FORT MYERS, FLORIDA - MARCH 23: Johan Oviedo #29 of the Boston Red Sox takes the mound for the first inning of a game against the Minnesota Twins at JetBlue Park at Fenway South on March 23, 2026 in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Remember Johan Oviedo? He’s not so much the forgotten man of the Red Sox pitching staff (that’s very much Tanner Houck) he’s more like the guy we never even got to meet in the first place. But, like Houck, he is working his way back and hopes to contribute the big league team at some point. He’ll make a minor league rehab appearance on Thursday. He’s ahead of Garrett Crochet in the rehab race, but Chad Tracy is still being non-committal about what role, if any, he may play this year. “Accumulating volume, getting his feet wet back out there will be important, and then we’ll go from there,” Tracy said. “But upbeat probably. It’s a long journey for some of [these injured pitchers]. So when they finally get to get back onto a mound, it’s exciting — on a mound in a real game.” (Tim Healey, Boston Globe)
Ranger Suarez had a much shorter and much less intense stint on the injured list, but it still took him a wile to work his way back into form when he returned to the mound. After back-to-back gems, he finally looks like his old self, to which he credits a mechanical tweak. “Before, I was leaning forward, so I wasn’t able to locate my sinker,” Suarez said. “Today, my sinker was on point, so that was a pitch that was working for me. I was able to establish that pitch to open my secondaries.” (Ian Browne, MLB.com)
As for Crochet, he threw another bullpen on Friday and got his velocity up to around 93.5 MPH. “Looked good,” Chad Tracy said. “Added in some sweepers, which was good. I think last time he added in cutters. He added some sweepers, so he keeps adding pitch types, and looked good. Just briefly checked in with him, and he said he felt good, which is good news.” (Scott McGlauglin, WEEI)
The fact that the pitching staff has been able to withstand so many injuries is a testament to the depth compiled by Craig Breslow, and the performance of guys like Peyton Tolle in particular. Tolle is arguably the best Red Sox rookie starter in several decades. “Just considering [it’s his] first full season, and the evolution of his stuff and how he uses it, being able to take on more innings and still looks very strong while he’s doing it, [the] strikeout numbers, the ERA. He’s been just a steady force as a rookie pitcher in the rotation,” said Chad Tracy. (Alex Speier, Boston Globe)
If Tolle keeps it up, he may one day find himself the recipient of baseball’s highest honor. No, I’m not talking about induction to the hall of fame, I’m talking about having a street in suburban Utah named after him in this random development that was obviously planned by a Red Sox fan:
toured houses today and there’s a random subdivision in utah where all the streets are named after red sox players??? pic.twitter.com/5em0Vylu3Z
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - SEPTEMBER 08: Bubba Chandler #36 of the Pittsburgh Pirates delivers a pitch against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning at Rate Field on September 08, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Bucs are back in action today for the final game of their Chicago trip, where they swept the White Sox but are in danger of being swept right back by the Cubs. They the travel to Milwaukee after that. With the team’s playoff hopes fast dried up, let’s see how the team finishes the year without much to play for.
With NHL pre-season beginning in just less than a week's time, the excitement for the 2026-27 NHL season is at an all-time high.
With pre-season, fans receive a glimpse of what possible line combinations could look like when the season starts, and they are also provided with an opportunity to watch young players and prospects who could don their team's colors in the near future.
But with all the positives, there are still some downsides. As roster cuts begin, NHL teams risk losing players on the waiver wire. Besides players on entry-level contracts, any player who is sent to the AHL, and in the Panthers' case, the Charlotte Checkers, must clear waivers.
Waivers are a 24-hour period during which the other 31 NHL teams could place a claim for any player on waivers. If successful, they would acquire the player and his contract.
With that being said, here are three players the Panthers risk losing on waivers this season.
Cole Reinhardt, LW
Cole Reinhardt is an obvious risk to be lost on waivers for several reasons, but most notably because the Panthers acquired him from the waiver wire.
The 26-year-old joined the Panthers late in the 2025-26 season and looked every part of an effective bottom-six winger. He had the speed to generate offense off the rush and was reliable enough in his own end to play some defensive minutes. With the Panthers' forward group looking relatively healthy, aside from Brad Marchand, Reinhardt is left on the outside looking in.
Although Reinhardt is more skilled than Jonah Gadjovich and Garnet Hathaway, they bring physical elements he doesn't. With a strong pre-season, Reinhardt could find himself as the 13th forward, but competing with Sam Lafferty and Cole Schwindt is a tough task. Lafferty brings more NHL experience, and Schwindt has the positional value as a center.
If Reinhardt does end up on waivers, it wouldn't be surprising to see multiple teams place claims.
Donovan Sebrango found himself playing in far more games with the Panthers than he likely expected, which is why he received a contract extension. Despite that, the Panthers went out and signed Radko Gudas, taking away Sebrango's role as the seventh defenseman.
Gudas slots in on the bottom pairing with Dmitry Kulikov and pushes Uvis Balinskis into the seventh defenseman role that Sebrango was occupying.
Like Reinhardt, the Panthers claimed Sebrango off waivers. With the never-ending need for NHL-caliber defensemen, Sebrango is certainly a risk to be claimed when the Panthers make their final cuts.
Tobias Bjornfot has spent the past three seasons with the Panthers, providing excellent relief during injury crises. Last year, he played 19 games, scoring two goals and four points while averaging 14:11 of ice time.
With the Checkers, Bjornfot has blossomed into a leader and vital piece of their blueline, which is why the likelihood of him passing through waivers has decreased.
The 25-year-old has proven to be capable as a replacement-level defenseman and, like Sebrango, is on the outside looking in for an NHL role within the organization. Passing through waivers would be critical to maintaining the Panthers' organizational depth.
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The previous projection had been $174 million. While a $2 million increase may not seem like much, it's good news for teams.
The $176 million figure is a 6.7% increase over the $164.96 million cap for this coming season. After the massive new national television deal was signed a couple of years ago, the expectation was that the league would see 10% salary cap increases for at least half a decade and likely longer. Instead, because of the collapse of the local television market for many teams, that percentage has dropped.
The concern for teams with star players on max contracts is that those come with 8% annual raises, but now the salary cap does not keep pace. Suddenly, a player projected to earn 35% of the salary cap can earn a slightly higher percentage, making it more difficult to build a team around him.
The increased cap also means that players who signed max contracts that kick in next season, such as Victor Wembanyama and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, will earn slightly more.
On Player Empowerment and Being In The Middle Of It:
"I think it’s different for everyone. I don’t want to speak on specific situations just because I don’t know all the facts and details, and I feel like everyone’s situation is different. I do think it’s definitely more vocal than it’s been in years past. I think everyone would probably agree with that. I just know personally, for me, where I was at, where I’m at now. I’m just happy with how everything worked out for me and that I’m still in Columbus."
In the photos, the reigning Norris winner is wearing the "A". Many people speculate that Werenski should be given the Captaincy as a way to lure him to stay in Columbus after his deal is over. I think, while being named Captain is quite the honor, I don't think it can be used as a bargaining chip to keep a guy with a team, and it's a bit overrated. Who's to say Werenski even wants to be the Captain?
It will be interesting to see what kind of season Voronkov can have in 2026-27. If he has a strong season, it will help his chances of landing a nice payday for his next contract.
If Fabbro can be dependable defensively while chipping in a bit of offense from the point, he will be a nice part of the Blue Jackets' blueline this season. It will be interesting to see if he can be just that from here.
It will now be interesting to see how many opportunities Copley gets with the Blue Jackets this season. In 78 career NHL games, he has posted a 44-17-8 record, an .898 save percentage, and a 2.85 goals-against average.
Overall, if Heinen can provide similar offense to this as a depth forward for the Blue Jackets, he could end up being a sneaky good signing for them. There is no risk in the Blue Jackets bringing him back on his two-way deal, and it will be interesting to see what he can do in 2026-27.
Dick Tärnström - 2008 - Drafted by the New York Islanders in 1994.
Tärnströmwas traded on February 1, 2008, to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Curtis Glencross. He played 19 games with the CBJ and had 9 points.
After one season in Columbus, he left for Europe and never returned. He played in Sweden until he was forced to retire in 2013 due to a neck injury. Nowadays, he's the Director of Youth Hockey for MB Hockey in Sweden.
Chris Nielsen - 2001-2002 - Drafted by the New York Islanders in 1998.
After signing with Columbus, Neilsen played 52 games over the course of two seasons. After bouncing around the AHL for a few seasons, he left for Europe and played in Germany for a year. He decided to retire in 2006.
Nowadays, he's the attending surgeon at University Health Network and an Assistant Professor in the Division of Orthopaedic Surgery with the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto.
James Wisniewski - Wisniewski played in 209 games for the Jackets over four seasons, scoring 26 goals and 121 points. He was traded to the Anaheim Ducks in 2015 and then went to Carolina in 2015-16, where he played only one game. He finished his career in Germany in 2016. In June of 2024, he was named Associate Coach of the Ohio State Women's Hockey Team.
Martin Špaňhel - 2001-2002 - Drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in 1995.
Špaňhel played 10 games for Columbus in the franchise's first two years and scored two goals. He never played another NHL game after leaving for Europe in 2002, where he played in Czechia, Denmark, and Norway.
He returned to North America in 2011 and played in the ECHL, but then retired soon after. Nowadays, he's the Commissioner of the Columbus Adult Hockey League.
Mathieu Darche - 2001-2002 - Undrafted out of Saint-Laurent, Quebec.
Darche played 24 games for the CBJ over their first three seasons, totaling two points. Darche played until 2012, retiring with the Montreal Canadiens.
He was the Assistant General Manager and Director of Hockey Ops for the Tampa Bay Lightning for 6 years before being named the GM and executive VP of Hockey Ops and General Manager for the New York Islanders last season.
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Sunday afternoon marks the final time this season that the Cincinnati Reds will have to line up across from the Milwaukee Brewers. Given that the Beermakers have dropped 33 runs on Cincinnati pitching in just the last day and a half, that’s perhaps the most welcome news any of us could get even knowing that the rest of the Reds schedule for 2026 seems equally as daunting.
Before the Reds can slink back south to Great American Ball Park to face the Los Angeles Dodgers for the bulk of the work week, they’re going to have to deal with Milwaukee a final time – this time with lefty Robert Gasser getting the start. Fortunately, they’ll be sending ace Chase Burns to the bump to begin this one, though as his most recent outing (3.0 IP) dictated, he’ll be on a very, very short leash as his innings are managed.
First pitch in this Sunday matinee is set for 2:10 PM ET, also known as ‘right in the middle of the Bengals/Bucs game,’ so plan accordingly.
Sep 12, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Tigers relief pitcher Tyler Kinley throws towards first base in the sixth inning of a game against the Colorado Rockies at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Josh Boland-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Detroit Tigers (69-79) vs. Colorado Rockies (55-93)
Time/Place: 12:10 p.m., Comerica Park SB Nation Site:Purple Row Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network Pitching Matchup: RHP Jackson Jobe (1-2, 4.45 ERA) vs. RHP Gabriel Hughes (0-7, 5.81 ERA)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 08: Andrew Painter #24 of the Philadelphia Phillies pitches during the game between the Houston Astros and the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday, September 8, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Trevor Hayes/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
After playing some awful baseball in the first two games, the Phillies will attempt to salvage the finale of their series in Atlanta.
Andrew Painter will start for the Phillies. The rookie will attempt to improve on his two starts against the Braves earlier in the season when he gave up eight runs in 9.2 innings.
Grant Holmes goes for Atlanta. The righty shut the Phillies out for six innings when he faced them on Monday.
Game time is 1:35 PM and will be televised locally on NBCSP as well as ESPN Unlimited.
Sam Surridge scored an equalizer in the first minute of second-half stoppage time for visiting Nashville SC, who played Inter Miami to a 2-2 draw on Saturday evening.
Surridge’s goal, his second of the evening and 15th of the season, came after Shak Mohammed’s shot was saved by Dayne St Clair. Surridge was in position to put home the rebound to help Eastern Conference-leading Nashville steal a point on the road against second-place Inter Miami.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - JULY 26: Ryan Jeffers #27 of the Minnesota Twins reaches first base on an RBI infield single against Nick Kurtz #16 of the Athletics during the eight inning of the game at Target Field on July 26, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Easiest, when half the roster sits on the IL relegated to rooting from the dugout, is to blame the training and Strength & Conditioning staff. Yet this is a bit of a simplistic and knee-jerk reaction. Which trainer is to blame for Jamie Arnold taking a line drive to the face?
The flurry of injuries that decimated the A’s felled so many key players both on the big league roster and the minors. The list produces a pretty good team: Brent Rooker, Luis Severino, Nick Kurtz, Shea Langeliers, Jacob Wilson, Tyler Soderstrom, Joshua Kuroda-Grauer, JT Ginn, Leo De Vries, Jamie Arnold, all out for the season, and now Gage Jump likely following suit. Denzel Clarke and Zack Gelof also have missed appreciable time along the way.
That’s insane, but the injuries fall into various buckets so let’s examine the buckets…
Fluky and unpreventable
Kuroda-Grauer, who was humming along when one not-so-fine day he fouled a ball off of a ball and ruptured his testicle, and Arnold, whose cheek and sinus bones could not withstand a line drive that creamed them on the fly, suffered injuries absent any potential blame (other than perhaps not insisting every player wear a cup). These injuries demonstrate how not everything can be a referendum on the adults in charge.
Unrelated to preparation or diagnosis
Gelof’s knee laceration, incurred while sliding hard into the side wall where there was wire netting, is an example of an injury that cannot be traced to stretching, conditioning, or anything related to the preparation or diagnosis of the human body.
The same can be said of the unfortunate play where a poor Gelof throw caused Kurtz to get tangled up with the runner going by and the 1Bman’s thumb was a casualty of the collision. Most likely Wilson’s shoulder injury, the result of diving for a ground ball, also falls into the category of a “a baseball play” in which a perfectly conditioned body could still suffer the malady.
Most likey, Langeliers’ injury was also “just one of those things” as he tore a meniscus running the bases. One can question the strength and conditioning program when a player’s body doesn’t hold up to an ordinary event, but most often it’s just that if you run the bases 1,000 times 999 of those times it will go smoothly and once in a while it just doesn’t.
Ordinary injuries with room for questions
Now we get into the gray area, where you can easily say, “That injury happens around MLB all the time” and yet you can also ask, “Could it have been prevented?”
Rooker injured his knee, but it was not a single event. Rather it was pain that worsened over time, starting with a bone bruise contusion. A cortisone injection and rehab were supposed to alleviate the problem, but didn’t and subsequently tests revealed an articular cartilage tear and loose bodies in his left knee, leading to season ending surgery. Certainly there is room to ponder a misdiagnosis or poor decision-making along the way, but it’s not a slam dunk to draw any particular conclusion.
Soderstrom is another example where a player went down with a known injury, in this case a hip impingement, then tried to come back and “play through it” only to punt soon after and shut it down. One can reasonably question the wisdom of this decision, given how inevitably Soderstrom succumbed to surgery soon after.
Similarly, De Vries had a known shoulder issue that affecting his throwing at SS but continued to play for quite some time before eventually shutting it down, being diagnosed with a labrum tear and having surgery that will likely keep him sidelined for about 8 months. This is an especially troubling arc considering that had De Vries undergone surgery 6 weeks earlier he might be ready for the start of the 2027 season — but we also don’t know exactly when the labrum tore so we are left with as many questions as answers.
Severino, Ginn and Jump fall into a common category: arm injuries for pitchers because, well, pitching is really bad for the arm. Ginn’s is an elbow impingement, Jump’s shoulder soreness from impingement, Severino’s shoulder strain the most significant. Did the A’s staff do anything wrong failing to prevent these injuries from happening?
One could always ask whether the “between starts” regimen is the best possible one — teams differ around how bullpen sessions, long toss, treatment and the like are managed — and perhaps there could be better communication to catch problems in the earliest stages. (For example, Jump threw a fastball 91 MPH last night which could have been seen as a big red flag but went on to throw a couple dozen more pitches before exiting.) But pitcher arm injuries are hardly an “A’s special” and in fact the A’s have not been hit any harder than their opponents in this regard.
Post-injury response
Rooker and Soderstrom are examples of a puzzling response to managing an injury, De Vries possibly as well at the minor league level, but they are not the only ones.
Lawrence Butler looked very slowed down the first half of 2026 following his knee surgery and you wonder if the A’s whiffed not easing him in with a rehab stint at AAA and a more gradual return to full time RF duty with the big league club. Last year saw Wilson try to play through a hand injury that left him clearly diminished and both Wilson and Max Muncy had injuries from HBP in which a fracture wasn’t properly diagnosed the first time.
Conditioning
We don’t know why Denzel Clarke keeps suffering soft tissue injuries, particularly to his hamstrings, but this issue cropped up again while rehabbing a separate injury (bone bruise). Last season, Clarke missed significant time after injuring his right adductor muscle rounding 3B to score on a base hit.
All bodies are different and you shouldn’t be too quick to judge who comes to the party with a little more baby fat than his peer. Nonetheless it’s hard to imagine that Kurtz wouldn’t benefit from a slightly more svelte physique and Butler came to camp looking like he had “bulked up” in ways that only hampered his mobility.
Just looking at all the bodies on the field it’s not hard to imagine where some improvements could be made in the “strength and conditioning” realm — but fans are also far from strength and conditioning experts and players have considerable say in how they manage their own bodies.
Like I said, when you take a deep dive you are left with more questions than answers. But it’s the internet, so here’s where you get to weigh in with what you think the answers are despite the apparent murkiness of the landscape. The only part we are all likely to agree on is that the A’s have a far better team on the IL than they can put on the field, and if the team is to be competitive going forward that script needs to flip. Somehow.
ATLANTA, GA - APRIL 24: Michael Harris II #23 of the Atlanta Braves celebrates after hitting a two-run double in the sixth inning during the game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on Friday, April 24, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kathryn Skeean/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
It’s getaway day for the Atlanta Braves, but not before one last regular season contest against the Philadelphia Phillies. With the series secure, the Braves have the opportunity to make it a truly nightmarish weekend for our NL East foes and break out the brooms this afternoon.
There are some changes to the lineup for Walt Weiss’ club, but the name atop the batting order made me laugh. We’ve been let down in 2026 with the first-world complaint of not being able to complete a sweep in a series finale. But Michael Harris II leading off and in line to get the most at-bats off of RHP Andrew Painter is a deliberate choice – no foot off the gas here.
As noted in the preview, Michael has only faced Painter thrice, but is rocking that 1.000 / 2.333 / 3.333 slash line. A late scratch on April 24, Mike was clutch incarnate with a pinch-hit, two-out, two-RBI double off Painter to give the Braves the lead in an eventual Atlanta win. Let’s hoping he can add to his legend more here this afternoon.
Ronald Acuña Jr. will still bat second but get a day off from the field today. Matt Olson is working his way out of his slump with some promising signs and will continue to in the three-hole, but that glove is still gold at first base. Drake Baldwin will catch for Grant Holmes and hit cleanup. Mauricio Dubón will follow and man left field. Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley are at their usual bases and hitting sixth and seventh, respectively. Mike Yastrzemski returns to the lineup after going 3-for-3 with a walk in Friday’s showdown. Ha-Seong Kim will complete the infield at shortstop and hit ninth.
They optioned reliever Grant Holman to reinstate LHP Tanner Banks from the injured list, giving their beleagured bullpen a fresh arm and depriving us of a Grant Holmes vs. Grant Holman matchup.
This series has given us electric and heartburn-inducing moments as well as as some rare enjoyable AND comfortable baseball. What does today’s matinee bring? Hopefully, some brooms. First pitch for Braves-Phillies is at 1:35 pm ET.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 25: Mj Melendez #1 of the New York Mets at bat during the fourth inning at Citi Field on June 25, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images) | Getty Images
A real barn burner, but another Syracuse win. Eight different Mets patched it together on the mound, and they did just enough to support the offense. MJ Melendez followed up his four hit night with two more long balls. Billy Amick added his sixth at Triple-A (though he’s batting only .221). Emilien Pitre had two more hits and a walk to get his OPS back above .800 at the level. It’s been a loss of a season for the organization across most levels but there are some interesting things happening in the minors down the stretch here.
The offense had more errors than they had runs. They had nearly as many caught stealings as they had hits. Obviously not what you want. Gabe Davis continues to look like a savvy trade acquisition though, so that’s a plus.
In Friday’s episode of the “Tom Tolbert Show,” Kerr joined his former college teammate at Arizona to discuss the Warriors’ recruitment of James and the rather awkward dilemma it created for many in Dub Nation.
“I don’t think it’s exactly earth-shattering news, or I don’t think I’ll get fined for saying, like, it never really felt like he was coming here,” Kerr told Tolbert. “To me, it was more speculation than anything. I think we would have had a much better sense that, you know, something was going to happen.
“It’s been really interesting, though, hearing fans around the Bay — like, you know, people will randomly come up to me and say, ‘I’m glad we didn’t get LeBron.’ And I’m like, ‘Really?’ And they’re like, ‘Yeah, it’s like he’s not supposed to be on our team. He’s a rival.’ And I get that as a sports fan. It’d be like, you know, should Magic [Johnson] and [Larry] Bird have played on the same team?
“So, I mean, just as a coach and having coached him in the Olympics — sign me up. … But it’s been interesting hearing our fans. I think fans, you know, because of the emotional connection you have to your team and rivalries and all that stuff, I think it was just a weird thought. That’s the reaction I’m getting from a lot of people.”
On one hand, the thought of James playing with Steph Curry is mouth-watering to most basketball fans, especially after they teamed up to win gold at the Paris 2024 Olympics with Kerr as the coach.
But at the same time, as Kerr acknowledged, it likely would have been weird for Warriors fans, who have seen James has a primary rival for over a decade.
Maybe that latter factor played into James’ decision not to join Golden State in the end — and possibly his lack of perceived interest in the first place.
Last season, Alex Newhook played the first 17 games alongside Oliver Kapanen and Ivan Demidov, but then he got injured, and the Montreal Canadiens faced a dilemma. Martin St-Louis first tried to put Kirby Dach on that line, but the experiment was short-lived; after just one game, he paired Juraj Slafkovsky with the two rookies, with great results. It worked because that line needed some grit, some forecheck, a big body that didn’t fear going into traffic.
However, taking Slafkovsky away from the first line wasn’t great, and Dach, Samuel Bolduc and Alexandre Texier all had the opportunity to play with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield, but none of them play the game like Slafkovsky does, and the results weren’t great. Shortly after Newhook returned, the big Slovak was put back on the top line because that’s the combination that gets the best out of the team’s best players.
However, the fact that Slafkovsky worked so well on the second line made Kent Hughes look for another big-bodied top-six forward. He reportedly tried to acquire Matthew Knies from the Toronto Maple Leafs, but it didn't work. This summer, he set his sights on Kirill Marchenko from the Columbus Blue Jackets, but Don Waddell doesn’t want a package centered on futures for his top player, and the price tag promises to be hefty.
Then, when the Anaheim Ducks found themselves in salary cap hell thanks to the Philadelphia Flyers signing Leo Carlsson to an offer sheet, they were forced to cut ties with Chris Kreider. Why? Because they needed more than $9 million to sign RFA Cutter Gauthier. While Kreider is already 35, he’s still a productive top-six forward in the NHL and one who plays exactly the style of hockey the second line needs. Kreider is the low-cost solution to the fact that Hughes and co. can’t clone Slafkovsky. Details on the bonus linked to the contract have now emerged on Puckpedia, and it's important to remember that the bonus money can carry over to next season if the Habs are short on cap space.
The #GoHabsGo signed Chris Kreider to 1 year deal:
Salary 850K Signing Bonus 1.3M Performance bonuses 3.25M: *2M @ 10 games played *250K each @ 10/20/30 Goals scored *500K @ 40 Goals Scored
As things stand, the Canadiens still have $7.6 million in cap space, but they still have to unsigned RFA in Zach Bolduc and Arber Xhekaj. With Kreider now signed, could the Canadiens entertain the idea of trading Bolduc in a deal for Marchenko? Yes, they could, but would an offer that includes two roster players like Bolduc and center Oliver Kapanen be enough to tempt Waddell? Both have potential, but do they have enough to convince Waddell to roll the dice and part with his prized asset? That’s far from certain.
In the meantime, however, the Kreider signing is great news for Canadiens fans. Not only does he fill a need in the lineup, but he’s a free agent who chose to come to Montreal, despite the fact that he has long been hated by the fan base for events that need not be discussed again. Kreider wanted to be back in the Eastern Conference, and he wanted to join a team with a legitimate chance to win the Stanley Cup; for him, that’s the Canadiens. Hughes, Jeff Gorton, and St-Louis have made Montreal a destination free agents want to come to. Despite the taxes, the weather, and the language, if you build it, they will come. That doesn’t just apply to the baseball movie Field of Dreams; it also applies to a winning team.
As for those worried the Canadiens are holding a grudge over what happened in 2014, none of the players from 2014 are still with the team. Brendan Gallagher was the last one. It’s been 12 years, and if Hughes, Gorton, and St-Louis feel bringing Kreider on is the right move, it means they believe it’s time for fans to move on from what happened. Bringing Kreider on is not akin to bringing in Mark Scheifele, who once destroyed Jake Evans with a dangerous high hit. Evans is still on the team, and so are many players who skated in that 2021 series against the Winnipeg Jets.
Montreal fans know their hockey well enough to move past the grudge. According to our instant poll, which only had 95 voters, 85% of the fans polled were happy with the move last night, and that was before they had time to process it. They can appreciate what Kreider brings to the table, even though he cost them a chance to reach the Stanley Cup Final in 2014. Besides, would there be a better way to make amends than signing with the Habs and helping them to move past the last hurdle? Like him or not, Kreider is a proven playoff performer, one who can elevate his game in the spring and lead the young Canadiens into battle. The Habs lost Brendan Gallagher this summer, so an influx of experience and leadership certainly won’t hurt.
BRONX, NY - SEPTEMBER 12: Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees at bat during the game against the NNew York Mets on September 12, 2026 at Yankee Stadium in the Borough of the Bronx, New York. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Consistency should not lower appreciation for what the Yankees have accomplished over the last decade-plus, and there is no better time than in a late-season series against the Mets to point that out. The Mets have been throwing money at their problems for a few years now, and somehow new problems keep coming up. That advantage that benefits both of these teams only goes so far, and if we look back on their campaigns in 2026, it’s interesting to see how each team handled the absence of their top player.
Juan Soto and Aaron Judge have combined to miss 136 games this season, a total of 51 for Soto and a whopping 85 for Judge. Although each offense is unique, it is reasonable to argue that the burden of the team’s production placed on these two is relatively similar. Judge theoretically should mean as much to the Yankees’ attack as Soto means to the Mets.
Before getting into the details, the one number that actually counts leans heavily in favor of the Yankees, as they went a very respectable 46-39 without Judge on the field in 2026. Meanwhile, the Mets basically owe their status as a below-.500 club and complete irrelevance in the NL playoff picture to Soto’s absence, possessing a putrid 20-31 record without their star hitter.
Strictly speaking, in terms of pure offensive production, the gap between these two teams in 2026 is not as large as the one that their record would seem to indicate. The Mets entered play on Saturday with a 97 OPS+, slightly worse than the Yankees’ 100 mark. Accounting strictly for the time without these gigantic hitters, the Yankees had a .684 OPS without Judge, while the Mets were at .673 without Soto. Part of what has hindered the Mets’ season even further is that Francisco Lindor has also missed a healthy chunk of time, playing only 90 games to this point — although we should note that this doesn’t create an incredible disparity in the comparison between the time without Judge and Soto since there was minimal overlap in the missed time of the two Mets stars.
It’d be a neat narrative if we could come here and talk about how the Yankees’ offense dealt with missing Judge in a far superior manner than the Mets handled Soto’s absence. That isn’t necessarily the case, even with the best efforts of Ben Rice. The Yankees’ offense without Judge had to lean heavily on their pitching staff to get those wins, often scoring just barely enough to make it. Only one of these pitching staffs possesses the tools to take over and carry a team, and the numbers back that up. It’s not the full picture, but the Mets accumulated a 4.24 ERA in the 51 games Soto didn’t appear in while the Yankees had an earned run average a full run lower at 3.22 when Judge was out.
Even with Soto potentially available for all of their games, the Mets probably didn’t have enough for a meaningful fight in the National League — and the Yankees possibly could have found their way to the postseason even without Judge for a single game. The discrepancy in these two teams’ records would seem to suggest that at least for 2026, the Mets are more reliant on Soto than the Yankees are on Judge. That’s not to say they shouldn’t be happy to have number 99 back; we shouldn’t lose sight of what this team accomplished in his absence and how much worse it could’ve been. After all, just look at the Mets.
