Squad are due to arrive in Johannesburg on Thursday
Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus praises Henry Pollock
Marcus Smith says England are flying south determined to make a fast and furious start to the new Nations Championship at South Africa’s expense next week. A 36-man squad will touch down in Johannesburg on Thursday and Smith says there is a shared desire to rise to the high-altitude challenge of upsetting the world champions in their backyard.
England have been training in oxygen masks in Bagshot to prepare themselves for the Highveld and, with games against Fiji and Argentina to follow, are conscious of the need to make an early impression against the Springboks. “It’s one shot,” said Smith, who has now played 50 Tests for his country. “We’ve spoken about leaving it all out there. It’s a hell of an opportunity. I don’t think England have been there since 2018 so we could create history, going down there to deliver a result.
The Buffalo Sabres announced on Tuesday their exhibition schedule for the 2026-27 season. The schedule has been reduced to four games, due to the new NHL - NHLPA collective bargaining agreement and the league moving to an 84-game regular season for the first time.
The club will play twice at KeyBank Center and twice on the road in late September, with the regular season slated to begin before the end of the month. The Sabres will open on the road in Pittsburgh against the Penguins on Monday, September 21, and will play at home against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday, September 22. The final two games will be in Detroit against the Red Wings on Thursday, September 24, and against the Penguins in a Saturday matinee on Saturday, September 26th.
The chatter regarding Sabres defenseman Bowen Byram has become red-hot in the days leading up to the NHL Draft at KeyBank Center this weekend. The 26-year-old blueliner is in the second year of a two-year, $12.5 million bridge deal and Buffalo GM Jarmo Kekalainen indicated last month that he is interested in extending the 25-year-old, coming off a career-high 42-point season, but in the last week there have been indicators that Byram is either looking for a new deal well out of the Sabres price range or that he through agent Darren Ferris has communicated that he will to play out the final year of his deal and hit the free agent market next summer.
Sabres trade Michael Kesselring to the San Jose Sharks
Byram is listed only behind Detroit team captain Dylan Larkin on The Athletic’s Trade Board. Kekalainen earlier this month moved out RFA blueliner Michael Kesselring in a deal with the San Jose Sharks, but the big right-hander was not much of a factor witn Buffalo last season The Stanley Cup winner was a big part of the Sabres top four, along with Rasmus Dahlin, Mattias Samuelsson, and Owen Power, and his departure would mark a significant downgrade of their defensive corps.
The Sabres do not have an obvious replacement for Byram on their roster, with 2025 first rounder Radim Mrtka likely starting his pro career in Rochester next season, veterans Luke Schenn and Logan Stanley heading for free agency, and righties Conor Timmins and Zach Metsa better suited for bottom-pairing duties. Kekalainen is in a difficult position, since the return for Byram will be mitigated by his contract status and the knowledge that whoever he is traded to will likely be a one-year rental.
Rochester goalie Devon Levi also appears on the list. The 24-year-old has played most of the last three seasons with the Amerks and will not be waiver exempt next season. With Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Alex Lyon, and Colten Ellis on the NHL roster, the Sabres face the prospect of losing the youngster for nothing on waivers after training camp or moving him for a draft pick. With a number of clubs looking for inexpensive starters, tandem goalies and backups, Kekalainen should not have a problem finding a new home for Levi.
The New York Islanders announced on Tuesday that they have hired former NHL forward and Stanley Cup champion Pascal Dupuis as their new Director of Player Development.
This role had been previously held by former Islander Eric Cairns, who had held that role since the 2013-14 season.
#Isles announce they have hired former #NHL forward Pascal Dupuis as Director of Player Developement.
Cairns is no longer involved in hockey operations for the organization.
Dupuis played 15 years in the NHL after going undrafted, recording 409 points (190 goals, 219 assists). He won the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins back in 2009.
He was forced to retire in December of 2015 due to a medical condition related to blood clots.
Since 2021-22, Dupuis has owned the QMJHL's Shawinigan Cataractes, serving in different roles, from hockey operations to player development over the years.
This marks Dupuis first NHL post-career gig.
Dupuis comes aboard the Islanders at a time when player development has never been more crucial, as the organization has prospects that they're banking on becoming critical pieces over the next few seasons.
D.J. Smith’s coaching career has already taken a few turns through the NHL, junior hockey, and back again — and now it’s leading him into a new role with a familiar face on a new bench.
The Edmonton Oilers announced Tuesday that Smith has been hired as an assistant coach under Mike Babcock, adding another experienced voice to the staff as he continues his NHL coaching journey.
The 49-year-old Smith most recently spent time with the Los Angeles Kings, where he stepped in as interim head coach from March 1 through the end of the 2025–26 regular season. He helped guide the club to an 11–6–6 finish during that stretch after initially joining the organization as an assistant in early 2024 before being elevated midseason to replace the fired Jim Hiller, who has since been hired to lead the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The move to Edmonton reunites Smith with Babcock, under whom he began his NHL coaching career as an assistant with the Leafs in 2015. He spent four seasons in Toronto during a formative stretch of the club’s rebuild before eventually landing his first NHL head coaching opportunity.
Smith took over the Ottawa Senators in 2019 and spent parts of five seasons behind the bench, overseeing a long rebuild. Over 317 games, he compiled a 131-154-32 record, ranking second in franchise history in total wins among head coaches despite the team’s overall inconsistency under his tutelage.
Before his NHL coaching career, Smith built his reputation in junior hockey. He joined the Windsor Spitfires coaching staff in 2005 and spent eight seasons there, helping the program capture two Memorial Cup championships.
He later took over the Oshawa Generals in 2012 and quickly turned them into contenders, leading them to an OHL championship and a dominant Memorial Cup title in 2015.
Smith’s path to coaching began as a player. Drafted 41st overall by the New York Islanders in 1995, his rights were later moved to the Toronto Maple Leafs in a 1996 trade.
As a defenseman, he appeared in 45 NHL games split between Toronto and the Colorado Avalanche, while spending most of his playing career in the AHL, where he logged 393 games over nine seasons.
Now with another NHL opportunity in Edmonton, Smith continues a coaching career that has steadily moved between development roles, head coaching responsibilities, and now back into a senior assistant position on a contender’s staff.
The Edmonton Oilers hired Mike Babcock on Tuesday, clearing the way for the polarizing taskmaster to coach his first NHL game in more than six years after the NHL cleared him following an investigation into his aborted 2023 stint in Columbus.
Babcock is now in charge of trying to get Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl a Stanley Cup championship after two of the best hockey players in the league have fallen short over the past decade.
D.J. Smith, who was most recently the interim replacement in Los Angeles after Jim Hiller was fired and ran the bench in Ottawa from 2019-23, was named an associate coach. Smith was an assistant under Babcock in Toronto.
Babcock has not coached a game in the league since being fired by the Maple Leafs 23 games into the 2019-20 season.
Babcock, 63, has championship experience from coaching Detroit to the Cup in 2008. He made two other trips to the final, with Anaheim in ‘03 and when the Red Wings went again in ’09 and lost to Pittsburgh. He also guided Canada to back-to-back Olympic goal medals in 2010 and ’14.
Babcock also brings baggage.
He stepped down from the Blue Jackets’ job before training camp in September 2023 after taking the job on July 1. At the time, Babcock’s requests for personal photos from players in an attempt to get to know them drew criticism as an invasion of privacy.
When word emerged that Edmonton was interested in hiring Babcock, the NHL Players’ Association asked the league to review what happened three years ago. The NHL in a statement said it found nothing to prevent him from being employed by a team.
Former players have spoken out about Babcock’s old-school tendencies that some say can be considered bullying.
A report surfaced after the Maple Leafs fired Babcock that he had asked Mitch Marner to share his ranking of teammates from hardest- to least-hardest working and then shared that with the rest of the group. Former Red Wings player Johan Franzen told a Swedish outlet that Babcock was the worst person he had ever met and said at one point he was terrified to go to the rink.
Retired defenseman Mike Commodore, who played for Babcock briefly in 2011 in Detroit, spoke out this spring.
“I don’t want to hear another word about how important mental health is for us when you literally just paved the way, cleared the way for Mike Babcock to get another opportunity in the NHL and put him in another position of power where he can abuse people,” Commodore said on the “Clearing the Crease” podcast.
Daniel Winnik, who played for Babcock in 2015-16 with the Leafs, last week called him “the only guy that’s ever made me hate hockey.”
“I just hated coming to the rink,” Winnik said on TSN 1050 radio in Toronto. “He’s just a bully.”
Kris Knoblauch, who coached Edmonton to consecutive trips to the Cup final in 2024 and ’25, was fired May 14 — a decision announced after news leaked that the Oilers had been denied permission by division rival Vegas to interview 2023 Cup-winning coach Bruce Cassidy, whom the Golden Knights fired on March 30 with eight games left in the regular season. Cassidy remains under contract for one more year.
The Oilers instead turned to Babcock, whose 700 regular season and 90 playoff victories rank 12th and 10th, respectively, in NHL history.
SEATTLE — Few NHL teams are located in cities farther away from Sunrise, Florida, than Mackie Samoskevich’s new employer.
Samoskevich, previously of the Florida Panthers, was traded to the Seattle Kraken for the No. 25 pick this year and a second-rounder next year, which the Panthers then flipped to Ottawa for Brady Tkachuk hours later. The Kraken also re-signed fellow forward Bobby McMann to a long-term contract.
Thankfully for the 23-year-old Samoskevich, his twin sister, Maddy, can give him plenty of tips on how to make the cross-continent move.
Maddy, who played college hockey in Connecticut at Quinnipiac, is a defender for the Vancouver Goldeneyes of the Professional Women’s Hockey League.
“With her only being a couple hours away, it’s definitely a topic that came up right away,” Samoskevich said on a Zoom call. “I’ll be able to see her a little more, which will be great.”
Having his twin sister close by isn’t the only reason Samoskevich hopes to stick around in Seattle. He will need a new contract first, though, since he is a restricted free agent.
“I’ll leave that to the agents, that’s their job,” the one-time Stanley Cup champ said of signing a new contract. “I just got to worry about having a good offseason and making sure my body’s ready come training camp.”
When Samoskevich, who has 64 points across 160 NHL regular-season and playoff games, played for the Panthers, he said he disliked facing Seattle because of their skaters’ collective speed and skill.
Samoskevich hopes to provide the Kraken with a much-need infusion of talent after they missed the playoffs for the fourth time in their five years of existence. The No. 24 pick in the 2021 NHL draft became a lineup regular for the Panthers because of his skating and playmaking abilities, as well as his penchant for logging shots on goal.
The Kraken would benefit from the 5-foot-11 Samoskevich playing like current Montreal Canadiens coach and former Tampa Bay Lightning star Martin St. Louis, who he most closely models his game after. Seattle scored 2.73 goals per game in 2025-26, good for 28th in the NHL.
“He was one of those guys who I heard about his work ethic, and that’s something that I definitely cherish myself in,” Samoskevich said of St. Louis, who scored 391 goals in the NHL. “I’m not a big guy, obviously, but I got to find different ways to make an impact, for sure, and he was definitely one of those guys I watched.”
Outside of skating like St. Louis, Samoskevich hopes to bring elements of the way the Panthers played during his tenure there to the Emerald City. Admittedly, Samoskevich said, the rigorous game Florida presents to its opponents each night isn’t easy on its players.
But, the Panthers’ system was a successful one, and Samoskevich is optimistic the Kraken will find a way to bounce back next season.
“It’s something that obviously works at the end of the year, and playoffs and whatnot,” Samoskevich said. “So, it’s definitely something I want to bring over to Seattle, and hopefully win a ton of games for sure.”
Getting the first overall pick in the NBA draft is supposed to be a game-changing occurrence for an NBA franchise, with the team in position to land a generational talent. So long as they don't mess that pick up, they could be set for years, competing for championships.
Unfortunately, fortune doesn't favor teams equally.
As awesome as it might feel to get the No. 1 overall pick, some teams have been destined to return to the top of the draft board time and time again. While that often inspires hope in their respective fanbases, it also leads to utter devastation when it doesn't work out ... again.
So, whether it be by luck of the lottery or continual basement-dwelling, the No. pick has known many teams, but some far more than others.
Here are the teams that have made the most No. 1 selections in NBA draft history:
Teams with the most No. 1 picks in NBA draft history
The Wizards have not had the No. 1 overall pick since 2010 when they drafted John Wall. Here is a full list of the Wizards' history with No. 1 draft picks:
*If the team was previously known by a different name, that name is listed in parentheses next to the selection
1951: Gene Melchiorre (Baltimore Bullets)
1954: Frank Selvy (Baltimore Bullets)
1961: Walt Bellamy (Chicago Packers)
1962: Bill McGill (Chicago Zephyrs)
2001: Kwame Brown
2010: John Wall
Here are the Cleveland Cavaliers' selections at No. 1 overall:
As has become customary in recent years, the Philadelphia Flyers find themselves in the middle of several trade rumors around the NHL as they continually seek to add to and improve their roster.
This offseason, after a successful year that ended in an inspiring playoff run, has the potential to be a big one for the Flyers, even with a later draft pick than they've been used to.
That draft pick--21st overall--can be leveraged in a trade to help acquire an impactful player, which seems to be a very real possibility as we rapidly approach the start of the 2026 NHL Draft on Friday.
One name that has some of the most appeal to Flyers fans is defenseman Bowen Byram, who has legitimate potential to be a top-pairing defender despite not being used as such with the Buffalo Sabres.
That's fair, since that organization has made significant investments on their defense in the forms of superstar Rasmus Dahlin, top draft pick Owen Power, Radim Mrtka, and Mattias Samuelsson, among others.
The Flyers, in need of more talent on defense, need a power play quarterback desperately, and the Sabres would be best suited moving on from Byram to better round out their lineup.
These two teams have been repeatedly linked over the years for such a deal, with Byram's name being connected to the Flyers once again this past week. Perhaps this summer is the time to finally make it happen.
On top of Ottawa Senators trio Dylan Cozens, Shane Pinto, and Ridly Greig, the Flyers are also believed to have some level of interest in less proven centers Mason McTavish and Shane Wright.
Of those five, Wright, Pinto, and Cozens best fit what the Flyers are trying to do offensively.
According to reports, the Flyers like Pinto the most, and he would instantly step into a consistent top-six role, potentially as a No. 1 center, in Philadelphia.
Star forward Trevor Zegras has not quite proven if he can handle a full-time center role at the NHL level, which makes adding a productive and capable center as possible the top priority for the Flyers.
A forgotten rumor that many hope to forget for real is the Flyers' connection to Darnell Nurse, who, while an upgrade, comes with significant financial baggage at his $9.25 million cap hit.
The 31-year-old would only to come to Philadelphia at a reduced price, on top of whatever it might cost the Flyers to actually trade for the player apart from the contract aspect.
For all intents and purposes, the rumor connecting the Flyers and Byram makes much more sense, even if the Sabres' ask in a a trade is exponentially greater.
Of course, there is always the possibility the Flyers pull off a move nobody has intel on, like the Jamie Drysdale and Cutter Gauthier swap, but their current reported trade targets are all well-discussed options at this stage.
When Giannis Antetokounmpo was traded to the Miami Heat late on Monday night, it signaled the end of an annoying, disingenuous, drawn-out process that has lasted almost a year. In that span, Giannis went from being one of the NBA’s most-beloved superstars, to simply a superstar, and now to one of the league’s biggest supervillains. It has far less to do with Giannis wanting a trade, or even specifically wanting to go to Miami — and far more to do with how he approached the process, the lies told along the way, and the acrimonious end to his Milwaukee tenure, which saw a mammoth fish in a small pond escape to larger waters.
Teams and players often outgrow each other, but the ending to the Giannis era with the Bucks wasn’t for lack of effort. Milwaukee had tried everything to bolster the team and turn it back into a contender with Antetokounmpo as the centerpiece after winning the NBA Championship in 2020-21, but each swing quickly turned into a strikeout. At first, they attempted to bring in ancillary role players like Grayson Allen and Jae Crowder while keeping their core intact, but that failed. Then they tried swinging for the fences with the seemingly brilliant trade for Damian Lillard, but that went belly-up when he tore his Achilles. It then became an effort of throwing good money after bad in an attempt to keep the ship afloat. They tried Kyle Kuzma, which failed. They went big to get Myles Turner, and that didn’t work either. Time and time again, the Bucks used every tool at their disposal to try and build a contender, but it just kept on failing.
Hell, the Bucks catered to hilarious nepotism by signing Thanasis and Alex Antetokounmpo to appease Giannis, knowing full well that neither of them had any NBA talent.
That context is important because it highlights that nobody is really in the wrong when it comes to the Giannis/Milwaukee break-up. The Bucks did everything they could to try to make things work, while Giannis kept playing sensational basketball. The whole era had just reached a point where Milwaukee had run out of assets to really improve the team, and Antetokounmpo had crossed the barrier into his 30s, with his biological clock ticking to win another championship.
The issue comes from how Giannis handled this process. A player normally known for his candidness and honesty morphed over the last year into something else entirely. Giannis ended a four-year break from Twitter/X to endorse the trading card platform Arena Club, marking the beginning of his grift era. A player who once tweeted about how much he loved Milwaukee, and complimented other NBA players on their achievements, now he was focused solely on boosting brands or focusing on his investments.
This culminated at the NBA Trade Deadline in 2026 when the entire process played out through rumor mills and predictive markets, with Giannis seemingly executing a staggering rug pull when after a full day of betting and speculation he announced that he had joined the ownership of Kalshi — 25 minutes after spending the day stoking rumors that he would move on.
“I want to be here. I want to be with my team. I want to win here again. This is my home. I’ve spent more years [that I can remember] here than in Greece. It’s my home. I want to help the community with my wife and my brothers. Thanasis is loved here, my brother, my mother are loved here. My kids and I … it’s a normal life, I have a normal life. If you go somewhere else, all this switches.”
Almost everything Antetokounmpo shared on social media was to announce a new investment, trying to leverage his fans into customers. From “IM8 Health,” a supplement brand, to grocery delivery service GoPuff, and endless photos of his new Nike signature shoe in exotic locales, we watched in real-time as Giannis went from being a superstar catching flack for posting a photo wearing a “Protect Kids, Not Guns” shirt, into a man who wanted every follower to be a consumer, a buyer — and he was going to keep fans on the hook for as long as possible, convincing them he wanted to be in Milwaukee out of one side of his mouth, while brokering his exit out the other.
The “normal life” that Giannis preached about wanting for himself and his family is comical now that we know his desire was to head to Miami. In the array of American cities you could label as “normal” Miami sits somewhere near the bottom, somewhere between Las Vegas and Los Angeles. He chose a new home with maximal attention, but perhaps more importantly: A whole new array of consumers to pitch his products to.
That’s who Giannis is now, a pitchman — and deep down he knows it too. It would have been so easy to forgive it all if he had simply become a superstar who outgrew the small market that drafted him, or if he was honest about seeing the writing on the wall in Milwaukee and wanting to win another championship before it was too late. Instead, he was intentionally deceptive and strung along a city for the better part of a year, before being jettisoned.
The Giannis Antetokounmpo good guy act is over. The question is whether any of this was genuine to begin with, or a newfound leverage of his stardom while the window was still open. Perhaps the Damian Lillard situation was a wake-up call, showing him how quickly it could all crash down — or maybe this was the plan all along. Get every ounce of juice out of Milwaukee as possible, then move on to a new city. Either way, Giannis is the villain now — not because he chose to bail on the Bucks to join a contender after saying he wouldn’t, but because he toyed with the emotions of a fanbase that loved him like no other.
There might not be a good equivalent to Giannis in the Greek pantheon, but there sure is a Roman one: Janus, the two-faced god of beginnings, endings, and transitions. It doesn’t get more simple than that.
According to NHL Analyst David Pagnotta, the expectation is for the Los Angeles Kings to work with veteran defenseman Drew Doughty on a contract extension once free agency opens.
Additionally, Pagnotta reported that Doughty understands his current role at this stage of his career and that his ice time will decrease in the coming years, which will be reflected in his value and worth in his next deal.
David Pagnotta: The expectation in Los Angeles is Drew Doughty will get a contract extension worked out with the Kings; [he] understands his minutes will soon dip, which will reflect his next contract - Fourth Period (6/21)
— NHL Rumour Report (@NHLRumourReport) June 23, 2026
The 36-year-old signed a massive eight-year, $88 million contract in 2018, and the contract won't expire until the end of the 2026-27 season. If Doughty signs a one- or two-year deal, it could extend his contract a few more years before the former Stanley Cup champion decides to walk away from the game.
Despite battling injuries in recent seasons, he remains one of the most iconic players to ever wear the silver and black, helping lead the Kings to two Stanley Cup championships.
But with all that said, those achievements remain in the past, and the Kings need to be smart about how they handle Doughty's contract for the Kings' future, whether they decide to rebuild with young talent or go all in for Stanley Cup contention.
Therefore, the Kings should still absolutely offer Doughty a contract extension. The most realistic option is to keep it a short-term, team-friendly deal.
The five-time All-Star has earned the right to finish his career in Los Angeles with the Kings, but the franchise shouldn't pay him based on what he accomplished in 2014 or 2016.
Whatever kind of deal or money the Kings decide to offer Doughty, it needs to be for what he's valued now: a valuable veteran defenseman who can mentor the young talent and be a leader in the team's locker room, not the James Norris Memorial-caliber workhorse he once was.
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It’s not been easy for the Montreal Canadiens to attract star players over the years. The weather, the taxes, the language, we’ve heard it all, but that might just be changing. The organization’s decision to undergo a rebuild and start betting on offense rather than defense has made the Habs an entertaining team to watch, but also a fun team to play for.
On Monday, TSN insider Pierre Lebrun mentioned on Overdrive that an agent told him that one of his clients has asked to add the Canadiens to the list of teams he would be open to being traded to. Of course, Lebrun didn’t say which agent made the claim or which player was involved, but it was enough to spark plenty of talk and speculation online.
There aren’t a lot of players out there who have publicly said they wish to be traded and are still waiting to find out where they’ll be headed. The top name that comes to mind is Dylan Larkin. He asked the Detroit Red Wings for a trade a couple of weeks ago, and he hasn’t been moved yet. He provided Steve Yzerman with a short list of teams he’d be willing to go to: the Minnesota Wild, the Florida Panthers, or the Vegas Golden Knights.
Brady Takchuk was traded to the Panthers over the weekend, and the Florida outfit’s cupboard of draft picks is now pretty bare, which may well take them out of the running. The Wild doesn’t have a first or second round pick at the upcoming draft, while Vegas doesn’t either in the next two drafts. It’s true that Yzerman may be looking for immediate help rather than futures, but picks still help sweeten the deal.
As evidenced by the Takchuk trade, teams are no longer that reluctant to trade players inside their own division, and Yzerman has done it before when he sent Jonathan Drouin to the Habs nearly a decade ago. While Larkin is a great player and would fit the Canadiens’ need, one has to wonder if he’d be in for the long haul in Montreal since he was part of Team USA at the latest Olympics, and a lot of those players have been requesting trades to American teams of late. There’s no concern for players who have been Habs for years and have shown themselves to be committed to the team, but it may be different for an outside hire, so to speak.
Larkin is under contract for another five years with an $8.7 million cap hit, so the price tag to get him out of Detroit is unlikely to be cheap. If Hughes were to make that deal, he would need solid guarantees from the player that he wouldn’t be looking to move again anytime soon.
At the end of the day, it’s far from a sure thing that Lebrun was indeed talking about Larkin, but whoever he was talking about, it’s good news that Montreal is starting to make its way on players’ trade lists.
The Milwaukee Bucks finally traded Giannis Antetokounmpo, and now the fallout is really beginning. The move anticipated for an entire NBA season is done, on the eve of the NBA draft, and there is at least one major star whose future could be inextricably altered given how the Antetokounmpo deal went down.
The Boston Celtics were runner-ups to the Miami Heat in the Antetokounmpo sweepstakes, with a reported offer of Jaylen Brown and two first-round picks not enough to sway the Bucks from the haul they received from Miami. So what does Brown think about all this, coming off the best season of his career with Jayson Tatum mostly sidelined?
This isn't the first time Brown's name has surfaced in serious trade talks, and speculation is already swirling this could prompt him to ask out of Boston. Antetokounmpo's trade has officially kickstarted the NBA offseason, and Brown suddenly might be the best player available for teams that can create the salary cap space for a supermax contract. Unless he and the Celtics can move past nearly parting ways (again) in recent days.
USA TODAY Sports is tracking all the rumors and reports related to Jaylen Brown's future with the Boston Celtics and whether he could end up being traded to another NBA team in the fallout of the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade. Here's the latest ahead of the 2026 NBA Draft:
Maybe. The Celtics reportedly used him as the centerpiece of their trade offer to the Bucks for Antetokounmpo, along with two first-round draft picks.
It's still unclear if the Celtics were only willing to make Brown available for Antetokounmpo, or whether they still plan to trade him to another team. Brown has not commented on his future since the Antetokounmpo deal went through, but he did allude to his name being mentioned in trade rumors on Sunday, June 21.
"”Somewhat grateful, because I get to see some negativity that I didn’t want. But that just gives more fuel to the fire," Brown said on his Twitch stream while training with Olympic sprinter Noah Lyles. "I see some comments, or takes, that I didn’t even care to see, but it just gives me more fuel to the fire. To all the people who have doubted me, that want me to do this or want me gone, you’re turning me into a monster."
Jaylen Brown trade rumors after Giannis deal
The Celtics previously involved Brown in trade discussions for Kevin Durant four years ago. Brown subsequently won NBA Finals MVP during Boston's title run in 2024 and finished as an NBA MVP finalist with Tatum recovering from a torn Achilles during most of the 2025-26 regular season.
ESPN's Brian Windhorst said on the Tuesday, June 23 edition of "Get Up" he anticipated a "bidding war" for Brown now that the Celtics made him available in the Antetokounmpo trade talks. Multiplereports have suggested the Bucks chose the Heat's trade package over the Celtics, in part, because there were fears Brown would not want to remain in Milwaukee long-term.
"I am not convinced he’s going to be on the team in October. I think it’s 50/50," The Ringer's Bill Simmons, a Celtics superfan, said on his podcast in the aftermath of the team's failed attempt.
Jaylen Brown landing spots: Teams that could trade for Celtics star
Atlanta Hawks
Brown's hometown team could package emerging young wings like Jonathan Kuminga, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Dyson Daniels and draft picks to pair a bonafide star with Jalen Johnson
Houston Rockets
Brown won a title in Boston with Rockets coach Ime Udoka and Houston had a rockier-than-expected first year with Kevin Durant in the fold. There are plenty of young pieces, most notably big man Alperin Sengun, that would likely interest the Celtics in a potential Brown deal.
Portland Trail Blazers
The Trail Blazers have set themselves up to have the salary cap space to bring in Brown and there's a new owner who might want to make a splash. The contracts of Jrue Holiday or Jerami Grant will have to be involved, and a possible deal would hinge on what the Celtics think of Portland's young core.
New Orleans Pelicans
Trey Murphy has long been an attractive trade piece the Pelicans have not been willing to part with, but Brown might be the caliber of player to change their mind. Jordan Poole's expiring contract could help facilitate an easy exchange.
Jaylen Brown contract details
Brown is under contract with the Boston Celtics through the 2028-29 NBA season after signing a 5-year supermax extension worth up to $304 million in July 2023. He is eligible to sign an additional 2-year, $142-million extension with the Celtics during the 2026 offseason. He still has three years and nearly $182 million remaining on his current contract.
Jaylen Brown stats
Brown averaged a career-best 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists during the 2025-26 season. He just completed his 10th year in the NBA after the Celtics chose him with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft
With the NHL Entry Draft set to take place this Friday and Saturday, the Detroit Red Wings are already turning their attention toward the 2026-27 season.
On Tuesday, the club unveiled its preseason schedule, a four-game slate that will begin on Sept. 21 and feature matchups against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Buffalo Sabres. Before the preseason gets underway, however, Red Wings fans will have several opportunities to get an early look at the organization's future.
Detroit announced it will host a four-team Prospect Tournament from Sept. 12-15 at Little Caesars Arena's BELFOR Training Center. The tournament will feature prospects from the Red Wings, Blue Jackets, Penguins, and Dallas Stars, providing an early showcase for many of the organization's top young players and recent draft selections. Following the tournament, the Red Wings will hold Training Camp from Sept. 17-20 before opening their preseason schedule the next day in Columbus.
The exhibition slate begins with a road contest against the Blue Jackets on Sept. 21 before Detroit travels to Pittsburgh to face the Penguins on Sept. 22. The Red Wings will then return home to Little Caesars Arena for their lone preseason home game against the Sabres on Sept. 24 before concluding the schedule with another matchup against Columbus on Sept. 26.
While preseason games rarely feature extensive workloads for established NHL stars, they provide valuable opportunities for organizations to evaluate prospects and depth players. Detroit's upcoming exhibition schedule should be no different.
Fans hoping to catch extended appearances from cornerstone players like Lucas Raymond, Moritz Seider, and veteran goaltender John Gibson may be disappointed. However, the spotlight will fall on the organization's most exciting emerging talent as players battle for roster spots and make their case for NHL opportunities.
Among the names to watch are highly regarded prospects Nate Danielson and Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, both of whom are expected to be key figures during training camp and the preseason. The exhibition schedule could also offer Detroit fans an early look at the players selected by the organization during this week's NHL Draft, with several recent picks potentially earning invitations to camp and preseason action.
For a franchise continuing to build toward sustained contention, the preseason serves as an important evaluation period. It offers coaches and management a chance to assess the next generation of Red Wings while giving fans a preview of the talent pipeline that could shape the club's future. The NHL is expected to release the full 2026-27 regular-season schedule sometime in July.
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The Calgary Flames may not control who goes first overall, but they could end up controlling much of what happens after that.
Armed with 11 selections, including the sixth overall pick and eight choices inside the top 68, Calgary enters the 2026 NHL Draft with more flexibility than almost any team in the league. Whether that means making the picks, moving around the board, or pursuing trades, general manager Craig Conroy knows the Flames have options.
And in a draft class Conroy believes is unusually difficult to predict, that flexibility could prove invaluable.
“I don’t. I think it’s one of those years where they’re all really good players,” Conroy told Sportsnet when asked if he had a sense of how the top six might shake out.
For Calgary, that uncertainty isn’t a concern — it’s an opportunity.
With four second-round picks and a stockpile of assets, the Flames are positioned to be one of the draft’s most active teams if the right opportunity presents itself.
“We have a lot of ammunition to either make picks, move them or make trades,” Conroy added. “The options are definitely one of the things that makes it exciting for us.”
That flexibility extends well beyond the first round. As draft day approaches, Conroy said discussions with other clubs have already intensified, particularly involving Calgary’s collection of second-round selections.
“There are definitely lots of calls and conversations with teams about all our picks,” Conroy continued.
Still, for all the talk about trades and movement, the most important decision remains the one attached to the sixth overall pick.
The Flames have an obvious need for more offensive production, leading many to assume a forward will be the priority. Conroy, however, made it clear Calgary won’t be drafting based solely on positional need.
“I’m not going to go to the best player, I’m going to say the right player,” he stated.
And that’s where the debate really begins.
Ask five draft analysts what Calgary’s biggest organizational need is and you’ll probably get two different answers. One camp believes the Flames still lack a true No. 1 center capable of driving a Stanley Cup contender. The other sees a glaring need for a future top-pairing defenseman who can dictate the game from the back end.
The Hockey News leans toward the latter.
If he’s available when Calgary steps to the podium, Carson Carels could be difficult to pass up. The dynamic defenseman turned heads across the WHL this season, finishing with 20 goals and 73 points while establishing himself as one of the league’s most dangerous offensive blue-liners. Those numbers ranked fifth among WHL defensemen in goals and fourth in total points, helping earn him a finalist nomination for WHL Defenseman of the Year.
What stands out most isn’t necessarily the production — it’s how he generates it. Carels thrives with the puck on his stick, pushes play through the neutral zone and has a knack for creating offense seemingly out of nowhere. Comparisons to Cale Makar are unfair for almost any young defenseman, but elements of Carels’ game — particularly his skating and ability to attack off the rush — inevitably invite them.
Then there’s Keaton Verhoeff, another defenseman expected to hear his name called early. The Victoria Royals standout produced 21 goals and 45 points in 63 games as a 16-year-old, a remarkable accomplishment considering only two younger WHL defensemen in league history have scored more goals at that age. Verhoeff combines offensive instincts with a physical edge that NHL teams covet, making him one of the most intriguing long-term projects in the class.
Another name worth monitoring is Alberts Šmits.
The Latvian defender already owns something few draft-eligible prospects can claim: Olympic experience. While Latvia isn’t stocked with NHL stars, earning a spot on an Olympic roster as a teenager remains a notable achievement. Šmits split the season between Germany and Finland, appearing at both the professional and junior levels while recording 12 goals and 23 points in 43 games.
His strongest impression may have come at the World Junior Championship. Serving in a leadership role for Latvia, Šmits was consistently one of the country’s best players, finishing with five points in five games while earning recognition as one of Latvia’s top performers throughout the tournament.
Of course, if Calgary decides its biggest need remains down the middle, Tynan Lawrence could emerge as a serious option.
Lawrence’s appeal extends beyond his offensive upside. The Boston University forward has developed a reputation for seeking out challenges rather than avoiding them. His decision to make the jump to the NCAA forced him to adapt to a faster, heavier and far more demanding style of hockey, and while the transition wasn’t always smooth, it showcased the resilience NHL teams love to see in young players.
Before arriving at Boston University, Lawrence dominated in the USHL. He averaged better than a point per game as a 16-year-old with Muskegon, earned All-Rookie Team honors, helped capture a Clark Cup championship and was later named tournament MVP. He eventually took over as captain and posted 17 points in 13 games before moving on to the collegiate ranks.
What makes Lawrence particularly intriguing for Calgary is the way he plays. He competes hard, embraces physical hockey and consistently pushes himself into uncomfortable situations to improve. Those are traits Conroy and the Flames have repeatedly prioritized during the rebuild.
If the Flames ultimately decide their future is strongest down the middle, don’t be surprised if Lawrence becomes one of the names receiving serious consideration when Calgary is on the clock.
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — The Edmonton Oilers hired Mike Babcock on Tuesday, clearing the way for the polarizing taskmaster to coach his first NHL game in more than six years after the NHL cleared him following an investigation into his aborted 2023 stint in Columbus.
Babcock is now in charge of trying to get Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl a Stanley Cup championship after two of the best hockey players in the league have fallen short over the past decade.
D.J. Smith, who was most recently the interim replacement in Los Angeles after Jim Hiller was fired and ran the bench in Ottawa from 2019-23, was named an associate coach. Smith was an assistant under Babcock in Toronto.
Babcock has not coached a game in the league since being fired by the Maple Leafs 23 games into the 2019-20 season.
Babcock, 63, has championship experience from coaching Detroit to the Cup in 2008. He made two other trips to the final, with Anaheim in ‘03 and when the Red Wings went again in ’09 and lost to Pittsburgh. He also guided Canada to back-to-back Olympic goal medals in 2010 and '14.
Babcock also brings baggage.
He stepped down from the Blue Jackets' job before training camp in September 2023 after taking the job on July 1. At the time, Babcock’s requests for personal photos from players in an attempt to get to know them drew criticism as an invasion of privacy.
When word emerged that Edmonton was interested in hiring Babcock, the NHL Players' Association asked the league to review what happened three years ago. The NHL in a statement said it found nothing to prevent him from being employed by a team.
Former players have spoken out about Babcock's old-school tendencies that some say can be considered bullying.
A report surfaced after the Maple Leafs fired Babcock that he had asked Mitch Marner to share his ranking of teammates from hardest- to least-hardest working and then shared that with the rest of the group. Former Red Wings player Johan Franzen told a Swedish outlet that Babcock was the worst person he had ever met and said at one point he was terrified to go to the rink.
Retired defenseman Mike Commodore, who played for Babcock briefly in 2011 in Detroit, spoke out this spring.
“I don’t want to hear another word about how important mental health is for us when you literally just paved the way, cleared the way for Mike Babcock to get another opportunity in the NHL and put him in another position of power where he can abuse people,” Commodore said on the “Clearing the Crease” podcast.
Daniel Winnik, who played for Babcock in 2015-16 with the Leafs, last week called him “the only guy that's ever made me hate hockey.”
“I just hated coming to the rink,” Winnik said on TSN 1050 radio in Toronto. "He's just a bully."
Kris Knoblauch, who coached Edmonton to consecutive trips to the Cup final in 2024 and ’25, was fired May 14 — a decision announced after news leaked that the Oilers had been denied permission by division rival Vegas to interview 2023 Cup-winning coach Bruce Cassidy, whom the Golden Knights fired on March 30 with eight games left in the regular season. Cassidy remains under contract for one more year.
The Oilers instead turned to Babcock, whose 700 regular season and 90 playoff victories rank 12th and 10th, respectively, in NHL history.
