The Adirondack Thunder are starting to get some familiar faces back in the lineup before their game tomorrow night vs Worcester Railers. Let’s break down all of the moves the Thunder made today.
The Adirondack Thunder will be getting Jeremy Brodeur back from the Utica Comets. In his first two AHL appearances of the season, Brodeur went 1-0 with a 2.56 GAA and .907SV%. The 28-year-old goaltender has played in 13 games this year with Adirondack, putting up a 3.03 GAA, .897SV%, and one shutout. Adirondack went 0-5-1 while Brodeur was up in Utica. As expected, David Fessenden was put on reserve to make room for Brodeur.
Roster: The @NJDevils have reassigned forward Dylan Wendt to the @UticaComets and Jeremy Brodeur is on his way back to Adirondack!
— Adirondack Thunder (@ECHLThunder) January 16, 2025
Pres. by Moving Made EZ pic.twitter.com/lKWieG2jaQ
Dylan Wendt has been recalled to the Comets. Wendt began the season bouncing between Utica and Adirondack but has been with the Thunder since November 20th and has five goals and seven assists for 12 points in 25 games at the ECHL level. He’s put up two assists in five games with the Comets.
The Adirondack Thunder are finally getting more good news than bad news on the injury front, as defenseman Brendan Less and Sean Gulka are expected to be back in the lineup tomorrow night vs Worcester Railers. Less will return to the Adirondack lineup for the first time since December 21st; in 15 games this season, he has one goal and six assists for seven points. This is a massive addition to a Thunder blueline that has had its issues this season.
Sean Gulka, a new fan favorite in Adirondack, will also return to the lineup, as he missed all three games of the Orlando series. In seven games with the Thunder, he has one goal along with 34 penalty minutes, 30 of which came in the January 5th game at Trois-Rivieres. Gulka will add some more physicality to the Thunder lineup. Benjamin Lindberg was placed on reserve to help make room for Less and Gulka to return.
Kishaun Gervais was placed on the 14-day IR today. Gervais has not played a game with the Thunder since being acquired from the Tulsa Oilers. The Yorkton, Saskatchewan native, had four goals and an assist for five points in nine games with Tulsa. Gervais began his season in Finland with six goals and two assists for eight points in 22 games.
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There’s no question that the Columbus Blue Jackets have one of the cleanest cap tables in the league, especially for how competitive they’re expected to be in the 2025-26 season. Still, as their younger players continue to age, the Blue Jackets are getting closer to potentially having to make difficult decisions, and their extension negotiations with Adam Fantilli will have a major impact on their salary hierarchy moving forward. Despite having a somewhat disappointing rookie season, albeit limited by injuries, the third overall pick of the 2024 NHL Draft responded well last season, scoring 31 goals and 54 points in 82 games while averaging 17:29 of ice time per game. Fantilli still needs to improve in the faceoff dot and on the defensive side of the puck, but being a 30-goal scorer at 20 years old is nothing to scoff at. In a recent interview with James Murphy of RG Media, Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell spoke about the upcoming negotiations with Fantilli, saying, "We’re going to talk here in the next couple of weeks. Pat Brisson is his agent, and we’re going to do some face-to-face meetings. When these kinds of players are up and these kinds of deals need to be made, I think you need to be in front of each other. I think you make a lot more progress than just over the phone. So that’s always been my theory, and Pat’s the same way. I’ve done a lot of deals over the years with Pat, so we’ll be fine and sit down face-to-face and get this done. As we get closer to training camp, I think we’ll be much further ahead, and we have some dates already planned that we’ll meet, so let’s go from there.” There technically shouldn’t be any rush on Columbus’s end, given that Fantilli is a few years away from even becoming arbitration-eligible. Still, for the sake of cost certainty and having one of its core pieces locked up long-term, the Blue Jackets are eyeing a long-term extension with Fantilli in the coming weeks. Waddell also spoke about a separate extension this offseason. On the eve of free agency this summer, Columbus re-signed defenseman Ivan Provorov to a seven-year, $59.5M contract, which represented only a $1.75M yearly increase on his previous deal. Despite reports at the time indicating that Provorov might seek a larger deal on the open market, Waddell explained in the interview that there was no real concern he’d leave the organization. Murphy quoted Waddell, saying, “Well, the good thing is I was in dialogue regularly with Mark Andler, his agent, and there’s a lot of outside noise, but Mark kept telling me, and Provorov too, that his first choice was to stay here in Columbus.” Waddell explained that although Provorov’s cap hit may seem high, he believes it will look more favorable as the salary cap increases. Additionally, Provorov’s preparation for each season is expected to enhance his longevity throughout the duration of the contract. Lastly, Waddell touched on his excitement over the depth the Blue Jackets brought in this summer, particularly on offense. The team specifically targeted Charlie Coyle as a right-handed center and believes his leadership skills will prove a boon to the younger players on the roster. Meanwhile, the team’s general manager also remarked about the skill level of Miles Wood on the offensive side of the puck and Isac Lundeström’s skill on the defensive side of the puck. All three additions are expected to maintain important roles for the Blue Jackets this season and help the team return to the postseason for the first time since the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs.
A heated post-match exchange between former World No. 5 Jelena Ostapenko and Taylor Townsend marred an otherwise action-filled fourth day of the U.S. Open on Wednesday. After Townsend defeated the 2017 French Open champion in straight sets, 7-5, 6-1, Ostapenko accused her opponent of unsportsmanlike conduct, pointing out that the American didn't apologize when a net cord helped her win a crucial point earlier in the match. The Latvian wrote on social media that Townsend "was very disrespectful" and didn't show the proper etiquette expected of a pro tennis player. "If she plays in her homeland, it doesn’t mean that she can behave and do whatever she wants," she wrote in a scathing address of Townsend. Townsend offered more details on their post-match confrontation, which led to some suggesting she was racially targeted. "She told me I have no class and no education, and to see what happens if we play each other outside the U.S.," Townsend revealed. Townsend refused to call Ostapenko a racist. "I didn't take it in that way," she said, via BBC. "But also that has been a stigma in our community of being not educated, and all of the things, when it's the furthest thing from the truth. Whether it had racial undertones or not, that's something she can speak on." Ostapenko was widely lambasted on social media, with even World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka asking her to control her emotions. The under-attack Latvian responded to allegations of her being a racist, while reaffirming her stance on Townsend disrespecting her during the match. "I was never racist in my life and I respect all nations of people in the world, for me it doesn't matter where you come from," she wrote on social media. Townsend will next face Russian teenage prodigy Mirra Andreeva in the third round. The World No. 46 American is trying to reach the fourth round of her home major for the first time since 2019.
It may be no consolation to Dallas Cowboys fans, but their team did land an outstanding defensive player as part of the stunning blockbuster that sent Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers on Thursday. The Cowboys have traded Parsons to the Packers in exchange for a pair of first-round draft picks and defensive tackle Kenny Clark. While Clark is nowhere near the same caliber player as Parsons, he has been one of the top players at his position in the NFL for several years now. Clark spent nine seasons with the Packers after they drafted him in the first round out of UCLA in 2016. He became a full-time starter in 2017 and has started every game in which he has played since. Clark started all 17 games for Green Bay the past three seasons and has missed just one game in the last four years. He had a career-high 7.5 sacks and nine tackles for loss in 2023, which is when he made his third and most recent Pro Bowl. The 6-foot-3, 314-pound tackle also made the Pro Bowl in 2019 and 2021. Almost all Cowboys fans would have preferred for their team to work out a long-term extension with Parsons. The tension between the two sides simply escalated to the point where a divorce became the most viable option. If the Cowboys felt they had no choice but to trade Parsons, they at least seem to have maximized the return. The future first-round picks will give them flexibility to build through trades and/or the draft. It should also soften the blow — even if only slightly — that they landed a 29-year-old player who has played like an elite defensive tackle throughout much of his career.
The Dallas Cowboys traded Micah Parsons in a stunning move on Thursday, and the star pass-rusher will now get his revenge game sooner rather than later. The Cowboys have traded Parsons to the Green Bay Packers in exchange for two first-round draft picks and three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark. Many were shocked that Dallas would trade arguably its best player to a longtime NFC rival, but the relationship between the two sides had rapidly deteriorated in recent weeks. Parsons issued a lengthy statement after the trade thanking Cowboys Nation, but it is safe to assume he has some sour feelings toward Jerry Jones and the team's brass. He will have a chance to express those frustrations on the field in Week 4. As luck would have it, the Packers travel to Dallas to face the Cowboys on NBC's "Sunday Night Football" in Week 4. That game will likely be one of the highest-rated of the entire 2025 NFL season. Players often shine in so-called "revenge games" after they are traded. In this instance, the player happens to be a superstar who publicly feuded with his former boss all offseason. Parsons will probably have a little extra juice for Green Bay's Sept. 28 game against Dallas, and who can blame him? Rather than paying him what he wanted, the Cowboys let the four-time Pro Bowl defensive end walk. Parsons' former teammates may want to focus some extra attention on him in Week 4.
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