It’s no secret the connection that Knicks fans of a certain generation feel toward the 1972-73 championship-winning squad. But a pair of stars from that team share a deeper connection that was on display Thursday morning in the South Bronx.
Speaking before a packed gymnasium at the Earl Monroe New Renaissance Basketball School, two-time NBA champion and former U.S. senator Bill Bradley spoke from the heart about his friend, one-time on-court rival and eventual Knicks teammate, Earl “The Pearl” Monroe.
“The fact that it has Earl Monroe on the [school] name, that might be a little reason why I’m here, but you guys are the reason that makes my heart full. Earl is the reason of my heart, because he is in my heart,” Bradley said with Monroe sitting off to his left and drawing an audible reaction from the school’s students in the crowd. “When you are a teammate and you go to the top, it’s a forever bond, and we did that twice.”
New York Knicks legend Earl Monroe, surrounded by Sen. Bill Bradley, NBA commissioner Adam Silver, and kneeling from left, former Knicks John Starks, Stephon Marbury and Tim Thomas, poses for a photo at the dedication of the Earl Monroe New Renaissance Basketball School in the South Bronx, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Bradley, 83, added that his appearance Thursday was “one small way for me to say to my friend, I love you.”
The two Knicks legends were side by side once again to celebrate the opening of the new 69,000-square-foot facility for the Earl Monroe New Renaissance Basketball School, a specialized charter school in The Bronx whose curriculum is based around basketball and careers beyond the court.
The school opened in 2021 and provides its 440 students from grades 9-12 with an education in topics ranging from broadcast, print and digital media to law and marketing.
“Everybody can’t play basketball, even though everybody wants to, but there’s so many other aspects of the sports and the game that you can be involved in without being the sports person,” Monroe, 81, said after the event. “I think that this is an excellent way for people to be involved in the sport and still get the same satisfaction as scoring a basket.”
New York Knicks legend Sen. Bill Bradley, left, shakes hands with NBA commissioner Adam Silver. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
The ribbon-cutting ceremony drew a star-studded list of guests, including former Knicks stars John Starks and Stephon Marbury, Knicks celebrity superfan Tracy Morgan, ESPN personality Mike Greenberg, who hosted the event, and NBA commissioner Adam Silver.
Silver noted how fitting it was that Thursday’s ceremony was taking place after the Knicks ended their 53-year championship drought this past summer, making them the first Knicks title squad since Monroe’s 1973 team.
“It felt great,” Monroe said about seeing the Knicks win another title. “We’ve had some great players come through over the years, and finally getting over the hump. Not only just for me, just for the city itself. We’re a city of champs, so we deserve it.”
But the Knicks will have a target on their back this season as defending champions, and repeating is no small task.
Former New York Knick Stephon Marbury takes a selfie at the dedication of the Earl Monroe New Renaissance Basketball School in the South Bronx, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Monroe was part of the Baltimore Bullets team that prevented the Knicks from repeating in 1971, knocking them out in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer didn’t seem too worried about the Knicks’ mindset going into this season.
“Certainly, the fact that you’ve won, obviously, it makes it so that you understand that you can win again,” Monroe said. “So I’m quite sure that they’re coming into this thinking that we’re No. 1, and I’ll tell other people to prove that we’re not.”
New York Knicks legends Earl Monroe (right) and former Sen. Bill Bradley attend the dedication of the Earl Monroe New Renaissance Basketball School in the South Bronx area of New York on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. Charles Wenzelberg / New York PostNBA commissioner Adam Silver stands with Dan and Abbe Klores as Silver announces the new Earl Monroe New Renaissance Basketball School building will be named after them, in the South Bronx, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
While Monroe and Bradley are forever tied together on the court, from their days playing in the Baker League in Philadelphia through college and into the NBA, Bradley’s lasting memory of Monroe reflected more from what he saw Thursday than on the court.
“This is the Earl Monroe that I know,” Bradley said prior to the start of the ceremony. “From the first day I met him, when we had a shootout at Bry Pope Baptist Church in Philadelphia in the summertime, Earl Monroe was interested in the community, and this is the epitome of being interested in the community.”
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 27: Ketel Marte #4 and Geraldo Perdomo #2 of the Arizona Diamondbacks look on during the sixth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on September 27, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Introduction
In case you’ve been living under a rock since the D-Backs were eliminated from the postseason chase, it’s been an exhilarating postseason to this point with impressive pitching performances, historic comebacks, and drama abounded. Sadly, for the third straight year the Diamondbacks find themselves sitting at home setting tee times rather than lineups at this time of year. There are plenty of reasons for that situation – both as a team and individually. We’ll have plenty of time to digest and dissect those reasons (especially if the sport’s labor relations take the expected turn for the worse). But even though the season as a whole was unsuccessful within that frame of mind, there was plenty of exciting success for individuals up and down the roster. I think it’s worth highlighting that success and the individual achievements players reach in a season so I’ve been picking some individual milestones that players might reach in the season for the past couple of years to spotlight them in a long season.
Ketel Marte’s Approaches 200 Homers
Like the team, the club’s unofficial team captain had a rocky season both on an off the field. It was his worst season by OPS and OPS+ in nearly five years and a sharp departure from the MVP-caliber play he showed at times last season. Additionally, for the second year in a row, he demonstrated serious, well-documented off-field issues that clearly affected his play and the play of his teammates. The year started very slowly for him at the plate as his OPS bottomed out at .619 at the end of play on May 15th after an 0-for-5 effort in a win against the Rockies. Even worse, Marte had clubbed just five home runs and only 12 extra base hits in the first 41 games. From that date through the end of the season however, Marte looked like his usual self with a .266/.336/.464 slash line, 17 roundtrippers, and 44 extra base hits in the final 101 games of the season. Those numbers are closer to his career norms of a .280/.349/.472 slash line, 23 home runs, and 65 extra base hits, but they were not enough for the veteran to reach the 28 homers necessary to hit 200 for his career. Instead, he finds himself seven homers short of the 200 career mark, facing down negativity from the fanbase, and even more question marks on his position within the organization.
Nolan Arenado’s Pursuit of 2000 Hits
It’s easy to say in hindsight, but I really like the move when Mike Hazen traded for Arenado this past offseason. It improved what was a mediocre defense last year, especially with Eugenio Saurez at the hot corner, brought in some needed veteran leadership, and would take whatever kind of offense they could get from him. Instead, the future Hall of Famer seemingly found the Fountain of Youth in the desert as he put together his best season since 2022. He reached 2000 career hits in late July and shortly afterward reached the bWAR milestone of 60 for his career. Ultimately, he ended the season with 2057 hits and a career 61.4 bWAR, a particularly incredible set of accomplishments considering how poorly the previous two campaigns with the Cardinals were for him. And while it’s unlikely he’ll be able to recreate that kind of success two seasons in a row at 36, the D-Backs do have an additional year of control with him for next season. If nothing else, Arenado has shown that he can contribute through his leadership and dazzling glovework.
TORONTO (AP) — Owen Power scored in overtime and the Buffalo Sabres rallied from two goals down in the third period to overcome Kirill Marchenko's hat trick and beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-4 on Thursday.
Marchenko had the fifth hat trick of his career in his 300th NHL game. His third goal, at 16:51 of the second period, put the Leafs ahead 4-2.
Jack Quinn had a pair of goals for Buffalo before Dennis Gilbert and Mattias Samuelsson scored in the third to tie it at 4-all. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 26 shots for the Sabres, who were coming off a shootout loss to Montreal two nights earlier.
Auston Matthews also scored for Toronto, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 29 saves.
Acquired from Columbus on Sept. 28, just before the season began, Marchenko had scored only once for Toronto before Thursday.
John Tavares had two assists before he left the game early in the third after he collided with Buffalo forward Josh Norris. The former Toronto captain appeared to favor his left leg as he left the ice.
Toronto was sloppy with the puck in the first period — Quinn’s first goal came on a giveaway by defenseman Nick Blankenburg — but the Sabres only managed eight shots to Toronto’s 15 in the frame. Buffalo got back into the game in the third with Tavares not available to anchor the Leafs’ second line.
Up next
Sabres: At the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.
Maple Leafs: Host the New York Islanders on Saturday.
The Knicks looked like their championship selves Thursday night, beating the Toronto Raptors, 122-120, in their final preseason contest. New York finished the preseason 1-4.
Here are the takeaways...
-- New York mounted its strongest performance of the preseason, avenging (can you seek revenge for a preseason game?) its 50-point loss to the Raptors on Tuesday. Despite falling behind early, New York quickly took the lead with confident threes, quick drives to the basket, and clean rebounds.
Overall, the team shot 48 percent from the field, 36 percent from behind the three-point line, and 78 percent from the free-throw line — the first two representing preseason bests.
-- Though coach Mike Brown stayed true to his pregame promise of treating the matchup like a dress rehearsal for the regular season, affording his five starters — Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Mo Diawara — real starter minutes for the first time, the winning effort came from players up and down the roster. (Diawara was starting in place of Josh Hart, who missed the game with ankle soreness.)
Eleven different Knicks saw the court across the first half. Every one of them scored at least two points, and six grabbed five or more. Aside from Pacome Dadiet, they each played six-plus minutes.
-- Brunson, though, drove the effort, racking up 20 points, three rebounds, and seven assists across 29 minutes of play. He also went 5-for-6 from the free-throw line and landed his single three-point attempt.
-- Towns had a huge impact at the high post, recording one-third of the Knicks' 21 first-half assists (7 of 21) and rebounds (9 of 27). He finished the game just one assist shy of a preseason triple-double (13 points, 15 assists, 9 rebounds).
-- After waiving Tony Bradley and Drew Eubanksduring the day Thursday, the Knicks were left with just two candidates looking to fill the highly contested final slot: James Wiseman and Bruce Brown.
Only Wiseman played, and he only took the court in the waning minutes of the game. In that four-minute stint, he recorded two points and one rebound.
-- Though Miles McBride sat out much of the latter half of the game, the longest-tenured Knick carried the first quarter on his back, ending the frame with three-straight triples and going 3-for-6 both from the field and from the arc.
-- Toronto's Jaden Bradley, a 2026 second-round draft pick, tied the game at 117 with less than a minute left, landing a field goal and earning a free throw on a foul from Tyler Kolek, but the Knicks pulled ahead again by the end thanks to a three from Kolek and two foul shots from Tyler Nickel.
-- Scottie Barnes (23 points, 4-for-5 from beyond the arc), as well as former Knicks RJ Barrett (21 points) and Immanuel Quickley (18 points), kept the Raptors in the mix, but their efforts to topple the reigning NBA champions once again fell just short.
Game MVP: Scottie Barnes
The 25-year-old guard led all players in points (23).
The Knicks will kick off their title defense with the first game of the 2026-27 regular season at MSG, hosting the Philadelphia 76ers on Oct. 20. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.
Their four-run cushion, powered by Shohei Ohtani's 428-foot home run and delayed arrival to October, disappeared in the top of the fifth inning after what had been a stellar outing from Tyler Glasnow spiraled. Evan Phillips couldn't clean up the mess, leaving a bases-loaded jam for Alex Vesia, who proceeded to walk Jake Bauers to score the tying run for Milwaukee.
The very next inning, Garrett Mitchell took Tanner Scott deep for a late, go-ahead home run.
Sal Frelick began the fifth-inning rally with a one-out walk and immediately stole second. David Hamilton brought him home on an RBI single up the middle to bring the Brewers within one run and putting an end to Glasnow's night.
Phillips entered the game and got Jackson Chourio to line out, but intentionally walked Brice Turang after Hamilton stole second. The 32-year-old right-hander couldn't put away William Contreras, though, unintentionally walking him on six pitches to load the bases. Dave Roberts then pulled Phillips for Vesia, but Vesia couldn't find the strike zone and walked Bauers on four pitches to tie the game.
Vesia got out of the jam on a grounder from Christian Yelich in the next at-bat, and he was replaced by Scott for the top of the sixth. Mitchell led off the inning and worked a full count before taking advantage of a fastball down the middle on Scott's sixth pitch, sending it 409 feet over the wall in right center field to give Milwaukee a 5-4 lead.
The Brewers are three innings away from eliminating the Dodgers and clinching their first pennant since 1982.
They came close, but the Vancouver Canucks couldn’t quite cut it. Despite leading for the bulk of the game, the Canucks suffered a 3–2 overtime loss to the Florida Panthers, bringing their current losing streak to six games. Liam Öhgren and defenceman Elias Pettersson scored Vancouver’s goals, while Leevi Meriläinen produced yet another strong outing with 36 saves on 39 shots.
One key storyline heading into tonight’s game was Filip Chytil’s return to play. The forward missed the start of the 2026–27 season due to an injury sustained during his first pre-season game of the year, but joined the team after taking part in a couple of skates starting on Tuesday. Tonight, he centred a line between Paul Cotter and Brock Boeser, collecting an assist and playing the third-highest minutes of Vancouver’s forwards with 18:30. Not only did he send a smooth backwards pass to Pettersson to set up the defenceman’s goal tonight, he also took one shift on Vancouver’s penalty kill.
The other player that came into the lineup tonight, Victor Mancini, also had a solid game in the limited minutes he played in (13:30). The defenceman took Luke Schenn’s spot on Vancouver’s third-pairing alongside Zeev Buium. He showed up well in the second period in particular, making a timely hit to tie-up an oncoming Brady Tkachuk while also flashing some offensive skill in another sequence by pulling the puck past two Florida players and breaking it out of Vancouver’s zone. The defenceman also spent some time on Vancouver’s penalty kill.
For just the fourth time this season, the Canucks scored the game’s opening goal thanks to a strong shot from Öhgren. Major credit to the goal goes to Linus Karlsson, however, whose battles along the boards managed to pluck the puck away from the Panthers. His work near the corner ultimately helped set Öhgren up to score his second goal of the season.
Tonight’s game was much more solid for Vancouver from a defensive perspective — for the most part. After scoring two goals in the first period, the Canucks were able to plug up the neutral zone well enough to prevent Florida from getting too many good chances on Meriläinen. Shots were 9–4 Florida by the end of the second period, with the Panthers only managing to produce one high-danger scoring chance.
Vancouver nearly had a golden opportunity to score their third goal of the game during the second period. Jonathan Lekkerimäki sent a puck over to forward Elias Pettersson, who had an open stretch of ice to hurtle towards Panthers goaltender Akira Schmid. However, as the pass was sent, referee Francois St. Laurent collided with Pettersson, knocking him to the ice and preventing the Canucks forward from capitalizing on the play.
The tide seemed to change for the Panthers once Vancouver wound up on their third power play of the game. Florida was able to pick the puck off and control play in Vancouver’s zone with the Canucks’ first unit defending on the ice. Florida was able to ride the momentum into a rush sequence that set the younger Tkachuk up for his fourth goal of the season.
After a strenuous two minutes defending against Florida at 6-on-5, featuring shift lengths of over 1:30 minutes for players like Chytil, Boeser, and defenceman Pettersson, it looked as though Vancouver may have escaped with a win in regulation. However, with the clock winding down to less than 12 seconds, Tkachuk sent the puck past Meriläinen to tie things up for the Panthers.
It was all Florida once overtime started. The Canucks weren’t quite able to gain full control of the puck whenever it touched their sticks, allowing the Panthers to generate better chances with sustained time in Vancouver’s zone. Halfway through the overtime period, Tkachuk took advantage of long shifts for Buium, Boeser, and Max Sasson, cutting in past the Canucks and scoring his third goal of the game and sixth in the past two games.
Vancouver has now dropped all five of their games on their current east-coast road trip. They only have one more shot at a win — Saturday’s matinee game against the Tampa Bay Lightning at 1:00 pm PT.
Oct 15, 2026; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers left wing Brady Tkachuk (8) scores the winning goal against the Vancouver Canucks during overtime at Amerant Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Stats and Facts:
Vancouver finishes the game with a collective faceoff win rate of 49.2%
Canucks score the first two goals of a game for the first time in 2026–27
Filip Chytil records his first point in 364 days
Leevi Meriläinen records an in-game save percentage higher than .920% for the fourth time this season
Scoring Summary:
1st Period:
7:23 - VAN: Liam Öhgren (2) from Linus Karlsson
17:06 - VAN: Elias Pettersson (3) Filip Chytil and Brock Boeser
2nd Period:
No Scoring.
3rd Period:
11:11 - FLA: Brady Tkachuk (4) from Aaron Ekblad and Matthew Tkachuk
19:47 - FLA: Brady Tkachuk (5) from Carter Verhaeghe and Seth Jones
Overtime:
2:23 - FLA: Brady Tkachuk (6) from Seth Jones and Sam Reinhart
Up Next:
Vancouver Canucks @ Tampa Bay Lightning, October 17, 1:00 pm PT
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The New York Islanders continue to alternate wins and losses as they fall 2-1 to the Ottawa Senators in a shootout on Thursday night.
Matias Maccelli scored at 19:48 of the first period, while Ridley Greig scored at 15:43 of the second period. Long Island native Shane Pinto scored the shootout winner, the lone goal in the skills competition.
Semyon Varlamov, in his second start of the season, made 18 saves, while Linus Ullmark, who improved to 6-0-0, made 20 saves.
It was a sloppy game for both sides. Both teams struggled on the power play, with the Islanders going 0-for-3 while Ottawa went 0-for-4.
The Islanders are now 3-3-1 while the Senators are now 6-2-0.
Here's how the game unfolded.
The Islanders drew official first blood in this one when Maccelli stripped Pinto at Ottawa's blue line before walking in and beating Ullmark high glove side for a 1-0 lead at 19:48 of the first period.
The Senators thought they scored twice in the opening period, but Warren Foegle's wrist shot early in the frame hit the crossbar, after a replay review, and Drake Batherson was offside on Steven Halliday's short-side snipe later on.
At 15:43 of the second period, Grieg evened the score at 1-1 after finishing off a Foegele pass at the back post, after Tony DeAngelo left Foegele open. Kyle Palmieri, covering for Matthew Schaefer, who had pinched in, couldn't stop the pass across as he tried to cover DeAngelo:
In the third period, head coach Pete DeBoer moved Emil Heineman to the second line while demoting Cal Ritchie to the fourth line. Brayden Schenn moved from left wing to Ritchie's center spot. He made changes to every line minus Bo Horvat's:
CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane earned another career milestone in becoming the NHL’s career leader in assists among U.S.-born players.
The 37-year-old from Buffalo, New York, earned his 895th career assist on Connor Bedard’s game-opening power-play goal against the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night. In doing so in his 1,377th game, Kane surpassed the American-born record held by defenseman Phil Housley, who had 894 assists in 1,496 games.
Kane then added a second assist by having a hand in Artyom Levshunov's goal 1:37 into overtime of a 4-3 win.
In January while with the Detroit Red Wings, Kane set the record for most points among American NHLers, with the two assists now increasing his total to 1,405.
Kane is in his 20th NHL season and signed a two-year contract in July to return to Chicago where he won three Stanley Cups during his first 16 NHL seasons. He was selected first overall by Chicago in the 2007 draft, and was the NHL’s MVP and leading scorer in 2016. ___
Former Senators forward David Perron isn't quite ready to hang up his skates.
Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman posted on social media Thursday night that he's hearing the 38-year-old veteran is joining the Dallas Stars, extending an impressive NHL career that began nearly two decades ago.
It would be the tenth time Perron has changed teams since breaking into the league with the St. Louis Blues in 2007.
For Senators fans, the news is a reminder of a free-agent signing that never quite worked out as planned.
Perron was one of a slew of free agent forwards the Sens signed in 2024, along with Michael Amadio, Noah Gregor, Adam Gaudette, and Nick Cousins. Perron got a two-year, $8 million deal to provide secondary scoring, leadership and some much-needed playoff experience.
At the time, Perron was coming off a productive season with the Detroit Red Wings, where he had just recorded 47 points in 76 games.
But his time with the Sens wasn't nearly as productive.
In his first season with the Senators in 2024-25, Perron managed just 16 points in 43 games. While trying to adapt to a new team, his season was disrupted by injuries and personal circumstances, making it difficult for him to get any consistency going.
He did contribute two goals and an assist in six playoff games against the Toronto Maple Leafs. His game-tying third period goal in Game 6 briefly gave the Sens the belief they might actually rally from an 0-3 series deficit to force Game 7, but it was not to be.
Perron showed some improvement in his second season, putting up 25 points in 49 games. However, his lingering sports hernia eventually required surgery in January, bringing his time with the Sens to an end.
The Senators traded Perron back to Detroit at the deadline in exchange for a conditional fourth-round draft pick (goalie Elliot Lennon). His return to the Red Wings wasn't particularly productive either. Perron registered just three goals and no assists in 16 games.
At this stage of his long career, Dallas certainly won't be expecting Perron to produce the kind of numbers he did during his prime.
But after 19 seasons, more than 1,200 games, and a Stanley Cup championship, signing on for a 20th NHL season is an achievement in itself.
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani hits a three-run home run against the Milwaukee Brewers in the second inning of Game 4 of the NLCS. Wally Skalij for the CA Post
After striking out in his first at-bat Thursday night, Ohtani delivered the kind of moment the Dodgers had been waiting for all October, unloading on a down-and-in cutter from ex-Dodger Dustin May to give the Dodgers an early 4-0 lead in their elimination game.
The 428-foot drive marked Ohtani’s first home run since Aug. 18 –– snapping an MLB career-long 25-game homer drought.
It was also accompanied by a rare show of raw emotion from the 32-year-old slugger, who flung his bat, raised his arms and then looked back toward the dugout with a scream as he skipped up the first base line.
After returning to the bench, he remained fired up while exchanging high fives with his teammates.
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani hits a three-run home run against the Milwaukee Brewers. Wally Skalij for the CA PostLos Angeles Dodgers Shohei Ohtani hits a three-run home run. Wally Skalij for the CA Post
Thursday marked the first time this postseason Ohtani had hit leadoff –– having been dropped from his customary spot amid a dreadful slump over the last couple months while battling right arm and left knee injuries.
However, manager Dave Roberts was encouraged by the swings Ohtani had taken in batting practice in recent days, as well as a Game 3 performance in which he reached base three times and roped a 113 mph single –– his hardest-hit ball since June –– in his final at-bat of the night.
Thus, with the team’s season on the line in the face of a three-games-to-none series deficit, Roberts decided to put Ohtani back at the top of the batting order.
The superstar immediately paid off the decision, giving the Dodgers true momentum for the first time in this NLCS.
The Chicago Blackhawks have been waiting for the moment when Connor Bedard scored a goal assisted by Patrick Kane. It came in the first period of his first game back, as Kane assisted on Bedard's first goal of the season.
The goal was on the power play, a 5-on-3, and Tyler Bertuzzi also collected an assist. In addition to being special because it was Bedard's first as captain and his first goal assisted by Kane, it also made USA Hockey history.
Kane's assist was the 895th of his incredible Hall of Fame career, and that passed Phil Housley for the most by an American-born forward. Kane already has a ton of American hockey records, and this one is another on a long list.
and with that assist, Patrick Kane takes the top spot for 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗯𝘆 𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻-𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗻 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 in the NHL ‼️ pic.twitter.com/Y8LyB8OJ9Q
The goal put the Blackhawks up 1-0 as they look to build momentum now that the team is healthy with Connor Bedard in the lineup. This won't be the last goal that Bedard and Kane combine to score over the next two seasons.
When the puck entered the net, you can see that Kane was genuinely impressed with Bedard's shot, but it's equally as impressive that he is now the all-time greatest assist man in the history of Americans playing in the NHL.
Tyler Bertuzzi also reached a personal milestone with his assist on the goal. It was the 200th in his NHL career. All sorts of milestones are happening at the United Center.
with the assist to Connor Bedard's goal, Tyler Bertuzzi notches 𝟐𝟎𝟎 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬!! pic.twitter.com/d3MjK4nLmM
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive, and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting on the article below on THN.com or by creating your own post in our community forum.
AMARILLO, TX - AUGUST 12: Avery Owusu-Asiedu #25 of the Amarillo Sod Poodles high fives teammate Jansel Luis #10 after scoring during the game between the Midland RockHounds and the Amarillo Sod Poodles at Hodgetown on Wednesday, August 12, 2026 in Amarillo, Texas. (Photo by Elisa Chavez/Minor League Baseball via Getty Images)
Introduction
Instead of continuing with the next installment of the 2026 prospect all-star series, I’m going to shift gears this week. Instead, we’re going to talk about some prospects that I have heard quite a few people write off for various reason, or just outright dismiss.
Some of that is justified, but some of it completely misses the mark. Often it is either way too harsh or it’s just way too early to call said player a non-prospect when some of these guys are still younger than the average NCAA player. A lot of the criticisms lacks the context of what the player has done in the past, what their season looks like relative to past performance and the league they’re in.
In a world full of negativity and the most pessimistic takes, I am proponent of finding reasons to be optimistic, even if there aren’t many Will it always work out for these players? Most likely not, but there is always just as much of chance for a well regarded prospect who’s been doing well to randomly flame out, for many different reasons.
For once I will not be excluding players who have appeared in the major leagues this season, so the players discussed today range from Low A ball all the way up to the guys on the bubble of the 26 man roster.
Jansel Luis
Bats/Throws: S/R Position: 3B/SS/(2B?) Height/Weight 6’0″ / 170 Born: March 6, 2005 in San Pedro de Macoris, DR
The jump to AA is the second hardest in professional baseball and just because you’re playing in one of the most hitter friendly ballparks in one of the most hitter friendly leagues, doesn’t mean that jump is going to be any easier. Jansel Luis learned that himself the hard way in 2026. In the past talent evaluators had pointed out the erratic nature of the switch hitting middle infielder’s approach at the plate, and combined with facing much tougher pitching, lead to a down year at the plate.
In a career high 109 games, Luis hit just 270/315/.444 with 16 hrs, in addition to successfully swiping 26 bases in 30 attempts. While that sounds like acceptable production from a 2B/SS/3B, that works out to a rather meager and below average 76 wRC+ and .335 wOBA. As a switch hitter though, that doesn’t tell the whole story about Luis’ season. As a LHB against LHP Luis hit 288/.327/.485 with an .813 OPS, but as a RHB against LHP, he hit a paltry .222/.284/.326 .with a 610 OPS.
A few interesting pieces of trivia came up in the midst of my research for this article. The first one is the fact that for some reason, Luis took a lone plate appearance against left handed pitching as a left handed batter, and in that at-bat he hit a grand slam. In addition, Luis also had three plate appearances as a right handed batter against right handed pitching, going 1 for 3 with a single. Assuming this is correct information and not a data entry error, could this suggest that Jansel Luis might be better off dropping the switch hitting and consider hitting exclusively from the left side? Clearly in a season where things weren’t going well on one side of the plate, Luis was willing to experiment and try something different.
As a 21 year old in Double-A having his first real career setback, that’s really not that bad of a seasonn all things considered. He’s likely to start the year in Double-A, but with a good spring he very well might get back on track enough to start the year in Triple-A Reno. Considering he’s still relatively young though, the Diamondbacks have no reason to rush him, so the former seems like a likely outcome in my opinion.
instead started 85 of his 109 games at third base, 19 at shortstop, and the rest at DH.
Cristofer Torin
Bats/Throws: R/R Position: SS Height/Weight 5’9″ / 155 Born: May 26, 2005 in Acarigua, Venezuela
Cristofer Torin has been linked in my mind with Jansel Luis since the beginning of their professional career, as both signed as international amateur free agents in January of 2022. Since then, they’ve played at every level together, with Torin usually at shortstop and Luis at second or third base. Both players also had impressive 2025 season, and both players struggled at the plate in 2026 playing in Amarillo. Despite the fact that Torin has never gotten quite the same level of glowing praise as Luis has as a prospect, the former has always stood out to me more, even though the latter has much louder tools.
In 2026, Cristofer Torin played in 118 games, all with Amarillo in the Double-A level Texas League. In those 118 games, Torin put up a triple slash line of .281/.344/.440 with a .350 wOBA and an 85 wRC+. His 16 home runs actually matches his career total entering 2026, though his 12 successful stolen bases in 18 attempts is a career low, as was his 8.1% walk percentage. His 11.2% strikeout percentage is the third lowest of his career, and the lowest since 2023. Torin also put up the second lowest batting average on balls in play of his career (.291 BABIP) which was significantly lower than his career average, which suggests to me that a lot of Torin’s ‘down’ season was the result of bad luck. Torin’s defense is some of the best of any player in the D’backs farm system, so much so that I wouldn’t even really call this a bad season. An 85 wRC+ from a shortstop with plus plus defense is still going to provide positive Wins Above Replacement, so I am not all that worried about Torin’s future, and I expect him to be able to make the adjustments he needs to return to offensive form next season.
LuJames Groover
Bats/Throws: R/R Position: 3B/1B/DH Height/Weight 6’2″ / 215 Born: April 16, 2002 in East Point, GA, USA
LuJames Groover spent 15 games in the major leagues in 2026, largely playing out of position at first base instead of third where he had spent the majority of his professional career, and never really looked like he had the chance to get comfortable at the plate or in the field. Is it really a surprise then that he hit just .167/.259/.271 with a very anemic looking 245 wOBA, 286 xwOBA, and a 51 wRC+? Groover was perfectly fine in AAA, putting up a .305/.389/.436 triple slash with a 102 wRC+. The real cause for concern in Groover’s future is the lack of power and expected SLG % that is 100 points lower than it was in reality, which brings his xwOBA down to .304 from his .375 wOBA.
Groover is going to need to make some somewhat significant changes this winter and spring to both his swing and his approach at the plate, to unlock a lot more power. If he’s going to be shifted down the defensive spectrum to first or DH, he just doesn’t have the power to be an average hitter at either position. He’s significantly improved his defense at third base, and I do think he can stick there, but his time in MLB in 2026 shows he just not ready yet. Calling him a bust after only fifteen games is absolutely ridiculous though, and he thinks we’ll need a full season worth of games to get a fair read on Groover as a prospect
Druw Jones
Bats/Throws: R/R Position: CF Height/Weight 6’2″ / 180lbs Born: November 28, 2003 in Atlanta, GA
This is going to be the most controversial inclusion in this article, because I know the vast majority of D’Backs fans reading this have already labled Jones a bust and think he has absolutely no chance at a future in the big leagues. While I agree that he hasn’t lived up to the lofty expectations set by being the son of a Hall of famer, on top of being the second overall draft pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, I think Jones might still have a future in the big leagues and I wouldn’t label him a total bust just yet.
You might wonder why I exactly I would say that, but there’s a few reasons why. The first and foremost reason is that as one of the best defensive outfield prospect I’ve ever seen, Jones really doesn’t need to hit much to land a gig in the major leagues as a late defensive replacement and fourth outfielder. The fact that he’s a plus runner and a credible stolen base threat, stealing a career high 38 bases in 49 attempts, gives him an opportunity to also be pinch runner. Yeah that’s not exactly exciting, but tell that to Terrence Gore, who had two world series rings in spite of only 74 career regular season at bats.
Now getting to my main point, while Jones 2026 season wasn’t great, and there are still some major red flags, he looked significantly better in the second half of the season, putting up a triple slash of .288/.341/.407 compared to the .252/.380/.338 he put up in the first half. He also had some really hot stretches, especially in June when he put up a .368/.489/.500 triple slash in 21 games that month, as well as in September when he hit .356/.408/.533 in 12 games. Jones’ worth month by far was in May, when he hit .200/.333/.240 in 22 games. The .573 OPS he put up in may is quite a bit lower than the .640 OPS he put up in August, his next worst month. I think his season would look a lot better if May was more in line with the rest of the year.
Conclusion
That’s it for today! Do you agree or disagree with my evaluations? Which player that I didn’t write about do you think we shouldn’t be giving up on just yet? Which players do you think we should be giving up on after 2026? Let me know in the comments below!
Ohtani spoke with manager Dave Roberts earlier this week about staying in the lineup despite a prolonged slump.
The decision paid off: this was his first home run in 116 plate appearances. He had not hit a home run since a game against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on Aug. 18.
The Dodgers star sent the ball 428 feet into right center field, giving the Dodgers a 4-0 lead in Game 4.
The Dodgers are in a must-win situation, entering the game having lost the first three games of the NLCS against the Brewers.
Ohtani, the designated hitter, has not been healthy for a good portion of the 2026 season. He’s been dealing with knee inflammation and biceps discomfort. The injuries have limited his time as a pitcher; he hasn’t pitched at all since July 3 due to his injuries and he's not expected to pitch during the postseason.
The Yankees are expected to extend a one-year qualifying offer to closer David Bednar, but not infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr., ahead of this winter's upcoming free agency period, according to a report from The New York Post's Jon Heyman.
Each offseason, teams are eligible to offer their impending free agents a one-year contract extension equal to the average salary of the 125 highest-paid players in MLB. This offseason, the one-year qualifying offer will be worth $23.15 million.
Bednar, 32, just wrapped up his first full season in pinstripes. He posted 35 saves in 2026, trailing only Tampa Bay's Bryan Baker, Cleveland's Cade Smith, St. Louis's Riley O'Brien, and San Diego's Mason Miller (Bednar tied with Boston's Aroldis Chapman and Toronto's Louis Varland).
His 2.47 ERA and 1.038 WHIP were the stellar marks of a true shutdown closer, punching out 76 batters across 69.1 IP.
Meanwhile, Chisholm, 28, had an up-and-down 2026 season. Jazz grades out extremely well on the basepaths (41 stolen bases) and defensively at second base, but gained a reputation for the odd baserunning gaffe and fielding error.
At the plate, Jazz followed up a 2025 season in which he hit 31 home runs (earning him the Silver Slugger award) with just 19 this time around, as his batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage all ticked downward to a .231/.312/.399 slash line.
Looking at players under team control entering 2027, a resurgent Anthony Volpe, having learned to play second base, stands out as a potential replacement for Chisholm, as well as other infielders capable of playing the position: Jose Caballero and Luis Garcia.
Last offseason, the Yankees extended the qualifying offer to Trent Grisham. The 29-year-old outfielder opted to accept the one-year, $22.025 million extension rather than test the free agent market for a multi-year contract. Grisham regressed mightily year-over-year, as his WAR plummeted from 3.5 to 0.6 and his OPS from .811 to .703.
Grisham is now expected to hit the open market this offseason, alongside 1B Paul Goldschmidt, INF Amed Rosario, and relief pitchers Paul Blackburn, Tim Hill, and Ryan Yarbrough.
The Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League have signed goaltender James Reimer to a professional tryout contract.
With Igor Shesterkin’s season-ending injury and Joonas Korpisalo’s lower-body injury that’s expected to keep him out for one month, the New York Rangers’ goaltending depth suddenly became thin at both the NHL and AHL levels.
Dylan Garand and Spencer Martin, both called up by the Rangers, left the Wolf Pack with Callum Tung and Gabriel Carriere at the goaltending position.
The addition of Reimer provides the Rangers with more goaltending depth and a potential backup option for Garand until Korpisalo is activated from injured reserve, if the team decides to call him up in place of Martin.
Reimer has 16 years of NHL experience playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers, San Jose Sharks, Carolina Hurricanes, Detroit Red Wings, Anaheim Ducks, Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators.
The 38-year-old goaltender most recently played for the Senators during the 2025-26 season, recording a 7-4-2 record, a .886 save percentage and a 2.42 goals-against average.
