The Toronto Maple Leafs are not sure how long they will be without William Nylander as they navigate the second occurrence of a lower-body injury for their star forward.
“He’s being evaluated still (to see) where he's at. He's doubtful for tomorrow,” Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said following the club’s practice in Las Vegas on Friday.
Nylander left early in the first period of the club’s 6-5 overtime loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday with what the coach confirmed was an aggravation of the previous lower-body injury that kept the Swede out of the lineup for six games. Despite being limited to just 2:17 of ice time in the game, he scored a goal and added an assist.
Berube was cautious to put any sort of timeline on how long he expected Nylander might be out, given that he thought the Swede’s previous injury was minor.
“Right now I can't answer that because with the last one, I thought it would be quicker, and it obviously wasn't,” Berube admitted. “We'll just see how he feels here going forward. I mean, can't really answer that question”.
The Leafs enter Saturday’s game against the Winnipeg Jets sitting two points out of a playoff position. The Leafs were resilient without Nylander during his previous injury, going 4-0-2 in that stretch.
However, Nylander isn’t the only player battling something right now. Matthew Knies, John Tavares, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Joseph Woll stayed off the ice for what Berube described as maintenance. Knies dealt with a nagging lower-body injury earlier this season and stayed off the ice for the full morning skate ahead of the club’s game against the Golden Knights on Thursday.
Joseph Woll isn’t taking part in a rare Leafs practice today, which means Anthony Stolarz gets his own net as he continues to recover from injury.
There is still no public timeline on Stolarz’ return.
(Also absent today: Nylander, Tavares, Knies, and Ekman-Larsson.)
Ekman-Larsson briefly departed the game in the first period shortly after what looked like a possible knee-on-knee collision with Golden Knights forward Cole Reinhardt, but managed to come back in the second period and finish out the game.
With Nylander out, expect Calle Jarnkrok to draw back into the Leafs lineup. He has six goals in 28 games this season. Nylander leads all Leafs in scoring with 48 points (17 goals, 31 assists) in 37 games.
In the midst of what has easily been their worst stretch of games all season, the Philadelphia Flyers have gotten at least some positive news in the form of the latest injury update regarding goalie Dan Vladar.
Panic seeped through the Flyers fanbase when the 28-year-old suffered an unknown injury early in the game against the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday, and understandably so: the Flyers don't have anything close to a replacement for Vladar.
Backup goalie Sam Ersson has a porous .853 save percentage on the season, which includes his relief appearance for Vladar in the aforementioned game against Buffalo.
Top prospect Aleksei Kolosov, while revitalizing his career in the AHL with a renewed sense of belonging, is still unproven.
The good news for the Flyers, and perhaps for the two understudy goalkeepers, is that Vladar is day-to-day with an upper-body injury, according to multiple reports.
NBC Sports Philadelphia's Jordan Hall was able to confirm that Vladar won't play for the Flyers at home on Saturday afternoon when the free-falling New York Rangers come to town.
So, while Ersson and/or Kolosov will need to handle business against a division rival and attempt to snap a five-game losing streak, it goes without saying that things could have gone significantly worse.
As in, season-crippling worse.
Kolosov, 24, allowed three goals on 16 shots in relief of Ersson against the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 6-3 loss on Thursday night, seeing his first NHL action since making a spot start for the Flyers against the Calgary Flames back on Nov. 2.
The Flyers would probably benefit from giving Ersson a rest and seeing what Kolosov can do with another opportunity against the Rangers, but that has yet to be decided at the time of this writing.
Who:Columbus Blue Jackets (21-19-7, 49 points, 7th place Metropolitan Division) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (22-14-10, 54 points, 3rd place Metropolitan Division)
When: 7:00 p.m. ET
How to Watch: Locally televised on SportsNet Pittsburgh and FanDuel Sports Network Ohio, streaming on ESPN+
Pens’ Path Ahead: This is the last game the Penguins will be playing in Pittsburgh for almost two weeks. The Pens are about to take off on a West Coast road swing through Seattle, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver over the next eight days, starting with a 5 p.m. ET Monday game against the Kraken.
Opponent Track: The Jackets are heading into the weekend on a three-game win streak. Elvis Merzlikins had a succinct answer when asked Thursday what’s changed for the Jackets:
3 wins in a row what’s different for the Blue Jackets?
Season Series: This marks the last time the Jackets and Pens will meet this season. All three prior games in this season series have gone to overtime, with the Penguins losing in a shootout in October but winning in overtime in November and earlier this month.
Hidden Stat: The Penguins are in a playoff spot in no small part thanks to their success against division opponents this season. Including their 2-0-1 record against the Blue Jackets, the Pens have gone 9-1-3 against teams in the Metropolitan Division so far this season. (Last season, Pittsburgh missed the playoffs after going 9-13-4 against division opponents).
Injured Reserve: Brendan Smith, Isac Lundestrom, Miles Wood, Mason Marchment
Blue Jackets defenseman Denton Mateychuk is day-to-day after taking a hard hit from Brandon Tanev during the Jackets’ Sunday win over the Utah Mammoth. Columbus general manager Don Waddell said the team doesn’t expect the injury to be long-term.
Coaching change in Columbus: The Blue Jackets fired former coach Dean Evason last week after one and a half seasons and a 19-19-7 start to the 2025-26 campaign. Evason told The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline he was “blindsided” by his dismissal.
The switch allowed the Jackets to bring in Rick Bowness, 70, who had most recently coached the Winnipeg Jets for two seasons from 2022 to 2024. He hasn’t been with the team for very long— he got the job offer Monday afternoon and joined the team Tuesday morning, per ESPN— but he’s since led the Jackets to wins over the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks.
Kent Johnson played a season-high 20:55 during his first game with Bowness. The Jackets could be hoping to see some more production from the second-line winger if he keeps getting more playing time going forward.
Like the Penguins, the Blue Jackets have at times had a problems with holding on to late leads through the first half of the season. They blew third-period leads 15 times in their first 47 games, per Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch. When asked about that habit after the Jackets held on to a comfortable lead in Thursday’s win over the Vancouver Canucks, Bowness said, per Portzline: “I don’t even worry about it. It was before I got here. I’m just not worried about it… That’s in the past. I know how I want us to play, so that’s the bottom line. And we’re building on that.”
And now for the Pens
Projected lines
FORWARDS
Rickard Rakell – Sidney Crosby – Bryan Rust
Egor Chinakhov – Tommy Novak – Evgeni Malkin
Anthony Mantha – Ben Kindel – Justin Brazeau
Connor Dewar – Blake Lizotte – Noel Acciari
DEFENSEMEN
Brett Kulak / Kris Letang
Parker Wotherspoon / Jack St. Ivany
Ryan Shea / Connor Clifton
Goalies: Stuart Skinner and Arturs Silovs
Potential Scratches: Ryan Graves, Kevin Hayes
IR: Erik Karlsson, Filip Hallander, Caleb Jones, Rutger McGroarty
The Penguins had an off day Friday after Thursday’s 6-3 win over the Flyers.
Sidney Crosby has 69 points (24 goals, 45 assists) in 48 career games against the Blue Jackets, which ranked behind only Patrick Kane for the most among any active NHL player. Kris Letang meanwhile leads all NHL defensemen with 14 goals against the Blue Jackets, his highest total against any single team, per Penguins PR.
The Penguins are 14-1-4 in their last 19 games against the Blue Jackets, and they’re 16-0-2 in their last 18 games against the Jackets at home, per Penguins PR.
The Pens’ special teams have been thriving lately. They’re heading into Saturday’s matchup having gone 16-for-16 on the PK over their last four games, and they’re currently ranked second in the NHL with a 29.4 percent power-play success rate.
Connor Bedard: 19G-27A-46PTS; Tyler Bertuzzi: 24G-13A-37PTS; Andre Burakovsky: 10G-19A-29PTS
Spencer Knight: 13-13-6, 2.61 GAA, .910 save percentage
Game notes
The Bruins begin a brief two-game road trip with a stop in Chicago to face the Blackhawks, who remain on the fringe of the wild card picture in the Western Conference.
This is the second meeting of the season between these two teams, with the first ending in a 4-3 OT win for the Bruins back on Oct. 9. Fraser Minten scored the winner in that game.
The Blackhawks have lost two games in a row and three of four. Prior to that, however, they had won four in a row (and had points in five straight). The Bruins, as you likely remember, are hitting the road with five consecutive wins in their pocket.
With a bunch of young players, you wouldn’t expect Chicago to be near the top of the league in penalty killing — but that’s where they find themselves, with the second-best PK mark in the league at 85%.
Brief Bruin Tyler Bertuzzi has been great for the Blackhawks this season. With 24 goals, he has already eclipsed his goal output from the past two seasons (23 last year, 21 the year before) and we’re barely halfway through the season.
Matt Grzelcyk is another former Bruin plying his trade in Chicago. The defenseman has appeared in all 47 of Chicago’s games this season, averaging 17 minutes TOI. He also has 11 assists.
David Pastrnak continues his ceaseless production for the B’s, with 1G-8A-9PTS in his last five games. That’s pretty good.
Per the Chicago Sun-Times, many members of the Blackhawks’ 2013 Stanley Cup-winning team may be in attendance tonight as part of their ongoing centennial celebrations. Hey, at least it’s a NESN broadcast for us, so you shouldn’t be subjected to too many horrifying flashbacks.
The Detroit Tigers offseason really holds only one major question left, and that question is what to do with Tarik Skubal. Whether the front office is waiting to see if a big spender who missed out in free agency coomes calling with a monstrous trade offer, or they’ve decided to run it back in 2026 and take their chances, it’s likely that nothing is happening until the arbitration case is completed in early February.
In the meantime, the 2026 free agent class thinned out quite a bit over the last few days as Kyle Tucker and Bo Bichette signed with the Dodgers and Mets, respectively. Cody Bellinger, Framber Valdez, and Eugenio Suarez are now the biggest names left on the board.
Let’s do a quick roundup of the biggest stories after busy news days on Thursday and Friday.
The Dodgers feeding frenzy continues with Kyle Tucker
On Thursday, the biggest free agent contract of the offseason hit the news wire as the Los Angeles Dodgers inked outfielder Kyle Tucker to a four year deal worth $240 million. Per Jeff Passan, the deal comes with an $64 million signing bonus, with $30 million deferred. Reportedly there are opt-outs for Tucker after the second and third seasons. So the Dodgers will be paying the soon to be 29-year-old hitter the largest average annual value in major league baseball history, surpassing the Mets $51 million yearly to Juan Soto. This is the kind of contract only a few teams in the game are capable of handing out, once again highlighting the growing divide between a handful of major market teams and the rest of the league.
The angles on this story are many. Are the Dodgers anticipating a salary cap in the next CBA and trying to stockpile all the elite talent possible before that happens? Does this make them invincible in their quest to three-peat? Why aren’t other top contenders using deferrals in similar ways? Is this good or bad for baseball?
I wrote about that last item after the World Series. Baseball has a long history of evil empires, and often the game was more popular, at least in the ratings department, when there was a team to hate. The star-studded Dodgers project really well to the growing international market for the game. Still, that probably means little to the majority of teams who are pretty much priced out of winning a title without a miracle. From the competitive balance perspective, this has gotten ridiculous.
And yet, no the Dodgers aren’t invincible. The 2025 Dodgers only won 93 games, and the Toronto Blue Jays were one play going their way from defeating them in the World Series. Of course, the Blue Jays spent $258 million too, but at least among the big spending teams, adding Tucker assures nothing. That contract is just very wild on the surface for a player who hasn’t topped 23 home runs in either of the last two seasons and is basically a 4-5 WAR OBP machine without any other standout traits in his game. Somewhere, Joey Votto weeps. Nah, Joey Votto probably cares less than anyone.
As the only publicly held franchise in the game, the yearly unpacking of the Braves financial report is one of the few open looks inside the game’s finances. As a result, there’s always a ton of interest when their yearly numbers come out.
The Atlanta Braves financial statements are publicly available and serve as a general guide for understanding the business of baseball. Any good accountant can move some decimals here and there, but these are a good starting ground.
The main points to a Tigers fan are that the Braves took in $600 million in revenue, with only a quarter of that coming from revenues inside the ballpark itself in the form of ticket sales, merch, concessions, etc. They turned a profit of $46 million on all that revenue.
Forbes put the Tigers revenue for 2025 at $300 million, with a franchise value of $1.55 billion as they turned a $30 million profit. Unfortunately, those numbers don’t come with a cost breakdown, but if the Tigers made $30 million with a 2025 payroll of $155 million, that perhaps validates the $185-190 million zone as the break even range for the Tigers in 2026.
Currently the Tigers 2026 payroll is set to be either $164.5 million or $177.5 million, depending on Tarik Skubal’s arbitration outcome.
While the Braves finances are public, those of the trust the Detroit Tigers franchise is held under by various members of the Ilitch family are not. It’s hard to know how the terms might influence their flexibilty.This is all even more complicated by the abject chaos in the regional sports network realm. Depending in part on Skubal’s final number, it seems reasonable to think they at least have room to manuever, but that final number will impact how much, and there aren’t that many obvious upgrades available now anyway.
Bo Bichette heads to Queens
One of the benficiaries of the Tucker deal was long-time Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette. The Blue Jays were apparently still talking to Bichette this offseason, but they were reportedly heavily engaged on Kyle Tucker, as were the New York Mets. Once the Mets lost out on the Tucker sweepstakes, they quickly pivoted to Bichette and got the next best player on the market. In the process they boxed out the Philadelphia Phillies, who were offering Bichette a more traditional long-term contract. Beating out a division rival always feels good, and the Phillies quickly turned to more modest business, retaining catcher J.T. Realmuto on a three-year, $45 million contract.
Bichette’s deal was a clear move to the Alex Bregman protocol, taking a short deal with huge annual value and opt-outs after each of the first two seasons of the three-year, $126 million deal. Reportedly Bichette was looking for a deal worth well over $200 million and wasn’t quite getting those offers. Now he’ll make $42 million each of the next three years, or can opt-out along the way to try to put together his originally desired price, in the aggregate (hat tip to Moneyball).
What’s clear is that the Blue Jays have come out of this looking overall worse. Bichette was thought to have some concerns about the Rogers Centre’s playing surface and its long-term impact on his legs. That’s an ominous bit of rumor for the Blue Jays and their ability to attract free agents, but hey they’ll be fine in 2025. After adding right-hander Dylan Cease and NPB third baseman Kazuma Okamoto, it’s not like they sat on their hands this offseason either.
Somewhere, Framber Valdez and Cody Bellinger are probably feeling pretty good about things as the top two players on the free agent board. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Eugenio Suarez get a massive one-year offer the way things are going either.
The spector of the next CBA negotation continues to loom over every aspect of this offseason. It will be interesting to see if Bichette can pull off something like Scott Boras handling of Alex Bregman, or whether the new CBA makes it harder for Bichette to opt-out and sign the mega deal. More likely he’s better off sticking with the Mets, at least through 2027. Even then he’ll reach free agency again heading into his age 31 season and is he performs he’ll land another big contract.
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert jogs off the field after a loss to the Patriots in the playoffs. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
If there’s an important playoff game for the Chargers to win, you can bet they’re going to lose. Such was the case again against New England.
While having a decent enough defense, the offense was pathetic. And, yes, I know their offensive line was completely depleted. But, the 49ers were banged up as well. They lost George Kittle and still won.
Well, there’s always “next season.” Unfortunately, those two words still haunt the Chargers and their fans.
Rick Solomon Lake Balboa
Once again the Chargers flop in the playoffs.
This time much of the blame should be placed at the top with Jim Harbaugh. Perhaps he did not watch or was not aware of how many times in this year's playoffs teams had failed to convert on fourth down with disastrous consequences. The psychological effect on the team from failing to convert and put points on the board early was evident. He had a team without their top running back and a very weak offensive line yet chose to go for it.
Hopefully he will learn from this or maybe it is time for Harbaugh to join his brother in seeking new jobs.
Mark Kaiserman Santa Monica
Nothing wrong with the Chargers that a new OC with a game plan can't fix. Or is there?
Thomas Filip Moorpark
Dear Jim Harbaugh,
Thanks for firing your OC Greg Roman. Loyalty is great but loyalty does not get you to the promised land. In two postseason trips, one touchdown to show for it.
It needed to be done for Justin Herbert & Co.
Felipe Varela Whittier
True blue money
The Yankees won 27 World Series championships by being the best team money can buy. The west coast Yankees, aka the Dodgers, are now the best team money can buy. That's capitalism, baby!
Vaughn Hardenberg Westwood
As a Dodgers fan for a Joe DiMaggio-esque 56 consecutive seasons, I am happy to have Kyle Tucker in the Dodgers' outfield in 2026. Certainly, he will be an improvement over Michael Conforto, and allow Teoscar Hernandez to go back to left field.
However, I find it perplexing that a player who appeared in only 78 and 136 games in 2024 and 2025, and who has had only one top 10 MVP finish (fifth in 2023) in his career, would be signed for a whopping average of $60-million annually. To earn that enormous salary over the next four seasons, Tucker should be considered the best player in baseball not named Shohei Ohtani.
Ken Feldman Tarzana
Newsflash! The Dodgers buy another superstar, cost be damned! I'm not a Dodgers fan. I'm a Baseball fan, witnessing an organization job a system that destroys parity and fairplay. So go ahead — hop aboard the Dodgers bandwagon for another championship. While baseball fans everywhere else throw up their hands in disgust and flock to the NFL.
Jim Fredrick Manhattan Beach
The Dodgers' signing of Kyle Tucker for ridiculous money now ensures a (stoppage) after this baseball season. For everyone saying other teams could do the same thing, really? As much as anyone could love the Dodgers, this just takes away from the game.
Bob Goldstone Corona del Mar
If you’re mad at the Dodgers don't stop there — might as well don a cape and be super mad because MLB has no kryptonite against them.
Steve Ross Carmel
Same old problems
We should not expect too much from the Lakers. We have the same offense ran by the Dallas Mavericks for Luka Doncic transplanted to L.A. Give the ball to Luka and everyone else stands around and watch. Who is teaching these guys defense?
Calvin Divinity Norwalk
How many more games do fans have to endure before the Lakers hire a coach who is a defensive specialist? Where is Frank Vogel when you need him?
Richard Raffalow Valley Glen
The only way I see the Lakers or Clippers making it to the second round of the playoffs is if they play each other in the first round.
Rick Sine La Quinta
Olympian effort
The womens' snowboarding competition at next month's Winter Olympics in Milan has taken an interesting twist. American Chloe Kim, two-time Olympic gold medalist in the halfpipe, will have to wear a shoulder brace after tearing her labrum. This would be analogous to having one arm tied behind your back.
Wayne Muramatsu Cerritos
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With the Nolan Arenado trade in the books, the Cardinals roster is coming into focus. While we are likely to see a few more transactions before the buses roll into Jupiter, this feels like a good time to give a zoomed-out look at the 40-man roster and the upper-minors depth. Regardless of what happens with Brendan Donovan and JoJo Romero before spring training, 2026 will be a year with a significant amount of roster churn as Chaim Bloom and the front office sort through a roster full of unproven players and a top farm system with a number of significant players set to graduate.
I think the term “runway” has been retired by the Cardinals marketing team, but it may actually be more relevant now than at any point in 2025. I don’t think there was anything wrong with the concept last season, but the fun of it for the fans was quickly subverted by watching Nolan Gorman and Jordan Walker struggle. To add insult to injury, the roster still felt clogged with veterans Erick Fedde, Miles Mikolas, Willson Contreras, and Nolan Arenado, gobbling up significant innings and plate appearances (sometimes deservedly so). That dynamic will not be a problem this season as the roster has been trimmed of any player who does not fit Bloom’s long-term vision of a roster built on young and/or internally developed talent.
2026 will be a high-stakes game of Red Light, Green Light, with 60 players within the organization fighting for 40 roster spots when the dust settles on the 2026 season and rosters reset in mid-November. Bloom’s job for the next ten months is to make sure that the right players get opportunities and the right players get shipped out for more prospect capital. For this exercise, I am setting aside prospects that are unlikely to impact the team or roster in 2026. The 60 players in question (actually 62, counting those on expiring contracts) are grouped into four categories:
40-man roster (years of control in parentheses)
Players who will need to be added by season’s end to avoid exposure to the Rule 5 draft
Players who might debut ahead of schedule regardless of 40-man or team-control restrictions
Players/prospects on the Triple-A roster who could force their way back into the discussion
40-Man Roster
This roster is relatively deep, if lacking top-end talent, with only a handful of players who wouldn’t be rostered by the majority of teams. The other thing that jumps out is the amount of team control across nearly the entire roster. With the exception of May and Romero, every player is under control through at least 2027. Once the season starts, players can be moved to the 60-day Injured List to free up roster space, so there is flexibility here, with Roby and Hjerpe most likely to start on the 60-day IL. One thing I will be following this season is how the team approaches freeing up additional roster spaces as needed. Will they trim the weaker part of the back of the 40-man? Or will they be proactive at trading from the top of the 40-man if the opportunity presents itself?
Prospects Needing Protection
This group is made up of players who are roughly top 50 prospects in the organization and will require a 40-man roster spot to avoid Rule 5 draft exposure. It is important from a roster-management perspective, but it also impacts how quickly we could see these players during the 2026 season. If the Cardinals plan to protect them and they have progressed enough to benefit from MLB playing time, they are likely to be added to the 26-man roster at some point during the season. This is the pattern we have seen with top prospects Masyn Winn, Thomas Saggese, and Jimmy Crooks. This dynamic is not limited to top prospects as more depth pieces like Nick Raquet and Cesar Prieto were added during the 2025 season. From this group, only Leonel Sequera, Travis Honeyman, and Jesus Baez have not appeared in Double-A or higher. Any of the rest are within punching distance of a major-league debut.
Prospect that May Debut Early
Wetherholt will obviously be up for most of the year barring some unforeseen catastrophe. Doyle is more of a long shot. Two of the four college pitchers drafted in the top 20 picks of the 2024 draft made major league debuts in 2025 (Chase Burns and Trey Yesavage). For Doyle to debut, he will need to hope the Cardinals are in playoff contention, or make an absolute mockery of the minor leagues.
Forgotten Prospects
None of these players on their own is particularly likely to be impactful, but the Cardinals have spent years trying to get Thompson, Santos, and Naughton healthy. Koperniak and Rajcic are both former decent prospects that had tough 2025 seasons.
Starting Pitching
The starting rotation is what got me thinking about this whole depth question in the first place. While we are still waiting on the ZiPS projections to be released for the Cardinals, I would expect them to have a bottom 10 or possibly bottom five projected rotation. After their trades with Boston and the Dustin May signing, they do have a surprisingly deep rotation. Andre Pallante might start the season as the seventh starter or in the bullpen. While Pallante might never establish himself as the mid-rotation arm he has flashed promise of, he is the exact kind of guy that a team like the Cardinals with no immediate plans to contend, should be giving starts to. The problem is, you could make the same argument for every pitcher in the rotation. Along with Pallante, Liberatore, McGreevey, Dobbins, Fitts, and Leahy all project as fourth or fifth starter types. It will be critical for the Cardinals to sort through this group of pitchers and hang on to the right ones for the next contention window. Every team needs at least seven starters to get through a season, but we haven’t even touched on the minor leaguers at the upper levels vying for big-league starts.
The injured trio of Hence, Hjerpe, and Roby is taking up a lot of space. Roby will miss all or most of the season, so he is pretty much a lock to take up a roster spot going into next offseason. Hence and Hjerpe need to be pushed aggressively, if healthy, even if that means moving them to the bullpen. In a perfect world, they could get 70 innings starting in the minors and then finish out the year in the St. Louis bullpen.
In an ideal world, multiple pitchers from the Mathews, Henderson, Mautz, and Doyle group shove their way into the picture by midseason. At this point, the Cardinals should have some answers on the top seven. If May and/or Pallante are pitching well, they could be traded to open up some starts.
Mathews, Lin, and Henderson are all on track to be added to the 40-man roster at season’s end. The rest have some work to do, but even adding three more pitchers with only May leaving via free agency will necessitate additional moves.
Relief Pitching
I won’t say much about relief pitching. Reliever volatility is too high to try to predict even a year in advance. It will likely be impacted substantially depending on which starters are redirected to the bullpen. On the prospect front, Gastelum rode an incredible changeup to a 35.4% strikeout rate. He could be up sooner rather than later. Austin Love shook off a two-year injury sabbatical and had a solid season in Springfield. After struggling with command in the first half, he put up a 26/4 K/BB ratio in August and September across 19 IP. He is my sleeper pick for a Matt Svanson type rise in 2026.
Catcher
I won’t spend much time on the catcher position as this has been discussed ad nauseum over the last 12 months. My desired outcome would be that Ivan sticks at catcher and Pages is flipped for a prospect to open up time for Crooks. I understand why they are waiting, but this is another area where a decision will need to be made at some point.
Infield
The infield picture is the one that surprised me the most compared to my preconceived notions. The starting infield looks great (even assuming Wetherholt replaces Donovan), and Fermin/Saggese/Gorman are a reasonable group to fight it out for at-bats, but Blaze Jordan and Wetherholt stand alone as the only-upper minors options not already on the 40-man. This is not necessarily a problem given the objectives of 2026, but it explains why the Cardinals chose to hang on to Cesar Prieto and Bryan Torres. There just aren’t that many eligible players if Donovan follows Arenado out of town.
Outfield
Cardinals’ outfielders ranked 26th in baseball last season putting up a combined 1.4 fWAR. So, the good news is there is nowhere to go but up… Nootbaar, Scott, Church, and Walker are in line to get the first crack at rectifying the outfield play we were subjected to in 2025. Looking at this group of 40-man players and prospects on the way, you can see why Chaim Bloom has signaled adding an outfield bat via free agency. Outside of Joshua Baez, there are no projected starting-caliber players in the upper minors. With only two years of control left, a strong first half will likely put Nootbaar back on the trade block. Davis, Levenson, and Honeyman would all need a substantial breakout to factor into the long-term plans in a meaningful way. If no outside help is brought in, Fermin, Saggese and Torres could be given a crack at an outfield spot as well.
What I would like to see in 2026
We have to wait for spring training to start making our bold predictions, so consider this more of a wish list. Here are the eight things I would like to see happen to shape the roster over the next ten months.
Brendan Donovan traded before spring training
JJ Wetherholt given the Opening Day start
Pitching prospects called up aggressively to replace faltering rotation or bullpen pieces
Church, Saggase, Fermin, and Torres given opportunities rather than signing a free-agent stopgap
Dustin May, Lars Nootbaar, Nolan Gorman, and Andre Pallante shopped at the trade deadline, if performing well
JoJo Romero traded before spring training
Hjerpe and Hence given major league opportunities as early as possible
Luis Gastelum, Austin Love, and Skylar Hales given early opportunities in bullpen
The Vancouver Canucks (16–26–5) have the chance to tie a franchise record tonight against the Edmonton Oilers (23–17–8). With a loss tonight, Vancouver will tie the record for the longest losing streak in club history. This comes after the Canucks have lost their past nine straight, with the most recent being a 4–1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Edmonton, who is still currently in a playoff spot, dropped their most recent match against the New York Islanders by a score of 1–0.
Things have not been fun for the Canucks and their fans as of late, as despite some spirited efforts throughout their previous six-game road trip, they have yet to record their first win of 2026. Things may get even more negative in the coming days, as the Canucks will spend their next eight games on home-ice, where their record on the season is a poor 4–12–3. For fans who are pro-rebuild, this string of losses is pretty much their ideal scenario, as the Canucks have put themselves in a solid position to remain 32nd overall in the entire league.
On the ice, the penalty kill will be something to watch for the Canucks. Vancouver allowed two goals during Columbus’ two power plays on Thursday. Since the start of the calendar year, the Canucks have surrendered nine power play goals-against while also allowing multiple power play goals in three different games during this span. They’ll face a daunting task tonight as Edmonton currently holds the top power play unit in the NHL with a success rate of 33.3%.
Players To Watch:
Brock Boeser
Brock Boeser has been one of the players who has struggled most during Vancouver’s nine-game losing streak, though he managed to score the lone goal in the Canucks’ most recent loss, with this being his first since November 28. Tonight’s game marks a milestone for Boeser, as the forward is expected to skate in his 600th career NHL game. Boeser has consistently had the Oilers’ number, as he’s currently riding a four-game point streak against Edmonton that has seen him score three goals and four assists. With his goal-scoring skid seemingly over, tonight would be a great occasion for Boeser to experience more of an offensive output.
Vasily Podkolzin
The former Canucks forward is in his second season with the Oilers and has seemed to fit in well as an Evander Kane-esque replacement. His 10 goals and 10 assists are tied for the sixth-most points on his team, which is a pretty good production rate considering what Vancouver received in return for him. If he’s able to stay consistent in his scoring, Podkolzin will smash his previous career-high of 26, which he recorded in his first NHL season with the Canucks. Also of note is the fact that Podkolzin has registered a point in each of the two games Vancouver and Edmonton have played against one-another so far this season.
Oct 26, 2025; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks right wing Conor Garland (8) shoots the puck against Edmonton Oilers goaltender Calvin Pickard (30) during the second period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Simon Fearn-Imagn Images
Vancouver Canucks (16–26–5):
Points:
Elias Pettersson: 13–16–29
Filip Hronek: 3–24–27
Kiefer Sherwood: 17–6–23
Jake DeBrusk: 12–10–22
Brock Boeser: 10–12–22
Goaltenders:
Thatcher Demko: 8–10–1
Kevin Lankinen: 6–13–4
Nikita Tolopilo: 2–2–0
Jiří Patera: 0–1–0
Edmonton Oilers (23–17–8):
Points:
Connor McDavid: 30–52–82
Leon Draisaitl: 25–42–67
Evan Bouchard: 11–35–46
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins: 11–26–37
Zach Hyman: 16–11–27
Goaltenders:
Tristan Jarry: 12–3–2
Calvin Pickard: 5–6–2
Connor Ingram: 4–3–1
Game Information:
Start time: 7:00 pm PT
Venue: Rogers Arena
Television: Sportsnet
Radio: Sportsnet 650
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I am still reeling from that Ilya Sorokin performance on Thursday in Edmonton. Ye gods, that was a masterpiece.
But anyway, on to the next one. The Islanders are in Calgary for an afternoon meeting, and David Rittich will start against his former team (though as he noted, there aren’t a lot of former teammates in the other room).
The Flames are a couple steps above the Western basement and seven points below the final wild card spot. They’ve been better-ish of late (5-5 in their last 10) but are still expected to basically tread water for the lottery.
With no Bo Horvat, the Isles are getting by on great goaltending. [Newsday]
Some timely improvement from Anthony Duclair has also helped. [Post]
Takeaways, Barzal on Sorokin: “There’s not enough words to describe how good that guy is.” [Isles]
More discussion of Sorokin on the Tri-State podcast with Arthur Staple. [YouTube]
Confirmed now, Horvat will not be joining them on this trip. [Post]
Here’s a selection of practice media availabilities from yesterday, including Tony DeAngelo noting that Adam Pelech “may look like a stay-at-home defenseman, but he breaks out like an offensive defenseman,” and Andrew Gross asking Czech David Rittich if he’s “a sentimental guy” as he returns to Calgary:
Today’s opponent: Presented without comment, other than to be rude earworm for your afternoon:
Elsewhere
Last night’s scores included Carolina thumping Florida NINE to one and Tampa Bay finally losing, but still getting a regulation point.
Another letter! Chris Drury signed a letter to fans about the Smurfs disaster, and I believe he actually wrote it because it was worded weirdly and included em dashes and en dashes within the same sentence. It’s weird how J.T. Miller did not save them. [NHL]
Dean Evason was blindsided by his firing in Columbus. [Sportsnet]
Supposedly trade talks are heating up for Calgary’s Rasmus Andersson. [TSN]
This is an old story resurrected, but: How Moncton got Ted Nolan back into coaching, and eventually a call from the Isles. [Sportsnet]
The big boys are off the board. The quick pivots have been exhausted. Now, Major League Baseball teams must make do with whatever's left on the free agent market a little more than three weeks before spring training camps open.
There have been some notable salvage jobs in the past week, with the Boston Red Sox losing out on Alex Bregman, only to pivot to run prevention and snag lefty Ranger Suárez. Or the Kyle Tucker-to-L.A. stunner prompting the Mets to ambush Bo Bichette with a $42 million annual salary.
Now, the wriggle room is less, the surefire talents all but gone from our list of available players. There are still avenues to improve, but they are narrower. Let's explore them:
Cody Bellinger: Last big bat standing
And that's no exaggeration. With Tucker, Bichette and Bregman spoken for, Bellinger represents the lowest-hanging fruit on a board that counts 34-year-old third baseman Eugenio Suárez as the next-best available positon player.
Two questions: How badly do the Yankees want Bellinger back - and do the spurned Mets and Blue Jays loom as legitimate threats?
In one sense, Bellinger was dealt a losing hand with the Tucker-Bichette shuffle, with Citi Field and Dodger Stadium both potential destinations. Tucker closes the door on L.A., but the Mets still have a massive hole in left field. The Blue Jays missed out on Tucker, couldn't renew vows with Bichette and now it's unknown if they're so desirous of an outfield upgrade that they'd be willing to spend the cash on a nine-figure deal for Bellinger, 30, after the 28-year-old Tucker spurned them.
The Yankees, meanwhile, still exist.
Other than welcoming back Trent Grisham once the center fielder accepted the $22 million qualifying offer, and trading for lefty Ryan Weathers to hold down the fort until a group of starting pitchers get healthy, it's been a virtually silent winter. Sure, their payroll will be north of $250 million, and creeps toward $300 million for tax purposes at the moment.
For now that's well shy of the Dodgers, Mets and Phillies and even trails the Blue Jays. In a relative sense, they've got money to burn. Yet they've made it clear so far that Bellinger doesn't fall into their "spare no expense" bucket. We'll see if they find a mutually happy zone.
Framber Valdez, Zac Gallen: Last aces* standing
And we say that with the understanding that both fellows have fulfilled that role – the Houston Astros winning all four of Valdez's postseason starts in their 2022 World Series title run, Gallen earning the starting nod for the NL in the 2023 All-Star Game - yet may not hit the market as such.
Valdez is still plenty good - his 3.66 ERA in 2025 was his worst as a full-time starter, yet still 14% better than league average. At 32, he's experiencing slippage in almost every peripheral, though he remains a groundball machine. His pitch-mixup kerfuffle wasn't great, and he may not inspire fans to flock through the turnstiles, but Valdez figures to remain a rotation rock through the term of any contract of reasonable length.
Gallen's arc is a little more acute. His ERA soared to 4.83 in 2025 as he gave up 31 home runs, and his WHIP settled in at 1.26 each of the past two seasons. Gallen's pullside flyball and barrel rates were both career wosts, even as his surface-level stuff has remained the same. In short, a little bit of diagnostic work for a signing team to attack.
Still, at 30 and 32, respectively, Gallen and Valdez have far less tread on their arms than the alternatives. Valdez can certainly credibly front a rotation, or at least lend quality innings to someone that needs it; Baltimore and the New York Mets both harbor playoff dreams, though the Mets may not be willing to provide the contract length Valdez prefers.
Chris Bassitt, Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander: Old guys rule?
Come Opening Day, they'll be 37, 41 and 43 years old, respectively, the latter two bound for the Hall of Fame. And for those averse to long-term entanglements with arms they don't love, these dudes certainly fold neatly into almost any team's plans.
Bassitt is coming off a three-year, $63 million deal with the Blue Jays, one that finished with him performing gallantly out of the playoff bullpen, giving up one run in seven appearances. Over 162 games, he's showing no signs of slowing down, hitting 200 innings in 2023 while throwing 181, 171 and 170 in '22, '24 and '25. Reliable.
Scherzer and Verlander, meanwhile, will seemingly never stop pitching. Verlander posted a 3.85 ERA in his lone season in San Francisco, but a typically defanged Giants attack held him to a 4-11 record - and stuck on 266 wins for his career.
Scherzer, meanwhile, started Game 7 of the World Series for the second time in his career. He pitched capably in the postseason, but crazy stuff tended to follow Mad Max around, as it tends to do: Toronto lost his first Series start in 18 innings, then suffered the 11-inning gut punch that ended their season. Still, Scherzer gritted through an early-season thumb problem to make 17 starts, completing at least six innings in six of them.
That's what you'll get with these guys: No promise of ideal health or consistent length, but the occasional magic that comes with a generational talent, for around $15 million a year.
The rest: Buddy, can you spare a reliever?
Do hope that your favorite team got in on the early rush of relievers. Erstwhile Blue Jay Seranthony Dominguez remains the last remaining arm that can be charitably termed high-leverage. A gaggle of itinerant lefties - Danny Coulombe, Brent Suter and Justin Wilson - are available.
And there's a decent pocket of starters who tuck between the bigger-ticket items and the old dudes, led by Lucas Giolito, who had five starts of seven or more innings and one or no earned runs given up last season; his track record does come with injury concerns.
Zack Littell and Nick Martinez also provide versatile, proven arms that can pad the back of a rotation or a proverbial sixth starter spot.
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The Australian Open's first formal opening ceremony became the Roger Federer show on the eve of the season-opening major.
There was Crowded House, the band, playing a set of four hits. There was a full house — a capacity crowd in the 15,000-seat stadium.
Rod Laver, the great Australian player of Grand Slam fame, was in the house. The 87-year-old Aussie was sitting courtside in Rod Laver Arena, the center court at Melbourne Park named in his honor.
Federer, the six-time Australian Open winner and 20-time Grand Slam champion, partnered past champions Andre Agassi and then Ash Barty in an exhibition doubles match against Pat Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt as the main feature of the program.
It went to script, with Federer winning the first point despite framing a forehand and then emphatically finishing off the victory with a leaping overhead winner.
Novak Djokovic, who has won 10 Australian titles among his record 24 major championships, was there to watch.
Australian Open organizers turned the 2026 edition into a three-week festival of tennis, with 217,999 fans attending across six days to watch exhibitions, qualifying and the 1 Point Slam before the main draw started.
Federer was back in Australia for the first time since 2021, making the trip now because he retired from competitive tennis before he could do a farewell season tour.
“It really truly means so much to me when people like Rocket (Laver) show up,” Federer said. “It’s super important to be grateful” to earlier generations of stars.
The San Francisco Giants legend will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, on July 26. However, his ceremonious affairs won't stop there.
The Giants plan to have a Hall of Fame celebration for Kent on Aug. 29 at Oracle Park when they play the Arizona Diamondbacks. To honor Kent, San Francisco will also retire his No. 21 jersey before the game.
Kent, who spent six seasons in San Francisco, became a member of the Giants Wall of Fame in 2009. His bronze plaque is located along King Street.
The Giants Wall of Fame pays tribute to the organization’s greatest players who have, either, played a minimum of nine seasons for the Giants or played five seasons with at least one All-Star appearance or championship win in San Francisco, according to MLB.com.
Kent had the best years of his 17-year MLB career with the Giants. He was a five-time All-Star, three of his nods coming as a member of the Giants from 1999 to 2001. He was named the 2000 NL MVP.
Kent was a four-time Silver Slugger Award-winner, having won the hitting title with the Giants from 2000 to 2002.
Kent becomes the 14th player to have his number retired by the organization. He joins Christy Mathewson, John McGraw, Bill Terry (3), Mel Ott (4), Carl Hubbell (11), Monte Irvin (20), Will Clark (22), Willie Mays (24), Barry Bonds (25), Juan Marichal (27), Orlando Cepeda (30), Gaylord Perry (36) and Willie McCovey (44).
San Francisco, along with every MLB team, retired the No. 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson on April 15, 1997.
It was a heck of a hot stove week, with two pairs of transactions seemingly moving in unison. The Cubs swiped Alex Bregman from the Red Sox, which prompted Boston to pivot to a five-year deal with Ranger Suarez. A couple nights later, the Dodgers did what they do and signed Kyle Tucker, which appeared to spur the Mets into inking their own opt-out-laden deal with Bo Bichette. Will the dominoes keep falling? This flurry of activity leaves Cody Bellinger as the last big bat on the market, and the Yankees, for now, still seem to have the best offer on the table. Will the saga, finally, come to a conclusion? Perhaps we’ll know this weekend. On the site today, it’ll be a quieter one, with Jeff profiling Chili Davis as part of our Yankees Birthday series.
Questions/Prompts:
1. Do you expect the Mets’ signing of Bo Bichette to take them out of the running in the Cody Bellinger sweepstakes? Or will they still compete with the Yankees for the outfielder’s services?
2. Who will emerge from this weekend of the NFL playoffs as the Super Bowl favorite?
The Washington Wizards lost to the Sacramento Kings 128-115 on Friday in a battle between bottom feeders at Golden 1 Center.
The Wizards had to fight their way out of a huge hole they dug themselves in during the opening period. A three-pointer from Bub Carrington gave the Wizards a 7-6 advantage at the 9:33 mark of the first quarter. Washington held that lead for all of 17 seconds before Sacramento took it back for good. The Kings went on a 19-0 run to close out the first quarter, as the Wizards went scoreless for nearly five minutes.
Washington battled back in the second quarter. Alex Sarr led the way with his 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting in the first half. One of his buckets came off a sweet dime from Tre Johnson.
Jamir Watkins also flashed more of his defensive potential on a strip and slam off DeMar DeRozan. He helped the Wizards trim the halftime deficit to 67-61.
The Wizards got the game to within three in the opening minutes of the second half. But the Kings once again closed the quarter strong, thanks to our old friend Russell Westbrook. The lead ballooned to 17 heading into the final period.
A Carrington triple and a pair of Tre Johnson treys to open the fourth quarter helped get the Wizards within single digits. The Kings managed to stifle any moment for a run, holding on for a 13-point win.
Johnson finished with 18 points and 4 assists, while Sarr’s quiet second half left him at 19 points. Justin Champagnie and Kyshawn George each tacked on 15.
While Washington lost the battle, it won the tank war as the Kings went a full game ahead of the Wizards in the standings. The Wizards close out their road trip against the Nuggets in Denver.
William Nylander’s Injury Looms After Maple Leafs Surrender Third-Period Lead in Loss to Golden KnightsA promising start turned into a double disaster for the Maple Leafs as leading scorer William Nylander exited early with a recurring injury before the team surrendered a third-period lead in an overtime loss to the Golden Knights.
