Sports
Behind Ilya Mikheyev’s last-minute RFA contract with Maple Leafs
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TORONTO – Fewer than 24 hours before Wednesday’s scheduled arbitration case, restricted free agent Ilya Mikheyev and the Toronto Maple Leafs found common ground Tuesday night — although it did mean a last-minute financial concession on the player’s part.
The Russian winger and the club agreed to a two-year contract worth an average annual value of $1.645 million that will see Mikheyev in blue and white through the 2021-22 season and walk him to unrestricted free agency at age 27.
“Ilya decided to step off a little bit from an already agreed number to help the team fit under the cap,” Mikheyev’s agent, Dan Milstein, told Sportsnet after tweeting news of the signing.
“For Ilya, it was less about the money, but more about the role in the organization. He wishes to win the Stanley Cup. It’s been a lifelong dream.”
Mikheyev’s two-year pact carries a $1.1 million salary in 2020-21 and $2.19 million in 2021-22.
According to Milstein, the sides had initially agreed to a cap hit slightly higher than $1.645 million.
The agent was on the phone explaining the bridge deal’s terms to Mikheyev when the Maple Leafs quickly called back requesting the forward take slightly less so they could be cap compliant for 2021’s opening night.
The Leafs and Mikheyev discussed the sophomore’s position in a winger-loaded roster “extensively” during the negotiations, which had been ongoing for weeks.
“We know what they have going. We know what the goals are. Toronto and both camps communicated very clearly,” Milstein said. “We feel very comfortable about the next season, and Ilya is very excited about the next season as well.”
The 26-year-old Mikheyev — fast a fan favourite — appeared in only 39 games as a rookie with the Maple Leafs in 2019-20, scoring eight goals and adding 15 assists.
Returning for post-season action after suffering a gruesome wrist injury in late December, Mikheyev failed to register a point during the club’s five-game playoff qualification series versus Columbus.
“He would’ve liked to help the team get past Columbus, but overall this was a good first-year experience for him,” Milstein said. “He’s adjusted. He’s adapted. And I expect him to have a better season next year.”
He elected to file for salary arbitration to buy time, and a deadline, for amicable negotiations.
Mikheyev filed for one year at $2.7 million; the Leafs requested two years at $1 million.
But, Milstein maintains, the strongest efforts on both sides have long been directed at striking a two-year pact that worked to provide Mikheyev and his family a little more certainty in uncertain times.
The player affectionately known as “Mickey” to his teammates and “Souperman” to fans stayed up to the wee hours in Russia, where he’s training, in order to sign the paperwork.
“The first season didn’t go as well as planned, due to the injury, but it was never a question of whether he was coming back or not,” Milstein said. “He stayed up through the night, and we took care of business.”
Milstein has a tight working relationship with general manager Kyle Dubas and the Maple Leafs.
The agent is quick to note that 12 of his players have been welcomed into the Toronto system over the past three years, including winger Egor Korshkov (currently on loan to Yaroslav Lokomotiv of the KHL), 2020 first-round pick Rodion Amirov and new KHL import Alexander Barabanov.
“While we were negotiating (Mikheyev’s contract) and perhaps disagreeing a little bit, I had to stop and talk to (the Leafs) about another player,” Milstein said. “We try to have good relationships with everybody, but a client comes first.”
Barabanov, 26, will join Mikheyev in trying to secure ice time from coach Sheldon Keefe in a competitive forward group that has added Wayne Simmonds, Joe Thornton, Jimmy Vesey, Joey Anderson and Travis Boyd to the mix since free agency opened.
Barabanov flew to Toronto in early September and is preparing for his first North American campaign on this side of the pond.
Make no mistake: Like Mikheyev before him, Barabanov has his sights in the NHL, not the AHL.
“I feel good about his prospects. He’s a world-class player,” Milstein said. “I’m not a coach. I’m not going to make any predictions. But I feel good about it. You can quote me on that. I feel good about it. Barabanov is an Olympic champion.
“He is a phenomenal player, and I expect him to do well here in North America.”
With Mikheyev signed, the Maple Leafs only need to reach agreements with RFAs Travis Dermott and Anderson.
Source:- Sportsnet.ca
Sports
Brad Treliving on Mitch Marner's injury status: "In all likelihood, it is a minor injury, but we want to be respectful of it" – Maple Leafs Hot Stove
At the NHL GM Meetings, Brad Treliving spoke to TSN’s Geno Reda about the status of Mitch Marner’s ankle injury, his options in net, and his first trade deadline as manager of the team.
When you hear high-ankle sprain, there is a bit of trepidation that it could be a lingering issue. Are you concerned about it at all?
Treliving: In all likelihood, it is a minor injury, but we want to be respectful of it. We have some time now. Mitch has been off the ice in the last couple of days, but we will ramp him up this week and take it day by day to see how he is feeling. Hopefully, he will be back sooner than later.
There was a scare with Ilya Samsonov when he went down during practice, but he is okay and still playing. How important is it for you as the GM to know who your number-one goalie is before the postseason?
Treliving: The good news is that we have two goalies who are really capable. Interesting situations for both. We know the season Ilya has had. The way he has bounced back and played recently gives us great confidence in him. And we know what Joe (Woll) is capable of.
Joe has gone through an injury and come back from it. Now, it is just a matter of him getting into the net. You try to balance both of those things with the fact that these are really important games. The points are important.
Sammy is going well right now. We have enough games down the stretch where both goalies are going to get into the net. That question will answer itself as we get closer to the playoffs.
We have to qualify first, but we feel confident in both goaltenders. Hopefully, both will be healthy when we get there. We are confident in both guys.
You made the comment, “We did all we thought we could do,” after the trade deadline. You inherited a lot of the roster and cap situation. How much longer do you think it will be before you can feel as though it is “your” team and you are heading into a postseason with a team you were able to put together?
Treliving: I have had an opportunity to do those things from day one. We have made some changes. We made some additions.
Through the deadline, there are three factors: there is the availability of players, those that fit, and the cost of those players. What kind of impact are they going to have on your team?
We’re excited about the things we did and the players we added at the deadline. We want to manage both the immediate right now but also the assets that we do have remaining. At the same time, what was the true availability of certain players?
We will continue to work on it. The deadline has passed. We are focused on finishing the regular season and getting into the playoffs. We will continue to work to make this team better throughout the summer and go from there.
It looks like the team is locked into the third-place spot in the Atlantic Division. That would mean either Florida or Boston in the first round. Do you feel the team is more ready to face either of them this time around?
Treliving: We are not going to get too far ahead of ourselves. We have to secure a spot first. That is goal number one. We have a lot of difficult games down the stretch. Once we can secure a spot, we’ll start focusing on who we are playing.
It sounds cliche, but it is the truth. Every team is a great team — certainly in our division. Boston and Florida are great teams, and you look at Tampa. Detroit has had some struggles recently, but they’ve had a heck of a year.
The division is deep as it is throughout the conference. We are not focused on who a potential matchup could be. Number one, we are focused on getting there. Number two, it’s about getting our game to the highest level we can get to. Once we get there, we will play who we play and go from there.
Sports
Canada's Team Homan down Norway for fourth straight win at women's worlds – TSN
SYDNEY, N.S. — Canada’s Rachel Homan continued to roll at the women’s world curling championship with a 9-4 win Monday over Norway’s Marianne Roervik.
Homan improved to 4-0 after Canada’s lone game of the day at Centre 200.
Tuesday will be an important day for Homan, vice Tracy Fleury, second Emma Miskew and lead Sarah Wilkes because they face two undefeated countries.
Homan takes on Italy’s Stefania Constantini (4-0) in the morning and defending champion Silvana Tirinzoni of Switzerland (5-0) at night.
“They’re two phenomenal teams and we know we will have to bring the same, or more, tomorrow,” Homan said. “I know they’re going to bring their A games, and we’re going to have to do the same.”
Norway shook hands when Homan hit for three points in the eighth end Monday.
After blanking the third, Homan’s shot stone on the button had opposing stones above and below in the fourth. Canada’s sweepers Miskew and Wilkes dragged Homan’s draw and curled it to the four-foot rings for another deuce and a 4-1 lead.
“Really well swept,” the skip said. “Tracy’s reading the line really good and called a good one there. Definitely a huge shot we needed to make sure we scored because it was looking like a steal for a while there.
“We’re all making a ton of big shots. It’s been going really good this week and hopefully it can continue.”
Norway countered with its first deuce of the game in the fifth end to trail 4-3.
Kristin Skaslien, who throws fourth stones for Roervik, navigated guards for a takeout at the back of the rings. A measurement on second stones confirmed Norway’s two points.
But Canada tightened its grip in the sixth end with Homan’s triple takeout to lie three with her first stone.
Skaslien’s shooter rolling wide left the Canadian skip a draw for a 6-3 lead.
Canada curled 92 per cent as a team in the game, led by Homan’s 94 per cent.
“(She’s) working really hard and it’s showing,” Miskew said. “The difference this year is we’re all throwing the rock very similar so she knows exactly how she has to throw her stones and trust what we tell her to make every shot.
“She’ll make anything out there.”
Homan opened the championship with a 7-6 victory over Sweden, a 7-4 defeat of Denmark, and a 10-6 win over the United States.
Norway (2-3) bounced back in Monday’s evening draw with a 11-5 victory in nine ends over Turkey’s Dilsat Yildiz (1-4).
Italy downed Tabitha Peterson of the U.S. 10-3 on Monday afternoon to drop the latter to 2-3.
South Korea’s Eunji Gim (3-1) was a 9-4 winner over Japan’s Miyu Ueno.
Estonia’s Liisa Turman (1-4) went an extra end for a 10-7 win over New Zealand’s Jessica Smith (1-4), but lost 10-9 to Demark (4-1) in the evening draw when Madeleine Dupont counted three in the 10th end.
Tirinzoni stayed unbeaten with an 8-7 decision over Turkey’s Dilsat Yildiz in the morning draw. Switzerland then won its fifth straight by beating Japan (1-4) 10-3 in eight ends in the evening draw. Tirinzoni scored three in the sixth end to go up 7-2, then added another three in the eighth to seal the deal.
Tirinzoni and teammate Alina Paetz, who throws fourth stones for the Swiss, are looking to become the first women to win five consecutive world championships.
The COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the 2020 women’s world championship after Tirinzoni was victorious in 2019. Tirinzoni went on to build a run of titles in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
After dropping three straight, Sweden’s Anna Hasselborg got into the win column with a quick, six-end 8-2 decision over New Zealand in the morning. She improved to 2-3 in the evening with a six-end 8-1 win over Scotland’s Rebecca Morrison, who slipped to 1-4. Scotland lost 9-2 to Denmark in seven ends earlier in the day.
The top six teams in the 13-country championship advance to the playoff round. Ties for the playoffs will be solved by head-to-head results.
The top two teams from round-robin play get byes to Saturday’s semifinals. The third-place team will play the sixth and fourth will play fifth in the qualifying-round games that morning.
The winners of the qualifying-round games advance to the semifinals. The semifinal losers will play for the bronze medal Sunday morning. The winners meet for the gold Sunday evening.
Homan won the 2017 world championship in Beijing with Miskew, Joanne Courtney and Lisa Weagle. Jennifer Jones skipped the last Canadian team to win it in 2018 in North Bay, Ont.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 18, 2024.
Sports
Flames’ Wolf gets welcome-to-the-NHL moment from Capitals’ Ovechkin – Sportsnet.ca
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