Latest news with #BrianLawton
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
The lesson the Carolina Hurricanes can teach the doubters of the Edmonton Oilers' Evan Bouchard
Maybe now the doubters will see the error of their ways and give up dumping all over Evan Bouchard. Although I will not hold my breath. In the most recent edition of his influential 32 Thoughts Podcast, Elliotte Friedman revealed that the Carolina Hurricanes were a factor in Bouchard's new four-year, $42m contract extension. There has concern for some time that an offer sheet could be lurking out there with Bouchard as a target. Even the super-smart Brian Lawton on Oilers Now! with Bob Stauffer had mused about the possibility, and suggested the club lock the blueliner up before another team took a shot at Bouchard. And in Friedman's piece, at least one National Hockey League team had signaled they were prepared to do just that, as Edmonton was apparently pitching a four-year, $38m deal: 'The Hurricanes made it very clear that they had a lot of cap room, as everybody knew, and they were going to use it', said Elliotte Friedman.. After describing Carolina's interest in Mitch Marner, Friedman then continued with this: 'Carolina did a lot of things that are now coming to the surface to show that they were willing to be aggressive. The reason Evan Bouchard's extension got done in Edmonton so quickly was because they threatened the Oilers with an offer sheet. And you know, we'll find out someday what the truth is there'. It is a moot point now, of course. Bouchard is all securely locked up for four years in Edmonton and there is now zero risk losing him. But the point that I want to make it that one of the elite teams in the NHL wanted Bouchard. Badly. In fact, it was to the point where they pursued him aggressively. And Carolina is not a franchise that historically, at least, is a big spender. But they were willing to do so with Bouchard. Hmmm… These are the same Hurricanes that have been either #1 or #2 in the Metropolitan Division for the past five years. They have the second-best PTS% in the league over the past five years than any team except the Colorado Avalanche. And in two of the past three years, the 'Canes have made it to the Conference Finals. Translation: Except that they have not yet won the Stanley Cup over that stretch, Carolina is an elite NHL franchise. And they wanted the guy that so many Oilers fans persist in wanting to fire into the sun or at the very least…shuffle off to another team. And look: I too get some of the frustration over Evan's defensive game. Is he the perfect player? No. Neither was Paul Coffey, now comfortably ensconced in the Hockey Hall of Fame. But Bouchard has taken that two-way performance to a much higher level in consecutive post-seasons, during deep runs when the battles are the toughest. Then there is his production. He has the eleventh most points of any D-man over the past five years in the NHL regular season. He was 18-64-82 in 2023-24, then 14-53-67 in 2024-15. It is Norris-level offence. And in terms of points per game in the playoffs, Bouchard is second only to Bobby Orr, for god's sake. 6-26-32 in 2023-24 and 7-16-23 in 2024-25. Again, this is against playoff teams, not a dud in the bunch. The Cult of Hockey's Grade 'A' Scoring Chances project shows Bouchard leading the D-corps in 5v5 Grade A +/- during the regular season at +0.20 per 15. Then in the playoffs, against the toughest of comp, it was +0.86 per 15. Put another way: Evan Bouchard is an elite NHL performer. So, do the detractors really know more than Eric Tulsky? Better than most of the other General Manager's in the league? And if it turns out you do, well then you have my respect. I look forward to writing about you in the near future. Now on Bluesky @ Also, find me on Threads @kleavins, Twitter @KurtLeavins, Instagram at LeavinsOnHockey, and Mastodon at KurtLeavins@ This article is not AI generated. STAPLES: How the Edmonton Oilers got Andrew Mangiapane instead of the Maple Leafs LEAVINS: Here is what Kris Knoblauch should not give a damn about STAPLES: Oilers D-man not ready to leave town Bruce McCurdy, 1955-2025. Don't miss the news you need to know — add and to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here.
CBS News
27-05-2025
- Climate
- CBS News
A former North Stars player nearly gave Wolves a shot in final moments of loss to Thunder
Some residents return to rubble as Minnesota wildfire evacuations end, and more headlines Some residents return to rubble as Minnesota wildfire evacuations end, and more headlines Some residents return to rubble as Minnesota wildfire evacuations end, and more headlines If you didn't watch closely Monday night, you may not have noticed that a former North Stars player gave the Timberwolves a bit of hope at the end of the game against the Thunder. Following a missed free throw from Wolves' Anthony Edwards, Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander heaved the ball to the other side of the court with just a couple of seconds left on the clock. With less than a second left, the former hockey player Brian Lawton — a huge Wolves fan — caught the pass. Without that catch, the game could have possibly ended there, but Lawton's quick thinking gave Minnesota the ball back with .3 seconds left on the clock. Gilgeous-Alexander was seen in videos appearing to give credit for the savvy move by saying "smart" to Lawton. Despite the effort, the Wolves — trailing 128-126 — ended up not being able to score and lost Game 4. They are now one loss away from being eliminated from the Western Conference finals. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder is interviewed after defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game Four of the Western Conference Finals of the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Target Center on May 26, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Getty Images
