The Idaho Steelheads, in conjunction with the Idaho Central Arena, will host an NHL pre-season game between the LA Kings and Utah Mammoth Sep. 30 at 7 Pm inside the Idaho Central Arena.
“We are extremely excited to be able to bring NHL hockey back to the Treasure Valley for the second time in the last four years,” Eric Trapp, President of Idaho Sports Properties, said in a statement. “With the success we have had hosting NHL events in downtown Boise, it was a goal of ours to host another game after seeing how well it was received back in 2022.”
This will be the third NHL preseason game and fourth NHL event hosted in Downtown Boise. The Vegas Golden Knights and Arizona Coyotes met on Oct. 8, 2022 most recently. The LA Kings and San Jose Sharks met for an exhibition game on Sep. 24, 1997 prior to the inaugural Steelheads season, and it was the third event hosted in the history of the Idaho Central Arena. The Steelheads also hosted the Dallas Stars Training Camp in Sept. 2018, which included an intra-squad scrimmage on the final day.
"Bringing NHL hockey back to Boise is an incredible opportunity, and we couldn’t be more excited," said LA Kings President Luc Robitaille. "This preseason game is a chance for us to share the speed, skill, and energy of Kings hockey, with a passionate and growing fan base in Idaho. We’re proud to help showcase the game in new communities and look forward to creating a memorable experience for everyone in Boise.”
Steelheads Season Ticket Holders will have the first right to reserve their seats for the NHL Preseason Game with a presale on Jul. 15 and the deadline on Aug. 1. Information regarding tickets for the general public will be announced on a later date.
LAS VEGAS -- With the NHL season officially in the books, Golden Knights fans will certainly have their eyes set on the upcoming draft.
Locally, they're also anticipating the annual Battle for Las Vegas charity softball game that pits members of the Knights against members representing the Las Vegas Raiders.
Raiders tight end Brock Bowers is the captain of the Raiders and friends.
Now in its sixth year, the star-studded charity softball event is scheduled for July 12 at 8 p.m. at Las Vegas Ballpark at Downtown Summerlin.
While the Knights fans await the announcement of Eichel's roster, the Raiders announced their roster on Thursday.
The roster for Team Bowers includes current Las Vegas Raiders players Jack Bech, AJ Cole, Daniel Carlson, Thayer Munford Jr., Eric Stokes, Aidan O’Connell, Jeremy Chinn, Sincere McCormick and former Raiders tight end Darren Waller.
The event, which gives fans the chance to watch their favorite local athletes compete for Las Vegas’ ultimate bragging rights, will open with a Home Run Derby one hour before the opening pitch of the softball game.
The night will conclude with a postgame fireworks display.
Proceeds from the event are directed to the Vegas Golden Knights Foundation, which will then make donations to selected beneficiaries that include: Mayor’s Fund for Las Vegas LIFE, Make-A-Wish Nevada, Best Buddies and Assisting Lives in Las Vegas.
The initial event launched in 2019 and to date has raised more than $1 million for deserving nonprofits.
According to TSN collaborator Bruce Garrioch, right winger Claude Giroux could be interested in signing with the Montreal Canadiens when he hits free agency on July 1. It’s not that the Tricolore would be his first choice, though. The 37-year-old would like to sign a contract extension with the Ottawa Senators, but some believe the two sides are at a stalemate.
Talks are continuing to see if the gap can be bridged, and the Sens have made a one-year offer for an over-35 contract. Garrioch also reports that league executives have estimated Giroux could hope for a $3 million base salary with achievable bonus targets that could see him earn between $4.5 million and $5 million.
Giroux’s family is well settled in Ottawa, and that’s a big part of the reason why he would like to stay put, and probably why he would be interested in signing with Montreal if a deal can’t be reached, given geographical proximity. ‘
Throughout his 18-season career, the 5-foot-11, 188-pound forward has played 1,263 games and accumulated 1,116 points. Since joining the Senators, his production has steadily declined, dropping from 79 points to 64 and then 50 this past season.
The veteran has spent most of the season playing in Ottawa’s top-six alongside the likes of Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stutzle. Fellow veteran David Perron still has one year to go on his contract with the Ontario outfit, meaning there’s already an experienced player on the roster.
While there’s no denying that Giroux has been a force in the NHL and is still a talented player, I struggle to see why the Canadiens would feel the need to make him an offer. Montreal is in dire need of a top-six center and a right-shot defenseman. Of course, the Habs have lost their most experienced player with David Savard’s retirement, but Brendan Gallagher is already 33 years old, and Mike Matheson is 31; they’re both fairly experienced. Giroux has been to one Stanley Cup Final, just like Gallagher.
I expect that the only way Kent Hughes could make him an offer is if he fails to find what he needs on the trade market or in free agency. This is somewhat similar to when Danny Briere said he would like to sign with the Canadiens towards the end of his career; however, this didn’t exactly go well. He played 69 games in Montreal, putting up 25 points, and found himself playing on the fourth line at times.
Photo credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
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Dodgers owner Mark Walter, left, and president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, right, stand for a photo with Shohei Ohtani at Ohtani's introductory news conference in December 2023. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
The Lakers are getting a new owner. And in Los Angeles, he’s already a familiar name.
Thirteen years after buying the Dodgers and transforming the team into a juggernaut in Major League Baseball, billionaire businessman Mark Walter is in line to become the new majority owner of the Lakers.
Suddenly, the once anonymous Chicago-based investment manager is about to have both of the Southland’s most prominent professional sports teams in his portfolio.
For Lakers fans, Walter’s arrival will mark a massive shift following decades of family ownership of the team by the Buss family. But, they won’t have to look far to find examples of how Walter has operated another iconic Los Angeles sports brand.
"He's really committed to the city of Los Angeles in various ways," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Wednesday, after the stunning news of Walter's impending purchase of the Lakers first emerged. "He's going to do everything he can to produce a championship-caliber team every single year, and make sure the city feels proud of the Lakers and the legacy that they've already built with the Buss family."
As Walter's ownership of the Lakers prepares to begin, here are four things to know about his stewardship of the Dodgers over the last decade-plus.
Money is (almost) no object
When Walter’s Guggenheim Baseball group bought the Dodgers in 2012, the once-proud franchise was mired in embarrassment and mediocrity.
Under Frank McCourt’s ownership, the team was in bankruptcy. It had not fielded a top-10 MLB payroll three years running. And it had won the National League West only three times since the turn of the century, seemingly miles away from ending what was already by then a decades-long World Series drought.
But then came Guggenheim — making huge infusions of cash, followed by a sudden return to contention.
Since 2013, the Dodgers have exceeded MLB’s luxury tax threshold (the closest thing baseball has to a soft salary cap) eight times and topped the league in spending seven times.
They’ve splurged repeatedly on star talent, from lucrative extensions for Clayton Kershaw, Andre Ethier and Kenley Jansen; to blockbuster acquisitions of Adrián González, Hanley Ramírez and Zack Greinke; to the more recently transformative arrivals of Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani.
And in that span, they’ve never once missed the playoffs, won their division 11 of the last 12 seasons, and reached the World Series on four occasions — finally breaking through with championships in 2020 and 2024.
“He wants to win,” Roberts said of Walter. "He feels that the fans, the city deserves that."
Walter’s Guggenheim group has made major outlays beyond the roster as well. They invested in what has become one of the most renowned farm systems in the sport. They have built a robust analytics department in the front office. They’ve made multiple major renovations to Dodger Stadium, upgrading fan areas and the players’ clubhouse facility.
There have been moments when the team has shown financial constraint, most notably when it strategically stayed under the luxury tax in 2018 and 2019 — to the chagrin of some fans at the time.
But in the last two offseasons, the Dodgers have spared almost no expense, this year becoming the first team in MLB history to boast a $400-million luxury tax payroll.
“The commitment from our ownership group from the minute I got here has been incredible,” president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said this offseason. “It has always been, ‘Hey let’s push. Let’s go. Let's get better.’”
Business is booming
Shohei Ohtani, center, gestures to teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto, left, as Roki Sasaki, right, looks on during a news conference in Japan in March. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
For all the money the Dodgers have spent, they’ve had little problem super-charging revenue streams at the same time.
Shortly after Walter’s Guggenheim group bought the team, it struck a ground-breaking 25-year, $8.35-billion television deal with Time Warner Cable, leading to the creation of a Dodgers-exclusive SportsNet LA cable channel (albeit, one that many fans could not access through their television providers until the 2020 season).
In recent years, the team has also sought to expand its brand internationally — an effort that was significantly amplified by the $700-million signing of Ohtani in December 2023.
For years leading up to Ohtani’s free agency, the Dodgers had identified an opportunity to capture the Japanese baseball market. They saw the chance to sign him, as well as other Japanese stars such as Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki, as a way to become that nation’s most popular MLB team.
That reality came to fruition at the start of this season, when the Dodgers opened their season in Tokyo in front of sellout crowds painted almost entirely in shades of Dodger blue apparel.
According to Sportico — which valued the Dodgers at $7.73 billion this year — the team was estimated to have also eclipsed $1 billion in revenue during the 2024 season, with Ohtani’s arrival leading to an influx of Asian sponsorship agreements, skyrocketing merchandise sales and even a team-run fan club based in Japan.
Stability in leadership
When Walter’s Guggenheim group first came into the picture, the Dodgers didn’t make sweeping personnel moves right away.
Stan Kasten was inserted as team president, but preexisting general manager Ned Colleti and manager Don Mattingly maintained their posts all the way through the 2014 season.
Changes did eventually come in the front office and the dugout. Friedman, then seen as the most promising young executive in the sport, was hired ahead of the 2015 campaign. Roberts replaced Mattingly a year later.
But ever since then, leadership in the organization has remained largely the same.
Rather than rock the boat in times of trouble, Walter has practiced patience when it comes to personnel decisions.
Roberts’ 10-year managerial tenure has best epitomized that preference for stability. At multiple junctures, factions of the fan base have called for his firing — such as after the Dodgers were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in 2019, or won just one postseason series in the three years after their 2020 title.
But the Dodgers stuck the course with Roberts, who was then hugely influential in guiding the team to last year’s unlikely run to a championship, navigating his way around a rash of pitching injuries.
Now, Roberts is the highest-paid manager in baseball in annual salary, and will be under contract for four more seasons after this year.
A hands-off approach
Other than the money his Guggenheim group has spent, the defining trait of Walter’s ownership of the Dodgers might actually be the hands-off style with which he has run the team.
Walter is typically seen in-person around the club on only a handful of occasions over the course of the regular season. He delegates much of the organization’s day-to-day operations — on the business and baseball fronts — to Kasten, Friedman and their respective lieutenants, including chief marketing officer Lon Rosen and general manager Brandon Gomes.
Roberts framed that approach as a positive on Wednesday.
“I think a good owner in my eyes is a person that lets the people that he hires do their jobs,” Roberts said. “[Walter] does a great job of letting Stan and Andrew and Gomer, all those guys, Lon, do their jobs, right? But also kind of holding us all accountable and also providing resources when we need it.”
Under that system, however, the Dodgers have nonetheless run into occasional controversies — from the signing and suspension of Trevor Bauer in 2021, to the decision to rescind, then reinstate, a Pride Night community award to a trans-rights group amid public backlash in 2023.
Even this past week, the Dodgers came under fire for their delayed response to recent immigration raids that have unsettled the city, though the team was expected to announce plans for assistance to immigrant communities on Thursday.
In each of those situations, Walter refrained from offering any public comments. And generally, he has been reclusive with the media ever since buying the Dodgers, having rarely been made available to reporters to answer questions about the state of the club.
The Dallas Stars re-signed center Matt Duchene to a four-year contract on Thursday.
Duchene's new contract runs through the 2028-29 campaign with an average annual value of $4.5 million. The 34-year-old was a pending UFA after playing the past two seasons with the Stars on one-year, $3-million contracts.
“We are thrilled to have Matt back with our organization,” Stars GM Jim Nill said in a press release. “As our team’s leading scorer last season, he helped to solidify our forward group while also providing invaluable leadership off the ice and in the community. The fit with Matt and our team has been seamless from the start, and we’re looking forward to continuing to pursue our shared goal of bringing a championship to Dallas.”
With this new contract, eight players on the Stars have higher cap hits than Duchene does for next season, but none had more points than his 82 in 82 games in 2024-25. He also ranked third on the team in goals, with 30. Those were his best totals since his career-high 43 goals and 86 points with the Nashville Predators in 2021-22. Duchene's 52 assists this past season, however, set a new high.
While Nill took care of getting Duchene under contract, the Stars now have some difficult decisions to make.
Among the UFAs are longtime captain Jamie Benn and trade deadline acquisition Mikael Granlund.
Benn, 35, finished an eight-year contract worth $9.5 million annually. While he had 78 points in 82 games in 2022-23, his point totals decreased to 60 in 2023-24 and 49 this past season. He also averaged 15:18 of ice time.
In the playoffs, Benn had a goal and two assists for three points in 18 games while logging a minus-11 rating and 13:06 of ice time.
Granlund, 33, had five goals and 10 points in the playoffs while averaging 17:27 of ice time. He also had 21 points in 31 games after the Stars acquired him and Cody Ceci from the San Jose Sharks in February. Dallas sent a first-round pick and third-rounder in the 2025 draft, but the Stars lost to the Edmonton Oilers 4-1 in the Western Conference final.
Granlund had a four-year contract with a $5-million cap hit. Overall, in 2024-25, Granlund had 22 goals and 66 points in 83 games.
The Stars' other pending UFAs are Evgenii Dadonov, Colin Blackwell, Ceci and Brendan Smith. Their RFAs are Mavrik Bourque and Nils Lundkvist.
Three massive contracts kick in for the Stars next season.
Dallas signed starting goaltender Jake Oettinger to an eight-year contract extension with an $8.25-million cap hit last October. At the trade deadline, they re-signed 22-year-old Wyatt Johnston to a five-year deal worth $8.4 million per season.
Also at the trade deadline, the Stars pulled off a blockbuster by acquiring right winger Mikko Rantanen from the Carolina Hurricanes and signing the 28-year-old to an eight-year contract with a $12-million cap hit.
Test captain identifies weakness ahead of India series
He reveals Jofra Archer is pestering him for a Test call
Ben Stokes may have described England’s recent lack of Test action as “a bit odd” but playing just one game in the past six months has given the side space to reconsider their approach before the series against India.
Stokes has won 23 of his 33 games in charge while losing 12 and insisted: “I don’t think it’s arrogant to say that we’ve been good over the last three years.” But with England’s next 10 Tests coming against either India – starting at Headingley on Friday – or Australia they have prepared for potential adversity.
The Los Angeles Lakers' proposed $10billion (£7.45bn) sale to the TWG Global CEO Mark Walter would make them the most expensive sports team in the world.
Should the sale of the Lakers - who have been owned by the Buss family since 1979, be completed - it will be the most expensive takeover in sports history.
Forbes named Dallas Cowboys ahead of the Lakers' estimated sale value with a valuation of $10.1bn (£7.5bn). However, they were last sold in 1989 to owner Jerry Jones.
The previous record sale for a sports team is one of the Lakers' NBA rivals in the Boston Celtics, who were sold for $6.1bn (£4.5bn) in March this year.
Of the 10 highest-recorded sports team sales, nine of them are from American franchises across American football, basketball and baseball.
What about English football teams?
Chelsea's sale in 2022 is among the most expensive ever recorded for a sports team [Getty Images]
Chelsea's sale to Clearlake Capital and Todd Boehly for $5.4bn (£4bn) is the fourth highest in sports history.
No other football team enters the top 10 in terms of highest recorded sports team sales.
Manchester United, with a valuation of $6.55bn (£4.9bn) are viewed as the most valuable English football team, ranking 14th in Forbes' list. Although they did trail neighbours Manchester City in Deloitte's Football Money League for 2025.
Liverpool (27th) and Manchester City (32nd) also feature in Forbes' most valuable sports teams list.
Top 10 highest sports team sales
Los Angeles Lakers (Basketball) $10bn
Boston Celtics (Basketball) $6.1bn
Washington Commanders (American football) $6.05bn
Chelsea (Football) $5.4bn
Denver Broncos (American football) $4.65bn
Phoenix Suns/Phoenix Mercury (Basketball) $4bn
Dallas Mavericks (Basketball) $3.5bn
Charlotte Hornets (Basketball) $3bn
New York Mets (Baseball) $2.4bn
Carolina Panthers (American football) $2.275bn
*Figures are based on highest sports team sales and at the Los Angeles Lakers' expected sale price
This article is the latest from BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team.
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The 2024-25 season is over as the Florida Panthers won the Stanley Cup again. However, there is still plenty of work ahead for all 32 GMs as the buyout window opens on Friday.
The buyout window will remain open until June 30, according to PuckPedia.
Here are seven potential buyout candidates for the remainder of the month.
Pierre Engvall, LW, New York Islanders
Newly appointed GM of the New York Islanders, Mathieu Darche, has a decision to make on Pierre Engvall’s contract. Two years ago, former Isles GM Lou Lamoriello signed Engvall to a whopping seven-year contract at $3 million per year.
The term of his contract doesn’t match his offensive production and value. This past season, the left winger played 62 games, scoring eight goals and 15 points. In addition, he averaged 11:49 of ice time for the Islanders, one of the lowest averages among the team’s forwards. He cleared waivers twice as well.
TJ Brodie, D, Chicago Blackhawks
After three straight years of finishing last in the Central Division, GM Kyle Davidson and the Chicago Blackhawks are under pressure to show some progress. Buying out defenseman TJ Brodie is an option for the team.
Brodie, 35, is going into the last year of his two-year contract that gives him $3.75 million per season. He played 54 games and didn’t play after March 1. In addition, he averaged the least amount of ice time in his 15-year career at 15:38 per game.
Philipp Grubauer, G, Seattle Kraken
The Seattle Kraken’s Philipp Grubauer is in a similar situation to Jack Campbell after the Edmonton Oilers bought out his contract last off-season.
Grubauer, 33, posted a career-worst 3.49 goals-against average and .875 save percentage. It got to the point where he was sent down to the AHL in February and played seven games for the Coachella Valley Firebirds.
Grubauer has two more years left on his contract while he earns $5.9 million per year.
Ryan Reaves, RW, Toronto Maple Leafs
Ryan Reaves, 38, has cemented himself as one of the most respected enforcers in the modern game, but he is regressing.
He had just one fight in the regular season, a tilt with Mathieu Olivier of the Columbus Blue Jackets. In his 15-year career, he never went an entire season with just one fight, according to hockeyfights.com. He also averaged 7:48 of ice time and had two assists in 35 games.
Around the trade deadline, he was sent down to the AHL's Toronto Marlies for cap reasons. A buyout for Reaves might be the way for the Leafs to shave off some more money.
Matt Dumba, D, Dallas Stars
Dallas Stars defenseman Matt Dumba is a candidate for a buyout because the team could use any salary cap space they can get. The 30-year-old D-man is going into the last year of his contract, worth $3.75 million. He had a goal and 10 points in 63 games, and he didn’t play in the playoffs.
Justin Holl is another right-shot defenseman going into the final year of his contract. The Detroit Red Wings signed him to a three-year deal at a $3.4-million cap hit in the 2023 off-season.
Detroit hasn’t made the playoffs in nine years, and GM Steve Yzerman needs to make some tough decisions. Buying out Holl would free cap space and a spot on the Red Wings’ blueline, an area where they struggled lately. For the past two seasons, the Wings are 26th in goals against.
David Kampf, C, Toronto Maple Leafs
Buying out Kampf is another cost-cutting option for the Leafs.
Kampf is a solid bottom-six center who can kill penalties and win faceoffs. However, he earns $2.4 million for the next two seasons. The Leafs also acquired Scott Laughton at the trade deadline, who took Kampf’s spot on the roster during the playoffs.
The Mets are calling up right-handed pitcher Justin Hagenman from Triple-A Syracusefor Friday's game against the Phillies in Philadelphia, reports Mike Puma of The New York Post.
Per The Post, it's possible Hagenman will be used after an opener.
Earlier this week, manager Carlos Mendozacharacterized Friday's TBA starter as a one-and-done situation.
Hagenman acquitted himself well during his major league debut earlier this season.
Pitching in relief against the Twins in Minnesota on April 16, Hagenman allowed one run on three hits in 3.1 innings while walking none and striking out four.
Hagenman has struggled for Syracuse this season, with a 6.21 ERA and 1.38 WHIP in 33.1 innings (six starts, four relief outings).
Beyond Hagenman, the Mets had a host of options they could've called on to pitch Friday against the Phillies.
Top prospects Nolan McLean (in line to pitch for Syracuse on Friday) and Brandon Sproat (in line to pitch on Thursday) could've been used. But neither pitcher is on the 40-man roster. And in the case of Sproat, he has yet to master Triple-A.
Blade Tidwell, also with Syracuse, is on the 40-man roster after making his big league debut earlier this season. But he was hit hard in his last start in Triple-A, allowing six runs on seven hits in 3.2 innings.
Weston Wilson hasn’t been hitting and has played sporadically over the last two weeks so the Phillies are shipping him out for a hotter hand.
They optioned Wilson to Triple A Lehigh Valley on Thursday afternoon and selected the contract of right-handed-hitting Buddy Kennedy.
Kennedy, who played eight games late last season with the Phillies, has hit .283/.388/.447 for the IronPigs with eight home runs and 40 RBI in 268 plate appearances. The majority of his 60 starts have come at first base (33) and third base (15). He’ll be another corner infield option against lefties behind Alec Bohm and Otto Kemp as the Phillies await Bryce Harper’s return from right wrist inflammation.
The Phils played Kennedy some in the corner outfield in spring training but he hasn’t played there at all in Triple A so it would be surprising to see them use him out there.
The 26-year-old Millville, NJ native has already had a few moments with the Phillies. He walked in front of a Kody Clemens walk-off hit last September and hit a game-tying double in the eighth inning of a win over the Mets the next week.
The Phillies freed up a 40-man roster spot for Kennedy by transferring Aaron Nola to the 60-day injured list. Nola has been out since May 15, first with a right ankle sprain and now with a stress fracture in his right rib.
The move to the 60-day IL officially ends Nola’s first half but he wasn’t coming back before the All-Star break anyway. August appears more likely given the number of boxes he’d have to check — multiple bullpen sessions, live batting practice, multiple rehab starts — before rejoining the Phillies’ rotation.
The Mets carried a 5-1 lead into the sixth inning against the Rays at Citi Field. But a fatigued Clay Holmes (who was feeling run down after his start at Coors Field) was pulled before the inning started, and Paul Blackburn (who isn't a reliever) had a disastrous relief outing as New York blew that lead and lost.
Now let's go back in time to Tuesday against the Braves in Atlanta.
The Mets carried a 4-1 lead into the eighth inning at Truist Park, but poor execution from the players and a few questionable decisions by Carlos Mendoza conspired to turn that into a 5-4 loss in 10 innings.
Why do we bring these games up?
Because had the Mets won them, they would be -- at worst -- in the midst of a 2-3 stretch that people would be shrugging their shoulders at in an unbothered fashion.
Instead, they have lost five games in a row, and lost 4.0 games to the Phillies in the NL East standings in the process.
The strange thing about the losing streak, though, is that it has much more to do with things that weren't mentioned above.
New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. / Mark J. Rebilas - Imagn Images
Specifically, there are three glaring issues with the Mets right now. And there don't seem to be any quick fixes...
Since then, Tylor Megill has hit the IL due to an elbow injury and Frankie Montas got battered in his final rehab start for Triple-A Syracuse.
Meanwhile, Blackburn did not inspire confidence during his return to the rotation on Wednesday against the Braves, when he was jumped for three runs in the first inning and lasted just 3.2 frames.
That means the Mets' starting rotation right now consists of Holmes, David Peterson, Griffin Canning, and two question marks.
Sean Manaea should be back soon, which will be a massive boost. He's starting for Syracuse on Friday, and will likely have one or two more rehab starts after that before being activated from the IL.
In the immediate, the Mets need a starter for Friday against the Phillies (likely to be a spot starter called up from the minors) and have to decide what to do with Montas. Their choices are to activate him and use him in the rotation, activate him and use him in the bullpen, or leave him on the IL due to an injury.
New York Mets pitcher Frankie Montas (47) pitches during a Spring Training workout at Clover Park / Sam Navarro - Imagn Images
It's possible a prospect like Nolan McLean is ready to seriously contribute soon, and that Jonah Tong -- who hasn't yet pitched above Double-A Binghamton -- could debut at some point this summer.
For now, though, the Mets aren't in an advantageous spot.
Third base is a giant question mark
With Mark Vientos nearing a return but still needing a handful more rehab games, the Mets' third base situation isn't great.
Brett Baty, who caught fire after being called up from Syracuse in early May and looked to have perhaps turned a corner offensively, is again scuffling.
In Baty's place, Ronny Mauricio has been getting starts at third base. But Mauricio, who was hurried back to the majors when Vientos went down, has looked mainly overmatched at the plate.
He's run into a few homers, but not done much otherwise, with only seven hits in 41 at-bats.
It's fair to believe Vientos will be inserted back as the starting third baseman upon his return, which should help the offense a bit. But Vientos' defense at the hot corner (he is in the first percentile in Outs Above Average) has been a serious detriment.
The catching situation is unsettled
On Tuesday against the Braves, Francisco Alvarez made two glaring mistakes in the 10th inning that helped cost the Mets the game.
Jun 17, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez (4) walks against the Atlanta Braves in the second inning at Truist Park. / Brett Davis - Imagn Images
First, he lazily backhanded a ball in the dirt, allowing it to trickle away. He had Luke Williams caught between second base and third base, but strangely threw to second -- allowing Williams to advance to third and score the winning run on a sacrifice fly.
After the game, Alvarez seemingly still didn't understand what the right play (throw to third or run toward the runner with the ball) should've been. Couple that with his 85 OPS+ and the Mets have an issue.
Luis Torrens started in place of Alvarez on Wednesday and didn't inspire confidence, either.
He balked when he used his catcher's mask to pick up a ball that got a way from him -- leading to two Braves runs in the first inning. Torrens had a passed ball later in the game that cost New York another run.
***
Despite everything covered above, the Mets are 45-29 and in first place in the NL East.
They remain a very good baseball team, and should be just fine.
And it's fair to believe that David Stearns, who has done a stellar job since taking over as president of baseball operations, is already knee deep when it comes to exploring how to address the team's issues.
(Header/feature image courtesy of Kyle Ross-Imagn Images)
The Philadelphia Flyers have made no secret about their desire to start adding to their team instead of subtracting—and with significant cap space and an arsenal of draft capital, they’re in a strong position to make good on those ambitions.
According to a report from RG, the Flyers have shown interest in 25-year-old New York Islanders defenseman Alexander Romanov, a pending restricted free agent known for his physicality, defensive reliability, and emerging offensive instincts.
While a deal is far from imminent, the Flyers have reportedly inquired about Romanov’s availability as the offseason market begins to heat up. And the fit, frankly, makes a lot of sense.
The Player: Romanov’s Versatile Value
Romanov, who the Islanders acquired from the Montreal Canadiens in 2022, has quietly built a reputation as a punishing and consistent left-side defensemen. In his time with the Isles, he’s played in 221 NHL games, recording 64 points (13 goals, 51 assists), 465 blocked shots, and 502 hits.
If there’s one word to define his game, it’s presence—Romanov is a true tone-setter, the kind of defenseman who makes forwards think twice before cutting to the middle of the ice.
And yet, he’s not a one-dimensional bruiser. Over the past season, Romanov showed real signs of growth in puck-moving and playmaking, elevating his offensive confidence without compromising his defensive structure. He won’t quarterback a power play, but he can transition the puck effectively and hold his own in the offensive zone. However, his real value lies in being a shutdown defenseman with great skating and mobility skills. His responsible, physical, high-motor game is exactly the kind of stability the Flyers could use on their left side.
The Fit: What the Flyers Need
It’s no secret that Flyers GM Danny Brière is open to upgrading the NHL roster while continuing to stockpile young talent. With $18.99 million in cap space (pending RFAs Cam York and Jakob Pelletier have yet to sign new deals) and seven picks in the first 48 selections of this year’s NHL Draft, Philadelphia has the currency to be active.
If the Flyers are indeed eyeing Romanov, the interest likely stems from a few key needs:
A reliable, physically mature top-four defenseman who can eat tough minutes and complement a more mobile partner.
A left-handed presence who could round out a top-four that already includes Travis Sanheim and Jamie Drysdale.
A young veteran entering his prime, with room to grow—but also enough experience to step in right away.
At just 25 years old, Romanov is entering his best years, and if the Flyers believe his upward trajectory will continue, they may see him as a long-term core piece worth investing in.
The Price: What Could It Take?
According to RG’s reporting, Romanov could be seeking a contract in the range of $5 to $6 million AAV.
That’s a significant investment, but perhaps not an unreasonable one—especially for a defenseman who can be trusted with high-leverage minutes and provide some snarl to a team that’s been trying to carve out a more physical identity.
The real cost, of course, would be in trade assets.
The Islanders are thin on picks and prospect depth and may be looking to recoup assets. A package that includes some of the Flyers’ late first-round picks or one of their four second-rounders could appeal to New York, especially if it’s paired with a young player or mid-tier prospect. The Flyers would need to decide just how high they’re willing to go for a player like Romanov—and whether they believe he’s worth giving up a shot at drafting another young, cost-controlled piece.
But if the Flyers truly see themselves on the upswing—and if Romanov is viewed as part of a potential playoff-caliber top four—it could be the kind of proactive, controlled risk Brière has shown a willingness to take.
The Outlook: Risk vs. Reward
No trade is ever a lock, and RFAs come with their own set of complications—especially when it comes to contract demands, arbitration risk, and the sheer unpredictability of restricted free agency. But Romanov presents a compelling mix of reliability, edge, and upside.
He’s already logged meaningful NHL experience. He’s shown growth each year. And most importantly, he plays a style of hockey that Flyers fans (and coaches) tend to appreciate: structured, tough, responsible, and intense.
For a Flyers team that’s still finding its identity but wants to keep inching closer to contention, this could be the right kind of bet—a player still developing, but ready for a bigger role. The question now becomes: how much are they willing to pay to make it happen?
And perhaps just as critically: are the Islanders ready to deal?
Stay tuned. The Flyers’ blue line may not be set just yet.
FanDuel's early odds spotlight a wide-open Jack Adams race fueled by comeback coaches and surprise contenders.
As the 2025 NHL season draws to a close, the race for the Jack Adams Award as the league's best coach as started to intensify.
FanDuel's current odds reflect this competitive landscape, with Columbus' Dean Evason and Anahiem's Joel Quenneville leading the pack ahead of what will be a busy summer for both clubs.
It's easier to look at the award as the team that generally improved the most and provided the best storyline like this past season with Spencer Carbery and the near-President's trophy winning Washington Capitals, after many pegged them to be a wild card team at best entering the season.
With that in mind, we present the betting odds for next year's Jack Adams award with some potential storylines that could come out of certain teams and lead to their head coach winning the predigest award.
2025-26 Jack Adams Award Betting Odds per FanDuel Sportsbook
Evason brings a wealth of experience, having previously coached the Minnesota Wild, where he led the team to multiple playoff appearances. His leadership is credited with revitalizing the Blue Jackets, guiding them to a strong finish in the 2024–25 that almost no one expected, with preseason expectations having them pegged as a lottery team.
Joel Quenneville (+1000)
Quenneville is back as an NHL head coach after a hiatus and could prove to be a difference maker for a hungry Ducks team.
With over 969 career wins and three Stanley Cup titles, Quenneville's extensive experience will almost certainly help improve and develop the younger players on the team while creating a culture not seen in the City of Angels for quite some time. The team will also look signicantly better after the Ducks use their $32.1 million in cap space to bring in fresh blood like New York's Chris Kreider.
Andre Tourigny (+1100)
The Utah Mammoth had a fun team last season that finished with a very solid 38-31-8 record and will look to build on that success with just over $20 million in cap space heading into the summer.
One thing that team owner Ryan Smith made clear is that he wants his team to win and to bare minimum make the playoffs next season. The attitude of the organization is to win and perform like Smith's Denver Nuggets of the NBA and this should lead to some aggressive moves from GM Bill Armstrong this summer.
Martin St. Louis (+1200)
The Habs have a promising young core and as much as their rivals like it, they are building towards a potential cup contender. Since taking over as head coach, St. Louis has led a remarkable turnaround in Montreal, guiding the team to an unexpected playoff berth this past season and earning recognition with votes for the Jack Adams Award.
His leadership and tactical adjustments have been key to the team's success and with more talent on the way like Ivan Demidov, there's a very real chance the Habs could be a top three seed in the Atlantic division and earn St. Louis a relatively easy Jack Adams next season.
Sullivan, a two-time cup champion with the Pittsburgh Penguins, has a very easy case to win the award as he has to turn around a Rangers team that finished with a 55-23-4 record just one year ago. With his expertise of a 409-255-89 all-time record with the Penguins, the Blueshirts should have one of their best years yet but it could depend on the talent in the lineup.
GM Chris Drury has made some aggressive moves to change the culture of the team like trading away longtime Rangers in Jacob Trouba and Chris Kreider. If Drury doesn't manage to trade away all of New York's skilled players, Sullivan will have one of the safest cases to be a contender for the Jack Adams.
Ryan Huska (+1900)
Huska has been leading a Flames team that is focusing on building a resilient and competitive group. Despite their 41-27-14 record this past season, Calgary fell just short of a playoff berth but showed lots of promise as a physical team that many dreaded to play against.
With the fifth-most cap space in the league at nearly $27 million, the team could make some key improvements and continue to ride the hot hand of rookie goaltender Dustin Wolf, who looks like he will be the anchor of the Flames for years to come.
Jeff Blashill (+1900)
The Blackhawks are desperately looking to improve on their 126-215-43 record since 2020 and the hope is Blashill is the man to get the job done.
With potential reinforcements from trading the third overall pick and utilizing $25.2 million in cap space for free-agent signings, Chicago could assemble a competitive roster. A playoff berth would almost certianly put Jeff Blashill in contention for the Jack Adams Award.
The Sharks were one of most exciting teams in the league to watch last season as they remained a reliable betting team to cover the puck line despite their troublesome record that has them listed as a lottery team once again. San Jose is slowly building as a team in the basement for a long period of time almost always leads to a sleeping dragon much like the Florida Panthers for several years.
If Warsofsky can develop San Jose’s young players into difference-makers and make key additions using their league-leading $41.7 million in cap space this summer, it could result in a far more competitive roster than anticipated and put Warsofsky in the running for the Jack Adams Award.
Rick Tocchet (+2200)
The Flyers have a promising future thanks to their talented young players such as Matvei Michkov and Noah Cates, who have already demonstrated they can make an impact at the NHL level.
Adding to that, Rick Tocchet’s elite coaching resume, highlighted by his recent Jack Adams Award, brings proven leadership and player development expertise. With Tocchet guiding this youthful roster, the Flyers are well-positioned to improve and compete more strongly in the upcoming season.
Travis Green (+2200)
Green has helped develop the young Senators team into a playoff contender and depending on the success of the team next season, he could be an easy pick to win the award. A top three division seed for Ottawa would make Green hard to beat
Todd McLellan (+2300)
Todd McLellan took over as head coach of the Detroit Red Wings mid-season, replacing Derek Lalonde. Despite the team's overall struggles, McLellan's experience with defensive structure should help lead the Red Wings to one of their best seasons in years as they are on the cusp of a playoff berth. Watch for McLellan to be one of the biggest darkhorses for the award.
Adam Foote (+2300)
The case for Foote is easy as the Vancouver Canucks have the makeup of a team that challenged the two-time Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers in a seven-game slugfest a year ago and could build up to that same level once again.
Star players like Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes will need to play massive roles and get the Canucks back in the playoff picture at minimum.
Should the Boston Celtics trade up in the 2025 NBA Draft to select a player who could make a meaningful impact as a rookie?
The C’s are one of only three teams in the second apron of the luxury tax, which limits their ability to add players via trade and free agency. Therefore, the upcoming draft is likely the best avenue for the Celtics to add young, cost-controlled young players.
But the Celtics own the No. 28 pick near the end of Round 1. There are usually a couple good players near the end of the first round and early second round in each draft, but finding them is difficult.
If the Celtics packaged the No. 28 pick, the No. 32 pick (second pick in Round 2) and maybe a future pick, perhaps they’d be able to move up into the late lottery or early 20s.
And if they were able to swing that kind of move, one player worth considering in that range is Illinois guard Kasparas Jakucionis. He is projected to land between the No. 10 and No. 17 picks in a lot of mock drafts.
Learn more about Jakucionis and his potential fit with the C’s below:
Jakucionis hit just 31.8 percent of his 3-pointers for the Fighting Illini, but an arm injury during the season might have been the reason for those struggles. He does have a nice offensive game driving to the basket. He boasts an impressive repertoire of moves near the rim, including fantastic footwork. Jakucionis is a three-level scorer and is effective on pick-and-roll scenarios.
The Lithuanian guard also is a very good playmaker, but he did turn the ball over a little too much at Illinois — 3.7 turnovers per game, tied for the fourth-most of any player last season — so he’ll have to clean that up a bit in the pros.
Should the Celtics target Jakucionis in Round 1, especially if they have to trade up to get him?
Here’s what our insider Chris Forsberg thinks:
“The one-and-done Illinois combo guard is known for his creative passing and the way he sees the floor. He gets to the free throw line a lot, too, and as we’ve seen with Jalen Brunson and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the foul-merchant business is a good one to be in.
“Before suffering a midseason arm injury, Jakucionis was shooting 41 percent from 3-point range. His numbers dipped afterward. If that dip can be attributed to his injury, his game fills out a bit more. If the Celtics can get higher in the draft through some wheeling and dealing, Jakucionis could be the target.”
