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NHL Rumors: Devils, Senators, Bruins, Maple Leafs, More – The Hockey Writers

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In today’s NHL rumors rundown, the New Jersey Devils signed Travis Zajac to allow him the chance to retire in a Devils’ jersey He’s not entirely done with the NHL as he’ll join the team in an executive role. Tyler Ennis has signed a PTO with the Ottawa Senators. Does he have a shot at making their roster? The Boston Bruins might have to slow-play Charlie Coyle’s move to the second-line center position and are the Toronto Maple Leafs thinking about making a trade with so many forwards competing for roster spots?

Zajac Retires From NHL, Will Join Devils as Consultant

He was the last player of the group of New York Islanders players that needed to sign a new contract, but with the expectation Zajac might remain with New York, he’s instead headed back to New Jersey where he’s signed a one-day contract so that he can retire from the NHL as a member of the Devils’ organization.

Zajac won’t be leaving the NHL for good. The Devils announced that he will remain with the organization in an on/off-ice player development and consulting role, while also working to grow the club’s youth hockey initiatives.

Zajac finishes his playing career with an impressive 1037 games played. He amassed a total of 203 goals and 552 points. 

Senators Sign Tyler Ennis to PTO

The Ottawa Senators are bringing back a former player as Tyler Ennis has signed a PTO this offseason. The Edmonton, AB native was skating with his former Oilers teammates but a deal was not offered by GM Ken Holland. As a result, Ennis will go back to the Senators and try to make a roster that he’s quite familiar with.

Ottawa Senators right wing Tyler Ennis celebrates a goal (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang)

Ennis spent 61 games during the 2019-20 campaign with the team and as per Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun, “the club likes what he brings to the table.” Garrioch adds:

It’s worth it for the club to take a chance on Ennis in camp. Dorion and coach D.J. Smith along with the rest of the staff all liked him during his short stint here and it’s fair to say he’s a low-maintenance player. Ennis is the type of guy who can play anywhere from the first line if there’s injuries to the fourth line.

source – ‘GARRIOCH: Tyler Ennis will return to familiar territory to try to earn a contract with the Ottawa Senators’ – Burce Garrioch – Ottawa Sun – 09/19/2021

Coyle Dealing with Injury for Bruins

According to The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa, Coyle jumping into the second-line center role in the absence of David Krejci might be easier said than done. Apparently, he could be limited at the start of training camp thanks to an injury that has carried over from last season.

Coyle underwent knee surgery in July but will be asked to play a more pivotal role alongside Taylor Hall this season. The Bruins are relying on him to step up and if he’s not 100%, it could pose issues for them offensively.

Maple Leafs to Make a Proactive Trade?

While discussing the arrival of Nikita Gusev and just how many bubble forwards have one-way deals for the Maple Leafs, James Mirtle of The Athletic writes, “The Leafs are obviously not going to carry 15 forwards this season — nor can they. The 23-man roster above is $1.4 million over the salary cap.” He notes to expect roster changes in the coming days or perhaps a trade.

Pierre Engvall, Toronto Maple Leafs (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)

Mirtle writes the roster is jammed up and instead of potentially losing a player via waivers, the Leafs try to be proactive. He notes:

Maybe that’s fine if you lose someone to Buffalo or Arizona on waivers. Maybe you can afford to sacrifice a Pierre Engvall for nothing if you have to, freeing up nearly enough salary to accommodate two league minimum payroll players. … It would probably make more sense to deal him in a trade rather than using waivers, assuming some of the NHL’s bottom feeders have interest in the 6-foot-5 skating giraffe.

source – ‘Mirtle: Will the Maple Leafs have to think trade to ease their cap and roster logjam?’ James Mirtle – The Athletic – 09/20/2021

If a trade is not made, the most likely candidates are forward Kurtis Gabriel and center Adam Brooks.

Jim Parsons is a senior THW freelance writer, part-time journalist and audio/video host who lives, eats, sleeps and breathes NHL news and rumors, while also writing features on the Edmonton Oilers. He’s been a trusted source for five-plus years at The Hockey Writers, but more than that, he’s on a mission to keep readers up to date with the latest NHL rumors and trade talk. Jim is a daily must for readers who want to be “in the know.”

Other content contributions include: NHLtradetalk.com, The Sportster and hosting weekly video casts, THW News and Rumors Rundown, plus Oilers Overtime.

For interview requests or to provide content info, follow Jim on Twitter or his social media accounts. They appear under his photo on articles like this one.

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After 20 years at the top of chess, Magnus Carlsen is making his next move

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STAVANGER, Norway (AP) — Few chess players enjoy Magnus Carlsen‘s celebrity status.

A grand master at 13, refusing to play an American dogged by allegations of cheating, and venturing into the world of online chess gaming all made Norway’s Carlsen a household name.

Few chess players have produced the magical commodity that separates Norway’s Magnus Carlsen from any of his peers: celebrity.

Only legends like Russia’s Garry Kasparov and American Bobby Fischer can match his name recognition and Carlsen is arguably an even more dominant player. Last month, he beat both men to be named the International Chess Federation’s greatest ever.

But his motivation to rack up professional titles is on the wane. Carlsen, 33, now wants to leverage his fame to help turn the game he loves into a spectator sport.

“I am in a different stage in my career,” he told The Associated Press. “I am not as ambitious when it comes to professional chess. I still want to play, but I don’t necessarily have that hunger. I play for the love of the game.”

Offering a new way to interact with the game, Carlsen on Friday launched his application, Take Take Take, which will follow live games and players, explaining matches in an accessible way that, Carlsen says, is sometimes missing from streaming platforms like YouTube and Twitch. “It will be a chiller vibe,” he says.

Carlsen intends to use his experience to provide recaps and analysis on his new app, starting with November’s World Chess Championship tournament between China’s Ding Liren and India’s Gukesh Dommaraju. He won’t be competing himself because he voluntarily ceded the title in 2023.

Carlsen is no novice when it comes to chess apps. The Play Magnus game, which he started in 2014, gave online users the chance to play against a chess engine modeled against his own gameplay. The company ballooned into a suite of applications and was bought for around $80 million in 2022 by Chess.com, the world’s largest chess website.

Carlsen and Mats Andre Kristiansen, the chief executive of his company, Fantasy Chess, are betting that a chess game where users can follow individual players and pieces, filters for explaining different elements of each game, and light touch analysis will scoop up causal viewers put off by chess’s sometimes rarefied air. The free app was launched in a bid to build the user base ahead of trying to monetizing it. “That will come later, maybe with advertisements or deeper analysis,” says Kristiansen.

While Take Take Take offers a different prospect with its streaming services, it is still being launched into a crowded market with Chess.com, which has more than 100 million users, YouTube, Twitch, and the website of FIDE the International Chess Federation. World Chess was worth around $54 million when it got listed on the London Stock Exchange.

The accessibility of chess engines that can beat any human means cheating has never been easier. However, they can still be used to shortcut thousands of hours of book-bound research, and hone skills that would be impossible against human opponents.

“I think the games today are of higher quality because preparation is becoming deeper and deeper and artificial intelligence is helping us play. It is reshaping the way we evaluate the games,” especially for the new generation of players, says Carlsen.

At the same time, he admits that two decades after becoming a grand master, his mind doesn’t quite compute at the tornado speed it once did. “Most people have less energy when they get older. The brain gets slower. I have already felt that for a few years. The younger players’ processing power is just faster.”

Even so, he intends to be the world’s best for many years to come.

“My mind is a bit slower, and I maybe don’t have as much energy. But chess is about the coming together of energy, computing power and experience. I am still closer to my peak than decline,” he said.

Chess has been cresting a popularity wave begun by Carlsen himself.

He became the world’s top-ranked player in 2011. In 2013, he won the first of his five World Championships. In 2014, he achieved the highest-ever chess rating of 2882, and he has remained the undisputed world number one for the last 13 years.

Off the table, chess influencers, like the world No. 2, Hikaru Nakamura, are using social media to bring the game to a wider audience. The Netflix series “The Queen’s Gambit” burnished chess’ unlikely cerebral sex appeal when it became one of the streamer’s biggest hits in 2020.

And in 2022 Carlsen’s refusal to play against Hans Niemann, an American grand master, who admitted to using technology to cheat in online games in the past, created a rare edge in the usually sedate world of chess. There is no evidence Niemann ever cheated in live games but the feud between the pair propelled the game even further into public consciousness.

Whether chess can continue to grow without the full professional participation of its biggest celebrity remains to be seen.

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Top figure skaters ready to hit the ice at Skate Canada International

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Canadian pairs team Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps along with ice dancers Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier headline a strong field at Skate Canada International. The Canadians say they’re excited to perform in front of a home crowd as the world’s best figure skaters arrive in Halifax. (Oct. 24, 2024)

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Nico Echavarria shoots another 64 to lead the Zozo Championship by 2 shots after the second round

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INZAI CITY, Japan (AP) — Nico Echavarria shot a 6-under 64 on Friday — matching his 64 on Thursday — to lead by two shots over Taylor Moore and Justin Thomas after the second round of the Zozo Championship in Japan.

Thomas shot 64 and Moore carded 67 with three others just three shots off the lead including Seamus Power, who had the day’s low round of 62 at the Narashino Country Club.

Thomas has twice won the PGA Championship but is winless in two years on the PGA Tour.

Eric Cole (67) and C.T. Pan (66) were also three behind heading to Saturday.

Nick Taylor, of Abbotsford, B.C., is the top Canadian at 5-under and tied for 16th.

Ben Silverman, of Thornhill, Ont., is two shots back of Taylor and tied for 31st.

“I’ve never had a lead after 36 holes,” said Echavarria, a Colombian who played at the University of Arkansas. His lone PGA win was last year in Puerto Rico.

He had a two-round total of 12-under 128.

“I’ve had it after 54, but never after 36, so it’s good to be in this position. There’s got to be some pressure,” he added. “Hopefully a good round tomorrow can keep me in the lead or around the lead. And how I said yesterday — the goal is to be close with nine holes to go.”

Rickie Fowler, a crowd favorite in Japan because of his connections to the country, shot 64 to go with an opening 68 and was four shots back going into the weekend. Max Greyserman was also four behind after a 68.

“It would be amazing to win here,” said Fowler, whose mother has Japanese roots. “Came close a few years ago.”

Fowler tied for second in 2022

Fowler described his roots as “pretty far removed for Japan, but I’m sure I have relatives here, but I don’t know anyone. Japanese culture’s always been a fairly big part of life growing up. I always love being over here.”

Japanese star Hideki Matsuyama shot his second 71 and was 14 shots off the lead.

Defending champion Collin Morikawa shot 67 and pulled within eight shot of the lead, and Xander Schauffele — British Open and PGA winner this season — shot 65 and was 10 behind after a 73 on Thursday.

“I feel like I’ve got a good game plan out here,” Morikawa said, another player with Japanese connections. “I just have to execute shots a little better.”

“I am the defending champ, but that doesn’t mean I’m immediately going to play better just because I won here,” he added. “It’s a brand new week, it’s a year later. I feel like my golf game is still in a good spot. I just haven’t executed my shots. When that doesn’t happen it makes golf a little tougher.”

Schauffele turned 31 on Friday and said he was serenaded before his opening tee shot. He also has ties to Japan. His mother grew up in Japan and his grandparents live in the Tokyo area.

“Nice way to spend my 31st birthday,” he said.

___

AP golf:

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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