Latest news with #TheSheet
Time of India
2 days ago
- Sport
- Time of India
Penguins' loyalty shattered? Sidney Crosby reportedly eyed for post-Olympics move to Montreal
Rumours persist about Sidney Crosby possibly leaving the Penguins, even though he's under contract. The chatter's gotten louder with Evgeni Malkin's deal ending soon and Greg Wyshynski suggesting Crosby might bail if the team struggles. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now But here's the thing: insider Frank Seravalli says Crosby isn't actually looking to move. Sidney Crosby exit drama intensifies as Canadiens insiders predict blockbuster post-Olympics deal The hockey world is buzzing about Sidney Crosby's future with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Even though his contract runs through the 2026-27 season and he's expressed wanting to retire as a Penguin, recent rumors are fueling up. A big reason? Longtime teammate Evgeni Malkin's $24.4 million contract is in its final year, adding to the skepticism. Malkin himself had opined back in 2022, 'If this team wants new blood and young guys and they say to me to move on, we will see.' Adding to the discourse, ESPN's Greg Wyshynski, contemplating the Penguins' potential performance in the upcoming season, ominously predicted on The Sheet, 'If the Penguins get off to the start that we assume they're going to get off to…I think he moves on before the end of the season, that's my prediction. ' Turns out, insider Frank Seravalli probed the brakes on the Crosby trade talks. He told Bleacher Report on July 15 that, 'I think there's been some teams, or a short list, Montreal, LA Kings, Avalanche, those are the teams have been talked about, but he hasn't shown any interest… in moving.' This fits Crosby's typical calm, as he said about retirement, 'I don't think about it a whole lot. I just try to prepare for the next one. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now ' NHL insiders hint at ugly end to Penguins legend's era Some of the teams on Seravalli's list have really caught the eye of fans and analysts. The Colorado Avalanche, for illustration, seems like a strong fit because of Crosby's friendship with fellow national team member Nathan MacKinnon. Nevertheless, MacKinnon recently shot down those ideas, calling them 'fake news'. Still, ESPN's Wyshynski, always with a strong opinion, phrased on The Sheet, 'I've long believed he'll end his career in Montreal,' adding, 'I always assumed if it wasn't Pittsburgh, it was going to be Montreal, that's kind of where I'm at with it; the Colorado thing is sort of like a pipedream.' What's more, NHL insider Nick Kypreos went on record, telling Justin Bourne and Sam MacKee, 'Wait till they [Montreal Canadiens] get Sid Crosby after the [2026 Milan Cortina] Olympics. I'm liking the odds a little better than I did maybe a few weeks ago.' Despite these pervasive discussions, Crosby currently remains a Penguin, as Seravalli indicated. Also Read: Despite all the chatter and what some folks are predicting, it really seems like Sidney Crosby is set on staying right where he is with the Penguins, at least for now.
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
NHL Insider Floats Panthers Move for Maple Leafs' Mitch Marner
NHL Insider Floats Panthers Move for Maple Leafs' Mitch Marner originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Toronto Maple Leafs and pending unrestricted free agent Mitch Marner seem to be ready to part ways after nine years together. Advertisement Marner is coming off a 102-point regular season but once again failed to elevate the Leafs in the playoffs, scoring 13 points in 13 games but crashing out in the second round. The winger enters free agency at age 28 and will most likely command a top-tier salary. Marner will hit the open market on July 1 with no shortage of suitors ready to pay for his services, but one team in particular has NHL insider Jeff Marek intrigued. Depending on how the Panthers play their cards, they may be able to offer Marner his desired salary, with Florida players Brad Marchand and Aaron Ekblad also entering free agency. Speaking on 'The Sheet,' Marek floated the back-to-back champions as a potential landing spot for the Maple Leafs star, citing Sam Bennett as one major factor. Advertisement "Something really interesting happened at the 4 Nations," Marek said. "Mitch Marner played with Sam Bennett, and he looked really different." Marek said Bennett's playing style brings out a more effective version of Marner compared to his longtime linemate in Toronto, Auston Matthews. "Matthews and Marner are more similar than they are different," Marek said. 'But Bennet and Marner — those are two distinct players, and I know it's a very, very small sample size, but I think there's something there." Toronto Maple Leafs winger Mitch Marner (16) defends Florida Panthers center Brad Marchand (63).Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images Marek predicted the exit of two Panthers, thus opening enough cap space and roster room to sign Marner and making a potential reunion with Bennett possible, provided Bennett is re-signed to an extension himself. Advertisement 'And when you throw in the state tax situation,' Marek said, 'I don't know that it will be outlandish to speculate or wonder about, if the Florida Panthers don't bring back all three...' Marek finished by predicting Ekblad will sign with the Utah Mammoth and Marchand with the Dallas Stars, giving the Panthers the cap space they need to land Marner. Related: Panthers' Brad Marchand Addresses Future Immediately After Winning Stanley Cup Related: Matthew Tkachuk's Message to Free Agent Teammates Won't Please Panthers GM This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 20, 2025, where it first appeared.
Vancouver Sun
31-05-2025
- Sport
- Vancouver Sun
Victoria Royals lose two top players to NCAA's North Dakota — what's next for WHL?
Jeff Marek's Thursday podcast that broached the idea of junior teams finding sponsors to pay star players sounded a little over the top. A day later, it became less far fetched. On Friday, the news broke that Victoria Royals centre Cole Reschny, 18, and defenceman Keaton Verhoeff, 16, were both giving up multiple years of junior eligibility to join the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks in the fall. Reschny could winding up going in the first round of this summer's NHL Draft, while Verhoeff might be a top-five selection in 2026. The Royals won the WHL's B.C. Division this past season and looked to be continuing in the right direction. How they regroup after Friday's news is anyone's guess. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. The NCAA announced in November that it was opening up scholarship opportunities to players from Major Junior leagues like the WHL for the coming season and the buzz around 17-year-old phenom Gavin McKenna of the Medicine Hat Tigers making that move started up instantly. The Tigers play the London Knights for the Memorial Cup national title Sunday in Rimouski. McKenna could hoist the most prized trophy in junior hockey in this country, and moments later be asked in a media scrum about whether he's leaving for the American collegiate system. Various junior hockey people over the season have concurred that McKenna was in play to go to the NCAA, but they treated it as him being an outlier, the very tip of the top one per cent of players in the WHL. The thinking was that collegiate teams would want graduating 20-year-olds and the odd 19-year-old, in large part because they recruited players of that age when the Junior A ranks were their main feeder. Junior hockey's biggest selling point is the chance for fans to watch draft eligible players and world junior team candidates. Guess what? The NCAA isn't any different. There will be no better marketing for North Dakota than when Verhoeff is one of the first few names mentioned two drafts from now. And NCAA programs like North Dakota believe those high-end youngsters can compete against 22- and 23-year-olds. Reschny and Verhoeff would have been in the top-five per cent of WHL players this coming season. There have been other underage players declare for schools as well. How deep will the NCAA end up taking from when all is said and done? Ten per cent? Will it get to 20 per cent? I asked Cecchini how the CHL could keep players from going the college route and what I got from the QMJHL Commissioner was an answer I never considered. This new way of life for hockey development was a topic on Marek's The Sheet podcast earlier in the week, when QMJHL commissioner Mario Cecchini was a guest. Marek asked Cecchini point blank whether the teams in the QMJHL, WHL and OHL should consider paying players. 'Well, right now we have a student/athlete status, so we have to be very, very, very careful about that,' Cecchini said. 'But there are sponsoring possibilities. So the teams right now, as we speak, cannot pay them directly, but can a local automotive dealer sponsor a player directly? That's doable and that's possible. That's within the framework that we live in. That's where we may want to turn our hats. 'It's probably one player per team at most. Call them a franchise player, for example, for a term that we know well in sports.' The irony is that they'd have to get it approved by the NCAA so that players can keep their college eligibility. You would think the NCAA would oblige, considering that they're doing exactly that with their Name Image Likeness (NIL) program. For hockey, this a major rethink, and hockey rarely has been one for major rethinks, and that includes in junior. The WHL went from 72-game regular seasons for its teams to 68-game ones in 2018-19 and that proved a much debated endeavour. For decades, the pitch to players from teams in the WHL was that they had a schedule similar to an NHL one, and that got you ready for the next level. The thinking is different now. Fewer games means more time to work on your skills, more time to work on your body in the gym. The Boston University Terriers, with Vancouver Canucks defence prospect Tom Willander helping to lead the way, went to the NCAA championship game as part of their 40 total games this season. Medicine Hat's showdown with London Sunday will mark their 90th game of the campaign. There's also the matter of facilities. North Dakota's Ralph Engelstad Arena features a 1,400 square foot altitude chamber added to its weight room arena in 2021. That's an extreme, but it gives you an idea of what the WHL teams are now competing against. They'll need to find a way. Junior-aged CHLers who have committed to the NCAA for next season: • Malcolm Spence (2025) • Cole Reschny (2025) • Kristian Epperson (2025) • Lev Katzin (2025) • Luke Misa (CGY) • Henry Mews (CGY) • Clarke Caswell (SEA) And the flood gates haven't even opened yet. 'For me, North Dakota was top-of-the-line,' Verhoeff told the Grand Forks Gazette. 'It's professional in every aspect of the training, the day-to-day, and the opportunity I was given there was too good to pass up. 'I checked out a couple of other schools. After looking at all the other great programs and schools, North Dakota is the one that spoke to me and I felt at home there.' Verhoeff, who turns 17 in June, is a 6-foot-4, 212-pound right-handed shot and had 21 goals and 45 points in 63 regular season games with the Royals. He finished his high school commitments early. The Athletic's Scott Wheeler had him at No. 5 in a 2026 mock draft he did in April. The 5-foot-10, 187-pound, left-shot Reschny put up 26 goals and 92 points in 62 regular season games with Victoria. Elite Prospects has him at No 22 in its consolidated rankings for this year's draft, led by a No. 13 from TSN's Craig Button. Left-shot McKenna, who's 6-foot and 165 pounds, tallied 41 times and recorded 129 points in 56 regular season games with the Tigers. He then supplied nine goals and 38 points in 16 regular season games. He's, of course, the consensus projected No. 1 pick for 2026. One-time Canucks forward Byron Ritchie is McKenna's family adviser. He told Postmedia back in March that the NCAA was definitely an option, explaining how he worried about McKenna jumping from the WHL to the NHL after next season, which is what is expected. 'Going from playing 2009s, 2008s and 2007s (16- to 18-year-olds) if he stays, to playing the following year against men who are trying to feed their families and where every puck battle is life or death,' Ritchie said. 'It's a massive step from the Western League to the NHL. Can you ease that transition by having him playing next year against 22- and 23-year-olds?' @SteveEwen SEwen@
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Former NHL Executive Weighs In on Quinn Hughes' Canucks Future
Speculation surrounding Quinn Hughes' long-term Vancouver Canucks future continues to grow. With the Canucks facing major structural uncertainty after head coach Rick Tocchet's exit, questions are mounting about whether their captain might eventually push for a move to join his brothers in New Jersey to play for the Devils. Advertisement On Friday morning's episode of "The Sheet with Jeff Marek," longtime NHL analyst and former executive Pierre McGuire addressed the rumors directly. McGuire referenced Canucks president Jim Rutherford's end-of-season comments and strongly suggested there might be more than just smoke behind the speculation. 'I do think they want to play together,' McGuire said. 'And that was speculated a long time ago, when Luke was, you know, when the potential to draft Luke was there. Because it wasn't (current Devils GM) Tommy Fitzgerald who drafted Jack Hughes, it was Ray Shero who drafted Jack Hughes, the late Ray Shero. Advertisement 'So then Tommy took over for Ray when Ray got let go, and obviously he took Luke Hughes. So you know, now Quinn's out there on the horizon. 'Do I think he could be a member of the New Jersey Devils? I do, I do. Jimmy never would've put that out there unless he thought the same thing.' Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes (43) celebrates a goal with the Canucks bench at PPG Paints LeClaire-Imagn Images The 25-year-old defenseman has two years remaining on his six-year, $47.1 million contract. He's coming off a campaign with 76 points in 68 games, and the NHL named him a finalist for the James Norris Memorial Trophy, awarded to the best defenseman in the league. Rutherford admitted in late April that Hughes has expressed a personal desire to play alongside Jack and Luke Hughes, both of whom are already central to New Jersey's core. Advertisement 'We will do everything we can to keep him here,' Rutherford said. 'But at the end of the day, it'll be his decision.' Related: Canucks' Immediate Reaction to NHL's Quinn Hughes Announcement Related: Canucks President Hints at Head Coach Targets After Rick Tocchet's Decision
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Report: Blues & Maple Leafs Almost Made Blockbuster Trade
During the 2020 NHL off-season, the St. Louis Blues lost star defenseman and former captain Alex Pietrangelo to the Vegas Golden Knights in free agency. Losing Pietrangelo undoubtedly hurt the Blues' defensive group, as he was their top star and No. 1 defenseman. However, it turns out that Pietrangelo's Blues tenure almost ended differently a few years before. In a recent episode of The Sheet, NHL insider Jeff Marek revealed that the Blues almost traded Pietrangelo to the Toronto Maple Leafs for star forward William Nylander. "It wasn't that long ago that it was pretty close, that he [Nylander] was going to St. Louis, and Alex Pietrangelo was going the other way to the Toronto Maple Leafs," Marek said. In 2018, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman also reported the Blues and Maple Leafs discussed a Pietrangelo and Nylander trade, but Toronto decided against it. This would have been a massive trade for both clubs. The Blues would have landed a star forward who they would have built their offense around. The Maple Leafs, on the other hand, would have secured a proper No. 1 defenseman for their right side. However, in the end, it is fair to say that the Maple Leafs must be happy with their decision to keep Nylander in Toronto. The 28-year-old winger has emerged as a superstar in Toronto and is a significant part of their core. However, the Blues also won the Stanley Cup in 2019, so hanging on to Pietrangelo undoubtedly benefitted them, too. Stay updated with the most interesting Blues stories, analysis, breaking news and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News to never miss a story.
