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Canada Basketball’s chance to shine on world stage put on hold – Sportsnet.ca

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The list of Canadian Olympic athletes that will be affected by what appears certain to be a postponement of the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo is long, their biographies varied.

You have elite athletes struggling to keep their window open for another year and youngsters fighting to push their way through.

In the bigger picture, the 2020 Games were positioned to be a memorable sports moment for Canada, with the Olympic team likely to be the country’s largest contingent of athletes ever thanks in part to a record nine team-sport entries having already qualified, with more on the cusp.

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But if we’re going to pour one out for our Olympians who have had dreams delayed with the news the Canadian Olympic Committee wasn’t going to send a team to Japan even if the International Olympic Committee was determined to plow ahead – although it now appears that even the IOC has seen the light and is thought to be working on a plan to postpone already — can we save a little extra for the Canadian basketball contingent?

What was looking like a summer like no other is now inevitably and sensibly being overtaken by far greater concerns as sports bodies and governments grapple with the fallout from COVID-19, the pandemic that has brought the world largely to its knees for the moment.

“We don’t know when it will be safe to be in a community again, physically, and when that happens we’ll get going again,” said Canada Basketball chief executive officer Glen Grunwald. “Things are changing on a daily basis, we just have to be prepared for however the situation unfolds and do what’s right.”

The timing is tough, there is no denying it.

On both the men’s and women’s side there seemed to be the possibility of a real breakthrough for Canada in what is the glamour event among team sports at the Summer Games.

It has been so long coming.

The Canadian women’s team, which has been marching steadily up the hill since winning a last-chance qualifying to crack the field in London in 2012, seemed to be peaking, coming off quarter-finals appearances during the last two Olympics.

Over the years the team has kept replenishing itself under head coach Lisa Thomaidis, somehow getting younger and more experienced at the same time while adding length and athleticism.

They punched their ticket to Japan by going 3-0 against top competition in Belgium in February and were rolling into Tokyo ranked fourth in the world – the best ever for a Canadian team in any sport other than hockey. A podium finish was in the plan.

On the men’s side things were a little more uncertain – Canada would have had to win its Olympic qualifying tournament in Victoria in June – but the hopes were just as high and arguably equally as justified.

After one Olympic appearance in 32 years and none in 20 years – even as basketball was gaining more and more traction across the country and Canadians were making a bigger name for themselves in the NBA – this was supposed to be the year everything came together.

Lacking a large swath of their 20-plus pool of NBA players, Canada fell short of qualifying for the Olympics at the World Cup in China last year but from that disappointment came a great opportunity.

Community support rallied to fund a successful Canadian bid to host the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Victoria, a six-team event Canada would have to win to advance to Tokyo.

The prospect of playing at home and the lure of the Olympics seemed to resonate.

One by one Canada’s NBA players committed months in advance, with national team general manager Rowan Barrett nudging, beginning with Jamal Murray of the Denver Nuggets and including the likes of emerging star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder, third-year wing Dillon Brooks of the Memphis Grizzlies and on down the line.

Optimism was growing that Andrew Wiggins of the Golden State Warriors was waiting until the end of the NBA season to state his plan to play.

Meanwhile, fans were making plans to be in Victoria in force with organizers predicting a sellout. Hotels were tight as CanBall junkies were building summer plans around watching the most important international basketball played in Canada since the 1994 FIBA World Cup.

It doesn’t take much imagination to picture a who’s who of Canadian basketball, past and present, gathering for a coming out party.

It’s all up in the air now. Shortly after the COC made its decision to not send athletes to Tokyo, Canada Basketball came out in support of the move, even as FIBA gently urged the IOC to postpone the games.

With momentum building towards a postponement it’s a matter of when, not if, the final decision is made on the OQT.

“We’re just waiting for the dominoes to fall,” said Grunwald. “The tournament itself is based upon the Olympics and we’re waiting on the Olympics to make their decision. I’m still very hopeful that we’ll host it here in Canada in Victoria, but the timing of it is obviously up in the air. There’s nothing more to say about it than that.”

Grunwald is confident that if the Games are postponed to 2021, Victoria can still be a viable host for the OQT event although there are too many variables in play to go much further than that.

“The spirit of this has been wonderful,” said Grunwald. “The folks in Victoria aren’t doing it for any other reason than to help their community build a basketball legacy there and help Canada qualify for the Olympics.

“They’re sticking with us and we remain hopeful that it’s all going to happen, that the Olympics will figure out the right time to hold it and it will be a great experience for everyone.”

The delay could create other wrinkles. Is Raptors head coach Nick Nurse under contract to coach the national team through 2020 or through the Olympics, which now could be in 2021? And could the disruption to the NBA season crowd the 2020-21 season – there has been talk of a Christmas-to-August season next year to accommodate a late finish to the suspended 2019-2020 campaign — to the point where he might not be available for an early summer qualifying event?

Again, more unknowns, but Grunwald seemed less concerned on that front.

“I think Nick still wants to coach the team and we want him to coach the team,” he said. “It’s just a matter of the timelines and all that stuff, I don’t see any issues there.”

If there is a positive it’s that Canada’s pool of players could be even deeper. Contract issues that made veterans Tristan Thompson and Kelly Olynyk doubtful for playing in the qualifying tournament this summer should be resolved by 2021 and Dwight Powell should be healthy after a season-ending Achilles injury ruined his chances this year. Meanwhile, Canada’s young core of NBA talent should be that much further along on their development curve.

This was supposed to be the summer that Canada Basketball shone brightest internationally.

Now, thanks to the ultimate plot twist, everyone will have to wait.

That much, at least, we’re used to.

“All the athletes are in the same position and we have to do the best for all,” said Grunwald. “Now’s the time to be smart about it and take our time and get it right.”

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Allen on trade to Devils from Habs: 'Sometimes you've got to be a little bit selfish' – Yahoo Canada Sports

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Jake Allen loved being a member of the Montreal Canadiens.

The hockey-mad market, the crackling Bell Centre on a Saturday night, the Original Six franchise’s iconic logo.

The 33-year-old goaltender is also realistic.

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With the Canadiens still in full rebuild mode — and two young netminders in Sam Montembeault and Cayden Primeau ready for more playing time — Allen could see the writing on the wall.

Desperate for help in their own crease, the New Jersey Devils asked Montreal about the veteran’s availability. But the team, general manager Tom Fitzgerald told reporters earlier this month, was initially on Allen’s no-trade list.

There wasn’t anything the Fredericton product disliked about the organization or city. The Devils simply appeared to have their crease set for years to come.

But when the club that finished with 112 points and made the second round of the playoffs in 2022-23 was badly hampered by poor play from Vitek Vanecek, Nico Daws and Akira Schmid — each netminder owned save percentages below .900 — the Devils circled back.

And Allen had changed his tune.

“Loved my time as a Hab,” he said of pulling on Montreal’s red, white and blue threads. “I always will cherish that. Put on probably the most special jersey in hockey, in my books. But you realize in your career, it doesn’t last forever.

“You’ve got to make decisions sometimes.”

Allen, who is signed through next season, eventually agreed to a deal that sent him to New Jersey ahead of the NHL’s March 8 trade deadline for a conditional third-round pick at the 2025 draft.

Apart from playing meaningful hockey on a team trying to claw its way back into the Eastern Conference playoff race, the swap gave him more runway to get his family settled in a new city instead of waiting to see what this summer’s crowded goalie market might bring.

“Sometimes you’ve got to be a little bit selfish,” said Allen, a Stanley Cup champion with the St. Louis Blues in 2019. “Look yourself in the mirror and wonder what’s best for you and your family.”

He’s been really good for his new team.

Allen was lights out in Tuesday’s first period against the Toronto Maple Leafs, making an eye-popping 25 saves in what would turn into New Jersey’s 6-3 victory.

So far he’s 4-2-0 with a .925 save percentage and a 2.51 goals against average in six starts for the Devils, who sit five points back of the East’s second wild-card spot.

“A real pro,” said interim head coach Travis Green.

Allen is a combined 10-14-3 in 2023-24 with a .900 save percentage and a 3.39 GAA. Across his 11 seasons with St. Louis, Montreal and now New Jersey, he’s 193-164-41 with a .908 save percentage and 2.75 GAA.

“Makes the saves we need to get some momentum back,” Devils captain Nico Hischier said. “If you have a solid goalie in the net, that makes your work easier.”

Allen is also 11-12 with a .924 and a 2.06 GAA all-time in the playoffs — a good sign for his new club should New Jersey manage to make the cut.

For now, though, he’s just enjoying being back in a post-season race.

“I thought this was a good opportunity to come in the rest of this year, play some games,” Allen said.

“It’s been a good start.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 28, 2024.

___

Follow @JClipperton_CP on X.

Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press

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Matthews game-time decision for Maple Leafs against Capitals with illness – NHL.com

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TORONTOAuston Matthews will be a game-time decision for the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Washington Capitals at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; SN1, MNMT) because of an illness.

“It’s going to be on how he feels throughout the day,” Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said.

The forward did not participate in Toronto’s morning skate. Max Domi took his place as the center on a line between Tyler Bertuzzi and Mitch Marner, a right wing recovering from a high-ankle sprain sustained March 7 and will be out the next two games.

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Matthews leads the NHL with 59 goals, one from becoming the ninth player in NHL history with at least two 60-goal seasons. He scored 60 in 73 games in 2021-22, when he won the Rocket Richard Trophy, Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award. He had one goal and nine shots in 23:44 of a 6-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, which extended his point streak to five games (four goals, seven assists).

He missed one game this season with illness, a 7-0 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 16.

“Of course, it’s an adjustment when your best player is out of the lineup,” Domi said, “when anybody is out of the lineup, but I think we’ve done a great job all year of guys stepping up when they have to, and we just have to continue to do that.”

Toronto defenseman Morgan Rielly will miss his second straight game with an upper-body injury.

“He just remains day to day,” Keefe said. “We’re hopeful he’s going to bounce back here. The one thing that is good is once he gets through this day or two here, it’s not going to be a lingering situation. It’s not going to be an injury that’s ongoing. Once he’s past it, he’s past it so we just need to give him some time.”

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Canucks place goalie Thatcher Demko on long-term injured list

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The Vancouver Canucks have placed all-star goalie Thatcher Demko on the long-term injured reserve list retroactively.

“It’s just cap related,” coach Rick Tocchet said after practice Wednesday. “We get some cap relief, that’s all it is.”

The 28-year-old netminder has been considered week to week since being sidelined with a lower-body injury midway through Vancouver’s 5-0 win over the Winnipeg Jets on March 9.

That injury designation hasn’t changed, Tocchet said.

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Demko boasts a 34-18-2 record this season, with a .917 save percentage, a 2.47 goals-against average and five shutouts.

Casey DeSmith has taken over the starting job for Vancouver, going 3-2-1 since Demko’s injury. He has a .899 save percentage on the season with a 2.73 goals-against average and one shutout.

The earliest Demko could be back in the Canucks’ lineup is April 6 against the Kings in Los Angeles.

He’s expected to be a key piece as Vancouver (45-19-8) prepares for its first playoff appearance since the COVID-shortened 2019-20 campaign.

Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin also announced Wednesday that the club has called up forward Arshdeep Bains from the Abbotsford Canucks of the American Hockey League.

“I’d like to see where [Bains is] at,” Tocchet said, noting he isn’t sure whether the 23-year-old winger will slot into the lineup when the Canucks host the Dallas Stars on Thursday.

WATCH | Bains makes NHL debut

 

Surrey, B.C.’s Arshdeep Bains makes Canucks debut

1 month ago

Duration 2:20

Arshdeep Bains from Surrey, B.C., has made his NHL debut with the Vancouver Canucks Tuesday night against the Colorado Avalanche. As CBC’s Joel Ballard reports, it’s been a hard-fought journey for the hometown kid to the big leagues.

Bains played five games for the NHL team in February before being sent back to Abbotsford.

“He went down, he’s done a couple of things that we like, and he’s got some speed,” Tocchet said.

Vancouver may get another forward back in the lineup Thursday.

Dakota Joshua practised in a full-contact jersey on Wednesday for the first time since suffering an upper-body injury in Vancouver’s 4-2 win over the Blackhawks in Chicago on Feb. 13.

The physical winger, who’s set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, has a career-high 26 points (13 goals, 13 assists) this season.

Sitting out injured “hasn’t been fun,” Joshua said.

“It feels like forever,” he said. “But at this point, that’s behind me and I’m moving forward.”

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