MONTREAL — The Montreal Canadiens, along with seven other NHL teams, are being offered an unprecedented chance to play for the Stanley Cup without having earned that right on their own merit.
It would be a stretch to say Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin is enthralled about it and we can’t really blame him.
“We’ll deal with the cards that have been dealt to us as best we can,” said Bergevin on a 40-minute conference call Wednesday.
But those cards sure look worse than the ones the Canadiens were holding when the NHL paused its season on Mar. 11 due to a global pandemic.
Don’t get us wrong. As Bergevin mentioned on the call, a chance to play playoff hockey is what every team is in it for when they arrive at training camp, and that’s unquestionably an exciting outcome for a team that has missed out on that opportunity in each of the last two seasons and in three of the last four.
But it’s unimaginable the GM sees that as a better outcome than the one his Canadiens were trending towards in piecing together a 31-31-9 record through the first 71 games of an 82-game season.
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When the NHL hit the pause button, the Canadiens, with that paltry record, were 10 points out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. They had taken a noble stab at proving themselves worthy, but they had completely missed the mark and their deficiencies had been laid bare on their way to facing that reality—with two separate eight-game winless streaks and four losses in four attempts against the bottom-of-the-barrel Detroit Red Wings making it undeniable.
Ilya Kovalchuk, Nate Thompson and Nick Cousins were sold for draft picks at the February trade deadline and the team — which was falling further and further out of contention — was focusing on its future and taking the necessary steps towards improving its draft lottery odds.
But now, in the wake of NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announcing on Tuesday that the return-to-play plan the league and the NHLPA agreed upon would have 24 teams involved in a tournament for the Stanley Cup, the Canadiens’ inclusion decreased their chances of drafting in the top-10 this summer.
For what it’s worth, Bergevin said he’s looking at that outcome as glass half full rather than half empty.
“For me, we have an opportunity as a team,” he said. “If we’re able to play at some point later in the summer, [it] gives us a chance to prove something that we otherwise wouldn’t have been able to.”
When Bergevin was asked how he views his team’s chances in the proposed format, he said, “I think our chances are as good as any of the other eight teams that have been awarded a playoff spot, to be honest with you.”
But that was hardly a convincing statement regarding their chances in comparison to those of the 16 teams that were in playoff spots when the season was paused.
“It’s a short series, anything is possible,” Bergevin said of the three-to-five-game play-in round. “Without putting any pressure on Carey (Price), when you have a goaltender of that quality, anything is possible. So we’ll see where we are, but I feel confident that if we do get to play against Pittsburgh, we have a chance to beat them.”
But the GM was in no position to suggest the Canadiens could do much else beyond that.
It’s why he conceded that the opportunity cost of being included in the play-in can’t be ignored.
“The percentage [of winning the draft lottery] going from six to two percent is, once again, not an ideal world,” Bergevin said.
And beating the Penguins, only to be knocked out of the lottery altogether, can’t be considered ideal either. Especially if the Canadiens drop out of the playoffs shortly after that.
For a team that embarked on a reset in the summer of 2018 — a team that Bergevin insists will only reach contender status by building through the draft and by properly developing its young talent — a guaranteed spot in the top-10 this summer was an opportunity to accelerate the process.
It may not have been what management was hoping for when the Canadiens started the season, but it certainly was the desired outcome by the time they had proven themselves incapable of making up the talent gap between them and the teams firmly entrenched in the playoff race.
There’s nothing Bergevin can do about it now.
“Honestly, I control what I can control,” he said. “I had no control over the decision of the NHL, but I’m conscious Gary Bettman and (NHL deputy commissioner) Bill Daly did everything for the benefit of the future of the NHL.
“So, we’ll adapt. I’ve talked to many GMs over this period—there we things we liked less and things we liked more but, at the end of the day, what Gary said yesterday is for the best for the entirety of the NHL.”
So the Canadiens will forge ahead with what they have.
Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman talk to a lot of people around the hockey world, and then they tell listeners all about what they’ve heard and what they think about it.
Jonathan Drouin, who sat out their last game before the pause, has recovered from the ankle injury that was hampering him. Tomas Tatar has recovered from an upper-body injury. And even if Bergevin said he couldn’t give a certain update on Victor Mete’s status because the young defenceman has been rehabbing from a broken left ankle from his home in Woodbridge, Ont., and away from Canadiens doctors, Mete told us at the end of March that he was two weeks away from removing his walking boot and just a few weeks out from a full recovery.
A prognosis on Jesperi Kotkaniemi, the team’s first-round pick in 2018, was unclear. The 19-year-old is home in Finland nursing an injured spleen that was to be treated with extensive rest.
Regarding the possibility that 2018 second-round pick Alexander Romanov can begin the entry-level contract he recently agreed to once play resumes, the rules don’t allow for it as of right now. Daly told reporters on a Tuesday conference call that it would be “unfair” to introduce new players at this stage, even if teams have been allowed to do this in every other season under the current collective bargaining agreement.
Bergevin remains hopeful that might change.
“The decision doesn’t just belong to the NHL, but also the PA,” he said. “It’s delicate. Personally, I can’t persuade anyone. It’s a rule that’s in place and there are other teams dealing with the same situation and I hope to have an answer as soon as possible for Alex Romanov.”
Whether he gets the answer he wants to hear is anything but a given. And if he gets the one he doesn’t want to hear, that’s just one more reality he’ll have to accept.
As for the play-in, Bergevin may not have been exuberant about it, but he’s still hopeful his team will make the best of it.
“For sure I was disappointed with where we had finished on Mar. 11, but we have an opportunity and I still believe in this team,” he said. “I believe in this team at the moment. I know we had difficult times, but we’ll see what happens, if a return to play is possible.”
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Lamar Jackson threw for 281 yards and five touchdowns, helping the Baltimore Ravens overcome an early double-digit deficit and extend their National Football League winning streak to five games with a 41-31 victory Monday night over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who lost their top two receivers to injuries.
The two-time NFL MVP improved to 23-1 against NFC teams, the best mark by a quarterback against an opposing conference in NFL history. He’s 3-0 against the Bucs (4-3), who faded after taking a 10-0 lead with help from the 100th TD reception of Mike Evans’ career.
Evans departed with a hamstring injury after Baker Mayfield tried to connect with him in the end zone again, and late in the fourth quarter with the game out of reach, leading Bucs receiver Chris Godwin was carted off the field with a left ankle injury. ESPN declined to show replays of Godwin’s injury, which appeared to be severe.
Jackson completed 17 of 22 passes without an interception, including TD throws of nine and four yards to Mark Andrews. He also tossed scoring passes of 49 yards to Rashod Bateman, 18 yards to Justice Hill and 11 yards to Derrick Henry, who rushed for 169 yards on 15 carries. Bateman had four catches for 121 yards.
The Ravens (5-2) rebounded from a slow start on defence, with cornerback Marlon Humphrey turning the game around with a pair of second-quarter interceptions — one of them in the Baltimore end zone. Jackson led a four-play, 80-yard TD drive after the first pick, and the second interception set up Justin Tucker’s 28-yard field goal for a 17-10 halftime lead.
Elsewhere in the NFL:
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CARDINALS 17 CHARGERS 15
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Kyler Murray ran for a 44-yard touchdown and led the Cardinals on a drive that set up Chad Ryland’s 32-yard field goal as time expired, and Arizona rallied for a win over Los Angeles.
Cameron Dicker kicked his fifth field goal of the night — this one from 40 yards — to give the Chargers a 15-14 lead with 1:54 left. But the Cardinals (3-4) quickly moved into field goal range, aided by an unnecessary roughness call on Cam Hart that cost Los Angeles (3-3) 15 yards.
Arizona followed that with a bruising 33-yard run by James Conner, who finished with 101 yards on the ground. That eventually set up Ryland’s short field goal and a Cardinals celebration.
It was a frustrating night for the Chargers’ offence, which gained 395 yards but couldn’t find the end zone. Justin Herbert completed 27 of 39 passes for 349 yards.
Dicker booted field goals of 59, 50, 28, 47 and 40 yards, the first of which tied a franchise record for distance.
Murray ran for a spectacular touchdown early in the fourth quarter, rolling to his left before turning on the jets, beating safety Junior Colston to the sideline and then coasting into the end zone for a 14-9 lead.
It was Murray’s second long touchdown run in three weeks after he scored on a 50-yard sprint against San Francisco. It was also Murray’s 20th career game with a touchdown pass and run.
Murray completed 14 of 26 passes for 145 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Whitecaps have been here before — literally and figuratively.
With the season hanging in the balance, the ‘Caps were dealt a blow last week when the club learned it wouldn’t be able to play a post-season wild-card game in its home stadium, B.C. Place, due to a scheduling conflict.
The Whitecaps ceded home field advantage to their regional rival, the Portland Timbers. The two clubs will battle for the final playoff spot in Major League Soccer’s Western Conference in Oregon on Wednesday.
The winner will face No. 1-seed Los Angeles FC in a best-of-three first-round series, starting Sunday.
An unforeseen hurdle like a change of venues is nothing new for the ‘Caps, said defender Ranko Veselinovic, who was part of the team that was forced to relocate first to Portland, then Utah during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It feels that always something happens for us, but it is what it is. So far, we’ve managed to always find solutions for those situations,” said the Serbian centre back. “But I hope this team can find it one more time, because we need it this time. And it will be a really nice feeling in those circumstances to go in, win and go face L.A. in the next round.”
Vancouver (13-13-8) heads into the post-season winless in its last seven MLS games and with losses in four straight after dropping a 2-1 road decision to Real Salt Lake on Saturday.
The skid followed a run that saw the club go 4-1-3 across all competitions between late August and late September.
There’s just one way to return to that level, said Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini.
“The work is the only way to do it. Try to put the work in and try to put the team in a way that they’re going to regain the form and the way that they were in the past,” he said.
Despite the final score, Sartini has seen positives in the way his team played in its two most recent losses.
“I think already we turned the corner,” he said. “And we start from there to build and build and build.”
Facing challenges together can help a team build, whether it’s a winless skid or an unexpected hurdle, said Vancouver’s captain Ryan Gauld.
“When you’re going through adversity, that’s when people start to raise their voice a little bit. You get good when the problems arise, you get a lot of people coming together to make sure we get out of it,” said the Scottish attacking midfielder.
“And we’ve had a tough time the last few games, but everyone’s aware of the fact that we’re a much better team than we’ve shown, and we need to find a way to get back to doing what we’re good at.”
The ‘Caps face a familiar foe in the Timbers (12-11-11).
The two sides have already met three times this season, with each coming out of the series with a win, a loss and a draw.
Portland has also struggled in recent weeks and are winless in their last five MLS outings (0-1-4).
The Timbers boast one of the league’s top offensive units, though, with threats such as Evander. The Brazilian midfielder notched 15 goals and 19 assists during the regular season.
To earn a win on Wednesday, the Whitecaps must be solid defensively, Gauld said.
“They must be one of the best attacks in the league. They have a lot of good players, and they can hurt you if you switch off,” he said. “So just being concentrated from the first whistle, and just being hard to beat, being stuffy. Just being on it for the full 90 minutes.”
A victory in the wild-card match would guarantee Vancouver at least one home playoff game, a factor that Sartini said would be a big reward for his group.
The entire team relished the experience of playing post-season soccer in front of more than 30,000 fans last year, the coach said, and the desire to repeat the feat is high as the club heads to Portland.
“Everyone is happy to be in the playoffs. So we don’t have to be moody to be in the playoff. And we go in there, we’re play one of our rivals. So it’s gonna be a nice game to show up and to play our best game possible.”
VANCOUVER WHITECAPS (13-13-8) AT PORTLAND TIMBERS (12-11-11)
Wednesday, Providence Park
HISTORY BOOKS: This will mark the seventh all-time post-season meeting between the Timbers and ‘Caps, dating back to 1975. The last time the two clubs squared off in a playoff game was during the Western Conference semifinal in 2015. Portland won the two-game aggregate series and went on to hoist the MLS Cup.
ROAD WARRIORS: The ‘Caps boasted a 7-6-4 record on the road during regular-season play — better than the 6-7-4 showing they posted at B.C. Place.
POST-SEASON PARTY: Wednesday will mark the first time the Timbers have hosted a post-season game since 2021.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.
GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — Scotland conceived rugby sevens in the 1880s yet it will not feature in the scaled-back 2026 Commonwealth Games hosted by Glasgow.
Other sports that have also been dropped include field hockey, triathlon, badminton, Twenty20 cricket, squash, and diving.
The Games will have a 10-sport program in four venues. Athletics and swimming are compulsory while there will also be track cycling, gymnastics, netball, weightlifting, boxing, judo, bowls and 3×3 basketball.
There will also be integrated para events in six of those sports: Athletics, swimming, track cycling, weightlifting, bowls and basketball.
The Games will take place from July 23-Aug. 2 after Glasgow stepped in when the Australian state of Victoria withdrew last year because of rising costs.
It was not easy to decide which sports to include, Commonwealth Games Scotland chairman Ian Reid told the BBC on Tuesday.
“I think everybody recognises that these events need to be more affordable, lighter and we would have loved to have all of our sports and all of our athletes competing but unfortunately it’s just not deliverable or affordable for this time frame,” Reid said.
Athletes and support staff will be housed in hotels. Around 3,000 athletes are expected to compete from up to 74 Commonwealth nations and territories representing a combined total of 2.5 billion people, a third of the world’s entire population.
More than 500,000 tickets made available for spectators.
The Commonwealth Games Federation chief executive Katie Sadleir said: “The 2026 Games will be a bridge to the Commonwealth Games of tomorrow, an exciting first step in our journey to reset and redefine the Games as a truly collaborative, flexible and sustainable model for the future that minimises costs, reduces the environmental footprint, and enhances social impact. In doing so, increasing the scope of countries capable of hosting.”
Glasgow hosted the event in 2014 at a cost of more than 540 million pounds.
