The NHL's Players' Association has been pondering the institution of a ban that would prevent certain agents from reaching out to under-16 players and their families.
NHLPA spokesman Jonathan Weatherdon confirmed by email to TSN's Rick Westhead that the potential regulation would affect certified agents, and that the union has been discussing it for the past year.
"There is a lot to consider,” Weatherdon wrote. “If we put a rule like this in place, it is a very big undertaking with certified agents and prospects all over the entire world. How would we go about ‘policing’ it and at what cost? So the age limit matter is getting discussed, but a decision isn’t imminent.”
The conversation might be preliminary, but the spokesman said multiple staff members within the NHLPA are involved in the discussion, and the rule is being considered because there is "concern that increasingly young players are being recruited and signed by agents."
A pair of active NHL player agents told Westhead that some agencies hire so-called "bird-dog scouts," often former players who aren't certified, to develop ties with players as young as nine years old.
The discussion will continue when meetings between the NHLPA and its agents begin later this month.
It’s the end of an era in Detroit, and Red Wings fans will be paying up as they bid farewell to Joe Louis Arena.
The beloved venue, which has hosted Red Wings home games since 1979, welcomes six more games through April 9. Over that time, Red Wings tickets won't be cheap on the resale market.
On TicketIQ, the average resale price for Red Wings tickets over those six games is $369. This is more than twice the team’s season average of $154. Take a look at where each game stacks up in terms of pricing below.
Fans looking for the cheapest Red Wings tickets can find them for Friday night’s contest against the Lightning. Also featuring a Wall Mural Magnet giveaway for the first 7,500 fans 21 and older, the game currently owns a $134 average and $89 get-in price. Additional savings can be found on the TicketIQ app.
Conversely, the final home game against the Devils on April 9 is the most expensive remaining game. All fans in attendance will receive a Farewell to the Joe Mini Stick. Tickets are posting a $591 average, making it the most expensive regular-season Red Wings game TicketIQ has ever tracked. Tickets start from $272 each.
With the team’s historic 25-year playoff streak coming to an end, the franchise will call Little Caesars Arena home beginning next season. The 20,000 capacity venue will also host Pistons games starting during the 2017-18 NBA season.
TicketIQ is a leading event ticket search engine with one simple goal: providing consumers with the most transparent and affordable buying experience. We aggregate listings from hundreds of certified sellers across every major sporting, music and theater event - including deals from Ticketmaster's Official Exchanges and our Low Price Guarantee listings. Start discovering and saving now.
Buffalo Sabres goaltender Robin Lehner feels the NHL went overboard with its ruling on Rasmus Ristolainen.
The young defenseman was suspended three games for interference on Pittsburgh Penguins rookie Jake Guentzel, a sentence Lehner doesn't believe would have been handed down if the Sabres were on the wrong end of the hit.
"Certain teams in this league get the benefit of the doubt," Lehner said Friday, according to Matt Bove of WKBW. "If the jerseys were reversed, I don't think we're standing here talking about three games."
Jarome Iginla has only appeared in 10 games for the Los Angeles Kings since a trade deadline deal, but it's from whence he came that earned him the team's Masterton Trophy nomination.
The Masterton Trophy is awarded by the Professional Hockey Writers Association to a player who exhibits qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication during the regular season. For those on the Kings' beat, Iginla spending most of the year in the league's basement warranted some recognition.
Iginla spent 61 games of this season on the Colorado Avalanche - the worst team in the NHL - and never outwardly complained about the group's struggles. His teammates and coaches often praised how he pushed his 39-year-old body to compete every game and how he helped the Colorado's bevy of younger players.
Iginla has since recorded three goals and one assist for a Kings team unlikely to make the playoffs. And as he nears the end of his tremendous career, this is likely the last time he'll be nominated for a major NHL award - at least until the Hall of Fame comes calling.
The U.S. women's national hockey team has a powerful new ally.
Enter the Major League Baseball Players Association, which threw its support behind the boycotting female players' cause and issued a call to action Friday.
The #MLBPA continues to encourage ALL women hockey players to stand united in support of #USWNHT efforts to secure improved conditions... https://t.co/aAuTg42447
America's governing body for hockey confirmed Thursday that it has begun contacting potential replacement players for the tournament, which begins next Friday.
USA Hockey has already postponed its training camp for the event, which was originally scheduled to open earlier in the week.
MLB has enjoyed relative labor peace since the 1994 players' strike that cancelled the World Series. The league has endured eight work stoppages since 1972, five of which were enacted by the union.
“It hasn’t mattered the last four years. Whatever happens, happens. There hasn’t been any talk in here. You could probably ask guys where we are right now and a lot of them would say we’re in a playoff spot. But it switches every single night. You just go out and you play. Let the chips fall where they fall.”
Despite their regular-season dominance since 2013, the Ducks have only a single conference final appearance to show for it, and they've been eliminated in the first round in two of the last four postseasons.
“I think right now we’re just worried about playing good hockey,” said center Nate Thompson. “Wherever we end up in the standings, it is what it is. The biggest thing is just playing well and making the playoffs and making sure our game is strong.”
Anaheim has won six of its last eight contests, while the first-place San Jose Sharks have won only four of their last 10.
“You peak at the wrong time, you’re in trouble,” Perry said. “You want to start peaking at the right time at the end of the year. Of course you want to play consistent(ly) and avoid big roller coasters all season long. You want to have a continuous straight line going up.
“But sometimes things happen and it goes down. At the same time, it’s a process. That’s all we’re looking at.”
The Ducks sit in second place in the Pacific, two points behind the Sharks with nine games remaining. The Edmonton Oilers have equaled Anaheim's 89 points in the standings, but the Ducks have a game in hand.
Ben Bishop earned his first win as a member of the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday, but that it took five starts over almost a month for him to do so highlights the fact goaltending was never really the problem to begin with.
The Kings exploded for five goals in the win over Winnipeg, a level of production that's been the exception rather than the norm this season. The five-goal outburst was actually more than double their normal output, as the Kings rank 25th in the NHL with a goals per game average of 2.44.
Remarkably, the situation had been even worse lately. In the 10 previous games since the acquisition of Bishop days prior to the trade deadline, Los Angeles had scored a grand total of 20 goals, good for 29th among all teams from Feb. 28 - March 23.
The Kings added veteran winger Jarome Iginla in an attempt to spark the offense, but he's managed only three goals in 10 games and clearly isn't the prolific scorer he once was.
Bishop was brought in to provide insurance for Jonathan Quick, who had just returned from injury. Quick has gone 5-3-1 with a save percentage of .922 since his return, proving he's still quite good. His workload is smaller thanks to Bishop, but Peter Budaj had held down the starter spot pretty well in his absence.
Nevertheless, the Kings will finish the season with an impressive duo in net, but a season-long inability to score will be what keeps them out of the playoffs, not a lack of goaltending.
Cam Talbot is being overworked, and what happened Thursday night should be a lesson for Todd McLellan.
The Edmonton Oilers head coach made the head-scratching decision to start his No. 1 netminder in the second game of a back-to-back against the NHL's worst team, the Colorado Avalanche, and it wasn't a surprise the move backfired.
Talbot was pulled prematurely for the second straight game, allowing four goals on 15 shots before the Oilers rallied for a come-from-behind win after backup goalie Laurent Brossoit came on in relief.
The comeback that may not have been directly related to Brossoit's play given the Oilers scored five goals in the third period, but it might not have been necessary if McLellan had simply rested Talbot instead of plugging him as the starter for the 14th consecutive time.
His numbers have been respectable (37-21-8, 2.40 GAA, .920 save percentage), but he's showing signs of wearing down, allowing eight goals on 33 shots in his last two abbreviated appearances combined.
Brossoit didn't give up a goal in either of his relief appearances this week, but those opportunities have been few and far between all season. The 24-year-old has played only six games and started only two in 2016-17. Before the two back-to-back relief stints, his previous appearance came more than a month earlier, on Feb. 21 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
After the trade deadline passed, Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli said the club decided to go with the goalies they have because they were confident in Brossoit's development, but the backup hasn't been given the chance to do much developing from the bench.
If there were a perfect time to rest Talbot and give Brossoit a start, it was Thursday night's game. Talbot struggled against the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday, and the following night's matchup with the league-worst Avalanche presented a prime opportunity to give Talbot a much-needed breather.
The Oilers can't do anything about the past, but what can they do in the season's final drive? Here's what their schedule looks like before the playoffs begin:
Date
Opponent
3/25
COL
3/28
LAK
3/30
SJ
4/1
ANA
4/4
@LAK
4/6
@SJ
4/8
@VAN
4/9
VAN
Five of Edmonton's final eight games come against key divisional rivals, and the third-place Oilers still have their sights set on the top spot in the Pacific, sitting only two points out of first.
The heavy divisional slate late in the season only further emphasizes the need to sit Talbot beforehand. Saturday's rematch with Colorado provides one of McLellan's last chances to do so, and he surely wants Talbot to be fully energized for the club's most critical contests.
The coach can't afford to wait until the away/home back-to-back against the Vancouver Canucks at regular season's end to get Brossoit another start. It should have happened sooner, and if the Oilers care about Talbot's energy level in the playoffs, it has to happen Saturday.