Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Rangers fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
All Star voting is underway, and so our Rangers Reacts survey this week asks, which Texas Rangers player do you think is most deserving of an All Star nod?
Cast your vote below…
MILWAUKEE — Guardians All-Star third baseman José Ramírez had surgery to remove the hook of the broken hamate bone in his left hand.
The team said in a statement that the procedure was performed in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, by Dr. Thomas Graham.
“We knew he was going to need surgery, so earlier today he was able to get it done,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said.
Ramírez suffered the injury during the fifth inning of a 3-1 win over the Detroit Tigers when he fouled out on a pop up to Tigers catcher Dillon Dingler.
It only is the second time in Ramírez’s 14 big league seasons that he has been placed on the injured list.
The seven-time All-Star also broke the hamate bone in his right hand in 2019 and only missed a month. The normal recovery time post-surgery is five to seven weeks.
“That’s part of life. Those are things that are going to happen, so I’m not upset. It’s just part of the game and just got to keep going,” Ramírez said about the injury.
The 33-year-old native of the Dominican Republic has played in a franchise-record 1,681 games. He is also the only player in Cleveland’s 125-year history to have at least 300 stolen bases and 250 home runs.
Cleveland also placed outfielder Angel Martínez on the 10-day injured list due to a nondisplaced fracture in his left foot. Martínez’s injury occurred after fouling off a pitch.
Martínez, who leads the Guardians with 11 homers, could be out four to six weeks, Vogt said.
“He walked in Monday probably knowing that we’d probably get some testing done on Monday if he wasn’t feeling better and he wasn’t,” Vogt said. “MRI and CT scan both revealed a fracture in the foot, so it will be four to six weeks for Angel.”
Outfielder Chase DeLauter sustained a rib injury when he collided with the outfield wall. Tests show bone bruising and a small fracture, but DeLauter was not headed to the injured list, Vogt said.
“It’s very, very, very small, something that’s day to day,” Vogt said. “We’ll see how it feels. Definitely something to tolerate, he can play through. We just have to weight out day-to-day how it’s feeling, kind of gradually see it.”
When the Twins acquired Yoendrys Gómez in their spaghetti vs. wall style of bullpen construction, they also set a team first. Gómez is wearing #94, the number he has worn for most of his career, with Minnesota, and he has become the first Twin in history to wear that number.
Because I will take any excuse I can to write about uniform numbers and the Twins are off today, here’s some discussion about the 10 numbers no Twins (or Senators) have worn and the players who have worn them around the league.
(I should also note before anyone tries to Google this information, their AI Gemini, presumably pulling from my own writing without permission, gets information wrong.)
69
worn by (MLB history): 22 players
best worn by (bWAR): Luis Medina, CLE, 1988
2026 worn by (anyone this season whether still active or not): Blubaugh
As I mentioned in last week’s game thread, most teams don’t hand out #69 due to its sexual connotations. The Twins don’t — a few years ago, they released a spring training roster that had every number except 69 worn — but among those who do, none do so more than the Pirates, who have given the number to eight players. That includes the best player to have ever worn 69, Bronson Arroyo, but he broke out as a pitcher after joining the Red Sox (who made him switch to 61) and hit his prime as a Red (with whom he kept 61). Astros reliever Blubaugh is the only current player to wear the number, and he’s also put up the most WAR in the number with 1.0.
75
worn by: 52 players
first worn by: Mike Walker, CLE, 1988
best worn by: Barry Zito, OAK/SF, 2001-15 (29.7 WAR)
2026 worn by: 9 players
Zito actually wore #53 as a rookie in 2000 before switching to his familiar #75 the following season and subsequently winning the Cy Young for the ‘02 A’s. (You may call them the Moneyball A’s; here, we call them “the team the Twins beat in the Division Series.” And Denny Hocking, not Corey Koskie, caught the series-ending popup… 0/10, bad movie.) Right now, nine players across MLB wear the number; the most recognizable is probably Robert Suarez (ATL RP) or Andrés Muñoz (SEA RP), but my attention is drawn to Red Sox catcher Carlos Narváez. Since I live closest to Boston (among MLB cities), he’s the #75 I see most regularly… but he also took over #94 from Yoendrys Gómez for the ‘24 Yankees. And like that, it all comes full circle.
84
worn by: 18 players
first worn by: J.T. Snow, BOS, 2006
best worn by: Dylan Cease, CHW/SD/TOR, 2019-pres (18.5 WAR)
2026 worn by: Cease; Lake Bachar, MIA; Jorbit Vivas, WAS
#84 may have first become recognizable when Prince Fielder took the number, presumably in honor of his birth year, when joining the Rangers for the last three seasons of his career. (Snow similarly took the number for familial reasons: his father Jack, who died at the start of 2006, wore the number for 11 seasons as a wide receiver with the Rams.) It has earned staying power, though, with Cease’s top-of-rotation mainstay in his eighth season and counting.
88
worn by: 22 players
first worn by: Mike Ramsey, LAD, 1987
best worn by: Luis Robert Jr., CHW/NYM, 2020-pres (15.8 WAR)
2026 worn by: Robert; Phil Maton, CHC; Cooper Criswell, SEA
Robert was part of those early-’20s high-digit White Sox squads: along with Robert (#88), they had Eloy Jiménez (#74) and José Abreu (#79) wearing unusual numbers. Robert is a Met now, but among 88s who changed teams, none has done so more than Maton. The Cubs are his eighth franchise, and he has worn the same symmetrical round number for all of them.
91
worn by: 13 players
first worn by: Tim Spooneybarger, FLA, 2003
best worn by: Alfredo Aceves, NYY/BOS, 2008-14 (4.2 WAR)
2026 worn by: Jonathan Pintaro, NYM
I remember seeing Aceves’ unusual #91 at Fenway Park and wondering why more baseball players didn’t wear less-common 90s numbers; years later, I still wonder. Spooneybarger, the first #91, was on the ‘03 Series-winning Marlins but did not pitch after June due to elbow tendinities; Aceves too was on a pennant winner, the ‘09 Yankees, and he pitched in four postseason games, including Game 5 of the World Series. Pintaro, the only active #91, was recalled to the majors on Monday.
93
worn by: 9 players
first worn by: Pat Neshek, PHI, 2018
best worn by: Yimi García, MIA/HOU/TOR/SEA, 2020-5(2.5 WAR)
2026 worn by: Matt Gage, SF
Speaking of that question I wonder about, Neshek became the first MLB player to wear #93 when he debuted for the Phillies in July 2018, making that number the fifth-last to make its debut in MLB.* (If I remember correctly, he chose #93 on a suggestion from a fan — not me this time — on Twitter.) As we get into the higher 90s, player counts are going to become fewer… up until 99, which fortunately does not qualify for this list thanks to Logan Morrison in 2018.
*the last six numbers to make their MLB debuts:
90 (“Once Upon” Adam Cimber, SD, 3/29/2018)
93 (Neshek, PHI, 7/1/18)
80 (Ryan Eades, MIN, 6/8/19)
92 (Génesis Cabrera, STL, 8/15/20)
86 (Jesus Cruz, STL, 8/18/20)
89 (Miguel Yajure, NYY, 8/31/20)
95
worn by: 5 players
first worn by: Takahito Nomura, MIL, 2002
best worn by: Oswaldo Cabrera, NYY, 2022-5 (2.0 WAR)
2026 worn by: Josh Ekness, MIA
Of the five players to have worn #95, two are Yankees and two are Marlins. Nomura, the exception, wore the number 18 years before the next player, Miami’s Trevor Rogers. Since 2020, exactly one player has worn the number each season: Rogers (‘20), the Bronx’s Trey Amburgey (‘21), Cabrera (’22-‘25), and Ekness (’26).
96
worn by: 9 players
first worn by: Bill Voiselle, Boston Braves, 1947
best worn by: Voiselle, BSN/CHC, 1947-50 (4.5 WAR)
2026 worn by: Yovanny Cruz, NYY
Yes, that says “Boston Braves,” and yes, that says “1947.” Voiselle grew up in Ninety-Six, South Carolina, and upon his ’47 trade to the Braves, he received permission from Commissioner Happy Chandler to wear #96 in tribute. He wore the number for the rest of his career, two more seasons with the Braves and one with the Chicago cubs. Unsurprisingly, the only wearer this year, Cruz (who pitched in two games in May), is a Yankee.
Trivia time: what are the only two eligible jersey numbers that have never been worn in the regular season by a Yankees player?
97
worn by: 2 players
first worn by: Joe Beimel, TB, 2005
best worn by: Beimel, six teams, 2005-15 (6.9 WAR)
2026 worn by: Ron Marinaccio, SD
Beimel wore #97 in honor of his son’s birth in that year, and he just missed becoming the first Twin to wear the number: he wore #53 from 2001-3 with the Pirates and #50 in ‘04 with the Twins before switching to his regular digits the following season. Seven seasons after Beimel last pitched in the majors, Marinaccio debuted for (sigh) the Yankees in #97, and he’s kept it after joining the Padres last season. However, right now, he’s known not for his number but for his current suspension for beaning Gunnar Henderson.
98
worn by: 7 players
first worn by: Jae Weong Seo, TB, 2006
best worn by: Randy Vásquez, NYY/SD, 2023-pres (5.0 WAR)
2026 worn by: Vásquez; Maverick Handley, BAL
Handley was designated for assignment in May, so the only current #98 is Vásquez, who has become a solid starter with the Padres after one year as a (sigh 2.0) Yankee.
Trivia answer: surprisingly not #69, which Alan Mills wore for part of 1990. The answer is #00 and #87.
So that’s 10 numbers now which I am eagerly awaiting a new Twin to wear. Here’s hoping!
And on another note: I am planning an article, either for the offseason or another off day, of my all-time Literary Baseball Team, a 26-man roster consisting of the best players from literary fiction. If you have any players or books you suggest I should read, please comment them below!
WASHINGTON — Kansas City Royals right-hander Seth Lugo threw a bullpen session and is expected to start Friday after spending time on the concussion list.
Lugo was hit in the head by a 106.6 mph line drive against Texas. Manager Matt Quatraro said before a night’s game at Washington that Lugo felt good and is expected to return Friday night, when the Royals host St. Louis.
Left-hander Kris Bubic, on the injured list because of elbow soreness, also threw.
The news hasn’t been as promising about left-hander Cole Ragans, who had a setback during rehab from a left elbow injury. Quatraro said Ragans still is having symptoms and remains shut down.
Kansas City optioned right-hander Mitch Spence, who allowed six runs in four innings in a spot start against the Nationals, to Triple-A Omaha. That cleared a roster spot for right-hander Connor Seabold, acquired by the Royals in a trade with Toronto.
Timing is a big part of free agency. Teams that are trying to preserve cap space so they have maximum flexibility often make what may look at first like surprising and perhaps head-scratching moves, then when all the smoke clears things get rectified…
That is basically what Keith Smith wrote for Spotrac Tuesday He reported that the Nets are unlikely to exercise team options on four free agents. Smith predicted that Sean Marks & co. will decline team options on Day’Ron Sharpe, Ziaire Williams, Josh Minott, and Malachi Smith, saving the franchise a little more than $15 million in cap space … then likely re-sign them when the smoke clears.
Here’s what Smith reported this on Sharpe, Williams Minott and Smith.
How much cap space could Brooklyn have in making those moves? Last week, Yossi Gozlan reported the number could approach $50 million. He also suggested how the Nets could move once they finish dealing with whatever bigger free agency or trade opportunities come along.
[T]he Nets could get up to a maximum of $47.9 million in cap space by declining team options and waiving non-guaranteed players. That would include the $6.25 million team options for Day’Ron Sharpe and Ziaire Williams. They could decline both players and re-sign them to new deals. They could also decline both to maximize cap space, then re-sign one of them with the $9.4 million room mid-level exception afterward.
Gozlan also wrote about how the Nets could use the Room MLE, particularly on Sharpe.
Third Apron projects Sharpe’s true annual value to be at least double his current salary, but the Nets may still aim to minimize a potential early raise. As mentioned earlier, they could decline his team option and renounce his cap hold to maximize cap space. They could then bring him back with the $9.4 million room mid-level exception after exhausting cap space, re-signing him for up to three years and $29.5 million. That would still feel like a favorable deal for Brooklyn, so perhaps Sharpe would prefer another two-year deal for a quicker chance to earn more money.
As for his take on Minott and Smith, Gozlan wrote this:
The Nets could also decline the team options of Josh Minott and Malachi Smith if they need extra room. It would make sense to decline Smith since he would be restricted, and they could re-sign him to a new multi-year deal or bring him back on a two-way contract. Minott, on the other hand, would be unrestricted, but they should still be able to bring him back at a minimum salary if they’d like.
Beyond the team options, based on history, he said he doesn’t expect Brooklyn to extend Noah Clowney this off-season, preferring instead to have him enter next summer as a restricted free agent.
If there is an extension to be done, it would probably land slightly above the mid-level exception range, with a starting salary no larger than his $16.2 million restricted cap hold in 2027. That is so they could maximize their 2027 cap space in case they don’t add any significant long-term salaries this season.
History suggests there won’t be an extension between Clowney and the Nets. They haven’t signed a player to a rookie-scale extension since Taurean Prince in 2019.
No matter what, the 22-year-old Clowney will be paid $5.4 million this season, the last on his four-year rookie deal. Unless things change, he will be one of seven Nets players on rookie deals in 2026-27. Clowney, the Flatbush 5 and whoever they take at No. 6 will make a total of $35.1 million. That’s 21.3% of the $165.0 salary cap next season for basically half the 15-man roster, yet another indication of how much flexibility Brooklyn has going into free agency.
DENVER — New Nashville front-office executive Chris MacFarland didn’t take long to strike a deal with his former team in trading for Colorado forward Ross Colton.
MacFarland, who recently left his role as Avalanche GM to become the president of hockey operations/general manager of the Predators, acquired the veteran center along with goaltender Isak Posch. Colorado receives goalie Magnus Chrona and a pair of third-round picks (2026, ’27).
“We are very excited to add Ross Colton to our forward mix,” MacFarland said in a statement. “Ross is a versatile, two-way winger who will add sandpaper and grit into our middle six group.”
Colton is coming off a season with Colorado in which he had nine goals and 15 assists over 73 games. He was third among Avalanche players with 159 hits. Colton and the Avalanche made it to the Western Conference Final before being swept by Vegas.
It was MacFarland who helped orchestrate the trade that brought the 29-year-old Colton to Colorado on June 28, 2023, through a deal with Tampa Bay. Soon after, Colton was signed to a four-year contract.
The trade gives more draft capital to Joe Sakic, who’s stepping back into the role of GM in the wake of MacFarland’s departure. Sakic, who’s also the president of hockey operations, was in that position when the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in 2022.
Chrona joins a team that features a goaltending tandem of Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood. The pair won the William M. Jennings Trophy, which went to the goalies who played at least 25 games for the team that allowed the least amount of goals in the regular season.
Last season, the 25-year-old Chrona was 9-11-3 with a 2.94 goals-against average for the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League. Chrona remains familiar with the area having suited up at the University of Denver from 2019-23. He was part of the Pioneers when they won the national championship in 2021-22.
Posch spent time with the Colorado Eagles in each of the last two seasons. The Swedish native was named to the 2026 AHL All-Star Classic for the Pacific Division.
“He is a big goalie who will add to our already impressive depth at this position,” MacFarland said.
Carson Benge – RF
Bo Bichette – 3B
Juan Soto – LF
Marcus Semien – 2B
Mark Vientos – 1B
Francisco Alvarez – DH
A.J. Ewing – CF
Luis Torrens – C
Zack Short – SS
SP: Nolan McLean – RHP
Edwin Arroyo – 2B
JJ Bleday – LF
Sal Stewart – 3B
Nathaniel Lowe – 1B
Eugenio Suarez – DH
Spencer Steer – RF
Noelvi Marte – CF
Jose Trevino – C
Matt McLain – SS
SP: Nick Lodolo – LHP
First pitch: 12:40 PM EDT
TV: SNY
Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2
Sign up for a user account and get:
Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are -150 favorites to secure a series sweep over the Tampa Bay Rays this afternoon.
The good news for Tampa Bay is Shohei Ohtani is out of the lineup, and he may not be 100% on the mound.
That’s why my Rays vs. Dodgers predictions and MLB picks call for Tampa to pull off the upset on June 17.
The Tampa Bay Rays will be facing a Shohei Ohtani who’s not fully armed and operational.
He’s battling knee inflammation and wasn’t even a sure thing to make this start until he tested it with a Tuesday bullpen session. He’s out of the lineup, limiting the Los Angeles Dodgers' order that hasn’t been scoring either.
The Dodgers are hitting .228 and slugging .417 over the last week, down from .261 and .441 on the year.
Ohtani’s name recognition always attracts casual money and inflates the odds. The Rays at anything over +130 is worth the risk.
COVERS INTEL: Ohtani blamed mechanics on the mound for the injury, and his curve lost more than 100 revolutions in his last start. He seemed to be making up for it by putting extra on his four-seamer, which led to his worst start of the season. I am going against the grain here because of the odds. The Over/Under is two runs lower than Monday’s opener, and that's too steep of a drop for me,
The pitching matchup of Ohtani against Shane McClanahan looks appealing for the Under, but both are struggling.
Shohei allowed a season-high four runs in just over six innings last time out, and McClanahan has lost his last two starts — giving up eight runs in nine innings.
An easier Over with positive odds is worth a flier and should be played to +100.
The Tampa Bay Rays have covered the run line in 26 of their last 45 games (+10.80 Units / 20% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Rays vs. Dodgers.
| Location | Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, CA |
| Date | Wednesday, June 17, 2026 |
| First pitch | 3:10 p.m. ET |
| TV | Rays.TV, SportsNet LA |
| Rays starting pitcher | Shane McClanahan (6-4, 3.23 ERA) |
| Dodgers starting pitcher | Shohei Ohtani (6-2, 1.06 ERA) |
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
Not intended for use in MA.
Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.
Brendan Gallagher may be on his way out and unlikely to wear the Montreal Canadiens’ jersey next season, but on Tuesday, he attended the CN Sports Complex in Brossard like a few of his teammates. Why? Well, it wasn’t to skate as the veteran didn’t put on his equipment, but he did spend some time on the bench watching Ivan Demidov and prospect Alexander Zharovsky skate. He wasn’t the only curious Hab as Nick Suzuki, Phillip Danault, and Jacob Fowler were also in attendance.
According to TVA Sports’ Nicolas Cloutier, Gallagher’s agent is pleased with the way the Canadiens have been handling the veteran’s case this offseason. Now that the Stanley Cup final is over and the Carolina Hurricanes have been crowned champions, teams have started moving on the trade market. The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Philadelphia Flyers made a surprising goalie swap, the Colorado Avalanche sent Ross Colton to the Nashville Predators for picks, in other words, it’s business as usual.
While Gallagher’s agent previously mentioned that the Vancouver Canucks had interest in the veteran, if the Canadiens are unable to conclude a trade, they could also buy out the alternate captain. That could happen if potential trade partners are proving a bit too greedy in negotiations, requesting too much as a sweetener to take on the contract. While they’d be doing the Canadiens a favour by picking up the veteran’s contract, the contract could also be useful to them to reach the cap floor, giving Hughes some leverage in negotiations.
Brendan Gallagher in Brossard today, wearing a Habs t-shirt pic.twitter.com/i1s0Lz7RRu
— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) June 16, 2026
For instance, if Vancouver were to manage to trade away Elias Pettersson and his huge contract, they would have trouble meeting the cap floor, and Gallagher’s contract would then come in rather handy. Last season, Hughes only had to give the San Jose Sharks a fifth-round pick and take on Gannon Laroque’s contract to shed Carey Price’s huge contract. The Sharks were near the 50-contract limit, and it provided them with some much-needed relief.
In an ideal world, the Canadiens would be able to trade Gallagher early this offseason, and Hughes could then move on to addressing the team’s needs.
Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.
Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens.
Join the discussion by signing up to the Canadiens' roundtable on The Hockey News.
Subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here.
Now that the Stanley Cup has been awarded, the NHL offseason is in full swing. The month-long window between now and mid-July is when the vast majority of business will be done prior to the 2026-27 season.
Trades have already taken place, the NHL Draft is less than two weeks away, and unrestricted free agency will soon follow. Between those marquee dates on the calendar, the NHL buyout window looms for players whose teams view them as having vastly underperformed relative to their contracts.
The NHL buyout window is now open, as it is over 48 hours following the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Final, and will run through June 30 at 5 PM EST.
Note: For buyout explanations and calculations, head to puckpedia.com’s buyout calculator tool
2025-26 Anaheim Ducks: By the Numbers, Part 1
Report: Defenseman John Carlson will not Re-Sign with Anaheim Ducks, Set to Hit UFA Market on July 1
For the first time in nearly a decade, the Anaheim Ducks are a competitive NHL team who is projected to at least threaten the $104 million salary cap ceiling. Cap hits are no longer irrelevant to the Ducks, and every dollar on the books will matter very soon.
When examining the Ducks’ cap sheet, one player jumps off the screen: Frank Vatrano. His production dropped off a cliff, and he had a difficult season in 2025-26, on and off the ice.
Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek typically holds the meat of his contract negotiations for the offseason, but on Jan. 5, 2025, he extended Vatrano on a creative three-year deal. Vatrano was in the middle of his third straight 20-goal season for the Ducks, a year removed from a 37-goal All-Star campaign in 2023-24, and had become an identity piece for the organization as they were attempting to put the finishing touches on an extended, painful rebuild.
Vatrano’s deal is worth a total of $18 million, but due to ten years of deferred money ($900k annually between 2035 and 2044), his yearly cap hit dropped from $6 million to $4.57 million. The deal includes a seven-team NTC.
Vatrano was Verbeek’s first UFA signing after he took the job in 2022, and Vatrano outperformed expectations in an elevated role due to the Ducks’ lack of talent and rebuild timeline. Following 2025’s hiring of Joel Quenneville as Anaheim’s next head coach, Vatrano had a difficult time carving a role in the newly implemented system, was injured for a stretch with a fracture in his shoulder, and stepped away from the team for personal reasons.
His final stat line for 2025-26 included just nine points (5-4=9) in 50 games, and he served as a healthy scratch for multiple games, including the Ducks’ entire two-round, 12-game playoff run. It’s safe to question Vatrano’s future with the Ducks.
If Vatrano were to be bought out during the current window, his cap hit would drop to $571,189 for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 seasons, and would be $2 million in 2028-29 and 2029-30. Vatrano would receive $8 million of the $12 million in remaining money he’s owed on the contract.
The possibility remains that the Ducks simply keep Vatrano and allow him to work past the issues he faced in 2025-26. There’s also the possibility that they are able to trade him. The 2026 NHL unrestricted free agency class is notoriously weak, the salary cap continues to rise, and teams will likely attempt to improve their teams via the trade market.
Former Ducks center Ryan Strome went through similar difficulties to Vatrano in 2025-26, and the Ducks were able to move him and the entirety of his $5 million AAV contract to the Calgary Flames at the trade deadline in exchange for a seventh-round pick. Vatrano had a higher ceiling than Strome did during the duo’s time together in Anaheim, and teams may believe they can recapture that magic. They’d have to be willing, however, to assume the responsibility of paying Vatrano through the year 2044.
The next few weeks will be very telling when examining the immediate and long-term future of the Anaheim Ducks. This is a pivotal offseason following their first success in nearly a decade, and a buyout may unfortunately be seen as necessary.
The last time the Ducks bought out a player was when they bought out the final two years of former cornerstone forward Corey Perry’s eight-year deal on June 19, 2019.
Former Anaheim Ducks Goaltender Frederik Andersen is a Stanley Cup Champion
San Diego Gulls Goaltender Calle Clang Signs Two-Year Contract with SHL Club
Anaheim Duck Prospect Maxim Masse Wins CHL Player of the Year Award
Welcome to our annual Lakers season in review series, where we’ll look back at each player on the team’s roster this season and evaluate if they should be part of the future of the franchise. Today, we wrap our series with a shift away from the players and towards the head coach, JJ Redick.
Maybe it’s a product of the internet-fueled brain rot that distorts the passage of time these days, but it feels like five years have passed since the debates about JJ Redick’s qualifications to be an NBA head coach, spurred on by his post-playing days podcast career and never having coached at any level beyond his grade-school-aged sons’ teams.
Or maybe it’s the fact that after two full NBA campaigns under his belt, Redick has so quickly and thoroughly dismissed those concerns as irrelevant, it seems like ancient history that ever mattered in the first place.
Either way, it’s no small feat that Redick has put all of that talk behind him to the point that it is hard to imagine him doing anything else besides coaching now. Consecutive 50-win seasons and playoff appearances with home court advantage in the first round do have a way of shifting the perception of a coach under the type of scrutiny Redick was just two years ago.
The degree to which this matters at this point may not be very much at all.
After all, I think JJ would be the first to tell you that, beyond even the wins and losses, he simply wants to be judged on whether he has maximized the group of players he coaches in a specific season. But the fact that we’ve gotten to that point with Redick at all this early into his career is worth mentioning as meaningful — and the fact that this seems to be the only standard he’s being held to at all now even more so.
Yes, there have been growing pains and things have been far from perfect, but I think it’s abundantly clear now that Redick is viewed only as a coach. And, after two seasons, it’s fairly clear he’s a pretty good one.
Coming off a rookie season that saw his roster upended by a franchise-altering trade, Redick’s second year was also a challenging one due to injuries and player availability impacting a roster that, even with multiple holdovers, did introduce three new rotation players, including two starters.
Whether it was LeBron missing all of training camp and the team’s first 14 games with sciatica, Austin Reaves missing substantial time with two calf strains and an oblique injury, and Luka Dončić missing the team’s final five games and the entire playoffs with a hamstring strain, Redick had to navigate a season where his best three players rarely played together and, when they did, were adjusting to the ever-shifting roles borne from that lack of shared court time.
Redick, though, handled this deftly, creating an environment where roles were backed by communication, understanding, and belief in the players’ abilities to take on whatever was put in front of them. This was exemplified both by the team’s incredible month of March and then in the team’s playoff upset of the Rockets.
In the former, a string of good health was backed by a redefined pecking order that saw Redick cater to Dončić and Reaves as his primary ball handlers and shot creators while LeBron took on a more supportive role as an off-ball worker who focused on doing more with less. Credit the players — particularly LeBron — for being able to adapt on the fly, but Redick also deserves his flowers for formulating this sort of plan and for having the wherewithal to organize the team in a way that, in one stroke, optimized the group while also diminishing the role of a player whose reputation and cachet is as substantive as LeBron’s.
And then, in the latter playoff stretch, with both Dončić and Reaves injured, Redick not only turned back to LeBron as an on-ball creator and primary leader, but crafted offensive game plans that prominently featured Marcus Smart and Luke Kennard as primary scorers and ball-handlers and defensive schemes meant to play into Houston’s lack of experience and guard play by pressuring the ball and forcing turnovers.
In essence, Redick took two totally different groups with different strengths on both sides of the ball and created environments where both experienced great success. Because this is a player’s league and the Lakers were obviously led by historically great individual players, Redick really did not get the credit he deserved in real time. But hindsight really does reveal how much of a strong coaching job the dichotomy of these two stretches required.
Overall, then, it’s more than fair to say that Redick had an excellent year coaching.
He wasn’t perfect by any means and you could certainly nitpick some of the decisions he made over the course of the year, but there were very few, if any, times where I could honestly say I didn’t understand a choice he made, even if I disagreed with it. Which, honestly, is all you can ask for from a coach as an outsider. Can this be explained rationally? If the answer is yes, you don’t have to agree.
Further, I’d argue there was a general adaptability and willingness to change course when something wasn’t working, which really mattered towards the team’s success this year.
Whether it was the aforementioned reorienting of the team’s hierarchy around Luka and Austin or the ultimate shift he made to bring Rui off the bench in favor of Smart, Redick often got to where he needed to be with this roster rather than stubbornly sticking to ideas that would have been easier to stomach politically. And while it’s fair to wonder if he could have done some of these things sooner, I think it’s more important you get there eventually — because some coaches never do.
So, credit to Redick. He still has learning and refining to do, but the trajectory he’s on is positive and I believe in where this team can go with him as the head coach.
By all accounts, Redick is under contract for several more seasons after receiving a contract extension following his first season that reportedly tacked on two more years to what was originally a four-year deal. That would leave Redick with four years still on this deal now, which positions him well to be the Lakers’ coach for the foreseeable future.
Even beyond that contractual security, though, it is also clear that Redick has a strong relationship not only with Dončić, but with LeBron and Austin. This sort of alignment with your team’s best players can often mean more than the number of years left on your deal or even the sort of support you might have from your general manager.
Unequivocally, yes. While this is clearly Luka’s team from the player side of things, Redick feels nearly as indentured as the team’s head coach. And just as the team will clearly try to acquire the sorts of players who best complement Dončić and his skill set, I also believe the team will target players who fit into how Redick wants to play while possessing the character and skill set that Redick has established as pillars for the team.
You can follow Darius on BlueSky at @forumbluegoldand find more of his Lakers coverage on the Laker Film Room Podcast.
The Toronto Maple Leafs' head coach search officially concluded on Wednesday when the organization announced Jim Hiller as the 41st head coach of the franchise.
This decision certainly turned heads and shocked many for a couple of reasons. Hiller's name never really came up in the build-up to this hire, and he's coming off a tenure with the Los Angeles Kings that wasn't particularly impressive.
However, this is a new page for Hiller in his head coaching career, and the Maple Leafs' current situation is very different from the Kings team Hiller led for parts of the last three years.
When Hiller was with the Kings, he had his team play very defensively. From Feb. 2, 2024, to March 1, 2026, Hiller's official tenure, Los Angeles averaged 2.86 goals per game. That puts the Kings tied for the ninth-worst offense in the NHL over that span.
The Kings did not play an exciting brand of hockey under his guidance, but that could be partly because of the makeup of the team.
Hiller coached an aging Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty, leaving his top offensive producer to be Adrian Kempe, who has never scored more than 75 points in his NHL career. Not to mention, Quinton Byfield has yet to blossom into the high-flying center that he is expected to be.
Maple Leafs Announce Jim Hiller As Franchise's 41st Head CoachThe Toronto Maple Leafs have announced Jim Hiller as their 41st head coach in franchise history and the successor to former bench boss Craig Berube.When a team like the Kings has a veteran core, most of the time, the organization will want to find ways to always be competitive. Another example of that is the Pittsburgh Penguins, who seemingly refuse to go through a complete rebuild as long as Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang are around.
And with a team that lacks offensive prowess, the way to win games is to keep the other team from scoring. In that sense, Hiller was very good at getting the Kings to buy in defensively, and the numbers prove it.
In that same span in which Hiller led Los Angeles from behind the bench, no team in the NHL was better than the Kings at keeping the puck out of their net.
The Kings averaged 2.60 goals against, marking them with the best defense in the league. They also have the fifth-most shutouts in the NHL with five, and while Darcy Kuemper was solid and a Vezina Trophy finalist in 2024-25, those numbers are a nod to Hiller's system.
Berube, Keefe, Babcock: How The Maple Leafs' Last Three NHL Head Coaches Fared In TorontoHow have the previous three head coaches of the Toronto Maple Leafs - Craig Berube, Sheldon Keefe, and Mike Babcock - fared in their respective tenures?Even though Hiller has only really presented a defensive system for his team as a head coach in the NHL, that doesn't mean that's all he can provide. After all, when he was an assistant coach in the NHL, including with the Maple Leafs for four years, he looked after the power play.
As Toronto's power-play operator from 2015-16 to 2018-19, Hiller had success with the Leafs special teams. In that span, the Maple Leafs have the fifth-best power play in the NHL, registering a 21.3 percentage rate.
Therefore, Hiller does have the ability to create offense out of his team. But what gives him an even greater chance to be successful as the head coach of the Maple Leafs is his history with the team.
Could Morgan Rielly And Matthew Knies Be Next Out The Door For Maple Leafs?Toronto Maple Leafs GM John Chayka has made his imprint on the roster with a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers. If he plans on making another big move this off-season, Morgan Rielly and Matthew Knies are likely next in line.Toronto's roster has certainly changed a lot since Hiller moved on from the Maple Leafs' coaching staff. However, Auston Matthews, William Nylander, John Tavares and Morgan Rielly have remained on the team since.
It may not be a coincidence that Hiller's last year with the Maple Leafs, Tavares and Rielly had the best campaigns of their NHL careers. Tavares scored a career-high 47 goals and 88 points while Rielly recorded 20 goals and 74 points, as well as Norris Trophy recognition, finishing fifth in the award's voting.
Not to mention, Hiller was a teacher to Matthews and Nylander in the early parts of their career, a critical moment in their development and a factor in how talented they have become over the years.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
TORONTO (AP) — The Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday hired Jim Hiller as the 41st head coach in franchise history, bringing back an assistant with the club from 2015-19.
The 57-year-old Hiller replaces Craig Berube as part of an offseason overhaul led by new general manager John Chayka.
Most recently, Hiller served as head coach of the Los Angeles Kings, compiling a 93-58-24 record over parts of three seasons. The Kings fired Hiller on March 1 following an 8-1 loss to Edmonton.
“(Hiller) has worked with successful teams throughout his career, connects well with players and brings a clear approach behind the bench,” Chayka said in a news release. “We believe he’s the right person to lead our team and help us reach our goals.”
Hiller served as an assistant coach with the Kings for two seasons before being promoted to head coach.
A native of Port Alberni, British Columbia, Hiller spent 11 seasons coaching junior hockey, including stints with the WHL’s Tri-City Americans and several teams in the British Columbia Hockey League, before moving to the NHL ranks.
“I’m incredibly excited for the opportunity to return to Toronto and lead the Maple Leafs,” Hiller said in the release. “This is a special organization with great players, passionate fans and high expectations. I’m looking forward to getting to work with our players and staff and doing everything we can to help this team reach its full potential.”
The Leafs fired Berube on May 13 after two seasons, following a first-to-last turnaround this past season. After finishing atop the Atlantic Division in 2024-25 and making it to the second round of the playoffs, Toronto fell to last in the division and 28th in the NHL.
His firing came 10 days after Chayka was brought on board to replace Brad Treliving. Chayka called the Berube firing “an opportunity to start fresh,” and said the team would go through a wide-ranging search.
Along with making some new front-office additions, Chayka traded goaltender Joseph Woll and depth defenseman Simon Benoit to the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday for blue-liner Emil Andrae, goalie Samuel Ersson and a third-round pick at next week’s NHL draft.
Toronto owns the No. 1 pick in the draft, a first since taking Auston Matthews atop the 2016 draft.
___
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Player: Filip Hallander
Born: June 29, 2000 (25 years old)
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 203 pounds
Hometown: Sundsvall, Sweden
Shoots: Left
Draft: 58th overall (second round) in the 2018 NHL draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins
2025-26 Regular Season Statistics: 13 games played; one goal; three assists; four points
Contract Status: Entering second year of a two-year contract with a salary cap hit of $850,000. Pending unrestricted free agent in 2027.
Now back in the fold after two successful seasons with Timra IK, Hallander earned a spot on the opening night roster for the 2025-26 season under new head coach Dan Muse.
On Oct. 16, 2025, he scored his first NHL goal, a shorthanded game-winner over the Los Angeles Kings, some seven years after being drafted.
Hallander’s impressive October and 2025-26 season would come to a screeching halt after being diagnosed with a blood clot in his leg in November 2025. The diagnosis forced Hallander to miss several months, but he successfully progressed through his recovery enough to rejoin his teammates for practice by mid-February.
He was loaned to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on a conditioning assignment on Feb. 18.
In three games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Hallander recorded a lone goal, but was recalled from his conditioning assignment Feb. 27.
He did not appear in a game for the remainder of the season.
Hallander notched an assist on opening night in the 4-3 win over the New York Rangers, and three games later, recorded his first-career NHL goal against the Kings.
He’d go pointless after that game, but saw his ice time dramatically increase from 10:58 in a 5-3 win over the Florida Panthers on Oct. 23 to 16:09 the next game against the Blue Jackets.
He recorded assists in back-to-back games against the St. Louis Blues and the Philadelphia Flyers on Oct. 27 and Oct. 28, respectively.
Data via Natural Stat Trick. Ranking is out of 18 forwards on the team who qualified by playing a minimum of 150 minutes.
Corsi For%: 48.00 (16th)
Goals For%: 63.64 (1st)
xGF%: 49.13 (17th)
Scoring Chance %: 49.11 (13th)
High Danger Scoring Chance%: 57.33 (2nd)
5v5 on-ice shooting%: 9.21 (15th)
On-ice save%: 95.06 (1st)
Goals/60: 0
Assist/60: 1.18
Points/60: 1.18
Hallander barely qualifies for this data set, playing just over 152 minutes of ice time, the lowest of any eligible forward. The numbers are somewhat volatile and should be treated more as a snapshot of a few shifts than as a reliable assessment of his true performance this season.
The on-ice save percentage and goals for percentage almost certainly regress if Hallander logs more substantial ice time, and in that same breath, he probably generates a better Corsi for percentage, for example, than his 16th-ranked finish indicates.
Ultimately, Hallander showed encouraging flashes as a defensively responsible depth forward. The question is whether he can translate that effectiveness over 700-900 minutes, where the luck factors disappear, and his true impact becomes clearer.
What is Hallander’s health status heading into next season? Will he have to earn another role within Pittsburgh’s bottom-six? What does Dan Muse make of a soon-to-be 26-year-old with just 16 NHL games under his belt?
Hallander is still under contract for the 2026-27 season, and players like Noel Acciari, Kevin Hayes, and Anthony Mantha are more likely than not to depart the organization, creating a few openings for the remaining forwards.
Still just 25, Hallander may yet have some untapped bottom-six potential, but his long-term outlook and health status remain in question. While injuries are unpredictable, durability remains just as much of a desired trait as goalscoring.
Some flashes of a decent NHL player were there early on, before injury derailed his season. If he can stay healthy, Hallander could offer cheap, effective bottom-six depth for a Penguins team that is once again primed for a bit of a facelift this offseason with cap space at Kyle Dubas’ disposal to go big-game hunting.
Some may view a “C” grade as too generous, but considering his solid October, I am going to grade him based on what he offered when he was in the lineup.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are turning to former Los Angeles Kings coach Jim Hiller to get them back to the playoffs after the end of their nine-year streak.
Hiller, 57, replaces Craig Berube, who was fired after two seasons.
Hiller was fired by the Kings in March but is familiar with the Maple Leafs organization, serving as an assistant coach from 2015-19, making the playoffs three times in that four-year span.
He had a 93-58-24 record in the regular season with the Kings, including tying a franchise record for wins and points, but he lost in the first round in his two trips to the playoffs.
“Jim is an experienced coach with a strong understanding of what it takes to win in today's NHL,” general manager John Chayka said. “He has worked with successful teams throughout his career, connects well with players and brings a clear approach behind the bench. We believe he's the right person to lead our team and help us reach our goals.”
This is a crucial year for the Maple Leafs. They missed the playoffs for the first time since 2016. But they landed the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 draft by winning the draft lottery.
They are expected to take Gavin McKenna with that pick, and Hiller would be his first NHL coach.
“I’m incredibly excited for the opportunity to return to Toronto and lead the Maple Leafs,” Hiller said. “This is a special organization with great players, passionate fans and high expectations. I’m looking forward to getting to work with our players and staff and doing everything we can to help this team reach its full potential.”
Before becoming the Kings' head coach, he had been an assistant coach with the Detroit Red Wings, Maple Leafs and Kings. He was interim coach or head coach of the Kings for 175 regular-season games. He began his coaching career in junior hockey in the Western Hockey League.
He was promoted to interim coach in February 2024 after the Kings fired Todd McLellan. He got the Kings to the playoffs, where they lost to the Edmonton Oilers in the first round.
The Kings removed the interim title and he led the team to a franchise-record-tying 48 wins and 105 points. They faced the Oilers in the first round for the fourth time in four years and lost for the fourth time, despite taking a 2-0 series lead.
They led in Game 3 when Evander Kane scored to tie the game. The on-ice officials initially ruled he kicked in the puck but a review overturned that. Then Hiller challenged for goaltender interference and lost, giving the Oilers a power play. Evan Bouchard scored 10 seconds later for a 5-4 lead and eventual 7-4 victory.
"We felt like it was goalie interference, so we challenged it," Hiller told reporters after that game. "Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose on those and tonight (we) lost and it cost us big time. No other way around it."
The Kings' collapse cost general manager Rob Blake his job, but new GM Ken Holland kept on Hiller.
"Jim Hiller did a fabulous job in leading the team to 105 points," Holland said. "They were good defensively. They were good on special teams. The team played hard. ... He'll be a better coach next year for the experience he went through this year."
Holland fired Hiller and naned D,J, Smith interim coach on March 1. The Kings had a five-game losing streak around the Olympic break, including an 8-1 loss to the Oilers.
The Vancouver Canucks hired Manny Malhotra on June 1.
The Kings hired Peter Laviolette on June 8.
The Oilers are looking for a coach after firing Kris Knoblauch.
The Vegas Golden Knights are looking for a coach after saying John Tortorella isn't returning.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Maple Leafs hire Jim Hiller as head coach