Prior to their game on Saturday against San Jose, the Kraken announced (X link) that forward Mitchell Stephens was recalled from AHL Coachella Valley. Additionally, defenseman Vince Dunn has been activated off LTIR according to the NHL’s media site.
Stephens is in his first season with Seattle after signing a two-year, two-way deal with them early in free agency back in July. The 27-year-old is a veteran of 95 career NHL appearances between Tampa Bay, Detroit, and Montreal. Stephens got into 23 appearances with the latter last season, notching three points while winning over 55% of his faceoffs in a little over nine minutes a night of playing time.
It’s his first recall of the season and it comes following somewhat of a slow start to his season. Stephens has three goals and an assist in 11 games so far with the Firebirds. By comparison, he had 35 points in 49 games with AHL Laval just last season.
Meanwhile, the return of Dunn is a welcome one for the Kraken. He has been one of the more impactful blueliners league-wide in recent years, especially on the offensive side of things after putting up 110 points in 140 games between 2022-23 and 2023-24 while logging over 23 minutes of ice time each night. Prior to suffering an upper-body injury that kept him out for nearly six weeks, Dunn was off to a good start on that front this season as well, notching three points in his first four outings.
Dunn’s return gives Seattle now three above-average threats from the back end which will help an offense that’s near the middle of the pack in terms of goals scored. Brandon Montour is off to a solid start in his first season with the Kraken while Ryker Evans has helped pick up the offensive slack in Dunn’s absence. Both players enter Saturday's action with 15 points, good for a tie for third in team scoring.
While there has been no announcement from the team, the only way that Seattle could have activated Dunn and recalled Stephens was by transferring winger Jordan Eberle to LTIR. The captain is expected to be out for at least the next three months after undergoing pelvic surgery a little more than a week ago.
More must-reads:
The Toronto Maple Leafs are still looking for a solution to their bottom-six surplus, and veteran forward Calle Jarnkrok remains at the center of trade discussions. However, according to The Fourth Period, trade talks surrounding the 33-year-old winger have failed to gain momentum. They write: “He has a $2.1M cap hit and owns a 10-team no-trade list. The market hasn’t been vibrant, to this point, but the Leafs will continue to dangle him.” Why can’t the Maple Leafs find a taker for Jarnkrok? Jarnkrok has quietly been on the trade block for much of the offseason, but general manager Brad Treliving has yet to find a taker. After adding several depth forwards this summer, the Leafs now face a crowded bottom six — and Jarnkrok’s age, injury history and $2.1M cap hit through 2025–26 aren’t helping his value. Since joining Toronto, Jarnkrok has appeared in only 71 games over two seasons, scoring a modest 28 points. While his defensive versatility and penalty-killing ability are assets, his declining offensive production and durability concerns have made teams wary. With training camp approaching, the Maple Leafs may be forced to keep Jarnkrok on the roster — or retain salary in a deal — if they want to create space and flexibility. Dropping his cap hit down to just over $1M would open up the market a little. Until then, the Swedish forward remains a trade candidate in limbo. This isn’t great news as moving Jarnkrok from the roster is an important item on the team’s to-do list. Treliving would like more cap space, and with Jarnkrok and David Kampf both still on the roster, it hampers the GM’s ability to do other things.
Sunday marked the last day of Week 1 of Pittsburgh Steelers training camp. The next time the team takes the field, it will be with pads, on Tuesday. Before we get there, however, let's take a look at everything of note from day four of Steelers training camp practice in Latrobe... Offensive Takeaways LT Broderick Jones leaves 7 Shots after getting his lower body looked at. Sits out individual drills and is replaced by Dylan Cook for the rest of the practice Rookie TE/FB DJ Thomas-Jones injures ankle RT Troy Fautanu was yanked from 7 Shots after a false start WR Roman Wilson continues to work outside, opposed to the slot Rookie QB Will Howard receives first team reps in 7on7 What it means No one player will have a bigger impact on the Pittsburgh Steelers' offense, and frankly, the team in general, than Broderick Jones. He needs not only to be urpight, but to be good. Mike Tomlin said both Jones and WR Montana Lemonious-Craig have soft tissue injuries, while DJ Thomas-Jones seems to have one that is a little more severe. Similar to what happened with Zach Frazier yesterday, the Steelers are proving they have no time for growing pains after pulling Troy Fautanu on Sunday. Fautanu and Frazier may only be second-year players, but the team needs them to perform like seasoned professionals. It's been interesting to see the alignment of the WRs in Pittsburgh through the first four days of practice, as Roman Wilson has dominated the outside role compared to Calvin Austin, who is playing the slot. After making some nice plays in practice yesterday, Will Howard took some first-team reps in the team's 7on7 period on Sunday. The arrow contimues to point up for the sixth rounder. Defensive Takeaways Defense wins 7 shots 4-3 Cole Holcomb and Ryan McCollum get into scrum and go to the ground Rookie Yayha Black has multiple pass breakups on Mason Rudolph What it means The first four practices in Pittsburgh were dominated by the defense. The same proved true on Sunday as the team won 7 Shots yet again. We'll see if that changes when the pads come on next week. While the real fights will probably start in the dog days of camp, the Steelers had their first big scrum in Latrobe on Sunday, and it featured Cole Holcomb and center Ryan McCollum. Continuing the trend of rookies making an impact, Yahya Black helped set that tone on Sunday with multiple pass breakups at the line of scrimmage against Mason Rudolph. Tough to ask for a better start to camp than what the Steelers' rookies put forth.
The Los Angeles Lakers have been very invested in getting Luka Doncic into better shape this offseason. After how poorly he played defense and how tired he looked against Minnesota in the playoffs, it has been their top priority. Doncic has never been the most fit player in the league. He is still one of the best players in the league, but he could be a lot better if he were less tired at the end of the season. So far this offseason, it looks like Doncic has been committed to the training program that the Lakers put him on. He looks like an entirely different player. More news: NBA Insider Reveals Why Bradley Beal Spurned Lakers for Clippers A video of Doncic has been circulating online, showing off his body transformation. The Lakers would be thrilled if Doncic were able to stay this fit all year long. He needs to be able to play better defense now that he is the face of the franchise, and that could be abetted by improved lateral quickness. A big reason why the Lakers lost to the Timberwolves in the playoffs is because of their inability to stop guards from penetrating the paint. The starting backcourt is not a good defensive one. Doncic isn't the only one to blame for poor perimeter defense. Austin Reaves isn't the best defender, either. The difference with him is that he at least tries to be in the right spot on defense. At times against the Wolves, he was too tired to actually stay in front of some of the players who were attacking him. A large part of Minnesota's game plan was to get Doncic switched on to Anthony Edwards. More news: Massive 5-Team Blockbuster Trade Sees Lakers' LeBron James Shipped for $238 Million All-Star The Lakers would be in a great position to contend for a title if Doncic could stay in shape for an entire season. Based on this video, he has a renewed commitment to doing that. Doncic likely has extra motivation to show the Dallas Mavericks what they decided to trade away. He wants to prove them wrong for deciding to get rid of him. After he was traded to the Lakers, Doncic averaged 28.2 points per game, 8.1 rebounds, and 7.5 assists per game. He shot 43.8 percent from the field and 37.9 percent from beyond the 3-point arc. More news: Former Lakers Guard Signing in Israel to Continue Career For more news and notes on the Los Angeles Lakers, visit Los Angeles Lakers on SI.
The Washington Commanders are participating in their final training camp practices before the pads come on Tuesday July 29th, and there was no shortage of headlines today. I was in Ashburn, Virginia on Sunday for the fourth practice of training camp for the Commanders and came away with a lot of observations on and off the field. It was a hot one as fans reported for the first time today and it ended up being well worth the heat. McLaurin ends holdout, but there's more to it Commanders All-Pro WR Terry McLaurin officially reported today for the first time since training camp kicked off, but he is still without a new contract. ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter posted on X that this does NOT mean progress has been made on a contract. He was also moved to the Active/PUP list with a reported ankle injury. HC Dan Quinn said before practice that the ankle injury is nothing new. “We knew at the end of last season the ankle was something that he was dealing with as it goes," Quinn told the media. "So, it's not so uncommon that that lingers into the offseason. . .We don't know much today. I'll have some more follow up. The medical side is doing the assessments and seeing where he is at." This is still a big step in the right direction with McLaurin being at Commanders Park and showing the team that he has done everything possible on his side. McLaurin also spent time with fans after practice even though he isn't practicing with the team and signed autographs. I also spotted McLaurin on the field with his agent Buddy Baker talking, so maybe this update today can put pressure on the Commanders to get a deal done. Expect an even better Mike Sainristil in his second season I can't express enough how impressed I am with Mike Sainristil. Every player on defense could be wearing a blank burgundy jersey and I could still point him out in every play because of his energy and how he flies around the ball. Sainristil was the talk of practice on Friday and he picked right back up on Sunday with a lot of pass breakups and an insane interception on a deep Jayden Daniels throw while covering rookie Jaylin Lane. Jayden Daniels and Jaylin Lane got their lick back One of the things I highlighted about McLaurin's absence is that other WRs get the chance to build a report with Jayden Daniels and they did just that today on arguably the best training camp play I've seen in my many many years of going. A few drills after Sainristil picked off the Daniels to Lane attempt, the franchise QB threw a DART to the corner of the end zone to the rookie Lane who lept over Sainristil AND safety Quan Martin for an unbelievable grab. The jury is still out on if he got both feet in, but I dont care, it was an incredible answer back at the defense after Sainristil got his interception and Daniels let him hear it after the grab. There's no lack of competitiveness between the young bucks on the team and it'll continue leading up to the season. The defense looks much improved I know I've been praising Sainristil a lot the last few days, but honestly the entire defense impressed me at practice for many reasons. After dominating practice Friday, the corners collected more pass breakups today and the defensive line rotations generated pressure and would-be sacks. Adding pads will make the practices even more physical and competitve and the defense can really flex it's muscles starting next week. I think a lot of my worries about the defense have been calmed for now. Commanders will honor Washington legend The Commanders also announced at training camp that they will honor an all-time great by inducting former WR Santana Moss into the Ring of Fame Week 1 against the New York Giants. Moss was surprised when he heard the news and even addressed the crowd on hand at training camp to express his gratitude and appreciation. The "Cowboy-Killa" was one of the few bright spots in the darkest times as a Washington fan and I can honestly say he deserves it. The franchise continues to make the right moves off the field for those that paved the way for the current state of the team. Moss also continues to give back as an analyst for the team's broadcast team. I'll have more detailed breakdown observations on the offense and the defense in the next articles, as well as more live practice updates, so be sure to check A to Z Sports for all of the latest on the Washington Commanders.
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!