Connor McDavid was the unanimous choice of Hart Trophy voters in 2020-21 award balloting and he is the unanimous choice of TSN voters in 2021-22 Top 50 balloting.
The Edmonton Oiler superstar ranks No. 1 in TSN’s annual pre-season poll for the fifth straight season and he is the undisputed best player in the world.
What else would you expect?
McDavid recorded a hat trick for the ages last season: he averaged the highest points per game in 25 years (1.88), set an all-time record for highest percentage of points on team goals (57.4 per cent) and was the second-ever unanimous MVP selection, collecting all 100 first-place votes.
We have said this before, but it bears repeating: McDavid is the most highly evolved player in hockey history.
Colorado centre Nathan MacKinnon finished No. 2 in polling for the second straight season. He is a regular-season sensation, but is in the history books on the basis of playoff production.
MacKinnon stands third all-time in playoff points per game (1.38), minimum 50 games, ranking behind Wayne Gretzky (1.84) and Mario Lemieux (1.61) and ahead of Mark Messier (1.25) and Bobby Orr (1.24).
Rounding out the top 5 are:
No. 3: Auston Matthews: the Toronto centre became the first Leaf to lead the NHL in goals in 75 years, scoring 41 goals in 52 games, a 65-goal full-season pace.
No. 4: Nikita Kucherov: the Tampa Bay right winger became only the third player in NHL history to record back-to-back 30-point postseasons en route to a second consecutive Stanley Cup with the Lightning.
No. 5 Leon Draisaitl: the Edmonton centre placed second in the 2020-21 scoring race – such as it was considering McDavid won by 21 points – and has outscored every player in the NHL except 97 over the past five seasons.
Lightning superstar Andrei Vasilevskiy is the highest-ranked goalie at No. 6. He is the third goalie in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup in consecutive playoff years with a goals-against average under 2.00 in each postseason. Vasilevskiy has earned shutouts in Tampa Bay’s last five series-clinching wins, stretching from Game 6 of the Cup final vs. Dallas in 2020 to Game 5 of the Cup final vs. Montreal in 2021.
Vasilevskiy is the highest-ranked goalie in the TSN Top 50 since Carey Price reached No. 5 in 2017.
The other goalies on this season’s list are: No. 24 Connor Hellebuyck, No. 43 Price and No. 47 Marc-Andre Fleury, the reigning Vezina Trophy winner who was traded from Vegas to Chicago in the off-season.
Filling out the top 10 are:
No. 7 Victor Hedman: the Tampa Bay defenceman is the only player in the league to make the postseason 1st or 2nd all-star team each of the past five years.
No. 8 Artemi Panarin: the New York left winger has the highest career points per game in Rangers’ franchise history at 1.38 – albeit over just two seasons with the Blueshirts.
No. 9 Sidney Crosby: the Pittsburgh icon has averaged a point per game every single season of his 16-year NHL career. Crosby topped the TSN pre-season list the first seven years of the poll before giving way to McDavid.
No. 10 Aleksander Barkov: the Florida centre was a decisive winner of his first Selke Award as the NHL’s best defensive forward in 2020-21.
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.
