"We understand the immense pride that these guys feel for representing their country in that competition," Friedman said. "...Talking to these guys it's just about partnering up with them. Understanding where they're at, what their thoughts are, how we do it the best way. We have designs to play through October so what does that look like in February, March? Just how to balance all of it. "But really good conversations with all those guys, and at the end of the day we are supportive."
That's it. The situation has been frustrating as coach Patrick Roy has given Tsyplakov an opportunity to play in various roles. But nothing has seemed to work. Tsyplakov has been a healthy scratch at times and at others, playing minuscule minutes on the fourth line. For instance, the Russian import played just 6:43 on January 19 against the Vancouver Canucks.
Potentially needing to clear a roster spot for some soon-to-be healthy players, the San Jose Sharks on Sunday placed veteran defenseman Nick Leddy on waivers. Leddy, 34, is one of seven defensemen on San Jose's active roster. But the Sharks, who are already carrying the maximum 23 players, were soon going to be facing a roster crunch with defensemen Vincent Desharnais and Shakir Mukhamadullin both nearing a return from their respective injuries.
You go through your process, you make what you think is the best decision for the football team and that's what we did. I knew that this was [a possible] outcome, that these things can happen. One thing I could guarantee was giving them rest. I couldn't guarantee anything else. And us being healthy and going into the playoffs healthy is a big deal for us.
Dubon is pretty much a lock because, well, they traded for him and his modest-but-higher-than-Nick-Allen's-would-have-been arbitration-eligible salary. Lee and White seem like near-locks because they aren't due very much (likely at or under $2 million) and because they've been useful for the Braves. Manoah is kind of a weird case because he was claimed with full knowledge that he'd need to be tendered to be retained,
The final date that teams can add internal players to the roster to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft is set for November 18th, just a few days away. Last year, Toronto decided to protect nobody and selected Angel Bastardo, who spent the entire season on the IL while he rehabbed from Tommy John surgery. The only casualty from the Jays' side was Garrett Spain, who was taken in the Minor League portion by the Milwaukee Brewers.
He was one of the best guys at seeing pitches and working counts and it's one of the reasons why we went out and traded for him, Brown told reporters at the GM Meetings on Wednesday (link via Matt Kawahara of The Houston Chronicle). We need that value in our lineup. It's the exact direction we're trying to take it. We feel like if we trade him it would be weakening our lineup. So right now, we have no interest in trading him.
When asked earlier this week about the Dallas Cowboys' defensive struggles, Jerry Jones gave a familiar response: "Help on the way is important. We do have two or three key players and we'll start getting healthier at safety, which we're really right now suffering from our depth at safety." The comment, meant to inspire confidence, instead highlighted a long-standing problem with Jones' approach to roster management: his unrelenting belief that injured players returning from rehab can instantly solve deep-rooted problems.
A promising forward and added depth to a team going through a rebuild and looking to eventually rely on their young group they have been developing for a few seasons now. Reichel has now played 172 games as a Blackhawk and has put up a total of 57 points in his career thus far, but has showed a lot of good developments in his own game and has proven a lot of skill within it.
Previewing tonight's visit to Columbus for a preseason date with the Blue Jackets from Vogs. Checking in with the coach and the kid after yesterday's practice. [Caps video (Carbery, Leonard)] Ryan Leonard finally scored a goal on a goalie (and again in the shootout) in Sunday's win in NJ, but for his coach, Leonard's successful evolution goes far beyond the scoresheet. [WaPo]
Wrapping up our 2024-2025 report cards is Chris Drury and the Rangers front office. To put it mildly, many of the Rangers issues last year started with Drury's summer roster management, which he tried to rectify with a flurry of midseason trades. As such, his report card grade is a tale of two Drury's.
Brandon Sproat is making it nearly impossible for the Mets to keep him down in the minors for much longer. The 24-year-old has hit his stride with Triple-A Syracuse after a bobble upon his promotion from Double-A Binghamton. He went six innings on Tuesday night, allowing just one run on two hits with eight strikeouts. Over his last nine starts (48.1 innings pitched), he has a 2.05 ERA with 57 strikeouts and a 0.850 WHIP.
