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NHL Trade Rumors: Should the Flyers Target These Sabres Defensemen?

The Philadelphia Flyers badly need short and long-term pieces to help fill out their defense, and what better way to do that than to just swing for the big fish right away?

We all know the Buffalo Sabres are the Buffalo Sabres, and while they did just get their first win of the season with an 8-4 throttling of a Brady Tkachuk-less Ottawa Senators team, they're going to have to do more to convince their big guns to stick around.

For years now, Bowen Byram has been a name linked to the Flyers, and while he did sign a two-year, $12.5 million contract extension with Buffalo, he's not exactly out of the woods yet, especially if he doesn't get expanded offensive opportunities.

Those opportunities are currently being afforded to Owen Power and Rasmus Dahlin, and while those two are tied down at $8.35 and $11 million cap hits until 2031 and 2032, respectively, the rumored expectation for the Sabres this year is to win. Put all the pieces together, and win.

If they can't? The Flyers might want to swoop in.

The obvious target is Byram, but it's plausible the situation in Philadelphia is similar to that in Buffalo in the sense that the Flyers have Jamie Drysdale, Cam York, and Travis Sanheim vying for power play time.

Byram could very well be a better power play quarterback than all of those players, but it subsequently reduces the ceiling of Drysdale and York, specifically, as well.

NHL Trade Rumors: Flyers Badly Need Defensive UpgradesNHL Trade Rumors: Flyers Badly Need Defensive UpgradesThe <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers">Philadelphia Flyers</a> are reportedly scouring the NHL trade market for much-needed defensive reinforcements, but which players are actually going to be worth their while?

As for Power, well, that's the big swing the Flyers would ideally like to take. The 2021 former No. 1 overall pick is just 22 years old, has a great contract, could benefit from playing out of Dahlin's shadow, and is 6-foot-6.

That checks basically all of the boxes for the Flyers, with the size being one of the key factors in the eyes of management.

Acquiring a player like Power helps the Flyers in a variety of ways in the future, too.

For starters, the Flyers don't have a prospect in the system to point to and declare as a future top-pairing defenseman, though an argument could be made for Oliver Bonk in certain contexts.

The left side is already weak, and the Flyers have only Hunter McDonald, Emil Andrae, and Ty Murchison in terms of prospects there.

At best, the Flyers carry a left side of Power, York, and Sanheim, with the former two both being 24 years old or younger. At worst, Sanheim stays on the right, and the Flyers still need to find a longer-term solution to the third defense pair.

As for a potential trade package, the Flyers are going to have to part with something significant, especially for Power.

NHL Trade Rumors: Flyers Could Swoop Back In for Bowen ByramNHL Trade Rumors: Flyers Could Swoop Back In for Bowen ByramThe Philadelphia Flyers already tried to trade for star Buffalo Sabres defenseman Bowen Byram once, and the latest NHL trade rumors indicate they'll try once more.

That could look something like two first-round picks, a good roster player, and at least one top prospect.

In regards to Byram, the Sabres only needed to part with Casey Mittelstadt to pry him from Colorado, and Mittelstadt is already on a new team in Boston just over a year later.

Alex Tuch might not remain with the Sabres beyond this year, and Buffalo can probably do better than Jason Zucker, Josh Doan, and Justin Danforth getting top-nine minutes.

Owen Tippett, who is signed at a $6.25 million cap hit through 2032, will have a modified no-trade clause kick in on July 1 and could be a strong fit in Buffalo.

At the same time, he's a player the Flyers have invested in for a reason, and he's been receiving an expanded role on the penalty kill under Rick Tocchet.

To get, you have to give, of course, and it's not a deal that will come easy for the Flyers. At some point, though, something will have to shake, and there's been an awful lot of chatter about these Sabres defensemen lately.

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Shaikin: It's not easy to repeat as World Series champs, but Dodgers don't seem to mind

The Dodgers celebrate in the locker room after the team beat the New York Yankees to win the World Series at Yankee Stadium.
The Dodgers celebrate winning the World Series last season. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

The Dodgers aren’t supposed to be making this look so easy.

From Day One in spring training, this was the season storyline: Can the Dodgers become the first major league team in 25 years to repeat as champions?

Easy to understand. Hard to do.

But a deeper look reveals a degree of difficulty beneath the storyline.

The New York Yankees won the World Series in 2000 — their third consecutive championship — then lost the World Series in 2001.

Since then, only one champion has even returned to the World Series the following year.

Over half the time — 12 times in 23 years — the World Series champion did not even qualify for the postseason the following year.

Seven champions lost in the next year’s league championship series. Three lost in the next year’s division series.

Repeat? Easy to understand and hard to do, but the Dodgers are 7-1 in this postseason.

Read more:Shaikin: Dodgers starting pitchers proving to be the ultimate opposing crowd silencers

As the National League Championship Series moves to Dodger Stadium on Thursday, the Dodgers are two victories from a return to the World Series.

That is a step toward the goal, not the goal itself, but it nonetheless would make them just the second team in 23 years to win a championship one year and return to the World Series the next.

The other: the 2008-09 Philadelphia Phillies, the team of Chase Utley, Cole Hamels, Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins.

The historical record indicates winning the World Series is tough and winning the next is tougher, but Rollins would not concede that.

“I don’t think it was harder than it was the first time,” said Rollins, working the NLCS as an analyst for TNT Sports. “I think the first time was the hardest.

“You haven’t gone there. You haven’t made it to the top and had that success. It was more about motivation: We’re the champs now, we’re just taking another step.”

Read more:In this postseason, Dodgers' offense starts from the bottom

Recall what Mookie Betts said at the Dodgers’ fan festival last year, after the Dodgers had signed Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow but before they had even reported to spring training: “Every game is going to be the other team’s World Series.”

The Dodgers took everyone’s best shot last year. They collect starting pitchers every year — your veterans, your kids, your waiver claims, your highly paid free agents, and your injured — with the aim that just enough will be healthy and effective come October.

This year, they have so many arms ready that Clayton Kershaw and Emmet Sheehan are relegated to the bullpen. Last year, they had so few that their postseason starters included four openers: Ryan Brasier twice, Michael Kopech and Ben Casparius.

“We did it the hard way last year,” utilityman Kiké Hernández said. “It’s really hard to win without starting pitching, and we found a way to do it.”

The Dodgers signed Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki for the rotation last winter, and Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates for the bullpen.

Now? Snell is starting, Sasaki is closing, and Scott and Yates are not on the playoff roster. But, well, that was the plan after winning the World Series.

“Usually, if you’re the last team standing at the end of October, you’ve used a lot of your pitching very aggressively throughout the month to do it,” said Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman. “And we really didn’t have that.

“Now, our bullpen did, but didn’t have it in the conventional way. So adding some fresh arms, we thought, would be helpful with that.”

Read more:Kiké Hernández and Will Smith talk NLCS Game 2 win, Yoshinobu Yamamoto's big night

The October aces — the starting pitchers that can put their team on their back and carry it through the postseason — are few and far between. Snell, Yamamoto and Glasnow have been aces so far this October, but the Dodgers intend to keep playing for another two weeks.

In 1988, Orel Hershiser threw 300 innings, playoffs included. In 2013, Kershaw threw 259 — more than the combined total of Snell, Glasnow and Ohtani so far this year. Yamamoto has thrown 193 innings.

There is a concern for the Dodgers, just as there always used to be a concern for the Lakers, about the long-term toll of playing another month every year.

For pitchers, however, the workloads for the best starters have gone down even as the number of playoff rounds have gone up. On the other hand, those new rounds are shorter ones, and even the best teams can lose two of three games, or three of five, to be eliminated long before a World Series.

“The playoff format doesn’t lend itself to just getting into the championship series and getting to the World Series,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “So that in itself makes it more difficult.”

The Dodgers have won the World Series one season and returned the next season twice: in 1955-56 and 1965-66, when each league champion advanced directly to the World Series.

In those years, the postseason field was two teams, and four wins won the championship trophy. The field is up to 12 teams now, and the Dodgers will need four rounds and 13 postseason wins to repeat.

“It’s hard getting guys to play their best baseball at the right time and to keep guys playing at a high level for 162 [games] to get to the postseason,” Roberts said, “then to give yourself a chance to win 11 or, this year, 13 games in October.

Read more:Just how much are the Dodgers charging for World Series tickets?

“What have I learned? I’ve learned that you’ve got to kind of give players grace at points during the season to appreciate the human side — it’s hard to play every game in April like it’s Game 7 — but know when to kind of turn it on.”

On July 3, the Dodgers had built a nine-game lead. On Aug. 13, after the Angels had swept them, the Dodgers fell into second place.

Said Rollins: “August? You’ve got a whole other month. July? It’s hot, let’s get to the All-Star break. In the playoffs, it’s just win the series.”

The Dodgers finished the regular season with the third-best record in the NL, but they have beaten the team with the second-best record (the Philadelphia Phillies) and appear poised to beat the team with the best record (the Brewers). They have won 22 of their last 28 games.

The one concern Friedman said he did not have about building a repeat winner was complacency. He said he always believed the players would be “focused on and driven by legacy, and doing something that’s so incredibly difficult.”

They are already more than halfway there. They need 13 wins. They have seven. Rollins believes they will get the other six.

“I thought, if the Phillies had beaten the Dodgers, no one could stop them,” Rollins said. “And vice versa: If the Dodgers beat the Phillies, no one could stop them.

“If you look at the way the teams match up — power for power, star power, great pitching — they presented basically a mirror image of themselves. Obviously, no one else has Shohei. But the style of game: they can score in many ways, they can bop, they’re clutch. They’ve proven it.”

Six to get, and history to make.

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

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Watch ‘FCHWPO: Jaylen Brown's Boston,' a documentary on Celtics star's journey

Watch ‘FCHWPO: Jaylen Brown's Boston,' a documentary on Celtics star's journey originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Jaylen Brown’s road to stardom with the Boston Celtics began with a bit of a speed bump.

When the Celtics selected the young guard from Cal with the No. 3 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, fans at a TD Garden watch party booed, expressing their frustration that the team didn’t swing a trade for Jimmy Butler or take a different top prospect such as Providence’s Kris Dunn.

But Brown declared he’d “go to war for this city,” and he’s backed up the promise both on and off the court.

NBC Sports Boston is kicking off its “Seven Days of Jaylen Brown” content series with an exclusive documentary on the Celtics star titled FCHWPO: Jaylen Brown’s Boston. (The acronym “FCHWPO” is a nod to Brown’s mantra, “Faith, Consistency and Hard Work Pays Off,” which also serves as his social media handle.)

The documentary, which is narrated by Boston’s own Donnie Wahlberg, follows Brown’s entire NBA journey: from the draft night boos, to the strong rookie campaign, to the persistent trade rumors, to the crucial social justice work, to becoming NBA Finals MVP and a champion, to this upcoming season, where he’ll take the lead for the Celtics without Jayson Tatum by his side.

Check out the full documentary in the video player above or watch below on YouTube, and stay tuned in the coming days for more Jaylen Brown content on all of NBC Sports Boston’s platforms.

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NBA fines Jonathan Kuminga $35K for ‘inappropriate contact' with official

NBA fines Jonathan Kuminga $35K for ‘inappropriate contact' with official originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Jonathan Kuminga is paying the price for his actions on Tuesday night, literally.

The NBA has fined the Warriors forward $35,000 for “making inappropriate contact with and continuing to pursue a game official,” the league announced Thursday morning.

The incident occurred in the second quarter of Golden State’s fourth preseason game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center, when Kuminga was ejected for the first time of his career after arguing a no-call.

During the play, Kuminga used his speed to drive to the basket, forcing his way through multiple Trail Blazers defenders. As ESPN’s Anthony Slater noted, Kuminga was frustrated that the no-call impacted the right ankle he injured during the 2024-25 season.

Kuminga left the game with seven points, six rebounds and four assists in 18 minutes.

After the game, Warriors coach Steve Kerr told reporters he liked the “fire” Kuminga played with.

“I love the way he played,” Kerr said. “I love the fire, the passion. I don’t mind the objection at all; I kind of liked it, actually. I thought JK was terrific tonight.”

Well, that fire cost him, but maybe it was worth it.

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