The pause, Kyle Dubas later confirmed, was not for dramatic effect.
But the delay was pronounced enough that commissioner Gary Bettman began asking the Toronto Maple Leafs if they wanted to take a timeout while deliberating what to do with the 15th pick during Tuesday’s virtual NHL draft.
Inside the makeshift war room at Scotiabank Arena, there was no debate about who to select. Russian forward Rodion Amirov was their guy. But the Leafs first had to weigh the merits of trading back, adding additional assets and likely settling for someone other than Amirov instead.
“There were a number of trade situations that we were considering,” said Dubas. “We were just contemplating all of the different scenarios that were coming in really from the time Winnipeg picked [at No. 10] right through to our pick right at the very end.
“Then in the end just made the pick right at the buzzer.”
The draft is no easy exercise when you’re a team trying to win now.
Amirov is already competing against men in the KHL and could eventually provide a big boost as someone capable of making an impact on a cost-controlled, entry-level contract. But that might be years away even if things go well. The 19-year-old is under contract with Salavat Yulaev Ufa until spring 2021 and there doesn’t seem to be any thought he’ll be pushing his way into the NHL immediately afterwards.
In other words: His presence in the organization doesn’t do much for Auston Matthews, Morgan Rielly and Mitch Marner, who announced the selection. At least not in the foreseeable future. That’s partly why Dubas spoke openly about flipping this 15th pick from the moment he acquired it in the Kasperi Kapanen trade with Pittsburgh and ultimately listened to offers right up until he was on the clock with the selection.
“By the time he’s kind of entering into his prime, it’s five years from now and suddenly a lot of the guys who are part of our core will all be nearing 30,” Dubas said of Amirov. “That’s kind of sad to think about, but that’s just the reality of the situation.”
At least he fits the profile of what Toronto should be drafting for right now. Dubas saw Amirov play live in the Canada/Russia Series nearly a year ago and has used the COVID-19 pause to comb over video of his games at various levels of the domestic league.
His speed is “amongst the best in the class,” according to the Leafs GM. Dubas came away from a recent call with the prospect believing he’s better off for having to fight his way through Salavat’s lineup as a teenager.
He’s currently producing as a top-six winger on a team that’s seen a number of players contract coronavirus.
“What we like about him is that, especially in international play and at the under-18 tournaments and various different events, he’s scored at a high level,” said Dubas. “When he’s been with Ufa at the MHL and VHL level he’s scored there. And now at the KHL level this year — not that this year played a huge factor in it — but he’s up at the top of their lineup in their top two lines, on their team, and he’s scoring there as well.”
Ideally, the Leafs project him doing the same thing in the NHL one day.
“I think we certainly envision him, because of his ability on and off the puck, to be able to play up with our top players,” said Dubas. “With his speed, with his play-making ability and his ability to drive possession and the puck in transition, that’s our expectation.”
Let’s consider it an open question as to whether his development timeline will mesh with the one the Leafs are on. As much as they’d love to sustain a long window of contention that requires the pipeline to continually be refilled, most Stanley Cup contenders sacrifice a huge amount of draft pick and prospect capital to get there.
Toronto is still in that chase position. Dubas acknowledged that he’d be willing to move some of the 10 picks he holds in the lower rounds Wednesday in order to provide more immediate help for his team.
“I think that we certainly know what we’re trying to do,” said Dubas. “We’re trying to get as good a read as we can on the market and free agency. If there are opportunities tomorrow to improve the team with some of those picks we won’t hesitate to do so.”
The Leafs clearly have their eye on some free-agent bargains, especially among the pool of restricted free agents who don’t receive qualifying offers before Wednesday’s 5 p.m. ET deadline. There are expected to be more of those than usual this off-season.
We should see a much more active trade market in the days ahead, too.
Those are areas where Dubas needs to make his mark to boost a talent-laden roster that’s lost in the first round of playoffs each of the last four years. The draft is exciting when your team has been down and out, but this is a group that’s shown lots of promise without the breakthrough.
That’s why they took so long to call Amirov’s name on Tuesday night. They love the prospect, but have only so much need for prospects right now. They certainly weren’t trying to add any spice to the made-for-TV draft.
“We try to reduce the drama here as much as we can here,” said Dubas. “That’s our goal anyway. We’d like to be more successful at it as we move ahead.”
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe remain undefeated in women’s doubles at the WTA Finals.
The 2023 U.S. Open champions, seeded second at the event, secured a 1-6, 7-6 (1), (11-9) super-tiebreak win over fourth-seeded Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in round-robin play on Tuesday.
The season-ending tournament features the WTA Tour’s top eight women’s doubles teams.
Dabrowski and Routliffe lost the first set in 22 minutes but levelled the match by breaking Errani’s serve three times in the second, including at 6-5. They clinched victory with Routliffe saving a match point on her serve and Dabrowski ending Errani’s final serve-and-volley attempt.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will next face fifth-seeded Americans Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk on Thursday, where a win would secure a spot in the semifinals.
The final is scheduled for Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Nov. 5, 2024.
EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.
The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.
Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.
KEY MOMENT
New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.
KEY RETURN?
Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.
OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN
The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.
The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.
Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.
Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.
Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.
It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.
Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.
Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.
The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”
Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.
The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.
Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
