Two feisty, corner-dwellers with finish — a duo that could potentially lead the league in sparking post-whistle scrums.
After nursing a lower body “tweak” by skating on his own the first four days of camp, Mangiapane finally joined his teammates Monday when he was promptly positioned alongside the team’s prized free agent signing of the summer.
Funny, as what could be the start of something fantastically frustrating for the rest of the league could theoretically have started months earlier, when the two happened to be participating in the same summertime, 3-on-3 skating sessions in the Toronto-area.
“No, he was the captain of his gym there and he didn’t pick me,” deadpanned Mangiapane when asked if they’d ever teamed up before or after Kadri signed his seven-year, $49 million deal in Calgary.
“I’m still a little ticked off.”
Once he gets to know how dogged and determined Mangiapane is on the puck, you can bet Kadri will be glad his new left-hand man is by his side.
Fact is, had Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk returned, not only would there have been no cap room for a signing of Kadri’s magnitude, there’s also a good chance Mangiapane’s three-year, $17.4 million contract extension couldn’t have been squeezed in.
“That definitely is a possibility there — if those guys stayed, maybe I wouldn’t be here,” said the 26-year-old winger.
“Maybe they would have to create space and all that. Obviously, they had to deal with Johnny and Chucky there and had to go through all that. I was secondary to that, but my plan was always to stay in Calgary.
“I’m happy to be here and to be part of this team and hopefully we can do good things this year.”
That certainly seems like a possibility for the man who scored 35 goals last season the hard way, without a single minute on the top line or top power play.
Surely, after the departure of Tkachuk and Gaudreau, Mangiapane will be saddled with a heavier workload and a far more offensive-minded centre than Mikael Backlund.
Expectations will rise, as will the temperature of most games, with him and Kadri pestering the opposition.
“He obviously plays with that grit, and will get in there and muck it up and cause havoc,” said the 5-foot-10 Mangiapane, who plays like he’s a foot taller.
“He’s also a skilled player who scores goals, and he’s smart away from the puck. He’s kind of the whole package.”
The perfect man to help Mangiapane with a career progression that landed him 25th in league goal scoring, following an MVP performance at the 2021 IIHF World Hockey Championship.
“Ya, I think he could work well with a lot of guys on our team,” said Mangiapane, a left-shooting winger, who will almost certainly play behind fellow lefty Jonathan Huberdeau on the depth chart.
“I think he’s that type of player, when you play with him he makes others around him better.”
But, as Mangiapne and other Flames players are careful to point out in Darryl Sutter’s world, “you don’t want to read too much into (the lines).”
Huberdeau scored in the team’s first pre-season game Sunday while playing alongside Day 1 campmates, Elias Lindholm and Tyler Toffoli.
While there is always the chance Mangiapane could move to the right side of the top unit, the most obvious fit would seem to be on his natural wing on the second line with Kadri — and whoever grabs the most sought-after opening in camp this year on the right side.
It would appear that gig is Sonny Milano’s to lose, although plenty will ride on the PTOs’ showing over the next handful of pre-season competitions.
Goals are expected to be at much more of a premium in Calgary this winter, as Gaudreau and Tkachuk accounted for 82 of the team’s goals last season.
Huberdeau (30 goals) and Kadri (28) should do well to help make up for that, but it goes without saying there’s pressure on Mangiapane to post another career season.
Sutter has said as much with his insistence the key to success will be on players aged 23-28 in his lineup to take that next step.
Mangiapane’s $5.8 million cap hit also ups expectations for the sixth-round draft pick who is the team’s third-highest paid skater this season.
“I think I’m planning to play the same way I have been, that’s my mentality going into camp, keep growing as a player and as an individual and helping the team wherever I can,” said the fan favourite.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen with the lines, but it’s exciting times. We’ll see what happens.
PITTSBURGH – Sidney Crosby plans to remain a Pittsburgh Penguin for at least three more years.
The Penguins announced on Monday that they re-signed the 37-year-old from Cole Harbour, N.S., to a two-year contract extension that has an average annual value of US$8.7 million. The deal runs through the 2026-27 season.
Crosby was eligible to sign an extension on July 1 with him entering the final season of a 12-year, $104.4-million deal that carries an $8.7-million salary cap hit.
At the NHL/NHLPA player media tour in Las Vegas last Monday, he said things were positive and he was optimistic about a deal getting done.
The three-time Stanley Cup champion is coming off a 42-goal, 94-point campaign that saw him finish tied for 12th in the league scoring race.
Crosby has spent all 19 of his NHL seasons in Pittsburgh, amassing 592 goals and 1,004 assists in 1,272 career games.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
MONTREAL – Tadej Pogacar was so dominant on Sunday, Canada’s Michael Woods called it a race for second.
Pogacar, a three-time Tour de France champion from Slovenia, pedalled to a resounding victory at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal.
The UAE Team Emirates leader crossed the finish line 24 seconds ahead of Spain’s Pello Bilbao of Bahrain — Victorious to win the demanding 209.1-kilometre race on a sunny, 28 C day in Montreal. France’s Julian Alaphilippe of Soudal Quick-Step was third.
“He’s the greatest rider of all time, he’s a formidable opponent,” said Woods, who finished 45 seconds behind the leader in eighth. “If you’re not at your very, very best, then you can forget racing with him, and today was kind of representative of that.
“He’s at such a different level that if you follow him, it can be lights out.”
Pogacar slowed down before the last turn to celebrate with the crowd, high-five fans on Avenue du Parc and cruise past the finish line with his arms in the air after more than five hours on the bike.
The 25-year-old joined Belgium’s Greg Van Avermaet as the only multi-time winners in Montreal after claiming the race in 2022. He also redeemed a seventh-place finish at the Quebec City Grand Prix on Friday.
“I was disappointed, because I had such good legs that I didn’t do better than seventh,” Pogacar said. “To bounce back after seventh to victory here, it’s just an incredible feeling.”
It’s Pogacar’s latest win in a dominant year that includes victories at the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia.
Ottawa’s Woods (Israel Premier-Tech) tied a career-best in front of the home crowd in Montreal, but hoped for more after claiming a stage at the Spanish Vuelta two weeks ago.
“I wanted a better result,” the 37-year-old rider said. “My goal was a podium, but at the same time I’m happy with the performance. In bike racing, you can’t always get the result you want and I felt like I raced really well, I animated the race, I felt like I was up there.”
Pogacar completed the 17 climbs up and down Mount Royal near downtown in five hours 28 minutes 15 seconds.
He made his move with 23.3 kilometres to go, leaving the peloton in his dust as he pedalled into the lead — one he never relinquished.
Bilbao, Alaphilippe, Alex Aranburu (Movistar Team) and Bart Lemmen (Visma–Lease) chased in a group behind him, with Bilbao ultimately separating himself from the pack. But he never came close to catching Pogacar, who built a 35-second lead with one lap left to go.
“It was still a really hard race today, but the team was on point,” Pogacar said. “We did really how we planned, and the race situation was good for us. We make it hard in the last final laps, and they set me up for a (takeover) two laps to go, and it was all perfect.”
Ottawa’s Derek Gee, who placed ninth in this year’s Tour de France, finished 48th in Montreal, and called it a “hard day” in the heat.
“I think everyone knows when you see Tadej on the start line that it’s just going to be full gas,” Gee said.
Israel Premier-Tech teammate Hugo Houle of Sainte-Perpétue, Que., was 51st.
Houle said he heard Pogacar inform his teammates on the radio that he was ready to attack with two laps left in the race.
“I said then, well, clearly it’s over for me,” Houle said. “You see, cycling isn’t that complicated.”
Australia’s Michael Matthews won the Quebec City GP for a record third time on Friday, but did not finish in Montreal. The two races are the only North American events on the UCI World Tour.
Michael Leonard of Oakville, Ont., and Gil Gelders and Dries De Bondt of Belgium broke away from the peloton during the second lap. Leonard led the majority of the race before losing pace with 45 kilometres to go.
Only 89 of 169 riders from 24 teams — including the Canadian national team — completed the gruelling race that features 4,573 metres in total altitude.
Next up, the riders will head to the world championships in Zurich, Switzerland from Sept. 21 to 29.
Pogacar will try to join Eddy Merckx (1974) and Stephen Roche (1987) as the only men to win three major titles in a season — known as the Triple Crown.
“Today gave me a lot of confidence, motivation,” Pogacar said. “I think we are ready for world championships.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2024.
NAPA, Calif. (AP) — Patton Kizzire ended a long victory drought Sunday in the Procore Championship, closing with a scrambling 2-under 70 for a tournament-record, five-stroke victory in the FedEx Cup Fall opener at Silverado Country Club.
Kizzire had gone 176 events without a victory after winning tournaments in Mexico and Hawaii in a two-month span in late 2017 and early 2018.
“I’m going to enjoy this win,” Kizzire said. “It’s just so sweet to get through the ups and downs. That’s life. You just got to stay positive. That’s what led me to here, to right now.”
The 38-year-old former Auburn player earned a PGA Tour card for the next two years after entering the event 132nd in the fight to earn a card with a top-125 finish in the standings. He also gets spots in the Masters and PGA Championship and The Sentry at Kapalua.
Kizzire finished at 20-under 268. On Sunday, he repeatedly misfired off the tee for a second consecutive day, but stayed steady with his approach shots and had three birdies, an eagle and three bogeys.
“I knew that it would be difficult not to get ahead of myself with a four-shot lead heading into today,” Kizzire said. “I wrote down in my yard book, ‘I am here, I I am now.’ Kept going back to that. That helped me be disciplined and stay present. That’s what really helped me come out on top.”
David Lipsky was second after a 71.
Patrick Fishburn (71) was third at 14 under. Mackenzie Hughes of Hamilton, Ont. (72), Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont. (71) and Greyson Sigg (72) were another stroke back.
Sahith Theegala, the winner last year, closed with a 72 to tie for fifth at 12-under 276.
Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., finished tied for seventh at 12 under. He carded a 1 over on his final round. Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., finished tied for 13th at 9 under. He shot a 4 under Sunday. Roger Sloan of Calgary finished tied for 37th at 6 under.
Unlike in 2023 when Theegala was followed by a large gallery on his way to winning, Kizzire and Lipsky played the final round in front of a small crowd at the picturesque course in the heart of the Napa Valley wine country.
For the second straight day, Kizzire had to make up for his erratic tee shots. He missed 11 fairways and hit three drives into bunkers but got out of trouble and limited the damage each time.
Lipsky also had issues off the tee trying to battle winds that had been mostly absent for the first three rounds.
“It was really tough out there,” Lipsky said. “The wind was swirling and it was strong and the greens were so firm. Where they put some of those pins is really tough to get close.”
After Lipsky made birdies on Nos. 1 and 4 to get within two shots, Kizzire responded with an eagle on the par-5 fifth. Kizzire hit his second shot past the green, then holed a soft wedge shot coming back from 50 feet to get to 20 under.
Kizzire bogeyed No. 11 after another errant tee shot, while Lipsky birdied to get within two strokes again. Kizzire then made a birdie save after driving into a greenside bunker on No. 12, and had another birdie on No. 13.
Kizzire was ahead by five strokes after a birdie on No. 15, then missed a short par putt on No. 16. He had a chance to get the stroke back on No. 17, but pushed his putt to the right of the hole and settled for par.
