PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - MARCH 26: Justin Crawford #2 of the Philadelphia Phillies reacts on Opening Day against the Texas Rangers at Citizens Bank Park on March 26, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The middle of the season is just about here (no, the All-Star Game is not the middle of the season), which means it’s good to stop and take stock of how the Phillies have been doing. It’s pretty simple for me to list all the of the ways that Kyle Schwarber has improved this year and condense it into 800-900 words, but instead, what do you think?
What has surprised you the most this year so far, good or bad?
If there is a “something else”, what is it? Let us know and check back this week for the results and a little bit of digging into it.
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Phillies fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
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.
SAN ANTONIO, TX - APRIL 08: Lucas Spence #14 of the Corpus Christi Hooks rounds the bases during the game between the Corpus Christi Hooks and the San Antonio Missions at Nelson Wolff Stadium on Wednesday, April 8, 2026 in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Zach Del Bello/Minor League Baseball via Getty Images)
It is no secret that the Astros OF has performed poorly offensively this season, threatening to be their worst offensive OF of all time.
Young prospects Cam Smith, Brice Matthews, and Zach Cole have not performed well. Former prospect Joey Loperfido has battled both injury and underperformance. CF Jake Meyers has shown none of the contact ability he showed for the first time last season.
In fact, the OF who has hit the best for them that is currently on the active roster (no, Yordan doesn’t count) has been Taylor Trammell, but despite his solid average has a meager OPS as there has been no power in his offense.
LaMonte Wade Jr. performed well in his 4 games with the team before suffering a hamstring injury that currently has him sidelined.
With that, it is notable that the Astros promoted OF Lucas Spence to Triple-A Sugar Land today.
Outfielder Lucas Spence has been promoted to Triple-A.
The 23-year-old was having a big June hitting .356 with 5 doubles, 2 triples, 4 home runs and 19 runs batted in over 17 games for the Hooks. #Astrospic.twitter.com/fSedYvwPFg
The Astros under GM Dana Brown have shown a propensity to push young players quickly, and Spence is a young lefthanded hitting OF who can play all three OF positions.
According to MLB.com, Spence is currently ranked as the Astros #10 overall prospect. He is considered an above average fielder with a plus arm and plus speed. His hit tool is still a work in progress and he is not considered a power hitter.
However, he has had a tremendous month of June at Double-A Corpus Christi, where he has hit for strong power, as noted in Jimmy Price’s post on X above.
With the Astros OF floundering at the plate, a strong representation from Spence at Triple-A could earn him a call up and an opportunity with the big league club, similar to how Zach Cole got a shot late last season (one that the team liked enough that they had hoped he could take another step forward and claim a regular job this spring, but alas…).
May 17, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Yankees catcher J.C. Escarra (25) stands on deck during the second inning against the New York Mets at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
The Yankees’ catching carousel keeps moving along, as only days after getting sent down to Triple-A, J.C. Escarra is once again back with the big-league club to replace Ali Sánchez, who was placed on the paternity list. This move comes a day after Sánchez had to leave early in a game against the Tigers, having been hit on the wrist by a four-seam fastball, something we don’t recommend.
Sánchez, who was starting against the left-hander Framber Valdez, was replaced midgame by Austin Wells, who will once again share the catching duties with Escarra, leaving the Yankees currently without a right-handed catching option on the roster. While an X-ray was negative, according to New York Post reporter Greg Joyce, we still await news on a potential CT scan to fully determine the extent of the damage done by this HBP — particularly, whether Sánchez will indeed require an IL stint. In the short term, Sánchez’s wife was expecting anyway, so the roster logistics allow him to go on the paternity list as they welcome a new baby into the world. The Yankees can work out any IL details at a later time.
After right-hander Casey Mize toes the rubber tonight, the Yankees will seemingly face not one, not two, not three, but four consecutive southpaw starters, beginning with the greatest that MLB currently has to offer in Tarik Skubal. If Boston follows its current rotation, then Connelly Early, Payton Tolle, and Jake Bennett will pitch their first three games this weekend. In fact, New York will face Skubal twice in this short period with multiple series against the Tigers, and being obligated to start a lefty catcher at all times is not ideal. So it goes.
Prior to tonight’s game, the Yankees made the following roster moves: •Recalled C J.C. Escarra (#25) from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. •Placed C Ali Sánchez on the paternity list.
TORONTO, ON- JUNE 22 - Jeremy Pena #3 of the Houston Astros steals a base in the first inning as the Toronto Blue Jays play the Houston Astros at Rogers Centre in Toronto. June 22, 2026. Steve Russell/Toronto Star (Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images) | Toronto Star via Getty Images
Astros SS Jeremy Pena left last night’s game with a cramp in his right hamstring. This is the same hamstring he injured previously in the season (although manager Joe Espada incorrectly identified it as the left hamstring in his post-game presser).
Pena was removed from the game as a precaution as the team doesn’t want him to re-injure himself, particularly at a time when he is playing well and his importance to the team cannot be higher.
Here are Pena’s comments after last night’s game where he explains what happened and that he doesn’t think it will cost him much time:
Jeremy Pena left tonight's game in the 6th inning. He spoke with the media in Toronto afterwards. pic.twitter.com/piZV4m6ITr
— Space City Home Network (@SpaceCityHN) June 23, 2026
The New York Yankees (46–31) and the Detroit Tigers (34–44) meet for game 2 of their three-game series tonight at Comerica Park. The Tigers took the opener, 5–3. Riley Greene led Detroit to victory. The slugger homered and reached base three times, while the Yankees’ offense couldn’t overcome a rough outing from Gerrit Cole, who allowed five runs in just over four innings. Framber Valdez earned his fourth win of the season allowing one run over six innings. The Yankees did have baserunners but were just 1-5 with runners in scoring position. That was actually an improvement from the previous two games in which they went a combined 0-22 with ducks on the pond. Anthony Volpe and Paul Goldschmidt each picked up a couple hits for New York. Spencer Torkelson had two hits for Detroit.
The loss was the Yankees’ third in a row. It is the first time in over a month they have lost three straight. They will look to snap that skid tonight while the Tigers will look to make it five straight wins. Tampa lost as well last night so New York still holds first place in the AL East by a couple games. With the win, Detroit is now five games back in the Wild Card chase and 6.5 games behind in the AL Central.
On the mound, the Yankees turn to Carlos Rodón (3–2, 3.50 ERA), a left-hander who has allowed three earned runs in each of his last two starts without reaching the seventh inning in either. Taking the ball for Detroit will be right-hander Casey Mize (2–4, 2.58 ERA), who was roughed up a bit in his last start allowing three earned runs in just 4.2 innings against Houston. He had not allowed more than two runs in any of his previous seven starts.
Lets dive into tonight’s matchup and find a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch first pitch, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
Follow Rotoworld Player News for the latest fantasy and betting player news and analysis all season long.
Game Details and How to Watch: Yankees vs. Tigers
Date: Tuesday, June 23, 2026
Time: 6:40PM EST
Site: Comerica Park
City: Detroit, MI
Network/Streaming: MLB.TV, YES, Tigers.TV
Never miss a second of the action and stay up-to-date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day MLB schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game with every out.
The Latest Odds: Yankees vs. Tigers
The latest odds as of Tuesday courtesy of DraftKings:
Moneyline: New York Yankees (-114), Detroit Tigers (-105)
Spread: Yankees -1.5 (+149), Tigers +1.5 (-181)
Total: 8.0 runs
Starting Pitchers and their Stats: Yankees vs. Tigers for June 23
Yankees: Carlos Rodon Season Totals: 36.0 IP, 3-2, 3.50 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 41K, 20 BB
Anthony Volpe has hit safely in 8 of his last 9 games (13-30)
Jazz Chisholm Jr. is 2-7 in his career against Casey Mize
Ryan McMahon and Cody Bellinger have each homered against Mize in their careers
Colt Keith is 3-5 in his career against Carlos Rodon
Riley Greene is 4-12 but has struck out 5 times in his career against Rodon
Spencer Torkelson is 5-10 over his last 3 games
Rotoworld still has you covered with all the latest MLB player news for all 30 teams. Check out the feed page right here on NBC Sports for headlines, injuries and transactions where you can filter by league, team, positions and news type!
Top Betting Trends & Insights: Yankees vs. Tigers
The Tigers are 38-40 on the Run Line this season
The Yankees are 38-39 on the Run Line this season
The OVER has cashed 34 times in games involving Detroit this season (34-40-4)
The OVER has cashed 35 times in games involving the Yankees this season (35-38-4)
Expert picks & predictions: Yankees vs. Tigers
Rotoworld Bet Best Bet
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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for tonight’s game between the Tigers and the Yankees:
Moneyline: Rotoworld Bet is recommending a play on the Yankees on the Moneyline.
Spread: Rotoworld Bet is staying away from a play on the Run Line.
Total: Rotoworld Bet is leaning towards a play on the Game Total OVER 8.0
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Jun 5, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees first baseman Ben Rice (22) celebrates with first baseman Paul Goldschmidt (48) after hitting a solo home run during the first inning against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
The 2026 American League pennant race is a lot like a drunk cousin at Thanksgiving. Fun for a while as long as the cranberry sauce stays off the floor, we might even get a good story or two, but… how is this actually going to end?
By my calculations, there are five teams that could currently win the American League but only about 2.5 that could win the World Series. Several preseason contenders (looking at you Boston Red Sox) have just had the worst time, and even the ones that aren’t 14.5 games back in their division before July 4 have to figure out pretty quickly if this is a “we can fix this” year or a “we can fix this next year” year (looking at you Houston Astros). Everyone is scrambling so much we should make some eggs.
With that said, MLB still needs someone to come out of the AL and lose to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series, so we may as well get to work on cleaning up the cranberry sauce off the hardwood. It’s a Top Five and man, did I struggle to get to five — heck, there are only five teams with a winning record; it’s late-June!
5. Cleveland Guardians
Made Up Award: The “I’m only here for the free Mimosas” Award for team that’s just happy they made the list
“Hey, wait, we are four games above .500 what is this?” Listen, Guardians, you’re lucky you even made this list. The Texas Rangers are sitting in the wing ready to come on stage and take this award if you don’t hush up and just be happy about this.
Cleveland has not gotten nearly enough press for being a complete analytical fraud when teams like the Rays and St. Louis Cardinals distract the masses. Cleveland scores fewer than four runs per game (only the Red Sox and Padres are worse), has a negative run differential despite leading their division. The AL Central has been putting up hilarious season after hilarious season since I was in high school.
You may ask why the Chicago White Sox, one of the fun stories of the season and a legit threat to pass Cleveland in this division, did not make the cut over such a lame division leader, but I just don’t know if I can trust the pitching long term. As silly as the Guardians are offensively, their pitching has been solidly better than the White Sox all year, and pitching projects. Cleveland probably isn’t this bad at hitting, and even if they are, they’ve limited scoring to the point where I can reasonably bank of them for the division. That, by default, puts them in the fifth-best spot. God, what a mess.
4. Toronto Blue Jays
Made Up Award: The Two-outs away from winning the World Series Award for 2026 hangover
From the first All-Star voting returns, you’d think that the Blue Jays were on 116-win pace. Imagine my surprise when I learned they not only had a losing record, but probably should be even worse than they are. Coming off the crushing World Series loss, the Blue Jays have had nothing offensively, cratering from over five to just over four runs per game from 2025 to 2026. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is having a notable down year, and it’s no longer too early to worry about.
Pitching has been alright, and Dylan Cease looks like he was worth the cash the Jays shelled out to bring him in. But guys we’re four teams in, this is our third AL East team and they aren’t even above .500. That’s the energy we’re bringing to this World Series revenge tour. That is not the energy you want in that situation.
3. Tampa Bay Rays
Made Up Award: The Metaphysics Award for the team that is not good on paper but is fourth by default
I wrote many more words than should be allowed about how MLB’s bunting boom was a Tampa Bay Rays-filled load of nothing, and their offensive cool down has shown just such a situation. They have basically been middle of the road since that piece came out, 14-16 in their last 30 — good enough to still be number three on this list but not good enough for me to take their high-contact approach seriously.
The Rays being twelve games over .500 with a run differential of only eight doesn’t just suggest they’re a total mirage, it ruthlessly demands it. I wanted, with every fiber of my spiritual and corporeal being, to put the Toronto Blue Jays above the Rays here just to further cement the anti-bunt agenda, but I simply could not do it. The math would not math.
2. Seattle Mariners
Made Up Award: The “I don’t even know that guy” Award for distancing themselves from the Red Sox and Astros
There was a real chance that Boston, Houston and Seattle could make up a true Axis of Meh after all three got off to abysmal starts. Credit to the Mariners, though, for turning things around while their friends continued down the path to the dark side. The Astros are actually not all that far back from the Mariners, but if we’re just talking trend lines? The Mariners are your dark horse AL team. Yes, we have a “dark horse” at number two on the list. I never said this would be a chill experience.
The Mariners started out the season essentially unable to hit but with elite pitching. That’s still … basically the case, though the offense has naturally stabilized behind better performances from Julio Rodriguez and have now brought back a hopefully healthy Cal Raleigh. The latter will need to start producing some power again if the Mariners want to bring this team to October, but the theory that starting pitching = gravy when the leaves start falling mostly works for me.
1. New York Yankees
Made Up Award: The Statcast Nerd Award for the only AL team that is actually good on paper
There are three, yes three, teams in the American League with a Pythagorean win expectation over .500, and two of them (the next two teams on the list) are barely scraping above the line. The Yankess, though, are actually underperforming: at 46-30, both FanGraphs projection models have them between three and four wins better than they actually are. In this econom—er, American League?!
There is, frankly, no possible argument for any other team to be the favorite in the AL right now beyond certain amorphous Yankees curse logistics that I wouldn’t personally take too much stock in. They have the underlying qualities of a good team, and have managed to produce enough of a cushion for themselves that Aaron Judge’s injury timetable shouldn’t be of too much concern.
I am a believer in the long-term projection value of contact quality, and the Yankees are a contact quality machine. In an American League full of teams trying to cheat death by bunting a lot, this is where I’d invest my beans.
Jul 13, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; The press waits for the start of the MLB Draft at The Coca-Cola Roxy. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Brewers fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
We’re back with another Reacts Survey, and after discussing the All-Star Game last week, we’re asking about the MLB Draft this week!
While the MLB Draft may not be as flashy as the drafts of the other Big 4 sports, it’s arguably more important due to just how many players are drafted and just how many never pan out.
The Brewers, who hold the No. 25 overall pick in this year’s draft, have become one of the better drafting teams in recent seasons. While some of their early to mid-2010s picks weren’t great, recent first-round picks include Brice Turang (2018), Garrett Mitchell (2020), and Sal Frelick and Tyler Black (2021). Top prospects in the system today also include 2024 first-rounders Braylon Payne (team No. 12) and Blake Burke (No. 15), and 2025 first-rounders Andrew Fischer (No. 6) and Brady Ebel (No. 13).
They’ve also found success in later rounds, including Cooper Pratt (2023 sixth-round pick signed away from Ole Miss), Bishop Letson (2023 11th-round pick), Marco Dinges (2024 fourth-round pick), Josh Adamczewski (2023 15th-round pick), and Luke Adams (2022 11th-round pick), all of whom rank among the team’s top prospects. That’s without even mentioning active MLB players, like Jacob Misiorowski (2022 second-round pick), Brandon Woodruff (2014 11th-round pick), and Craig Yoho (2023 eight-round pick).
Over the last 10 years, the Brewers have heavily emphasized position players with their first-round picks. Since 2016, Milwaukee has had 15 picks in the first round (including Competitive Balance picks); of those, two were pitchers, five were outfielders, five were left-side infielders, and three were right-side infielders.
Beyond the No. 25 pick, the Brewers also have picks No. 66, 102, 130, and 163, as well as one pick in each of the last 15 rounds (20 picks total).
The draft is less than three weeks away, beginning Saturday, July 11 in Philadelphia and wrapping up the next day. Which position would you like to see the Brewers prioritize in the draft? Weigh in below, and stay tuned for results later this week!
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.
MINNEAPOLIS — Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Kyle Tucker was removed from the game against the Minnesota Twins in the second inning with low back spasms.
Tucker walked with one out in the second and lightly ran to second base on Tommy Edman’s single to right field. Then, Tucker was replaced by pinch-runner Alex Call. Tucker stayed in the dugout, standing up next to the dugout fence before heading into the clubhouse after the inning was over.
“I really felt it when I went out for defense in between innings in the first,” Tucker said. “Went out there and just tried to hope that it could kind of calm down, or go away or something and I could just keep playing through it. … On the bases and stuff, it was kind of still sticking around, still kind of there.”
Manager Dave Roberts said he considers Tucker day-to-day. The outfielder said, “just got to kind of see how it goes tomorrow,” regarding his status.
After signing a four-year, $240 million contract with Los Angeles in January, Tucker has played in 75 of the Dodgers’ 79 games this season. But he’s hit just .234 with six home runs and four RBIs. The .234 average is his lowest since hitting .141 in 28 games as a rookie in Houston in 2018. He’s hit at least 22 homers in each of the past five seasons.
The Dodgers also pulled catcher Dalton Rushing in the bottom of the third to rule out a concussion. Roberts said Rushing passed concussion testing, but the catcher has to retake the test 24 hours later and likely will be out of the lineup. He was replaced by Chuckie Robinson and Roberts said the team likely will add another player in case Rushing is unavailable.
Los Angeles already was without No. 1 catcher Will Smith, who is on the 10-day IL with neck inflammation.
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.
