The Colorado Avalanche have a goaltending problem. Avalanche starting goalie Mackenzie Blackwood has looked like the weak link for the Stanley Cup contender throughout the season. He turned in yet another dud in a home game against the lowly Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday night. Mackenzie Blackwood flopped against the Canucks Blackwood allowed six goals against Vancouver. He was pulled for backup goalie Scott Wedgewood after Canucks right winger Brock Boeser scored a slapshot against him in the second period. His replacement didn't fare any better. The Avalanche lost to the Canucks 8-6. Boeser had a hat trick, his first of the season. The Avalanche (49-15-10, 108 points) have slumped over their past 10 games, going 5-4-1. However, the Canucks (22-44-8, 74 points), who have already been eliminated from the playoffs, have been even worse during this stretch, going 3-7 over their last 10 games. Blackwood continuing to flounder against the Canucks should spark concerns for the Avalanche. What's going to happen when he faces far better teams in the postseason? Could Mackenzie Blackwood struggle in Stanley Cup playoffs again? Entering Wednesday night, Blackwood ranked 19th in the NHL in save percentage (.905) and 22nd in wins (21). Wedgewood, meanwhile, has outperformed him for most of the season. He ranked first in the league in save percentage (.917) and was tied for eighth in wins (27) before the disastrous showing against the Canucks. More importantly, most of Blackwood's struggles are coming at the worst possible time in the season. The goalie logged an .863 save percentage in eight games in March after posting a .929 in four games in February. His save percentage against Vancouver was a lousy .684. Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar has had the goalies split time this season, but in the postseason, he may want to consider primarily playing Wedgewood if Blackwood can't get it together. He struggled for the Avalanche last postseason, going 3-4 in seven starts and posting a below-average .892 save percentage in a first-round loss to the Dallas Stars. And by the look of it, he may be on the verge of another collapse that could cost the Avalanche a shot at their fourth Stanley Cup.
One of the biggest stories of the Minnesota Vikings’ offseason is the future of edge rusher Jonathan Greenard. Ahead of free agency, news broke that the Vikings were willing to trade Greenard. Initially, it was rather shocking to hear. Greenard is the best player on the Vikings’ defense, and trading him would be a mistake. Even so, Greenard wants an extension, which is the point of contention. So far, the Vikings haven’t been willing to budge on a raise for Greenard. They should give him a raise right away, and it could end up happening. Vikings can fix Jonathan Greenard’s contract in familiar way We’ve seen multiple different instances with the Vikings of players wanting a raise. Tight end T.J. Hockenson and safety Josh Metellus got extensions in recent years after holding in. Edge rusher Danielle Hunter also held in and got money moved around along with a raise the following year. Once the Vikings get into training camp, the Vikings could do the same thing. The Athletic’s Alec Lewis mentioned that in his latest from the NFL Owners Meetings. O’Connell similarly said he expects Greenard to play a major role for the Vikings in 2026, both on and off the field. Other NFL teams could continue to call. The Vikings will keep an open mind. If training camp comes and Greenard still wants a reworked contract, the Vikings will look for a solution as they have with core players like Josh Metellus and T.J. Hockenson in previous seasons. The Athletic's Alec Lewis Title That would be an interesting development. Lewis mentioning it gives credence to it happening come training camp. We’ve seen the Vikings do it multiple times with other key players, and history tends to repeat himself. For years, former general manager Rick Spielman gave out an extension to begin training camp. Will Greenard be willing to take a smaller raise once training camp begins? Only time will reveal that information. What is currently known is simple: the Vikings want to keep him, and a potential hold-in could make those discussions happen faster.
Back in February, it was said that the new Miami Dolphins regime could take the full $99.2M cap charge this year related to moving on from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. The Dolphins instead spread those cap hits over the next two seasons, and the club later signed former Green Bay Packers backup Malik Willis. Willis reportedly will "have to earn" the Miami starting job over 2025 seventh-round draft pick Quinn Ewers later this summer. During a recent chat with Mike Sando of The Athletic, one unnamed NFL executive shared why he thinks the Dolphins handled their quarterback situation poorly this offseason. Would "tanking" be better for the Dolphins than having Malik Willis? "They should not have signed Malik Willis," the executive said about the Dolphins. "They should have taken the full Tua cap charge in one season. They should have gone with Quinn Ewers and just played out the season." Ewers is on an inexpensive rookie contract, and he either could have become a revelation as Miami's first-choice option or basically could have helped the team "tank" with the 2027 NFL Draft in mind. That said, some think the 2026 Dolphins are going to struggle to field a competitive team even if Willis stays in the lineup through Week 18. Will Malik Willis be a flop for the Dolphins? Willis played well for the Packers in two December appearances this past season, but the 2022 third-round draft pick has only started six total regular-season games as a pro. A different executive suggested that the Dolphins may soon regret the three-year, $67.5M contract they gave Willis in March. "You should know enough about Willis to know many of his throws were flareouts and simple stuff," that executive explained. "So, unless you plan on running an offense like that, what are you doing? And then I don’t think they got enough for [wide receiver Jaylen Waddle]. They got the equivalent of the 25th pick in the draft. It should have been a lot more." Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan has no reason to admit it, but he seemingly is banking on the 2027 quarterback draft class being as good as advertised. Discussions about whether or not that's the case can be punted down the road for after Miami experiences what likely will be a tough season for many involved.
Bryce Harper was left frustrated on Wednesday when he had an out taken away from him thanks to a rule that rarely comes up in Major League Baseball. Harper thought he had the third out of the inning when he tagged Washington’s Jacob Young out at first during Wednesday’s game between the Nationals and Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pa. However, Young was ruled safe when first base umpire Ryan Blakney ruled that Harper pushed Young’s hand off the bag to make the tag. Had Young been ruled out, the inning would have been over. Instead, a run scored and the Nationals tied the game at 1. The call appeared to be the correct one. Young narrowly got back in and Harper, intentionally or not, nudged his hand off the base to tag him out. The rule rarely comes into play, but it did here. It has been a rough start to the season for both Harper and the Phillies. He entered Wednesday’s game in a 2-for-20 stretch to start the season. Needless to say, that was not how he hoped to start the campaign after taking offense to the Phillies suggesting that his performance last season was not to the elite standards that are expected of him.
