The Buffalo Sabres are currently at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings with a 7-8-4 record and 18 points. This is certainly not the kind of start the Sabres wanted to have, especially when noting that they are aiming to snap their 14-year playoff drought.
Now, with the Sabres off to a shaky start to the season, one of their top players is continuing to create chatter in the rumor mill as a trade candidate: forward Alex Tuch.
"He’s the kind of player it makes sense to keep around long-term, but he’s also too valuable to potentially lose for nothing, especially if the Sabres aren’t firmly in the playoff race come the trade deadline," Johnston wrote about Tuch.
This is not the first time that Tuch has been discussed as a trade candidate, and it likely won't be the last. With the star forward being a pending UFA, he should get a lot of interest around the NHL if he does not have a contract extension signed with the Sabres once we get closer to the deadline.
Tuch is once again having a strong season with the Sabres, too, as he has posted seven goals, nine assists, 16 points, and a plus-2 rating in 19 games. This is after he had 36 goals, 31 assists, and 67 points in 82 games this past season with the Sabres. With numbers like these, he would be a big-time addition for a playoff team looking to improve their top six.
For much of the past two seasons, Colorado Avalanche fans have been eagerly following 22-year-old goaltending prospect Ilya Nabokov. This year, the highly touted netminder has posted numbers that fall short of expectations, though the decline is not as severe as it might appear.
Before Colorado selected him in the second round of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, one of the main concerns about his game was his size. At 6-foot-1, he is considered relatively small for a modern NHL goaltender, and his unusually low stance only adds to that concern. In the KHL, that style has worked in his favor, as his athleticism allows him to move quickly across the crease and make difficult, highlight-worthy saves from sharp angles. Yet many within the hockey world remain fixated on numbers rather than acknowledging the fundamental differences between North American play and the KHL, or they may simply be unaware of those differences altogether.
Nabokov currently has a record of 9-3 with a 2.63 goals-against average and a .899 save percentage. On paper, it appears he is having the worst season of his career, especially compared with his last two years with Metallurg Magnitogorsk, where he posted an average save percentage of .928 and a goals-against average of roughly 2.18. But people are missing the point.
At the KHL level, Nabokov’s low stance is generally not a liability, as the league does not feature the same concentration of elite snipers found in the NHL who would torch him like a volcano top shelf if he utilized that same style. He is not suddenly a fragile goaltender; rather, he is developing and adjusting to a more North American style of play. This transition has inevitably affected his KHL statistics, but it should not be a cause for widespread concern.
Avalanche Loaded With Goaltending Depth
The Avalanche are in a good position right now, with a strong group of goaltenders—a luxury they haven’t had much of since winning the Stanley Cup in 2022. Scott Wedgewood is leading the way in this goaltending resurgence. Since joining Colorado, he’s played at the highest level of his career, a performance that earned him a well-deserved contract extension last week. The 33-year-old signed a one-year, $2.5 million deal, keeping him with the Avalanche through the 2026–27 season.
It’s clear the team still believes Nabokov is their goalie of the future. If that weren’t the case, Wedgewood likely would have received a longer deal. Based on that, it’s reasonable to expect Nabokov will spend next season with the Colorado Eagles in the AHL, while also getting a chance to start for the Avalanche. If Wedgewood continues to perform well and Nabokov struggles adapting to the North American game, the team could reconsider a bigger deal for Wedgewood. There’s also the Mackenzie Blackwood situation to factor in—he’s still working to get back into form. For now, Wedgewood seems to be the guy, Blackwood is still finding his rhythm, and Nabokov remains a developing talent in Russia, quietly sharpening his skills.
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There's already a precedent where the committee left a team out of the College Football Playoff because it was missing a key player. The same protocol applies to coaches — and Lane Kiffin is vital to this Ole Miss team.
Lane Kiffin has a history of getting fired or taking every opportunity to hop up the coaching ladder. Ole Miss is flourishing under him but LSU and Florida beckon. What will he do?
Lakers forward LeBron James hugs guard Austin Reaves after Reaves was fouled while scoring on a three-point shot Tuesday. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
While the game didn’t provide any definitive answers about what LeBron James will do in his record-breaking 23rd season, it offered promising signs about what he won’t do.
In the 30 minutes he played, James shot the ball only seven times, less than any other Lakers starter.
He didn’t have problems with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves remaining the team’s primary options.
He didn’t mind picking his spots.
He didn’t mind spending most of the game as a peripheral figure on the court.
“Just thought he played with the right spirit,” coach JJ Redick said. “Very unselfish all night. Willing passer. Didn’t force it. Took his drive and his shots when they were there.”
The 40-year-old James acknowledged that his conditioning remained a problem — “Wind was low,” he said — but he played so much within himself that he never looked visibly fatigued.
This is what the Lakers needed from James on Tuesday, as it allowed them to build on the 10-4 record they compiled in the games he missed because of sciatica. And this could be the kind of mindset the Lakers will need James to adopt for the remainder of the season, especially if Doncic and Reaves continue to score at their current rates.
“I don’t have to worry about [chemistry],” James said.
James sounded offended by questions implying he could have trouble fitting in with the team.
“I don’t even understand why that was a question,” he said.
Concerns over his ability to meld with his particular team were never based on his basketball IQ or skillset but instead how open he would be to accepting a reduced role.
This is a player who was the centerpiece of every team on which he’d ever played. This is also a player who craves attention and is notoriously passive aggressive.
In retrospect, suggesting that James couldn’t adapt to a new role might have sold him short. Whatever he’s said off the court, he’s usually made the right decisions on them.
“There’s not one team, not one club, in the world that I cannot fit in and play for,” James said the day before his return. “I can do everything on the floor. So whatever this team needs me to do, I can do it when I’m back to myself.”
Or even before that.
James scored only 11 points against the Jazz, but he still had his moments.
Starting in the final second of the third quarter, James assisted on seven of the next eight Lakers baskets, a four-minute-30-second stretch over which the team extended its lead from eight to 17.
From the left wing, James found Gabe Vincent in the opposite corner for an open three.
Double-teamed at the top of the key, James dropped a bounce pass to Jaxson Hayes, who soared for an open dunk.
James flipped a couple of no-look passes to Deandre Ayton and delivered a backdoor assist from the post to Jake LaRavia.
James finished with a game-high 12 assists.
“Good player,” Reaves said.
Describing his frustration over not playing the previous 14 games, James said he was grateful to just be playing.
"A lot of joy,” he said. “You probably saw me smiling and talking a lot on the court today.”
But he also sounded as if he wanted to prove something.
“I said it, was it yesterday’s practice, post practice?” James said. “I can fit in with anybody.”
Carefully watching his teammates in the games that he missed, James said he pictured where he could position himself and how he could contribute.
James will average more than 11 points this season. He’s still too good to not. But the Lakers almost certainly won’t need him to average 24 points as he did last season. How open he is to that could determine if they are just a playoff team or a legitimate contender.
Two of Major League Soccer's best teams meet in Ohio as Lionel Messi's Inter Miami face a win-or-go-home affair with FC Cincinnati at TQL Stadium on Sunday.
Major League Baseball has finalized its national broadcasting details for 2026, 2027 and 2028.
On Wednesday, MLB announced a new partnership with NBC, Netflix and ESPN — in addition to its existing deals with FOX and Turner Sports.
“Our new media rights agreements with ESPN, NBCUniversal and Netflix provide us with a great opportunity to expand our reach to fans through three powerful destinations for live sports, entertainment, and marquee events,” commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement.
Here’s when and where you can watch national MLB games under the new deal:
Next season: July 13, 2026, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia
“Field of Dreams” game (taking over from FOX)
Next season: Aug. 13, 2026, in Dyersville, Iowa, Philadelphia Phillies vs. Minnesota Twins
ESPN
Fans will now purchase MLB.TV through ESPN to watch their favorite teams outside their home market. ESPN is incorporating a service to its streaming platform, with in-market games for the select MLB teams.
ESPN will also have a national midweek game package throughout the season.
Major League Baseball has finalized its national broadcasting details for 2026, 2027 and 2028.
On Wednesday, MLB announced a new partnership with NBC, Netflix and ESPN — in addition to its existing deals with FOX and Turner Sports.
“Our new media rights agreements with ESPN, NBCUniversal and Netflix provide us with a great opportunity to expand our reach to fans through three powerful destinations for live sports, entertainment, and marquee events,” commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement.
Here’s when and where you can watch national MLB games under the new deal:
Next season: July 13, 2026, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia
“Field of Dreams” game (taking over from FOX)
Next season: Aug. 13, 2026, in Dyersville, Iowa, Philadelphia Phillies vs. Minnesota Twins
ESPN
Fans will now purchase MLB.TV through ESPN to watch their favorite teams outside their home market. ESPN is incorporating a service to its streaming platform, with in-market games for the select MLB teams.
ESPN will also have a national midweek game package throughout the season.
