Under Further Review – July 4 Edition – Douglas Smith with Editor Bill Morphy. Regular contributors include Jordan Moss, Rob Wagner, Howard Steiss, Ian MacPhee, Dave Kittle, Peter Hucul, Ted Tait, Bill and Glen Myles, Frank Sullivan, Mark Hughes, Iqbal Grewall, Brent Atkins, Allan Watts and Charlie Frenette.
Spanning the digital ether to bring you the constant variety of sport… the thrill of victory… and the agony of defeat… the human drama of athletic competition… This is Under Further Review.
Breaking News – Wow! Talk about a game-changer. Anaheim Ducks RFA centre Leo Carlsson is about to become the NHL’s highest paid player at the ripe age of 21. The Flyers signed Carlsson to a five-year, $90-million-dollar offer sheet with an AAV of $18 million. The Ducks have a week to match the offer and retain his services. Everybody expects the Ducks to match. If not, Anaheim will receive the Flyers first-round pick in each of the next four seasons. All this exercise serves to accomplish is salary escalation. The Ducks can’t be happy. They’ve been trying to sign Carlsson to a contract extension for several months. Carlsson is an outstanding talent but he’s not worth $18 mil. In the NFL, Jimmy Johnson created a points system to determine the value of draft picks in each round. It would be interesting to analyze what four NHL first-round picks would be worth by projecting where those picks may land. The Flyers got a bump from the Tocchet hire. What happens if they take a step back? Could happen. Take the picks.
Our Moment – If you asked any Canadian soccer fan prior to the start of the World Cup if they would be happy if Canada made it out of the group stage, let alone win a knockout game and advance to the round of 16, the answer would be an emphatic YES.
Who says Canada can’t go a step further? Morocco awaits on Saturday in sweltering Houston. The game will be played indoors with climate control. Ask Paraguay who upset Germany. Who says we have to go home? Don’t listen to the noise. Go out and make history. What’s to lose? You’re playing with house money. All the pressure is on Morocco.
Canada made it through to the round of 16 despite an overwhelming number of injuries. That in itself is an amazing accomplishment. Against Switzerland, Canada was missing Alphonso Davies, Moise Bombito, Ismael Kone and for the first half, Stephen Eustaquio. That’s your four best players. Canada was still able to hang with the Swiss. Says a lot about the growth of the program.
At times, Canada gives up possession too easily. Canada is most effective when play breaks down and things open up. Canada is most vulnerable when they start to chase the game and make sloppy passes. They become vulnerable over the top with quick counters.
World Cup Notebook – The race is on for the Golden Boot. Messi. Mbappé. Haaland. Who will it be? The three shining stars have more than lived up to the hype. You can toss Harry Kane into the mix as well.
Lionel Messi sits atop the leaderboard with 7 goals. Kylian Mbappé has 6. Kane and Erling Haaland have 5 apiece. Mbappé has 2 assists as well which could factor in if multiple players finish the tournament with the same number of goals. Here’s how FIFA would break a tie:
- Most Assists: Total assists determined by the FIFA Technical Study Group.
- Least Minutes Played: If assists are also tied, the player who achieved their goals and assists in the fewest total minutes played wins the award.
France remains the outright tournament favorite with odds of +190 and +250 depending on the sportsbook. Defending champion Argentina is the second choice followed by Spain and England.
World Cup Jackpot – Ever wonder how much teams earn for a berth in the World Cup? You can walk away with some serious cash.
After securing a berth, just to train and travel to a World Cup, each team is given $2.5 million. If you are eliminated in the group stage, you still take home a cool $10 million. If you reach the round of 32, each team gets $11 million. If you advance to the round of 16, you earn $15 million. For a quarterfinal berth, each team gets $19 million.
If you reach the semifinal stage, the money jumps dramatically. The fourth-place team takes home $27 million. The third-place team earns $29 million. The runner-up gets $33 million with the champion pocketing a tidy $50 million.
Altogether, the total prize pool for 48 teams is $871 million. Chump change.
Culture Change – The busiest person in the province over the past month has to be Canucks GM Ryan Johnson. Reshaping the roster is one thing. Reshaping the culture around the team has been something altogether more urgent.
As expected, the Canucks were very restrained and disciplined on July 1. Gone are the days of foolish spending. Jamie Oleksiak and Paul Cotter were added in free agency to add bite to an otherwise lifeless lineup. Marcus Pettersson was shipped off to New York for a 2030 first-round pick. Let the Canucks know if you see an exciting 13-year-old Peewee at an arena near you.
Brendan Gallagher and Luke Schenn bring veteran leadership. In fact, they are almost coaches-in-waiting. Schenn makes his off-season home in Kelowna and is back for a third term. Johnson had him in Abby at one point. Malhotra had Schenn in Toronto when he was an assistant coach there.
The Canucks financial ledger is improving which should make Francesco Aquilini happy. Former GM Patrik Allvin signed a contract with Seattle while former coach Adam Foote signed as an assistant with Utah. Saved the Canucks paying the pair to sit on the sidelines. Dealing underperforming winger Nils Hoglander to Nashville shaved another $6 million off the books. The Canucks got back a third-round pick in 2029. Scout those Tykes!
In the final analysis, the Canucks may not be better on the ice as a result of the flurry of moves but they are certainly more stable in the dressing room. It’s going to be very important to keep a positive attitude in what is sure to be another miserable season in the standings.
The summer is still young. Will Johnson cut deeper? Next in line are DeBrusk, Boeser, Pettersson and perhaps even Hronek. May the purge be with you!
NHL Draft Recap – For your viewing pleasure, the NHL is insistent on marching out B-List celebrities from every NHL locale to announce their team’s pick. Must we do this? We can certainly do without Justin Bieber. When Bieber went to the podium to announce the Leafs selection, he announced “Mr. McKenna, we’d like to draft you to the Toronto Maple Leafs.” Whatever you say, Biebs.
Thurman Thomas, announcing the Sabres pick, called it the “NFL Draft.” Lanny McDonald, who always seeks air time, announced the Flames pick, “Carson Carels from the Prince Cougar Alberts.” You are clearly slipping Lanny.
Naturally, owning the number one overall pick, the Leafs grabbed all the headlines. Look for McKenna to be in the next Tim’s commercial. The draftniks gave the Leafs an A+ grade for their selections. Of course. What did you expect? Their Cup runneth over. The parade will start at the foot of Yonge Street and go to…..
Grade A+: San Jose. When the dust settled, the big winner was the San Jose Sharks who somehow walked off with Ivar Stenberg and Keaton Verheoff, the former Victoria Grizzlie. The Sharks may have just punched their ticket to a championship. San Jose added undersized Vancouver Giants defenceman Ryan Lin later in the first round. Don’t sell this kid short. Highly intelligent. He will figure out how to contribute at the next level. Getting goalie Brady Knowling in round three was a good bit of work as well.
Grade D: Pittsburgh/Chicago. Pens GM Kyle Dubas evidently missed the memo about size being an asset in today’s game. The Penguins selected both Ruck brothers from Medicine Hat. Some idiots had them mocked to Vancouver. Talented but without top-end skating, it’s hard to see them having success. The Pens also selected undersized Czech blueliner Tomas Galvas when better options were still on the board. Ditto for Chicago who used a premium pick to select 155-pound Quebec League defenceman Xavier Villeneuve.
Canadian Content: The Edmonton Oilers didn’t pick until 58th overall. Rudolfs Berzkalns is two years away from being two years away. Shades of Bruno Caboclo, the guy the Raptors drafted out of nowhere.
The Flames got a stud in defenceman Carson Carels, the Prairie farm boy. Carels could end up being the best blueliner in this draft. Late in the first round, Calgary added USHL centre Jack Hextall. He’s headed to college and will need considerable development time. The Flames also got a decent goaltending prospect in Tobias Trejbal.
The Winnipeg Jets landed diminutive center Viggo Bjorck with pick No. 8. He’s expected to be an immediate contributor. Very mature. Good brain and very competitive. Should slot in right away in a position of need. Jets fans will love this kid.
The Toronto Maple Leafs started restocking the shelves with a total of ten picks led by a potential star in McKenna. The Leafs had four picks between 60 and 76 and drafted several potential depth pieces. We like big Swedish defenceman Mans Gudmundsson who lacks puck skills but could develop into a shutdown type D-man.
Ottawa had two picks late in the first round. The Sens took a flyer on Jonas Lagerberg Hoen, a lanky Swedish forward with good wheels. He’s coming off knee surgery so don’t expect to see him for a while. Like his upside though. With the final pick of the opening round, the Senators chose OHL forward Jaxon Cover. Profile is OK. Size. Decent speed. Hockey IQ really lacking. Not high on this pick.
The Montreal Canadiens moved up in the opening round to select a massive Russian forward named Gleb Pugachyov with the 26th pick. When you are in the Canadiens position, why not take a swing? He’s super competitive. Pugachyov shot up the rankings late. Could ultimately be a replacement for Josh Anderson.
Canucks Draft Recap – Some perspective is required. The Canucks have treated draft picks like H&M clothing. Wear it and toss it in the garbage.
You pay a massive price when you live in the present. Not a single player drafted by the Canucks in 2020 and 2021 have played a single game in the NHL. This is how you drop to the bottom of the NHL standings. Although stockpiling picks is no guarantee for success. The Detroit Red Wings are a cautionary tale. From 2019 to 2022, the Wings made a total of 35 picks including nine in the second-round and hit on basically none of them.
Looking at the Canucks prospect list prior to the draft, every hopeful in the system who might be considered part of the future is on the small side – Braeden Cootes, Thomas Willander, Jonathan Lekkerimaki, Zeev Buium, Kirill Kudryavtsev. It was time to add size and muscle and according to the Canucks amateur scouting department, that message was sent loud and clear prior to the proceedings.
The freshly-minted Canucks front office clearly demonstrated what future Canucks should look like. Big bodies, sturdy and athletic. None of the nine draft picks measured under 6 feet. The next generation of Canucks won’t be pushed around.
- Caleb Malhotra: (First round, 3rd overall) Don’t worry about the father-son dynamic. The kid is a couple of years away. Definitely the top centre in the draft where the Canucks had a huge positional need. Even if he only becomes a 2C, it was still probably the right way to go. Potential future captain. Should be about 6-2 and 200+ pounds when he matures. Next season: Boston U.
- Adam Novotny: (First round, 24th overall) About the same size as Malhotra. Very thick, wide-bodied. Elite skater. Big shot. Played in the top Czech pro league at 15. Went into Peterborough as a 17-year-old and led the team in goals. Another kid with great character as the Canucks search for culture-setters. Final payment in the Quinn Hughes trade. Don’t be shocked if he makes the team out of training camp. Next season: OHL Peterborough Petes.
- Brooks Rogowski: (Second round, 33rd overall) Can’t teach size. At 6-7, one of the tallest players in the draft. Good athlete. Just starting to develop after switching from baseball to hockey. Decent skater for his size. Could be a huge net front presence as a pro. Will need time. Next Season: OHL Oshawa Generals. 2027 Michigan State commit.
- Niklas Aaram-Olsen: (Second round, 41st overall) Fast rising Norwegian winger already being compared to Nik Ehlers. Tremendous athletic skills. Crushed the testing at the NHL Combine. Great skater who takes pucks to the net. Should develop into a solid contributor. Could add secondary scoring. Next Season: Boston University (linemate of Malhotra?)
- Dmitri Ivchenko: (Third Round, 78th overall) Russian goaltender was selected ahead of where many teams had him rated. Has the requisite size for a goalie at 6-foot-3. Selection was influenced by Canuck goalie guru Ian Clark. Who’s to argue? Next Season: Omskie Yastreby, Russian MHL. Could graduate to Avangard of the KHL.
- Yaroslav Bryzgalov: (Fourth Round, 97th overall) Came a long distance to Medicine Hat. Built like a truck. The 6-4 Russian winger is already 218 pounds. No relation to the former NHL goaltender. Interesting profile although footspeed a question mark. Could be hard to move down low. Next Season: Merrimack College
- Connor Davis: (Fifth Round, 129th overall) Quebec native played last season in the USHL. Right winger was passed over in last year’s draft. Could be a late developer. Will play in a great college program. Next Season: of North Dakota
- Lucien Bernat: (Sixth Round, 176th overall) Six-foot-four Slovak winger played junior in Finland last season. Will make the jump to the OHL this fall. Canucks continued their focus on size up front. Next Season: OHL Owen Sound Attack
- Samuel Eriksson: (Sixth Round, 184th overall) Massive blueliner at six-foot-five. Good enough to play on last year’s gold medal-winning Swedish World Junior team. Shutdown potential if skating improves. Was rated in the 50’s on some mock drafts. Good end up being a steal in round six. Should arrive in North America in 2027. Next Season: Färjestad BK U20
NHL Free Agent Frenzy – There was little on the shelves when NHL free agency opened on Canada Day. The Maple Leafs had ample cap space and were intent on using it. Damn the fallout. Eight years and $69 million for Tampa defenceman Darren Raddysh was excessive. We’ll see how that plays out. The Lightning, in turn, gave John Carlson two years and $17 million. Better player and far less term. Seems like more disciplined management. The Leafs also jumped into bed with FA goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. Got to wonder how he’ll perform. He’ll be 38 by the time the season starts. Three years? How about one? Bill Zito walked away. What does that tell you?
Pretty slim pickings on the free agent market when a career fourth-liner like A.J. Greer lands a four-year contact in Anaheim with an AAV over $4 million. You see these foolish overpays every year. The Canucks would have liked to bring Colton Sissons back home to Vancouver but not at the price Toronto paid (2 X $4.25 million).
NHL Trade Reaction – It’s been a wild couple of weeks around the NHL. The transaction wire to NHL Registry has been blowing up. Here’s our take on some of the more consequential deals.
Ottawa Senators receive: F William Eklund, F Kasper Halttunen, rights to Brandon Svoboda
San Jose Sharks receive: No. 9 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft
Bottom-line: Senators needed a replacement for Brady Tkachuk. High price. Would rather have Verheoff whom the Sharks selected with the pick. Don’t think this trade will age well for Ottawa.
Chicago Blackhawks receive: D Bowen Byram
Buffalo Sabres receive: No. 4 and 45 In 2026 NHL Draft and depth defenceman Louis Crevier.
Bottom-line: WTF are the Blackhawks doing? This may be remembered as the day the Blackhawks rebuild died. Byram is not a true number 1 D-man. The Hawks showered him with a new contract at $12.5 million per season, making Byram the highest-paid blueliner in the league, at least until Makar re-ups. That’s just reckless. The deal is an absolute steal for the Sabres who landed promising defenceman Daxon Rudolph with the fourth pick. Zero chance Buffalo or anyone else was going to give Byram that kind of money.
Washington Capitals receive: F Jordan Kyrou
St. Louis Blues receive: F Connor McMichael, No. 16 pick in 2026 NHL Draft and F Milton Gästrin, No. 37 pick in last year’s draft.
Bottom-line: Until last season, Kyrou was a consistent 35-goal man. Will he bounce back in Washington? Who knows? Carries a hefty $8.13 million salary for the next five seasons. McMichael had 26 goals and 57 points in 2024-25. The Blues used the 16th pick to select 6-foot-4 forward Maddox Dagenais. Gästrin could prove useful. Considering the salary dump, the Blues came away happy.
Calgary Flames receive: D Simon Nemec and F Maxim Tsyplakov
New Jersey Devils receive: Conditional 2027 first-round pick, a conditional 2028 first-round pick, a 2026 second-round pick, and D Etienne Morin
Bottom-line: This one is a head-scratcher. Last time we checked the Flames were in a rebuild. Why give up three premium draft picks for a defenceman who is still largely unproven? Sunny Mehta, the new GM in New Jersey, avoids having to pay Nemec big money on promise alone. What happens if Nemec doesn’t develop? Could be a massive misstep by the Flames. Calgary GM Craig (Connie) Conroy was mentored by Brad Treliving. What does that tell you? I would rather have Connie from The Godfather running my team.
Utah Mammoth receive: C Vincent Trocheck
New York Rangers receive: D Sean Durzi, F Cole Beaudoin, third-round pick 2027 NHL Draft.
Bottom-line: Trocheck was good enough to play on the U.S. Olympic team. At 32, he has plenty left in the tank. With the centre market severely lacking, the Rangers came up way short. Durzi is undersized. Beaudoin is a below-average skater who may not stick. Very surprised the Rangers couldn’t land more.
Minnesota Wild receive: F Blake Coleman and D Olli Maatta
Calgary Flames receive: D Jake Middleton and 2029 second-round pick, 2027 third and 2028 fourth-round pick and retain 50% of Coleman contract
Bottom-line: Coleman had 20 goals last season and is great in the room. The Flames send two roster players to Minnesota and retain salary. They get back picks stretched out to 2029. Can someone tell Connie you only have 50 roster spots? How many picks can you accumulate? No chance the Flames will have room to sign them all. The Blackhawks and the Flames are the two worst managed teams in the NHL.
NHL Leftovers – One of the biggest fish on the trade market, Norris Trophy-winning Blue Jackets defenceman Zach Werenski, had had a change of heart and remain in Columbus next season. We’ll see about that. Werenski is a client of super agent Judd Moldaver who’s at the centre of player movement around the NHL. Moldaver also has Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews in his stable.
The NHL universe seems to be orbiting around Moldaver. The Blue Jackets are at his mercy. Werenski wants out but appears to be intent on directing where he lands. He’s already vetoed a deal to Dallas that would have sent Thomas Harley to Columbus.
Is there a more nondescript franchise in sports than the Seattle Kraken? Jason Robertson must think so. The Dallas Stars winger turned down a long-term contract offer of $15 million per to go to Seattle. The Kraken just keep spinning their wheels.
San Jose did some nice work at the draft table but you have to question the acquisition of a pair of veteran defencemen in Jacob Trouba and Darnell Nurse. The pair will cost the Sharks almost $18 million over each of the next four seasons. Neither move the puck with authority. With Nurse off the books, the Oilers quickly pivoted and signed Pens FA defenceman Ryan Shea and veteran Hurricanes goalie Frederik Andersen. Will Andersen finally solve the Oilers goaltending issues? Don’t bank on it.
Looks like North Van superstar Connor Bedard has suffered a major injury setback while working out this summer. He fell awkwardly into the boards and came up holding his left shoulder. Could be a dislocation. Bedard missed a month last season with a right shoulder injury. He chose not to play in the World Championships while rehabbing. If surgery is required, Bedard may be forced to miss a large position of next season.
Hide Your Phone – There’s only one possible outcome in light of Mike Babcock’s hiring in Edmonton. A disaster waiting to happen. If Connor McDavid is on board, what does it say about him? McDavid might be a great hockey player but he’s not a great judge of character.
We’re talking about a guy who benched Mike Modano out of spite when he was one game shy of 1,500. Check it out. Modano finished his career with 1,499 games played. Only an absolute jerk would do that. Showed perhaps the best American NHL player in history no respect whatsoever. Ask Chris Chelios about Babs?
When Mitch Marner was a rookie in Toronto, Babcock pulled him aside and made him rank his teammates from hardest to least-hardest working. Babcock then shared the list with the veteran players who were ranked at the bottom. Way to go Mike!
We have some advice for the players in Edmonton. Get a burner phone!
Here’s Mike at the mic.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/PW28qlTWXMA
One thing is certain, Babs has a burning desire to win.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/N6jZldNusbU
Blue Jays Notebook – We are in July and Vladdy has a grand total of four home runs on the season. NONE AT HOME. Yes, you read that right. Not a single long ball at Rogers Stadium. The power outage is mystifying. Japanese newcomer Kazuma Okamoto leads the team in home runs but is on pace to shatter the Jays all-time single-season strikeout mark. Okamoto is likely to top 200 K’s. The Jays club record for K’s in a season is 170 held by Jose Bautista.
If a sharp turnaround doesn’t happen soon, it will be time to recalibrate. The Jays have five pending free agents who could be moved at the trade deadline – Daulton Varsho, George Springer, Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber and Yimi Garcia. Considering their current injury status, it’s doubtful Bieber and Garcia would draw much interest.
The pitching staff has been off-kilter all season. No starter can go deep, save for maybe Trey Yesavage. Dylan Cease has not delivered. He’s walks too many batters. The 7-year, $30 million per season contract may not age well. The bullpen is overtaxed and it’s starting to show.
The worst thing the front office could do right now is to deal top prospects to try and salvage the season. Last year’s team overachieved. This year’s team has done the exact opposite.
Shuffling the Deck Chairs – Are you keeping score with all the craziness going on in the NBA? Let’s see. Giannis went to Miami. Ja Morant took his gun collection to Portland. Kawhi is headed back to Toronto. Jaylen Brown is off to Philly. And LeBron, who knows? He’s leaving Hollywood and will no doubt try to orchestrate his next stop.
The Raptors gave up Brandon Ingram and a truckload of draft picks to reacquire Kawhi Leonard who’s 35 but still highly productive. Getting out from under Brandon Ingram’s contract is a huge plus. The picks are unprotected first-round selections in 2031 and 2033. Big risk but that’s life in the Association. Kawhi and Scottie Barnes should make for a deadly defensive duo. Barnes will no longer have to be the focal point of the offence.
Kawhi played 74 games last season. A minor miracle. What? No more load management? We know one thing. Leonard will be a rich man. He’s now scheduled to earn $60.6 million next season and $65.5 million in 2028-29 for a total of $126.1 million.
The Celtics inexplicably dealt Brown to the division rival 76’ers. With Joel Embiid and Tyrone Maxey, the Sixers should be formidable in the Eastern Conference if Embiid stays on the court and is motivated. Have no idea what Boston is thinking. Can’t see the Celtics contending.
Random Leftovers – Canada’s 16-year-old golfing prodigy Aphrodite Deng has committed to attend Stanford starting in 2028. The Calgary native has enjoyed a decorated junior career including becoming the first Canadian to win the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship. She’ll join a powerful Stanford women’s golf team that’s won a national championship twice in the last three years. The ceremony was officiated by comedian Adam Sandler. Praise the Lord!
In case you missed it and we hope you did, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce were married in a lavish ceremony on Friday night at Madison Square Garden in New York in front of 1,000 invited guests. How sweet! The ceremony was officiated by comedian Adam Sandler. Praise the Lord!
What’s the over-under? We’re taking less than five years.
Must be time to sign off.
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