Sports
Senators pull off a blockbuster by acquiring Arizona defenceman Jakob Chychrun
With less than 48 hours until Friday’s NHL trade deadline, the Ottawa Senators acquired Arizona Coyotes defenceman Jakob Chychrun on Wednesday night and weren’t forced to give up any of the club’s top prospects.
The Senators acquired Chychrun from the Coyotes in exchange for a conditional first-round pick in 2023, a conditional second-round pick in 2024 and second-round selection in 2026. Talks between these two teams have been going on for several months.
Dorion was thrilled to bring Chychrun into the fold.
“A defenceman we’ve coveted, Jakob is big and plays imposing. He possesses a quality skill set; he defends hard and is highly skilled. He uses his heavy shot with accuracy and is effective at creating offence as a threat at the offensive blue line,” said Dorion.
And Chychrun couldn’t be happier to be here. His father, Jeff, a former NHLer, grew up in Ottawa and the family spends the summer in the area at their home on White Lake, 20 minutes west of Arnprior.
“He’s been professional throughout. For him to come back to a place where he has significant ties, to the Ottawa area, with a young and exciting team, is just a great fit for him as a player. I think he’ll be a tremendous asset to the team and to the community.”
The talks heated up late Tuesday night between the Senators and Coyotes. The Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers were both in heavy pursuit of Chychrun, but they opted to go elsewhere when they were unable to get a deal in place.
The two sides had several discussions throughout the past 15 months, but weren’t able to find common ground until Arizona GM Bill Armstrong dropped his demand for one of the club’s top prospects during discussions that continued Wednesday morning.
“Our aim more was to acquire draft capital,” said Armstrong. “We were able to walk out of the draft last year with three first-rounders and a host of other picks. We were looking to do the same here and this will give us the chance for two fairly high picks in the first round of the draft.
“You can really make some hay when you do that. This just helps us further stock our picks for future drafts.”
Coming off back-to-back wins over the Detroit Red Wings in a series the club completed Tuesday night, the Senators sit only five points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for the final wildcard spot in the East with 22 games left on the schedule.
Dorion wanted to see where the club stood March 1, and with the Senators back in the conversation for a playoff spot he wanted badly to be able to help this group. Getting Chychrun is a message to the dressing room that the organization believes in this group.
Anthony LeBlanc, the club’s president of business operations, is a former part-owner of the Coyotes and he can’t say enough good things about Chychrun.
“He’s a a great young man and a quality, great guy,” LeBlanc said in a text message to Postmedia on Wednesday night. “He’s also one hell of a hockey player, but someone who comes from strong hockey stock.
“I am not involved on the hockey operations side other than picking up Pierre’s dry cleaning, but I definitely hoped this could happen. Now I guess I have to pick up Pierre’s lunch as well.”
“We both work the phones pretty hard so whether you talk about that or not there’s still ongoing (discussions),” said Armstrong. “When you see a Zaitsev moved, you see an opportunity for us to have talks.
“We did that slowly, but surely, and then kind of gradually got into it.”
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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.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Sports
Duke’s Cooper Flagg makes preseason AP All-America team as ACC, Big 12, SEC each place 2 players
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.
With Dickinson’s return and an influx of talented transfers, Kansas is ranked No. 1 going into the season that begins Nov. 4.
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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Sports
Browns QB Deshaun Watson ruptured his Achilles tendon and is out for the season, AP source says
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 was injured on a non-contact play in the second quarter of Cleveland’s 21-14 loss to the Bengals.
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.
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The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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