The Wolves substitute Tawanda Chirewa struck within seconds of coming off the bench as César Peixoto’s side came from behind to extend Burnley’s home misery at Turf Moor to 21 games without a win.
Chirewa had just replaced Sean Neave in the 72nd minute when Mateus Mané pounced on Igor Julio’s heavy touch and sent the 23-year-old Zimbabwe international through to strike an angled shot, which flew into the net despite Gregoire Coudert getting his hands to the effort.
Continue reading...South African rugby player Hyron Andrews has died in a tragic accident on a French island.
Refusing a captain’s order usually guarantees a swift end to their stint in a side for a cricketer, but former Australian fast bowler Paul Reiffel was prepared to take that risk after finding himself in a position he never imagined on a South Africa tour.
Josh Hazlewood has his swing back and says there is a freedom that comes with approaching every Test as though it may be your last as he prepares for the second match in the series in Gqeberha on Sunday.
The 2026–27 season has gotten off to a slow start for the Vancouver Canucks, and this particular stat only emphasizes it.
In a 3–2 overtime loss to the Florida Panthers on Thursday night, Vancouver surrendered their third hat-trick of the 2026–27 season to take sole-possession of the league’s lead in hat-tricks allowed. Brady Tkachuk became the third player to score a hat-trick against the Canucks this season with his three-consecutive goals for Florida.
Vancouver began the 2026–27 season by allowing a hat-trick against in their season-opener. Edmonton Oilers defenceman Evan Bouchard put three goals past the Canucks in a 6–5 overtime win for Vancouver. Five games later, Vancouver surrendered their second hat-trick against, with Logan Stankoven of the Carolina Hurricanes being the one to score three this time around. Carolina won that game by a score of 7–2.
Prior to Thursday’s game, Vancouver sat tied for first in the NHL in hat-tricks allowed, with the New York Islanders being the other team to allow two. So far, the Islanders have surrendered hat-tricks against Alexis Lafrenière and the New York Rangers, as well as Brandon Hagel and the Tampa Bay Lightning.
In 2025–26, Vancouver surrendered a total of five hat-tricks throughout the year. The first came on November 5 against Tyler Bertuzzi and the Chicago Blackhawks. They allowed their third hat-trick of the season on March 4 against the Hurricanes, with Nikolaj Ehlers putting three past Vancouver. The first team to allow three hat-tricks in 2025–26 was the St. Louis Blues, who did so in their 33rd game of the year — a 7–2 loss to the Nashville Predators.
Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.
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The 2026 Yankees won 93 games in a year in which superstar Aaron Judge played just 66 games. That’s not a bad total, but it feels like it could, and should, have been more. General manager and Senior VP Brian Cashman routinely builds contending teams, and he should get credit for that, but he and his staff should be aiming higher and doing more to bring the title back to the Bronx.
A Wild Card Series win against the Boston Red Sox was a nice way to start the postseason, but the sweep at the hands of the Tampa Bay Rays exposed many harsh realities that are directly tied to Cashman and his decisions.
For the Yankees, 93 wins is not enough. They need to be the best team in the division, because that would bring them additional benefits in postseason play, such as home-field advantage and a ticket straight to the AL Division Series. Everybody in the organization is responsible for how the season plays out, but the spotlight will always point to the head of baseball operations.
Cashman didn’t have a particularly bad offseason, but there were some notable holes when the season started. He didn’t find proper replacements for the rehabbing Anthony Volpe and the underwhelming Ryan McMahon: the former ended up being demoted in early August when the organization promoted George Lombard Jr., and the latter posted a 78 wRC+ and just 0.5 fWAR in 124 games. Volpe eventually returned and played an important role in the stretch run and during the postseason.
Extending Trent Grisham a qualifying offer was seen as a moderate risk when it happened, but it was a reasonable one since the outfielder had hit a career-high 34 homers in 2025. The outfielder declined this year, particularly on defense, but at least it wasn’t a long-term commitment.
The trade for Ryan Weathers was universally acclaimed, and it was a good piece of business on Cashman’s part. He ended up posting career-bests in ERA (3.60), fWAR (2.5), and innings pitched (137.1). The executive also brought back Paul Blackburn, Ryan Yarbrough, Amed Rosario, Paul Goldschmidt, and Cody Bellinger.
Some of them were nice additions, particularly the 2019 NL MVP, but Cashman left the roster exposed to injuries and underperformance in many spots, and that’s on him, too. The bullpen was a bit thin, as some of his past trade experiments, such as Jake Bird, Ángel Chivilli, and Camilo Doval, just didn’t work. The same can be said about Rule 5 pick Cade Winquest. We are more than willing to give Cashman a pass in the bullpen, since the unit finished with the second-best ERA in MLB, though.
The Bombers entered the deadline with a few notable needs, which Cashman was very much aware of. They could have used a catcher given Austin Wells’ season-long slump up to that date, a reliever or two, a starter, and a right-handed outfielder.
They flirted with several backstops, but ended up empty-handed on that front to the frustration of fans. They did bring in Luis García Jr., who had been enjoying an amazing year in Washington with 23 homers and a 133 wRC+.
Heliot Ramos’ arrival was met with mixed reviews, and he posted a disappointing 93 wRC+ in pinstripes. He did have a 184 wRC+ vs. lefties during his time in the Bronx, which was one of the main reasons behind his acquisition. Giving up left-handed pitching prospect Henry Lalane to get him hurt, though. Speaking of…
Yes, you could say that the Yankees’ deadline was a disappointment, although some might disagree. However, they managed to keep most of their top prospects, including Lombard, Dax Kilby, Carlos Lagrange, Elmer Rodríguez, and Ben Hess. The promising Lalane was the lone exception.
They represent, together with Cam Schlittler, Ben Rice, Spencer Jones, Weathers, and Will Warren, the next wave of young talent that will, theoretically at least, keep the team highly competitive for the next 3-7 years. Keeping them all, particularly Lombard when half the league was asking for him in trade conversations, was a win for Cashman.
The rest of the farm, however, needs work. A lot of work. The Yankees will need to draft well and be active in the international market in the next couple of years to revamp their depleted system. At least Cashman took a step towards solving the situation, dismissing longtime international scouting director Donny Rowland and replacing him with Mario Garza in January.
As every general manager, Cashman had some player development wins and losses when looking at the final picture of the 2026 campaign. He and his staff managed to turn Blackburn into a very useful reliever with his 1.59 ERA in 85 innings, and he got a nice season from Weathers, too.
Schlittler took a step forward into stardom, and Brent Headrick and Warren also improved in 2026. On the other hand, they couldn’t fix Doval, Luis Gil, McMahon, or Volpe, and Jasson Domínguez remains a fringe player. Grisham and Wells were also subpar for their standard.
The offense, generally speaking, had a mediocre year with a 101 wRC+ that ranked 14th in MLB. Yes, injuries to Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and other key hitters certainly hurt, but the feeling is that Cashman could have done better, or more.
We have said it multiple times in this space: the Yankees need new voices. They need to listen to more prepared people. They can’t keep doing the same things in personnel decisions, player analysis, research and development, and scouting and expect different results. Unless the ownership decides to part ways with their longtime executive, it will be on Cashman to push that change within the organization: does he have that in him, though? It’s at least a fair question.
It is the photograph of Kagiso Rabada that should put the fear of God into Australia’s brittle top order.
Former Pittsburgh Penguins forward David Perron is officially set to play his 20th NHL season after spending over three months as a free agent.
This is because the Dallas Stars have signed Perron to a one-year, $850,000 contract for the 2026-27 season.
The Stars signing Perron comes with them dealing with multiple forward injuries. Now, the former Penguins forward will provide the Stars with more forward depth as they look to bounce back from their slow start to the season.
Perron appeared in 65 games this past season split between the Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings, where he posted 13 goals, 15 assists, 28 points, and 90 hits. This included him recording 10 goals and 25 points in 49 games for Ottawa before being traded to the Red Wings.
Perron spent two seasons with the Penguins from 2014-15 to 2015-16. In 86 games with the Penguins over that span, he recorded 16 goals, 22 assists, 38 points, 202 hits, and a minus-21 rating.
For Nationals fans accustomed to watching promising innings disappear on the basepaths, 2026 offered a welcome change. The Nats played aggressive baseball, but with better results. Stealing bases and taking the extra bag became meaningful strengths, giving them another way to generate offense.
The improvement also deserves to be counted among the successes of manager Blake Butera’s coaching staff, particularly first-base and baserunning coach Corey Ray.
The Nats finished with 178 stolen bases and 40 caught stealings, succeeding on 81.7% of their attempts. In 2025, the Nationals stole 132 bases and were caught 48 times, a 73.3% success rate. That means they added 46 steals while making eight fewer outs trying to steal. More attempts produced substantially better efficiency.
The comparison with 2024 is revealing, too. That team piled up 223 steals but was caught 73 times, converting 75.3% of its attempts. The Nats 2026 club finished with fewer steals, but its success rate was more than six percentage points higher. There is value in putting pressure on the defense. There is also value in keeping a runner available for the next hitter.
The progress extended beyond stealing. Baseball-Reference’s extra-base-taken percentage measures how frequently runners advance more than one base on a single or more than two on a double when opportunities arise. The Nats rate climbed from 40% in 2025 to 47% in 2026, exceeding its 45% mark from 2024 as well. Those advances can turn an ordinary single into a first-and-third situation or bring a runner home without requiring another hit.
Advanced metrics reinforce the picture. Baseball-Reference credited the Nationals with nine baserunning runs above average in 2026, with another six runs credited separately for avoiding double plays. These measures put a run value on contributions that batting average and home run totals miss. The Nats were creating advantages between contact and the next plate appearance.
FanGraphs’ BsR, which expresses baserunning value in runs above average, also shows how widely those contributions were distributed. CJ Abrams finished at +4.7, Dylan Crews at +3.6, Jacob Young at +3.5, Daylen Lile at +2.0, and James Wood at +1.6, as the Nationals finished first in baseball in total BsR at +15.7, all the way up from -0.6 in 2025.
That is where the coaching deserves attention. In February, Mark Zuckerman reported in Nats Journal that Ray was physically positioning himself near first base during drills, requiring runners to make tighter turns around the bag. Butera emphasized foot placement, efficient routes, and the difference even an unnecessary extra foot could make. The staff was teaching specific, repeatable details from the beginning of camp.
No statistic can assign an exact share of the improvement to Ray, Butera, or third-base coach Víctor Estévez. The players deserve the largest share of the credit for executing. Still, the connection between the staff’s documented emphasis and the season’s results is a reasonable one. Better baserunning was an explicit priority, and the Nats delivered it.
There were rough edges. The Nats recorded 59 non-steal outs on the bases, up from 47 in 2025, so this was hardly a mistake-free team. But the broader gains were substantial: more successful steals, fewer failed attempts, and more extra bases taken. For a young club trying to establish better habits, that represents tangible progress—and something worth carrying into 2027.
Here's the latest episode of the Sens Nation Podcast, the official Senators podcast of the Hockey News.
The Senators have had a roller-coaster week, with a win over New Jersey, an ugly loss to St. Louis, and a shootout victory over the Islanders. Now Travis Green has thrown his forward lines into a blender. Was it a necessary shakeup or an maybe an overreaction after a bad loss in part two of a back to back situation?
Stephen Halliday gets a shot alongside Tim Stützle and Drake Batherson, while some familiar top-six faces find themselves on the fourth line. Meanwhile, William Eklund is out 10–12 weeks, Artem Zub is finally back, and Jake Sanderson is getting closer to returning.
Should Samuel Ersson get the start in Philadelphia? And have the Senators already used more defencemen than any other NHL team?
Plus, former captain Brady Tkachuk is heating up in Florida and making comments that might not sit well with Senators fans ahead of his return to Ottawa. Also on the former Senator front, we discuss Alex DeBrincat's seven-year, $91 million extension, David Perron's latest move, and James Reimer signing a minor-league deal.
All that and more on this edition of the Sens Nation Podcast!
By Steve Warne
The Hockey News Ottawa
While not at the absolute top of the list of their issues at the moment, the Philadelphia Flyers will, at some point, need to find a permanent solution for their dreadful fourth line, which has cost them dearly with their poor play multiple times over the last week.
After Thursday night's narrow, uninspiring 2-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings, Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet spoke about moments.
"It could be a big chance, anything. It's just, we're lacking the big moments. We got to find them somehow. We got to keep coming in every day to try and find them," he said.
Moments in a game when the team should rise above, come out on top, and show some killer instinct to make a big play, even when momentum is against them.
Whether or not the Flyers' frail mentality on the ice falls on Tocchet's shoulders has been the subject of fiery debate, but regardless, the team hasn't come through, and they're losing games as a result.
Take the fourth line as a microcosm of an entire roster failing to come through in those said moments.
In a 2-1 loss to Ottawa last week, newcomer forward Michael Bunting took a hooking penalty that put the Senators on the power play, leading to the game-winning goal, and Bunting played just 10:56 in that game, including a full two minutes on the power play.
On Tuesday, the story was similar.
Jack Studnicka took a tripping penalty against Seattle, and Bobby McMann went on to open the scoring on the power play. The Flyers mounted a furious two-goal comeback at the start of the second period, but they tailed off and eventually lost 3-2 in the shootout.
And then again on Thursday night, Noel Acciari and defenseman Simon Benoit couldn't stop Michael Rasmussen in front of the net, and a point-blank scramble in front of Joseph Woll ended in the game-winning goal for the Red Wings.
These were three games, in the span of one week, decided by one goal, with the fourth line at the scene of the crime each time.
NHL Trade Rumors: Flyers 'Untouchable' Forward Drawing Big InterestThe Philadelphia Flyers are refusing to trade this popular forward drawing trade interest around the NHL.For as poorly as the Flyers have played all year long, they very well could have their first three wins of the year, instead of being 0-2-1 in those games.
Adding five more points to their current total of three would have the Flyers tied with New Jersey and Toronto, one point outside the second wildcard spot with plenty of hockey left to play.
Instead, the Flyers are one of two remaining winless teams in the NHL, and the other, Los Angeles, has played four fewer games.
If the Flyers are going to be that bad, at least they have more opportunities to develop their young players, right?
Well, that hasn't happened either.
Matvei Michkov, for example, ranks ninth amongst all Flyers forwards with his 19.1 shifts per game, narrowly trailing Acciari's 19.2 and Denver Barkey's 20.2.
Even worse, rookie Porter Martone is just 11th, averaging 16.9 shifts per game, placing him above only Carl Grundstrom (AHL), Alex Bump (AHL), Michael Bunting, Garrett Wilson, and Jack Studnicka.
In terms of raw ice time, Michkov is averaging just 14:55 a game, seventh amongst Flyers forwards and nearly two full minutes behind the sixth-ranked Tippett, who averages 16:26.
Michkov and Martone (13:14) are closer to Noel Acciari (14:07) than they are to the Flyers' de facto top-six, and that's a major issue, regardless of wins and losses.
Now, without making the likes of Michkov and Martone the main characters of the show, the Flyers are winless, with the dreadful fourth line instead finding itself at the heart of these key "moments", including in a tied game in Detroit with under five minutes left in regulation.
Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell, sitting next to soon-to-be free agent Tarik Skubal at their lockers in the aftermath of their team’s elimination from the National League Championship Series elimination, made a promise:
“I’ll be recruiting,” he interjected with a smile, as Skubal declined to comment on free agency, saying it was too soon to try to predict what the future would hold for him.
That would be Snell’s side project between rounds of video games — 2K specifically. (Skubal admittedly “sucks” at the game, but Snell says his teammate “has heart, though.” The rest can be taught.)
Read more:It wasn't just Brewers dominance. There's a simpler explanation for the Dodgers' demise
The Dodgers, after falling short of a three-peat, will look a little different next year. Skubal, whom they acquired at the trade deadline to boost their chances at a World Series title, is set to hit free agency. So are perennial postseason performer Kiké Hernández and high-leverage relievers Alex Vesia, Evan Phillips and Blake Treinen. On Thursday, clubhouse leader and 2025 World Series hero Miguel Rojas announced his retirement.
The expected lockout, and MLB’s insistence on a salary cap in their CBA proposals have also cast doubt on what the system will look like next year — whenever the season begins.
Not to mention, the stars in the Dodgers lineup, already the oldest in the majors (weighted by at-bats and games played), will be another year older.
Could this be the end of an era?
“I don’t feel that at all,” Skubal said. “It’s hard to win the World Series, and this group has done it the last two seasons. Obviously, not this year, but … I think that this group is incredibly talented. And the preparation and the work ethic that this group has — I don’t buy into that narrative.”
Said Snell: “We’re only getting better.”
Plenty of people outside of the Dodgers’ downcast clubhouse Thursday evening saw the Brewers’ four-game sweep of the defending back-to-back champions as the fall of a dynasty. But the players inside fervently disagreed.
Read more:Plaschke: The Dodgers had everything needed to three-peat. This is why they failed
“When you have Shohei Ohtani on your team, Yoshinbou Yamamoto, Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts and the years ahead of these guys, you can never think that it’s going to be the end,” Rojas said. “And I know this organization so well, they’re not going to be satisfied with this loss. I think they’re going to move forward and continue to improve the team in any capacity, and I believe that we’re going to be even better next year.”
Said Hernández: “I don’t know what’s going to happen with me personally, moving forward for next year. But this team is well-positioned to keep winning and keep competing deep into October. So not only is this locker room very talented, but there’s a lot of guys knocking on the door in the minor-league system that can be really impactful players. So the organization is in good hands.”
Rookie Josue De Paula showed down the stretch, and with his plate discipline even in high-octane moments in the postseason, just how impactful the young players in the Dodgers’ system could be. And there are more behind him.
This offseason, the Dodgers front office will try to strike a balance between continuity and fresh faces. For some of their impending free agents, who spoke highly of the organization, that meant uncertainty in the immediate aftermath.
“I love this place,” Hernández said. “I’ve played for three other teams, but every time I look at my career, I obviously go back to this place. I’ve been here the longest. I hope I get back. I feel like I have a lot left. … I would love to have one more try, trying to win another one. But I don’t really know what’s going to happen.”
Vesia, too, said he’d love to return.
Read more:Shaikin: Questions about Shohei Ohtani's health, a salary cap and Mark Walter loom for Dodgers
“From the coaching staff, to the front office, to the players that have taken me under their wing, have helped mold and shape me into who I am and how I carry myself, how I go about my business,” Vesia said of his six years in the organization. “And if it wasn’t for the people in the room in this room, I would not be where I’m at today. So, very thankful. This whole experience has been life-changing.”
Skubal is in a unique situation. In line to be the top free agent pitcher in this year’s class, he held his cards closer to the vest. But he gave a glowing review of his time with the Dodgers.
“It was an honor and a privilege to be here and compete with these guys, and to wear LA across your hat and across your chest,” he said. “It’s something that I took a lot of pride in. And, obviously, didn’t end the way that I wanted it to. But that’s life. That’s baseball. I had a ton of fun here, and I loved competing with these guys.”
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers did not have a save of at least three innings in 2026, their first full season without one since 2016. They also did not win or reach the World Series this year.
Coincidence? Yes, of course. Let’s not be daft.
But three-inning saves are still cool as hell, as I’ve explainedmany a time here and in audio form elsewhere.
We nearly saw a four-inning save at Dodger Stadium in the National League Division Series, when Braves right-hander Didier Fuentes retired 11 in a row before allowing a two-out home run in the ninth inning. That pulled the Dodgers to within a run, and Atlanta manager Walt Weiss went with his closer Raisel Iglesias for the final out.
The Braves won that night, but never again this season.
The back end of the Brewers bullpen — Trevor Megill, Aaron Ashby, and Abner Uribe — is one of Milwaukee’s great strengths, with that trio this postseason having allowed three runs (two earned) in 24 1/3 innings, with 23 strikeouts. Ashby has pitched in six of Milwaukee’s eight games, totaling 12 1/3 scoreless innings, with 11 strikeouts.
In the NLCS, Ashby pitched two scoreless frames in Game 1, then got a five-out save to close out Game 2. Even before Game 4, Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman extolled the virtues of the Brewers bullpen, and specifically mentioned the left-hander.
“Ashby — I don’t understand that. It’s 98 to 100 from up here and sinking and curving,” Freeman said. “They’ve just got a lot of weapons.”
In Game 4 on Thursday, Ashby allowed doubles in the seventh and eighth inning, each of which represented the potential tying run. But he stranded them both.
“I was just praying for a little peace in the chaos, because with this crowd and this team, things can happen fast,” Ashby told Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports on the field after the game. “I was just trying to be calm out there, that’s pretty much it.
Then Ashby got the ninth inning as well, his 31st relief appearance involving multiple innings this season, tied for most in the majors. He retired the Dodgers in order in the ninth, with Jackson Chourio making a nice running catch in left field to clinch the Brewers first pennant since 1982.
Ashby recorded just the fifth save of three innings or longer in a postseason clinching game since saves became an official statistic in 1969, and the first since Lance McCullers Jr. with a four-inning save for the 2017 Astros in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series.
Working backward retroactively, two other postseason clinchers before 1969 had long saves as well.
| Pitcher | Series | Team | Opponent | Innings |
| Herb Pennock | 1932 World Series G4 | Yankees | Cubs | 3 |
| Ted Wilks | 1944 World Series G6 | Cardinals | Browns | 3 2/3 |
| Vida Blue | 1972 ALCS G5 | A’s | Tigers | 4 |
| Steve Howe | 1981 World Series G6 | Dodgers | Yankees | 3 2/3 |
| Madison Bumgarner | 2014 World Series G7 | Giants | Royals | 5 |
| Lance McCullers Jr. | 2017 ALCS G7 | Astros | Yankees | 4 |
| Aaron Ashby | 2026 NLCS G4 | Brewers | Dodgers | 3 |
In 2025, there were 49 saves of at least three innings in MLB, 15 more than the previous season and the most in any year since 1999. In 2026, there were 50 saves of at least three innings. This is a new golden age of extended saves, but the Dodgers did not take part this year.
The Dodgers for much of the season didn’t really have a long man in the bullpen, like at times in recent years. Eric Lauer seemed destined for this role, but he kept sticking around in the rotation as various other starters were either injured or optioned.
Jonathan Hernández pitched in a lot of mop-up roles but mostly topped out at two innings. Plus after June, the Dodgers mostly stopped collecting blowout wins, which tends to pave the road toward a three-inning save.
Landon Knack has recorded one save in each of his three major league seasons to date, including an 11-out save on the final day of the regular season in 2025. He had the best shot on the Dodgers for a three-inning save in 2026, as he was warming in the bullpen on August 12 after Lauer pitched six innings at 107 pitches, eight more than his second-most this season.
But Lauer instead got one more batter to open the seventh inning, and struck out Josh Rojas. Then, Knack entered and got a save of 2 2/3 innings, protecting a 4-2 lead. It was the Dodgers’ first eight-out save since Brian Holton in 1987, so that was something, at least.
But it was no three-inning save. At least Dodger Stadium, in seeing its third consecutive National League pennant clinched on Thursday, got to go out with a very cool pitching outing to put a cap on 2026.
We’ll always have the six-inning save by Jackson Ferris on September 9 for Tripe-A Oklahoma City though to tide us over through the winter.
Brady Tkachuk is suddenly the hottest goal-scorer in the NHL. And if Senators fans weren't already planning to give their former captain a rough reception next Wednesday night, the timing of his comments about Florida Panthers fans have probably sealed the deal.
Tkachuk has scored back-to-back hat tricks, giving him six goals in two games after a slow start to his first season in Florida.
But it wasn't just his scoring that made headlines Thursday night.
After his latest three-goal performance, Tkachuk was serenaded with chants of "Brady! Brady!" from the Panthers faithful, a familiar sound for anyone who followed his eight seasons in Ottawa.
The chanting occurred during his rinkside postgame TV interview, and Tkachuk couldn't have been happier with the reception.
"I'm just so grateful to be here. I'm truly blessed to play in front of the best fans in the NHL! How good is this?"
Ouch.
Tkachuk's comments come just days before his return to Canadian Tire Centre this Wednesday (Oct. 21). It will be his first NHL game in Ottawa wearing enemy colours since demanding a trade in the offseason.
It's a homecoming that already promised to be highly emotional, maybe even hostile.
There's no question that some Senators fans have completely moved on, happy that the Brady Tkachuk era is behind them. Others fully understand that every NHL player is going to say that his current team has the best fans. That's just pandering 101, playing along to get along.
But for others, the timing of their former captain's declaration, just days before his return, may prove to be a final straw.
Tkachuk's slow start in Florida provided at least a little consolation. While the Sens are in first place in the Atlantic, enjoying a strong 6-2 start to the season, their former captain was struggling to find the scoresheet with his new club.
So there was some satisfaction in Ottawa, seeing Tkachuk discover that the grass isn't always greener elsewhere. But that consolation, if it was ever really a consolation at all, is now gone.
Tkachuk has suddenly rediscovered his scoring touch, and Panthers fans are now chanting his name, just as Senators fans once did.
The Senators have already said they will recognize their former captain with a tribute video on Wednesday, acknowledging his eight seasons in Ottawa and his contributions to the franchise.
But there's no longer much doubt about how the crowd will respond. He will be booed where he once heard fans chanting his name.
They've had plenty of chances to welcome back recent former captains like Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza, and Erik Karlsson.
But this one is way different.
After hearing Tkachuk make those comments so close to his return to Ottawa, anyone who still held some goodwill for the ex-captain may be fresh out by Wednesday night.
By Steve Warne
The Hockey News Ottawa
Every season has the good and the bad, and 2026 was no different. The worst thing obviously was missing the playoffs despite winning 86 games. Goes without saying. But why did this team miss the playoffs? We as fans of the Arizona Diamondbacks are no strangers to missing the playoffs and having a whole laundry list of items to stew over for the offseason. However, I wanted to limit this list just like in my previous article to just the top 5 things. In order to do this in the most fair and balanced way, I chose an analytical approach. I ranked the list of things that went wrong and tried to quantify each by WAR against preseason projections (Steamer and ZIPS average), or in other words what went wrong relative to expectations. So ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, here is stack ranked what went most wrong for the Dbacks in 2026:
This one is ugly. 4 of the 5 starters they planned around combined for about -0.6 WAR against 7.2 projected. This aspect of the team far and away takes the crown for the biggest thing that went wrong for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2026. Merrill Kelly had the worst underlying numbers of any regular starter in baseball with an xERA and a K-BB% that both ranked dead last amongst qualified starters. And he took the ball every 5th day for 162 IP so those innings did real damage to this team.
Zac Gallen went from having an elite 4 seamer in 2023 (98th percentile by run value) to 8th percentile in 2026 at the same velocity. Hitters simply stopped chasing as the league adjusted to Gallen in a big way and Gallen has simply failed to make an adjustment back. Because he signed the big contract in the offseason, he got waaaay to much leash this season pitching 105 innings of 6.07 ERA baseball. Ouch.
Corbin Burnes was sold to the fanbase since spring training as someone who was going to come back and provide this team a real shot in the arm. The actual results? He basically didn’t even pitch logging just 10.1 innings and looking like he was most certainly rushed back too fast.
As a team, the starters allowed the 3rd hardest contact in MLB (xwOBA .341) and ranked 28th in K-BB% despite throwing the 5th most innings. Put plainly, if it wasn’t for Eduardo Rodriguez and Michael Soroka (+3.5 WAR over projection combined) this season would’ve been an absolute disaster. And to add even more doom and gloom, ERod’s 2.89 ERA came with a 4.27xERA (41 st percentile) so the Dbacks need to really do something this offseason with Soroka becoming a free agent to drastically sure up this rotation.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr, Max Kepler, Pavin Smith, and Carlos Santana were combined -5.4 WAR against projection. Gurriel alone was -1 WAR and add Adrian Del Castillo to the mix and that group took 665 PA below a 60 wRC+. Ouch. This group drug the team down so much that the offense went from 19th in runs per game before the break to 4th after the break and about 85% of that rise came from changing who batted. This was a massive miscalculation by Hazen and co. in the offseason when they built this team. Several people such as our good friend Jack Sommers called out in the offseason that this team badly needed an impact left handed bat this offseason.
However Hazen shrugged those concerns off when asked about them before the season started and it really came back to hurt this team. To make matters worse, the coaching staff was still trying to coach this group as if they were the thumpers from seasons before having them sell out for pulled fly balls and the result? Production on pulled fly balls and line drives ranked 30th or dead last in the league. Put another way, Hazen and co. constructed a lineup full of guys who lacked the pure bat speed to make the pull fly ball approach work, and the coaching staff continued to coach to it despite disastrous results. Yuck.
The chart below says it all. At least where Carroll and Perdomo fell flat with the bat they were able to add value on the bases and the field, however Ketel Marte was the real miss here (-1.9 WAR vs expectations). Marte’s chase rate jumped from 25% to 32% before any injury. After the all star break his xwOBA fell from .364 to .307 and his hard hit rate went from 45% to 36%. And that was aside from all of the extra negative attention he brought this team after the break which if I was in charge I’d add another -1 WAR for that alone! Carroll was close to his projection, although his swing got longer and loftier as the season went on and the pitchers just attacked it with more fastballs. His whiffs per swing on fastballs rose 3 straight years to 25.5% in 2026. He did begin to adjust in the second half as the fastball whiffs dropped down to 21.9% but his results simply didn’t follow. There is something to be optimistic about there at least.
Now, I know what people will say, every team has injuries. And that is certainly true. The Dbacks actually had some good injury luck in 2026 relatively. However I have stuck to the plan this long taking an analytical approach and so I need to stay with it. If we look at the injuries from the standpoint of total IL days, the Dbacks actually ranked 6th most in MLB with 2,107 IL days. MLB median was about 1,660. Here is the list:
Not really that much to say here except for another year it seems like this team’s replacement depth got tested with guys like Mitch Bratt and Jose Cabrera pitching meaningful innings. Hazen and co need to anticipate these injuries rather than point to them as an excuse and build more depth into the organization so that when they happen, its more of a minor drop in production not production falling off a cliff. Expect injuries.
You guys lnew this was coming. And it partly underlies #2 on this list. However, it was so bad, it definitely deserves its own spot. The overall read: This team went from being one of the best hitting teams against right handed pitching in the league to being one of the worst and finishing about 4 wins below average against righties. This matters so much because righties pitched against the Dbacks in 73% of their plate appearances. Against lefties, they were 2nd in MLB at +44 runs. The root cause of their offensive struggles is pretty simple.
What’s strange however is that the ‘big 3’ all bat left handed against righties and usually perform pretty well. The collapse of the ‘big 3’ against RHP is something that I don’t think anyone really saw coming in all fairness. So what happened to them? Here is the frustrating part: mostly bad luck. As a group, the lefties had a wOBA of .300 against an expected of .313. Marte and Carroll account for much of this bad luck however which is good news for 2027.
In addition to the core not producing against RHP, Hazen also whiffed on acquiring a left handed impact bat not once but twice. Before the season it felt more like hubris, at the trade deadline it came down to just more bad luck with multiple reported deals falling apart at the last minute due to medicals. Unfortunately it just seemed like destiny that this team was going to struggle against righties in 2026. Fortunately it appears as to most of that being due to bad luck so although this team definitely needs to acquire an impact left handed bat this offseason, they already have 3 who seemed to just get really unlucky all at once.
And so with that, let’s end this terrible exercise of doom and gloom with that little bit of optimism towards 2027!