Former St. Louis Blues star winger T.J. Oshie has joined ESPN as an NHL studio and game analyst for the 2025-26 season.
Oshie announced his retirement from the NHL after 16 seasons spent with the Blues and the Washington Capitals.
The 38-year-old was drafted 24th overall by the Blues in the 2005 NHL draft. He went on to play 443 games with the Blues, scoring 110 goals and 210 points. Oshie recorded a career-high in points with 60, just a year before he was traded to the Capitals.
The deal shocked hockey fans and Oshie as well, who had stated previously that he was taken aback by the deal. The deal saw Troy Brouwer, Pheonix Copley, and 2016 third-round pick come to St. Louis in exchange for Oshie.
Oshie went on to enjoy his time in Washington, winning a Stanley Cup in 2018, recording 192 goals and 385 points, while setting a career high in goals of 33 in the 2016-17 season.
The later part of his career, mainly post-2021, was ravaged by injuries, so much so that he didn't play a game in the 2024-25 season.
Now, post-career, Oshie will be taking his talents onto the screen, working as an analyst. The news to join ESPN comes after Oshie also signed on as a contributor to local Capitals broadcasts with Monumental Sports Network this season.
“I’m hoping I get into some broadcasts,” Oshie said in September. “I will be doing things with the Caps on a part-time basis. I want to be linked with them for as long as I possibly can, because I love the organization so much, them and Monumental.”
Oshie had his chance to make an impression on ESPN during the Western Conference Finals last year and clearly impressed, earning a consistent role with the network.
It usually makes sense for developing elite young hockey players to develop in the AHL instead of starting in small roles at the NHL level.
In fact, there’s a reason most NHLers need time in the ‘A’. When you’re still finding out who you are as a professional athlete, many times it’s safer to grow into major-league responsibilities than have them foisted upon you right out of the gate.
But for every rule, there are exceptions to the rule.
Enter Easton Cowan of the Toronto Maple Leafs, who has two assists, seven shots and a plus-4 rating in four pre-season games.
In the case of the 20-year-old right winger, we think it makes more sense for the Maple Leafs to deploy Cowan on the fourth line than it does to stash him away with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies.
Now, you can definitely make the case that an AHL stint would best-serve the interests of Cowan and the Leafs organization, as Michael Augello explored last week. It’s also true that the Maple Leafs have precious-few Grade-A prospects, so it matters that they don’t screw it up and fail to develop Cowan into a long-term piece of their puzzle.
But here’s why we think Cowan should be fast-tracked into an NHL job: we’d rather have him around NHL-caliber talent day-in and day-out, rather than him facing sub-NHL players as a member of the Marlies.
We already know what that picture looks like after Cowan’s dominance at the major junior level. He's not the next great Leafs icon, but practicing and playing with Maple Leafs players on a daily basis does have its own benefits. In Cowan’s case, we can see how someone with his vision and creativity could more quickly adapt to the NHL game even if he’s only on the fourth line.
Putting Cowan on the fourth line would also open up Leafs winger Nick Robertson to be traded. And if Cowan is getting reps on the fourth line rather than Robertson, it’s beyond clear that it’s time for Robertson to be traded.
Now, you can say the Maple Leafs already have far too many experienced NHL forwards – Robertson, David Kampf, Michael Pezzetta, and Calle Jarnkrok – as well as Cowan for only two job openings. Only Cowan is waiver-exempt out of that group.
Leafs coach Craig Berube has praised Cowan’s growth in camp this year. You want to reward that, and you don’t do that by sending him to the ‘A’. Cowan is a different kind of player who deserves the benefit of the doubt.
Besides, if Cowan doesn’t play well as a fourth-liner to start the season, you can always demote him a few weeks from now. But he’s had a good camp, and he’s a better player than anyone else they’ve got in that part of the depth chart. By keeping him around, you may infuse him with confidence he uses to further climb the NHL depth chart and maybe even see time on the Leafs’ second power-play unit.
There’s still got to be a meritocracy when it comes to Toronto’s job opportunities, but if Cowan had looked out of place in training camp, he already would’ve been sent to the Marlies. The fact he’s still in camp at this advanced stage of camp tells you a lot about where Cowan sits in the Maple Leafs’ pecking order.
Thus, Cowan should finish up camp this year as a member of the Leafs instead of the Marlies. He’s done all that’s been asked of him so far in his brief pro playing days. And from here, the rest is up to him.
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With perpetuated struggles on defense, the Philadelphia Flyers must keep an open mind towards their options, internally and externally, at the position.
On Friday, the Boston Bruins placed former No. 11 overall pick Victor Soderstrom, a right-hand shot, on waivers, making him available to the Flyers if the team deems him worthy.
At this point, the Flyers may as well be open to anything and everything.
Head coach Rick Tocchet subtly but bluntly called out the struggling Egor Zamula after Thursday night's 4-3 preseason loss to the New York Islanders, whereas Adam Ginning did nothing to cede his spot as the de facto No. 5 defenseman.
Other options, like veterans Noah Juulsen and Dennis Gilbert, have been less than stellar in their preseason action. Gilbert has a team-worst 20.69% Corsi percentage (out-shot 23-6 at 5-on-5) in two games this preseason, according to Natural Stat Trick.
As for Zamula, he's just barely ahead of Gilbert, getting out-shot 42-18 (30%) at 5-on-5 and out-chanced 14-8.
Soderstrom, 24, is a 6-foot puck-mover returning to North America after spending a year with Brynäs IF of the SHL, with whom he scored nine goals, 28 assists, and 37 points in 49 games last season.
The Swede has 170 games of AHL experience and 53 games of NHL experience, and he's still fairly young relative to his playing experience.
Additionally, Soderstrom did make his NHL debut for Tocchet and Flyers assistant coach Jay Varady when the trio were with the Arizona Coyotes in the 2020-21 season; Soderstrom scored one goal and one assist in four games.
In three games of preseason action with the Bruins, Soderstrom has been narrowly out-shot 51-48 at 5-on-5 and out-chanced 31-18, though he hasn't necessarily been equipped to succeed with the lumbering Nikita Zadorov and a likely career AHLer in Michael Callahan as his defense partners.
With the Flyers, Soderstrom could benefit from a more mobile and equally experienced Nick Seeler, who is accustomed to playing as Jamie Drysdale's safety valve, or a confident and surging Adam Ginning, who has seemingly found a new lease on life at the NHL level with a strong training camp thus far.
The 2019 No. 11 overall pick would also give the Flyers some semblance of offense from that third defense pair, which would have otherwise been comprised entirely of bruisers and stay-at-home defenders.
Soderstrom is at his best with the puck on his stick and when he's moving his feet, which, in theory, should also work well in Tocchet's passive-aggressive Box +1 defensive system. He should be hounding down pucks and them making plays with them after.
And, if it doesn't work out, no harm, no foul. Rasmus Ristolainen should return for the Flyers by some point in November, but until then, Philadelphia needs to exhaust all options necessary to keep themselves afloat.
ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers’ search for Bruce Bochy’s replacement is centered on Skip Schumaker, a former NL Manager of the Year who has worked in their organization for the past year.
“We have a lead candidate internally that we’re focused on,” Chris Young, the team’s president of baseball operations, said Friday.
Young acknowledged that he had begun what he would consider a formal interview process, and that there were not yet any external candidates.
“At this point, we haven’t focused there yet,” he said. “Our hope is that we don’t have to.”
Schumaker, a special advisor for the Rangers, was the 2023 NL Manager of the Year when Miami went 84-78 and made the fourth postseason appearance in club history. That was the same year Texas, with Bochy in his debut there, won its first World Series championship.
The Rangers and the 70-year-old Bochy, a four-time World Series champion who was baseball’s winningest active manager, mutually agreed Monday to end his managerial stint. That was the day after Texas finished 81-81 for its second non-winning record since its championship. Bochy was at the end of his three-year contract.
The Marlins slipped to 62-100 in 2024 after changes in the front office and a roster decimated by trades and injuries. Schumaker and the team mutually agreed that he wouldn’t return for this season.
Texas hired Schumaker last November, a move viewed by many as making him the heir apparent for Bochy. Schumaker remains under contract with the organization through the end of October.
There are seven other MLB teams also looking for new managers. Young wouldn’t say if any other teams had requested permission to speak with the 45-year-old Shumaker about their openings.
When asked if there was worry about Schumaker in relation to those other openings, Young said: “I’m not overly concerned at this point.”
Before going to Miami, Schumaker was a bench coach for St. Louis, where he played for the Cardinals during their 2011 World Series win over Texas. He played 11 big league seasons with St. Louis (2005-12), the Los Angeles Dodgers (2013) and Cincinnati (2014-15).
Rangers general manager Ross Fenstermaker said while Schumaker lives on the West Coast, he has been very involved with the team in his advisory role.
“He’d spend time with us and many different folks in the front office, add his perspective, his wisdom. He was around and available a lot,” Fenstermaker said. “We probably talked to him every few days, if not daily, throughout the course of the year and bounce ideas off him and get his perspective.”
Bochy has been offered an advisory role in the Rangers front office. He also could be in line for such a position with the San Francisco Giants, though he isn’t a candidate for the managerial opening of the team he led to three World Series titles from 2010-14.
With 2,252 wins, Bochy is sixth among all managers, with the five ahead of him all in the Hall of Fame.
EAST MEADOW, NY -- By Monday at 5 PM ET, the New York Islanders and the 31 NHL teams must submit their salary-cap-compliant rosters to the league office.
Goaltender Semyon Varlamov, who is already on Injured Reserve (IR) as he works his way back from knee surgery, will remain there, which creates the roster spot for backup goaltender David Rittich.
Forward Pierre Engvall, who had offseason hip surgery, will likely land on IR as well, which creates a roster spot for an extra forward. As of now, it appears that Kyle MacLean and Marc Gatcomb are the two extra forwards.
You may be asking, "Why don't the Islanders just put Engvall and his $3 million and Varlamov and his $2.75 million on Long-Term Injured Reserve (LTIR) to allow them to go over the salary cap by $5.75 million?
The Islanders are currently cap compliant, so unless they planned on adding a player via trade or waivers, there's no need to go the LTIR route, especially because that would eliminate their ability to accrue deadline cap space.
Cap accrual is what allows teams to have a greater cap space at the NHL Trade Deadline than they had at the start of the season.
When it comes to the Islanders’ final roster trim, forward Calum Ritchie and defenseman Isaiah George seemed like the two players who would not make the team.
Ritchie’s injury -- he's out 1-2 weeks with a lower-body injury -- now impacts his ability to head to Bridgeport.
And if you look at the Islanders’ roster, you’ll see three other players who can’t go to the AHL just yet due to injuries.
Per the CBA, teams can’t send down or waive players who are injured unless they’re going on a conditioning stint. Even then, if a player requires waivers, they must be waived to remain in the AHL.
That brings us to defenseman Ethan Bear and forwards Jesse Nurmi and Daylan Kuefler, who are still on the Islanders’ roster. Do they count against the roster and cap hit?
Great question.
The answer is no, and that’s because of something called Season-Opening Injured Reserve (SOIR).
SOIR is a roster tool that helps teams deal with training camp injuries to players who weren’t going to make the NHL roster. It allows players like these three — and potentially Ritchie — to remain on the NHL roster without taking up roster spots or counting against the salary cap.
The biggest difference between SOIR and LTIR, outside of the timetable, is this: there’s no minimum time a player must spend on SOIR, whereas LTIR requires a player to miss at least 10 games and 24 days. Functionally, SOIR prorates players based on the number of days spent on the roster last season (which also affects their salary). , while LTIR increases the cap ceiling.
There are eligibility rules, of course. A player can only go on SOIR if they didn’t play 50 NHL games the prior season and are on a two-way contract.
Neither Bear, Nurmi, nor Kuefler saw NHL action in 2024–25, and all three are on two-way deals. Bear signed a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000 ($325,000 AHL). Nurmi and Kuefler are both signed to entry-level contracts, which are automatically two-way.
The Islanders could also place Ritchie on SOIR to open the season, since he’s on an ELC.
In Ritchie's case, he will have a cap hit if he's on SOIR. He spent 16 days on the roster last season with Colorado; his cap hit will be prorated accordingly.
Now, unlike Ritchie, Nurmi, and Kuefler, Bear is not waiver exempt. That means whenever he’s activated from SOIR, he’ll need waivers to head to Bridgeport.
To summarize: the Islanders will likely open the season with a 23-man roster consisting of 14 forwards, seven defensemen, and two goaltenders. Varlamov and Engvall will start on IR, while Ritchie, Nurmi, Kuefler, and Bear will be on SOIR. That would leave the Islanders with $532,472 in available cap space, while still being eligible to accrue more.
The addition of center Al Horford figures to pay dividends for the Warriors in several ways during the upcoming 2025-26 NBA season.
As coach Steve Kerr sees it, one of those ways could be helping a 22-year-old budding star break out.
“Maybe Al and JK [Jonathan Kuminga],” Kerr answered Friday when reporters asked which Horford combination excites him most. “You know, I think that’s a two-man combo that could make some sense.”
Kerr and the Warriors have long searched for a way to get more consistent production from Kuminga, who has flashed immense potential but also experienced bouts of ineffectiveness throughout his career.
Per Kerr, Horford could be the key to finally stabilizing Kuminga and turning his lineups into winning combos.
“With JK, we want to give him space when he’s got the ball,” Kerr said. “Al can do that. So, if JK’s at the four, Al’s at the five and we put shooters around those guys, that could be an interesting combination.”
Horford enters his 19th NBA season as the Warriors’ biggest offseason addition. A veteran center who can space the floor and play quality defense, the 39-year-old could give Golden State a dimension they’ve lacked in recent years under Kerr.
“The defensive wherewithal that Al has, just the accumulation of so much knowledge and experience in his career, is definitely going to help him and help us,” Kerr said. “Another big, athletic rim protector can only help.”
Plus, Kerr added, Kuminga won’t be the only direct beneficiary of Horford’s presence.
“Al, with anybody, is going to be good,” the Warriors’ head coach said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s Draymond [Green], Jimmy [Butler]…he could even play with Trayce [Jackson-Davis] or QP [Quinten Post]. So, the beauty of Al is the versatility he gives us from a lineup standpoint.”
The former Kentucky coach who also led the programs at Texas A&M and Texas Tech has been at Tarleton State for five seasons. Gillispie faced allegations of player mistreatment at Texas Tech, where he spent one season.
Luka Doncic, shown during a photo shoot at media day, will not play in preseason games against the Suns and Warriors this weekend. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
Lakers star Luka Doncic will not play in the team’s two preseason games this weekend, the team announced after its shoot-around Friday.
Doncic will sit out against the Phoenix Suns on Friday night at Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert and against the Golden State Warriors on Sunday night in San Francisco.
The Lakers said it was a collaborative decision made with L.A.’s performance team because of his time playing for the Slovenian national team in the EuroBasket tournament this summer.
The Lakers said the plan is to be smart with Doncic in the long term as he ramps up for the regular season that opens Oct. 21 against the Warriors at Crypto.com Arena.
LeBron James, Marcus Smart (achilles tendinopathy), Maxi Kleber (quad) and rookie Aduo Thiero (knee) also won’t play against the Suns.
Doncic played in his last game with Slovenia about a month ago, a game in which he scored 39 points but his squad was eliminated by Germany in the EuroBasket quarterfinals.
After practice Thursday, Doncic talked about easing his way into training camp while getting ready for the regular season after playing at peak level for Slovenia.
“Yeah, obviously probably take it a little bit slower than the usual,” Doncic said. “ I had a busy summer. I think month, month-and-a-half I was with national team. So, it was kind of a lot. But that got me ready for the preseason and obviously regular season. So, for me, I think it really helps.”
Now that he’s officially back in the fold, Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga is ready to build off his promising end to the 2024-25 NBA season.
Specifically, the 22-year-old hopes to refine the chemistry he cultivated with veteran star Jimmy Butler. Speaking to reporters during his media session on Thursday, Kuminga acknowledged the crucial experience he gained playing with Butler in Golden State’s Western Conference semifinal loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves last season.
“I think it’s very important that we’re here now, early, trying to figure each other out,” Kuminga said. “And I feel like we actually did [figure each other out] going through that series.”
When Stephen Curry suffered an injury in Game 1 that ultimately ended his season, the Warriors called on Kuminga to help plug the gaping hole left in their offense. The Timberwolves prevailed in five games, but Kuminga led Golden State in series scoring and shot over 54 percent from the field, while Butler led the team in assists.
That duo figures to play a huge role in the Warriors’ upcoming 2025-26 season, and Kuminga wants to do his part in helping his connection with Butler flourish even more.
“It’s very easy and simple to play with Jimmy,” Kuminga said. “And we actually get to sit down more now. I get to go ask him certain questions. How does he like to play? What does he like? I feel like us having a lot of time together, me being healthy, him being healthy, him being here from day one training camp-wise…it’s going to help us figuring out certain things about each other going forward.”
For the last few years, the Montreal Canadiens had included a Mont Tremblant getaway in their training camp; however, this season, they opted for a stay in Quebec City, as they had to play a preseason game against the Ottawa Senators at the Centre Videotron. The goal of such a getaway is to encourage players to spend more time together and get to know one another.
While the core players are starting to know each other pretty well after spending three or four years together, the Canadiens have added important pieces this summer, and they, too, need to be integrated into the core. Noah Dobson signed a long-term contract, making him the second blueliner to join the core after Kaiden Guhle. Ivan Demidov is still on his ELC, but there’s no doubt the Habs want him to be in Montreal for as long as possible, and judging by how Zack Bolduc has been used so far, he’s destined for a long-term contract as well.
During their stay in Quebec, the Habs had the opportunity to participate in various team-building activities, such as going golfing and holding a karaoke night, just like anyone would with their colleagues, to foster a sense of camaraderie. Furthermore, the two public practices held in Quebec have also been a way for the players to realize just how much the team is loved in the province and not just the city. Players who wear the Sainte-Flanellecarry the hopes and aspirations of a whole people, and they shouldn’t forget it.
Once upon a time, Quebec City had its Nordiques, and the Canadiens’ support in la vieille capitale was minimal, even after the Nords moved to Denver to become the Colorado Avalanche. The people of Quebec weren’t ready to jump on the Habs’ bandwagon then, they couldn’t stomach cheering for the enemy and a lot of them decided to support Patrice Bergeron and the Boston Bruins instead or Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins, not only because he was such a great player but also because they appreciated how he learned to speak French during his time with the Rimouski Oceanic. 30 years later, though, the people of Quebec were united behind the visiting Canadiens when they took on their host for the day, the Senators.
The game itself became another team-building exercise for Martin St-Louis’ men. A few of the Senators' players poked the bear when they hit Alex Newhook from behind and slashed Demidov in a hazardous manner. Those two moves allowed the coach to see just how well his players had heard his message about having a pack mentality. The Xhekaj brothers, Jayden Struble, and Alexandre Carrier all chipped in to defend their teammates. There’s already a strong bond between the Canadiens’ players, and this trip will only make it stronger.
On Friday morning, the Canadiens will hold one last public practice in Quebec. Chances are, they will once again be showered with love by the fans in la vieille capitale, which should be a stark contrast to what they’ll receive from the Senators on Saturday night when the two teams end their preseason calendar with one final game. Will Tuesday’s incidents result in another “old-fashioned hockey game”? That’s a possibility. When he was asked about it, Arber Xhekaj said:
We’re their rival, so of course it’s going to be charged up. I don’t think guys have necessarily noted some players’ numbers, but we do remember some cheap shots, and that will take care of itself.
- Arber Xhekaj on Saturday's game against the Senators
In other words, that slash on Demidov won’t go unpunished, and if Nick Cousins is in the lineup, he’ll probably have to answer for what he did, especially if one or both of the Xhekaj brothers are in the lineup.
This was not only a dirty slash by Nick Cousins to intentionally injure Ivan Demidov, it was also cowardly to do it after Arber Xhekaj had left the game
When the Canadiens head back to Montreal on Friday afternoon, they’ll be an even tighter bunch than they were before, and they’ll have Quebec and the Senators to thank for that.
The Kings are counting on Dennis Schröder’s on-ball defense to lighten Keegan Murray’s workload. With the veteran guard joining the starting unit, Murray said he expects to spend less time guarding opposing point guards — a shift that could free him up for other matchups.
“I think with Dennis, obviously it helps,” Murray said. “I won’t guard as many point guards as I did. Obviously, they’ll be versatile in where I guard, obviously, the best player on the court. But, obviously, Dennis is able to do that too. So, it’ll be interesting to see once we get into the season.”
Schröder, entering his 12th NBA season, has built a reputation as a relentless defender. The 32-year-old German guard averages 0.8 steals and 2.9 rebounds per game across his career.
That skill set could be crucial for a Sacramento team that finished last season with a 115.68 defensive rating, a number that often undercut the Kings’ high-powered offense.
With Schröder applying pressure on the perimeter, the Kings hope Murray can focus on defending bigger wings and conserving energy for his expanding offensive role.
“Obviously, with Dennis, it helps me a lot in the starting unit to pick up four court, disrupt the ball handling and things like that,” Murray added. “We’ve seen improvement. At this point, it’s just going out against someone else and going out against the opponent, not obviously making that happen in the game. So, you can’t really just do it in practice and not do it in the game.”
Murray averaged 12.4 points and 6/7 rebounds last season while shooting .343 percent from three.
The Kings will find out soon enough if Schröder’s defensive edge can help Murray — and the team — strike a better balance.
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Rutger McGroarty has missed all of training camp and the preseason with an upper-body injury.
General manager and president Kyle Dubas announced before camp started that McGroarty would be out indefinitely with this injury, which was a tough blow to the team. He was set to compete for a spot on the opening-night roster after looking NHL-ready during his second stint in the league at the end of the 2024-25 season.
Despite being out with the injury, he made progress in his quest to return on Friday, skating on the ice for the first time during training camp.
It's unlikely that he'll be ready for the start of the regular season on Tuesday, but it's still great news that he's back on the ice. McGroarty showed instant chemistry with Penguins captain Sidney Crosby at the end of the 2024-25 season and could get more reps with him once he's ready to return.
McGroarty played in eight NHL games last season, compiling one goal and three points. He also played in 60 games for the AHL's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, compiling 14 goals and 39 points.
The Penguins will play their final game of the preseason on Friday at 7 p.m. ET against the Buffalo Sabres.
It had to be this way in the ALDS, didn’t it? After the Yankees and Blue Jays tied for the best record in the league during the regular season and chased each other all year, it’s only right that they meet now with their playoff lives at stake.
And it’s a tasty matchup, too, with New York's raw might clashing with Toronto’s less-brawny-but-mighty-effective offense. The Yanks and Jays ranked first and fourth, respectively, in MLB in runs per game this year.
The Blue Jays are rested, thanks to owning the division tiebreaker with the Yankees. They claimed the season series, beating them in eight of 13 games and outscoring them, 70-59. Home field advantage could be big in this series, too, considering the Blue Jays won six of seven at Rogers Centre and the Yankees took four of six in the Bronx.
Toronto has some rotation questions, but New York's starters are on a heater. Does Vladimir Guerrero Jr. alter his personal postseason narrative? Or does Aaron Judge, who knows a few things about having a postseason rep, lead the Yanks by destroying the series with longballs?
WHAT THE YANKEES HAVE GOING FOR THEM
It’s always worth starting with Judge, the fulcrum of the game’s best offense. The Yanks hit 274 home runs this season and Judge smashed 53 of them, while also leading the universe in rate stats -- so much so that the AL MVP race might be neck-and-neck between Judge and Cal Raleigh, the Mariners catcher who hit 60 (!) homers.
Judge went 4-for-11 (.364) as the Yankees topped the Red Sox in their best-of-three Wild Card series. All of his hits were singles, but he did raise his career October average to .212.
It’s also worth noting that the homer-centric Yankees hit only two in three games against the Red Sox and still won. That’s how good their rotation was (1.33 ERA in 20.1 innings).
Max Fried was exceptional in the opener, delivering 6.1 shutout innings, and Cam Schlittler was so good in his dominant Game 3 start that his name will probably be a forever-pejorative in his native Boston, alongside Bucky Dent and Aaron Boone.
Schlittler threw eight shutout innings and struck out a dozen, sending researchers deep into the record books to produce stat links to names such as Waite Hoyt, Spec Shea and Roger Clemens.
Overall, the Yankees' rotation has been soaring. In 52 starts since Aug. 5, their starters have a 2.80 ERA and have allowed two earned runs or fewer in 41 of those games. Luis Gil or Will Warren figure to have an impact early in this series, depending on how Boone lines up his arms. If the rotation can give a sometimes-shaky bullpen fewer innings to cover, that could pump up the Yankees’ chances in the series.
WHAT THE BLUE JAYS HAVE GOING FOR THEM
Guerrero has struggled in his first six career postseason games, batting just .136 with a .422 OPS and one extra-base hit. Perhaps it’s not a surprise that the Blue Jays are 0-6 in those games.
And he’s not exactly blazing right now – he has not hit a home run since Sept. 21 and he’s got only a .596 OPS in that span, well below his season mark of .848. Still, he’s a huge talent who figures to loom in this series.
So does George Springer, who has 19 career postseason home runs -- including two against the Yankees dating back to his Astros tenure -- and an .875 October OPS. Springer had a .959 OPS with 32 homers this season, a nifty bounce back. His OPS last season was nearly 300 points worse.
As a whole, the Blue Jays may have hit 83 fewer home runs than the Yankees, but they excel at putting the ball in play. They had the most hits in MLB, 1,461 (90 more than the Yankees). Their 17.8 percent strikeout rate was the lowest in baseball (the Yankees were at 23.5 percent). They were tied for third in OPS (.761, 26 points lower than the Yankees) and tied for seventh in slugging.
They may not have the same kind of boldface names as the Yanks, but they still put up runs. They could be without another star, shortstop Bo Bichette, who has a left knee sprain.
Their rotation will be fronted by Game 1 starter Kevin Gausman and Shane Bieber, with help from celebrated rookie Trey Yesavage. Max Scherzer has a 9.00 ERA over his last six starts and Chris Bassitt has been dealing with a back issue, so who knows what either can provide.
Jul 21, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99) runs out of the dugout during the pregame warmup before a game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre / Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
THE YANKEES WILL WIN THE SERIES IF…
They can keep it clean. Part of the reason they lost so many games in Toronto this year is that they made 11 errors in the seven games there, leading to eight unearned runs. Some of those were made by players who won’t have an impact on this series. But shortstop Anthony Volpe made three of them.
The Yankees weren’t nearly as sloppy toward the end of the season and did not make an error in the ALDS. But they know how much poor defense hurts – they benefited from some defensive botches by Boston.
They added Ryan McMahon at the trade deadline and he’s been terrific at third, as evidenced by the catch he made of a foul pop in Game 3, secured while going face-first over the Red Sox dugout railing. “That’s routine for him,” Schlittler said afterward.
The Blue Jays are far less likely to give defensive gifts to the Yankees – they made 30 fewer errors than Boston during the season and eight fewer than the Yankees. They boast at least two outstanding defenders – Andrés Giménez, who will sub at short for Bichette, and center fielder Daulton Varsho. That puts even more pressure on Yankees sluggers to mash.
Giancarlo Stanton, an October monster for years, was only 1-for-11 against Boston. He thought his one hit was a homer, but it didn’t get out and his trot had to turn into a sprint to secure a double. The good news for those sluggers: The Blue Jays gave up 209 home runs during the season, the most by any team in the playoffs.
Maybe Volpe, who had a nice 2024 postseason, is a big offensive factor again. He was 4-for-11 with one of the Yankees’ two homers (Ben Rice hit the other) against Boston and he’s reached base in 16 of 17 career postseason games. His October average is .300 and his OPS is .850. Not bad.
THE BLUE JAYS WILL WIN THE SERIES IF…
The bullpen drama falls their way. If they can quickly inflate the pitch count of Yankees starters, getting into their relief corps might be a path to success. That's how the Red Sox won Game 1, when Luke Weaver could not hold the lead that Fried handed him. The Yankees' bullpen had a 5.13 ERA over the final month of the season, and even after a deadline makeover, they entered October with the highest bullpen ERA of any playoff team.
Then there’s the Blue Jays’ closer, Jeff Hoffman. He had the third-most saves in the AL (33), but he also blew seven and gave up 15 home runs in 68 innings, slightly under two homers per nine innings. Does that sound like a great match against the Yankees, who had 10 players with at least 10 homers and hit 30 more home runs than the next-closest team, the Dodgers?
And they already have one game-winner off Hoffman – Rice hit a tie-breaking solo shot in the ninth inning back on July 22, their only victory in Toronto this season.
PREDICTION
Yankees in five games.
Judge goes boom (it’s going to happen in one of these series; he’s too good not to wreck one sometime), Schlittler continues to emerge as a star, and the bullpen does enough to back the rotation.
And the Yankees spike the narrative that this year’s pinstriped model can’t win north of the border.
The Florida Panthers have claimed Cole Schwindt from the Vegas Golden Knights, a year after the Golden Knights claimed him from the Calgary Flames.
Schwindt was a 2019 third-round pick of the Panthers, but was dealt to the Flames as part of the trade that saw Matthew Tkachuk come to Florida.
Schwindt played just three NHL games with the Panthers before he was dealt, and played just four NHL games with the Flames in two seasons. In his first season with the Golden Knights, he scored a goal and eight points in 42 games, dressing for one post-season game as well.
The Golden Knights and Panthers have a history of waiver claims, with Grigori Denisenko and Tobias Bjornfot previously moving between the two organizations.
Schwindt showed promise in a fourth-line role with the Golden Knights, improving on the defensive end and providing occasional offense.
With the injuries the Panthers are facing and the always-important need for depth, claiming Schwindt is a smart move by the Panthers. Centers are immensely valuable; another right-handed center is a welcome addition.
