Latest news with #MitchMarner
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Ducks Predicted to Pull Off Substantial Offseason Move
Ducks Predicted to Pull Off Substantial Offseason Move originally appeared on Athlon Sports. As the Anaheim Ducks get ready for the start of the NHL offseason, many around the league believe they could be very active. Anaheim hasn't reached the postseason since 2018, and the front office believes next year could be the end of the drought. Advertisement The Ducks brought in veteran head coach Joel Quenneville to lead the charge, but the roster needs upgrades as well. Anaheim's offense wasn't great last season, and they have been connected with a few of the biggest names on the open market in free agency. The biggest fish this year is star Mitch Marner of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Marner isn't expected to return to Toronto, opening the door for a team like Anaheim to swoop in. The Ducks have already been rumored to be offering a substantial amount of money to Marner, potentially linking the two even more. But NHL writer Nicholas Nathanson of Bleacher Report is now predicting that Anaheim will indeed land Marner in free agency. "Marner is in dire need of a fresh environment with minimal pressure, and Anaheim presents the ideal opportunity for him. Few teams will likely match Anaheim's bid, and with a quickly emerging youth movement, they are just a year or two away from being a playoff contender," wrote Nathanson. Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner (16) adjusts his helmet after a play against the Florida Panthers during the first period of game seven of the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images After bringing in veteran Chris Kreider via trade, the Ducks know that they need to add more to the team. Marner could change everything for the Ducks, giving them a legitimate "go-to" type of player. Advertisement It remains to be seen how interested Marner is with the Ducks, but Anaheim could offer him a solid landing spot for years to come. Related: Maple Leafs Predicted to Land Connor McDavid After Stanley Cup Loss Related: NHL Insider Drops Major Update on Maple Leafs Offseason Plans This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 19, 2025, where it first appeared.
New York Times
8 hours ago
- Sport
- New York Times
What the NHL's biggest UFAs are up to, some Canadian pride and more: DGB Grab Bag
We're just days away from free agency. Do you know what your favorite pending UFA is up to right now? My spies have been busy finding out and have reported back with this list of what a dozen of the biggest names on our UFA board are focused on right now. Mitch Marner — Preparing his list of key questions to ask potential teams, including 'You're not the Leafs, right?' and 'No but seriously, you're not the Leafs?' and 'Actually no I don't have any other questions for you, but since we're on the subject, are you positive you're not the Leafs?' Advertisement Nikolaj Ehlers — Exactly what every Canadian fan thinks p+ending UFAs are doing these days: Repeatedly googling state tax rates a dozen times a day. Jake Allen — Building a new addition onto his house every time an Oilers fan gets around to looking up what this summer's free agent goalie crop looks like. Jonathan Toews — Saying 'Oh absolutely, it's always been my dream to play for my hometown team in Winnipeg' to a delighted Kevin Cheveldayoff before covering the phone and giggling into his Colorado Avalanche jersey. Brad Marchand — Signing autographs, shaking hands, building nests, chewing through wires, damaging crops, spreading disease, miscellaneous scurrying. Brock Boeser — Arguing with the Canucks about reimbursement invoices they keep sending for that Brock-Boeser-in-a-running-pose shaped hole that somebody left in the wall of the locker room as soon as the season ended. Trent Frederic — Telling everyone about that wacky dream he had where his 15-point season earned him a $30-million contract. John Tavares — Furiously photoshopping his childhood photo into some Utah Mammoth bedsheets. Aaron Ekblad — It's subtle, but he may actually prefer to stay in Florida rather than test the free-agency market, according to Bill Zito, whose car bumper he's handcuffed himself to. Nick Perbix — Same as you: Googling 'Nick Perbix who?' Jack Hughes — Patiently explaining through gritted teeth that yes, it probably would be nice to be hitting the market as an elite player in his prime as the cap is skyrocketing, but he still has half a decade left on the contract that pays him middle-six money that he somehow got talked into signing a few years ago. Sam Bennett — Honestly, after a long playoff run, he will worry about free agency later; for now, he's just focused on spending time pretending to trip and landing on top of his family. The third star: That Jared Bednar impersonator — Remember the first round of the 2025 playoffs? That was a fun time, 47 months ago or whatever it was. And this was one of the highlights: haha this is incredible — Mike Halford (@MikeHalford604) April 29, 2025 The second star: Cam Ward — Just when he thought he was out, they pull him back in. Cam Ward was absolutely stunned sitting on his couch when the @Titans drafted him first overall @36wine — Missin Curfew (@MissinCurfew) April 25, 2025 The first star: This apparent time traveler — OK, maybe it's less funny and more just plain impressive, but we need to work in a mention of this guy: Sam Reinhart could be an offensive star/90 point upside, but I think Sam Bennett is a guy who'll win a Conn Smythe. #Sabres — DV (@DVic89) April 16, 2014 And if you're not impressed, double-check the date. I did a very stupid thing in this week's Red Light newsletter (which you should already be subscribed to). There's a feature we call 'No Dumb Questions,' in which we invite readers to ask those questions that they've always been afraid to ask. It ranges from stuff like 'How do coincidental penalties work?' to 'Why don't the linesmen just drop the puck?' to 'Who gets credit if a team scores directly into its own net off the opening faceoff?' Advertisement Usually it's fun. But this week, I got suckered into answering a question about the puck-over-glass penalty, which, of course, meant I had to spend the rest of the day arguing with strangers on the internet. Which is admittedly fun enough on a typical day, but you may have noticed that this is kind of a busy week for hockey writers. I was wrong and I'm sorry. So today, I'm making a peace offering. I'm not going to get into whether the current rule is good or bad or in between. This time I'm staying neutral. I'm not going to pick sides, whether you're someone who correctly believes that pucks over the glass should be treated like icing or a terrible, sad person who likes the rule and defends it by hallucinating a pre-rule epidemic of delays that never existed, like the hockey fan version of ChatGPT. See? Neutral. But here's my proposal, which I honestly think will appeal to all sides. If we're going to be stuck with the rule, let's at least make one simple adjustment. So be it resolved: If a team shoots the puck over the glass, any player on the other team who starts pointing at it isn't allowed to start the ensuing power play. If we need to have a dumb and ridiculous rule because grandpa swears he remembers seeing Jamie Macoun do something three dozen times a night in 1984, fine. But if you're on the other team when it happens and you immediately wave your arm around like a toddler who has to pee, you don't get to start the new power play. It wouldn't necessarily eliminate the tattletales from the sport entirely, but it would at least discourage them slightly. Everyone agree? You in, people who hate the rule? You, too, people who weren't hugged enough as children? Cool, motion carried, bring it in for the group hug. I'm old enough to remember a time when players on Canadian teams used to get hot enough in the playoffs to win Stanley Cups. Let's do that now. Today's obscure player is Paul Di Pietro. Di Pietro was a fifth-round pick by the Canadiens as an overager in 1990, going in the same round as legends such as Gino Odjick and Enrico Ciccone, plus some guy named Sergei Zubov. He earned part-time duty in Montreal in 1991-92, carving out a depth role as a defensive forward. He played 29 regular-season games for the 1992-93 team, scoring just four goals and 17 points. He was in the lineup to start the first round, but lasted just two games — both Canadiens losses, as they fell behind 2-0 to the Nordiques. Advertisement As you may remember, things turned around for the Canadiens. They won the Nordiques series in six, with Di Pietro getting back into the lineup by the end of the series. He made it count, exploding for the only hat trick of his NHL career in Game 6 in one of the all-time 'Where'd that come from?' playoff performances. He'd stick in the lineup the rest of the way. He'd score again against the Sabres, twice more against the Islanders, and then add two goals in the Stanley Cup-winning Game 5 against the Kings. That includes the last goal of that playoff run, which is to say that Paul Di Pietro owns the last goal ever scored by a Cup-winning Canadian team. He'd play his only full NHL season in 1993-94, scoring 13 goals. He was traded to Toronto for a pick at the 1995 deadline, and also had a brief stint with the Kings. All told, he played 192 games and scored 31 goals in the regular season, plus 11 more in the playoffs — of which eight came in that magical 1993 run. He was out of the NHL entirely by 1997, but went on to have a solid pro career in Europe. He ended up being part of Team Switzerland at the 2006 Olympics and scored against Canada in an upset win during the round robin. It was a rough week up here in Canada. After much of the nation grudgingly agreed to hop on the Edmonton bandwagon in hopes that Connor McDavid and friends could end the country's never-ending Stanley Cup drought, we watched as the Oilers faded in the final before losing in six. The streak continues, and is now at 32 years and counting. It's tempting to break some new ground for the YouTube section by using a video that I'm actually part of for this week's entry. But that might be a little too meta, and besides, I don't think Canadian hockey fans need more navel-gazing right now. No, I think we're looking for a clip that's more positive. Uplifting, even. And if that clip is only tangentially related to hockey, even better. Please rise for the national anthem: • We get a quick introduction from the Frenchest man alive. I'll offer a quick translation: 'For your enjoyment tonight, our musical guest, B.J. Snowden, and by the way, those steamed hot dogs are overrated.' • By the way, this is apparently from a 1990 episode of a show called 'Humans WOW.' I tried to Google that, and now I know way too much about character creation options in 'World of Warcraft.' Get out of the way, nerds, some of us cool kids are trying to analyze decades-old YouTube sports clips. Advertisement • We start with a few bars of what sure sounds like 'O Canada,' while we get quick shots of newspaper headlines about Mark Messier and the Oilers winning the Cup. See? Happier times. We also scan an article about the Bruins and 'their troubles,' which contains a throwaway paragraph at the end about how Boston will get their revenge in 35 years by trading some sort of rat to a panther without him having to pay taxes or something. I'm sure it's not important. • Our music changes into something that feels a bit more ominous, as the Oilers headlines fade into a Canadian flag. Fair warning: This is the end of the hockey-specific content in this week's clip. If you Americans want to tag out now, that's just fine. • The rest of us are in for a treat, though. The flag fades out to reveal singer, songwriter and all-around music superstar Snowden, who will be performing her masterpiece 'In Canada.' This song was a cult hit in Canada back in the 1980s and 1990s. Still is, if we're being honest. Snowden is the best, and I will fight anyone who tries to disagree. • 'Their cities very clean you see.' Well, they're certainly unpolluted by ticker-tape parades. • For those of you meeting Snowden for the first time, this was probably her signature song, coming off of her album 'Life in the USA and Canada.' But she really leaned into the pro-Canadian music scene, also recording songs about individual provinces. Some of those provinces even got nicknames out of the deal, such as 'Nuffy' and 'Novie', and wait, did Snowden start the trend of annoying hockey nicknames? • 'In Canada, they'll treat you like a king.' We wish the Oilers had treated the Panthers like the Kings, am I right, hockey fans? • We cut to a clip of a moose, which is our cue to start a lyrical tour from East to West. This section includes lyrics about PEI's water being blue and clear, while we see footage of what actually appears to be a pint of beer. Hey, easy mistake, I think we've all gone to the kitchen to pour ourselves a healthy glass of water and accidentally come back with a beer instead. Advertisement • 'In Canada, they never will be mean,' Snowden sings, accurately, because this song was recorded before the invention of my comment section. • The second chorus sees us abandon the geographic approach but continue the tour, with stops in Nova Scotia, B.C., Manitoba and Ontario overlaid with images of maple syrup. A fun game to play right now is to pause the video and try to guess what other Canadian symbols will show up for the rest of the way. • SASKATCHEWAN!! • (By the way, I wrote this entire thing and only later realized that I had already used this clip on another site like 10 years ago. I'm sorry if this bothers you. It's happened before, and it will happen again. Probably with the 'Why Canada Can't Win Cups' Tifo video when the drought hits 50 years.) • So, how many of you had 'a Mountie' on your list of upcoming Canadianisms? Literally every single one of you? Cool, mark yourself down for a point. • We hit the big musical zenith with a chorus about the West Edmonton Mall, as Snowden takes us home with some Canadian-inspired vocal riffing. By the way, you may have noticed that one province got snubbed here, with no direct mention of Quebec. Without getting into early-90s Canadian politics, let's just say Snowden was covering her bases here. • Here's the big plot twist, one I didn't find out about until years later: Despite being pretty much the most Canadian artist of all time. Snowden is not actually from Canada. She's from Massachusetts! This was a tough pill to swallow at first for a young Canadian, like finding out that The Friendly Giant wasn't actually tall. But you know what, the fact that she chose Canada makes me love her more. You can find more of her music on her website. • So yeah, I think it's pretty clear what we need to do, Canada. Forget about the glossy pregame pyrotechnics or the irony-drenched pop song celebrations. If we want our Cup back, we need to get Snowden back into the game. Let's go out there and get this icon a few updated headlines for her next music video. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go chug a few glasses of the ol' PEI water. Have a question, suggestion, old YouTube clip, or anything else you'd like to see included in this column? Email Sean at nhlgrabbag@ (Top photo of Brad Marchand and Mitch Marner: Carmen Mandato / Getty Images)
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Maple Leafs Predicted to Land Connor McDavid After Stanley Cup Loss
Maple Leafs Predicted to Land Connor McDavid After Stanley Cup Loss originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The 2025 Stanley Cup Final is over, with the Florida Panthers claiming the title once again. Florida has now won two straight titles, and every other team in the NHL will be looking to knock them from the mountain top. Advertisement The only team to take this Panthers team to a seven-game series was the Toronto Maple Leafs, potentially hinting that Toronto isn't as far from title contention as previously thought. But this offseason will be massive for the Maple Leafs, especially with the expected loss of star Mitch Marner. With this, the Maple Leafs front office is expected to go big-game hunting. But could Toronto potentially go after the biggest star of all? That would be Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers, who just lost his second straight Stanley Cup. McDavid has one year left on his current deal and could look at his options following the conclusion of his deal. McDavid is from the Toronto area and could make sense for the Maple Leafs down the line. NHL writer Adam Gretz of Bleacher Report linked the Oilers star with the Maple Leafs, hinting at a potential landing spot in the future. Advertisement "But if McDavid ever does become available, Toronto would have to find a way to get involved in the bidding. After all, how often would Canada's biggest hockey market have a chance to acquire Canada's best player? Especially one that was born in the Greater Toronto Area? And if the Maple Leafs keep fizzling out in the playoffs, they'll be under even more pressure to keep making dramatic changes to fix that," Gretz wrote. Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid (97) controls the puck against the Florida Panthers during the second period in game five of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final at Rogers Belski-Imagn Images Adding McDavid to this team would certainly change everything for the Maple Leafs. McDavid would create a lethal duo alongside Auston Matthews in Toronto, and he could help his childhood team go after a title. The Oilers will likely do whatever they can to keep him in town, but money does talk. McDavid may also want a change of scenery, which could lead him to potentially leave the team. Advertisement Only time will tell, but this is certainly a fascinating thought. Related: Panthers GM Drops Hint About Offseason After Stanley Cup Win Related: Stars Predicted to Land Panthers All-Star in Massive Offseason Move This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 18, 2025, where it first appeared.
Edmonton Journal
a day ago
- Sport
- Edmonton Journal
LEAFS SNAP SHOTS: There's a history of top-scoring Leafs leaving early
Article content Unless Mitch Marner has a dramatic change of heart in the next 10 days, the Maple Leafs will own a dubious Original Six NHL record. Marner, set to walk as a free agent July 1, would be the fifth of five franchise leading point producers in Toronto to finish their careers with another team. At least one and as many as four members atop the list of Montreal, Boston, Detroit, Chicago and the New York Rangers all stayed through their retirement.
National Post
a day ago
- Business
- National Post
LEAFS SNAP SHOTS: There's a history of top-scoring Leafs leaving early
Unless Mitch Marner has a dramatic change of heart in the next 10 days, the Maple Leafs will own a dubious Original Six NHL record. Article content Marner, set to walk as a free agent July 1, would be the fifth of five franchise leading point producers in Toronto to finish their careers with another team. At least one and as many as four members atop the list of Montreal, Boston, Detroit, Chicago and the New York Rangers all stayed through their retirement. Article content Article content Not here, where Marner, with 741 points, will likely join Mats Sundin (987), Darryl Sittler (916), Dave Keon (858) and the late Borje Salming (768) as agreeing to trades or leaving as UFAs. Article content For all but Sundin, the grounds for divorce was owner Harold Ballard's ruinous reign in the 1970s and 1980s, short-changing the future Hall of Famers on contracts or in Salming's case, giving no hope of winning a Stanley Cup. Sundin refused a trade in belief the 2007-08 Leafs would make the playoffs, but eventually departed the next season for no return, signing with Vancouver. Article content Marner, currently 14 points ahead of Auston Matthews on the franchise list, has not commented since the Leafs' ninth straight early playoff elimination, in which the nimble right winger began hinting in the past tense about his hometown future. Article content There's growing evidence of his frustration at being scapegoated for playoff woes despite great regular season numbers. General manager Brad Treliving has stated the Leafs DNA must change to emulate Florida's post-season success and the quick fix is channeling Marner's long-term contract dollars into multiple players on the market or via trades. Article content TAXING TIMES Article content John Tavares's dispute with the Canada Revenue Agency might not be through as quickly as indicated earlier this week. Article content While an adjournment is in effect after the Tax Court wanted the CRA to disclose key internal records, a spokesperson for the government department e-mailed Postmedia this week to clarify the stay is not to be interpreted as a sign the matter will be dismissed. Article content 'The court only adjourned relating to a procedural matter involving document production, not the case itself. The appeal remains active.' Article content At issue is $15.25 million US, the signing bonus in Tavares's seven-year, $77 million deal with the Leafs in 2018. The CRA considers the bonus a salary, to be taxed at 50 per cent. Tavares's camp has countered the rate should be 15 per cent, per a tax treaty with the U.S. covering income earned by non-residents when the long time New York Islander agreed to provide 'services in Canada'.
