SURPRISE, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 17: Michel Otanez #63 of the Texas Rangers poses for a portrait during photo day at Surprise Stadium on February 17, 2026 in Surprise, Arizona. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Texas Rangers purchased the contract of righthanded pitcher Michel Otanez prior to Friday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays. To make room for Otanez on the active roster, the Rangers optioned lefthanded pitcher Robbie Ahlstrom to AAA Round Rock. To make room for Otanez on the 40 man roster, the Rangers transferred pitcher Cole Winn from the 15 day injured list to the 60 day injured list.
The Rangers’ starters have not been going deep into games of late, and with the usage of the bullpen in the Boston series, the Rangers opted to get a fresh arm up. I had thought that Ahlstrom, who has struggled of late and pitched on Thursday, would be sent down in favor of Winston Santos, who would give the Rangers a multi-inning guy for length in case of a blowout.
Instead, Texas opted for Otanez, who had been claimed on waivers by the Rangers this winter, but who was designated for assignment in June, cleared waivers, and was outrighted. The 29 year old has an unimpressive 4.42 in 55 innings over 50 appearances for Round Rock this season, with 74 Ks against 42 walks, but since a 5 run outing in Tacoma in late June, Otanez has a 1.33 ERA in 27 innings, with 35 Ks and 13 walks. It may be he’s turned a corner.
Entering Saturday’s action, the Cubs, Phillies and Padres are all tied for the three National League wild card spots at 85-69. The Diamondbacks are 80-74 and on the verge of elimination, five games behind; their elimination number with the Cubs is 3. (It’s more complicated for Arizona with the Phillies and Padres, but for now let’s skip that.)
This is where it’s really fortunate that the Cubs have the tiebreaker over both those teams. If all three teams wound up tied at the end of the regular season, the Cubs would get the first wild card spot. In that scenario they’d host the Phillies, because Philadelphia swept their season series 6-0 over San Diego. Here are all the various tiebreaker rules.
Today, The Athletic posted an article noting the odds and percentages for various postseason scenarios and so I thought it’d be useful for us to take a look at them.
First, here are the percentage odds for the possible postseason matchups for the first two rounds:
As you can see, the wild card round is still kind of muddled. The most likely matchup for the Cubs is still with the Phillies, but it’s possible they could face the Padres — or even the Braves, if the Cubs get dumped into the last wild card spot, the No. 6 seed.
The Brewers are very likely to be the No. 1 National League seed. They currently lead the Dodgers by two games and hold the tiebreaker.
Now, here are the Cubs’ percentages of making the postseason and where they would wind up, based on each possible W/L record:
The best-case scenario here would be for the Cubs to go at least 6-2 in the eight remaining games. That would give them an 89 percent or better chance of being the top wild card team and hosting the wild card series. Even at 5-3, they would be more likely than not to be the host team, depending on what the other teams involved do over the same span.
The worst-case scenarios are going 2-6 or worse, which could dump them into the No. 6 position. And an 0-8 run (which would actually be 0-9, since the Cubs lost Friday) would give them a small chance (10 percent) of missing the postseason completely.
I don’t think that “worst case” is going to happen. I still think the Cubs will take the last two games in Cincinnati and then they’ve got the Marlins at home. Miami is 31-45 on the road this year and so the Cubs ought to take at least two of three from them at Wrigley Field. Then the Cubs travel to Boston, where the Red Sox are likely going to be locked in to the second wild card spot in the American League before that series begins. So the Cubs should win at least one, maybe two, at Fenway Park.
That would leave the Cubs at either 5-3 or 6-2 in the eight remaining games, giving them good odds of being the host team for a Wild Card series at Wrigley Field.
Fingers crossed. As always, we await developments.
Joe Tsai, co-founder and chairman of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., winner of the VivaTech x Bloomberg Leadership Award, in Paris, France, on Thursday, June 18, 2026. Winners of the VivaTech x Bloomberg Awards, celebrating global leadership, innovation and impact in the technology sector, were announced today in a ceremony at the VivaTech Conference in Paris. Photographer: Benjamin Girette/Bloomberg via Getty Images | Bloomberg via Getty Images
In a new book out next Tuesday, David Rubenstein, owner of the Baltimore Orioles, interviews sports franchise owners across America about what the view is like from the executive suites at arenas and stadiums across America.
Per the promotion, “From the Owner’s Box” examines, “the financial strategies, leadership secrets, and billion-dollar deal-making behind championship franchises through conversations with America’s most powerful owners.” And in the case of Brooklyn Nets Joe Tsai, how being a fan and reacting to fans is a big part of the job.
In an excerpt of the book, New York Post writer Eric Spitznagel, Tsai described first few months as an owner … and the ramifications of making a big move early.
Tsai, 62, knows how quickly an expensive trade can turn an owner into a target. The Alibaba cofounder, worth an estimated $12.1 billion, still takes heat from fans for the January 2021 trade that brought James Harden to Brooklyn alongside Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
Durant and Irving had arrived in 2019, before Tsai became controlling owner. Harden was his gamble, acquired at the cost of players and valuable draft assets. The trio never delivered a championship.
“The Harden decision was definitely on my watch,” Tsai tells Rubenstein. “That’s why I’m hated by fans on social media.”
(The excerpt, however, doesn’t make mention of Tsai’s decisions re: Kyrie Irving’s antics during the first months of Tsai’s ownership, including the superstar’s decision not to get vaccinated against COVID or his implicit endorsement of a book filled with antisemitic tropes. Both led to lost time, lost games and a lot of controversy for Tsai. We’ll have to wait for the book to see whether it is mentioned there.)
Rubenstein’s book does address a lesser-known part of Tsai’s legacy, a proposed trade that would test his personal fandom.
In July 2018, while still a 49% owner of the Nets, Tsai heard from Sean Marks about a trade the Nets GM was planning to make, a deal that would send Jeremy Lin to the Atlanta Hawks. Lin wasn’t just a Chinese-American whose LinSanity while a Knick years earlier had ignited pride among Asians and Asian-Americans worldwide. When he bought into the Nests Tsai had called Lin his “favorite player” and a “good friend,” praising his leadership and representation of the underdog.
“Sean, if you trade Jeremy Lin, I will be hated in China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong,” According to the book, Tsai recalls telling Marks “The entire Chinese community will hate me forever.”
Marks replied, “That’s why I’m calling you.”
In the deal, a classic salary dump, Nets traded guard Jeremy Lin, a 2025 second round draft pick and the right to swap second round picks in 2023 to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for the draft rights to a French guard Isaia Cordinier and a protected 2020 second round draft pick. (For you draft sickos out there, that 2025 pick got moved three more times and wound up back with the Nets and was used last June on Tyler Bilodeau!)
Tsai accepted the rationale but his prediction came true. Asian fans were not pleased that an owner with Chinese heritage had traded a player with Chinese heritage. He was heavily criticized across Asia. Later, Tsai and Lin did business together and Lin joined the advisory council of The Asian-American Foundation, an organization co-founded by Tsai.
As Rubenstein wrote, that episode taught Tsai a lesson.
He realized he needs a way to explain himself to fans, so he opened a Twitter account despite objections from his communications team, according to the book. He promised to discuss sports rather than Alibaba or politics, a promise he has stuck with although he’s not that active on the renamed x.com.
“I need to have a direct channel to communicate with our fans,” he told Rubenstein. “I can’t have the New York Post interpret.”
The book also noted Tsai’s basketball memories include skipping constitutional law classes at Yale to play pickup games. One opponent was future Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who he calls a “decent player.”
His current ambitions require better players, per the book. “We need to win a championship,” Tsai tells Rubenstein. “We need to prove ourselves.”
Still, Tsai admitted ownership supplies a pleasure that running Alibaba cannot.
“I can be chairman of a public company, but there are thousands of public companies. There are only thirty NBA owners,” Tsai says. “When you have something that other people don’t have, it feels pretty good.”
In addition to Joe Tsai, Rubenstein interviewed Clara Wu Tsai for his book and she told him in an interview, separately excerpted on Bloomberg News that Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment is “selectively” interested in other sports investments and see sports as an “asset class” of its own, adding that sports is the anti-AI.
“As you know, sports has become legitimate asset class and they’ve become very good investment,” she told Rubenstein. “Who knew we’d have to develop an anti-AI? Who knew live experiences would become so valuable? Who knew something that was unscripted and unpredictable was something that bring people together in a shared experience would be something that was monetizable and also really valued. But it has happened and sports is some place where that can be manifested.”
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JULY 18: Adou Thiero #1 of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on in the second half of a 2026 NBA Summer League semifinal game against the Golden State Warriors at the Thomas & Mack Center on July 18, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ian Maule/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Most fans seem to agree that second-year Lakers forward Adou Thiero isn’t quite ready to open the season in the starting lineup.
However, the 2025 second-round draft pick displayed three traits during his brief G League and Summer League stints that suggest he may be less “two years away from being two years away” and closer to being mere months away from permanently stealing LA’s fifth starting spot.
So, while he almost assuredly will not open the season in the starting lineup, it’s a long season, and Thiero is a young player who could develop fast. If he does, these are the most likely reasons he slides past the competition into that starting lineup.
Superhero athleticism and explosiveness
In Adou’s G League appearances, the bouncy youngster often spotted a driving angle and exploded past his defender with such force and speed that most hapless opponents just fouled him. If he didn’t, he ended up watching Adou swing from the rim.
This pattern repeated throughout the California Classic and Las Vegas Summer League tournaments. Thiero’s combo of elite athleticism and strength also showed up on the backboards. In Vegas, the human pogo-stick often jumped so high to chase a board that it looked like he was using a trampoline, finishing the summer averaging 6.2 rebounds per game.
Sure, the G League and Summer League aren’t the league. However, athletes with Adou’s size and strength are rare, even in the NBA.
When he steps onto the court, he is almost always the most athletic player. So, if Adou can keep focusing his elite athleticism on defense and rebounding while finding ways to use his explosiveness on offense, he may improve enough to literally and figuratively leap over the competition.
Speaking of improvement…
Rapid improvement
Thanks to an expanded media package, virtually every 2025-26 G League game appeared somewhere last season. Even so, fans didn’t see much of Adou.
The promising rookie only appeared in 10 games, averaging 22.5 minutes per contest. He also missed his whole rookie-year Summer League. As a result, it was initially hard to get a read on his game.
Sure, the explosiveness was always there. In fact, it sometimes seemed like rookie Adou would hammer down a dunk in the first few plays of every game he entered. He also looked like a viable 3-point shooter last year, completing 10 of his 20 attempts in those 10 appearances.
Still, he looked raw and several years of development away from harnessing his superhero frame and abilities.
Then the 2026 Summer League took place, and things suddenly changed.
While he started slowly, it was clear as far back as the California Classic that Adou hadn’t stopped working since the season ended. Sure, his 3-pointer looked rough all summer, with just one make in 10 attempts in Vegas. But several parts of his overall game looked significantly better.
LAS VEGAS, NV – JULY 18: Adou Thiero #1 of the Los Angeles Lakers handles the ball during the game against the Golden State Warriors during the Semifinals on July 18, 2026 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Tom O'Connor/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
For example, Thiero’s on-ball defense and disruption looked like they were already at a plus NBA-wing level, a trait that came and went in his South Bay stints. This summer, as soon as he entered games, his relentless pressure regularly forced turnovers or had opposing ball handlers running away from switches.
Adou also looked light on his feet for his size, making it hard for all but the quickest players to get past him. He finished Vegas averaging a healthy 1.8 steals per game.
Perhaps most striking was Adou’s improvement as the summer progressed. Shots blocked at the rim in San Francisco and early Vegas games started turning into timely head fakes and easy lay-ins in later contests.
Adou’s improvement also showed up in ball handling and driving. Early in the summer, the fleet-footed forward repeatedly beat his man with an explosive first step only to dribble the ball off his feet or throw it out of bounds. Too often, those early drives produced a flash of explosiveness, followed too quickly by an unforced turnover.
Surprisingly, within just a few games, we saw this trend begin to change.
Lastly, Adou’s passing reads showed signs of improvement. Turnovers became quick hitters to open corner shooters. It wasn’t flawless. But like other parts of his game, you could see it improve in real time. Adou finished Vegas averaging three assists a game.
Of course, steady improvement doesn’t come without hard work. And achieving true greatness, like earning a starting spot as a second-year player, requires another, almost intangible quality that Thiero may also already possess.
The Eye of the Tiger
At the top of John Wooden’s infamous Pyramid of Success, the winningest college coach of all time placed a seemingly immeasurable quality. Above skill, poise, confidence, and a whole host of other critical traits, Wooden placed something he called “competitive greatness.”
Kobe Bryant sometimes described this ephemeral quality as hating to lose more than loving to win. As fans, we turned that belief, Kobe’s infamous work ethic, and his on-court success into the Mamba Mentality. Even today, that mantra has become as much a part of his legacy as any specific title or season.
But my personal favorite comes from the 1980s cinematic classic, Rocky III. In that iconic sports film, star Rocky Balboa’s former foe and current trainer, Apollo Creed, called the desire to win over anything else, “The eye of the tiger.”
Maybe I’m reading too much into his stern, potent brow or sharp, piercing eyes. But when I look at Adou, I see the eye of the tiger.
It wasn’t there in his G-League games last year, which could’ve been due to extended injury rehab or simply being a rookie. But even when Adou made more mistakes than he should have in his opening Summer League shifts, his face looked completely different from the start.
He looked more than serious. He looked mad. To be honest, he kind of looked like Kobe.
Sure, Adou’s prospects of becoming a high-level NBA player may ultimately lie with his ability to hit open threes at a respectable rate and little else.
But his combination of superhuman physical tools and proven ability to improve quickly with reps gives him a real shot at carving out a long career as a viable rotation player.
And, if I’m reading his steely-eyed gaze and relentless effort correctly, Adou may also employ a little bit of Mamba Mentality, Eye of the Tiger, or good old-fashioned John Wooden-style competitive greatness that accelerates his progress in a shorter time frame than most predict and helps the young man steal the Lakers’ fifth starting spot this season.
Given those three qualities, I’m betting on Adou.
Christopher Plain has spent the last six years as Associate News Editor and Head Science Reporter at The Debrief. Follow and connect with him on X, learn about his novels at plainfiction.com, or email him at christopher@thedebrief.org.
With plenty of eyeballs on Gavin McKenna, the 18-year-old was skating with the second projected power-play unit for the most part.
He was on the left flank, with Emil Andrae at the point, Matthew Knies in the bumper, Bo Groulx on the right flank, and Tinus Luc Koblar as the net-front presence.
Maple Leafs head coach Jim Hiller explained his reasoning for positioning McKenna on the second unit.
"I just think, you know, probably for him and us, just get out there and play," he said after morning skate at Scotiabank Arena. "We don't want to put extra pressure on. If you asked him, he'd probably say, 'I want to play 22 minutes, I want to run the first power play.' And that's exactly what he should say. But for us, we just want to get him started in the NHL, see what it feels like."
While Toronto will slowly get an assessment of what McKenna looks like in the NHL, he got some opportunity with the big guns on Saturday morning.
"There'll be a chance over time, whether that's one game, two, 10, 20, where his role will increase in different areas," Hiller said. "But yeah, we just have a lot of good players. So fortunately, he doesn't have to start there."
Knies remained in the bumper position, but McKenna was hanging around the net. He wasn't always positioned directly in front of the goaltender, but he received pucks beside and behind the net, exercising his playmaking ability.
"I'm just looking forward to seeing him play his first NHL exhibition game, and then we'll see what that looked like," the Leafs coach added. "He's looked great in practice, but let's just see what it looks like for everybody. And we might say, 'hey, he has less deficiencies than we even thought.' He adjusted right to this. And then the plan can change from there.
"Again, the second point is we have a lot of really good players on the team. A lot of offensive players that have played important roles, have had great careers. So anytime you do one thing, you adjust something else. You just have to take all that into account."
In other circumstances, on the second unit on the left half-boards, McKenna and the rest of the group moved around the zone a lot. Rather than stationary puck movement, the players on the second unit cycled through their positions, which allowed McKenna to see the entire zone with or without the puck.
He often looked for cross-seam passes and made quick touches on the puck. His combination of smooth stickhandling, vision, and confidence should, in itself, make him a considerable threat to the opposition, even without a single professional hockey game under his belt.
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For every team in every sport, hope springs eternal as a new season approaches.
Everyone is tied for first place. Everyone thinks this could be the year. Everyone is tanning themselves on the bright side of things.
But in hockey, unless your best goalie is healthy and on his game, that well of hope can dry up quickly.
Linus Ullmark spoke Friday about his team's growth as an organization over the past few years (Senators YouTube).
In Ottawa, if the Senators are going to succeed this season, it will be because Linus Ullmark has carried his late-season resurgence into a new year.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, on day two of training camp, Ullmark appeared noticeably lighter and more relaxed than he did through much of last year. He looked like a man enjoying the vibe of a fresh start... for everyone.
“Everybody’s very eager, very energetic,” Ullmark said. “Just like every single camp I’ve been to, it’s the same thing. Everybody comes out hot, blazing and excited about what’s to come.”
As Sens fans know very well, that enthusiasm wasn't always evident last season. Ullmark had more than his share of hard moments, on and off the ice, before taking a month-long leave of absence to address his mental health.
Through his final start before that leave on Dec. 27, Ullmark had gone 14-8-5 with a 2.95 goals-against average and an .881 save percentage. The winning record was decent, but there were also too many nights when the boys needed a save that didn’t come.
After returning at the end of January, Ullmark made just two starts before the NHL paused its schedule for the Olympics. That gave him two extended breaks in the middle of the season, which appeared to be just what the doctor ordered.
From the end of the Olympic break through to the end of the regular season, Ullmark went 12-4-3 with a 2.51 goals-against average and a .902 save percentage in 19 starts.
He was even better in the playoffs.
Sure, the Sens were swept by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes and scored only five goals in four games, but Ullmark gave them every opportunity to win. He stopped 124 of the 133 shots he faced, producing a .932 save percentage and a 2.03 goals-against average.
Combined, Ullmark posted a .908 save percentage and a 2.42 goals-against average over his final 23 regular-season and playoff appearances following the Olympic break. That was much closer to the level GM Steve Staios believed he was getting when he acquired him from Boston in 2024.
And despite his leave, Ullmark still started 49 regular-season games.
Sometimes, there's concern raised about the fact that Ullmark has never appeared in more than 50 games in any NHL season. But this is no longer a league where Martin Brodeur types are powering past the 70-game mark.
Utah’s Karel Vejmelka was the only NHL goalie to reach 60 appearances last season. Most of the league’s busiest starters finished somewhere in the 50s.
In other words, playing approximately 50 games is no longer an unusually light workload for a No. 1 goaltender.
Ullmark’s own history also suggests that less is more.
When he won the Vezina Trophy with Boston three years ago, he appeared in exactly 49 games, with an outrageous record of 40-6-1, a 1.89 goals-against average, and a .938 save percentage.
Based on that history and his performance in last spring’s playoffs, the goal shouldn't be for Ullmark to start more than 60 games, which is what he was on pace for when he stepped away in December. The goal is availability and whatever it takes for him to play at a high level.
That leaves Ullmark's backup to play 30-35 games, which is a huge chunk of the season, so the Senators had better be right about Samuel Ersson.
The Sens signed Ersson to a two-year contract at $2.2 million a year. At 26, Ersson is a younger option than James Reimer, who took over the position here last year but wasn't re-signed.
But just based on the stats from last season, Ersson isn't an obvious upgrade.
He went 14-11-5 with a 3.12 goals-against average and an .870 save percentage in 33 appearances for Philadelphia. Reimer went 7-4-2 with a 2.42 goals-against average and an .886 save percentage in 14 games for the Sens.
Of course, Reimer is due for the hard regression that comes for every 38-year-old goalie. Meanwhile, the Sens' goalie whisperers love the way Ersson plays the position, and naturally, they hope his numbers improve in a new organization.
Ullmark first got to know Ersson when they represented Sweden together at the 4 Nations Face-Off last year.
“He made a good impression on me at that point,” Ullmark said. “Once everything was said and done, and he was going to be a part of this organization, I was very happy. It’s always fun to have a fellow Swede join the ranks, but also for me, as a Swedish goaltender, it’s nice to have that conversation with him on a daily basis.
“Hopefully, I can show the way for him as well, being an older guy, which I feel like I’m more comfortable in now than I used to be.”
Leevi Meriläinen also remains in the mix after signing a one-year, one-way contract worth $1.1 million. The 23-year-old went 8-10-1 with a 3.51 goals-against average and an .860 save percentage in 20 NHL appearances last season.
The question now is whether the Ullmark we saw following the Olympic break and during the playoffs can carry that form into the new season.
He acknowledged that the summer passed too quickly and was filled with family responsibilities, travel and preparations for another season.
“It felt like I said goodbye to the people here in June,” he said. “And then, bam, the next time I woke up, I was back here in Ottawa. So that was both very nice, but also a little bit bittersweet in a way that I didn’t get to enjoy it as much at home as I would like to.”
Last season actually ended in April for the Senators, but no one who deals with Ottawa winters would ever describe their summer as being anything but short, no matter what.
Whether Ullmark is affected by the busy summer that went by too fast remains to be seen, but his outlook was certainly positive on Friday. He appears to be entering this season in a much better place.
And for a fan base that's been starving for a great goaltender, that's encouraging news.
By Steve Warne The Hockey News
This article was first published in The Hockey News. For more Sens coverage at The Hockey News, click on one of the latest THN Ottawa headlines below:
Hull always knew that, sooner or later, they would lose a Premier League game but no one can say that Sergej Jakirovic’s team did not do everything in their power to try and delay that inaugural top tier defeat.
After conceding two goals in the opening seven minutes Hull could easily have folded but Jakirovic’s promoted players are made of sterner stuff than that. Tellingly, they also sensed the fragility of a gifted but injury hit and extremely youthful Newcastle.
The Carolina Hurricanes opening night lineup is going to be a very hard one to crack given that the team is returning nearly every single player from their 2026 Stanley Cup Championship roster.
However, there is one spot that is definitely up for grabs, that being the sixth defenseman position.
RFA blueliner Alexander Nikishin and the Canes' front office are seemingly at a standoff, and with the Russian not being present for the opening of training camp, there's no telling what a resolution may look like.
So for now, that spot is wide open and there's a lot of players looking at that as their opportunity.
Up and Comers
The Hurricanes have a pair of blueline prospects in Charles Alexis Legault and Joel Nystrom who are very much in the running to make the team this year, especially given the fact that they were getting in fairly regularly last season.
Legault, 23, presents one of the more unique options for the team.
The 6-foot-4 defender is perhaps the most physical of all of the team's prospects, being both an effective checker and a willing pugilist.
"I prepared a lot this summer," Legault said. "I feel physically ready and hopefully that shows in camp. I feel like I can find my way to contribute. Just keeping it simple and be a reliable guy out there."
But beyond that, Legault has also continued to grow his defensive game and while he doesn't have very much offensive talent, he's got the dependable style you'd look for in a third-pairing guy.
"His physical element has increased drastically," said Chicago Wolves coach Spiros Anastas. "How quick he closes, how hard he hits, he's becoming more of a man. He still needs to continue to get better on his puck touches, which we worked on a lot with him last year, but it's a confidence piece too. He wants to be in the NHL, he knows he can be and we have that belief in him too. Having a real strong camp, led by his confidence, will give him a good shot at a spot up here."
It's that defensive work and physicality that could give Legault an edge over the competition.
"I just want to focus on what I can do and be the best version of myself every day," Legault said. "At the end of the day, that's what I can control."
Nystrom, 24, isn't anything flashy, but the Swedish blueliner is dependable.
He didn't really look out of place in his 38 game stint in the NHL, providing a reliable presence with his strong skating and high hockey sense.
"I did [feel like I belonged] and the guys on the team really helped me," Nystrom said. "My goal is to just play as good as I can and do what I'm good at. Use my feet and my skating a lot and keep playing hard and simple in the D-zone. That's for sure the things I can do."
It was a quick transition for Nystrom last year, going from only a few games of North American experience to quickly having to find his way in the NHL, but he was able to adapt fairly quickly.
"I'm a smaller guy, so I was trying to play tougher and close my gaps and be hard on the sticks in front of the net and everything," Nystrom said. "That's for sure one thing I can keep improving on this year. This is a good place to be and to develop. Just focus on what I can do."
For Nystrom, his game is built on his hockey sense and his ability to read plays quickly, but as he's grown and matured, adding strength and working on his skating has allowed him to take huge strides.
“The hockey sense was always there," said Carolina Hurricanes associate general manager Darren Yorke. "That was really the concurrent thing. But the skating has gotten better as it does with most players when you get a little bit stronger, the body control and body positioning on retrievals has improved to allow him to handle the bigger, faster players in the NHL and that's all really only enhanced his game now that he can go back for the puck, make those reads with his vision and transition the puck into the offensive zone.”
Now, it's going to be about continuing to show that he can be an everyday NHLer and prove that his dependable game is what will help the team the most.
"I'm looking just to be better every day," Nystrom said on his goals entering camp. "As I did last year, just focus on what I can do and try to play as good as I can. I feel I'm in a good place to keep developing."
NHL Veterans
The organization brought in a trio of UFA defensemen this offseason, signing Mike Reilly, Juuso Valimaki and Pierre-Olivier Joseph to one-year deals.
Reilly obviously has a leg up on the competition given his familiarity with the team and having been a part of the championship roster, but Valimaki, who had a strong bounce back season in the AHL coming off of his ACL injury, and Joseph, who had good underlying numbers on a bad Vancouver team, both present interesting options too.
Reilly, 33, it the oldest of competing players, but that also goes hand-in-hand with an extensive history in the league.
A veteran of 11 seasons, Reilly has played in 460 games in his career, with 19 goals and 133 points to his name.
The 6-foot-2, left-hander was a late signing by the team, but the fact that they brought him back and that he's been skating alongside Shayne Gostisbehere to open camp says a lot about his chances.
"Definitely excited to get going," Reilly said. "This is definitely where I wanted to be and obviously when I signed, I knew there was an opportunity and obviously that's all you can ask for. I feel like I'm in good shape here coming into camp — obviously a different preseason this year in terms of the games you can play and whatnot — but I think I was comfortable coming back here having been here last year and them getting to know me and all that. Excited for the opportunity and obviously just trying to take advantage of it."
Reilly's biggest edge in the competition is, again, that fact that he's familiar with and to Carolina.
The blueliner appeared in 44 total games for the Hurricanes (42 regular season and two playoff) and played a steady role.
"I kind of got to the point where I was just staying as ready as I could, which is easier said than done," Reilly said about being the seventh defenseman last season. "But I was in that position and I was fine with it, in a way. Obviously you want to play every night, but I think you learn a lot and you kind of feel comfortable in an uncomfortable situation a little bit."
This year though, he's looking to take on a bigger, more consistent role as an everyday player.
Valimaki, 27, has perhaps the highest ceiling out of the three players.
The Finnish blueliner was a first-round pick, going 16th overall to the Calgary Flames in 2017 and his offensive game is one of his biggest upsides, having posted a 34-point campaign before.
"I like [the system]," Valimaki said. "It's simple and you can just see when you're on the ice with these guys, everyone is just doing the right things. I consider myself a smart player and I think this system, when everyone is doing the right thing and are playing smart, I think it's a great system and obviously it works and can complement my game. I think I can fit into it really good."
The 6-foot-2 lefty joined the organization midway through last season, being traded by the Utah Mammoth shortly after recovering from an earlier ACL tear, and played the rest of the year with the Chicago Wolves.
"Obviously I missed a lot of time over the last year and kind of the year before, so just in general, to be playing games again was the biggest focus for myself," Valimaki said. "We made a big playoff run as well, so got some really good experience there. Lot of good games, the people down were awesome and it was a good year for myself."
Valimaki had a really strong run with the Wolves, putting up six goals and 20 points in 24 regular season games. He then turned things up to another level in the team's run to the Calder Cup Final, producing five goals and 14 points in 21 playoff games.
"It was kind of nice to play a little bit more like myself too," Valimaki said. "I found some offensive rhythm and I'm feeling really good. There's been a lot of ups and downs in my career with injuries and kind of a lot of other things going on, but I think last year was finally where I felt like myself again and I was in a really good head space. Just trying to play hockey, enjoy it. There's been times where you kind of forget the fun part and for me, at least, when you're having fun and enjoying what you're doing, I think that's when you play your best. Just trying to carry the momentum now and ride that wave."
It won't be easy to crack a Stanley Cup winning roster, but Valimaki has belief in himself and his goal is to get back to the NHL, something he hasn't done since January of 2025.
"I'm here to stay here," Valimaki said. "That's the sole focus for me. To do everything I can as good as I can every day. I think the one thing I tell myself now is to just be yourself on and off the ice. Don't try to change who you are, the way you play. That's the way I want to be everyday, but obviously the focus and the goal is to stay up here, be on the roster and get back into the NHL."
Joseph, 27, is another first-round pick, having been selected 23rd overall in 2017, that has bounced around a bit.
After spending a few years in the Pittsburgh Penguins' system, he wound up in St. Louis and spent the past year with the Vancouver Canucks, where he played just 31 games due to injuries and scratches.
Despite that, Joseph had some fairly strong underlying numbers, something that an analytically driven team like Carolina definitely would have taken notice of.
"I've played against these guys for a bit here and it just felt like a great group of guys to join," Joseph said. "It takes a little bit to join a group, but everyone is so welcoming and has been great. The chemistry, you can see it right when you come in. I'm just excited to try and do my part here."
The Laval native has played in parts of six NHL seasons, having played in 225 games, but he's still trying to break his way into a consistent position in the league, having played more than 60 games in a season only once.
"I've definitely learned on both sides, from some good teams and some not so good teams, but [for me, the next step] is just the consistency," Joseph said. "That's where I'm trying to get to. I think I'm a solid skater, I think I can move the puck pretty well and I think that will work well here with playing quick and fast and up north."
And even though he's one of nearly half a dozen players all vying for one spot on a championship roster, Joseph has embraced the challenge before him with a lot of positivity.
"It's a healthy competition," Joseph said. "I think everyone is just trying to jump on this boat and everyone is supporting each other, everyone wants the best for each other. But at the end of the day, it's a training camp and you're trying to show that they made the right decision to call you and to sign you here. Just trying to do my part and show the best that you can."
But what the three have done in the past has little bearing on what they can bring today.
"You want to come in with an open slate," said Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour. "A year ago, I was watching those guys and got an idea for how they play, but now, it's how can they play in our system and how well do they pick up stuff that we're throwing at them. That's all part of it."
Practice is one thing, but the biggest thing that is going to determine who's left standing at the end of camp is whether or not they can show their skills in the preseason games.
With only four on the schedule, and veterans capped at playing in only two, it will be interesting to see how it all shakes out and who can showcase enough to impress.
"They just need to know how to play the way we want to play," Brind'Amour said. "I think they all get that, it's just that somebody is going to have to step up. At the end of the day, we have to take the best guys. I think it's good to have a little competition sometimes. Haven't really seen a lot of that over the years, and so it's good to have."
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Editor’s Note: It is our pleasure to introduce a second Leo to the Canis-verse. This is Leo Li’s first piece for CH, and he will be adding more insight into all things player development going forward. Please welcome him in the way only Canis commenters can!
Anthony Edwards’ development trajectory since entering the league in 2020 has been a topic of attention for several seasons now, and at first glance, it’s easy to see why. He was a 247Sports consensus 5-star recruit coming out of Holy Spirit Prep in Georgia, receiving comparisons to players like Dominique Wilkins and Dwyane Wade, among other all-stars and all-time greats.
However, after a one-and-done season for the Georgia Bulldogs marked by tantalizing highs and scoring explosions, as well as inconsistencies that exposed flaws in his game, serious concerns emerged about Ant’s decision-making, shooting, defense, and even his mentality and love for the game.
Heading into the 2020 draft (which was viewed as relatively weak), he wasn’t seen as a surefire star bet, and several mock drafts had him going behind future teammate LaMelo Ball, as well as the likes of James Wiseman and Killian Hayes (Kevin O’Connor, what were you thinking?), which seems absurd looking back.
As we all know, Ant would go on to be picked first overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves, and soon bloomed into a bona fide superstar and one of the best players in the sport.
Many would claim that Ant has significantly exceeded expectations, even considering the high pre-draft praise and excitement about his ceiling. I wouldn’t argue too hard against that. Most would agree that he has left the “realistic” or “sweet spot” comparisons of Victor Oladipo, DeMar DeRozan, and Zach LaVine in the dust. Is there any way that the projections were misinformed or unjustified? The red flags were certainly there, but perhaps scouts and fans were too hasty in taking them at face value. Given all the information we had access to pre-draft, is there a way to explain his current success?
All this is to say that, although hindsight is 20/20, was Ant perhaps underrated by many as a prospect? That is what I will be making the case for. By taking a look at the scouting reports and draft profiles, we can see exactly where assessments fell short and use evidence and data to paint a different picture of Anthony Edwards, the prospect.
Ant’s physical profile was universally viewed as a remarkable combination of positional size, explosive power, and quick-twitch burst. Standing at 6’5 with a 6’9 wingspan and weighing a hefty 225 lb, while boasting a 41.5-inch vertical according to BleacherReports’ Jake Fischer, he was unequivocally an athletic specimen; an elite NBA guard’s frame with the power and mass of a running back is extraordinarily rare even among the best of the best, and it allowed him to rise for athletic finishes and dunks frequently (27 dunks in the 2020 season). However, even with respect to the athleticism, I feel some of the nuance regarding Ant was neglected in pre-draft discussions.
The prevailing sense was that he was vertically explosive, big, and fast, which helps him finish at the rim and in transition. However, scouts were still understandably concerned about his ability to score efficiently at the next level. After all, even given these extreme athletic traits, he posted a mere 51.7% true shooting percentage at Georgia, landing in the 13th percentile positionally. So how do you explain his massive improvements as a scorer? It’s easy to chalk it up to any number of factors, but the most important one is a part of his athleticism that tends to fly under the radar, even today.
Prior to the draft, the P3 Peak Performance Project measured Ant’s eccentric force production in the 98th percentile (FYI, eccentric force is the force produced by a muscle during the stretching/lengthening phase, used for deceleration movements). They note that, crucially, this is a trait shared by James Harden and Luka Dončić, players who excel at scoring using change-of-direction, stop-start moves – which is also something that Ant improved at by leaps and bounds, and was key to his ascension into one of the league’s premier scorers.
While Ant didn’t enter the league with Luka-level polish skill-wise or decision-making-wise, the athletic foundation for his current dynamic skillset was already there. Using repeated bursts and sharp brakes is a proven formula for efficient self-created volume scoring at the highest level, and Ant had brakes of the highest caliber on an extremely powerful engine.
While this was already observable during his explosive, fluid downhill forays and several of his off-the-dribble jumpers, most scouts and fans seemed more enamored with his north-south and vertical traits. Part of the reason for this is that the sheer level of shooter Ant has become is, by any stretch of the imagination, a surprise, and not many thought it likely that these qualities could become the basis of an elite, efficient pull-up 3-point shooting game, hence the comparisons to players like DeRozan and even optimistic ones like Wade, whose deceleration qualities are often overlooked.
Ant’s jump shot, which is arguably his most deadly weapon today and a focal point of his skill set, was a question mark going into the draft. His raw three-point percentage at Georgia was certainly uninspiring (29%, 10th percentile positionally), but scouts noted that the mechanics generally passed the eye test, and it was evident that he was able to shoot off the dribble with very little daylight off a bevy of moves.
A free throw percentage of 77% and 60% on non-dunk rim attempts also indicated some level of touch, which pointed towards eventual improvements in jump shot efficiency. Still, becoming a good 3-point shooter, let alone one of the very best in the world, was, nevertheless, a “maybe” even in an ideal situation.
However, it’s important to draw attention to the sheer volume of shot-creation load-bearing Ant pulled off, which is a quality that tends to get underrated. The 18-year-old managed to get up 13.5 3-point attempts per 100 possessions (92nd percentile, around 52% of which were unassisted), on a 45 offensive load (95th percentile).
His ability to shoulder a large offensive burden by generating self-created threes on demand was extremely high. In fact, it’s historically unique for a player of Ant’s level of slashing ability: Ant was the only freshman in Barttorvik’s entire database (which begins in 2008) to post more than 12 3-point attempts per 100 while also dunking 27 times over the course of the season. A special intersection of youth, 3-point creation, and athletic finishing – foreshadowing a similarly unique status in the NBA today.
At the time, his high volume of self-created, often contested jump shots was interpreted by scouts, such as Rafael Barlow for NBA Draft Junkies, as bad shot selection and poor decision-making. Prez of The Strickland believed that to translate to the next level he ought to “learn good shot from bad shot”.
Draft profiles suggested that he should shift more of his focus to attacking the rim and operating more off the ball, while toning down the volume of off-the-dribble jump shots, and that if he failed to do so, he would struggle to score efficiently. Such judgments were premature. Ant was a raw 18-year-old who was stuck on a suboptimal roster – it is only natural that these conditions would lead to several ugly looks.
In a vacuum, yes, Ant should have taken fewer contested jumpers at Georgia if you look at each decision on an individual level. However, self-created jump shot volume is an important indicator of superstar potential, as it speaks to scoring feel, stamina, confidence, and the ability to create offense when the structure of the play breaks down. It can’t be your only skill, but you certainly need it if you want to be among the best.
Far from being a detriment to his NBA career, his aggression in hunting jumpers has translated beautifully, becoming the crux of his impact on the court and a significant separator between him and several of his comps.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that all shots are good shots, and a superstar who can’t find the open man when the defense loads up on him will struggle in the NBA, where his scoring aggression can become a detriment to the team.
But despite popular takes, Ant showed promising flashes as a playmaker at Georgia, and most scouting reports acknowledge as much. He was particularly adept at interior passes, averaging three rim assists per 100 (88th percentile). It was quite conceivable that he could have refined his ability to capitalize on his scoring gravity. If anything, this is one area that he hasn’t quite outperformed expectations in thus far in the league.
Add up what’s been discussed, and what did the Wolves have on their hands in 2020? An extremely young super-athlete who could both dunk on the opposing team’s center and get up 10 threes in a single half, who was used to carrying large offensive loads, who had the stop-start foundation reminiscent of historically great NBA scorers, who showed high-level playmaking flashes, and who had solid touch indicators.
Seems a lot different than how the NBA’s media was making it seem.
This is not to say that scouts were wrong about all of Ant’s shortcomings (defense and some aspects of decision-making in particular), and certain analysts, credit to them, saw the bullish case for his shot creation. But the aversion to Ant’s “hero ball” style at Georgia was a blind spot for many, as it was that tendency to aggressively create jumpers at volume that laid the groundwork for who he is today.
The Wolves are better off today for believing in Ant’s traits, stats, and tape than in the beliefs of those outside the building.
Mar 18, 2026; Tampa, Florida, USA; Boston Red Sox left fielder Braiden Ward (92) looks on against the New York Yankees in the sixth inning during spring training at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
I’ve gushed a lot about Allan Castro’s propensity to put bat to ball in the last few weeks, but it was on full display Friday night as the WooSox walloped the Bulls (Rays AAA) 16-1. Almost half of those runs driven in were off the bat of Castro as the 23-year-old switch-hitting outfielder had a home run and his two doubles, bringing his slugging percentage this month to .709. He also helped Braiden Ward’s numbers shine.
There is some buzz that, with the team’s biggest baserunning threat in Eli White going to the injury list and in all likelihood ending his season with a torn ligament via the steel of the Angels’ wall, a guy who has stolen 61 bases in the minors might get some time up in the Majors during a point in the season where he must perform. But, all the 27-year-old return for Brennan Bernardino did Friday was go 5-for-5, score each of the five times he reached base, steal two more bases and hit his 6th home run of the season. It’s quite possible Ward’s use on the team may be tested in the coming week, and even though any possible exchange with Nate Eaton (or maybe Andruw Monasterio) would be mostly a call based on Ward’s speed, it helps that Ward has been hitting well, too.
On a night when the WooSox had six batters haul extra-base hits and Castro drive in seven, they also benefitted from Michael Sansone having probably his best start of the season. The 26-year-old out of Cheshire, Connecticut made it through six innings and gave up just one hit, a triple, and a sacrifice fly directly after that three-bagger scored Sansone’s only baserunner allowed all night. At that point, though, the WooSox were up 12-0 and so the lead shrinking to eleven likely wasn’t a huge concern. If the season wasn’t about to end he almost certainly would have had the green light to tread even deeper into the game with a monumental lead. It was a great way for a guy who struggled in both Double-A and Triple-A to finish the season. Wins like this surely raise the morale for some players who have been up and down in multiple different ways in 2026.
Talk is cheap when discussing the Rangers. So is optimism.
But that doesn't mean that optimism is bad. In fact it could make your day. Here's how a lucky ten positive things could happen to your Blueshirts and even put them in the playoffs.
REPEAT; EVEN PUT THEM IN THE PLAYOFFS
1. No matter how you shake it, the Rangers – in Igor Shesterkin – have one of the NHL's beststoppers.
2. Adam Fox will be injury-free and a Norris Trophy finalist.
3. Braden Schenider will show his critics that he was worth drafting after all.
4. Mika Zibanejad may not look like a No. 1 center; but, at last, he'll play like one.
5. Alexis Lafrenière will pick up where he left off late last season and prove that he was worth being an overall first draft pick.
6. Miracles Happen: J.T. Miller will recall his halcyon days in Vancouver and play his heart out for Old New York. And Newer Slobbovia. I'll go three steps further – he'll be a captain's captain!
7. Gabe Perreault will emerge as a monster playmaker, power play pivot and penalty-killer all in one. (In fact he'll turn out to be a better player than his Old Man!)
8. Slava (Smiley) Gavrikov will not only be one of the NHL's best shutdown defenders but he'll go neck and neck with his pal Foxy as an offensive force.
9. Tye Kartye will be such a boisterously pleasant surprise that by season's end everyone will know how to spell his name.
10. Rookie owner – ergo boss' son – Quentin Dolan will burst out of the shadows and show both fans and media that he is THE BOSS!.
SAN DIEGO, CA - JUNE 22: Robert Suarez #75 of the Atlanta Braves reacts to the camera during the game between the Atlanta Braves and the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on Monday, June 22, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Ryan Levy/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Fresh off of confirming their spot in this season’s Postseason, the Atlanta Braves got some more good news to put out there for the morning after. Reliever Robert Suarez is finally set to go on rehab assignment, as he’ll more-than-likely be making an appearance for the Gwinnett Stripers in their series finale on Sunday. Walt Weiss informed the media of this following Friday’s win and the Stripers confirmed it with a press release this morning.
Robert Suarez expected to pitch Sunday for Gwinnett, Walt Weiss says today
Suarez has not pitched for the Braves since making an appearance against the Milwaukee Brewers back on June 19 and that ended up being one of many scoreless innings that the right-handed set-up man has tossed this season. He’s currently sitting on an ERA of 0.56 (13 ERA-) and a FIP of 2.44 (59 FIP-) across 32 strong innings. Needless to say, if the Braves can get Suarez back integrated with their bullpen as quickly as possible (and they really have no choice since Sunday is Gwinnett’s final regular season game) then that would be a huge boost to a bullpen that has already spent most of this season finding ways to get the job done on a regular basis.
Either way, this is pretty good news for the Braves and hopefully things go as smooth as possible so that Suarez will be able to help contribute from the bullpen in time for a Postseason run. We’ll see what happens.
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 07: George Springer #4 of the Toronto Blue Jays looks on during batting practice prior to the start of the game against the Athletics at Sutter Health Park on September 07, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Today marks George Springer’s 37th birthday.
Springer is approaching the end of his six-year, $150 million contract.
He continues to climb the Blue Jays’ all-time leaderboards:
22nd in bWAR for position players.
23rd in OPS.
25th in games played.
13th in runs scored.
11th in home runs (tied with Josh Donaldson).
15th in walks.
14th in steals.
And he’s likely first in huge smiles.
Happy birthday, George!
Danny Valencia celebrates his 42nd birthday today.
Valencia spent parts of two seasons with the Jays during his nine-year MLB career. The team acquired him near the 2014 deadline by trading Liam Hendriks and Erik Kratz to the Royals. Down the stretch, he hit .240/.273/.364 for the Jays, primarily at third base.
He started the 2015 season hitting .296/.331/.506 with 7 home runs in 58 games, but the Jays put him on waivers, and the A’s claimed him. That decision came after the team chose to have Ben Revere play every day. Revere went on to hit .319/.354/.381 down the stretch, helping the Jays make the playoffs.
Valencia played through the 2016 season with the A’s before moving on to the Mariners and Orioles. Over nine seasons, he hit .268/.317/.426 with 96 home runs in 864 games.
Happy birthday, Danny!
Robinzon Diaz celebrates his 43rd birthday today.
Diaz was one of several ‘catchers of the future’ who ultimately didn’t fill that role.
But we remember him because we traded him to the Pirates for Jose Bautista, one of the best trades in team history. Jose played ten seasons for the Jays and hit 288 home runs (and six in the playoffs, including the ‘bat flip home run’).
Diaz played 43 games with the Pirates, hitting .289/.315/.363 with 1 home run.
Happy birthday, Robinson!
Randy Myers turns 64 today.
Myers was a big free agent signing in 1998. A few years ago, I wrote:
The Jays signed lefty reliever Randy Myers to a 3-year, $18 million contract—a curious move (a polite way of calling it a mistake). In 1997, the Jays went 76-86, finishing 5th in the AL East, 22 games behind the Orioles. A high-priced reliever wasn’t the piece to lift us over the top.
Randy struggled, posting a 4.46 ERA in 41 games, with 28 saves and 5 blown saves.
This is where the story gets interesting. The Jays suddenly realized they were paying a ton of money for a reliever who wasn’t going to get them to the playoffs, who was 35 years old and who we would be paying for two more seasons. So Gord Ash put him on waivers. His going on waivers wasn’t surprising. Back then, most players ended up on waivers in August.
The Padres claimed him. They didn’t want him, but they didn’t want the Braves to get him. So they figured if they claimed him, the Blue Jays would pull him back and stop him from reaching the Braves.
But Ash fooled them. He let the Padres have him and saved the team roughly $14 million over the next two seasons and two months.
Myers struggled over the final two months of the 1998 season, recording a 6.28 ERA (with no saves) in 21 games. He never pitched in the majors again, and the Padres paid his salary for the next two years.
Randy played 14 years in the MLB, had 347 saves and a 3.19 ERA in 728 games.
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - SEPTEMBER 18: Josiah Gray #40 of the Washington Nationals delivers a pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals in the ninth inning at Busch Stadium on September 18, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Yesterday was a fantastic day for the Washington Nationals. We got so many fun moments and milestones. The good vibes were flowing and the team was playing some good baseball. I wanted to break down all the good things that happened yesterday and discuss what they mean moving forward.
There were a lot of great things that happened yesterday but the Cade Cavalli extension was the most important. The Nats have had a tough time locking up home grown talent, but they got it done with Cavalli. He signed a 4-year $47 million deal with a club option that could take it to 5-years for $70 million. We got to see our wealthy ace right away and he did not disappoint.
Cavalli tossed 5 shutout innings with 7 strikeouts and no walks. The 7 strikeouts were significant because it got him up to 200 on the season. It was the first 200 strikeout season for a Nationals pitcher since 2019. MacKenzie Gore was a strikeout artist in DC, but he only got up to 185. From start to finish, Cavalli is proving he can be an ace in this league.
Good day to be Cade Cavalli.
Got an extension this afternoon. Reached 200 strikeouts on the season in a scoreless start tonight. pic.twitter.com/h7stZ7qWnG
If the game was closer, Cavalli would have gone deeper into the game. However, with the Nats blowing out the Cardinals, it was a perfect time to manage Cavalli’s workload. He threw 73 low stress pitches and got his 13th win of the season. In his first full big league campaign, Cavalli has a 3.02 ERA with 200 strikeouts in 169.2 innings. He will get a chance to drop that ERA under 3 in his last start of the season.
However, this day was not just about Cade Cavalli. Josiah Gray made his inspirational return to the mound last night. Honestly, Gray can look to Cavalli as a light at the end of the tunnel. Both had very bumpy recoveries from Tommy John Surgery. Cavalli has come all the way back and is better than ever. Hopefully Gray can do the same as he is further removed from his injury troubles.
With the game being 9-1, it was a perfect time to get Gray back on the mound. The right-hander made his first appearance since April of 2024 in the 9th inning. He actually looked sharper than expected. In his rehab outings, Gray’s fastball was in the low-90’s. Last night, he was sitting at 94 and attacking the zone. He threw a scoreless inning and closed out the game.
Josiah Gray — who missed almost three full seasons recovering from injuries — returned to the mound tonight. Faced 4 batters and retired 3. pic.twitter.com/D8qsF6qitz
It was easy to see just how happy Gray was to be back on the mound. After he finished the game, Gray emotionally pointed towards the heavens. So much about this team has changed since the last time Josiah Gray took the mound. He has had plenty of setbacks, but he never gave up.
For now, Gray will be in the bullpen. Who knows what is next for the right hander, but I am really rooting for him. It would be great to see him have an impact on this team moving forward. If he can live in the mid-90’s with his sharp breaking balls, he might be able to carve out a role.
Personal goals were not the only thing the Nats accomplished yesterday though. The Nats 9-1 win gave them 72 wins on the season. That is the club’s high water mark since winning the World Series in 2019. They reached 71 in 2023 and 2024, but that was where the Rizzo rebuild peaked. In Paul Toboni’s first season, the Nats have already surpassed that now.
The Nationals have won the most games in a season since 2019 at 72. With one more win, they can avoid a 90 loss season
Heading into the season, the Nats were expected to win a similar number of games to 2025, where they went 66-96. Some even projected them to be even worse than that due to losing players like MacKenzie Gore, Josh Bell and Jose A. Ferrer. However, the offense has been elite and has made this team much more competitive than expected.
They were above .500 for large chunks of the season. Despite losing steam in August and early September, this group has taken big steps. The Nats only need one more win to avoid a 90 loss season, which I think is a significant milestone. With three more wins, they can get to 75 on the season as well. Obviously we will be looking for bigger goals than that moving forward, but you have to crawl before you walk.
One final individual milestone came in the first inning of this contest. CJ Abrams swiped his 30th base of the season. With 30 homers and 30 steals, Abrams has become the second Nat in franchise history to have a 30/30 season joining Alfonso Soriano, who went 40/40.
CJ Abrams is the 3rd player in Nationals/Expos franchise history to have a 30-HR/30-SB season, joining Alfonso Soriano (2006) and Vladimir Guerrero (2001 & 2002)! pic.twitter.com/RiJ0ieUFsb
Abrams had a rough six week stretch, but he has looked better the past week or so. It really feels like Abrams goes as the team goes. When the vibes are good, Abrams is rolling. However, he can fall into funks when the team around him is crumbling. His season may not have finished as we hoped, but Abrams overall production has still taken a massive step forward.
You can make an argument that this was the best single day for the Nats since 2019. We got a contract extension, several personal milestones, a long awaited return and a big win to reach a new high water mark for the decade. As we enter 2027, I hope to see plenty more days like this in Nats land.
On Friday,
Montreal Canadiens’ former number one goaltender Samuel Montembeault spoke to
the media for the first time since training camp began and, unsurprisingly, said
he has turned the page on last year’s debacle. Being a new dad helped him do
that; it made it easier to think about something besides hockey, but he didn’t
take that big a break because he wanted to keep building on what he had put
together when he wasn’t playing during the playoffs.
For now,
what the goaltender needs is to build up his confidence, and in that sense, it
may be very good for him to be training with Team B. Right now, he’s not facing
the team’s top offensive weapon, and after Friday’s practice he said:
It went
well this summer, so I felt ready when I got to camp. The first two days went
well. Today I gave up just two goals in the whole practice, both to Florian, but I feel good, and as I said, I don’t want to think too much about what’s coming. I want to come to work every day, and we’ll see what happens.
Obviously,
like everyone else, he’s aware that GM Kent Hughes has said he’s ready to start
training camp with three goaltenders but not the season, but he doesn’t want to
discuss whether that increases the pressure on him:
It comes
back to what I said: I don’t want to think ahead to when the season will start.
We still have a couple of weeks before then, so I want to work, try to do things
the right way and give myself the best odds. I’ve got a role to earn; we know that
last year it didn’t go well. So it’s a new start; I want to come to work and do
things the right way.
Put into
context, Hughes’ declaration could mean a couple of different scenarios. It
doesn’t necessarily mean that Montembeault will be traded; it could simply mean
that Jacob Fowler, who doesn’t have to clear waivers, is sent down to Laval.
Would that be ideal? No. Of course Fowler could use more action, but given what
he showed last season, it feels like he'd benefit more from seeing that action
in the NHL, facing NHL players who are more skilled and tougher to stop than AHLers.
That’s one reason Hughes will move Montembeault if he gets an opportunity;
besides, since the Bécancour native is playing a contract year, he certainly
wouldn’t mind a shot at being number one elsewhere to prove his worth.
On Saturday
night, Montembeault and Team B will head to Toronto to take on what is likely
to be the Toronto Maple Leafs’ A Team, based on what we’ve seen of the Leafs’ training
groups. In other words, after facing the Canadiens’ bottom six,
he’ll face Auston Matthews, William Nylander, John
Tavares, new sensation Gavin McKenna, and new defenseman Darren Raddysh. With
all due respect to the Canadiens’ bottom six, that promises to be a bigger
challenge. Thankfully, that game will take place away from the spotlight of the
Bell Centre, which will at least let Montembeault ease back in mentally.
Martin
St-Louis has yet to confirm who will start for the Canadiens in Saturday night's
split-squad games, but logic dictates that Montembeault will get the start. Training
camp is short this season, and the Habs have no time to waste. They need to see
and know whether the netminder can bounce back, wherever he ends up. A strong
performance would also go a long way toward improving his value on the trade
market. On Jason Gregor’s podcast earlier this week, Frank Seravalli said he believes Montembeault will be the first player traded this season, and if he can prove last year was a bump in the road, that wouldn’t be surprising.
