For the first time since they skated on the ice with the Stanley Cup, the Florida Panthers will be back playing hockey in Sunrise on Monday.
Florida will welcome the Carolina Hurricanes to Amerant Bank Arena as they begin their preseason home stretch.
Starting Monday, the Panthers will play their final four exhibition games over a six-day stretch that includes games in Sunrise, Orlando and Tampa.
The expectation, according to Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice, is that Florida will run veteran lineups – meaning you’ll see the majority of the expected NHL roster – in their final two preseason games.
To a lesser extent, that also includes Monday night against the Hurricanes, which will be the first time some of those veteran players have a chance to play in the preseason.
Maurice has been taking it easier with his vets, holding much of Florida’s expected Opening Night roster out of the grueling elements of training camp during the first week, but now they’re all in the thick of it.
We still won’t be seeing the likes of Sam Reinhart, Aaron Ekbald, Carter Verhaeghe, Sam Bennett, Seth Jones, Brad Marchand, Evan Rodrigues, Anton Lundell, Niko Mikkola or Eetu Luostarinen on Monday, though.
The veteran players who will take the ice against Carolina will be Sergei Bobrovsky, Jesper Boqvist, Jeff Petry, A.J. Greer, Uvis Balinskis, Jonah Gadjovich, Luke Kunin and Mackie Samoskevich.
Florida will be facing a Carolina squad that, at least in a preseason context, will be looking for a smidge of revenge.
Last week, a Panthers roster full of prospects, young pros and a couple NHL hopefuls traveled to Raleigh and earned a comeback victory over a Hurricanes group full of veteran stars that will be on their Opening Night roster.
Now the tables will be somewhat turned.
While the Panthers aren’t exactly throwing out starts that compare with Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis, Nikolaj Ehlers and Andrei Svechnikov, the Hurricanes aren’t bringing their big guns to Sunrise, either.
A much more watered-down Carolina group, in terms of NHL regulars, will face the Cats on Monday, as none of those aforementioned Hurricanes who played in the previous meeting are on the game roster.
Face-off from Amerant Bank Arena is set for 6 p.m.
It will be the first time Panthers fans will get a look at the brand-new scoreboard hovering above the ice, and the LED boards that wrap around the seating bowl, all of which were installed over the summer.
Photo caption: Sep 24, 2025; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Ronan Seeley (91) can’t get to the puck against Florida Panthers left wing Nolan Foote (25) during the second period at Lenovo Center. (James Guillory-Imagn Images)
The comparison with Mourinho’s glory days will be clear as he returns with Benfica, but Stamford Bridge hierarchy is firmly behind their current man
Only league champions get their picture on the wall in the Drake Suite at Stamford Bridge. The room is named after Ted Drake, the author of Chelsea’s first title, and features images of a host of club legends: a beaming Carlo Ancelotti, one of Antonio Conte kissing the Premier League trophy and, as Enzo Maresca no doubt noted as he arrived to preview his young side’s Champions League tie with Benfica, three photographs of the manager whose latest return to west London conjures wistful memories of the days when Chelsea were the most feared team in England.
Here comes the Special One. José Mourinho, who won three league titles across two spells at Chelsea, is in town with Benfica and will surely enjoy a wonderful reception. Maresca, meanwhile, inspires less warmth. He has taken Chelsea back into the Champions League, along with winning the Conference League and the Club World Cup, but does not have his name sung by fans and was booed after losing 3-1 to Brighton on Saturday.
There’s always a danger this early in the Premier League season of reading too much into a single set of games. Titles may be lost in September but they are very rarely won. This past weekend, though, did feel like one where many of the prevailing narratives crystalised as Arsenal dug deep to win the sort of game they’ve become used to losing, Liverpool’s defensive shortcomings were exposed as they lost for the first time this campaign, Manchester City swept aside lesser opposition in the manner of old and Chelsea fell apart again.
Liverpool have looked defensively shaky all season. Having been the team of control in the last campaign, making the unremarkable 2-0 win a trademark, they have become the side of the late winner, clinching games this season in the 88th, 94th, 100th, 83rd, 95th, 92nd and 85th minutes. That was never going to be sustainable, but the question was whether general performances would improve, or whether the late strikes would dry up.
This is an extract from Soccer with Jonathan Wilson, a weekly look from the Guardian US at the game in Europe and beyond. Subscribe for free here. Have a question for Jonathan? Email soccerwithjw@theguardian.com, and he’ll answer the best in a future edition.
SAN FRANCISCO – Warriors rookie Alex Toohey’s introduction to star teammate Jimmy Butler was more than a lesson on the court. It was an eye-opener to the other side of the NBA as he walked around Butler’s San Diego home.
“I learned that you can do quite a few things with a bit of money,” Toohey said Monday at Warriors Media Day.
Butler hosted his Warriors teammates for a few days as a sort of minicamp before the official start of training camp. Basketball certainly was a focal point. Everything else was just as important, if not more.
The bigger goal one week before training camp begins was getting to know the small details of a group that is around each other more than their own families for over seven months, and even longer to reach the Warriors’ objective of contending for a championship. To become an unbreakable team, Butler, going into his 15th season, knows the intricacies of what it takes.
Wine was flowing, stories were told and laughs were had – just like it’s supposed to go with family. As he basically trademarked last season, Butler found his joy again once he was traded to the Warriors in February. Butler made it a point after the season to find time in the offseason to be around his new teammates when his busy schedule that spans the globe allowed him to.
But this retreat was different. He has found time to create chemistry in the past. Inviting a team into his home was an intimate decision Butler was set on doing in pursuit of his first title ahead of his first full season with the Warriors.
“Maybe a couple times, but not at my own home, and I just wanted to be around my guys,” Butler said of his San Diego minicamp. “I got the opportunity to see a lot of them over the summer or to go where they are from. Maybe not see them, but see people I know from their neck of the woods. So it was important for me to welcome – those are guys, like my family, into my home and have a good time and let them in a little bit of my life.”
If the 30 regular-season games and 11 playoff games Butler played after joining the Warriors was an appetizer of what’s to come, he and the Warriors are ready to devour a full four-course meal. Perhaps with a glass of Pinot on the side, too.
“I get to do this thing from day one,” Butler said. “Be with the guys from day one and do what we started out to do from the very beginning. I’m super hyped and I’m super excited. I got to train with my guys this summer. I got to talk with all the guys. I see what they have been doing. I see how they have been working. I’m glad that I get to be here from this media day on up.”
The Warriors were 25-26 last season before Butler’s team debut on Feb. 10. His Warriors introduction was a 21-point comeback road win against the Chicago Bulls, his original team, where Butler scored 25 points and had four assists. From that game on, the Warriors after adding Butler went 23-8 the rest of the regular season, losing the one game he missed.
They had two different five-game win streaks and one that lasted seven games. Their success together was on the fly, learning plays and how each other operates with little time to breathe. The Warriors saw what kind of team they can be with Butler, Steph Curry and Draymond Green all healthy, and are confident a real run at another ring was on the table if Curry’s hamstring held up.
That kind of tease has given them the ultimate confidence of a full offseason, training camp and preseason together before the real lights turn on.
“You can build an identity from the beginning,” Green said. “Defensive terminology and all the things that you build starting in training camp, we’re able to do that this year.”
Drama surrounded Butler going into last season, which wound up being his final one as a member of the Miami Heat. Tensions rose until they hit a boiling point, including multiple team suspensions that put an ugly end to all the good Butler did in South Beach. He’s at a completely different place one year later.
“I think first it helps him just as a human being, as a player, to have something that he knows, a situation he knows based on how last year ended and how we do things, what he can help, continue to help us do at a high level, but then just have that clarity coming in where we can have the conversations that we were having in a very short span after the trade last year,” Curry said. “And the way that we finished playing, or our record towards the end of the year, it was fun for all of us.”
Butler’s smile and outlook at media day matched the shine from diamonds on his ears and the rings on fingers. He’s at peace but hungry for more. The Warriors immediately signed Butler to a two-year, $111 million contract upon acquiring him in February, aligning him with Curry and Green to accomplish what those two have done four times: Win a championship.
The reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder are full of young players in their prime. Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves are coming for more. Kevin Durant and the revamped Houston Rockets are ready for battle, and Nikola Jokić’s Denver Nuggets never can be counted out.
Neither can the Warriors. Butler knows what he’s here for and sees last season’s short-lived success as just a taste of what’s to come.
“I don’t think we’re going to catch anybody by surprise,” Butler said. “I think everybody knows what we’re capable of. We’re ready to rock.”
The Yankees finished the regular season tied for the best record in the American League. But they didn’t hold the tiebreaker that decided the AL East title, so their initial October reward is…
A best-of-three Wild Card Series against a team that clobbered them for much of the season. Oh, and it’s their bitter rivals, the Boston Red Sox, the same franchise that authored the stunning 2004 ALCS comeback against the Yanks and has beaten them in the two playoff meetings since then, too.
For baseball fans, it’s a spicy matchup, thick with subplots and charged history. For the Yankees? Potentially dangerous. And not just because of whatever lingering karma there might be from those previous playoff losses.
Boston was 9-4 against the Yankees this season, outscoring them, 66-51. In fairness, the Yankees won the last series between the teams, at Fenway Park in mid-September. But Boston’s top two starters, Garrett Crochet and Brayan Bello, were a combined 5-1 against the Yanks and figure to start the first two games. So a series full of potential pinstriped pitfalls begins with two rugged assignments.
Should be a fun few days that adds lore to a cherished baseball rivalry. Your pulse racing yet?
WHAT THE YANKEES HAVE GOING FOR THEM
Let’s address the 6-7, 282-pound slugger in the room first: At some point, Aaron Judge will put up October numbers more like his regular season rampages, right? If it starts in this series, against this team, an already-all-time Yankee will only add to his mighty rep.
Judge, who finished on a heater, had yet another historic regular season, winning his first batting title and smashing 53 home runs. He’s only the third player ever to have a 50-homer season while leading his league in hitting, joining Jimmie Foxx and Mickey Mantle, and only the fifth since 1961 to lead MLB in average, on-base percentage, and slugging in a single season. The others are George Brett, Larry Walker, Barry Bonds, and Miguel Cabrera.
Crazy, right? Of course, now is when more attention will be paid to Judge’s postseason numbers – a .205 average with a .768 OPS, well off his career marks. He has 16 homers in 58 games (a 44-homer pace over 162 games), but Yankee fans want more.
Judge was the main cog in the best offense in baseball this season, one that re-tooled after Juan Soto departed, and Yankee slugging overcame pockmarks in other departments. They led MLB in runs, hit the second-most homers in team history (274), and even ranked eighth in stolen bases. Stealth Bombers?
They can send hitters in waves at opponents, including Giancarlo Stanton, who thrives in October. Jazz Chisholm Jr. had a 30-30 season. Cody Bellinger soared in the Bronx. Ben Rice emerged as an exit-velocity king. Only Judge hit more homers than slugging surprise Trent Grisham (34).
The Yanks also have their own formidable 1-2 rotation punch in Max Fried (MLB-best 19 wins and a 2.86 ERA) and Carlos Rodón, who allowed just 6.1 hits-per-nine innings, tops in the AL. Impressive rookie Cam Schlittler, who barely looks like he’s throwing hard, even as he hits 99 miles-per-hour on the radar gun, figures as their third starter. Schlittler had a 2.96 ERA in 14 starts. Overall, the Yanks were fourth in MLB in starter ERA (3.61).
WHAT THE RED SOX HAVE GOING FOR THEM
Crochet, a dazzling lefty, is at least in the conversation about the best pitcher in baseball after he went 18-5 with a 2.59 ERA, led the AL in innings (205.1) and all of MLB in strikeouts (255). The vaunted Yankee offense batted .200 against him with a .601 OPS, and he had 39 strikeouts and only four walks in 27.1 innings against them. Bello was 2-1 with a 1.89 ERA against the Yankees.
That starter combo could be deadly in such a short series, especially when it’s backed by an elite bullpen. The Red Sox had the second-lowest relief ERA in baseball (3.61), led by former Yankee closer Aroldis Chapman. Chapman had an absurd season, notching a 1.17 ERA, holding hitters to a .132 average and striking out 85 in 61.1 innings.
No Roman Anthony hurts the offense, but the Sox still scored the seventh-most runs, even without any spectacular individual seasons. With the Yanks starting lefties in the first two games, platoon guys such as Romy Gonzalez (.978 OPS, seven homers against lefties) and Rob Refsnyder (.959, seven homers) might be factors.
Should mojo count here? The Sox were 5-2 at Yankee Stadium. The Yanks looked bad against them in several of those nine Boston wins. Whatever psychological advantages the Yanks once seemed to hold over the Sox back in the lopsided days of yore when the rivalry was more like a “rivalry” are long gone. Whatever you believe about that sort of thing.
THE YANKEES WILL WIN THE SERIES IF…
Judge slugs. It’s not all on him, but it kinda is, you know? He’s due. It won’t be easy, though. He’s got two career homers off Crochet, but he’s 3-for-15 lifetime against the lefty with 11 strikeouts.
The Yankees were good at scoring early, slugging an MLB-record 50 homers in the first inning, and that could be huge in this series. They tallied in the opening frame 65 times during the regular season and were 46-19 (.708) in those games. If they continue to hit home runs in this series, regardless of inning, they will be difficult to beat.
Parts of the Yankee summer were marred by sloppy play, but they cleaned up some of that during their MLB-best 34-14 run to close the season. Bad fundies are part of the bad aftertaste from last year’s World Series thud, so avoiding erratic defense now is paramount.
Finally, the Yanks have the worst bullpen ERA of any playoff team (4.37, ranked 23rd in MLB). David Bednar has been the best of the relievers added during the deadline makeover, but the bullpen looms as a potential trouble spot.
New York Yankees relief pitcher David Bednar (53) reacts after defeating the Houston Astros 5-4 at Yankee Stadium / Wendell Cruz - Imagn Images
THE RED SOX WILL WIN THE SERIES IF…
They get a couple of starting pitching outings that allow them to go starter to setup man (Garrett Whitlock) to Chapman. Whitlock, whom the Sox plucked from the, ahem, Yankees in the 2020 Rule 5 Draft, has been terrific (2.25 ERA).
Defense has been a red (Sox) flag all season. Boston had the most errors in MLB. Does that impact the series?
And how does Alex Bregman, a former member of another October Yankee nemesis – the Astros – factor in? He was on three Houston clubs that eliminated the Yanks and had a .924 OPS against them this year, his first season in Boston. Tuesday will be his 100th career postseason game. Seems unlikely he’s not deeply involved in this.
PREDICTION
Yanks in three.
Sure, Boston dominated the season series. Was that timing or something deeper? We’re banking on timing and that Judge has a big series, Stanton has his usual fall power surge, Yankee starters thrive and the club limits its mistakes.
Loose From The Moose - Mar. 21 2022 - Vol. 75 Issue 13 - Jared Clinton
(JONATHAN KOZUB/MANITOBA MOOSE)
COLE PERFETTI WOULD BE QUITE ALL right with never having to pull on a Manitoba Moose jersey ever again. It’s not that he won’t. This isn’t some prima donna, too-good-to-ride-the-bus thing, nor is he going to put up even an ounce of fight should the Winnipeg Jets brass decide to send him back to the farm club. He’ll be the first to tell you he has faith in what the Jets have planned for him, so it has nothing to do with that, either. No, at its root, this is a matter of not only seeing the grass is greener but being able to enjoy what the pasture has to offer.
“The NHL lifestyle, the dinners, the private planes, playing in front of 20,000 people, everything about it is just everything you dream of and as advertised,” Perfetti said. “It really is. It’s unbelievable. And as much as I love the Moose, love the guys, had a great opportunity, great chance, and great time there with them and learned so much and am grateful for everything I had with the Moose, once you’ve had that taste of the NHL, you never want to go back to the ‘A.’”
Inextricable from Perfetti’s story, however, will be what the league will have meant to his career. He was among the rare few who could be used as case studies for what elevating top-tier prospects to the AHL instead of relegating them to an additional season of pounding on their junior peers can do for a player’s development. As a result of the OHL’s initially postponed and later cancelled 2020-21 campaign, and thanks to the AHL opening its doors during the pandemic-shortened season to prospects orphaned by league shutdowns, Perfetti had the opportunity to spend last year getting a grasp on what life was like at the next level.
“To get the chance in the AHL and to do the same the first half of this year has helped so much with the little things,” he said. “Playing the right way, learning both sides of the puck, all that kind of stuff. Learning the man’s game is a big difference. When most kids were taking a step back and not getting any better, I was fortunate enough to take a step forward in my hockey career. So, to learn the pro style, that was huge for me.”
WHEN MOST KIDS WERE TAKING A STEP BACK AND NOT GETTING ANY BETTER, I WAS FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO TAKE A STEP FORWARD IN MY HOCKEY CAREER– COLE PERFETTI
It was also a crash course. Selected 10th overall by the Jets in 2020 on the heels of an outrageous 111-point season with the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit, Perfetti couldn’t have had any reasonable expectation that he’d be spending the following season playing against the pros. That’s particularly true given the Jets’ model of development is one that distinctly takes its cues more from the tortoise than the hare. Yet there was Perfetti, a little more than a month after helping Canada to silver at the 2021 World Junior Championship, lining up in the AHL.
(JAMES CAREY LAUDER-USA TODAY SPORTS)
Statistically, the early returns weren’t bad. He scored his first pro goal in his first pro game. Through seven games, he had two goals and four points. Pretty good for a kid who describes himself as “not the biggest, not the fastest,” and said he needed to find a way for his game to translate. But to Jets assistant GM and Moose GM Craig Heisinger, the middling offensive production masked some larger deficiencies. “He was able to contribute somewhat on the power play early on in the AHL season last year,” Heisinger said. “The struggles at 5-on-5 continued.”
Perfetti can agree with that assessment. He’ll even add things didn’t really start to click until about his 10th game, which is a sentiment Heisinger readily echoes. Perfetti was beginning to figure out how to see soft spots in coverage, how to create offense from defense and the necessity of being on the right side of the puck. It added up to a sizable leap in the back half of the season. His point-per-game performance – 22 points in his final 22 games of 2020-21 – is enough to bear that out, and Heisinger noted a marked change in Perfetti’s ability to contribute at five-a-side. It was much of the same when Perfetti landed back in the AHL early in this season, too.
“He was able to pick that up at the start of this year and nothing was a surprise,” Heisinger said. “And the (AHL) certainly stepped up a notch, because it was back to where it normally is with no taxi squads. He was able to be a factor, and being able to do that as a 19-year-old is really, really challenging and a credit to him.”
His play didn’t go unnoticed or unrewarded, either.
When the Jets found themselves in need of reinforcements as injuries and ailments took a bite out of the squad, Perfetti was among the first plucked from the AHL, on Dec. 31, the day before he turned 20. On Jan. 18 – five games into his NHL career – he was raising his arms and drifting face-first into the glass celebrating his first NHL goal, a well-placed wrister fired home on a 2-on-1 against the Washington Capitals. “I’ve never anticipated scoring a goal more than that,” he said. “Dreamed of it since I was two years old. To have that come true, to score, it’s relief, joy, happiness. You work so hard and your family puts so much time and effort in, it’s almost like a celebration. Scoring that first goal was like, ‘Wow, I’m here now.’”
Just being there isn’t enough, though. Perfetti wants to be there to stay. And to make that a reality, Perfetti knows he needs to take a page out of his time in the AHL. That means getting that little bit better with each passing game until he gets to the point he feels he’s finally starting to break through. He’s done enough to impress the Jets. He’s been with the big club throughout 2022, which resulted is his shift from Future Watch “prospect” to “21-and-under NHLer” (see pg. 79). Before the status change, he was easily Winnipeg’s No. 1 prospect and would’ve ranked among the top 10 in our league-wide rankings.
While this latest reporting from the Pablo Torre Finds Out (PTFO) podcast is not as individually damning as previous revelations, it adds to the growing mountain of questions that, when viewed as a whole, are difficult for Ballmer and the Clippers to answer. Questions that the NBA's formal investigation into the matter will ask. Those latest revelations are:
• Clippers owner Steve Ballmer made a $1.875 million donation to Aspiration co-founder Joseph Sanberg's charity (the Golden State Opportunity Foundation) in November of 2024 — 10 months after the Clippers had ended its business relationship with Aspiration and Ballmer had claimed he lost his investments in the company. Ballmer said he was “duped” and defrauded by Sanberg, as were other investors.
NEW: Steve Ballmer quietly donated $1.875M to charity of Aspiration co-founder who "conned" him — 1.5+ years after Clippers ended deal, as feds closed in.
"It does not make any iota of sense," an insider says, "to be both hoodwinked and bamboozled yet continuously giving money." pic.twitter.com/xdx2WgGkex
The Clippers noted that Ballmer had been donating to this charity since 2018, long before Aspiration became a sponsor of the Clippers or helped provide environmental credits (Aspiration was a "green bank" company whose business model was to plant trees to gain these credits then sell them to companies that needed them; Sanberg has pled guilty to defrauding investors of $248 million through the business). It should also be noted that there are no claims that this charity itself was fraudulent.
While a donation to a charitable cause is not in and of itself damning, it suggests a relationship between Ballmer and Sanberg that existed before and seemed to continue after the Clippers' business with Aspiration had ended in such a messy manner.
• While Leonard's uncle and business manager Dennis Robertson — "Uncle Dennis" — gets the headlines for his audacity, Leonard does have a legal and traditional agent, Mitch Frankel. PTFO has screenshots from former Aspiration general counsel Mike Shuckerow, dated November 2022, when Frankel texted an Aspiration executive repeatedly for an overdue endorsement payment. Leonard was owed his quarterly endorsement payment ($1.75 million) and it was more than a month late.
This late payment ultimately became one of the hardest-to-explain-away aspects of the allegations for the Clippers: In December 2022, when it was already clear that Aspiration was a failing company, Clippers minority owner Dennis Wong donated $2 million to the company. Nine days later, Leonard got his $1.75 million payment.
The core of the case being investigated by the NBA — and uncovered by Torre — is that Ballmer invested $50 million in the "green bank" company Aspiration, which went on to become a $300 million sponsor of the Clippers team in 2021. Later, the Clippers purchased $100 million in those green credits from Aspiration as part of Ballmer's effort to make the Clippers' new home, the Ituit Dome, carbon neutral. Leonard signed a four-year, $28 million endorsement deal with Aspriation, a deal that grew to $48 million at one point when he got $20 million in company stock (which is now worthless).
Leonard did nothing for the company as an endorser that can be seen publicly, leading to the accusations that this was a "no-show" endorsement designed to circumvent the salary cap. While it was stipulated in his endorsement contract that he would do so, there is no evidence that Leonard performed any days of work for the company, participated in promotional events or marketing efforts, or even made a social media post about the company.
Aspiration is now bankrupt, and its CEO, Sandberg, has pled guilty to $248 million in fraud. Ballmer said he was “duped” like other investors and has said that the Clippers ended their team sponsor relationship with Aspiration after it defaulted on its obligations. He and the Clippers have maintained that they knew nothing about Leonard's endorsement deal with Aspiration except that it existed. Ballmer vehemently denied the charge that the Clippers used Leonard's Aspiration endorsement to circumvent the NBA salary cap. Ballmer went on to make a second, $10 million investment in Aspiration in March, 2023, despite it being clear at that point the company was failing and headed toward bankruptcy.
The NBA hired an independent law firm to do its investigation. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said that the burden of proof in this case lies with the league to demonstrate that the Clippers did something wrong, and that he "would be reluctant to act if there was sort of a mere appearance of impropriety."
However, the mountain of evidence makes that appearance seem worse and worse. Here is what one current NBA head coach texted Pablo Torre, he said on his podcast: "This should be embarrassing for the league. I know teams do little side deals, but what happened here is so obvious."
The league's potential punishments can include taking away future draft picks (up to five), fining and suspending team executives who knew, and even potentially voiding Leonard's contract (although that seems unlikely).
These moves, coupled with the Warriors’ returning core and youngsters on the rise, have star point guard Steph Curry feeling confident about the campaign ahead.
“I think with this last little piece that needs to settle, I think I’m extremely happy with a different look,” Curry told reporters Monday at Warriors Media Day. “We’re just trying to carry the momentum that we had from last year, understanding getting through an 82-game season is the challenge for every team, but especially a veteran team. But the way that we finished [2024-25] and the record that we had, and obviously before I got hurt during the [2025 NBA playoffs] second round, we were a relevant threat, and I think we’ve gotten better.”
The Warriors closed out the 2024-25 season going 23-7 with Jimmy Butler in the lineup after acquiring the veteran forward at the NBA trade deadline. But with Butler banged up and Curry knocked out with a hamstring injury in the Western Conference semifinals, their NBA Finals hopes ended with a Game 5 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Now, Golden State will look to build upon that late-season success with aging vets Curry, Butler and Draymond Green leading the way. Though the Warriors lost longtime center Kevon Looney to the New Orleans Pelicans this offseason in NBA free agency, Curry is confident in the group Golden State has now — including young big men Quinten Post and Trayce Jackson-Davis.
“It’s tough to lose Loon, like that’s a big deal knowing what he meant to our franchise, but we have a lot of pieces that are going to have an opportunity to take that next step,” Curry said. “Like every NBA season, I said the same thing last year, probably on the podium right here. [We] started 12-3, and then all hell broke loose for a good couple months. So, you can only do what you can to control your mentality going into the year. And I think it’s really optimistic and positive around here, and that’s how it should be.”
While the Warriors wait for the Kuminga dominoes to fall, it’s clear Curry is confident in the group that will begin this new season together.
ELMONT, NY -- The New York Islanders hit the ice on Monday for morning skate ahead of their second-to-last preseason game, as they host the cross-town rival New York Rangers.
Islanders captain Anders Lee, who did take part in Sunday's skate, was out of his red non-contact sweater but will not play.
David Rittich will start, which makes sense as the No. 1 netminder. Ilya Sorokin will get the preseason finale against the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday.
By going that route, Sorokin will only have a week between starts, as opposed to 10 days, with the season opening on Oct. 9 against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
One thing to note here is that Calum Ritchie is centering the fourth line, moving Casey Cizikas to wing. Ritchie played all seven NHL games with the Colorado Avalanche on the wing, but Roy likes him down the middle.
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The 29-year-old Spencer will be back for his third season with the Warriors on a two-way contract after playing in 47 games last season, including the NBA playoffs. The Northwestern product averaged 2.5 points, 1.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 6.4 minutes off the bench in the 2024-25 regular season.
Golden State also signed its other selection from the 2025 NBA Draft, Australian forward Alex Toohey, to a two-way contract. Toohey was selected with the No. 52 overall pick in the second round as part of a trade with the Phoenix Suns.
The 21-year-old struggled during NBA Summer League, but the Warriors saw clear potential after his strong finish to the showcase.
Finally, Golden State brought in a trio of players to help fill out its preseason roster as training camp begins this week. The Warriors signed free-agent center Marques Bolden and guards LJ Cryer and Taevion Kinsey, all of whom face an uphill battle to make the final roster.
Bolden, 27, has the only NBA experience of the three; he has appeared in 18 games since the 2019-20 season with three teams, averaging 2.4 points and 2.3 rebounds. The Duke basketball alum played with the Warriors’ summer league squads in 2024 and 2025.
Cryer, 23, went unselected in this year’s NBA draft. He was a star collegiate player for Baylor and Houston from 2020-25, helping lead the former to the 2021 National Championship as a freshman. Kinsey, 25, averaged 17.1 points per game across five college seasons at Marshall and spent the last two seasons with the Salt Lake City Stars, the G League affiliate of the Utah Jazz.
Despite Luke Hughes' contract standoff
with the New Jersey Devils, the two sides are expected to agree to a
long-term deal.
That prompted some pundits to ponder
Dougie Hamilton's future with the Devils. TSN's Pierre LeBrun last
week wondered how many power-play quarterbacks a team needs in
today's NHL. With Hughes seen as the Devils' future No. 1 blueliner,
Hamilton's role with the club could be in question.
Hamilton told NJ.com's Ryan Novozinsky he has heard the trade rumors but said he's not paying much
attention to them. The 32-year-old defenseman acknowledged trades happen, and it's part of the business of hockey. However, he
wants to remain with the Devils because he believes he can help them
win the Stanley Cup.
Most of the trade conjecture suggested
the Devils could move Hamilton to address other roster needs and
clear his $9-million cap hit from their books. However, that cap hit
would also make it difficult to move him. While the salary cap is
rising significantly, teams still must manage their cap space
carefully.
Hamilton's no-trade clause also
complicates things. PuckPedia indicates he has a list of 10 teams he'd accept getting
dealt to, which significantly limits the options for suitable trade
partners.
Add David Kampf to that category. Jonas
Siegel of The Athletic reported the 30-year-old center believed he
would be traded during the off-season. Although that never
materialized, his future with the Maple Leafs remains uncertain.
Siegel noted that Scott Laughton has
replaced Kampf as the Leafs' fourth-line center. The club could make
room for promising right winger Easton Cowan.
Kampf's contract could hinder efforts
to trade him. He's signed through next season with an average annual
value of $2.4 million. Siegel suggests he could be demoted to the
Marlies if he clears waivers.
Turning to the Washington Capitals,
ESPN's Kevin Weekes reported last Thursday that goaltender Clay
Stevenson's solid pre-season play has drawn interest from a few teams
who see him as a future waiver claim.
Logan Thompson and Charlie Lindgren are
locks as the Capitals' goalie tandem, leaving Stevenson as the odd
man out.
The Hockey News' Sammi Silber reports
Stevenson was projected to be the No. 1 goalie for the Capitals' AHL
affiliate in Hershey this season. She believes he's all but certain
to go on waivers, where a rival club will likely pluck him away.
Rather than lose Stevenson for nothing,
the Capitals could see what he might fetch in the trade market.
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The Florida Panthers have made some roster moves as training camp continues.
Monday morning, as Florida prepared to host the Carolina Hurricanes in a preseason matchup at Amerant Bank Arena, the team announced a few changes to their camp roster.
Two defensemen, Ludvig Jansson and Evan Nause, and two goaltenders, Evan Cormier and Kirill Gerasimyuk, are all heading to training camp with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers.
Jansson, Nause and Gerasimyuk were all assigned to Charlotte, as all are under contract with Florida, while Cormier was on a PTO. He will push for a deal with the Checkers, who are expected to also have goaltender Brandon Bussi on their roster once the season begins.
For now, Bussi remains with Sergei Bobrovsky, Daniil Tarasov and Cooper Black as the remaining goaltenders at Cats camp.
You can check out the updated training camp roster in the images below:
It's always hard to gauge the potential of first-year players entering the NBA, especially from a fantasy perspective. However, this 2025 class is different because there's one prospect who stands out head and shoulders above the rest. There are other rookies who could have sizable fantasy roles as well, particularly as the season goes on.
Cooper Flagg, Mavericks
That one prospect we're talking about the most is none other than Cooper Flagg, the first overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, who will begin his NBA career as a member of the Dallas Mavericks. The former Duke standout is one of the most hyped college prospects in recent memory, and he seems ready to contribute right away from Day 1. Flagg had already turned heads when he trained with Team USA before the 2024 Olympics, but now he'll get to show what he can do on the biggest stage.
He's expected to make a strong, sustainable two-way impact at the NBA level. Flagg might not be the go-to option on offense for the Mavericks, which is understandable considering the team has Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving (once he's healthy) to lead the way. However, Flagg should be a consistent secondary weapon on offense. Plus, the former Duke standout doesn't have any glaring weaknesses in his game. He's ready to contribute at the NBA level right away, either as a defensive stopper or as a slashing forward who could excel when cutting to the basket.
Flagg's numbers in his lone year at Duke were impressive. He averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists while shooting 48.1 percent from the field and 38.5 percent from three-point range. The Maine native surpassed expectations as an off-the-dribble shot creator, and the early-season absence of Irving should see him experience an uptick in his usage, possibly as a second-best option behind Davis.
Flagg also showcased his two-way versatility and scoring ability during his two Summer League appearances, averaging 20.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks across 31.5 minutes per game. While he's not expected to put up those numbers once the regular season begins, don't be surprised if he averages somewhere around 15 points, five rebounds and around 3.5 assists per game as a rookie. Those would be solid-enough numbers to give him fantasy consideration across most formats.
Other Rookies
Unless a player is drafted into the Top 10, or occasionally the Top 5, and lands in an excellent situation, it's difficult to see first-year players making a considerable impact in fantasy. There are some cases, though, and some examples in the 2025 NBA Draft could be Ace Bailey (Utah Jazz), Kon Knueppel (Charlotte Hornets) and Dylan Harper (San Antonio Spurs).
Ace Bailey, Jazz
Bailey is a natural scorer who fell into the best possible situation as a rookie, as he landed with a Jazz team that's early in their rebuilding process and considers Bailey a franchise cornerstone. The former Rutgers star will have numerous opportunities to grow and adapt in the NBA as a prominent figure on his team, rather than as a bench option, which should accelerate his development. Bailey should post excellent scoring numbers right away, though he shouldn't contribute a lot in other categories -- at least not in the early stages of his career.
Kon Knueppel, Hornets
Knueppel figures to open the season as the Hornets' starting forward, and his three-point shooting ability could translate to a solid role right away in an offense led by one of the most creative passers in the league, LaMelo Ball.
Dylan Harper, Spurs
Harper could enjoy an uptick in usage early on since De'Aaron Fox (hamstring) isn't expected to be available for the start of the season. However, once Fox is healthy, Harper opens the season behind the reigning Rookie of the Year, Stephon Castle, in the rotation.
Fantasy Sleepers: Other rookies to consider
There's another tier of rookies who could potentially become solid fantasy contributors, although for that to happen, some circumstances would have to go in the player's direction. Some of these players to keep close tabs on are V.J. Edgecombe in Philadelphia, Tre Johnson in Washington and Jeremiah Fears in New Orleans. The talent is there for them, but it's unclear if they'll enjoy a substantial role right away to become valuable fantasy contributors. The same could be said for Khaman Maluach, who is easily the biggest boom-or-bust prospect in this year's lottery. Maluach has excellent size and is a polished defender, but it's unclear if his offensive game will ever develop to become a consistent fantasy option.
In the wake of the Mets' season ending with them falling all the way out of the playoffs, there will be no shortage of takes about what went wrong with a team that entered the year as an expected World Series contender.
There will be discussions about the inconsistent offense, the subpar defense, the coaching, the trade deadline, the decisions made by manager Carlos Mendoza, and the team's failure to win a single game they trailed after eight innings.
And while it's understandable to want to point fingers in a whole bunch of different directions, it can be argued that doing so is kind of a waste.
Yes, there seemed to be a spark missing at times.
Sure, the offense could've been more consistent.
And yes, there were injuries that threw a wrench into things.
But as the dust settles on the 2025 Mets and the 2026 team starts to take shape, it's pretty easy to determine the main culprit for what went wrong.
It was the starting rotation.
The rotation is the nerve center of a team. Everything flows from there. If there isn't enough length provided (the Mets finished 27th in MLB in innings pitched per start) it negatively impacts the bullpen, which becomes overworked.
If the starting pitching is constantly putting the team in holes, there's that much more pressure on the offense to dig out of it.
It's a vicious cycle.
/ Sep 21, 2025; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets pitcher Sean Manaea (21) reacts as he exits the game against the Washington Nationals during the fourth inning at Citi Field.
Take Game 162 for an example.
The Mets had simply run out of starting pitchers to rely on. That led them to start a struggling Sean Manaea, who was pulled after 1.2 innings. From there, it was a march of relievers -- Huascar Brazoban for 1.0 inning, Brooks Raley for 0.2 of an inning, Ryne Stanek for 0.1 of an inning, and Tyler Rogers for 0.1 of an inning.
By the time Edwin Diaz was called on to stop the bleeding in the fifth inning, the Mets were in a 4-0 hole. And the season, for all intents and purposes, was over.
You can question Mendoza's decision to pull Raley as quickly as he did, or to go to Stanek. But the fact of the matter is that he was managing the last three and a half months of the season with one hand tied behind his back. That's because the starting pitching was simply not good enough in any aspect, and it took the rest of the team down with it.
So this was a collapse, sure. But it's one with an asterisk, because it can be easily argued that the 2025 Mets were irretrievably flawed from the start.
Looking at how things were shaping up back on Feb. 18, following Frankie Montas' injury (and the questionable decision to sign him in the first place), the Mets' rotation still had a high ceiling. But the floor was alarmingly low.
As I laid out at the time, there were injury concerns with Kodai Senga, Clay Holmes was transitioning from reliever to starter, Sean Manaea's late-season results in 2024 were perhaps unsustainable, and David Peterson had yet to put together back-to-back strong seasons.
Meanwhile, Griffin Canning, Tylor Megill, and Paul Blackburn were fine as depth options, but counting on two out of three of them in the rotation could be asking a lot. Regarding Brandon Sproat, his initial struggle with the transition to Triple-A meant that it could possibly take longer than expected for him to become a big league option.
To put it simply, there were lots of what-ifs -- too many for a team with championship aspirations. And while the starting staff excelled over the first few months of the season, the cracks were easy to see.
That included regression from Canning, who had a 5.90 ERA from May 23 to June 26, when he tore his Achilles. And it included the struggles of Megill, who had a 5.79 ERA from May 4 through June 14, which was his last appearance of the season as he dealt with injuries.
Jun 14, 2025; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Tylor Megill (38) reacts during the fourth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Citi Field. / Brad Penner-Imagn Images
When the injuries hit Canning, Megill, and then Senga, the Mets -- who were also without Manaea -- were left in a precarious spot.
It would've seriously impacted any team, but the way New York chose to address it was puzzling.
They in effect punted a handful of games as they relied on bullpen games, four starts from Paul Blackburn (losses on June 13, 18, 23, and 28), and one start from Blade Tidwell.
Against the backdrop of David Stearns choosing to not promote McLean, the Mets kept losing games that were winnable.
It's impossible to know how McLean would've fared if he was called up a month or so before his debut on Aug. 16. But it's hard to believe his presence in the rotation wouldn't have led to at least one more win, which would've resulted in the Mets making the playoffs.
You can also point to not adding a starting pitcher around the trade deadline, but the scarcity of available arms and the high price tags make that one a lot more understandable than the strategy they employed over the summer as the injuries mounted -- when it at times felt like New York thought a giveaway loss here or there wouldn't matter.
Still, it all comes back to the way the starting rotation was put together during the offseason. There was just not enough certainty, and it put the team in a precarious spot really quickly -- one Stearns and Co. were unable to wrest themselves out of.
Given Stearns' history of success and analytical nature, it's fair to believe he'll take a different approach to the rotation for 2026 -- one that places an emphasis on track record over hope.
SACRAMENTO – First-year Kings general manager Scott Perry has a list of six tenets that he wants Sacramento to adhere to during his first season in the state capital. It’s a simple, straightforward message that he believes hopefully will establish a foundation for years to come.
“We want to be competitive, tough, team oriented, accountable, disciplined and professional,” Perry told reporters at Golden 1 Center during media day on Monday. “Everything that we do this year, I’m going to look at it through those pillars, on the court, off the court, and how we are holding up to those values. That’s what I’m most excited about.
“It’s about establishing an identity this year of who the Sacramento Kings are going to be, both on and off the basketball court.”
Perry, who was hired in April to replace Monte McNair, is orchestrating yet another makeover of the Kings. Only two years after the team ended the longest playoff drought in NBA history, Sacramento once again is on the rebuild.
Doug Christie had the interim title removed from his name and is the unquestioned head coach. The Kings also have a new point guard, having signed Dennis Schröder in the offseason. Schröder recently was named MVP of the EuroBasket tournament after leading Germany to the gold medal.
“Obviously kept my eye on Dennis and what he was doing, and stayed in contact with him,” Perry said. “Was really happy for him, because I know how much it meant to him and his country, for him, not only to play well, but go ahead and win the championship and be the MVP of that tournament, with so many great players in the tournament. I think that allows him to come here with even a little more confidence and really ready to take on this task and helping this basketball team.”
There have been some other minor tweaks to the roster, giving Christie some flexibility as he enters his first training camp as an official NBA head coach.
“It is different,” Christie said. “There’s a lot of different aspects to it, but I’ve just tried to relish each moment, take it as it comes, and try to deal with it head on. It’s been interesting. It’s been a lot of fun at the same time. That’s the one thing that I always try to do is be happy and have fun and enjoy the process.”
Winning will help facilitate that feeling go a long way.
It also would help erase the sting of last season, when the Kings held high expectations heading into the campaign, only to see the whole thing blow up.
Mike Brown, the first unanimous Coach of the Year following the 2023-24 season, was fired early last season after the Kings stumbled to start the year. That was followed by a franchise-changing trade that shipped long-time point guard De’Aaron Fox to San Antonio while making way for two-time All-Star Zach LaVine.
Given the presence of three-time All-Star and double-double machine Domantas Sabonis and a mercurial scorer like LaVine, the Kings shouldn’t have much problem putting the ball in the hoop.
Christie, however, is more concerned about how his squad plays on the other end of the court.
“More than anything, defensively, we want to create an identity,” Christie said. “There’s a beautiful side to basketball, obviously, on the offensive end, and we want to share the basketball, but defense is where we want to hang our hat.”
The hope is that, along with Perry’s six basic tenets, will get the Kings back to the promised land – the playoffs.
“Are we following those six pillars in each and every night? Are we laying it all on the line?” Perry said. “If we’re giving everything we have each and every night, whether it’s practice or game, that I can live with whatever the results are going to be. But I think it’s extremely important, though, that we identify, just identify and establish this culture this year.
“It’s all about that, because if you want to build a sustainable winner, you have to have a foundation, and our foundation has got to be rooted in how hard we play, how tough we are, and how we do this as a team, to do this together.”
