 (3-0-0)
Jets
6 (3-1-0)
Maple Leafs
3 (1-2-1)
Canadiens
2 (1-2-0)
Senators
2 (1-2-0)
Oilers
0 (0-1-0)
Canucks
0 (0-0-0)*
*The NHL postponed all of the Canucks' games since last Friday.
The stars
Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / Getty
Forward: Nik Ehlers was dynamite once again last week for the Jets. The 6-foot winger led the club with four goals, including a pair of tallies in Winnipeg's big win against the Maple Leafs on Thursday.
Defense: Like a true captain, Mark Giordano got the Flames rolling with time running out to salvage their season. The veteran rearguard tallied two goals and five points, and Calgary owned an expected goals for percentage of 57.52 at five-on-five with him patrolling the ice.
Goaltender: Jacob Markstrom has started to look more like the $36-million netminder the Flames were expecting. The Swedish puck-stopper collected all three wins for the club last week and allowed just three goals on 70 shots for a sparkling .967 save percentage. If Markstrom can catch fire down the stretch, Calgary's playoff hopes are still very much alive.
Canadian of the week
Mark Blinch / National Hockey League / Getty
Mark Scheifele has been invaluable to the Jets' success all season, but the 28-year-old has taken his game up another level with captain Blake Wheeler sidelined with a concussion. Scheifele, who sits seventh in league scoring, added to his team-leading point total with two goals and four helpers through four outings last week. The Ontario native is also riding a six-game point streak. Winnipeg is tough to stop when Scheifele is at the top of his game.
The moments
Lucic celebrates game No. 1,000 the old-fashioned way 🥊
Milan Lucic had a milestone night to remember. The veteran set up the club's first goal before dropping the mitts with Leafs forward Scott Sabourin. Lucic picked up a trophy scar in the seemingly commemorative tilt, which seems only fitting for one of his generation's toughest competitors.
— Here's Your Replay ⬇️ (@HeresYourReplay) April 13, 2021
Matthews makes goal-scoring history🚨
Auston Matthews was firing on all cylinders once again this week, and his hat trick against the Senators was one for the record books. On his second tally of the night - which came just 39 seconds after his first - Matthews became the first U.S.-born player to net 30 goals in each of his first five campaigns.
Former Flames netminder David Rittich knows all about Johnny Gaudreau's world-class mitts, and it took less than one minute into overtime for "Johnny Hockey" to put them on display. Gaudreau beat Rittich with a silky dangle, which the Czech netminder had likely seen plenty of times in practice, to lift the Flames over the Leafs and spoil Rittich's debut with Toronto.
— Here's Your Replay ⬇️ (@HeresYourReplay) April 14, 2021
The question
Will the Canucks finish their season? They've endured a difficult COVID-19 outbreak and some players have voiced the need for more recovery time. The NHL can only expand its window so long, and Vancouver is already all but out of the playoff race.
Stat of the week
Rittichbecame the first goalie since Steve Passmore in March 2001 to be traded and play his former team in his first game with his new club. The Czech puck-stopper was steady in his Maple Leafs debut, turning aside 25 of 28 shots in the overtime loss to Calgary.
Games to watch
The Flames can move within two points of the Canadiens when the clubs meet in Montreal on Friday. The Habs have a few games in hand, but they can't afford to get too comfortable down the stretch.
Meanwhile, the Jets continue their push for the top spot in the division with a matchup with the Oilers on Saturday before opening a critical three-game set at home against the Maple Leafs on Wednesday.
