Duo are the most productive T20 openers, with Salt’s goal to be ‘best in the world’ after record innings against South Africa
As he reflected on his epic individual contribution to a thrilling and historic win for England against South Africa on Friday, Phil Salt spoke about being inspired to ever greater heights by the people around him. “The mentality that we’ve had from when I started playing for England to now, we’re always trying to push things forward,” he said. “Always trying to take, you know, the next step in the game.”
But over the past few years most of the steps taken by the white-ball side have been backwards. It is the Test team under Ben Stokes that have produced the thrills, while in shorter formats there has been a succession of spills. Jos Buttler, by general acclamation England’s greatest short-format player, stood down as captain in February after three years that started with victory in the 2022 T20 World Cup but came to be characterised by failure.
Artur Akhtyamov is excited for another year in Toronto despite being far from home.
The 23-year-old is entering his second season on North American soil, after spending all year with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies in 2024-25. He had originally been picked by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the fourth round (106th overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft, but spent a couple of years bouncing between the KHL and VHL (the Russian equivalent of the AHL).
“It was my first season here and maybe sometimes I miss my home, my wife, my parents and friends,” Akhtyamov said before heading to Montreal with the rest of Toronto’s rookies for the Prospect Showdown.. “Maybe this happened because I miss (home).”
“I’m enjoying being here now, my second year,” he said.
It’s never easy for players from Europe to come over to North America and be instantly thrown into the lifestyle. It’s even more difficult when your teammates all speak English and you’re still learning the language.
“A really big city, and I’m still learning,” Akhtyamov smiled. “My wife has come here now. I showed her the city and we just enjoy it. Every day we walk.”
In his first season, though, Akhtyamov often pushed himself to speak English, even doing interviews during the early months of last year. He’s more confident now with the language and the type of game that’s played in North America.
“I think Artie, especially, competes extremely hard,” Marlies head coach John Gruden said. “Like, he goes into every practice and he doesn’t want a puck to cross the goal line, and that’s just a great way to go about your business. Never ever complain about his work ethic.”
There’s a lot of hope that this season will be different. He’ll be more used to the lifestyle and game, plus he’ll have his wife, Anna, with him for the entire year, versus just a month last season.
“Yeah, this really helps for me because I’m not alone here… I can’t cook. She helps me,” Akhtyamov laughed.
The goaltender also won’t always have to share the net with three goalies. It should be him and Hildeby, who just signed a new three-year deal, commanding the Marlies’ crease for the upcoming season.
“They’re really good goalies,” he added of Murray and Hildeby, “and I watch when they play, I take a couple moments, like position game.”
It’s not just a big season because it’s his second year in North America, though. Akhtyamov is in the same position that Hildeby was in one year ago: entering the final year of his entry-level contract before hitting restricted free agency.
Akhtyamov might not get any NHL games this season — unless thrown into the position because of injuries — but it’s a massive year for his future. And the netminder hopes that, like Hildeby, he’ll be signing an extension with Toronto next summer.
“I congratulated him. It’s really good. He’s a really good partner. I’m happy he’s staying here and we work together again,” Akhtyamov said of Hildeby.
“I need to work, and we’ll see. My work is to stop the puck. I hope so. I hope I will sign a new contract with the Maple Leafs.”
While GM Kent Hughes pulled some moves to help the Montreal Canadiens’ power play over the summer, he did no such thing for the penalty kill. Furthermore, by letting Joel Armia and Christian Dvorak walk away, he lost a pair of players who played a significant role when down a man. A pair of rookies has noticed the void and hopes to fill it.
Oliver Kapanen played in 18 games with the Canadiens last season and spent the rest of the season playing with Timra IK in the Swedish league. There, he played a significant role for his team and was called upon in all kinds of situations; at even strength, on the power play, and on the penalty kill as well. He entered the rookie camp with one clear objective: making the Canadiens.
I practiced hard all summer, only for one goal: to make the team and play in Montreal.
The 22-year-old is focusing on camp and wants to impress while not giving the Habs’ brass any reason to send him down. Asked how he sees himself at his peak in the NHL, he replies that he wants to be a trustworthy player who can be put on the ice in all situations, it is his strength and what he’s been doing during his whole professional career.
As for Armia and Dvorak’s departure, he said:
Yeah, sure, a couple of guys left, and there might be some spots opening. I know what I need to do on the ice, and I want to focus on those to take the place. He added that it’s a significant role to play on the PK and that when he saw that, he thought I could do that.
Kapanen is no stranger to playing when a teammate is in the box; not only did he do it last season in the Swedish league, but he also did it in the SM-Liiga in Finland and during his junior days. As he said it himself, of course, it’s a different league and it involves other players, but it entails the same responsibilities.
He won’t be the only one hoping to step in to fill the void; Owen Beck will have the same goal. The 33rd pick overall at the 2022 draft is aware that the Canadiens have a crowded roster and that if he wants to make it, right now, he has to aim to be a reliable, trustworthy bottom-six player.
Laval Rocket coach Pascal Vincent was impressed by his play when he used him as a winger during the AHL playoffs, and Beck says he’s happy to have that in his toolbox now, since he had never played on the wing before:
My first call-up was actually the first time I played on the wing, which was a bit nerve-racking, but I guess there’s no better place to learn than at the highest level. As that continued later in the year, I felt comfortable with it. You know, if that’s where I can be utilized, I’m looking forward to that opportunity.
- Beck on the possibility to move to the wing
Vincent advised him to rely on his strengths, and for Beck, that means utilizing his skating skills across the ice, in transitions, and on the defensive side of the puck. This is an area where he can excel and should prioritize it. In hindsight, the youngster admits that he might have put too much pressure on himself in his second camp after having dominated in his first one. Like many players, when he first came in, he had no expectations, but when he turned up in year two, he willingly admits that he might have set his sights a bit high.
Beck also acknowledges that seeing a couple of PK spots opening this summer excited him; he has experience playing on the penalty kill, and he could be of service in that regard. That could very well be the case, since winning puck possession on the penalty kill is crucial. That skill may well help him to crack the Canadiens’ roster as well. Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook haven’t exactly shone in that department, and if they can’t win draws, they may just be better suited to playing on the wing.
The battle at center should be a fun one to watch this year during the main camp, especially if Hughes draws a blank on the trade market and Martin St-Louis has to look internally to fill his lineup down the middle. The fact that these two youngsters can play when down a man could be a difference maker and help open their path to the NHL.
According to a report, former Flyers goalie Carter Hart is nearing a return to the NHL, but that return isn't expected to be in Philadelphia.
On Friday, The Athletic NHL insider Chris Johnston reported that Hart, 27, is expected to agree to terms with a new NHL team on Oct. 1 before the contract is registered on Oct. 15 - the first day he's allowed to sign.
"Per league sources, Hart is expected to reach terms on a contract by Oct. 1, though the contract can’t officially be registered with the NHL until Oct. 15. His top priorities are finding a job with a clear chance to get a meaningful number of starts and playing for a team that can win," Johnston reported. "Hart is looking for a fresh start, which effectively rules out a return to Philadelphia."
So, the Flyers reunion that some fans were hoping for is all but dashed.
As Johnston noted, the Flyers don't offer Hart a fresh start, and they also can't provide him a meaningful number of starts on a team that can win.
Even before Hart took his leave of absence, the Flyers were an average team enjoying a hot streak, and now that they have Sam Ersson, Dan Vladar, Aleksei Kolosov, and Ivan Fedotov all under contract with NHL experience, there are just too many cooks in the kitchen for this to make sense.
"Once Hart chooses his next NHL destination, he’s expected to sign a two- or three-year contract, per league sources. The two-year term would open up the possibility of an extension as soon as the summer of 2026 if the player and team feel it’s a good match," added Johnston.
"In the meantime, Hart’s focus is on getting his game back up to an NHL level. The terms of the league’s reinstatement allow him a month to practice and get acclimated with his new team — from Oct. 15 to Nov. 15 — before he becomes eligible for an American Hockey League conditioning assignment."
The Flyers' former second-round pick has not played a competitive game of any kind since his last NHL appearance, which was a 7-4 blowout loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Jan. 20. Hart allowed five goals on 15 shots before being relieved by Ersson.
It should also be noted that a team in the United States is preferable for Hart, according to Johnson, and that the Oilers, as widely speculated, are not going to be a fit.
All this information narrows a potential Hart landing spot down quite a bit, and the next two weeks will tell the full story.
Andrew Friedman, Dodgers president of baseball operations, spent $1.5 billion the past two offseasons. It paid off with a World Series title last year. (Brandon Sloter/Getty Images)
The “Dodgers are ruining baseball” discourse that dominated last winter included pleas for a salary cap from the owners of the Baltimore Orioles, Colorado Rockies and Pittsburgh Pirates.
Congratulations, gentlemen, your teams are in last place. For you, the Dodgers are a handy scapegoat.
But the discourse also included this take from the owner of the New York Yankees: “It's difficult for most of us owners to be able to do the kind of things that they're doing,” Hal Steinbrenner told the YES Network. “We'll see if it pays off.”
So far, it has not paid off.
The Dodgers will make the playoffs, but the collection of players they bought to fortify their World Series title defense has fallen far short of expectations.
What happens in October could determine whether the spending spree that so annoyed rival owners might instead be remembered as Andrew Friedman’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad winter.
Tanner Scott stood in front of his locker late Friday night, at the latest low point in a miserable season. He had just given up a game-winning grand slam to a good-fielding catcher who walked to the plate batting .217.
Scott, the Dodgers’ $72-million closer, has an earned-run average of 5.01. He has pitched half as many innings as Clayton Kershaw and given up four more home runs.
“It’s terrible,” Scott said. “I’m having the worst year of my life. I’ve got to be better.”
It’s not just him. As a whole, the Dodgers’ signing class of 2024-25 has to be better.
Of 11 key players that signed new contracts to stay with the Dodgers or free-agent contracts to join them, none have a WAR of even 2, according to Baseball-Reference.com. The Angels last winter signed two free agents with a higher WAR than any of those Dodgers signees: starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi and closer Kenley Jansen.
Dodgers closer Tanner Scott, foreground, watches a game-wining grand slam hit by the Giants' Patrick Bailey (background). (Godofredo A. Vásquez / Associated Press)
Friedman, the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations, respectfully declined to review his offseason.
“We’ll wait until after the season,” he said. “All we’re focused on is these next few games and October.”
The most valuable of the winter signees by WAR, according to Baseball-Reference.com: Hyeseong Kim, whom the Dodgers have bounced uneasily between the infield and the outfield, between the starting lineup and the bench, between the major leagues and minor leagues.
Then comes Kershaw, who should top 100 innings on Saturday. The only Dodgers pitcher to throw more innings: Yoshinobu Yamamato.
When Friedman said he believed in his players, it was not just an obligatory quote. He really did. He believed in them so much that the Dodgers’ only additions at the trade deadline were a backup outfielder and a setup man.
Beyond Kershaw, the Dodgers’ pitching signees last winter included Scott, Blake Snell, Roki Sasaki, Blake Treinen and Kirby Yates. It is difficult to envision the Dodgers including them all on a postseason roster, and not just because Sasaki still is working his way back from injury.
“From a pitching standpoint, we have a very realistic chance to have the most talented 13-man pitching staff we’ve ever had,” Friedman said. “We felt that way in July, coupled with that we were most likely — well, hopefully — going to be in position to have tough conversations with guys who have a legitimate chance to make it, but wouldn’t.”
He wouldn’t say which 13 pitchers he had in mind, and in fairness that could change with the next injury.
“You could take any collection of them,” Friedman said. “I’m just saying that, when we submit our playoff roster, I think those 13 arms will be the most talented — stuff, execution, talent, differing looks, right-left. I just think it will be the deepest, best staff we’ve had.”
Beyond Kim, the Dodgers’ position player signees last winter included infielder-outfielders Tommy Edman and Kike’ Hernandez and outfielders Michael Conforto and Teoscar Hernandez.
Edman and Kike’ Hernandez spent much of the season on the injured list. Teoscar Hernandez fell from a 4 WAR player last year — when his one-year contract looked brilliant — to a 1 WAR player this year.
Conforto homered Friday for the Dodgers’ only run. However, of the 191 players with at least 400 plate appearances entering play Friday, he had the lowest WAR.
“On the position player side, our with and without [Max] Muncy numbers are crazy,” Friedman said. “He’s a huge part of our lineup. But, even with that, the level of our offensive performance for two months is something that I would have said would have been an impossibility, even with an injury here or an injury there. What I thought wasn’t possible has been very possible, and has played out.
Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy reacts after being hit by a pitch during the eighth inning Friday. (Godofredo A. Vásquez / Associated Press)
“Looking back, it has contributed to the situation we’re in right now, and the difficulties. I still look ahead and see the names in the lineup, and the depth, and feel really good about it. So we’re going to find out if that’s right or not.”
During Muncy’s first stint on the injured list this season, the Dodgers ranked last in the majors in runs. During his second stint, they ranked next-to-last in the National League.
It did not feel good for the Dodgers when Muncy was forced from Friday’s game after a pitch hit him on the forearm. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said X-rays were negative, and the team will see how he is Saturday.
Friedman assembled a championship roster last year, his second in five years, so maybe this past winter will count as an expensive blip.
Or, perhaps, not even that.
The Dodgers count October as part of their schedule. They have not missed the playoffs in 13 years. Under Friedman, they have advanced to the World Series with a 92-win team and failed to get out of the first round with a 111-win team.
October is what matters, no matter how poorly a player might have performed in the regular season.
Of the Dodgers that threw at least 60 innings last season, the one with the highest earned-run average made the final pitch of the year. Of all the things that Los Angeles remembers about Walker Buehler last year, his 5.38 ERA is not one of them.
