Last month, the Hockey Hall of Fame unveiled its class of 2024, which consisted of five players — three in the male player category, two in the female player category — and two builders. Two of the male players, Pavel Datsyuk and Shea Weber, went in during their first year of eligibility. Jeremy Roenick had been eligible since 2012, or three years after he played his last official game as a professional with the 2008-09 San Jose Sharks. That’s a distinction that’s unique to the HHOF, because it takes into account players who continue to play professionally around the world, even after their NHL careers conclude.

So, for example, Datsyuk played five years in Russia after leaving the Detroit Red Wings following the 2015-16 season, which is why he wasn’t eligible for selection until this year. Jaromir Jagr, the NHL’s second all-time leading scorer, hasn’t played a game in the NHL since 2017-18, but he continues to play a handful of games every year for Kladno, the team he owns in Czechia. If Jagr finally stops playing this year, he’ll become eligible in 2027 — and he’ll be about as sure a thing as there is to a guaranteed first-ballot inductee.

That’s the thing about Hall of Fame debates. They generally aren’t too controversial at the top end.

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How…

SUNRISE, Fla. — Of course it wasn’t easy.

Nothing ever has been in Paul Maurice’s coaching career.

Thrown to the wolves as an NHL head coach at 28 years old, only making the playoffs with mediocre rosters four times in his first 13 years, his coaching career has been an absolute grind.

So the idea that he finally got his Stanley Cup after his team survived a near-miracle comeback, that is par for the course.

“It’s time, he deserves it,” his wife, Michelle, tears running down her cheeks, said during the Florida Panthers celebration on the ice Monday night. “I was expecting this all day. It wasn’t easy, but what a great, great, great story.

“Let’s do it again next year.”

Well, let’s soak this in first.

A jubilant Maurice, hugging family members and players and anyone he could find from the organization, insisted that this Cup wasn’t about him.

“It’s not me, it’s not me,” Maurice said, the remnants of tears drying in the corner of his eyes. “That leadership in that room is unbelievable. I haven’t been driving this bus for two months. It’s all the players.

“I’m not trying to be humble. It’s why I love it here. I’ve got a small, little piece of this. These men are special guys.”

Maurice was brought in two years ago by Bill Zito. The Panthers…

Our NHL style rankings have seen a fair share of players donning hats and blazers, even full suit combos. Calgary Flames forward Blake Coleman, who’s in the midst of a career season, has taken it one step further by donning Stetson hats with his outfits. He credits a Calgary-based World of Vici store stylist for his suits.

“I just have a guy here in Calgary that wanted to play a little dress-up this year,” Coleman said.

As for the hats, Coleman got himself hooked after wearing an Open Road Stetson while attending the Academy of Country Music Awards in Dallas last summer. Owning one turned into owning multiple hats. Even Coleman’s wife, Jordan, grabbed some during the Flames’ road stop in Dallas last November. Coleman also received a Stetson as a birthday gift.

“What’s that old expression? Look good, play good, feel good,” Coleman said. “It’s fun to mix it up a little bit. I was pretty simple earlier in my career. Now that I have the luxury to go get some new stuff, I’ve enjoyed it. My wife used to poke fun at my suit game. I think she’s probably the happiest of anybody.”

Coleman now is considered a style rankings regular for The Athletic. He’s been a part of stiff competition with some of the league’s best dressers, including Auston Matthews, Adam…

The Athletic has live coverage of Stanley Cup Final Game 5 Panthers vs. Golden Knights

The Stanley Cup will be in the building on Tuesday night. And the Vegas Golden Knights will lift it with a win over the Florida Panthers in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final. The Knights are big favorites to win the Cup on home ice and with good reason. They’ve been the dominant team throughout much of this Stanley Cup Final. Vegas even led into the final minutes of Game 3 before the Panthers scored a goal with an empty net and then won it in overtime.

It wouldn’t be the first Stanley Cup awarded at T-Mobile Center if the Golden Knights win. The Washington Capitals won the Stanley Cup in Game 5 in 2018 and then partied the night away in Las Vegas. It would be the second championship for Las Vegas in less than 12 months after the WNBA’s Aces won the title in September.

Game 5 – Panthers at Golden Knights

Vegas leads 3-1

8 p.m. on TNT, SN, CBC

If Vegas wins the Stanley Cup on Tuesday night, who will take home the Conn Smythe? Jesse Granger did a great job breaking down the cases for favorites Jonathan Marchessault and Adin Hill. Both have a convincing argument to be named the MVP of the playoffs. Neither got out off to the best start, but have since surged. Marchessault is (-550) at BetMGM to…

If you have questions about the future of your team’s live games on your local cable, satellite or digital provider, particularly those on Bally Sports channels, we’re here to answer with what we know so far.

Diamond Sports Group, the Baltimore-based corporate parent of the 19 Bally Sports channels that air 47 NBA, MLB, NHL and WNBA teams, announced Feb. 15 that it would skip a $140 million debt payment due that day and use the month-long grace period as part of its effort to financially reorganize itself.

Many observers interpret the move as a precursor to a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, though that is not a certainty. Diamond has $8 billion-plus of debt, incurred as part of parent Sinclair’s 2019 purchase of the regional sports channels, and lost $1.2 billion in the most recent fiscal quarter.

“Certainly more likely that they will file bankruptcy because they did not make the payment,” said Schuyler Carroll, a bankruptcy attorney who is not connected to Diamond. “But not necessarily that they will file bankruptcy. They are still continuing discussions with their creditors to try and avoid bankruptcy. But those can often be difficult.”

Diamond in a Feb. 15 statement said it “intends to use the 30-day grace period to continue progressing its ongoing…