Sheldon Keefe on Denis Malgin making the team over Nick Robertson: "In Nick’s case, [waiver exemption] works against him… That’s the reality of the situation with the cap and a tight roster… He did all of the things we asked him to do"
After practice on Monday, head coach Sheldon Keefe discussed Denis Malgin making the team for opening night over Nick Robertson, the other final cuts, and John Tavares’ status for Wednesday night in Montreal.
Final Cuts & Practice Lines – October 10
D Jordie Benn and D Timothy Liljegren have been placed on long-term injured reserve.
D Carl Dahlström has been placed on injured reserve.
What did Denis Malgin do to earn the spot next to Tavares and Nylander in practice today over someone like Nick Robertson?
Keefe: In Malgin’s case, first of all, he is a guy who is coming in here at 25 years old. He already has 200 NHL games to his record. He has produced during that time. He has had some time away here, and from what I have seen, he has grown and developed his game.
That is really what I wanted to do in this camp and preseason — just watch and see where he is at mentally and let him use the opportunities he was getting to prove he can play in the NHL and help our team. I think he has done that.
He produced at a high rate — right near the top of the league in scoring — and also worked really hard away from the puck. He found ways to create no matter which game or what the competition was like. It seemed like he was still making his mark on each of the games. He was good and competitive in our practices.
To that end, we felt we would give him that opportunity. The fact that he is protected by requiring waivers works in his favour in this case.
In Nick Robertson’s case, it works against him. That is the reality of the situation we are in with the salary cap and carrying a really tight and short roster. We are going to have players you would otherwise have in the NHL that are going to have to start in the American league.
Everything I said about Malgin, Robertson did just the same. It was a tough decision. We saw tremendous growth in camp. We are very encouraged about where his game is at. We have all the confidence that he will be back here when needed.
How do you stress to a young player that it is a case of numbers not adding up in his favour and not letting it affect the progress he has made?
Keefe: I think the best we can do is just talk to him — be up front and honest. It is an unfortunate situation for a player who has worked very hard and is as competitive as he is. He did all of the things we asked him to do.
A player like him at his age is never a finished product. There is always benefit to playing in the AHL and helping a Marlies team that we want to see take steps and grow. That growth is only going to happen through the growth of the individuals. He can be a part of that.
At the same time, he will be playing lots and staying fresh and ready for when we need him as opposed to maybe being a scratch here. There are benefits there. But young players don’t want to hear that after they have gone out and done what they asked of them and shown that they can help the team and play.
It is just the reality of the situation. The flat cap creates a lot of these scenarios all around the league. We are trying to manage it as best we can.
How did John Tavares look today as he progresses toward a return?
Keefe: I thought he looked good. Most importantly, he got through the entire practice. Those are encouraging signs for tomorrow’s practice. He is encouraged. If all goes well for the rest of the day, he will come to tomorrow’s practice as though he is preparing to play. We will just continue to assess him.
Is it your understanding that if Tavares can’t play on Wednesday, you will play one player short in that game?
Keefe: That is my understanding. That is something we were prepared to do coming in through the offseason when we made the decision we did to add the players we did under the salary cap. We knew there could be predicaments like that like there have been in previous seasons. We have had several teams in the league playing short, and I am sure there will be again this season.
When we look at the big picture in the long run, we feel like adding a player like Jarnkork was something that we wanted to do. Thus, we run into these types of situations, but it doesn’t make it any easier for sure.
I believe our group is as deep as we have been since I have been here. We have really clear and defined roles throughout the group. We have lots of competition. Guys will be challenging to move up throughout the lineup. I think we are in a really good spot there.
It doesn’t say anything about how we feel about the players that won’t be on the roster. They are still very important players. They will be here in time naturally as we face the realities of an NHL schedule.
For a guy as meticulous as Tavares, are you always confident he is going to be doing everything in his power to get back as soon as possible?
Keefe: Yeah, for sure. He knows his body really well. He is really in tune with what is happening. He takes great care of himself. Our staff and our group as well as his team that he has that he trusts are doing everything they can to make sure he is healthy, feeling good, strong, fit, and all of those kinds of things. That is never in doubt.
Sometimes, the body takes a little longer than you would like. In his case, it seems to have been a little bit quicker. As I said, we will give him another day and monitor it. My sense of it — and the feedback that we have gotten — is that everything is progressing well. He will come tomorrow as if he is preparing to play, and then we’ll make a call from there.
There are a couple of good dressing-room guys in Kyle Clifford and Wayne Simmonds going down to the Marlies. Can you comment on that?
Keefe: Very similar. Again, it is the reality of where we are at with the cap and our roster. Frankly, ever since we made the decision to sign Calle Jarnkrork, I think we knew we were going to be tight a short, very tight roster. We believe that the addition of Jarnkork makes us a better, deeper team. As a result, you are going to have to make some decisions like this.
All of the guys we put on waivers — or in Nick’s case, that we sent down, and Holmberg is just the same — we really believe in. Clifford and Simmer, in particular, are guys who mean a lot to our team and to our room. If you are carrying a bigger roster, those guys are here and a part of our team in terms of how we feel about them and what they can bring and provide to our group.
The system is what it is and our situation is what it is. We had to make some decisions. The 12 forwards that we have remaining, I believe, make us a deeper and stronger forward group than we were a year ago. There are going to be some guys sliding down that depth chart.
How are you going to split up the starts with the goalies on Wednesday and Thursday?
Keefe: Murray will go Wednesday, and Samsonov will go Thursday. We will start that way. We will make our decisions from there. We have a plan for how things will go, but the plan changes every day. The back-to-back one is pretty straightforward. We will go from there.
Did the opportunity for Samsonov to face his former team factor into the decision?
Keefe: No, it didn’t. We wanted Murray to get the first game and get rolling that way with the schedule being what it is. I thought both goalies in practice today were really, really strong right from their goalie session into the practice. I thought those guys made a statement in the practice today with how they competed and how they were solid in the net.
Murray is going to go in the first game. The schedule is what it is — maybe not absolutely ideal, but maybe it is. I haven’t talked to Sammy about that specifically. Curtis [Sanford] has been handling that. It will be our home opener and his former team coming in. There will be a lot of excitement around that.
NYON, Switzerland (AP) — Serbia and Albania are set to co-host the men’s Under-21 European Championship in 2027 in a soccer project that aims to overcome political tensions.
UEFA said Thursday only the Serbia-Albania bid met a deadline this week to file detailed tournament plans. Belgium and Turkey had declared interest earlier in the bidding process scheduled to be decided at a Dec. 16 meeting of the UEFA executive committee.
The Serbian and Albanian soccer federations teamed up in May to plan organization of the 16-team tournament played every two years that needs eight stadiums to host 31 games.
Albania soccer federation leader Armand Duka, who is a UEFA vice president, told The Associated Press in May that “it’s a 100% football project” with “a very good political message that we can get across.”
Weeks later at the men’s European Championship held in Germany, historic tensions between the Balkan countries — which in soccer included a notorious drone incident at a Serbia-Albania game in 2014 — played out at separate games involving their senior teams.
An Albania player was banned for games by UEFA for using a megaphone to join fans in nationalist chants, including targeting Serbia, after a Euro 2024 game against Croatia. Fans of Albania and Croatia earlier joined in anti-Serb chants, leading UEFA to impose fines for discrimination.
UEFA also fined both the Albanian and Serbian federations in separate incidents at Euro 2024 for fans displaying politically motivated banners about neighboring Kosovo.
After historic tensions were heightened by the 1990s Balkans conflicts, in 2008 majority ethnic Albanians in Kosovo declared independence for the former Serbian province. Serbia refuses to recognize that independence and considers Kosovo the cradle of its statehood.
An Albanian fans group daubed red paint on the federation offices in May when the cooperation with Serbian soccer for the Under-21 Euros was announced.
“We did have a few negative reactions from fans, mainly, and some interest groups,” Duka said then, “but not from the Albania government.”
UEFA has shown broad support for Serbia and Albania under its president, Aleksander Ceferin, who is from Slovenia.
The next annual congress of UEFA’s 55 national federations is in the Serbian capital Belgrade on April 3, and an executive committee meeting in September 2025 will be held in Tirana, Albania.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia’s mayor has revealed the terms of the deal negotiated with the city’s pro basketball team for a new $1.3 billion arena downtown.
The agreement reached earlier this month calls for the Philadelphia 76ers to finance the entire project, with no city funding involved. There is, however, a provision that would let the NBA team make annual payments in lieu of taxes averaging $6 million per year. The agreement also calls for a $50 million investment in businesses, neighboring communities and the city’s schools to blunt the project’s impact, Mayor Cherelle Parker said during a news conference Wednesday night.
“I truly am proud having made this decision and negotiated an agreement that will definitely ensure that our Sixers are staying home right here in Philadelphia, where they should be,” Parker said.
City officials also released drafts of the nine bills and two resolutions needed to authorize the project, including measures that allow the city to acquire the arena property and change zoning rules. Parker said her administration would hold a series of town halls in the coming months where residents could discuss concerns about the proposal.
Team owners say their planned “76 Place” project would improve a struggling retail corridor near City Hall and capitalize on the city’s public transit. They also have vowed not to renew the lease on their current space, a circa 1996 arena in the city’s South Philadelphia sports complex, when their lease runs out in 2031.
The proposal has drawn significant opposition from activists in the city’s Chinatown area, who fear it would disrupt or displace residents and businesses. They say the city has ignored concerns that the project will increase vehicle traffic in their pedestrian-friendly neighborhood and force vulnerable residents — older people, low-income families and new immigrants — to move out. Parker on Wednesday renewed her pledge to preserve the area, which is just over a block from the proposed arena site.
If ultimately approved by the City Council, demolition work in the area would begin in 2026 with construction starting two years later. Officials hope to open the arena in time for the 76ers’ 2031-32 season.
Karl-Anthony Towns was born in New Jersey, went to college in Kentucky and has spent the entirety of his NBA career in Minnesota.
His roots, however, are in the Dominican Republic. And to continue paying homage to his late mother’s homeland, Towns announced plans Thursday to help build a state-of-the-art basketball training facility in that country, one where youth will get top-notch coaching and access to physical therapy, classroom space, meeting space and more.
Groundbreaking in Santiago, Dominican Republic, is set for next year, with plans calling for completion in 2026.
“I’ve been very fortunate to live the American dream,” said Towns, the four-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA selection who is about to enter his 10th pro season, all with the Timberwolves. “But for me, having a different set of eyes, seeing it through my mother’s eyes and what she had to do to really even feel like an American, I wanted to bring the resources that we have here to there and give kids the opportunity to have the best equipment and the best chances possible to not only make money for their family but also pursue their dreams.”
Jacqueline Cruz-Towns died in April 2020 of complications related to COVID-19. She was the center of her son’s world, the woman who taught him about the importance of faith and family, sacrifice and hard work. The fact that this facility — Towns is partnering with GO Ministries and World Youth Clubs to make it happen — is going to be built where she’s from is not a coincidence.
“It was really important for me to give back to my community, a country that’s given me everything, gave me my mother and gave me this love of the game of basketball,” Towns said. “It’s given me the word love, both of family and understanding how to treat people.”
Towns, also in tribute to his mother, has represented the Dominican Republic in multiple international tournaments going back to 2011 at the junior level. He most recently starred for the island nation at the 2023 World Cup in the Philippines, averaging 24.4 points in five games.
This basketball facility is part of a complex that also includes two soccer fields, four baseball fields, covered outdoor basketball and volleyball courts and an educational facility. Towns said it has taken time to find the right people to actually execute the programs on the ground — he has known and trusted some of them for years — and now the “building blocks are set,” he said.
And above all else, his mother — who took him to church often and even when the family was struggling taught him the value of trying to help others — would approve.
“It is the safe haven for some of these kids who have found themselves in different situations and have a lack of resources,” Towns said. “To be able to give these kids a chance to dream and to really think of the dream — maybe they don’t make the NBA, the WNBA, professional baseball, become a professional volleyball player or a great soccer player — but now they get to dream. For them to be able to grow their life skills, their social skills, and also to learn how to have a passion and to be determined about something and have dedication, I think this is amazing.”
