By JOSH HELLER
Staff Writer
1. Sens, Avs, Preds Land Huge Three-Team Deal
After reports last week that a possible deal involving Matt Duchene and Kyle Turris was dead, the teams came together and shocked the hockey world.
In the end, the Senators receive Duchene from the Avs, the Predators receive Turris from the Sens, and the Avalanche receive Samuel Girard (Nashville), Vladislav Kamenev (Nashville), Shane Bowers (Ottawa), Andrew Hammond (Ottawa), and a first-rounder and third-rounder from Ottawa in the deal. The deal came after a long offseason of Duchene trade rumors, as he was unhappy in Colorado.
He showed up to team photo day in the preseason saying he was only there on behalf of his teammates. He played out the first month of the season in Denver, before reports surfaced again that a potential deal could be in the works.
The Avalanche were stuck in a bad spot with Duchene here. The 26-year-old was the third-overall pick behind John Tavares and Victor Hedman in 2009.
His best NHL season came in 2013-14 when he scored 70 points in 71 games. Duchene has a $6 million cap hit the next two seasons. Turris, the other huge piece in the deal, is 28-years-old, and was the third-overall pick in 2007.
He has been a very reliable first-line center for the Sens, with his best year of 64 points coming in 2014-15.
Turris was in the final year of his contract that had a cap hit of $3.5 million, but when he was traded in this deal to Nashville, the team signed him to a six-year, $36 million extension that will pay him through 2023-24.
As far as the “lesser” names go, Girard of Nashville, just 19, has the potential to be a great top-four defenseman. He is very talented offensively, putting up 75 points in 59 games as a defenseman in juniors last year. Colorado is a team with “shaky” defense (to say the least), and Girard is a guy who can help out that back-end right away.
The Predators also sent away Kamenev, a 21-year-old Russian who put up 51 points in 70 games in the AHL last year. Kamenev is a reliable player on both sides of the ice, as he can play both the power play and penalty kill.
The last of the prospects, Shane Bowers, was drafted 28th-overall by the Senators in this past draft. He is playing this season at Boston University, and is known for his playmaking ability.
Hammond, dealt to Colorado, was the hero that led the Senators to the playoffs in 2015-16, as he went 14-1-1 in his first 16 career starts. Hammond was called up to backup Robin Lehner, who was starting while Craig Anderson was injured.
Lehner sustained a concussion, and Hammond got the crease. His historic run is most likely the crowning moment of his career, as he spent almost all of last season in the AHL, as it was Mike Condon who carried to Senators while Anderson tended to his ill wife.
In the end, this deal was possibly the biggest one in the past 10+ years. The Predators are officially all-in for 2018, following their loss in the Final last season.
The Senators paid a lot, but they do have a nice upgrade from Turris to Duchene. The Avalanche, meanwhile, were historically bad last season, and despite a good start, they could be heading for a bottom-ten finish once again. With a deal this big, all eyes will be on Duchene on Friday, as he and the Senators take on the Avalanche in a game in Sweden.
2. Notable MLB Player Option Decisions
As the Astros celebrate their World Series win, many players around the league have made their decisions on where they will play next season, and possibly beyond.
One of the biggest option decisions was Masahiro Tanaka.
After a strong end-of-season and postseason, Tanaka decided not to opt out of his deal, and will stay in Yankee pinstripes through at least 2020. With Tanaka slated to be in the rotation, the Yankees’ rotation looks like it will be Tanaka, Luis Severino, Sonny Gray, Jordan Montgomery, and CC Sabathia (if he re-signs with the team).
Another big pitcher who will stay with his team is Johnny Cueto. He, like Tanaka, had an opt-out clause he declined, so he will stay in San Francisco through 2021.
Cueto had a down-year in 2017 (4.52 ERA), filled with injuries. The injuries meant Cueto did not want to test the market, and he will stay a Giant. Several former big-name players will hit the open market, such as J.J. Hardy, Ichiro Suzuki, and Hisashi Iwakuma.
There were also several no-brainer accepted options, such as Jose Altuve and Marwin Gonzalez in Houston, Chris Sale and Craig Kimbrel in Boston, and Andrew McCutchen in Pittsburgh.
3. McAdoo Doesn’t Rule Out QB Change
Following an absolutely embarrassing loss to the Rams, Giants’ coach Ben McAdoo said he could give some young guys some playing time on the team, and didn’t rule out quarterback.
The Giants fell 51-17 to the Rams on Sunday, and it wasn’t Eli Manning that gave up 51 points.
Still, McAdoo said some guys could find their way into the lineup, and when asked specifically about a QB change, he said that included everybody.
Now, is this something that could definitely happen? No, and many believe McAdoo was just saying this, and won’t follow through.
However, Manning is 36 years old now, and the Giants need to start planning for life post-Eli.
In a year where playoffs are a far-off dream, and the Eagles and Cowboys have taken over the division, it wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world to test out some young players at certain positions, and while Manning hasn’t been a problem for the Giants, maybe it wouldn’t be terrible to see what the kids can do.
4. Fournette Inactive for Breaking Team Rules
In Sunday’s win over the Bengals, it was star rookie Leonard Fournette who was missing from the Jaguars’ backfield.
Head coach Doug Marrone declared Fournette inactive before the game, saying in a statement that he was out “due to an infraction of a team rule.” According to league reports, Fournette missed the team photo, as well as a workout and injury treatment.
In Fournette’s absense, it was Chris Ivory who got that start, and T.J. Yeldon as the backup. The two combined for 111 yards and no touchdowns in the 23-7 win over Cincinnati.
Despite missing this past game, the team has confirmed Fournette will return to action next week as the Jaguars take on the Chargers.
5. Rose to be on Minutes Restriction All Season
After his injury-riddled history, the Cavaliers are committed to keeping point guard Derrick Rose on a minutes-restriction all season.
Rose has been filling in while Isaiah Thomas is out with his injury, and the team plans to cap Rose at 31 minutes-per-game maximum, even while Thomas is out, no matter how good and/or healthy he looks.
Rose has already missed four games this season with an ankle injury. The Cavaliers have looked terrible to start the season, and following a loss to the Hawks on Sunday, sit at 4-6 on the season.
LeBron James has looked like, well, LeBron James, but the rest of the team is not playing up to the caliber the NBA is used to seeing.
Rose will be relied on for most of the point guard action in Thomas’ action, which could be a while, as he is reportedly not expected back until late-2017, or early-2018.
