Florida Panthers center Sam Bennett was the top villain in Boston during the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs when he appeared to hit then-Bruins captain Brad Marchand in the head during Game 3 of their second-round series at TD Garden.
Bennett was not suspended for the hit, which angered Bruins fans. There was no penalty called on the play, either.
Fast forward a year and Bennett and Marchand are not only friends, they just won the Stanley Cup together with the Panthers. That sentence would have sounded absurd if you said it at this time last year.
But unfortunately for Bruins fans, it’s reality.
Brad Marchand and Sam Bennett were the top-two players in Conn Smythe Trophy voting.
The B’s dealt Marchand to the Panthers at the trade deadline on March 7, and he played a key role in the Panthers securing their second straight Stanley Cup title, culminating with a 5-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 6 of the Cup Final on Tuesday night.
Bennett won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, and when asked about Marchand after the game, he gave a heartfelt answer on the bond the two players have created.
“As soon as he got traded here, he chirped me in the group chat instantly for our history and the (2024) playoffs,” Bennett told reporters at his press conference.
“What he’s meant to this team — I truly don’t think we win a Stanley Cup without him. His leadership, his will to win, it’s inspiring. I was telling him before every game, ‘We’re going to follow you.’ And we did. He was a dog every night. He for sure could have won this trophy.
“He’s a better player and person than I ever knew, and I’m grateful that I got to play with him.”
Marchand tallied 20 points (10 goals, 10 assists) in 23 games during the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, including six goals in the Cup Final. Bennett posted 22 points in 23 games, including a playoff-leading 15 goals (five in the Cup Final).
Either one of them would have been a deserving Conn Smythe Trophy winner. Bennett won it after receiving 76 voting points (including 11 first-place votes), eight more than Marchand’s 68 voting points.
The question now is will these guys be back in Florida next season? Both Marchand and Bennett are able to become unrestricted free agents this summer.
The Hockey News is happy to bring you a comparison between the rookie seasons of three of the most exciting young defensemen to play in the NHL, in collaboration with RG.org. Our partners extracted the stats necessary to bring you this in-depth look at Montreal Canadiens Lane Hutson’, Colorado Avalanche Cale Makar’, and Vancouver Canucks Quinn Hughes’ rookie seasons.
Habs fans will be glad to see that Hutson’s rookie season compares well to the Colorado and Vancouver franchise cornerstones. It doesn’t guarantee that he’ll achieve the same status, but it’s at the very least very interesting to see.
Hutson led all NHL rookies in scoring and finished seventh among all defensemen in total points. He broke the Canadiens’ franchise record for a rookie blueliner. Makar and Hughes also reached high production benchmarks in their first full seasons, with Makar winning the Calder Trophy and Hughes being named a finalist alongside him. The Canadiens' rookie recorded more points than the other two, but he achieved this by playing more games.
Ice Time & Usage
Interestingly, Hutson had more ice time than both Hughes and Makar, while receiving less power-play ice time than they did. The naysayers often said this year that the Canadiens’ rearguard was shielded and received too many offensive zone starts, but he got fewer than both Hughes and Makar. There’s even a significant different with the Canucks defenseman.
Unsurprisingly, none of them spent a significant amount of time on the ice when their team was down a man. Nowadays, however, Makar features on the Avalanche's top penalty kill unit, while Hughes skates on the second line for Vancouver. Will Hutson ever get there? It remains to be seen.
5v5 Advanced Metrics
This is where Makar and Hughes outperformed the Canadiens' youngster. For those unfamiliar with the Corsi metric, the Corsi number for an individual player is calculated by dividing the number of shot attempts his team receives at even strength while he is on the ice by the number of shot attempts the opponent gets while he is on the ice. Essentially, it’s a bit like plus minus, but with shots. Here, it’s expressed as a percentage that's calculated by taking the shot attempts for and dividing them by the shot attempts against.
As for the xGF%, it represents the expected goals for and evaluates the quality of shot attempts made when a player is on the ice. It’s about the likelihood that a goal will be scored. Hutson trails the other two defensemen by less in this category, which is arguably more critical than the Corsi number.
xGA/60 represents the expected goals against per 60 minutes, and of course, the lower the number, the better. Both Makar and Hughes fare better than the Canadiens’ blueliner in that department. There is room for improvement, but it's worth noting that the Avalanche (.657) and the Canucks (.565) had a higher points percentage in Makar and Hughes’ rookie season than the Canadiens did this season (.555). As Montreal improves, so will Hutson’s number in that department.
SCF% represents the scoring chance percentage, basically the attempts that hit the net and are counted as a scoring chance. As for the HDCF%, it focuses on high danger chances; in both categories, the higher the number, the better. Hutson trails both Hughes and Makar in both of these categories, and the difference is more flagrant with the Colorado blueliner.
Still, Hutson’s 5v5 profile was close to neutral in possession but slightly positive in expected goals and high-danger chance generation. His numbers suggest offensive involvement despite not driving play at the same level as Hughes or Makar.
WAR/GAR Summary
WAR represents the wins above replacement and is calculated to measure a player's complete performance. It’s essentially using offensive, defensive, and other aspects of the game to calculate the number of wins a player contributes to the team. As for GAR, it represents goals above replacement and takes into account a player’s offense, defense, and penalties. These numbers show just how elite Hughes and Makar are.
You can see an overall percentile grade for Hutson in various categories in the card below. Hutson ranked in the 92nd percentile in overall WAR. He stood out in playmaking and puck movement, particularly at even strength and on the power play. His defensive impact was limited, but his ability to drive offense, draw penalties, and find high-percentage passes positioned him as one of the league’s most productive offensive defensemen in his first year.
Postseason Performance
All three defensemen made the playoffs in their rookie season and left a mark in the postseason tournament. Hutson’s sample was much smaller, with the young Canadiens being eliminated in just five games by the Washington Capitals; however, he still led all Habs defensemen in points in the playoffs, and also led all Montreal players. Cole Caufield was second with four points, and Juraj Slafkovsky, Nick Suzuki, and Christian Dvorak all had two points.
Makar was a point-per-game performer, and Hughes was one point short of it. It’s impossible to know if Hutson could have remained a PPG player had the Canadiens gone deeper in the postseason, but given how he performed all through the season, it would have made sense.
Overall, this exercise demonstrates that Hutson’s rookie season positions him firmly in the same elite rookie tier as Makar and Hughes. His numbers also illustrate the importance Hutson held for the Canadiens, who trusted him in key situations. Even though he was playing in his first complete season, Hutson showed he could already be a top-pairing defenseman.
The following sites were used by RG.org to compile the data necessary to produce the numbers:
• NHL.com
• Hockey-Reference.com
• Natural Stat Trick
• JFresh Hockey (via TopDownHockey / PuckPedia / NHL Rosters)
Photo credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images
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Rarely do teams make any kind of trade while they are in the NBA Finals — the whole organization is obsessively focused on the games (and you can't trade players while in the Finals, anyway).
However, the Indiana Pacers did a nifty little bit of work during the Finals, agreeing to a trade with the New Orleans Pelicans, a story broken by Shams Charania of ESPN and later confirmed by the teams. The Pacers are sending the No. 23 pick in this year's NBA draft and the rights to Mojave King to the Pelicans in exchange for returning the rights to Indiana's own 2026 first-rounder.
The Pacers had traded their 2026 pick to Toronto as part of the Pascal Siakam trade. The Raptors then traded the pick to the Pelicans in the Brandon Ingram trade.
The Pelicans now hold the No. 7 and No. 23 picks in this draft, which they could package in trades to move up in the draft or acquire another player. Or, New Orleans could use the picks to add depth to their roster. The Los Angeles Lakers drafted Mojave King in the second round of the 2023 NBA Draft and is currently playing in New Zealand.
This was a clever play by the Pacers.
The Pacers gain about $3.2 million in cap space by not having to pay the No. 23 pick, putting them almost $20 million below the luxury tax line. Indiana plans to re-sign Myles Turner this summer, likely for around $30 million a year, and while ownership reportedly is willing to go into the tax to do it this lessens the tax blow a little.
Also, with control of their own 2026 pick, the Pacers now have four first-round picks they can trade this offseason, if they choose.
Unless Kent Hughes pulls out yet another draft trade, the Montreal Canadiens will be picking twice in the first round. Once at number 16 in place of the Calgary Flames, thanks to the Sean Monahan trade in August 2022, and a second time with their pick.
In their history, the Canadiens have picked 16th four times. Were there good players in the lot? Were there some busts? Does history give us hope as to the value of the first of the Canadiens’ two first-round picks?
Montreal used the 16th selection in 2020, 2000, 1998, and 1985. Nobody will be surprised to hear that they selected Kaiden Guhle with the pick in 2020 and that he has since become a part of the Habs’ young core. If it weren’t for all the injuries, he would have been close to a perfect pick.
In 2000, they opted for Marcel Hossa, Marian’s younger brother. Unfortunately for the Canadiens, the name was pretty much all they shared. Marcel didn’t have the talent or NHL longevity his brother was blessed with. He played 59 NHL games in Montreal, gathering 19 points before being traded to the New York Rangers for Garth Murray. He then spent three years with the Rangers and one with the Phoenix Coyotes before retiring from the NHL after 237 games and 61 points.
In 1998, the Canadiens used the 16th overall pick to choose Eric Chouinard, son of coach Guy Chouinard. The big winger had dominated in the QMJHL, posting seasons of 83, 109, and 104 points. His skills didn’t translate very well to the NHL, and after two and a half seasons, he was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers in return for a second-round pick at the following draft, which became Maxim Lapierre. In the end, Chouinard only played 90 games in the NHL, picking up 26 points in the process before heading overseas to play there.
Finally, in 1985, Montreal picked Tom Chorske. The American needed a few years before making the jump to the pros, but he broke into the Canadiens' lineup in 1989-90, skating in 14 games and picking up four points. Then, in the following season, he skated in 57 games with the Canadiens, registering 20 points. He was a promising player, but the following September, he was sent to the New Jersey Devils along with Stephane Richer for Roland Melanson and Kirk Muller. Overall, Chorsle played 596 games in the NHL across 11 seasons, scoring 237 points.
It's not the largest sample, but it does illustrate how hit-and-miss drafting can be, even in the first round. We'll have a look at picks number 17 in the coming days.
Photo credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
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The worst Philadelphia Flyers trade of all time hits a little closer to home after the Florida Panthers won their second consecutive Stanley Cup Tuesday night.
How Sergei Bobrovsky left the Flyers is something fans won't soon forget, and the Russian's success post-Philadelphia is all the reason for it.
Just two years into his Flyers tenure, Bobrovsky was traded by the Flyers to the Columbus Blue Jackets for an assortment of mid-round draft picks that ultimately became Anthony Stolarz, Taylor Leier, and Justin Auger.
The three of those players combined never experienced success at the NHL level to the degree Bobrovsky has, and Stolarz, ironically, has taken flight after leaving the Flyers himself.
In fact, the Edison, N.J., native was 16-7-2 with a 2.03 GAA, a .925 save percentage, and two shutouts as Bobrovsky's backup last year. The two former Flyers, of course, went on to win the Stanley Cup over the Edmonton Oilers in seven games.
For good measure, Stolarz was 21-8-3 for former Flyers coach Craig Berube's Toronto Maple Leafs this season, racking up an outstanding 2.14 GAA, a .926 save percentage, and a career-high four shutouts en route to picking up a Vezina Trophy vote.
As for Bobrovsky, nothing out of the ordinary for the two-time Vezina Trophy winner. The 36-year-old just enjoyed arguably his greatest postseason run yet, going 16-7 for the Panthers to the tune of a 2.20 GAA, a .914 save percentage, and three shutouts.
Formerly undrafted, Bobrovsky has now gone to the Stanley Cup Finals three years in a row, going the distance and winning all 16 necessary games in the last two.
Bobrovsky arrived in Philadelphia the season after their run to the 2010 Stanley Cup Final run, and current Flyers GM Danny Briere, who was teammates with Bobrovsky and dealt with the immediate aftermath of his departure from Philadelphia, should know better than most the value of good goaltending and what it means to give up on young goalies too early.
Briere's Flyers had the worst team save percentage in the NHL this season (.872), trailing the Buffalo Sabres (.880) by a decent margin.
It's unclear if developing goalies like Sam Ersson and Aleksei Kolosov can be the answer, and an inexperienced (at the NHL level) veteran in Ivan Fedotov is essentially out of developmental runway.
Briere knows he needs a franchise goalie at some point, but will he be trading for his Bobrovsky or will he repeat history and trade his Bobrovsky away?
On the other side of arguably the worst Flyers trade of all time, Bobrovsky has secured his status as a future Hockey Hall of Famer and one of the best playoff goalies ever.
Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers' president of baseball operations, is hoping the Dodgers can buck recent history and avoid having to "buy in July" this season. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
If you’re a major league team trying to move a $250-million contract, what other team would you likely call first?
That made sense. The Red Sox were no longer using Devers as a third baseman, a decision backed by publicly available defensive metrics and the presence of Alex Bregman. The San Francisco Giants, the team that acquired Devers, say they’ll use him as a first baseman and designated hitter, and the Dodgers are more than covered there by Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani.
But, in the wake of the biggest trade so far this season, I thought back to the mission statement the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations put upon himself last winter. Here we are two weeks from July, and here was that Friedman statement from December: “I do not want to buy in July.”
What Friedman does not want might not matter a month from now. He could see a pretty picture, or he could need a pretty pitcher.
For all the scrutiny of their shortcomings, the first-place Dodgers are in a pretty good spot. They lead the majors in runs, home runs and OPS.
They have won six of their past eight games, all against the teams immediately below them in the National League West standings: the Giants and the San Diego Padres. The Dodgers lead the toughest division in the majors by a season-high 3½ games over San Francisco, 5 games over San Diego.
After the Padres leave town Thursday, the Dodgers play 12 consecutive games against teams with losing records, including the team with the worst record in the NL and the worst record in the American League — the Colorado Rockies and the Chicago White Sox, respectively.
Friedman would rather not trade in July because the cost in prospects tends to be high. However, for the Dodgers, the annual expectation of winning the World Series trumps that.
“It’s been our goal the last three or four years not to buy in July,” Friedman said Tuesday. “It hasn’t necessarily played out according to plan.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts chats with outfielder Michael Conforto during batting practice before a game against the Pirates in May. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
On offense, the lone hole is glaring. The only starting position player not performing above league average on offense is left fielder Michael Conforto, who is batting .168 with a .277 slugging percentage and a negative WAR. The Dodgers do have Hyeseong Kim as a wild card on the bench, and on a roster loaded with positional flexibility.
“To date, obviously, Michael hasn’t performed up to what he expected or we expected,” Friedman said. “But, watching the way he is working, watching the progress being made, I would bet that his next two months are way better than his last two months.
“Obviously, like we will with all of our players, we will continue to assess where they are. The important thing is, if we have an injury or (poor) performance, do we feel like we have different ways to maneuver? We do.”
Is there a possibility of trading for a left fielder?
“Never say never,” Friedman said, “but I think we would hold a very high bar and find it very unlikely.”
On the field, Yamamoto has a 5.65 earned-run average this month. It is unlikely the perennially cautious Dodgers would let Ohtani and Kershaw make every start from now through the end of the season, even if the two stayed healthy. And it is uncertain whether Glasnow and Snell can return healthy and effective by the time Friedman would have to decide whether to trade prospects for a starting pitcher.
No buy in July?
“I’m still optimistic,” Friedman said. “It requires guys coming back on or close to the timelines that we have penciled out.
“We have shown that, if we’re not in position to do that, we’ll be aggressive to add. But our strong desire is not to.”
It is not that the Dodgers consider a bullpen game some sort of failure, or last resort. The Dodgers ran a bullpen game in an elimination game last October. They won that game, and another bullpen game in which they clinched the NL championship.
They have run bullpen games in each of their past four games against San Diego, and they have won three. They’ll essentially run another one Wednesday, since Emmet Sheehan will be activated after four triple-A starts, none of which lasted more than 3⅓ innings.
So far, so good. But the Dodgers are about October, and getting there may not be painless with Jack Dreyer making one fewer start than Glasnow, and twice as many as Snell.
The Devers trade comes five years after the Red Sox traded another star in his prime — Mookie Betts — in a deal that looks worse by the day.
But trading away great players isn’t the only issue with the Red Sox right now.
Yahoo! Sports reporter Joon Lee joined NBC Sports Boston’s Arbella Early Edition on Tuesday and reported that the Red Sox used an AI bot to conduct interviews with a baseball operations job candidate.
“What’s happening with the Red Sox, with Sam Kennedy, with Craig Breslow, with Alex Cora, is a state of organizational dysfunction,” Lee said, as seen in the video player above. “I heard last night about an interview with — the Red Sox were trying to recruit a new person for their baseball operations department, and during this interview process, the entire interview was conducted with an AI bot, where you would record the answers to the questions and then the Red Sox would then evaluate them.
“And this wasn’t just one round. It wasn’t just two rounds. It was five rounds of interviews where this person did not talk to another person in the Red Sox organization.
“This source told me that he had also interviewed with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres. The Dodgers have kind of been the organization that the Red Sox have been trying to emulate for the last five years (in terms of) sustainability, a big market team that knows how to spend money at times, but also is able to develop young prospects, which they’ve done successfully over the course of the last decade.
“What he told me was that the gap between the field, the people skills of (Dodgers president of baseball ops) Andrew Friedman — who, obviously relies a lot on numbers dating back to his time in Tampa Bay — and what he dealt with with Craig Breslow was so far apart that it seemed like utterly delusional that the idea that this is what the Red Sox think the Dodgers are doing is just absolutely crazy.
“The gap between the two organizations and how they’re trying to function is just miles and worlds apart.”
Analytics and AI can be very helpful tools in building a winning organization, both on and off the field. It can help the franchise run more smoothly and efficiently. Some of the most successful teams in sports right now, including the Dodgers and the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, use analytics a lot.
But there also has to be a human element to the operation. Not everything is quantifiable through numbers. You have to learn about people on a human level and build a real working relationship with them.
You can’t do that through an AI bot.
So while the Red Sox are smart to use analytics, it can’t be too much of the equation. And, based on Lee’s reporting, the processes the Red Sox are using clearly need to undergo some dramatic changes.
If that doesn’t happen, it’s hard to imagine a world where the Red Sox are anywhere near as successful as the Dodgers moving forward.
While shooting usually is the first thing people think of when it comes to the 3-point king, his former teammate D’Angelo Russell revealed a conversation he had with Draymond Green that enlightened him on just how versatile Curry’s greatness truly is.
Green challenged Russell with one direct question: Do you know why Steph Curry is one of the best players ever?
His shooting? Handles? Conditioning? His off-the-court leadership? No, no, no, and no.
“When you watch all the other stars in the league, they look at the refs, they talk to the refs, they complain to the refs and then they go down the floor and that conversation they had may have dictated the next one,” Russell recalled his conversation with Green on “The Backyard Podcast with D’Angelo Russell.”
“Steph don’t do that at all. Steph plays the game with this, ‘I don’t need the refs’ mentality. And when you look around the league, who’s doing that? That’s why he gets so much credit. That’s why he’s my favorite player and that’s why I respect him so much. When [Green] broke it down to me like that, I was just like, bro, that’s powerful.”
Curry, frustratingly to him, his teammates and Warriors fans, has been one of the few big-name players in the league not to receive the “superstar whistle” over his 16 NBA seasons.
His teammates and coaches have spoken about it to defend the two-time NBA MVP, with even new Warriors teammate Jimmy Butler, just two months into their partnership, openly discussing how much it infuriates him.
“I’ve never seen an individual get fouled more than he gets fouled,” Butler said on April 6. “To me, I think that’s astounding. But, you know, it’s crazy to say but he’s used to it. It’s been happening to him his whole career, and he’s found a way through it, around it, under it, whatever you want to call it – that’s tough.
“I’m pretty sure it’s been happening for 16 straight years. I get to see it, and it really angers me that he’s on my team and he gets hacked like that.”
A few days later, Green shared on his podcast that he believes Curry’s lack of foul calls partly is his own fault because “he’s not a flopper” and the officials know Curry won’t argue.
The Giants pulled off the most shocking trade in recent Bay Area sports history by acquiring superstar slugger Rafael Devers in a blockbuster deal with the Boston Red Sox on Sunday.
At least, according to local fans.
NBC Sports Bay Area asked fans on X which of the Giants’ trade for Devers, the Warriors’ trade for forward Jimmy Butler midway through the 2024-25 NBA season and the 49ers’ trade for running back Christian McCaffrey during the 2023 NFL season, was the most shocking.
Here is how the 1,635 participants voted:
Which trade was the most shocking in recent Bay Area sports history?
— NBC Sports Bay Area & CA (@NBCSAuthentic) June 17, 2025
Maybe there’s a recency bias, but it’s clear Bay Area sports fans, as of right now, were more shocked by San Francisco’s trade for Devers than the other two blockbuster deals.
The Devers trade, much like the 49ers’ deal for McCaffrey, was completely out of nowhere and sent shockwaves throughout the two teams’ respective leagues.
Of course, the Warriors’ deal for Butler was seismic in its own right, but the expectation for months leading up to Golden State and the Miami Heat’s trade on Feb. 5 was that the star forward would be traded. It came as no surprise that he was dealt.
While Butler and McCaffrey had immense impacts on their respective teams immediately upon their arrivals and throughout those seasons, it’s too soon to tell how the move for Devers will fare for the Giants.
He went 2-for-4 at the plate with a double and an RBI during his debut in the Giants’ 3-2 loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday at Oracle Park, though, wasting no time ingratiating himself with his new fan base.
The Giants pulled off the most shocking trade in recent Bay Area sports history by acquiring superstar slugger Rafael Devers in a blockbuster deal with the Boston Red Sox on Sunday.
At least, according to local fans.
NBC Sports Bay Area asked fans on X which of the Giants’ trade for Devers, the Warriors’ trade for forward Jimmy Butler midway through the 2024-25 NBA season and the 49ers’ trade for running back Christian McCaffrey during the 2023 NFL season was the most shocking.
Here is how the 1,635 participants voted:
Which trade was the most shocking in recent Bay Area sports history?
— NBC Sports Bay Area & CA (@NBCSAuthentic) June 17, 2025
Maybe there’s a recency bias, but it’s clear Bay Area sports fans, as of right now, were more shocked by San Francisco’s trade for Devers than the other two blockbuster deals.
The Devers trade, much like the 49ers’ deal for McCaffrey, was completely out of nowhere and sent shockwaves throughout the two teams’ respective leagues.
Of course, the Warriors’ deal for Butler was seismic in its own right, but the expectation for months leading up to Golden State and the Miami Heat’s trade on Feb. 5 was that the star forward would be traded. It came as no surprise that he was dealt.
While Butler and McCaffrey had immense impacts on their respective teams immediately upon their arrivals and throughout those seasons, it’s too soon to tell how the move for Devers will fare for the Giants.
He went 2-for-4 at the plate with a double and an RBI during his debut in the Giants’ 3-2 loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday at Oracle Park, though, wasting no time ingratiating himself with his new fan base.
Liverpool will kick off their Premier League title defence with a home game against Bournemouth on Friday 15 August, on an opening weekend when Manchester United host Arsenal.
Thomas Frank’s first match as Tottenham’s manager will come on the Saturday at home against promoted Burnley, and Sunderland’s return to the top flight also begins at home on 16 August against West Ham. The third newcomers, Leeds, have the Monday night slot for a clash with Everton at Elland Road.
Adding Jimmy Butler clearly was worth the Warriors not having a first-round pick for a second straight NBA draft.
The Miami Heat might find a nice prospect at No. 20 overall. He might even contribute as a rookie and have a solid season. The rookie also won’t be Butler, and for sure not in Year 1.
In last year’s inaugural two-day draft, the Warriors went into the second day with the No. 52 overall pick. The selection then took a long and winding route to ultimately become Warriors center Quinten Post.
General manager Mike Dunleavy, on the morning of the second round, traded the pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder for shooting guard Lindy Waters III. The Thunder then sent the pick to the Portland Trail Blazers before the Warriors bought it back hours later to select Post. It was the first time the Warriors owned the No. 52 pick since drafting Ognjen Kuzmic in 2012, and Post already looks like he’ll have a more successful Golden State career than Kuzmic ever did, even though he is technically a 2015 champion.
The Warriors went 12 years between having the No. 52 overall pick. The franchise had the pick twice before in 1962 and 1964, but neither selection ever played in the NBA. They have a more recent history with their pick this year at No. 41, seven years more recent, and have held the pick just twice before this draft – with each pick having its own unique team history.
His playing career was best known for making the game-winning shot in the 1987 NCAA championship game, but Warriors fans would get to know Keith Smart the coach years later. Smart was taken by the Warriors in the second round of the 1988 draft, one year after that historic and heroic shot for Indiana. He never was really a Warrior as a player, though.
Golden State waived Smart not even four months after the draft, a few weeks ahead of the season. The San Antonio Spurs picked Smart up two days later, and his career lasted a total of two games, 12 minutes and two points scored. Smart never did play again in the NBA, yet he didn’t walk away that quickly. His playing career continued for years in a handful of obscure leagues.
He immediately jumped into coaching, first for the Fort Wayne Fury of the CBA from 1997 to 2000, when Smart made his way back to the NBA. Smart spent three seasons as an assistant coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers, including 40 as an interim head coach to finish the season in 2003. The Cavs went 9-31 under him, and Smart joined Eric Musselman’s Warriors staff the next season.
Smart remained an assistant under Mike Montgomery and Don Nelson. He was on staff for some of the more wild Warriors seasons, witnessed the craziness of the “We Believe” squad and his final season as an assistant was Steph Curry’s rookie year. Smart, before training camp of Curry’s second season, took over for Don Nelson as head coach.
As an assistant, Smart lasted seven years with the Warriors. He wasn’t as fortunate with the head coach label. The Warriors’ record improved by 10 wins in 2010-11 to 36-46, but in came a new ownership group led by Joe Lacob, and out went Smart’s near decade in Oakland.
Smart moved on to be an assistant for the Sacramento Kings, where he also was head coach for another 141 games over two seasons. He had a lowly 48-93 record, and has since been an assistant for the Miami Heat, Memphis Grizzlies, New York Knicks and the University of Arkansas. This past high school season he became the head coach of Utah Prep to coach top recruit AJ Dybantsa.
Curry and Draymond Green, like always, were in Steve Kerr’s starting five to open the 2019-20 season. So were D’Angelo Russell, Glenn Robinson III and Kevon Looney. Looney is a fan favorite and three-time champion. The other two feel like trivia questions.
Kevin Durant was gone. Klay Thompson’s season already was over before it ever began after sustaining a torn ACL in the NBA Finals. Curry’s season essentially ended when he broke his hand in the fourth game, and just like that, the Warriors were at the bottom of basketball after five straight trips to the Finals and three titles.
The team’s tough luck was a perfect opportunity for someone like Eric Paschall. He was a four-year player before the pros and spent five years in college, like the majority of the prospects the Warriors are working out for the 2025 draft. Paschall was ready to contribute, not potential that was a work in progress. The Warriors lost his debut by almost 20 points, but Paschall scored 14 points off the bench.
Paschall scored 20 points in his first start, which was just his fourth NBA game. He came off the bench in the next game and then returned to the starting lineup, where he scored 25 points and then 34 points. Paschall averaged 14 points as a rookie, had two 30-point games, scored at least 20 points 13 times and was named All-Rookie First Team.
Since then, Paschall played another 40 games with the Warriors and 98 overall in the NBA. He was traded by the Warriors to the Utah Jazz in the summer of 2021, and he only 5.8 points in 58 games for his new team. Kerr wanted Paschall to learn from Green and model his game after PJ Tucker. Paschall saw himself as a scorer who could put up 20 a night, and has talked about his struggles playing next to Curry.
Now, he hasn’t played an NBA game in more than three seasons. Paschall averaged 10 points per game in Italy last season.
With a two-year window of Curry, Green and Butler, would the Warriors take a First Team All-Rookie player with their one pick this year? Certainly. They’d also love for those stats to mean a little more than they did for Paschall, and for the party to have a happier ending in a Warriors jersey.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts argues with umpires after Shohei Ohtani was hit by a pitch in the third inning of an 8-6 win over the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday. Roberts was ejected. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Dave Roberts made it only three steps out of the dugout when he got ejected Tuesday night.
Before he went back, the Dodgers manager made sure to get his money’s worth.
On a contentious night that saw two superstars get hit by pitches, both dugouts receive umpire warnings, and the Dodgers eventually beat the San Diego Padres 8-6 at Dodger Stadium, tensions reached their boiling point in the bottom of the third inning.
And it was the usually even-keeled Roberts whose emotions burned hottest.
After Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. was hit by a pitch in the top of the third by Dodgers reliever Lou Trivino (the second time in two weeks that has happened), reigning National League MVP Shohei Ohtani was hit in the leg with one out in the bottom half of the inning.
Unlike Tatis’ hit by pitch, which came with a runner in scoring position in an inning that saw the Padres score two runs, Ohtani’s plunking occurred amid more suspicious circumstances.
With one out and nobody on base, Padres starter Randy Vásquez threw an inside, knee-high heater for ball one, brushing Ohtani back off the plate. With his next pitch, Vásquez fired it even more inside, pelting Ohtani’s right thigh with a 94 mph fastball.
Afterward, both Vásquez and Padres manager Mike Shildt insisted the throw wasn’t intentional. “Just trying to make quality pitches and fight for the inner part of the plate, and a ball got away,” Shildt said.
Ohtani was not made available to reporters to discuss the situation.
But in Roberts’ postgame address, he declared he “absolutely” thought it was intentional.
“Vásquez took one shot at him, and then hit him again. It's very hard to miss that bad with a right-handed pitcher,” Roberts said. “For me, if they feel that's warranted on their side, that’s part of baseball. That's what they feel. And I give him credit because they hit him in the leg. Own it, and we move on. But it's not a misfire. I do feel it was intentional.”
Padres outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. is hit by a pitch thrown by Dodgers pitcher Lou Trivino in the third inning.
Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani reacts after being hit by a pitch thrown by Padres pitcher Randy Vásquez in the third inning.
Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times
What really set Roberts off, however, was what happened after the umpires gathered for a meeting.
Crew chief Marvin Hudson emerged from the huddle and issued warnings to both dugouts. Roberts immediately asked for an explanation, raising his arms in confusion as he started onto the field.
Hudson motioned to Roberts to stay put. But when he didn’t, third base umpire Tripp Gibson did the honors of ejecting him from the game.
“He can’t argue the warnings, so we had to get rid of him,” Hudson later told a pool reporter. “He had to be ejected.”
Initially, Roberts said he wasn’t aware he had been ejected. But once Hudson informed him that Gibson had already tossed him, Roberts unleashed the type of tirade that’s been rare during his 10-year managerial career.
He angrily pointed at Gibson multiple times while pleading his case. He was physically shielded by Hudson from confronting Gibson face-to-face. And only after stomping around for almost two full minutes did Roberts finally retreat, trudging back to the clubhouse with a scowl on his face.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts points at third base umpire Tripp Gibson, left, after being ejected in the third inning Tuesday. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
“I didn't feel a warning on both sides was warranted, number one,” Roberts said. “I wanted an explanation on their thought process. I didn't come in hot. I just wanted to know why, why they issued [the warnings].”
Roberts also expressed frustration with the fact that, after he was ejected, Shildt was allowed to walk onto the field to discuss the warnings with the umpire crew.
“I think what anyone wants is consistency, right?” Roberts said. “For me, I wanted an explanation of what's going on for their decision-making. And I got run. ... And then, I see the opposing manager get the same courtesy of an explanation and he stays in the game. So there's just no consistency with that.”
Hudson’s explanation for why Shildt was granted a discussion: “He just asked about the warnings. He asked about pitching inside. I said, ‘We’re not taking that away.’ And he left.”
In what has quickly become a heated rivalry series, there were more fireworks to follow.
In Monday’s series-opener, tempers flared when Dodgers outfielder Andy Pages was hit by a Dylan Cease pitch and immediately stared at the Padres pitcher. In the heat of that moment, cameras caught Shildt yelling from the dugout, “Who the [expletive] do you think you are?”
A night later, Pages provided a resounding answer with a four-for-four performance at the plate. The second-year slugger belted a go-ahead home run in the bottom of the second inning. He launched a tying shot in the fourth. Then, after Will Smith put the Dodgers (45-29) in front with a two-run homer at the end of a 12-pitch at-bat in the sixth, Pages added an RBI single in what became a five-run rally, helping catapult the team to an 8-3 lead.
Andy Pages is congratulated by Dodgers third base coach Dino Ebel after hitting a solo home run in the second inning Tuesday. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
“I have a lot of confidence in the work I’m putting in,” said Pages, who raised his batting average to .293 and continued to build his case to be an All-Star selection. “I have a lot of confidence in my plan, what I’m doing at the plate to prepare for the games, and finding pitches in my zone and hitting them as well as I can.”
As for Shildt’s dugout comments the night before, Pages offered a diplomatic answer.
“Yeah, I actually saw it this morning,” he said. "Obviously, didn’t pay much attention to it. I left yesterday’s game behind, and I focused on today.”
Teammate Max Muncy, on the other hand, offered a more pointed response.
“I think Andy spoke for himself today,” Muncy said. “I think Andy told him who he was today.”
More controversy around the umpires arose in the seventh, as the Padres (39-33) threatened to erase the Dodgers’ lead.
First, Dodgers reliever Matt Sauer hit Padres shortstop Jose Iglesias with a pitch, but was not ejected — despite Manny Machado taking a couple steps out of the dugout to yell at the umpires, given their earlier warnings.
It ended up not mattering, with Trenton Brooks coming off the bench for a pinch-hit home run in the next at-bat.
Then, the Padres caught a break when Tatis was initially called out on a fielder’s choice play at second base, only for home plate umpire Ryan Blakney to intervene.
Tatis had initially slid in safely when shortstop Mookie Betts dropped a flip throw from second baseman Tommy Edman, who made an impressive diving stop in the hole. As Betts retrieved the loose ball, however, Tatis stepped off the bag, apparently thinking time had been called. Betts quickly tagged him, and Hudson, the second base umpire, called him out. But moments before the tag, Blakney had called time from behind home plate, to the chagrin of Smith.
“Why you call time [right there]? I don't know,” Smith said. “But he did. So we had to deal with it.”
Tatis was allowed to stay on second, and eventually came around to score when Michael Kopech entered the game and stumbled on a throw with the bases loaded, resulting in a run-scoring balk.
Kopech, however, got Xander Bogaerts to ground out and retire the side. From there, the Dodgers held on, with Anthony Banda stranding the bases loaded in the eighth and Tanner Scott (pitching a third-straight day for the first time this season) collecting his 14th save.
“We all understand how important this is,” Banda said. “The emotions are high. They're always going to be high in this type of playoff atmosphere. The fans were into it. Everybody was loud. It was fun to be a part of.”
Echoed Roberts: “It was a fun game, unfortunately, to watch from my office. But our guys really played well. … Huge win."
Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk revealed his several injuries suffered during the playoffs.
Matthew Tkachuk’s performance in the 2025 Stanley Cup Final was hard fought as he helped his Florida Panthers finish off the Edmonton Oilers in six games with a dominant 5–1 win at home.
The win secured Florida their second straight Stanley Cup and inserted the teams name into the conversation of a hockey dynasty as this was their third straight finals appearance.
In post-series interviews, Tkachuk revealed he had played the entirety of the playoffs with a completely torn adductor that was ripped off the bone as well as a sports hernia, both on the same side.
Tkachuk confessed that he had “wanted to throw in the towel a bunch of times” but was kept in the lineup thanks to intensive medical management.
Despite missing the end of the regular season, he returned in Game 1 of the opening round, ultimately contributing eight goals and 23 points in as many games, including a clutch goal in Game 6 on Tuesday.
The physical toll of such injuries is immense. A torn adductor avulsion off the bone typically requires surgery followed by four to six months of rehabilitation, a timeline mirrored by recovery from a hernia, depending on severity.
Panthers insiders, including coach Paul Maurice, have expressed cautious optimism that Tkachuk could be ready for the playoffs next year, but warned that starting the season in late 2025 may be more realistic than expecting him in opening night form. Rushing him back too soon could increase the risk of chronic injury.
This will be one of the many offseason stories for the Panthers as they are facing serious offseason roster decisions, especially as they chase a historic third straight Stanley Cup.
Early futures emerged with Florida at +750 odds to win the 2025‑26 Stanley Cup, but their cap situation is tense with roughly $19 million available yet have three massive pending unrestricted free agents in Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad and Brad Marchand, who will likely all require big tickets following another successful Stanley Cup win.
These roster variables, combined with Tkachuk’s injury uncertainty, complicate Florida’s path to a three-peat. While the +750 odds may look juicy, they don’t factor in the potential early-season absence of their star winger and the possibility of losing key contributors.
Bettors and fans alike should temper their expectations, as they shouldn't get too greedy and enjoy their second straight Stanley Cup as it's a legendary moment before thinking about a third.
David Peterson delivered a quality start in his third straight outing, allowing just three runs over seven innings on Tuesday night against the Atlanta Braves. But in the results business of professional baseball, another solid start from the Mets' left-hander is marred by the bitter taste of defeat.
There are positives to take from the performance – allowing just three runs on five hits and three walks with three strikeouts on just 93 pitches – but there are no moral victories after the Mets fell 5-4 in 10 innings, losing their fourth-straight game.
“It’s baseball,” Peterson said. “You could be perfect and then still end up losing the game.”
“He was really good today,” manager Carlos Mendoza said of his starter. “Got ground balls when needed, attacked, the pace, I thought him and [catcher Francisco Alvarez] were on the same page.
“And for him to get through seven against that lineup pitch efficient, with the way he was at, I thought he was really good. I thought he was solid.”
Peterson said the focus is “attacking guys from the first pitch, trying to get first pitch strikes.” He did just that on Tuesday night, racking up 17 of them to 28 batters. “Fill up the zone a lot and put the pressure on them,” the lefty continued.
Alvarez said the key was to just keep attacking, which Peterson did, getting the Braves to pound a dozen balls into the ground over the course of the game while managing just seven whiffs and 14 called strikes.
“I felt like we were able to get some early contact, defense did a great job of making the plays,” Peterson said. “I think when we’re in a spot where I can get the punch out, go for that. Other than that, just attacking early, staying on them and putting them in a position where they either gotta try and put the ball in play or at least swing the bat.”
With Peterson coming off a complete game his last time out, Mendoza didn’t hesitate to send out the left-hander for the bottom of the eighth on Tuesday night after efficiently recording the first 21 outs. Unfortunately, Peterson didn’t record another out after that.
“Especially with the way he was throwing the ball, you got a three-run lead there, he’s at 82 pitches with the nine-hole [hitter],” Mendoza said of his thought process. “He walked him there, you still like your chances with getting a ground ball, he was getting a lot of ground balls.”
Peterson said after the game that he felt good coming off the complete game last week and Mendoza added later: “Look, when you got the guy that wants the ball at 82 pitches and you got a three-run lead,” he said, before pausing to shrug his shoulders, “that’s an easy decision, there.”
Peterson said it was “good to be efficient, good to get quick outs, good to keep them off the board for the most part, but I didn’t put us in a good spot at the start of the eighth.”
And in baseball, sometimes things just don’t pan out as Reed Garrett entered and allowed a single to put the tying run on base before conceding a two-strike, two-out bases-clearing double to level the score.
“It just didn’t happen today, we were one pitch, one strike away from getting out of it,” Mendoza said of the home half of the eighth. “Just couldn’t get the job done.”
