7:37 PM ET Associated Press Leaning on his crutches, just six days after reconstructive surgery on his right knee, Mikko Koivu was asked if he had concern about his ability to return to the Minnesota Wild next season at age 36. Just as if he were corralling a puck with a quick flick of his

7:30 AM ET Chris PetersESPN NHL Close Chris Peters is ESPN’s NHL draft and prospects analyst. The Chicago native previously covered the NHL for CBSSports.com and founded the popular independent blog UnitedStatesofHockey.com where he covered the game at all levels since 2010. It seems to happen just about every NHL draft season, usually around the

11:15 AM ET We’re fast approaching the crossroads of the 2018-19 regular season. The trade deadline serves that purpose on the NHL’s annual calendar, becoming an inflection points for teams by which they need to answer some important questions. How good is our team right now as currently constructed? What are we realistically trying to

7:10 AM ET Greg WyshynskiESPN Auston Matthews knows about contract hell, and his negotiation with the Toronto Maple Leafs wasn’t it. “I went through a contract thing when I was going to Switzerland that was a debacle. Much more stressful than this,” he said. Matthews and his family made the decision to have him bring

12:31 PM ET Greg WyshynskiESPN The boldest move at the NHL trade deadline is usually no move at all. But that means ignoring the siren song of trading the future for the present and the allure of finding that final piece to complete the puzzle a team has meticulously constructed for months — or at

6:23 PM ET Greg WyshynskiESPN Pittsburgh Penguins star Evgeni Malkin was suspended one game by the NHL Department of Player Safety on Tuesday for an “intentional stick swing, with force, for the purposes of retaliation” against Philadelphia Flyers forward Michael Raffl. It is Malkin’s first suspension in his 835-game NHL career, although he was fined

4:36 PM ET Associated Press PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta is dealing with an upper-body injury and is out indefinitely. The team placed Maatta on the injured list on Tuesday. The 24-year-old played just 4:57 in Monday night’s 4-1 win over Philadelphia before leaving the game. He did not return. Maatta has one

8:00 AM ET Emily KaplanESPN The first thing you notice about Vancouver Canucks super-rookie Elias Pettersson is his frame. His height (6-foot-2) fits in just fine. But he is slender. Pettersson’s teammates in the Swedish Hockey League began calling him “The Alien” for his ethereal playmaking ability, but it’s also appropriate for the way the

11:36 AM ET Boston Bruins‘ leading scorer, David Pastrnak, will be out at least two weeks after undergoing a procedure on his thumb. Pastrnak attended a sponsorship dinner Sunday evening when he fell and injured his thumb, general manager Don Sweeney told reporters Tuesday. Pastrnak will be re-evaluated in two weeks and is expected to

12:51 AM ET Greg WyshynskiESPN Pittsburgh Penguins star Evgeni Malkin will have a hearing with the NHL after his reckless stick swing at Michael Raffl of the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday night. The hearing, scheduled for Tuesday, will be over the phone. Malkin could face a suspension of five games or fewer, or a fine