AP Advisory: NHL season coverage

Editors:

To help you prepare for the upcoming NHL season, here are some of AP’s plans. An up-to-the minute listing of all stories planned, including games and events, is available in Coverage Plan on AP Newsroom, http://newsroom.ap.org/coverageplan. You can also find a link to Coverage Plan on the left navigation of the Newsroom home page, http://newsroom.ap.org. Please contact Dave Zelio (dzelio@ap.org) with questions. All times Eastern.

GAME COVERAGE

AP will provide full stories, photos and boxes for every NHL game once the regular season begins Oct. 7.

PREVIEWS

HKN—SEASON PREVIEW — On the ice, it’s hard to argue with the quality of play in the NHL, especially after the Colorado Avalanche beating the Tampa Bay Lightning for the Stanley Cup was a showcase of some of the best of the sport. Off the ice, business is booming coming out of the pandemic, with revenues surpassing $5 billion thanks to new pathways like jerseys ads and the return of full arenas around the league. The schedule is also back to normal with no Olympic break, and fewer back-to-backs should improve the actual play on the ice. By Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos by noon Oct. 3.

HKN—EAST PREVIEW — The Tampa Bay Lightning are still the defending Eastern Conference champions despite missing out on winning a third consecutive Stanley Cup title. The field of contenders is starting to grow, starting with New York Rangers, who made a tremendous jump last year, followed by the Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes. By Hockey Writer John Wawrow. UPCOMING: 750 words, photos by 4 p.m. Oct. 4.

With:

— Eastern Conference team previews (US teams only). 600 words each, with photos. Sent Sept. 27.

HKN—WEST PREVIEW — After retooling with a new goaltender and keeping most, but not all, of their championship core, the Stanley Cup-winning Colorado Avalanche again look like the class of the Western Conference. But to get through it again, Nathan MacKinnon and Co. will have to go through St. Louis in the Central Division and perhaps Connor McDavid and Edmonton after the Oilers upgraded their goaltending to contend for the title. By Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno. UPCOMING: 750 words, photos by noon Oct. 5.

— Western Conference team previews (US teams only). 600 words each, with photos. Sent Sept. 28.

TOP STORIES

HKN—NHL DIVERSITY — Some two years since focusing attention on the NHL’s need to be more diverse, Minnesota Wild defenseman Matt Dumba is finally looking forward to working with communities with the COVID-19 restrictions no longer in place. In the meantime, hockey’s gaining inroads with women, with the most recent example involving Sarah Nurse becoming the first female to grace the cover of EA Sports NHL’s video game franchise. By Hockey Writer John Wawrow. UPCOMING: 750 words, photos by noon Oct. 6.

HKN—THE HAVE NOTS — It’s been 11 seasons since the Buffalo Sabres made the playoffs. A number of other teams – Detroit, New Jersey and Ottawa among them – also have a spotty recent history in being included among the Eastern Conference’s have-nots seeking to finally crack a top eight that for too long has been dominated by Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, Washington and Boston. By Hockey Writer John Wawrow. UPCOMING: 750 words, photos by noon Oct. 7.

HKN—AGING THE ROOKIES — Juraj Slafkovsky could be the second consecutive No. 1 pick not to start in the NHL after no one had done that in 15 years. But after Cale Makar blossomed into arguably the league’s top defenseman and was playoff MVP in helping Colorado win the Stanley Cup and given Owen Power’s extra year in college, patience may be the wave of the present and future — even with top prospects expected to contribute sooner than later. By Hockey Writers John Wawrow and Stephen Whyno. UPCOMING: 700 words photos by noon Oct. 9.

HKN–CHAMPIONSHIP CORES — A decade since the L.A. Kings won their first Stanley Cup, defenseman Drew Doughty, center Anze Kopitar and goaltender Jonathan Quick remain. Pittsburgh has kept its core of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang intact, and Washington still has Alex Ovechkin and several players from the group that won in 2018. The champion Colorado Avalanche are following a similar script in defining a specific core of must-keep players like Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and Cale Makar with the idea of mixing and matching around them to stay on top. By Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno. UPCOMING: 750 words, photos by noon Oct. 10.

FEATURES

— It’s the end of another short summer for the Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche and the Tampa Bay Lightning they beat in the final. But as training camps open around the NHL, a return to a regular rhythm of the eight months of hockey season is a relief after several tumultuous years. By Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno.

— After the New York Rangers made the Eastern Conference final without a captain, they wasted little time awarding veteran Jacob Trouba the “C.” Rebuilding Montreal did the same with Nick Suzuki, and Philadelphia is also expected to name a captain. After several years of teams going by without a defined captain, the pendulum is swinging back to the hockey tradition of each team designating one leader. By Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno.

HKN—BEHIND THE STRIPES — NHL referee Garrett Rank is still an amateur golfer. Younger ref Ryan Daisy is coming off his first Stanley Cup Final. Former player Crey Syvret is still transitioning to a different role officiating games. Decades after the decision was made to remove officials’ last names from the backs of their jerseys, the men — and women — still have individual personalities, and building rapport with players and coaches remains part of the job. By Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno. UPCOMING: 650 words, photos by noon Oct. 2.

— The Avalanche return from their fun-loving, Cup-hoisting summer adventures knowing this: Staying at hockey’s mountaintop may prove even more difficult than reaching that summit. There have been just two teams to repeat in the cap era that began in 2005. By Pat Graham.

— After a summer of uncertainty, the Pittsburgh Penguins have returned to work with plenty of familiar faces. Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and longtime captain Sidney Crosby are set to stay together through at least 2025. By Will Graves.

SHAREABLES

HKN–PUCK DROP-CHANGING PLACES — Who changed teams after last season and where are they now? By Hockey Writers Stephen Whyno and John Wawrow. UPCOMING: 600 words, photos by 5 a.m. Oct. 3.

HKN–PUCK DROP-GOALIE CHURN — For the second straight offseason, the game’s most important position got an overhaul across the NHL. Eight teams are expected to have new starting goalies this season. By Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno. UPCOMING: 600 words, photos by 5 a.m. Oct. 4.

HKN—PUCK DROP-COACHING CAROUSEL — No nonsense John Tortorella is planning to whip the Philadelphia Flyers into shape. Laid-back Paul Maurice is tasked with getting more out of the Florida Panthers. Bruce Cassidy and the Vegas Golden Knights have something to prove. After the NHL carousel stopped spinning, there are several teams with new coaches and big expectations. By Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno. UPCOMING: 600 words, photos by 5 a.m. Oct. 5.

HKN—PUCK DROP-WHAT TO KNOW: A quick rundown of things to know for the season, including AP predictions on which teams will go to the conference finals (and beyond) and which players are the most likely to have award-winning seasons. By Hockey Writers Stephen Whyno and John Wawrow. UPCOMING: 600 words, photos by 5 a.m. Oct. 6.

Copyright
© 2022 . All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.