The confetti from another Stanley Cup parade in another city not named Toronto had long been swept off the streets, and another off-season of tweaks was well underway.
Sheldon Keefe was attending his first in-person draft as Maple Leafs coach ahead of his first “normal” season in the position.
And yet, Keefe said, not much had changed.
The disappointment from another too-swift postseason, another squandered home-ice advantage, still rattled around in his head with all those potential line combos.
But the positives gleaned from his group’s record-busting regular season and nail-biting playoff test of the two-time champions hadn’t changed either.
Keefe threw himself into the Leafs’ summer-improvement projects with a bounce of optimism, encouraged by “the belief we have in our group and how close we felt we were to beating a very, very good team.” Yet motivated because, well, “we failed to get it done once again.”
The hope is that combination of bitter, thin-margin defeat and sweet, contagious belief that the hockey club is on the precipice of breaking through has led to minimal change in the roster.
Outside of the new guys in pads, most of the players who report to Ford Performance Centre for medicals Wednesday will be as familiar with each other as they are long summers.
Keefe is correct. No, not much has changed.
Some fiddling here and there, starting this week at camp, and maybe the outcome will.
Current salary cap space: $0 General manager: Kyle Dubas Head coach: Sheldon Keefe Assistant coaches: Spencer Carbery, Dean Chynoweth, Manny Malhotra, Curtis Sanford (goaltending) Unsigned players: Rasmus Sandin (RFA), Zach Aston-Reese (PTO), Dylan Ferguson (PTO)
THE PRESSING QUESTION: Where — and when —does Rasmus Sandin fit?
As the other Leafs report for medicals and prepare to take the ice, Sandin still sits and waits.
One of the NHL’s few outstanding restricted free agents dug into a contractual stalemate, the 22-year-old defenceman is long on confidence and promise. But his résumé and leverage are short.
If the left shot isn’t interested in signing a deal similar to pal Timothy Liljegren’s two-year, $2.8-million pact, perhaps a one-year prove-it paper is the simplest way to put this distraction on the back burner. (Mikey Anderson’s recent one-year, $1-million agreement with Los Angeles could provide the template.)
How the Sandin saga shakes out will have a ripple effect on the roster.
If the Swede signs for decent money, does another salary need to be dumped in trade so the Leafs can be cap-complaint for Opening Night? (Righty Justin Holl is the rumoured bait.) And which lefty moves to the right side so Sandin can get more shifts? (Mark Giordano feels like the only candidate.)
If Sandin and Dubas can’t find common ground, however, the seventh defenceman slot opens opportunity for an inexpensive free-agency recruit like Jordie Benn or Victor Mete to impress in preseason. That roster flexibility could save a tweener from the October waiver wire.
Conversely, with Liljegren missing camp due to injury (as first reported by Chris Johnston), Sandin could find himself with increased leverage — and ice time.
(The Leafs will comment on the nature of Liljegren’s injury Wednesday.)
We’re fascinated to see how it all plays out.
TRAINING CAMP BATTLE TO WATCH: Puzzle-piecing the bottom six
Keefe will once again be blessed with elite game-breakers at the top of his lineup. Farther down the bench, however, the intrigue — and competition — should heat up.
For now, we’ll pencil unsung 50-point utility man Alexander Kerfoot at left wing alongside John Tavares and William Nylander in the top six, knowing full well the coaches are content to throw Kerfoot anywhere and will likely give other forwards a crack to produce in such a premium spot.
(Calle “Four More Years” Järnkrok, Pierre “I Think I Can Score 20” Engvall, Nick “Time to Pop” Robertson, and Adam “Did You See Me at the Worlds?” Gaudette are all candidates to take a step offensively and could get some run higher in the lineup.)
The configuration of the bottom six, particularly, will be interesting, and there is no shortage of options.
We see Stanley Cup winner Nicolas Aubé-Kubel as the only fourth-line lock.
If true, that leaves two spots open for Gaudette, surprise PTO Zach Aston-Reese, respected veterans Wayne Simmonds and Kyle Clifford, and Marlies like Robertson, Joey Anderson, and Curtis Douglas to scrap over.
As with so many overextending teams, the final cuts may not entirely be made on merit.
Cap considerations, waiver eligibility, experience, injuries (Engvall is nursing something already), and role will all come into play.
PROJECTED LINEUP OUT OF CAMP
Michael Bunting–Auston Matthews–Mitchell Marner Alexander Kerfoot–John Tavares–William Nylander Pierre Engvall–David Kämpf–Calle Järnkrok Zach Aston-Reese–Adam Gaudette–Nicolas Aubé-Kubel
Morgan Rielly–T.J. Brodie Jake Muzzin–Justin Holl Rasmus Sandin–Mark Giordano
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.
NEW YORK – Florida Panthers centre Sam Reinhart was named NHL first star of the week on Monday after leading all players with nine points over four games last week.
Reinhart had four goals, five assists and a plus-seven rating to help the Stanley Cup champions post a 3-0-1 record on the week and move into first place in the Atlantic Division.
New York Rangers left-winger Artemi Panarin took the second star and Minnesota Wild goaltenderFilip Gustavsson was the third star.
Panarin had eight points (4-4) over three games.
Gustavsson became the 15th goalie in NHL history to score a goal and had a 1.00 goals-against average and .962 save percentage over a pair of victories.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Deshaun Watson won’t finish the season as Cleveland’s starting quarterback for the second straight year.
He’s injured again, and the Browns have new problems.
Watson ruptured his right Achilles tendon in the first half of Sunday’s loss to Cincinnati, collapsing as he began to run and leading some Browns fans to cheer while the divisive QB laid on the ground writhing in pain.
The team feared Watson’s year was over and tests done Monday confirmed the rupture. The Browns said Watson will have surgery and miss the rest of the season but “a full recovery is expected.”
It’s the second significant injury in two seasons for Watson, who broke the glenoid (socket) bone in his throwing shoulder last year after just six starts.
The 29-year-old went down Sunday without being touched on a draw play late in the first half. His right leg buckled and Watson crumpled to the turf. TV replays showed his calf rippling, consistent with an Achilles injury.
He immediately put his hands on his helmet, clearly aware of the severity of an injury similar to the one Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers sustained last year.
As he was being assisted by the team’s medical staff and backup Dorian Thompson-Robinson grabbed a ball to begin warming up, there was some derisive cheers and boos from the stands in Huntington Bank Field.
Cleveland fans have been split over Watson, who has been accused of being sexually inappropriate with women.
The reaction didn’t sit well with several Watson’s teammates, including star end Myles Garrett, the NFL’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year, who was appalled by the fans’ behavior.
“We should be ashamed of ourselves as Browns and as fans to boo anyone and their downfall. To be season-altering, career-altering injury,” Garrett said. “Man’s not perfect. He doesn’t need to be. None of us are expected to be perfect. Can’t judge him for what he does off the field or on the field because I can’t throw stones for my glass house.
“Ultimately everyone’s human and they’re disappointed just like we are, but we have to be better than that as people. There’s levels to this. At the end of the day, it’s just a game and you don’t boo anybody being injured and you don’t celebrate anyone’s downfall.”
Backup quarterback Jameis Winston also admonished the uncomfortable celebration.
“I am very upset with the reaction to a man that has had the world against him for the past four years, and he put his body and life on the line for this city every single day,” he said. “The way I was raised, I will never pull on a man when he’s down, but I will be the person to lift him up.
“I know you love this game. When I first got here, I knew these were some amazing fans, but Deshaun was treated badly and now he has to overcome another obstacle. So I’m going to support him, I’m going to lift him up and I’m going to be there for him.”
The injury is yet another twist in Watson’s tumultuous time with the Browns.
Cleveland traded three first-round draft picks and five overall to Houston in 2022 to get him, with owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam approving the team giving Watson a fully guaranteed, five-year $230 million contract.
With a solid roster, the Browns were desperate to find a QB who could help them compete against the top AFC teams.
The Browns had moved on from Baker Mayfield despite drafting him No. 1 overall in 2018 and making the playoffs two seasons later.
But Watson has not played up to expectations — fans have been pushing for him to be benched this season — and Cleveland’s move to get him has been labeled an abject failure with the team still on the hook to pay him $46 million in each of the next two seasons.
Watson’s arrival in Cleveland also came amid accusations by more than two dozen women of sexual assault and harassment during massage therapy sessions while he played for the Texans. Two grand juries declined to indict him and he has settled civil lawsuits in all but one of the cases.
Watson was suspended by the NFL for his first 11 games and fined $5 million for violating the league’s personal conduct policy before he took his first snap with the Browns. The long layoff — he sat out the 2021 season in a contract dispute — led to struggles once he got on the field, and Watson made just six starts last season before hurting his shoulder.
Cleveland signed veteran Joe Flacco, who went 4-1 as a starter and led the Browns to the playoffs.
Before Watson got hurt this year, he didn’t play much better. He was one of the league’s lowest-rated passers for a Cleveland team that hasn’t scored 20 points in a game and is back in search of a franchise QB.
