Anton Frondell Will Sign With Blackhawks, Play 2025-26 In Sweden
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New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
NHL's new wisest spenders. Plus: Happy birthday to a legend
Red Light newsletter 🏒 | This is The Athletic's hockey newsletter. Sign up here to receive Red Light directly in your inbox. Good morning to everyone wondering why McIndoe changed his last name and stopped being funny. We're five weeks from July 1 in one direction and six weeks from training camp in the other. The NHL will never be quieter. We'll make it through together. I say this with the utmost sincerity, and I don't mean it as a backhanded compliment: If it weren't for Dom Luszczyszyn, the offseason would (somehow) be even more dull. Last week, he dropped his list of the best and worst contracts in the league. This week — since not every team can employ your Brandon Hagels, your Jack Hugheses or your Jonathan Huberdeaus — he's doing full cap-sheet evaluations for every roster, with the Tampa Bay Lightning making a huge leap from No. 13 last year to the No. 1 wisest spenders this year. Advertisement A few other takeaways from Dom's contract efficiency rankings: • I appreciate the volatility. Only two teams in the league have three A-grade contracts and three D-grade contracts. One of them (Canadiens) can blame their old general manager. The other one (Kings) definitely, definitely cannot. • Where are the Panthers? In the right spot for this sort of exercise, actually. Brad Marchand, as you may have heard, is old, and Sam Bennett isn't paid for his regular-season work. Those aren't the kind of deals that grade out all that well. Seeing the champs somewhere other than No. 1 wasn't surprising. • Oh, Seattle. Remember the expansion draft and all that talk of 'weaponized cap space?' Whatever happened there? The full list is worth your time. These are vegetables, sure, but they're well-seasoned. As a Pittsburgh resident, I shouldn't be working today. It's Sidney Crosby's 38th birthday, which is technically a civic holiday. Banks are closed and everything. In honor of all that, Josh Yohe put together a few nice, Crosby-centric pieces. The first is a thorough accounting of his greatest goals. I won't spoil the whole thing. I will, however, spoil No. 1, because I agree with Josh and was in the building for it: In 2011, on his second shift back from the concussion-related catastrophe that derailed his career, Crosby made a play behind his own net, skated up ice and, after getting the puck, went wide to beat Anders Nilsson. Then he said a bad word, very happily and very loudly. Was it Crosby's most spectacular goal? No. Did it come when the stakes were the highest? From a team standpoint, another no. The full context, though, makes it a no-brainer choice. Fourteen years have passed, and Crosby has reinforced his greatness a hundred times over, but it's always worth remembering just how close it all came to falling apart. Don't ever take players like him for granted. Advertisement Josh didn't stop there. This collection of small, previously untold moments that give a glimpse into who Crosby is as a person, from a reporter who's been around him as much as anybody is even more fun. And don't miss this Crosby-centric Q&A with Josh and his column on what No. 87's final chapters in the NHL might look like. In 2007, the Penguins made Crosby the youngest captain in NHL history at 19 years and 297 days old. Since then, two players have broken that record. Who are they? Two weeks back, McIndoe quantified just how thoroughly the league had shut down. It's time for an update. As of today, it's been … 🍻 I've learned plenty from Fluto Shinzawa's work over the years, and this piece on the drinking habits (or lack thereof) among some NHL players is no different. 🤔 We mentioned Nick Robertson earlier. He's a Maple Leaf for now after a one-year deal to avoid arbitration, but his situation still feels pretty murky, as Chris Johnston wrote. ✈️ I have a feeling the Jets are going to get their money's worth from Dylan Samberg, who signed a three-year deal last week. 👨🏻⚖️ Justice McIndoe presides over the Cap Court, where he examines whether five players' contracts — including one that runs until 2032 — are bad or not. 🥇 It's (seriously) already time to talk about World Junior roster projections, and the prospects guys have you covered. 🎙️ Over on 'The Athletic Hockey Show,' McIndoe and I were joined by beat writers for the Sabres, Penguins, Red Wings and Flyers to discuss how to get each of these teams out of their rebuilds and into the playoffs. Gabriel Landeskog was named Avs captain when he was 11 days younger than Crosby; Connor McDavid was named Oilers captain when he was 31 days younger. 📫 Love Red Light? Check out The Athletic's other newsletters. (Top photo of Brandon Hagel: Mike Carlson / Getty Images) Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
NBC Sports
an hour ago
- NBC Sports
How to watch Arsenal vs Athletic Bilbao live: Stream link, TV channel, team news, prediction
Arsenal host Athletic Bilbao in their final preseason friendly on Saturday at the Emirates Stadium and Mikel Arteta needs to see a big improvement from his side. The Gunners lost 3-2 against Villarreal on Wednesday as Viktor Gyokeres got off to a slow start on his first start since his big-money arrival from Sporting Lisbon. Arsenal have made plenty of new signings but defensively they looked shaky and Arteta will be a little concerned after back-to-back defeats to Tottenham Hotspur and Villarreal in preseason. Yes, it's only preseason, but he will want to generate some momentum going into the new campaign where a trophy is a must. Bilbao put on an entertaining show against Liverpool on Monday as they lost both games at Anfield (4-1 and 3-2) but showed plenty of attacking intent. Ernesto Valverde's side are set to challenge for another top four finish in La Liga this season and are excited about their to return to the Champions League. For live updates and highlights throughout Arsenal vs Athletic Bilbao, check out PST's live blog coverage below. How to watch Arsenal vs Athletic Bilbao live, stream link and start time Kick off time: 12pm ET Saturday (August 9) Venue: Emirates Stadium — London TV Channel/Streaming: Arsenal team news, focus All eyes will be on Gyokeres as he struggled to make an impact on his first start. He made some good runs but Arsenal's players are perhaps not quite up to speed with how to provide the towering Swedish striker with the service he needs as they haven't had a player like that up top since Arteta took charge. Elsewhere there are injury issues regarding Leandro Trossard, Kai Havertz and Riccardo Calafiori, while Gabriel Jesus continues his recovery from a long-term injury. Arsenal need the likes of Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and William Saliba to step up early in the season and help them hit the ground running with some tough fixtures in the opening weeks of the new campaign. Athletic Bilbao team news, focus Bilbao's star attacker Nico Williams did not get his move to Barcelona this summer but he played and starred against Liverpool at Anfield on Monday. Williams and his brother Inaki started out wide, while top goalscorer from last season Oihan Sancet scored and Bilbao are a very dangerous team on the counter. This will be a very good test for Arsenal against a team which doesn't mind sitting deep and then pressing in the right moments to spring counters. Arsenal vs Athletic Bilbao prediction This is the final test of preseason for Arsenal and everyone wants to see a big step up in performance levels, and a result. Arteta will go strong with his starting lineup and we should expect a big win. Arsenal 4-2 Athletic Bilbao.
New York Times
2 hours ago
- New York Times
Burning Rangers questions for 2025-26: Should Gavrikov and Fox play together?
No matter the coach, Adam Fox's defensive partner remained consistent through his first six NHL seasons with the New York Rangers. Whether David Quinn, Gerard Gallant or Peter Laviolette was behind the bench, Fox almost always played alongside Ryan Lindgren, his friend dating back to their days at the U.S. National Team Development Program. Advertisement According to Natural Stat Trick, the Lindgren-Fox pair skated at least 600 five-on-five minutes together in every season since Fox entered the league in 2019-20. Fox won the Norris Trophy as the NHL's best defenseman with Lindgren by his side in 2020-21, and the Rangers reached two Eastern Conference finals with them as partners. All the while, though, New York did not commit to Lindgren long-term, and a difficult individual start to the 2024-25 season contributed to general manager Chris Drury trading him to the Colorado Avalanche at the March deadline. Now, with Lindgren in Seattle on a four-year free-agent contract, Fox needs a new partner. Deciding who to play with Fox on the Rangers' top pairing will be among the biggest decisions for new coach Mike Sullivan heading into fall. Drury turned to free agency to provide a compelling option, signing Vladislav Gavrikov to a seven-year deal worth $7 million in average annual value. The 6-f00t-3 Gavrikov was one of the league's best shutdown defensemen last season with the Kings. 'When you really watch him closely — just his foot positioning, the way he positions himself between the puck and the goal — he's just always in the right position,' said one Western Conference-based NHL scout who frequently watched Gavrikov in 2024-25. 'You have to play through him. … He just neutralizes you. He's just so smart about it. He makes it look easy.' On paper, slotting Gavrikov on the right-handed Fox's left side is the obvious move — the best possible pair that the Rangers could make. 'More than anything, he's a safety valve that lets Fox have more risk in his game,' the same scout said. Another NHL scout, based in the Eastern Conference, similarly saw potential benefits in putting the offensively gifted Fox with a strong, defensively minded blueliner. Advertisement 'I could definitely see them being used as a pair together,' the scout said. 'Gavrikov is a bigger guy, really good at breaking up plays, good stick. Fox is way more of that new school offensive puck-mover. Their playing styles are different and they're built completely differently physically. Maybe the differences can complement each other.' Fox played at least 100 minutes at five-on-five with three partners in 2024-25, according to Natural Stat Trick: Lindgren (611:31), K'Andre Miller (314:46) and Carson Soucy (146:38). In total he commanded over 50 percent of the five-on-five expected goal share, per the website, though just barely with Lindgren (50.02 percent). With the Miller-Fox or Soucy-Fox pairings on the ice, New York had more than 60 percent of the expected goal share. Fox's counting stats took a dip in 2024-25, with 61 points compared to 70-plus in each of the previous three seasons, primarily because the Rangers' power play struggled. But his underlying numbers were still elite. The Kings similarly enjoyed at least 50 percent of the expected goals share when any pairing with Gavrikov was on the ice last season (minimum 15 minutes played). If Gavrikov plays at the high level he did in 2024-25, there's reason to believe he and Fox could instantly become one of the NHL's best pairs. 'I wouldn't be surprised if that's what you see in training camp or preseason,' said a Western Conference executive. 'It gives you a chance to put your best two defensemen on the ice at the same time for 20-24 minutes every night, which is always a great option.' Gavrikov and Fox have both shown they can carry a pairing on their own, which could lead to Sullivan splitting them up, at least for part of games. The coach could play someone like Braden Schneider — a right shot who played on the left early last season — or Soucy with Fox for long stretches of the game, then put Gavrikov and Fox together for shifts in key situations. Advertisement 'If you're not a pair (the whole game), then you are in the last four minutes of a period, five minutes of a period,' the Western Conference executive said. 'You make your adjustments. With TV timeouts and team timeouts, you have options to keep them on the ice together for an extended period of time.' Sullivan's decision on Fox's partner will have a trickle-down effect on the rest of the lineup. Fox and K'Andre Miller were strong partners for the Rangers in 2024-25, but Laviolette frequently split them up so the rest of the lineup had more balance. If Sullivan stacks the top pair with Gavrikov-Fox, then two of the following players would need to make up the second pairing: Will Borgen, Schneider, Soucy, Urho Vaakanainen and Scott Morrow. None of them have ever averaged more than 18 minutes a game in a full season. One Eastern Conference executive noted that New York has traded away Lindgren, Miller and Jacob Trouba, all of whom averaged 20 minutes at least once in their Rangers career. That's a lot of minutes to replace. 'I don't know how just the one signing (in Gavrikov) is going to make them back to contending for the division,' he said. 'That's their challenge.' The Eastern Conference executive views Schneider, who is 23 and coming off labrum surgery, as a top-four defenseman, but sees Borgen as more of a No. 5 or 6. (He noted, though, that sometimes players can find chemistry with another defenseman and rise higher in the lineup than they'd otherwise be slotted.) The Eastern-based scout liked Borgen's play after New York acquired him in the Kaapo Kakko deal in Dec. 2024, viewing him as a legitimate top-four option. But the scout added that in his estimation, the Rangers currently have 'closer to a top three' than a top four. 'I could also see that leading to them possibly breaking up Fox and Gavrikov if you wanted to balance it out a little bit more,' he said. Advertisement The roster, of course, is not finished. The Rangers are close to the salary cap right now, but if they stay under without using long-term injured reserve they can accrue space before the deadline. Then they could try to trade for another defenseman. That could come at the expense of adding to the forward group, which also could use bolstering. (We'll get to that in a future story for this series.) 'Do they have to add someone (at defense)?' the Western scout said. 'Maybe. But I don't mind their D.' But the right combinations could also just take time to figure out. Pairings sometimes take time to jell. 'That's not one of those (things) you can analyze purely through analytics or pure through the eye test or pure through statistics or anything,' the Eastern Conference executive said. 'It's, 'Do guys read and how well do they read off one another? Do they compliment one another?' And that's art to me.' (Photos of Vladislav Gavrikov and Adam Fox: Alex Gallardo and Pamela Smith / AP Photo) Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
