Sports

Maple Leafs-Blue Jackets Qualifying Round debated

Published

4 years ago

May 30, 2020

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Columbus Blue Jackets will play each other in the best-of-5 Qualifying Round when the NHL season resumes. Though there is no date for the games to start, two NHL.com writers have already started the debate over which team has the edge in the series.

Brian Compton, deputy managing editor

I love this matchup. It’s a gifted offensive bunch in Toronto desperate to get over the hump against a Columbus group that thrives on defying the odds. But I’m in the camp that believes the Maple Leafs will find a way here, led by their captain, John Tavares, who has raised his game with high stakes in the past. Mitchell Marner has committed himself to becoming a solid two-way forward, and defenseman Morgan Rielly will eat a lot of minutes. It’ll all be anchored by goalie Frederik Andersen, who has shown flashes of brilliance in the postseason. I think Toronto wins this series.

Nick Cotsonika, columnist

Sure, the Maple Leafs are the easy pick. But the Tampa Bay Lightning were the easy pick last season when they were one of the best regular-season teams in NHL history, and the Blue Jackets swept them in the first round. And while lots of people thought the Blue Jackets would fade this season after losing goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, and forwards Artemi Panarin and Matt Duchene in free agency, they were tied with the Carolina Hurricanes for the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference when the season was paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus — despite having lost 419 man games to injury, the most in the NHL. The pause benefitted Columbus perhaps more than any other team, giving several players time to heal. Oh, and how many playoff series have the Maple Leafs won during the past 14 seasons? Even the Blue Jackets, whose defeat of the Lightning was their first series win ever, have won more.

Compton

I can’t say enough about the job coach John Tortorella has done with the Blue Jackets this season and, like most teams, they’ll be completely healthy when games resume. And yes, the lack of postseason success the Maple Leafs have endured essentially since their last Stanley Cup championship in 1967 is well-known by all, especially Tavares, who grew up in the hockey hub. Even if he has to carry the Maple Leafs past the Blue Jackets (which I don’t necessarily think will be the case), so be it.

Cotsonika

You’re right about Tortorella. Perhaps no coach does a better job of rallying the troops with an us-against-the-world attitude, and that’s going to be huge considering all the challenges on and off the ice. A couple of other factors in favor of the Blue Jackets: It’s not just that they upset the Lightning last season. It’s that the Lightning are somewhat similar in style to the Maple Leafs, giving the Blue Jackets a blueprint and confidence as they try to do it again. This will be a best-of-5 series, not best-of-7. When you have to win three games instead of four, that introduces more randomness and a better chance for the underdog.

Source: NHL.com

Source link

Edited By Harry Miller

Sports

Edler to sign one-day contract to retire as a Vancouver Canuck

Published

17 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.

The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.

He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.

The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.

Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.

“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”

Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.

Source link

Sports

Sixth-ranked Canadian women to face World Cup champion Spain in October friendly

Published

24 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.

Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.

The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.

In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.

Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.

Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.

The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.

Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.

It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.

Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.

FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.

And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.

“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”

—

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024

Source link

Sports

Maple Leafs announce Oreo as new helmet sponsor for upcoming NHL season

Published

1 day ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.

The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.

The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.

Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.

The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.

Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.

Source link