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Stars HC Peter DeBoer adds to unbelievable Game 7 record
Maybe it should not be a surprise that the Dallas Stars rallied for a Game 7 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night. Not only because they have one of the best rosters in the league, but also because they have a head coach who simply does not lose in Game 7.
Literally. He never loses.
With the Stars' come-from-behind 4-2 win on Saturday, Stars coach Peter DeBoer improved to a stunning 9-0 in his head-coaching career in Game 7s.
Aside from the fact that his teams have been unbeaten in those games, he has also now won more Game 7s than any NHL, NBA or MLB coach/manager in history, breaking what had been a three-way tie with former NHL coach Daryl Sutter and NBA legend Red Auerbach.
It is a staggering record, even if there is a little bit of an element of luck to it.
Luck aside, DeBoer is one of the most successful coaches in the NHL right now and his teams consistently go deep into the postseason.
He has taken both the New Jersey Devils and San Jose Sharks to the Stanley Cup Final, while he has already coached in seven conference finals with the Devils, Sharks, Vegas Golden Knights and Stars. His Stars teams have been in the Western Conference Final in each of the past two seasons and are one round away from getting there again.
He has also now advanced beyond the first round in nine of his 10 playoff appearances in his head-coaching career.
DeBoer and the Stars will now await the winner of Sunday's Game 7 against the Winnipeg Jets and St. Louis Blues.
More must-reads:
- Stars' Mikko Rantanen gets revenge on Avalanche in Game 7
- Stars could make another deep postseason run after winning Game 7
- The '2005-06 Carolina Hurricanes' quiz
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Did the Dallas Stars just get handed a surprise top-six option on waivers?
The NHL waiver wire is heating up as training camps approach, and the Dallas Stars could be positioned to make a sneaky claim that solves one of their biggest depth concerns. Every year, playoff-caliber teams see useful players slip onto waivers simply because of cap space or roster crunches. Waivers often surface players who can slot higher in the lineup than expected. Last year's examples included Eeli Tolvanen, who went from waiver claim to impact forward in Seattle. That kind of opportunity might now exist again, and the Stars have an opening in their top nine that could benefit from an under-the-radar pickup. In the case, the player in question is Jansen Harkins, who surprisingly hit waivers this week. Known for his speed and ability to drive play when given the right linemates, Harkins is the type of versatile forward who could slide up and down a lineup. He showed flashes of offensive skill in Winnipeg and Pittsburgh, and now at 28 years old, he might be hitting the stage of his career where opportunity and experience finally align. Why the waiver wire could be Dallas's hidden weapon As NHL.com pointed out, training camp always produces bubble players squeezed out of deep rosters. This year, names like former first-round picks and skilled but inconsistent wingers could be exposed. If Dallas wanted to roll the dice, they could target a cost-controlled forward who brings both energy and finishing ability. Adding a cap-friendly waiver piece could also free GM Jim Nill from needing to burn trade capital later in the season. "The waiver wire can be a goldmine if you're patient and know what you need. One man's cut is another team's solution," one NHL scout recently told Sportsnet. The Stars' depth chart shows room for such a gamble. With veterans like Evgenii Dadonov and Mikael Granlund gone, the bottom six has new minutes up for grabs. A waiver claim could be the simplest way to plug that gap without sacrificing draft picks. I think Dallas would be wise to keep an eye on the wire, because sometimes the quietest moves are the ones that swing playoff races.
Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah's biggest find is ready to take a huge step forward, and it could be huge for Brian Flores' defense
After joint practice on Wednesday between the Minnesota Vikings and New England Patriots, I was asked by some members of the Patriots beat about just one player. "Who's 61? He's a dude." That player is Jalen Redmond, who has quite the story heading into his second season with the Vikings. He was playing in the UFL in the spring of 2024 with the Arlington Renegades. He was a signing the Vikings made on June 18th, 2024, which came after mandatory minicamp. Redmond was the 90th player on the roster and excelled throughout training camp to earn a roster spot. That ability is showing up once again. Jalen Redmond is taking another step forward The signing of Redmond was a massive win for general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and his scouting staff, especially Ryan Grigson, who was given a lot of credit for finding him. "I remember he [Grigson] called me and said, 'I like this guy.' I think it was late May," Adofo-Mensah explained. "You have to ask yourself, what's your standard for bringing people in, because a lot of good players are on teams already, so there's going to be something there that's not perfect, not clean, and earlier he had injuries, so you've got to understand why he's available, but ultimately here's why he might be a good bet. "And you saw the flashes for an interior guy with burst, his run defense kind of jumped out to me. That's the other thing, when you've been together for two or three years, and my history with Grigson before, he knows how to communicate with me, makes a cut-up, knows exactly what we look for." You can see the power and explosiveness in Redmond's game. He rarely gets washed out by the offensive line, and often penetrates the backfield with his ability. Where things have gotten really interesting with Redmons is seeing how good he can be from a short and long-term perspective. Last season, Redmond played in 13 games and flashed in a major way. While he went undrafted out of Oklahoma, it wasn't so much due to talent, but a health issue that kept him from being selected. He certainly looks like a player who should have been selected. Over the course of the season, Redmond got one sack and 6.0 tackles for loss to pair with 18 tackles. His ability to be a penetrating force on the line earned him a starting role at the end of the season, with two starts in his first year with the Vikings. Going into year two, Redmond shouldn't be overlooked. He won't be a starter with the additions of Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave, but it shouldn't be much of a surprise if he approaches 500 snaps as a rotational player. His teammates believe he's a stud, something that Jonathan Greenard emphasized last week. "Redmond is a dog," said Greenard after Redmond's great practice on Thursday. "Jalen's been a dog since last year in training camp. I knew he was a dog when he got thrown out of practices last year. So I was like, listen, from that day forward, he got thrown out, he came back in just completely, just dominating. And at that point even to see it during the season and see him continuously build. Now I'm like, man, everybody knows, but when you see, obviously, you bring in two guys like JA [Jonathan Allen] and Grave [Javon Hargrave], you kind of think that he gets put in the wayside, making the same place he was last year, if not more. And that just helps us out to know that it's not gonna drop off whenever those guys get a breather or something like that. If I'm coaching, I'm putting him in." Don't sleep on Redmond going into this season, as he's only getting better.
Why the Blue Jays need to give up on Alek Manoah
There was a time when Alek Manoah appeared destined to be a top-of-the-rotation starter for the Toronto Blue Jays. Manoah had an impressive 2022 season, posting a 2.24 ERA and a 0.992 WHiP over his 196.2 innings, striking out 180 batters with 51 walks. He was named to the All-Star Game and finished third in the American League Cy Young award vote. That season proved to be the high point of Manoah's career. He arrived at spring training in 2023 out of shape, setting off a firestorm when an MLB Network analyst said Manoah needed to spend more time in the gym. He struggled all season, posting a 5.87 ERA and a 1.740 WHiP over his 87.1 innings, striking out 79 batters but issuing 59 walks. Manoah spent a month in the Florida Complex League to work on mechanical issues and was later banished to Triple-A for the rest of the season. Since then, Manoah has battled injuries and continued command issues, making just five appearances for the Blue Jays in 2024. His most recent rehab start following Tommy John surgery was a disaster as he allowed three runs on three hits and two walks while recording five outs. Manoah has posted an 11.57 ERA and a 2.714 WHiP over seven innings covering four starts, striking out six batters while issuing eight walks and hitting three batters. The Blue Jays have held out hope that Manoah could rediscover his 2022 form. However, each mediocre outing and injury puts that season further in the rearview mirror. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays are in the midst of a playoff push while eyeing the AL East title. They need players who can help down the stretch. Manoah has not displayed any signs that he can be part of the solution this year or in the future. The Blue Jays continue to stand by Manoah in hopes that he can rediscover his form. At this point, it may be best for both sides if the Blue Jays cut the former All-Star loose.
Seminoles' chances at beating Alabama to start the season just got a whole lot better but at the cost of an unfortunate situation
Vikings found another UDFA hidden gem who is exceeding every expectation put in front of him and everyone is taking notice
Minnesota Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has done a fantastic job in his tenure at finding undrafted free agents. After signing a class of just seven in 2022, where he did find one that made the 53-man roster in edge rusher Luiji Villain, the last two classes have been expansive and have netted a whopping seven have landed on the 53-man roster. Where things get interesting when you look at the entirety of the UDFAs who have made the roster. Of all eight UDFAs, they all have been on the defensive side of the football. This year, the first offensive UDFA is likely to make the roster in quarterback Max Brosmer. Max Brosmer shines in second preseason game The Vikings preseason game against the New England Patriots ended in a 20-12 tie, and it gave Brosmer an entire half to play. We got to hear from head coach Kevin O'Connell during the third quarter when Brosmer was in and he had a lot of good things to say. Those positive comments continued after the game. "What I love about Max is there were some breakdowns up front, and maybe he couldn't progress and read through concepts, but he plays with very fast eyes, and very rarely puts the ball at harm's way when he's doing it, which is a, which is a unique trait." That isn't the only positive trait that Brosmer has. Just like his time at the University of Minnesota, he's been a tremendous anticipatory thrower. O'Connell mentioned that on the broadcast. “Max Brosmer is not waiting to see if the WR is open. He is throwing some of these balls before the WR breaks. He has command of the offense.” It shouldn't come as much of a surprise that Brosmer is thriving in O'Connell's offense. Not only is it difficult to find a quarterback, but there are so many elements to it other than just talent. Fit matters so much, and Brosmer's ability to anticipate throws over the middle matters a ton. Think about Brock Purdy. He's obviously a good quarterback, but does he have the kind of success he's having if he plays for someone other than Kyle Shanahan? Fit matters more than most would think. If you have a good fit, it amplifies everything. Look at this thrown on fourth down and 17 to extend the drive inside of two minutes to go. At this point, Brosmer is making a major push to not just be on the roster, but potentially be the backup quarterback. Sounds insane right? Even though it's somewhat absurd for a rookie UDFA to be the backup quarterback, there is some precedent for it. Tyson Bagent went undrafted out of Shepherd, a D-II school. He started four games when Justin Fields got hurt, including extensive playing time against the Vikings at Soldier Field. "I just view it right now as we've got to learn about these guys. We've got to try to see who's able to go in there and function and execute the offense when the circumstances aren't perfect. You know, they're not throwing the ball to Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison and T.J. (Hockenson) or playing behind our first offensive line. So you take that into account, but you're looking for just the traits out of those three guys. And I think Sam (Howell) had a really good week of practice, and I think Brett Rypien had a good week stepping in there. "Max (Brosmer) made some throws that were really impressive as well. So there's a reason why we're playing all three of them, as far as what that means, and the overall competition, I think I would just say it's still open, and we're trying to figure out what that room is going to look like for the season. But I do like all the players." Brosmer's impressive training camp is getting him in position to make major waves, and everyone is taking notice.
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