They tried for weeks to generate a trade market, ready to dump the goaltender in order to dump the $1.25-million bonus for Halak that will count against the Canucks’ salary cap next season — after his one-year contract has expired and he’s playing elsewhere.
But the appeal of Halak, awful in his only two starts in the seven weeks that preceded the National Hockey League’s trading deadline on Monday, was never enough to make up for dislike of his bonus.
And so, still with the Canucks, Halak on Wednesday played the first game of the end of his time in Vancouver and was brilliant during a 3-1 road win against the Colorado Avalanche.
The 36-year-old’s satisfaction with his performance, and the utter joy of teammates for him, was evident in the receiving line of hugs Halak received at the end of a win that was even more improbable than management’s failed trade mission.
Was it worth $1.25 million? Not yet.
Maybe a sad ending to the Canucks season can still be averted. Because if a team that looked as exhausted and unfocused as Vancouver did on a disappointing seven-game homestand that ended Sunday can go into Denver and justly beat the best team in NHL, holding Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar and the Avalanche without an even-strength goal, a playoff spot must still be at least possible.
Starting goalie Thatcher Demko, who had appeared in 19 straight games, will be back in the crease Thursday in Minnesota as the Canucks continue to try to beat odds and formidable opponents.
“Now that trade deadline is over, I don’t have to focus on anything else,” Halak told reporters after his first win since Jan. 31. “I’m here, and I just want to help the team because we are in a playoff push and we need to be playing playoff hockey from now on if we want to make it.
“I didn’t know what was going to happen, honestly. Am I going to be moved or am I going to remain a Canuck. Now that it’s done, I can focus on hockey and being here and try to do my best whenever I get a chance.”
Under the dire circumstances, it was probably Halak’s best game this season.
“It’s been (crappy), you know,” teammate J.T. Miller said of what Halak has endured the last couple of months. “We feel so good that he could play the way he did today. I mean, he was an absolute rock. He was on. You could just tell this morning. He had that aura about him that he was going to be a difference-maker today. And he played awesome.
“We’re all very happy for him and he deserves it. It’s been a long year. It feels like every time he goes in, we play like crap. So it’s nice to put a decent performance in front of him and then when stuff happened, he was there to shut the door. So it was awesome.”
The last of Halak’s 32 saves came in traffic against Mikko Rantanen with 30 seconds remaining and the Avalanche attacking 6-on-5. It allowed Bo Horvat to power his way to an empty-net goal that clinched it.
Brock Boeser broke a scoreless tie with a top-corner wrist shot 1:23 into the final period after Elias Pettersson forced a turnover, and Miller, who won a head-to-head matchup against MacKinnon at even strength, outbattled the Colorado superstar to sweep in the rebound from Tanner Pearson’s shot on a 2-on-1 at 3:15.
Colorado, which leads the NHL in points, is second in scoring and was 25-3-3 in Denver before Wednesday, generated its only goal on the power play at 6:15 of the final period when Nazem Kadri flipped a rebound over Halak.
MacKinnon took the initial shot, one of four he had on a night when the centre’s ice time of 25:36 was more than any Canuck defenceman.
“I was told I was going to match up against one of the best lines in hockey,” Miller said. “Like, that’s why I play. I want to be on against those guys. Being out there against them, I know it brings the best out of me. Not all the time are you going to hold that team to one goal. We just tried to rise to the occasion today. We needed a win. We’re still not out of it.”
Coach Bruce Boudreau said after the morning skate that the only people who believe the Canucks are finished in the playoff race are outside of the team.
After the game, he said it was the Canucks’ best performance since he became coach on Dec. 5. The team is 23-11-6 under Boudreau and is three points out of a playoff spot, although most of the teams it is chasing in the Western Conference have played fewer games.
“We used the word ‘committed’ before the game,” Boudreau said. “And every one of them was committed.”
“It seems like the harder our challenge, we play better sometimes,” Miller said. “That was the ballsiest effort we’ve had this season.
“We had everybody buy in today. When we do that, we win almost every single time. This is going to be an awesome road trip for us; I don’t think we’re done yet.”
After facing the Wild, the second half of the Canucks’ trip has stops in Dallas and St. Louis. Then Vancouver plays at home against the Blues, before home-and-away games against the Vegas Golden Knights.
The survival of the Canucks’ season hinges on these seven games.
“Nothing’s changed since Bruce came in,” Miller said. “We know we needed to win, you know, 70 per cent of our games or more the rest of the season to get in the playoffs. Nothing’s changed.
“Right when you start to think you’re out of it, you’re going to put yourself out of it. But there’s none of that in our room. We believe in there. It’s going to be hard, but it seems the harder it gets, the better we play and we kind of enjoy that.”
CLEVELAND (AP) — Restricted free agent forward Isaac Okoro has agreed to re-sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers on a three-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Saturday.
Okoro’s new deal is worth $38 million, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the contract has not been signed or announced by the team.
ESPN.com first reported the agreement, citing Okoro’s representation.
The fifth overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, Okoro is Cleveland’s best perimeter defender, often drawing the assignment of guarding the opponent’s top scorer. Okoro also has worked to improve his offensive game.
The 23-year-old averaged 9.4 points and 3.0 rebounds in 69 games — 42 starts — last season for the Cavs, who beat Orlando in the opening round of the playoffs before losing to eventual champion Boston.
Okoro shot a career-best 39% on 3-pointers, forcing teams to come out and guard him.
His agreement caps an extraordinarily busy summer for the Cavs that began with coach J.B. Bickerstaff being fired and replaced by Kenny Atkinson. All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell signed a three-year, $150 million extension in July, ending months of speculation that he wanted out of Cleveland.
Also, power forward Evan Mobley signed a five-year, $224 deal and center Jarrett Allen signed a three-year, $91 million extension.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.
Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.
In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.
Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.
Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.
He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.
The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.
Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.
He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.
George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.
Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.
In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.
St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
ON DECK
Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
