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Minnesota Wild forward Matthew Boldy has been one of the most impressive players in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The series between the Wild and Golden Knights is even after two games, and as the games shift to Minnesota, the Wild are gaining hope in their chances.
If Boldy keeps dominating offensively, the Wild could upset the Pacific Division-winning Golden Knights. Slowing him down is already proving to be a difficult challenge for Vegas, but one way to help would be to stiffen up their defense along the blue line. By trying to interrupt Boldy's entrances into the offensive zone, they could stifle his speed and momentum and hopefully catch the Wild unaware going the other way.
Boldy's line has been excellent at gaining the offensive zone. Between him and superstar winger Kirill Kaprizov, their puck-carrying skills are world-class. They can enter the offensive zone single-handedly or make quick passes to gain entry to the zone. It's led to two of Boldy's three goals in this series.
What the Golden Knights could do is stack their defensive blue line. The team tends to play a zone-type defense to clog the middle of the ice, but the Wild's puck movement has neutralized that. Instead, they should opt for a man-on-man approach to see if that yields better results.
Of course, it may not be that simple for the Knights. Boldy is also doing an excellent job at transitioning defense to offense. In Game 2, it was his defensive efforts that directly led to his third goal of the series. The Knights were working on their offensive zone chance and launched a point shot towards the net. Boldy stepped in front and blocked it. The Wild took possession and went the other way, and Boldy was rewarded with a mini breakaway opportunity. He buried the shot behind Golden Knights goalie Adin Hill for his third of the first round.
If the Golden Knights don't adjust quickly, the Wild will take control of the series. Boldy and Minnesota's ability to win the blue line is giving them a clear advantage, and it could help them clinch the series if Vegas doesn't figure out how to stop it.
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Arbitrator ruling in favor of Flyers over grievance from veteran center, whose NHL career may be over
An arbitrator has ruled in favor of the Philadelphia Flyers in a grievance filed by veteran centerman Ryan Johansen, over the team’s termination of his contract prior to the 2024-25 season, shares TSN’s Darren Dreger. The Flyers acquired Johansen alongside a conditional 2025 first-round pick at the 2024 trade deadline, in exchange for sending defenseman Sean Walker to the Colorado Avalanche. Philadelphia placed Johansen on waivers immediately after the trade, with the intentions of assigning him to the AHL and potentially flipping him before the deadline. When no trade manifested, Johansen refused to report to the minor leagues, instead claiming that he was limited by a nagging hip injury. The NHL sided with Johansen and reversed his AHL assignment after a failed physical exam. Johansen spent the remainder of the 2023-24 season on injured reserve. There was a clear wedge between him and the Flyers’ top brass — one that only rooted deeper as the 2024 summer went on. By August, Philadelphia decided to place Johansen on unconditional waivers for the purposes of contract termination — citing the player’s delay in notifying them of the injury, and failure to pass physicals or report to his assignment. Johansen passed through waivers and became an unrestricted-free agent. He filed a grievance with the NHLPA soon after, claiming the Flyers had wrongly terminated his contract. Now, a full year later, it seems the NHL will side with Philadelphia in their handling of the situation. The implications of this decision aren’t immediately clear. Johansen had one year remaining on an eight-year, $64M contract originally signed with the Nashville Predators in 2017 — though Philadelphia was only due $4M in cap hit, after Nashville retained half of the contract when they traded Johansen to Colorado. The range of outcomes seems far-reaching — from Philadelphia being due that full $4M price tag, to a settlement with the player, to no cap implications on the team’s side at all. Details on the exact impact against the Flyers will likely be revealed in the coming days. The NHL’s last contract termination to reach headlines over a material breach came in 2015, when the Los Angeles Kings terminated forward Mike Richards’ contract with five years remaining. He was still due $22M on the deal. Richards also filed a grievance with the NHLPA, and would end up settling with the team for an undisclosed amount before becoming a free agent. He signed for one season with the Washington Capitals following the dispute, but would retire from hockey in 2016. It seems less likely that Johansen will return to the NHL. His play gradually dwindled throughout the 2020s — falling from 63 points in the 2021-22 season to just 23 points in 2023-24. He slowed down in all aspects, likely due to what was proved to be a very real and long-running hip injury. That slow-down pushed Johansen to Colorado’s fourth-line in his final few games with the team. With a decision in place on his grievance with the Flyers, he would realistically have time to sign a short contract, or tryout agreement, before the 2025-26 season. But those chances hinge on the 33-year-old’s recovery, and willingness to return, after a full season away from the league. If he does call his career to a close, the former fourth overall selection will finish with 578 points in 905 games in the NHL.
Troubling news emerges on Bears QB Caleb Williams’ workout with HC Ben Johnson
It might have been a good thing the Chicago Bears didn’t play Caleb Williams on Sunday. The Bears might need to hide their second-year quarterback as he irons out his wrinkles in the pre-snap process and with accuracy issues. The No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft struggled with timing and accuracy during the Bears’ joint practice with the Miami Dolphins on Friday. Caleb Williams was inaccurate in the red zone against no defenders On Sunday, Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson chose not to play second-year quarterback Caleb Williams against the Dolphins in their first preseason game. Instead, Johnson led a workout with Williams and wide receivers Rome Odunze and DJ Moore before the game. Per Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, the Bears ran a total of 87 plays during the workout. All of the plays were routes in the air with no defenders on the field for the scripted practice. Despite going against no defenders bringing pressure or guarding his receivers, Williams struggled to hit his targets in the red zone. "Williams would stand next to Johnson, who would give him the play," Biggs wrote. "Then, the quarterback simulated a huddle with the player (only one ran a route on each snap) and gave the play call. They’d break the huddle, go to the line of scrimmage, Williams would simulate pre-snap actions and then the play would be run… "Before ending the session with eight deep balls, there was a 25-play set of snaps in the red zone. One thing Williams struggled to connect on was out routes to Moore and Odunze near the goal line. Those throws were not close and Williams consistently led the receivers too much." A closed-door problem for the Chicago Bears The throws weren’t close during routes on air… in the red zone? Williams wasn’t ready to take the field for the preseason game. For all of the flak he’s been getting from practice reports, the quarterback would have been relentlessly mocked for having these issues shown during an NFL Network broadcast. Biggs’ report is troubling, with a month to go before the season. Williams has much to improve upon, and the Bears are very much trying to do so without cameras present for a reason.
Nuggets Receive Huge Russell Westbrook News During NBA Offseason
It has been a busy offseason for the Denver Nuggets as they have reshaped their roster around their core of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon after being eliminated in the second round of the playoffs for the second consecutive season. Denver began their offseason by trading Michael Porter Jr. to the Brooklyn Nets for Cameron Johnson in a trade that not only landed them a three-point sharpshooter in Johnson but also helped free up cap space. With the extra cap space, the Nuggets signed Bruce Brown and Tim Hardaway Jr. in free agency and they also acquired Jonas Valanciunas from the Sacramento Kings. By making these moves, the Nuggets have been able to upgrade their bench, which was a massive issue for them last season. While the Nuggets clearly had the goal to upgrade their depth this offseason, one of their key players from last season will reportedly not be returning next season. Russell Westbrook not expected to return to Nuggets According to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, Russell Westbrook is set to sign with a new team this summer in free agency as he will not be returning to Denver. “It appears that Westbrook, who spent the first 11 years of his career with the Oklahoma City Thunder, will play for his sixth franchise in seven seasons. He won't be returning to the Denver Nuggets after a roller coaster season in which Westbrook finished seventh in the Sixth Man of the Year voting,” MacMahon wrote. This is a massive report by MacMahon, but also one that is not a major surprise as it appeared as though the Nuggets were not interested in bringing back the former NBA MVP. Of course, Westbrook played a key role for the Nuggets last season both off the bench and in the starting lineup, though his minutes were cut at the end of the season after Denver fired former head coach Michael Malone and replaced him with David Adelman. With Westbrook now unlikely to return to Denver for next season, MacMahon mentioned in his report that the Sacramento Kings are viewed as the favorites to sign him, though there should be other teams that also show interest in adding the veteran guard to their roster next season.
Phillies superstar may be building Hall of Fame case
Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber is in the midst of another impressive season. Schwarber entered Wednesday having posted a .249/.373/.578 batting line in his 528 plate appearances this season, hitting 42 homers while driving in a National League-leading 97 runs. The Phillies slugger was named to his third All-Star Game this season and, according to NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley, he should be the NL MVP. Schwarber has been one of baseball's premier power hitters since establishing himself in the majors in 2017. He's in his eighth season of hitting 30 or more homers and has reached the 40-homer plateau three times in his four seasons in Philadelphia. The 32-year-old Schwarber may find himself in elite company when his career comes to an end. He has already hit 326 homers in his career, potentially giving him a chance to reach the 500-home run plateau. If Schwarber does hit 500-plus homers, the narrative around his career may change. There have only been 28 players in MLB history to reach that plateau, 19 of whom are in the Hall of Fame. Two players — Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera — are not yet eligible and are expected to be enshrined on the first ballot. The seven players who have not been inducted into the Hall of Fame have been linked to PED use, torpedoing their candidacy. At the same time, his entire candidacy may be based on his home run total. Schwarber has a lifetime .232/.346/.499 batting line over 5,188 plate appearances; although batting average no longer carries much weight for the voters, he would have the lowest batting average of any non-pitcher in the Hall. His 20.7 fWAR has been dragged down by his defense and is unlikely to make him a favorite among the younger voters who put more emphasis on such metrics. Schwarber is marching toward the 500-home run plateau. If he does reach that mark, he could be a polarizing Hall of Fame candidate.
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