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Cody Bellinger’s incredible catch, throw the ‘play of the game’ as Yankees win Subway Series finale

The Yankees have been looking for that big play during this tough stretch. 

Hoping to snap their season-high six-game losing streak on Sunday afternoon, they were able to open an early advantage over the shorthanded makeshift Mets pitching staff in the Subway Series finale at Citi Field. 

The Mets refused to go away, though, and suddenly had recaptured the momentum. 

They were able to scratch across runs in back-to-back frames against Max Fried and Jonathan Loaisiga to make is a two run ballgame, then Francisco Lindor led off the bottom of the seventh with a walk. 

Suddenly, the red hot Juan Soto stepped to the plate representing the tying run. 

The star outfielder worked the count before lacing a 105 mph liner into shallow left which looked like a clean knock off the bat, however Cody Bellinger came racing in and made an incredible shoestring catch to rob him. 

Bellinger then came up throwing and unleashed a perfect strike to first, doubling off Lindor. 

The Mets challenged the play, but replay confirmed the call on the field.

“It was a hard hit ball, so it’s just trying to get the best read possible,” Bellinger said. “I saw it in the air and had a really good beat on it, so I was just glad I was able to make the play and when I looked up I saw Goldy with his glove high so I was trying to make a good throw.”

The Yankees’ bullpen was able to hold on from there, as Tim Hill and Devin Williams kept the Mets off the board over the last two frames to finally end the skid.  

Carlos Mendoza called it the "play of the game."

Aaron Boone one-upped him and called it the Yanks' "play of the year, so far."

"That's one of those it's like that in-betweener, do you leave your feet, your best way is to go try and shoestring catch it there," Boone added. "He's able to get underneath it, but just that Cody Bellinger presence of mind thing that he has, we've seen it all year with him defensively, just a really special play."

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Yankees' Jazz Chisholm, Max Fried selected to All-Star Game

Yankees slugger Aaron Judge will have some company at the 2025 MLB All-Star Game.

Judge was previously named the starter in RF after leading the AL through the opening round of voting.

Now, ace Max Fried and infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. have also been selected to represent the organization.

For Fried, it will mark a return to Atlanta, where he spent the first eight years of his career.

The southpaw has been spectacular during his first season with the Yankees, taking home the victory in 11 of his 19 outings and pitching to a 2.27 ERA.

With Gerrit Cole sidelined for the season, he's stepped in perfectly atop their banged-up rotation, and now logs his third career All-Star appearance.

"It's an honor," Fried said. "We have a lot of players on this team who are really deserving. Hopefully, over the next week or so, we can add a few more, but it's special and it's a really cool experience to go and be able to share that with teammates and family."

Chisholm has been forced to battle through some injuries in his first full season with the organization, but he's been extremely productive when healthy.

The 27-year-old infielder is hitting .245 with nine doubles, 10 stolen bases, 15 homers, 38 RBI, and a .841 OPS over 59 games.

This is his second career All-Star appearance.

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Yankees snap losing streak, hold on for 6-4 win over Mets in Subway Series finale

The Yankees snapped a six-game skid and held on to beat the Mets, 6-4, avoiding the sweep on Sunday in the finale of 2025's Subway Series.

Here are the takeaways...

-- Chris Devenski did his job as the Mets opener and pitched a scoreless first inning, allowing just a one-out single to Trent Grisham before getting Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton to fly out. The right-hander surprisingly came back out for the second inning and sent the Yanks down in order, including back-to-back strikeouts.

-- New Met Zach Pop made his team debut and came in for Devenski in the third inning, but it go as planned. He allowed a solo homer to Austin Wells on his second pitch as the Yankees took a 1-0 lead. Pop escaped the third without further damage and stayed in to pitch the fourth inning. The righty allowed a leadoff double to Stanton and found himself in a first-and-third situation after Cody Bellinger singled. Pop got Anthony Volpe to hit a grounder, but the Mets could only turn one as the run scored to push the Yanks' lead to 2-0. He allowed another single and was then replaced by Brandon Waddell with runners on the corners.

Wells hit another hard grounder that the Mets couldn't turn two on, making it a 3-0 game. Waddell got Oswald Peraza to fly out and end the inning. Waddell stayed in to pitch the fifth and things fell apart fast. Paul Goldschmidt doubled and then Judge launched a two-run homer as the Yanks went up 5-0.

-- Starling Marte dropped a surprise bunt to leadoff the bottom of the first inning and beat it out for a single. Yankees starter Max Fried got a bit upset during Francisco Lindor's at-bat, as he was called for a pitch clock violation with a 2-2 count and walked off the mound to argue with the home plate umpire, but no one was ejected. Marte stole second while Lindor struck out and then advanced to third on a wild pitch by Fried. The Mets failed to capitalize on the early scoring chance as Pete Alonso flied out.

-- Fried kept the Mets bats quiet for most of the day, but found himself in a tough spot in the fifth inning. Jeff McNeil and Hayden Senger hit back-to-back one-out singles and Marte collected his third hit of the day to load the bases. Lindor delivered with the fourth straight hit against Fried on a single up the middle, scoring two and cutting the Yankee lead to 5-2. Fried escaped by striking out Juan Soto on a slider in the dirt and getting Alonso to fly out to right field.

The left-hander's day ended after plunking Brandon Nimmo to leadoff the sixth, as he tossed 98 pitches (61 strikes) and allowed two runs on six hits with five strikeouts.

-- Ronny Mauricio pinch-hit for Mark Vientos with Nimmo on first base and came through with a single. It was then Brett Baty's turn to pinch hit for Tyrone Taylor and he loaded the bases with another single. McNeil hit a dibbler that was misplayed by Jonathan Loáisiga, allowing the run to score and keeping the bases juiced. Senger grounded into a double play, but another run scored to cut the Yankee lead to 5-4. Loáisiga escaped by getting Marte to line out with some help from a sliding Judge in right field.

-- The Yankees tacked on another in the top of the seventh on a Judge sacrifice fly, making it 6-4. Bellinger made the play of the day in the bottom half on a low catch in left field against Soto and was able to double-up Lindor retreating back to first base, helping Mark Leiter Jr. avoid potential trouble.

-- Carlos Mendoza was ejected for arguing balls and strikes in the bottom of the ninth inning. Home plate umpire John Bacon called two low pitches strikes against Luis Torrens, as both pitches were clearly outside the zone.

Game MVP: Aaron Judge

The slugger hit HR No. 33 on the season with a two-run blast and picked up another RBI with a sacrifice fly. He's up to 74 RBI on the season.

Honorable mention: Bellinger, for his scooping catch and throw to shut down a Mets comeback.

Highlights

What's next

The Mets are off on Monday and then start a three-game series in Baltimore against the Orioles on Tuesday. First pitch is at 6:35 p.m. on SNY.

Clay Holmes (8-4, 2.99 ERA) is scheduled to start, while Brandon Young (0-3, 7.02 ERA) goes for the O's.

The Yankees stay in New York and start a three-game series with the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday at 7:05 p.m.

Will Warren (5-4, 5.02 ERA) take the mound and will face Logan Gilbert (2-2, 3.40 ERA) for the Mariners.

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Mets’ Carlos Mendoza ejected after back-to-back questionable ninth inning strike calls vs. Yankees

Carlos Mendoza is usually pretty calm and collected -- but frustration has been brewing for the second-year Mets skipper throughout Sunday's Subway Series finale at Citi Field.

Finally, in the ninth inning, things reached the breaking point.

With Luis Torrens pinch-hitting against Yankees closer Devin Williams leading off the bottom of the ninth, home plate umpire John Bacon made an extremely questionable strike two call on a pitch out of the zone.

Mendoza gave Bacon an earful from the first-base dugout, but play went on.

Seconds later, Bacon punched out Torrens on a changeup even further out of the zone, and this time the skipper immediately came sprinting out of the dugout.

Mendoza quickly earned his second ejection in the last eight days, and this time he got his money's worth -- kicking some dirt on home plate and getting in Bacon's face before being separated.

It was just his third career ejection, and second in the last week.

"It was building up the whole game," Mendoza explained postgame. "In that situation, leading off the inning down two runs, you want to get guys on base and keep the line moving so hopefully [Juan] Soto and Pete [Alonso] get a chance here.

"You get two calls like that that don't go your way, it's just pretty frustrating."

And as things played out, the Mets ended up going down quietly against Williams, who got Starling Marte to ground out and then punched out Francisco Lindor on a 98 mph fastball to end the game.

Still, the club was able to secure the series victory and Subway Series split for the season.

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NHL Free Agency: How Do The Canadian Teams Stack Up Following Off-Season Moves?

As the hype from the NHL’s free-agent frenzy dies down, it’s as good a time as any to take stock of the league’s seven Canadian teams. 

We’re going to break down the teams alphabetically, so let’s get to it:

1. Calgary Flames

Contender, Pretender Or Somewhere In The Middle? Pretender

Why? The Flames narrowly missed out on a playoff berth this past season, but that was when basically everything went right for them. The injury bug avoided them, they picked up long-term pieces in a trade with Philadelphia, and this summer, Flames GM Craig Conroy held onto his salary cap flexibility, as Calgary now has $15.4 million in cap space. He might have spent more of it to acquire some veteran help, but the fact that he didn’t speaks volumes about where they are in their competitive trajectory.

The big picture for the Flames shows a team that is still in transition into being a legitimate Stanley Cup contender. Calgary doesn’t have the generational talent to go head-to-head with archrivals like the Edmonton Oilers or Vancouver Canucks. And many hockey observers expect Conroy to trade top-pair defenseman Rasmus Andersson, and perhaps, veteran center Nazem Kadri. For those reasons, we see the Flames still in the early stages of a rebuild, and that means they’re currently a pretender. 

2. Edmonton Oilers

Contender, Pretender Or Somewhere In The Middle? Contender

Why? Don’t get it twisted – we believe the Oilers took a step backward thus far this summer, losing key veterans, including wingers Corey Perry and Connor Brown in free agency. But that doesn’t mean Edmonton is now a pretender, or worse. They still employ two of the top-five players on the planet in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, and they just re-signed star defenseman Evan Bouchard to a long-term contract extension. There’s a lot to like here.

By the time the next regular season has concluded, we expect the Oilers to be up there with the Vegas Golden Knights and Los Angeles Kings as one of the top teams in the Pacific Division. But Edmonton GM Stan Bowman needs to make good use of the trade market to keep up with the Joneses. 

The Oilers have next to nothing in cap space, so Bowman will have to be creative to improve his roster. Because at a time when every team in the Western Conference will be targeting Edmonton as a true test of their playoff readiness, the Oilers have to keep getting better. And thus far, they haven’t been able to do that.

3. Montreal Canadiens

Contender, Pretender Or Somewhere In The Middle? Somewhere In The Middle

Why? We’re not here to tell you the Canadiens are pretenders. They’ve made genuinely legitimate strides as a team, and Montreal GM Kent Hughes made one of the biggest splashes of the off-season by acquiring star defenseman Noah Dobson from the New York Islanders. But while we definitely see the Canadiens battling for a playoff spot all season long, the truth is improvement isn’t always linear, and in a highly competitive Atlantic Division, the Habs aren’t a lock to make the playoffs next year.

As Montreal’s young core continues to develop, the Canadiens are likely to be a powerhouse in the Eastern Conference. But there’s also a possibility they take a lateral step or a slight step backward in 2025-26. The Habs are essentially capped out, so Hughes will have to be crafty in attempting to improve his team. 

We like Hughes’ work a lot, but making notable improvements isn’t always a cakewalk, and that’s why we see the Habs having the potential to struggle a bit more this year than they did last year.

4. Ottawa Senators

Contender, Pretender Or Somewhere In The Middle? Contender

Why? The Sens made major strides last season, getting into the playoffs for the first time in eight years. Once they got to the post-season, though, they were quickly disposed of by the Maple Leafs. Still, just getting into the playoffs was a terrific accomplishment, and a harbinger of better days ahead.

In free agency and trades this summer, the Sens have been relatively quiet, re-signing veteran center Claude Giroux and adding experienced pivot Lars Eller to help fill out the bottom-six group of forwards. But the fact is that Senators GM Steve Staios doesn’t need to do much at the moment, as he has $4.29 million in cap space to use to improve during the season. Ultimately, we like what we see in the Sens as a whole, and we expect their internal improvement will push them even further this coming season.

5. Toronto Maple Leafs

Contender, Pretender Or Somewhere In The Middle? Contender

Why? The Maple Leafs won the Atlantic last season, and although their offense will take a sizeable hit with the departure of Mitch Marner, what remains in Toronto is still very much a playoff team. 

Adding grinders like former Golden Knight Nicolas Roy and former Canadien Michael Pezzetta will make the Leafs harder to play against, and the continuing development of youngster Matthew Knies and the trade addition of former Utah Mammoth winger Matias Maccelli will help replace some of the offense Marner took with him. And the Leafs still have $4.98 million in cap space to spend on a top-six forward.

Auston Matthews protects the puck from John Klingberg. (Perry Nelson-Imagn Images)

What’s also true of this Leafs team is that their defense is the envy of most NHL organizations. Even if veteran Morgan Rielly is traded, Toronto has a top-six set of blueliners who can get the job done and make life easier on goalies Anthony Stolarz and Joseph Woll.

 It would take some catastrophic injuries and spectacular underachievement for the Buds to miss the playoffs, and we don’t see either of those two things happening. The post-Marner Era may not have as many highlight-reel plays, but Leafs GM Brad Treliving has crafted a lineup that will fight for home-ice advantage in the 2026 playoffs.

6. Vancouver Canucks

Contender, Pretender Or Somewhere In The Middle? Contender

Why? Virtually everything that could go wrong did go wrong for Vancouver last season, including in-house drama between star forwards Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller, as well as injuries to star goalie Thatcher Demko and superstar blueliner Quinn Hughes. However, everything has cleared up in Vancouver’s favor, including the re-signing of star winger Brock Boeser and the addition of rugged winger Evander Kane.

With everyone healthy and ready to go, there’s no reason why Vancouver can’t quickly put last year behind them and once again be a top team in the Pacific. They’ll need Pettersson to be significantly better, and they’ll need their goaltending tandem of Demko and Kevin Lankinen to hold up their end of the bargain, but there’s too much talent in B.C. for the Canucks to falter for the second-straight season. 

7. Winnipeg Jets

Contender, Pretender Or Somewhere In The Middle? Contender

Why? The Jets lost star winger Nikolaj Ehlers to the Carolina Hurricanes in free agency, but Winnipeg has the best goalie in the league – at least, in the regular season – in Connor Hellebuyck, a deep collection of fast and skilled forwards, and a defense corps that may be underrated. 

The Jets were the NHL’s top regular-season team last season, and the additions of star center Jonathan Toews and veteran winger Tanner Pearson make an already-dangerous squad all the more imposing.

The Jets play in the toughest division in the league in the Central, but with Hellebuyck, center Mark Scheifele and winger Kyle Connor leading the way, Winnipeg once again will be right up there as one of the NHL’s top teams, and a genuine threat to go deep in the post-season. And with a good deal of cap space still available, the Jets have the potential to be even better next year.

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Moose Jaw Warriors' Matthew Hutchison Using Canucks Development Camp To Grow His Game

Matthew Hutchison was one of many WHLers who attended an NHL Development Camp this year. The Moose Jaw Warriors goaltender was an invitee with the Vancouver Canucks, where he had the opportunity to work with the organization he grew up cheering for. Overall, it was an unforgettable experience for Hutchison, who plans to apply what he learned next season in the WHL. 

As mentioned, Hutchison grew up as a Canucks fan. The Nanaimo-born goaltender had spent his entire career playing in BC before being traded to the Moose Jaw Warriors this past season. According to Hutchison, being invited to Vancouver's Development Camp was a special moment and one he does not take for granted. 

"It means the world to me, said Hutchison. "Growing up, they're my team. It's essentially my hometown team. We've talked about them all my life, me and all my buddies. So, getting the call to be able to come to training camp and be a part of the team for a period of time is huge. It's a great staff here, great players and just all around, great experience to learn and grow my game."

Hutchison was one of 16 undrafted players who attended Canucks Development Camp. Organizations often invite undrafted or unsigned prospects to their camp in order to get a better idea of players they may sign in the future. As Hutchison explained, even though he isn't a drafted prospect, Vancouver's staff spent time working with him and gave him every opportunity to stand out during the week-long development camp. 

Meet The Vancouver Canucks 2025 Development Camp InviteesMeet The Vancouver Canucks 2025 Development Camp InviteesThe Vancouver Canucks open their 2025 Development Camp on June 30, with 33 players in attendance. On top of Vancouver's drafted prospects, the Canucks have invited 16 additional players to join the week-long camp. Here is a look at which players Vancouver invited this year. 

"I think the biggest thing I've noticed is just how much it feels like every coach wants to help every player here, no matter if they're drafted, signed, invited to the camp, whatnot. Yeah, just the energy and positivity here is unbelievable."

Lastly, Hutchison was asked about some of the lesson's he learned while at camp. Not only did the 18-year-old get to work with NHL coaches, but players he could be facing off against in the future. According to Hutchison, his goal was to be a sponge and absorb as much knowledge as he could throughout the camp. 

"I think, honestly, just looking around, seeing as much as I can. Whether that's looking at other goalies, like Younger (Ty Young) or Aku (Koskenvuo), and seeing what I can learn from them, or whether it's Marco Ian, just anything I can take in. I'm trying to soak in every little model I have here and use everything I see, and I'm involved with to better myself and grow my game."

The 2025-26 season is a big opportunity for Hutchison. He is the Warriors projected starter, and will be one of the top WHL goaltenders available for the 2026 NHL Entry Draft. If Hutchison can have a strong campaign, he could be headed to a Development Camp next year, but this time as a drafted prospect. 

Matthew Hutchison at Vancouver Canucks Development Camp (Photo Credit: Kaja Antic/THN) 

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Mets’ Jesse Winker crushes no-doubt homer in potential final rehab appearance

Jesse Winker has been sidelined since the beginning of May, but he finally appears ready to roll. 

The Mets' left-handed hitting slugger took the field in his potential final rehab appearance down in Syracuse on Sunday afternoon and he looked back in form.

It didn’t take Winker very long to make his mark, as he jumped on a first pitch sweeper from Worcester right-hander Cooper Criswell in the bottom of the first and crushed it 410 feet for a no-doubt two-run home run. 

It was his first long ball with Triple-A, but the second on his rehab assignment. 

He then worked the count full before drawing a walk to load the bases during his next at-bat, but he was a little too aggressive on the bases and was thrown out trying to advance to third on a Jared Young sacrifice fly.

Winker came up with a man on two innings later and he worked another walk, but after two more free passes forced in a run and loaded the bases, he was stranded as Jose Azocar struck out to end the inning. 

The 31-year-old was finally retired in each of his final two plate appearances, flying out to center in the seventh and then the same leading off the bottom of the ninth. 

Overall, he finished the day 1-for-3 with the two-run homer and a pair of walks. 

Winker’s hitting just .143 through five games of his minor league rehab assignment, but he’s driven in seven runs and has a .904 OPS. 

Carlos Mendoza said pregame that the Mets will see how he feels following the back-to-back contests, but there’s a chance he could rejoin the team as they kick off a series Tuesday in Baltimore. 

Getting Winker back in the mix will be a huge boost for this offense -- prior to the injury, he was receiving the bulk of the DH at-bats against right-handed pitching.

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Diamondbacks infielder Pavin Smith heads to injured list with strained right oblique

PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks have placed infielder Pavin Smith on the 10-day injured list with a strained right oblique and recalled infielder Tristan English from Triple-A Reno.

Arizona also placed right-hander Ryan Thompson on the 15-day injured list with a strained scapular, retroactive to Saturday, and recalled right-hander Bryce Jarvis from Reno before Sunday’s game against Kansas City.

Right-hander Tommy Henry was recalled to the big league roster and placed on the 60-day injured list with a right elbow injury to make room for English on the 40-man roster.

Smith is hitting .261 with eight homers and 28 RBIs in 79 games while primarily splitting time between first base and designated hitter.

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An Intriguing New Player At Development Camp

There were a lot of new faces at the Montreal Canadiens’ development camp last week, starting with the prospect drafted at the end of June, but there was also one Russian prospect who was drafted in the fourth round of the 2023 draft: Bogdan Konyushkov.

The 22-year-old right-shot defenseman is not overly large, standing at six feet and weighing 171 pounds, but he has already played three full seasons in the KHL and has plenty of experience under his belt.

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In the season following his selection by the Canadiens, he was named captain of Torpedo Nizhny by former NHL player and coach Igor Larionov and put up 28 points in 65 games. That offensive production diminished in the most recent season to 17 points in 67 games. Asked how come at camp, Konyushkov replied through prospect Arseni Radkov, who acted as his interpreter, that when his team doesn’t play as well and scores less, players produce less as well.

He showed a lot of poise and leadership throughout the development camp, which prompted Rob Ramage to say:

He speaks a little bit of English, so it was impressive when he was speaking to the other Russians on the ice and he was helping to explain what the drills were. […] So he’s a very mature young man. He was a captain two years ago, the youngest captain in the KHL, so he carries himself like a pro. I believe he’s going back this year, and we’ll see what happens next year. It would be nice to get him over.
- Rob Ramage on Bogdan Konyushkov

The youngster has one year left on his contract with Torpedo and will be playing under a new coach, Alexei Isakov, since Larionov was dismissed after his team’s first-round exit. Konyushkov doesn’t know what the future holds after that; he wants to focus on the next season, and after that, he will figure it out. The organization would like to see him come over.

He didn’t stand out to me during development camp, but that’s not a bad thing; he’s not a flashy defenseman, and he plays an efficient game that doesn’t necessarily catch the eye. Still, in the scrimmage, he joined the rush whenever possible, and he showed he was a mobile defenseman.

I don’t see him becoming a top-pairing defenseman in the NHL, but the Canadiens could use a real right-shot defenseman on their bottom pairing, which would finally give them balanced pairings. For now, Noah Dobson and Alexandre Carrier are the two right-shot pairings, and eventually, David Reinbacher will be joining them, leaving Carrier with a lesser role. At 28 years old, he has two years left on his three-year contract with a $3.75 million cap hit before becoming a UFA. While the salary cap is increasing, Kent Hughes might eventually want to spend less on his bottom pairing. If Carrier’s salary demands are too high, it would be ideal to be able to slot Konyushkov in. By then, he would have four years of KHL experience and, providing he signs with the Canadiens after that, one year of pro North American hockey under his belt. If he’s ready, he will be a much cheaper option for the Habs.

It will be worth keeping an eye on him during the upcoming season, if only to see if the Canadiens do offer him a contract. Currently, the Habs' depth chart on the right includes the above-mentioned Dobson, Carrier, and Reinbacher, in addition to the two recent AHL signings, Nate Clurman and Wyatte Wylie. When it comes to unsigned prospects, I believe Konyushkov comes first, in front of Bryce Pickford, Carlos Handel, Dimitri Kostenko, Daniil Sobolev, and Andrew MacNiel.

Photo credit: Ariane Bergeron/Club de Hockey Canadiens Inc. 

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Young Goaltender's Future Uncertain After Devils Re-Sign Allen

Jake Allen wanted to remain a New Jersey Devil. 

Entering NHL Free Agency, the 34-year-old was a pending unrestricted free agent who was considered the best available goaltender. As it turned out, he wasn't available as the Devils re-signed him ahead of the official start of free agency. 

"It is exciting to have Jake back and his family back in New Jersey, where they wanted to be and where we wanted them," Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald said. "I give Jake and Shannon a lot of credit for helping us through this process, cap-wise. It just shows you that we are building something here where people want to stay. It says a lot about Jake and his family, and we are just so excited to bring him back."

With Jacob Markstrom under contract for one more year, New Jersey will run it back with its veteran tandem, which was one of the best in the league in the 2024-25 season. 
Of course, after signing Allen to a five-year, $9 million contract with an average annual value of $1.8 million, one question remains: What is the long-term plan for  Nico Daws? 


On Wednesday, The Hockey News posed that exact question to Fitzgerald. 
"You see how often goalies are going down," he explained. "Having depth in the net is crucial. Nico is a guy, he played what, five, six games last year? Definitely played too early in his career, but out of necessity. We really like Nico, but we feel like having this depth makes us a better team." 

Daws is in his final year of a two-year contract he signed in July 2024. For the 2025-26 season, he is on a one-way deal at $850,000 at the NHL level. This past season, the 24-year-old started four games, earning a 3-1-0 record with a .939 save percentage and a 1.60 goals-against average. 
There is one important caveat associated with Daws this upcoming season. He will require waivers to be assigned to the Utica Comets of the American Hockey League (AHL). If the Devils need Daws' services at any point during the 2025-26 season, there is a risk that another NHL team could claim him and take on his contract. 
With so many teams interested in adding a goaltender this summer, it is not hard to imagine Daws getting claimed by another franchise with that reasonable one-year price tag. If it comes to that, could the Devils make a trade this summer to ensure they get a return for their goaltender? 


Days ago, New Jersey parted ways with Daws' friend and Comets goaltending partner Isaac Poulter. The organization did not extend a qualifying offer to the 23-year-old, and as an unrestricted free agent, he signed a contract with the Winnipeg Jets. 
Daws' new partner is expected to be Jakub Malek, who will be transitioning his game to North America this fall. Fitzgerald confirmed that Malek would begin this chapter of his career in Utica and said he could even compete for the starting position, which most would expect to be held by Daws. 
"I am very excited, because it will be something new for me," Malek told The Hockey News earlier this week. "It will be something that I have been waiting for for three years. I can't wait to play here."

Daws has been around long enough to see plenty of goaltenders arrive and depart from Newark, including Vitek Vanecek, Akira Schmid, and Kaapo Kahkonen. His philosophy has always been to keep his head down and keep working until he is told otherwise, and it appears that will continue when training camp opens in mid-September. 

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Nikolaj Ehlers to Detroit was "Unlikely," Says NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman

There are several new faces that have joined the Detroit Red Wings for the upcoming 2025-26 NHL season, both via free agency and trade. 

While the additions have provided Detroit with solid depth, they aren't considered to be major difference makers in the vein of a Mitch Marner or Nikolaj Ehlers, both of whom the Red Wings were reportedly interested in.

If the Red Wings are to make a major splash this offseason, it will likely come through a trade. 

As far as Detroit not landing a major name in free agency, the chances of Ehlers choosing the Red Wings were slim, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

"As Yzerman said, I don't think Ehlers was a realistic option, I don't think that was ever going to happen," Friedman explained during Sunday's edition of '32 Thoughts: The Podcast'. 

Marner is now with the Vegas Golden Knights after a sign-and-trade deal from the Toronto Maple Leafs, while Ehlers signed a six-year contract with the Carolina Hurricanes. 

Friedman then went on to explain that the Red Wings allegedly had interest in Viktor Arvidsson, who had previously played for coach Todd McLellan with the Los Angeles Kings, along with Mason Marchment; both players ultimately landed elsewhere. 

"I think he had some interest in (Viktor) Arvidsson, because Arvidsson had some success with Todd Todd McLellan in LA, but he ended up in Boston," Friedman said. "I heard that the Red Wings like Mason Marchment, but he ended up in Seattle. There were some things he wanted to do that he wasn't able to do."

Arvidsson was traded by the Edmonton Oilers to the Boston Bruins, while Marchment was traded by the Dallas Stars to the Seattle Kraken. 

Yzerman has given term to unrestricted free agents in recent years, signing both Andrew Copp and J.T. Compher to five-year contracts in the 2022 and 2023 offseasons, respectively. He also signed defenseman Ben Chiarot to a four-year contract in 2022. 

Friedman concluded by saying he doesn't see Yzerman offering long-term contracts to outside free agents unless it would be a "big home run".

"Unless he can hit a big home run, and this year it would have been a guy like Ehlers, he's going going to do that anymore with four or five-year terms," Friedman said. 

So far, Detroit's signings in free agency have all been short term commitments. James van Riemsdyk was signed to a one-year, $1 million deal, while Mason Appleton signed a two-year, $5.8 million deal.

Additionally, Jacob Bernard-Docker, Ian Mitchell, and John Leonard were signed to one-year contracts, all with a cap hit of less than $1 million. 

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Reavo on Marner: "Not bad at karaoke, although the song choices are suspect."

LAS VEGAS -- While "Marner Magic" is headed to the ice in Vegas, his song selection on karaoke nights could come into question during those team bonding trips to Montana.

When Vegas entered the conversation as a destination for the next phase of Mitch Marner's career, the 28-year-old began vetting the organization.

Who better to ask than former Golden Knights he was now playing with in Toronto?

"From talking to (Max) Pacioretty and Reavo (Ryan Reaves just over the last couple of weeks, it seemed like everything was a pretty good fit for my wife, our new son, and me," Marner said during his introductory press conference.

Pacioretty, who arrived in Toronto last season, was also in Vegas for four seasons, arriving in the team's second year before being traded to Carolina after the 2021-22 season.

<i>Mitch Marner is introduced by general manager Kelly McCrimmon as the newest member of the Vegas Golden Knights. <b>PHOTO: W.G. Ramirez</b></i>

Reaves, who has been with the Maple Leafs the past two seasons, spent four years (2017-21) of his 15-year career in Vegas, including the second half of the franchise's inaugural campaign when the team went to the Stanley Cup Final.

"Mitchy is someone who cares lot about winning," Reaves told The Hockey News. "He’s very passionate. One of the most skilled players out there."

Which is why the Knights ponied up an eight-year $96 million contract.

Marner, who will return to uniform No. 93, leaves the Maple Leafs as their fifth-highest scorer in franchise history, with 741 regular-season points on 221 goals (14th) and 520 assists (fourth).

Marner's 521 assists since his rookie season (2016-17) ranks fifth in the NHL, while he ranks eighth with 741 points.

<i>Mitch Marner jumps during the warmup before game two of the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Florida Panthers at Scotiabank Arena. <b>PHOTO: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images</b></i>

Vegas now has arguably two of the top 10 forwards in the NHL, with Marner joining Jack Eichel, both with similar styles in puck handling, vision on the ice and an overall offensive prowess.

"He has the ability to hold on to pucks and draw two or three defenders to him, and then has the vision to find the open guy," Reaves added.

Never short of jokes and one-liners, Reaves also discussed his former younger teammate off the ice.

"He’s one of the guys always leading the charge, life of the party," Reaves said. "Not bad at karaoke, although the song choices are suspect."

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Five Worst NHL Signings Of The 2025 Off-Season

The NHL free agent frenzy began less than a week ago, and as is usually the case, several clubs spent money irresponsibly. That is normally the case when July 1 comes around, but in a year where the free agent class was thin and two of the prime targets (Mitch Marner and Brock Boeser) did not get to the open market, clubs got into a bidding war and signed contracts with useful middle-of-the-lineup players that will not age well. 

Here are five contract signings that teams will likely regret:    

Tanner Jeannot: Boston Bruins (Five Years, $3.4 Million AAV) 

The bruising winger is not the player who scored 24 goals with Nashville four years ago, but after a failed stint in Tampa Bay, Jeannot became a useful crash-and-bang forward with the Los Angeles Kings, leading the club in hits until an injury ended his season in late March.

Jeannot benefited from teams looking to emulate the Florida Panthers model and parlayed that into a five-year deal, but Boston GM Don Sweeney’s desperation to make the Bruins relevant again led him to make a big mistake.

Connor Brown: New Jersey Devils (Four Years, $3 Million AAV) 

After some early success in Toronto and Ottawa, Brown’s career was derailed by a serious knee injury with Washington. His first year back with Edmonton was as a fourth-line role player, and last season he was more useful (13 goals, 17 assists in the regular season, five goals in the playoffs), but the term and salary given by the Devils for a bottom-six forward were excessive.  

Cody Ceci: Los Angeles Kings (Four Years, $4.5 Million AAV) 

Possibly the worst deal signed on July 1, as Kings GM Ken Holland went hog wild on a spending spree (Joel Armia, Brian Dumoulin, Anton Forsberg, Corey Perry) but did not address his new club’s crying need for offense. 

Ceci is, at best, a middle-pairing blueliner and better suited to bottom-pairing duty, but benefited from a dearth of right-handed defensemen in free agency. A one or two-year deal would have been understandable, but a four-year contract for someone who will play behind Drew Doughty and Brandt Clarke on the right side is absurd.  

Cody Ceci (Brian Bradshaw Sevald-Imagn Images)

Ryan Lindgren: Seattle Kraken (Four Years, $4.5 Million AAV) 

The same term and AAV as Ceci, the issue with Lindgren is not his quality as a player, but the fact that he may be the oldest 27-year-old in the NHL. After absorbing a ton of punishment as a shutdown defenseman with the Rangers playing alongside Adam Fox for five seasons, New York was fearful of signing him to a long-term deal and traded the blueliner to Colorado as a rental. 

The concern over Lindgren’s durability is valid, and the deal for a defenseman who has never scored more than 20 points in a season, even with the cap going up, was a risky proposition. 

Ivan Provorov: Columbus Blue Jackets (Seven Years, $8.5 Million AAV) 

Provorov benefited from the Noah Dobson contract (eight years at $9.5 million), making him and former Blue Jacket Vladislav Gavrikov the most sought-after defensemen on the market. The 28-year-old is a solid top-four blueliner who normally scores in the 30-35 point range and logs major minutes, but while the Rangers got Gavrikov at a $7-million cap hit, GM Don Waddell clearly paid a “Columbus tax” for Provorov. 

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Mets ace Kodai Senga could rejoin rotation next weekend in Kansas City

NEW YORK — Mets ace Kodai Senga could rejoin the rotation next weekend in the final series before the All-Star break, a little over a month after straining his right hamstring.

Senga allowed four runs — three earned — and six hits in 3 2/3 innings during Saturday’s minor league injury rehabilitation start for Double-A Binghamton at Hartford. Senga struck out four, walked two and threw 44 of 68 pitches for strikes.

“Physically he feels fine,” manager Carlos Mendoza said Sunday before the Mets concluded their three-game series against the Yankees. “So we’ll see how today, tomorrow, how they go and hopefully he’s making a start for us next time.”

Senga was injured covering first base on a grounder by CJ Abrams when he made a leaping catch on Pete Alonso’s throw June 12 against Washington.

Senga is 7-3 with a 1.47 ERA in 13 starts this season for the Mets, whose starters had a major league-best 2.78 ERA at the time of his injury. The Mets lost 14 of 17 after Senga’s injury, then won four straight with a patchwork rotation that included two openers and Justin Hagenman’s first big league start.

“He’s a big part of this team,” Mendoza said of Senga. “He’s a big part of the rotation. For us to be able to get him back this quickly (is big) because we thought when he went down, in my head I was more like after the All-Star break and then for him to be in play for us now before we go into the All-Star break is huge for us.”

Mendoza also said Sean Manaea may start Sunday in Kansas City. Manaea is slated to make his fifth rehab start and sixth overall appearance Tuesday.

Manaea has been sidelined since spring training with a strained right oblique and had a rehab outing pushed back because of elbow discomfort to a bone chip. The left-hander received a cortisone shot and threw 60 pitches in three innings Wednesday for Binghamton at Hartford.

The Mets have 13 pitchers on the injured list and entered Sunday with the fourth-best rotation ERA at 3.38.

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AL East-leading Blue Jays place infielder Andrés Giménez on injured list with left ankle sprain

TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays placed second baseman Andrés Giménez on the 10-day injured list Sunday with a left ankle sprain.

Giménez left Toronto’s 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Friday. He had tweaked his left ankle covering second base on a steal on Wednesday against the New York Yankees and did not play Thursday as Toronto completed a sweep of the four-game series. His move to the IL was retroactive to Saturday. Giménez is batting .218 with five homers and 23 RBI’s for the AL East-leading Blue Jays.

In other moves before Sunday’s game against Los Angeles, right-hander Ryan Burr was reinstated from the 60-day IL and outfielder Joey Loperfido was recalled from Triple-A. Also, right-hander Lazaro Estrada was optioned to Triple-A and outfielder Will Robertson was designated for assignment.

Burr had been sidelined with a right shoulder issue and did rehab with Triple-A Buffalo, where he struck out 17 in 12 1/3 innings over 11 games and went 1-0 with a 3.65 ERA.

Loperfido was in the lineup Sunday, batting eighth and playing right field. This season in Triple-A, the 26-year-old is batting .278 with nine home runs and 36 RBIs.

Estrada made his big league debut against the Angels on Saturday, striking out four in four innings of relief.

Robertson made his MLB debut last month and saw action in three games. He had one hit and one RBI with Toronto.