#2020 Trade Deadline

[nbatrades]

On February 6th, 2020, the Golden State Warriors traded guard-forward Alec Burks and forward Glenn Robinson III to the Philadelphia 76ers for a 2020 second round draft pick (Nico Mannion), a 2021 second round draft pick (Aaron Wiggins) and a 2022 second round draft pick (Tyrese Martin). 

Burks and Robinson’s arrival in Philadelphia was documented in a clip produced by the 76ers.

[splatoonpolls]

Hello! So I’ve been a part of fandom culture for a long while (and survived 2020 danganronpa tikto). So here comes some really great tips

Block and filter LIBERALLY, I promise you blocking a tag of a ship you don’t like or just blocking an artist because you don’t like that ship they focus on may sound petty. But it does prevent harassment from both sides

Take your time with projects, unless it’s a commission or Art trade. Do not try to pressure yourself if you have stuff like school. (What I mean here is personal projects have no deadlines if you don’t set them, because it’s only one person in charge. Commissions, Art trades, and requests may also have deadlines and should also be taken with a lot of care and time).

Dont let the fandom consume you so much, if you feel like the drama is too much. You’re allowed to stay silent and just go for a walk or crochet

Don’t lie about your age to others, just don’t.

Never prioritize a fandom over yourself. If a social media ever gets too toxic. DELETE IT OFF YOUR DEVICE.

Some people may have worse media literacy than you and some may have better than you, if an argument occurs. Try to make sure you don’t spend too much time on something that will drain you at the end. You can just leave or block. There is no actual penalty for leaving an argument over an anime character.

Do what you want to do, don’t just draw the popular character because they’re popular. Draw them because you like drawing them

[39oa]

PLS as a new stars enjoyer i really wanna know whos who in this 🥹🥹 i kill for family dynamics 🤲🤲

https://www.tumblr.com/39oa/744137614807924736/the-stars-are-like-this-is-39-yo-joe-pavelski

hi anon!!! of course i would be MORE than happy to explain and in fact am about to egregiously overexplain so apologies in advance for that >__< welcome 2 starsblr pls enjoy your stay!!! 💚💚💚

"pavs and sons" → this is our top line that consists of jason robertson (21 / "robo"), roope hintz (24 / some call him "roop", his finnish nickname is "hine"), and joe pavelski (16 / "pavs"). pavs spent over a decade in san jose and was the sharks' captain during essentially their twilight years, and he came to dallas intending to retire (which is likely to happen at the end of this year tbh) but instead revitalized a distinct second phase of his career after being placed on a line with 2124 in 2020-21, unexpectedly becoming stalwart producers for a struggling dallas stars offense (2 words: rick bowness) — robo was only in his first year with the stars and roope's career was not that much older, hence the nickname pavs and sons; although pavs is only an alternate captain because the stars already have a very established, homegrown captain, he is basically treated as our second captain thanks to his age and the vast influence he has over both our young players & the locker room as a whole :') one of his nicknames is also captain america from representing team usa on the intl stage LOL.

rest below the cut:

raising johnny -> our team's ACTUAL baby is 2003-born wyatt johnston (53 / "johnny" but sometimes we use "wyjo" lol), who was in the ohl before the 2022-23 season but managed to impress during training camp and basically forced his way onto the roster (without getting too much into it, 18-19 y/o rookies can play 9 games with the big club before burning a year off their elc, so being from the ohl at his age his only options were basically Be In The NHL Permanently or go back to ontario.) because "HE (WAS) ONLY 19!!!" and there was some uncertainty about whether he'd stay up, pavelski invited him to live at his place with his wife and teenaged-son, and now a second year into his career wyatt is STILL with them because he loves it there so much lol. the stars frequently joke about pavs being his dad/landlord, and we've gotten a ton of fun content like these quest for the stanley cup clips and other interview moments like this, this, and this.

fostering stank(s) -> logan stankoven (11 / "stank" though you will also see "stanks") is our other baby and a very recent addition to our nhl roster; he's from the same draft class as johnny, but spent last season in the whl and therefore was eligible to go to the ahl this year, where he's been cooking up a storm for half the szn. it was pretty inevitable that he'd come up at SOME point, but the perfect opportunity arrived after one of our forwards got injured and he was slotted in on short notice. like johnny, he has basically forced his way onto the team permanently by immediately performing to (and well-beyond) standard :') the fun part is that he stayed with johnny at pavs's house when he first came to dallas, though he's since moved out and found his own place... nevertheless, this was still very sweet because logan & wyatt have GENUINE history from knowing each other half their lives & winning gold for u18 team canada in 2021, and have since picked their immediate chemistry right back up on the stars's 3rd line together. (more on this later!!!)

resident glueguy tydel + otter's son -> u know how every team needs its emotional support 4th liner who is at constant threat of being dumped at trade deadline? ty dellandrea (10 / "delly" but we like "tydel" as well) is our 13oa pick who never really panned out as expected, but he's still crucial to the overall health of the locker room and beloved by many. as a small piece of the Cycle Of Mentorship that the stars subscribe to, pavs is known for basically being a deflection master and a menace in front of the net and has passed on this propensity to a lot of younger stars by doing targeted practice sessions with them, including tydel. anyway delly's lore in general is just INSANEEE because he's at the center of the stars' social fabric in a lot of ways. happily third-wheels along with the wags, gets along with the 279195 canadian slagline who mostly exist outside of any family narratives, is Publicly Liked By Roope which is kind of weird because outside of cellys roop practices jane austen levels of finnish repression, imprinted on johnny hard last year (JOINED HIM ON PAVELSKI FAMILY NIGHTS) (from this devastating webweave), has SOOO much ahl history with otter to the point that otter's baby brother sees ty as part of the family — this is also where otter saying that he and his girlfriend saw ty as their son when he stayed at their apartment during training camp comes from. which is genuinely like Absurd Things to say because jake oettinger (29 / "otter") (as a completely random aside, please look at this gifset of harls wearing otter's shirt) is ONLY 2 YEARS OLDER THAN DELLY. LIKE THE FUCK D'YOU MEAN YOUR SON???

i'm normal. okay

jbenn / "daddy" line dads -> so the stars' real captain is jamie benn (14 / multiple nicknames but "chubbs" is a signature), whoooo is a quite the contentious figure amongst stars fans but as a 2007 draftee is very much a homegrown player and still quite important to the organization. i'm ngl, stars rpf is a VERY small space nowadays in hockey fandom, but ~back in the day~ he and tyler seguin were one of The Big Ships before slowly fading as both fandom figures & stars of the team thanks to age and injury and [waves hand vaguely]. anyway while the top line on the stars has remained *mostly* set since robo was called up, the 2nd & 3rd lines still experience a decent amount of reshuffling, so wyatt is kind of jamie's fixed line son atp but they also played with tydel before we 1:1 swapped some russians and evgenii dadonov (63 / the "DADDY" in question) came in and replaced delly. so now we've had multiple "benn and sons" lines (jamie + wyatt/delly, now jamie + wyatt/logan ❗️), plus essentially a "wyatt and dads" line (wyatt + jamie/daddy) lmfao.

wedge raising harls -> robo's emotional support backup goalie is scott wedgewood (41 / "wedge" or "wedgie"), who as far as backup goalies go is like shockingly well-integrated into the stars' locker room. the piece of lore that inspired this WHOLE post is that taylor dropped an article on how wedge claimed to basically be RAISING HARLS WITH HIS (recently-married!) WIFE...??? which is just. thomas harley (55 / "harls") is one of our resident baby d-men and was in and out of the ahl for a while but has been Officially with the stars since last years' playoffs... he's a very like, self-assured but kind of introverted, Beyond-His-Years type who literally has the voice of a 50 y/o, so it's both DEVASTATING and hilarious 2 me that wedge is like "oh, this 22 y/o kid likes to show up to my house every day and me and my wife are teaching him how to cook and he keeps facetiming me to ask random questions about his bills." LIKE OH... OKAY THEN ;___;

& last but not least: the ultimate Mini Family on this team that i didn't mention in my orig post is actually the finnish mafia — see robo constantly joking about them being brothers and loving each other lol. finnmaf currently includes four players (roope, miro, esa, jani... rip kivo 😔), and they kind of help split the stars' locker room into several groups including the finns, the ontario guys, robo's goaliefucker / Nerd_Collector ensemble, and... well honestly the cliques overlap a lot (which is why our locker room is so healthy!!!) but you get the idea.

there is soooo much other lore i could get into that isn't really related to dad/son/brother narratives but i feel like this is enough of an infodump so i'll stop here for now. in general the way the stars are constructed makes it really clear why they all see one another as family and why there is such a strong & positive & sustainable sense of personal leadership that permeates the locker room... benn handles Official captain duties while pavs uses his experience not to usurp him but simply to further support him in understated areas of mentorship/leadership, and our top line consists of 3 Very unassuming & responsible player archetypes which crucially trickles down to all the other lines. so while many teams have their Old Guys (who are often on a noticeable decline) and Kid Lines, the stars are cool because we've been successful at integrating young players with very established veterans and having them feed off of each other without sacrificing their development or "anchoring" any young talent unnecessarily; benn is really not the player he used to be but he's still been great with wyatt over the past 2 years. and pavs IS a total anomaly, so it's kind of insane & surreal that a guy in his late 30s can perform at such a high level while also taking it upon himself to prepare so many of our young guys to be the present & future of our team *__*

tl;dr: also i just remembered that the amazing @starscelly has a preexisting primer from last year so feel free to check that out too :') (the primary differences are basically that we replaced domi for duchene and recently picked up chris tanev haha)

[thoroughlymodernminutia]

This Christmas - Prequel

Pairing: Benny "Borracho" Magalon x F!Reader

Word count: 8,219

Summary: This is a prequel of sorts to this from last year. It’s basically the how Benny and the reader met, etc

Warnings: Mostly Hallmark-style fluffy stuff, lots of pining, but brief mention of loss, guilt, some foul language. If I missed anything else let me know and I'll add it in. 

A/N: I don’t know folks, I started writing this and was really chugging along and had a whole plan for how I wanted this to be. Then I got sick with everyone’s favorite illness from 2020 and lost a lot steam. I found, I think, a happy compromise with myself because I wanted to post this before Christmas (self imposed deadlines am I right?) and realized I can always I don’t know, post more parts of it later?? I am my own worst critic so if you read this and it isn’t your jam, please don’t say anything lol I’ve probably already thought it, so it would be redundant! Also, clearly, I do not know the proper use of a semicolon, or an em dash and I don't have an editor, so we'll all just have to deal. Anyways, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, all that jazz

-----------

It’s a little after six in the morning and they still haven’t rolled in. Usually, the five of them would have been here for an hour already; a few hungover, one still drunk, and the fifth one acting like an adult babysitter for the other four. It’s weird how this happens–people come into your little donut shop and after a while, instead of you becoming part of their routine, they become part of yours. Eventually they start to feel like stand-ins for the friends you hardly ever get to see. You’re busy with your business and they’re busy with their jobs and families.

It could feel lonely, but you have people like Noreen, who comes in every Friday to buy three dozen assorted donuts for her team. Noreen is kind and not the type of person you envision working at a private equity firm. When you were thinking about expanding into the small space next door, she looked at your plan and helped you figure out where you were being too aggressive and in some cases too shortsighted. She didn’t ask for anything in return, but you made sure her next three dozen donuts were on the house. 

There’s Will, a retired teacher, who comes in every Sunday. He used to come in with his partner, Charles, and they would sit at the table you have set up near the front window. They traded off different sections of the newspaper while drinking their coffee and sharing one old-fashioned donut and one raspberry jelly donut; they never strayed from those. Charles passed away six months ago and it was unexpected. You didn’t expect to see Will for a while, but routine is hard to give up especially when it’s the only thing you have left. Every Sunday morning you set a 'reserved' sign on the table near the window. 

There’s Stuart, who hangs out in the plaza your shop is located in. You’re not sure if he’s unhoused or just likes to spend his day outside, but it felt strange to always see him and not interact with him. One day you invited him to come by for coffee and a donut but he turned you down. You told him the offer was good for any time and that you hoped you’d see him in there soon. He came in a few days later and it made you feel like you were doing some good; and then you felt bad for feeling like that. Stuart’s reserved and not much of a talker so you just let him sit at a table while you go about your work. Some days he’ll start a conversation; it’s rare but it feels like you both trust each other enough to make more than small talk. If you don’t see him in his usual spot outside, you worry. He usually turns up a few days later, but you're concerned that at some point he won’t turn up and what are you supposed to do then?

There’s a handful of people that fall into this category of if they never came back you would notice. It’s because some of them are smart and kind like Noreen. Some because they sit in the same spot, newspaper sections still divided in two, like Will. Some because their silence fills your little shop, like Stuart. And some whose absence you would notice because they don’t fit into these boxes. Sometimes they can be loud or irritating; but they can also be entertaining. And they’re are always five of them, but only one that makes you feel like you’re thirteen and just saw your middle school crush.

They started coming in sometime in February. You only remember because the biggest one said he’s 'not eating a fucking, prissy, heart-shaped donut.' Some men are like that, afraid if they come in contact with something feminine that’s not a woman, that their dick will fall off. He was loud and obnoxious and only one of the other four looked truly embarrassed for the guy and for himself. He apologized for his friend and ordered five large coffees and a dozen glazed donuts. 

“You sure glazed are going to be manly enough for your friend over there?” 

You ticked your head over towards the table where his friends were sitting. He laughed and it was a surprisingly warm laugh for a man with neck tattoos. 

“He won’t even remember being here, let alone what kind of donuts he ate.”

He sounded annoyed but used to the behavior. You remembered having friends like that, in your twenties, but you were well past that age and so were these guys by the look of it. You saw him eyeing an apple fritter so you grabbed it from the case, put it on a plate, and set it on the counter next to the box of donuts. 

“On the house, since it doesn’t look like you’re getting paid for your babysitting duties.”

He smiled, said thank you, and then went to sit with his loud friends. You noticed he was quiet in comparison and thought it would be nice if they were all quiet like that. 

When they were getting ready to leave you saw that the quiet one made sure all the trash was thrown away and all the dishes went into the right bin. At the door as they were leaving he gave you a small wave thanking you again. There was something about his smile that made it feel like flowers were blooming in your stomach. That feeling carried you for a week. You’d think of that moment of him at the door and a fog would enter your brain and the flowers in your stomach would grow larger. 

The feeling would start to subside after a while and you would get caught up in your real life–your business, the rare time with your friends, the occasional bad date. It would slowly drift from the front of your mind to the back. Then they would show up and the cycle would continue. 

The one who had the soft smile and neck tattoo, you learned his name was Benny. And that if you gave him a choice between the apple fritter and anything else, he would choose the apple fritter one hundred percent of the time. The loud drunk, that was Big Nick and he’s only been not drunk five percent of the time they’ve come in. There’s Connors, Zapata, and Henderson–you’ve only heard them referred to by their last names. A thing that you’ve only ever heard men do. They all come in once or twice a month–usually early, usually hungover. It makes you wonder what they do before they end up at your place. You never ask because to know would be to probably ruin your crush on Benny.

Benny always pays and there’s a part of you that hopes he’s doing it just for the chance to talk to you. When he leaves he always gives you a wave goodbye and a thanks again. The flowers in your stomach have bloomed and blossomed to an embarrassing degree by the end of May. And that’s when they stopped coming in. 

—-

Benny shakes his head no at Connor’s who’s trying to hand him a beer, “Not feeling it tonight.”

Benny isn’t feeling it any night, but he keeps that to himself. The drinking, the cocaine, the women, none of it interests him and it hasn’t for a while. Since February if he’s being honest with himself. 

They had ended up at your donut shop, Glazy for You under random circumstances. The usual place they would go to sober up after one of these parties had been closed down by the health department. He should have known it was bound to happen, the place was dim and oddly seedy for a diner. Benny was the designated driver that night, since he hadn’t been feeling well he didn’t drink and spent most of the night ushering random women out of a grim motel room. When he saw Glazy for You as he was driving by, it looked like the complete opposite of his evening; it was bright, there were Valentine’s decorations on the window. It looked comforting and warm, two things he felt like he was missing in his life.

Nick of course was an asshole and Benny felt like he spent a lot of time silently apologizing to you. His apologies must have entered you mind telepathically because you gave him an apple fritter–the best apple fritter he’s ever had in his whole fucking life. There must have been some kind of magic in because that moment lodged itself somewhere in his heart and reappears when he’s feeling low. Like now–sitting in this motel room, on this couch that probably hasn’t been cleaned in two decades, watching his friends lose their fucking minds over shit they should have outgrown. 

Benny hasn’t seen you in months, ninety-seven days to be exact, not that he’s counting. They’ve been working on one case after the next and it’s left time for little else. No post drug test parties, no early mornings sitting in a donut shop waiting for everyone to sober up, no you. It’s been sleep and work for three months straight. Last time he saw you, it seemed like you were happy to see him. Maybe he imagined that feeling; misunderstood the warmth in your smile. Maybe that’s the smile that you’ve practiced in order to be able to perform it for everyone. Maybe everyone feels what he feels when they see you.

Benny sinks further into the couch and looks up at the ceiling. It’s a drop ceiling which brings back memories of a case he had worked on. While securing a crime scene, they were in the living room of a run down apartment. It had this same type of ceiling and a body fell right through it onto the floor. He thinks that maybe this is how it ended up being called a drop ceiling, because shit just drops right out. That thought, that memory makes him realize that he doesn’t want to be in this room anymore. He gets up, grabs his jacket off the back of the couch, and leaves. He hears Connors call after him as he’s closing the door but he doesn’t care. He only has one place that he wants to be right now.

—-

You’re putting a tray of bear claws in the display case when you hear the door open. It’s still early, the sun is barely up, pink and purple hues are still in the sky. You get a lot of municipal workers that come in at this time, barely past opening. So it’s a little bit of a surprise when you get a glimpse through the display case of Benny walking in, alone.

There’s a second while you’re crouched down, adjusting the tray that you let yourself be excited; allow yourself to give into the childish feeling of getting a glimpse of your crush. Your knees are wobbly as you stand up–unsure if it’s because you’re getting old or because he’s looking right at you.

“Oh hey, how’ve you been?” You wipe your palms on the front of the apron you’re wearing. “It’s been a while.”

You try to sound neutral, neither excited to see him or disappointed that it's been so long. He smiles and that familiar sensation of flowers blooming returns. 

“We’ve been working on a lot of cases and it’s been hard to find time for anything else.” 

You lean forward and rest your arms on top of the bakery case. 

“Cases? You guys are lawyers?” As the words leave your mouth you realize how truly stupid it sounds. You’ve never in your life seen any lawyers that look like these guys. 

Benny chuckles and rubs the back of his neck, something he does when feels embarrassed or self conscious.

“No, definitely not lawyers. Detectives. We work for the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department.”

You fail at suppressing a laugh, “I’m sorry. All of you are detectives? Even your friend Nick?”

Benny knows your laugh isn’t mean spirited and if he were you, he’d probably laugh too, knowing what he knows about the people he works with. He moves closer to display case and leans in. 

“Even Nick. You seem surprised.”

“It’s just. I.” You pause, trying to choose your words with care, because you like Benny and you don’t want to insult him, “I mean, it’s hard to imagine being a victim of a crime or something and like Nick is the person taking your statement, trying to help you. That is my nightmare.”

You hope you don’t sound like an asshole, but the idea of Nick serving and protecting seems like a stretch. If you offend Benny, he doesn’t show it, he just laughs.

“The way that you’ve seen him, I can understand the sentiment. He’s not like that a hundred percent of the time. I promise.” 

You give Benny a joking look, “Okay, but what percentage are we talking here?”

You’re both laughing when the rest of the guys walk in. The rowdiness is a shock to your system after not dealing with it for a while. You look at Benny and he’s no longer leaning in towards you and maybe you’re projecting, but you think he looks a little disappointed too.

Benny’s disappointed, but he tries his best to hide it. The guys may be drunk, but they are cops and they are perceptive. Benny already knows he has a reputation among them as being soft. It used to bother him, but it hasn’t for a while. He knows he would rather be soft than be the type of man that can’t feel anything other than bitterness and rage. 

“Borracho, you fucking asshole, you left us.”

Nick, is of course loud and slurring his words. Benny hopes you can’t understand Spanish–he doesn’t want to be known as a ‘drunk’ to you.

Benny turns from you to look at the guys. Connors is propping Nick up; Henderson and Zapata are stumbling towards a table. 

“I was hungry.”

Benny hopes it’s enough to shut Nick up. He knows it’s not because he sees Nick loosen himself from Connors and stumble towards him. He claps a large, drunk hand on Benny’s shoulder and the force almost knocks him backwards. 

“Fuck, Borracho. You’re no fun anymore.”

Nick is a mess and that’s not really that surprising to you. What is surprising is how uncomfortable Benny looks. He has the look of a man who would give anything to disappear. You can’t really blame him, these guys, Nick especially, are exhausting to be around and you only deal with them for a few hours a month.

“Can I get you guys something or are you just going to loiter?”

Benny looks towards you and you give him a sympathetic smile. He shakes Nick off of him and is about to order when Nick lurchers towards the counter that you’re standing behind. You step back as he unsuccessfully tries to paw at you.

“I know what you can get me, sweetheart.”

Benny groans and runs a hand over his face, “Jesus Christ, Nick. Shut the fuck up.”

You step closer to the counter and lean forward, putting a hand on Nick’s shoulder.

“What did I tell you about calling me ‘sweetheart’?”

Nick tilts his head to the side and mutters, “That the next time I do it, you’ll put my head in the deep fryer.”

You pat his shoulder, “Good, you remember.”

You hear Zapata, Henderson, and Connors–who’s joined them at their table laughing and chanting do it, do it.

You gently push Nick away from the counter, “Go sit down unless you’re willing to see if I’m serious.” You look over at Benny, who no longer looks like he wants to disappear. “Benny, five coffees and a dozen glazed, right?”

Benny nods his head, “Yeah, that’s good.”

Nick turns around and starts walking towards where Connors, Zapata, and Henderson are sitting. He jerks his thumb back towards you, “She’s no fun either.”

Benny feels awkward standing here, watching you gingerly place twelve glazed donuts in a box and then pour five large coffees. It’s calming though, watching you do routine things, like you’re slowly rooting out the anxiety of being around drunk idiots. You put the coffees in a tray and place it down on the counter next to the donuts. 

Benny pulls out his wallet to pay, “Uh, sorry,” he pauses, he’s sorry about a lot suddenly, “sorry about Nick. He was acting like an asshole.”

You shrug and hand Benny his change, “Don’t worry about it.”

Benny is sitting with the guys and can’t help feeling like he’s messed something up. You didn’t give him an apple fritter like you normally do. He wonders if you’re mad that he didn’t do something more when Nick was acting like an asshole. Maybe he’s overthinking it–he can’t expect you to give him a free donut every time you see him. It’s possible he’s misread the situation entirely, that you’re just friendly and nothing more. He watches you behind the counter adjusting things, bagging up donuts for customers that have come in. When Benny checks his watch for the time, he misses seeing you slip an apple fritter in a bag and write 'Benny' in a tidy script. 

You watch the guys start filtering out of your place; Nick and Connors are first and from the store window you can see them getting into separate cabs. Benny is still throwing trash away as Henderson and Zapata leave. They share a cab and you imagine that maybe they rallied enough to start drinking again at 7:30am. You see Benny heading towards the door and it looks like he’s leaving without giving his usual wave goodbye. Your stomach sinks a little–maybe he’s mad at you for not joking around more with Nick or the other guys. Or it could just be that he’s tired and wants to go home and you’re creating feelings that aren’t there. 

You grab the bag with the apple fritter from below the counter and hold it up, “Hey, you forgot something.”

Benny looks at the bag with his name on it–it’s the nicest handwriting he’s ever seen. He walks over to the counter and takes the bag from your hand, your fingers overlapping for a fraction of a second. 

“So this means you’re not mad at me?”

“Why would I be mad at you? Wait, you think because of Nick?” You look at him strangely as he nods his head yes, “He’s the idiot, I’m not going to hold that against you.”

Benny smiles, “That’s good to know.” He starts walking away, but stops when he gets to the door, holding up the bag with the donut, “Thanks again. I’ll see you later.”

“Take care, Benny.”

—-

“You like that girl at the donut place?”

It sounds less like Connors is asking you a question and more like stating a fact. Benny’s a little caught off guard and pretends to start looking for something on his desk.

“What?” 

Benny tries to sound confused, like he’s never even heard the word donut before.

“At the donut place. The girl who runs it, are you into her or something? You always act fucking weird when we’re in there.”

Benny thinks back to all the times they’ve been at Glazy for You, trying to remember his behavior. Did he look at you for too long? Say ‘goodbye’ in a way that sounded like he didn’t want to leave. Benny opens the bottom drawer of his desk and pretends to look for something. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

Benny knows he doesn’t sound convincing and Connors must hear it too because he keeps going.

“Really?” Connors sounds incredulous. “You’re always lingering at the counter. She’s always giving you free donuts. Any of this ringing a bell for you?”

Benny can feel Connors staring at him. He closes the desk drawer and goes back to looking at the file on his desk.

“Maybe she likes giving away free donuts. I really couldn’t tell you.”

Connors crumbles a piece of paper into a ball and lobs it at Benny’s head, hitting him just behind the ear. 

“Whatever you say asshole.”

—-

The summer goes by quickly–it’s one of your busier seasons. School is out, the weather is nice–there are day camps, company off-sites, and sleepovers. All the types of occasions where the people in charge don’t want to make breakfast but need to provide it. Benny and the guys come in a few times throughout the summer. It feels a little different from before. Benny doesn’t linger at the counter as much anymore and sometimes one of the other guys pays. It’s stupid little things that you shouldn’t notice, but you do, because they used to be part of your routine. It’s embarrassing thinking you let this crush on Benny become such a big part of your life that you’d notice he didn’t pay last time or the time before that. It’s that embarrassment that makes you start building a wall around that garden in your stomach so the flowers can’t reach your heart.

It’s the end of October when you’re opening up one morning and it registers for you that you haven’t seen Stuart since some time around June or July. His absence gnaws at you. You feel like a bad person for not noticing sooner; that feeling that you failed someone even though they weren’t your responsibility. You don’t know what to do or if there’s anything you actually can do. So when you see Benny a few weeks later it feels like a little bit of a last resort when you ask for his help.

—-

You were hoping that Benny would be the person paying this time when they all came in, so you could mention Stuart without having to pull him aside. But he doesn’t and it makes you a little anxious trying to figure out the best way to talk to him about something serious. So it’s a relief when it looks like he’s going to be the last one to leave. He’s behind Connors and when Connors makes it out the door, you stop Benny who’s close behind.

“Benny, hey. Do you have a second?”

You come out from behind the counter, nervously smoothing the apron tied around your waist in short downward strokes. Benny stops and lets the door go from his hand. You look upset and he hopes it’s not because he’s been acting standoffish lately. Ever since Connors asked about you, he’s been trying his best to act normal–whatever that means–around you. 

“Did Connors’s card get declined again?”

You let out a small laugh, “No. Um, I was actually wondering if you could help me with something.”

Benny steps a little closer to you. You have some powdered sugar on your cheek and he has to stop himself from brushing it off. 

“Yeah, of course. What’s going on?”

“This is probably going to sound weird, or stupid. Maybe both. But there’s this  guy who h—”

Benny cuts you off; his voice is a little rougher, “If someone is bothering you, I’ll take care of it.”

You laugh awkwardly, “Oh no, it’s nothing like that. It’s this guy, Stuart. He usually hangs out around here and I have him come in sometimes for coffee or donuts and I haven’t seen him in…since maybe July, I think? I’m just a little worried.” You pause and try to read Benny’s face to see what he’s thinking, “Sorry, this probably sounds stupid to you. I don’t even know what I’m asking.”

Benny scratches his jaw piecing together what he thinks you’re getting at, “Do you know his last name?”

You notice that Benny’s voice has gone back to the soft tone that you’re used to. He’s looking at you with compassion and not like you’re stupid or some kind of burden. Benny is the kind of person that you would want helping you in a crisis and it makes you wish there were more people like him in his line of work.

“I don’t, but I printed a photo from the security camera I have.” You walk over to the counter and lean over, grabbing the photo from under the register. “I don’t even know if you can do anything with that. I watch a lot of crime shows. Don’t judge me.”

Benny laughs and shakes his head as you hand him the photo.

“I don’t want to get your hopes up, but I’ll see what I can find out.”

“Yeah of course. It’s…I don’t know. I’d feel like a bad person if something were to happen to him and I could have helped.”

Benny feels bad because he knows how these things generally end up. Usually there are no happy endings.

“You can’t put that on yourself.”

You nod your head, “I know, but still, you know?”

Benny understands the feeling and also understands it’s easier to tell someone something isn’t their fault than to know it yourself. 

As Benny leaves you start to feel a bit lighter. Like someone has taken some of your worry, some of your concern and is carrying it for you; so you aren’t so weighed down.

—-

“What was that about?”

Benny is surprised to see Connors waiting for him in the parking lot. 

“Nothing. Well, I guess there’s some guy, homeless, I don’t know. He usually hangs out around here. She hasn’t seen him for a while. She’s worried.”

Connors flicks a cigarette on to the pavement, “Figures she’s one of those bleeding heart types. What did you tell her?”

Benny pats his jacket and then his pants pockets feeling around for a pack of cigarettes, forgetting briefly that he’s trying to quit. Connors pulls his pack from his pocket and tosses them to Benny.

Benny pulls a cigarette out, “I told her I’d look into it.”

Connors laughs and hands Benny a lighter, “Chump.” He waits a beat for Benny to light his cigarette, “But, if you want. We can start looking into it now.”

Benny’s grateful it’s Connors out here and not one of the other guys. Benny and Connors go back further than just Major Crimes and he’s someone Benny would trust with his life.

—-

Benny’s worried that he’s going to have to deliver you bad news. Best case scenario seems like Stuart is in jail. Not great, but it would mean that he’s alive. Worst case scenario is that he can’t find Stuart and that usually doesn’t mean anything good. Benny is suddenly hoping for some kind of miracle for a person he doesn’t even know. 

The photo you gave him does turn out to be useful. Connors is able to find him in the system through facial recognition. Stuart Morton has a record; a few arrests for driving while under the influence and some time in a county jail. Benny is able to get a last known address but it’s over a year old. It’s a sober living house that’s not actually that far from Glazy for You. He doesn’t have much hope that going there will bring him any closer to finding Stuart. 

It takes a couple of weeks, but Benny is finally able to meet with David, the director of the sober living facility. He finds it’s better to meet with people in person. Talking with people over the phone, he’s learned, makes it easier for them to not give you the information you need. David of course is a little guarded at first with Benny; not wanting to share anything that could get Stuart in trouble, which Benny can’t really fault him for. Benny explains the situation, that the owner of a donut shop near here is worried because they haven’t seen him in a while. When Benny mentions your name to David, he lights up.

“Her glazed old fashioneds are the best ones in this entire state.” He pauses and to Benny it looks like he’s getting lost in the memory of a donut, a feeling he knows well. 

“I didn’t realize you two knew each other.” 

David turns away from Benny to look through a drawer in a filing cabinet, “Just this year we got to talking and she’s been generous enough to donate breakfast here every month. And recently she’s been working with us on a job training program at her bakery.” 

Benny thinks back to Connors calling you a ‘bleeding heart’ and is glad he came here by himself. 

“She didn’t mention anything about knowing Stuart lived here.”

David pulls a folder from the cabinet and thumbs through it, “Stuart is the type to not overshare, so that doesn’t surprise me.” He pauses to write something down on a piece of paper and hands it to Benny, “Here. This is his sister Noreen’s information. When he left, he was going to be staying with her for a while. Might still be there.”

Benny barely makes it to his car before calling the number that David gave him. 

—-

“Wait, so you’re saying that Noreen, the Noreen that comes in here, is Stuart’s sister?”

It’s late in the day, near the time that you close up. You and Benny are sitting across from each other at the table near the window. It’s hard to believe what he’s telling you, that Stuart used to be a resident at the sober living facility, the one where David works; that Noreen is Stuart’s sister and somehow all these dots never got connected for you.

“She didn’t realize that you two were,” Benny pauses looking for the right word, “friends. She feels terrible that you didn’t know he had moved out of the state and were worried. She said he’s doing well.”

You’re quiet for a moment, trying to take in everything Benny has been telling  you. It’s a lot to process, considering you had been preparing yourself to hear bad news. You can feel your eyes fuzzy with a few tears and feel a little embarrassed to be getting so emotional over the good news.

“It’s such a relief to know that he’s doing okay.” You feel a tear slide down your cheek and quickly brush it away hoping that Benny didn’t see it.

Benny can tell you’re trying to keep yourself from crying and he wants to tell you that it’s okay, that there wouldn’t be any judgment from him. He has the overwhelming urge to wrap his arms around you, but he knows it would be wildly inappropriate. He feels awkward sitting here, looking around, trying to figure out what he should say.

“I like the Christmas decorations you have up.” It’s lame and he knows it, but it seems better than freaking you out with a hug. You smile at him and that feels reassuring.

“You do?” You look over at Benny, nodding his head, “I know it makes me basic, but I love Christmas. The lights, the decorations, the movies, the music. Expect to see a lot of green and red frosted donuts until December 31st.” 

Benny laughs, “I’m looking forward to it.” He looks at his watch and starts to get up, “I should probably leave, so you can close up.”

You get up and follow Benny to the door, you put your hand on Benny’s forearm to stop him for a second and he feels a little spark through this jacket.

“Thank you, again, for everything.”

“I’m glad I could help. And that everything turned out okay.”

You’re not sure what it is that compels you to hug him, but you do. Maybe it’s the gentleness of his voice, or how he’s looking at you in a way he hasn’t before. It feels intimate and dreamy and it’s hard for you to recall the last time anyone has looked at you like that. It happens so fast that Benny barely has time to register what happened.

It hits him as he’s walking to his car–the delayed feeling of your arms around him. It strikes Benny that maybe there’s a chance you like him, that maybe you’re both kind of stupid and clumsy, and afraid to ask the other one out. There’s the realization that one of you will have to make the first move or it will go on like this forever. That he will see you every few months at your job, that he’ll get a free donut occasionally. It’s not enough for Benny and he knows that he can’t be stupid about this much longer.

—-

It’s the last piss test party of the year–the week before Christmas. The concept is idiotic–sure it made sense at one point when Benny wasn’t wading into the deep end of forty. Going to a cheap hotel to get drunk and high, have sex with women that Nick found God knows where. It was never appealing to Benny but he used to understand the idea of celebrating after your mandatory drug test. Now he usually just sits, drinks a beer or two, and tries to avoid contact with everyone. There’s something especially depressing about it during this time of year.

Benny’s spent the last few days mulling over the best way to ask you out. He regrets not asking you when he was giving you the news about Stuart. Although there’s a part of him that thinks maybe you would have felt obligated to say yes given the circumstances. He thinks about asking you tonight, if they end up there, but he doesn’t want to do it in front of the guys because you might feel obligated then too, maybe even feeling sorry for him and not wanting to embarrass him in front of everyone by saying no. If you say yes, he wants it to be because you actually mean it, he doesn’t want there to be any room for doubt.

His decision is made for him, because when they get to Glazy for You, you aren’t there. Benny can’t remember if there’s ever been a time when you haven’t been there, behind the counter, greeting him warmly. It’s a little bit of a shock to his system to see a middle-aged man in a goofy Christmas sweater in your place. Benny’s good at thinking up doomsday scenarios and imagines one in which you’re trying to avoid him, so you no longer work this early in the morning. But then he thinks of when you hugged him and that even though it was quick, it was like your touch had gone directly to his heart. He doesn’t stay much longer, opting to go home, lay in his bed, and try to figure out what he’s going to do.

—- 

You used to hate working during the holidays. Maybe it’s because you were working for other people and not yourself. Maybe it was because the work you were doing felt unimportant and people expected you to care even when everything else around you was winding down. Five years ago the thought of working on Christmas Eve would have made you want to walk into traffic. Now it feels different, like maybe you’re contributing to the holiday experience versus missing out on it entirely. You’ve always loved Christmas, but Christmas Eve is your favorite day of the year. It just feels more special somehow. There’s anticipation and excitement in the air. It’s possible it’s a product of all the Christmas movies you’ve watched over the years where there’s the idea that anything seems possible on this day. There’s something about the idea of your life changing for the better, surrounded by twinkle lights and ornaments that you find very appealing.

The morning is kind of slow–you spend most of it watching holiday episodes of tv shows on your phone. Around 11am you start cleaning up–taking trays out of cases, boxing up the donuts that are left to drop off at the comic book shop next door. You’re looking forward to going home and laying on the couch the rest of the day, queuing up your standard Christmas Eve movies. You’re ready to watch Scrooged and feel abnormally homesick, but then put on Christmas Vacation and remember why it’s never a good idea to spend Christmas with your entire family.

You’re in the back when you hear the bell on the door jingle, letting you know someone is out front. You consider just staying where you are, pretending no one is here so you can wrap up your day. You don’t want to have to tell anyone that you can’t help them with their donut emergency–getting yelled at on Christmas Eve is not something you’ve prepared yourself for today. So it’s a pleasant surprise when you make your way back out to the front and you see Benny.

“Hey, this is a—hi.” You’re not sure why you’re suddenly unable to put together a decent sentence.

Benny rubs the back of his neck with his hand, “Is this a bad time?”

“No. No, well. I mean, unless you were looking for a few dozen donuts. Then it definitely is.”

Benny smiles, “Actually,  I, um, was,” he pauses and tries to collect himself, he can suddenly feel his heart beating in his ears, “I wanted to ask you out. On a date.” The feeling has spread to his skull.

When he says it, it’s almost like the words traveled through your brain and you can’t comprehend what’s actually happening. Benny, the guy you’ve been harboring your fragile middle school crush on, is here asking you out. It makes little, if any sense to you.

“Are you just trying to get more free donuts?”

Benny shakes his head no, “I promise I’m not.”

You’re quiet as you consider what he’s asked–trying to reprocess the information in your mind so that it makes sense. When all the words are finally in place and you repeat them in your mind, you feel some of those flowers that you’d walled up in your stomach starting to push through the cracks.

“Yeah, okay.” You grab a business card from the counter, write your number on the back, and hand it to Benny.

Benny’s not sure he’s ever heard anything better than yeah, okay in his life, it’s like a bolt of lightning right to his core. He puts the card with your number in the chest pocket of his jacket, the safest place he can think of.

“Great. Amazing.” Benny laughs nervously. “I need to get back to work. I’ll text you.” 

“Okay. Well, have a good Christmas, Benny.” 

“You too.” 

Benny gives his standard small wave as he leaves and you lock the door after him. When he’s out of sight you let out a squeal and excitedly dance in place. Your phone vibrating in your back pocket interrupts you mid-happy dance. 

Hey, it’s Benny. Are you free for dinner on the 27th at 7?

Benny watches dots appear and then disappear on his phone. It feels a little bit like torture as he sits in his truck waiting for you to respond.

 Dinner on the 27th at 7 sounds great

Benny releases a breath he didn’t realize he was holding, Let me think of a place and I’ll text you the address

Sounds good. And you meant Dec 27th right?

Benny laughs to himself, Yes dec 27. I’m not going to wait until jan to take you to dinner

Just making sure 🙂

You read his last text at least ten more times before finally going back into the kitchen like you had intended. Each time you read it, there’s a sensation in your stomach like bricks dissolving and flowers blooming again.

—-

Benny texts you on the morning of the 26th with a restaurant name and an address. You already have the sense that he’s different, the type of person who has follow-through. You try to temper your excitement about dinner with him, not wanting to do that thing you sometimes do where you make something out to be more than it is. You keep telling yourself that it’s just dinner, nothing more. But as you pull up to the restaurant a few minutes late and see Benny standing outside, looking nervous in dark denim and a green flannel, you let yourself think that maybe it could be a little more than just dinner. 

“Sorry I’m a little late, I hope you weren’t waiting long?”

Benny smiles when he sees you standing in front of him, “I just got here a few minutes ago.” 

It’s a lie; the last one he’ll tell tonight; but he doesn’t want you to know that he was so amped up about this evening that he got to the restaurant thirty minutes early. On the way in, when you pass in front of him, your perfume delicately floats by him. It’s earthy, but slightly sweet, with cinnamon and vanilla blending neatly in–he’s sure it’s the most beautiful thing that he’s ever smelled. 

It’s a French restaurant, one that you’ve never been to before, but it’s cozy and still in the Christmas spirit. There are multicolored lights strung up and silver tinsel hanging from the ceiling. 

“Have you been here before?” Looking at Benny from across the table and you can see flecks of silver in his facial hair catching the light of the candle on the table. 

“My sister and her husband had their tenth anniversary party here last year. Most of my restaurant choices come from wherever she has an anniversary party.” 

You laugh, “Nice. Do you just have the one sister?”

Benny has just the one sister, you learn, among other things. You find talking to Benny is easy, he doesn’t give one word answers to questions like some men you’ve gone out with. Where trying to get to know them is like trying to get to know a slab of pavement. He’s funnier than you thought, something that you didn’t expect, but is a nice surprise.

“Did you always want to be a detective?”

Benny butters a piece of bread, “To be honest, the only thing I wanted to be growing up was a magician. I guess I saw one too many David Copperfield specials as a kid.”

You start laughing, “Do you know any magic tricks?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know. What about you?”

“I don’t know any, no.” You shrug jokingly as Benny laughs. “But, yeah, I guess I’m doing what I’ve always wanted to be doing. I’m lucky that things have worked out how they have.” 

Benny’s curious now, “You didn’t always work in a bakery?”

“Nope. I actually used to work in tech. It’s kind of a long story.”

“Well, I’m not in any hurry to end the evening.”

There’s something about Benny that puts you at ease, that makes you comfortable enough to want to open up to him. Something that you would never normally consider doing on a first date. You don’t feel the need to downplay that you made a lot of money when a company you worked for in New York was bought out. He doesn’t flinch when you tell him that the reason you moved to California was because of your now ex-husband. He tells you about his own divorce and for the first time in a long time you don’t feel so unlike yourself on a first date. It doesn’t feel scary telling him that you felt insignificant in your own life because of your work and your marriage. That every conversation with your husband made you feel like a burden.There’s a moment when you start to apologize, out of habit, but he stops you. He smiles when you say that the divorce was the best thing to happen to you because it–and you hate to say it like this–gave you your power back. 

“I always wanted to own my own business and I love donuts, so when the divorce happened, I just said fuck it, and went for it. Just threw myself into it.”

“I’m glad you did, I don’t know where else I’d get an apple fritter that good. And for free.” 

“Yeah, about that.” You smile playfully, “I’m going to have to start charging you before you put me out of business.” 

Benny makes a show of looking at his watch, pretending to want to leave, “I guess we should probably call it an evening then?”

He likes the way you laugh, how it’s kind of loud and fills the room. It makes him feel good, to hear you laugh, to see you smile; like he’s responsible for some bit of happiness you’re experiencing.

“See, I knew this was a scam.”

As the waiter clears the table and they wait for the check, Benny asks you what your favorite donut is. 

You don’t even have to think about it, “Definitely a maple bar.”

Benny watches as your eyes light up, telling him how you first had one when you spent the summer between fifth and sixth grade visiting your aunt in Seattle. He listens to you describe how your mom was, in the nicest terms you can find, an extreme dieter, who tried her best to pass all of her food issues down to you, and never let donuts in the house. But your aunt didn’t care and the first thing she did once she would pick you up from the airport was take you to her favorite bakery. It was the highlight of every summer after that until you graduated high school. It was the first donut you learned how to make because on the east coast they’re hard to find. You laugh when you say the best part of moving to the west coast is that every donut place has maple bars, but you’d like to think that yours are the best. Benny can’t help but think it’s cute.

Benny doesn’t want the night to end; he knows that you took a cab to the restaurant so he offers to drive you home. You try not to sound too eager in accepting his offer, but fail.

“Yeah, I’d love that.”

You ask him if he wants you to put your address into google maps for directions, but he doesn’t need them. Benny spends so much time driving all over the city that he knows every street, every highway, every interstate. The map exists in his head; he can get anywhere without really having to think about it. Benny drives you through some unfamiliar, but beautiful neighborhoods. The homes are still decorated and lit up, it’s like driving through the set of a Christmas movie–the only thing missing is snow.

You ask him more about his job, the guys he works with. You like hearing the stories that Benny has about them. You can tell by the way he talks about him, that he’s closest with Connors. You finally learn everyone’s first names and how Benny got his nickname–which you had previously googled out of curiosity. You ask if it bothers him to be called a drunk.

“Knowing the shit they all get into, not really.”

He says that it doesn’t matter what they call him because he knows that in any situation they’ll have his back and he’ll have theirs. That’s what he cares about.

When he pulls up to your house; a small, one-story home, string lights along the frame and around the windows; it looks exactly like he’d imagined. You both sit quietly for a few minutes unsure what to do next. 

Eventually you unbuckle your seatbelt, “I had a really good time tonight, Benny.”

“Me too. Come on, I’ll walk you to your door.” he looks over at you, “protect and serve, you know.” Benny knows it’s a dumb joke, but you laugh anyway.

When you get to the top of your steps, you find it hard to say goodbye. His face is illuminated by the Christmas lights and you can tell he doesn’t want to say goodbye either. You start to say something, you’re not even sure what, but no words come out because Benny’s mouth is on yours, his hands gently cradling your face. His lips are soft and you can feel the warmth of his tongue asking for permission. You drop your keys onto the porch and pull him closer to you by his belt loops.

It feels like hours have passed when Benny finally pulls away, “Sorry. I’ve been wanting to do that for months.”

You rest your hands on his chest, “Next time,” you gently tug on his shirt collar, “don’t wait so long.”

Benny smiles as he watches you crouch down to pick up the keys you dropped. When you stand back up, he reaches towards your face, his fingers grazing behind your ear, “Hold on, you have something in your—” Benny sweeps his fingers against your hair and when he brings his hand in front of you, he’s holding a small, folded piece of paper. 

You take it from him, unfolding it. When you see the words ‘what are you doing for new years?’ written down you start grinning, “So you do still know some magic tricks.”

Benny places his hand on your neck, his thumb stroking your cheek, “A few.”

[cashewbenoit]

Hi! My friend and I are getting into hockey and we’re kind of wondering what the vibe on Max Domi is?? I’m kind of seeing mixed messages about him so we were wondering why you like him so we can figure out what his deal is and if we should try to pay attention to him more on the leafs. Thanks!

hi anon!! just wanna say before i get going that i’m in love with this ask and you by extension for asking, and i’m sorry this took me so long!

now on to the propaganda (this is long i’m not sorry)

i’m obligated to preface this by saying i’m hugely biased as a Leafs fan who grew up in Southern Ontario. my dad has always been a pretty big Tie Domi fan, so liking Max just seemed like a natural continuation of that.

baby Max with Mats Sundin, then-captain of the Leafs. he’s just a little guy,,

born March 2nd, 1995, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, one month before Tie was traded (back) to the Leafs, Max spent his childhood in Mississauga, Ontario, roughly half an hour west of Toronto. at the age of 12, following some health complications at a hockey tournament in Detroit, blood work revealed that Max had type 1 diabetes and celiac disease. 

not the end of the world, clearly, but a pretty significant shock for a kid with aspirations of greatness. of course, he was able to manage it, with time, and when i finally read his book i’ll tell y’all more about it i promise.

these pictures make me emotional,, a couple of Domis, a couple of decades apart,,, except Max looks about 200% cuntier

anyway

scored a hatty in his OHL debut (slay). won consecutive OHL championships with the London Knights in 2012 and 2013 (double slay). selected 12th overall by the Phoenix (now Arizona) Coyotes, and signed a three year ELC (!). won gold with Team Canada at the 2015 WJC, and was named the tournament’s best forward (huge W). traded to the Montréal Canadiens in 2018, to the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2020, to the Carolina Hurricanes (via the Florida Panthers) at the trade deadline of March 31st 2022, to the Chicago Blackhawks in July of 2022, to the Dallas Stars in March 2023, and finally signed as a free agent to our beloved Toronto Maple Leafs on July 2nd 2023. he’s been on seven different NHL teams since he was drafted. 

sadly, as i’ve only been a hockey fan for one calendar year, i cannot provide much insight into his time with NHL teams other than the Leafs. i have ordered and am waiting for his book to come in so i can better rotate him in my mind, but i encourage anyone who knows more about his other teams’ lore to add to this post or send me what you know, so i can share it with the world. (pls i wanna know everything about him ever)

what i can say is that him and Mitch Marner were teammates on the London Knights for two seasons, (13-14 and 14-15), the second of which saw Max as captain and Mitch as an alternate captain. the season after, Mitch was named captain in Max’s stead. seeing them back together on the Leafs brings joy to my little London Knights heart.

now back to him as a Leaf. 

the current Leafs points leaders, as of December 30th, are as follows:

William Nylander - 48P (17G 31A)

Auston Matthews - 44P (29G 15A)

Mitch Marner - 38P (14G 24A)

John Tavares - 31P (11G 20A)

Morgan Rielly - 27P (4G 23A) 

Max Domi - 21P (3G 18A)

the first five of these are pretty much to be expected, but there’s my close good friend Max Domi right there too :) he’s doing his part, and even if he’s not the biggest scorer, assists are just as important and valuable :) if i have to kill y’all with positivity for this i will :) i love him dearly :)

also, he currently sits at 389 career points, and he’s nowhere near done, while Tie Domi earned 245 points in his entire career of 1020 games. nobody can say shit to me about him not living up to his dad’s legacy (Note: Tie also sits at third in NHL history for penalty minutes with 3515, but that’s a stat nobody will ever surpass. ever. the current PIM leader in the NHL is Corey Perry, and he only has 1392.)

and now i’m not about to sit here and pretend i know how to quantify the skills of an NHL player, let alone describe them in great detail. i do not. however, what i do know is that i love watching him play and make plays. in my eyes, he is a good player, and this is the Max Domi Propaganda Blog so if you want something less biased i can’t help you, sorry :’)

this love began in a preseason game against the Habs, on Oct 2nd. his first game as a Leaf in Toronto, he scores a tip-in against his former team, and he shrugs it off like NBD. for those of you who were following me at the time, you know i was not normal about it then and i am not normal about it now. i think about that celly every goddamn day. 

much to my great sorrow, they Leafed this game up and lost in OT 5-4. but either way, this was the moment that definitively kicked off the Rick eastoncowan Domishka era. 

and the only time Max ever seems to get a scoring chance, it’s either on a breakaway or from a spot that would have been absolutely NASTY if it went in. my mans only wants sexy goals, which is a stance i respect immensely. 

his first regular season goal… didn’t give him any points. it was beautiful, and a game winner, but since it happened in a shootout, it didn’t count towards his points totals. personally, i think this is bullshit, but now is neither the time nor the place for me to get into my issues with some of the NHL’s rules. (Nov 10, 2023, Flames @ Leafs)

Domishka bardownski SO winner,,, you were so beautiful and so unappreciated but i will never forget you </3

now.

Max’s first real goal as a Leaf.

for those of you who followed me at the time, you may recall this post:

a post that the Hockey Gods took to heart

and obviously i followed through. what do you think i am, some kind of quitter?

and, again, unfortunately, we Leafed that one up, too. we lost it in OT again, so still no Domi belt pic for Rick :(

now i’m not going to go back and gif all 18 of his assists, because i don’t think y’all care quite that much about Visual Proof of all of them. for your convenience, though, i did go back and track down whose goals he had assisted on, and the results aren’t super surprising IMO

Calle Järnkrok, Nick Robertson (assisted on 5 each)

Matthew Knies (assisted on 4)

William Nylander, Morgan Rielly, Mitch Marner, Timothy Liljegren (assisted on 1 each)

anyway, now for what is quite possibly my favourite game that i didn’t actually get to watch live.

December 16, 2023, Penguins @ Leafs, a decisive 7-0 victory.

it was also a 3 point night for Max, two of which helped to complete Matthew Knies’ Gordie Howe hat trick, the first since Daniel Winnik in 2015. but a goal and an assist are only two parts of it, the third being a fight. a fight which Knies initiated against John Ludvig after he knocked out yet another of Max’s front teeth with his stick. a fight which was Knies’ first ever. i’m still mad i didn’t see this happen live, but i’ve rewatched the game in its entirety twice, and the highlights too many times to count. this game sparked my undying love for the 23-11-16 line, which is a line i still pray keefe will bring back.

and so, we have a goal and a fight, and we have an assist to finish off the hat trick, and none of it would have happened without Max :)

and speaking of fights, Max has had a couple of em himself in his time as a Leaf so far. granted, if you ask hockeyfights dot com, he didn’t win either of them, but that’s not what matters. what matters is that he looked beautiful doing it, whether it was against Ian Cole (VAN) or Sam Bennett (FLA), especially with the fun added bonus of him flexing his full head of hair at Bennett’s bald dome. as an aside, i fucking hate Sam Bennett, so Max trying to fight him was… well it made me feel things. all i’m gonna say.

max’s third goal was also gorgeous. stunning. amazing. another beautiful bardown, the sound of which lives on in my dreams.

this is getting far longer than it really needs to be, so i’ll take a step back and give you my true, honest thoughts.

Max Domi has been a very helpful player for the Leafs since he got here. he obviously has the drive to play here and to play well here, and 21 points is nothing to be ashamed of. you know who else has 21 points as of me writing this? Alex Ovechkin. and now i’m not saying they are players of the same caliber, but Max is 6th on the Leafs in points, and Ovi is tied for first on the Caps. 21 points is still 21 points, no matter where in the standings someone is. Max was born to be a Leaf, and nothing makes me happier than to see him here and thriving on the team he’s loved since he was a kid. he takes shots, blocks shots, defends his boys and is defended right back in turn. 

and i would not be Rick eastoncowan if i didn’t mention that i think he is hot. like stupid hot. especially without his teeth. fuck, the heart wants what the heart wants, and damn if my heart doesn’t want this tiny toothless idiot. 

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Betsy Klein and Alayna Treene at CNN:

President-elect Donald Trump has not yet submitted a series of transition agreements with the Biden administration, in part because of concerns over the mandatory ethics pledge vowing to avoid conflicts of interest once sworn in to office, CNN has learned. As president, Trump repeatedly came under fire from ethics groups for potential conflicts of interest relating to his businesses and brands. Both Trump’s and his family’s foreign business ties have also come under intense scrutiny throughout his time in office and on the campaign trail.

Trump and his transition team are already behind in accessing key transition briefings from the Biden administration, as they have failed to sign a pair of agreements to unlock critical information before taking over the federal government in 72 days. The holdup revolves in part around the mandatory agreement over ethics issues. A source familiar with the process acknowledged that details are still being worked out with the Biden administration regarding the ethics agreement, which is required by law under the Presidential Transition Act and which applies to all members of the transition team. Updates to that bill requiring the ethics pledge were introduced by Trump ally Sen. Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican, and signed into law by Trump himself in March 2020. The source would not expand further on the Trump team’s concerns over the ethics pledge. Trump’s most recent financial disclosures as a candidate showed that he has continued to make millions off his properties, books and licensing deals. He and his family recently launched a new cryptocurrency business.

A sizable share of his net worth, meanwhile, is tied to the publicly traded parent company of Truth Social, the conservative social media network. Trump is the dominant shareholder and said Friday that he has no intention of selling his 114.75 million shares, worth about $3.7 billion. The Trump team ignored a pair of key preelection deadlines to unlock transition activities with the Biden administration’s General Services Administration and the White House. Experts are sounding the alarms about impacts to Day 1 national security preparedness. The GSA agreement, due September 1, gives Trump’s team access to office space and secure communications, among other provisions. And the White House agreement, due October 1, serves as the gatekeeper for access to agencies and information and lays groundwork for Trump’s team to receive security clearances necessary to begin receiving classified information. The ethics agreement was also due by October 1. The Trump adviser told CNN the president-elect intends to sign the ethics pledge, but said the transition team’s main priority is selecting and vetting candidates for top Cabinet roles. It is unclear when Trump will sign the pledge.

Walking ethics scandal Donald Trump has yet to sign a presidential transition ethics agreement required due to concerns over the mandatory ethics pledge vowing to avoid conflicts of interest.

[stereax]

in terms of the zegras trade talk, is there any way (in terms of cap situation etc) that it would be possible for him to join jamie in philly?

and which teams do you think it are likely for him to go to otherwise?

thank you in advance <3

Hi there anon! So so sorry for the delay on this, I hope you're not too mad at me.

Your question is incredibly intriguing, but it's not quite exact. Any team, theoretically, can pick up Zegras, as long as they move the right pieces back or conduct the proper cap gymnastics. That being said, many GMs will not find him worth the price, and, furthermore, not worth the hassle of potentially taking a sledgehammer to the future.

Moving Zegras during the season (as in before the trade deadline) versus in the offseason would play out drastically differently under the cap and mean different decisions from Verbeek and co. Meet me under the cut for more!

So let's talk about the cap. I don't know how much you know about it, anon, but let me give a quick refresher. The NHL has a "hard" salary cap; teams cannot surpass the limit, full stop. (This is contrasted with MLB soft cap, for instance, where you just pay more tax for being over the cap.) There is one notable example, however: LTIR. Standing for Long-Term Injured Reserve (well, not really, but we all call it that), LTIR allows teams to surpass the salary cap, as long as a player on the team is "bona fide" injured and will be out for more than 24 days and 10 games.

Now here's the complicated thing: cap "accrues" every day that you're under it. (Kind of like it gains interest.) So, as the cap is 83.5m, if your team only makes 82.5m, you have that extra 1m accruing. This is key at the trade deadline where that 1m can end up as over double that to play with in extra wiggle room. (At the trade deadline, you can trade for a 2m player and be at 84.5m, but since you accrued the cap earlier in the season it averages out and is okay.) However, when you have players on LTIR, your cap basically stops accruing. This is why you'll see teams keep season-ending injuries as regular IR and not LTIR if they can - it helps the cap accrue. (Two instances of this right now are Kirby Dach and Dougie Hamilton, both out for the season as far as we're concerned, neither on LTIR.) Notably, in the playoffs, you can activate players off LTIR and go over the cap because of some badly written rules that nobody wants to fix (literally). This is often colloquially termed "pulling a Kucherov" after the Tampa Bay Lightning did this in the 2020-21 season, putting Nikita Kucherov on LTIR for the entire year, using his cap hit to acquire players, then reactivating him game 1 of the playoffs and going wildly over the cap limit. And it's pretty dang successful too - the Vegas Golden Knights emulated that success with Mark Stone last season.

So here's where we take a look at Philly.

Philly has around $3m in deadline cap space. Zegras's contract has a $5.75m cap hit (for this year and two more). Now, he could be traded to Philly at 50% retained salary at the deadline, but this would likely require giving up a lot of extra capital in exchange for Anaheim holding that 50% of cap hit on Zegras for the next three years. (Generally, retaining salary on an expiring deal costs a lot less than on a deal with extra years left, for hopefully obvious reasons.) Philly won't do this. This would be stupid from Briere. If they want Zegras, they have a much better plan in their back pocket: Ryan Ellis.

Ryan Ellis is a defenseman with a $6.25m cap hit for the next four years. His career is most likely over; he has a rare back injury that he's probably not going to recover from in a way that will let him play hockey again. At least in theory, he plays for the Flyers. However, he's been sitting on IR all year. If Philly wants to acquire Zegras, they will (almost certainly) slide Ellis to LTIR and use that $6m in cap space to put Zegras in. The one problem with this is it forces Ellis to LTIR for the rest of his career, most likely, and disadvantages the Flyers in the long run.

Option three is just to make space with bad or nonvaluable contracts. Cal Petersen buries $3.85m in the minors. (Buried contracts are weird; essentially, if you send guys on certain kinds of contract - as in expensive - down to the AHL, you're on the hook for some or most of the salary.) Move that contract anywhere and Philly should have room for Zegras at the deadline. Plus it makes it easier for the team to deal with new contacts. Or you move Cam Atkinson, an aging vet making $5.875m, to a team that's not on his modified no-trade clause and free that space for Zegras. Or you move Rasmus Ristolainen, an underperforming defenseman making $5.1m... See what I mean? Any team you like has options to move around cap to pick up Zegras. Not only the teams like Chicago, Buffalo, and Nashville who have the obvious cap space, but also teams trying to retool into younger cores could be keenly interested. (I could go through all the teams in the NHL as potential suitors, but that might be too much information. Unless you want that. In which case, ask and I'll do it.)

That being said, it sounds like Zegras will be moved during the offseason - and that makes sense, as usually contracts with significant term and roster-forming implications aren't traded at the deadline. At that point, with UFA contracts going off the books, it can quite literally be anyone's game to pick up Zegras. However, it'll probably be costly - a young, talented center who will be in your NHL top six, has serious upside, is on a fairly cost-friendly contract for two more years and then retains RFA status? Those don't grow on trees. Expect him to be moved for either a blue chip prospect or a first-round pick. Maybe both, if Verbeek is smart. Genuinely cannot think of a trade of such a player in recent history. (The closest off the top of my head? The Matthew Tkachuk trade - that was two prime players, a first, and a prospect for him. Granted, his circumstances were much different than Zegras's, and Matthew was undeniably worth a lot more.)

Generally, you're not trading away or giving up young core players. Verbeek doing so with Drysdale opens the floodgates. Whether it's because Verbeek wants to sculpt this team the way he wants (neither Drysdale nor Zegras were drafted by him) or he simply sees no future for Zegras on the Ducks, it's incredibly puzzling, not least of all because Anaheim seems mired in this rebuild, and Verbeek may be adding years to it if he plays his hand wrong.

[qualitystart]

so you have any crash course information on them so I'm not totally lost please? if not it's ok!

okay so. the starting point, if you have the time, is the utterly phenomenal Dorktown History of the Seattle Mariners. that'll take you through 2020. the extremely excellent mariners blog Lookout Landing also has some great history posts.

but you don't just want history, I assume - you want to know about the Mariners now. I'll try to cover as many of them as I can below the cut.

there's Julio, who took the world by storm as a rookie last year. here's a great piece on him from last fall - spoiler alert, they did end the drought. he also vlogs!

J.P. - heart and soul, o captain my captain. here's a great LL piece on him.

and his parter in crime, Ty, golden retriever in human form. you gotta see their dynamic in action: In-N-Out Burger trip, Starbucks adventure

Geno (of Casey's url fame) - "good vibes only," making Gold Glove plays every day, and an important leader

Jarred - in the words of @eugeniosuarez, "gifted child syndrome and a mood disorder but he loves his friends." currently on the IL because he kicked a water cooler after a frustrating strikeout. (he was gutted, and crying in his media availability. he cares about this team so fucking much.) his face when he's happy lights up the world.

Cal (a.k.a Big Dumper) - our incredible, talented, big-assed young catcher who rakes and works SO hard every day

Logan - very good pitcher, shaped like an inflatable tube man, undrafted out of high school and made himself a first-rounder anyway

Logan and Cal came up together and are rich with narratives, which I have detailed here.

Cabby - will annoy the SHIT out of the other team. uses the pitch clock to his advantage like no one else. in the words of the poet:

our other catcher is Murph - got a bit of the crazy eyes, we love him, he even can cartwheel!

the bullpen! here's a great LL piece - Gott has since been traded to the Mets, but he lives on in our hearts and Sauce pours one out for him before every game

and our de facto closers:

Matt Brash, who's got some nasty stuff, and Andrés Muñoz, who is very baby and throws gas

(previously we had Paul Sewald, who was traded at the deadline - good baseball move, but tough to see him go)

I am gettin sleepy and I haven't even covered most of the rotation - 2023 All Stars George Kirby and Luis Castillo, rookies Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo, plus we've got Robbie Ray and Marco on the IL (both out for the year) - so I may come back to edit this later, I'll rb it if I do.

feel free to hit me up with more questions any time, and I'm sure @eugeniosuarez and @jockcoded would be happy to answer some too - we all love telling people about the Mariners

[rouzys]

THE UNOFFICIAL ST. LOUIS BLUES PRIMER PART 1 : FORWARDS

JORDAN KYROU (Rouzy)

Info: #25, RW, STL 35th in 2016 (listed as a center ? does not play center)

Last season: 37 goals + 73 pts (career high goals!)

History: played a handful of games in the 18-19 season, but his real rookie season was in 19-20 and was cut short due to covid. Broke out for real in the 20-21 season and in the 2022 offseason signed an 8 year contract extension !! Won the fastest skater competition at the 2021 all star game!

Profile: great goal scorer at his best, often passes for the "perfect play" instead of shooting. Not super physical

Other: besties with Robert Thomas, they even signed matching contracts <3

ROBERT THOMAS (A) (Thommer) (Tommer?)

Info: #18, C, STL 20th in 2017

Last season: 18 goals + 65 pts (team lead in assists !)

History: played most of the 18-19 season and won the cup as a rookie! Had a good season considering he was on a team of more dominant veterans, very notably received That One Hit from Krug in the SCF

Profile: Not a massive goal scorer but definitely can score, more of a playmaker. Struggles with overpassing for the perfect play. Resident faceoff man post-ROR trade.

Other: besties with Kyrou :)

PAVEL BUCHNEVICH (Buch)

Info: #89, LW, NYR 75th in 2013

Last season: 26 goals + 67 pts

History: traded to Blues in 2021 and immediately had a career season. Was good on the Rangers, is even better on the Blues.

Profile: Great goal scorer! Very good shorthanded this season, already has 2 SHG! Hasn't been his best year overall but would be surprised if he didn't get at least 20 goals

Other: has never played a full 82 game season

BRANDON SAAD (Saader)

Info: #20, LW, CHI 43rd in 2011

Last season: 19 goals + 27 pts

History: won 2 cups with the Blackhawks in 2013 and 2015. Signed with the Blues in 2021 as a free agent

Profile: very consistent 20-ish goal scorer! Has been moved around the lineup quite a bit this season but is usually on the second or third line, great depth goal scorer

Other: not super relevant but inch resting to me, he was traded from Chicago to Columbus in the infamous Artemi Panarin trade

BRAYDEN SCHENN (C) (Schenner)

Info: #10, C, LAK 5th in 2009

Last season: 21 goals + 65 pts

History: important piece in the 18-19 cup season, scored a goal in game 7 of the SCF! Was an alternate captain for 3 seasons under ROR, currently his first season as captain :)

Profile: Usually a 20-ish goal scorer, production has suffered this year from being moved around the second and third lines

Other: I'm still jumpscared by him being in 2013-era Flyers fics to this day. He played on the Flyers with his brother Luke for several (4?) seasons !!

JAKE NEIGHBOURS (Jakey) (?)

Info: #63, LW, STL 26th in 2020

History: Technically in his sophomore season, was unexpectedly called up for 43 games last season + made the roster full time this year out of camp. Worked his way up from the fourth line to the first line before settling down to the second line after the coaching change. He's having whatever the opposite of a sophomore slump is! It's definitely been a breakout season for him so far

Profile: Good goal scorer, was briefly leading the team in goals. Very physical guy, doesn't take many penalties considering he's not afraid to throw himself around

Other: Roommates with rookie goalie Hofer, and they both spent the Christmas holidays with the Schenn family! They do a very cute little thing during the goalie headbutt line :)

SAMMY BLAIS

Info: #79, LW, STL 176th in 2014

Last season: 9 goals + 20 pts in 31 games post-trade deadline

History: Played on the 18-19 cup-winning team (was #9), traded to NYR (for Buchnevich) in 2021, scored NO GOALS in 2 seasons there, traded back in 2023 and scored career high 9 goals post trade deadline.

Profile: Usually a physical player, worked well on the relentless 2019 team. Struggling to find his place on the current team, sometimes a healthy scratch

KEVIN HAYES (Hayesy)

Info: #12, C, CHI 24th in 2010 (listed as LW ? but has been playing center)

Last season: 18 goals + 54 pts (PHI)

History: Drafted by Chicago but played for Boston College (apparently had an injury where he almost lost his leg????). Played several years on the Rangers, about ten minutes in Winnipeg, played several years in Philadelphia, and got traded to the Blues in the 2023 offseason for a couple of rocks (a 6th round pick). Part of the controversial trade that made Krug invoke his no-trade clause.

Profile: Good depth scoring and fantastic faceoff man. Decently physical player and he battles well enough that he's already got 10 goals to show for it.

Other: cousin of Keith Tkachuk! His brother (former player, retired in 2019) unfortunately passed away in 2021 and every time he scores, he points to the sky for him :,)

KASPERI KAPANEN (Kappy)

Info: #42, RW, PIT 22nd in 2014

Last season: 15 goals + 34 pts (PIT + STL)

History: Drafted by the Penguins but was traded to the Leafs where he played 5 seasons, then traded BACK to the Penguins where he played 2 1/2 seasons, then put on waivers. The Blues picked him up in 2023 and he put up a solid 14 pts in 23 games. He fought his way up from the minors and has played exclusively in the NHL since the 18-19 season.

Profile: Good depth player. Very fast but doesn't shoot very much. Currently on the fourth line, usually higher but was moved down as other players (notable Neighbours) moved up the lineup.

NATHAN WALKER (Walks)

Info: #26, LW, WSH 89 in 2014 (currently playing center, my sources are conflicting but he's currently playing center so. he might be a center)

Last season: 2 goals + 10 pts

History: He's Australian! He was born in Wales! He holds basically all of the Australian records since he's one of like 4 Aussie players ever. He played his first NHL games in the 2018 playoffs and won the cup the with Capitals! Unfortunately did not play enough games for his name to be on the cup. He's technically only played a handful of games this year and started with the AHL team but he's been on the team for a few years now and he just signed a 2-year one-way extention, so you'll probably be seeing more of him :)

Profile: Physical player despite being undersized (5'9). Not a big scorer but provides a major physical presence on a not very physical team.

Other: look at his instagram right now his kids are so goddamn adorable

ALEXEY TOROPCHENO (Torpo)

Info: #13, RW, STL 113th in 2017

Last season: 10 goals + 19 pts

History: Played in the KHL in 20-21 due to issues with the Blues AHL affiliate (goodbye San Antonio Rampage, fuck VGK). Made his Blues debut when a covid outbreak on the team forced them to call up a number of players.

Profile: Physical player! Kinda massive (6'6) so he can and WILL run guys over. Fast and relentless player who doesn't give up the puck easily. Mostly a 4th line grinder but he WORKS on that 4th line. Great penalty killer, already has 2 shorthanded goals on the season

Other: this has less of an impact now because it's just him and buch, but back when there were numerous russian players i always called him my favorite russian. this still stands <3

OSKAR SUNDQVIST (Sunny)

Info: #70, C, PIT 81st in 2012

Last season: 10 goals + 28 pts (DET + MIN)

History: The Blues offseason signing of the century. Played a handful of games with the Penguins in the 16-17 season when they won the cup, but didn't play enough games for his name to be on it. Signed to the Blues 18-19 team on a one-year deal and had his best season to date, won the cup for real this time to boot. Traded to the Red Wings in 2022, then traded to the Wild at the 2023 deadline.

Profile: As a center, he's a solid faceoff man, a solid physical presence, and I think he really exudes everything that worked about the 2019 team. Good defensive forward on the fourth line.

Other: A huge fan of the STL MLS team! Went to games even before he had officially signed here. I think the entire city of STL likes this guy he seems cool. Also the Sundqvist + Walman for Leddy + Witkowski trade is known for being absolutely awful. jake walman if ur reading this pls come back

And that's all for the forwards! This is what the roster currently looks like (1/14/24) and other players who are called up/down frequently will be in a separate section

[chicagocubsreactions]

Cubs move on from Seiya Suzuki’s interpreter and look ahead to second half of season

[original article]

The Chicago Cubs are making a subtle but potentially significant change coming out of the All-Star break, dismissing the interpreter who has worked with Japanese outfielder Seiya Suzuki through his first two-and-a-half seasons in the majors.

Toy Matsushita will no longer serve as Suzuki’s voice in interviews with American media, a team source said Thursday, framing it as an organizational decision to go in a different direction. Those responsibilities, which also included relaying messages from the front office and the coaching staff to Suzuki, will be absorbed by two Cubs staffers.

Nao Masamoto, a longtime Cubs employee who manages their Pacific Rim operations and major-league video system, will continue to support Suzuki. Shota Imanaga’s interpreter, Edwin Stanberry, will also assist in communications with Suzuki.

The Cubs will open the 2025 season at the Tokyo Dome with two games against the Los Angeles Dodgers (March 18-19), Major League Baseball announced Thursday, matching up two iconic teams on an international stage.

The biggest story of this year’s Seoul Series was the gambling scandal that engulfed Ippei Mizuhara, Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter. The Cubs, the team source stressed, are not dealing with a similar situation here.

The Cubs want to continue to be known as a destination for Japanese players and seen as a place where they can reach their full potential. Masamoto is so trusted that he remained good friends with Yu Darvish even after the Cubs traded the Japanese pitcher to the San Diego Padres following the 2020 season. Stanberry has done an exemplary job of accentuating Imanaga’s personality during interviews and helping him assimilate into the team’s culture.

Intentional is the oft-repeated description of how Imanaga built relationships with coaches and teammates. That was publicly displayed during the welcome-to-Chicago news conference where he recited the lyrics to “Go Cubs Go.” Behind the scenes, it also involved keeping some distance from his interpreter and strengthening his sense of independence.

A rookie only by major-league standards, Imanaga, 30, pitched a scoreless inning in the All-Star Game. He’s 8-2 with a 2.97 ERA through 17 starts, making his four-year, $53 million contract look like one of the most prescient signings from last winter. He’s also on the cover of Chicago Magazine’s recently released “Best of” issue.

Imanaga has also benefitted from the team’s learning curve with Suzuki, who signed a five-year, $85 million contract after MLB’s lockout ended in 2022. Suzuki is a supremely talented hitter and tireless worker who has dealt with some injuries and a weird issue with catching routine fly balls in right field.

When Suzuki is locked in, though, he can elevate an offense that has several weak spots. His mixture of power, patience, mental approach and contact skills are close to an ideal version of what the Cubs value in their hitters. Streamlining the communication could be a way for the team to make sure he’s confident and decisive.

Suzuki, who will turn 30 next month, is a good major-league hitter (.811 career OPS) who should be in the prime of his career. His first-half production (13 homers, 45 RBIs) was boosted by a hot streak in July (.321 batting average, .942 OPS) that lined up with one of the team’s best stretches all season. The Cubs (47-51) need that kind of performance to shut down any discussions about a sell-off at the July 30 trade deadline.

[notwiselybuttoowell]

Cargill and ADM, two of the world’s leading livestock feed companies, helped to scupper an attempt to end the trade in soya beans grown on deforested and threatened ecosystem lands in South America, a new report alleges.

Soya is one of the cheapest available types of edible protein, and is in huge demand for feed for animals around the world; as our consumption of meat and dairy has risen globally, the need for soya has soared too.

But its production has been directly associated with deforestation in some of the most threatened landscapes around the world. Last year, in response to internal concerns and growing public awareness of the issue, 14 leading grain traders worked intensively to agree a ban on buying soya beans grown on some of those landscapes, including Brazil’s Amazon forest, the Pantanal wetlands and the Cerrado savanna, according to the report.

The ban would have imposed a backdated deadline of 2020 on soya buyers, and was expected to be announced at last year’s UN Cop27 climate conference in Egypt, the report said. The backdated deadline was aimed at preventing harvested soya already grown on threatened land areas from entering global markets, and avoiding the deforesting scramble a future deadline might have provoked.

But instead of agreeing the ban, Cargill and ADM “led the push” for weaker language in the final statement, according to one person involved in the discussions between the 14 grain traders before Cop27. “If Cargill – or ADM – had not taken those positions, the outcome would have been different,” the source said.

The Guardian spoke to several of the report’s sources who confirmed their quotes but did not wish to be named.

The soya agreement that was signed by the companies, included in the November 2022 agriculture sector roadmap to 1.5C, was seen as a failure by many NGOs. A group representing retailers including Asda, Aldi, Lidl, M&S and Tesco told Cargill and ADM the agreement was inadequate, inconsistent and insufficient.

The new report by Mighty Earth, an NGO which has previously called Cargill “the worst company in the world”, follows news that soya land conversion has surged in Brazil’s Cerrado. That rise is largely driven by the expansion of soya grown for animal feed, according to Mighty Earth’s CEO, Glenn Hurowitz. “If Cargill had signed up to the ban … the other companies would have followed the leader.” As a result we would not be seeing “the forests and biomes of South America bulldozed at such an alarming scale and pace”, he said.

Two other leading commodity companies, Amaggi and Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC), were committed to the soya ban initiative, Mighty Earth’s report said. Both have “stronger commitments [than Cargill and ADM] to end all soya linked to deforestation and conversion”, said David Cleary, director of global agriculture at The Nature Conservancy, an NGO. The term conversion is used to describe threatened ecosystem lands that are converted to soya plantations, whether forested or not.

[nbatrades]

Golden State Warriors Acquire Three Second-Round Picks for Alec Burks and Glenn Robinson III

On February 6th, 2020, the Golden State Warriors traded guard-forward Alec Burks and forward Glenn Robinson III to the Philadelphia 76ers for a 2020 second round draft pick (Nico Mannion), a 2021 second round draft pick (Aaron Wiggins) and a 2022 second round draft pick (Tyrese Martin). 

The 2020 second rounder was originally from Dallas, 2021 second rounder is from Denver and the 2022 second rounder is from Toronto.

After three championships and five NBA Finals appearances from 2015 to 2019, the Golden State Warriors dynasty needed a break. 

Two-time Finals MVP Kevin Durant ruptured his right achilles tendon during the 2019 Finals and left Golden State in free agency, signing with the Brooklyn Nets. Star shooting guard Klay Thompson also was hurt in the Finals, tearing the ACL in his left knee. He was likely to miss the entire 2019-20 season.

With those two players not in the lineup, Golden State’s roster would look significantly different from the start. As other key pieces such as Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston departed via trade and retirement respectively, the Warriors were going to have to find solid players to keep the machine running around lynchpins Stephen Curry and Draymond Green.

The problem was that the team had little flexibility to improve externally. Golden State was hard-capped after acquiring guard D’Angelo Russell in a sign-and-trade deal with the Brooklyn Nets involving Kevin Durant. The hard cap meant Golden State couldn’t go over the total team salary figure of just under $139 million.

The Warriors needed to add some players in minimum deals. Two additions through the minimum were wings Alec Burks and Glenn Robinson III. Burks was coming off a season where he was traded twice and played little with the Sacramento Kings to end the 2018-19 season.

Robinson was a disappointment in Detroit, shooting just 29% from the three-point line. The Pistons declined his team option for the season, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Both players were buy-low options for the Warriors. Golden State began the 2019-20 season in a deep struggle. The team dropped its first two games by 19 points and 28 points. The Warriors won their next game against the New Orleans Pelicans but the season would get worse as Curry fractured his left hand in the fourth game against the Phoenix Suns.

Without Curry, the Warriors season went off the rails. The Warriors dropped 12 of their next 14 games to fall to 3-15. The losses continued to pile up as Golden State shifted into a quick rebuild for the next season. Golden State was 12-39 when it decided to sit Robinson and Burks in preparation for a deadline trade.

Though Golden State was experiencing a season of misery, Burks and Robinson were individually thriving and potentially building value for themselves. 

Burks was playing the most minutes of his career in five years and he was somewhat efficient as a shot creator and scorer. The guard appeared in 48 games (18 starts) with the Warriors and managed 16.1 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 3.1 APG and 1.0 SPG in 29.0 MPG.

Burks posted the highest PER (16.1) and true shooting percentage (55.2%) of his career at the time of the trade.

Robinson also excelled in Golden State, earning his first full-time starting role after stops in Minnesota, Philadelphia, Indiana and Detroit. In 48 games with the Warriors, Robinson averaged a career-high 12.9 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.8 APG and 0.9 SPG in 31.6 MPG. He was often tasked with guarding the opposition’s top wing perimeter options and had re-discovered the three-point shot, shooting 40% on 170 long distance attempts.

For the Warriors, with their luxury tax bill, it was hard to envision where and how Robinson and Burks would fit when Klay Thompson and Curry returned from injury. Since both players had outperformed their minimum deals, it would’ve been difficult to re-sign them. Instead, the Warriors replenished future assets, acquiring three second round picks from Philadelphia for the two players.

To make room for Burks and Robinson, the Sixers traded reserve James Ennis to the Orlando Magic in exchange for a second round pick from the Los Angeles Lakers and waived guard Trey Burke.

Philadelphia was in turmoil at the trade deadline. Sitting at 31-20, the 76ers were falling short of expectations and its offense had fallen short amid an awkward fit between stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. Adding Al Horford also complicated the team’s rotation and chemistry.

Though there were questions about Horford’s fit and if the 76ers would try to trade him, the conversations for the 76ers centered around finding perimeter shooting.

That’s where Philadelphia came to the decision to make a smaller move and add Burks and Robinson’s minimum contracts, dealing three second round picks in return. Burks and Robinson’s run in Philadelphia would initially last just 12 games as the NBA season was shutdown in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The league returned in August to a bubble concept based in Orlando, Florida where a select group of teams would finish out the regular season and play in the playoffs. 39-26 heading into the bubble, the 76ers went 4-4 in the bubble regular season games to finish with a 44-30 record.

The team was dealt a significant blow when All-Star Ben Simmons left to have left knee surgery, cutting his season short. 

Burks played in 18 games with the Sixers, compiling 12.2 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 2.1 APG and 0.7 SPG in 20.2 MPG. After Simmons’ injury, Burks stepped up with 20.3 PPG on 54.4% shooting in the final four games of the regular season.

Robinson missed most of the bubble with a left hip pointer. He also was out for the first round with an oblique muscle strain. In 14 games with Philadelphia, he produced 7.7 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 0.8 APG and 0.6 SPG in 19.3 MPG. 

The 44-30 76ers ended up in sixth place and faced the 48-24 Boston Celtics in the opening round. In the first game of the series, Celtics forward Jayson Tatum had a game-high 32 points and 13 rebounds as Boston used a 34-22 advantage in the fourth quarter to win 109-101. Burks had 18 points in the game.

Philadelphia got off to a decent start in Game Two, building a 36-30 lead early in the second quarter. Boston used a 25-5 advantage to wrestle control of the game. The Celtics blew the doors open in the second half, and won 128-101.

The third game was a back and forth affair. Boston took an 85-78 lead with 7:45 left in the contest on a Tatum layup. Over the next three minutes, Philly went on a 12-4 run to take a 90-89 lead. After several scores from both teams, the Sixers took a 94-92 lead on two Joel Embiid free-throws with 2:14 remaining.

From that point on, Philadelphia never scored again. Boston went on a 10-0 run in the final two minutes to win 102-94 and take a 3-0 series lead. In the fourth game, Celtics guard Kemba Walker had 32 points as Boston took control late in the second half and completed the 4-0 sweep. The Celtics built a 96-79 lead early in the fourth quarter and held on for a 110-106 win despite 30 points from Embiid.

Though Burks had 18 points in the series opener, he struggled. The guard averaged 10.5 PPG on 32.7% from the field and 18.8% from the three-point line, 3.8 RPG, 1.8 APG and 0.8 BPG in 23.7 MPG.

After the season, Philadelphia quickly reshaped its supporting cast and franchise. Coach Brett Brown was fired and replaced by Doc Rivers from the Los Angeles Clippers.

Burks and Robinson both played less in Philadelphia as the 76ers were a deeper team and it had somewhat of an impact on their individual futures. 

Burks became a free agent and signed a one-year, $6 million deal with the New York Knicks. Robinson signed a one-year minimum deal with a partial guarantee with the Sacramento Kings.

The 2020 second round pick Golden State acquired in the trade was originally from the Dallas Mavericks and wound up in the 48th spot of the 2020 draft. Golden State selected 19-year old Arizona product Nico Mannion.

The son of a former NBA player (Pace Mannion), the 6-foot-2 point guard earned a spot on the All-Pac-12 second team after he led the Wildcats in assists (5.3) and was second in scoring at 14.0 PPG.

After being drafted by the Warriors, Mannion signed a two-way contract with the club for the 2020-21 season. Due to the NBA season being put on pause and the bubble version of the NBA playoffs occurring in the late summer, there was no Summer League after the 2020 draft took place in November.

Mannion joined a Warriors roster looking to bounce back from its worst season in nearly two decades. Stars Stephen Curry and Draymond Green were healthy going into the season while third star Klay Thompson was out for the year after tearing his right achilles tendon in an offseason workout. 

The Warriors had tepid expectations and had a concerning 0-2 start, dropping the two games by 26 and 39 points. Soon after, the Warriors recovered, winning six of the next eight games. Still the year would be up and down as Golden State hovered around .500. A mid-season 5-13 stretch from late-February to early-April left the Warriors in tenth place with a 24-28 record. 

Curry got hot and the Warriors defense found its groove as Golden State won 15 of its next 20 games to finish the regular season with a 39-33 record. The mark was good for eighth place in the West.

Mannion struggled when he hit the court fo the Warriors in limited minutes. In 30 games (one start), Mannion produced 4.1 PPG, 1.5 RPG, 2.3 APG and 0.5 SPG in 12.1 MPG. Of concern, was Mannion’s inability to finish inside the arc as he shot just 31.5% that season on two-point attempts.

Mannion also played in the G-League Bubble in Bay Lake, Florida for the Santa Cruz Warriors during the middle portion of the regular season. He excelled with the sudden boost in playing time. In nine games with Santa Cruz, Mannion averaged 19.3 PPG, 6.9 APG, 3.3 RPG and 1.8 SPG in 33.1 MPG.

The Warriors were in eighth and due to the NBA’s newly expanded play-in tournament rules, the Warriors had to face the seventh seed Los Angeles Lakers on the road in a play-in game. The new creation gave the ninth and ten seeds a chance to make the playoffs.

In the play-in game against the Lakers, Curry had 37 points and the Warriors led by 13 at the half. Los Angeles came back and took a lead in the fourth quarter. Both teams exchanged leads but LeBron James made a clutch three with 58 seconds left despite a watery eye from an eyepoke and the Lakers held on for a 103-100 win.

Los Angeles took the seventh seed and the Warriors faced the winner of the nine and ten matchup, the Memphis Grizzlies for the eighth seed at home. Curry was great once again with 39 points but Grizzlies star Ja Morant had 35 points as Memphis won in overtime 117-112. The loss eliminated the Warriors from the postseason.

After the season, the Warriors extended a qualifying offer to make Mannion a restricted free agent. However, the Warriors signed point guard Chris Chiozza to a two-way deal, leaving Mannion in the lurch. 

Mannion departed from the NBA, signing a contract to play for Virtus Bologna of Italy’s Lega Basket Serie A.

Before the start of the 2020-21 season, the Warriors traded two second round picks to the Oklahoma City Thunder for forward Kelly Oubre. One of those picks—originally owned by Denver—was from the Philadelphia deal. It became the 55th pick in the 2021 draft which the Thunder used on Maryland guard Aaron Wiggins.

In 2022, the Warriors drafted guard Tyrese Martin with the pick they acquired from Philadelphia. Originally owned by Toronto, the pick was 51st in the draft. Golden State subsequently dealt Martin’s draft rights with cash to the Atlanta Hawks for the draft rights to the 44th pick, Ryan Rollins.

Glenn Robinson III on joining the 76ers (via Sixers Wire):

“I was excited. Obviously, I was having a great year with the Warriors and things were going great there, they’re a great organization, but I think that I was definitely excited to be able to help this team.”

On how he found out about the trade (via NBC Sports Philadelphia):

“Me and AB [Alec Burks] found out on a plane going back to [San Francisco] from New York about the trade. I was asleep and they woke me up and told me. So, then we found out we were going to have to travel six more hours. I know he was on a red-eye last night and I got in a little earlier than him. 

“Just glad to be here, ready to basically start tomorrow so I can get in there, learn the plays and get some shots up. I haven’t even been to the new practice facility yet, so I’m excited to do that, too — because we were at PCOM when I was [last] here. Big difference, I heard.”

How the 76ers have improved from his first time with the club in 2015:

“The players have definitely gotten better [compared to 2015], yeah. It’s always weird — a new day at a job, that first step, it’s always different. I felt the energy in the building, it’s great to be back... Everyone welcomed me with open arms and is glad that I’m back here in Philly. I really feel like I can help this team. Just glad to be wanted. I think that’s the main thing as a player is coming into different situations, whether it’s a trade or you get picked up in free agency, being wanted is a good feeling. 

“For Brett to FaceTime almost immediately after finding out the news, I think that says a lot about his character, my character and what they want here.”

Alec Burks on his role in Philadelphia (via The Philadelphia Inquirer):

“I guess we will figure that out soon. I know that they wanted me here [on] their team. They think I fit well. So we will see how that plays out.”

Golden State Warriors president Bob Myers on how the team was upset when the decision was made to trade Burks and Robinson (The TK Show via NBC Sports):

“The night we traded (Alec) Burks and (Glenn) Robinson —that was a little bit of a gut-wrenching thing for the people on the team. Those guys were good players and good guys and did everything we asked of them. 

“And I had a moment, too. I started questioning. We're really kind of ripping our fabric apart here. And (assistant general manager) Mike Dunleavy — who played 15 years — said, ‘Here's the other side of that coin: The fact that guys are in tears — and we’ve only won 10 games or 12 games and don’t want to leave — says something about what you guys have created.’ 

“So I’m proud of that part... it sucks to lose. But what makes it good or bad are the people.”

Philadelphia 76ers Elton Brand on adding both Burks and Robinson (via Philadelphia 76ers):

“We’re fortunate to add Alec Burks and Glenn Robinson III. Both are having career years. They’re going to boost us offensively and defensively. I’m looking to getting them here.”

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr on the difficulty for Golden State to play without Burks and Robinson who were held out of a game against Brooklyn because they were expected to be traded (via ESPN):

“Tough night to go out and play. Two of our leaders, elder statesmen, guys who are really beloved in the locker room. For the team to find out those two guys are most likely going to be traded is pretty tough... Not a good way to prepare for a game when something like that happens.”

76ers head coach Brett Brown on Alec Burks’ ability to make plays off the bounce (via NBC Sports Philadelphia):

“I’m going to be dramatic, but I believe it — this is our sport. You have to play off a live ball… You need somebody that can break down a defense, that can get to the paint — hopefully out of an isolation, out of a live ball. And he can do that. And so I felt that when we didn’t have [Josh Richardson]. You felt that.

“If we’re all honest, with the identifiable skill sets of our guys, it’s not like give it to so-and-so and they’re going to break somebody down, get into the paint and find people — that’s not it. We have very good players with high levels of skills, but that thing you’re talking about is needed. You really need it, and you especially need it when you play late in the season.”

On who he plans on playing in the 76ers rotation and the logjam at the wing positions for Philadelphia after the trade (via The Philadelphia Inquirer):

“In my mind, I do, but it’s probably not something I want to share right now with everybody. There’s a stable of wings that something’s got to give. 

“There’s only so many minutes, because the group is flexible, everybody can sort of read into or think about what I think that means. You have options.”

Warriors guard Jordan Poole on the news that the Warriors were going to trade Burks and Robinson and how it was announced before a game (via The Mercury News):

“They know that they’re beloved in the locker room and, obviously, it was some tough news that nobody wanted to hear, but you still got to go out there and play. Those are two amazing guys and I’m just extremely thankful and blessed to be able to play with them my first year.”

What he’s learned from Burks and Robinson:

“Just how to be a pro. Those two guys are a perfect demonstration to look at as role models.”

76ers guard Raul Neto on the team acquiring his former teammate in Utah Alec Burks (via The Philadelphia Inquirer):

“He’s obviously a great player. A great, talented player. He can score anyways, and he plays hard. I think he’s going to be good for us.”

Related Tweets:

Got so much love and respect for these dudes! My guys for life! Wish them the best! Two real dudes! https://t.co/wT671SPttK

— Eric Paschall (@epaschall)

February 6, 2020

Image Credit:

Glenn Robinson III via Getty Images/Jesse D. Garrabrant

Alec Burks via Getty Images/Garrett Ellwood

[jose-berojos]

What the Fuck Are They Doing With Alcalá? A Comprehensive Overview

Jorge Alcala is one of my niche-favorite Twins players, thanks to a specific game in 2020 where he pitched two scoreless innings in extras to salvage the game that started out as Maeda's 8-inning no-hit bid. He was Duran before Duran: a flamethrowing Dominican righty who the Twins picked up as a 2018 trade deadline lottery ticket and converted to a major-league caliber reliever.

It's not been a smooth road: like many high-velocity pitchers, he struggles with command, and also has historic issues facing lefties. But in late 2021, it looked like he'd figured it out, giving up just 1 earned run across his last 14 appearances of the season with stellar peripherals and picking up his first career save. Heading into 2022, he seemed poised to work into a setup role, but he got hurt after two appearances and, like many others that season, had complications during the rehab process and never returned.

2023, then, was set to be Alcala's year, as one of many high-ceiling but limited track record relievers fighting for a leverage role to improve a bullpen that had been the 2022 team's weakness. And this is where it gets weird.

As a hard-throwing reliever with high-leverage potential, a history of arm issues, and coming off a season almost totally lost to arm injury, Alcala's third appearance of the season was in... a 3-run deficit (the first prolonged multi-run deficit the Twins had faced all season), where he threw 45 pitches over 1.2 innings. Having not thrown 30+ pitches in an outing since 9/15/20, his third appearance back from injury he was asked to throw 45. Six days later he threw 44 in 2 innings and gave up 2 runs. Another five days later he threw 41 in 2.1 and gave up 3 runs, and was promptly sent down.

His fourth appearance in triple-A, he threw 42 pitches in 1.2 innings. He was then called back up and made three appearances, all 20+ pitch count, all giving up runs, in progressively lower leverage before being relegated to mop-up duty in a 16-3 game and going on the injured list two days later.

Unsurprisingly, the injury was right arm-related; more surprisingly, sometime later it was upgraded to a stress fracture, which shut him down for three months. After a few rehab assignments, he came back for the last game of the season, where he gave up the game-tying run and threw 39 pitches in 2 innings.

So far in 2024, Alcala looks better than ever, but it hasn't earned him any more favorable usage. Like last year, about half his appearances have been for multiple innings, mainly in low leverage, with one 40-pitch outing. There was also the weird incident on 4/6 where they planned to have him throw a third inning before he complained of arm soreness. With his injury history, this sounded alarming, but he got two days rest and then threw back-to-back for the first time since 2021.

Though he's maintained an ERA of 0 so far, with 9 strikeouts to 3 hits and 3 walks, he was the first reliever sent down (over less experienced pitchers, or pitchers with worse performance but no minor league options) when Thielbar returned. Given his performance, heavy usage, and the arm soreness incident, this made sense as load management, but in his first triple-A appearance, he threw... 2 innings, 34 pitches.

I don't get it. From the outside, this looks like a shockingly uncharacteristic and localized case of mismanagement and wasted opportunities by the Twins. Alcala was an heir-apparent setup man just two years ago, and he's shown time and again he can still be that if given health and opportunity. Instead he's treated like a rubber-armed fringe long reliever.

Since I wrote the bulk of this post, Alcala made two more triple-A appearances, both single-inning and 20 or fewer pitches, and he sat for nine days between outings. His fastball velocity in these outings has rebounded to a more characteristic 99 mph max, 97 mph average, which is encouraging to see after his velocity frequently dropped during those longer MLB outings.

With talks of sending Sands down to triple-A to stretch out as a starter, it's likely Alcala will soon be called back up to fill that middle relief/spot-setup role. I hope this most recent triple-A usage is indicative of how they plan to use him at the major league level going forward. He deserves a chance to stick as a setup man, and the multi-inning, 30+ pitch usage he's been stuck in for the past year plus seems tailor-made to get him hurt again.

[andrebearakovsky]

heya! i've been away from hockey for a few years, my last devastation was the Trading of Holtby. which cap should i look out for this season in your opinion? thx✌

(holtby wasn't traded he simply just wasn't re-signed as a free agent but that's okay)

Well, if you were around in the Holtby era, then all the big guys are still here (Ovi, Backstrom, Oshie, Wilson, Carlson, Kuzy) and you know them, so I'll talk about some newer guys that you might not know. And I know you said one guy but I'm going to talk about multiple guys 'cause I can't help myself.

I personally think Dylan Strome is going to have a pretty big year. We got him last year, and he had his career high in games played, goals, assists, and points. He seemed very comfortable here, and I think he'll have an even better year this year. He's a center and will play anywhere from line 1 to line 3 depending on how the rest of the lineup looks on any given day, and he'll definitely be on the power play, either on PP2 or on PP1 in Kuzy's spot, though that depends more on Kuzy than it does on him.

I also think this year is gonna be a big year for the young guys. New head coach Spencer Carbery was the head coach of the Hershey Bears for 3 seasons, so he has coached and is familiar with a LOT of these guys. The guys on the training camp roster who I believe have a good chance of making the roster that he coached for at least some period of time in Hershey include: Martin Fehervary, Lucas Johansen, Beck Malenstyn, Joe Snively, Alex Alexeyev, Connor McMichael, and Aliaksei Protas. He coached Johansen and Snively all 3 years he was there (Malenstyn would also be included in this group if he hadn't missed all of 2020-21 with an injury). He also coached Rasmus Sandin for 2 years when he was an assistant coach with the Maple Leafs (he also coached Nicolas Aube-Kubel, for the very brief period of time NAK was a Leaf); he specialized in coaching the power play, which Sandin was a part of, and figures to be a part of again - since Orlov's departure, he seems a natural fit to quarterback PP2, and I think he will end up getting that role on PP2, since your other option there is TvR, and as much as I absolutely fucking adore TvR that is not where he belongs 😂

Anyway, my point is, it's gonna be a big year for these young guys. I'm of the firm belief that the reason why the Caps didn't get a lot of acquisitions in the offseason is because Carbery is very familiar with a lot of these young guys and has faith in them and says "we're leaning on the young guys, it's their time." And I think many of them make the jump to the NHL roster full-time and have a good year. Martin Fehervary is already an established NHLer (he wore the A in a couple of this year's preseason games!!), is very good at the defense, and has been John Carlson's defense partner for a good chunk of Fehervary's career now, meaning he's been taking on first-pair minutes and duties. I personally think Fehervary takes even another step up this year. I also say the same of Aliaksei Protas; he was on the Caps roster for most of last year but not the entire time, but this year I think he's here to stay. He's 6'6" and huge, and I think he finally learns how big he is and learns how to use his body and he'll get the offense going. Idk if Snively makes the roster full-time (I hope he does), but I think McMichael makes the full-time jump, and Beck Malenstyn DEFINITELY makes the full-time jump, I think this is the year for Beck. Mainly because Nic Dowd fucking ADORES Beck. After the departure of longtime linemate/bestie Garnet Hathaway at last year's deadline, he needs a new liney. And whenever Beck was up with the big club last year he played on the 4th line with Dowd and I could tell Dowd loved playing with him, and he has definitely grown attached. Dowd will not let Beck go back to Hershey, he's staying. And I like Beck, he's VERY physical, he'll throw a bunch of hits. I also think Alexeyev makes the jump. He got a bunch of unexpected playing time in the second half of last season because of so many injuries, and I was very impressed with how he held himself. I expected him to make the roster as the 7th defenseman anyway, but with the injury to Joel Edmundson, I think he gets the full-time playing spot and he blossoms. The Edmundson injury really opens a free spot for I hope Lucas Johansen, who could make the team as the 7th D. I really hope he does.

Oh and I wouldn't put him in the same group of "young guys" because he didn't come up with this same group that was all at Hershey together, but Sandin is poised to have a good year this year. This'll be his first full year here, and he'll have a full-time spot on the defense. He probably won't be paired with TvR like I want him to (he played with TvR a bunch last year and TvR adores him) bc TvR plays on the 3rd pair, but he'll be paired either on the 1st pair with Carly or the 2nd with Nick Jensen - I hope it's with Jensen, separating Fehervary from Carlson feels wrong. But he's expected to eat big minutes and also get power play time.

I also think Sonny Milano could have a breakout year. This will be his first full season, and I think he cements a full-time spot rather than always being at risk for being scratched. He's a skill guy and he's fast, and I think Carbery lets him loose and lets him do his thing. I would like to see him on a line with Dylan Strome, I think they've got good chemistry. His career high in goals is 14, and I think he could easily break that this year, and maybe even get 20. He already got his career high in assists with us last year, and he could maybe even break that again too if he plays enough. He could maybe even get time on PP2, we'll see. The team loves him, as you can see in any pregame warmup videos, I'm convinced his family is in the mob (he's Italian, from Long Island, his real name is Frank, he's called Sonny because his dad is ALSO Frank - specifically called 'Big Frank,' and also his dad looks and talks like an Italian New York mob boss [please go look up content from last year's mentor's trip]), and he has the best hair ever. It defies the laws of gravity and physics and I want to see more of it. Please go look up pictures of it for your entertainment, and also the Sonny Milano chia pet giveaway they're doing later this year.

Okay, I think that's all I have for "guys I think you should watch out for," I think all the guys I mentioned could have big years. But before I sign off, I'm just gonna push some of my personal faves on you just because. I adore Trevor van Riemsdyk so much, thinking about him just results in this: 🥰. Also the ENTIRE team is in love with him, if you would like more evidence/proof of this please ask and I'll do it in a separate post. I also love Nic Dowd, who's probably one of the only guys on this team with an actual brain cell; he's got quick wit, and he specializes in shutting down the other team's top center (and is quite successful at it usually), and also loves to specifically make Sidney Crosby's life miserable. And also, it might be difficult as a Holtby lover which I think you are based on this ask, but I strongly recommend falling in love with our goalie Darcy Kuemper. I ADOREEEEEEEEEEE Darcy, and not just because he's our goalie, I've adored him for a very long time. I've liked him from afar ever since he was an Arizona Coyote, and seeing him sign with us was like having an actual dream come true. I NEVER thought I'd get to see him on my team and this whole last year has been wonderful in that regard. I think you'd like him, he's sweet, earnest, easily trickable, and SO stupid. He wants to bring back the dinosaurs. He's also besties with the backup goalie Chuck. If you want more Darcy info or Darcy love I will be happy to give it to you if you ask.

Okay, sorry that post went on a lot longer than expected. But I hope it's informative! And I hope you can enjoy the upcoming hockey season! Go Caps!

[justjarminsports]

Higgins, signs the Franchise tender.

by; BenJarmin Munguia

date; June 15, 2024

The Higgins and Chase duo is officially back on for one more season.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins will sign the franchise tag just days after the mandatory minicamp ends. Higgins was holding out because he was looking for a new deal. 

In the offseason, Higgins requested to be traded from the Cincinnati franchise over contract disputes. 

Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has kept in contact with the former Clemson wide-out, saying, "He looks great. Whenever he's ready to come back, I'll be excited to see him."

Higgins is set to make $21.8 million this season from signing the franchise tag tender. The deadline to negotiate a long-term deal is July 15th. He's now expected to be at training camp next month.  

The former second-round pick has been a pivotal part of the Bengals' offense. Since being drafted by the Bengals in 2020, Higgins has racked up 3,684 yards and 24 touchdowns.

Unfortunately, Higgins' 2023 season was marred by a rib injury, which sidelined him for five games and limited his receptions to 47. This injury significantly impacted his performance.

Tee Higgins is not the only player from the Bengals looking for a new contract. Their star wide receiver, Ja'Marr Chase, is also looking for a new contract. Like Higgins, Chase missed almost the entire 2023 season with a hip injury, but Chase showed up to mandatory minicamp. 

The remaining question is why Higgins waited until the minicamp was over to sign the franchise tender. He could have signed it at the end of the preseason and still received $21.8 million this season. 

Could this be the last duo of Higgins and Chase?  The Bengals don't need to look forward to this after their ugly 2023 season, which saw them finish 9-8, last in the AFC North, and riddled with injuries. 

[3416]

Capitals’ Rasmus Sandin reflects on shock of Maple Leafs trade, finding role with new team

By: Joshua Kloke | Mar 21, 2023 | The Athletic

At first, Rasmus Sandin didn’t want to listen to what he was being told.

On the rink at the Kraken Community Iceplex in Seattle on Feb. 28, Sandin was moments away from his rep in a practice drill when he got a tap on the shoulder from Leafs assistant coach Dean Chynoweth. Sandin was wanted by a Leafs media relations member.

Sandin gave Chynoweth a quizzical look and told him he’d get to the request later.

“You’ve got to go now,” Chynoweth told him.

Beside the rink, Sandin was informed he had to see Leafs GM Kyle Dubas immediately.

“That walk felt very long,” Sandin told The Athletic.

Sandin stood stunned as Dubas delivered the news that the first draft pick he had ever made as Maple Leafs GM, and a player once thought of as a centrepiece to the Leafs’ future on defence, was being traded to the Washington Capitals.

“(Dubas) told me it wasn’t really something he wanted to do. But he felt like this was best for the team and also a good situation for me to go to Washington,” Sandin said.

With that, Sandin’s practice, and time as a Maple Leaf, was over. A whirlwind three weeks has followed for Sandin. He has spent the majority of his time as a Capital on the road, and he has logged over 20 minutes per game on the ice, something he last did in December for the Leafs. With that ice time, Sandin has posted an impressive 11 points in eight games with his new team.

The trade and increased playing time has given the 23-year-old a new lease on life, and an opportunity, in his words, “to show Toronto that they did something wrong with trading me.”

Over the course of a wide-ranging 20-minute phone interview, Sandin looked back on his time in Toronto, the trade that surprised him, and his future in Washington.

Rasmus Sandin wants to set the record straight.

“I did not request a trade out of Toronto,” he said. “I had literally no idea I was getting traded.”

Despite rumours to the contrary, likely a by-product of an emerging talent who didn’t get the kind of playing time that talent might dictate in Toronto, Sandin insists he never once thought about requesting a trade either. After he was drafted in the first round in 2018, Sandin moved from the Soo Greyhounds to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. He had the on-ice smarts, the vision and the puck-moving skills that made him look like a decent grab at No. 29.

And maybe, if his skating and understanding of how to pick his spots defensively came around, he could become a top-four, power-play quarterback down the road too.

There were no serious questions about his development through his first season in the AHL and his second pro season, in which he split time between the Marlies and the Leafs. A foot injury hampered his playing time in 2020-21, though he was part of the Leafs’ playoff lineup for five games against the Montreal Canadiens in 2021. Perhaps the first genuinely concerning questions about whether Sandin could be depended on in important moments were raised during Game 5 of that first-round series, when two of his turnovers led to Canadiens goals in a loss.

In 2021-22, the final of his entry-level deal, Sandin was beset by injuries. He looked like a capable bottom-pairing defenceman, sure, but regular top-four minutes didn’t come.

“In my mind, it was always about battling for a spot,” Sandin said. “They had such a deep defence core, which is a good thing because everyone is battling every single day for a spot in the lineup.”

So coming into this season, it was fair to wonder where Sandin fit with the Leafs long term. He looked on the verge of breaking out, but Dubas had assembled a team capable of competing now. Among Leafs defencemen who were on the team before the trade deadline, Sandin again sat sixth in average time on ice. And though he’d received some more power-play responsibilities, he’d been lapped by his friend and fellow young blueliner Timothy Liljegren in ice time.

Sandin will always be linked to Liljegren in Toronto, fairly or not. Both are Swedish defencemen, first-round picks who rely on their hockey IQ — and were chosen in back-to-back years.

And Dubas was looking for both to sign similar bridge deals this past offseason. Liljegren bit on a two-year, $2.8-million deal in June 2022 as Sandin remained unsigned. Questions about his future in Toronto were amplified.

“What people don’t know is that my mom got sick in the beginning of 2022. She got cancer. She had some serious surgeries. We had a really tough time as a family that summer. That’s a big part of why I stayed at home, so I could spend time with her. People don’t know about that. That’s fine with me because I knew it, and Toronto knew it and they were fine with it,” Sandin said.

So while those questions remained at the start of training camp, Sandin stayed at his home in Sweden, unsigned.

“To be honest, my head wasn’t (in Toronto). For me, family comes first. My head wasn’t in hockey to go back to Toronto to sign a contract (in June),” Sandin said. “It was important to have my mom’s back.”

Sandin’s brother Linus returned to Sweden to play in the SHL after two professional seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers organization, which included his NHL debut in 2021-22.

“Being in Toronto with the market it is, no matter what, everything is going to be a big deal. That was something I wanted to keep to myself and not distract other guys,” Sandin said.

He still isn’t sure how many other teammates knew about his mother’s diagnosis.

As the leaves began to fall on the trees and Sandin said his mother’s health began to improve, she told him it was time to return to Toronto. He signed a deal with the same term and cap hit as Liljegren’s during training camp.

He finished his Toronto career with 48 points in 140 games, averaging 16:40 per game and has few regrets outside of more team postseason success.

“I wish we could’ve gone further in some of the playoffs,” Sandin said. “Otherwise, I don’t think I would have done things much differently.”

And that attitude is part of why Sandin was so taken aback by the trade out of Toronto. He says he believed in his future with the team.

Sandin was surrounded by friends in Toronto, too. Towards the beginning of this season, there were seven Swedes on the Leafs’ roster, the most of any NHL team.

Yet within a matter of minutes, those friendships were put to the test as Sandin was dealt to the Capitals and forward Pierre Engvall was shipped to the New York Islanders. After that Leafs practice in Seattle concluded, Sandin, Engvall, William Nylander and Timothy Liljegren gathered beside the rink for one last chat.

“It was tough holding back tears,” Sandin said. “It’s more than just hockey.”

“It was a nice moment, to have the chance to say goodbye,” Sandin added. “I’m going to have (them) as best friends for the rest of my life.”

Sandin left the rink, and the Leafs organization, walking arm-in-arm with Nylander.

“It’s tough even talking about it. (Nylander) was telling me how much he was going to miss me. We’ve been so close since even before my time in Toronto. He’s one of my best friends, if not my best friend. He wished me the best of luck, and said, ‘Don’t you dare not talk to me after you leave us,’” Sandin said.

It’s a side of the uber-cool and laid-back Nylander the public isn’t often privy to.

“He is the way a lot of people see him with the confidence and all that. But he’s one of the best human beings I’ve ever met. He has a lot of different sides. Sometimes the rest of the guys who don’t know him don’t get to see this side very often. For me, being close to him, I think I’ve seen every single side of him. I wasn’t too surprised about it, but I was obviously very happy that he showed that side as well,” Sandin said.

Still in shock, Sandin headed south to meet the Capitals in California. Having only packed for 10 days primarily through Western Canada in late winter, Sandin immediately found himself in need of a change of attire.

“I ran out of clothes pretty quick,” he said.

Life with the Leafs had been the only life Sandin had known. No more navy blue Adidas sweatsuits to wear to practices and morning skates. No more sneakers to go with suits for games, with ties optional. The Capitals operate a business-casual dress code, which meant one of the first stops Sandin made was to a local mall for dress shoes and a tie.

Once he was outfitted to the Capitals’ standards, he could focus on “showing what type of player I can be, and am.”

“You want to prove (the Capitals) right that they made a good choice in trading for you,” Sandin said. “And you want to prove your old team wrong.”

The Capitals have given him the runway to do just that. He’s averaged a whopping 24:56 time on ice per game, tops among all Capitals position players.

Now, how long Sandin’s production streak lasts remains to be seen. He’s minus-5 as a Capital and his five-on-five expected goals with the team sits at a paltry 41.42 percent. Six of his 11 points have come on the power play. Still, his increased workload is part of the reason Sandin believes he’s producing on the score sheet at an impressive rate. He feels part of the solution for a Capitals team on the outside looking in at the Eastern Conference playoff picture.

“It’s been a lot of fun just to know that your coaches believe in you, and your teammates believe in you,” Sandin said. “That’s a reason why they wanted to pick me up. They see me as a Washington Capital for a long time. That feels good.”

For the young defenceman, the ice time has helped him move on from the difficulty of leaving close friends. He can’t deny that it feels nice to be wanted and to see a way forward into a prominent role on the ice for years to come.

“I hope to stay here for a long time,” Sandin said.