Swedish
center Jacob Josefson, 34, has signed a one-year contract to play
with Djurgården,
the Stockholm-based SHL club announced on Monday.
A
former NHLer, Josefson has not played professionally since the
2020-21 season, when he recorded 14 points in 27 games for
Djurgården. After suffering a series of
concussions in his career, Josefson left the team’s training camp
prior to the 2021-22 season when symptoms returned. This season, he
feels he is finally ready to return and has already appeared in three
pre-season games.
“I
am so incredibly happy and grateful to have the chance to play hockey
after a long absence,” Josefson
is quoted in the club’s announcement.
“Getting the opportunity to put on the Djurgården
jersey and play in front of the best fans in the world again is
something that I am extremely proud of. Always. No matter what.”
“This
is so incredibly gratifying for both Djurgården and Jacob,”
said club sports director Niklas
Wikegård. “His attempt to return to
hockey has succeeded and the entire Djurgården family will see when
a great athlete is given a second chance.”
Born
in Stockholm and a member of the Djurgården
club
from age 14 to 19, Josefson was picked in the first round, 20th
overall, by the New Jersey Devils in
the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.
Between
2010 and 2018, he recorded 64 points and 84 penalty minutes in 315
regular-season NHL games, mostly with New Jersey but he also played
one season with the Buffalo Sabres. His
only six playoff games came in 2012 – a year the Devils went to the
Stanley Cup Final – in which he tallied one assist.
From
his return to Sweden 2018 until his timeout from hockey, Josefson
served as Djurgården’s team captain.
“Hockey-wise,
we know what Jacob is capable of, and that there is more to learn,”
said Wikegård.
“With every game
he plays and every practise he attends,
he feels stronger in his body. He can skate more, put more pressure
on himself and will get better and better just like the rest of the
team.”
Djurgården was just promoted to the SHL from the
second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan but is trying to build a competitive
roster. The team will notably feature two 18-year-old forwards who
were chosen in the first round of this year’s NHL Entry Draft
– Victor
Eklund and Anton
Frondell.
The popular sporting video game series by EA Sports, NHL 26, is set for a September 12 release for Playstation and XBOX.
Over the past two weeks, the software developer has begun unveiling its rankings for each different playing position in the game.
Among those listed within the Top-10 at each position will be a handful of Winnipeg Jets players.
The first position ranking provided by EA Sports was defenceman Josh Morrissey, who was given a 90 overall rating, ranking him eighth among all blueliners.
The second Jets player to earn a place on the Top-10 position rankings was winger Kyle Connor, who was named the No. 4 left winger in the game with a 92 overall stat line.
Now, it was centre Mark Scheifele was unveiled as the No. 10 centreman in the game.
The 32-year-old put up 39 goals and 87 points in a career year for the Jets, besting his previous career highs in goals, points and penalty minutes, as he helped Winnipeg to the Presidents' Trophy as the No. 1 team following the conclusion of the regular season.
Scheifele's overall rating went up two percentage points from NHL 25 to a 91 overall, ranking him behind only Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Leon Draisaitl, Sasha Barkov, Sidney Crosby, Jack Eichel, Auston Matthews, Jack Hughes and Brayden Point as the best centres in the game.
No Jets cracked the Top-10 right wingers list, but the Top-10 EA Sports goaltenders is up next. Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck should have his way with the list.
Rafael Devers earned his first accolade in a Giants uniform.
San Francisco’s slugging first baseman was named the National League Co-Player of the Week with Philadelphia Phillies star Kyle Schwarber, MLB announced Tuesday.
Devers, over his last seven games, batted .481/.563/1.000 with four home runs, 11 RBI and five walks. Schwarber, over his last seven games, batted .207/.281/.690 with four home runs, nine RBI and three walks.
While those seven-game numbers certainly are lopsided in Devers’ favor, Schwarber had a historic day at the plate in Philadelphia’s 19-4 win over the Atlanta Braves on Thursday, blasting four home runs and driving in nine runs in one game.
If it were not for that one game, though, there is no question who would win the award outright.
The 2025-26 Anaheim Ducks will attempt to close this elongated rebuilding chapter of the organization's history, having missed the playoffs in each of the last seven years.
As constructed, the roster features very few players in their prime and is unlikely to include a rookie who plays all 82 games in the NHL. Thusly, individual NHL awards will probably elude the Ducks come season’s end.
However, one member of the organization is favored among peers to earn a major award when it comes time for the NHL to hand them out: Joel Quenneville.
Per NHL.com, the Jack Adams Award is given annually to the NHL coach “adjudged to have contributed the most to their team's success.” The NHL Broadcasters’ Association votes on the award.
Per BetMGM, newly hired head coach of the Anaheim Ducks, Quenneville, is the favorite to win the Jack Adams with +700 odds. He edges out Utah Mammoth head coach Andre Tourigny (+750), Montreal Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis (+900), and Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Dean Evason (+1200).
Traditionally, the Jack Adams is awarded to either the coach whose team greatly improves in the standings from the year before, unexpectedly making the playoffs, or to the coach whose team is overwhelmingly the best in the NHL’s regular season.
After the Washington Capitals eked into the playoffs in 2023-24 with 91 points, Spencer Carbery won the 2025 Jack Adams after the 2024-25 Caps tallied 111 points and locked up the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
Rick Tocchet’s 2022-23 Vancouver Canucks and Daryl Sutter’s 2020-21 Calgary Flames hovered around NHL .500 in the season before each coach took home their respective Jack Adams Awards in 2024 and 2022.
Jim Mongomery’s 2022-23 Boston Bruins and Bruce Cassidy’s 2019-20 Bruins were particularly dominant, earning their coaches the Jack Adams Award to pair with the organization’s Presidents’ Trophies in those years.
The 2024-25 Ducks made a substantial improvement in the NHL standings from the 2023-24 team, improving from 59 points to 80 points. A self-imposed mandate to make the 2026 playoffs indicates the team expects to make another considerable leap, as the threshold to earn a Western Conference Wild Card spot has required a minimum of 97, 95, 98, and 96 points in each of the last four seasons.
After nearly four years away from the NHL, Quenneville was hired by the Anaheim Ducks on May 8 and brings with him a sparkling resume and an elite assistant coaching staff (Jay Woodcroft, Ryan McGill, Andrew Brewer, Tim Army, and Peter Budaj) at his flanks. Quenneville has won 969 NHL games (second-most in NHL history behind Scotty Bowman) in his coaching career with the St. Louis Blues, Colorado Avalanche, Chicago Blackhawks, and Florida Panthers from 1997 to 2021, winning three Stanley Cups with the Blackhawks in 2010, 2023, and 2015.
It’s more than reasonable to assume that if the Ducks achieve their lofty goal of reaching the NHL playoffs in 2025-26, Joel Quenneville will receive Jack Adams votes, and if they comfortably achieve that goal, he’ll run away with the award.
The Columbus Blue Jackets have 41 days until opening night at Nationwide Arena. Today we look at the history of jersey #41.
Let's take a look.
Matt Davidson - 2000-03 - Davidson was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the 4th round of the 1995 NHL Draft. He is a native of Flin Flon, Manitoba, the same town as CBJ bench boss Dean Evason.
Davidson was traded to the Blue Jackets as part of an expansion draft deal in 2000. He played parts of three seasons for the Jackets, totaling 56 games, and had 12 points. He spent most of his time with Columbus playing for the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL.
He left North America in 2004 for Europe. He played in Germany, Finland, Denmark, and Sweden before retiring in 2011.
Brad Moran - 2001-04 - Moran was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the 7th round of the 1998 NHL Draft.
The Jackets signed Moran as a free agent in 2000. He only played in 5 games as a Blue Jacket and had 2 points. He spent most of his time playing for the AHL Syracuse Crunch. In his final year with the Crunch in 2004-05, he played in 80 games and had 72 points.
Moran left for a second stint in Europe in 2011 and played the last six years of his career there. He would retire after playing two seasons in the EIHL in 2017.
Moran would be the GM and HC of the Calgary Canucks in the Alberta Junior Hockey League from 2018 to 2025. For the 25-26 season, Moran is signed on to be the Asst. Coach of the WHL's Calgary Hitmen.
Ben Simon - 2005-06 - Simon was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 1997 NHL Draft.
Simon, a native of Shaker Heights, Ohio, played 13 games for Columbus during the 2005-06 season. He totaled zero points. He left for Europe and played one season in the EIHL in England. He retired in 2011.
Simon moved into coaching almost immediately after retiring. His first head coaching job was for the Cincinnati Cyclones in 2013-14 for one season. He spent 5 years as the Head Coach for the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL. He has been an assistant for the Iowa Wild for the last two seasons.
Adam Pineault - 2007-08 - Pineault was drafted by Columbus in the 2nd round of the 2004 NHL Draft.
Pineault only played in 3 games for the Jackets and had zero points. He spent most of his time playing for the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL. On January 10, 2009, Pineault was traded by the Blue Jackets to the Chicago Blackhawks for Michael Blunden.
After playing two years in Europe, he returned to North America and would play three more seasons before retiring in 2014. He suffered a jaw injury that ultimately ended his career. After retiring, he moved into pharmaceutical sales after his wife was diagnosed with Leukemia.
Allen York - 2011-12 - York was drafted by Columbus in the 6th round of the 2007 NHL Draft.
York played in 11 games and started 5 of those for the Blue Jackets. He went 3-2 with a .920 SV%. He signed with the Nashville Predators on a PTO but was never signed.
York would never play another game in the NHL after his time in Columbus. He spent time playing in the AHL, ECHL, and other various lower leagues around North America. He also spent five years as a goaltending coach in various leagues.
He retired on March 4, 2016.
Alexander Wennberg - 2014-20 - Wennberg was drafted in the 1st round of the 2013 NHL Draft as the 14th overall draft pick.
Wennberg came to North America and made his NHL Debut in 2014. After having three decent seasons, including a 59-point year in 2016-17, Wennberg was signed to a six-year deal on September 1st, 2017.
Tom Wilson would seemingly derail Wennberg's career in the 2018 playoffs when he laid a devastating check on him. The next two seasons, Wennberg would only total 47 points. In October of 2020, the CBJ would buy Wennberg out, making him a free agent. The Jackets are finally about to make the final buyout payment to Wennberg this year.
In addition to playing with the Florida Panthers since leaving Columbus, He's played for the Seattle Kraken, New York Rangers, and San Jose Sharks. After the 59-point season he had in 2016-17, Wennberg hasn't scored more than 38 points in a single season.
Hunter McKown - 2022-23 - McKown was an undrafted free agent out of San Jose, California.
McKown has played 12 career games with the Jackets, all in 2022-23. He has spent the majority of his time playing for the Monsters. In the last two seasons, he has played in 121 games and has 55 points.
This summer, he was signed to a one-year, two-way contract by GM Don Waddell.
There are 41 days until opening night at Nationwide Arena. Who was your favorite #41?
Let us know what you think below.
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Mets Notes
Juan Soto is hitting .294/.460/.706 with 11 home runs, 27 RBI, 27 runs scored, and nine stolen bases in 113 plate appearances over his last 24 games dating back to Aug. 6
Ryne Stanekhas tossed three consecutive scoreless outings
Nolan McLean has a 0.89 ERA and 0.68 WHIP in 20.1 innings over his first three big league starts
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A member of the Florida Panthers defensive corps was the recent recipient of a major honor back in his homeland.
It’s no secret that Latvia has emerged as one of the most hockey-crazed nations in Europe.
Earlier this summer, Panthers defenseman Uvis Balinskis brought the Stanley Cup back home to Latvia.
During his special day with the Cup, Balinskis shared it with youth players at two local Latvian rinks before enjoying some intimate time with his close friends and family.
Last week, Balinskis shared in another special moment back on his home soil.
Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina invited Balinskis to the Palace of Justice inside the Latvian capital of Riga.
This must have been an amazing experience and extreme honor for Balinskis, who has worked his way from the KHL to the Czech Extraliga to the AHL to the NHL, all while keeping an incredible attitude and making his fellow countrymen extremely proud.
Photos of the visit were posted on social media and can be seen below:
Photo caption: Jun 17, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers defenseman Uvis Balinskis (26) hoists the Stanley Cup after winning game six of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)
A festival atmosphere in Sunderland, Salford and York may succeed in inspiring the next generation of England stars
The streets of Eccles have given little away on the face of it over the past two Saturdays. Local residents are going about their business, the nearby canal path is full of walkers and runners, and there is a slumberous Saturday morning feel: until you turn into the Salford Community Stadium.
The Women’s Rugby World Cup has made a strong start with decent crowds and good viewing figures. But there was a concerted effort to go beyond familiar territory in this tournament and lay down some roots in the north of England, too. The early signs suggest that may well have been achieved.
Andrea Berta’s first transfer window since taking over as sporting director has been busy. Headline moves for Viktor Gyökeres and Eberechi Eze have given Mikel Arteta the firepower and creativity he asked for, while Martín Zubimendi has added class to midfield. The arrival of Cristhian Mosquera, Christian Nørgaard, Noni Madueke and Kepa Arrizabalaga has also added depth to Arsenal’s squad that is already being called on after a series of early season injuries, while the late signing of the exciting Ecuador defender, Piero Hincapié, should prove to be a shrewd addition. Ed Aarons
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw throws during the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds last Tuesday at Dodger Stadium. Kershaw went five innings against the Reds to pick up his fifth victory in August. (Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
Eric Yavarone knew where the question was going, before it was even fully asked.
When stopped by a reporter near the dugout recently, in the midst of hauling an assortment of training equipment back to the clubhouse at the end of a Dodgers pregame workout, the team’s athletic development coordinator began to be queried on the evolution of Clayton Kershaw’s training routine — and how, at age 37, it has helped the future Hall of Famer manufacture a renaissance performance in his 18th MLB season.
For the uninitiated, the “bowl” is essentially a player’s hip/pelvis/lower-back area. It is not an official medical term. You won’t find it in any anatomy or biology textbooks. Yavarone can’t even remember exactly when, or how, he first coined the phrase.
But when it came to working with Kershaw, the idea of the “bowl” helped trigger a profound physical breakthrough.
For a player long reluctant to changing his old vigorous training routine, it provided a different way to think about maintaining his body.
“The bowl is like your hip, this stuff right here,” Kershaw said recently, while circling his hands around his hips and midsection. “[The training staff told me], ‘Your bowl doesn’t move the way it should.’ And they were like, ‘Hey, we can fix that.’”
After years of back problems, then surgeries the last two offseasons on his shoulder, foot and knee, Kershaw has produced a resurgent 2025 season — thanks in no small part to how well his “bowl” is now moving.
He might not throw as hard as he once did, barely hitting 90 mph with his fastball even on his best days. He doesn’t overpower opponents the way he could in his prime, relying more on consistent command, pitch sequencing and veteran guile to post a 9-2 record and 3.06 ERA in 17 starts this year.
What is different now, however, is how much better his body feels on a daily basis, and how open he has become to new ways of maintaining it.
“I’ve changed a lot over the years, and our guys have really helped me see what I need to work on and get better at,” Kershaw said at this year’s All-Star Game, when he was the most senior selection to the Midsummer Classic. “My hips and my back have never felt better … That’s a credit to our guys. They’ve really helped me with that.”
Once upon a time, Kershaw adhered to a strict routine in the weight room. It revolved around rudimentary weightlifting; first and foremost, sets of back squats the day after he took the mound. It was predicated on high intensity, unwavering regimentation and, above all else, strenuously heavy reps.
“You always lift heavy,” Kershaw said, recounting his longtime approach to off-the-field training. “You always put weight on your back. You always move it, no matter how you feel.”
In his prime, that system served Kershaw well. It helped build his internal “engine,” in the words of Brandon McDaniel, the club’s former head strength coach and current major-league development integration coach. It honed the lower body and core strength that drove his powerful delivery — a behind-the-scenes bedrock in his rise to becoming a three-time Cy Young Award winner and generationally dominant left-handed star.
“Back-squatting gives you a certain feel,” McDaniel said. “It makes you feel your butt, it makes you feel your core, it makes you feel like you can push on the ground and do a lot of really good things.”
But as Kershaw got older, his routine also came with increasingly damaging physical side effects.
He admittedly lacked great form at the squat rack, which put his back under constant stress. And when he’d pitch, all the force his internal strength created would be absorbed by the same part of the body. Without knowing it, he was suffering from a bad “bowl” that was compounded by his annually heavy innings workload. Eventually, the toll of it all caught up with him.
“That’s one of my biggest regrets in life,” Kershaw told author Andy McCullough in his biography, "The Last of His Kind," “that I back-squatted for as long as I did.”
Starting in 2016, Kershaw’s back issues began keeping him off the mound.
That season, he missed more than two months with a herniated disc, one that nearly required a major back surgery. Over the next six years, he endured five more injured list stints for back-related ailments.
Even when he was “healthy” over that span, Kershaw would often wake up in the morning with a stiff back or aching hips. Pushing through the persistent pain only caused him more mental exhaustion.
“When you don’t feel good, that’s all you think about,” Kershaw said. “That type of mental energy — like, ‘Oh gosh, am I gonna feel good?’ — it’s not conducive to pitching well.”
Over the years, Dodgers trainers had tried to help Kershaw adapt. When he was still strength coach, McDaniel preached the importance of supplementary traits, such as hip mobility and core stabilization.
“Kersh has always been open to the next thing or the new thing,” McDaniel said.
Changes, however, came slowly. Alter his routine too much, Kershaw worried, and his pitching might suffer.
“I was just stubborn,” Kershaw said. “It was just the routine of it.”
This is where the “bowl” comes in.
Fans get a glimpse of Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw warming up in the outfield before the game against the Chicago White Sox in which he recorded his 3,000th career strikeout on July 3. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
After re-signing with the Dodgers following MLB’s 2022 lockout, Kershaw reported to Dodgers camp as an “open book” to training staff, current major league strength coach Travis Smith recalled.
Yavarone remembered one conversation with Kershaw specifically.
“People have told me to do this before,” the pitcher told him. “So I probably need to.”
Thus, the Dodgers staff brainstormed ways to get their message across, and have the steadfast Kershaw to buy-in to their suggested changes.
From that process, Yavarone came up with the “bowl” as an analogy — providing Kershaw a more tangible way to understand how all the smaller muscles in his midsection interacted, and how a more holistic training program could pay dividends to his health and his pitching.
“It was giving him more of the ‘why,’ showing him the anatomy part of it,” Yavarone said. “I think with him, if he feels you believe in what you want him to do, if you’re convicted when you tell him what you got for him, I think he likes that.”
The first modifications were small, right down to new breathing patterns for Kershaw to try during his core work.
“He would get a little frustrated in the beginning, trying to figure out how to do it,” Yavarone said with a laugh. “But even if he gets frustrated, or can’t figure it out at first, he’s like, ‘It’s all right. Let’s come back the next day and do it.’”
As the days started stacking up, so did the new techniques that the Dodgers’ staff introduced.
Kershaw would still lift heavy, and push the intensity in his gym work. But now, it was paired with other tactics too: Isometric holds in the middle of reps, as a more static way to build muscle strength. Mobility drills between his most strenuous exercises, which increased his core stability and the range of motion in his hips. They even incorporated alternative training equipment into his workouts, using water-bags and 3D straps as less taxing complements for barbells and heavy weights.
“I think with injury comes wisdom,” Smith said. “He’s able to see, ‘Man, I continue to get injured. What is it that I can do differently?’”
Slowly but surely, Kershaw's back started feeling looser. His hips started feeling freer. And his “bowl,” Yavarone now proudly declares, is moving the way they long envisioned.
“You don’t have to go in [the weight room] and kill yourself, but you gotta go in there and reposition your body in a way that you feel good the next day,” Kershaw explained. “I don’t know what the answer is, but our guys do. And I just listen to them.”
It took a while for Kershaw to reap the benefits of such changes.
Just as his back began to improve, he suffered a shoulder injury in the second half of the 2023 season that led to his first-ever surgery that winter. After spending the first half of 2024 rehabbing from that, he returned for seven starts last year before again being shelved by a long bothersome toe injury, leading to another offseason procedure.
At either point, he could have called it a career, and not subjected himself to the long road of getting back in pitching shape.
But all along, he felt he still had something in the tank. Which is why, as soon as he could this winter, he was back in the gym at a training center near his home in Dallas, doubling down on the workout alterations that, like the Dodgers, his personal offseason trainers had also been urging him to make.
“He’s done a great job of allowing us to, not forcefully push him into that, but say, ‘Dude, you don’t have to squat. You don’t have to deadlift all this weight. You don’t have to do these things,’” said Jason Kharman, who has worked with Kershaw since 2017 as the co-founder of Corpus Performance in Dallas. “As he got older, he just realized, ‘Yeah, I don’t need to do this heavy stuff anymore. I know how to pitch. I know how to handle everything on the mound. I just need to be healthy.’ And you see that this year.”
That doesn’t mean the quality of Kershaw’s stuff on the bump is back where he wants it. In the wake of his shoulder, foot and knee surgeries, syncing up his mechanics has been more of a challenge.
“I used to be able to just throw a ball perfectly every time, and not even think about it. Just perfect backspin. Just roll out of bed and do that,” Kershaw said. “Now, I’m kind of searching for that a little bit. I can still do it. It’s just not as consistent. So it takes a lot more focus to throw a baseball.”
But now, that focus isn’t being sidetracked by worries about his body, or limitations to his “bowl.”
On multiple occasions this season, he has noted how fresh he physically feels.
“You can tell, when he's more approachable, when he's not as edgy, he's in a better spot physically,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Obviously, when he pitches, he has that edge still. But yeah, I haven't heard boo about anything as far as any physical kind of thing, outside of just the grind of the season.”
The grind, of course, is what Kershaw enjoys most. And this season, he has gotten better the more he has pitched.
In August, he posted a 5-0 record with a 1.88 ERA that ranked third among National League starters for the month. In his last start, a five-inning, one-run victory over the Cincinnati Reds last week, he recorded his second-most strikeouts this season (six) even after moving up in the team’s rotation to pitch on four days’ rest (something he has done three times this year, more than any other Dodgers starter).
“I’m in awe, to be honest,” McDaniel said. “Every time he gets done, I just want to walk up and thank him. I know he would find that extremely odd. But I’m extremely grateful and blessed just to get to watch him. And I know all of our guys feel the same way.”
Amid it all, Kershaw and Yavarone have also struck up an inside joke. Whenever they’re together on the field or in the gym, Kershaw will often inquire about the “bowl” of other players.
“He’ll be like, ‘How’s this guy’s bowl? How’s that guy’s bowl?’” Yavarone said with a chuckle. “Or if he sees any of us doing some hip mobility stuff, or some core breathing stuff [with someone else], he’ll be like, ‘Bad bowl?’ It’s kinda created a little bit of its own thing.”
It’s yet another small reflection of Kershaw’s newfound perspective on training, physical maintenance and how — even deep into his 30s — he has changed his once-staunch outlook on how to care for his body.
“It takes the right kind of people to get through to me, because I’m stubborn, and I’ve done it — or did it — one way for a long time,” Kershaw said. “But the group that we have here is special … They know how to get through to you. They know how to talk. They’re just smart, and they’re good at what they do. So it gives me buy-in, because they’re so bought in.”
After the Boston Celtics’ 2024 title season, president of basketball operations Brad Stevens basically put the team on offseason autopilot while bringing back nearly an identical roster the following season. Stevens didn’t have that luxury this past summer, as the Celtics were forced to overhaul that championship core in a quest to dip below the prohibitive second apron.
So much energy has been spent lamenting the players who went out of town — and understandably so given what they delivered here — but in Part 2 of our annual Ramp to Camp series, we’re asking our panel to pick which newcomer they’re most excited to watch this season.
Boston’s roster is likely to feature at least five new faces in Anfernee Simons, Chris Boucher, Luka Garza, Josh Minott and rookie Hugo Gonzalez. The team will also have three new two-way players in Max Shulga, Amari Williams, and RJ Luis Jr., but we’ll tackle their potential impact in a later installment of this series.
With Jayson Tatum sidelined by his Achilles rehab, the Celtics are going to look very different than the past two seasons when the 2025-26 season tips. Recent draftees like Jordan Walsh and Baylor Scheierman also should see increased opportunity this season. But which newcomer is most likely to distinguish themselves?
Summer might be fading, but Lawn Mower season hasn’t even started. “Lawn Mower” is the nickname that Minott inadvertently coined for himself after a Summer League game in 2022. In a postgame interview, the energy-gushing Minott suggested he’s “like a lawn mower: Once I got going, I just kept going.”
If the Celtics are to compensate for the obvious talent drain while watching Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, Luke Kornet, and (eventually) Al Horford relocate this summer, then they might need to make up for it with hustle and grit.
The 22-year-old Minott has only scratched the surface of his obvious potential after playing fewer than 500 minutes in three seasons in Minnesota. We suspect his blend of size (6-foot-8) and athleticism could open the door to minutes in the frontcourt, where he’ll get more time to show off his potential.
He can win immediate time with his defensive toolbox: rebounding, blocking shots, and using that 6-foot-11 wingspan to disrupt his defensive assignments. His leaping ability is well-documented — just ask poor Derrick White, whom Minott dunked over in a game in Minnesota — but Minott’s development on that end of the floor could be the key to just how much he blossoms here.
Pull the cord, and let the Lawn Mower rumble.
Here’s a look at who our panel chose:
Darren Hartwell, Managing Editor
Hugo Gonzalez.
Yes, he’s only 19 years old. No, he may not see extensive playing time as a rookie. But the opportunity for minutes is certainly there in this “gap year,” and Gonzalez’s skill set as a high-motor playmaker should make him a fun watch.
Developing Gonzalez into a full-time rotation player should be one of Boston’s top goals over the next few seasons.
Michael Hurley, Web Producer
Do you take N/A for an answer? I’m kidding! I think. I’ll have to go with Hugo Gonzalez, only for the rookie potential aspect.
I’ll be surprised if anyone turns out to be a Derrick White-type diamond in the rough. And I’m still not convinced Simons will play for the Celtics.
Sean McGuire, Web Producer
I’m expecting Anfernee Simons to be tasked with leading the second unit, and I’m excited to see how the veteran guard does in that role.
Simons averaged more than 32 minutes per game in each of the last three seasons and is a proven scorer. Given the C’s need to make up for some of the scoring they lost, he feels like he could be a crucial piece — especially if he shoots eight or nine 3-pointers per game, like he did in each of the last three campaigns with Portland.
Josh Canu, Media Editor
Hugo Gonzalez.
The Celtics haven’t been in a position the last few years to work a rookie into a sizeable role, but with four of Boston’s top six from last season not in the mix for this season, Hugo could carve out some consistent minutes if he proves he is ready.
I was surprised they brought him over right away, but that is an indication they feel he is ready to contribute. So let the hype train leave the station!
My first instinct is to name Hugo Gonzalez because his draft pedigree and psycho motor, but why not Minott?
Josh Minott is not a great shooter and has only played 463 minutes in his first three seasons in the NBA, but he has the potential to be an impact wing defender and flashed playmaking juice during his lone season in college at Memphis.
His nickname is also “Lawn Mower,” so I can’t wait to hear what Drew Carter cooks up for him this season.
Kevin Miller, VP, Content
Hugo Gonzalez.
His effort and tenacity will be a crowd-pleaser, but he’s super young and will need seasoning. I love his upside as a glue guy who can be a real difference-maker down the road in winning situations.
Adam Hart, EP, Content Strategy
Chris Boucher.
After an offseason of attrition in the frontcourt, can Boucher be more than a bench guy?
When looking back through Pittsburgh Penguins’ history, there are so many moments that ended up changing the course of the franchise and of NHL history.
Such was the case 26 years ago on Sept. 1, 1999.
Leading up to that fateful day, the Penguins were in a bad spot financially. They were more than $90 million in debt and had just filed for bankruptcy in November of 1998. It was looking more and more like the Penguins would need to be relocated outside of Pittsburgh.
Then, the man who had previously been a franchise icon on the ice stepped up to become the team’s hero off of it, too.
Earlier in 1999, Mario Lemieux had already started a process to purchase the Penguins from then-owners Howard Baldwin and Morris Belzberg. At the time, the team owed Lemieux $32.5 million in deferred salary during what was his first retirement, which began in 1997 after a long battle with Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
The plan? Lemieux took $20 million of that deferred salary to invest into an ownership stake in the team, as his ultimate goal was to keep the Penguins in Pittsburgh under a new ownership group that included him in the mix. He took $5 million more out of that toward operating expenses, and he completely deferred the remaining $7.5 million altogether.
The result? Lemieux got billionaire investor Ron Burkle in on the purchase as well, and he and Burkle bought the team from Baldwin and Belzberg for $107 million. The team’s debts were paid off by 2005, and Lemieux and Burkle officially saved the Penguins from relocation and kept the already-storied franchise in Pittsburgh.
Sept. 1, 1999 holds such a significant place in Pittsburgh’s history for a lot of reasons. For one, it was one of the closest times the team ever came to relocation - the issue re-emerged in 2007 when the team faced liquidation and, allegedly, got pretty close to moving to Kansas City - and Lemieux and company saved the team from the eventuality of that fate.
It also cemented the indelible tether between Lemieux and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Of course, Lemieux since sold the Penguins to Fenway Sports Group (FSG) in December of 2021, and - despite rumored interest in re-purchasing the team from FSG - is now only a minority shareholder in the organization.
But his legacy is still all over it.
Prior to owning the team, Lemieux - drafted first overall by the Penguins in 1984 - led the team to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 1991 and 1992 and was the face of the franchise, even beyond his first retirement. Health setbacks caused him to miss significant time, and he did make a brief NHL comeback that stretched from December 2000 to January 2006 - and he got to pass the torch and play alongside new franchise icon Sidney Crosby for a brief time before hanging up his skates for good.
Throughout his all-too-short playing career, Lemieux amassed 690 goals and 1,723 points in 915 NHL games. His on-ice performance would have been enough to cement his place as both the greatest Penguin of all time and one of the greatest - arguably, the greatest - NHL players of all time.
But the fact that his love for Pittsburgh and the Penguins didn’t stop at his playing days speaks to how much inevitability is associated with Lemieux and the franchise. He singlehandedly took the mantle to save the team in 1999, and he did it with a little more help again in 2007. He won three more Stanley Cups as an owner in 2009, 2016, and 2017. He became a mentor, a friend, and - for a little while - a landlord to Crosby, who has followed in Lemieux’s footsteps by sticking it out with the Penguins through some tough times.
In fact, Lemieux’s decision to purchase the Penguins in 1999 changed the entire culture of the franchise. It prioritized a winning culture and gave other all-time great players in Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang the example and the motivation to remain loyal to the team that drafted them.
That culture was even special enough to set the stage for an eventual reunion between Jaromir Jagr - another Penguins’ and NHL all-time great - and the Penguins despite a tumultuous end to Jagr’s time in Pittsburgh as a player.
With the 1999 purchase, Lemieux not only made the Pittsburgh Penguins his personal business. He also created a culture of family, and that is something that has gone hand-in-hand with the organization and its players, coaches, and staff ever since.
No matter what happens in the Penguins’ future - and whether his name is listed as an owner in any capacity or not - Mario Lemieux left his mark on the Penguins’ franchise and will be forever remembered and revered for his hand in making Pittsburgh a hockey town for good.
Norwegian National Team Captain, Former Oiler & Flyer Retires
There was speculation he’d come back for one more season but,
ultimately, Patrick Thoresen is sticking with the decision he made
last summer and announced his retirement on Thursday via Instagram.
Charles Hudon Signs In Sweden, Joins Frondell & EklundCanadian
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Charles Hudon, 31, has signed a two-year contract with
Djurgården IF, the Stockholm-based SHL club announced on Wednesday.
