Porter Martone's commitment to the NCAA's Michigan State means one less winger is battling for a roster spot with the Philadelphia Flyers this fall.
By extension, those players likely to make the NHL roster and those likely to be on the bubble have become increasingly clear.
Rookie forwards Alex Bump and Nikita Grebenkin are both expected to vie for a roster spot, and Bump has already drawn plaudits from Flyers AGM Brent Flahr, as is tradition, ahead of his first NHL training camp.
Grebenkin already garnered seven games of NHL experience playing for former Flyers head coach Craig Berube and the Toronto Maple Leafs last season, and impressed in his brief stint with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms after arriving in March.
From there, the Flyers' dire salary cap situation muddies things, but assuming new head coach Rick Tocchet isn't willing to make Nicolas Deslauriers an every-night player to start the season, and assuming Tyson Foerster isn't ready to play, there's one more opening at the forward position.
Deslauriers is a pure winger, so the Flyers may favor a player who can play center to round out the roster. Names like Karsen Dorwart and Rodrigo Abols come to mind, but with his size and experience, the latter is more likely to steal a roster spot.
Or, with the consideration of adding some speed to the bottom-six, it would be foolish to count out veteran sparkplug Anthony Richard.
I think 2024 first-round pick Jett Luchanko will have a real opportunity to compete and play in preseason games, but it was quite apparent in his NHL stint with the Flyers last season that this level of competition was too much for him at this point in his development.
The addition of Christian Dvorak in free agency effectively nuked Luchanko's chances of making the NHL roster outright, and the Trevor Zegras experiment at center, if it goes awry, won't have its plug pulled until later in the season.
Luchanko doesn't have that kind of time, and he didn't exactly set the OHL ablaze in his D+1 season last year. The 18-year-old center deserves to have a full training camp with the Guelph Storm and go from there.
Bump is as sure as sure can be at this stage, so long as he doesn't completely tank in training camp and the preseason.
Martone, who turns 19 in October, would have been Bump and Grebenkin's greatest threat to an NHL roster spot, but by going to Michigan State, the 2025 No. 6 pick won't even be competing for that privilege.
What happens this time next year, though, could be a different story.
When you’ve been around the game of baseball for forty years the way Phillies manager Rob Thomson has, there aren’t many things that are going to surprise or shock you. Check that box not once, but twice. And all in the span of a couple of weeks.
The Phillies beat the Boston Red Sox Monday at Citizens Bank Park on a – get this – walk-off catcher’s interference in the 10th inning for a 3-2 series-opening victory.
Edmundo Sosa, who pinch-hit earlier in the game for Bryson Stott, was the beneficiary of the unimaginable, game-ending play when he reached for a 1-2 slider from reliever Jordan Hicks and made contact with Red Sox catcher Carlos Nervaez’ glove. This forced home the winning run in one of the oddest endings in Thomson’s career. The other came on July 8 in San Francisco when the Phillies lost on an inside-the-park, three-run home run.
“There’s two things this year that I’ve never seen before in 40 years and one is a walk-off inside-the-park home run and one is a walk off catcher’s interference,” Thomson shrugged.
The end came after a night of oddities in the game. Pitcher Zack Wheeler, who had a 0.79 ERA in his last five games at Citizens Bank Park, gave up a leadoff home run to Jarren Duran to start the game and put the Phillies in a 1-0 hole. As expected, he battled all night though his stuff wasn’t his best. The Phillies gave him a 2-1 lead in the fourth when Bryce Harper doubled and scored on a Nick Castellanos single.
Castellanos then took second on a wild pitch and scored on a single by J.T. Realmuto. The Red Sox scored a run to tie it on three consecutive hits in the sixth off Wheeler, before he struck out the last two batters of the inning. That was his night after six, as he gave up just the two runs and struck out 10.
After Realmuto’s single in the fourth, the Phillies sent 22 hitters to the plate. They got just one hit but were able to push through the winning run to improve to 57-43 on the year. They still hold a half-game lead over the Mets atop the East.
“It was a little rough for me, I was a little bit out of sync,” said WheeIer. “I felt great, but just a little out of sync. Aggressive team and you have to get back in there but not too much in the zone. It wasn’t as crisp as I’d like, but we got out of it. Every game’s a big one, from the first game of the year to the last one. The wins, they add up. If you don’t think every game’s a big game, at the end of the season you might be going home early. Got to win that game, got to win the series.” No matter how oddly you do it.
Phillies reliever Max Lazar came in for the tenth inning with Rob Refsnyder placed at second base. Lazar paid no attention as he got a strikeout, groundout and another strikeout to end the top of the tenth. Then things got really strange.
With Brandon Marsh place at second, Otto Kemp got a four-pitch walk from Hicks. A wild pitch put runners and second and third and the Red Sox intentionally walked Max Kepler to load the bases. Up stepped Sosa, who had the lone hit during the Phillies dry spell from the fourth inning on. After looking at two strikes, he laid off a 101 mile-an-hour sinker and fouled off another before becoming part of one of the strangest endings any of us will ever see. Including a man that has been in the game for 40-years.
“I just thought of defending the zone, staying short to the ball.” said Sosa. “Then he goes out with that slider away and I go after it. I feel my barrel is a little late on the pitch and as I go with my swing path I feel like I hit the catcher’s glove and I told the ump that I thought I felt something. We all saw that afterwards.
It’s the first time it happened in my career like this. This feels like a home run because the most important thing about it is we end up winning the game and that’s what we go out to do.”
Asked if it was his first walk-off of his career, Sosa couldn’t remember. “In Philly it’s the first one for sure.”
And certainly one he’ll never forget.
None of it would have been possible if it was for the gutsy performance by Lazar, who picked up his first win of his major league career.
“Being in the minor leagues for the past few years we’re kind of the test dummies for what MLB is implementing so I’ve had experience with the pitch clock and the ghost runner on second,” said Lazar. “I think that definitely helped. I’ve pitched in a lot of situations this year. That’s what you’ve got to do when you’re a young guy. So just being ready every day. Whenever that inning comes or that phone rings I can go out there and give it my all.”
And it may just lead to you winning your first major league game in absolutely unforgettable fashion.
When you’ve been around the game of baseball for forty years the way Phillies manager Rob Thomson has, there aren’t many things that are going to surprise or shock you. Check that box not once, but twice. And all in the span of a couple of weeks.
The Phillies beat the Boston Red Sox Monday at Citizens Bank Park on a – get this – walk-off catcher’s interference in the 10th inning for a 3-2 series-opening victory.
Edmundo Sosa, who pinch-hit earlier in the game for Bryson Stott, was the beneficiary of the unimaginable, game-ending play when he reached for a 1-2 slider from reliever Jordan Hicks and made contact with Red Sox catcher Carlos Nervaez’ glove. This forced home the winning run in one of the oddest endings in Thomson’s career. The other came on July 8 in San Francisco when the Phillies lost on an inside-the-park, three-run home run.
“There’s two things this year that I’ve never seen before in 40 years and one is a walk-off inside-the-park home run and one is a walk off catcher’s interference,” Thomson shrugged.
The end came after a night of oddities in the game. Pitcher Zack Wheeler, who had a 0.79 ERA in his last five games at Citizens Bank Park, gave up a leadoff home run to Jarren Duran to start the game and put the Phillies in a 1-0 hole. As expected, he battled all night though his stuff wasn’t his best. The Phillies gave him a 2-1 lead in the fourth when Bryce Harper doubled and scored on a Nick Castellanos single.
Castellanos then took second on a wild pitch and scored on a single by J.T. Realmuto. The Red Sox scored a run to tie it on three consecutive hits in the sixth off Wheeler, before he struck out the last two batters of the inning. That was his night after six, as he gave up just the two runs and struck out 10.
After Realmuto’s single in the fourth, the Phillies sent 22 hitters to the plate. They got just one hit but were able to push through the winning run to improve to 57-43 on the year. They still hold a half-game lead over the Mets atop the East.
“It was a little rough for me, I was a little bit out of sync,” said WheeIer. “I felt great, but just a little out of sync. Aggressive team and you have to get back in there but not too much in the zone. It wasn’t as crisp as I’d like, but we got out of it. Every game’s a big one, from the first game of the year to the last one. The wins, they add up. If you don’t think every game’s a big game, at the end of the season you might be going home early. Got to win that game, got to win the series.” No matter how oddly you do it.
Phillies reliever Max Lazar came in for the tenth inning with Rob Refsnyder placed at second base. Lazar paid no attention as he got a strikeout, groundout and another strikeout to end the top of the tenth. Then things got really strange.
With Brandon Marsh place at second, Otto Kemp got a four-pitch walk from Hicks. A wild pitch put runners and second and third and the Red Sox intentionally walked Max Kepler to load the bases. Up stepped Sosa, who had the lone hit during the Phillies dry spell from the fourth inning on. After looking at two strikes, he laid off a 101 mile-an-hour sinker and fouled off another before becoming part of one of the strangest endings any of us will ever see. Including a man that has been in the game for 40-years.
“I just thought of defending the zone, staying short to the ball.” said Sosa. “Then he goes out with that slider away and I go after it. I feel my barrel is a little late on the pitch and as I go with my swing path I feel like I hit the catcher’s glove and I told the ump that I thought I felt something. We all saw that afterwards.
It’s the first time it happened in my career like this. This feels like a home run because the most important thing about it is we end up winning the game and that’s what we go out to do.”
Asked if it was his first walk-off of his career, Sosa couldn’t remember. “In Philly it’s the first one for sure.”
And certainly one he’ll never forget.
None of it would have been possible if it was for the gutsy performance by Lazar, who picked up his first win of his major league career.
“Being in the minor leagues for the past few years we’re kind of the test dummies for what MLB is implementing so I’ve had experience with the pitch clock and the ghost runner on second,” said Lazar. “I think that definitely helped. I’ve pitched in a lot of situations this year. That’s what you’ve got to do when you’re a young guy. So just being ready every day. Whenever that inning comes or that phone rings I can go out there and give it my all.”
And it may just lead to you winning your first major league game in absolutely unforgettable fashion.
When you’ve been around the game of baseball for forty years the way Phillies manager Rob Thomson has, there aren’t many things that are going to surprise or shock you. Check that box not once, but twice. And all in the span of a couple of weeks.
The Phillies beat the Boston Red Sox Monday at Citizens Bank Park on a – get this – walk-off catcher’s interference in the 10th inning for a 3-2 series-opening victory.
Edmundo Sosa, who pinch-hit earlier in the game for Bryson Stott, was the beneficiary of the unimaginable, game-ending play when he reached for a 1-2 slider from reliever Jordan Hicks and made contact with Red Sox catcher Carlos Nervaez’ glove. This forced home the winning run in one of the oddest endings in Thomson’s career. The other came on July 8 in San Francisco when the Phillies lost on an inside-the-park, three-run home run.
“There’s two things this year that I’ve never seen before in 40 years and one is a walk-off inside-the-park home run and one is a walk off catcher’s interference,” Thomson shrugged.
The end came after a night of oddities in the game. Pitcher Zack Wheeler, who had a 0.79 ERA in his last five games at Citizens Bank Park, gave up a leadoff home run to Jarren Duran to start the game and put the Phillies in a 1-0 hole. As expected, he battled all night though his stuff wasn’t his best. The Phillies gave him a 2-1 lead in the fourth when Bryce Harper doubled and scored on a Nick Castellanos single.
Castellanos then took second on a wild pitch and scored on a single by J.T. Realmuto. The Red Sox scored a run to tie it on three consecutive hits in the sixth off Wheeler, before he struck out the last two batters of the inning. That was his night after six, as he gave up just the two runs and struck out 10.
After Realmuto’s single in the fourth, the Phillies sent 22 hitters to the plate. They got just one hit but were able to push through the winning run to improve to 57-43 on the year. They still hold a half-game lead over the Mets atop the East.
“It was a little rough for me, I was a little bit out of sync,” said WheeIer. “I felt great, but just a little out of sync. Aggressive team and you have to get back in there but not too much in the zone. It wasn’t as crisp as I’d like, but we got out of it. Every game’s a big one, from the first game of the year to the last one. The wins, they add up. If you don’t think every game’s a big game, at the end of the season you might be going home early. Got to win that game, got to win the series.” No matter how oddly you do it.
Phillies reliever Max Lazar came in for the tenth inning with Rob Refsnyder placed at second base. Lazar paid no attention as he got a strikeout, groundout and another strikeout to end the top of the tenth. Then things got really strange.
With Brandon Marsh place at second, Otto Kemp got a four-pitch walk from Hicks. A wild pitch put runners and second and third and the Red Sox intentionally walked Max Kepler to load the bases. Up stepped Sosa, who had the lone hit during the Phillies dry spell from the fourth inning on. After looking at two strikes, he laid off a 101 mile-an-hour sinker and fouled off another before becoming part of one of the strangest endings any of us will ever see. Including a man that has been in the game for 40-years.
“I just thought of defending the zone, staying short to the ball.” said Sosa. “Then he goes out with that slider away and I go after it. I feel my barrel is a little late on the pitch and as I go with my swing path I feel like I hit the catcher’s glove and I told the ump that I thought I felt something. We all saw that afterwards.
It’s the first time it happened in my career like this. This feels like a home run because the most important thing about it is we end up winning the game and that’s what we go out to do.”
Asked if it was his first walk-off of his career, Sosa couldn’t remember. “In Philly it’s the first one for sure.”
And certainly one he’ll never forget.
None of it would have been possible if it was for the gutsy performance by Lazar, who picked up his first win of his major league career.
“Being in the minor leagues for the past few years we’re kind of the test dummies for what MLB is implementing so I’ve had experience with the pitch clock and the ghost runner on second,” said Lazar. “I think that definitely helped. I’ve pitched in a lot of situations this year. That’s what you’ve got to do when you’re a young guy. So just being ready every day. Whenever that inning comes or that phone rings I can go out there and give it my all.”
And it may just lead to you winning your first major league game in absolutely unforgettable fashion.
With 10 days before the MLB Trade Deadline, it's not a matter of if the Mets will be buyers, it's a matter of who they'll bring in.
At 56-44 entering Monday's series opener against the Los Angeles Angels, New York is firmly in the market to acquire players it thinks can help the team. Speaking to reporters pregame, president of baseball operations David Stearns added a little more clarity as to who those players might be.
Like most contending teams, the Mets are not without their faults.
After starting the season as one of MLB's best teams, they've had ups and downs since then. Recently, injuries to their pitching staff have become their biggest hurdle to climb and its effects have been felt from the starting rotation to the bullpen.
It's been difficult for New York and manager Carlos Mendoza to navigate on a nightly basis, and while the starters are finally beginning to get healthier, a few of them are still on pitch counts or getting close to innings limits which puts a ton of pressure on the relievers to get a bulk of the outs on any given day.
Not only is that hard to execute consistently, but it's taken its toll on some of them with a myriad of Mets relievers either recovering on the injured list or shut down for the season.
"We’ve been hit with injuries to the pitching staff, I think specifically the bullpen, and so we will be active there," Stearns said. "I think providing our group some reinforcements in the bullpen would be great. There generally are relievers traded at the deadline and so I’m sure there will be some this (year) as well. So we’ll be involved in that. Ideally, we find deals that make sense, bring guys in that we think can help us."
While making it clear that New York will target bullpen help at the deadline, Stearns did not completely shut the door on potentially bringing up some of the team's talented pitchers in the farm system to give them a chance to pitch in relief -- players like Brandon Sproat and Nolan McLean, who have pitched well in Syracuse.
Of course, Stearns is apprehensive of doing that and it seems like that would only happen if all else failed.
New York Mets starter Brandon Sproat (91) pitches against the Houston Astros at Clover Park. / Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
"If (trading for relievers) doesn’t happen for some reason, then we’ll probably have to think about some of the arms in Triple-A and whether those guys at some point can impact us in the bullpen." Stearns said.
Another glaring weakness for the Mets has been the offensive production coming out of center field.
After beginning the season with the plan of platooning Jose Siri and Tyrone Taylor at the position -- already sacrificing offense for elite defense -- that plan went out the window when Siri fractured his tibia in April, which currently has him on the 60-day IL.
Siri's injury has resulted in Taylor being the everyday center fielder and while his defensive prowess has been impressive, his offensive output, which he's not exactly known for to begin with, has taken a huge hit.
In 88 games, Taylor is slashing .211/.264/.309 with two home runs and 17 RBI in 256 at-bats. His .573 OPS so far this season is more than 100 points lower than his career .706 OPS.
"Positionally, the one position where we haven’t gotten the level of production that we probably anticipated coming into the year is center field, and I don’t think I’m saying anything that’s gonna surprise anyone," Stearns said.
What's helped New York in this area has been the defensive flexibility of Jeff McNeil and his willingness to play center field on a somewhat-consistent basis for the first time in his career during his age-33 season.
McNeil has played 24 games in center this year, the second-most at a position behind his natural second base and for the most part, he's handled it well. He's out there once again on Monday night while batting fifth as his offense has been more than adequate.
The emergence of McNeil as an option in center field (and Taylor's exceptional defense despite his offensive shortcomings) has made Stearns think twice about upgrading at that position.
"I really like the defense that Tyrone Taylor brings and how he contributes to this team, and I also think Jeff is growing more comfortable out there," Stearns said. "So, I think, for me at least, the bar to improve center field has probably risen over the past let’s say two weeks because of maybe Jeff’s comfort level a little bit more out there and also continuing to recognize the secondary skills that Tyrone can provide."
He continued: "I’m certain we’re gonna be engaged, but we got to clear a bar that we actually think makes us better given the price that I think these things are gonna cost."
As for third base, a position that has been a bit of a revolving door this year after Mark Vientos hasn't been able to replicate his 2024 season in which he usurped Brett Baty and other Mets prospects for the starting job, Stearns has been pleased with the production that New York is getting from those same young players that Vientos leapfrogged last year.
For example, Baty, who has gotten the lion's share of reps at the hot corner (50 games), has been better at the plate and has shown great resiliency with his career-high 10 home runs after being sent down earlier in the season.
"I think our younger players have taken a step forward when we’re talking about Brett Baty and Ronny Mauricio, both those guys have contributed," Stearns said.
Not only have Baty and Mauricio shown glimpses of what they can provide offensively, but both players can also play multiple positions around the infield.
So, while fans may be craving a big acquisition at the deadline, Stearns will likely do something similar to what he did in his first year with the Mets and what he's generally done during his entire career: make smart deals that perhaps aren't flashy, but that help the team improve.
"I try not to look at it as the size of the splash, I think that can get a little dangerous this time of year," he said. "I think we try to look at how good is the player coming back and how does that particular player fit the team needs. I also don’t know how many big splash players are actually getting traded this deadline. I think that remains to be seen a little bit.
"So, we’ll see. We got 10 days to go, there’s still a number of teams that are trying to figure out where they are and my guess is we’ll have a little bit more clarity on some of this six, seven days from now with then three days leading into the deadline."
The Boston Red Sox found a new way to lose in devastating fashion in Monday’s series opener against the Philadelphia Phillies.
It was a 2-2 game when Red Sox reliever Jordan Hicks, acquired as part of the Rafael Devers deal, took the mound in the bottom of the 10th inning at Citizens Bank Park. The hard-throwing right-hander was all over the place, walking Otto Kemp on four pitches before his wild pitch to Max Kepler allowed runners to advance to second and third base. He intentionally walked Kepler to load the bases with no outs.
Edmundo Sosa was next to step up to the plate for Philadelphia. He checked his swing on a 1-2 count but made contact with Red Sox catcher Carlos Narvaez’s glove.
It was ruled a catcher’s interference, allowing the runner from third to score for a walk-off Phillies victory.
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) July 22, 2025
It was only the second walk-off catcher’s interference in MLB history, according to Stathead. The Los Angeles Dodgers won on a walk-off catcher’s interference in 1971.
The bizarre ending spoiled a hard-fought matchup against Phillies ace Zack Wheeler. Red Sox starter Walker Buehler outlasted the National League Cy Young candidate, allowing only one earned run over seven solid innings of work. Jarren Duran led off the game with a solo homer, and Trevor Story tied the game up at 2-2 with an RBI single in the sixth.
Boston is now 1-3 since the All-Star break. Alex Cora’s club will look to bounce back Tuesday against the Phillies, with Richard Fitts expected to take the hill against Christopher Sanchez.
The Calgary Flames are next up in The Hockey News’ NHL summer splash rankings.
As we count down the NHL teams based on who improved, stayed the same or got worse this off-season, we’re analyzing additions and departures, including any hirings and firings.
Catch up on the full rankings to date after seeing why the Flames are ranked 28th.
Additions
Ivan Prosvetov (G), Nick Cicek (D)
The Breakdown: The Flames finished tied with the St. Louis Blues for the final Stanley Cup wild-card berth this past season, but the tiebreakers did not work in Calgary’s favor, so they missed out on the playoffs for the third straight season and the fourth time in the past five years.
Judging by the distinct lack of additions Calgary GM Craig Conroy made to this point, you’d have to believe this team is capable of doing more with less – or more with the same. And we don’t share that opinion. Most, if not all, of the Pacific Division teams made notable moves this summer, but Calgary can’t say the same thing.
When the Flames’ additions were Cicek, a depth defenseman who hasn’t played an NHL game since the 2022-23 season, and Prosvetov, a potential backup goalie who played in the KHL this past season and mainly in the AHL before that, there’s simply not enough there to say there’s an improvement.
Departures
Anthony Mantha (RW), Kevin Rooney (C), Dan Vladar (G), Tyson Barrie (D)
The Breakdown: Losing Mantha isn’t a big deal, as the veteran winger posted only four goals and seven points in 13 games before getting injured. Similarly, Rooney put up only five goals and 10 points in 70 games with the Flames, and Vladar had an .898 SP in 30 appearances. Barrie played 24 games between the Flames and AHL Wranglers combined.
Of the departures, Vladar’s may hurt the most, since he eased the workload for rookie Dustin Wolf and provided some veteran experience. Calgary now has Wolf as the sophomore No. 1 and either Devin Cooley or Prosvetov as his backup.
Conroy will lean on Flames youngsters to improve rather than adding experienced hands to secure a playoff spot. Conroy didn’t lose much off the main roster, but the lack of meaningful additions stands out more than Calgary’s departures.
The Bottom Line
The lack of notable moves by Conroy tells us one of two things: either he expects his team to squeeze out a few more standings points and secure a wild-card berth, or he’s got big moves to make in terms of trading veterans – mostly likely defenseman Rasmus Andersson.
In any case, if Conroy stands pat with the roster he has in late July, the Flames don’t have the quality depth to hang with the powerhouses in the relatively weak Pacific. Gambling on his youngsters is certainly a tactic, but it’s not guaranteed to pay off with positive results. If it doesn’t, the Flames could once again be in the mushy middle of the league – not good enough to be a playoff team and not terrible enough to land a difference-making young player at the top of the next draft.
It’s easy to see, then, why Flames fans would be frustrated with Calgary’s current competitive philosophy. They nearly lucked into a playoff spot last season, but they likely would’ve been post-season roadkill even if they did beat out the Blues for the final wild-card berth. This year could go south for them if Wolf doesn’t stand on his head and steal games the way he did in 2024-25.
From our perspective, the lack of moves Calgary made – a baffling choice, given they still have $15.4 million in cap space – means a step back could be coming for the franchise. The only positive route from that is taking an even bigger step back than expected and getting a high draft pick.
The Los Angeles Kings are trying to make it back to the playoffs next season, and this time, make a deep run into the postseason as they push to try and make a deep playoff run. They made some additions this summer, but they were recently listed as a potential destination for superstar forward Jason Robertson.
The Kings were listed alongside the Carolina Hurricanes, Washington Capitals, Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings, Seattle Kraken, and Utah Mammoth as the seven potential trade destinations.
Robertson, who is 25 years old, is in the final season of his current contract that has a $7,750,000 cap hit. Last season, he scored 35 goals and added 45 assists for 80 points through 82 games, which comes out to a 0.98 points-per-game average. He's also from California, making this fit make sense.
The Kings have $6,768,33 in cap space right now, according to PuckPedia, and don't need to move much out in terms of money to bring him in. However, the asking price is likely quite high. They would have to be willing to part with at least one first-round pick and a prospect, and the Dallas Stars would likely want an NHL-ready player as well.
Time will tell if the Stars end up re-signing Robertson or if they decide to trade him, but if the Kings have a chance to land him and he's interested in extending long-term, they should be all over trying to acquire him.
The Buffalo Sabres are under massive pressure to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in 15 years. To do so, they're going to have to make the most of their games with their Atlantic Division rivals. And in this continuing THN.com series, we're analyzing Buffalo's chances against each of their seven Atlantic rivals.
NEW PANTHERS PLAYERS: Jeff Petry, D; Daniil Tarasov, G
2024-25 SERIES: Sabres 1-2-1, Panthers 3-1-0
2025-26 GAMES AGAINST EACH OTHER: October 18, at Buffalo; January 12 at Buffalo; February 2 at Florida; February 27 at Florida
CAN THE SABRES BEAT THIS TEAM? The Panthers weren't the best regular-season team in the Atlantic last year -- that would be the Toronto Maple Leafs -- but Florida dominated the Sabres, winning by a combined seven-goal total in two of their three victories over Buffalo. And had the Sabres beaten the odds and qualified for the 2025 post-season, does anyone really believe Buffalo would've been anything other than roadkill against a Panthers team that ate up every opponent they faced? No, we didn't think so.
That's why we believe the Sabres aren't going to have much hope against Florida this coming season. The Panthers managed to hold onto all three key UFA veterans they had to address this summer -- center Sam Bennett, winger Brad Marchand and defenseman Aaron Ekblad all re-signed at relative bargains, giving Florida's Atlantic rivals a sobering dose of reality as they all try to envision a year in which the Panthers aren't once again world-beaters.
Now, there are some different small elements that have changed for Florida. With the departure of veteran defenseman Nate Schmidt to Utah, Panthers GM Bill Zito went out and signed veteran Petry away from the Detroit Red Wings. The 37-year-old Petry may not have much left in the tank, but we have to defer to Zito's strengths as an asset-acquisition specialist and predict Petry will fit right in as a third-pair option who can chip in with a bit of offense.
Know Your Enemy, Sabres Edition: Can Buffalo Beat The Playoff-Desperate Detroit Red Wings?The Buffalo Sabres have completed most of their off-season moves this summer. We've examined the most-likely trade partners for Buffalo, and in this file, we're continuing our new THN.com series "Know Your Enemy, Sabres Edition". In this series, we're breaking down the Sabres' seven Atlantic Division rivals, focusing on what changes those seven teams have made, Buffalo's record against them last season, their games against each other this coming year, and our opinion of whether the team is one the Sabres should be beating next year.
Another difference for the Panthers is the addition of goalie Tarasov. The 26-year-old had poor numbers in Columbus last season (including an .881 save percentage and 3.54 goals-against average in 20 appearances), but something funny happens to goalies when they play behind Florida's relentless backcheck and their pressure in all zones -- those goalies almost always get better. And with star Sergei Bobrovsky entering the final year of his contract, we expect Bobrovsky is going to play the bulk of the games yet again.
The Panthers may be without star winger Matthew Tkachuk for a long stretch of the begininng of the regular-season, and the Sabres have one of their first games against Florida when they'll be without Tkachuk. So the Sabres need to make the most of that opportunity -- and brace themselves for the three games they've got against the Panthers from January through the rest of the regular season. By that point, Zito will probably have made his team even stronger, and that could be bad news for the Sabres down the stretch.
Unfortunately for Buffalo fans, not enough has improved on the Sabres end and nothing has declined on the Panthers end to give us an inkling that Buffalo is going to change the head-to-head battles we saw between the two teams this past season. The Panthers weren't the best regular-season team in the league last year, and we suppose that will give the Sabres some motivation to win early against them. But when both teams are at full strength, Buffalo pales in comparison to what Florida has to offer.
Know Your Enemy, Sabres Edition: How Will Buffalo Do Against The Boston Bruins?The Buffalo Sabres have made most, if. not all of their off-season moves. And before we get around to making our pre-season predictions as is custom at THN.com, we're going to take a different approach to our picks this time around. Instead of just giving you all the picks at once, we're going to break things down for the Sabres by looking into who their divisional opponents will be next season -- and why that contributes to them either making, or missing, the Stanley Cup playoffs.
We're not saying the Sabres have zero chance at winning a game or two against the Panthers. The NHL is an any-team-can-win-at-any-point type of league, but on paper, at least, Florida has too much talent and too much veteran knowhow for Buffalo to reliably beat.
If the Sabres do make the playoffs, they'll have to beat lesser teams than the Panthers. Because the way Florida is contstructed, Buffalo simply doesn't compare to the Panthers.
Once again, as the MLB Trade Deadline comes closer, contending teams begin their annual rush to find the best deal for a relief pitcher for the business end of the season and beyond.
The Mets, who have seen their bullpen bitten by the bad luck of injuries, are no exception, with president of baseball operations David Stearns stating the obvious on Monday that the club “will be active” in that market to provide the group with reinforcements.
But unlike other teams, Stearns has another option to turn to if trade talks don’t materialize with teams on the Wild Card bubble proving to be unwilling sellers or the price for available arms becoming too expensive: the Mets’ top prospects ready for a challenge that the minor leagues can’t provide.
“Ideally, we find deals that make sense,” Stearns said during his regular news conference. “If that doesn’t happen for some reason, we probably have to begin to think of some of the arms at Triple-A and whether those guys at some point can impact us in the bullpen.”
Of course, if the top baseball man doesn’t make a trade, he will have to deal with potential tradeoffs.
“The challenge with doing that in-season is once you do that, you can’t reverse yourself in the same season,” he said. “We can certainly reverse ourselves over the offseason, but once we shorten somebody up, to give them a chance to be a member of our ‘pen, really tough to build them back up if you need them as a starter.
“And, so, we want to be very cautious if we’re gonna entertain that.”
Two of the options that spring to mind are a pair of right-handers who are Top 5 prospects in the Mets’ system and still looking to make their big league debuts, Nolan McLean and Brandon Sproat. When asked if there was an organizational desire to get that duo up this year, Stearns said he doesn’t think they have to at this time.
“I think, for any prospect, it’s a combination of where they are in their developmental progression and where the team need is,” Stearns said. “Both those guys over the last three weeks have taken meaningful steps forward in their development, and I’m excited to see where it goes from here.
“And if there is a need, I think either of those guys could be ready over the next couple of months.”
McLean, who is a few days shy of his 24th birthday, made the jump to Syracuse earlier this season after posting a 1.37 ERA in his first 26.1 innings in Double-A. After making that jump, he has been solid, with a 3.64 ERA and 1.197 WHIP in 64.1 innings over 12 games (nine starts), with 71 strikeouts to 29 walks.
Recently, McLean has been piling up the strikeouts with 30 in 20.2 innings over his last four starts, while allowing 10 runs (nine earned).
Sproat has pitched to a 4.34 ERA and 1.282 WHIP in 85 innings over 19 starts, with 70 strikeouts and 38 walks in his first full season at Triple-A.
The soon-to-be 25-year-old has really found a groove of late, putting together a streak of 23 innings without an earned run, allowing just one unearned run on eight hits and six walks with 27 strikeouts over his last four starts. He's holding opponents to a .111 average and .335 OPS in that span.
Not mentioned during Monday’s news conference was Blade Tidwell, who has already appeared in four games (two starts) for the Mets this season, for his first taste of MLB action. But the righty struggled in his time, surrendering 15 runs on 23 hits and 10 walks in 15.0 innings with just 10 strikeouts. He has a 9.00 ERA and a 2.200 WHIP.
At Triple-A, Tidwell has pitched to a 4.40 ERA and 1.256 WHIP in 71.2 innings on the season. And after his three most recent outings with the Mets, he has allowed just two runs on eight hits and three walks with seven strikeouts in 9.1 innings over his last two starts with Syracuse.
SAN FRANCISCO — There is never a good time to lose six consecutive games, but within the clubhouse, players know that one stretch of the year sticks out more than any other to front offices.
Buster Posey was on the 2019 Giants team that caught fire for a stretch in July and convinced then-lead executive Farhan Zaidi to stand pat at the deadline instead of trading some big names. Last year, Posey watched closely as Zaidi held Blake Snell and others, a decision that was made in part because a few days worth of dominant starting pitching convinced the front office that an MLB playoff run could be made. While the Giants do not often sell, Posey has seen plenty of other teams in the division and league quickly go from buy to sell because of a stretch of lackluster play in late July.
Things can change in a hurry this time of year, and it’s now up to Posey to decide how the front office will react to a six-game losing streak. On Monday, his manager hinted at what the clubhouse might be forcing.
“It’s not a good look, what we’re doing right now,” Bob Melvin told reporters in Atlanta. “It’s not timely at all. They know that.”
When Posey picked up Melvin’s contract option a few weeks ago, he forcefully said that better play had to come from within the clubhouse. Things briefly got better, but over their last six games, the Giants haven’t looked like a playoff team. They have not done much of anything to encourage Posey to follow the Rafael Devers trade with additional moves, but if the former catcher does want to keep pushing chips into the center of the table, it’s easy to see what he’ll need.
Even before Monday’s game, there were serious questions about the rotation. Hayden Birdsong had a start skipped at the end of the first half and Justin Verlander kicked off the second half with a clunker, dropping to 0-8 with a 4.99 ERA. After Monday’s 9-5 loss, the Giants have a potential rotation hole to deal with.
Birdsong was supposed to grow into a foundational piece, but he was lost Monday, walking four and hitting one while failing to record an out. He threw 25 pitches and just six were strikes, and while the performance was difficult to watch, the main culprit also was not new.
Birdsong has 25 walks in 27 2/3 innings over his last seven starts. Over that span, he has an 8.13 ERA.
“Every single time I have struggles [with my command] I try to find it,” Birdsong told reporters in Atlanta. “I haven’t found it yet. We’ll keep working.”
The Giants did not offer much Monday in terms of what’s next for Birdsong, but it’s hard to imagine he’ll start against the New York Mets on “Sunday Night Baseball.” Melvin noted the outing was “back to square one with him” in terms of lack of command, and when that happens to a young pitcher, the solution often is to take extreme measures. Given how important Birdsong is to their future, the Giants could opt for a full reboot, allowing him to work on any mechanical issues in a series of bullpen sessions and then ease himself into the Triple-A rotation in search of answers.
If a roster move is made, it’ll need to come Tuesday, because the rest of the pitching staff desperately needs fresh arms. The Giants threw 188 pitches in eight innings, including 53 from Spencer Bivens, who had pitched 1 1/3 innings Sunday. Tristan Beck threw 4 1/3 on Friday and came back Monday for another 1 1/3 innings. New lefty reliever Matt Gage threw a career-high 41 pitches, and Ryan Walker pitched two innings.
The Giants realistically could use two fresh bullpen arms for the final two games of this series. That’s a short-term concern. Long-term, it’s clear that the rotation will need a boost if they are to reach the postseason, which brings this all back to Posey.
Does the president of baseball operations still believe in this group? If he does, he’ll need to find a starter, and they don’t come cheap in July. The Giants don’t want to add much payroll after taking on the rest of the Devers contract, and they’re a bit short on desirable assets after dealing Kyle Harrison and their 2024 first-round pick in that deal, but they’ll need to find a way to add somebody.
The best options in Triple-A are Carson Seymour and Carson Whisenhunt, but relying on unproven starters can be dangerous in the second half, a lesson the Giants are seeing first hand. There’s enough reliever depth to get by with a few full bullpen games in the next couple weeks, but that would ultimately weaken the group that has kept the rest of the roster afloat.
The bullpen had to wear it Monday in what ended up being the ugliest all-around game of the year. The Giants made multiple errors, let Ronald Acuña Jr. score from first on a single, and gave up another run on a misplayed fly ball to left-center. Melvin said the Acuña sequence looked “terrible.”
“It was just another instance today that was not a good look for us,” he said.
There’s been a lot of that recently, and the timing couldn’t be worse.
Hockey Canada has announced its coaching and support staff for the 2026 Winter Olympics and there's some love for Ottawa in the mix.
The Senators will be represented by John Forget, their Head Equipment Manager, and Dom Nicoletta, their Head Athletic Therapist. They'll both join Team Canada in their pursuit of this country's first Olympic men's hockey gold in 11 years.
Forget and Nicoletta are no strangers to international competition. Forget will be on his seventh assignment with Team Canada, including five appearances at the IIHF Men's World Championship. He’s earned two gold medals and one silver during those tournaments.
Nicoletta has donned the red leaf on four occasions, including three Worlds. He's the guy who's sometimes known to Sens fans as the bearer of bad news. When a Sens player goes down the tunnel with injury, the TV cameras frequently catch Nicoletta coming out from the room and whispering news about the player's status/diagnosis into the coach's ear.
He and Forget helped Canada claim gold in 2021 and secure a silver medal in 2019. Most recently, the pair were part of the off-ice crew that helped Canada win the 4 Nations Face-Off this past February.
But this will be the first Olympic Games for both Forget and Nicoletta, giving them a shot at not only adding an Olympic medal, but also a chance to enjoy all the things that make the games special – the Olympic Village, the other sports, and of course, the opening and closing ceremonies.
They're not likely to be joined in Italy by any of the Sens' Canadian players, but they will be joined at the Games by Senators forwards Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stützle, who are set to represent the U.S. and Germany, respectively. All countries unveiled the first six players for their preliminary rosters last month, and both players made the top six. The other players will be named later this year.
Other Senators who might make their way to the Olympics include Jake Sanderson (USA), Nik Matinpalo and Leevi Merilainen (FIN), Linus Ullmark (SWE) and Lars Eller (DEN).
Basically, Hockey Canada declared on Monday they're sticking with what's working because not a lot has in recent years. They did win at the 4 Nations Face-off in February, so they're running it back with the same coaching and support staff this coming February.
From Hockey Canada:
Assistant coaches Bruce Cassidy (Ottawa, ON / Vegas, NHL), Peter DeBoer (Dunnville, ON) and Rick Tocchet (Scarborough, ON / Philadelphia, NHL), assistant coach and eye-in-the-sky Misha Donskov (London, ON), consultant David Alexander (Moncton, NB / St. Louis, NHL), director of performance analysis James Emery (Calgary, AB) and video coordinator Elliott Mondou (Grand-Mère, QC/St. Louis, NHL) have been named to the coaching staff alongside Jon Cooper (Prince George, BC / Tampa Bay, NHL), who was named head coach for the 2026 Olympics last June.
The coaching staff was selected by Cooper, general manager Doug Armstrong (Sarnia, ON / St. Louis, NHL), assistant general managers Julien BriseBois (Greenfield Park, QC / Tampa Bay, NHL), Jim Nill (Hanna, AB / Dallas, NHL) and Don Sweeney (St. Stephen, NB / Boston, NHL), and director of player personnel Kyle Dubas (Sault Ste. Marie, ON / Pittsburgh, NHL).
There are plenty of Ottawa 67's ties as well. Cassidy starred for the 67's back in the 80's. Donskov is a former 67's associate coach. And the club's current Head of Athlete Performance & Strength and Conditioning, Sean Young, was also named to Canada's staff.
Big news! Sean Young, our Head of Athlete Performance & Strength and Conditioning, has been named to the staff of the 2026 Men’s Olympic Hockey Team! 🇨🇦
Congratulations, Younger - @TeamCanada is lucky to have you! 🏒
Flyers Prospects Among Favorites to Win NCAA TitleThe future of the Philadelphia Flyers is all about the player development of today, and many of their top prospects are set to be the chief competitors for this season's NCAA title.
Flyers Depth Chart 1.0: Early Prospects Outlook, Roster DepthThe Philadelphia Flyers didn't make too many additions to the roster this offseason, but they did enough to shake up the organizational depth chart for the time being.
