10:47 AM ET The NHL is now aiming for a mid-January start date with a 52- or 56-game schedule at best, sources confirmed to ESPN. The NHL’s initial target of Jan. 1 became unfeasible because of necessary time for training camp — plus extra time promised to the seven teams that did not make this

7:00 AM ET Nearly 15 years ago, Erik Cole lay in a Pittsburgh hospital bed with two fractures in his vertebra, wondering about his future. Brooks Orpik had crushed him with an illegal check from behind in a game on March 4, 2006, an act for which the Penguins’ punishing defenseman was suspended three games.

5:09 PM ET Several NHL teams are exploring the possibility of playing some 2020-21 home games in outdoor venues and in front of fans if local COVID-19 restrictions on mass gatherings would allow for them, sources confirmed to ESPN on Thursday. The Boston Bruins confirmed they’re exploring home games at Fenway Park, which has hosted

9:25 AM ET The Angry Beaver has endured a lot. Perhaps that’s why it’s so angry. Billed as Seattle’s only hockey bar, the Angry Beaver has been operating in the Greenwood neighborhood since 2012. On busy nights, it looks like a hockey quilt: different fans in different jerseys, clustered together, watching their NHL teams, never

3:48 PM ET NHL commissioner Gary Bettman pushed back on the idea that owners have asked players to renegotiate the CBA that was signed five months ago, saying it is “unfortunate and inaccurate” how conversations with the NHLPA have been portrayed in the media. Speaking at the Sports Business Journal’s “Dealmakers in Sport” panel on

5:00 PM ET University of North Dakota players Jasper Weatherby and Jacob Bernard-Docker took a knee during the national anthem before their game against Miami (OH) on Wednesday, in what is believed to be the first such demonstration against racial injustice during an NCAA Division I men’s hockey game. The game was held in an

7:15 AM ET The halls of Yost Ice Arena should be bustling right now, with the Michigan Wolverines’ pep band blaring “The Victors” and the Children of Yost — the boisterous student section — heckling an opposing goaltender. But with no fans allowed in the building, one of college hockey’s most sacred cathedrals is empty.

3:17 PM ET The expansion Seattle Kraken haven’t established a timeline for naming their first head coach, citing uncertainty regarding the 2020-21 NHL season. “No real rush on the timeline there,” general manager Ron Francis told ESPN on Tuesday. “We still don’t have an understanding of what the 2020-21 season is going to look like,

9:26 AM ET Walk into any NHL locker room today and you’ll hear a cacophony of languages and accents from around the world. Rewind 50 years ago and the acoustics were much different. Take the 1970 Stanley Cup champions, the Boston Bruins. Their roster had more Canadians than a season of “Letterkenny,” with U.K. native

5:35 PM ET Nick Wagoner Close ESPN Staff Writer Covered Rams for nine years for stlouisrams.com Previously covered University of Missouri football Member of Pro Football Writers of America Kyle Bonagura Close ESPN Staff Writer Covers the Pac-12. Joined ESPN in 2014. Attended Washington State University. SANTA CLARA, Calif. — For at least the next