Aidan Thompson is a National Champion. Frank Nazar won the Big Ten Championship with Michigan and played in the Frozen Four. Now, Gavin Hayes is the latest Blackhawks prospect trying to will his team to a championship with a consistent performance.
Hayes had two assists in the Soo Greyhounds’ 4-0 victory over Saginaw Wednesday night. With the series knotted at two apiece, the Greyhounds caught a break with Saginaw star defenseman Zayne Parekh being out of the lineup. Now that the series heads back to Saginaw for a fifth game, Hayes has a chance to do what other Blackhawks prospects have done in their respective postseasons–stand out.
Hayes has 12 points (4-8) and is currently tied in points for the team lead. In eight games, he has registered points in all but one, a loss to the Saginaw in game one. Five of those seven games have been multi-point performances, too.
Now, Hayes has a chance to strap the team to his back and take the Greyhounds through what is now a best of three series. Like Nazar picking his spots with Michigan, Hayes can apply his goal scoring prowess to get the Greyhounds to the next round. If Parekh misses another game, it’s a golden opportunity for the Greyhounds to seize the series lead.
There’s a chance, too, for another one of the Blackhawks prospects to be another rebuilding block as Nazar has shown in just two games with Chicago. Hayes isn’t the same player as Nazar, and would likely be more of a top-nine than a bonafide top six as Nazar is already showing to be. But the kid can score goals and put up points.
Now it’s a watch to see what Hayes does with his team having a chance to take control of a series. Continued production, and success continues what should excite Blackhawks fans even more–another one of Kyle Davidson’s draft picks making it to Chicago as early as next season.
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According to some, throw out the idea that the Edmonton Oilers should pursue Max Pacioretty. A veteran forward who has earned over $63 million over the course of his NHL career has yet to sign an NHL contract and was recently mentioned in a post by David Staples as a possible fit. In a recent post, the Journal noted, “All of the top NHL unrestricted free agents have already signed contracts, but there’s one big name player still available that makes good sense for the Edmonton Oilers to pursue.” Responses have been varied, with a few quite vocal about the Oilers not following Staples’ advice. “In what world does this make sense?????” writes a commenter on a recent post for The Hockey Writers. Another commenter wrote, “Pacioretty is a good journeyman player but he is injury prone now, late in his career. Oilers might be lucky to get 40 games out of him. They should look elsewhere instead of taking a chance on Patches.” Tyler Yaremchuk of Oilers Nation chimed in and said, “He scored five goals in 37 games last year with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Can’t stay healthy, very old, very slow.” Yaremchuk then went on a rant, listing several Oilers forwards who would be better than Pacioretty. What About Pacioretty on a PTO? Is there any reason that a team that is looking to get younger and faster, and move out depth pieces that were older and less productive than expected, would revert back to last summer’s strategy? It seems like an odd choice on the surface. Something would have to happen that would make giving Pacioretty a look risk-free. That means only a PTO. Even at that point, should he agree, it would require him to be willing to sign a two-way contract for the league minimum.
The Dallas Cowboys extended one of their stars Sunday, just not the one fans wanted them to pay. At Cowboys training camp Saturday, Dallas fans serenaded owner Jerry Jones with "Pay Micah [Parsons]" chants. The EDGE, of course, is set to play on the fifth-year option of his rookie contract this season. Jones must not have been listening. He gave tight end Jake Ferguson a new contract instead. Dallas and the 26-year-old pass-catcher agreed to a four-year, $52M contract extension, via NFL Media's Ian Rapoport. This move seems head-scratching. Parsons has won the 2021 Defensive Rookie of the Year and earned two first-team All-Pro nods since the Cowboys took him with pick No. 12 in the 2021 NFL Draft. The 26-year-old EDGE also finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting during the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Ferguson, meanwhile, is solid but not elite. In three seasons with the Cowboys, the 2022 fourth-round pick has made one Pro Bowl and has never finished with more than 761 receiving yards in a season. An extension for Parsons will devour future cap space. The Cowboys may be worried about that after giving quarterback Dak Prescott (four years, $240M) and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb (four years, $136M) long-term deals in 2024. Pittsburgh Steelers EDGE T.J. Watt signed a lucrative three-year, $123M extension on July 17, making him the league's highest-paid non-QB. Parsons could command a similar contract. If cap space is Dallas' primary concern, however, why would it extend Ferguson? He's now set to be the NFL's seventh-highest-paid TE. The Cowboys waited to extend Lamb and Prescott just before the start of the 2024 season. They may be doing the same with Parsons. The star defender has said, "Ownership is always gonna make [contract negotiations] drag out." Regardless, the Cowboys should've paid Parsons before Ferguson. That's a much bigger priority for the team.
The Cleveland Guardians are quite a mystery heading into the MLB trade deadline, as no one seems to know whether they will buy, sell or possibly even do nothing before July 31. The Guardians are hovering around .500, but they are still smack dab in the middle of the American League Wild Card race. That's in spite of losing 10 straight just before the All-Star break. Even with Cleveland remaining in contention, there are some who believe the Guardians might sell given their conservative nature, but talk show host Bruce Drennan has provided some rather bad news for the team in that regard: the players they might want to move don't have much value. “No top prospects for a big bat, and I don’t necessarily see us selling players, like Carlos Santana or Lane Thomas. What can you get in return?” Drennan said. Drennan has a point. Santana and Thomas are both impending free agents, and neither has been all that good this season. Santana owns a .665 OPS, and Thomas has been on and off the injured list while hitting just .160 on the year. Of course, the Guardians would surely be able to land a hefty return for players like Steven Kwan and Emmanuel Clase, but it does not seem like Cleveland is going to move either of those two stars. Perhaps the Guardians will surprise some people and go all in by adding pieces at the deadline, but that isn't exactly in their nature. We'll see what happens before the end of the months, but it stands to reason that Cleveland might just stand pat, as Drennan anticipates. Read More Cleveland Guardians Coverage
The New York Mets appear to be clicking again, entering Sunday night's game with the San Francisco Giants on a six-game winning streak. This hot stretch has raised the stakes for David Stearns and company ahead of this week's trade deadline; Stearns has already filled one need, landing lefty reliever Gregory Soto from Baltimore, and could be looking to make a few more moves prior to Thursday. One of the more prominent rumors surrounding the Mets is their interest in Chicago White Sox center fielder Luis Robert Jr., who is having a down year but was an All-Star as recently as 2023. Robert is hitting well right now and has a market, which has led the White Sox to demand a high price from the Mets in trade talks for him. USA Today's Bob Nightengale addressed the Robert trade talks in his Sunday column and mentioned that the White Sox are seeking to acquire Mark Vientos from the Mets in any version of a Robert trade. Vientos, who got off to a cold start to the season, has hit well over the past two weeks, batting .290 with a .732 OPS in 31 at-bats. Robert has also peaked in the month of July, hitting .351 with two home runs, nine RBI, and a .982 OPS in 37 at-bats. While this is admittedly a small sample size, it does offer hope to prospective buyers that Robert can recapture some of his All-Star form with a change of scenery away from the hopeless losing that has consumed the White Sox since the start of the 2024 campaign. Since there are so few center fielders available on the trade market, Chicago has multiple suitors for Robert, who also has two team options for the next two seasons and is still just 27 years old. Setting the Mets' asking price at Vientos indicates the White Sox aren't planning to settle for just minor leaguers as part of a Robert package, which could be richer than what the Mets want to pay right now. While the Mets have the potential to move one of their surplus infielders for a roster upgrade, it doesn't feel like Stearns would want to give up on Vientos, who was one of the team's most dominant hitters in the postseason a year ago, for potentially two months of Robert. Vientos may be best suited to be a designated hitter on the current roster, but he has elite power potential and is under team control through the 2029 season. If the White Sox don't lower the price off of Vientos for a trade, it is possible the Mets look elsewhere to address center field. Other trade options could include Baltimore's Cedric Mullins and a reunion with Harrison Bader, who the Twins will look to shop, while Drew Gilbert's hot July at Triple-A Syracuse offers another internal possibility for the position.
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