Rangers Place Barclay Goodrow On Waivers
7:00 PM: Barclay Goodrow may not have to spend very long on waivers, with Mollie Walker of the New York Post reporting that the San Jose Sharks – who carry top priority in waiver claims after finishing last in the league – could have an agreement in place to claim the Rangers winger. Goodrow spent the first six years of his NHL career with the Sharks, joining the team as an undrafted free agent in 2014. The 31-year-old veteran could provide great leadership to a now much younger San Jose lineup, as the team looks to return to their days of routine playoff berths.
1:00 PM: The Rangers have placed forward Barclay Goodrow on waivers, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.
The move likely marks the beginning of the end for Goodrow’s time in New York, whether via a waiver claim over the next 24 hours or via buyout or trade. He has three seasons remaining at a $3.642MM cap hit with a 15-team no-trade list.
Goodrow, now 31, gave himself quite a reputation around the league with some clutch playoff performances for the Sharks and Lightning around the turn of the decade. After scoring the overtime winner for San Jose against the Golden Knights in Game 7 of their first-round win, a game they trailed 3-0 in the third period, he went on to play a key depth role in Tampa’s back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2020 and 2021.
That earned him his current deal – a six-year, $21.85MM pact signed with the Rangers after they acquired his signing rights from the Bolts shortly before free agency opened in 2021. At first, it seemed to pay off. His first season in the Big Apple saw him do well in a checking role, posting 13 goals, 33 points and a +13 rating in 79 games while averaging nearly 17 minutes per night. Behind the scenes, though, there were red flags. His strong possession numbers with Tampa had cratered in New York, and the Blueshirts only controlled 44.3% of shot attempts with Goodrow on the ice at even strength in his first year.
It’s been downhill from there. Goodrow’s ice time and point production have consistently slipped over the past two years, and his already underwhelming possession metrics have gotten worse. He was arguably the worst two-way player in the league this season, managing to control just 39.1% of shot attempts when on the ice at even strength. For context, the Rangers overall controlled 53.2% of shot attempts without Goodrow on the ice at even strength.
His box stats this season were unimpressive as well. He played in 80 games but mustered only four goals and 12 points while slipping to a fourth-line center role for most of the campaign. Of course, he showed up when it matters most yet again, exploding for six goals and two assists in 16 playoff games. While a good story, he shot at 40%, and his possession metrics were even worse than in the regular season. That level of offense was never going to be sustainable.
All 31 other teams can now have Goodrow for free, but with three years left on a deal that was a vast overpayment this season, it’s highly unlikely he’ll be claimed. The waiver process should allow Rangers general manager Chris Drury to gauge interest in his services in an attempt to work out a cap-clearing trade, though. Even if that doesn’t work, buying out the remainder of his contract is an option. Doing so would result in a cap credit of $247K this season before a $1.003MM penalty in 2025-26, a $3.503MM penalty in 2026-27, and a $1.111MM penalty from 2027-28 to 2029-30, per CapFriendly. It would save the Rangers an average of just $556K per season over the next six years.
East Notes: Steen, Blue Jackets Coaching Search, Holl
The Bruins won’t re-sign pending Group VI unrestricted free agent Oskar Steen, his agent Joakim Persson told Värmlands Folkblad’s Johan Ekberg. Steen, 26, isn’t eligible for standard UFA status until 2025 but hits the open market early with less than 80 NHL games played and three or more professional seasons accumulated.
A sixth-round pick of the Bruins in 2016, Steen played in a career-high 34 games this season but managed just one goal on 24 shots. He averaged 9:04 per game and had poor possession metrics, although he was disproportionately deployed in defensive zone usage.
He ends his Bruins career with four goals and eight points in 60 games over the last four years. While he may not have turned into a regular contributor, getting even brief NHL action out of a late-round pick is good value.
The Karlstad, Sweden native, had 12 goals in 25 AHL games this year as well and will look to land a two-way contract with another club next month. Persson indicated that the Bruins have given him permission to seek other NHL fits for Steen, and it doesn’t appear he’ll be heading overseas.
Other notes from the Eastern Conference:
- After middling results under first-time head coaches the past few seasons, expect the Blue Jackets to opt for someone with experience behind an NHL bench as they search for Pascal Vincent‘s replacement. Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic lists Jeff Blashill, Dean Evason, Todd McLellan and Jay Woodcroft to be a part of a long list of interview candidates.
- In his latest mailbag piece, The Athletic’s Max Bultman covered what the Red Wings might do with defenseman Justin Holl moving forward. He was expected to play a key shutdown role for the club this season after inking a three-year, $10.2MM deal in free agency last summer, but he wasn’t even a regular in the lineup halfway through the year. Holl played in just 38 games, posting five assists and a +8 rating while averaging 15:05 per game. Bultman thinks it may be wise to pump the brakes on any buyout/trade speculation despite the tough season, though – after all, this is the same front office that gave him the three-year commitment less than a year ago. But he does point out the Red Wings offloading winger Klim Kostin, who carries a $2MM cap hit, on the Sharks midseason. He was in a similar situation to Holl, falling into frequent healthy scratch territory after being acquired by GM Steve Yzerman last summer.
Utah Names Chris Armstrong President Of Hockey Operations
The Utah Hockey Club has officially hired Chris Armstrong as president of hockey operations, per Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff. Sports Business Journal’s Josh Carpenter and Alex Silverman first reported on the move in May.
Armstrong is not related to Utah general manager Bill Armstrong, but he does have a pre-existing relationship with owners Ryan and Ashley Smith. The longtime agent with Wasserman advised the Smiths throughout their acquisition of an NHL franchise over the past few months and has now become their top hockey ops decision-maker.
While most of his work as an agent has been done in golf, Armstrong did appear in the NHL news cycle last summer. He formerly represented GM Kyle Dubas during his contract negotiations with the Maple Leafs, a relationship that ended up being the result of an NHLPA investigation. No consequences arose from the investigation, though, at least not publicly. Armstrong isn’t an NHLPA-certified agent and can’t represent active players.
Armstrong had been at his gig with Wasserman, one of the most prominent agencies in sports, for over 13 years. He first joined the agency in 2010 in a VP of Canadian talent management role and was later promoted to senior and executive VP roles. Before departing Wasserman for Utah, he’d served as their executive VP of talent and innovation.
Outside of the other Armstrong and head coach André Tourigny, the team hasn’t yet confirmed which of the hockey operations staff it acquired from the Arizona Coyotes will return next season.
Senators Sign Max Guenette To Two-Way Extension
The Senators announced today that they’ve signed defenseman Max Guenette to a one-year, two-way contract extension. The deal carries a $775K cap hit and NHL salary while paying him $120K in the minors next season.
Guenette, 23, is coming off his third season of professional play in the Sens organization, spent almost entirely with AHL Belleville. The 2019 seventh-round pick is on a strong development track, forcing himself into definitive top-four usage over the past few years. He’s been their top offensive option at the minor-league level from the blue line since 2022-23 and led B-Sens defensemen in scoring this season with seven goals, 27 assists and 34 points in 58 games.
While Guenette struggled in AHL postseason action (one assist, -5 rating in seven games), he’s positioned himself as a top recall option and even a dark horse candidate to crack the Sens’ roster out of training camp in the fall if injuries affect a couple of veterans. The Ancienne Lorette, Quebec, native has seen NHL action sparingly the past two years, totaling a -2 rating in eight games while averaging 13:10 per contest. He’s still looking for his first NHL point.
Guenette was headed for restricted free agency this summer after completing his entry-level contract. While he’s no longer entitled to his $55K signing bonus, his new AHL salary is a step up from the $70K he was making last year.
The right-shot defender will be an RFA again when his extension expires in 2025. He becomes the 32nd player signed to a standard player contract with the Sens next season, still far short of the 50-contract limit.
Hurricanes Name Eric Tulsky General Manager
The Hurricanes have removed the interim tag from Eric Tulsky and made him their next general manager, per a team announcement Tuesday.
“Eric is ready for this opportunity,” said Hurricanes owner and governor Tom Dundon. “He has a proven history of managing people and overseeing operations both outside of hockey and over the last decade with the Hurricanes. His dedication, work ethic and attention to detail make him the ideal candidate to become our next general manager. Everything we do here is collaborative, and Eric will work closely with Darren Yorke, Rod Brind’Amour and our leadership team to continue building a championship-caliber hockey club.”
Tulsky was named the club’s interim GM on May 24. He stepped into the role after Don Waddell, who was on an expiring contract, resigned from his post. Waddell has already found his next place of employment, signing on with the Blue Jackets to be their GM and president of hockey operations days after leaving Carolina.
Tulsky wasn’t the only candidate linked to the Hurricanes’ GM vacancy over the past few weeks, but a report from Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli last week indicated he was likely to take over the top hockey ops job. Earlier this month, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman called Jarmo Kekäläinen, whom Waddell replaced in Columbus, a “contender” for the role.
Along with his Kekäläinen report, Friedman added that the Hurricanes were making it clear to interested candidates that their next GM wouldn’t have as much autonomy as others do around the league. Dundon is a proponent of a more collaborative front office environment that elevates the importance of assistant GMs – namely Darren Yorke, whom he mentioned in his statement introducing Tulsky. He’s also involved in hockey operations decisions himself.
That should provide a good safety net for Tulsky, who becomes a top-level member of an NHL front office for the first time. First brought on as a data analyst in 2014, Tulsky later served as the Canes’ director of analytics and their VP of hockey management before being promoted to an AGM role under Waddell in 2020.
Per the team, his responsibilities under Waddell included “all player personnel decisions, [overseeing] pro scouting and the team’s hockey information department.” He also “assisted with player contract negotiations, salary cap compliance, and other hockey-related matters.”
It’s quite a rise for Tulsky, who likely didn’t imagine ever working in the league after graduating from the University of California-Berkeley with a PhD in chemistry in 2002. He first landed his consulting gig with the Hurricanes after publishing public statistical analysis work for a variety of NHL-related blogs in the early 2010s, namely Flyers blog Broad Street Hockey.
Tulsky now officially takes the helm as the Hurricanes enter a potentially transformative offseason with Jake Guentzel, Brett Pesce and Brady Skjei among their big-name pending UFAs. He’s already signed one notable deal as interim GM – a three-year, $9MM extension for defenseman Jalen Chatfield.
Friedman was first to report Tulsky’s promotion.
Sharks Showing Trade Interest In Cam Atkinson
As the Sharks look to add some depth to a league-worst roster, they’re interested in taking on Cam Atkinson from the Flyers for some depth scoring help, TSN’s Darren Dreger writes. A trade could be blocked if Atkinson has San Jose on his 10-team no-trade list, though. That’s likely the case, as sources tell Dreger the veteran winger “isn’t keen on a move to the Sharks.”
Atkinson’s name is popping up frequently in both trade and buyout rumors this summer after a highly disappointing 2023-24 campaign. The Flyers acquired the 5’8″ winger from the Blue Jackets in 2021, but injuries derailed his tenure in Philadelphia after one season. A herniated disc and left tricep surgery sidelined him for all of last season, and he wasn’t the consistent top-six force he’s been in the past upon returning.
He stayed mostly healthy last season – a good sign for the 35-year-old’s long-term quality of life, but his production fell off a cliff. Dressing in 70 games, Atkinson scored 13 goals and 28 points, the first time in his career he’d had under half a point per game. He averaged 15:57 per contest, his lowest usage in 10 years.
While his offense was a disappointment after registering 23 goals and 50 points in a Flyers uniform two years ago, he had good defensive results this season, much like the rest of his surprisingly competitive Flyers squad. Philadelphia controlled 53.7% of expected goals with Atkinson on the ice at even strength, and he was on the ice for roughly 13 fewer expected goals against than in the 2021-22 season in which he played a similar amount of games.
Atkinson is still an NHL-caliber talent, but not one worth his $5.875MM cap hit. As the Flyers look to take another step toward playoff contention next season, he’s a bit of an albatross.
In the seemingly unlikely event he doesn’t block a trade, it would likely take an asset or two to get Atkinson’s deal off the books entirely and over to California. A buyout would still save north of $3.5MM in cap space for the Flyers this season but would result in a $1.75MM cap penalty for 2025-26, per CapFriendly.
For Sharks general manager Mike Grier, taking on bad contracts outright is one of the few ways he can weaponize his rebuilding club’s cap space. He’s used up all three of his salary retention spots in trading away Brent Burns, Tomáš Hertl and Erik Karlsson, so brokering deals as a third party won’t be an option until Burns’ deal comes off the books in 2025.
In San Jose, Atkinson would be a slight upgrade on the declining veteran role played by pending UFA Mike Hoffman this year. Atkinson has a much more solid track record defensively than Hoffman, though, and could help them improve their league-worst goals-against figure. There are also open spots in their top six that could result in Atkinson seeing time with prospective 2024 first-overall pick Macklin Celebrini next season.
Blue Jackets Fire Pascal Vincent
The Blue Jackets have fired head coach Pascal Vincent, according to a team announcement.
“As I spent time with Pascal over the past few weeks, I found him to be an outstanding person and smart hockey coach who worked very hard last year under trying circumstances, but I believe a change behind the bench is in our team’s best interest,” reads a statement from general manager Don Waddell. “On behalf of the organization, I want to thank Pascal for his work ethic, professionalism and contributions during his three seasons with the Blue Jackets.”
Vincent’s firing comes after one season at the helm for Columbus, his first as an NHL head coach. During his short tenure, the team went 27-43-12 (.402), although he was never put in a position to succeed. The team had initially tabbed Mike Babcock as their next head coach entering the season after firing Brad Larsen last summer, but Babcock resigned at the beginning of training camp after he was the subject of a joint NHL/NHLPA investigation spurred by allegations that Babcock asked to view phones and/or photographs of several Blue Jackets players.
The Blue Jackets weren’t expected to make the playoffs this season, but they were supposed to take a step forward from 2022-23’s 59-point showing. While they technically improved on that total by seven points, they still finished within the bottom five of the league. A new-look defense featuring offseason acquisitions Ivan Provorov and Damon Severson failed to demonstrate much improvement, allowing 298 goals. Only the Sharks allowed more with 326.
Vincent, 52, joined the Blue Jackets as an associate coach on Larsen’s staff ahead of the 2021-22 season. The move came after spending a decade in the Jets organization, first as an NHL assistant before becoming the head coach of the AHL’s Manitoba Moose.
The search for a new coach begins immediately, the team said. For now, assistants Jared Boll, Josef Boumedienne, Steve McCarthy, Mark Recchi and goaltending coach Niklas Bäckström remain in their posts, but the team said “further decisions regarding the club’s coaching staff” haven’t yet been made.
At times this season, Vincent drew public criticism for his handling of the development of some of the Blue Jackets’ many young prospects. Chief among most complaints was the lack of playing time for 2022 sixth-overall pick David Jiříček, who suited up in 43 games for Columbus this season but averaged a paltry 14:36 per game with no special team usage. The young blue-liner did well in his limited minutes, posting 10 points, recording 38 shots on goal and posting positive relative possession metrics. Others did have good seasons, namely Kirill Marchenko and his team-leading 23 goals, but overall, their young core didn’t mesh as hoped. A calf laceration that ended 2023 third-overall pick Adam Fantilli‘s season in January didn’t help matters.
Under Vincent, the Blue Jackets’ team play improved slightly from last season. They controlled 48.3% of shot attempts, 45.8% of expected goals and 46.9% of scoring chances at 5-on-5. These numbers were better than 2022-23’s by at least a full percentage point, but they were still far away from anything resembling a playoff team.
The Blue Jackets now arrive very late to the coaching search party. All of the vacancies created over the last few months have already been filled, wrapping up with the Sharks promoting Ryan Warsofsky late last week. Accordingly, barring any extremely unforeseen circumstances, Vincent won’t be behind an NHL to begin next season as a head coach. There are still a number of assistant and associate coach vacancies that he should draw interest for, however.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report Vincent had been relieved of his duties.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Atlantic Notes: Marner, Bertuzzi, Panthers, Dickinson
The tides may be turning in this summer’s edition of the Mitch Marner saga. Speaking on TSN 1050’s “First Up” on Monday, Darren Dreger reports that general manager Brad Treliving may prefer to put his resources into extending the star winger rather than trading him this summer as he enters the final year of his contract.
Dreger did note that the Leafs haven’t started extension discussions with Marner’s camp yet. His quote today falls in line with previous reporting that Toronto wouldn’t approach Marner about waiving his no-move clause until an acceptable offer was presented to them. Additionally, Chris Johnston of SDPN, TSN and The Athletic said over the weekend that the team wasn’t fully committed to the idea of trading Marner.
It won’t stop trade speculation from ramping up, though, nor will it likely quiet any actual trade talks going on behind the scenes. Teams will still pursue the winger – The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta listed the Blackhawks, Golden Knights, Predators and Stars as interested parties today. If there’s an exceptionally strong offer presented to Treliving, there’s no indication that he’d turn away.
Regardless, it doesn’t appear there’s a huge sense of urgency to resolve the situation in the next few weeks. However, waiting until after the opening of free agency, when teams spent the majority of their offseason cap space, to swing a trade would heavily complicate discussions.
Sticking with Toronto, Pagnotta said today that Treliving remains in negotiations with pending free agent winger Tyler Bertuzzi to try and keep him from hitting the UFA market in a couple of weeks. An extension doesn’t appear imminent, though. The 29-year-old had 21 goals and 43 points in 80 games this season after signing a one-year, $5.5MM deal in free agency with the Leafs last summer.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic:
- The Panthers have entered into a “multi-year” affiliation agreement with the ECHL’s Savannah Ghost Pirates, per a team announcement. They said late last week that they wouldn’t be renewing their ECHL affiliation with the Florida Everblades, who have won three consecutive Kelly Cup titles. With the move, the Panthers land an ECHL affiliation much closer to their primary minor-league club, the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers. Considering moves between AHL and ECHL affiliates occur almost daily, it’s a better setup for the club’s fringe minor-leaguers. The Ghost Pirates entered the league in advance of the 2022-23 campaign and have spent the last two seasons as the second-tier affiliate of the Golden Knights. They’ve yet to make the ECHL’s Kelly Cup Playoffs.
- Top 2024 NHL Draft defense prospect Sam Dickinson said his pre-draft interview with the Senators was one he was “looking forward” to in an interview with TSN’s Mark Masters. Dickinson told Masters the interview went “really well” and that his preparation for it was a “little more intense” given the chance of the Ontario-born blue liner staying close to home. The 18-year-old racked up 18 goals, 70 points and a +56 rating in 68 games with the OHL’s London Knights this season, leading their defensemen in scoring. He’s the seventh-ranked North American skater in the class by NHL Central Scouting and could very well be available when Ottawa steps up to the podium with the seventh overall pick.
Jets Add Davis Payne, Dean Chynoweth To Coaching Staff
The Jets have added Dean Chynoweth and Davis Payne to their coaching staff in assistant roles, Darren Dreger of TSN reports Monday. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet said on Sunday’s “32 Thoughts” podcast that Chynoweth was linked to the Winnipeg bench. The team made the hirings official shortly after Dreger’s report.
Chynoweth and Payne will serve under Scott Arniel, who begins his second stint as an NHL head coach in the fall. Arniel, who had been the Jets’ associate coach for the past two seasons, was promoted last month after Rick Bowness announced his retirement.
Payne, 53, finds a new NHL home after being fired by the Senators in mid-December along with head coach D.J. Smith. He’d been with Ottawa as an assistant since 2019 after stops with the Kings and Sabres, the former of which made him a Stanley Cup champion on Darryl Sutter‘s staff in 2014.
Payne was also briefly the Blues’ head coach in the early 2010s, compiling a 67-55-15 record in parts of three seasons. He’s worked in the NHL every season since being named St. Louis’ head coach in 2010.
The 55-year-old Chynoweth joins after spending the last three seasons as an assistant coach for the Maple Leafs. He oversaw Toronto’s defense corps in 2021-22 and 2022-23 and coached the penalty kill in all three seasons.
During that time, the Leafs’ PK ranked 11th in the league with an 80.3% success rate. The Jets’, meanwhile, has checked in at 78.2%, 20th in the league. Toronto announced that Chynoweth wouldn’t return next season after they named former Islanders head coach Lane Lambert as an associate coach under Craig Berube earlier this month.
Before his time with the Leafs, Chynoweth spent three seasons as an assistant with the Hurricanes under Rod Brind’Amour from 2018 to 2021. The son of CHL founder and Hockey Hall of Famer Ed Chynoweth, he also spent three years as an assistant with the Islanders from 2009 to 2012. Since retiring as a player in 1998, he’s held various coaching jobs in the AHL, IHL and WHL.
Brian Elliott Expected To Retire, Joins Blues Front Office
Veteran netminder Brian Elliott appears to be calling it a career after 16 seasons. Blues general manager Doug Armstrong told reporters today that the team has hired Elliott in a goalie development and scouting role, all but confirming that his playing days are over (via Matthew DeFranks of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch).
Elliott last played in the NHL with the Lightning in 2022-23. He was not re-signed by the club and became an unrestricted free agent, not suiting up at all during the 2023-24 campaign.
After being selected by the Senators in the ninth round of the fabled 2003 draft, Elliott embarked on a star-studded stint at the University of Wisconsin. He backstopped the Badgers to the 2006 national championship while being a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award, given to the top player in the NCAA. He turned pro with Ottawa after his college career came to an end, later making his NHL debut in 2007-08.
That was the last we saw of “limited” NHL action for Elliott, who broke onto the Sens’ roster full-time in 2008-09 as part of a rotation with Alex Auld and Martin Gerber. He didn’t earn any Calder Trophy love that year, but he did put up solid numbers with a 16-8-3 record, .902 SV% and 2.77 GAA in 31 showings for Ottawa.
Elliott took over as the Sens’ starter in 2009-10 and continued to hold the role into the 2010-11 campaign, but his level of play dipped. While it didn’t matter much behind the Senators’ underpowered offense of the early 2010s, his .894 SV% that year was far below average for the time. Shortly before the 2011 trade deadline, Ottawa sent him packing to the Avalanche in a one-for-one swap for Craig Anderson, one that would pay off handsomely for the Sens.
Unfortunately for Colorado, Elliott’s stay in Denver was brief. He won just two of his 12 games down the stretch while posting a .891 SV%, leading the club to let him walk as a free agent that offseason.
Armstrong, then in his early days at the helm of the Blues, quickly turned him into one of the best value signings in club history. After signing a one-year, two-way deal, Elliott cracked the Blues’ roster as the backup to Jaroslav Halák. He didn’t stay the backup for long, though. He forced his way into true tandem action with Halák that year thanks to his league-best .940 SV% and 1.56 GAA in 38 appearances, helping the duo take home the Jennings Trophy. Individually, Elliott also finished fifth in Vezina voting, one of two times he’d earn consideration for the award.
Elliott spent the next four years in St. Louis, making 164 starts and 17 relief appearances. He compiled a sparkling 104-46-16 record behind one of the league’s better teams in the mid-2010s, boasting a .925 SV%, 2.01 GAA and 25 shutouts in a Blues uniform. The team made the playoffs each season he was there, including a run to the Western Conference Final in 2016, in which Elliott had a .921 SV% and 2.44 GAA in 18 postseason games.
The Blues had the younger Jake Allen waiting in the wings, though, and deemed Elliott expendable after a solid run. They dealt him to the Flames for a pair of draft picks – one of which became Jordan Kyrou – putting a bow on his time in St. Louis.
Elliott’s lone season in Calgary was the beginning of his decline. He wasn’t bad, but his .910 SV% was only around league-average for the time and was far south of his level of play with the Blues. The Flames let him walk to free agency the following summer, where he signed a three-year deal with the Flyers that yielded similarly mediocre results. In fact, in his seven years of service with Calgary, Philadelphia and Tampa Bay after the Blues traded him away, Elliott only had one above-average season. That came in limited action as a backup to Andrei Vasilevskiy with the Bolts in 2021-22, putting up a .912 SV% and 2.43 GAA in 19 appearances.
After struggling with a .891 SV% in his second and final season in Tampa, though, it wasn’t a surprise to many to see the now 39-year-old Elliott out of the league this season. Now 39, he likely wraps up his career with a 279-167-54 record, 45 shutouts, a 2.57 GAA, and .909 SV% in 543 regular-season games. He also had a 17-26 record and .904 SV% in 48 playoff games.
PHR congratulates Elliott on a lengthy stint at hockey’s top level and wishes him the best as he takes his next steps in the sport.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.