The Toronto Maple Leafs continue to wheel and deal ahead of the NHL trade deadline.
The club re-acquired Luke Schenn — nearly 15 years after selecting him fifth overall at the 2008 draft — on the heels of two other Tuesday deals that saw Toronto send fellow defenceman Rasmus Sandin to the Washington Capitals and forward Pierre Engvall to the New York Islanders.
The swap for Schenn, a pending unrestricted free agent set to add further depth to an organization determined to end its ugly run of playoff failures, included the Leafs sending the Vancouver Canucks a third-round pick in June.
The 33-year-old has three goals and 21 points in 2022-23. In 918 career regular-season games with Toronto, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Arizona, Anaheim, Tampa and Vancouver, Schenn has put up 41 goals and 190 points.
A Stanley Cup champion with Tampa in 2020 and 2021, the Saskatoon native has added three goals and three assist in 31 post-season games.
The Leafs traded Schenn to Philadelphia for James van Riemsdyk in 2012 after four seasons in Toronto.
The flurry of afternoon activity with the trade deadline set for Friday started with Toronto shipping Sandin to Washington for blue-liner Erik Gustafsson and a 2023 first-rounder.
The Leafs then dealt Engvall to New York for a third-round selection in 2024.
Taken with the 29th pick in 2018, Sandin has four goals and 20 points in 52 games this season. The 22-year-old registered 10 goals and 48 points in 140 regular-season appearances with the Leafs. He scored once in five playoff contests.
Gustafsson has seven goals and 38 points in 61 games in 2022-23. In 370 career games with Chicago, Calgary, Philadelphia, Montreal and Washington, the 30-year-old has put up 39 goals and 187 points. He’s added eight points (one goal, seven assists) in 31 playoff contests.
The pick coming to the Leafs in Tuesday’s deal with Washington was originally acquired from Boston in last week’s trade where the Bruins got defenceman Dmitry Orlov and forward Garnet Hathaway from the Capitals.
Engvall has 12 goals and 21 points in 58 games this season. A seventh-round pick in 2014, the 26-year-old had 42 goals and 83 points in 226 games with Toronto. He added four assists in 17 post-season appearances.
Schenn and Gustafsson join a roster that’s been significantly reworked by general manager Kyle Dubas in recent weeks as the Leafs look to advance in the post-season for the first time since 2004.
Toronto acquired centres Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari from St. Louis on Feb. 17 and added defenceman Jake McCabe and forward Sam Lafferty from Chicago on Monday before Tuesday’s deluge.
Dubas has shed a number of high draft picks in recent years — including the deals with St. Louis and Chicago — but got one back in the swap for Gustafsson, who’s set to become an unrestricted free agent in July after earning US$800,000 in 2022-23.
Sandin is on the books for another season with a salary cap hit of $1.4 million before potentially hitting restricted free agency in the summer of 2024.
Engvall, who’s making $2.25 million this season, is slated to become a UFA in July.
Schenn, meanwhile, is earning $850,000 in 2022-23.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 28, 2023.
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
