This July 1 didn’t bring us the usual frenzy of free-agent signings, but it ended up being a pretty newsy day for the NHL anyway.
Several “insiders” reported that the league and the players’ union have reached agreement on the major issues that needed to get settled in order to go ahead with the 24-team playoff tournament they’ve already signed off on. A few things, reportedly, still need ironing out before the sides can announce a tentative agreement, which would then have to be ratified by the owners (two-third approval is required) and the players (a simple majority).
Only then will the deal truly be done. Things can change in the meantime. But it sounds like we’re getting close, so here’s a look at the two most interesting items reported from the expected agreement:
Edmonton and Toronto will be the hub cities. This was a bit of a surprise because Las Vegas was considered a lock from the start. And as recently as last week, Vancouver looked to have the inside track on the other spot. But health officials in B.C. balked at some aspects of the plan, and the recent spike in COVID-19 cases in Nevada may have scared the NHL off of Vegas. So now, reportedly, Edmonton will host all the Western Conference games and Toronto will get the East. TSN’s Bob McKenzie reported today that the Stanley Cup final will be in Edmonton. Read more about the reported choosing of hub cities here.
NHL players could be returning to the Olympics. Along with deciding on the hub cities and hammering out all the details of life inside the “bubbles” that will be set up there (testing, other health and safety protocols, hotels, dining, entertainment, etc., etc….), the NHL and the players’ union have also been negotiating an extension to their collective bargaining agreement. Part of that, reportedly, is an agreement that the NHL will participate in the next two Winter Olympics — 2022 in Beijing and 2026 in northern Italy. This is great news for anyone who tried to put on a brave face for the NHL-free men’s tournament in 2018.
But curb your enthusiasm for now because the NHL would still need to reach a financial agreement with the International Olympic Committee. You might remember that the cost of insurance and accommodations for the players was a major sticking point that led to the NHL bailing on the Olympics in ’18. And even after the IIHF (hockey’s world governing body) stepped in and said it would pay for that stuff, the IOC rejected the NHL’s demand for certain marketing/content rights in exchange for sending its players. However, if an intention to play in the Olympics is included in the CBA extension, that would at least signal a greater willingness by the league to allow its players back in the Games.
Quickly…
Looks like the Blue Jays are flying north. Major League Baseball players reported to their teams yesterday to get tested for COVID-19 and start settling in for a short second training camp before the season starts in three weeks. If all goes well, everyone should be working out on their home fields over the weekend. That should include the Toronto Blue Jays, who have officially received their long-awaited quarantine-exemption letter from the Canadian government. Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi reported that the federal government is still mulling the Jays’ request to play their regular-season home games in Toronto. That one is a little trickier for health officials because it involves the Jays and visiting players coming in and out of town throughout the 60-game season. Read more about the Jays’ spring training 2.0 here.
WNBA star Maya Moore helped get a man released from prison. A 40-year-old Black man from Missouri named Jonathan Irons was serving a 50-year sentence for what police said was a burglary and shooting at the home of a white man who was shot but not killed. Irons, who was 16 when the incident occurred, insisted he was not there and was misidentified. Moore met Irons during a prison visit in 2007 — right before her freshman year at the University of Connecticut, where she became a star — and joined the fight to have his conviction erased. One of the reasons she decided to take last season off from the WNBA (and plans to take another) was so she could focus on getting Irons freed.
The efforts paid off in March when a judge vacated the conviction, calling the case against Irons “very weak and circumstantial at best.” The state’s appeals were unsuccessful, and when the county prosecutor decided yesterday to decline a retrial, Irons was released from prison. Moore was one of the people there to greet him. Her example seems to be inspiring other WNBA players now too. Atlanta Dream guards Renee Montgomery and Tiffany Hayes, who both played with Moore at UConn, say they’re taking the upcoming season off to help with social justice reform and voter registration.
The PGA Tour made an interesting change to the way it handles positive tests. The tour’s Health and Safety Plan is what you might call a living document. Originally, any player or caddie who tested positive for COVID-19 was required to complete a minimum 10-day isolation period before being allowed back. But after several cases of asymptomatic positive tests followed by negative tests, the tour is softening that stance. Now, if someone tests positive but has not had any symptoms, they just have to return two negative tests (taken at least 24 hours apart) in order to get back on the course. The tour says this change is supported by the Centers for Disease Control.
The first beneficiary of the new policy is Cameron Champ. He had to withdraw from last week’s tournament after testing positive, but was cleared to play in the event that teed off today after testing negative three times in the 72 hours following his positive test. Even if you’re not a golf fan, this is an interesting development for sports in the COVID-19 age. It’s possible the NHL, NBA, NFL or MLB could see this as a way to get their own stars back out there as quickly as possible (and salvage the legitimacy of their games) in the event of a positive test.
The NFL is reportedly cutting its pre-season in half. This would have been a good idea even before the pandemic. But after an off-season in which teams haven’t been allowed to gather for their usual workouts and mini-camps, the NFL decided to give them more time to practice (and less chance to come into contact with a group of different people) by cancelling the first week of the pre-season (Aug. 13-16). The fourth and final round of pre-season games (Sept. 3) was also called off. Training camps are still set to open July 28, and Week 1 of the regular season kicks off on Thursday, Sept. 10 with a primetime matchup between Houston and Super Bowl champion Kansas City. Though it looks increasingly unlikely, the NFL is still hoping to have fans in stadiums to start the season. Some teams have told season-ticket holders that their seating capacity may be reduced.
The French Open is planning to have fans too. Given that France currently has about 1/11th the confirmed COVID-19 cases per million people that the U.S. does, the French Open’s chances of pulling this off seem much better than the NFL’s. The French Tennis Federation said that up to 60 per cent of the stands can be filled when the clay-court Grand Slam tournament starts Sept. 20 (it was moved a while ago from its usual May start date). Up to four people can sit together in a group, with at least one seat separating each group in the same row. Fans will be required to wear masks when they’re moving about the grounds, but not while they’re watching a match.
And finally…
Hopefully you had a good Canada Day. But it probably wasn’t as good as Bobby Bonilla’s. Yesterday — just like he has every July 1 since 2011 — the former big-league ballplayer received a cheque for nearly $1.2 million US from the New York Mets. And he’ll keep getting them every July 1 until 2035. This unusual arrangement stems from the Mets’ deal to buy out the rest of Bonilla’s contract back in 2000. Instead of paying him the $5.9 million they still owed him up front, the Mets agreed to give Bonilla almost $1.2 million every year for 25 years, starting in 2011. That works out to about $30 million — the result of the 8 per cent interest rate that Bonilla’s reps negotiated with the Mets. That’s a pretty sweet rate of return by today’s standards for most people. But the Wilpon family, which owns the Mets, was reportedly OK with this because it was making double-digit returns from its investments with Bernie Madoff. And you wonder why the Mets haven’t won the World Series in 34 years.
EDMONTON – The Edmonton Oilers signed defenceman Travis Dermott to a professional tryout on Friday.
Dermott, a 27-year-old from Newmarket, Ont., produced two goals, five assists and 26 penalty minutes in 50 games with the Arizona Coyotes last season.
The six-foot, 202-pound blueliner has also played for the Vancouver Canucks and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Toronto drafted him in the second round, 34th overall, of the 2015 NHL draft.
Over seven NHL seasons, Dermott has 16 goals and 46 assists in 329 games while averaging 16:03 in ice time.
Before the NHL, Dermott played two seasons with Oilers captain Connor McDavid for the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters. The team was coached by current Edmonton head coach Kris Knoblauch.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The driver charged with killing NHL hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew as they bicycled on a rural road had a blood-alcohol level of .087, above the .08 legal limit in New Jersey, a prosecutor said Friday.
Gaudreau, 31, and brother Matthew, 29, were killed in Carneys Point, New Jersey, on Aug. 29, the evening before they were set to serve as groomsmen at their sister Katie’s wedding.
The driver, 43-year-old Sean M. Higgins of nearby Woodstown, New Jersey, is charged with two counts of death by auto, along with reckless driving, possession of an open container and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle. At a virtual court hearing Friday, a judge ordered that he be held for trial after prosecutors described a history of alleged road rage and aggressive driving.
“’You were probably driving like a nut like I always tell you you do. And you don’t listen to me, instead you just yell at me,’” his wife told Higgins when he called her from jail after his arrest, according to First Assistant Prosecutor Jonathan Flynn of Salem County.
The defense described Higgins as a married father and law-abiding citizen before the crash.
“He’s an empathetic individual and he’s a loving father of two daughters,” said defense lawyer Matthew Portella. “He’s a good person and he made a horrible decision that night.”
Higgins told police he had five or six beers that day and admitted to consuming alcohol while driving, according to the criminal complaint. He also failed a field sobriety test, the complaint said. A prosecutor on Friday said he had been drinking at home after finishing a work call at about 3 p.m., and having an upsetting conversation with his mother about a family matter.
He then had a two-hour phone call with a friend while he drove around in his Jeep with an open container, Flynn said. He had been driving aggressively behind a sedan going just above the 50 mph speed limit, sometimes tailgating, the female driver told police.
When she and the vehicle ahead of her slowed down and veered left to go around the cyclists, Higgins sped up and veered right, striking the Gaudreas, the two other drivers told police.
“He indicated he didn’t even see them,” said Superior Court Judge Michael J. Silvanio, who said Higgins’ admitted “impatience” caused two deaths.
Higgins faces up to 20 years, a sentence that the judge said made him a flight risk.
Higgins has a master’s degree, works in finance for an addiction treatment company, and served in combat in Iraq, his lawyers said. However, his wife said he had been drinking regularly since working from home, Flynn said.
Johnny Gaudreau, known as “Johnny Hockey,” played 10 full seasons in the league and was set to enter his third with the Columbus Blue Jackets after signing a seven-year, $68 million deal in 2022. He played his first eight seasons with the Calgary Flames, a tenure that included becoming one of the sport’s top players and a fan favorite across North America.
Widows Meredith and Madeline Gaudreau described their husbands as attached at the hip throughout their lives. Both women are expecting, and both gave moving eulogies at the double funeral on Monday.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — The Miami Dolphins will bring in another quarterback while starter Tua Tagovailoa deals with his latest concussion, coach Mike McDaniel said Friday.
For now, Skylar Thompson will be considered the Dolphins’ starter while Tagovailoa is sidelined. Tagovailoa left Thursday night’s 31-10 loss to Buffalo in the third quarter with the third known concussion of his NFL career, all of them coming in the last 24 months.
“The team and the organization are very confident in Skylar,” McDaniel said.
McDaniel said the team has not made any decision about whether to place Tagovailoa on injured reserve. Tagovailoa was expected at the team facility on Friday to start the process of being evaluated in earnest.
“We just have to operate in the unknown and be prepared for every situation,” McDaniel said, noting that the only opinions that will matter to the team will be the ones from Tagovailoa and the medical staff.
McDaniel added that he doesn’t see Tagovailoa playing in Miami’s next game at Seattle on Sept. 22.
“I have no idea and I’m not going to all of a sudden start making decisions that I don’t even see myself involved in the most important parts of,” McDaniel added. “All I’m telling Tua is everyone is counting on you to be a dad and be a dad this weekend. And then we’ll move from there. There won’t be any talk about where we’re going in that regard … none of that will happen without doctors’ expertise and the actual player.”
Tagovailoa was 17 for 25 passing for 145 yards, with one touchdown and three interceptions — one of which was returned for a Buffalo score — when he got hurt. Thompson completed eight of 14 passes for 80 yards.
Thompson said he feels “fully equipped” to run the Dolphins’ offense.
“What’s going to lie ahead, who knows, but man, I’m confident, though,” Thompson said after Thursday’s game. “I feel like I’m ready for whatever’s to come. I’m going to prepare and work hard and do everything I can to lead this team and do my job.”
