GM Jim Benning has taken a lot of heat for how the Vancouver Canucks have performed this season.
And rightly so.
The Canucks have had an awful first two months, posting a 9-14-2 record, good for the fifth-worst winning percentage (.400) in the NHL. They’re not as good as last season, and a big reason why is because of Benning’s mismanagement of the salary cap over the years.
And while he’s been rightly criticized for many of his offseason moves — re-signing Jake Virtanen while letting Tyler Toffoli walk chief among them — he did make at least one right call.
The Canucks were faced with a dilemma with regards to Jacob Markstrom and Thatcher Demko. Markstrom had just been named team MVP for a second consecutive season, and was widely viewed as one of the top goalies in the NHL. Demko, however, had just come off a sensational run of games in the playoffs.
The sample size favoured Markstrom, but age favoured Demko, who is six years younger. With the Seattle expansion draft looming, keeping both goaltenders was not possible, as Markstrom not only needed a raise, he wanted a no-movement clause as well.
So Markstrom signed a six-year, $36 million contract with the Calgary Flames, with a full no-movement clause, and the Canucks hitched their wagon to Demko.
It was a risk, but so far, it looks like the right decision.
To start, the Canucks have taken a step back, and likely are at least a couple years away from being able to truly be considered a Stanley Cup contender. By that time, Markstrom will be 33, and could see a drop in his performance.
Demko had only ever started 34 games heading into this season, so he was unproven. The team signed Braden Holtby in free agency, with the very real possibility that the former Stanley Cup winner could take over the starter’s job.
Instead, the opposite has happened.
The jury’s still out on Holtby and his $4 million cap hit, but Demko appears to have solidified a spot as the Canucks’ No. 1 goalie. The San Diego native has been getting better as the season has gone on, and his numbers are reflecting that. He has started seven of the team’s last nine games, posting a .921 save percentage in that time, including his first-career regular season shutout on Monday night in Winnipeg.
“His game is growing,” head coach Travis Green said after Monday’s win in Winnipeg. “I don’t think he had the best start to the season, but he’s worked hard on his game. I think the team’s playing better in front of him and he’s given us some real solid goaltending here. It’s good to see.”
Demko’s save percentage has climbed back up to .907, which is only 20th out of 36 goalies with at least 10 starts this season, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. Using Evolving-Hockey’s goals-saved above expected metric, Demko ranks fifth among goalies with 10+ games, posting a 3.73 GSAx.
And certainly that makes sense, given how bad the Canucks were defensively early in the season.
The Canucks gave up a whopping 35.7 shots per game in their first 15 games, but just 27.9 in the 10 games since. It’s hard to post impressive numbers, at least by the traditional metrics, when you’re facing that shot volume coupled with the difficulty of the chances being leaked.
But while his goals-against average and save percentage dropped, his confidence didn’t, according to his head coach.
“He’s been fine mentally here. He knows he’s played well,” said Green. “I think it’s different when you don’t play well and the team loses when you’re in net. Obviously our goaltenders are very competitive and they want to win.”
“He’s been working hard with [goaltending coach Ian Clark], not just on his game but on the mental part. He’s been in a good place, even though we haven’t won as many games as we’d like to, or he’d like to.”
Demko helped Vancouver win on Monday but will get a rest tonight, on the second half of back-to-back nights. But looking forward, Demko should get an opportunity for another run of games.
The Canucks will return home to Vancouver after tonight’s game for a difficult five-game homestand, playing the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens twice each, and the Edmonton Oilers once. Demko could get all five of those games, and the Canucks likely need him to be at the top of his game if they want to win them.
None of this is to suggest that Markstrom has been poor in Calgary — he has a .909 save percentage in 15 starts, and is 18th in the goals-saved above expected metric (-2.11) among goalies with 10+ games. But at worst, the two goalies have been comparable this season, and when you take into account Demko’s age and contract status, it was the right call to keep him.
NEW YORK – Toronto Blue Jays reliever Chad Green and Canadian slugger Tyler O’Neill of the Boston Red Sox were named finalists for the Major League Baseball Players’ Association’s American League comeback player award on Monday.
Chicago White Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet was the other nominee.
New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani and Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. were named player of the year finalists.
The award winners, selected via player voting, will be named Saturday before Game 2 of the World Series.
Green, who missed most of the 2022 and ’23 seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery, was a high-leverage option for the Blue Jays this past season and filled in at closer over the second half of the campaign.
The right-hander converted his first 16 save opportunities and finished the year with a 4-6 record, 17 saves and a 3.21 earned-run average over 53 appearances.
O’Neill, a native of Burnaby, B.C., also endured back-to-back injury-plagued seasons in ’22 and ’23.
After being traded to the Red Sox in the off-season, O’Neill set an MLB record by hitting a homer in his fifth straight Opening Day. He finished with 31 homers on the year and had an OPS of .847.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
Alabama’s Mark Sears and North Carolina‘s RJ Davis looked into the possibility of leaving for the NBA before deciding to return for another college season.
Their decisions helped their teams earn top-10 rankings in the AP Top 25 and earned both players some preseason honors, too.
Sears was a near-unanimous selection for The Associated Press preseason All-America men’s basketball team released Monday, earning all but one vote from a 55-person national media panel. Davis was right behind him, nabbing 51 votes.
They were joined by Kansas big man Hunter Dickinson, Auburn forward Johni Broome, Arizona guard Caleb Love and Duke freshman Cooper Flagg. Love and Flagg tied for the final spot, creating a six-man team that includes only the ACC, Big 12 and SEC.
Alabama twin bill
Sears was a key cog in the Crimson Tide’s first trip to the Final Four a year ago, orchestrating one of college basketball’s highest-scoring teams.
The 6-foot-1 guard was named a second-team AP All-America after averaging 21.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists. He was the first Division I player in 31 years to have 795 points, 150 rebounds, 145 assists and 95 three-pointers in a single season while breaking the Alabama single-season record with 26 games with at least 20 points.
Sears worked out for NBA scouts during the offseason before deciding to return to Alabama, earning the Crimson Tide a No. 2 ranking in the preseason AP Top 25.
“I saw the team that we had and I wanted to be a part of it, and bring home Alabama’s first national championship in basketball,” Sears said.
Across the state at rival Auburn, Broome made a quick decision about his future, announcing in April that he would be back for a fifth season.
The 6-10 forward was a third-team AP All-American last season after averaging 16.5 points and 8.5 rebounds while shooting nearly 55% from the floor. With an eye on an NBA future, Broome worked hard on his perimeter shooting during the offseason and his return earned Auburn a No. 11 preseason ranking.
“My main goal is a team goal, which is to win the national championship, to make it as far as I can in March Madness,” Broome said. “When a team shines, everyone shines individually.”
Along Tobacco Road
Like Sears, Davis has similar aspirations after opting to return for his fifth season at North Carolina.
The 6-foot guard was an AP All-American last season and the ACC player of the year after averaging 21.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists on a team that reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Davis enters this year within reach of former North Carolina big man Tyler Hansbrough’s all-time ACC scoring record.
“I know there’s more work to be done,” Davis said. “I know my jersey’s not going up until I leave. So there’s some more records to break and some more work to be done. I’m satisfied but I’m not satisfied, if that makes sense.”
Up the road at Duke, Flagg was the only underclassman on the preseason All-America team after arriving with tons of hype. The 6-9 swingman was the No. 1-rated high school recruit out of Newport, Maine and has been projected as the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft.
Flagg has the skills of a guard, but can also play inside and has worked hard on his perimeter shooting, giving him the potential to be one of college basketball’s most versatile players. He’s part of a stellar recruiting class that has No. 7 Duke eyeing a deep March run.
Big 12 duo
Dickinson was the biggest move in the transfer portal last spring after leaving Michigan for Kansas. The 7-2 center lived up to the billing, averaging 17.9 points and 10.9 rebounds while leading the Jayhawks back to the NCAA Tournament.
Love’s decision to return for a second season at No. 10 Arizona has ratcheted up expectations in the desert for the Big 12 rival of Kansas.
The athletic 6-4 guard had a high-scoring career at North Carolina and continued it after transferring to Arizona last season. He was the Pac-12 player of the year and a third-team All-American after averaging 18 points per game and making 92 3-pointers.
Love tested the NBA waters this summer before deciding to return.
“He’s had a very successful college career thus far,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said. “He’s kind of this last generation of player that’s going to get better with this extra year, and so I just encourage him to take advantage of it.”
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CLEVELAND (AP) — Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson will miss the rest of Cleveland‘s season after rupturing his right Achilles tendon on Sunday against Cincinnati, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Monday.
Watson will soon undergo surgery, said the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the team has not announced the results of imaging tests taken on his leg.
It’s the second significant injury in two seasons for Watson, who broke the glenoid (socket) bone in his throwing shoulder last year.
The 29-year-old Watson went down without being touched on a draw play late in the first half. His right leg buckled and Watson collapsed to the turf. TV replays showed his calf rippling, consistent with an Achilles injury.
As he laid on the ground, there was cheering by some Cleveland fans, leading to some of Watson’s teammates criticizing that behavior during the team’s fifth straight loss.
The injury is yet another twist in Watson’s divisive stay with the Browns.
Cleveland traded three first-round draft picks to Houston and signed him to a fully guaranteed $230 million in 2022. The deal came amid Watson being accused by more than two dozen women of sexual assault and harassment during massage therapy sessions. He settled civil lawsuits in all but one of those cases.
Watson was suspended by the NFL for his first 11 games with the Browns and then made just six starts last season before hurting his shoulder.
