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Toronto Maple Leafs Rumours: TOR is looking for winger to play with Tavares & Nylander (Friedman) – Maple Leafs Hot Stove

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In the Leafs Links, the insiders have the latest on the Toronto Maple Leafs’ possible trade pursuits with six weeks and change until the April 12th trade deadline.


Friedman: “I think they’re trying to find someone to play with Tavares & Nylander” (SN590)

On the Lead Off with Scotty Mac and Mike Zigomanis, Elliotte Friedman discussed the Leafs‘ deadline plans and the acquisition of Alex Galchenyuk.

I think Toronto is looking for another winger. I just think they are trying to find someone else to play with Tavares and Nylander and see if they can unlock something a bit more.

Are they getting a rental or a guy with term? That depends on the situation. If you are the Maple Leafs, don’t you see this as a year where you go for it? Look at the way you are going. Look at the way Matthews is going. Look at the way some of the star players are going. Just go for it.

The way the Leafs are playing and the way it is setting up, you are going for it this year. This is a year where you say, “I’ve got all of these poker chips in front of me. I am pushing them in. I am going for it.”

I think they are going to look pretty hard at what is available and they are going to try to add.

One of the reasons they made this deal with Carolina: You can have a maximum of 50 contracts. That drops them down one from 47 to 46. It doesn’t mean they are going to go all out to acquire three or four guys, but it gives them the added flexibility to do it.

I don’t know how you can’t look at this and the way it is shaping up and say, “We are pushing in our chips.”

Friedman on the Galchenyuk addition:

If you look at what they have done this year, they have brought in a lot of guys around the $1 million mark, or a little bit more or a little bit less, to see if they can fill holes. Thornton is going very well. Simmonds is going very well. Spezza is going very well in his role. Vesey hasn’t gone as good in his role. Boyd has gone pretty well. Bogosian — pretty good.

I just think Galchenyuk is going to be another guy they are going to throw in there at some point and say, “Can you give us a few good minutes every night?” Basically, what they are doing with these guys is buying lottery tickets and saying, “The scratch and win — do we get ‘sorry, try again,’ or do we get some money out of this?”

That is what it is. They are going to give him a shot at some point to see what he can do. Some nights, maybe it will be on a lower line. If he performs well, maybe he gets a shot in the top six to see what he can do.


Dreger: “Dubas would like to add a 6th/7th forward” (TSN1050)

On First Up with Michael Lansberg and Carlo Colaiacovo, Darren Dreger previewed the Leafs‘ deadline needs/wants.

I think Dubas would like to add a 6.5-7th forward. If he is pressuring guys in the top six, your top six is pretty good. If he is the 7th guy on the third line, he is going to drive the third line.

They need a little bit more from that third line. I think the action for the trade deadline might come three or four weeks prior to the deadline — mid-March due to Covid-19 and quarantine restrictions.  I wouldn’t be surprised if teams jump a bit ahead of time.

I think Dubas and Keefe like the group they have, but do they like them enough that they see they could be a contending team? If the answer to that in the coming weeks is yes, Dubas will feel the responsibility to go out and reward the coach and players with another piece or couple of pieces.

It will be more about Dubas doing what he can to bolster the lineup than a glaring need.


Friedman: “There is a big push to move the draft back” (WGR550)

Friedge provided an interesting note on The Instigators show about the possibility of pushing the draft back or holding two drafts at once in 2022.

There is a big push to move it — a huge push. The teams are really, really grinding for it. It is supposed to happen in July. They want it moved back to December or January. There was one proposal on the table to have two in June of 2022 in Montreal — one first round one day, the second round the next day, a few days off, then a first round and a second round; do two of them.

From what I understand, the teams want it in December-January because they think it is too much to do two drafts at once. Here is the problem: The NHLPA has to agree on this, and there are agents who have told me they don’t think it is right that the top prospects don’t get to compete for their teams next year. I have had a few people tell me that they see it as a compromise, if they get to this point, to have one round this year, and everything else gets pushed back.


Mirtle: Granlund makes a lot of sense for Leafs (The Athletic)

James Mirtle sees Mikael Granlund as a possible fit for the top-six winger need on the Leafs ahead of the deadline, especially if he can be had for non-first-round picks & futures.

I really like Granlund as a fit for the Leafs, either alongside Auston Matthews or John Tavares. He’s clearly still a top-six forward, and he’s not that far removed from 60-point seasons in Minnesota. Get him out of low-scoring Nashville, and it feels like he could surprise.

He’s a good possession player and an excellent playmaker, which is important given both of Toronto’s top centers are shooters. If the Leafs can bring in someone with Granlund’s pedigree before the deadline for a couple of picks beyond the first round, that makes a lot of sense.

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DeMar DeRozan scores 27 points to lead the Kings past the Raptors 122-107

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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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Whitecaps take confidence, humility into decisive playoff matchup vs. LAFC

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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.

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PWHL unveils game jerseys with new team names, logos

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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.

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