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Time is approaching for Masai Ujiri to prioritize his future with Toronto Raptors – TSN

Published

4 years ago

December 5, 2020

TORONTO – Masai Ujiri has had his hands full recently, so you can understand why his contractual status may not be top of mind.

After advising the NBA on its return-to-play strategy early in the pandemic and spending months with his team in the Orlando bubble, while continuing to embrace a leadership role in the ongoing fight for racial justice and equality, the Toronto Raptors president remained busy navigating the draft and free agency.

At the same time, Ujiri was working closely with the Canadian and American governments in the hopes of securing the necessary clearance for his team to host games north of the border this coming season. Once the bid was denied, he helped oversee their temporary relocation to Tampa.

He and his not-for-profit organization, Giants of Africa, just finished planning their seventh annual event honouring the life and memory of former South African president Nelson Mandela, which was held virtually last week – a cause that is near and dear to Ujiri’s heart.

Meanwhile, his stated goal of securing new contracts for his Raptors staff is nearly completed – starting with the extension for head coach Nick Nurse in September and culminating in general manager Bobby Webster’s deal, which, according to Ujiri, is “pretty much done.”

As the Raptors get set to open training camp this week – their first team practice is scheduled for Sunday – and tip-off the 2020-21 campaign at “home” to New Orleans on December 23, the elephant in the room is Ujiri’s own future with the club.

One of league’s top executives, the 50-year-old Ujiri is going into the final season of his current contract. In September, he told the media that he still hadn’t spoken to ownership regarding an extension, and on a Saturday morning conference call, he gave no indication that anything had changed in that regard.

“There’s just been so much [going on],” he said. “Honestly, it’s not a matter of not doing it, I think there’s just been so much [and] I’ve pushed it [back] until, I think, we get through a lot of this. There’s just so much going on with this relocation, and the focus, I don’t want to be distracted that way.”

With his people taken care of and the team getting comfortable in its new home, the time is approaching for Ujiri to sit down and evaluate his next move.

Already among the association’s highest paid execs, Ujiri should have all the leverage he needs to essentially craft the terms of his new deal. Short of sliding a pen and blank cheque across the table – or however contracts are drawn up in the COVID-19 era – it’s hard to imagine Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment balking at anything Ujiri could or would ask for, not only because of what he’s accomplished in Toronto or even the number of interested teams that have come calling, but because of how crucially important he is to where the franchise wants to go from here.

Ujiri and the Raptors have made no secret of their ambitions for the summer of 2021. Maintaining cap flexibility, and the option of opening up the requisite space to offer a max contact, has been a top priority – it’s motivated nearly every decision they’ve made, or haven’t made, over the past couple years.

Since taking the job atop Toronto’s front office back in 2013, Ujiri has checked off a lot of boxes on his list of goals. He wanted to build a state-of-the-art practice facility and get the franchise its own G League – at the time, D-League – affiliate. He wanted to change the culture of an organization that had fallen on hard times and was mired in a team record five-year playoff drought. He wanted to build a winning foundation, and yes, he promised to bring the city a championship. He’s delivered on all of those things, and then some.

Just about the only thing he’s yet to accomplish, and another stated goal of his, is to finally lure a star free agent – at or close to the peak of his career – to Toronto. In 25 years, it’s never been done.

For the bulk of their existence, the Raptors have been haunted by the stigma that star players don’t want to be in Canada. That many of their own stars left or engineered their exists, particularly in that first decade – Damon Stoudamire, Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter and Chris Bosh – certainly didn’t help dispel that narrative.

Under Ujiri, these Raptors are looked at very differently – within their own city and country, but also around the league. Keeping their own stars no longer seems like an impossible task – DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry both signed multiple contracts to stay in Toronto and, most recently, Fred VanVleet did the same – and they’re confident that the reputation they’ve built is strong enough to attract the league’s best players on the open market.

It’s been a while since they’ve had the chance to test that theory. Operating as an above cap team for most of Ujiri’s tenure, the Raptors haven’t had significant money to spend in free agency since they signed DeMarre Carroll to an ill fated four-year, $60-million deal in 2015.

They’ve set themselves up to be major players in the highly anticipated 2021 free agency sweepstakes, which could include the reigning two-time MVP – and long-time Ujiri target – Giannis Antetokounmpo, among other stars. The question is, will Ujiri be around to make the sales pitch?

If Ujiri is succession planning, the Raptors would be in capable hands with Webster and assistant GM Dan Tolzman – a couple of rising stars in the executive ranks – steering the ship. Still, there aren’t many people in the business that can replicate Ujiri’s presence and salesmanship. He’s the guy you want leading any meeting with a star free agent, especially if that free agent happens to be a certain Greek forward, with whom Ujiri already has a relationship. But what if Ujiri, himself, is also a free agent?

Simply put, the Raptors can’t let that happen. Assuming there hasn’t been any progress made on the extension front, it’s hard to believe that’s an ownership choice. Meaning, Ujiri will decide if and when the time is right to start the conversation.

Now that the dust is settling on an eventful 2020, this would seem like as good a time as any.

“I don’t know what the timeframe will be,” said Ujiri, who was asked if he anticipates getting a new deal done over the coming months. “I go into this thing with a very positive mind and attitude. And we hope it goes that way.”

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Red Wings sign Moritz Seider to 7-year deal worth nearly $60M

Published

6 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings made another investment this week in a young standout, signing Moritz Seider to a seven-year contract worth nearly $60 million.

The Red Wings announced the move with the 23-year-old German defenseman on Thursday, three days after keeping 22-year-old forward Lucas Raymond with a $64.6 million, eight-year deal.

Detroit drafted Seider with the No. 6 pick overall eight years ago and he has proven to be a great pick. He has 134 career points, the most by a defenseman drafted in 2019.

He was the NHL’s only player to have at least 200 hits and block 200-plus shots last season, when he scored a career-high nine goals and had 42 points for the second straight year.

Seider won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie in 2022 after he had a career-high 50 points.

Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman is banking on Seider, whose contract will count $8.55 million annually against the cap, and Raymond to turn a rebuilding team into a winner.

Detroit has failed to make the playoffs in eight straight seasons, the longest postseason drought in franchise history.

The Red Wings, who won four Stanley Cups from 1997 to 2008, have been reeling since their run of 25 straight postseasons ended in 2016.

Detroit was 41-32-9 last season and finished with a winning record for the first time since its last playoff appearance.

Yzerman re-signed Patrick Kane last summer and signed some free agents, including Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year contract worth $9.5 million after he helped the Florida Panthers hoist the Cup.

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Veterans Tyson Beukeboom, Karen Paquin lead Canada’s team at WXV rugby tournament

Published

7 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

Veterans Tyson Beukeboom and Karen Paquin will lead Canada at the WXV 1 women’s rugby tournament starting later this month in the Vancouver area.

WXV 1 includes the top three teams from the Women’s Six Nations (England, France and Ireland) and the top three teams from the Pacific Four Series (Canada, New Zealand, and the United States).

Third-ranked Canada faces No. 4 France, No. 7 Ireland and No. 1 England in the elite division of the three-tiered WXV tournament that runs Sept. 29 to Oct. 12 in Vancouver and Langley, B.C. No. 2 New Zealand and the eighth-ranked U.S. make up the six-team WVX 1 field.

“Our preparation time was short but efficient. This will be a strong team,” Canada coach Kevin Rouet said in a statement. “All the players have worked very hard for the last couple of weeks to prepare for WXV and we are excited for these next three matches and for the chance to play on home soil here in Vancouver against the best rugby teams in the world.

“France, Ireland and England will each challenge us in different ways but it’s another opportunity to test ourselves and another step in our journey to the Rugby World Cup next year.”

Beukeboom serves as captain in the injury absence of Sophie de Goede. The 33-year-old from Uxbridge, Ont., earned her Canadian-record 68th international cap in Canada’s first-ever victory over New Zealand in May at the Pacific Four Series.

Twenty three of the 30 Canadian players selected for WXV 1 were part of that Pacific Four Series squad.

Rouet’s roster includes the uncapped Asia Hogan-Rochester, Caroline Crossley and Rori Wood.

Hogan-Rochester and Crossley were part of the Canadian team that won rugby sevens silver at the Paris Olympics, along with WXV teammates Fancy Bermudez, Olivia Apps, Alysha Corrigan and Taylor Perry. Wood is a veteran of five seasons at UBC.

The 37-year-old Paquin, who has 38 caps for Canada including the 2014 Rugby World Cup, returns to the team for the first time since the 2021 World Cup.

Canada opens the tournament Sept. 29 against France at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver before facing Ireland on Oct. 5 at Willoughby Stadium at Langley Events Centre, and England on Oct. 12 at B.C. Place.

The second-tier WXV 2 and third-tier WXV 3 are slated to run Sept. 27 to Oct. 12, in South Africa and Dubai, respectively.

WXV 2 features Australia, Italy, Japan, Scotland, South Africa and Wales while WXV 3 is made up of Fiji, Hong Kong, Madagascar, the Netherlands, Samoa and Spain.

The tournament has 2025 World Cup qualification implications, although Canada, New Zealand and France, like host England, had already qualified by reaching the semifinals of the last tournament.

Ireland, South Africa, the U.S., Japan, Fiji and Brazil have also booked their ticket, with the final six berths going to the highest-finishing WXV teams who have not yet qualified through regional tournaments.

Canada’s Women’s Rugby Team WXV 1 Squad

Forwards

Alexandria Ellis, Ottawa, Stade Français Paris (France); Brittany Kassil, Guelph, Ont., Guelph Goats; Caroline Crossley, Victoria, Castaway Wanderers; Courtney Holtkamp, Rimbey, Alta., Red Deer Titans Rugby; DaLeaka Menin, Vulcan, Alta., Exeter Chiefs (England); Emily Tuttosi, Souris, Man., Exeter Chiefs (England); Fabiola Forteza, Quebec City, Stade Bordelais (France); Gabrielle Senft, Regina, Saracens (England); Gillian Boag, Calgary, Gloucester-Hartpury (England); Julia Omokhuale, Calgary, Leicester Tigers (England); Karen Paquin, Quebec City, Club de rugby de Quebec; Laetitia Royer, Loretteville, Que., ASM Romagnat (France); McKinley Hunt, King City, Ont., Saracens (England); Pamphinette Buisa, Gatineau, Que., Ottawa Irish; Rori Wood, Sooke, B.C., College Rifles RFC; Sara Cline, Edmonton, Leprechaun Tigers; Tyson Beukeboom, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England);

Backs

Alexandra Tessier, Sainte-Clotilde-de-Horton, Que., Exeter Chiefs (England); Alysha Corrigan, Charlottetown, P.E.I., CRFC; Asia Hogan-Rochester, Toronto, Toronto Nomads; Claire Gallagher, Caledon, Ont., Leicester Tigers (England); Fancy Bermudez, Edmonton, Saracens (England); Julia Schell, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England); Justine Pelletier, Rivière-du-Loup, Que, Stade Bordelais (France); Mahalia Robinson, Fulford, Que., Town of Mount Royal RFC; Olivia Apps, Lindsay, Ont., Lindsay RFC; Paige Farries, Red Deer, Alta., Saracens (England); Sara Kaljuvee, Ajax, Ont., Westshore RFC; Shoshanah Seumanutafa, White Rock, B.C., Counties Manukau (New Zealand); Taylor Perry, Oakville, Ont., Exeter Chiefs (England).

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.

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Vancouver Canucks star goalie Thatcher Demko working through rare muscle injury

Published

7 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

PENTICTON, B.C. – Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko says he’s been working his way back from a rare lower-body muscle injury since being sidelined in last season’s playoffs.

The 28-year-old all star says the rehabilitation process has been frustrating, but he has made good progress in recent weeks and is confident he’ll be able to return to playing.

He says he and his medical team have spent the last few months talking to specialists around the world, and have not found a single other hockey player who has dealt with the same injury.

Demko missed several weeks of the last season with a knee ailment and played just one game in Vancouver’s playoff run last spring before going down with the current injury.

He was not on the ice with his teammates as the Canucks started training camp in Penticton, B.C., on Thursday, but skated on his own before the sessions began.

Demko posted a 35-14-2 record with a .918 percentage, a 2.45 goals-against average and five shutouts for Vancouver last season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.

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