Hockey

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.

J.T. Miller is reportedly headed back to Manhattan.

The New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks agreed to a trade that will bring Miller back to where his NHL career began in 2013, per the Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli.

The Canucks are also sending defenseman Erik Brännström and NCAA prospect Jackson Dorrington to New York, per Larry Brooks of the New York Post.

In return the Canucks will receive veteran center Filip Chytil, rookie defenseman Victor Mancini and a protected 2025 first-round pick, according to Brooks, Seravalli and ESPN's Emily Kaplan.

The pick is top-13 protected and could potentially slide to 2026, per Seravalli.

Miller is expected to join the Rangers for Saturday night's game against the Boston Bruins, per Kaplan.

The report comes after The Athletic's Rick Dhaliwal said Miller would be scratched for the Canucks' Friday night road game against the Dallas Stars.

Miller had a full no-move clause on his contract, which he would have had to waive to facilitate the deal.

The alternate captain has been at the center of trade rumors this season amid a reported rift between himself and Canucks defenseman Elias Pettersson. Miller has previously told reporters the feud was "created" by the media.

The Athletic's Josh Yohe reported in early January the Canucks had turned down a trade offer for Miller that would have sent Mika Zibanejad to Vancouver. Friedman later added that the talks stalled because the Canucks didn't include Braden Schneider in the deal.

Miller was almost held out of a home game against the Edmonton Oilers on Jan. 18 because of a potential trade with the New York Rangers, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman. The deal "would have involved multiple players and draft picks," per ESPN's Greg Wyshynski.

The Canucks had also discussed trade scenarios involving Pettersson, according to Wyshynski. But after the latest round of negotiations with the Rangers proved more successful, it will ultimately be Miller leaving Vancouver less than one year after leading the Canucks to the second round with the best season of his career.

Miller paced the Canucks with 103 points in 81 regular-season games in 2023-24 to help Vancouver win 50 games for the first time since the Henrik and Daniel Sedin era.

Although the Canucks were eliminated in seven games by the Edmonton Oilers on their way to the Stanley Cup Finals, the hope was that Quinn Hughes' team would regroup and go on a deeper run in 2025.

But bad injury luck including the extended absence of starting netminder Thatcher Demko, combined with the scrutiny surrounding the relationship between Miller and Pettersson, have exacerbated what has already been a difficult start to the 2024-25 season. The reigning Pacific Division leaders are fighting for a wild card spot as the trade deadline approaches.

Miller has played for the Canucks since he was traded to Vancouver by the Tampa Bay Lightning ahead of the 2019-20 season.

After three straight 30-goal seasons, his production dipped early in the 2024-25 campaign to nine goals and 26 assists for 35 points in 40 games.

The center, who turns 32 in March, made his NHL debut with the Rangers in 2013. He played 341 regular-season games and 40 postseason contests for the franchise prior to his 2018 trade to the Lightning.

Having grown into as a second-line center in Vancouver, Miller will likely be taking on a larger role in New York this time around.

Like the Canucks, the Rangers have fallen into a race for a Wild Card spot after an underwhelming start to the season. The team will hope reworking their top six can help spark a playoff push over the second half of the season.

Adding Miller's contract means yet another long-term contract commitment added to New York's crowded salary cap. Miller is signed through the 2029-30 season, with a full no-trade clause through 2026-27 and a 15-team no-trade list over the final three years of the deal, according to Spotrac.

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.

Sidney Crosby will captain Team Canada against Auston Matthews' Team USA in hockey's first best-on-best tournament since 2016.

Crosby and Matthews were named captains of their respective 2025 4 Nations Face-Off teams on Thursday. Aleksander Barkov will captain Team Finland, while Victor Hedman will lead Team Sweden.

The 4 Nations Face-Off is set to take place from Feb. 12 to Feb. 20 in Montreal and Boston.

The full list of captaincy groups for the tournament is below.

Team Canada

• Captain: Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
• Alternate: Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
• Alternate: Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche

Team USA

• Captain: Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs
• Alternate: Matthew Tkachuk, Florida Panthers
• Alternate: Charlie McAvoy, Boston Bruins

Team Finland

• Captain: Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers
• Alternate: Sebastian Aho, Carolina Hurricanes
• Alternate: Mikko Rantanen, Carolina Hurricanes
• Alternate: Mikael Granlund, San Jose Sharks

Team Sweden

• Captain: Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning
• Alternate: Mattias Ekholm, Edmonton Oilers
• Alternate: Erik Karlsson, Pittsburgh Penguins
• Alternate: William Nylander, Toronto Maple Leafs

The full roster for each 4 Nations Face-Off team can be found here.

Crosby has captained the Penguins to three Stanley Cups since he took over the role in May 2007. After scoring a golden goal for Team Canada at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, Crosby served as captain when the team won a second consecutive Olympic gold in Sochi in 2014.

He has also captained Team Canada to wins at the 2015 IIHF World Championships and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

McDavid, who has captained the Oilers since 2016, said in October that it was a "no-brainer" Crosby should be named Team Canada's leader.

"He's Sidney Crosby and he's been there so many times and he's the guy," McDavid said, per NHL.com's Derek Van Diest.

Matthews was named captain of the Leafs after John Tavares stepped down from the position ahead of the 2024-25 season.

The reigning Rocket Richard trophy winner has not yet captained Team USA on the international stage, although he represented the United States at the 2016 World Junior Championships and played for Team North America at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

Barkov, who was named the Panthers' captain ahead of the 2018-19 season, led his team to the franchise's first Stanley Cup last spring.

The accomplishment made him the first team captain from Finland to hoist the Cup, adding to a Team Finland resume that includes a bronze medal in Sochi in 2014 and a silver medal at the 2016 World Championships.

Hedman took over the Lightning captaincy following Steven Stamkos' departure after the 2023-24 season. He played a key role in the team's back-to-back Stanley Cup championships, including a Conn Smythe Trophy win in 2020.

The upcoming tournament will mark Hedman's first time serving as Team Sweden's captain since his NHL career began in 2009, per NHL.com's Tracey Myers.

The 4 Nations Face-Off kicks off with a Round Robin stage during which teams compete for a chance to play in the championship game. Crosby and Matthews will meet in the tournament for the first time when the United States takes on Canada on Saturday, Feb. 15 at the Bell Centre in Montreal.