Winnipeg Jets officially welcome Jonathan Toews to team
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Boston Globe
21 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
After underwhelming free agent kickoff for Bruins, a reminder of how little we know in the summertime
Advertisement Granted, we've been fed similar plot lines before. Sometimes with bigger names in the cast, and too often with failing results. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Thirty years ago, Harry Sinden's summer trade for Kevin Stevens was going to set the course for a Stanley Cup parade as the Bruins prepared to move into Jeremy Jacobs's state-of-the-art $160 million arena on Causeway Street. Whoops. During Sweeney's 10-year tenure, a big swing on Matt Beleskey in 2015, followed a year later by a bigger swing on David Backes , were painful whiffs. They didn't bring the advertised grit. Adding to the agony, both eventually were unloaded at the cost of first-round picks. What revoltin' developments. On the plus side, the 2006 purchases of Zdeno Chara and Marc Savard , engineered by incoming GM Peter Chiarelli , stand as the twin stakes that anchored and raised the circus tent in the old West End. Big Z, fittingly, just was handed his ticket Advertisement For those who might have forgotten, the Chara-Savard hires came nearly a decade after top-of-the-chart draft picks Joe Thornton and Sergei Samsonov were conscripted as twin franchise revivalists. Beware the ides of even the best-intentioned 18-year-olds. All that should serve as sufficient proof there just ain't no knowing how these things go. Tuesday's long list of additions, led by Michael Eyssimont , and the returning Sean Kuraly , didn't light up the phone lines at the ticket sales office. Same as two years earlier, when young forward Morgan 'Who He?' Geekie led the incoming class. Geekie, fresh off a career-best 33-goal season, Exhibit 'A' in 'there just ain't no knowing,' especially in a multi-billion-dollar sports industry that traces its genesis back to frozen horse droppings smacked across outdoor ice sheets dotted with cracks, heaves, and embedded cattails. We have to be open to possibilities. Why will this Bruins team be different than the sad sack lot of last season that went 33-39-10? Beyond the dramatic change in personnel, including those who came aboard at the March trade deadline, it could fall flat again. I doubt that. There's enough talent on the roster, including core players and added parts, to accumulate 90 points (.550 hockey) and pick off a wild-card spot in the East. There isn't enough to think about Advertisement If it fails for a second year in a row, it will point more to the names at the top end of the lineup, and in turn point to Sweeney, than it will to the collection of characters just added. Other than David Pastrnak , Sweeney built the rest of the core, which encompasses Geekie, No. 1 netminder Jeremy Swayman , top defenseman Charlie McAvoy , centers Elias Lindholm and Pavel Zacha , and blue liners Hampus Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov . Those eight, all but Pastrnak here by Sweeney's hand, ultimately define the franchise and will determine where it goes from here. It's always on the best players to be the best players, just as it has to be on the best GMs to be the best GMs. Under fire like he's never been here, Sweeney has to prove he is one of those, able to make hay with something other than a lineup he inherited that included Tuukka Rask , David Krejci , Patrice Bergeron , Brad Marchand , Chara, et al. What we should see in 2025-26 is a better, sharper, more confident Swayman. We should see a rested and fully healthy Hampus Lindholm and McAvoy. In Elias Lindholm, limited by a back injury much of last season, we should see someone who can produce in the 60-65 point range. Frankly, if we don't, none of the rest of it might matter. If Lindholm is on as a No. 1 center, wingers Pastrnak and Geekie again could combine to finish in the 75-80 goal range. Advertisement Most of Sweeney's moves on Tuesday were about moxie — specifically Jeannot, Eyssimont, and Kuraly. The only two with that in their game consistently last season were Zadorov (too much at times) and Mark Kastelic ( Sturm will have to figure out the best combinations, but with personnel on hand, he has the tools to put at least one of his 'attitude' guys into virtually every five–on-five shift. Time and score will play a large part in if that's what he wants, or whether it's needed, but such edge and nastiness is something that has been lacking since Chara's departure in 2020. That's not the sole reason the Bruins have won but two playoff rounds since then, but it had to be addressed and it took too long to realize it. Any hour now, the NHL will release its schedule. The cycle begins anew in about 12 weeks. Rest up and ease off the panic button, at least until Thanksgiving. PLUGGED IN? Arvidsson himself couldn't power up If Viktor Arvidsson proves to be the emergency defibrillator unit that restores a pulse to the flatlined power play, he'll be worth his full $4 million against the cap. The bedraggled B's finished a lowly 29th when man-up, cashing in only 15.2 percent of the time. At times, one had to wonder if they were trying not to score on the advantage. The Oilers were betting on seeing some PP production from Arvidsson when they signed him last summer, and often paired the sturdy winger with the big-scoring Leon Draisaitl . The pop never materialized. Arvidsson finished with only 27 points, and a paltry 1-2—3 on the advantage. Advertisement 'A lot of factors played into it, I think,' said the skilled Swedish winger. 'I'm as responsible [for it] as everybody else was ... I just have to look at myself as a person and a player. I truly believe that — and that's what I'm going to do.' In 2022-23, his best of three seasons with the Kings, Arvidsson posted the best PP numbers of his career. He knocked home 10 goals and assisted on 15 others. (Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin likewise had 25 power-play points that season.) High man on the power play for the Bruins in 2024-25 was, no surprise, David Pastrnak , just a shade below Arvidsson's best at 9-14—23. They'll both be working here under the watch of Marco Sturm , who was in LA as an assistant for Arvidsson's first season with the Crown. Sturm's key duty was overseeing the power play. 'I think it was a lot of communication between him and the players, how we were going to make it better, how we were going to be successful,' noted Arvidsson. 'It wasn't just X's and O's. It was trying to always and every day improve it, having a big bank of plays, situational plays that were effective. He played the game and he knows what it's all about.' Arvidsson started out in the bumper (a.k.a. The Bergy) position, then moved to net front or finding shooting/passing options from down low, along the goal line, and bottom of the circle. Advertisement 'Had good success there,' he said. 'Wherever I get put, I'll try to bring success ... take it as it comes, I think.' The near-total dysfunction of the Bruins power play last season began, noted Don Sweeney , with poor/failed entries into the attack zone. 'You can't just hope [your] guy's going to make a high-end play on every situation,' he said. 'You have to be connected. I think that's going to be one of the biggest things that we're going to try to refocus on.' Also, if the penalty kill has muted or stifled Pastrnak, who is typically ready to pull the trigger in or around the left circle, then the unit has to look for opportunity on the other side of the zone. Too often last season, that other side turned into dead man's land, particularly when the puck was shoveled to the point. 'When the puck comes up top,' reminded Sweeney, 'it's supposed to go to the net because that's what they're giving you.' Nothing novel in that, of course, but that's the message Sturm will need to drive home off the hop with No. 1 point option McAvoy, who has yet to evince a willingness to fire. Alternatively, Mason Lohrei loves to shoot, though Sturm will have to be convinced the rawboned 24-year-old can handle the overall task — including the ability to flip to defense if the puck goes the other way. Returnee Henri Jokiharju might present a point option, though he rarely has filled that role (1-6–7 lifetime). 'The funny part about it was,' Sweeney said, 'they were top 15 [on the] power play the year before — four out of the five guys. But other teams made adjustments and they didn't do a good enough job. They're more than capable. We just have to do a better job being connected and executing what we're supposed to do.' FOURTH CELEBRATION Kuraly's signing is reconnection Until Tuesday's move to bring back Sean Kuraly as a free agent (two years/$1.8 million AAV), Charlie McAvoy and David Pastrnak were the only roster holdovers from the band of brothers that made it to Game 7 of the Brad Marchand was the last of the Meanwhile, maestro, please strike up a rendition of 'As Time Goes By.' The Blues finished the season with eight members of the '19 Cup winner still on their roster: goalie Jordan Binnington ; defenseman Colton Parayko ; and forwards Tyler Bozak , Jordan Kyrou , Brayden Schenn , Alexander Steen , Oskar Sundqvist , and Robert Thomas . Other than free agents Bozak and Steen, the others have deals in place and are expected to be back wearing Kuraly's most effective fit here was the 2017-18 season, when Bruce Cassidy had him in the middle of the No. 4 'Trench Connection Line' flanked by Tim Schaller and Noel Acciari . He left as a free agent in the summer of '21, his hometown Blue Jackets filching him away with a four-year, $2.5-million AAV deal. 'It was an effective line,' said Kuraly, speaking with Boston media on Wednesday. 'For me, I learned how I could be effective in this league and I was lucky to be able to have done something like that so early in my career, to be able to show how to be effective with my skill set. Hopefully that's something we can do again to be successful.' Schaller, ex of Providence College, left here in the summer of '18, signed for two years by the Canucks. A year later, Acciari was gone, too, scooped up by the Panthers only a couple of weeks after the '19 Cup Final. Kuraly said he stays in touch with both former linemates via text, along with Joakim Nordstrom , who paired up with Kuraly and Acciari upon Schaller's departure. Schaller, 34, played in only 100 more NHL games after leaving and exited after spending 2022-23 with AHL Milwaukee. He grew up in Merrimack, N.H., and last summer became an assistant coach with the men's hockey team at Acciari, also a former Friar, will begin his third season with the Penguins in the fall. ETC. Hitmaking is no simple task The Bruins got themselves a certified crash-and-bang agent Tuesday with their free agent acquisition of Tanner Jeannot for five years ($3.4 million AAV). A proud son of Estevan, Saskatchewan, where the local Bruins have been a proud junior franchise since the '50s, Jeannot bodyslammed his way to the NHL after being overlooked in both the WHL and NHL drafts. 'I knew I had to stand out in some way,' said Jeannot, recalling how he made WHL Moose Jaw via an invite and eventually turned pro as free agent with Nashville's AHL affiliate in Milwaukee. 'So I went through the minors that way and just kind of continued to build my game.' A full-time NHLer since the start of 2021-22, Jeannot the last four seasons registered 1,030 hits. That's fourth in the league among forwards, trailing only ex-Bruin Garnet Hathaway (1,101), Keegan Kolesar (1,039), and (1,034). Pretty good company, and it helps explain why the Bruins were willing to tie up the 28-year-old for his prime hitting years. The top Bruins hitter over that four-year stretch was Trent Frederic (583), though last season Nikita Zadorov (219) and Mark Kastelic (218) brought some consistent thump to the lineup. On average, Jeannot delivers more than 3½ smacks per game. Hitting often can look like just a combination of energy and mayhem, but there is an art to the craft. 'Anybody can just go out there and hit everything, and you'll get a lot of hits,' explained Jeannot, speaking midweek from his Okanagan offseason home in Kelowna, British Columbia. 'But you want to be able to play the game as well. That's what I like to try to do.' Jeannot noted that it can be an advantage to use the hitting game to get in the other club's collective head. Have the opposition think, 'Wow, they're really coming.' 'It's definitely an investment to do it not only in games,' he added, 'but throughout the season … hits that the other guy doesn't want to be hit that way. I try to bring that presence.' Loose pucks Tomas Nosek , an effective and well-liked fourth-liner in his two seasons as a Bruin, signed another one-year deal Tuesday with the Cup-winning Panthers. It's the same $775K minimum as a year ago in Sunrise, but more comfortable on the wallet with the Czech pivot's name going on the Cup. Never drafted, Nosek turned pro out of Pardubice (the world's gingerbread capital) with AHL Grand Rapids in 2014 and has played 493 NHL regular-season games. He'll be 33 when he reports to camp in September with career earnings just north of $12 million ... The Providence WannaB's on Wednesday signed ex-UMass blue liner Colin Felix to a one-year AHL deal. Felix, 26, played four years on the Minutemen blue line and spent his first two pro seasons in the ECHL. Felix played last season for the Blackhawks' AHL affiliate in Rockford, often in front of Arvid Söderblom , which could leave Commesso and Spencer Knight (BC) in a Hockey East job share come September. Knight landed with the Blackhawks in March when Florida GM Bill Zito packaged him with a Round 1 pick (2026) for veteran defenseman Seth Jones — now also with his name on the Cup for the first time, 860 games after being the No. 4 pick in the 2013 draft. Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at
Fox News
27 minutes ago
- Fox News
ESPN analyst slammed for saying Fever is 'more dangerous' without Caitlin Clark amid injury absence
Amid Caitlin Clark's extended injury absence from the Indiana Fever, at least one media pundit has suggested the team is better without the superstar. ESPN's Carolyn Peck said on the network on Thursday that Indiana is a "more dangerous" team without Clark on the floor. "I think that Indiana is even more dangerous when Caitlin Clark doesn't play, because she's a ball-dominant guard," she said. "The ball's in her hands a lot, so you know what you need to try to take away. But when you look at Indiana now, they've got so many weapons." Peck gave specific praise to Fever players Kelsey Mitchell, Aari McDonald and Aliyah Boston. Peck did not appear to give praise to Fever stars Sophie Cunningham or Lexie Hull. "When you have a point guard like Kelsey Mitchell, and Aari McDonald making plays on the perimeter, and a post like Aliyah Boston, I'm gonna tell you: Indiana, they are a threat. And it's specifically on the defensive end," Peck said. Peck's comments went viral on social media, inciting the wrath of Clark's loyal supporters. Barstool founder Dave Portnoy reposted the clip of Peck's comments on X, writing, "I knew this was gonna happen." The popular sports commentary X account "BricksCenter" also shared the clip, writing, "Their hatred toward CC needs to be studied." Hundreds of smaller accounts made their criticisms of Peck's analysis known. "ESPN would be a lot more 'dangerous' without Carolyn Peck," one user wrote. Another user wrote, "All of Peck's takes on CC last year ended being wrong and I don't expect anything different from this season." One user even went so far as to say, "ESPN analyst Carolyn Peck is a hater and a fool." Peck was the women's basketball head coach at Purdue when current Fever head coach Stephanie White was a player there. Together, they won the NCAA title in 1999. Clark has missed the team's last four games with a groin injury and will miss a fifth on Saturday against the LA Sparks. She previously missed five games with a quad injury. With Clark, Indiana is 5–4, averaging an 85.0 offensive rating. Without Clark, the team is 5–4 with an average 80.2 offensive rating. In games she has played, Clark is averaging 18.2 points, 8.9 assists and 5.9 turnovers. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Former Canadiens Player Signs With Colorado
Former Canadiens Player Signs With Colorado In July 2024, Montmagny, PQ native Alex Barre-Boulet signed a one-year, one-way contract with the Montreal Canadiens. With 68 NHL games under his belt, the 28-year-old left-shot center was hoping to be able to make the team in October. He made the opening night roster, played the first two games, but was kept off the scoreboard and was swiftly waived and assigned to the Laval Rocket when he went unclaimed. 2:52 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing
