Sports

Toronto Arrows, Canada’s only professional rugby team, is folding, league confirms

Published

10 months ago

November 27, 2023

The lone Canadian entry in Major League Rugby has failed to find a new owner and will cease operations immediately, the league confirmed.

Rugby New York makes a tackle in the second half against the Toronto Arrows at Memorial Field on February 26, 2023 in New York. The Arrows’ ownership have battled through the pandemic and kept the doors open, but at great expense. Photo by Dustin Satloff /Getty Images for Rugby New York

The news is rarely good in Canadian rugby these days, but this one still comes as a shock: the Toronto Arrows, the only professional rugby squad in Canada, is folding.

Late Monday afternoon, Major League Rugby confirmed what sources had been telling Postmedia since the morning: the Arrows would cease operations immediately

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The league said it and the Arrows “explored all avenues in an effort to maintain the club’s presence in the league. Unfortunately, after exhausting all options, Toronto was left with no choice but to voluntarily withdraw from the league.”

Arrows GM Tim Matthews told Postmedia via text message he was focused on helping his players, staff and the team’s former ownership.

“My focus right now is solely on doing right by our players, staff and the Webb family – won’t be providing further comments until those fronts are covered,” he said.

“Appreciate anything you can do to inform folks that that is where the focus is at this point in time.”

The Arrows had played in the U.S.-based Major League Rugby since 2019. They played as an independent team in 2018.

The team finished last in the 12-team league at 1-13-2 after an injury-plagued 2023 season.

The team, which was originally built out of the Ontario Blues provincial program, had been bankrolled by Toronto financier Bill Webb. Webb died at 59 this summer and it’s understood team management had been searching for new investment ever since.

Webb’s passing proved too much to overcome, Matthews said.

Losing the Arrows is a big blow to Rugby Canada, as a solid number of men’s national team players have played for the Arrows — five starters for Canada in their recent match versus Brazil were Arrows players — or have come through their academy.

Players were informed of the decision to wind up the franchise in a call with the team Monday.

They were told “funding was not there this year. Some things fell through and they’re not going to be able to go ahead with the 2024 season,” a source who was on the call told the Canadian Press and granted anonymity because the decision had not been announced officially.

All contracts in Major League Rugby are held centrally by the league. Teams have folded in MLR before, with players assigned to new teams via a dispersal draft.

MLR CEO Nic Benson indicated a similar process would unfold with the Arrows players.

“While this news is unfortunate, and we feel for all individuals associated with the Arrows organization, the health of MLR remains strong and we look forward to exploring options to bring a team back to Canada in the future,” he said.

One supposes a new operator for a Toronto team might emerge, though given the difficulty Arrows management apparently have had in finding a new investor since Webb’s passing this seems unlikely.

No schedule for the 2024 MLR season had yet been announced, though the league has traditionally kicked off in mid-February. In August MLR officials announced the team that had been based in Atlanta would be relocating to Los Angeles, but no further details on that move have been revealed.

The league, which had seven teams in its inaugural 2018 season, operated with 12 teams in 2023 with the expansion Miami Sharks slated to join the fold next season.

— with a file from the Canadian Press

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Sports

Red Wings sign Moritz Seider to 7-year deal worth nearly $60M

Published

1 hour ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings made another investment this week in a young standout, signing Moritz Seider to a seven-year contract worth nearly $60 million.

The Red Wings announced the move with the 23-year-old German defenseman on Thursday, three days after keeping 22-year-old forward Lucas Raymond with a $64.6 million, eight-year deal.

Detroit drafted Seider with the No. 6 pick overall eight years ago and he has proven to be a great pick. He has 134 career points, the most by a defenseman drafted in 2019.

He was the NHL’s only player to have at least 200 hits and block 200-plus shots last season, when he scored a career-high nine goals and had 42 points for the second straight year.

Seider won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie in 2022 after he had a career-high 50 points.

Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman is banking on Seider, whose contract will count $8.55 million annually against the cap, and Raymond to turn a rebuilding team into a winner.

Detroit has failed to make the playoffs in eight straight seasons, the longest postseason drought in franchise history.

The Red Wings, who won four Stanley Cups from 1997 to 2008, have been reeling since their run of 25 straight postseasons ended in 2016.

Detroit was 41-32-9 last season and finished with a winning record for the first time since its last playoff appearance.

Yzerman re-signed Patrick Kane last summer and signed some free agents, including Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year contract worth $9.5 million after he helped the Florida Panthers hoist the Cup.

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Sports

Vancouver Canucks star goalie Thatcher Demko working through rare muscle injury

Published

2 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

PENTICTON, B.C. – Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko says he’s been working his way back from a rare lower-body muscle injury since being sidelined in last season’s playoffs.

The 28-year-old all star says the rehabilitation process has been frustrating, but he has made good progress in recent weeks and is confident he’ll be able to return to playing.

He says he and his medical team have spent the last few months talking to specialists around the world, and have not found a single other hockey player who has dealt with the same injury.

Demko missed several weeks of the last season with a knee ailment and played just one game in Vancouver’s playoff run last spring before going down with the current injury.

He was not on the ice with his teammates as the Canucks started training camp in Penticton, B.C., on Thursday, but skated on his own before the sessions began.

Demko posted a 35-14-2 record with a .918 percentage, a 2.45 goals-against average and five shutouts for Vancouver last season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.

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Sports

Arch Manning to get first start for No. 1 Texas as Ewers continues recovery from abdomen strain

Published

3 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — No. 1 Texas will start Arch Manning at quarterback Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe while regular starter Quinn Ewers continues to recover from a strained muscle in his abdomen, coach Steve Sarkisian said Thursday.

It will be the first career start for Manning, a second year freshman. He relieved Ewers in the second quarter last week against UTSA, and passed for four touchdowns and ran for another in a 56-7 Texas victory.

Manning is the son of Cooper Manning, the grandson of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning, and the nephew of Super Bowl-winning QBs Peyton and Eli Manning.

Ewers missed several games over the previous two seasons with shoulder and sternum injuries.

The Longhorns are No. 1 for the first time since 2008 and Saturday’s matchup with the Warhawks is Texas’ last game before the program starts its first SEC schedule against Mississippi State on Sept. 28.

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