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In his first season in junior, Filip Mesar collected a total of 51 points in 52 games.
Talk about “decent” production for a first-round pick.
That said, there was a mini improvement last season, when he finished with 52 points in 45 games. But then again, we expected more from him.
Is there a reason for his disappointing production?
For him, it’s pretty obvious. And as a TVA Sports article puts it, let’s just say he won’t be making any friends in Kitchener with what he said inan interview with a Slovak media outlet.
Mesar blames his team-mates, who were sometimes “late” on the game:
When I was trying to create something, my teammates were there a bit late and that frustrated me slightly, but I had to get over it. – Filip Mesar
Hey boy.
An eyebrow-raising statement
https://t.co/4c2vihhlSD
– TVA Sports (@TVASports) June 26, 2024
Obviously, it’s not what you want to hear from a guy who was drafted in the first round.
It says a lot about his attitude, at least…
And I find it hard to believe that Kent Hughes and the Habs management will be happy with the situation.
Mesar hasn’t produced to the level of his talent, and he blames his teammates in some way for his disappointing season.
He should have looked in the mirror and realized that he is responsible for his own production. Of course, it helps when you’re playing with good players… But the OHL guys aren’t boilermakers either.
After all, his club made the playoffs… And with the Rangers, three players (including two younger than him) finished the season with over 90 points on the board:
Filip Mesar isn’t helping himself, and now he finds himself in a precarious situation.
I really wonder what his compatriot, Juraj Slafkovksy, thinks of all this…
And I wonder how the Kitchener Rangers players will react to his comments.
At least, he’s not exactly a team player these days.
In Overtime
– New contract for Teddy Blueger.
General Manager Patrik Allvin announces that the #Canucks have agreed to terms with forward Teddy Blueger on a two-year contract with a $1.8 AAV. pic.twitter.com/U19inRxiWN
– Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) June 26, 2024
– Indeed.
Brad Treliving: “We’ve got a lot of work to do this summer.” pic.twitter.com/aC38BHrlJP
– Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) June 26, 2024
– Nice project!
Here we go
– HFTV (@HFTVSports) June 26, 2024
– Good.
The former Yankees captain is happy in his current role and asks for nothing more. https://t.co/frI6e8mQxH
– Passion MLB (@passion_mlb) June 26, 2024
More must-reads:
- Blackhawks make gargantuan commitment to young forward
- NHL players with the most to prove for 2025-26 season
- The 'Active 20-home run MLB seasons' quiz
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TODAY'S BEST
Blackhawks make gargantuan commitment to young forward
The Blackhawks have officially announced a seven-year extension for pending RFA forward Frank Nazar. The deal will pay him an AAV and cap hit of $6.59M for a total value of $46.13M. It’s a gargantuan commitment to the 21-year-old Nazar considering his lack of NHL experience. The 2022 No. 13 overall pick lands the richest total-value contract in league history for someone with 56 or fewer career appearances, which is Nazar’s tally entering the 2025-26 campaign. Nazar, who still has one year left on his entry-level contract before his extension will kick in for 2026-27, has yet to spend an entire season on the NHL roster. Last year was his first full run in the pros after two years at the University of Michigan, but he made his NHL debut in the final three games of 2023-24 after signing his ELC. He did not make the Blackhawks’ opening night roster but, after recording 11 goals and 24 points in 21 games for AHL Rockford, was recalled in mid-December shortly after Chicago’s coaching change and never looked back. He faltered out of the gate, recording only one assist and a -5 rating through his first 10 appearances while averaging 14:44 of ice time per game. But under interim head coach Anders Sörenson, who had overseen his early-season success in Rockford, he was extended some patience. That paid off in the long run as Nazar built confidence, including a four-game point streak in January and a run of nine points in eight games in April to end the season. All told, Nazar finished the season with a 12-14–26 scoring line 53 games — ninth on the team — and averaged nearly 16 minutes per game. While size concerns (5-foot-10, 190 pounds) created some detractors about his ability to hold down his natural center position in the NHL, he saw a fair amount of time as Chicago’s second-line middleman behind Connor Bedard. His most common deployment (107 minutes) amid an astronomical 91 different line combinations used by the Hawks last year was at 2C between Tyler Bertuzzi and Teuvo Teräväinen, although he did also see some time up on Bedard’s wing. Nazar was seen as a top-10 threat in the 2022 class, but after slipping to Chicago and missing most of his freshman year at Michigan due to injury, there were warranted doubts about his development path. He silenced them quickly with a point-per-game sophomore showing for the Wolverines and has made about as good an adjustment to pro hockey as can be expected, given the lack of quality veteran support on the Hawks’ NHL roster. A long-term bet at what’s even now a conservative second-line price point in 2025 could pay incredible dividends for the Blackhawks if he remains a long-term top-six piece, even if it’s on the wing, as the cap increases and they reward the other pieces of their young core with long-term deals. There’s also an incredible risk factor for someone still relatively early on their development track with less than a full season’s worth of NHL experience. The only recent comparable for someone with his experience is Wild superstar Kirill Kaprizov, who signed a five-year, $45M contract after his rookie season (55 GP). Kaprizov, however, had far more professional experience after coming up through Russia’s KHL and was two years older than Nazar is now, making him a more projectable player. Kaprizov also took home the Calder Trophy that year and had twice the offensive output Nazar did. As such, the Blackhawks are betting hard on Nazar being a long-term solution, either as a wingman for Bedard or as a second-line center behind him. There’s certainly reason for optimism – he’s developed well and is coming off a spectacular World Championship showing with the United States that earned him a spot at their Olympic orientation camp. He’ll be under contract through the 2032-33 season and can walk to unrestricted free agency upon expiry. Getting Nazar’s extension out of the way now isn’t just about him, though. Chicago has two other big-ticket RFAs next summer — Bedard and new No. 1 goalie Spencer Knight — who will take serious resources to extend. They still have barely over $40M in allocated cap hits for 2026-27, though, leaving them with virtually unlimited spending power under a projected $104M cap. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet first reported the Blackhawks were signing Nazar to a seven-year extension. Bleacher Report’s Frank Seravalli reported a more accurate cap hit in the $6.6M range.
Milwaukee Brewers: 1 sleeper candidate if Joey Ortiz misses substantial time
The Milwaukee Brewers are currently awaiting further results as to the status of their starting shortstop Joey Ortiz’s hamstring. He injured his left leg running to first base on Thursday, August 21, which was a separate injury from when his entire right leg went numb a few days ago after he fouled a ball off of his knee. With an MRI pending, the Brewers will soon know the severity of Ortiz’s hamstring injury. If he is forced to miss substantial time, which is generally likely with this kind of soft tissue injury, then Milwaukee may soon be exploring ways to re-align and re-enforce their infield without their gold glove caliber shortstop. Here, we take a look at one sleeper candidate the Brew Crew may utilize if Ortiz is forced to miss substantial time. Raynel Delgado is having a tremendous season in the minor leagues 25 year old infielder Raynel Delgado was signed to a minor league contract with the Brewers last November and is enjoying another great season in Triple-A. Last year, at the Cleveland Guardians Triple-A affiliate, Delgado slashed .275/.365/.426 with 22 stolen bases and just a 24% strikeout rate while walking 11% of the time. This year has been more of the same, with a .271/.348/.370 slash line, 33 stolen bases, 21% strikeout rates, and 9% walk rate. Where would Delgado fit on the Milwaukee Brewers active roster? If the Brewers were going to promote Delgado in Ortiz’s presumed absence, second base would likely be where he lands, but he has played third base, shortstop, and the outfield this season. A move like this, would likely shift Brice Turang over to shortstop for the short term. A corresponding 40-man roster move would have to be made if Delgado was selected to join the Brewers. Taking Oliver Dunn’s spot is one possibility, as he has struggled mightily in his second season with the organization. With Ortiz potentially going to be sidelined, the Brewers will need to get creative to fill the void in the infield. Whether it’s moving Brice Turang to shortstop, promoting a versatile player like Delgado, or leaning on internal depth with someone like Monasterio, the club has options. With a playoff push in full swing, it will be interesting to see which direction Milwaukee goes and who ultimately gets the call to help hold down the fort should Ortiz miss time.
Micah Parsons contract dispute: Dallas Cowboys star posts cryptic video with direct hint on future
As his contract dispute continues, Micah Parsons made another cryptic post on social media. The Dallas Cowboys star used an Allen Iverson quote in the background of a TikTok video. Parsons’ video included photos of him appearing to kiss and wave goodbye as the sound played behind them. It featured Iverson saying: “I’ma win wherever I go. Wherever I go, I’ma win. I don’t care where I go. I don’t give a damn what team I go to. I’ma win.” It’s the latest twist in Parsons’ contract situation as he seeks a new deal with the Cowboys. He also removed any mention of the franchise from his X and Instagram bios Thursday night, nearly three weeks after he went public with his trade request. Talks between Parsons and the Cowboys went on throughout the offseason, but the situation reached a new level of tension in training camp. The former Penn State star has not practiced, and he also has been dealing with a back injury. Earlier in the summer, Jerry Jones said he talked with Parsons about a new deal, but his agent David Mulugheta wasn’t present. Thursday, Jones said when he approached Mulugheta about details of that framework, he got a poignant response. “When we wanted to send the details to the agent, the agent told us to stick it up our ass,” Jones said. “Just so we’re clear … [Micah] and I talked and then we were going to send it over to the agent. We had our agreements on term, amount, guarantees, all that.” The sense is Parsons is on track to become the NFL’s highest-paid non-quarterback with his next contract, which would come as his rookie deal expires. However, the pass-rush market shifted multiple times this offseason. Both Myles Garrett and T.J. Watt received new deals worth $40 million annually. Jones later said he agreed to give Parsons a lucrative deal. He added fans would understand just how bad he wants to keep him in Dallas based on that offer. “The world would know that I want Micah if they knew what I had offered him,” Jones said. “And he knows what I offered him. So, the world would know that I would want Micah on the team and respect what he would bring to the team.” Micah Parsons has been around the Cowboys team during training camp, though he’s not participating in workouts as negotiations go along. As for when a resolution could come, ESPN’s Adam Schefter said the two sides aren’t in good standing. He went so far as to predict Parsons and the cowboys could be heading “towards divorce.”
Andrew Billings and Bears defense go from HBO stars to AFC champs
The Bears made it onto HBO's Hard Knocks this past week in episode 3, looking better than they looked all last season when they actually starred in it. It featured their hard-fought practice at Halas Hall and then Sunday night's 38-0 rout of the Bills, but most of all it was their defense getting the good film. Maybe edge rusher Austin Booker came out looking the best, or Joe Thuney. Bills defensive tackle Ed Oliver was perplexed with trying to get past Thuney in practice and didn't mind expressing his admiration for the technique shown by the All-Pro guard who was shutting him down. Booker not only had some great footage of his violent sack in the game but was caught getting some friendly advice at practice from Bills tackle Dion Dawkins. Then it was Dawkins from the sidelines who saw a charging Andrew Billings and remarked "That boy’s big as hell, the D-tackle, look at 97.” It seemed funny for 6-5, 320-pound Dawkins to call Billings big but he is at 340 now after adding some weight this year. Don’t call it weight, though. "I put on a lot of muscle actually," Billings said Wednesday after practice to reporters’ laughter. "Twenty pounds of muscle.” It helps to be stronger if you're coming back from a torn pectoral muscle, the injury that ended Billings' year and for all intents and purposes the defense's run-stopping ability last year. They already were struggling more than the previous year against the run before Billings' injury, but then his loss eventually led them to finish 28th against the run. "Especially, the run game's always my job first and foremost, but also in the past, I think I've been able to complement the defense,” Billings said. Billings believes he can rush the passer even at his weight, if necessary. Even as a nose tackle, last year suggested he's right. He had only one sack in his eight games before the injury against Arizona but managed seven pressures. The total was more than in any season since his rookie year of 2018 with the Bengals, and four more than he had for a full season in 2024 with the Bears as well as for 14 games in 2023 with the Raiders. He proved it again in last weeks preseason win with a sack against the Bills that triggered a big celebration on the field. “They’re always happy when I get a sack, so it's always good when the big boy gets a sack,” Billings said. While stopping the run remains the "big boy's" focus and essentially the first goal for the whole defense, Billings said the pass rush is starting to excite everyone. “Specifically, lately, our rush, rushing together as a unit has really come together really well,” he said. Part of the excitement is from coordinator Dennis Allen's approach. They'll force the issue with blitzes to complement the linemen. “We're going to bring pressure," Billings said. "It doesn't matter where we are in the game situationally, the pressure makes sense. We're going to bring it.” The approach has Billings talking lofty team defensive goals. Last year the secondary spoke like this, but when the big nose tackle is saying it then it gets everyone to take notice. “Our goal, first of all, is to be top five in everything," Billings said. "If we are top five in everything, we're going to win a lot of games. "Ultimately, we want to be No. 1, but our goal is to be top five in everything.” As a result, they're enjoying the idea of matching up against the first team from Kansas City. It gives them a chance to show everyone what Billings says he's seeing in practice. “First, the speed in which you're moving," Billings said. "After the ball's thrown, after the running back, if he breaks the line of scrimmage, we're all hustling there. "I think that's a huge part of being top five. We see the takeaways that we produced, that's a part of it. Third down defense. First, second down defense is just coming together.” Last week was a test but they played only one series and against Buffalo's backups. “Yes, the first team, they went out there, got their three-and-out," Billings said. "It still was a test, too, going out there and playing against no matter who, no matter who you're going against out there on that field game day, it is time to go. "But definitely a lot more snaps this K.C. game."
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