Scott Powers

1 week ago | nytimes.com | Scott Powers |James Mirtle |Aaron Portzline |Max Bultman

The Stanley Cup Final is over, and the 2025 NHL Draft is now less than a week away. To get into the spirit, The Athletic asked its NHL staff to look back and identify what they think is each team’s best and worst draft pick of the past 10 years. In response, we heard about the hits, misses, steals, busts and even duds between the 2015 and 2024 drafts. Here are the selections. Anaheim DucksHigh picks such as Trevor Zegras, Mason McTavish and Leo Carlsson have hit.

1 week ago | nytimes.com | Scott Powers |Mark Lazerus

It’s been two months — 65 days, to be precise — since the Chicago Blackhawks last played a game, with Frank Nazar scoring off a Connor Bedard feed to beat the Ottawa Senators in overtime. But technically speaking, the NHL offseason just started. With a crowded roster, a jam-packed prospect pool, two first-round draft picks and more than $25 million in cap space, general manager Kyle Davidson has plenty of significant decisions to make in the days, weeks and months ahead.

1 week ago | nytimes.com | Scott Powers

A lot can change in one season. Just ask Ryan Donato. A season ago, Donato was thought of as a journeyman veteran and a role player. The Chicago Blackhawks were his fifth NHL team, and he was likely heading to his sixth team once his two-year contract with the Blackhawks expired. In his first year with the Blackhawks, his play was comparable to most of his career and he was seen as a short-term roster player. He wasn’t expected to be in Chicago any longer than his deal.

1 week ago | nytimes.com | Scott Powers

Jared Nightingale has lived in more homes in Rockford, Ill., than he ever could’ve imagined. He started in an apartment when he was captain of the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs in 2013. He lived in another apartment when he returned as an IceHogs assistant coach in 2021. He later purchased a house in Rockford while in that position and then sold it when he departed to become the coach and general manager of the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays in 2024.

1 week ago | dailyherald.com | Scott Powers

Blackhawks center Frank Nazar plays in a game this season against the Tampa Bay Lightning. AP Frank Nazar had no clue how the U.S. had fared at the World Championship when he signed up to play this year. What the Blackhawks center learned shocked him. The U.S. hadn’t won the international tournament since 1933. Possibly even more surprising than that was that the U.S. hadn’t reached the tournament final since 1950. History was not in Nazar’s favor entering his first World Championship experience.