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The Bruins added yet another goaltender to its roster, but it’s not Jeremy Sayman.
Boston Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney announced that the team has claimed goaltender Jiri Patera off waivers from Vancouver.
Patera, 25, appeared in 25 games with the Henderson Silver Knights (AHL) during the 2023-24 season.
The #NHLBruins have claimed goaltender Jiri Patera off waivers: https://t.co/vrdKmvfa3C
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) October 2, 2024
The 6-foot-3, 212-pound netminder posted a 11-10-4 record, with a 2.99 goals against average and a .903 save percentage. He has played in 85 career AHL games, sporting an overall record of 37-40-6 with a 2.92 goals against average and a .907 save percentage.
Patera has also appeared in eight career NHL games with the Vegas Golden Knights. The Prague, Czechia native was originally selected by Vegas in the sixth round (161st overall) of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.
He is the fourth goaltender added to the current roster, joining Joonas Korpisalo, Brandon Bussi and Michael DiPietro. Restricted free agent Jeremy Swayman still remains unsigned in a contract dispute.
Check out: Bruins goalie Brandon Bussi Builds Confidence as Opener Approaches
With the addition of Patera, the Bruins roster is now at 33. They include 18 forwards, 11 defensemen and four goaltenders.
Forwards (18): John Beecher, Justin Brazeau, Patrick Brown, Charlie Coyle, Trent Frederic, Morgan Geekie, Tyler Johnson, Max Jones, Mark Kastelic, Cole Koepke, Vinni Lettieri, Elias Lindholm, Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, Matt Poitras, Riley Tufte, Jeffrey Viel and Pavel Zacha.
Defensemen (11): Brandon Carlo, Hampus Lindholm, Mason Lohrei, Charlie McAvoy, Ian Mitchell, Jordan Oesterle, Andrew Peeke, Alec Regula, Billy Sweezey, Parker Wotherspoon and Nikita Zadorov.
Goaltenders (3): Bussi, DiPietro, Korpisalo and Patera.
The Bruins open the regular season on Tuesday, when they travel to face the Florida Panthers, Oct. 8. They’ll play host to the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday, Oct. 10 at TD Garden at 7 p.m.
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4 Issues EA Sports Must Address in NHL 26
Last week, EA Sports gave hockey fans a rare taste of excitement in the desert of August. A smiling Matthew Tkachuk dons the cover of the NHL 26 video game (with brother Brady and father Keith featured on the game’s deluxe edition), which fans got the first look at on Aug. 5 when the game’s inaugural trailer launched. The two-minute snippet and accompanying online release tout expansions of the X-factor and Ice-Q gameplay systems. However, the most exciting development is the first update to Be a Pro since NHL 21. Hockey gamers know better than to get their hopes up, however. The Chel franchise has rarely received glowing reviews over the last decade. Sometimes that’s the result of the marquee “improvements” failing to move the needle, but there’s also been a fair share of annoying, minor inconveniences that have added up to detract from the whole product. Some are promptly addressed, but several have persisted across numerous game iterations. Here are four issues in the latter category that the game’s developers desperately need to fix before the virtual puck drops on Sept. 5. The Dump and Chase/Long Flip There are still a couple of ways to properly execute this common hockey strategy, whether you’re looking to get the puck deep to make a line change, set your strategy for an aggressive forecheck, or want to live to see another day on the penalty kill. Shooting the puck down the ice works fine, and a saucer pass also often gets the job done. The default way to do so for years, however, was by holding R1 (PlayStation) or RB (Xbox) and flicking the right stick to get the perfect mix of height and velocity. However, EA Sports completely nerfed this mechanic a few years ago. You can debate whether that was a good adjustment or not from the user’s perspective. Long-time YouTuber Bacon Country had perfected the “long flip” as a way to beat players using a particularly passive neutral zone trap set-up. One could argue that the plays it could create were sometimes unrealistic, though. What isn’t debatable, however, is that the change wasn’t properly accounted for in the computer player (CPU). AI players still treat the R1/RB plus right stick combination the same, resulting in dump-ins that fail to reach the icing line and penalty kill “clears” that often don’t clear the blue line. It’s also made taking a delay of the game penalty for flicking the puck over the glass nearly impossible, which at least eliminates some frustrating moments. At a minimum, the computer needs to start using the aforementioned alternatives in the appropriate situations. They look stupid when they don’t. Player Handedness Mistakes This issue doesn’t affect gameplay, but it’s as annoying as they come if you care about presentation. This dates back to the early days of the PS4/Xbox One era, as you can see back in the NHL 16 trailer. Towards the end, Connor McDavid skates toward center ice, preparing for a face-off… holding his stick right-handed. For a decade now, right-handed players have shown in countless cut-scene situations looking like lefties, and vice versa. This is despite multiple times in that span where one of the marquee features was upgraded presentation, only for this issue to persist. Worse, it appears that it’s still around for NHL 26, at least at the game’s current stage. In the trailer, we see a created player working their way up to the Utah Mammoth. In every gameplay video we see, the player is right-handed. Yet a pre-game skate-around clip shows the player holding their stick like a left-hander. There are some glitches in video games that are probably way more complicated than they seem. Admittedly, I have zero coding experience. But this seems like something that should be a basic fix that has somehow gone unfixed for an absurdly long time. Proper Salary Cap Rules In contrast to the previous complaint, I’m sympathetic toward the developers’ decision to simplify this. However, a generation of hockey fans still don’t properly realize the difference between one-way and two-way contracts (it’s about the level of pay in the NHL vs. the American Hockey League, not waiver status). I’m not advocating for franchise mode to get that deep in the weeds when signing contracts. However, waiver status is one of the more frustrating discrepancies, as someone who has played franchise mode for its maximum 25 seasons multiple times. In the real NHL, all players who do not make the roster must clear waivers before being sent to the AHL, unless they are waivers-exempt. However, the game’s franchise mode doesn’t start waivers until the end of the preseason. Before then, you can send any player, from Adam Edstrom to Artemi Panarin, to the AHL and let them linger there for as long as you’d like. As a user, you can choose not to pursue that. However, this is at least partially to blame for why computer teams let their depth fade in future seasons and why talented young players stagnate as healthy scratches. It would be great if cap space, bonus structures, and long-term injured reserve penalties were all perfectly accurate, but these are so complex and niche that it’s understandable to simplify them. But the waiver issue needs to be addressed. 3-on-3 AI It’s hard to believe the NHL is a decade into the 3-on-3 overtime era. The decision to drop a player from the previous 4-on-4 format in the 2015-16 season has limited the number of games that reach a shootout. Perhaps even more importantly, it’s provided more excitement as highly skilled players take advantage of the extra space. At least that’s how it works in real life. Anyone who plays the game knows the CPU doesn’t seem to realize the gravity of the situation. Players will still let long-range shots from the point fly, and sometimes even dump the puck in (using the aforementioned wonky mechanic). EA has improved its situational play in recent years by expanding power play and penalty kill tactics. Now, it’s 3-on-3’s turn for some much-needed love. What’s Next We’ll start to get more detailed notes on the game’s changes in the coming weeks. The second news drop arrives on Aug. 13 with a deep dive into gameplay. A YouTube video is already in preview mode, and a blog post on EA Sports’ website typically accompanies these videos. You may not see these changes mentioned on any of the marquee channels. But addressing issues like these would go a long way toward getting the premier hockey simulation video game series back on track.
Commanders have major hang-up preventing them from paying Terry McLaurin what he's due
It’s been two weeks since Washington Commanders star wide receiver Terry McLaurin publicly revealed his trade request, and a resolution doesn’t appear to be in sight. Thanks to ESPN’s John Keim, we’re starting to get more insight into how the Commanders are approaching negotiations…and how they run counter to their star wide receiver’s financial desires. As we’ve assumed all along, the Commanders are wary of giving McLaurin a lucrative contract that would extend well into the player’s 30s. As Keim notes, the Commanders “rely heavily on analytics,” and those numbers aren’t particularly kind to receivers on the wrong side of 30. They may be onto something. Per ESPN Research, over the past five years, only three receivers 31 years or older have played at least 10 games and averaged 70-plus receiving yards per game (that number jumps to six players if you adjust for 60-plus receiving yards). Further, the team can simply point to the NFL landscape, as other teams are also clearly wary of paying aging wideouts. Among the 24 active wide receivers who are attached to the most guaranteed money, only Tyreek Hill was older than 30 when the deal was signed. McLaurin has continually pointed to his lack of mileage despite his age; he barely played during his first two years at Ohio State, meaning he may not have the same wear and tear as similar players his age. McLaurin is also naturally pointing to the stat sheet, as the receiver has continually produced despite uncertain QB play, uncertain ownership and a handful of different coaching staffs. Per Keim, the Commanders don’t want to pay McLaurin based on his past performance, with the front office preferring to shape any future contracts based on his projections for age-31-plus seasons. The organization also doesn’t want to set a new precedent by paying McLaurin, as it could convince future veterans to push for lucrative deals in their 30s. While McLaurin has taken the drastic measure of requesting a trade out of Washington, the organization is still convinced they have leverage in this showdown. After all, the player is still under contract for the 2025 campaign, meaning McLaurin will have to forfeit game checks if he sits out games. The team could even choose to slap him with the franchise tag next offseason (which could come in north of $30M), meaning they’re in full control of the player’s fate moving forward. The team is also skeptical that another suitor is going to willingly pay McLaurin the type of money he’s seeking. Per Keim, there’s doubts around the league about whether another team would be willing to meet the receiver’s demands. Even if a clear suitor does emerge, Keim makes it clear that Washington’s front office won’t give the star away without receiving a haul. We heard recently that McLaurin wasn’t necessarily seeking a deal that matched fellow 2019 draftee D.K. Metcalf‘s deal with the Steelers. However, Keim says Metcalf’s contract has generally served as a guide for McLaurin, but it’s uncertain whether the Commanders wideout is looking to match the AAV ($33M) or total guarantees ($60M). Ultimately, one source believes the Commanders may agree to pay McLaurin a contract that will pay $28M per year. Of course, it’s uncertain if the player would even accept that offer. If that hypothetical maximum offer doesn’t end in a signing, a divorce may be the logical next step.
Five best NFL offseason value signings on offense: Bills get great deal with RB extension
Few know how to spend money like an NFL front office. This offseason, teams handed out over $4 billion in extensions alone, not to mention the several other billions spent in free agency. But which were the shrewdest investments? Below, we examine the best value signings at five positions on offense: quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight end and offensive line. Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith Contract: Two years, $75 million ($65.5M guaranteed) Shortly after acquiring Smith in a trade from the Seattle Seahawks, the Raiders extended the 2022 Associated Press Comeback Player of the Year to a contract that raises the Raiders' floor while maintaining flexibility. Smith has a manageable $26.5M cap hit in 2026, when Over The Cap projects Las Vegas to have the third-most cap space ($78.7M) based on an estimated 5.8 percent cap increase. Since 2022, Smith has the third-highest completion percentage (68.5 percent) among 32 quarterbacks with at least 20 starts during that span. He's also tied with Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes for the second-most fourth-quarter comebacks (10) and trails only Mahomes in game-winning drives. Buffalo Bills running back James Cook Contract: Four years, $48M ($30M guaranteed) Los Angeles Rams running back Kyren Williams pierced Cook's bubble when he signed a three-year, $33M extension on Aug. 5. The Bills running back sought $15M per year, making his $12M in annual average value (AAV) a huge win for Buffalo. Over Cook's first three seasons, he's averaged 4.9 yards per carry. In 2024, he led the NFL with 16 rushing touchdowns. With just 533 career tackles, Cook doesn't have the wear-and-tear of other backs who've made splashes early in their careers, raising hopes that he can withstand the workload that comes with being Buffalo's featured back. Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins Contract: Four years, $115M ($40.9M guaranteed) The Bengals retained Higgins at a remarkable price, keeping him in Cincinnati at less than $30M per year, the going rate for the league's top wideouts. Per Spotrac, while Higgins is No. 10 in AAV among wide receivers, he ranks just outside the top 20 in guaranteed money. Last season, Higgins averaged 75.9 receiving yards per game, his most since 2021, and scored a career-high 10 touchdowns despite missing five games due to injury. Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride Contract: Four years, $76M ($43M guaranteed) The 2024 first-team All-Pro ranks No. 1 among tight ends in guaranteed salary. However, if he continues producing numbers more akin to WR1s — last season, he had 111 receptions, 1,146 receiving yards and two touchdowns — his contract will be one of the league's better bargains. Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley Contract: Three years, $60M ($44M guaranteed) Stanley's journey back from a devastating 2020 lower leg injury culminated in the 2019 first-team All-Pro being named a Pro Bowler for the second time in his first nine seasons last year. The No. 6 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft was rewarded with a contract that will keep him in Baltimore through his age-33 season. In terms of average annual value, his extension ranks below other left tackles who signed contracts this offseason, and not just younger players such as Rashawn Slater (Los Angeles Chargers), who was recently lost for the season, and Bernhard Raimann (Indianapolis Colts). Atlanta Falcons tackle Jake Matthews, 33, is averaging $22.5M on his current deal, while Las Vegas Raiders tackle Kolton Miller, 29, is set to earn $22M per year through 2028.
Giants force Jets' Justin Fields into familiar problem at joint practice
New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields was a little more accurate on Wednesday than he was in his "alarming" performance during joint practice with the New York Giants on Tuesday. Still, the fifth-year quarterback had a familiar issue pop up. Per Dan Duggan and Charlotte Carroll of The Athletic, Fields took several sacks against a Giants defense that brought the house on a shaky Jets offensive line. Via The Athletic: "On the other field, the Giants defensive front carried over its domination from Tuesday, giving Jets quarterback Justin Fields and his offensive line plenty of problems. Camp stats are subjective, especially when it comes to sacks, but the Giants appeared to get to Fields for four sacks. "Similar to Tuesday, there were moments when it was hard to tell exactly who was causing problems as the Giants sent multiple bodies in the backfield. Fields, who went 7-of-11 on the day, had a few overthrows on plays that likely were sacks." Fields did have a couple of long runs on a Giants defense that struggled against the rush in 2024. While Fields has a unique ability to add to the running game, the Jets need the 2021 first-round pick to push the ball down the field in the passing game. Fields has always had a problem with being indecisive in the pocket, leading to his taking too many sacks since entering the league. He led the league with 55 sacks in 2022 and has taken 151 in his four-year career. The Ohio State product took 16 sacks during his six starts with the Pittsburgh Steelers last season. In camp, Fields doesn't have to worry about taking body blows from sacks that lead to injuries. That will happen in the regular season if he plays how he practiced on Wednesday.
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