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1-On-1: Kevin Rooney Discusses PTO With Devils, Depth Role & More

As summer wound down, Kevin Rooney found himself sifting through PTO opportunities from a couple of teams around the NHL. 

When the 32-year-old saw the New Jersey Devils were one of those teams, he felt it was a "no-brainer" to sign a professional tryout with his former club. 

"I have already been here, and I am familiar with the organization," he told The Hockey News on Saturday. "With the uncertainty of not knowing where you stand, I wanted to go someplace where I would be comfortable because training camp is quick. It is two weeks where you have to show yourself. 

"I am really happy to be back," he continued. "It has been a great experience so far being back in New Jersey." 

Rooney began his NHL career with the Devils in March 2017. He appeared in 330 games with New Jersey before continuing his career with the New York Rangers, and eventually, the Calgary Flames. 

Now, he is competing for a bottom-six role on the Devils for the 2025-26 season. The Massachusetts native has plenty of competition for the fourth-line center position with veteran Luke Glendening on a PTO as well.

On Friday, The Hockey News asked Devils' head coach Sheldon Keefe for his thoughts on his players who are on professional tryouts at this juncture of his training camp. 

"I think they have shown well," Keefe shared. "They have both shown what we had expected in terms of what they can provide. We are going to continue to put them in different positions to show that and see how they fit in, and trying to use them in different situations with different types of lineups and different linemates and all these sorts of things.

"(We want) to see them in games when they don't have a lot of support from our top guys, so they got to take on a lot more in terms of heavy lifting and match-ups and all of these sorts of things," Keefe continued. "Then, a game like we played the other day, we have a lot of our top guys, so now it is a little bit more like their role would actually feel like in a regular game. That is what I am going to try to do the rest of the way here. The games are coming quick now, and we are going to try to keep putting them in different spots and seeing how the fit is." 

Off the ice, Rooney has spent time with Glendening as the two are staying at the same hotel during camp. 

"It has been awesome having a guy like that here," Rooney said. "He is a guy I have looked up to throughout my career. He is obviously a little older than me, but we have been going to dinners and stuff together. It has been awesome getting to know him." 

© Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images

Throughout his career, Rooney has averaged 11:38 of ice time per game. As a depth player, he understands and enjoys his role, explaining what it takes to be effective in limited ice time. 

"I think just staying in the game, you know? I mean (it could) be communication on the bench," he said. "I am a guy who loves to talk to my linemates and talk throughout the game, letting people who are on the ice know if they have time with the puck and whatnot. It is just doing those little things that keep you involved in the game in a little bit different of a way. 

"Obviously, you feel your best when you are playing 12 to 15 minutes, but that is not realistic every night," he continued. "You have to find ways to contribute, whether you get eight minutes or 10 minutes. It is something that, over the years, I have just gotten better at." 

One thing that affects the ice time of players like Rooney is the TV timeouts during games. 

"I don't know if it is actually true, but it feels like the fourth line is always about to go, and then there is a TV timeout," he said with a chuckle. "Then it resets." 

It is a small facet of the game that can go unnoticed not only to fans but to other players in the NHL, who are accustomed to more ice time on a nightly basis. 

"I actually have a funny story. One of my really good friends is Adam Fox," Rooney shared. "He played in the 4 Nations Face-Off, and wasn't getting his normal 20 to 25 minutes (of ice time). When I was hanging out with him this summer, he said he had a better appreciation for guys like me who don't play as many minutes. You know, it is harder, and it is cool to see a guy like that appreciate it." 

The Devils have four preseason games remaining with a split squad on Sunday. Half of the team will be at Prudential Center hosting the Washington Capitals, while the other group travels to Quebec City to play the Ottawa Senators. 

There is still time for Rooney to make a positive impact on the Devils' front office before the regular season kicks off on Oct. 9 in Raleigh, North Carolina, and the center knows what is at stake and that he, in essence, has to seize the moment. 

"When you get your opportunities, you really have to make the most of them, because it doesn't come around often, honestly."

Make sure you bookmark THN's New Jersey Devils site for THN's latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.

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Former Canadiens Forward Hits Waivers

Alex Barre-Boulet (© Eric Bolte-Imagn Images)

Several players were placed on waivers on Sep. 27 in the NHL. Among them was former Montreal Canadiens forward Alex Barre-Boulet, as he was placed on waivers by the Colorado Avalanche.

Barre-Boulet signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Avalanche this off-season. This was after the Canadiens did not re-sign him before July 1.

Barre-Boulet spent the majority of this past season with the Canadiens' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Laval Rocket. He was certainly an impactful player for Laval, as he posted 22 goals, 41 assists, 63 points, and a plus-18 rating in 64 games. He also played in 13 playoff games for Laval this past spring, recording three goals, eight assists, and 11 points. 

Barre-Boulet also played in two games with the Canadiens during the 2024-25 season, where he posted zero points, two penalty minutes, and three hits. 

A team looking for more forward depth could consider taking a shot on Barre-Boulet with a waiver claim, given his impressive AHL resume. However, if he passes through waivers, he will be joining the Avalanche's AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. 

In 70 career NHL games over five seasons split between the Tampa Bay Lightning, Seattle Kraken, and Canadiens, Barre-Boulet has posted 12 goals, 18 points, and 47 hits. 

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Ducks Inking McTavish Reveals GM Verbeek's Salary Cap Restrictions

The Anaheim Ducks locked up one of the NHL's remaining RFAs when they signed star center Mason McTavish to a six-year, $42-million contract that carries a peculiar average annual value of $7 million. The AAV on McTavish's extension sheds some light on the philosophy of Ducks GM Pat Verbeek.

Verbeek had about $20.5 million in cap space before inking McTavish, meaning there was no good reason for the Ducks to go to war with one of the organization’s best players.

The 22-year-old is coming off a 2024-25 season in which he set new career-highs in goals (22), assists (30), and points (52) in 76 games. Furthermore, he had the joint-most goals and power-play goals on the Ducks roster.

There is an intriguing element of McTavish’s deal that stays in line with Verbeek’s apparent belief that no Anaheim player should be earning more than $7 million per year. Both longtime Ducks right winger Troy Terry and newcomer center Mikael Granlund earn $7 million against the salary cap this season.

Mason McTavish (Jerome Miron-Imagn Images)

Verbeek indeed made an exception for defensemen Jacob Trouba and his $8-million cap hit. However, Trouba wasn't a free agent signing, but rather, a trade that saw the New York Rangers receive defenseman Urho Vaakanainen and a 2025 fourth-round pick.

Nonetheless, Verbeek didn’t break the $7-million limit for No. 1 goalie Lukas Dostal, who signed for $6.5 million per year across five years. Evidence would show that there’s a clear red line for Verbeek, and McTavish didn’t step past it with this new contract.

It'll be interesting to see how Verbeek handles the pending RFAs, which includes center Leo Carlsson, left winger Cutter Gauthier, defensemen Jackson LaCombe, Olen Zellweger, and Pavel Mintyukov. All of which will require new contracts beyond the 2025-26 campaign.

For a guy many wondered whether he had a long future in Anaheim, McTavish put that notion to rest, as Verbeek gave McTavish more term than any other current member of the Ducks.

McTavish is under contract through the 2030-31 campaign, while no other Duck is under contract longer than 2029-30. That says something about McTavish’s place in the organization. That shows what’s going to be expected of him. McTavish is going to be Anaheim’s top center, and although younger star Carlsson might challenge him for that top spot, it’s McTavish’s job to lose right now.

Report: Teams Have Called the Ducks on McTavish, Verbeek said 'Get Lost'Report: Teams Have Called the Ducks on McTavish, Verbeek said 'Get Lost'Anaheim Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek is no stranger to difficult contract negotiations when it comes to RFAs under team control, especially if those players don’t hold arbitration rights.

McTavish had returned to his Canadian home in Ottawa before Ducks training camp began, but he’s now back in the fold, and Anaheim are going to be better for it. It made no sense for either McTavish or the Ducks to lose any more time than he’s already lost.

With McTavish finally on board, Anaheim has a solid balance of veterans and youngsters this season. Plus, if Dostal can hold up his end of the deal and the Ducks generate more offense, they have a realistic shot at least challenging for the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Ducks are a team on the rise, and you can say the same thing for McTavish. He got what would've been market value if he were a UFA, but Verbeek gave him reasonable money as they project McTavish to do big things for them.

The expectations on McTavish have now been raised considerably, and McTavish now has the pressure of being the highest-paid forward on the roster. We'll see if he clears the new competitive bar his salary has set for him.

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 below the article on THN.com.

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Tottenham 1-1 Wolves: Premier League – as it happened

Wolves were seconds away from a deserved win when Joao Palhinha scored a brilliant equaliser for Spurs

13 min That Spurs lorner leads to another, which leads to a Wolves throw-in on the far side.

12 min The Spurs crowd appeal for a penalty when Udogie’s cross hits the arm of Doherty in the area. It was tight to his body to a corner is all Spurs will get.

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Phillies settle at No. 2 seed as Twins silence offense at home

Phillies settle at No. 2 seed as Twins silence offense at home originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Phillies have seen former teammate Mick Abel pitch numerous times, from his stay in their minor league system to the seven starts for the big-league club this season. They are very familiar with what kind of a pitcher he is. They had not, however, ever faced the righthander. And as the old adage in baseball says, it’s always tough facing a pitcher for the first time. That held true on Saturday at Citizens Bank Park.

Abel, part of the package that brought the Phillies Jhoan Duran from Minnesota at the trade deadline, allowed just three hits and a walk in his six innings and struck out a career-high tying nine in picking up his third career win as the Twins downed the Phillies, 5-0. It was the eleventh time the Phillies have been shut out this season, the first time at home.

Abel’s mastery was a bit surprising as he had given up 22 earned runs in his last five starts encompassing 17 2/3 innings. That’s an 11.21 ERA. Still, the Phillies didn’t come close to solving him.

“He was fantastic. He was really good,” said manager Rob Thomson. “You’ve got to give him credit. Seventy three percent strikes, or something like that, throwing all his pitches for strikes. He kept guys off-balance, power fastball. He was really good.”

Phillies starter Ranger Suárez got hit hard most of the misty night as he allowed nine hits, including two home runs, and three earned runs in his 4 1/3 innings. The most damaging hit came to his left inner thigh off the bat of Ryan Jeffers in the fifth inning. Jeffers hit a 106 mile-an-hour screamer back to the mound that hit Suárez inches away from where it could have been much more serious. \

The lefthander was replaced by Max Luzar due to a contusion that will be evaluated. Suárez left the mound with a “that was close” type of smile. “I was lucky. All muscle (the ball hit),” he kidded after the game.

It wasn’t the best outing for Suárez, in fact, it couldn’t have gone much worse as the Twins were on top of just about everything he offered in his last start before the playoffs begin next weekend. Suárez did throw 57 of his 84 pitches for strikes and didn’t walk anyone, if you’re looking for a silver lining.

“Aside from the getting hit by that liner, that wasn’t what I wanted today as a whole, as a team tonight,” said Suárez, who set a career high with 157 1/3 innings pitched this season. “I feel good. Physically I feel fine as I’ve been saying for the past couple of outings and interviews. I don’t know what’s with it but the last outing of every year for the past two or three years hasn’t been good. But I’m ready to go. My cutter wasn’t landing where I wanted it to, and I was leaving the fastball in the middle of the zone. It’s always a tough night when your primary pitches aren’t doing what you want and you don’t have command of them.”

The Phillies eliminated themselves for a chance at the top seed in the National League with the loss. That spot will now go to the Milwaukee Brewers, and the Phillies will play the winner of the Wild Card Series between the No. 3 and No. 6 seeds beginning Saturday at Citizens Bank Park.

Byron Buxton opened the game with a solo home run to start the scoring for the Twins. It was his 11th leadoff home run of the season. James Outman and Ryan Fitzgerald also went yard for Minnesota.

“Last couple of starts his command has been off a little bit, probably average for him,” said Thomson of Suárez. “Not the pinpoint command that he normally has. His stuff was good. He gives up the Buxton home run where he left that 3-2 cutter in the middle of the plate. The other two hits (in the first) weren’t really hit hard and he battled out of it and struck out the side. So, that was good to see.”

The lone bright spot offensively for the Phillies was third baseman Alec Bohm collecting two hits. That extended his hitting streak to eight. Since September 19, he is hitting .500.

Thomson did announce after the game that shortstop Trea Turner, who has been sidelined since September 7 with a Grade 1 hamstring strain, will start at shortstop for the team in Sunday’s regular season finale.

“Now, don’t be shocked if he comes out early,” Thomson said. “When that is, I don’t know. He’s wanting to play, one. And the trainers deemed him healthy.”

The series and regular season will conclude tomorrow when Cristopher Sánchez opposes Twins right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson.

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Yankees confident Cam Schlittler can start a playoff game after best outing of season

The Yankees are firmly in postseason position and are awaiting whether they'll play in the Wild Card round or win the AL East and get the first-round bye. 

However the playoff seedings shake out, the Yankees need a Game 3 starter and they may have one in rookie Cam Schlittler. The young flamethrower had perhaps his best outing of his short season against the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday afternoon. He allowed just two hits and one walk across seven shutout innings while striking out nine batters in the Yankees' 6-1 win.

Schlittler's performance lowered his season ERA to 2.96 and put the pressure on the Blue Jays to keep up in the division race. 

"I thought he was great. Stuff was really good again out of the chute," manager Aaron Boone said of Schlittler's performance. "Good job mixing the secondary with the big fastball. Lost the zone in that inning when he hit a couple of guys and had some uncharacteristic misses by him. But dialed back in and finished great in the sixth and seventh."

Schlittler credited his outing to staying in the strike zone, feeling out his mechanics and taking a step from his last start. Pitching against these same Orioles on Sept. 21, Schlittler went just 5.1 innings, allowing one run on three hits. On Saturday, Schlittler made sure to stay on top of the ball and "finish through the catcher's mask."

And he wasn't affected by the pressure of Saturday's game. With the Blue Jays having the tiebreaker, the Yankees need to keep winning and get help from the Rays in their series with Toronto. Knowing the stakes, Schlittler embraced the pressure to pitch his best game of his young big league career.

"I knew the situation after yesterday. There’s a little bit of pressure, it’s something I do and something I want to pitch through," Schlittler said. "It’s high stakes, I don’t have experience in the playoffs. Take it day to day, but I’m aware of the situation. That’s over with, have to focus on next week. [The pressure] Locks me in a little more. I enjoy everything that comes with that."

That confidence exudes from Schlittler on the mound and the Yankees skipper knows it. When asked if Schlittler's confidence matches former Yankees starter Michael King's, Boone took a beat before playfully saying, "No one's as confident as King."

To Boone, King is at the top of the confidence list, followed by Clarke Schmidt and then Schlittler.

"You walk out there with that equipment, I’d be confident too," Boone quipped. "He definitely has that. But there’s a humility to him; he doesn’t think he has it figured out or anything like that. He does have confidence with a good competitiveness. Good combination."

With Max Fried and Carlos Rodon set to pitch the first two game of either the Wild Card of ALDS, Boone has a decision to make for Game 3. He can go with Schlittler or fellow rookie Will Warren, or 2024 AL Rookie of the Year, Luis Gil. 

Warren gutted out an uneven start in Friday's win with Gil pitching the regular season finale on Sunday with the division potentially on the line. Perhaps Boone will know after Sunday, but does he have the confidence to give Schlittler the ball to start a pivotal third game of a playoff series?

"Yes, absolutely." 

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Edgecombe stands out and learns, Embiid practices at Sixers training camp

Edgecombe stands out and learns, Embiid practices at Sixers training camp  originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Asked about his early impressions of VJ Edgecombe, Andre Drummond didn’t first point to the No. 3 overall pick’s bounce or defensive chops.

“The first day I saw VJ I was instantly impressed, because the first thing he did was just ask me a bunch of questions,” Drummond said Friday at Sixers media day. “He even asked me how my day was. He’s like, ‘What do you think about this, big bro? How do you feel about this?’ 

“He’s a kid that wants to soak up knowledge. And he’s a gifted athlete and he’s very, very good. I think he’s going to be very good for us and I’m excited about what’s to come.”

Day 1 of Edgecombe’s first NBA training camp was Saturday. Sixers head coach Nick Nurse named him and two-way contract player Dominick Barlow as standouts. 

As Drummond noted, Edgecombe is fully aware he has tons of NBA-specific knowledge to gain. The 20-year-old has recently been asking teammates about how to prepare for the Sixers’ upcoming preseason trip to Abu Dhabi. Edgecombe’s watched Tyrese Maxey’s shooting and marveled at his range and “muscle memory.” Over the summer, he was curious about “the fouls and physicality.” 

“What is legal, what is not legal? It’s a different game from college, so I’m just trying to learn the rules,” Edgecombe said Friday. “That’s why I ask a lot of questions, especially if I’m trying to box (Drummond) out on a rebound or something like that. Little things like that … just trying to learn. I ask questions to everybody — literally anyone. I ask Justin (Edwards) questions, Jared (McCain), Tyrese, everybody. I’m just trying to get better.” 

Since draft night, Edgecombe has worked to adapt to various aspects of NBA life. That includes his strength and conditioning habits. The 6-foot-4 guard said he’s gained a bit of muscle and is up to the 195 to 200-pound range. 

“I’m just trying to find a routine and stick to that,” he said. “I’ve been lifting a lot more, lifting a lot of weight. I’m resting a lot. I’ve got to get my eight to 10 hours of sleep now. I’m taking recovery more seriously, to be honest with you.”

Edgecombe has also aimed to improve his outside shooting after going 34 percent behind the college line last season. 

While he wasn’t a poor or unwilling shooter at Baylor, Edgecombe was fully on board with mechanical tweaks. 

“I had a flat shot in college,” he said. “Now my arc is really good compared to where it was a month ago … and just more consistent. It’s crazy that it’s now rare for me to shoot flat. Now I know when my shot is flat.”

In terms of Edgecombe’s rookie role, Nurse said Friday he plans to use him both on and off the ball. Nurse can also envision Edgecombe “playing some three” and generally being a part of guard-heavy lineups that play a high-energy, fast-paced style. 

Whatever the assignment, Edgecombe seems like he’ll roll with it (and ask about anything he needs to know). 

“It’s basketball, at the end of the day,” he said. “I feel like everyone on the court is interchangeable, so whoever’s got the ball can bring it up. We have a lot of versatile guys. Sometimes I’m running, sometimes I’m bringing the ball up, sometimes I’m trailing. But I’m just out there trying to make winning plays.”

Embiid in the mix on Day 1 

Joel Embiid emphasized at media day that his health is a day-by-day matter.

He shot jumpers following Day 1 of camp and Nurse confirmed that he took part in practice. 

“He did participate,” Nurse said. “Everything right from the start was live and he was in there, participating in that stuff. He didn’t do everything, but he did quite a bit.

“I think he’s probably told you how he’s feeling, how he’s looking. He was moving good, playing hard and he had great spirit out there today.”

A Sixers official said Trendon Watford (right hamstring tightness) is day-to-day and that Paul George (left knee surgery) did an individual on-court workout.