The Ottawa Senators will have a new face in the owner’s seat when next season gets under way and they’ll have no shortage of work to do.
While fans may expect to see changes right away after Toronto businessman Michael Andlauer agreed to a deal in principle Tuesday to become the club’s new owner, that’s hardly going to be the immediate case.
That’s because it’s going to take a while to paper this deal and until then the Melnyk estate — led by the club’s three-person board — will be making the decisions until they hand the keys over to Andlauer.
So, what’s on the plate when Andlauer does take over?
General manager Pierre Dorion and coach D.J. Smith have led this club through this rebuild so decisions need to be made on their futures.
Given the fact this deal may not close immediately, it would make sense to go into next season with both in their current roles. The Senators are at the point where all the pain, suffering and heartbreak of missing the playoffs may be about to pay dividends with the right moves made.
Don’t be surprised if this group leads this team into next season.
Smith has a year left on his contract with an option through the 2024-25 campaign while Dorion has two years left with an option.
A decision has to be made on the future of winger Alex DeBrincat.
Dorion has stated he’ll make a $9-million qualifying offer to the restricted free agent, but since DeBrincat won’t sign an extension, there’s a strong possibility he’ll be traded before the draft.
The Senators don’t have a selection until the fourth round of the draft this spring, but they’ll be able to get one back as part of a package if they do decide to deal to DeBrincat.
By all accounts DeBrincat likes it here, he enjoys being around his teammates and had a good experience in his first season with the Senators. But he doesn’t want to spend the next eight years of his career in Canada.
This roster feels like it’s on the verge of something special, led by captain Brady Tkachuk and centre Tim Stutzle.
This will be the biggest decision the new owner will make.
We know that Andlauer wants to build an arena downtown and has been putting plans in place to make that happen. He has former Senators president Cyril Leeder consulting him.
While negotiations between National Capital Commission officials and Senators management are continuing in hopes of getting a lease in place by fall for a new arena at LeBreton Flats, Postmedia reported last month staff at city hall are preparing other possibilities for the new owner.
Though Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe mentioned several options for a new home for the Senators, sources say the leading contender is Bayview Yards, which is located just west of LeBreton Flats and north of Scott Street.
Sutcliffe suggested two other sites — including the RCGT baseball stadium and a site near Hurdman Station — but sources say neither make sense.
Since the Senators won preferred-bidder status from the NCC in June 2022 to build a rink on a seven-acre parcel of land at LeBreton Flats, we’ve insisted the city will have to play a role to make the project work.
The former Senators captain has stated publicly he’d like to play a “meaningful role” in hockey operations with the club’s new ownership group.
He had groups reach out to him during this process but declined to join anybody. The expectation is Andlauer will likely have a discussion with Alfredsson to see where he might be able to help. That doesn’t mean it’s a done deal by any stretch but there may be mutual interest.
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.
Kings: Host the Clippers on Friday night.
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AP NBA:
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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.
TORONTO – The Professional Women’s Hockey League has revealed the jersey designs for its six newly named teams.
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.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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