It was a back-and-forth series between the two teams before the Hurricanes ramped it up and took over. The Golden Knights won Game 1; the Hurricanes responded in Game 2 before the Golden Knights won Game 3 once again. But a goaltending switch to Brandon Bussi changed momentum, and the Hurricanes rallied off three consecutive wins to claim victory 4-2 in the best-of-seven series.
While the Hurricanes go home to celebrate, the Golden Knights are left heartbroken. One of those heartbroken players is former St. Louis Blues forward Ivan Barbashev.
Barbashev played seven seasons with the Blues, notching 78 goals and 178 points in 410 games. Barbashev was traded to the Golden Knights during the 2022-23 season and helped them win the Stanley Cup. Barbashev was sent to the Golden Knights in exchange for prospect Zach Dean.
Barbashev, on the other hand, has enjoyed career seasons in Vegas, most recently recording 61 points this regular season. The 30-year-old has thrived in Vegas, utilized in numerous roles.
Barbashev has excelled playing on the top line with Jack Eichel or in a third-line defensive role. Wherever placed, Barbashev has produced and fulfilled his role.
Although he fell just short of his third Stanley Cup, Barbashev scored several clutch goals and finished the 2025-26 post-season with six goals and 14 points in 22 games.
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Former Calgary Flames players have been represented in the Stanley Cup Finals every year since 2018.
While some have played more notable roles than others, each of these players suited up for the Flames before finding success after their tenure in Calgary was complete. With multiple former Flames having competed in the 2026 Finals, here’s a list of players who made the Finals shortly after leaving Calgary.
Mark Jankowski (CAR 2026) - Selected 21st overall by the Flames in 2012, Jankowski played four seasons in Calgary before moving to the Pittsburgh Penguins. After additional stints in Buffalo and Nashville, he landed in Carolina in 2024 and won the Stanley Cup with the Hurricanes in 2026.
Rasmus Andersson (VGK 2026) - Drafted and developed by the Flames (53rd overall in 2015), Andersson played parts of ten seasons in Calgary before being traded to the Vegas Golden Knights this year. He reached the Finals in his first season with Vegas, contributing significantly to their blue line.
Noah Hanifin (VGK 2026) - Acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2018 trade that sent Adam Fox the other way, Hanifin played six seasons for the Flames. He was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights in 2024, where he has become a core piece of their defensive rotation. He appeared in the Finals in 2026 against the Hurricanes.
Matthew Tkachuk (FLA 23/24/25) - In a pivotal moment in franchise history, Tkachuk informed the Flames in 2022 that he would not re-sign. Drafted 6th overall in 2016, he played six seasons in Calgary before being traded to the Florida Panthers for Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar (and Cole Schwindt). Tkachuk went on to appear in three straight Stanley Cup Finals, winning the Cup in 2024 and 2025.
Sam Bennett (FLA 23/24/25) - Often cited as a player the Flames moved on from too soon, Bennett was the franchise's highest draft pick at 4th overall in 2014. Despite his potential, he struggled to find an offensive role in Calgary and was traded to Florida in 2021. He appeared in three consecutive Finals, winning twice, and earned the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2025 after a dominant 15-goal postseason.
AJ Greer (FLA 2025) - Greer had a brief stint in Calgary after being claimed off waivers, playing 59 games during the 2023-24 season. He signed with the Panthers as a free agent on July 1, 2024, and captured a Stanley Cup later that season.
Ryan Lomberg (FLA 23/24) - Lomberg spent seven seasons in the organization after signing as an undrafted free agent in 2017. He played primarily for their AHL affiliate before joining Florida in 2020, where he reached two Finals and won the Cup in 2024. Lomberg returned to Calgary as a free agent in 2024 and has been a fan favourite in Calgary ever since.
Brett Kulak (EDM 24/25) - Drafted by Calgary 105th overall in 2012, Kulak played parts of four seasons in Calgary before being traded to Montreal. He eventually joined the Edmonton Oilers in 2022, reaching the Stanley Cup Finals with the Flames’ provincial rivals in 2024 and 2025.
Troy Stecher (EDM 24/25) - Stecher suited up for 20 games with the Flames at the end of the 2022-23 season. After signing back with Arizona, he was traded to the Edmonton Oilers in 2024, appearing in back-to-back Finals.
Derek Ryan (EDM 24/25) - After beginning his NHL career in Carolina, Ryan signed with the Flames in 2018. He spent three seasons in Calgary before joining the Oilers in 2021. He reached two Finals in Edmonton before retiring in 2025.
Brian Elliott (TBL 2022) - Elliott spent one season as the Flames' starter after being acquired from St. Louis for a 2nd-round pick. While his tenure in Calgary ended with a difficult playoff performance, he later signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning and reached the Finals in 2022.
Curtis McElhinney (TBL 2020 & 2021) - A 2002 draft pick of the Flames, McElhinney played parts of three seasons in Calgary. After a long journey through the league, he joined the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2019, where he helped the team secure back-to-back Stanley Cups as a reliable backup.
Jay Bouwmeester (STL 2019) - Bouwmeester joined the Flames in 2009 and was an ironman on the blue line for four seasons. He was traded to the St. Louis Blues in 2013, where he eventually captured the Stanley Cup in 2019 before retiring in 2020.
Chris Butler (STL 2019) - Acquired from Buffalo in 2011, Butler played three seasons in Calgary. He signed with St. Louis in 2014 and was part of the Blues' 2019 championship run as a veteran member of the extended playoff roster.
Deryk Engelland (VGK 2018) - Engelland spent three seasons in Calgary before being selected by Vegas in the 2017 Expansion Draft. He helped lead the Golden Knights to the Finals in their inaugural season and received the Mark Messier Leadership Award for his efforts.
The Colorado Rockies own a NL-worst 13-25 record on the road this season.
With the Chicago Cubs having a massive starting pitching advantage, my Rockies vs. Cubs prediction and MLB picks are banking on Colorado's road woes continuing on Monday, June 15
Who will win Rockies vs Cubs today: Chicago Cubs -1.5 (-105)
While Lorenzen slowed the Cubs in his last start, his xERA was nearly five runs lower than his average. He’s unlikely to replicate that performance.
It’ll be tough for the Colorado Rockies to score on Shota Imanaga, who has allowed two or fewer in four of five against teams outside the Top-15 in OBP vs. lefties.
Excluding the most recent series against the Athletics, which was played in an extreme hitter-friendly park, the Rockies have a .299 wOBA and .115 ISO on the road vs. lefties this season.
They have also struck out more than 26% of the time, which is a recipe for trouble against Imanaga. He ranks in the 96th percentile in chase rate and could be in for a ceiling performance in strikeouts.
The Cubs will score against Lorenzen, but 7+ runs may be needed to push this one Over the total.
I’d play the Under 9.5 to -130.
Todd Cordell's 2026 Transparency Record
ML/RL bets: 28-25, -4.70 units
Over/Under bets: 27-24-2, -0.06 units
Rockies vs Cubs odds
Moneyline: Rockies +170 | Cubs -210
Run line: Rockies +1.5 (-115) | Cubs -1.5 (-105)
Over/Under: Over 9.5 (+100) | Under 9.5 (-120)
Rockies vs Cubs trend
Chicago has hit the Game Total Under in 24 of the last 40 games (+6.8 units, 15% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Rockies vs. Cubs.
How to watch Rockies vs Cubs and game info
Location
Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL
Date
Monday, June 15, 2026
First pitch
8:05 p.m. ET
TV
Rockies.TV, Marquee
Rockies starting pitcher
Michael Lorenzen (2-8, 7.54 ERA)
Cubs starting pitcher
Shota Imanaga (4-6, 4.44ERA)
Rockies vs Cubs latest injuries
Rockies vs Cubs weather
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
SAN ANTONIO, TX - JUNE 13: Timothee Chalamet celebrates with the New York Knicks after winning the NBA Finals aagainst the San Antonio Spurs during Game Five of the 2026 NBA Finals on June 13, 2026 at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE(Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant /NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
One thing that we see every so often across sports ahead of a championship series is the “Guaranteed Ring”.
When a player plays for both finalists in a sport, they’re essentially secured a ring, as all players who suited up for a specific team in a season usually get one for their efforts, no matter how small or inconsequential.
It’s most common in MLB due to the sheer amount of roster turnover. Buddy Kennedy and Jose Ureña both played for the Blue Jays and Dodgers in 2025, but neither were in either organization by the time the World Series rolled around
Every so often, though, you get it in the NBA. Two recent examples include Torrey Craig in 2021 and Anderson Varejão in 2016. As the prophecy foretold, it happened once again in a five-year increment.
Jeremy Sochan was born in Guymon, Oklahoma, on May 20, 2003, to two former Division II basketball players. His mother, Aneta, was of Polish descent, coming from a long line of professional athletes that even has roots in the resistance of Nazi occupation in World War II with Sochan’s great-grandfather, Zygmunt.
As a child, Sochan moved from Oklahoma to France to England, where he spent much of his childhood before returning to the United States to play high school basketball in La Porte, Indiana. After leading the Polish U16 team to the 2019 FIBA U16 European Championship Division B title, he earned a scholarship to play for Scott Drew at Baylor, where he turned himself into a top-flight NBA prospect.
After briefly playing overseas with OrangeAcademy in Germany, he joined the Bears in 2021-22, where he averaged 9.2 points and 6.4 rebounds, being named the Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year as part of a stacked Baylor team that earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament a year after winning the national championship in 2021. While they were upset in the second round, Sochan had established himself as a promising prospect, enabling him to forgo his remaining eligibility to declare for the 2022 NBA Draft.
Sochan was the perfect encapsulation of teams preferring traits over college production. While guys like Jalen Brunson fall to the second round, guys like Sochan rise with their youth, size, and skill. He was an advanced passer for someone of his archetype, and despite his offensive game being very limited, teams saw a player who still had a lot of room to grow.
That’s what convinced the San Antonio Spurs to draft him ninth overall over notable players like Santa Clara’s Jalen Williams, Memphis’ Jalen Duren, and, of course, Ousmane Dieng. As the franchise’s first top-10 pick since Tim Duncan 22 years earlier, there might’ve been some unfair expectations put on him right away, but the team believed in him as the future piece of the next Spurs’ dynasty.
Things started out pretty well. In his first season, he averaged 11 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.5 assists as a consistent starter for a dreadful Spurs team. He flashed signs of brilliance, putting up 30-8-5 against a Suns team that went to the Finals in January, but things changed that offseason for both him and the franchise.
That dreadful season resulted in Victor Wembanyama falling into their hands. After wandering the desert since Kawhi Leonard’s departure and hoping that someone from the Sochan, Josh Primo, Keldon Johnson, and Devin Vassell quartet could break out, they were gifted the best prospect the league had seen since LeBron James.
That immediately meant everyone else was relegated to second fiddle, and while Sochan was likely never going to be a star with his offensive limitations, the fact that he was overshadowed just a year into his career might not have helped. Statistically, his next two seasons didn’t look bad at all, as he slowly improved as a shooter and seemed to form a great bond with Wemby on and off the court.
He even infuriated all Knicks fans everywhere with his 21-point performance on Christmas Day at Madison Square Garden, buoyed by going 3-for-3 from downtown.
But the cracks in the foundation showed. They seemed not to really know where to play Sochan, who was yanked around from being a wing to the team’s point guard to even being a small-ball center. His versatility made him able to weather many situations, but this was a guy who was barely able to buy a drink. That, coupled with his spacing concerns given his poor shooting, slowly degraded his play as things got worse.
The Spurs were suddenly blossoming into a powerhouse, benefitting from lottery luck in three consecutive seasons to build a young core. Guys like Johnson and Vassell settled into roles as valuable role players, but Sochan got lost in the shuffle. His minutes slowly dwindled towards the end of November and he was out of the everyday rotation by December.
In the final year of his rookie contract, it was time for a divorce. On February 11, the Spurs waived their former lottery pick just two months before free agency, but it was early enough to allow him to suit up in the NBA playoffs. Two days later, he put pen to paper with the New York Knicks.
Initially, it seemed like the Knicks would embrace him as an opportunity to play both a small-ball five role and a traditional backup power forward role, but he seemed like a square peg in a round hole with how Mike Brown tried to utilize him in the first few games. By the end of February, he was reduced to garbage time.
But even though he wasn’t playing and some believed he was a waste of a roster spot, he added something that doesn’t show up on the box score. Good vibes.
Sochan has always been a popular figure in every locker room he’s been in and has formed a nice bond with Josh Hart over their Premier League rivalry. He didn’t throw a hissy fit on the bench when he wasn’t playing. He didn’t alienate his teammates, unlike some buyout options, but he was ready when he was needed to be called upon.
The first three rounds? He wasn’t needed. Due to the many blowouts, he got some garbage time run, which even included scoring 10 points in less than four minutes in Game 5 against Atlanta, but he didn’t play any meaningful minutes through the end of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Then it just so happened that his former team was on the other side in the NBA Finals. Just two months removed from being in that locker room, Sochan became an asset. When the Knicks went over film, he would be their man on the inside.
“Being that tall he gets tired…Give him different looks and (not beat him up but) be very physical, and make him run. And he’s gonna get tired, he’s gonna have to take some plays off in my opinion”
— Jeremy Sochan on former Spurs teammate Victor Wembanyama
And the neat part about how this story ends up? His first meaningful minutes of the postseason came in this series. He played nine seconds in Game 3, three minutes in Game 4 due to shenanigans with the entire center rotation, and the final nine seconds of Game 5.
In Game 5, he was pestering his former teammate all game long. The exact one that dislodged his place in the Spurs’ organization. The man whose arrival started his path towards this current moment.
In the end, when the Knicks ended their 53-year title drought, guess who the man who contested the final shot was? It was Jeremy Sochan, who probably had maybe the most unnecessary contest of all time, considering the monumental risk of fouling with a four-point cushion, but we’d only remember that beyond this week if something bad had happened.
But it didn’t, and that’s how he became an NBA champion.
(P&T will be doing player-by-player article tributes over the next few weeks to commemorate the special team that ended our long, half-century nightmare)
May 14, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Milwaukee Brewers right fielder Sal Frelick (10) hits a home run during the fifth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
The Milwaukee Brewers are looking to maintain their lead in the NL Central as they’ll play host to the Cleveland Guardians this week, a team right in the mix in the AL Central. The Brewers, at 43-26, sit five games ahead of the second-place Cardinals in the division and currently hold the No. 3 seed in the league, behind only the Braves (46-25) and Dodgers (45-27). The Guardians, at 39-33, are tied with the White Sox atop the AL Central, though they lost their best player in José Ramírez to a hamate bone fracture (the same injury that shelved Andrew Vaughn earlier this year) over the weekend.
The Brewers are currently without pitchers DL Hall (late July), Brandon Woodruff (mid- to late June), Coleman Crow (late June), Quinn Priester (TBD), Carlos Rodriguez (TBD), Brian Fitzpatrick (likely out for season), Rob Zastryzny (late June/early July), Logan Henderson (early July), Jared Koenig (close to returning), and Angel Zerpa (out for season). The lone position player currently on the IL is outfielder Brandon Lockridge, who is slated for a late June return, though he’s had several injury flare-ups in his knee in recent weeks.
The Guardians are without the aforementioned Ramírez, who will be out until after the All-Star break after undergoing surgery. Outfielders Chase DeLauter and Angel Martínez are both currently listed as day to day, as DeLauter is awaiting MRI and CT scans after a crash into the right-field wall, and Martínez took a foul ball off his left foot, though the hope is he’ll return for this series. The lone pitcher on the IL is lefty Erik Sabrowski, who began a rehab assignment over the weekend.
Jake Bauers sits atop the Brewer home run leaderboard with 13 this season, though Jackson Chourio is quickly closing on him with nine homers in just 35 games. Speaking of Chourio, after a big week, he’s now slashing .322/.370/.572 for the year. Brice Turang has cooled off considerably but still has a .261/.378/.457 line with 10 homers and 12 steals, while Gary Sánchez and William Contreras have also flashed their power this year. Garrett Mitchell, Christian Yelich, Sal Frelick, Andrew Vaughn, Joey Ortiz, and David Hamilton round out the regulars, with Blake Perkins and Luis Rengifo serving as depth, though if speculation is to be believed, Rengifo will be replaced one way or another by shortstop prospect Cooper Pratt on Tuesday, as Pratt has already been confirmed to be headed to the majors. As a team, the Brewers are hitting .255/.340/.394 (.734 OPS ranks eighth), with 63 homers (27th), 370 runs (third), and 70 steals (tied for third).
Angel Martínez leads the Guards with 11 homers this season, adding 11 doubles, nine steals, and 33 RBIs. DeLauter and Kyle Manzardo both have seven homers, while former Brewer Rhys Hoskins has six homers, though he’s hitting just .185 (with a much more solid .330 OBP thanks to 34 walks). Brayan Rocchio, Steven Kwan, Daniel Schneemann, and former No. 1 overall pick Travis Bazzana are also in the mix. Austin Hedges and Patrick Bailey share time behind the plate, while David Fry, Gabriel Arias, and Stuart Fairchild provide depth. As a team, the Guardians are hitting .232/.317/.372 (.689 OPS ranks 27th), with 66 homers (24th), 289 runs (23rd), and 69 steals (fifth).
The Brewer bullpen is led by Aaron Ashby, who sports a 2.72 ERA with 59 strikeouts over 43 innings. Trevor Megill, Abner Uribe, and Grant Anderson have also been reliable pieces, while Chad Patrick has been mostly good but struggled mightily against the A’s and Phillies in the last week. Drew Rom and Joel Kuhnel fill the back of the bullpen. As a staff, the Brewers have a 3.45 team ERA (fourth), including a 3.40 starter ERA (fourth) and a 3.51 bullpen ERA (ninth). They’ve struck out 675 batters (first) over 618 1/3 innings.
Tim Herrin and closer Cade Smith lead the Cleveland bullpen, as Herrin has a 2.92 ERA and 23 strikeouts over 24 2/3 innings, and Smith, who is 23-for-25 in save opportunities, has a 2.48 ERA with 49 strikeouts over 32 2/3 innings. Matt Festa ranks third on the team with 30 appearances, though he has a 4.30 ERA. Hunter Gaddis (3.86 ERA over 18 2/3 IP), Shawn Armstrong (3.32 ERA over 19 IP), Colin Holderman (1.73 ERA over 26 IP), Daniel Espino (no MLB appearances), and Will Dion (4.35 ERA over 10 1/3 IP) round out the bullpen. As a staff, the Guardians have a 3.75 team ERA (sixth), including a 3.80 starter ERA (sixth) and a 3.68 bullpen ERA (11th). They’ve struck out 658 batters (third) over 638 1/3 innings.
Probable Pitchers
Tuesday, June 16 @ 6:40 p.m.: LHP Robert Gasser (0-3, 6.38 ERA, 7.25 FIP) vs. RHP Slade Cecconi (3-5, 4.83 ERA, 4.29 FIP)
Gasser has had a rough go of it in his return to the majors, with a 6.38 ERA, 7.25 FIP, and 19 strikeouts over 18 1/3 innings in four starts. He’s taken the loss in each of his last three starts, though his last start came in Las Vegas, meaning it comes with the caveat of a lot of homers — six runs allowed on eight hits (four homers) and two walks, striking out seven over five innings. This marks Gasser’s first career appearance against Cleveland.
Cecconi, 27 next week, is in his fourth MLB season and second with the Guardians after beginning his career in Arizona. He’s been a serviceable albeit not great arm for them, with a 4.83 ERA, 4.29 FIP, and 61 strikeouts over 72 2/3 innings this year. He went five innings in a no-decision his last time out, allowing two runs on six hits and a pair of walks while striking out seven against the Yankees. This marks Cecconi’s first career appearance against Milwaukee.
Wednesday, June 17 @ 6:40 p.m.: RHP Brandon Sproat (1-4, 5.70 ERA, 5.56 FIP) vs. RHP Gavin Williams (9-3, 3.32 ERA, 3.81 FIP)
Sproat has still not quite been able to put things together with a 5.70 ERA, 5.56 FIP, and 57 strikeouts over 60 innings, though he’s coming off arguably the best start of his young career in Vegas. Over six innings, he allowed just one run (a solo homer) on four hits and one walk, striking out three on just 68 pitches. Unfortunately, the bullpen let him down, as they immediately allowed three runs in the seventh en route to a 4-3 A’s win. Like Gasser, this marks Sproat’s first career appearance against Cleveland.
Williams, 26, has quickly turned into a top-of-the-rotation type starter, as he turned in a 3.06 ERA season last year and has been nearly as good this season, with a 3.32 ERA, 3.81 FIP, and 99 strikeouts over 86 2/3 innings. After rattling off four consecutive wins from mid-May through early June, he took a no-decision his last time around, allowing four runs (three earned) on four hits and three walks, striking out five over five innings as the Guardians would go on to lose to the Yankees in extras. Williams has started against Milwaukee in each of the last two seasons, totaling nine innings with seven runs allowed on 10 hits and three walks, striking out 11 as he took a loss and a no-decision.
Drohan, who has now made three consecutive appearances from the rotation, hasn’t been quite as sharp as a starter, though he’s still keeping the Brewers in games. With a 3.59 ERA, 2.73 FIP, and 44 strikeouts over 42 2/3 innings, there’s clear potential for the young lefty. He’s coming off a loss, in which he allowed four runs on eight hits and no walks, striking out seven over five innings in a 9-8 loss to the Phillies. As is the case with Gasser and Sproat, this marks Drohan’s first career appearance against Cleveland.
Messick, 25, is in his second season and is off to a great start to his young career, with a career 2.69 ERA, 3.21 FIP, and 120 strikeouts over 120 1/3 innings through 21 starts. He’s coming off back-to-back losses against the Rangers and Yankees, though, as those two outings spanned 11 1/3 innings with eight runs allowed (seven earned) on 10 hits and four walks, striking out eight. This marks Messick’s first career appearance against Milwaukee.
How to Watch & Listen
Tuesday, June 16: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)
Wednesday, June 17: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)
Thursday, June 18: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)
Prediction
This series features a trio of young pitching matchups, with the oldest starter among the six being Drohan at a whopping 27 years of age (Gasser is also 27, though slightly younger). Give me the Crew to win two of three.
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani, left, congratulates starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto on a 7-1 win against the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field on Saturday, June 13, 2026, in Chicago. Yamamoto carried a no-hitter into the ninth inning until he gave up a home run to the White Sox' Tristan Peters. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
The Dodgers broke even on the road last week, taking two of three games against the Pirates in Pittsburgh before losing two of three to the first-place White Sox in Chicago.
The offense was more productive than usual on the road trip, averaging over six runs per game, but the big inning has been the bane of the pitching staff of late. After allowing six runs in an inning in a home loss to the Angels on June 7, the Dodgers on the road allowed three runs and five runs in consecutive innings Wednesday in Pittsburgh, gave up a four-run inning on Thursday at PNC Park, then allowed a seven-run inning Friday and six runs in one frame on Sunday in the two losses in Chicago.
It’s been over a month since the Dodgers last lost consecutive games, but the shaky pitching of late has also prevented them from going on any sort of big run. They’ve alternated wins and losses over their last eight games.
Batter of the week
We’ll go with Max Muncy narrowly over Shohei Ohtani, though in reality either player could have won. Muncy batted two more times than Ohtani, and reached base two more times than Ohtani, giving him the razor-thin edge. Muncy, an excellent candidate to make his third All-Star team, leads National League third basemen in several categories, and his two home runs on Saturday gave him 225 with the Dodgers, three shy of tying Ron Cey for fifth-most in franchise history.
Pitcher of the week
Yoshinobu Yamamoto is the rock of the pitching staff, a reliable and durable ace who has turned in two gems in a row. He took a perfect game into the eighth inning on Saturday in Chicago, and took a no-hitter into the ninth in a blowout win over the White Sox.
Shortest possible distance to Petit: Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s flirtation with perfection saw him retire his first 23 batters faced on Saturday in Chicago, which came directly after the right-hander retired his final 22 batters faced in a gem against the Angels on June 6 at Dodger Stadium. Yamamoto’s 45 consecutive batters retired tied Mark Buehrle (July 18-28, 2009) for the second-longest streak in major league history, just one behind Yusmeiro Petit from July 22-August 28, 2014. The error by shortstop Mookie Betts in the eighth inning on Saturday would have been the record-tying 46th straight out for Yamamoto.
Wednesday: When the Dodgers needed a right-handed multi-position infielder after the Hernándezes got injured on consecutive days in May, they chose to bring back the previously-dispatched Santiago Espinal. The writing on the wall was there for Tyler Fitzgerald, who started at five positions for Oklahoma City after getting acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays on April 28. So it wasn’t all too surprising that Fitzgerald was released last week.
Thursday: Five days after initially getting scratched from the lineup, catcher Will Smith was placed on the injured list with neck inflammation. The open 40-man-roster spot courtesy of Fitzgerald’s release was filled by the call up of veteran backstop Chuckie Robinson, playing for a second straight season with the Dodgers.
The Dodgers are back home for the middle portion of their 12 straight games against American League teams, running the Danny Clyburn gauntlet against the Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles at Dodger Stadium. Monday night is an exclusive ESPN telecast.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MAY 11: Austin Reaves #15 of the Los Angeles Lakers speaks to the media during a press conference after Game Four of the Second Round of the NBA Western Conference Playoffs against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Crypto.com Arena on May 11, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images) | Getty Images
With the Finals officially over, silly season is fully upon the NBA. Every team is now in the offseason and the league’s focus turns to the draft, the offseason and the future.
For the Lakers, that means a look at an upcoming free agency that will be incredibly important. One of the first pieces of business the team will need to take care of is Austin Reaves, who will almost certainly decline his player option.
While the most recent reports suggested that Reaves is looking for the max and is expected to have suitors elsewhere around the league, it seems the general consensus around the league is that he’ll remain in LA.
The Lakers are widely expected to re-sign Reaves, whose fondness for Lakerland as well as his blossoming backcourt partnership alongside Luka Dončić are regarded as strong lures that suggest the sides will ultimately come to terms on a new pact.
However, according to Stein, all the signals Reaves put out about wanting to remain in LA may be scaring teams away from making an offer for him.
Yet it is unclear what sort of external interest Reaves will generate after his strong production over the past two seasons … at least partly due to the inherent skepticism that stems from trying to woo him away from the Lakers. Brooklyn and Detroit have been mentioned as potential Reaves suitors, but neither is seen as a certainty yet.
A similar situation played out the last time Reaves was set for free agency. All signs were pointing to him remaining in LA, but in that instance, he was set for restricted free agency, so teams didn’t want to bother tying up cap space only to have him return to the Lakers.
This time, they may see it as a pointless venture to spend time negotiating a deal with Reaves as opposed to working out deals with free agents who actually might want to sign with the team.
If this is how teams feel, then perhaps it means the Lakers can agree to a more team-friendly deal if — or when — Reaves re-signs.
For now, though, it’ll be a lot of posturing from both sides in the final weeks leading up to the start of free agency.
Canadian broadcaster Ron MacLean issued an on-air apology for making a comment about roofies during the pregame show for Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final.
With the Vegas Golden Knights' game against the Carolina Hurricanes taking place in Las Vegas, Sportsnet did a spoof of "The Hangover" movie and showed Keeper of the Cup Phil Pritchard asleep on a couch next to the trophy.
As the skit ended, MacLean said, "The roofies, they'll get you every time."
MacLean later apologized on air for the comment, which he called "a bad mistake by me."
"I referenced a scene in the movie in which the tiger is put to sleep, Mike Tyson's tiger. The Keepers of the Cup, of course, are asleep in the skit and I used the term, the slang term for the drug which has far more serious connotations in reality.
— bnpeki 🇨🇦 Matthew Knies Enjoyer (@bnpeki) June 15, 2026
"I should have made that connection. I did not. .. I know I triggered some people I know I offended some people with that remark and I feel very badly for that and I want to thank you for bringing it to my attention, to our attention. Very sorry."
The Detroit Tigers offense has come alive this month, ranking second in runs scored against right-handed pitching.
Taking on a Houston Astros righty who struggles against left-handed bats, my Tigers vs. Astros predictions and MLB picks expect the road team to snap its two-game losing skid on Monday, June 15.
Who will win Tigers vs Astros today: Detroit Tigers (+110)
Kai-Wei Teng is a solid pitcher against right-handed hitters. Not so much against lefties.
The Tigers are in a great spot to score a handful of runs. They have a lot of good lefties to throw at Teng, and they’ve crushed right-handed pitchers of late.
Only the Rockies, Brewers, and Dodgers have posted a higher wOBA against righties than the Tigers in June. They also lead the majors in fly-ball rate.
With both offenses taking on vulnerable pitchers, I’d play the Over to -110.
Todd Cordell's 2026 Transparency Record
ML/RL bets: 28-25, -4.70 units
Over/Under bets: 27-24-2, -0.06 units
Tigers vs Astros odds
Moneyline: Tigers +110 | Astros -130
Run line: Tigers +1.5 (-180) | Astros -1.5 (+155)
Over/Under: Over 9.0 (+100) | Under 9.0 (-120)
Tigers vs Astros trend
Houston has hit the Game Total Over in 15 of the last 25 games at home (+4.9 units, 18% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Tigers vs. Astros.
How to watch Tigers vs Astros and game info
Location
Daikin Park, Houston, TX
Date
Monday, June 15, 2026
First pitch
8:10 p.m. ET
TV
DSN, SCHN
Tigers starting pitcher
Troy Melton (3-0, 2.81 ERA)
Astros starting pitcher
Kai-Wei Teng (3-5, 3.71 ERA)
Tigers vs Astros latest injuries
Tigers vs Astros weather
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
The San Diego Padres will be looking to keep their winning ways alive tonight in the series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.
However, due to Lucas Giolito's struggles, my Padres vs. Cardinals predictions are eyeing the hosts to capitalize on the righty's inability to limit baserunners.
Who will win Padres vs Cardinals today: Cardinals moneyline (-140)
San Diego Padres starter Lucas Giolito has made just five appearances this season since signing late, and the underlying metrics are concerning. The veteran sports a 6.40 xERA overall while walking 7.84 hitters per nine innings.
Across his last two appearances, Giolito has lowered his xERA to 4.38, but command remains a major problem as he's still issuing 6.75 free passes per nine innings. That's a dangerous profile against a St. Louis Cardinals lineup that owns an impressive 132 wRC+ over the last 14 days and a .369 wOBA across its previous six contests.
Dustin May also enters tonight's start in good form. The right-hander has settled down lately, compiling a stellar 1.94 FIP over his last four appearances while limiting opponents to a 34.5% hard-hit rate during that span.
St. Louis will create opportunities against Giolito, while May is well-positioned to continue his recent success.
I'll play this pick up to -150.
COVERS INTEL: May is striking out 11.63 hitters per nine innings over the last month compared to 8.17 K/9 overall this season.
Padres vs Cardinals Over/Under pick: Under 8.5 runs (-110)
The Cardinals' bullpen hasn't been amazing lately, posting a 5.02 xERA over the last week, but May typically pitches relatively deep into games and has worked into the sixth inning in two of his last three starts. That limits the amount of bullpen exposure against a Padres lineup that is batting just .224 on the road and owns an 89 wRC+ away from home.
On the other side, San Diego's bullpen has been excellent lately, posting a stellar 2.94 FIP across its last 24 2/3 innings while allowing only 0.73 home runs per nine. The Padres' relievers have also generated a 50% ground-ball rate during that stretch, another encouraging sign for the Under.
St. Louis should have their chances to score against Giolito, but the Padres' bullpen success could help prevent the game from turning into a high-scoring affair. With May capable of providing length and both offenses carrying some limitations, this game profiles as a relatively low-scoring affair.
Quinn Allen's 2026 Transparency Record
ML/RL bets: 24-21, +1.45 units
Over/Under bets: 25-19, +2.03 units
Padres vs Cardinals odds
Moneyline: Padres +127 | Cardinals -133
Run line: Padres +1.5 (-163) | Cardinals -1.5 (+150)
Over/Under: Over 8.5 (-100) | Under 8.5 (-108)
Padres vs Cardinals trend
The San Diego Padres have hit the Game Total Under in 28 of their last 50 games (+4.05 Units / 7% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Padres vs. Cardinals.
How to watch Padres vs Cardinals and game info
Location
Busch Stadium, St. Louis, MO
Date
Monday, June 15, 2026
First pitch
7:45 p.m. ET
TV
Padres.TV, Cardinals.TV
Padres starting pitcher
Lucas Giolito (2-1, 4.36 ERA)
Cardinals starting pitcher
Dustin May (4-6, 4.21 ERA)
Padres vs Cardinals latest injuries
Padres vs Cardinals weather
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
DALLAS, TX - JUNE 22: Donnie Nelson Draft Pick Jalen Brunson and family along with Dallas Mavericks Head Coach Rick Carlisle pose for a photo at the Post NBA Draft press conference on June 22, 2018 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
Jalen Brunson could barely find the words.
You couldn’t blame him. The man had just done the one thing he’d organized his whole life around, and he did it as the player few outside his own family ever forecasted would be the one standing there. No longer the overlooked NCAA champion. More than the second-round pick with potential to overcome his measurables. The guy who surprised Utah in the playoffs that one year. Now? Well, now that kid is the champion. The Finals MVP. He told the sideline he had no words, that he was just in awe, and for a few seconds, the kid who always had an answer didn’t have one.
I was sincerely happy for him. I still am. This is one of the great sports stories, and the fact that he isn’t ours anymore doesn’t take that away. We cheered for this guy. We watched him grow up in Maverick blue. He went and did something enormous, and there is real pride in having been there at the start of the pro leg of this journey. There is also, if I’m honest at one in the morning, the ache of what could have been.
Lisa Salters asked him afterward what he’d been telling himself about closing the game out. His confidence, Brunson said, comes from his work ethic. Every time he got the ball down the stretch, he was thinking about the summers, all of them, as far back as he can remember. About being, in his words, “me alone in the gym.” All those hours with no crowd and nothing at stake, cashing out at last on the loudest stage in basketball.
The way he cashed it is the part that should make every doubter wince. San Antonio built a roster engineered to erase a player exactly like him. Length everywhere. Dylan Harper, Stephon Castle, and Devin Vassell hounding the point of attack, long and rangy and athletic, and Victor Wembanyama waiting at the rim as the most terrifying shot-blocker in the league. Brunson gave up size and reach to all of them and beat them anyway. Herky-jerky, start and stop, a half-beat ahead possession after possession, outthinking a defense designed to think faster than he could. He poured in fifteen in the fourth quarter, one clutch shot after another, and there was nothing all that San Antonio length could do about a man who had already seen every counter in an empty gym years before. Too small, they always said. Doubted his whole life. He just kept finding a way.
Charles Barkley has spent years calling him the greatest free-agent signing in NBA history. After tonight, the room finally stopped arguing.
Here’s the hard part. The Dallas part.
This is not a missive about a franchise that should have spotted a legend. He went 33rd for reasons that made sense at the time, and when Mark Cuban shrugged that he had “no idea” Brunson would become this, I’ll grant him that one. Concede the scouting. The malpractice lives in what came next.
By Tim MacMahon’s reporting in The Wonder Boy, Brunson wanted to stay. He was eligible for a four-year extension worth up to roughly $55.5 million, and his family was so eager to put down roots in Dallas that they’d have taken less than the max. The security meant that much to him. He grew up watching his father, Rick, work through a journeyman’s NBA career on one nonguaranteed contract after another, training three times a day every summer just to earn a training-camp look, never sure when a team would move on from him. For a son raised on that, a guaranteed deal in Dallas carried a weight beyond the dollars: it was the safety his father’s career had never once promised.
The front office wouldn’t commit to it. They wanted to keep him movable, to dangle as bait for a co-star next to Luka, and they kept one eye on the luxury tax they’d ducked ever since 2011. So they waited. Through training camp. Past the January window when his camp said he would sign right then. And by the time they finally slid the same number across the table, he had outgrown it. A structuring flub on his rookie deal meant Dallas didn’t even hold the right to match. He walked for nothing. His father’s verdict was that the Mavs could have made the choice hard, and instead they “made it easy.”
Sit with the cruelty of that. This is the precise kind of player the Mavericks spent that entire era clearing cap space to chase in free agency. A natural leader. A low-ego, locker-room-raising winner who makes everyone around him better. They had him. They grew him. And because they could not stop keeping their options open long enough to back the believer right in front of them, they let him leave for the price of a goodbye.
We just passed fifteen years since 2011. You and I both remember how much had to break right that spring, how rare that alignment is, how a whole franchise’s one shining season can hinge on every piece fitting at once. The Knicks just ended a fifty-three-year wait. That is the math that turns this from a grievance into a warning: self-inflicted wounds in roster building are exactly how a fifteen-year drought hardens into a fifty-three-year one.
I have heard it said that the acquisition of Kyrie Irving effectively balanced the scales for having lost Brunson to the wind less than a year prior. To think so is pure folly and underestimates the causality of burning future assets – the 2029 first sent to Brooklyn in the Irving package – to atone for past mistakes. Think about it long enough, and loving the Mavericks post-2011 can feel like the basketball version of 12 Monkeys or Memento. We now bank on the creativity and gem-finding skills of Ujiri and company to save the Cooper Flagg era (itself an unlikely dollop of grace) from the sins of the past.
So let yourself look ahead. Barring something catastrophic, what we watched tonight is a Hall of Fame résumé manifesting in real time. More years of contention. More years leading that franchise. Some will tell you he was already a lock, and that tonight only burned off the last of the doubt.
Somewhere down the line, a kid in a Brunson jersey is going to ask why his guy ever wore blue and white. We had him first. The people who ran the team then couldn’t bring themselves to keep him.
Ingrained in the minds of fans is the classic model of how to build an NBA Champion: Get a bunch of superstars together.
Miami's Big 3 with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Or Golden State's superstar core of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green (and eventually Kevin Durant). The Lakers with Kobe and Shaq (or later, Kobe and Pau Gasol). Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish in Boston. Compile multiple elite superstars, put the best affordable talent you can around them, and let those all-time greats do their unstoppable thing.
The Knicks shattered that mold.
It's not that Jalen Brunson isn't a star — he was second-team All-NBA this season and has made those teams three straight years — but Leon Rose and the New York front office didn't just go out and try to stack stars on top of each other like this was a fantasy team. Or the Knicks through the 1990s and 2000s.
New York executed what the Indiana front office understood in building a team that came within a torn Achilles of maybe winning the NBA title a year ago, what Denver's front office realized in building a championship team around Nikola Jokic, and what many other front offices are now understanding:
High-level depth wins in the playoffs.
It's not about how great your superstar is at the top of the food chain, it's more about not having a weak link for opponents to target. It's about having a depth of players that a coach can trust. Mike Brown had OG Anunoby and Josh Hart and Miles Bridges and Mitchell Robinson and Landry Shamet and Jose Alvarado. Everyone contributed. There was no easy player to target, no weak link.
"It speaks volumes about this team, how versatile and the depth of our team," Karl-Anthony Towns said of how the Knicks were built to win.
Playoffs are about matchups
Make no mistake, every team needs talent to win, and ultimately has to have a guy who can go get a bucket when you need it. The Knicks were a 53-win team with the league's third-ranked offense and seventh-ranked defense this season, and they had a clutch guy in Jalen Brunson. The year before, Indiana made the Finals as a 50-win team led by a breakout season from Tyrese Haliburton, but a perfect complement of players around him. The year before that, a 50-win Dallas team was in the NBA Finals because they built a roster perfectly suited to maximize the talent of their superstar, Luka Doncic. That's what Denver rode to the title the season prior to that in Denver, with quality players around Nikola Jokic.
Talent matters, but the playoffs are all about matchups. What matters more in the postseason than having a couple of household names at the top of the marquee is depth and versatility of talent. Teams can't have a guy that other teams look at and say, "That's an easy target."
"[Knicks role players] have been ready from day one and not just our top five, but one through 18 have been ready from day one, you guys saw it," coach Mike Brown said. "We called on different guys at different times, and every time we called on somebody, they stepped up."
Mike Brown was the Knicks coach for this title run because Tom Thibodeau refused to trust and develop that depth enough, and so when he tried to pivot to it, that depth wasn't there for him. Mike Brown got it from Day 1.
The need for elite depth even applies to the teams built more on the old model. San Antonio has Victor Wembanyama and two other top-three picks running the show, but it was facing the Knicks in the Finals because, in a seven-game series, the Spurs had fewer weak links and more shot creation than a banged-up, shorthanded Oklahoma City squad. That Thunder team won a ring the year before, not just because it had two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but because they could roll out depth beyond their stars with guys like Alex Caruso, Aaron Wiggins, Isaiah Hartenstein, Lu Dort, Cason Wallace and on down the line.
Patience
New York's current front office showed something sorely lacking from its predecessors (often under pressure from a much more hands-on version owner in James Dolan at the time): Patience. At least with the roster.
New York gave space to a roster to improve organically over time, and just make tweaks. No midseason "Let's trade Karl-Anthony Towns for Giannis Antetokounmpo" overreactions. (The number of Knicks fans celebrating at the championship parade this Thursday who begged for that last February and would now deny they ever said it would be too high to count.) No, going out and compiling as many big names as possible without consideration for fit.
They gave time for the existing roster to grow comfortable around Brunson and for him to develop as well. For a long time, the knock on the Knicks was that Brunson and Towns would not defend well enough to lift this team to a title. New York was patient and let them grow as defenders until they became good enough.
New York also brought in guys who had won with Brunson in college in Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart — built-in chemistry. While New York traded Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo for Towns, and when that took time to come together, the front office gave it space and time. Eight of the top 10 scorers on the roster from the season before were back.
New York let this roster breathe and become all it could be.
When next season tips off, the Knicks, Spurs and Thunder are all going to be the first names mentioned as title contenders — as they should be. But if you want to see which teams have a chance to knock that big three off, figure out which teams have added quality depth, and will go into the playoffs with a roster that makes sense and doesn't have obvious weak links to target. Check out the ones built with patience and chemistry in mind.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - JUNE 12: A general view of a rainbow during a rain delay between the Minnesota Twins and St. Louis Cardinals on June 12, 2026 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images) | Getty Images
2026 MLB Draft Preview: Cooper Harris scouting report.
The 2026 is about a month away — the first round kicks off on July 11, 2026 — so its time to start offering capsule looks at players the Texas Rangers could select with their top picks. The Rangers’ first round pick is at #16, their second round pick is at #54, and their third round pick is at #89.
Leading up to draft day, we will be doing writeups of some of the players who could end up getting selected by the Rangers with one of their first three picks. Today we are looking at Flower Mound righthanded pitcher Cooper Harris.
Cooper Harris is a local product, a 6’3”, 205 lb. righthanded pitcher out of Flower Mound High School. Harris just turned 18 last week, making him on the younger side for a high school prospect. He is committed to the University of Texas.
Harris has seen his stock rise this spring, most notably with an outing in the Amegy Bank Series that saw him strike out 17 batters in six no hit innings. Both MLB Pipeline and Keith Law have his fastball at 90-94 mph. Law says Harris works his fastball well at the top of the zone, while Pipeline says he can make his fastball rise, sink or cut with good command. His youth and build are such that he’s projected to be able to add velocity going forward.
Harris is a four pitch pitcher, with a curve, slider and changeup to go with the fastball, though, as is the case with most prep pitchers, he rarely throws his changeup. He gets good reviews for his athleticism and ability to repeat his delivery. He is seen as a strike thrower with a starting pitcher profile.
The only high school pitcher-only the Rangers have taken in the top three rounds since their scouting and player development overall after the 2018 season is Tekoah Roby, taken in the third round in 2020, though Josh Owens, their 2025 third round pick, is a two-way player. Harris would seem likely to slot in the second or third rounds, or be a well-above-slot pick in the later rounds.
One can make some comparisons between Harris and 2023 6th rounder Caden Scarborough, who received an above-slot bonus as a late riser whose projectability the Rangers were betting on, and who is now a consensus top 100 prospect in baseball. Harris is currently more highly touted — at least in the public rankings — than Scarborough was heading into the draft, and so likely can’t be landed by offering him fourth round money, the way Scarborough was.
How strong Harris’s commitment to the University of Texas is isn’t clear, from what I’ve seen. If his hometown team comes calling with, say, third round money — the Rangers’ third round slot figure is $900,800 — one would like to think that would get him signed.
TALKING STICK, AZ - OCTOBER 29: Johanfran Garcia #30 of the Salt River Rafters warms up prior to the game between the Peoria Javelinas and the Salt River Rafters at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick on Wednesday, October 29, 2025 in Talking Stick, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Worcester: Canceled, Rain
The finale against the Red Wings (Nationals AAA) ended up as the second game canceled this series due to inclement weather. This was a blessing in disguise for both clubs’ pitching staff as they used a combined thirteen pitchers on Saturday in Brayan Bello’s first AAA start, so an extra day of rest isn’t the worst thing in the world.
With Brannon and Arias both out of the lineup, Sunday afternoon still managed to look like batting practice for the Sea Dogs in the finale against the Fightin Phils (Phillies AA). They got 3 home runs and 7 total runs in the 5th inning and had 18 total knocks on the night. This offensive power included Stanley Tucker, newly promoted from Salem, introducing himself with 2 RBIs; he’d also reach base on a walk. Johanfran Garcia, meanwhile hit his eleventh homer of the season as he continues to rake.
John Holobetz backed the offense up with six strong scoreless innings, striking six out. Holobetz, the “player to be named later” in the Quinn Priester deal, remains an intriguing prospect, if not for his run prevention, for his ability to avoid barrels and keep his pitch count down, helping him go later in games later than his counterparts. The 4.70 ERA is concerning, but he could be worth a look to see if that low fastball also escapes being hit hard against batters with Major League experience in Triple-A. The team as a whole struggles with run prevention, so Holobetz now slides into second in the rotation in ERA (behind Wehunt) as well as in strikeouts (behind Mullins, who definitely is ready for an extended look.)
Marcus Phillips walked seven in another short and inopportune showing for the Drive against the Dash (White Sox High-A) and the relief staff made things worse by getting taken for twelve runs. The entire staff got hit around, walked ten (including Phillips’ seven) and allowed three home runs. Even if the pitching staff performed well, though, the Drive managed just four hits on the afternoon and took until sixth to put one run on the board, so that’s a tough hole to overcome on any day.
This was a plausable win for the RidgeYaks if they either recorded more than 1 hit after the second inning or if they didn’t allow three consecutive multi-run innings, but both things were working in Fayetteville’s (Astros A) favor Sunday afternoon. Their only batter with multiple hits happened to be their nine-hole hitter. Salem is handed their eighth consecutive loss.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JUNE 14: The Carolina Hurricanes pose for a team photo with the Stanley Cup after their 3-0 win against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game Six of the 2026 NHL Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena on June 14, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
The Carolina Hurricanes winning the Stanley Cup was about a lot more than hoisting the toughest prize in sports; it was proof of concept. For years the Canes had played bridesmaid, having unprecedented regular-season and playoff success under head coach Rod Brind-Amour, only to see it vanish when it mattered the most in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Carolina became a meme. They were the choke job, the organization destined to catch the flowers, but never make it to the altar. It raised questions about the Canes’ roster construction, the organizational approach, and made people wonder if Brind-Amour’s team-based, “no stars” hockey philosophy was too outdated for a modern league that put a premium on individual excellence. That all changed on Sunday night.
The Hurricanes bet on themselves in so many ways, but none more profoundly than how GM Eric Tulsky believed in the potential of his young players to such an extent that he signed them ALL to long-term extensions without needing to see the production to back it up. This is the backbone of the Canes’ organization, and why the winners of the Stanley Cup are going to be a long-term problem for the NHL for YEARS to come.
Typically when a team wins the Cup you can look over the roster and find the obvious pain points. There will be a star or two ready to hit free agency, a handful of trade-deadline acquisitions coming off contract, and young players waiting in the wings to get a massive payday. This is the roster turnover we’re accustomed to seeing in order to knock elite teams down a peg and restore the competitive parity in the league. When it comes to Carolina this simply doesn’t exist.
As we approach NHL free agency the Canes only have one starting player set to hit UFA, and that’s goaltender Freddie Andersen who was replaced in the Stanley Cup Finals by Brandon Bussi. That’s it. Other than Andersen the team will likely lose Nicolas Deslauriers and Mike Reilly, who were veteran defensemen largely signed to act as tutors to the younger talent, without playing a huge role themselves.
It’s tempting to say “but that’s just one year,” but it’s not. Look ahead to 2027 and there’s definitely more turnover in Jordan Staal, Shayne Gostisbehere, and Jalen Chatfield — but Staal is likely facing retirement, while the two defensemen are both hitting their mid-30s and probably due for roster turnover anyway. Look at 2028, 2029, 2030 — it keeps being the same story. The Hurricanes aren’t slated to potentially lose a top-tier skating forward until 2029 when Andrei Svechnikov is poised to be a UFA, and that assumes he won’t re-up with the organization he clearly loves being a part of.
So, where the hell are all the Canes players? Tulsky locked them up. He locked them ALL up. Every single player who showed a glimmer of promise inside Brind-Amour’s system was signed ahead of the curve, and rather than give them three or four-year “prove-it” deals, Tulsky went full analytics nerd on the process to secure their services into the next decade.
Sebastian Aho: Until contract until 2031 for $9.75M AAV
Nikolaj Ehlers: Under contract until 2031 for $8.5M AAV
Seth Jarvis: Until contract until 2031 for $7.9M AAV
K’Andre Miller: Under contract until 2032 for $7.5M AAV
Jaccob Slavin: Under contract until 2032 for $6.4M AAV
Logan Stankoven: Under contract until 2033 for $6M AAV
Jackson Blake: Under contract until 2033 for $5.1M AAV
Not only do the Hurricanes have their entire core locked down for the foreseeable future, but they haven’t broken the $10M AAV mark for any player. Cap all this off with the fact that Carolina’s two most important young forwards in Stankoven and Blake are locked in on discount long-term deals, and it spells a horror story for the rest of the league. This is not the future a Stanley Cup winning team should have, and to add to the nightmare we have an organization that already has over $11M in open cap space, will open up more when they waive Jesperi Kotkaniemi, and a rising salary cap that not only means Carolina has their whole core locked in, but can be SERIOUS players in free agency to lure stars to Raleigh, now with the proof that they have an organization that can win the cup. It might just be enough to break the Vegas/Dallas/Florida stranglehold as tax shelters in the league.
Oh, but it gets worse. The Hurricanes’ prospect system was ranked No. 11 in the NHL by The Hockey Writers, with Kurban Limatov, Bradly Nadeau, Dominik Badinka, Felix Unger-Sörum, and Nikita Artamonov all poised to make their debuts in the next few years. Teams that consistently go so deep in the playoffs and routinely pick in the late-20s or early 30s simply shouldn’t have a prospect pool with the depth of Carolina’s.
The Carolina Hurricanes were built through disruption. Brind-Amour and Tulsky had specific visions on how they were going to build a team based on strength at every position, a de-emphasis on individual play, and a premium on team over stars. It hasn’t managed to lure top players, but it has now created a champion. That is an undeniable allure, and there’s no stopping this team for a long time.
Here’s the final kicker: Brandon Bussi, the free agent goalie turned Stanley Cup superstar? Yeah, Tulsky signed him to a three-year extension before the playoffs that will keep him in Carolina until 2029 for just $1.9M AAV.
St. Louis Blues Sign Zach Dean, Dylan Peterson To Two-Way ContractsThe St. Louis Blues have locked up their third pending RFA this week, handing out one-year, two-way contract extensions to forwards Zach Dean and Dylan Peterson.
COVERS INTEL:
