Chris Johnston

Senior Writer, NHL

Chris Johnston is a senior writer covering the NHL for The Athletic. He has two decades of experience as an NHL Insider, having appeared on Hockey Night in Canada and the NHL Network before joining TSN in 2021. He currently hosts the "Chris Johnston Show" on the Steve Dangle Podcast Network. He's written previously for the Toronto Star, Sportsnet and The Canadian Press.

Edmonton Oilers hire Stan Bowman as general manager

Bowman has been out of the NHL for three years after an "inadequate response" to sexual assault allegations brought forth by Kyle Beach.

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Vladimir Tarasenko, Red Wings agree to 2-year, $9.5 million deal: Why this makes sense for Detroit

The Athletic Staff251

Jessica Campbell becomes NHL's first full-time female assistant coach with promotion by the Kraken

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Johnston: Inside the Lightning-Stamkos split — a reminder that in the NHL, business trumps brotherhood

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Senators, Shane Pinto agree to 2-year, $7.5 million contract: What role will he play?

The Athletic Staff99

Bruins sign Nikita Zadorov to 6-year, $30 million contract: Sources

Zadorov, 29, adds much-needed meanness to the left side of the defense behind Hampus Lindholm.

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Bruins sign Elias Lindholm to 7-year, $54.25 million contract: Sources

Lindholm has 218 goals and 557 points in 818 career games, spent with the Carolina Hurricanes, Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks.

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NHL free-agent big board: Where all the top targets are landing on July 1 and who's still available

July 1 has arrived, and the NHL's free-agent frenzy is on. Who's landing where? We'll update its Big Board as signings are confirmed.

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Nick Robertson requests trade from Maple Leafs: Source

The RFA forward informed Toronto he doesn’t intend to sign a new contract this summer and would like to be traded.

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Red Wings re-sign Patrick Kane to 1-year deal: What this means for Detroit

Patrick Kane scored 20 goals and had 47 points in 50 games after joining Detroit midway through last season.

The Athletic NHL Staff117

Sean Durzi, Utah Hockey Club agree to 4-year extension

Utah continues to solidify its defense corps in what's been an aggressive offseason so far.

The Athletic NHL Staff23

Four of 5 Canadian world junior players charged with sexual assault cut by NHL teams

Carter Hart, Dillon Dubé, Michael McLeod and Cal Foote are all now unrestricted free agents.

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Max Domi agrees to 4-year deal with Maple Leafs, avoids free agency: Source

The deal carries a $3.75 million average annual value.

The Athletic Staff175

Lightning sign Jake Guentzel to 7-year deal after trading 3rd-rounder to Hurricanes for his rights

Sending back the pick is a good indication that the Lightning are confident they’ll be able to reach an agreement with him on a contract.

The Athletic Staff262

NHL Draft rumblings: What the Lightning are up to, Utah's defense haul, Guentzel, Reinhart and more

The Lightning have freed up cap space, but is it going to Steven Stamkos or ... Jake Guentzel? Here's the buzz from execs at the NHL Draft.

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Maple Leafs acquire Chris Tanev's rights from Stars, bringing key defenseman to Toronto

In return, Dallas received Toronto's 2026 seventh-round pick and the expiring contract of Max Ellis.

The Athletic Staff175

Lightning trade Mikhail Sergachev to Utah, send Tanner Jeannot to Kings

The Lightning didn't retain any salary on Sergachev or Jeannot, opening up some much-needed cap space.

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Crosby, MacKinnon, McDavid headline first wave of Canada's 4 Nations roster

Cale Makar, Brad Marchand and Brayden Point round out the first six players announced on the roster.

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Juuse Saros, Predators agree to 8-year extension with $7.74 million average annual value: Sources

Saros, 29, has led the NHL the last two seasons in shots against and saves.

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NHL free-agent big board: The latest on all the top targets ahead of July 1

They’ve barely had time to recover from the Stanley Cup celebrations in South Florida, and already it’s time to get down to business.

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Canucks clear cap space, sending Ilya Mikheyev, Sam Lafferty, second-rounder to Blackhawks

By Mark Lazerus, Scott Powers and Chris Johnston The last time the Blackhawks coaxed a second-round pick out of the Vancouver Canucks to take on a supposedly bad contract, they landed Jason Dickinson, who quickly emerged as one of their best players and just had a Selke Trophy-caliber second season in Chicago. Kyle Davidson is apparently hoping for a similar coup with Ilya Mikheyev. The Canucks are sending Mikheyev, the rights to pending unrestricted free agent Sam Lafferty and a 2027 second-round pick to Chicago for a 2027 fourth-round pick. The Athletic’s Chris Johnston reported that...

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NHL trade big board: Expanding the list of top targets ahead of the draft

The only thing hotter than the "dry heat" the hockey world is being treated to this week in Vegas is the increasing amount of trade chatter.

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What I'm hearing about Leon Draisaitl and the offseason decision that could blow up the Oilers

The Oilers are not inclined to let Draisaitl, who's eligible for an extension July 1, play out the final year of his contract, sources say.

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Dylan DeMelo, Jets agree to 4-year, $19.6 million contract extension: What's next for Winnipeg?

DeMelo, 31, is coming off back-to-back career seasons playing on the top pair with Josh Morrissey.

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Inside the Florida Panthers' Stanley Cup celebration: Champagne showers, tears of joy and relief

How the NHL team that narrowly avoided 'the biggest collapse in the history of sports' celebrated a first-ever Cup win.

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