After several days of intense speculation, the LA Kings confirmed today that there was indeed some fire in all that smoke by announcing that Ken Holland will be the franchise's 10th General Manager.
Welcome to LA! đ
We've named Ken Holland the 10th General Manager in franchise history.
The former NHL goalie will immediately be called upon to make some big saves. The NHL Draft is just over a month away and the status of unrestricted free agents Vladislav Gavrikov, Andrei Kuzmenko, and Tanner Jeannot, as well as restricted free agent Alex Laferriere, will need to be gloved down.
Despite assurances from Team President Luc Robitaille on retaining the services of head coach Jim Hiller next season, Holland could very well decide to make a change behind the bench. Holland fired Jay Woodcroft in Edmonton after a 3-9-1 start to the season in 2023, replacing him the relatively unknown Kris Knoblauch. That move turned the Oilers' season around, leading Edmonton to their first Stanley Cup Finals since 2006.
With LA, Holland will inherit a solid team that regularly underperforms in the playoffs. Thus, much like his tenure with Edmonton, the Kings' new GM will be tasked with getting a team to the next level. Unlike Edmonton, however, he won't have superstars like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl to work with.
Instead, he will have promising youngsters like Quinton Byfield and Brandon Clarke, as well as the aging duo of Drew Doughty and Anze Kopitar and a rejuvenated Darcy Kuemper between the pipes.
Will Holland feel that this team's current roster is good enough to compete for the Stanley Cup or will he shake things up with an off-season trade? Holland is often described as a "win now" type of executive so a move or moves wouldn't be completely out of character. His 2001 trade for Dominik "The Dominator" Hasek was a huge factor in Detroit's 2002 Stanley Cup win. In 2008, Holland flipped two draft picks to the Kings for defenseman Brad Stuart to line up with Niklas Kronwall on a top-four pairing and guess what? Detroit won another Cup that year.
Team President Luc Robitaille believes that if you are looking to add on July 1st your team is in a good spot. It will be quite interesting to see where Ken Holland thinks the Kings are this summer and how he intends on getting LA past the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2014.
Five games didnât determine the Western Conference semifinals between the Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves. One grab at a left hamstring around the nine-minute mark of the second quarter in the Warriorsâ Game 1 win did.
The Minnesota Timberwolves took care of business. Steve Kerr wouldnât dare do it, and none of his Warriors players made excuses as to why they lost the series, even though they knew the answer. Steph Curryâs left hamstring strain ended the Warriorsâ 2024-25 NBA season. The 121-110 Game 5 loss Wednesday night made it official.
Their last four games were all losses. All were without Curry.
The season as a whole, before the injury bug took a bite too big for the Warriors to stomach, was a win. Just an incomplete one.
âQuite a turnaround in our season from where we were a few months ago to giving ourselves a chance at having a swing of the plate for some real chances to go deep,â Kerr told reporters after the loss. âWe were right there, and obviously it didnât go our way.â
The Warriorsâ 2024-25 season feels like it lasted 24 or 25 years. There were so many different storylines. The highs were high, the lows were low and there wasnât much middle ground, except for their .500 record when they traded for Jimmy Butler.
This was a team that started the season 12-3 and then didnât just fall off a little, but took a nosedive. Curry called them âmidâ after their final game in 2024 when they were blown out by the Cleveland Cavaliers at Chase Center. Their 16-16 record was mid to the definition, and the feeling around the team was much worse.
Those feelings changed with the trade for Butler the night before the NBA deadline. Butlerâs drama with the Miami Heat was over and the Warriors had their new co-star for Curry, sending Andrew Wiggins to South Beach as part of a multi-team trade. The Warriors were 25-24 at the time of the move, and back down to .500 a few hours later after losing to the 12-win Utah Jazz.
Butler was introduced the next day in LA, and made his debut on Feb. 8 in Chicago. At that point, the Warriors were down to 25-26, good for 10th in the Western Conference. They went 23-8 the rest of the regular season and finished as a No. 7 seed, with real chances of being even higher.
Between the regular season, NBA play-in tournament and playoffs, the Warriors from Butlerâs debut to Wednesdayâs second-round exit had a 29-15 record.
Butler and Curry perfectly complemented each other, quickly forming a happy marriage. Butler and Draymond Green gave Golden State the best defense in the NBA. After a few months as a Warrior, Butler likes the outlook of a franchise he is signed to through the 2026-27 season.
âGreat,â Butler said. âA bunch of great guys that work incredibly hard, young talent thatâs going to be incredibly successful in this league. Itâs all about staying healthy, as it always is, and getting more and more comfortable playing with one another.â
Green declared the Warriors were going to win the championship during NBA All-Star Weekend. But he also told NBC Sports Bay Areaâs Monte Poole and Kerith Burke on an episode of âDubs Talkâ near the end of the regular season that he likes the Warriorsâ chances even more next season. The Butler trade wasnât a three-month move. It was a multi-year move, especially regarding next season.
âOur ceiling, it is what it is,â Green said. âNow weâre a second-round team, second-round exit. Itâs over, thatâs what it is.â
A combination of a healthy Curry, Butler and Green isnât a second-round exit to the Warriors. Thatâs a trio they trust can beat anybody in a playoff series. The Warriors have to get better around them. They feel like they can, and theyâll at least eye everything to do so.
Butler announced himself as Robin early into his Warriors tenure, making it clear heâs No. 2 to Golden Stateâs Batman (Curry). He showed that to be true in all the best ways alongside him, and in some tough ways without him in the playoffs. Green was voted third for NBA Defensive Player of the Year and showed why in big postseason moments, but also got himself in foul trouble, was bested by some younger big men at times and toed the line of technical and flagrant fouls.
Both are 35 years old, both are basketball geniuses and both looked gassed against the Timberwolves down the stretch.
As for the youth, there were bright spots and there were question marks.
It would be surprising to see Jonathan Kuminga back in a Warriors jersey as a restricted free agent, but is his potential still too much for the front office to let go of? Moses Moody finally fit into a role that suits him best next to Butler in the frontcourt, and then he disappeared for long stretches of the playoffs. Brandin Podziemski is a long-term starting guard and a favorite of Kerrâs for all the little things he does, though he will have to continue improving as a scorer.
Finding Quinten Post with the 52nd pick and having him turn into an impact stretch five as a rookie was a huge win. But he also pushed Trayce Jackson-Davis out of the rotation for a large chunk of his second pro season, just to see their roles be reversed in the conference semifinals.
There are so many reasons to call the Warriorsâ season a success. Disappointment, yes. A win, also yes.
Being one of the final eight teams in the NBA is something the Warriors should pat themselves on the back for. It just all feels so wrong when No. 30 is subjected to sweatpants, shaking his head on the bench.
âI know we had a shot,â Kerr said. âI know we could have gone the distance. Maybe we wouldnât have, but it doesnât matter. Everything in the playoffs is about who stays healthy and who gets hot. Are you playing well at the right time? Do you have multiple guys step up in key games, make shots? And do you have good health?
âYou see it every year, in every series.â
Steph had his taste of meaningful basketball. In the end, he had to stare at a four-course meal from the outside, tapping on the glass and waiting for the next chapter to begin.
After Golden Stateâs season-ending 121-110 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night at Target Center, coach Steve Kerr was asked if that same question will be on his mind in the coming days, too.
âActually, I donât even have to think. I know we had a shot,â Kerr told reporters. âI know we could have gone the distance. Maybe we wouldnât have, but it doesnât matter. Again, everything in the playoffs is about who stays healthy and who gets hot.
âAre you playing well at the right time? Do you have multiple guys step up in key games, make shots? And do you have good health? You see it every year, in every series. So thereâs a little bit of luck involved, and weâve been on both sides of that. Itâs just part of it.â
Warriors star forward Jimmy Butler, who was forced to carry a much heavier load after Curryâs injury, came to a similar conclusion when asked if a healthy Golden State could contend for a title.
âI think we all know that. We all believe that,â Butler asserted. âThe injuries are part of it. Nobody wants to be injured. Itâs all about playing your basketball, the best basketball at the right time, and being healthy at the right time.
âUnfortunately, that wasnât us, and we came up short.â
Now, the Warriors head into an important offseason with a chance to better position themselves to overcome any more potential injuries to their aging core next year and beyond.
Coaches will always coach, particularly during trying moments.
Following the Warriorsâ season-ending 121-110 Game 5 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday at Target Center, coach Steve Kerr shared some motivational words with guard Brandin Podziemski.
Podziemski, who underwent a historic shooting slump through the first four games of the Western Conference semifinals, led Golden Stateâs scoring with 28 points on 11 of 19 shooting while adding six rebounds, four assists and two steals in Game 5.
Even though Podziemskiâs revival was too little too late, Kerr acknowledged the 22-year-old culminated his postseason run by becoming a more seasoned player.
âThis was a great experience for him,â Kerr told reporters after the loss. âThere were times in this series where he was hesitant to shoot, even tonight he was 4-for-6.
âI thought he couldâve gotten 10 or 11 threes off, and we needed those. And I told him that after the game, I said, âWhen we get back here next season, you are not going to turn down a single shot.ââ
In hopes of keeping the season alive and giving star guard Steph Curry an opportunity to return to action, Kerr leaned heavily on Podziemski.
Outside of wing Jimmy Butlerâs team-high 42 minutes, Podziemski followed with 39 minutes, responding positively to a series that challenged him physically and mentally.
âAnd thatâs part of the playoffs. I lived it as a player. Itâs a mind game,â Kerr continued. âI call it something more profane, but the playoffs are a mind game.
âItâs really easy to lose your confidence, teams throw different schemes at you. You had a bad game, and everyone is talking about your shooting percentage. You feel like youâre on an island. Iâve been there. Itâs great for Brandin to go through that and then finish the series with a great game because he has to understand this is what it feels like.â
As Kerr emphasized, the pressures of the NBA playoffs are incomparable to those of the regular season.
Podziemskiâs slump, for one, is proof of that.
âNobody cares in January if youâre 4-for-20, but in the playoffs, everyone is writing about it, everyone is talking about it,â Kerr concluded.
âYou feel exposed, and thatâs a big part of the playoff experience is understanding you got to keep firing, you have to stay aggressive [and] keep your confidence any way you can.â
Kerr will be expecting more of that from Podziemski next season.
MINNEAPOLIS â From the moment Stephen Curry limped off the floor after playing 13 promising minutes in Game 1, the Warriors were crawling uphill in mud against the Minnesota Timberwolves. They had to know winning even one more game, perhaps creating a jolt of post-Steph confidence, would require an extraordinary performance.
No such thing occurred. The Warriors were not extraordinary enough. Not in Game 2 or Game 3 or Game 4, all losses with similar characteristics.
It was no different Wednesday night in Game 5, facing elimination in the Western Conference semifinals, which ended with the Warriors being thumped into the offseason by a 117-110 loss that was much more decisive than the score indicates.
The better team won Game 5 and the series, sweeping the last four games.
âI thought Game 3 was the key to the series,â coach Steve Kerr said. âWeâre at 1-1, and we got a six-point lead in the mid-fourth [quarter], and they made huge plays down the stretch. That was the one we needed to get.
âAnd then I thought the last two games, they broke free offensively. And they shot 63 percent tonight. We couldnât stop them.â
There is no shame or dishonor about Golden Stateâs effort before a rollicking sellout crowd at Target Center. The Warriors accomplished their No. 1 defensive priority, doing a marvelous job of preventing the redoubtable Anthony Edwards from shooting them off the floor. Doubling and trapping, they forced Edwards to move the ball.
Edwards quickly caught on and improvised, turning the game over to his teammates, who did a terrific job of shredding Golden Stateâs formerly respectable defense. The Warriors in the first half limited Edwards to six points but went into the locker room trailing 62-47.
âWe threw a lot of stuff at him,â Kerr said of Edwards who finished with 22 points and a game-high 12 assists. âBox-and-one on one possession, a lot of zone-trapping in the back court. But theyâre a hell of a team. Theyâve got shooting everywhere. And thatâs the name of the game in the modern NBA.â
The Timberwolves shot 62.8 percent from the field, including 41.9 percent from deep. Six different players scored in double figures, led by Julius Randleâs 29 points. Golden Stateâs top-five offense was no match.
âThey moved the ball incredibly well, got into the paint,â Jimmy Butler III said. âI donât feel like we took too much away from them. We talked about what we wanted to do. We did it in some spurts, but not the entire game â which we needed to do. They played well. Youâve got to give them that.â
The Warriors were appreciably outplayed by a team that is bigger, faster, deeper, more athletic and more skilled. Quite simply, superior. The Timberwolves, for much of this series, and surely in clinching Game 5, looked as if they were from a higher league.
âThey got a chance. Theyâve got a real shot,â Draymond Green said of the Wolves. âAnytime you got No. 2 [Randle] that can just go get it, you give yourself a chance at the go make it happen and get a ring. The way Julius has been playing ⌠heâs been lights out.â
Game 5 was such disaster that the arena DJ turned to soundtrack that practically mocked the Warriors and the Bay Area, blasting such artists Too Short, Mac Dre and E-40 on what felt like a rotational loop.
Golden Stateâs veteran starters â Butler, Green and Buddy Hield â never mounted much of a threat in Game 5, combining for 35 points on 10-of-31 shooting from the field, including 1 of 13 from beyond the arc. Butler was minus-17 over 41 minutes, Green was minus-9 over 36 minutes and Hield finished minus-13 over 30 minutes.
What little offense Golden State stirred during the heart of the game came mostly from Brandin Podziemski (a playoff-career high 28 points in by far his best game of the series) and Jonathan Kuminga (26 points, his third consecutive productive outing).
This always was going to be a tough series, but there is no doubt Curryâs presence could have made it more competitive. Whether that would have been enough to tip the balance toward the Warriors is questionable. Once Curry was sidelined, the Warriors needed to win at least one of their home games to give themselves legitimate hope. Dropping both games and returning to Minnesota facing elimination put them in position to get smacked.
Two-plus months of quality basketball took the Warriors this far. About as far as they could go, considering their compromised roster. Even through the disappointment, they can hold their heads high.
While Derrick White (34 points) and Jaylen Brown (26 points) led the Jayson Tatum-less Câs in the scoring column, Luke Kornet was the difference-maker in Wednesdayâs 127-102 rout. The big man recorded 10 points, nine rebounds, and a career-high seven blocks in 26 minutes off the bench.
âHe was great. Just both ends of the floor,â Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. âHis presence was good⌠He made some big-time plays for us.â
The Celtics took control of Game 5 in the third quarter, outscoring the Knicks 32-17 after being tied at the half. Itâs no coincidence that Bostonâs dominance began when Kornet replaced Kristaps Porzingis.
Porzingis, who started in Tatumâs place despite an ongoing battle with a mysterious illness, struggled mightily in his 12 minutes. He logged only one point and was a -12, making him the only Celtic to finish in the negatives.
According to Mazzulla, Porzingis didnât play in the second half because he had difficulty breathing. The setback is concerning for the already shorthanded Celtics, but it opened the door for Kornet to give Boston a much-needed spark with its season at stake.
âHe was unbelievable,â White said of Kornet. âHe came in and just seemed to always be in the right position. âSeven blocks is crazy. He was unbelievable tonight and stepped up when we needed him.
âYeah, I was barking with him,â White added. âItâs just fun seeing him do that.â
It was more than just a career night for Kornet. The 29-year-old made NBA history, becoming the first player with at least 10 points, nine rebounds, seven blocks, and a perfect shooting performance (5-5 FG) in a playoff game. Anthony Davis (2023), Robert Williams (2022), and Draymond Green (2016) are the only other players to notch at least 10 points, nine boards, and seven blocks in a postseason game in the last 10 years.
âLuke was huge tonight, defensively and offensively,â Brown said. âHe was stellar, and thatâs the type of performance we need in the playoffs.â
After the win, Kornet credited Brown and veteran big man Al Horford with helping the team reset after Tatumâs Achilles tear.
âUnderstanding the situation and understanding that we have a game to play, and to go out and represent ourselves well and play hard,â he said. âI feel like those two led the way in that.â
Winning the final two games of this Eastern Conference semifinals series without Tatum is a tall task, never mind making it through another two rounds. But if Kornet continues to provide a significant boost, and both White and Brown step up in starring roles, the reigning champions canât be counted out.
With Porzingisâ status uncertain, Kornet will likely be asked to give the Câs more big minutes in Fridayâs do-or-die Game 6 at Madison Square Garden. Coverage for the matchup begins at 7 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Boston with Celtics Pregame Live.
Arizona forward Carter Bryant will remain in the NBA draft, where he could be a lottery pick. Bryant told ESPN on Wednesday he's âcompletely in" on the draft process following workouts at the NBA draft combine. A 6-foot-8, 225-pound forward, Bryant had a solid freshman season at Arizona after being a McDonald's All-American in high school.
Paul Goldschmidt hit a home run to lead off the seventh and Aaron Judge a homer to lead off the eighth as the Yankees completed a comeback win over the Mariners, 3-2, on Wednesday afternoon in Seattle.
New York improved to 25-18 on the year and took two out of three in Seattle (23-19).
Here are the takeaways...
- The Yanks got traffic on Mariners starter Luis Castillo with a Judge single and Cody Bellinger double with two down in the first and a pair of singles in the third. But New York would strand all four runners as the Seattle starter got five big strikeouts, including Judge and Bellinger in the third.
Castillo settled into a solid groove and kept the Yanks out of creating anything until there were two outs in the fifth when Anthony Volpe cracked a double off the wall in right on a 3-2 fastball up and over the plate. Jasson Dominguez put the Yanks on the board by blistering a first-pitch double just over first baseman Rowdy Tellez's glove for an RBI double. Batting as a lefty, he took the down and in slider and rocketed 112.1 mph off the bat.
- Goldschmidt came on as a pinch-hitter to start the seventh and launched the first pitch thrown by Mariners reliever Gabe Speier to tie the game. The lefty's 94 mph fastball was in the perfect spot for Goldschmidt to turn on and drive 377 feet down the line in left (107 mph off the bat). He added a single in the ninth to finish 1-for-2 off the bench, raising his average to .346 on the year.
- Judge singled on a line drive his first time up, but went down swinging the next two times against Castillo. Carlos Vargas wasn't so lucky as his 1-1 slider went right down the plite and Judge clobbered it: 444 feet and 117.7 mph off the bat for his 15th home run and 41st RBI of the year to put the Yankees ahead for the first time of the day. With the 2-for-4 day, Judge boosted his slash line to .412/.497/.782 for a 1.279 OPS.
- Will Warren, coming off his best start of the season, looked in fine form, retiring seven of the first eight batters he faced with six strikeouts. But an error and a one-out single to right led to a third-inning mound visit from pitching coach Matt Blake. The righty got a swinging bunt for the second out, but walked the bases loaded on four straight out of the zone to the dangerous Jorge Polanco.
Unfortunately, Julio Rodriguez laced a first-pitch sinker on the outside corner down the right field line for a two-run double on a ball that just stayed fair. Cal Releigh hit the next pitch even harder, but it just hung up on center for Trent Grisham to end the inning.
Warren found the groove again, retiring five of the next six with three more strikeouts to give him a new career-high. A two-out single by Polanco led to another visit from Blake as Rodriguez dug in. The Marinersâ star put a charge into a 3-2 sweeper that hung over the plate, but Dominguez camped under the high fly to make the catch on the warning track for a 374-foot out.
His final line: 5 innings, two runs (both unearned), three hits, one walk, one HBP, and nine strikeouts on 92 pitches (53 strikes).
- Out of the bullpen, Tyler Matzek put himself in a spot of bother, allowing a leadoff walk and a one-out four-pitch walk in the sixth. But, after Blake paid a visit, the lefty got Leody Taveras swinging before Ian Hamilton closed the inning. The righty added a pair of strikeouts in a clean seventh.
Fernando Cruz, the first Yankee to pitch with a lead on the day, got the eighth, and allowed a one-out single that one-hopped the wall in right that Bellinger played well to hold Raleigh at first. And after getting ahead of Randy Arozarena 0-2, he hit him with a 2-2 sinker to put the go-ahead run on base. But, after another Blake mound visit, a first-pitch sinker to Dylan Moore resulted in a room service 6-4-3 inning-ender.
Luke Weaver, who threw 21 pitches over two innings on Tuesday night, needed just 15 to strike out the side and earn his fourth save of the season.
- DJ LeMahieu got the start at second and was charged with a throwing error in the third, but wasnât really at fault. He threw right to the bag, but confusion between Ben Rice and Warren about who was covering led to neither catching the ball.
He finished the day 1-for-3 with a walk.
- Grisham, who hit two homers in the first game of the series, made a bid for a leadoff shot and had it over the wall in center, but Rodriguez ranged back and, with a leap, pulled the ball back in play for a 397-foot out. (It would have been a homer in 13 ballparks, but not Yankee Stadium.) He finished the day 0-for-4 with a walk and three strikeouts.
Game MVP: Yankees pitchers
New York's quintet totaled 15 strikeouts and limited the hosts to just five hits as they went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left seven on base.
BOSTON â Kristaps Porzingisâ struggles to stay on the court continued Wednesday night, and it sounds like his health issues were more pronounced this time around.
The Celtics big man logged just 12 minutes in Game 5 of Bostonâs second-round playoff series with the New York Knicks at TD Garden and didnât play at all in the second half. He finished with just one point on 0 for 3 shooting with one rebound and one block.
Head coach Joe Mazzulla shared a concerning update on Porzingis when asked about the big manâs limited minutes.
Porzingis started the game and played 7:38 minutes in the first quarter. He was used sparingly in the second quarter, however, and came to a mutual agreement with Mazzulla at halftime.
âThat was just a decision between me and him,â Mazzulla said of Porzingisâ absence in the second half. âHe was having difficulties breathing. But he wanted to be out there, and if we absolutely needed him, we would have been able to go to him and rely on him.â
âIâve had ups and downs up until this point, and just now had a big crash,â Porzingis said after Game 2. âMy energy, my everything hasnât been good.â
Porzingis played just 13 minutes in Game 1, 14 minutes in Game 2 and 19 minutes in Game 3 before delivering his âbestâ performance of the series in Game 4: a seven-point, four-rebound effort in 24 minutes. Itâs clear the 29-year-old is very far from full strength, however.
Fortunately for the Celtics, Kornet stepped up in a huge way in Game 5, racking up 10 points, nine rebounds and a career-high seven blocks in 25 minutes of action. Kornetâs efforts were a big reason why Boston out-rebounded the Knicks 44-40 on Wednesday night after getting killed on the glass in Game 4.
With a must-win Game 6 set for Friday night in New York, donât be surprised if we see more of Kornet going forward, with Porzingis only being deployed on an âas neededâ basis.
Tip-off for Game 6 is set for 8 p.m. ET on Friday, with NBC Sports Bostonâs coverage beginning at 7 p.m. ET with Celtics Pregame Live.
The series finale between the Mets and the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citi Field is delayed due to inclement weather.
Originally a 7:10 p.m. start time, the Mets announced a new tentative 7:25 p.m. first pitch.
Mets starter Clay Holmes has been great in his first season as a starter in Queens, pitching to a 2.74 ERA and 1.24 WHIP in 42.2 innings over eight starts. Wednesday will be Holmes' first start on regular rest since he made the transition from closer to starter.
The Pirates are looking to salvage a game in this series, and they'll have Bailer Falter on the bump to try and do so. The left-hander has pitched to a 2-3 record and a 4.36 ERA across eight starts this season.
New York will look to sweep this series ahead of an off day on Thursday and before they start a highly-anticipated three-game set against the Yankees this weekend in The Bronx.
As the Buffalo Sabres' off-season continues to unfold, there are many voices arguing the team should be doing what many NHL teams are doing -- namely, augmenting their front office with a veteran voice who has many years as a successful GM in hockey's top league. And the Los Angeles Kings are the latest organization to do exactly that, hiring former Detroit Red Wings and Edmonton Oilers GM Ken Holland Wednesday as the Kings' new GM.
To be sure, Holland's incredible experience as a Stanley Cup winner and team-builder was behind L.A.'s decision to insert him as replacement for longtime GM Rob Blake. The Kings have been a solid regular-season team for many years, but Los Angeles' inability to win a playoff round in Blake's tenure led to the decision to replace him with Holland. It was time for a change for the Kings, and L.A. went with a proven winner in Holland.
And while there are no guarantees Holland will guide the Kings to playoff success, the Sabres need to heed the example set by L.A. and figure out which experienced and available management member will at the very least help current Buffalo GM Kevyn Adams, and at the very most serve as Adams' replacement if and when Sabres ownership chooses to pink-slip Adams.
Indeed, there's no salary cap limit on front office members, so Sabres ownership can hire as many experienced hands as they can get. And while there is such a thing as too many cooks in the kitchen, adding someone who knows the terrain of the NHL leadership landscape can only help Buffalo.
The Sabres are going to be under incredible pressure just to make the playoffs next sesaon, let alone win a round or two. So having someone on board who's handled that kind of pressure and thrived in spite of it is exactly what the doctor ordered for this franchise at this point in Buffalo's history. The Sabres need someone whose temperature won't be in fever territory when things get difficult, and that almost assuredly means they need someone who's seen just about everything there is to see as they try to construct a year-in, year-out winner.
You can argue that Adams deserves another kick at the can as Sabres GM -- and while we don't necessarily agree with that perspective, you can't convince us that Adams should be charting a course for Buffalo without the assistance and feedback of someone who's achieved something as an executive that Adams hasn't yet achieved.
Time will tell how the Sabres flesh out the rest of their management team, but one thing is for certain -- if all they do in this off-season is hire Staal to help Adams out, they haven't done nearly enough to give themselves a bona fide opportunity to finally break their now-14-year playoff drought. And the blame for that will fall squarely at the feet of Buffalo ownership.
There should be no expense too rich for the Sabres to turn things around at the management level, and hiring someone like Holland to help reverse the team's fortunes is the very least they can do. Holland's hiring in L.A. is the latest instance of an NHL team hedging their bets with a GM who's seen and done it all, and Buffalo needs someone very similar to him in order to end the playoff-free streak and get the Sabres back on the winning track.
Unfortunately for Miller, he did not make the cut after he finished a 4-over-par 76 in the initial round of local qualifying, falling four strokes back of the cut line in the one-day, 18-hole event at Quicksilver Golf Club.
âIt was hard,â Miller said via NHL.com. âIt got windy. I thought it would be harder with the rain. ... I had a month to practice. So, I felt good coming in here. Typically, it always comes down to making putts. Thatâs what those guys are a lot better at doing.â
Regardless of the result, Miller is still happy he at least attempted to qualify for the U.S. Open and he has no regrets.
âI had an opportunity to play for one day,â said Miller. âI know who Iâm playing against out there. Iâm a competitive guy, so I just kept the expectations realistic. Iâm happy with myself.â
Itâs safe to say Miller hopes to be competing for a Stanley Cup with the Rangers next year as opposed to playing golf.
âThe goal is not to be available to play in this,â Miller said. âUnfortunately, thatâs what happens.â
Coaching is an essential part of hockey, especially in the NHL. Every successful team has a head coach who puts his players in the best position to succeed. Right now, the Chicago Blackhawks have a vacancy in that role.
After Anders Sorensen completed his interim head coaching stint, replacing the fired Luke Richardson, it became obvious that Kyle Davidson and his staff would conduct a widespread search for the next bench boss.
A few high-end candidates have come and gone. David Carle, who was at the top of Chicagoâs list, will remain the head coach of Denver in the college ranks. Mike Sullivan was fired by the Pittsburgh Penguins and hired by the New York Rangers just a few days later.
On Wednesday, two more coaching vacancies filled up. Rick Tocchet, who left the Vancouver Canucks on April 29th, was hired by the Philadelphia Flyers. There had been speculation for weeks that Tocchet would go to Philly, and it finally came to fruition.
A few hours later, the Vancouver Canucks announced that Adam Foote, their assistant coach, would take over as the bench boss in place of Tocchet. This move will be met with mixed reviews, but another team is off the market for a new coach.
The Blackhawks are left with the Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Seattle Kraken as the only teams with a hole to fill behind the bench. Of the four, the Blackhawks have the best situation in terms of prospects and draft picks to build around.
The Bruins, Kraken, and Penguins have also all had their rumors and speculation. The Blackhawks, outside of Carle, have not. Kyle Davidson, outside of saying that Anders Sorensen is in the mix for the job, has not let anything leak. Nobody knows who he likes, who has interviewed, or has a sense of where they are in the process.
It won't be long before something happens. The dominoes are falling around the league now, and the options for candidates are dwindling. If a young team with a bright future is what an incoming coach wants, Chicago is their best bet of the four remaining.
The Warriors have never been swept in a playoff series with Steve Kerr as their head coach. For the first time ever, though, they lost four consecutive playoff games under him after dropping Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals, 121-110, against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night at the Target Center.
Steph Curry, because of a strained left hamstring, missed all four losses. The Warriors were 4-1 against the Timberwolves with Curry this season, and 0-5 without him.
To keep the season alive and the remaining hopes of Curry getting another crack at this, the Warriors needed a miracle. They instead laid an egg. When the Warriors cut the lead to nine points in the fourth quarter, the Timberwolves immediately pushed it to 14 and always had an answer.
Brandin Podziemski finished on a high note with his one strong game of the conference semifinals. The second-year pro was far and away the Warriorsâ best player, scoring a team-high 28 points on 11-of-19 shooting, and had six rebounds, four assists and two steals.
But the Warriors sans Curry was supposed to be about Butler, the co-star they acquired at the trade deadline. For the second straight game, Butler did not live up to his Playoff Jimmy moniker one bit.
Butler only took 11 shots and made four on his way to 17 points, nine of which came at the free-throw line. Butler led the Warriors in rebounds (six), assists (six) and steals (three), but was a game-worst minus-17.
The two best players in the series were Timberwolves stars Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle. The duo outplayed Butler and Draymond Green. To cap it off, Randle scored a game-high 29 points, and Edwards had a 22-point, 12-assist double-double.
Minnesotaâs offense found a lot of comfort in Golden Stateâs defense the past few games, and sliced the Warriors like melted butter to end their season. Whether it was inside the paint or behind the 3-point line, the Timberwolves like their looks. The Timberwolves shot 62.8 percent from the field and 41.9 percent from three, far better than the Warriorsâ final shooting numbers of 43.3 percent overall and 28.2 on 3-pointers.
Here are three takeaways from the Warriorsâ season-ending loss.
Butlerâs Bad Ending
The Butler who did his best Batman impression in Game 3 was nowhere to be found in Game 4. Everybody was looking for Butler to be far more aggressive in Game 5 after battling an illness and being held to 14 points on a lowly nine shot attempts Monday night. Then he took just one shot in the first quarter and was a minus-11.
Butler began forcing his way to the free-throw line and scored six points in the second quarter, bringing him to eight points on five shot attempts and five free throw attempts. And he also was down to a game-low minus-19.
Butler never got going. He went into the fourth quarter as a minus-19 with 12 points on nine shots. He took 26 shots when he scored 33 points in Game 3, and then scored a total of 31 points on 20 shot attempts in the final two games of the season.
He wasnât close to Batman, nor Robin, once again. Butler looked tired and helpless. Maybe his illness was that big of a factor. Maybe his pelvic contusion still is bothering him more than we know. Maybe this is who Butler is at 35 when he doesnât have a Curry to play next to.
Kumingaâs Up-And-Down Finish
Leaping over Randle, Jonathan Kuminga swallowed a rebound off a Jaden McDaniels missed shot, ran the floor and threw down a hammer dunk on the other side in the first quarter. That sequence right there is what the Warriors always envisioned, combining athleticism and true impact on the court.
Kuminga, for the fourth straight game, was aggressive the moment he came off the bench. In his first stint, Kuminga played eight first-quarter minutes and scored nine points on seven shots. He was beating his man to the basket, nailed a three and had words for both Naz Reid and the Timberwolves crowd.
As the Timberwolves had three players at halftime in double figures, led by 15 points by Randle, Kumiga was the lone Warrior in the club with 11 points. That rebound in the first quarter that led to a dunk also was his only board at the time.
Though he was up to 19 points, he still only had that one rebound to his name entering the fourth quarter, which is two fewer than how many he finished with on a night where he didnât have one assist. Kuminga tallied 26 points off the bench of 11-of-23 shooting, and in the four games without Curry, again showed he can put up points, but again, his weaknesses were exposed.
The Steph Effect
Simply said, the numbers donât lie. The Warriors could have been contenders if Curry remained healthy. Theyâre not even pretenders without him, theyâre an afterthought.
It was astounding to be reminded how much Curry shifts the entire court. Curry, at 37 years old and in Year 16, completely changes an offense, as well as the mindset of the other team. As general manager Mike Dunleavy assesses his roster this offseason, the lack of scoring and shooting will have to be noted.
The Warriors, in their four losses against the Timberwolves, shot 31.9 percent on threes, going 38 of 119. The Timberwolves made 41.9 percent of their threes in that span, making 58 and taking 136.
Podziemskiâs performance was too little, too late. His shooting in the first four games was historically bad. Itâs great to end strong, but the Warriors needed more earlier.
Buddy Hield had a combined nine turnovers (four) and fouls (five) while scoring eight points in 30 minutes. The historically strong 3-point shooter missed all four attempts and was 2 of 9 from the field. Moses Moody showed fight in the fourth quarter, but he and Quinten Post were mostly out of the rotation in the most important games.
Itâs the Steph Effect, and itâs a reality check. The Warriors made the big move. They still also live and die by one player.
