Blue Jays starter Max Scherzer was chased in the third inning by the Twins after allowing five hits and six runs, leaving with two runners on. He was replaced by reliever Joe Mantiply, who surrendered a two-run double, scoring both inherited runners.

Scherzer’s final line showed 2.1 innings of work, five hits, eight earned runs, two homers against, two walks and three strikeouts.

He tossed 68 pitches — 41 strikes — in the outing.

It marked the second straight short start for the 41-year-old, who exited after just two innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 6 due to forearm tendinitis.

The eight runs allowed on Sunday pushed Scherzer’s ERA to 9.58 on the season.

Scherzer returned to the Blue Jays over the off-season on a one-year, $3 million deal, which included incentives for innings pitched. In 2025, the three-time Cy Young winner posted a 5.19 ERA over 17 starts and 85.0 regular-season innings.

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Defenceman Noah Dobson will be re-evaluated in two weeks after suffering an upper-body injury in Saturday’s 5-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. That rules him out for at least the opening stretch of the post-season.

The Canadiens announced the news Sunday after Dobson blocked a Zach Werenski slap shot with his left hand in the second period and did not return.

“It sucks, we’re worried about him for sure and he’s such a big part of our team,” defenceman Lane Hutson said after the game. “He plays big minutes for us, plays against the top competition, shuts down some really high-end players on the other side and pitches in pretty good offensively, too. He does it all for us.

“A lot of the little things he does go unnoticed, but not by our group.”

Dobson has averaged the third-most ice time (22:29) on the playoff-bound Canadiens, behind Mike Matheson and Hutson.

The 26-year-old from Summerside, P.E.I., has 12 goals and 35 assists in 80 games this season, his first in Montreal after being acquired from the New York Islanders last summer and signing an eight-year, US$76-million extension.

Often tasked with the toughest assignments alongside Matheson, the six-foot-four, 200-pound defenceman also leads the NHL in blocked shots, recording his 188th on the play that ultimately sidelined him.

“He plays big minutes, great on breakout, transition, he kind of can do it all,” coach Martin St. Louis said. “I was surprised that he leads the league in blocked shots, which was another element, so he brings a lot.”

In a corresponding move, the Canadiens recalled defenceman David Reinbacher from the American Hockey League’s Laval Rocket ahead of Sunday’s road game against the Islanders.

A fifth overall draft pick in 2023, Reinbacher is plus-18 with five goals and 19 assists through 57 AHL games this season, finding his form after missing most of the 2024-25 campaign with a knee injury.

The 21-year-old Austrian, yet to make his NHL debut, is the only healthy right-shot defenceman on the Canadiens roster with Alexandre Carrier also ruled out for two to four weeks with an upper-body injury March 31.

Kaiden Guhle, a left-shot defenceman, has also missed three straight games for “maintenance,” the team said.

Montreal sat third in the Atlantic Division with two games remaining in the regular season heading into Sunday’s action. The Stanley Cup playoffs are scheduled to begin next Saturday.

The Ducks will clinch their first playoff berth since 2018 with a win of any kind over the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday night (5 p.m. PT/ 8 p.m. ET on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+).

It has been seven long years of playoff drought for Anaheim, but with new head coach Joel Quenneville helping to turn the team around, this season has felt different

Leo Carlsson and Cutter Gauthier have stepped into their own with each adding 55 and 65 points respectively. Their leadership has helped the Ducks reach a 42-32-5 record on the season.

A win on Sunday also means the Ducks would leap over the Oilers to tie the Golden Knights for the top of the Pacific Division. This clinching scenario would also leave just one remaining playoff spot up for grabs in the Western Conference.

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Montreal lost for the sixth time in seven games to begin the 2026 campaign Saturday, falling 2-1 to the Philadelphia Union in its home opener at Stade Saputo.

No players or coaches were made available to reporters after the loss.

Philippe Eullaffroy will replace Donadel on an interim basis while assistant coaches Jacopo Falanga and Lorenzo Pinzauti have also been let go, the club announced.

Donadel’s tenure as head coach lasted just over a year, having replaced Laurent Courtois on March 24, 2025. CF Montréal posted a 7-20-9 record in MLS under his watch.

Donadel was CF Montréal’s 11th head coach since the club joined MLS in 2012.

“The result is amazing,” Sinner said. “Getting back to No. 1 means a lot for me.”

Four-time Grand Slam champion Sinner met seven-time major winner Alcaraz in their ninth final in what is often called the “Sincaraz” rivalry.

Sinner trimmed Alcaraz’s head-to-head lead to 10-7 in clinching his 27th career title overall and his first Masters title on clay. The 24-year-old Italian will return to No. 1 in the ATP rankings on Monday.

Sinner rallied from 3-1 down in the second set amid blustery conditions at the Monte Carlo Country Club and served out the match, clinching it on his first match point when Alcaraz returned a forehand long.

“It was a bit windy, a bit breezy. Different conditions from what the tournament has brought,” Sinner said. “I am very happy to win a big title on this surface, I haven’t done it before and it means a lot to me.”

Alcaraz had won his last 17 matches on clay but struggled Sunday with 45 unforced errors.

However, he praised Sinner.

“It is impressive what you are achieving right now,” Alcaraz said. “Congratulations for everything.”

Sinner dropped to his knees after Alcaraz’s shot landed out and then jogged over to celebrate with his box.

“I felt a bit tired, so I tried to keep the right mentality,” Sinner said. “Having this trophy means a lot to me.”

It was Sinner’s third title of the year after sweeping Indian Wells and Miami — also winning those finals in straight sets — to become only the fourth man to reach the final at the first three Masters of the season. Sinner joined tennis great Novak Djokovic (in 2015) as the only one to win the first three Masters tournaments.

Alcaraz’s two titles this year include the Australian Open, where the 22-year-old Spaniard became the youngest man to win all four tennis majors.

He produced a stunning comeback to beat Sinner in last year’s French Open final, then lost the Wimbledon final to Sinner before beating him again in the U.S. Open final.

The team said Sunday that Bednar had facial fractures and a corneal abrasion but is expected to make a full recovery without surgery. Assistants Nolan Pratt and Dave Hakstol are expected to coach the team in the final two games of the regular season at Edmonton and Calgary in Bednar’s absence.

Bednar was taken to a hospital after being hit with a puck on his right cheek during a 3-2 overtime loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. A team spokesperson said at the time Bednar was fully alert and conscious and went to the hospital for a CT scan and further evaluation.

Bednar was standing behind the Colorado bench when a puck flew off the stick of Knights defenseman Keegan Kolesar, over the boards and hit Bednar with 16:39 left in the third period. He bent over holding the side of his head and was helped to the locker room by a trainer.

Hakstol took over Bednar’s duties for the remainder of the game.

“It’s certainly a little unnerving. It’s scary when the pucks are flying in there,” Pratt said after the game. “It happens all the time, and unfortunately, tonight, so it takes a little second to sort of recalibrate and then get back to it.”

Colorado, with 115 points, clinched the top overall seed Thursday night. The playoffs begin next weekend.

Defenseman Josh Manson also left the Vegas game late in the second period with an upper-body injury.

“He’s being evaluated so we’ll see how it is (Sunday),” Pratt said.

The team recalled Isaac Howard from the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors on Sunday.

In his first professional season, Howard has been a standout in the American Hockey League, recording 22 goals and 47 points in 45 games with Bakersfield.

The 22-year-old has also appeared in 28 games with Edmonton, scoring two goals and five points and last played in the NHL back on Jan. 24.

Selected 31st overall in the 2022 NHL Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning, Howard was acquired by the Oilers in exchange for Sam O’Reilly, who was selected 32nd overall in the 2024 entry draft.

Edmonton clinched a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Saturday after the Winnipeg Jets lost to the Philadelphia Flyers.

The two will meet again in one of two semifinal games on Sunday in the Rock League. Alpine Curling Club and Shield Curling Club will meet in the other, having also qualified Saturday.

The final is set for late Sunday afternoon at Toronto’s Mattamy Athletic Centre.

Typhoon’s Anna Hasselborg scored a deuce in the fifth end to take a 5-2 edge, leaving it to Niklas Edin to secure the playoff berth. Edin, trailing 2-1 at the time on the other sheet, scored one more in a 5-2 loss, doing just enough to get Typhoon into the semifinals.

Alpine advanced after splitting a pair of mixed-fours matches with the Frontier Curling Club earlier in the day.

Alpine improved to 4.5 points when their team skipped by Alina Paetz earned a 6-5 over Frontier’s Danny Casper.

Frontier’s Grant Hardie beat Alpine’s Joel Retornaz 6-5 to give Frontier three points. But with just 90 points scored throughout the event, the American-based club was unable to pass the Typhoon and Maple United for a spot in the top four.

Maple won both their games against Shield to keep their hopes of advancing alive. Shield clinched a semifinal berth when Alpine eliminated Frontier.

Alpine finished the day atop the standings, holding a tiebreaker on points over Northern (4.5 points). Typhoon (four points) and Shield (3.5 points) rounded out the top four, with Maple and Frontier both having three points.

The competition offers US$250,000 in prize money, with $100,000 going to the winning team.

Why not both?

On Saturday, the Ottawa Senators clinched their ticket to the playoffs.

What a ride.

The Senators’ voyage this season was treacherous, filled with bouts of goalie troubles, public statements, and “white noise” laced with perpetual drama and non-stop injury reports.

On Jan. 12, they were tied for last in the Eastern Conference. By Jan. 24, they were nine points out of a post-season spot and Linus Ullmark’s return from his mental health leave was uncertain. It was gloomy with a forecast of more pain for Sens fans.

“Obviously, two months ago, it was maybe a little ugly,” said Ridly Greig.

But their coach believed.

It was a surprising 7-1 win over Vegas on Jan. 25 that changed everything.

“Don’t listen to the (expletive) white noise. Don’t listen to people outside this (expletive) rink. Zero negativity,” said Travis Green in the locker room. “Let’s go on a (expletive) run.”

They did just that, going 20-6-3 for the best record in the NHL since Green’s speech.

Sometimes the longest roads take you to the best places. Ullmark captured their season perfectly when he described their shutout win in Long Island on Saturday that propelled them to the brink of the playoffs: “Gritty from start to finish.”

How did they do it? They trusted the process and Green’s impeccable system.

“I don’t think we’ve just started doing this,” Green said Saturday after the win over the Islanders. “There’s a certain style of hockey that we play, and it’s not just tight checking; it is defensive hockey we want to create as well. I think our team’s grown to this, going back to last year, where they understand how we play, how we get to our game, and what our game really revolves around.”

Before this latest run, the Senators’ defensive structure wilted mainly because of weak goaltending — a league-worst .864 team save percentage as of Jan. 24. They had cycled through five goalies, even playing the oxymoronically named Hunter Shepard.

Ullmark’s heroic return from his mental health leave on Jan. 31 was a godsend. Since then, he’s played 21 of 26 games. He’s posted a .904 save percentage with two shutouts, going 14-4-3 in that span, compared to an .881 save percentage prior to his leave of absence. He’s been the safety blanket the Senators desperately needed.

The team’s other glaring deficiency in the first half of the season was a penalty kill that was 31st in the league on Jan. 23, before Green made a tough choice. On Jan. 24, Green replaced assistant coach Nolan Baumgartner with Mike Yeo to steer the short-handed unit. The Senators have had the sixth-best penalty kill since then.

With their two weaknesses shored up, the young, talented and precocious group took charge. Tim Stützle elevated to another level, returning to point-per-game status while dominating games shift after shift. Despite a major injury to his thumb, captain Brady Tkachuk has been close to a point-per-game player as well.

Meanwhile, Jake Sanderson became a Norris-calibre defenceman, and he and partner Artem Zub became one of the best pairs in the NHL. Drake Batherson hit a career high in goals and points, becoming a 30-goal, 70-point winger. Shane Pinto and Michael Amadio became one of the best shutdown duos in the league.

Jordan Spence has been a revelation; general manager Steve Staios’ tidy bit of business gave the Senators depth on the right side of the defence. Spence reached career highs in every offensive category. When Chabot and Sanderson were out with injuries, Spence kept Ottawa afloat down the stretch. The Senators might have missed the playoffs without his unheralded effort.

Dylan Cozens rebounded and thrived in his new home. The Yukon native found his groove in Ottawa, leading the team’s eighth-ranked power play with 13 goals, while his line with Tkachuk and Ridly Greig has posted the best expected goals of any line in the NHL (minimum 250 minutes played).

The individual praise could go on and on, but the way the team collectively overcame every hurdle is the true testament to this group.

There were distractions all along the way: the controversy surrounding Team USA at the Olympics and the political tensions that went with it; Keith Tkachuk’s comments on his son’s podcast; and the unsavoury social media rumours that led the Senators to issue a public statement to defend Ullmark.

“I think you look back at the year, a lot of ups and downs, but again, it’s really a long year,” said Sanderson.

It’s never boring in Ottawa, certainly not in 2026. And the team never abandoned its faith through it all. With Sanderson and Chabot both down late in the season, the Senators maintained a winning record, including a season-defining win over Detroit.

There’s a real case for Green as coach of the year. The way he’s changed the culture of the team in two years — from a squad of talented youngsters who withered under pressure to a group that thrives amid adversity — is stark.

The “Pesky Sens” are back, but unlike previous iterations, this team might not just be pesky; it could be scary. It is the first time since the 2011-13 era that the Ottawa Senators have made the playoffs in back-to-back seasons.

Analytics aren’t everything, but they tell a story. The Senators are top five in expected goals share, shot differential, scoring chances and high-danger chances differential at 5-on-5. Ottawa sits eighth in goals per game.

Everything suggests this is a very, very good team that can do damage. When the playoffs start, there’s reason to believe the Senators could go far. The club has three superstars in Tkachuk, Stützle, and Sanderson, all in their prime. The young core has arrived.

It is also preferable to be the team rolling into the playoffs red-hot while surpassing major adversity tests, than a team that walks into the playoffs. No team that has won the Presidents’ Trophy has won the Stanley Cup in that same season since 2013.

Just get in, and you never know what can happen.

The Senators are most likely to play either Carolina or Buffalo in the first round, although there is still a slim chance they could play Tampa Bay or Montreal. If it’s Carolina, it would be a matchup between two very good defensive-minded teams. As Green said last week, they have similar playing styles. Carolina’s goaltending has wavered of late, and Ullmark’s been playing his best hockey. Ottawa has more than a fighting chance.

Meanwhile, Buffalo is the newbie with almost no playoff experience. Remember how an inexperienced Senators team lost Game 1 last year, looking like a fish out of water? Weirdly, the Senators would be the playoff veterans in this matchup.

Regardless of who the Senators play, it’ll be an uphill battle, but one Ottawa very much could win. The Eastern Conference is wide open, with no true bona fide heavyweights. If everything goes well, it could be a long spring for Senators fans.

We liken it to 2018 when former Toronto Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri told fans, who always expected pain and disappointment, to “Believe in this city. Believe in yourselves.”

Ottawa should believe, and say, “Why not us?”

Maybe the Senators’ post-season is a two-week blip, but it could be a two-month odyssey. The Senators passed another checkpoint on their 2025-26 journey, but their final destination could be better than anyone expected just a few months ago.

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The Penguins travel to take on Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals Sunday afternoon (3 p.m. ET on Sportsnet 360 and Sportsnet+).

Crosby and Ovechkin have matched up 99 times in their career, and their 100th meeting could be their final one as Ovechkin said he will contemplate his NHL future in the off-season.

Crosby (lower-body) and Malkin (upper-body) were ruled out for Saturday’s matchup with injuries.

“It’s history what we have, 20 years playing against each other,” Ovechkin said Friday of his career rivalry with Crosby. “We came into the league at the same time, and we’re still battling and we still have a good match.”

In 74 regular-season games between the two, Crosby holds the edge with a 43-27-4 record. It’s the same in the playoffs, as the Penguins have beaten the Capitals in three out of four series between the two stars.

Playing against one another seems to bring out the best in each other. Ovechkin has 70 points (38 goals, 32 assists) in regular-season contests and 33 points (15 goals, 18 assists) in the post-season, while Crosby has 97 (35 goals, 62 assists) and 30 (13 goals, 17 assists).

“I think the whole situation around Ovi and Sid was kind of a big time,” Ovechkin said, “and even more, not pressure, but even more (you) think about it and get ready for it.

“It’s still the same since the first game when we played against each other. The fans are in, and you guys (the media) are in, and we take that energy and put it on the ice.”

As for Malkin, the longtime superstar centre and Ovechkin have maintained an excellent friendship throughout their careers. Ovechkin’s wife posted a video on her Instagram story on Saturday of Malkin at their house, partaking in a game of mini sticks with Ovechkin’s kid.

Despite the constant comparisons, battles and headlines surrounding Ovechkin and Crosby over the year, the two have been able to separate their hockey battles from their personal relationship.

“We became friends,” Ovechkin said. “I think we understand the battle is out there, but off the ice we can talk to each other, congratulate each other on that moment. So, it’s pretty good.”

Washington’s remaining games also mean a lot to Ovechkin and the Capitals because they need to win to stay in the playoff chase. Washington sits three points behind the Philadelphia Flyers for third in the Metropolitan Division.

“It’s Game 7 for us,” Ovechkin said.

A person familiar with the decision said Sunday that Christie will return next season for the second year of a contract that also has a team option for 2027-28. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the team hadn’t announced the decision, which The Athletic was first to report.

Christie was initially hired on an interim basis after Mike Brown was fired early in the 2024-25 season. Sacramento went 27-24 the rest of the season before getting knocked out in the play-in tournament.

The Kings hired Scott Perry as general manager after last season and made the decision to retain Christie. This season didn’t go nearly as well, with injuries to key veterans like Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine, Keegan Murray and DeAndre Hunter derailing the campaign almost from the start.

Sacramento had a league-worst 12-46 record in mid-February following a 16-game losing streak. The team showed some life late in the season, going 10-13 headed into Sunday’s season finale in a stretch that could hurt in the draft lottery. The Kings are currently tied with Utah for the fourth-worst record in the league.

The 59 losses for Sacramento headed into the final game at Portland are tied for the second most in franchise history, behind the 65 the team had in 2008-09. The Kings have gotten solid contributions from rookies Nique Clifford, Maxime Raynaud and Dylan Cardwell, but are hoping for good fortune in the lottery to find a player to build around after the team traded away star De’Aaron Fox last season.

The Kings have made the playoffs just once in the past 20 seasons, losing in the first round to Golden State in 2023 in Brown’s first season as coach.

Sacramento has the fourth-worst record in the NBA since Vivek Ranadive took over as owner in 2013. The team has had five lead executives and nine head coaches — including interims — in that span.

Porter Martone, Matvei Michkov, Travis Sanheim and Nick Seeler also scored for the Flyers (40-27-12), who have now won four of their last five games. Michkov added an assist for a multi-point night, while Rasmus Ristolainen finished with two assists.

Dan Vladar had 27 saves in the win.

Hadyn Fleury replied for the Jets (35-31-12), who had entered the game winning three straight and five of their last six to keep their playoff hopes alive. Jonathan Toews extended his point streak to three games with a secondary assist, giving him four points over that stretch.

Connor Hellebuyck, who made his 20th start in the last 22 games, allowed five goals on 20 shots before being pulled for the third period. Eric Comrie allowed goals on each of his first two shots against, finishing with one save in relief.

With the victory, the Flyers complete a two-game series sweep of the Jets. Philadelphia earned a 5-2 win on home ice back in October.

TAKEAWAYS

Jets: Winnipeg was unable to secure a valuable two points in their pursuit of the final wild-card playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Jets can now only make the playoffs if they win their final three games and if the Los Angeles Kings and Nashville Predators each do not collect two more points.

Flyers: Philadelphia earned a valuable two points to maintain its grip on third place in the tightly contested Metropolitan Division, keeping them in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race.

KEY MOMENT

After the Jets tied the game in the opening frame, the Flyers quickly regained momentum, with Michkov and Couturier scoring 25 seconds apart to take a 3-1 lead after 20 minutes.

KEY STAT

Martone continued his red-hot start to his professional career with a first-period goal. The 2025 sixth-overall pick now has three goals and four assists for seven points in seven NHL games.

UP NEXT

Flyers: Host Carolina Hurricanes on Monday

Jets: Visit Vegas Golden Knights on Monday.

And no, we’re not referring to the 5-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets in the last regular-season game at the Bell Centre. We’re talking about Noah Dobson leaving a little over halfway through the game with an apparent thumb injury caused by blocking his NHL-leading 188th shot.

The only worse sight was seeing the Canadiens’ trainer follow Dobson down the tunnel to the dressing room and then doubling back to grab one of the doctors from the bench.

“It sucks,” said Lane Hutson after the other half of the game played out rather predictably — with the Canadiens scrambling to catch up after spotting Columbus a 4-1 lead — and he was right about that.

Perhaps more than some people know.

Despite Dobson being the Canadiens’ highest-paid player, the extent to which he’s played a dominant role for them has gone relatively under the radar.

At least it has outside of the Canadiens room.

“A lot of the little things he does goes unnoticed, but not by our group,” said Hutson. “He plays big minutes for us, plays against the top competition, shuts down some really high-end players for us on the other side, and pitches in pretty good offensively too. He does it all for us…”

The Canadiens announced Sunday that Dobson will be sidelined with an upper-body injury and will be re-evaluated in two weeks. By that timeline, Dobson will likely miss the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

It wasn’t quite life and death for the Blue Jackets, but they had to play like it was. They came into the night with their path to a wild-card position in the Eastern Conference blocked, down four points to the Philadelphia Flyers for third place in the Metropolitan Division, and a loss would’ve made the math nearly impossible for them to overcome with two games to play.

The Canadiens weren’t likely to match the Blue Jackets’ will in this one, and they didn’t in the end. Even with ground to be gained in the race to the top of the Atlantic Division, the urge to sprint never quite kicked in.

“It wasn’t a good game for us,” said Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis.

He knows it was a worse night because of Dobson’s injury.

What we saw from the Canadiens from that point on wasn’t all that reassuring. Especially on defence, where they were understandably hampered.

“Once you lose a righty and don’t have any left,” said St. Louis, “it makes it a harder challenge.”

Righty Alex Carrier last played seven games ago, when he suffered an upper-body injury for which he was given a two-to-four-week recovery timeline. Lefty Arber Xhekaj’s been in his place ever since and has performed reasonably well, but also within his limits.

That was the case again Saturday, in a game that saw Xhekaj skate a season-high 19:44.

St. Louis said Xhekaj had “a lot of good minutes.”

He didn’t have to say Xhekaj had a few rough seconds — particularly when the 25-year-old needlessly iced the puck before giving it away on a disastrous second-period sequence that led to an Oliver Kapanen penalty.

That would’ve been counterproductive, anyway, knowing Xhekaj will become more important than he’s been all season from this point forward.

Jayden Struble, who jumped ahead of Xhekaj on the depth chart in March, has played the best hockey of his career in April. So, that helps.

And Kaiden Guhle, who missed the last three games for “maintenance,” will likely step back in for Sunday’s game in New York, against the Islanders.

More opportunity knocks for Adam Engstrom, who played 17:21 Saturday and is at least accustomed to playing the right side as a lefty. And some opportunity should be in the offing, too, for David Reinbacher.

While the Canadiens haven’t confirmed he’s been recalled yet, he’s the most qualified right-hander to join them from the AHL’s Laval Rocket. And while they were hoping to let the fifth overall pick in the 2023 Draft the chance to continue developing, after two major injuries stalled his career, it wouldn’t hurt to see just how ready he is to play at this level.

No one expects Reinbacher, or anyone else, to replace Dobson.

He topped out at 70 points in a season with the Islanders and had built up a great profile as an offensive weapon before being traded to Montreal last summer, where he immediately signed an eight-year, $76 million contract and started proving he’s much more than just that.

“He plays big minutes, great on breakout, transition, o-zone,” said St. Louis. “He can do it all. I was surprised that he leads the league in blocked shots, so that’s another thing. He brings a lot.”

Dobson has brought it consistently, too, while averaging three times less ice-time on the power-play time and three times more ice-time on the penalty kill than he ever got in New York. He’s played close to 23 minutes a game, usually against the opposition’s best players, and he’s posted 12 goals, 47 points, and a plus-five rating.

Game 80 of Dobson’s season was meant to be his long-anticipated return to Long Island. Unfortunately, he won’t play it.

Even more unfortunately, Dobson could be sidelined for Game 83.

Not the kind of player you want to lose.

“We’re worried about him for sure,” Hutson said. “Such a big part of our team, so hopefully nothing crazy.”

“Hold my beer,” the Toronto Maple Leafs replied. 

Then they out-tanked the champs with their weak performance.

Present the Leafs with a must-win at home in April, and you might get nervous about what happens next.

But a must-lose?

Turns out, they got you covered.

In this bizarro world that Leafs Nation has accidentally stumbled into this spring, Marlies are Leafs, tickets sell for less than face, injuries are relief.

And L’s are W’s.

So, no one inside or outside of the Maple Leafs organization can even feign frustration after a 6-2 Saturday night defeat at home to the rival organization that drove a dramatic stake through their heart a year ago.

“All these games are weird when you’re out of the playoffs,” said William Nylander, who pulled on a shirt for his post-game interview. “We’ve been, you know, competing good. But tonight I think they were competing better than us.” 

The they Nylander speaks of included such unfamiliar Panthers as Marek Alscher, Donovan Sebrango, Wilmer Skoog, Cole Schwidt, and Cole Reinhardt — who scored after driving the net like Sam Reinhart (no relation).

Yep, before most Toronto fans left early to beat traffic on Dress-Like-a-Seat Night, it was Bring-Your-Kids-to-Work Day at the ol’ Scotiabank Arena.

Fifth-liner Tomas Nosek woke up Saturday morning with zero goals on the season; he fell asleep with two.

What do you expect when these two former Atlantic Division powers are only showing up because forfeiting isn’t an option?

“I don’t know,” Leafs coach Craig Berube said at morning skate. “That’s a good question. I don’t know if it’s a good question or how to answer it, to be honest with you. 

“I always tell our guys it’s a privilege to play in the NHL, and you take every game as seriously as you can. I get it, where the situation is for both teams. But, in the end, personally, from my standpoint, we owe it to our teammates, to the organization, to the fans: You go out and play the game properly.”

The Florida Panthers/Charlotte Checkers certainly did. What felt less than proper, however, was the pre-season-inspired lineup the franchise dressed. 

When you factor that backup goalie Daniil Tarasov started in favour of Sergei Bobrovsky, the two-time champions had roughly $85 million worth of talent not participating.

The Leafs, meanwhile, dressed all their healthy NHLers and started their most accomplished goalie.

Florida’s highest-paid forward, Eetu Luostarinen ($3 million), opened the scoring on the first shot directed at Joseph Woll. And by the time Reinhardt doubled the score, the great tank-off was barely five-and-a-half minutes old.

Berube threw a dart, challenging for goalie interference, and missed, putting his team on the penalty kill. Another 50/50 battle lost.

And while Nylander — the most talented man in the game by 88 miles — nearly stole two points himself with a two-goal, five-shot effort, Florida’s depth outworked and outshot (25-19) the home team for a victory that, ultimately, doesn’t do the Panthers much good.

Or the top-10-pick-hunting Boston Bruins, who punched their ticket to the playoffs.

Yes, it was a fine evening for Team Tank, crossing its fingers for a bottom-five finish and no lottery hoppers.

The Panthers, Blues, and Kraken all gathered two points Saturday. 

The Maple Leafs gathered none. All week. 

In the reverse standings, the Leafs are in fifth place with just two games to blow.

Their odds to win 2026’s first-overall draft choice have improved to 8.5 per cent. And if the Rangers and/or Flames win out, Toronto can “improve” to fourth- or third-worst overall with regulation losses to Dallas Monday and Ottawa Wednesday.

Feels kinda gross, but Leafs fans should be cheering for more losses the deeper we get into April.

Everything’s upside-down.

“Nothing’s permanent in this league,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said. “You can win a Stanley Cup and miss the playoffs by 100 miles. We’re going to prove that this year, and then we’re going to try to win next year.”

Then Maurice considered the state of the opposition and the pressures of Toronto.

“It could be a great thing,” he said. “Like, if you’re going to hit a home run, this is a good place to hit a home run. There’s good and bad in every market. Winning usually changes all of it.”

For these Maple Leafs, a little more losing might just help with that winning.

Fox’s Fast Five

• At morning skate, onetime Maple Leafs coach Maurice used the great Mats Sundin as a prime example of how to navigate the scrutiny in Toronto.

“He was always up front, always front and centre,” Maurice said. “He would tell the truth — but was smart enough that there doesn’t always need to be a lot of details with that truth. You know, ‘We weren’t very good tonight, but we’ll try and be better the next night.’ He was really honest, but he had a presence about him. It’s not an easy thing to do.”

• After four seasons and 224 games with the Marlies and multiple callups, prospect William Villeneuve finally made his NHL debut.

“I didn’t sleep a whole lot last night, to be honest,” the 24-year-old defenceman said. “Everyone has his own path, his own timeline. If I look at myself back four years ago, it’s a different player, different person, so (I’m) confident in my game and I worked a long way for that.”

The Sherbrooke, Que., native’s first call when he found out he’d made the show was to his parents, who were in the building for this one.

“I did see them in the stands, and I’m gonna go see them after (this). I’m just pretty sure it’s gonna be an emotional moment,” said Villeneuve, after skating a healthy 18:45.

“I’ll remember that day for the rest of my life.” 

• Dakota Joshua (upper body), Brandon Carlo (lower body), and Anthony Stolarz (lower body) are all done for the season due to injuries suffered in Wednesday’s loss to the Capitals.

Stolarz’s latest ailment is serious enough that it could impact his off-season training, but none of the players require surgery, according to Berube.

That the injury-prone Stolarz, 32, has a big raise, 16-team trade protection, and four years of team commitment kicking in for 2026-27 should be concerning.

• John Tavares has been full value this season as Toronto’s worthy nominee for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, awarded to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and who has made a significant humanitarian contribution to his community.

“My experience going in and around the city is just how supportive people are, no matter the circumstances,” a grateful Tavares says. “Whether it’s over the last couple weeks and the support people share. Or after last year, after Game 7, the support was there.

“Throughout my time as a Leaf, the excitement people have for this team and the passion for this team is unwavering. The support we get is incredible. There can be a lot of noise at times, but it just speaks to what this means to so many people and how deep-rooted it is around the city.”

• Most surprising team of 2025-26 in Berube’s eyes? The San Jose Sharks.

“That just shows you how good that kid is. A helluva player,” Berube says of Macklin Celebrini. “They added some veteran pieces to their lineup this year, and some kids are all getting better for them. But they put themselves in a pretty good spot this year.”

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The Hockey Night in Canada nightcap, the warmup act to Scott Oake’s final show on After Hours, was terrific entertainment and the win, oddly enough, seemed to mean nearly as much to the Canucks as losing a point did to the Sharks.

The Canucks have 23 wins and 54 points, the Sharks 37 wins and 82 points. But neither team is going to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Although not mathematically eliminated, the desperate Sharks needed both points from the last-overall Canucks to maintain any hope of catching the Los Angeles Kings for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

With three games remaining, the Sharks trail their Golden State rivals by five points. And the two teams between them in the standings, Nashville and Winnipeg, hold the tie-breaker over San Jose.

So the Sharks, for all of their speed and blossoming skill and generational star Macklin Celebrini’s teenage greatness, are extremely likely to miss the post-season for the seventh straight year.

The duration of the Sharks’ rebuild, frequently trumpeted as a template to follow, is a sobering reminder about what may be in store for the rebuilding Canucks.

But nobody on the team would have been thinking about that on Saturday night when the team, with 10 regulation losses in its previous 11 games, tied it 3-3 on Teddy Blueger’s power-play goal with three minutes remaining in the third period, then won it on Linus Karlsson’s bar-down shot in the sixth round of the shootout.

Canucks goalie Kevin Lankinen, already the most successful in NHL history among goalies who have faced at least 50 shootout attempts, stuffed five of six San Jose shooters. Celebrini’s goal (like, who else would score for San Jose?) in Round 2 of the tie-breaker is the only shot that has beaten Lankinen in 23 attempts this season. Yes, Lankinen has denied 22 of 23 shooters (95.7 per cent). IN THE NHL!

Karlsson, a rookie, was mobbed on the ice by teammates after his first shootout goal. Blueger celebrated his tying goal — a shot past Yaroslav Askarov’s glove after the Canuck gathered the loose puck from Karlsson’s charge to the net — like it was a playoff winner. 

It may be the closest thing the Canucks get to a playoff game, although their final three contests may all have significant playoff implications in the Pacific Division: Sunday in Anaheim against the Ducks, Tuesday at home against the Kings and Thursday on the road against the Edmonton Oilers.

The Canucks rallied three times against the Sharks, getting a two-for-four performance from their power play and tying goals from Marco Rossi and Jake DeBrusk before Blueger.

Vancouver also killed a four-on-three San Jose power play in overtime to get to the shootout. The Canucks outshot the Sharks 28-18 in the final two periods of regulation time, so they certainly didn’t “steal” this one.

THE MIGHTY OAKE

For an organization that has a habit of impaling itself, the Canucks showed a lot of class Saturday morning by inviting Scott Oake into their dressing room and presenting the retiring HNIC reporter-host a jersey and silver puck engraved with Oake’s achievements and the names of family members.

“Growing up in Canada, watching Hockey Night in Canada … in our living room was special to me,” Canucks coach Adam Foote told reporters in San Jose. “And then one day getting a chance to be interviewed by him was a very big moment for myself and my family. He’s been a class act, very professional. What a career he had. It was nice to see him speak to our players today, and Brock Boeser presented him with a gift. It was nice, it was a good moment. It will be hard to see him not there anymore (on TV), but I’m happy for him.”

Scott Oake’s son, Bruce, died of an accidental drug overdose in 2011. And Oake’s wife, Annie, lost a battle with cancer 10 years later. But not before she and Scott founded the Bruce Oake Recovery Center in Winnipeg to help fight the addiction that took their son. Bruce had been evicted from a treatment centre in Calgary a week before his death.

Hockey Night in Canada has always felt like it belongs to us. But After Hours, which was curated for viewers, belonged to Oake. It allowed players to be known as people, which is what Scott intended, I think, and capped Saturday nights on CBC for more than a generation. 

I was honoured to be invited by Scott to co-host three times — and I still don’t care how many people he asked before he made it to me. These appearances are among my most treasured moments in a career in media, which transitioned from The Vancouver Sun to Sportsnet in 2017, partly because Scott, who barely knew me, lobbied on my behalf. 

So I am biased. Oake is brilliant at what he does — what he has done for hockey viewers. But truly, 50 years from now, what people will know him for is helping save lives through the treatment centre named after his son. That’s a legacy that will trump nearly everyone’s in hockey.

BACK TO THE GAME...

DeBrusk’s rebound goal from Filip Hronek’s point shot on Vancouver’s first power play was the winger’s 20^th of the season. And that means something.

“I mean, it’s a milestone,” DeBrusk told Sportsnet before the Canucks departed for California. “But at the beginning of the season, my goal wasn’t to hit 20 goals. I was aiming for more. I was close to 30 last year (a career-high 28), and I wanted to improve. Obviously, with everything that’s happened … this has been the hardest year of my career to get there. 

“I’ve had one or two seasons where I was right there, at 18 or 19, which pisses me off seeing that. I don’t want to be sitting there (with 19) at the end of the year, even a year like this where, you know, everything’s pretty much not gone right. It’s not easy to score in this league, so if you went away with 20 after everything that’s happened, I’m not going to say I’m happy about it, but it’s something.”

Yes, it is.

DeBrusk tied the shootout with his familiar flip shot under the bar after Celebrini put the Sharks ahead in Round 2.

PLAYING WITH HART

Celebrini finished with two assists, giving him 14 points in seven games against his hometown Canucks, and his astounding season at age 19 is Hart Trophy-worthy. With 42 goals and 110 points, he has almost doubled his nearest teammate, Will Smith, who has 23 goals and 56 points. Literally, no one has been more valuable to his team this season than Celebrini. 

But he is probably not leading the Sharks to the playoffs and, rightly or wrongly, that has always been a major vote-reducer in Hart Trophy balloting. Celebrini is already one of the top 10 players in the world, possibly top five. He deserves to be a Hart finalist this season, regardless of how the Sharks finish. But we wonder if enough voting members of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association will put him ahead of Nikita Kucherov, Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid if San Jose doesn’t get in.

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Canucks Takeaways: Stronger effort still results in loss to Kings

The Edmonton Oilers didn’t play their best game of the season Saturday in Los Angeles, but they’ve darned sure played worse and won games this season. Regardless, the Kings scored 7:34 into the game and defended their way to the finish line in a 1-0 win.

It was vintage Kings hockey: as low event as they could keep it; get an early lead and counter-punch the rest of the way. It’s the style of game that has made the Kings successful in recent regular seasons, but the style that Edmonton consistently finds a way to overcome when the chips are down in a playoff series.

“I thought we played hard,” said Adam Henrique, who had a team-high four shots on net. “It was a solid game throughout — top to bottom. Everybody was in there, contributing, getting chances… We just couldn’t find a way to get one.”

A Kings team that’s in a desperate fight for the final playoff berth out West did what they do best, and no one has had a front row seat to Kings hockey at important times of the year than these Oilers. They’ve proven to have the secret sauce, dispatching the Kings in the opening round of the playoffs for four consecutive springs, but in regular-season game No. 80 for Edmonton, they never found a way to get one over the line on goalie Anton Forsberg, who was excellent.

In Anze Kopitar’s final regular-season game at home, the same heavy defensive style that produced two Stanley Cups in Kopitar’s heyday eked out one more win for the great Slovenian, who addressed the home crowd post-game.

“From the bottom of my heart. This has been my home for 20 years. Thank you for being here for us,” the Kings captain said, his voice cracking.

“I don’t really remember the last time we had a three-game winning streak,” he told the media after the game. “More importantly, the belief in this locker room has spiked, which is a very good thing.”

The final scrum of the game had not even ended when Connor McDavid — perhaps playing his last-ever game against Kopitar — was patting him on the shoulder and voicing his respects. The two had an epic faceoff battle late in the game, with McDavid winning a couple, then Kopitar digging in and winning the next two key defensive draws against Edmonton’s captain, with goalie Connor Ingram on the bench.

When it was done, the Kings put themselves into an excellent position to hold on to a wild-card spot, or perhaps even jump into the top three in the Pacific. L.A. has three games left, all on the road at Seattle, Vancouver and Calgary — six possible points that could very well leave them matched up with Edmonton for the fifth straight season, should the hockey gods see fit.

The Oilers needed a single point to clinch a playoff spot, and failed on that count Saturday. But they’re playing excellent hockey, both defensively and offensively, and did so Saturday minus injured forwards Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman and Jason Dickinson.

The Oilers scored 10 goals in the opening two games of this 1-1-1 road trip, and allowed just three goals and 35 shots on goal over their last 120 minutes of hockey. They gave up just 21 Kings shots, but on a night where the Oilers were missing their top two goal scorers and third-line centre, they just couldn’t muster any offence.

“It’s just that next game. We go home, we prepare,” said Henrique, whose Oilers close out the season with home games against Colorado and Vancouver. “We’ve got two (games) left. Got to find a way to put both those in the bank.

“An effort like that throughout is needed, and we’ll find a way to score. I thought it was a solid effort everywhere.”

If you’re searching for positives, with the playoffs on the horizon, coming into the building of a team that absolutely had to have this game and limiting them to 21 shots on goal bodes well. Play this game with Draisaitl and Hyman in your lineup, and at worst, it gets into overtime.

“We did a lot of good things,” said head coach Kris Knoblauch. “We did make some mistakes, and (Connor) Ingram played really well. I thought we had enough scoring chances to certainly get more than one goal tonight. Their goalie played well, and we missed some really good opportunities.”

Having Ingram between the pipes was a sigh of relief for Oilers fans after he left Wednesday’s game in San Jose with an apparent injury. He made a couple of circus stops near the end of Period 2 to hold his team in the game, and was beaten only on an Artemi Panarin breakaway that came off an Evan Bouchard giveaway at the offensive blue line.

Another Oiler went down; however, when Max Jones left the game after an early body check he threw at a King. He did not return, and Knoblauch had no update post-game.

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All wore different jerseys representing the various stops Abram Wiebe has made en route to living out his NHL dream on Saturday night in Seattle, a short drive from his hometown of Mission, B.C.

It’s the sort of scene Flames fans ought to be getting used to by now.

In a season full of rookie debuts and increased opportunity for youngsters, the spotlight turned to the team’s latest college signing, just 48 hours after his dreams of a national college championship were dashed.

“It’s been pretty crazy, going down to Vegas for the Frozen Four, getting upset by Wisconsin (Thursday) and then having to flip the page to sign my first contract and play my first NHL game,” Wiebe told Sportsnet 960 The Fan’s Derek Wills following a 4-1 loss to the Kraken.

“It’s been an absolute whirlwind and I’m just very grateful for the opportunity.”

Playing alongside Zayne Parekh on a third pairing that saw him log 11 minutes of ice time, the seventh-round selection of the Golden Knights, who was acquired in the Rasmus Andersson trade, finished the night admitting the jump from college to the bigs was a handful.

“Just the size and the speed of the game is just so much faster,” said the six-foot-three, 210-pound lefty who had a few early giveaways and took a penalty.

“It’s something I’ll have to get used to game-by-game.”

He’ll likely get another game or two to do so, as the Flames wrap up their season with three more at home.

“When you see guys like that, you always go back to your first game and what those emotions are,” said Zach Whitecloud.

“You’re always excited for a guy like that. I thought he settled in after the first ten minutes and did a really good job for us.”

Coach Ryan Huska, whose undermanned squad was clearly out of steam at the end of a two-week road trip, knew the 22-year-old would be in tough, as he had joined the team a day earlier.

“I thought he did fine,” said Huska, whose club opened the scoring with a nice snipe from Hunter Brzustewicz.  

“That’s a tough one for him after travel, just finishing off with his team, coming in and not being around our group until this morning and I think he handled himself just fine.”

Revamped D

Who could have predicted at the beginning of the season that in Game 79, the Flames’ blue line would include just two defencemen who played for them last year?

Other than Parekh and Brzustewicz — who both played one game for the Flames last year — the rest of the backenders all played elsewhere last season, including Whitecloud, Olli Maatta and Wiebe, who were all acquired late this season.

Kuznetsov spent all last season in the minors. 

Mainstays Kevin Bahl and Joel Hanley are both injured.

Draft lottery talk

Saturday’s loss was a big win for the organization, as a victory over Seattle would have given the Flames a fighting chance to surpass the Kraken in the standings.

Instead, the Kraken are now six points up, which makes them hard to catch, as the Flames have just three games left.

Vancouver has clinched 32^nd in the standings and Chicago is 31^st with 70 points and two games left. The Flames are at 73 points and could break some hearts if they catch the Rangers (75 points, with two games left), or the Leafs (78, with two games left).

Next up for the Flames is a visit from Utah on Sunday, followed by home games against first-place Colorado and a desperate Los Angeles club, which might very well require a win on the last night of the season to get into the playoffs.

The Lines

Sharangovich-Backlund-Coronato
Farabee-Frost-Gridin
Coleman-Strome-Suniev
Zary-Gross-Pospisil 

Kuznetsov-Whitecloud
Maatta-Brzustewicz
Wiebe-Parekh

Cooley 
Wolf

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The Tempo have signed the veteran forward to a one-year deal, the team announced on Sunday. She has signed for $400,000, per Madeline Kenney of the New York Post.

“Isabelle brings toughness, experience, and versatility to our frontcourt,” general manager Wright Rogers said in a press release. “She’s a proven professional who understands her role, competes on every possession, and provides valuable depth and leadership as we continue to shape our roster.”

The 12th overall pick in 2015 was a solid depth piece for the Liberty last season and has experience playing under the Tempo’s new head coach while in New York. Over her career, the 32-year-old has averaged 7.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game. She had her most productive seasons from 2019-22 while playing for the Wings.

“I’m happy to be part of something new and I’m ready to get the season started,” said Harrison.

With the addition of Harrison, the Tempo now have 13 players signed to contracts for the upcoming season.

Jackson was the No. 4 pick in the 2024 WNBA draft and averaged 14.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists last season.

“It’s thrilling to acquire one of the great young talents in this league in Jackson,” Sky general manager Jeff Pagliocca said. “Rickea is only going to continue to ascend, and the organization is excited to witness that growth firsthand.”

It was a difficult offseason for Jackson when her ex-boyfriend, Atlanta Falcons player James Pearce, was arrested and charged in a domestic dispute incident in February.

The Sky had given Atkins the franchise tag earlier this week. Chicago originally acquired her last February and she averaged 13.1 points in 34 games last season.

“Ariel is a proven winner and one of the most respected two-way guards in this league,” Sparks GM Raegan Pebley said. “She’s a champion, an elite defender and someone who understands what it takes to win in big moments. Her professionalism, competitiveness and versatility make her a perfect fit for our franchise and a key piece in our pursuit of a championship.”

It’s been a busy week for the Sky. The team signed Skylar Diggins on Saturday, the first day a team could officially add free agents. Chicago also brought back forward Azura Stevens, who helped the franchise win a title in 2021.

The Sky re-signed center Elizabeth Williams, who has been with the team since 2023. She averaged 8.5 points and 5.2 rebounds last season, appearing in 43 games with 15 starts.

Chicago also re-signed guard Courtney Vandersloot to a multiyear deal, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal hasn’t been announced. Vandersloot tore her ACL last year in June.

Chicago traded Angel Reese on Monday to Atlanta, moving on from the talented young star.

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Plum has reportedly re-signed with the Sparks on a one-year $999,999 deal, per ESPN’s Shams Charania. The four-time all-star and two-time WNBA champion was eligible to sign the $1.4 million supermax contract but opted to sign below that rate to free up cap space for the Sparks as they look to build a roster that could contend this season.

Plum joined the Sparks through a blockbuster three-team deal during free agency last off-season. Before the move, she had spent six of her first seven seasons in Las Vegas and captured two championships with the Aces.

The Sparks have had an active free agency period so far as they locked up one of the biggest names on the market, 10-time all-star Nneka Ogwumike, and brought back another key piece in three-time all-star Dearica Hamby.

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How Tempo will attack franchise’s first-ever WNBA entry draft

Centre Alanna Smith has agreed to a three-year max contract with the Dallas Wings, ESPN’s Alexa Philippou reported Saturday.

Smith, 29, enjoyed a breakout campaign in her second year with the Minnesota Lynx last year, averaging 9.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists while tallying 1.3 steals and 1.9 blocks per game.

Those efforts on the defensive end helped her earn her first Defensive Player of the Year award, co-winning the trophy with MVP A’ja Wilson after voters were split.

A native of Tasmania, Australia, Smith was drafted eighth overall by the Phoenix Mercury in 2019 and spent the first three years of her career there. She then spent one year with the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky before finally landing in Minnesota, where she helped the side to the WNBA Finals in 2024.

Smith will now join the tandem of Bueckers and Arike Ogunbowale, who re-signed with the Wings on a multi-year, seven-figure contract. Because Ogunbowale returned to the team on a figure below the $1.4 million supermax — of which she was eligible for — the team was able to find extra cap space to bring in Smith.

Though the Wings struggled to a league-worst 10-34 record last season, they managed to net the first-overall pick in Monday’s WNBA Draft to select a long-term pairing for Bueckers, Ogunbowale and now Smith.

The Tempo have offered Austin a three-year offer sheet with a max contract value worth $1.19 million base value, The Athletic’s Sabreena Merchant reported on Saturday. The Mystics will have two days to decide to match the contract before the deal can become official with Toronto.

On Tuesday, the Mystics sent her a restricted qualifying offer. Austin became a restricted free agent after completing her four-year rookie deal last season.

Austin was the third pick in the 2022 draft and has only ever played for the Mystics. The 25-year-old forward averaged 12.7 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game last season. She struggled through injuries in both 2023 and 2024, only making 31 appearances across both years, but bounced back to play 38 games in 2025.

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After leading the Phoenix Mercury to the 2025 WNBA Finals, Sabally is leaving for the New York Liberty on a multi-year deal, per Alexa Philippou of ESPN.

The 27-year-old was named to the All-WNBA First Team and received the Most Improved Player award in 2023. In 2020 she was named to the All-Rookie Team.

Sabally was drafted second overall in 2020 by the Wings and spent her first five years in Dallas before playing the 2025 season in Phoenix.

The star forward averaged 16.3 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.3 steals last season. During the playoffs, she upped her production to 19.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.

Sabally joins a strong Liberty roster with Sabrina Ionescu, who was cored by the team, and Breanna Stewart who has expressed an intention to remain in New York. Jonquel Jones has also re-signed with the club. Ionescu and Sabally will reunite for the first time since their college days when they played together for Oregon.

Looking to the rest of free agency and the draft, it is clear the Liberty have some big contracts they have to work around to fit within the cap.

With so much talent at the top and the possibility that Toronto could get lucky at sixth, there are many questions ahead of Monday’s draft.

Does Dallas want to take a risk and lock down a vibrant young international talent who may not join the W this year? Will Azzi Fudd drop all the way to fourth … or lower? Was Lauren Betts’ showing during March Madness enough to boost her to the top? After some impressive free agent signings this week, do the Tempo need to focus on this year’s roster or on stashing for the future?

Here’s a look at these questions (and more) ahead of the Tempo’s first-ever draft on Monday.

Who will go No. 1?

The Dallas Wings have a slew of options to consider with the No. 1 pick this year.

Awa Fam, a breakout young star from Spain, is projected by many to go first overall. The 19-year-old centre brings a strong physical presence and raw athleticism that will continue to develop over the next few years. It is unlikely Fam would immediately jump into a key starting role this season, but she’s a top option for an already young Wings team building for the future.

Betts shot up the ranks after an impressive March run that finished with her leading UCLA to a National Championship. At 6-foot-7, Betts is a unique centre talent who is just as comfortable taking control of the paint as she is hitting a midrange jumper. She was named Most Outstanding Player of the women’s NCAA tournament after averaging 21.0 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.8 blocks.

Olivia Miles is an elite passer who can take control of the floor and lead a team out of trouble. In March, she nearly averaged a triple-double with 17.0 points, 9.0 assists, and 9.8 rebounds per game. The 23-year-old was eligible to enter the draft last season but chose to forgo the pros and entered the transfer portal instead. A year ago, she was already a projected top pick and that remains true this year as well. Her leadership and court vision are unparalleled in the 2026 draft class.

Azzi Fudd is one of the best shooters coming out of the NCAA. She shot 44.7 per cent from deep last season and led the nation with 117 three-pointers made. Fudd led UConn to the national championship title in 2025 and earned Most Outstanding Player honours. This year was a bit of a different story, however, as she struggled to make shots during the end of the 2026 tournament. Yet if the Wings are willing to look beyond that, they might jump at the chance to reunite Bueckers with her former UConn teammate.

Tempo targets at sixth

It’s obvious that the Tempo aren’t planning to put off winning.

After signing Marina Mabrey and Brittney Sykes and making a trade with the Sky to bring in another pick for Monday, it’s clear Canada’s team is ready to be competitive.

The coin-flip win over Portland secured Toronto the sixth pick, and after giving up the chance to select Canada’s Bridget Carleton at the expansion draft, they’re going to have to use it wisely.

Flau’jae Johnson is a proven winner with excellent shot-making ability and a strong defensive presence that appears to match the identity the Tempo have started building. The 22-year-old was a freshman starter in 2023 when LSU won the National Championship, and her role on that team only blossomed from there. She’s a strong guard who can turn a good shot into a great one when using her athleticism to get better positioning.

Gabriela Jaquez is a hustler. She can adapt to multiple positions, will out-rebound even those who tower over her, and can graduate from being a role player to a top contributor when the moment warrants it. With 21 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in UCLA’s national title game, she knows how to impact a game when it’s needed most. She’d be a key factor as the Tempo look to establish their culture and is the type of gritty player an expansion team needs.

Toronto to the moon

An expansion team — or any team for that matter — can’t build a perfect roster in one off-season. It’s going to take some future planning for the Tempo to create a team that launches the franchise to the top heights of the league.

With four picks in the 2026 draft, Toronto is in a good spot to split its picks between players who can impact now and ones who will have their moment in the future. As of this writing, the Tempo have just four training camp spots remaining and 11 players already on contract. If they take four players who are ready to go now, there will be no space left for additional free-agency moves (or even to make an official deal with Shakira Austin, who has already signed an offer sheet). Considering who is already set to make their debut on Canada’s team, it is extremely likely the Tempo will select at least two players who won’t see a WNBA floor this year with two of their second- and third-round picks.

Good stash options for the Tempo would be forward Nell Angloma from France or forward Annika Soltau from Germany. Both athletes have a wealth of international experience and would add important size to a Tempo team flush with smaller talent.

Sleeping giants

UCLA stars are pulling all the attention, understandably. That’s how it goes every year for the National Champions. It’s unlikely the Valkyries would have taken a chance on Kaitlyn Chen last draft had she not been cutting down the net at the end of March.

Even so, if you squint beyond the glitz, you’ll see a few sleeping giants that could fall to lower spots and become big bargains for teams who can spot the potential.

Spain’s Iyana Martín is a perfect example of a sleeper pick. The young guard has had less airtime in North America but is coming into her own in the EuroCup league and showing all the signs of a promising WNBA point guard. With a 12.5 points-per-game average and plenty of athleticism and size, she could be a risky first-round option for a team looking for long-term payoff or an early second-round steal.

Canada’s Cassandre Prosper is another good sleeper option, especially for the Tempo. It became clear after the expansion draft that Toronto is already under fan pressure to bring in a Canadian player. And although Prosper (a Montreal native) fits the bill, her heritage is not the only thing that makes her an enticing option for the Tempo. Prosper played all four of her college seasons at Notre Dame before jumping off the stat sheet in her senior year and being named the Most Improved Player in the ACC. She averaged 13.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.1 blocks over 33.2 minutes per game as she helped her team to an Elite Eight appearance.

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April 12

DiJonai Carrington signs one-year deal with Sky

The 2024 Most Improved Player and all-defensive selection has signed with the Sky on a one-year deal after leaving the Lynx in free agency, per ESPN’s Alexa Philippou. DiJonai Carrington was traded from the Wings to the Lynx at the 2025 trade deadline to help bolster Minnesota’s playoff run.

Nia Coffey signs two-year deal with Lynx

The Lynx are bringing in veteran Nia Coffey on a two-year deal that is greater than the veteran minimum, per Kendra Andrews of ESPN. The former free agent spent last season with the Dream where she was a solid contributor off the bench, playing around 10 minutes per game.

Two-time all-star Natasha Howard leaves Fever for Lynx

After starting in all 44 of the Fever’s games last season, two-time all-star Natasha Howard is signing a two-year, $1.4 million deal with the Lynx, per Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.

Lynx bring back five-time all-star Kayla McBride

Kayla McBride has signed a two-year lower max salary deal with the Lynx, per ESPN. The 33-year-old returns to the team she’s found success with for the last five seasons.

All-star Ezi Magbegor has re-signed with the Storm

Forward Ezi Magbegor has re-signed with the Seattle Storm. The 26-year-old is a 2023 all-star and four-time all defensive team selection.

Valkyries re-sign three stars from their first season

The Valkyries are keeping three key players from their first-ever season in Golden State. Illiana Rupert and Janelle Salaun have each been signed to multi-year deals while Cecilia Zandalasini has agreed to a one-year contract.

Valkyries activate Justė Jocytė’s rookie-scale deal

The Golden State Valkyries have activated a contract for their first-ever entry draft selection. Justė Jocytė will play for the Bay Area on a rookie-scale deal.

Courteny Vandersloot re-signs with Sky

The Sky have re-signed Courtney Vandersloot to a multi-year deal. The Star veteran had her season cut short in 2025 after she suffered an ACL injury.

Courtney Williams re-signs with Lynx

Courtney Williams will be staying in Minnesota after agreeing to a two-year max contract worth $2.4 million.

Valkyries sign all-star Gabby Williams to multi-year deal

All-star guard Gabby Williams has reportedly agreed to a multi-year deal with the Golden State Valkyries, per ESPN’s Andraya Carter on Sunday.

Williams, 29, joins Golden State on the heels of her most active WNBA season. Last year’s steals champ made 44 starts with the Seattle Storm, averaging 11.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.2 assists and league-best 2.3 steals.

Tempo sign former Liberty depth piece Isabelle Harrison

The Tempo have signed veteran forward Isabelle Harrison to a one-year deal. Harrison will be reunited with Tempo head coach Sandy Brondello whom she played for while with the Liberty last season.

Kelsey Plum is all in with the Los Angeles Sparks.

Kelsey Plum has reportedly re-signed with the Sparks on a one-year $999,999 deal, per ESPN’s Shams Charania. The four-time all-star and two-time WNBA champion was eligible to sign the $1.4 million supermax contract but opted to sign below that rate to free up cap space for the Sparks as they look to build a roster that could contend this season.
Read more.

Sophie Cunningham re-signs with Fever on one-year deal

Sophie Cunningham will be sticking around with the Indiana Fever on a one-year deal. Her 2025 season was cut short due to injury but she still finished fourth on the team in scoring after only playing in 30 games.

April 11

Aces re-sign forward Parker-Tyus

Despite not getting much of a run in 2025 due to the birth of her child, Cheyenne Parker-Tyus is running it back with the Las Vegas Aces on a one-year deal. She missed the start of the year but returned just before the playoffs and appeared in six post-season games on the Aces’ run to their third WNBA title.

Wings bring in DPOY Alanna Smith

The Dallas Wings officially have their defensive anchor after signing centre Alanna Smith to a three-year max contract, pairing the defensive player of the year with reigning rookie of the year Paige Bueckers and the returning Arike Ogunbowale.
Read more.

Stefanie Dolson signs with Storm
After losing Nneka Ogwumike to the Los Angeles Sparks, the Seattle Storm are bolstering their front court, signing six-foot-five centre Stefanie Dolson. A WNBA veteran, Dolson was an all-star in 2015 and 2017, and spent the last two seasons with the Washington mystics.

Kennedy Burke heads to the Sun

The Connecticut Sun are bringing some championship experience into their locker room with Kennedy Burke, who won the 2024 title with the New York Liberty and has spent the past two seasons as a solid bench wing in the Big Apple.

Rachel Banham re-signs with the Sky

Amid a week of upheaval, the Sky are bringing back one of their top guards from last season. Rachel Banham is re-signing in Chicago after averaging nine points, 1.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists while shooting 35.7 per cent from deep in her first full season with the team.

Fever sign Tyasha Harris

The Indiana Fever keep adding around Caitlin Clark and Co., bringing in guard Tyasha Harris, who missed most of the 2025 season with the Dallas Wings following left knee surgery. In her last full season with the Connecticut Sun in 2024, she averaged 10.5 points, 1.8 rebounds and three assists while shooting 39.5 per cent from three.

Valkyries re-sign Veronica Burton to multi-year deal

Veronica Burton will be sticking around in Golden State. The 25-year-old guard had a breakout season in 2025 and earned the Most Improved Player award. She will be a key piece as the Valkyries continue to build in their second season.

Fire sign Canadian Bridget Carleton

The Fire have secured the first pick in the expansion draft, forward Bridget Carleton. The 28-year-old signs a three-year max contract with the expansion team. Carleton comes with seven years of WNBA experience and most recently played with the Lynx, where she made 24 starts and averaged 9.6 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.

Storm re-sign rookie Mackenzie Holmes

Mackenzie Holmes was drafted by the Storm in 2024 and appeared in 10 regular-season games and one playoff contest in 2025 during her first year in the league.

Fire reach deal with veteran guard Karlie Samuelson

Karlie Samuelson has agreed to a veteran deal with the Portland fire. The shooting guard played last season with the Lynx, but boasts eight years in the league and really began to find her role in the W in 2024 when she played for the Mystics.

2022 Rookie of the Year Rhyne Howard has re-signed with the Dream

The Atlanta Dream are stocking up during this free agency and bringing back some key pieces. Rhyne Howard has re-signed in Atlanta to stick around with the team that drafted her first overall back in 2022. Since then, the 25-year-old has been a key element of the Dream rebuild as she averaged 17.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists last year.

Satou Sabally is moving to New York

After leading the Phoenix Mercury to the 2025 WNBA Finals, Sabally is leaving for the New York Liberty on a multi-year deal, per Alexa Philippou of ESPN.

The 27-year-old was named to the All-WNBA First Team and received the Most Improved Player award in 2023. In 2020, she was named to the All-Rookie Team.
Read more.

Sky sign seven-time all-star Skylar Diggins

Skylar Diggins is leaving the Storm after two years to sign a two-year deal with the Sky. Veteran guard averaged 15.5 points and 6.0 assists in her 11th season in the W.

Liberty finalize multi-year deal with Jonquel Jones

Jonquel Jones will be sticking around in New York. Madeline Kenney from the Post reports that the 2024 Finals MVP will re-sign on a multi-year deal.

Fever sign free-agent Monique Billings

Former Golden State Valkyries forward Monique Billings is signing a deal with the Fever. Billings posted 7.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game with the expansion franchise last year. Caitlin Clark and Billings should fit well together in Indiana. The two recently showed off their budding chemistry at the FIBA Qualifiers in March.

Three-time all-star Dearica Hamby re-signs with Sparks

Dearica Hamby announced she will stay in Los Angeles with a social media video infused with pop culture references. The three-time all-star has 10 years of experience in the W and is coming off one of her best-ever seasons, where she averaged a career-high 18.4 points per game.

Sky trade 2028 first-round pick to Mystics for Jacy Sheldon

The Sky have traded their 2028 first-round pick to the Mystics in exchange for guard Jacy Sheldon. Sheldon was the fifth pick in the 2024 draft and has averaged 6.3 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists over her first two years in the league.

Lexie Hull re-signs with Fever

Although she received plenty of interest during the first few days of free agency, Lexie Hull has decided to return to Indiana on a multi-year deal.

Hull was the sixth pick in the 2022 draft and logged huge minutes for the Fever as they struggled through injury and made a deep playoff run last season.

Azura Stevens leaves Sparks after three seasons

Azura Stevens has agreed to a three-year deal to return to the Sky. She previously played in Chicago from 2020 to 2023.

The top forward is coming off a career year with the Sparks after averaging 12.8 points and 8 rebounds per game

Julie Allemand signs a multi-year deal with Tempo

Toronto has signed a multi-year deal with expansion pick Julie Allemand. The 29-year-old guard from Belgium joins the Tempo with extensive international experience and two years in the W under her belt.
Read more.

April 10

Marina Mabrey and Brittney Sykes agree to multi-year contracts with Tempo

Toronto signed both guards Marina Mabrey and Brittney Sykes to multi-year deals with its first-ever free agency moves.

The Tempo gave Mabrey their core designation, which allowed the team exclusive negotiation rights. She signed a two-year, $2.4 million deal. Sykes, meanwhile, is the team’s first true free-agent signing, snatching her talents from the Seattle Storm.
Read more.

10-time WNBA All-Star Nneka Ogwumike returns to Sparks

After spending two seasons with the Seattle Storm, Nneka Ogwumike is returning to the Los Angeles Sparks, where she played for the first 12 years of her career.

The star forward has accrued 10 All-Star bids, eight All-WNBA and seven all-defensive team selections. In 2016, she also earned MVP honours as she led the Sparks to their third championship.
Read more.

Alyssa Thomas to stay in Phoenix

After leading her team to the WNBA Finals last season, Alyssa Thomas is finalizing a deal to remain with the Mercury for 2026.

Jackie Young to return to Vegas

Two key pieces of the Aces’ championship team will be staying in Las Vegas.

Jackie Young has been with the Aces her entire career, making four all-star teams and two All-WNBA teams. She also won the 2022 Most Improved Player award.

Jewell Lloyd will also be sticking around on a three-year deal worth $2.2 million.
Read more.

Brionna Jones to return to Dream for second season

Brionna Jones will return to the Atlanta Dream for a second season on a multi-year deal. The top post player recorded 12 double-doubles last year while averaging 12.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.

She helped the Dream to a franchise-best 30 wins last season.

Naz Hillmon and Allisha Gray to sign three-year deals with Dream

The Dream are keeping Allisha Gray around after her career year in Atlanta.

The 31-year-old guard was an MVP candidate and earned All-WNBA first team honours for the first time last season. She is set to sign a three-year max-plus deal in Atlanta

Naz Hillmon is also staying with the Dream on a three-year deal.

Arike Ogunbowale returns to Wings

Arike Ogunbowale will be sticking around in Dallas on a multi-year, seven-figure deal. She was initially cored by the team and therefore eligible for a supermax $1.4 million deal, but opted to take a lesser contract to leave space for the team to build around her.

Kelsey Mitchell signs supermax contract after being cored by Fever

The Indiana Fever have signed a supermax deal with Kelsey Mitchell worth $1.4 million after coring her on April 7.

Mitchell led the Fever to an impressive playoff run last season and became a top MVP candidate for the first time in her career.
Read more.

Natasha Heideman leaves Minnesota

Natasha Heideman is headed to Seattle on a two-year deal where she is set to become a dependable depth piece for the Storm. She was a force off the bench for the Lynx and averaged just under 10 points a game for Minnesota last season.

Jessica Shepard signs multi-year deal in Dallas

The Lynx say goodbye to Jessica Shepard after five seasons. The forward joins the Wings on a multi-year deal after a standout playoff run in Minnesota last season.

All-defensive player Elizabeth Williams re-signs in Chicago

Centre Elizabeth Williams will be sticking around with the Sky on a two-year $1.2 million contract that is fully guaranteed.

Chelsea Gray is running it back with Vegas

Chelsea Gray will remain with the Aces after winning a championship there last season. She has reached a three-year, $3 million fully guaranteed deal.

Jordin Canada re-signs with Dream

The 30-year-old guard Jordin Canada will remain with the Dream on a two-year $1.2 million contract.

Brittney Griner joins the Sun

As the Sun prepare for their last season in Connecticut before moving to Houston, two-time WNBA scoring champ Brittney Griner joins for the final hurrah.

The 35-year-old WNBA legend has signed a seven-figure deal.
Read more.

Brady Tkachuk was forced to leave Saturday’s game after he appeared to take a stick up high around his eye in the second period.

Tkachuk was posted up in front of the Islanders’ bench when Ryan Pulock hopped over the boards. Pulock’s stick seemed to clip Tkachuk in the face, and the Senators captain then stumbled back to his bench.

Tkachuk attempted one more shift before walking down the tunnel. He then returned to the bench to start the third period, but managed just one quick shift before going back to the room.

After the game, head coach Travis Green only said Tkachuk “wasn’t feeling well.”

Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, there should be more information on Tkachuk’s status on Sunday.

“I think we’ll get more clarity or an update tomorrow, but the word we’re getting is that he’s still getting tested, but thankfully, it’s not expected to be anything significant,” said Friedman during the Saturday Headlines segment on Hockey Night in Canada.

The 26-year-old has been banged up this season, failing to reach at least 71 games played for just the second time in his career. In 60 games, Tkachuk posted 22 goals and 37 assists.

The Senators beat the Islanders 3-0 and officially clinched a playoff spot after the Detroit Red Wings lost to the New Jersey Devils.

The Senators close the season with games Sunday against the Devils and Wednesday against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

This year, well, it started a day early. 

With Rory McIlroy starting the day up by six shots — a record advantage through 36 holes — it was likely set to be a march to the champions’ locker room once again for the defending champion. But this is a guy who had a five-shot lead last year and then ended up in a playoff. 

McIlroy let everyone back into the championship Saturday with a 1-over 73 and sits at 11 under through three days, tied with Cameron Young. His six-shot advantage evaporated before happy hour at T-Bonz Steakhouse down Washington Rd. 

Young fired a 7-under 65, the round of the day, and after starting Saturday eight shots back — and after requiring 40 shots to get around the front nine on Thursday — Young will be right there in the final pairing with the defending champion instead of needing to stage a furious final-round comeback.

He’s also looking to become the third golfer in a row to win The Players Championship and the Masters in the same year, with McIlroy doing it in 2025 and Scottie Scheffler in 2024. It’s been a steady build for Young, who had recorded seven runner-up finishes on the PGA Tour before finally breaking through for his first career victory at the 2025 Wyndham Championship. 

After that triumph, he was the biggest star for the American side at the Ryder Cup in September. He started 2026 by recording two top-10 finishes at signature events prior to his victory at TPC Sawgrass. 

“It started with some really small things, and now I feel just much more comfortable, I would say, than before. It’s hard to say exactly what it is, but I feel like it’s just been very small things over the course of the last year or so that have just built up some steam,” Young said. “I feel very comfortable with my game.”

Young made just one bogey Saturday, on the par-5 15th, but was otherwise extremely solid. He missed just two greens and made back-to-back birdies on three separate occasions. When you’re playing that well, Young said, the key is to make things as easy as possible. 

“There’s no reason to take any unnecessary risk when, if you’re hitting it well, you’re going to have opportunities. If you hit it to 20 feet all day, you’re going to make a couple. If you’re aiming 20 feet, 25 feet all day, you’re going to hit a couple closer than you mean to,” Young explained. “I just took the opportunity to try to make sure I had those opportunities. 

“You just are constantly aware of the fact that this place can bite you. So, to me, it’s just a really, really clear mandate that an easy par is never bad, and if you’re playing that well, you’re going to back your way into some birdies at some point.”

It was not all bad for McIlroy, despite the fact that his Saturday score made him feel otherwise. 

McIlroy and Young played together for Thursday and Friday and will enter the final day with some history on their side — each of the last nine Masters winners were in the final pairing heading into Sunday. McIlroy said it would be a comfortable pairing for them both. 

McIlroy started with a bogey but got it right back with a birdie — after a huge drive to just beside the green — on the par-4 3rd. He added another birdie on No. 10 before making a mess of Amen Corner, hitting it in the water on the par-4 11th en route to a double bogey, and then missing the green on No. 12, leading to another bogey. 

He regained the lead after back-to-back birdies on Nos. 14 and 15 — with the one on 14 a lengthy one that could have signalled a turning point. But he missed the fairway, again, on No. 17 (he ranks last in the post-cut field in fairways hit) and was forced to punch out from the trees. Another bogey. 

McIlroy ended up being only one of two golfers in the top 15 on the leaderboard who were over par for their third round. 

“This golf course has a way of, you know, when you’re not quite feeling it, you struggle,” McIlroy admitted. “You know, there’s a lot of guys in with a chance tomorrow. I’m still tied for the best score going into tomorrow, so I can’t forget that, but I do know I’m going to have to be better if I want to have a chance to win.”

McIlroy headed right to the driving range to try to sort things out after his round but recalled how, last year heading into the playoff, his caddie Harry Diamond said they would have absolutely taken that particular position if they were offered it Monday morning. On the surface, co-leading the Masters after 54 holes feels very similar. 

“I have to look at the positives even though there isn’t that many to take today,” McIlroy said. “You know, I did bounce back. I hit some good shots coming in. 

“I’m in a great position. I just know I need to be better tomorrow to have a chance.”

With McIlroy having won both The Players and the Masters a year ago, Young was quick to point to his own Players Championship victory as a solid warm-up for this particular Sunday. He said at his press conference at TPC Sawgrass that he was really trying to get ready to play late on the weekend at Augusta National. Now we’re here. Late tee time in the final round of the first major of the season. 

And he’s got plenty to lean on. 

“I’ll try to run much of the same process, same mindset as I did that day. I remember I did such a great job of just staying where I was, knowing that everybody’s going to do some different things throughout the day,” Young said. “You just have to stay kind of in your lane and play the best golf you can and see where you are with a couple of holes to go.”

After a drama-filled Saturday that has let so many back into the championship, the final round can’t arrive soon enough. 

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The Saturday before the last day of the regular season is an off day, planned in advance so that all 30 teams can play on Sunday, the final day on the schedule. 

For Garrett Temple, the tradition — like many others’ — is to sink into the couch and watch The Masters, the idyllic golf tournament that always falls on the last weekend of the NBA season. 

It’s a habit that took root back in 1997 when a then 22-year-old named Tiger Woods was taking the golf world by storm and surging to a record-setting win at Augusta National, the first of 14 major titles and one of the most dominant runs by any athlete in any sport. 

Growing up in Baton Rouge, La., a then-10-year-old Temple wasn’t a golfer. He was from basketball royalty in the state and was poised to follow his father’s footsteps as a high school star and eventually play at LSU, a campus he used to ride his bike around as a kid. 

But Woods represented something different — someone young, athletic and of colour — and one afternoon of watching him on the prowl, Temple felt the excitement in his living room. 

“I hadn’t played golf at all. And my Dad, he had dabbled a little bit, as he got some opportunities as a retired (college and NBA) player, but he didn’t know how to play at all really,” said Temple. “But I said to my Dad, ‘I want to learn how to play golf’. He said okay, and we went to Walmart, and I got a set of clubs, some Wilsons. And we got some lessons the next week, one time, and I’ve been playing ever since.”

Meeting a fellow golfer is like making an instant friend, but there are levels to it. 

There are a lot of people who play golf and put it in the same category as bowling, or table tennis, or maybe skiing: something fun to do when the occasion permits and the weather is good, with not much thought given to it before or after. 

Completely fine.

Then there are those who have, for better or worse, had the game seep into their molecular structure. It exists like a low-level vibration in your being, looking for opportunities to be fully expressed. 

Temple is more the latter.  

“I just got hooked, man,” he says. 

He’s a member of two clubs in Baton Rouge: the University Club of Baton Rouge — the home course for the LSU Tigers — and the Country Club of Louisiana, established in 1896, and which is close to his off-season home. 

“So I play as much as I can.”

Which is how Temple found himself rolling up to the first tee at TPC Boston last Saturday at 3 p.m. ET on a cold, damp, blustery afternoon when most found something warmer to do indoors. 

But the NBA schedule isn’t all that golf-friendly, so Temple was undeterred. The tee-sheet was empty, the course was wide open, his work responsibilities were taken care of, so off he went, walking with a pull cart, braving the chill, as happy as his 10-year-old self was chasing daylight around Historic City Park, the 9-hole public course in his neighbourhood he grew up playing.

During the season, he only gets to play so much. He and Jamison Battle — along with assistant equipment manager Nick Mann — tipped it up in Denver on a recent road trip. They got in a game in Los Angeles and played a couple of times during training camp. 

In Phoenix last month, the hotel the team stayed at had a golf course on the property. With the trip overlapping with spring break, some players and coaches had their families with them. Temple was able to take his five-year-old son out on the course with him. 

“I’m getting him into it. He enjoys it. He enjoys it, man,” said Temple. “He’s five, and he has his own little set of clubs. He asked me, ‘Why do you have more clubs that me?’ All he has is a driver, a nine-iron and a putter, you know? But he’s interested.”

He won’t lack for opportunities. “I got a simulator in my house in Baton Rouge,” said Temple, the setup facilitated by former Raptor, current Sixer and fellow golf nut, Kyle Lowry. “Man, shout out to Kyle Lowry. Got me a discount. Canadian company HD Golf.”

Temple shot in the 80s regularly in high school and college. The unpredictability of NBA life — he’s played on 12 teams in 17 seasons — interrupted some of those rhythms. Getting married and starting a family — he now has three children with his wife, Kara — has added a layer of complication.  

When Temple was a member of the Memphis Grizzlies, he bought a house adjacent to TPC Southwind, which hosts a PGA Tour event annually, only to get traded in February of that year before ever getting to play it. But he did get to tip it up there while the Raptors were in Memphis at the end of last week. 

His best golf came during the pandemic when he played daily as a member of the Brooklyn Nets while the league was gathered in Orlando for the resumption of the 2019-20 season in the “NBA bubble.” He got himself down to a nine handicap. 

His next goal is to participate in the American Century Championships, the event where big names from sports and entertainment compete at Lake Tahoe. 

Is his game ready? “If Kyle’s game is ready, mine is ready. If Zach LaVine’s game is ready, mine is ready. If Vince [Carter’s] game is ready — those are all guys I’ve played with a beat at times. If they can play it, I can,” said Temple. 

Like any athlete, he loves the competitive fix he gets from golf, and the unsolvable nature of it. 

“It’s amazing, man,” he said. “I love golf because you can’t ever master it. And it’s a game that you play until you’re 78 years old. So I can play with my son, my grandson, my great-grandson, someday, my daughters. It’s set up for people of all levels to play, you’re in nature. 

“I could go on all day about golf. 

If he was one regret after 17 years in the NBA is that he’s never been able to attend the Masters, and most of the time he can’t even watch the final round because he’s working, as he will be Sunday when the Raptors host the Brooklyn Nets in their season finale at 6 p.m ET (Sportsnet ONE, Sportsnet+). 

The exception was last season when he caught Rory McIlroy’s dramatic final round because he had to leave the Raptors’ last game of the season in San Antonio with a sprained knee. It was a welcome distraction as he was hobbling on crutches. 

With the day off on Saturday, he toyed with the idea of zipping down to Augusta to experience one of golf’s cathedrals in person. “I know a guy,” he said when asked about how he planned to get such a hot ticket. 

But realistically, he’ll spend the day like so many other golf nuts: taking care of some errands in the morning — he’s got a haircut booked with his son — and the rest of Saturday will be spent listening to the dulcet tones of Jim Nantz and watching on CBS. 

It’s a good way to spend an off day. And there will likely be a year sooner than later that Temple will be able to take in the tournament in person. Retirement will mean he’ll have the Masters week free for the first time since he turned professional in 2009. 

Temple turns 40 next month, and while he remains fit and enthusiastic as ever, he understands his role as the Raptors’ designated veteran can’t last indefinitely, not as the team improves and the crunch for roster spots gets tighter and the current group gets further along in their careers. 

“I’m 17 years in, I’m definitely thinking about [retirement],” said Temple when we spoke in Memphis a week ago Friday. “Now, if I’m thinking about it, doing it this year or next year or the year after, who knows. But it’s definitely on my radar. I’m closer to retirement than the beginning of my career, that’s for sure. So, you know, we’ll see what happens. But I’m cherishing this time for sure. It went by fast, and the rest, whether it’s a year, two years or whatever, it will go by faster.”

Maybe that trip down to Augusta can wait. 

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Not only has the 47-year-old assistant general manager been granted permission to interview with the Toronto Maple Leafs and New Jersey Devils for their vacant GM jobs, but Mehta’s praises were sung loudly Saturday as the Panthers rolled into Toronto.

Remember, Panthers GM Bill Zito was poached by Florida from the Columbus Blue Jackets’ front office. So it makes sense that Zito isn’t going to block members of his own team from earning promotions and raises elsewhere.

In addition to the Devils and Maple Leafs’ interest in Mehta, the Nashville Predators have interviewed fellow Panthers AGM Brett Peterson for their vacant GM role, as Barry Trotz is passing the baton.

When you’ve reached three straight Stanley Cup finals and won twice, your competitors want to snatch a piece of that success.

“My experience in Florida with all of Bill’s group has been fantastic,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said Saturday at Scotiabank Arena. “Sonny’s fantastic with analytics and his ability to articulate it to coaches — that easy conversation. We can ask questions; we get answers and explanations back. 

“Brett Peterson and Gregory Campbell, part of that group, brought in guys from outside that weren’t flourishing where they were, and they become stars or part of our core.” 

It’s not just the stars — like Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett, Seth Jones, and Matthew Tkachuk — that Florida’s assistants help identify, though. 

Depth players, Maurice says, have been critical to the club’s championships.

Maurice brings up an undervalued and injury-plagued Oliver Ekman-Larsson, bought out by Vancouver. Buy-low free agent A.J. Greer, now a character bottom-six checker with a championship ring. Nate Schmidt getting healthy-scratched in Winnipeg. Ryan Lomberg. Kevin Stenlund.

“We’ve been able to find those guys,” Maurice said, tipping his cap to Zito’s group. “Sometimes it’s just finding the right mix of guys. But they’ve hit that number right. And Sunny, with those others, is a big part of that.”

Mehta’s direct relationship with the Panthers players has been limited.

Panther-turned-Leaf Steven Lorentz shared a Cup with Mehta in 2024. Lorentz says he’d see the strategy wizard around the locker room but never got to know him on a personal level.

“Anytime you’re part of a winning organization,” Lorentz said, “obviously they’re doing something right. And it takes every single guy in the organization. So, whatever he’s doing, he’s doing a great job at it. 

“Just shaking hands and seeing him around the room, he was always a great, welcoming guy. And he’s a very smart mind.”

Not just when it comes to identifying hockey fits, but also trading stocks and walking away from the card table with your money.

Sitting in the visitors’ room in Toronto, Greer smiled as he explained that Mehta, a former poker pro, gifted the forward one of the two books he’d written on Texas hold ’em.

“We talked a lot about that,” said Greer, a regular in the Panthers’ in-flight poker games. “Great guy. Very nice and welcoming. And I know that what we’ve built in Florida here has come a long way. He’s been a big part of it. 

“So, I wish him all the best if he does go somewhere else. And I do think that brilliant minds like him should have a spot to shine somewhere for sure.”

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With President Donald Trump sitting cageside, Ulberg delivered a perfect left hook to Jiri Prochazka’s chin and won the undisputed light heavyweight belt with a knockout at the 3:45 mark of the first round.

“I blew out my knee, but I never counted myself out,” Ulberg said. “I knew all I needed was that one shot and I ended up getting it. So I knew that Jiri was hesitant to come forward. And as soon as I landed my left hand he’s going.

“It’s about getting those moments.”

Ulberg (15-1-0) appeared to tweak something early in the first round when he planted his foot and his right knee buckled awkwardly. Prochazka (32-6-1) immediately went to work on Ulberg’s left leg, repeatedly landing leg kicks with hopes of taking both legs away, rather than attacking aggressively to end it.

“I felt sorry (for) him, and this is one of the biggest lessons in my life,” Prochazka said. “That fight was won, I had it, it was in my hands. I saw his injury, and … I will be back. Life is about that, learn and be better.”

The matchup was made after former champion Alex Pereira vacated the belt to move up and challenge for the interim heavyweight crown at UFC Freedom 250 at the White House on June 14, on what will be Trump’s 80th birthday.

Earlier, on his way to the arena, Trump’s Truth Social account posted an advertisement for the event.

Trump entered the Kaseya Center shortly after 9 p.m., accompanied by UFC president Dana White and several members of the Trump family.

As a Kid Rock song blasted from the speakers, Trump walked to his seat, where Secretary of State Marco Rubio was waiting. Also nearby was Sergio Gor, the U.S. ambassador to India.

Trump, who shared several smiles with the cameras, shook hands with attendees on the floor and made a point of greeting the UFC broadcast team, including podcaster Joe Rogan.

A crowd of onlookers could be seen filming the presidential motorcade upon arrival.

In the co-main event, Azamat Murzakanov (17-0-0) used a right roundhouse to the head to drop Paulo Costa (15-5-0) and end the bout at the 1:23 mark of the third round.

Murzakanov stepped onto the apron of the Octagon after his victory to shake Trump’s hand, and the president praised him. Murzakanov acknowledged Trump during his post-fight interview with Rogan.

Josh Hokit (9-0-0) and Curtis Blaydes (19-6-0) battered each other in the slugfest of the night, with Trump excitedly watching the heavyweights as fans chanted “This is awesome!” as the fighters bloodied each other’s faces. Hokit won by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).

White took to social media after Hokit’s win to reveal that a matchup between Hokit and Derrick Lewis had been added to UFC Freedom 250. According to White’s video, Trump asked why Lewis wasn’t on the White House card. White said he called Lewis and offered him a fight, and when Rogan jokingly asked during the broadcast if there was room for Hokit on the card, the match came together.

“President Trump built half of that fight, Rogan built the other half,” White said in the video. “Both guys have agreed and accepted the fight.”

In a light heavyweight clash, Dominick Reyes (16-5-0) defeated Johnny Walker (22-10-0) with a split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).

Featherweight Cub Swanson (32-14-0) ended a celebrated career with a devastating first-round TKO of Nate Landwehr (18-9-0). The 42-year-old Swanson overmatched Landwehr with a bevy of punches to the head before referee Herb Dean stepped in to stop the fight with 54 seconds left in the opening round.

Much of that is because of the freshman in the Pioneers’ net.

No goalie has been better than Johnny Hicks, and he is the main reason Denver is yet again the best team in college hockey.

Kyle Chyzowski tipped in a shot from the point with 5:52 left to back up another sensational performance from Hicks and rally Denver to a 2-1 victory over Wisconsin on Saturday for the Pioneers’ third national championship in five years.

The victory also extended the Pioneers’ record to 11 national titles overall and denied the Badgers their seventh overall and first since 2006.

“I’m so happy that we could get it done with this group,” said Hicks, fighting back tears. “We’ve gone through so much adversity, and I’m just so proud of this group.”

This also was a rare loss for a Big Ten Conference team in a championship game this academic year. That conference already is home to the current champions in football (Indiana), men’s basketball (Michigan) and women’s basketball (UCLA).

But the National Collegiate Hockey Conference remains the sport’s premier league by claiming eight of the past 10 national champions. It doesn’t have the glamour of the Big Ten or the resources that come from being on the national stage in football, but Denver coach David Carle said the collective effort to try to achieve greatness in hockey shows what can be accomplished.

“I think we’re the proof of concept that it’s still possible,” Carle said. “Do we have advantages over other places? I am not sitting up here crying poor that we don’t have things. But we are a small institution. We are very committed, though, to our hockey program and making it a great experience for our student-athletes, our fans and our alumni.

“You don’t have to be big in hockey to be good. You have to invest and you have to care and have the right people to do great things. In college athletics, I think a place like Denver should really be celebrated.”

Hicks continued his stellar play by making 29 saves, just two days after a personal-high 49 against Michigan. He did not lose in regulation since taking over as starter, going 16-0-1. Hicks entered this game leading the nation with a 1.20 goals-against average and .957 save percentage.

“Johnny Hicks is unbelievable,” Denver captain Kent Anderson said. “He’s undefeated. We couldn’t have done any of this without him. Tonight our group stuck with it, they believed in each other. Hickey was there for us every step of the way. He kept us in it. Just waited for us to score. Eventually we did.”

Hicks was named Most Outstanding Player after also receiving that honour in Denver’s conference and regional tournaments.

“I was just playing off instinct,” Hicks said.

Rieger Lorenz scored the other goal for Denver.

Wisconsin’s goal came from Vasily Zelenov, and Daniel Hauser stopped 13 shots.

Zelenov’s blast from the left circle off the rush with 6:24 left in the first period put Wisconsin up 1-0, a lead that held up until 7:31 of the third.

The second goal never came, not only because of Hicks. Denver didn’t provide a lot of clean looks and wound up blocking 31 shots.

“We needed, in my opinion, to get it to two,” Wisconsin coach Mike Hastings said. “We just couldn’t do that.”

That’s when Kristian Epperson passed to defenceman Garrett Brown at the left point. His shot resulted in a rebound opportunity for Lorenz, who scored easily around Hauser into the open net.

Then it was a matter of finishing the job, which is what happened when Boston Buckberger delivered a one-timer from the right point that likely would have gone into the net even if Chyzowski hadn’t gotten a stick on the puck.

Denver didn’t have a shot on goal for the first 8 1/2 minutes and ended the first period with just two for the fifth time in a title game. The Pioneers also had two shots on goal in a period in 1963 against North Dakota. Minnesota was the most recent team to have such few shots, occurring three years ago against Quinnipiac.

The Pioneers managed just three more shots on goal in the second period against Wisconsin’s forecheck, the Badgers outshooting them 21-5 through two periods.

It had a similar feel to Denver’s 4-3 double-overtime victory over Michigan in Thursday night’s semifinals. The Wolverines outshot the Denver 52-26, but the Pioneers found a way to force OT and win in extra time.

Wisconsin had hoped to match its women’s team in winning the championship. Through two periods of play, the Badgers appeared well on their way and were clearly the better team.

Not so much in the third.

“A little shocked right now,” Wisconsin defenceman Ben Dexheimer said. “Definitely going to settle in here in the next few days.”

Centre Michael Hage will be back at the University of Michigan for the 2026-27 season, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported Saturday.

Later, during the Saturday Headlines segment on Hockey Night in Canada, Friedman said that there’s no reason for Canadiens fans to panic in response to Hage’s decision.

“They (hold) his rights for two more years,” said Friedman. “There’s no reason to believe Hage is unhappy with the Canadiens, and there is no reason to believe the Canadiens are unhappy with Hage and will try to trade him. They met about two weeks ago; they had about a three-hour dinner … and they all laid it out. They talked about all the different situations. I believe at the time, the Canadiens let it be known that they were ready for him to join pro but they said there is no wrong decision here, and they left it up to him to make the call.”

Hage, who turns 20 next week, was a first-round pick by the Canadiens (21st overall) in 2024. This season, the six-foot-one centre had 13 goals and 52 points in 39 games, helping the Wolverines reach the semifinals of the Frozen Four.

The Oakville, Ont., native also had 15 points in seven games for Canada’s bronze-medal winning team at the most recent World Juniors.

“I think for Hage, there’s a few things here,” added Friedman. “No. 1, increased role at Michigan next year, even more than he had this year. No. 2, unfinished business; they just lost in the Frozen Four. No. 3, the possibility his brother (Alexander) could join the Wolverines and play there. So that was the decision he made.”

Forward T.J. Hughes will sign with the Avalanche on a one-year entry-level contract starting in the 2026-27 season, the team announced on Saturday.

The 24-year-old will finish out the 2025-26 season with Colorado Eagles on an AHL Professional Tryout agreement.

Hughes, a native of Hamilton, Ont., and the captain of the Michigan Wolverines, has enjoyed a productive senior year, tallying 21 goals and 35 assists in 39 games while leading his side to the semifinals of the NCAA D1 men’s hockey championship.

An undrafted forward, Hughes has spent four years in Ann Arbor, MI., but managed to put it all together for his final campaign, finishing second in D1 scoring behind only Ethan Wyttenbach of Quinnipiac University.

According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the WHL is set to make two drastic changes which would impact the quality of life for players in the league — extending the duration of the season and altering policies around air travel.

“You have to make choices now that will benefit your players, and these are two big ones by the WHL that they are trying to use to show they can make themselves an even better developmental league,” Friedman said of the changes on the Saturday Headlines segment on Hockey Night in Canada.

Firstly, in order to ease the burden of the WHL’s 68-game regular season, the league is adding a week to the calendar, allowing more space between games while retaining the number of games played.

In particular, the league wants to target weekday games, allowing for more of the WHL calendar to take place on weekends.

“So that will decompress things. Same amount of games over seven more days,” Friedman explained. “It will decrease the number of games during the weekdays, especially. That’s one thing they’re gonna do, they’re gonna be more focused on rest and recovery.”

The bigger order of business, perhaps, is that the league will now allow air travel under certain circumstances.

Because of how spread out the teams are in the league — spanning from Victoria, B.C., in the west to Brandon, Man., in the east, and Prince George, B.C., in the north to Portland, Ore., in the south — travel times by chartered bus could last up to 23 hours.

In particular, the league wanted to target the long trips over the Rockies, which all teams have to take at least once a year.

“They are going to allow air travel in certain situations,” Friedman said. “Basically, the way it’s gonna go is they’re going to really try to ease the burden for that one big trip each team makes over the Rockies every year. Going back and forth, they’re opening it up to air travel.”

As it stands, the CHL does allow teams to fly to games during championship series, but competitive balance forces teams to use buses for regular-season showdowns.

The NCAA, where many top players are flocking to for their major junior hockey, has no such restrictions around air travel, and top teams frequently fly for games, particularly over longer distances.

“This is a different world now, you have to show players that you’re willing to go the extra mile so they can develop and go to the next level — which is what all the players want,” Friedman said.

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