The NHL playoffs just wouldn’t be the same without Marc Andre-Fleury being somewhere in the mix.
Unable to backstop retooling Chicago into contention, the three-time Stanley Cup-winner is headed to Minnesota to help the high-scoring Wild shore up their inconsistent goaltending issues for a late-season playoff push.
Minnesota gave up a conditional first-round pick in this year’s draft to acquire the 37-year-old Fleury hours before the NHL trade deadline on Monday.
Fleury, who last missed the playoffs during his first full season in Pittsburgh 16 years ago, jumps 10 spots in the Western Conference standings by landing in Minnesota where he will share the goaltending duties with Cam Talbot. The Wild opened the day sitting fourth overall — and third in the Central Division — in a tightly contested playoff race.
In acquiring Fleury, who won a Vezina Trophy a year ago with Vegas, Minnesota traded backup goalie Kaapo Kahkonen and a fifth-round draft pick to San Jose for defenceman Jake Middleton. Kahkonen had a 12-8-3 record this season and was 0-5-1 with 21 goals allowed in his past six starts.
The Wild made a separate trade in which they acquired a second-round pick in the draft this summer from the rebuilding Arizona Coyotes for unsigned prospect Jack McBain, who represented Canada at the Beijing Olympics without NHL players.
WATCH l Key moves on NHL Trade deadline day:
The key moves on NHL Trade deadline day
3 hours ago
Duration 3:44
Another deadline is in the books, and Rob Pizzo tells you which players find themselves in new jerseys. 3:44
Rangers get Motte from Canucks, Copp from Jets
The Vancouver Canucks have sent depth forward Tyler Motte to the New York Rangers for a fourth-round pick in the 2023 NHL entry draft. The Rangers also acquired another depth forward in Andrew Copp, sending the Winnipeg Jets two conditional second-round picks, a fifth rounder and prospect Morgan Barron in return.
The Rangers also receive a sixth-round pick in the deal with the Jets.
Motte and Copp, both 27, are set to become unrestricted free agents this summer.
Motte, of St. Clair, Mich., has seven goals and eight assists in 49 games for the Canucks this season.
He missed the beginning of the campaign after having off-season neck surgery that limited him to 24 games last year.
Tyler Motte was traded to the Rangers from the Canucks. (Elsa/Getty Images)
Vancouver also claimed veteran forward Brad Richardson off waivers from the Calgary Flames on Monday.
It’s a return to Vancouver for the 37-year-old right-winger who spent two seasons with the team from 2014-16 and has notched two goals, two assists and 27 penalty minutes in 27 games for the Flames this year.
Copp has 13 goals and 22 assists this season, on pace for a career-best campaign. He has 74 goals and 110 assists over eight seasons, all in Winnipeg.
The Jets’ two conditional second-round picks from New York include the Rangers’ own second round pick in 2022 but it will become a first-round pick in 2022 if the New York advances to the Eastern Conference final and Copp plays in at least 50 per cent of the Rangers’ playoff games.
Winnipeg also got the St. Louis Blues’ second round pick in 2022 or New York’s second round pick in 2023.
Habs flip Lehkonen to Avs for pick, prospect
The Montreal Canadiens have traded forward Artturi Lehkonen to the Colorado Avalanche.
Montreal gets defenceman Justin Barron and a second-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft in return.
The 20-year-old Barron played in two games for the Avalanche this season. He has five goals and 15 assists in 43 games for the American Hockey League’s Colorado Eagles this season.
Barron, who played four seasons with the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, was a first-round draft pick (25th overall) of the Avalanche in 2020.
Lehkonen, 26, tallied 13 goals and 16 assists in 58 games for the Canadiens this season, ranking third on the team in points.
He is two points shy of matching his career best (31) set in 82 games during the 2018-19 campaign.
Lehkonen has 74 goals and 75 assists over six NHL seasons, all in Montreal. He has six goals and six assists in 33 post-season games, including three goals in the Canadiens’ run to the Stanley Cup final last season.
Goaltender Andrew Hammond was also traded by the Canadiens ahead of the deadline, sending the veteran backup to the New Jersey Devils.
Centre Nate Schnarr was shipped to Montreal in return.
Oilers acquire Kulak from Habs, Brassard from Flyers
The Edmonton Oilers have acquired defenceman Brett Kulak from the Montreal Canadiens ahead of the trade deadline.
Edmonton sends fellow defenceman William Lagesson, a conditional second-round pick in the 2022 draft and a seventh-round pick in 2024 to the Canadiens.
Montreal will retain 50 per cent of Kulak’s salary.
A 28-year-old pending unrestricted free agent, Kulak has three goals and 13 points in 56 games this season and provide the Oilers depth to their blue line as they push for a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
In 316 career games with the Canadiens and Calgary Flames, the Edmonton native has registered 13 goals and 56 points.
The Oilers also picked up centre Derick Brassard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for a fourth-round selection in 2023.
The Flyers will retain 50 per cent of Brassard’s salary this season.
A 34-year-old native of Hull, Que., Brassard has six goals and 10 assists in 31 games for Philadelphia this season and has played for nine NHL teams since being taken sixth overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2006 draft.
Domi goes to Hurricanes
The Metropolitan Division-leading Carolina Hurricanes acquired forward Max Domi from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for prospect Aidan Hreschuk, Sportsnet reported.
Domi, the 12th overall pick in the 2013 NHL Draft, will head to his fourth team in seven years.
Domi, 27, recorded nine goals and 23 assists in 53 games for Columbus this season. The Blue Jackets landed him in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens just before the start of the 2020-21 season.
Max Domi is headed to the Hurricanes. (Carlos Osorio/The Associated Press)
In seven seasons with the Arizona Coyotes (2015-18), Montreal (2018-20) and Columbus, Domi has amassed 99 goals and 208 assists across 482 career games.
Hreschuk is a left-handed defenceman currently playing at Boston College. Carolina selected him in the third round (94th overall) in the 2021 draft.
Jets send d-man to Pens, who also add forward Rakell
The Winnipeg Jets have traded defenceman Nathan Beaulieu to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2022 NHL draft.
Currently on long-term injury reserve with a lower-body injury, the 29-year-old had four assists in 24 games with the Jets in 2021-22.
The Penguins also added forward Rickard Rakell from the Ducks.
Rakell, 28, has spent his entire 10-year NHL career with Anaheim after it selected him in the first round of the 2011 draft. The Swede plays on the right wing and has recorded 154 goals and 185 assists in 550 career games, including 16 goals and 12 assists this season over 51 games.
The Jets made another trade ahead of Monday’s 3 p.m. ET deadline, shipping the contract of centre Bryan Little and unsigned prospect Nathan Smith to the Arizona Coyotes for a 2022 fourth-round draft pick.
Little, who hasn’t played since November 2019 after being hit in the head with a puck that left him with a perforated eardrum and dealing with vertigo, has two years left on a contract that carries an annual average value of just over $5.29 million US.
The Winnipeg Jets traded defenceman Nathan Beaulieu to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday. (Mitchel Leff/Getty Images)
Beaulieu, meanwhile, is in the final season of a two-year contract with an AAV of $1.25 million.
The pending unrestricted free agent has 12 goals and 94 points in 419 career games with Winnipeg, Montreal and the Buffalo Sabres. He’s added five assists in 21 playoff contests.
Winnipeg did add a player on Monday, picking up forward Zach Sanford from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for a fifth-round pick in this year’s draft.
Sanford, 27, has played 62 games for Ottawa this season with nine goals and eight assists.
Hurricanes sign Kotkaniemi to 8-year extension
Carolina Hurricanes forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi signed an eight-year contract extension.
The Hurricanes said the deal will pay Kotkaniemi an average annual salary of $4.82 million through the 2029-30 campaign.
Kotkaniemi, 21, is making $6.1 million this season after joining the club as a restricted free agent in the offseason. He played his first three NHL seasons with Montreal but the Canadiens declined the offer sheet presented by the Hurricanes.
Kotkaniemi has 11 goals this season to match his career best. He also has 12 assists for 23 points in 59 games.
Overall, Kotkaniemi has 33 goals and 52 assists in 230 career NHL games. The Finnish native was the No. 3 overall pick of the 2018 draft.
DeBrusk staying in Boston
Boston Bruins forward Jake DeBrusk agreed a two-year, $8 million contract extension, hours before the trade deadline, an abrupt change in direction for a player who had requested a trade and been shopped around for months.
General manager Don Sweeney said conversations about DeBrusk continued with teams until the 3 p.m. deadline, but having him signed for two more years gave the team more options and sends a signal to him that he’s valued.
The Bruins entered Monday night’s game against the Montreal Canadiens with 81 points, solidly in fourth place in the Atlantic Division.
DeBrusk, 25, has 15 goals and 11 assists this season. In his five-year NHL career, he has 82 goals and 78 assists.
Flames acquire Carpenter from Chicago
The Calgary Flames have acquired forward Ryan Carpenter from Chicago for a fifth-round pick in the 2024 NHL entry draft.
The 31-year-old centre from Oviedo, Fla., has three goals and eight assists in 59 games for Chicago this season.
Carpenter’s NHL career began in March 2014 when he signed with the San Jose Sharks as a free agent and he went on to play for the Vegas Golden Knights before inking a three-year, $3-million deal with Chicago in 2019.
Over 300 regular-season games, the six-foot, 200-pound forward has tallied 26 goals, 42 assists and 106 penalty minutes.
Sens ink Forsberg to extension
The Ottawa Senators signed goaltender Anton Forsberg to a three-year, $8.25-million contract extension.
The deal with the pending unrestricted free agent that carries an average annual value of $2.75 million was announced just under five hours before the NHL’s 3 p.m. ET trade deadline.
Ottawa made two more deals before the trade cutoff.
The Senators acquired forward Zach Senyshyn and a 2022 fifth-round draft pick from the Boston Bruins for defenceman Josh Brown and a conditional seventh-round selection this year.
Goaltender Michael McNiven was also acquired by the Senators in a deal with the Calgary Flames in exchange for future considerations.
Brown had six assists in 46 games with the Senators in 2021-22, while Senyshyn, the 15th pick in the 2015 draft, has played just 14 NHL contests in his career.
The 29-year-old Forsberg is in his second season in the nation’s capital after being claimed off waivers last March from the Winnipeg Jets.
Forsberg is 14-12-2 with a .918 save percentage and a 2.77 goals-against average in 2021-22 for the rebuilding Senators.
Matt Murray, who is currently out injured, still has two years left on his contract that pays in $6.25 million per season the netminder signed with Ottawa following a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins in October 2020.
Ottawa traded away one of its other pending UFAs on Sunday, shipping centre Nick Paul to the Tampa Bay Lightning for winger Mathieu Joseph and a fourth-round pick in 2024.
Rangers acquire Braun from Flyers
The New York Rangers acquired defenceman Justin Braun from the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Flyers will get a 2023 third-round pick in return.
The Rangers shore up their blueline for their playoff run with a player whose contract expires at the end of the season.
Braun, 35, has 16 points (five goals, 11 assists) and 36 penalty minutes in 61 games this season.
Johansson back to Caps
Marcus Johansson is heading back to the team that drafted him.
The Washington Capitals acquired Johansson from the expansion Seattle Kraken, according to a second person with knowledge of the situation who also spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been announced.
Johansson, who signed with Seattle last summer, is on his sixth team since the Capitals traded him to New Jersey in the summer of 2017. The 31-year-old has six goals and 23 points in 51 games for the Kraken.
Johansson was a 2009 first-round pick of the Capitals, and he played his first seven NHL seasons with Washington.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Lamar Jackson threw for 281 yards and five touchdowns, helping the Baltimore Ravens overcome an early double-digit deficit and extend their National Football League winning streak to five games with a 41-31 victory Monday night over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who lost their top two receivers to injuries.
The two-time NFL MVP improved to 23-1 against NFC teams, the best mark by a quarterback against an opposing conference in NFL history. He’s 3-0 against the Bucs (4-3), who faded after taking a 10-0 lead with help from the 100th TD reception of Mike Evans’ career.
Evans departed with a hamstring injury after Baker Mayfield tried to connect with him in the end zone again, and late in the fourth quarter with the game out of reach, leading Bucs receiver Chris Godwin was carted off the field with a left ankle injury. ESPN declined to show replays of Godwin’s injury, which appeared to be severe.
Jackson completed 17 of 22 passes without an interception, including TD throws of nine and four yards to Mark Andrews. He also tossed scoring passes of 49 yards to Rashod Bateman, 18 yards to Justice Hill and 11 yards to Derrick Henry, who rushed for 169 yards on 15 carries. Bateman had four catches for 121 yards.
The Ravens (5-2) rebounded from a slow start on defence, with cornerback Marlon Humphrey turning the game around with a pair of second-quarter interceptions — one of them in the Baltimore end zone. Jackson led a four-play, 80-yard TD drive after the first pick, and the second interception set up Justin Tucker’s 28-yard field goal for a 17-10 halftime lead.
Elsewhere in the NFL:
—
CARDINALS 17 CHARGERS 15
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Kyler Murray ran for a 44-yard touchdown and led the Cardinals on a drive that set up Chad Ryland’s 32-yard field goal as time expired, and Arizona rallied for a win over Los Angeles.
Cameron Dicker kicked his fifth field goal of the night — this one from 40 yards — to give the Chargers a 15-14 lead with 1:54 left. But the Cardinals (3-4) quickly moved into field goal range, aided by an unnecessary roughness call on Cam Hart that cost Los Angeles (3-3) 15 yards.
Arizona followed that with a bruising 33-yard run by James Conner, who finished with 101 yards on the ground. That eventually set up Ryland’s short field goal and a Cardinals celebration.
It was a frustrating night for the Chargers’ offence, which gained 395 yards but couldn’t find the end zone. Justin Herbert completed 27 of 39 passes for 349 yards.
Dicker booted field goals of 59, 50, 28, 47 and 40 yards, the first of which tied a franchise record for distance.
Murray ran for a spectacular touchdown early in the fourth quarter, rolling to his left before turning on the jets, beating safety Junior Colston to the sideline and then coasting into the end zone for a 14-9 lead.
It was Murray’s second long touchdown run in three weeks after he scored on a 50-yard sprint against San Francisco. It was also Murray’s 20th career game with a touchdown pass and run.
Murray completed 14 of 26 passes for 145 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Whitecaps have been here before — literally and figuratively.
With the season hanging in the balance, the ‘Caps were dealt a blow last week when the club learned it wouldn’t be able to play a post-season wild-card game in its home stadium, B.C. Place, due to a scheduling conflict.
The Whitecaps ceded home field advantage to their regional rival, the Portland Timbers. The two clubs will battle for the final playoff spot in Major League Soccer’s Western Conference in Oregon on Wednesday.
The winner will face No. 1-seed Los Angeles FC in a best-of-three first-round series, starting Sunday.
An unforeseen hurdle like a change of venues is nothing new for the ‘Caps, said defender Ranko Veselinovic, who was part of the team that was forced to relocate first to Portland, then Utah during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It feels that always something happens for us, but it is what it is. So far, we’ve managed to always find solutions for those situations,” said the Serbian centre back. “But I hope this team can find it one more time, because we need it this time. And it will be a really nice feeling in those circumstances to go in, win and go face L.A. in the next round.”
Vancouver (13-13-8) heads into the post-season winless in its last seven MLS games and with losses in four straight after dropping a 2-1 road decision to Real Salt Lake on Saturday.
The skid followed a run that saw the club go 4-1-3 across all competitions between late August and late September.
There’s just one way to return to that level, said Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini.
“The work is the only way to do it. Try to put the work in and try to put the team in a way that they’re going to regain the form and the way that they were in the past,” he said.
Despite the final score, Sartini has seen positives in the way his team played in its two most recent losses.
“I think already we turned the corner,” he said. “And we start from there to build and build and build.”
Facing challenges together can help a team build, whether it’s a winless skid or an unexpected hurdle, said Vancouver’s captain Ryan Gauld.
“When you’re going through adversity, that’s when people start to raise their voice a little bit. You get good when the problems arise, you get a lot of people coming together to make sure we get out of it,” said the Scottish attacking midfielder.
“And we’ve had a tough time the last few games, but everyone’s aware of the fact that we’re a much better team than we’ve shown, and we need to find a way to get back to doing what we’re good at.”
The ‘Caps face a familiar foe in the Timbers (12-11-11).
The two sides have already met three times this season, with each coming out of the series with a win, a loss and a draw.
Portland has also struggled in recent weeks and are winless in their last five MLS outings (0-1-4).
The Timbers boast one of the league’s top offensive units, though, with threats such as Evander. The Brazilian midfielder notched 15 goals and 19 assists during the regular season.
To earn a win on Wednesday, the Whitecaps must be solid defensively, Gauld said.
“They must be one of the best attacks in the league. They have a lot of good players, and they can hurt you if you switch off,” he said. “So just being concentrated from the first whistle, and just being hard to beat, being stuffy. Just being on it for the full 90 minutes.”
A victory in the wild-card match would guarantee Vancouver at least one home playoff game, a factor that Sartini said would be a big reward for his group.
The entire team relished the experience of playing post-season soccer in front of more than 30,000 fans last year, the coach said, and the desire to repeat the feat is high as the club heads to Portland.
“Everyone is happy to be in the playoffs. So we don’t have to be moody to be in the playoff. And we go in there, we’re play one of our rivals. So it’s gonna be a nice game to show up and to play our best game possible.”
VANCOUVER WHITECAPS (13-13-8) AT PORTLAND TIMBERS (12-11-11)
Wednesday, Providence Park
HISTORY BOOKS: This will mark the seventh all-time post-season meeting between the Timbers and ‘Caps, dating back to 1975. The last time the two clubs squared off in a playoff game was during the Western Conference semifinal in 2015. Portland won the two-game aggregate series and went on to hoist the MLS Cup.
ROAD WARRIORS: The ‘Caps boasted a 7-6-4 record on the road during regular-season play — better than the 6-7-4 showing they posted at B.C. Place.
POST-SEASON PARTY: Wednesday will mark the first time the Timbers have hosted a post-season game since 2021.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.
GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — Scotland conceived rugby sevens in the 1880s yet it will not feature in the scaled-back 2026 Commonwealth Games hosted by Glasgow.
Other sports that have also been dropped include field hockey, triathlon, badminton, Twenty20 cricket, squash, and diving.
The Games will have a 10-sport program in four venues. Athletics and swimming are compulsory while there will also be track cycling, gymnastics, netball, weightlifting, boxing, judo, bowls and 3×3 basketball.
There will also be integrated para events in six of those sports: Athletics, swimming, track cycling, weightlifting, bowls and basketball.
The Games will take place from July 23-Aug. 2 after Glasgow stepped in when the Australian state of Victoria withdrew last year because of rising costs.
It was not easy to decide which sports to include, Commonwealth Games Scotland chairman Ian Reid told the BBC on Tuesday.
“I think everybody recognises that these events need to be more affordable, lighter and we would have loved to have all of our sports and all of our athletes competing but unfortunately it’s just not deliverable or affordable for this time frame,” Reid said.
Athletes and support staff will be housed in hotels. Around 3,000 athletes are expected to compete from up to 74 Commonwealth nations and territories representing a combined total of 2.5 billion people, a third of the world’s entire population.
More than 500,000 tickets made available for spectators.
The Commonwealth Games Federation chief executive Katie Sadleir said: “The 2026 Games will be a bridge to the Commonwealth Games of tomorrow, an exciting first step in our journey to reset and redefine the Games as a truly collaborative, flexible and sustainable model for the future that minimises costs, reduces the environmental footprint, and enhances social impact. In doing so, increasing the scope of countries capable of hosting.”
Glasgow hosted the event in 2014 at a cost of more than 540 million pounds.
