NHL Central

Even though the NHL trade deadline isn't until March 5, the Dallas Stars decided not to wait to upgrade their roster by acquiring Mikael Granlund and Cody Ceci from the San Jose Sharks.

The Stars announced on Saturday that the team acquired Granlund and Ceci from the Sharks in exchange for a 2025 first-round draft pick and a conditional 2025 third-round pick.

The Stars advanced to the Western Conference Finals in each of the past two seasons by having one of the most balanced teams in the NHL. They were top eight in goals for and goals allowed in both seasons.

While the defense remains a strength in Dallas with the third-fewest goals allowed per game this season, the offense has been inconsistent. Head coach Peter DeBoer's team enters Saturday ranked 10th in goals per game.

The unit hasn't fallen so far that it would be hard to see the Stars competing with the top teams in the West in a playoff series, but it doesn't hurt to add more scoring power to the front line with Granlund.

It looks even better when you add Ceci into the equation since he can add much-needed depth to the Stars' ailing defenseman rotation. Miro Heiskanen is out of action with a knee injury suffered in Tuesday's overtime win over the Vegas Golden Knights, but general manager Jim Nill told LeBrun they're "pretty optimistic" he will be back for the postseason.

Nill announced on Saturday that Nils Lundkvist had season-ending shoulder surgery. Tyler Seguin was also placed on long-term injured reserve due to a hip injury that required surgery in December with an estimated recovery time of four to six months. He could be back on the ice for the start of the playoffs in April if he's on the short end of the timeframe.

Granlund was leading the Sharks with 45 points in 52 games this season. Ceci has appeared in all 54 games so far this season. His average ice time per game of 21:46 is on pace to be his most since the 2018-19 campaign.

Both players are set to become free agents after this season and didn't seem to have a long-term future in San Jose with a rebuilding club, so they get the opportunity to join a Stanley Cup contender for the stretch run.

Dallas is currently in second place in the Central Division with 67 points, eight behind the Winnipeg Jets for the top spot. The Stars are also trying to fight off the Minnesota Wild (66 points) and Colorado Avalanche (62 points).

The Sharks did a good job of adding an extra first-round pick plus a mid-round selection as they continue to fill out their talent pool around 2024 No. 1 overall pick Macklin Celebrini.

The Utah Hockey Club is reconsidering adopting "Utah Outlaws" as a team name following fan feedback.

The NHL's newest hockey team said Thursday night the first night of in-arena fan voting made it "clear" the Outlaws should be considered over the Wasatch, a Utah mountain range.

Fans will now be able to choose between the Utah Outlaws, Utah Mammoth and Utah Hockey Club when voting for the club's permanent name at Delta Center.

Fans will get three more chances to vote for their favorite name during Friday's game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Sunday's game against the St. Louis Blues and Tuesday's game against the Philadelphia Flyers.

The NHL's newest club, which entered the 2024-25 season with Utah Hockey Club intended only as a temporary name, originally appeared to be leaning in a different nickname direction.

Clayton Keller told NHL.com's Mike Zeisberger ahead of the team's inaugural season the final team name "sounds like it's going to be the Yeti."

Utah then ran into trademark issues with the proposed nickname. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office denied in early January the franchise's attempt to trademark the brand, citing a "likelihood of confusion" with other brands including the drinkware and cooler brand YETI.

Utah's ownership group, the Smith Entertainment Group, said in a statement YETI "was ultimately unwilling to agree to a co-existence agreement" that would allow the hockey team to use the name on merchandise.

Yeti was then left off the original list of three finalists listed during Wednesday night's fan vote at Delta Center during Utah's game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

SEG executive Mike Maughan said the name Wasatch was originally chosen to fill the Yeti's slot as part of an attempt to keep a "Utah-centric" name on the list, per John Coon of the Associated Press.

The SEG has been polling fans for their opinions on team names since last spring. Wasatch was not on the original list of team names offered to fans, who voted for the Yeti, Mammoth, Outlaws and HC alongside the Blizzard and Venom as finalists.

Voting for the team names will take place on iPads set up on every floor of Delta Center, which are available from when doors open to the end of the game, according to Belle Fraser of the Salt Lake Tribune. Fraser noted fans taking the survey were asked not to use their phones while voting "to prevent the spreading of the logos."

Utah still plans to commit to a permanent name ahead of the 2025-26 season, according to SEG.

Colorado Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland said it was a "tough business decision" to trade star winger Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes in the final year of his contract.

"It's a bittersweet day," MacFarland told reporters Saturday (h/t DNVR Avalanche.) "Mikko is a decorated player for us. He's an elite winger in this league. So, it was a tough few days, but we just felt the timing was right, and when the last few days it kind of came together— we decided to act yesterday, but it wasn't without a lot of serious thought, I can assure you of that."

MacFarland continued: "It was just a tough business decision here for us, and we just felt the pieces we got, it made sense to strike now."

The Avalanche acquired former Hurricanes forwards Jack Drury and Martin Nečas, along with a 2025 second-rounder and 2026 fourth-rounder, in a three-team trade on Friday that also involved the Chicago Blackhawks.

Rantanen, who had played parts of 10 seasons with the Avalanche, was a key part of the team's run to the 2022 Stanley Cup as a formidable offensive duo with Nathan MacKinnon.

He is coming off of back-to-back 40-goal, 100-point seasons, and at the time of the trade ranked sixth in the NHL with 64 points in 49 games.

But Rantanen is also playing in the final year of the six-year, $9.25 million AAV contract he signed with the Avs ahead of the 2019-20 season.

According to ESPN's Greg Wyshynski, Rantanen was seeking an extension "in the neighborhood" of the eight-year, $14 million AAV deal Leon Draisaitl inked with the Edmonton Oilers last September.

Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman wrote after the trade that Draisaitl's deal "altered the negotiations" between the Avs and Rantanen.

According to Friedman, the Avalanche "just weren't willing to go in that area" in part because of their commitments to MacKinnon and Cale Makar. MacKinnon is signed through the 2030-31 season at a $12.6 million AAV. Cale Makar is locked in at $9 million per year for two more seasons, but will need a raise by 2027-28.

Rantanen is represented by the same agent as Draisaitl. Falling short of his camp's expectations could have meant the Avs risked losing him for nothing in free agency this summer.

Instead, the Avs will take on Hall's expiring deal alongside a pair of two-year contracts with Nečas ($6.5 million AAV) and Drury ($1.725 million AAV) in exchange for parting with Rantanen.

"Mikko earned the right to be an unrestricted free agent, and he's five months away from that," MacFarland told reporters. "You've got to make these hard decisions, the player has to make them, and the club has to make them. And that's what we did."

"And getting two cost-controlled assets was important. We felt we got a top-six guy, and a good bottom-six guy, and away we go."

The Hurricanes, on the other hand, are apparently hoping to convince Rantanen to sign his next deal in Carolina.

Hurricanes general manager Eric Tulsky described the team's extension talks with Rantanen on Saturday as "more of a recruiting pitch than a negotiation," according to ESPN's Greg Wyshynski.

"If he gets to free agency, I'm sure there will be teams that will pay him a lot of money, and so our job in the next weeks and months is to make it so he wants to be here," Tulsky said, per Wyshynski. "He has the right as a free agent to decide where to sign and it may not come down to the money for him.

"It may come down to where he wants to be. So our goal is to make him want to be here and then offer enough money that he doesn't have to think twice about it."

Meanwhile, MacFarland indicated the Avalanche may not be done making trades ahead of the March 7 trade deadline.

"There's a little more bullets in the draft pick cupboards, and some cap space... we'll continue to look, and if something makes sense, then we'll certainly strike," MacFarland said.

The Avs saved just over $1 million in cap space with the trade, PuckPedia reports. The team has about $5.6 million remaining in LTIR space, although that number will decrease when Avalanche winger Miles Wood returns from the back injury that has sidelined him since November, per PuckPedia.

The NHL's newest club may not enter the 2025-26 NHL season as the Utah Yeti or Utah Yetis.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rejected the Utah Hockey Club's application for the name, according to KSL's Ryan Miller.

Additionally, Utah struck out on the Blizzard, Outlaws, Mammoth, Venom and HC names, according to The Athletic's Chris Johnston. The team "has three months from the dates of the refusals to address various concerns and move forward with the trademark process. The Mammoth refusal came in November and the rest in January," Johnston added.

The USPTO cited "likelihood of confusion" with other registered logos, including that of the drinkware and cooler brand YETI, in their Jan. 9 denial, according to Miller.

The Utah Hockey Club says it still expects to take on a new name ahead of its second season in the league.

"We will continue to involve the community in the final stages of the naming and branding process and are fully on track with our plans to announce a permanent name and identity ahead of the 2025-26 NHL season," president of hockey operations Chris Armstrong said in a Thursday statement, per ESPN's Greg Wyshynski.

The Yetis were one of six final candidates for team names decided by the franchise's online poll last summer. Other final options included the Utah Hockey Club as well as the Utah Blizzard, Utah Mammoth, Utah Outlaws and Utah Venom.

Utah has also run into trademark issues surrounding Blizzard and Venom, both of which were rejected by USPTO due to "likelihood of confusion," per Miller.

The club also hasn't been able to trademark Utah Hockey Club, but could ostensibly still register the Utah HC, Mammoth or Outlaws names, according to Miller.

Original surveys included more than a dozen other options for team names including the Blast, Powder, Mountaineers, Caribou, Squall, Hive, Freeze, Fury, Glaciers, Canyons and Ice.

According to Wyshynski, it was "widely expected, even among Utah players," that the club would enter the 2024-25 season as the Yeti or Yetis.

Utah forward Clayton Keller said in September ahead of the club's inaugural season that it "sounds like it's going to be the Yeti" going forward.

Although Armstrong did not confirm which name the club was leaning toward, he said in December that Utah was "deep in the design process" for next season's jerseys.

There is still a chance the Utah Hockey Club could petition USPTO for the Yeti or Yetis name. The team has three months from the date of the Jan. 9 denial to further its argument for the trademark claim, according to Miller.

The Utah Hockey Club entered the NHL ahead of the 2024-25 season after the Arizona Coyotes relocated to Salt Lake City. The franchise went into its inaugural season with a temporary name and branding, in anticipation of unveiling a permanent identity ahead of the 2025-26 campaign.

Whichever nickname ends up being the final choice, it looks like the franchise plans to stick with Utah rather than Salt Lake City as the first part of their next team name.

The St. Louis Blues dominated the Chicago Blackhawks 6-2 during the NHL Winter Classic at Wrigley Field on Tuesday.

The Blackhawks have infamously struggled in the Winter Classic, with their record dropping to 1-6 and registering just 17 goals over seven games in the outdoor series.

In his 1,000th game, defenseman Cam Fowler led the Blues in scoring with two goals on two shots, adding one blocked shot to his performance to help with the victory.

Despite the lack of competition, fans were in awe of Wrigley Field in its new look: transformed into a winter wonderland for the Winter Classic, with the iconic ballpark serving as a stunning backdrop for the outdoor game:

The first period kicked off with an early goal from Blues' Fowler, assisted by Pavel Buchnevich and Robert Thomas, just 1:40 into the game. Blues center Jordan Kyrou extended the lead to 2-0 with a wrist shot, assisted by Jake Neighbours.

Late in the first, left wing Taylor Hall scored for the Blackhawks on a snap shot, stopping the bleeding as the Blues held a 2-1 lead entering the second period.

The third period was all Blues as defensemen Justin Faulk and left wing Dylan Holloway scored and Fowler found his second goal of the day, giving the Blues a 5-1 lead entering the final period.

Blackhawks left wing Tyler Bertuzzi found the net just past the midway point of the third period, ending Chicago's scoreless streak and narrowing the score to 5-2. However, Blues center Alexandre Texier quickly responded with a goal of his own, extending the lead back to four and securing a commanding advantage to close out the game.

The Blues improved to 18-17 on the season, while the Blackhawks dropped to 12-24.

NHL on TNT is kicking off the 2025 NHL Winter Classic between the St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks by hosting a New Year's Eve fan celebration in Chicago.

The "Barnburner" experience will take place at Gallagher Way outside of Wrigley Field from noon to 7:30 CT on Dec. 31, according to TNT Sports.

Puck drop for the Winter Classic is set for 4 p.m. CT at Wrigley Field.

The fan event will feature a performance from Jon Pardi as well as a live NHL on TNT broadcast featuring hosts Wayne Gretzky, Paul Bissonnette, Anson Carter and Liam McHugh.

The entertainment will continue at the game, which will feature a pregame performance from The Smashing Pumpkins and an appearance by Chance The Rapper during the first period break.

The event will mark the second time the NHL has held an outdoor game at Wrigley Field, and the first time any Winter Classic has been played on New Year's Eve.

The contest also represents the outdoor debut of 2023 No. 1 draft pick and reigning Calder Trophy winner Connor Bedard.

Bedard and the Blackhawks will take on St. Louis captain Brayden Schenn and goaltender Jordan Binnington as the Blues come to Chicago for the first time this season.

The Blues won the 2023-24 season series against the Blackhawks 3-1, and the visitors also enter the matchup with a perfect outdoor record.

St. Louis has previously claimed Winter Classic victories in both 2017 against the Blackhawks and 2022 against the Minnesota Wild.

The Blackhawks are meanwhile set to become the first team in NHL history to play in seven outdoor games. Chicago is 1-5 in six previous contests, with the team's lone outdoor victory coming against the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2014.

The Blackhawks-Blues rivalry has waned as both teams dropped out of playoff contention over the last few seasons. The NHL will hope the addition of Bedard and the national stage can help reinvigorate this divisional rivalry.

The Chicago Blackhawks fired head coach Luke Richardson, the team announced on Thursday.

Richardson's third season with the team was off to a poor start, as Chicago's 8-16-2 record represents the worst mark in the NHL. The Blackhawks are also currently in the midst of a four-game losing streak and have lost eight of their past 10 contests.

Richardson finished his career in Chicago with a 57-118-15 overall record.

Anders Sorensen will take over as interim head coach, according to Mark Lazerus of The Athletic.

Sorensen previously served as the head coach of the Rockford IceHogs, Chicago's AHL affiliate.

Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson thanked Richardson for his time with the team as part of the announcement.

"Today I made the difficult decision to move on from Luke as our head coach," Davidson said. "We thank him for his efforts and contributions to the organization and our community. As we have begun to take steps forward in our rebuilding process, we felt that the results did not match our expectations for a higher level of execution this season and ultimately came to the decision that a change was necessary. We wish Luke and his family all the best moving forward."

Since Richardson took over ahead of the 2022-23 season, the Blackhawks finished with the worst record in the Central Division in each of his first two years with the team before the dismal start to their 2024-25 campaign.

Chicago averaged just 2.42 goals for per game in 26 contests prior to the coaching change, the second-worst mark in the NHL.

The play of Connor Bedard has also been a cause for concern, as the reigning Calder Trophy winner is off to a slow start compared to his stellar rookie year. After recording 61 points in 68 games last season, Bedard has registered 19 points in 26 appearances to begin his second year.

With a league-worst record combined with the struggles of the team's 19-year-old star, the Blackhawks made the decision to move on from Richardson.

Being left off the 2025 NHL 4 Nations Face-Off roster doesn't mean Chicago Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard is out of the running to represent Team Canada during the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Team Canada general manager Don Sweeney called Bedard part of the "next wave of future great players" on Thursday when discussing the decision not to invite him to the tournament.

"When we went through the process as a management group of building the best team to compete in February, with certainly an eye towards what the next wave of future great players is going to look like... Connor certainly falls in that category," Sweeney said, per NHL.com's Mike Zeisberger. "We know the special qualities he has."

Sweeney told reporters that Team Canada had "built out a database" with players who weren't ready for 4 Nations but could potentially play in the Olympics, per the Daily Faceoff's Matt Larkin.

"We're going to have to continue to have those stack up on top of each other year, the next year and a half, and make really hard decisions," Sweeney said.

Bedard, the reigning Calder Trophy winner, is off to a relatively slow start to his sophomore NHL season with 19 points (five goals, 14 assists) in 26 games.

"You kind of sleep in the bed you make, and I obviously haven't been too happy with the start of the year," Bedard told TNT on Wednesday about not being named to Canada's 4 Nations roster.

Bedard added, "You can try to use something like that for a little motivation. Just keep going, keep working hard, keep trying to get better, and that's what I'm going to do, for sure."

Sweeney will serve as assistant general manager to Doug Armstrong during the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics.

He noted in a Wednesday appearance on Sportsnet that the ultimate decisions regarding the 2026 roster would be left up to Armstrong.

"We just felt that we weren't going to push aside anybody that deserved, and had earned, an opportunity to play in this event now," Sweeney said. "We were tasked to put together the best team we could put together now, for this event, with an eye towards tracking, in specific, several of the players and other guys that were so close to making this team."

Sweeney added that there is still a chance, should there be injuries to any members of the 4 Nations roster over the next several months, Team Canada could call up one of the players on the fringe of the roster.

Bedard, who led all rookies with 22 goals and 61 points last season despite missing 14 games with a broken jaw, may need to increase his production with Chicago in order to get that call. He has been held to two goals in his last 17 games for the struggling Blackhawks, who headed into Thursday with an NHL-worst 8-16-2 record.

Chicago Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard said he "could name 100 things" he could do better amid his slow start to the 2024-25 season.

"I don't know, man," Bedard said Friday, per ESPN's Greg Wyshynski. "It has been frustrating, for sure. I just don't feel like I'm really doing anything. So just keep chipping away at it, I guess, and hopefully find my game again."

Bedard continued: "It's been a tough stretch. You just feel like you don't have it or whatever, and you lose a bit of confidence. And it just kind of goes on."

After leading all rookies with 22 goals in 68 games last season, Bedard has been held to three goals in the first 20 games of his sophomore campaign.

Bedard last scored during an Oct. 26 loss to the Dallas Stars and has been held without a goal for 11 straight games.

Most recently he was held to zero shots for the first time this season, and just the sixth time in his NHL career, during a Thursday win over the visiting Florida Panthers.

The contest marked Bedard's third game in the Blackhawks' latest top line configuration, which features Bedard flanking Jason Dickinson and opposite Joey Anderson. Both Dickinson and Anderson were also held without shots in the victory.

Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson still praised Bedard after the win for his efforts on defense.

"We didn't get him here to be a defensive specialist, but the responsibility of playing against good lines comes first... He did everything right on the defensive side," Richardson said about Bedard, per Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times.

Opponents still largely controlled play when Bedard's line was on the ice at even strength, per Natural Stat Trick.

Playing Bedard on the wing has the advantage of taking him off the face-off dot, where he has a 29.7 percent success rate this season, and he recently said he sees the position as "less work."

The Blackhawks may still be due for another line shuffle as the team looks to build a top line that can control play and get Bedard back on the scoresheet.

Chicago could try slotting the second-year forward in alongside a veteran like Taylor Hall or a young, speedy winger like Lukas Reichel as the team prepares for its next contest on Saturday afternoon against the Philadelphia Flyers.