Now that we are in the middle of August, most of the players who hit the market as unrestricted free agents (UFAs) have been signed to new contracts. Although this is the case, there are still some interesting players who have not been signed yet. Among them is former St. Louis Blues forward Klim Kostin.
Kostin is coming off a tough season with the San Jose Sharks, as he recorded one goal, six assists, and a minus-6 rating in 35 games. However, when noting that is still just 26 years old and has had past success at the NHL level, it would not be particularly surprising if he landed a professional tryout (PTO) before training camp or even a contract for the season from an NHL club.
Kostin demonstrated during the 2022-23 season with the Edmonton Oilers hat he has the potential to provide decent offensive production and plenty of grit when playing at his best. During that campaign, the 6-foot-4 forward recorded career highs with 11 goals, 10 assists, 21 points, and 157 hits in 57 games. Perhaps this could help lead to a team giving him a shot.
Kostin was selected by the Blues in the first round of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft with the 31st overall pick. In 46 games over three seasons with St. Louis from 2019-20 to 2021-22, he posted five goals, 11 points, 105 hits, and a minus-3 rating. His time with the Blues ended ahead of the 2022-23 season when he was traded to the Oilers in exchange for defenseman Dmitri Samorukov.
Mookie Betts celebrates his go-ahead home run in the eighth inning of a 5-4 win over the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium on Sunday. (Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
For so much of this year, the Dodgers have been picking Mookie Betts up amid a career-worst season at the plate.
On Sunday afternoon, with a rivalry game and division lead hanging in the balance, he returned the favor with his biggest swing in ages.
After once leading by four, then watching the Padres claw all the way back to tie the score, the Dodgers completed a weekend series sweep on Betts’ go-ahead home run in the bottom of the eighth — his no-doubt, 394-foot, stadium-shaking blast sending the Dodgers to a 5-4 win and two-game lead in the National League West.
As Betts came to the plate in the eighth inning, Dodger Stadium was silent and tense.
In the first inning, the team had ambushed Padres starter Yu Darvish for four runs on long balls from Freddie Freeman and Andy Pages.
From there, a crowd of 49,189 watched the Padres slowly storm back.
Tyler Glasnow fizzled after two electric opening innings, leaving the game at the end of the fifth after giving up two runs.
A patchwork Dodgers bullpen couldn’t hold the Padres off, giving up runs in the top of the sixth and eighth that transformed the score into a 4-4 tie.
At that point, San Diego had the advantage. Their league-leading bullpen was fresh. Their closer, Robert Suarez, was on the mound. And the Dodgers were almost completely out of pitching options, having burned five relievers to get the previous nine outs.
But then, Betts delivered. In a 2-and-0 count against Suarez, he launched a center-cut fastball deep into the left-field stands.
It was the kind of moment that has eluded the former MVP so often this year. The kind of heroic act the Dodgers (71-53) had been waiting for despite his career-worst .241 batting average.
Mookie Betts runs the bases after hitting a solo home run in the eighth inning for the Dodgers against the Padres on Sunday. (Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
Just like that, the Dodgers completed their sweep against the Padres (69-55). They went from second place at the start of Friday to all alone back in first three days later.
Long before the dramatic ending, Sunday had started like the previous two nights. The Dodgers were getting good pitching, with Glasnow striking out four of his first five batters while pumping increased fastball velocity and generating foolish swings with his slider. The Padres were making mistakes; most notably, Freddy Fermín getting gunned down by Pages from center while trying to leg out a double in the top of the third, turning what could have been a crooked-number inning into only a one-run rally.
Darvish, meanwhile, made a pair of two-strike mistakes, leaving a fastball up to Freeman for a three-run homer before failing to bury a splitter to Pages for a solo shot.
Things began to shift, however, in the fifth. Ramón Laureano lifted a solo drive just over the wall in right. And though Glasnow got out of a jam later in the inning, his fading command and rising pitch count forced him from the game after 91 throws.
That meant, with the Padres turning to their shutdown (and, after two defeats to start the series, well-rested) bullpen, the Dodgers’ shaky relief corps was asked to protect a narrow lead.
Once again, they couldn’t.
In the sixth, Anthony Banda gave up one run on a pair of doubles (the second one, a floating fly ball into the right field corner from Ryan O’Hearn that slow-footed Teoscar Hernández couldn’t track down).
And though Blake Treinen stranded a runner at third in the seventh — thanks in no small part to a generous strike call against Manny Machado that negated a walk — more trouble arose in the eighth.
Alexis Díaz started the inning by hitting a batter, then gave up a double to Laureano on a line drive to center. Alex Vesia took over from there and retired both batters he faced. But the first one was a ground ball from Jose Iglesias, just enough to get a runner home from third for the tying run.
Dodgers reliever Alex Vesia, right, celebrates with catcher Will Smith after the Dodgers' 5-4 win over the Padres at Dodger Stadium on Sunday. (Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
For a fleeting moment, all the momentum the Dodgers had built this past week seemed to be fading.
Instead of retaking control of the division lead, they risked finishing this weekend tied atop the standings.
With one swing, Betts changed all that.
In a year of so much frustration, his moment of salvation finally arrived.
MacIntyre never recovers after bogeys on first two holes
Scheffler has five PGA titles for second year in a row
Bob MacIntyre blew a four-shot lead in the final round as the world No 1, Scottie Scheffler, produced a moment of magic to clinch victory at the BMW Championship in Maryland. MacIntyre’s big overnight advantage was whittled to a single stroke after he started Sunday with two bogeys and, despite a gallant effort, he could do nothing to quell the American’s momentum.
Back within touching distance with two to play, MacIntyre watched as Scheffler nailed a remarkable chip from the rough to in effect confirm his victory on the penultimate hole. It was hard to take for MacIntyre, who had produced his own memorable moment on the final hole on Saturday when he sunk a 41ft putt to retain his significant advantage.
When things get underway, right-hander Clay Holmes will climb the hill for the Mets, serving as the home team in the game, for his 25th start of the year. He has pitched to a 3.71 ERA and 1.349 WHIP over 126 innings with 101 strikeouts and 52 walks.
Holmes has struggled of late; in five starts since the All-Star break, he has pitched to a 5.56 ERA (3.95 FIP) and a 1.765 WHIP in 22.2 innings. He has just 18 strikeouts to 11 walks.
Seattle is sending out righty GeorgeKirby for his 16th start of the year. He has a 3.71 ERA and 1.071 WHIP over 85 innings with 90 strikeouts to 20 walks. After struggling to start the year (6.16 ERA over his first six outings), he has been solid since the break, with a 2.32 ERA (2.21 FIP) and 0.935 WHIP in 31.0 innings over his past five starts with 34 strikeouts to eight walks.
Now that we are in the middle of August, we are going to start seeing teams around the NHL invite players to training camp on professional tryouts (PTOs). While the Montreal Canadiens have had a busy off-season, it would be understandable if they brought in a player or two on a PTO to create more friendly competition at camp.
When looking at the Canadiens' current roster, it is fair to argue that they could benefit by adding to their forward depth. Because of this, one player who could be worth taking a shot on with a PTO is forward Victor Olofsson.
After Jack Roslovic, Olofsson is arguably the top unrestricted free agent (UFA) forward left. When looking at the season he just had with the Vegas Golden Knights, he could be a decent player for the Canadiens to take a gamble on if they are on the hunt for more secondary scoring. In 56 games this past season with Vegas, he recorded 15 goals, 14 assist, 29 points, and a plus-17 rating.
Olofsson has also shown several times during his career that he can produce solid offense. The former Buffalo Sabres forward has scored 20 goals and recorded 40 points three different times in his career. This includes scoring 28 goals with Buffalo in 2022-23 and posting 49 points in 2021-22.
Ultimately, bringing in Olofsson on a PTO would give the Canadiens a backup plan to consider if they end up feeling that some of their younger players need a bit more time before making the jump to the NHL level. If he earned a contract for the season, he could be a nice pickup for the Canadiens' bottom six on a one-year deal.
Canadiens: Montembeault’s Big DayOn Saturday, August 16, Montreal Canadiens goaltender Samuel Montembeault got married to his girlfriend of seven years, Daryanne Ayotte. They met at the Festival du Blé d’Inde in St-Celestin in 2018, and while she initially had reservations about dating a hockey player, she eventually agreed. This weekend, the couple took the plunge and said yes to spending their life together.
The Yankees secured a three-game sweep, defeating the St. Louis Cardinals by a score of 8-4 on Sunday afternoon.
Here are the key takeaways…
-- For the first time in 46 games, Anthony Volpe was not the starting shortstop for the Yankees. Volpe is just 3-for-his-last-26 at the plate, and if you zoom out further, he’s 11-for-his-last-55 with 13 strikeouts.
Jose Caballero got the start at short, and he ended up playing a huge role in the victory. Leading off the top of the ninth in a 4-4 game, Caballero hit a high-chopper to second, and while Thomas Saggese had plenty of time to make the play, he ended up throwing it away, putting Caballero on second.
The Yankees would go on to load the bases, and Cody Bellinger found a hole between first and second, with the ball getting past Saggese for his second error of the inning, scoring two New York runs. The Yankees would add another on a Jazz Chisholm Jr. groundout, going up 7-4.
Caballero went 1-for-4 with an RBI, but his speed was what put things in motion in the ninth.
After playing 836 regular-season games as a Cardinal, including winning an NL MVP in 2022, Goldschmidt got his first start as a visitor in St. Louis.
The crowd gave Goldschmidt a standing ovation in the second inning, and he ended up having a really nice day at the plate, going 3-for-5 with an RBI double in the ninth and a run scored earlier in the game.
--Goldschmidt was part of a three-run fourth inning for the Yankees against Miles Mikolas. After a Chisholmwalk and a Goldschmidt double, the bottom of the Yankees’ order delivered with three-straight RBI hits by Jasson Dominguez, Ryan McMahon, and Caballero, as the Yankees jumped out to a 3-0 lead.
-- It wasn’t a great afternoon for Yankees starter Will Warren, though the defense behind him didn’t give him a ton of help. After three scoreless innings to get things started, Warren ran into trouble in the fourth, allowing a pair of two-out runs after the inning began with a McMahon error.
Warren’s fifth inning started with a Chisholm throwing error, and after the Cardinals scored their third run of the game on an Alec Burleson RBI single, Warren’s afternoon ended shortly thereafter.
Warren went 4.2 innings, allowing one earned run (three runs total) on six hits to go along with three strikeouts and one walk.
-- The Yanks evened the game in the seventh thanks to some small ball. After Trent Grisham walked to get things started, an Aaron Judge soft hit to right moved Grisham to third, and the speedy outfielder came around to score on a Bellinger sac fly to center.
-- Both benches had some problems with home plate umpire Nick Lentz. In the fourth, after Aaron Boone was chirping at Lentz about the strike zone, it was major league field coordinator and director of catching Tanner Swanson who got tossed after the inning was over. Then, in the top of the seventh, Cards skipper Oli Marmol got the hook after being dissatisfied with the strike zone.
-- Camilo Doval allowed a game-tying solo home run to Cards catcher Yohel Pozo in the sixth inning, and has now allowed at least one earned run in four of his eight appearances with the Yankees. Doval owns a 6.43 ERA since being traded to the Yanks from the San Francisco Giants.
Game MVP
Goldschmidt, who had three hits in his first start as a visitor in St. Louis since his days as a Cardinal.
The Buffalo Sabres' pursuit of its first Stanley Cup playoff appearance in 15 years means that there's no room for error for them, at any time of the season. A prolonged losing streak can and will knock down any team's post-season hopes, but the Sabres are particularly desperate, so Buffalo fans will be watching each and every game in the hope the Sabres can secure a playoff spot.
That's where THN.com's "Know Your Enemy" series comes in. For a while now, we've been examining Buffalo's chances against teams in the Atlantic, Metropolitan and Central divisions. And this past week, we turned our attention to Pacific Division teams. Today, we're focused on the Los Angeles Kings, who once again lost in the first round of the playoffs to the eventual Western Conference-champion Edmonton Oilers.
The Kings have a solid group of players, and although Holland made a slew of changes, the core in L.A. hasn't changed. And though the Kings and Sabres split their season series last year, Buffalo needs to aim higher than that this coming season.
BUFFALO SABRES VS. LOS ANGELES KINGS
NEW KINGS PLAYERS: Joel Armia, RW; Corey Perry, RW; Cody Ceci, D; Brian Dumoulin, D; Anton Forsberg, G
2024-25 SERIES: Sabres 1-1-0, Kings 1-1-0
2025-26 GAMES AGAINST EACH OTHER: January 29 at Buffalo; March 21 at Los Angeles
CAN THE SABRES BEAT THIS TEAM? Both games the Sabres and Kings played against each other last season were close games; Buffalo dropped the first game in early October -- the Sabres' third game of the regular-season -- by a 3-1 score, and then, in late November, Buffalo blanked L.A. by a 1-0 score.
In that second game, No. 1 goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen turned aside all 23 Kings shots he faced for the shutout win. Luukkonen didn't play in the first Kings/Sabres game, so that should factor into the game-plan of Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff when he's looking at assignments for the games against L.A. this coming year.
Otherwise, the Kings have more or less stayed the same. Even though they suffered a huge blow with the departure of veteran defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov to the New York Rangers, to soften the blow, Holland brough in experienced hands in former Dallas Stars blueliner Cody Ceci and former New Jersey Devil Brian Dumoulin. And up front, Los Angeles signed former Montreal Canadien fan favorite Joel Armia, as well as longtime abrasive winger and Cup-winner Corey Perry.
That said, the key for the Kings still revolves around a mix of young and old -- center Quinton Byfield being the young, and center Anze Kopitar being the old; defenseman Brandt Clarke being the young, and blueliner Drew Doughty being the old.
Meanwhile, the Kings also made what could be their best pickup in the form of longtime Ottawa Senators goalie Anton Forsberg. And the way things may develop, the Sabres could see Forsberg in one of the two games Buffalo and Los Angeles will play against each other this season.
Thus, the Sabres are bound to have their hands full with the Kings this year. And the way the schedule-maker has mapped it out, Buffalo and Los Angeles may be significantly-different teams from the teams that play their first game in late January and the second game they square off in on March 21. That's because the league's trade deadline will be taking place between those two dates.
We're not suggesting either or both teams are guaranteed to make a slew of moves, but by the time the trade deadline arrives, the Kings could be desperately working to fend off other Pacific teams challenging them for home-ice advantage, and the Sabres could be desperately working just to get into the playoffs.
If either of those things come to pass, Holland and Sabres counterpart Kevyn Adams may be pressured to add at least one high-level talent, and the second game between the Sabres and Kings could have an entirely different dynamic.
In any case, the games between Buffalo and Los Angeles should make for very entertaining hockey. Both teams have exciting performers, both teams have playoff aspirations, and both teams may make serious changes next summer if things don't go well for them this year. The Kings and Sabres will be fighting for every standings point they can get, and that means making the most of this series.
The KHL's Shanghai Dragons have announced that they have signed former Blackhawks prospect Adam Clendening to a one-year contract.
Shanghai Dragons have signed one-year contracts with goaltender Andrei Tikhomirov, defenseman Adam Clendening and forwards Alexander Burmistrov, Vladimir Kuznetsov and Borna Rendulichttps://t.co/gK6pTpgsBE
Clendening was selected by the Blackhawks with the 36th overall pick of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. From there, he primarily played at the American Hockey League (AHL) level with the Rockford IceHogs. In 185 games with Rockford from 2012-13 to 2014-15, the 6-foot blueliner recorded 22 goals, 96 assists, 118 points, and a plus-18 rating. This included posting 12 goals, 47 assists, and 59 points in 74 games with Rockford in 2013-14.
While Clendening certainly made an impact with the IceHogs, it did not result in him getting too many chances on the Blackhawks' roster. He played in just four games with Chicago during the 2014-15 season, where he posted one goal, one assist, two points, and a plus-1 rating.
Clendening's time with the Blackhawks would end in January of the 2014-15 campaign, as he was traded to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for blueliner Gustav Forsling. From there, Clendening would become quite the journeyman, as he played for the Canucks, Pittsburgh Penguins, Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers, Arizona Coyotes, and Columbus Blue Jackets following his time with the Blackhawks.
Clendening returned to the IceHogs on an AHL contract during the 2022-23 season, where he posted three goals, 21 assists, and 24 points in 48 games. However, Rockford traded him to the Hartford Wolf Pack later that season.
In 61 games this past season in the KHl with Kunlun Red Star, Clendening recorded five goals and 22 points. He should now be a key part of Shanghai's roster in 2025-26 from here.
Former Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Adam Clendening has found his home for the 2025-26 season, as he has signed with the Shanghai Dragons of the KHL.
Clendening spent this past season with Kunlun Red Star of the KHL, where he posted five goals, 17 assists, 22 points, and a minus-13 rating in 61 games. Now, he will be joining the Dragons after their relocation.
Shanghai Dragons have signed one-year contracts with goaltender Andrei Tikhomirov, defenseman Adam Clendening and forwards Alexander Burmistrov, Vladimir Kuznetsov and Borna Rendulichttps://t.co/gK6pTpgsBE
Clendening was acquired by the Penguins during the 2015 NHL off-season from the Vancouver Canucks in the trade that memorably also brought Nick Bonino to Pittsburgh. In nine games with Pittsburgh during the 2015-16 season, Clendening posted one assist, 10 penalty minutes, and a plus-3 rating. He also played in six AHL games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins that season, recording three assists and a plus-4 rating.
Clendening's time with the Penguins ended on Jan. 16, 2016, as he was traded to the Anaheim Ducks with David Perron for Carl Hagelin. From there, he had stops with the Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers, Arizona Coyotes, and Columbus Blue Jackets, with his last NHL appearance being in 2018-19. From there, he played in the AHL from 2019-20 to 2022-23 for various teams before playing overseas in each of the last two seasons. Now, after singing with the Dragons, he will be playing in his third straight season overseas.
World No 3 recovers from early break to win 7-5, 6-3
Paolini beats Kudermetova 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-3 in other semi
Iga Swiatek, the third seed, defeated Elena Rybakina 7-5, 6-3 on Sunday to reach her first Cincinnati Open final. The Pole had her hands full in the early stages of the 98-minute match but took advantage of a sudden dip in Rybakina’s form to win four consecutive games and wrap up the first set before easing through the second.
“That was a tough match,” Swiatek said. “At the beginning the level was pretty crazy. We played so fast that sometimes we couldn’t even run to the second ball. But I was there to play with intensity and good quality and I am super happy with the performance. I served much better, so for sure it helped and I wouldn’t change anything.”
Tylor Megill had another impressive rehab outing as he looks to get back to bolster the Mets' pitching ranks.
In his second start with Double-A Binghamton as he works his way back from an elbow strain, the right-hander allowed one hit over 3.1 innings while striking out nine and walking none on 55 pitches (39 strikes, with 12 whiffs).
Megill had to settle in as he allowed a leadoff single on an 0-2 pitch before needing five pitches to get the next two outs. With two down in the home half of the first, Megill uncorked a pair of wild pitches to allow the runner to reach third before getting a swinging strikeout, his second of the inning, on a 3-2 pitch.
After that, Megill retired the next seven straight batters with six going down on strikes. With one out in the third, the righty recorded his ninth strikeout of the day, but a passed ball saw the batter reach to end his day with a runner on first base.
In 14 starts with the Mets this year, the 30-year-old has pitched to a 3.95 ERA and 1.361 WHIP in 68.1 innings with 89 strikeouts to 33 walks. He made his last appearance on June 14 before landing on the IL.
Tylor Megill struck out nine over 3.1 innings in his rehab start for Double-A Binghamton 💪
The Buffalo Sabres have been considered to have one of the deepest prospect pools in the NHL, which is in part due to them selecting high in recent drafts because of their not qualifying for the playoffs. The Sabres have displayed an eye for talent, but the organization’s developmental model has not yielded enough results.
Leading up to the opening of training camp in mid-September, we will look at the club's top 40 prospects. All are 25 years old or younger, whose rights are currently held by the Sabres or are on AHL or NHL deals, and have played less than 40 NHL games.
Zelenov was the first of the Sabres two seventh-round picks at the 2024 NHL Draft in Las Vegas. The Moscow-born winger has been playing at various lower-level youth leagues in Austria since 2021 and posted an impressive 37 points (14 goals, 23 assists) in 40 games for the Salzburg RB Hockey Juniors last season.
The 6’0”, 181 lb. winger was selected by the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers in their Phase II draft in May while Rochester Americans head coach Michael Leone was their GM and instead of staying in Austria headed to North America to play for the Gambler to pursue a US college track. In 54 USHL games, the 19-year-old scored 33 points (14 goals, 19 assists).
Zelenov will be playing for the University of Wisconsin this season, along with 2024 fourth-round pick Luke Osburn, who made an impressive showing at the World Junior Summer Showcase for Team USA earlier this month.
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Blues Goalie Named As Potential Target For OilersAllen Mitchell discussed five potential targets for the Edmonton Oilers in a recent article for The Athletic, and a St. Louis Blues goalie prospect made the cut - Colten Ellis. 
