PITTSBURGH — The scuffling Philadelphia Phillies suffered a blow Saturday when they placed first baseman Bryce Harper on the 10-day injured list because of right wrist inflammation before their game against the Pirates.
Harper sat out Friday night’s 5-4 loss to Pittsburgh. The move is retroactive to Friday.
The two-time National League MVP and eight-time All-Star is hitting .258 with nine home runs, 34 RBIs and eight stolen bases in 57 games. He missed five games from May 26 to June 2 with a bruised right elbow after being hit by a pitch from Atlanta’s Spencer Strider.
“It’s been long enough,” Harper said when asked how long his wrist has been bothering him. “It’s got to the point where I can’t really function on a baseball field or anything like that. So, it’s a good time for me to take some time and get it right.”
Harper said he felt pain in the wrist during a large portion of last season, when he hit 30 homers while helping the Phillies win the NL East.
“It’s gotten progressively worse (this season),” Harper said. “I felt it early in the season, and I tried to play through it as long as I could.”
The Phillies do not have a timetable for when Harper might be able to return.
“I’m hoping it’s close to 10 days, but I really don’t know,” manager Rob Thomson said.
The Phillies are expected to play third baseman Alec Bohm at first while Harper is out, with utility player Edmundo Sosa taking over at third.
The Phillies have lost seven of their last eight games, going from leading the NL East by two games to trailing the New York Mets by 2 1/2 games entering Saturday. Philadelphia had won 11 of 12 games before the skid.
Infielder/outfielder Otto Kemp’s contract was purchased from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The 25-year-old, who has yet to play in the majors, was hitting .317 with 14 homers, 55 RBIs and 11 steals in 57 games at Triple-A.
Kemp was the International Player of the Month in April. The right-handed hitter was set to start at third base on Saturday against left-hander Andrew Heaney.
The Phillies also recalled right-hander Daniel Robert from Lehigh Valley and optioned righty Alan Rangel. Rangel, 27, made his major league debut Friday night, allowing two runs in three innings of relief.
This will be Robert’s third stint of the season with the Phillies. The 30-year-old has given up one run in two-thirds of an inning over two games.
The Chicago Blackhawks haven’t played in close to two months, but a handful of former players are participating in the Stanley Cup Final. It’s always interesting to see guys move on and have success elsewhere for the sake of their careers.
Ahead of the trade deadline this season, Chicago sent Seth Jones to the Florida Panthers in a massive deal for both franchises. Jones has been great for them in the playoffs, including game two, where he played a huge role.
In addition to his role as a shutdown player - it’s impossible to completely contain Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl - Jones contributed on offense in a big way. In what turned out to be a 5-4 overtime win, Jones had one goal and one assist. Plus-minus isn't always a wonderful indicator of how a player performed, but Jones was +3 against this lethal Edmonton offense.
For the game to reach overtime, former Blackhawk forward Corey Perry scored with just over 17 seconds left in regulation to force the fourth period. At 40 years old, Perry has 8 goals in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Another former Hawk worth noting is Gustav Forsling, who put on a masterclass defensively. His name doesn’t appear on the scoresheet, but Florida doesn’t win without his contributions.
“If you skate that well as a young man, you're put into offensive situations, you become a power play guy," Florida head coach Paul Maurice said. "But he has taken that skill and applied it to the defensive side of the game."
As mentioned before, Edmonton’s superstars rarely get completely shut down. However, Forsling was key in keeping them in check just enough to win the game. Getting his stick in the way on multiple opportunities set up by Edmonton was huge in the win. After a tough Game One, Forsling needed to bounce back in Game 2. Based on the difficulty level of the opponent, he can say he did that.
All of these former Blackhawks made Game 2 one of the best games you’ll see in the NHL ever. To say that players who once donned the Blackhawks sweater were influential in the outcome would be an understatement.
Each of the first two games has gone to overtime, and each ended with a legend scoring the winner. Leon Draisaitl and Brad Marchand have the series knotted up at one win apiece.
Game 3 will take place on Monday evening as the series will shift to Sunrise, Florida.
In the wake of the early exits by the Maple Leafs, once again, speculation is rampant about Mitch Marner's future. The 27-year-old winger, who was once thought to be a franchise pillar, will see out the final season of his deal with a $10.9 million cap hit and an absolute no-movement clause.
While he hasn't requested a trade, it's time to begin penning the discussions after nearly a decade of playoff underachievement for the Leafs' core. It would be smart for the Maple Leafs to explore trades because if you're the GM of the Leafs, you don’t want to lose Marner for nothing come July 1st.
Several teams will be interested in trading for Marner or signing him outright. Potential teams could be the Los Angeles Kings, the Vegas Golden Knights, and the Dallas Stars.
This is where the Los Angeles Kings come in as a fit that could take them to the next level.
A Natural Fit in L.A.
With new general manager Ken Holland now calling the shots and over $21 million in projected cap room, the Kings are primed to make a franchise-altering move this offseason.
A Marner trade wouldn't be about skill entirely—it would address one of the team's most significant issues head-on: consistent top-line scoring and playmaking aside from Anze Kopitar and Kevin Fiala.
We saw in the playoffs once again how the Kings were unable to dethrone the Oilers for a fourth straight year, even with home-ice advantage; they still lost in the first round. The same history repeated with the Maple Leafs who once again couldn’t get over the hump of reaching the eastern conference finals.
Both teams have had early exits in the playoffs over the last 8 years or so, and have played at a lesser version of what was expected of them come playoff time.
Although the Kings' foundation is solid, particularly on defense and in goal, there's an apparent need for another top-notch playmaker to go along with Fiala's vision and Phillip Danault's two-way play.
The Kings need another right wing to fill their depth chart alongside Quinton Byfield and Adrian Kempe. Byfield didn’t have the best series against the Oilers, while Kempe had great moments, but it wasn’t enough to win.
But someone like Marner, who accumulated 102 points last season and plays tough minutes on the power play and penalty kill, aligns with the Kings' identity of speed, structure, and defensive responsibility.
Imagine a Fiala, Danault, and Marner line—or even a power-play combination of Drew Doughty, Marner, Fiala, and Quinton Byfield. It could give L.A.'s struggling offense a boost.
— NHL Trade Rumors (@nhltraderumours) May 24, 2025
What Would a Trade Cost?
If the Maple Leafs decide to trade Marner before he becomes a free agent on July 1st, the deal would cost assets, future draft picks, and cap space.
The Kings could be asked to trade at least one of their players from their young core or rising stars (look at Brandt Clarke or Quinton Byfield), a first-round draft choice, and perhaps a player such as Kevin Fiala or Trevor Moore to balance out salaries.
But, again, this is all hypothetical because a trade might not be necessary unless the Maple Leafs want to get something in return rather than letting Marner walk. Again, there will be several teams that will have a better and more enticing offer that fits with what the Maple Leafs are looking for.
Why It Makes Sense—For Both Sides
For the Maple Leafs, trading Marner would provide cap relief and the ability to retool their roster, which is currently top-heavy. For the Kings, it would bring new offense to a core that has now shown up for four straight playoff runs without a series win.
And again, Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving said a few weeks ago after another early exit in the Stanley Cup playoffs that changes will come in the offseason, and the first significant change could be to find Marner a new home.
Bottom Line: If Mitch Marner becomes a possibility, the Kings should be highly in the running. He's the kind of elite-level forward who might put them over the top—and bring playoff success to Los Angeles for the first time in history.
SAN FRANCISCO – Bob Melvin, without knowing it at the time, manifested what was to come from the Giants in their second game of a three-game set against the Atlanta Braves on Saturday.
While speaking with reporters in the dugout at Oracle Park two hours before first pitch, Melvin discussed how the past few games have come down to the wire for the Giants, both positively and negatively.
“It feels more dramatic because all of our games seem like they end on the last pitch of the game,” Melvin said.
A couple hours later, the game ended on … wait for it … the last pitch of the game.
Matt Chapman played hero after Heliot Ramos singled in the bottom of the ninth down one run, as the Giants third baseman walked it off in the bottom of the ninth to secure the comeback 3-2 win over Atlanta.
“Look, that’s why you keep playing. You keep fighting,” Melvin said postgame. “You get a guy on and all of a sudden you get a chance. One swing can do it, so you just keep battling to the end. We’ve seen it many times. What is that, our eighth walk-off? So we’re used to these kinds of games.
“It seems like as many as we’ve had like this, we’re battle-tested all the way to the end until that last out. We have a chance. This was obviously a sign of that.”
About 17 hours prior to Chapman’s walk-off, the Giants defeated the Braves 5-4 on a wild pitch walk-off in extra innings.
Saturday was San Francisco’s eighth walk-off this season, which leads all of MLB.
The down-to-the-final-pitch games haven’t always benefited the Giants, though, as most recently as Tuesday’s extra-innings loss to the San Diego Padres, San Francisco closer Camilo Doval, needing just one out to win the game, blew a save opportunity as San Diego won in the 10th.
But the Giants were on the right side of history Saturday, even if it comes with physical and mental pain.
“Torture. It’s torture baseball here,” Giants ace Logan Webb (6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 10 K) said postgame. “But that’s just the way we like it. We play a lot of close games, especially in this ballpark. We played great defense again today. And we’re going to try to come up with a big hit when we need to.
“ … It’s exciting. We just got to keep it going. We talked about my last [outing], asked me if this was a low point, it’s ebs and flows. You just got to keep going.”
After Webb’s last outing Monday against the Padres, an eight-inning shutout gem that received no run support amidst an offensive slump for the Giants, Webb was asked where the vibes ranked amongst other low points in his career.
Webb quickly corrected the reporter, stating it wasn’t a low point but rather just part of what comes with a 162-game season. He also was confident the guys were going to be able to turn things around, and to a certain degree, he was right.
San Francisco dropped the next game the following night, but hasn’t lost since. Saturday’s win extended the Giants’ win streak to four.
That also coincides with a flurry of drastic roster moves made by the organization on Wednesday, which included designating first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr., something the team isn’t shy to admit has led to a different vibe in the clubhouse.
“We get a little different flavor in here, and to this point, it’s worked,” Melvin said.
The Giants don’t want to get too ahead of themselves, and they won’t. While they’ll take any win any way they can, they understand the issue that still lies. And while a one-run win is still a win, they hope to reach a point where they can create a little more space.
“I wouldn’t love to play them [close games] every single day,” Chapman said. “It’s going to serve us because we know how to play those games, we know what it takes to come out on top when the pressure is on and you got to make a play. Everything’s heightened in those moments, so I think it’s good for us to get that experience.
“But it seems like we’ve played for three weeks straight, one-run games every single day. Everyone would prefer to probably score some more runs. But it’s nice that we’re coming out on top.”
The Giants improved to 37-28, just a half-game behind the Padres and 1.0 games back of the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers.
They head into Sunday’s series finale against the Braves with a guaranteed win before heading to Colorado to face the worst team in baseball in the Rockies.
They still have confidence the offense will reach a consistent groove, but for now, the Comeback Kids will continue to live up to their name.
“It says a lot,” Chapman said when asked what another walk-off win says about the team’s fight. “That’s kind of how we were playing at the beginning of the year when we were really rolling. It’s good that we can get back to doing it. I think it could’ve been very easy for us to roll over after losing the first two games to the Padres, being down 5-0, but we came back, rattled off a few wins in a row.
“So it just shows this team’s not going to quit. And that’s going to serve us going forward.”
While teams from New York to Los Angeles and everywhere in between — as well as north into Canada — have mapped out their strategies for a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade market, those plans increasingly look like they will be DOA.
The Antetokounmpo trade market is very quiet and teams are increasingly coming to the idea he is not going to hit the open market, something Jake Fischer talked about at Bleacher Report:
"Around the combine two weeks ago, two and a half weeks ago, there was no shortage of optimism, of hope, of excitement from other teams that they were going to be able to potentially make an offer to get Giannis Antetokounmpo into their franchise, into their building. Of late, I'd say that that confidence has been replaced with skepticism. To a man, from talking to agents, team executives, whoever, there is not a lot of belief right now at this juncture... the expectation is that they're going to believe it when they see it — that someone who has valued being the franchise face, that the central linchpin of the Bucks franchise, is going to want to play somewhere else."
One league source echoed that, telling NBC Sports that his team was in "wait and see" mode. Fischer said that whatever decision Antetokounmpo and the Bucks make, it will likely be made close to the draft.
Another possibility is that there will be no bidding war, that Antetokounmpo will inform the Bucks that they can only trade him to one or two teams. If a fair deal is not found, then it will end there, and he will stay in Milwaukee.
The decision to stay or go ultimately falls to Antetokounmpo, who loves Milwaukee, his family is happy there, and he cherishes the idea of being a one-team player for his entire career, but also realizes that in the wake of Damian Lillard's Achilles injury the Bucks are not going to contend for a title next season. He has to decide what matters most to him at this stage of his career.
The other challenge Antetokounmpo faces is that the grass is not always greener elsewhere. He could be traded to a team such as Houston or San Antonio and make them instant title contenders, but would then moved to a stacked Western Conference with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the 68-win Thunder, Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets, Antony Edwards and the Timberwolves, LeBron James and Luka Doncic with the Lakers, Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler with the Warriors, and on down the line. Even with Antetokounmpo, it would be tough to reach the Finals out of the West. He could demand to stay in the East, but with what the Bucks will ask in return, a trade to any team in that conference — New York, Toronto, Miami, Cleveland, wherever — strips that roster so far down of talent that he is in the same situation he is in Milwaukee (a top-three MVP season got the Bucks the five seed and a first-round playoff exit).
Whatever decision is coming, don't expect it to come anytime soon.
Gauff claimed her first Roland Garros title, her second Grand Slam to deny the world No 1 in an epic three sets
The roof is open and the wind is blowing in, which adds a variable. It could get a bit swirly.
Via the BBC, plucky Brit news:
Teenager Hannah Klugman was unable to become the first Briton in almost 50 years to win a French Open juniors title after losing in the girls’ singles final.
The 16-year-old, competing in her first junior Grand Slam singles final, was beaten 6-2 6-0 by Austria’s Lilli Tagger.
The NHL Draft Lottery was held on May 5, and it was determined that the Anaheim Ducks would hold the tenth overall selection in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, dropping two spots after holding the eighth-highest odds to win the lottery.
This will mark the Ducks' seventh consecutive year drafting in the top ten. Ownership and the front office have a public mandate to make the playoffs in 2025-26 and put an end to the third-longest active playoff drought in the NHL.
With one of the deepest and most potent cores of young players in the league, having taken a significant step in the standings in 2024-25, and holding the third-most available cap space in the NHL, the idea of Anaheim trading the tenth overall pick, whether on its own or as part of a package, in exchange for a proven impact player is something often speculated, validly so and especially in a draft where the caliber of player potentially available at ten may not reach that of year’s past.
The drawback to that idea lies in the rarity of such trades. In the last 15 years, only six top ten picks have been traded in the days leading up to or at the NHL Draft:
2011
To CBJ: Jeff Carter
To PHI: 2011 eighth overall pick (Sean Couturier), 68th overall pick, Jakub Voracek
2012
To CAR: Jordan Staal
To PIT: 2012 eighth overall pick (Derrick Pouliot), Brian Dumoulin, Brandon Sutter
2013
To NJ: Corey Schneider
To VAN: 2013 ninth overall pick (Bo Horvat)
2017
To ARI: Derek Stepan, Antti Raanta
To NYR: 2017 seventh overall pick (Lias Andersson), Anthony DeAngelo
2021
To VAN: Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Conor Garland
To ARI: 2021 ninth overall pick (Dylan Guenther), Loui Eriksson, Jay Beagle, Antoine Roussel, 2022 second-round pick, 2023 seventh-round pick
When asked about his opinion on the infrequency of top ten picks being traded at the draft, Ducks assistant general manager and director of amateur scouting Martin Madden gave his thoughts.
“I just think that most staffs, most GMs, you see it coming throughout the season,” Madden said. “You work hard to assess those top-15 guys in the draft. You know them best.
You know what you like, you know what you want, and, as it gets closer, you don't want to let that go. I think that's why most of those picks are never traded.”
Top ten picks in any draft are franchise-altering pieces. If they hit, they typically have the talent to become a core piece with the capacity to stabilize a roster for the foreseeable future. If a team misses on a top ten pick, however, it can set them back in their climb toward contention significantly. As seen in the above examples and in countless others where top picks were traded a year or two in advance, the team trading the pick away usually comes away worse off.
A couple of NHL teams are projected to be closing in on the salary cap ceiling for the 2025-26 season, leading some to speculate on the availability of talented players on their rosters. The Colorado Avalanche are projected to have $1.2 million in cap space with 19 players under contract, and the Dallas Stars are projected to have $4.96 million with 16 under contract.
Speculation suggests Stars forward Jason Robertson and Avalanche forward Martin Necas could be made available, as their UFA years are on the ever-nearing horizon. If speculation turns to reality, those are the caliber of players teams would likely be willing to part with a top ten pick for.
Deals involving top ten draft picks have become scarce in the landscape of the NHL trade market. However, in the event that a young, potential core piece becomes available, a team like the Ducks may be a candidate to be persuaded into trading their highest pick in the upcoming draft. If such a trade is to occur, it will likely be finalized on the first day of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft or the day preceding it.
As expected, the Dallas Stars dismissed coach Peter DeBoer Friday morning, ending DeBoer’s time with the Stars after three seasons. DeBoer burned his bridge with star goalie Jake Oettinger in the Western Conference final, making it more likely that Dallas would part ways with the veteran bench boss.
However, longtime observers of the NHL’s coaching community know many coaches with resumes like DeBoer’s aren’t unemployed for very long. There are always teams that are impressed by someone with the pedigree that DeBoer possesses, and his next NHL coaching opportunity may come sooner rather than later.
Where could DeBoer wind up? Let’s look at three teams below and see if there’s a potential fit there.
1. Buffalo Sabres
The Sabres have missed the playoffs for 14 straight seasons, and while you can say many things about DeBoer’s coaching style, you can’t deny that he’s been able to guide teams into the post-season. Indeed, while DeBoer struggled to be a playoff coach in the early part of his NHL career, in nine of his past 10-and-a-half seasons coaching, he has led the Stars, Vegas Golden Knights and San Jose Sharks into the playoffs.
Sabres GM Kevyn Adams is under extraordinary pressure to end his team’s playoff-less streak, so while veteran Lindy Ruff will probably start the season as Buffalo’s coach, we can see a world in which the Sabres stumble out of the gate and turn to DeBoer to salvage their season. Buffalo’s underachieving core may test DeBoer’s patience, but if he were able to turn things around, Sabres fans would more than welcome him, warts and all.
DeBoer may quietly prefer to coach a team that’s a lock to make the playoffs, and that doesn’t describe Buffalo right now. But there are only 32 jobs in the NHL to choose from, and DeBoer might see the Sabres as his last, best chance to get it right. And hockey fans in Western New York would at least get the satisfaction of knowing DeBoer has a wealth of experience to draw from.
2. Nashville Predators
Like the Sabres, the Predators had a brutal 2024-25 season, failing to make the playoffs despite major additions including Jonathan Marchessault and Steven Stamkos. Preds GM Barry Trotz – himself an accomplished coach – can’t do both main management jobs, so giving Nashville’s reins to DeBoer would instill a sense of urgency to an organization that desperately needs it.
Because of the Predators’ subpar 2024-25 season, current Predators coach Andrew Brunette is on a short leash. Trotz is likely to make some notable roster changes this summer, but the pressure Nashville’s coach faces to get the team back into the playoffs is considerable. And Trotz may decide that DeBoer’s long shelf life as an NHL coach makes him a great fit with the Preds.
DeBoer can draw on his ability to squeeze strong play out of his teams to turn the Predators back into a reliable playoff team, and while a change behind the Preds’ bench may not happen until well into next season, DeBoer has the luxury of sitting back and waiting for an opportunity to fall into his lap. And that opportunity definitely could come in Music City.
3. Los Angeles Kings
The Kings have already had tumult since the Edmonton Oilers eliminated them in the first round of this year’s playoffs, parting ways with GM Rob Blake and replacing him with multi-time Stanley Cup-winner Ken Holland. So, right off the hop, you have to wonder if current Kings coach Jim Hiller’s job is in jeopardy. Holland undoubtedly wants his own coach running the Kings, and although Hiller has done well in the regular season, playoff success has eluded him.
DeBoer has experience coaching in California from his four-and-a-half years coaching the Sharks, including the only time he’s reached the Cup final, back in 2015-16. Holland may not want to hand over power to a young coach, because the Kings are a team trying to contend now while transitioning into a new era with their younger players.
The balance that’s needed in L.A. calls for someone who can add structure and instill confidence in their players, and his experience with Oettinger aside, DeBoer has the resume that GMs like Holland will be intrigued with.
The Kings are the longest shot in this group of three potential destinations for DeBoer. But DeBoer’s veteran know-how may ultimately be what makes him the right person for the job in Los Angeles. The Kings need someone who can get them out of the first round, and DeBoer has done exactly that with the Stars. So you have to think he’s a candidate to get the job in L.A. if it becomes available.
SAN FRANCISCO – Matt Chapman played hero with a walk-off home run to lift the Giants over the Atlanta Braves in a thrilling 3-2 win Saturday afternoon at Oracle Park.
Outside a fourth-inning Wilmer Flores homer, the Giants’ wobbly offense struggled through most of the game. And it appeared that another Logan Webb gem was going to be wasted.
But as we’ve seen so often with this team, it ain’t over until it’s over.
Saturday marked San Francisco’s eighth walk-off win of the 2025 MLB season season, which leads all of baseball.
The always consistent Webb was dominant through six innings, but outside of Flores, he received no run support from the Giants’ struggling offense once again.
Meanwhile, Braves righty Bryce Elder recorded a career-high 11 strikeouts against San Francisco.
The Giants improved to 37-28 on the season.
Here are the takeaways from the win:
Another Walk-Off Wonder
Just hours removed from a wild pitch walk-off win over the Braves in the series opener Friday night, the Giants did it again.
This time it was Chapman, who approached the plate 0-for-3 and with all eyes on him.
He took an 88-mph curveball 365 feet to left to seal the deal and pull out yet another one-run victory for the Giants.
The last time Webb toed the rubber, the Giants’ struggling offense wasted another one of his gems in a 1-0 loss to the San Diego Padres. He tossed eight shutout innings in that game, scattering six hits and breezing through one of baseball’s best lineups with seven strikeouts.
Five days later, it was another Webb masterclass. He had nine strikeouts through four innings, and his final line was: 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 10 K.
Webb also limited damage in a sixth-inning, bases-loaded jam with no outs and facing the middle of Atlanta’s order. The Braves scored just one run.
Down to the final at-bat, Chapman salvaged Webb’s outing.
Offense Struggles … Again
And just like that, the Giants were brought back down to earth. Sure, they found a way to get the victory and that’s what matters in the end, but it’s definitely not something that will get swept under the rug.
The Giants, coming off a wild walk-off win Friday night, seemed to have rejuvenated their slumping offense amid a three-game win streak.
But outside of Flores’ fourth-inning homer, the offense struggled again.
ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Blues coach Jim Montgomery finished fourth in voting for the Jack Adams Award, falling short of being in the top three and being a finalist.
First awarded in 1973-74, the Jack Adams Award is presented annually “to the coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team’s success.”
Montgomery finished with 38 points, including two first-place votes. Washington Capitals coach Spencer Carbery (464 points) won the award, followed by Scott Arniel of the Winnipeg Jets (249) and Martin St. Louis of the Montreal Canadiens (66).
Montgomery, who turns 56 on June 30, was hired by the Blues on Nov. 25 after Drew Bannister was fired and was 35-18-7 and helped fuel a turnaround that included a franchise-record 12-game winning streak that culminated in the Blues' first playoff appearance since 2021-22 before falling to the Presidents' Trophy-winning Jets in the first round in seven games.
Montgomery, who signed a five-year contract after being fired by the Boston Bruins on Nov. 19 despite coaching the Bruins to an NHL-record 65 wins in 2022-23, was an assistant coach with the Blues under Craig Berube for two seasons starting in 2020-21.
If Kent Hughes wants his Montreal Canadiens to become a perennial contender, there are a few key areas the general manager needs to address. At the top of the list is a second-line center, and not far behind is a right-shot defenseman. Unfortunately for Hughes, the organization has just lost another right-shot defenseman.
Gustav Lindstrom wasn’t a Canadiens’ draft pick; he was selected 38th overall at the 2017 NHL draft by the Detroit Red Wings and first joined the Habs before the 2023-24 season. In the second Jeff Petry trade. After just 18 games with the organization, he was claimed by the Anaheim Ducks on waivers.
The defenseman returned to the organization after being released from his professional tryout agreement with the Ducks, signing a one-year, two-way contract. In 42 games with the Laval Rocket this season, he put up 11 points and added another two in 13 playoff games.
The Swedish side Djugarden announced earlier this week that they had signed the blueliner to a 5-year deal. This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, as he found himself behind players much younger than him, such as David Reinbacher and Logan Mailloux. While no one likes to see assets leave an organization, Lindstrom wasn’t what the Canadiens needed and was unlikely to have a significant impact at the NHL level.
Hughes and Co. are not scrambling to find a replacement right now. Lindstrom might be the first of many veterans who decide to take their game elsewhere this Summer.
Photo credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images
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On the eve of training camp for the 2024-25 season, the Knicks spilled off perhaps their biggest shocker of the Leon Rose era, trading Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo and a first-round pick to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Karl-Anthony Towns. The logic was straightforward: Randle was in an expiring year and New York was desperately thin in the middle, and they addressed both by securing one of the greatest big man shooters of all time to space the floor for star Jalen Brunson.
There were also concerns with the acquisitions. Towns was a notoriously unreliable defender who made a single Conference Finals his whole career, and previous questions about his fit with head coach Tom Thibodeau and general toughness would surface, bringing him to a high-expectation environment in New York.
A hundred games later and Towns quieted many of those doubts, while entrenching others. He had a huge season statistically and in delivering in big moments, averaging 24.4 points and 12.8 rebounds on 52.6/42/82.9 splits and saving the Knicks with magical clutch moments in Game 3s against Detroit and Indiana.
He had a terrific defensive series being thrown into a switch-heavy scheme against Boston, and managed to anchor a Knicks defense that finished in the top half of the league. On the other hand, he often deviated from the team’s scheme, according to The Athletic, and got exposed in the Pacers matchup.
All this has led to another inflection point in this rollercoaster of a Knicks era, the first offseason post-Towns and Mikal Bridges trades, which Rose kicked off with a Molotov cocktail, relieving Thibodeau of his duties after five successful seasons. With absolutely nobody safe in this pursuit of a championship, should the Knicks keep Towns for another go around, or shop him in trades for bigger fish?
The Thibodeau firing implicitly suggested the team believes in this core, and that being able to fully maximize its talent can bring a long-awaited championship. There’s certainly a good amount of evidence for this, especially in Towns’ case.
Despite being a historically great shooter meant to supercharge the Knicks' offense, Towns had the lowest three-point attempt rate since his 2018-19 season. The fact that he knocked down 42 percent of these shots means a lot of points were left on the table here.
Part of this is emphasis from the coaching staff, some on the individual, plus how opposing defenses guarded him. It didn't take long for the league to start throwing wings at Towns and putting their rim protectors on Josh Hart, which the Knicks never aggressively adjusted to, even as their offensive numbers declined to middling levels as the season progressed and bottomed in the playoffs.
Seeing how they’d look in true five-out lineups, which is largely the point of trading for a player like Towns, would have been beneficial, but they were a rare appearance. This gives a lot of credence to the decision to move on from Thibodeau and give Towns another season.
His chemistry with Brunson looked to be developing, with a strong pick-and-roll and lots of fun options with Towns as the high-post initiator and the guard moving off-ball. However, this also dissipated as the season went on, whether due to opposing adjustments or regression to old habits from the players and head coach.
New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) drives the ball against Boston Celtics center Al Horford (42) in the second quarter during game two of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at TD Garden. / David Butler II-Imagn Images
Defensively, Towns looked his best when engaged in more aggressive schemes like switching or hard hedging, yet the Knicks consistently had him drop coverage throughout the regular season. They brought out adjustments in the playoffs that paid dividends, especially in the Celtics series, but one had to wonder where the reps were earlier and if more of them could have turned the tide in this last series.
That said, if he simply didn’t follow the team's gameplan and did his own thing as suggested in reporting following the loss, is that an issue that goes away with a new coach? If the Knicks don’t think so, a trade could be on the table, but the question is for whom?
Trading Towns for some kind of package of players and picks seems antithetical to the championship mission, even if it provides for a potential better fit. These are completely made up, but if the Knicks are moving Towns, it’s hard to imagine it being for the Lakers’ spare parts of Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent and Jarred Vanderbilt or Sacramento’s Domantas Sabonis and Keon Ellis.
No, the real big fish, at least the ones circulating trade rumors, are Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kevin Durant. Those are bona fide top-ten postseason superstars that you simply have to consider if the ultimate goal is winning a championship.
And consider them, they will. According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Knicks made a strong offer for Durant at the trade deadline, whether or not that included Towns is unknown.
Towns has a salary similar to Durant’s and Antetokounmpo’s, which makes him a natural swap candidate if the Knicks can fork over enough additional pieces to sweeten the offer. If these trades are on the table, New York will need to run the risk-reward, regardless of the coaching change.
Antetokounmpo should be a no-brainer, but Towns and the limited trove of picks and young players the Knicks have at their disposal may not be enough, barring a direct request in New York’s direction. Durant is trickier given his age, but also replaces Towns with more of a two-way threat that can fit in with less contortion defensively.
The Knicks can also pursue these two or other star names with packages that don’t include Towns. This would be the best of both worlds if they could somehow pull it off.
Ultimately, as ready as the Knicks are to make that next step, it seems far-fetched to expect Towns to be off the roster this summer. Despite taking much of the punishment after their Conference Finals defeat, Towns had a strong regular season and postseason campaign.
While he had his faults, there was plenty of blame to go around, and Thibodeau left plenty on the table for another coach to come in and take advantage of with Towns still on the roster.
Towns should be a “stay,” but with this league and this team, you just never know.
After the euphoria in Edmonton in the wake of their Game 1 victory, the City of Champions is picking itself up after a Game 2 defeat. They lost a double-overtime heartbreaker to the Florida Panthers, who tied up the series 1-1.
“We made some great plays, they capitalized on some plays where we could have been there,” Perry told reporters after the game. “One mistake and it gets magnified, and it did tonight.”
One of those great plays came from the mind (and stick) of Connor McDavid. He made a tremendous play on Leon Draisaitl’s powerplay goal that put everybody’s head into a tailspin.
The second period was another sore spot for the Oilers in Game 2, which isn’t surprising given that the Panthers were down 3-2 after the opening 20 minutes.
Perry discussed how the Panthers executed their strategy, a style that the Oilers can also employ.
“We talk about it all the time; you hem them in and roll the lines over, keep them tired,” Perry revealed. “That’s the way we play. They’re going to do it as well; they’re a great team.”
Perry shines in moments like these. His calm optimism mirrors that of McDavid and head coach Kris Knoblauch. He hasn’t lost sight of what the Cup Finals are – the two best teams going toe-to-toe until one bests the other.
“They’re a good team, like I keep saying,” Perry stated. “They’re going to push us to the max, and we’re going to push them to the max.”
Best on best is the name of the game. The Oilers were never going to sweep the Panthers in the Cup Final. But if the Cup Final from last year taught us anything, it’s to expect everything.
You win some, you lose some, that’s just hockey. Get a good night’s sleep and move on to the next game. The series is tied 1-1 heading back to Florida.
The Oilers got to this position by taking the regular season one game at a time. Perry has carried that mentality into the postseason. And the Oilers will get another crack at the can on Monday for Game 3.
“Yeah, it’s frustrating right now, but we are in the final for a reason.”
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PITTSBURGH — Bryce Harper has played 57 of the Phillies’ 63 games, feeling pain in his right wrist with nearly every swing he’s taken.
Harper was placed on the 10-day injured list Saturday with right wrist inflammation. It’s not the first time he’s experienced this. Last August, Harper revealed that he’d been playing through wrist pain for three months.
“It’s similar. It’s definitely similar,” he said Saturday from the visiting clubhouse at PNC Park.
The wrist pain went away during the offseason, Harper said, and he didn’t feel it again until early this season. It reached a level where he no longer thought it made sense to try to play through.
“It’s been long enough. It got to the point where I can’t really function on the baseball field or hit a baseball,” he said. “Just a good time for me to take some time and get it right. Felt it early in the season and tried to play through it as long as I could.”
The injury was initially caused by a wrist contusion, though it’s not clear when that took place. The pain has progressively worsened.
Harper is unsure whether he will be back on June 16 when first eligible to return. Manager Rob Thomson is hopeful. It will depend on how Harper’s wrist responds to treatment. He won’t be swinging for at least a few days.
“Just try to get through the treatment phase and see what I can do,” Harper said. “We’ve got to get it to calm down and get out there when I can.”
The wrist pain helps explain why Harper hasn’t performed up to his standard. He’s been a well-above-average everyday player this season, hitting .258 with an .814 OPS, but it hasn’t been MVP-caliber Bryce Harper.
“Every swing,” he said. “It’s tough. Obviously, I want to be out there. It’s frustrating. I never want to not be playing. It just wasn’t good for me to keep going out there. Didn’t want to get three, four, five weeks down the road and sit there.
“It was definitely a hard decision for me. I’ve played through pain in my career and did last year. I did it for most of this year but just don’t want to do it anymore.”
The timing isn’t ideal with the Phillies having lost seven of their last eight games. But the timing would have been worse if Harper had to miss games in September or October after playing through a wrist injury for five months.
“I don’t think getting hit in the elbow (last week) has helped it, just the drainage with all the fluid coming out,” he said. “Just try to get through it as best I can. It’s gonna take some time, obviously.”
The Phillies replaced Harper on the active roster by calling up prospect Otto Kemp, who has been on a tear all season at Triple A. Kemp was in the lineup right away Saturday, batting seventh and playing third base with Alec Bohm across the diamond at first.
