The NHL will allow sports wagering advertisements on jerseys and helmets beginning in the 2022-23 season, sources tell ESPN. They will only be allowed on home uniforms, and only if single-game sports betting is legal in the team’s state/province. Only one sports betting company is permitted to have sponsor branding on the uniforms at a time. The NHL did not allow sportsbook sponsorships when it introduced helmet ads in 2020-21. Jersey ads have been approved starting in the 2022-23 season.
Aleksander Barkov is entering the last year of his six-year contract with the Florida Panthers. ESPN asked GM Bill Zito if there was a date when he’d have to consider trading the star center. He said there isn’t one, because “I’m confident we’ll be able to work something out.” Zito said an extension will “probably” come before the 2021-22 NHL season begins in October. Barkov’s agent Mark Gandler wouldn’t comment on the negotiations.
Bernice Carnegie on her late father Herb Carnegie, and how he privately reacted to the racism that kept him from achieving his dream and playing in the NHL. The Carnegie Initiative, named in his honor, is a new independent advocacy organization seeking cultural change in hockey.