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New York Times
18 minutes ago
- New York Times
J.J. McCarthy's early progress and 5 key takeaways
Follow along live for exclusive access and insight from The Athletic's writers as NFL training camps continue this week Getty Images Imagn Images We're told not to make too much out of one training camp throw, but this one might be the exception. Saturday. Early in the team period. Quarterback J.J. McCarthy faked a handoff, eyed the defense and curved a pass into a small area near the right sideline where only the receiver, Jalen Nailor, could make the catch. There wasn't any hooting or hollering. Sure, the fans cheered, but they didn't react as loudly as they did when McCarthy connected on a deep ball. No social media frenzy ensued; in fact, it's hard to find a video clip. But it exists. Cameras captured what is one of the most critical signs that has surfaced for the Minnesota Vikings. GO FURTHER Vikings training camp: J.J. McCarthy's early progress and 5 key takeaways Brian Daboll said Wan'Dale Robinson won't practice today but it's 'nothing serious,' he got kneed in the leg. Jalin Hyatt will do 'more' but won't participate in team periods. Brian Burns will practice. The Baltimore Ravens' first week of training camp featured little drama, no distractions and a business-like, team-wide approach that suggests the players and coaches understand what's at stake this season. The Ravens believe they're going to be very good. They also acknowledge the legitimacy of a question that will loom over this team over the next six months: Will they be good enough when it matters? They haven't been in recent seasons, particularly over the last two years when they've posted 25 combined regular-season victories but only two in the playoffs. 'I think this group is determined to right the wrongs that we've had,' veteran outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy said last week. 'We've felt like we've let some games slip, and we just got to knock it off, just in general as a team.' GO FURTHER Ravens determined to right their wrongs of the past by prioritizing the little things The ball hung in the air so long that it wasn't a matter of whether the pass would be intercepted but rather who would be the one to pick it off. Indianapolis Colts free safety Cam Bynum wound up the beneficiary, easily plucking the ball out of the sky and returning it for a touchdown Saturday evening. When Bynum reached the end zone, he busted out into a choreographed celebration with the rest of the defense that featured them pretending to row a boat. Normally, Colts coach Shane Steichen would've been irate at such a poor pass, except this time he was smiling, perhaps because he was the one who threw it. The 40-year-old former UNLV quarterback subbed himself into 11-on-11 drills and purposely threw an interception to inject a little fun into his team's fourth straight day of training camp practice. 💬 'I didn't see much,' Steichen said with a grin, adding that his goal was to keep the team on its toes. 'I dropped back, had some pressure in my face, and then I just let it go, and he made a hell of a play on the ball.' Steichen's turnover was a lighthearted way to help cap off the Colts' first week of training camp that, fittingly, favored the defense. After a small handful of practices, it's time to examine whose stock rose and fell ahead of the team's first padded practice later today. Getty Images Four days in, few haymakers have been landed in the Cleveland Browns' perceived four-man quarterback competition. With the team as a whole headed to longer and more intense training camp practices over the next week-plus, we're scoring the early competition much in the same way we did coming out of the spring. It's long felt as if Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett are competing for the Week 1 starting job, while Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders are competing more against the playbook and other challenges involved with being rookie quarterbacks than directly against one another. This situation can ultimately unfold in several different ways, and both rookies seem to be understandably competing more for spots further down the initial depth chart. Publicly and privately, the team has described this as a truly open competition and has refrained from making commitments. With Flacco and Pickett on cheap contracts only for 2025, Gabriel a late third-round pick and Sanders a fifth-rounder, the Browns aren't committed to anyone or anything besides letting this summer play out. GO FURTHER Where the Browns' QB competition stands one week into training camp Getty Images Robert Hunt grew up hard in a small town in southeast Texas by the Louisiana state line. His graduating class at Burkeville High consisted of fewer than 20 students, and he was lightly recruited before signing with Louisiana in 2015. Five seasons later, Hunt left Lafayette as an all-conference selection, an NFL combine participant and a second-round draft pick of the Miami Dolphins. Things are not always what they seem. 'I was a two-star athlete. Went to a school, graduated with 18 kids. I like to surprise people,' Hunt said. 'Because when I walk in a room, they don't know. 'He went through this.' Then I walk up and I show up and then, 'Oh, s—.' ' GO FURTHER Was end of '24 the start of something good? Does Panthers' playoff drought end this year? Getty Images Kyle Pitts enters the 2025 season as one of the most significant fantasy football question marks, but one thing is a good bet. He will have five touchdown catches. No more. No less. The reasoning for this prediction is that Pitts had one touchdown catch in his rookie season, two in his second season, three in his third season and four last season in his fourth season. It's been just about the only stable thing in the talented tight end's time in the league. GO FURTHER Falcons still believe in Kyle Pitts, but can he be trusted in fantasy this season? Getty Images Four days in, few haymakers have been landed in the Cleveland Browns' perceived four-man quarterback competition. With the team as a whole headed to longer and more intense training camp practices over the next week-plus, we're scoring the early competition much in the same way we did coming out of the spring. It's long felt as if Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett are competing for the Week 1 starting job, while Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders are competing more against the playbook and other challenges involved with being rookie quarterbacks than directly against one another. This situation can ultimately unfold in several different ways, and both rookies seem to be understandably competing more for spots further down the initial depth chart. Publicly and privately, the team has described this as a truly open competition and has refrained from making commitments. With Flacco and Pickett on cheap contracts only for 2025, Gabriel a late third-round pick and Sanders a fifth-rounder, the Browns aren't committed to anyone or anything besides letting this summer play out. GO FURTHER Where the Browns' QB competition stands one week into training camp Getty Images The Falcons had their first skirmishes of training camp during Sunday's practice, and rookie James Pearce Jr. was in the middle of both of them. 💬 'He's as prideful as it gets,' Atlanta defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said of Pearce. 'He loves this game. He wants to come out here and make a strong impression on everybody, himself included, that he can do this and do this at a high level. When every ounce of your body is trying to prove who you are, it can get a little wacky sometimes. His anger got the best of him at times, and it's going to be a great learning experience for him.' Pearce, an edge rusher drafted with the 26th pick, first got tangled up with center Ryan Neuzil before tackle Kaleb McGary and guard Matthew Bergeron joined the fray with Bergeron, who's helmet was ripped off, yelling angrily at Pearce. Two plays later, it was a helmetless McGary having to be separated from Pearce. 'We're trying to develop a culture, a style of play for sure and part of that is the violence with which we play and the aggression and urgency,' Ulbrich said. 'Today at times it went a little too far and we have to learn how to manage that. It was a good lesson today.' Ulbrich praised Pearce for making a handful of good players after the incidents. 'After something like that, a lot of young guys are lost for practice,' the coach said. 'He was the opposite.' Ulbrich also was happy to see veteran edge rusher Leonard Floyd, who signed in Atlanta as a free agent this offseason, join the action in support of Pearce. 'It made my heart so happy,' he said. 'In the spring, he was very calm and I'm seeing this other side of him now, this intensity, this edge, this intense loyalty to his teammates, especially defensively. To see him not only stand up for his guys but do that and not take it too far, I thought was a really cool demonstration of what it's supposed to look like.' Getty Images Arizona cornerback Starling Thomas V has been placed on injured reserve after suffering a season-ending ACL injury during Friday's practice. Approaching his third season, Thomas was battling for a starting position. Last season he started 15 games, posting 47 tackles. He also deflected six passes and forced a fumble. In March, Arizona lost another starting corner, Sean Murphy-Bunting, to a season-ending knee injury. The Cardinals have young talent at this position, but not great depth. Slot corner Garrett Williams has flashed star potential in two seasons, while Max Melton had promising stretches last season as a rookie. The Cardinals also drafted Michigan standout Will Johnson in the second round of April's NFL Draft and Ohio State cornerback Denzel Burke in the fifth round. Head coach Jonathan Gannon also said Sunday that corner Jaden Davis, a 2024 seventh-round draft pick, will miss time with a knee issue, but he could return this season. Arizona on Sunday signed cornerback Steven Gilmore. 💬 'There's been big-time competition in that room,'' Gannon told reporters. 'I like where the room's trending. I think they're doing a good job, and it's only going to increase right now. Obviously, the business side of it opens up a spot because Star was going to be on this team. He's played a lot of good football for us. We're just going to have to develop our guys.' Getty Images A hold-in beats a holdout at this stage of a blossoming season, anyway. Terry McLaurin doesn't have the contract extension he wants yet from the Washington Commanders. But the wide receiver reported to training camp Saturday afternoon, on the team's first off day of camp, and was placed on the Physically Unable to Perform list with what the team says is an ankle injury. He won't be able to attend team meetings or be on the field while on PUP, but he's here, able to rehab on the side while his teammates practice and begin the ramp-up toward being able to join them on the field. Meanwhile, negotiations on the extension continue. Most importantly for the 29-year-old McLaurin, he'll no longer be fined $50,000 per day for not being in attendance. GO FURTHER Terry McLaurin reports to Commanders camp, waits on PUP list for contract extension Getty Images The Los Angeles Chargers announced Sunday that they have agreed to terms on a multi-year contract extension with star left tackle Rashawn Slater. The extension is for four years and $114 million and includes a record $92 million in guaranteed money, a league source confirmed to The Athletic . Slater's $28.5 million average annual salary is a record for the position. ESPN was first to report the deal. Slater was entering the final year of his rookie deal, the fifth-year option that the Chargers picked up in May 2024. He was due to make $19.04 million on that fifth-year option in 2025. GO FURTHER Chargers, OT Rashawn Slater agree to 4-year, $114 million extension: Source Getty Images Cleveland Browns quarterback Kenny Pickett will miss at least a few days of training camp this week, according to multiple reports Sunday, after Pickett suffered a hamstring injury late in Saturday's practice. ESPN was first to report the news. That practice ended with Pickett throwing two touchdown passes while on the move in the final period of practice, so it remains unclear if he suffered the injury on one of those throws or if it had occurred earlier and Pickett continued to play through it. The Browns opened full camp on July 23. Sunday was the players' first day off, and it was the day coach Kevin Stefanski and his staff had long planned to use to evaluate the first portion of camp and divvy up the quarterback reps for the days ahead. Getty Images Welcome back to our live coverage of NFL training camps. Stay tuned here for coverage and content from across the league from The Athletic's NFL writers. And don't forget that you can get involved throughout by emailing live@
New York Times
2 hours ago
- New York Times
Inside the tumultuous final hours of the Carlos Correa era — and the start of a rebuild for the Twins
MINNEAPOLIS — The meeting took place on Wednesday, a day before baseball's trade deadline, in a private room adjacent to the home clubhouse at Target Field. For an era of Minnesota Twins baseball that held so much promise, it was the beginning of the end. Carlos Correa, the Twins' $200 million shortstop, had questions for Derek Falvey, the team's president of baseball operations. Would the Twins be sellers at the trade deadline? What direction would the team take in the future? Advertisement Correa, 30, and Falvey, 42, built a mutual trust when Correa first signed with the Twins as a free agent in March 2022, then opted out less than a year later and re-signed for a deal nearly twice as large. They shared a goal of bringing Minnesota its first World Series title in more than three decades. But as they spoke in that private room — the start of nearly two days of tumult that would unravel years of hard work — it was clear that their vision was coming apart. The Twins, a team full of dynamic, even electric players, began the season with the highest playoff odds of any team in the AL Central. But the Pohlad family's ongoing negotiations to sell the franchise have created an uncomfortable air of uncertainty. Even after the team exercised his option for 2026, manager Rocco Baldelli faces questions about his job security. The Twins approached the deadline in fourth place, six games under .500, 12 games out in the division, a fragile mess. After Correa's meeting with Falvey, the Twins played a game in which they seemed to burst from the tension surrounding them. In their 13-1 loss to the Red Sox, they confused utilityman Willi Castro with a botched attempt at a late-game send-off and angered setup man Griffin Jax so much that he was caught on camera ranting in the dugout. They then traded their closer, Jhoan Duran, to the Phillies. It was merely a prelude to an even more consequential day on Thursday, which Falvey began intending to fulfill ownership's request of making the best possible trades for the organization's long-term benefit. Once he started, to the shock of fans, his players, and his industry colleagues, he did not stop. By the time the deadline passed at 6 p.m. ET, the Twins had moved 10 of their 26 players, nearly 40 percent of their major-league roster. All but two of their trades came on deadline day. And while Falvey kept part of the team's core intact and added a number of talented young players with major-league experience, he was true to the plans he shared with Correa, describing the path forward in blunt terms. Advertisement 'The direction we are going,' Correa recalled Falvey telling him the previous day, 'is not the one you signed up for.' By then, news had already surfaced of the Houston Astros' interest in bringing back Correa, the player they drafted first overall in 2012. Correa at the time was 'chilling' at his home in St. Paul, playing baseball outside with his sons, Kylo, 3, and Kenzo, 2. His wife, Daniella, was the first to inform him of the reports. Once Correa got to Target Field, he sought out Falvey, who confirmed that the Astros had indeed called about a potential trade. The initial discussions, according to a source briefed on the conversations, were not serious. The Astros wanted other major leaguers attached to Correa and for the Twins to pay a sizable amount of his remaining $103 million. Falvey told Correa he would update him if the deal became more feasible from the Twins' perspective. Correa told Falvey the Astros were the only team for which he would waive his no-trade clause. His family lives in Houston. Both his parents and Daniella's parents live in Houston. He would be going home. 'Carlos was never sitting there saying anything about demanding a trade or wanting to do something else,' Falvey said. 'If it was right for the Twins and it was right for him, he was open to the conversation.' Especially open once Falvey explained what lay ahead. 'When he told [me] that we were going to go into rebuild mode, I said then I deserve to go somewhere where I have a chance to win and my kids can watch me go out there in the playoffs and perform,' Correa said. 'He agreed with me and he said out of respect for me he would get to work.' Falvey got to work, all right. And when deadline day was complete, Correa's agent, Scott Boras, referenced the nickname of Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh to describe the Twins' maneuvers to slash payroll. 'Apparently the Big Dumper has a Twin.' Nine days before the deadline, the Twins knew they would move their players on expiring contracts, as most teams do when they are out of contention. Club officials were less certain about how they would proceed with players under additional club control. The list included Jax, Duran and right-handed ace Joe Ryan, each of whom the team could retain through 2027. Advertisement One line of thought was to keep the team relatively intact until after the Pohlad family sold the team. New owners typically demonstrate their enthusiasm by boosting payroll. By adding to their existing group, the Twins could have landed in a stronger competitive position. That is not the direction the Pohlads chose, another reason why for many fans, the sale of the team cannot come soon enough. After the Twins won the AL Central in 2023, the Pohlad family cut the Opening Day payroll in 2024 by nearly 20 percent. By season's end, word emerged that the family was exploring a sale. The news ushered in a period of uncertainty. The effect on the team's employees, down to the players, has been palpable. 'The sale process,' Falvey said, 'continues to be an ongoing reality for our organization.' In February, billionaire Justin Ishbia spurned the Twins to increase his minority stake in the Chicago White Sox. A month later, The Athletic reported the Pohlad family was seeking $1.7 billion for the franchise and carrying $425 million of debt, one of the highest figures among the league's 30 teams. Though payroll increased ahead of the 2025 season, it still has not come up to its previous heights. The Twins' only offseason additions were free-agent left-handed reliever Danny Coulombe, outfielder Harrison Bader and first baseman Ty France. By the deadline, they'd all be traded. The first signs of massive change began on Monday afternoon. Popular pitcher Chris Paddack was traded to the Tigers, foreshadowing the teardown of the roster. It left the clubhouse on edge, particularly players who found themselves the subject of trade rumors, like Jax. He would later admit to feeling the weight of stress. 'It's something I haven't really dealt with yet to this point,' Jax said. 'Being on this side and seeing the other sides of emotions and what it's really like from the business side, it's just different.' Advertisement Just how different culminated in an embarrassing scene for the franchise. By the ninth inning of Wednesday's blowout loss to the Red Sox, thoughts of the deadline were inescapable. Those left in the ballpark figured they knew what was going on as Jax set up for his first pitch of the frame, only to be interrupted by the home plate umpire Lance Barrett. He had signaled for time so that Baldelli could pull Castro from the game, a gesture that would allow fans and teammates an opportunity to applaud him one last time. It was time for a hug watch. 'They just wanted to kind of give him his moment to take it all in,' said France who was on alert all game for the possibility of replacing Castro in case of a trade. 'I don't think that's exactly how it went. … There was a lot going on there.' Indeed, there was plenty going on except for the one thing that everyone had assumed. Though Baldelli and several teammates offered hugs, and France did indeed enter the game to replace him, Castro had not yet actually been traded. On the mound, Jax waited to throw his first pitch, though Baldelli didn't want him out there in the first place. But several relievers were unavailable, and because the Twins' deficit was seven runs rather than eight, Baldelli could not turn to a position player. So he gave the ball to Jax, the only arm in the bullpen that was fresh. The delay lasted about 30 seconds. But it did not help. The Red Sox teed off on Jax, and it wouldn't be long until he was back in the dugout, pacing stressfully as he ran his fingers through his hair. Having unsuccessfully lobbied Baldelli to stay in the game, Jax had been pulled after just 12 pitches. He was still furious as he began waving his right arm and pointing at the field, yelling at Baldelli and his coaches. After he calmed down an hour later, Jax apologized to his manager, before explaining himself publicly. 'It was just a moment of emotion,' Jax told reporters. 'I think I let what was going on around me build up a little bit too much. … I shouldn't act that way on the mound when he's coming to take the ball from me. It's just one of those times where I have to grit my teeth. I apologized to him. I said it's just that competitor in me, that fire. But it's no excuse. It's something I can't do.' Advertisement Those words came after a closed-door meeting with Baldelli, and another player, one who had gone out of his way to serve as buffer during a difficult conversation. It was yet another example of how Correa's influence can extend far beyond performance. He was a leader until the end. 'I never want players to feel a (certain) way about a manager and for word to spread out in the clubhouse,' Correa said. 'It becomes kind of like a cancer. I like to take things from the root and fix them right away.' Following the fireworks in the dugout, Correa approached Jax and asked if he wanted to clear the air with Baldelli, even offering to accompany him to see the manager. Jax took him up on it. Correa's day at the ballpark would end the same way that it had begun — with a meeting. Baldelli explained that he had not wanted to use the pitcher, but because of the score and the circumstances, he had no other options. However, the scenario had also presented an odd conflict, one in which the manager opted for a quick hook because he didn't want Jax pushing his pitch count past 30 in an inning that was essentially meaningless. 'We had a conversation about how sometimes we've got to make moves that are best for the team and not for certain individuals,' Correa said. 'At the same time, we've got to stay professional, especially when we are out there on the field.' Baldelli described the sit-down as productive. He applauded Correa's leadership and praised the veteran for acting as a conduit between players and management. Not even a day later, Baldelli was roaming the hallways of the team hotel in Cleveland, looking for Jax's room. The pitcher had been traded to the Tampa Bay Rays, and the manager wanted to bid him farewell. The two spent 15 minutes together, one of a handful of emotional goodbyes that Baldelli experienced on the day that Falvey began the public and painful reshaping of the Twins' roster. Advertisement 'There are times where I can acknowledge maybe I would have done it a little differently if I had the chance,' Baldelli said of Jax. 'I wanted to get Griff out of the game, but I could have given him another 10-15 pitches to work out of the inning. I think it would have been appreciated on his end in the moment. But you live and learn.' Now, as Baldelli weathers the rumors about his job security, that living and learning will come with a fundamentally different group. The Twins' payroll, $147 million before the trades, is down to $134 million, according to FanGraphs' Jon Becker. The team's bigger savings, though, came from the purging of the final three guaranteed years of Correa's contract. The Twins sent the Astros $33 million, but saved about $70 million in future commitments to Correa. The price they paid for sticking the Astros with the majority of the contract was a minimal return in talent. The only player the Twins acquired in the deal was Matt Mikulski, a 26-year-old left-hander who has yet to rise above Class A. In Falvey's view, all is not lost. By acquiring Mick Abel in the Duran trade and Taj Bradley for Jax, the Twins added to their strong nucleus of starting pitching — Ryan, Pablo Lopez and Bailey Ober, plus youngsters David Festa, Zebby Matthews and Simeon Woods-Richardson, plus others rising through the minors. But their position player group, which still includes center fielder Byron Buxton and third baseman Royce Lewis, is in obvious need of reinforcement now that Correa, Castro and others are gone. Judged strictly by his performance, Correa's three-plus year tenure in Minnesota will go down as a disappointment. He missed 144 games, nearly a full season's worth. His average fWAR in five full seasons with the Astros, excluding the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign, was 4.6. With the Twins, including his prorated estimate this season, it was 3.1. But by the eve of the trade deadline, Correa seemed to quickly accept the reality that his time with the Twins was coming to an end. The day he was introduced in 2022, Correa talked about building a championship culture and winning World Series titles. On Wednesday, with the franchise in a decaying state, Falvey told him the honest truth. The Twins were starting over. (Top photo of Carlos Correa earlier this season: Stephen Maturen / Getty Images)
New York Times
3 hours ago
- New York Times
How will Edmonton Oilers deploy new-look winger depth charts in 2025-26?
While Edmonton Oilers fans focus on the famous veteran wingers who were lost to free agency, the organization is focused on a new-look group that marbles youth, experience and the unknown in hopes of adding speed and goals. The Oilers' wingers scored a total of 116 goals last season: Zach Hyman (27 goals), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (20, 12 as a winger), Corey Perry (19), Jeff Skinner (16), Viktor Arvidsson (16), Connor Brown (13), Vasily Podkolzin (8) and Kasperi Kapanen (5). Advertisement Meanwhile, the team's main centres scored 100: Leon Draisaitl (52), Connor McDavid (26), Adam Henrique (12) and Mattias Janmark (2), plus the eight goals Nugent-Hopkins scored while playing centre. Edmonton general manager Stan Bowman needed to add youth, a rugged edge and goals this summer, while also saying goodbye to almost 60 percent of the goals scored by wingers last season. How did he do it? Will it work out? Here's a look. Matt Savoie has a full year of professional experience, having thrived with the Bakersfield Condors as a rookie pro in 2024-25. He was the leading rookie scorer (age 20 group) in the AHL last season, and the Condors outscored opponents at a 65 percent rate when he was on the ice. When Savoie was not on the ice, that goal share dipped under 50 percent for Bakersfield. NHL coaches are risk-averse, especially with rookies. Savoie's performance in Bakersfield, plus a cup of coffee in the NHL, should give him an early boost in the race for skill-line minutes alongside one of McDavid or Draisaitl. Hyman should be the right winger with McDavid, but he can play either side. It's possible Hyman is delayed in making the opening-night roster as he recovers from wrist surgery. That could help Savoie. Ike Howard's journey to the Oilers roster is a little more complicated. Edmonton moved out Perry, Arvidsson and Brown on right wing, leaving only Hyman and Kapanen as incumbents this fall. However, Skinner was the only free-agent left winger not retained. Adding to the degree of difficulty is Howard's pure rookie status; he has never played professional hockey. His main calling card is as a first-shot scorer. Howard delivered 26 goals in 2024-25 and led the Big Ten in that category, finishing second in points. If Howard can gain some traction in training camp, the Oilers' roster becomes wildly interesting on the third- and fourth-line left wing spots. It's possible the club makes a trade before opening night (possibly Janmark) to make room. Advertisement Likely deployment: Both men receive between 45-60 games, Savoie scoring 0.5 points per game, with Howard taking a little longer to establish himself. The range of outcomes for Howard includes extended time with the Condors, especially if his work away from the puck becomes an issue. Andrew Mangiapane and Trent Frederic both have a chance to grab significant roles on the 2025-26 Oilers. The veterans signed with the team over the summer and will bring a range of skills to the top three lines. Mangiapane's intelligent play and aggressive forechecking style should lend themselves to both the McDavid and Draisaitl lines. He did not have a strong offensive season in 2024-25 (his sole campaign with the Washington Capitals) but should recover if he can stay on one of the top lines. Likely deployment: Mangiapane playing left wing on one of the top two lines is the easiest bet among the newcomers on the Edmonton roster. Expect 75-plus games, 40-45 points and 15-20 goals for the coming season. Frederic is a more difficult player to project onto the Edmonton roster. He brings plenty of grit, something the club will want (at times) on the top two lines. If completely healthy, he could score enough to merit time with the high-end skill centres. Failing that, he could be an effective winger on a third line that outscores and takes on some tough assignments. Deployment: Plenty of third-line time, with trips up the depth chart as required. Oilers fans didn't get to see Frederic at his best last season. Before his injury-riddled season in 2024-25, he averaged 14-14-28 with the Bruins. That should be the range of expectation (if he's healthy) for him in 2025-26. Hyman had wrist surgery and is 33. Despite a motor that won't quit, it's unrealistic to expect the kind of goal-scoring Oilers fans enjoyed over the past four seasons (he has averaged 38 goals per 82 games in Edmonton). Advertisement Podkolzin scored just eight goals last season while playing a significant amount with Draisaitl on the second line. His career high (14) should be within reach if he can hang around on the skill lines long enough this season. For a team that may need his fearless approach more often this season (with the exit of Evander Kane), Podkolzin is in a good spot to increase his offence in 2025-26. Kapanen projects as a depth forward and should deliver at about the same per-game production levels as last season. David Tomasek (Swedish league's leading scorer), Curtis Lazar (healthy again and a possible solution at centre) and Quinn Hutson are wild cards who could pick up significant playing time if injuries hit or the young hopefuls fail to deliver. Here's the tale of the tape. Each year, I run a 'reasonable expectations' series that projects goals-for and against for the Oilers in the coming season. The wingers this coming season project behind last year's group by nine goals. Hyman's injury and aging are factors, and the reliance on both Savoie and Howard as rookies, plus a wild card in Tomasek, likely means a slight downturn in results. The positive in this exercise is clear: there is room to grow. If the Oilers stay the course with the new group of players, the team should be fresher in the playoffs with the rookies battle-hardened. Look for an increase year over year from Podkolzin. He's in an excellent spot on this roster for the coming season. If Savoie and Howard are quicker than projected in figuring out where the goals are scored, Edmonton could break even in terms of production on the wings. (Photo of Andrew Mangiapane: David Kirouac / Imagn Images)
