The last time Blake Coleman was acquired by a team, he was considered the “final piece” needed to complete Tampa Bay’s Stanley Cup puzzle.
Two championships later, the 29-year-old forward is coming to Calgary with slightly less fanfare.
A whole lot more money, though.
The two-time 20-goal scorer will be paid $29.4 million over the next six years ($4.9 million AAV) – a hefty price to bring work ethic, leadership and a championship pedigree to a team looking to add all three.
Tabbed to play middle-six minutes on either wing, Coleman will be tasked to provide energy while exemplifying the physical and defensive-first mentality the new coach demands.
The lefty kills penalties, forechecks with vigour, can play all three forward positions and was a fixture on the ice the final five minutes of any Lightning lead.
On the third line in Tampa, his 14 goals in 55 games had the man who scored the Cup-clincher against Dallas a year earlier on pace for another 20-goal season.
“In big moments Blake is a guy who is trusted by his coaches,” said Flames GM Brad Treliving, breaking the silence on an otherwise quiet off-season.
“He’s a big minute-eater, plays against top lines and is able to produce offence. I think he’s a very versatile player. That line that he played on (in Tampa) – you can number it how you want – but they had the second-most ice time. They got the heavy matchup, they produced offensively and he’s a top penalty killer in the league, so we’ll find plenty of ice for him.
“Blake was a highly-sought-after player. He plays in the trenches, but I think his skill is very understated.”
He could star in a third-line role on the left side of Mikael Backlund and Dillon Dube, but there’s a better chance he’ll play on the right side of the second unit with Sean Monahan and Andrew Mangiapane. Lots of options for a team that still needs to sign another couple forwards and a few more defencemen.
“I think I have a role that can slot up and down lineups, kind of the versatility is part of the attraction to my game,” said Coleman, a native of Plano, Texas, who netted New Jersey a first rounder and prospect Nolan Foote at the trade deadline two years ago.
“I think I’ve had some success on all four lines in my career. I’ve played with really high-end skill. I’ve played with gritty forechecking lines. I’ve been all over the map. Just a reliable two-way game. Certainly, the ability to chip in offensively, but I think my pedigree and my bread and butter has been the 200-foot-game and being able to play against the top lines.”
Coleman is an extremely sturdy, five-foot-11, 207-pound force who fits the mould of tenacious, relentless forwards Sutter relishes.
His signing was one of many on a busy day of free agency for the Flames, which included several other Sutter-type additions.
Hulking defenceman Nikita Zadorov was acquired for a third rounder from Chicago Wednesday, while Trevor Lewis was reunited with Sutter by signing a one-year deal worth $800,000.
“It does stick with a theme – these are all players that we think will fit into a system Darryl likes to play,” said Treliving.
“You always work closely with your coach at looking at ways to improve your roster. All are responsible players.”
Lewis won two Stanley Cups with Sutter in Los Angeles and already has the trust of a coach who will lean on the 34-year-old to kill penalties and anchor the fourth line.
“Me and Darryl were together for a long time in LA and we won together, so I feel like we’ve got that bond for life,” said Lewis, who scored five goals with Winnipeg last year.
“I kind of grew up in the NHL playing for Darryl and that’s how I learned how to play. I think I fit in well with his system and I’m just excited to be a part of the group.”
Coleman spoke to several players who’d played for Sutter and said the disciplined coach was part of the attraction to Calgary.
“He just seems like my kind of coach,” said Coleman, who met Johnny Gaudreau while playing for the U.S. at a recent World Championships.
“I’ve played for coaches that demand hard, earnest games. I think I play that. I think I play a pretty honest style and I bring my best to the rink every day.”
The Flames also sent a third rounder to Boston for Czech goalie Dan Vladar, who Treliving has tabbed as the team’s backup for Jacob Markstrom.
“We’ve been tracking him for some time and we think Danny is ready to take that step,” said Treliving of the 23-year-old third rounder who posted solid AHL numbers for several years before a solid showing in the Czech Republic last year was followed by his first five NHL appearances.
“He’s been a top goalie in the AHL. He’s a big man at 6-foot-5. Athletic and had some time in Boston.”
Zadorov is a left-shot defender who is capable of bringing his snarl on either side.
“Zadorov is not coming in to replace Mark Giordano – there was no one on the market who could (do that),” said Treliving.
“He’s a big body who moves very well, can defend space, rangey, moves the puck and has a physical element to him. We still have some work to do to fill out the blue line. It’s going to be by committee and we think Z can pick up some of those minutes.”
The first text Zadorov received upon landing with the Flames was from Milan Lucic, who was kicked out of his very first game as a Flame for sucker punching Zadorov in an effort to spark his new team.
“I’m glad I don’t have to take sucker punches from him anymore,” laughed the personable, six-foot-six, 235-pound shut-down blue liner.
“Now we can punch other guys together.”
The Flames, whose only previous addition came several days earlier with the signing of versatile depth winger Tyler Pitlick, capped Wednesday by signing defencemen Nick Desimone and Kevin Gravel, as well as goalie Adam Werner to two-way deals at league minimum.
Treliving said there was no update on talks to extend Johnny Gaudreau’s contract past next season, which is pertinent as his modified no-trade clause kicked in Wednesday, limiting the number of teams he could be traded to to five.
Derek Ryan’s time as a Flame came to an end Wednesday when he signed a two-year deal with the Oilers for $1.25 million annually.
“I think we certainly improved significantly in some areas – there’s still some work to be done,” said Treliving, who still has almost $13 million in cap space.
“The work doesn’t end today. Adding some of the pieces we did today will help us in certain areas. As changes happen it does open up opportunities for other players. We’ve got lots of flexibility right now. We still have some of our own players to sign but we have options. That’s not by coincidence. We’ve got lots of summer left to add players via free agency or through the trade market.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — DeMar DeRozan scored 27 points in a record-setting performance and the Sacramento Kings beat the Toronto Raptors 122-107 on Wednesday night.
Domantas Sabonis added 17 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds for his third triple-double of the season for Sacramento. He shot 6 for 6 from the field and 5 for 5 at the free-throw line.
Keegan Murray chipped in with 22 points and 12 rebounds, and De’Aaron Fox scored 21.
The 35-year-old DeRozan has scored at least 20 points in each of his first eight games with the Kings, breaking a franchise mark established by Chris Webber when he reached 20 in his first seven games with Sacramento in 1999.
DeRozan spent the past three seasons with the Chicago Bulls. The six-time All-Star also has played for Toronto and San Antonio during his 16-year NBA career.
RJ Barrett had 23 points to lead the Raptors. Davion Mitchell scored 20 in his first game in Sacramento since being traded to Toronto last summer.
Takeaways
Raptors: Toronto led for most of the first three quarters before wilting in the fourth. The Raptors were outscored 33-14 in the final period.
Kings: Fox played strong defense but struggled again shooting from the floor as he is dealing with a finger injury. Fox went 5 for 17 and just 2 of 8 on 3-pointers. He is 5 for 25 from beyond the arc in his last three games.
Key moment
The Kings trailed 95-89 early in the fourth before going on a 9-0 run that gave them the lead for good. DeRozan started the spurt with a jumper, and Malik Monk scored the final seven points.
Key stat
Sabonis had the eighth game in the NBA since at least 1982-83 with a triple-double while missing no shots from the field or foul line. The previous player to do it was Josh Giddey for Oklahoma City against Portland on Jan. 11.
Up next
Raptors: At the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night, the third stop on a five-game trip.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Whitecaps are one win away from moving on to the next round of the Major League Soccer playoffs.
To get there, however, the Whitecaps will need to pull off the improbable by defeating the powerhouse Los Angeles FC for a second straight game.
Vancouver blanked the visitors 3-0 on Sunday to level their best-of-three first-round playoff series at a game apiece. As the matchup shifts back to California for a decisive Game 3 on Friday, the Whitecaps are looking for a repeat performance, said striker Brian White.
“We take the good and the bad from last game, learn from what we could have done better and go to LAFC with confidence and, obviously, with a whole lot of respect,” he said.
“We know that we can go there and give them a very good fight and hopefully come away with a win.”
The winner of Friday’s game will face the No. 4-seed Seattle Sounders in a one-game Western Conference semifinal on Nov. 23 or 24.
The ‘Caps finished the regular season eighth in the west with a 13-13-8 record and have since surprised many with their post-season play.
First, Vancouver trounced its regional rivals, the Portland Timbers, 5-0 in a wild-card game. Then, the squad dropped a tightly contested 2-1 decision to the top-seeded L.A. before posting a decisive home victory on Sunday.
Vancouver has scored seven goals this post-season, second only to the L.A. Galaxy (nine). Vancouver also leads the league in expected goals (6.84) through the playoffs.
No one outside of the club expected the Whitecaps to win when the Vancouver-L. A. series began, said defender Ranko Veselinovic.
“We’ve shown to ourselves that we can compete with them,” he said.
Now in his fifth season with the ‘Caps, Veselinovic said Friday’s game will be the biggest he’s played for the team.
“We haven’t had much success in the playoffs so, definitely, this is the one that can put our season on another level,” he said.
This is the second year in a row the Whitecaps have faced LAFC in the first round of the playoffs and last year, Vancouver was ousted in two straight games.
The team isn’t thinking about revenge as it prepares for Game 3, White said.
“More importantly than (beating LAFC), we want to get to the next round,” he said. “LAFC’s a very good team. We’ve come up against them a number of times in different competitions and they always seem to get the better of us. So it’d be huge for us to get the better of them this time.”
Earning a win last weekend required slowing L.A.’s transition game and limiting offensive opportunities for the team’s big stars, including Denis Bouanga.
Those factors will be important again on Friday, said Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini, who warned that his team could face a different style of game.
“I think the most important thing is going to be to match their intensity at the beginning of the game,” he said. “Because I think they’re going to come at us a million miles per hour.”
The ‘Caps will once again look to captain Ryan Gauld for some offensive firepower. The Scottish attacking midfielder leads MLS in playoff goals with five and has scored in all three of Vancouver’s post-season appearances this year.
Gearing up for another do-or-die matchup is exciting, Gauld said.
“Knowing it’s a winner-takes-all kind of game, being in that kind of environment is nice,” he said. “It’s when you see the best in players.”
LAFC faces the bulk of the pressure heading into the matchup, Sartini said, given the club’s appearances in the last two MLS Cup finals and its 2022 championship title.
“They’re supposed to win and we are not,” the coach said. “But it’s beautiful to have a little bit of pressure on us, too.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
Each PWHL team operated under its city name, with players wearing jerseys featuring the league’s logo in its inaugural season before names and logos were announced last month.
The Toronto Sceptres, Montreal Victoire, Ottawa Charge, Boston Fleet, Minnesota Frost and New York Sirens will start the PWHL’s second season on Nov. 30 with jerseys designed to reflect each team’s identity and to be sold to the public as replicas.
Led by PWHL vice-president of brand and marketing Kanan Bhatt-Shah, the league consulted Creative Agency Flower Shop to design the jerseys manufactured by Bauer, the PWHL said Thursday in a statement.
“Players and fans alike have been waiting for this moment and we couldn’t be happier with the six unique looks each team will don moving forward,” said PWHL senior vice president of business operations Amy Scheer.
“These jerseys mark the latest evolution in our league’s history, and we can’t wait to see them showcased both on the ice and in the stands.”
Training camps open Tuesday with teams allowed to carry 32 players.
Each team’s 23-player roster, plus three reserves, will be announced Nov. 27.
Each team will play 30 regular-season games, which is six more than the first season.
Minnesota won the first Walter Cup on May 29 by beating Boston three games to two in the championship series.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
