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USA Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Why Stars coach pulled goalie Jake Oettinger: 'Status quo had not been working'
Why Stars coach pulled goalie Jake Oettinger: 'Status quo had not been working' Show Caption Hide Caption Are Edmonton Oilers Stanley Cup bound? Former NHLer weighs in Former NHL winger Riley Cote explains what he loves about this Edmonton Oilers team ahead of the Western Conference Finals. Sports Seriously The Dallas Stars got off to a bad start while being eliminated Thursday night by the Edmonton Oilers. A careless penalty. A power-play goal in which Corey Perry was left alone in front. Another defensive breakdown on the Oilers' second goal by Mattias Janmark at 7:09. Stars coach Peter DeBoer called a timeout, then did something shocking: He pulled star goaltender Jake Oettinger and inserted backup Casey DeSmith. DeBoer explained his reasoning afterward, saying he didn't fully blame Oettinger for the goals but at the same time, he cited the "reality" of the situation. "If you go back to last year's playoffs, he's lost six of seven games to Edmonton and we gave up two goals on two shots in an elimination game," DeBoer said. "It was partly to spark our team and wake them up and partly knowing that status quo had not been working. That's a pretty big sample size." DeSmith gave up a quick goal to Jeff Skinner and though the Stars pulled close on a couple of occasions. they fell 6-3. "We didn't roll over," DeBoer said. Oettinger was one of three U.S. goalies at the 4 Nations Face-Off who could also be the netminders for the 2026 Olympics. Top goalie Connor Hellebuyck had some tough games on the road for the Winnipeg Jets in the playoffs. Boston's Jeremy Swayman missed the playoffs but helped the USA win a rare gold medal at the world championships. The Stars have now lost three consecutive trips to the Western Conference final. "Our group needs to go – you know, coaches, players – and reflect in the summer on what we can do when we get to this point against the best teams," DeBoer said. The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
USA Today
3 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Zach Hyman injury update: Oilers winger to have surgery, likely done for playoffs
Zach Hyman injury update: Oilers winger to have surgery, likely done for playoffs Show Caption Hide Caption Are Edmonton Oilers Stanley Cup bound? Former NHLer weighs in Former NHL winger Riley Cote explains what he loves about this Edmonton Oilers team ahead of the Western Conference Finals. Sports Seriously Edmonton Oilers star winger Zach Hyman is having surgery on Wednesday and is likely gone for the rest of the postseason after being injured in Game 4.. "We're not expecting him back for the playoffs," said coach Kris Knoblauch, who didn't specify which injury Hyman suffered when he left the game on a hit by the Dallas Stars' Mason Marchment during the first period. The Oilers won the game 4-1 to take a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference finals. Hyman scored 70 goals last season between the regular season and the playoffs. This season, he has 11 points in 15 playoff games and a league-leading 111 hits in the postseason, nearly 30 more than the next player. "Zach is going to be a huge hole, but we're fortunate to have a lot of depth that guys can come in and step up and give us quality minutes," Knoblauch said. Forward Connor Brown will miss a second consecutive game in Thursday's potential clinching Game 5 in Dallas with an unspecified injury. Viktor Arvidsson came back in the lineup for Game 4 to replace Brown. It's uncertain who would come in for Hyman, but offseason acquisition Jeff Skinner has played only one playoff game. The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
Toronto Sun
4 days ago
- Toronto Sun
HOCKEY CANADA TRIAL: Michael McLeod recalls for police 'weird' night of sex
Former NHLer told police officer entire situation that played out in his hotel room was 'weird' Jane Sims Published May 27, 2025 • Last updated 11 minutes ago • 8 minute read Michael McLeod, left, and, top to bottom, Cal Foote, Dillon Dube, Carter Hart and Alex Formenton enter the London courthouse on April 22, 2025. (Derek Ruttan/The London Free Press) Michael McLeod told the police officer the entire situation that played out in his hotel room was 'weird.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account His teammates from the gold-winning 2018 Canadian world junior hockey team had assembled in his room at the Delta Armouries hotel in London to hang out and eat chicken wings and mozzarella sticks ordered off Uber Eats. And among them was a 20-year-old woman he'd brought back to the hotel from a downtown London bar – and with whom he'd had consensual sex – who was begging his buddies to have sex with her and getting upset when they wouldn't. The whole scene was so absurd, so 'weird,' he thought he would take a video of the woman to make sure she was fine with what was happening. 'She said 'yes,'' McLeod told now-retired London police Det. Stephen Newton during a voluntary interview in November 2018. 'I was trying to make sure she was okay because this is, like, a weird situation that I wasn't expecting was going to happen with all the guys coming in. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'I was worried something like this could happen. I just made sure she was okay with this.' The interview was played in court on Tuesday at the trial of five Canadian world junior hockey players who were in London on June 18 and 19, 2018, for a Hockey Canada gala and golf tournament to celebrate their gold medals. McLeod, 27; Carter Hart, 26; Alex Formenton, 25; Dillon Dube, 26; and Cal Foote, 26, all have pleaded not guilty to sexual assault. McLeod has also pleaded not guilty to a second charge of being a party to sexual assault. The complainant, now 27, and whose identity is protected by court order, met McLeod at Jack's Bar on Richmond Row when a group of teammates showed up on Dollar Beer Night to dance and drink. She has testified earlier at the trial that once she went back to the hotel with McLeod, she was sexually assaulted by several men in his room. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. She testified she suffered memory issues about what happened because she was drunk and had separated her mind from what her body was doing to cope with the stressful situation. But the defence lawyers have pointed to her as the aggressor who wanted to have sex with the players and was annoyed if they didn't. The interview was introduced through the evidence of Newton, a 32-year veteran with the London police who left in 2022. He was the lead investigator in 2018 into the complaint filed just days after the big party and made the decision in February 2019 that he had insufficient grounds to lay charges. Newton first interviewed the woman on June 22, 2018, when the woman said she didn't want charges laid, but for her complaint to be documented and the men spoken to. Newton showed her photos of the team from the Hockey Canada website for identification purposes four days later. The woman would tell Newton to carry on with the criminal investigation. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. But contacting all the players was going to be tricky. He called it 'an unusual environment for this type of investigation.' He didn't reach out to them himself because he had no contact information and he thought it was best to reach out through their lawyers. 'I knew the nature of this team that these players were all over North America and it was going to be challenging,' he said under questions from Crown attorney Meaghan Cunningham. Newton said he called Bob Martin, the security advisor for Team Canada, and asked Martin to pass his contact information to the players and their lawyers. Once Hockey Canada named Danielle Robitaille as its lawyer, she became his main contact. The lawyers for two players, McLeod and Formenton, contacted him on July 13. A week later, McLeod's lawyer, David Humphrey, forwarded to Newton the two videos of the woman appearing to consent to sexual activity. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Newton said he eventually did in-person interviews with McLeod and Formenton and audio interviews with Dube and Foote. Hart wasn't interviewed, and Brett Howden, who just finished a week as a witness at the trial on Tuesday morning, did not provide an interview. The McLeod interview, which lasted more than an hour, took place on Nov. 17, 2018, with Humphrey present and with a preamble by Newton informing the player that he was investigating the woman's complaint of a sexual assault. 'I don't feel I have identified the necessary grounds for charges of sexual assault,' he told McLeod, making it clear he had no plans at that time to arrest and charge him, noting 'you are here on your own free will' and could leave anytime. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Newton also cautioned him the investigation was ongoing and should things change, what McLeod said could be used at trial. McLeod told Newton he and his teammates arrived at Jack's Bar around midnight. He described meeting the woman on the dance floor and that 'she wasn't, like, hammered by any means.' He bought her a drink and she bought him one, he said. 'I had a few more and didn't see what she was exactly drinking, but I know I was drinking with the guys.' Around 1:30 a.m., 'we decided to go back to the hotel mutually,' McLeod said. 'We had sex. And then, I decided to order some food off Uber Eats.' McLeod said he let the others know he had food, but also that he had 'a girl in the room.' Newton asked: 'Do you get the sense the guys are coming because they know there's a naked girl in the room who's doing sexual favours for people?' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. McLeod thought 'probably,' but added: 'I just told the guys I was getting food and there's a girl over there, that's all I said to a few guys. 'Like I said, a lot of these guys aren't looking for anything . . . most of them had girlfriends at the time, and didn't participate . . . they just kind of thought it was funny.' It was 20 minutes before the food showed up and before it arrived, 'two guys came around,' McLeod said. 'I know Carter Hart was one of them . . . and I'm not too sure who the other two were at the time. 'And then, we're all hanging out, four or five of us, including (the woman). And then I went downstairs to get the food – the mozzarella sticks and the chicken wings – and then I walked in and she was giving Carter Hart oral sex. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'She seemed completely fine with it and the other guys were just hanging out with other guys. It was a little different.' The food didn't last long and then Formenton, his roommate, showed up. 'I guess she wanted to have sex with him, but that was when there was only four or five of us in the room and he didn't want to do it in front of us,' McLeod said. 'So they went into the bathroom and they were in there for 10 or 15 minutes maybe and they, like, had sex, from what I know.' Three or four more guys showed up and then more. By then it was 'eight or nine guys and we were all hanging out. We were drunk, but we weren't black-out drunk and we all had our heads on straight for the most part and having fun, laughing,' McLeod said. 'Fifteen minutes later, she wanted to have sex with someone else again and, as I said, she was on the bed and said: 'Do you want to have sex with me' and 'no one will have sex with me' and 'you guys are p—–s.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. McLeod said they were 'all kind of stunned by her. Like none of us wanted to have sex with her, you know, in front of everyone.' Some were laughing, 'but not like making fun of her or anything, because it's kind of weird, so they're just like ha-ha, like what's going on, kind of thing. 'She got upset about that. She said 'no one wants to have sex' and I had to, kind of, calm her down and say 'are you okay?' Literally, I told her no one is going to have sex in front of nine other guys.' McLeod said the woman felt better after he talked to her, but then she was offering to give men oral sex. 'I got one and Carter Hart got another one and, maybe, Dillon Dube.' Before that happened, McLeod said he took the first video seen during the trial when he asked if she was fine with what was happening because he was 'worried something like this could happen . . . I just made sure she was okay with this.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. There were several times that the woman put her clothes on and took them off. He thought she was 'embarrassed' and said he asked her at least five times if she was okay. It was almost 4 a.m. when the men left the room. 'I mean all these guys are smart guys, they know kind of what's best for them . . . so they just, they didn't want to, you know, get out of hand, so they just left, and it was late too,' McLeod said. He added that he took the second video in which she 'wasn't black-out drunk' and said she was consenting to everything and asked why he was so 'paranoid' and told him she 'had fun.' Once everyone was gone, McLeod said he hopped in the shower and she came in, too. They had sex again. 'And she was getting dressed and looking for her stuff and couldn't find the ring she was wearing and she was pretty upset about that,' he said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. McLeod said they looked for the ring for 10 minutes or so, but he and Formenton wanted to go to bed so they could play golf the next day. 'We calmed her down . . . but you could tell she was kind of upset when she left.' The next day, Hockey Canada let him know the police had been called. He tracked the woman down through Instagram and messaged her. She said she was busy but told him her mother called the police and she had told her not to. Newton asked McLeod if he had regrets. 'So if this opportunity happened again, what do you think you would do?' Said McLeod: 'I'd probably just shut it down right away . . . probably go.' The trial continues. jsims@ Toronto Maple Leafs World Columnists Canada World
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Former Sabres First-Rounder Signs With Sparta Prague
Canadian defenseman Mark Pysyk, 33, has signed a one-year contract with Sparta Prague, the Czech Extraliga club announced on Thursday. The former NHLer is coming off a season where he helped SaiPa to the Finnish Liiga finals. 'Last season was my first in Europe and I didn't know what to expect, but the SaiPa fans were incredible,' said Pysyk. 'I know Sparta has a huge arena and a huge and loyal fan base, so I can't wait to get there and feel the energy, especially when the playoffs come.' 'He is an experienced defenseman with excellent skating and passing,' said Sparta director of hockey operations Tomáš Divíšek. 'If not for an unfortunate injury, he might still be a stable NHL defenseman.' Originally from Sherwood Park, Alta., Pysyk played junior hockey for the hometown Edmonton Oil Kings in the WHL and was chosen in the first round, 23rd overall, by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. From 2012 to 2022, Pysyk played 521 NHL regular-season games for the Sabres, Florida Panthers and Dallas Stars, recording 104 points and 152 penalty minutes. He also played four playoff games for Florida in the 2020 Eastern Conference playoff bubble in Toronto. Former Sabres First-Rounder Signs in Finland Canadian defenseman Mark Pysyk, 32, has signed a contract to play the remainder of the current season with SaiPa Lappeenranta, the Finnish Liiga club announced on Thursday. In the summer of 2022, Pysyk signed with the Detroit Red Wings. However, a short time later, he underwent surgery to repair a torn Achilles' tendon and missed the season. Pysyk spent the 2023-24 season in the AHL with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and Calgary Wranglers, recording four assists in 43 regular-season and playoff games combined. In September 2024, he attended the training camp of the Anaheim Ducks on a PTO. In November 2024, Pysyk signed to play the remainder of the season with SaiPa in the Finnish Liiga. He recorded 17 points in 56 regular-season and playoff games as SaiPa reached the finals. Last season, Sparta finished first in the Extraliga regular season but was eliminated in the semifinals by eventual champion Kometa Brno. In addition to Pysyk, the team has under contract for 2025-26 numerous ex-NHLers, including captain Vladimír Sobotka, Michal Kempný, Miikka Salomäki, Filip Chlapík and goaltender Josef Kořenář, whose NHL rights are retained by the Utah Mammoth. There Will Be A New Czech Champion - Třinec's 5-Year Reign Ended By Sparta After five long years, Oceláři Třinec's reign as Extraliga champion is over, following the team's quarterfinal defeat at the hands of Sparta Prague before a sellout crowd of 17,220 at O2 Arena on Monday.
Toronto Sun
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Toronto Sun
Hockey Canada trial: Judge downplays concerns over NHLer's memory
Hockey Canada trial: Judge downplays concerns over NHLer's memory Legal arguments over potential evidence inconsistencies dominated Wednesday proceedings Article content Hockey player Brett Howden didn't return to testify at the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial as planned Wednesday, but his memory did. Advertisement 2 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account or Sign in without password View more offers Article content Article content Recommended Videos tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Hockey Canada trial: Judge downplays concerns over NHLer's memory Back to video tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Play Video Article content Specifically, legal arguments took up most of the day at the high-profile trial of five 2018 Canada world junior hockey teammates, without the 27-year-old Vegas Golden Knights player present, and centred on some of the answers he gave the Crown during his testimony that began on Tuesday. The Crown began making an application under the Canada Evidence Act to seek permission for cross-examining their own witness, suggesting that what Howden couldn't remember even after he was given opportunities to review his previous statements in 2018 and 2022 was feigned memory around issues that would be unhelpful for the defence. Crown attorney Meghan Cunningham had pointed to 18 areas of potential inconsistency, many of them related to Howden's earlier answers where he couldn't remember specifics of the events. 'His lack of recollection on those areas is not sincere,' she said. Your Midday Sun Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. There was an error, please provide a valid email address. Sign Up By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Thanks for signing up! A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Your Midday Sun will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Article content Advertisement 3 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content The defence argued Howden's memory lapses were genuine, considering the events occurred seven years ago. Defence lawyer Megan Savard pointed out Howden, who testified via remote link from Nevada, is 'plainly unsophisticated.' 'He didn't come dressed for court. He is inarticulate, a poor communicator, careless (with his) words,' she said. 'And if someone is deliberately feigning, you would expect a general trend towards being helpful, whereas I would say, if anything, we may all say at the end of the day, this witness is generally useless, but he's certainly not helpful to the defence.' At the end of the court day, Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia agreed with the defence. 'In my view I cannot find that Mr. Howden is feigning lack of memory or being insincere about whether he has a recollection of his earlier statements or particulars of the events he is asked to describe.' Advertisement 4 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content 'On more than one occasion, when given an opportunity to refresh his memory, Mr. Howden has testified that he has no present recollection, but was telling the truth when he answered questions previously,' she said and added he was 'effectively adopting his earlier statements due to his lack of memory' and 'not attempting to distance himself from his earlier statements. 'There is no basis upon which I can conclude that Mr. Howden is being untruthful about his lack of details,' she said. However, there were four areas of evidence on which the Crown could still seek to cross-examine Howden, the judge said. That argument is set to continue on Thursday morning. Howden, whose Las Vegas team was recently eliminated from the NHL playoffs by the Edmonton Oilers, was already a constant presence in photos and videos made exhibits before he started his testimony at the trial of five former teammates who were in London on June 18 and 19, 2018, for a Hockey Canada gala and golf tournament to celebrate the championship. Advertisement 5 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Michael McLeod, 27, Carter Hart, 26, Dillon Dube, 26, Alex Formenton, 25, and Cal Foote, 26, have all pleaded not guilty to sexual assault. McLeod has also pleaded not guilty to a second sexual assault count for being a party to the offence. The trial, which has received widespread media attention, is focusing on what happened in Room 209 at the Delta Armouries hotel where McLeod and a woman, then 20, returned after meeting for the first time at Jack's Bar on Richmond Row when some members of the team were there drinking and dancing. McLeod and the woman, now 27, had consensual sex. But the issue at the trial is what happened after their first sexual encounter. The woman, whose name is protected under a publication ban, testified that unbeknownst to her, McLeod had invited teammates into the room for what she described as unwanted sexual activities with them. Advertisement 6 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content She was a Crown witness for more than a week. She testified to having memory lapses about what happened that night and being extremely drunk after a night in the bar. She also said she had what could best be described as an out-of-body experience – separating her mind from what was happening to her body – to cope with the unwanted sexual activities. But the defence has collectively presented a counter-scenario that the woman asked McLeod to invite the team to the room for 'a wild night' and that she initiated the sexual activities and invited the men to participate Howden is one of the first players identified in the Jack's dance floor security videos played during the trial and appeared to be the first contact the woman made with a player that night. The woman testified that Howden introduced her to McLeod while at the bar. Advertisement 7 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Howden testified that while he was in the hotel room, he didn't want anything to do with what he described as her inviting all of them to have sex with her. He recalled the woman flirting, 'taunting,' 'egging' and 'chirping' the players when they refused to engage with her. 'Everybody was kind of in disbelief or shocked this was happening,' he said. At times, however, even after opportunities given to him by the Crown to refresh his memory by being referred to segments of his 2018 and 2022 statements to the London police and Hockey Canada, Howden had little memory about certain issues. The trial has seen its share of hiccups. Two juries chosen to hear the case have come and gone, and mistrials declared in both cases. The first mistrial involved an unexpected contact a juror said she made with a lawyer during a lunch at the Covent Garden Market. The other, made on Thursday, was a complaint that one of the defence teams were whispering to each other when the jury walked into the courtroom, which was perceived as them commenting on the jurors' appearance. The note to the judge called them 'unprofessional.' The defence team for Formenton denied any impropriety. Carroccia dismissed the jury on Friday and the case is now continuing on as a judge-alone trial. jsims@ Article content Share this article in your social network Read Next
