Uncategorized News & Rumors

Although it’s a few weeks late due to the lingering schedule effects of the COVID pandemic, the NHL free-agent period kicks off today at 11 AM CT. Pro Hockey Rumors (@prohockeyrumors on Twitter) has all-day coverage of the busiest and most exciting day in hockey.

Some teams were busy yesterday keeping their star players from hitting the open market. The Pittsburgh Penguins came in at the eleventh hour to re-sign franchise cornerstone Evgeni Malkin to a four-year deal, while the Edmonton Oilers were able to retain left wing Evander Kane, who led the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs in goals, on a four-year deal as well.

There’s still plenty of drama left to unfold today, however. After a 115-point season, former Calgary Flame Johnny Gaudreau is hitting the open market and is undoubtedly the top free agent available. Likely to earn eight figures on his next deal, does he head to the Eastern Conference as expected? After winning the Stanley Cup this season with the Colorado Avalanche, where do center Nazem Kadri and goalie Darcy Kuemper land?

To keep up with what’s sure to be a chaotic news day, make sure to keep up with Pro Hockey Rumors‘ coverage of breaking news.

The 2022 NHL Draft continues today after a chaotic day of trades yesterday as well. Make sure to follow our coverage over at Pro Hockey Rumors (@prohockeyrumors on Twitter!) to see what transpires as teams add to their prospect pools through both draft selections and trade transactions.

The biggest newsmakers at the draft have been the Chicago Blackhawks, who ended up with three first-round picks last night after entering the day with none. They shipped out 40-goal-scoring winger Alex DeBrincat to the Ottawa Senators in order to make it happen, though.

There’s still the potential for more trades today. The Carolina Hurricanes already made some big news, trading hot-topic defenseman Tony DeAngelo to the Philadelphia Flyers. Future Hall of Fame defenseman Duncan Keith is also retiring from the NHL with one year left on his contract as a member of the Edmonton Oilers.

Make sure to continue to follow Pro Hockey Rumors throughout the NHL Draft as the day wraps up. You can also keep up with all of the picks on our pick tracker.

Draft day is here for the NBA, and Hoops Rumors has all the latest news and rumors! Last season saw several teams jockeying for position to land coveted draft picks, and the expectation is that there will be plenty of trades tonight. We’ve already seen three significant deals leading up to the draft, but that was just the tip of the iceberg, because the rumor mill is buzzing about several other possibilities.

The top of the draft looks pretty set, as ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported this morning that a projected top three of Jabari Smith to the Magic at No. 1, Chet Holmgren to the Thunder at No. 2, and Paolo Banchero to the Rockets at No. 3 looks “increasingly firm.” The three big men are widely considered the top prospects in the draft.

If Wojnarowski is right and there are no major surprises in the top three, tonight’s fun could begin at No. 4, where the Kings have been linked to both Jaden Ivey and Keegan Murray and are reportedly considering trading the pick. The Trail Blazers are also trying to improve their squad after a disappointing season, so a win-now move for a veteran in exchange for their No. 7 pick is reportedly being considered as well.

Over at Hoops Rumors, we’ll be keeping tabs on all the latest NBA news and rumors tonight, in addition to tracking each of this year’s 58 draft picks. With the draft upon us and free agency only one week away, this is the most eventful time of year for the NBA rumor mill, so be sure to visit Hoops Rumors and follow @HoopsRumors on Twitter for all the latest updates!

The new waiting period for teams to conduct interviews with active assistant coaches comes with a wrinkle. Assistants on teams that do not have a wild-card game on tap can interview for HC jobs three days after the regular season ends, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk notes. This applies to coaches on teams that did not make the playoffs or staffers on a team that received a bye. These apparently would be remote interviews, with Florio adding no team staffer can interview in-person for a head-coaching job until after the wild-card round. While the slight head-start may benefit the batch of staffers not on one of the 12 wild-card weekend teams, the advantage may be negligible. As for the coaches on teams playing in the opening round, they cannot interview until the following Tuesday (for teams that played on Saturday and Sunday) or Wednesday (for the Monday teams). This week’s interview changes apply to the next two offseasons.

Here is the latest from around the league:

• Among the resolutions passed this week, the NFL and NFLPA agreed to a training camp ramp-up period. From Days 2-5 in camp, no live contact is permitted, via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). Teams can gather twice a day during this span, but the one of the sessions must be a walkthrough. A 3 1/2-hour time limit is allotted for both practices; that expands to four hours after the ramp-up period. The same two-a-day structure (one mandatory walkthrough) applies for the remainder of camp, however. True two-a-day camp workouts did not make it past 2010. Sixteen padded practices are permitted during the entirety of training camp; only one of those is permitted during the bye week that separates the preseason from the regular season.
• As expected, the NFL is keeping the 16-man practice squad. But the league made some minor changes. Practice squad elevations, as opposed to true promotions, can occur three times in 2022, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport notes (Twitter link). Teams were previously permitted two such elevations, which did not require the players to pass through waivers in order to be returned to the practice squad. Players who are active for three games this season will also earn an accrued season toward free agency, Kyed tweets. Teams can keep six vested veterans on P-squads this season.
• The league also ended reinstated some limitations regarding injured reserve. Teams can only make eight IR activations in 2022. While that is more such transactions than teams were permitted in the 2010s, teams did not face IR limitations from 2020-21.

There will be a handful of rule changes on the table during next week’s owners meeting, including eliminating one rarely-used loophole that would impact postseason transactions.

Per Ben Volin of The Boston Globe (on Twitter), the Competition Committee proposed a bylaw that “prohibits clubs participating in the playoffs from signing players who have been terminated by clubs whose seasons have concluded.” As ProFootballTalk.com’s Mike Florio points out, this change would remedy an issue that rarely pops up. Florio couldn’t think of one occasion where a postseason team signed a cut player from an eliminated team, and he points to the 2020 playoffs when Mark Ingram and Robert Griffin went unsigned despite being eligible to join active teams.

Owners will also consider a pair of rules focused on overtime rules. The Colts and Eagles want to “allow both teams an opportunity to possess the ball in overtime,” while the Titans proposed a rule that would “allow both teams an opportunity to possess the ball in overtime unless the team with the first possession scores a touchdown and a successful two-point try.”

The Competition Committee proposed a change that would make permanent the free kick formation change that was implement during the 2021 campaign. The rule established a maximum number of players in the setup zone. Meanwhile, the Ravens, Bills, Eagles, and Buccaneers proposed an amendment to the Anti-Tampering Policy. Specifically, this change is “in regard to Secondary Football Executive positions, to allow the employer club the choice to retain its player personnel staff though the Annual Selection Meeting. After the selection meeting through June 30, the employer club is required to grant permission for another club to interview and hire a non-high-level executive or non-secondary football executive for a secondary football executive position.”