A NEW PHENOMENON 

BY MIKE RIFKIN

Sunday was Father’s Day and for Keith Tkachuk he got the ultimate present. On Sunday it was announced that the Florida Panthers and Ottawa Senators agreed to a trade that would send Senators Captain Brady Tkachuk to the Panthers for draft capital including numbers nine and twenty five in the first round of the NHL Draft on Friday Night. Brady being sent to Florida will give him the opportunity to play with his brother Matthew, who has already won two Stanley Cups in Florida. 

Brady Tkachuk had a No Trade Clause in his contract with the Senators, and apparently when the two sides discussed the deal, Brady would only go to four teams : The Panthers, Minnesota Wild, Vegas Golden Knights, and the Carolina Hurricanes. Now the Hurricanes just won the Cup and that makes sense, but Florida, Minnesota and Vegas what do they all have in common outside of they want to win? Oh, they’re also the three teams that Red Wings Captain Dylan Larkin told the organization he would go to when he requested a trade. Now both Larkin and Tkachuk were both members of Team USA, who took Gold in the Olympics and with their open trade requests would be joining other players from that team. If they were to join Florida Brady’s brother Matthew played for Team USA as did defenseman Seth Jones, if they were to join Minnesota defensemen Quinn Hughes and Brock Faber along with forward Matt Boldy, and if they were to join the Golden Knights they’d team up with forward Jack Eichel and defenseman Noah Hanifin. So, why only give three teams that you’d actually play for?

Could it have to do with Team USA?, Sure. Could it have to do with the fact that the Wild, Golden Knights and Panthers are all in to win? Definitely, but there’s something else here. And it’s something the NHL and its fans will either love or hate. It’s the fact that these No trade clauses are being given out like candy on Halloween. Even if it’s not a full no movement clause, there are a lot of players who have partials. Now, if the NHL wants to embrace a superteam era like the NBA has done in the past, that’s fine everyone loves a good villain. The NHL has already ratified a new CBA that’ll start in September and run through 2030. You have to wonder that in the next CBA they discuss the possibility of limiting the number of trade clauses per team. 

Is it cool that the Tkachuk’s want to play together? Sure. But limiting the amount of teams you’re willing to go to and handcuffing the current organization is mean. Now, I get it every competitor wants to win, but in the eyes of Sens fans now Brady Tkachuk is viewed as a villain and across the league in fans eyes he’s viewed differently. These are guys in the prime of their careers and limiting where you want to go hurts the team they currently play for, because if you limit yourself to one or two teams, the return won’t be as good because nobody wants to bid against themselves.

REINFORCEMENTS ARE ON THE WAY

BY MARK HALPERN 

No matter how you sliced it, the 2026 Mets were going to be different than the teams of yeas past. The front office did what they thought was a good job in putting together a team that could contend but, not necessarily based on power. The first half lets face it injuries have been a huge part of the Mets’ struggles. Mind you the Mets currently sit 6 games out of a Wild Card spot but, some major help is on the way.

    Mets fans were graced with the news two days ago that Fransisco Lindor, Ronny Mauricio and Tyrone Taylor have all begun rehab assignments. Lindor and Taylor played for Triple A Syracuse on Sunday and could be activated soon, Mauricio will have to gradually take his time. The New York Mets desperately needs their starting Shortstop and Leadoff hitter back. Lindor is the glue that binds this team together. He deserves a certain title but that’s for a different story. The team thrives on the energy he brings and the emotional balance in the locker room. 

   The biggest question is who stays and who goes. Mets will need to make a roster spot with Lindor coming off the IL. So, who becomes the odd man out? Right now in my opinion it’s got to be A.J Ewing. Even though he has been explosive and really showing what the Mets have ready, he needs to be playing every day and with Taylor and Mauricio not far behind Lindor we will see so other victims fall.

    With Lindor back the top of the Mets line will be more dangerous and certain players might start getting better pitches to help give this team Pitchers a fighting chance.

THREE REASONS : HOW THE HURRICANES WON THE CUP

BY MIKE RIFKIN

The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Vegas Golden Knights in six games to capture the franchise’s second Stanley Cup (the first in 2006). Here are the three main reasons they won the Cup in my opinion.

  1. Rod Brind’Amour : The coach is a big reason why the Canes won the Cup. People can talk about the Eastern Conference being weaker this season, but the pressure was on the Canes and they dominated through the East. They swept both the Senators and Flyers and beat the Canadiens in five games. So there was no real adjustments to be made until the Stanley Cup Final., and in the Final Brind’amour made adjustments that really helped his team. We can talk about the switch in goal to Brandon Bussi, who was sensational when put in (3-1, 1.60 GAA, .931 save %). Bussi gave up six goals on 87 shots. But another move that Brind’Amour made was swapping Seth Jarvis for Jordan Martinook. Jarvis, had been on a line with Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov, while Martinook had been with Jordan Staal. Placing Martinook with Aho and Svechnikov gave them an aggressive forechecker, who helped them get some better opportunities, while Jarvis got some great looks on Staal’s line. Brind’Amour made adjustments, when his counterpart John Tortorella didn’t and that played a major factor. 
  1. JORDAN STAAL – Yeah, the Conn Smythe winner deserves a lot of credit for how he played in the Final. Staal was matched up against Jack Eichel for the majority of the series and it was a factor. Staal won almost 70% of the faceoffs, and he held Eichel to four assists and was a -3 in the series. Staal on the other hand was a scoring machine, he scored six goals, and only didn’t score in the clincher. Staal was also a major key on the Penalty Kill, which held Vegas to two power play goals in the series. 
  1. DEPTH SCORING – Eventually guys like Svechnikov and Aho got their’s, but the depth of the Canes was massive in this series. The Logan Stankoven, Taylor Hall, Jackson Blake line continued their playoff dominance throughout the series. Nik Ehlers had a big series with four goals and nine points, Mark Jankowski even gave them a goal. When you have the depth and the fearlessness of playing anyone against any Vegas line it’s a massive advantage, and combine that with Carolina’s defense to move the puck and the Canes really did a number on Vegas. 

Carolina had all the pressure on them, to win the East because of how the season went. They got over the Eastern Conference Final hump and were able to achieve the ultimate goal. Repeating is difficult, but this Carolina team is deep and most of their key players are all signed long term.

THE TIME IS NOW

BY MIKE RIFKIN

On Friday Night Smackdown Cody Rhodes defended the WWE Championship against Gunther with Sami Zayn as the guest referee. Eventually Gunther got frustrated and powerbombed Zayn, and then after that things went as you’d expect. Which has led to a triple threat match between Rhodes, Gunther and Zayn for the Undisputed WWE Championship at Night Of Champions. 

In my opinion there’s only one person that should win the match… Sami Zayn. Zayn, is the only person in the match to never be the World Champion, and while he’s had opportunities in the past, WWE has refused to pull the trigger on him winning the big one. If they have Zayn lose at Night Of Champions, I don’t see how people can view him as a threat for the title, unless he wins Money In The Bank or something. 

Zayn has won every other major title in WWE, this is the one he is missing. If Sami, were to win they could continue either story with Zayn vs Cody or Zayn vs Gunther and it would be compelling. Both Gunther and Rhodes will win the title again. The other reason for putting the title on Zayn would be who would take the title off of Rhodes? If they wanted it to be Gunther, they should have done that at Clash in Italy. If they were to go with whoever wins King Of The Ring between Oba Femi and Jey Uso (hopefully it’s Femi) Femi vs Roman Reigns sounds like a better match than Femi vs Rhodes. And if they were to have Uso win the KOTR, there’d be an interesting dynamic because of their history, but I didn’t love the first Jey title run. 

Sami Zayn needs to win the title, he’s earned it. I don’t even think it has to be a long run, but just based on Sami’s history and what he’s done in the wrestling industry, he deserves to be the WWE Champion.

WORLD CUP MENU AROUND THE WORLD

By MARK HALPERN

    When going to a sporting event you are not only going for the enjoyment to watch your team play. You are there celebrating with other fans outside and inside the venue. The moment you step into the venue the waft of many different aromas hit the nostrils. The smell of different foods from sweet to savory make the taste buds dance. When we have an event like the World Cup you’re going to be able to really sample many delicacies from other countries (sometimes more wild than you would think.) This is a sample of a few countries main attraction dish at the World cup games.

MEXICO CITY: Lets face it, in Mexico you could picture a lot of items being thrusted to the fore forefront from Tacos to Enchiladas. However, the main attraction is a Saffron-Infused Tostada. Saffron is a very expensive spice and usually harvested in Afghanistan brings a crunchy corn tostada topped with a golden Saffron infused sauce. 

Los Angeles: In California along the beach lines the different kinds of fish restaurants fill the air and it doesn’t surprise me that the main attraction in LA is a Pacific Salmon Ceviche. In a hollowed out lime you have a prime piece of Pacific Salmon with jalapeno and splash of craft beer. A quick and tasty appetizer.

Toronto: Toronto has cooked up a nice spicy bowl you can take to your seat. A Bison Briyani which is Bison in a rich broth with rice and usually south American flavors.

Miami: Leave it to a hot city like Miami to put out a really cool refreshment. It’s not a drink but, a Mango and Chili Ice Cream that has given a real latin flair in a cool sweet dish.

Seattle: Now this isn’t Baseball so there are no crickets here but, Seattle has brought a Korean staple to an American Classic. A Kimchi glazed Corn Dog. Usually found more at fairs and carnivals the Corn Dog is dipped is this yummy glaze and with just a hint of Gochujang.

    Food has a way of bringing more people together than tearing them apart and what a job each Country and venue has done.

WHAT A CULTURE

BY MARK HALPERN

        I have attended so many different sporting events in my life. No matter the event you attend there’s always a constant (outside of having fun). Every venue that I have gone to nobody ever heard of a garbage can. I won’t say I never left something but if I did, I am sorry. I had the pleasure of running a small minor league stadium that could hold just about 5,000 people back in 2019. The amount of trash a night that we cleaned up was mounds upon mounds. That’s nothing compared to newer stadiums, that seat almost 40 or 50,000 people.

     The World Cup is being held right now and one country has come prepared to show what it means for them to attend. A recent Match at AT&T stadium showed the Japanese cleaned after their team’s game. The Japanese are very prideful people and love to attend sporting events, (watch a Shohei Ohtani start.) The fans stayed and cleaned up all the garbage not from what they might have had but, went around and cleaned up after everyone else as well. The Japanese are brought up to respect the cleanliness of their country and want to show that respect to every country that host them for these events. 

   To me the WORLD should look at what has been transpired and this isn’t the first time. Since the World Baseball Classic every game that Japan played the fans cleaned. I humbly respect and raise my hat to such great respect.  TO THE JAPANESE DOMO ORIGATO

IT HAS HAPPENED

BY MIKE RIFKIN

For the first time in 53 years the New York Knicks won the NBA Championship. For the first time since 2012 there will be a parade down the Canyon of Heroes, and for the first time in my life (soon to be 33 years) I’ve witnessed one of my teams win a title. 

One of the things sports can do is be a distraction from things that go on in the real world. And for the last two months, for roughly about three hours watching the Knicks was a distraction from what is going on in the world. Now, I am not the biggest Basketball fan in the world, but this team was so damn fun and likeable. 

If you were to ask me when I was a kid who would be the first team I get to witness win a title that I genuinely rooted for the Knicks wouldn’t have been the choice. I’m not old enough to really remember the Patrick Ewing era, but what I do remember was the Knicks bringing in big names and most of the time it flopped. For most of my childhood the Knicks were a laughingstock. 

July 12th, 2022, is a day that changed the entire fortune of a franchise. Jalen Brunson signed with the team. And while talking heads and pundits could question the contract, all Brunson did was endear himself to New York. He left money on the table for the Knicks to make moves to surround him with great players. He got a few of his college teammates, and then they add OG Anunoby and Karl Anthony Towns. But what they did was not just win a Championship for a city that pined for one, they brought back something that I had never seen in my life, they brought a swagger to Madison Square Garden. 

When we look at MSG they always show the celebrities at the games. Whether it’s Ben Stiller, Spike Lee, Timothee Chalamet, etc… they’re always shown but at the end of the day they’re all New Yorkers and Knicks fans. Yes, it’s been 53 years since the Knicks won it all, but this championship unites the state of New York and when you see people celebrate in the streets, because in a world filled with chaos, the Knicks have given us joy. And whether you’re a celebrity or another fan we’re all New Yorkers and we’re all Knick fans at the end, and in a time where we talk about the “superteams” a real team won a title, and that’s pretty damn neat.

SEEING RED

BY MIKE RIFKIN

Rangers General Manager Chris Drury has a task in front of him this summer, he has to make the team competitive, also while restocking the farm system. The good news for Drury is he can do a bit of both as he has almost 27 million dollars in cap space along with 11 picks. He’ll have multiple picks in the first (2), third (4) and sixth (2) rounds of the draft. 

Early in the season the Rangers had a problem scoring goals, and it got harder after they traded Artemi Panarin to the Kings. For the season the Rangers averaged 2.87 goals per game. Chris Drury needs to take a swing this summer, and it has to hit. So far the big Drury swing was a miss, and no I’m not talking about the JT Miller trade, it’s when Drury didn’t make a deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins for Jake Guentzel. Reports surfaced that the Penguins wanted Kappo Kakko and Brennan Othmann from the Rangers in exchange for Guentzel. Drury didn’t make the deal and allowed Guentzel to go to Carolina, who has since moved him to Tampa. Guentzel is still a guy the Rangers could use, and with Kakko and Othmann out of the organization it looks even worse. 

Usually the Rangers would be aggressive in free agency, but this year’s group which was going to be filled with an abundance of talent has gone by the wayside. So instead of putting a lot of emphasis on a player like Alex Tuch, the Rangers can use some of their draft capital to swing a trade. The team they should be monitoring is the Detroit Red Wings, who just saw their captain Dylan Larkin request a trade. Now, Larkin, who did win an Olympic Gold Medal with Team USA, coached by Rangers coach Mike Sullivan would be a nice add, that’s not who the Rangers should inquire about. The Rangers should inquire about Alex DeBrincat, who scored 41 goals and had 85 points in 82 games. In fact DeBrincat has missed scoring 20 goals only one time in his career, and that was the Covid shortened 2019-2020 season. DeBrincat has one year left at 7.875 Million dollars. So the Rangers can eat the money, and potentially sign DeBrincat to an extension. DeBrincat will be 29 in December so he fits the timeline for the Rangers, and depending on what Steve Yzerman wants to do, this is a swing Chris Drury really should look into.

LEADING BY EXAMPLE

BY MIKE RIFKIN

The Carolina Hurricanes evened the Stanley Cup Final at two games apiece with their 5-3 win over the Golden Knights on Tuesday. This has been an excellent Stanley Cup Final where no lead has been safe and both teams have shown their depth. Brandon Bussi was fantastic in game four, after relieving Freddie Andersen in game three, and he’s gotten a lot of attention for tying the series, there’s someone else who deserves a ton of credit. 

Hurricane captain Jordan Staal has been sensational in the series. Staal had two goals in Game four, including the go ahead goal in the third, he now has five goals in the four games. Staal’s offense has been big for the Canes, as they’ve gotten zero goals from Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov and Seth Jarvis have one goal each. 

It’s not just the offense Staal has provided, he’s won 70 % of the faceoffs he’s taken. And his line has done it’s job against Jack Eichel, who hasn’t been a difference maker in this series. Staal has been a factor on special teams too, scoring a power play goal in two of the last three games, and has been a part of a penalty kill that has surrendered one power play goal over the first four goals. 

Staal, who was a part of the 09 Penguins is looking for his second cup. At 37 years old he’s been arguably Carolina’s best forward in the series, and has put himself in the Conn Smythe conversation if the Canes win it all.

ALTERING THE YZERPLAN

BY MIKE RIFKIN

When Steve Yzerman took over as the GM of the Red Wings in 2019, most people thought there were more glory days ahead. Instead the Red Wings still haven’t made the playoffs under Yzerman, in fact the Wings haven’t made the postseason since 2016. This after successfully making the playoffs for 25 consecutive seasons. And missing the playoffs this season had to be the most difficult, as the Wings were tied for first in the conference on January 24th. But a 9-14-4 record after that really hurt the team. The biggest issue was scoring, after the 24th of January, the Wings averaged just 2.59 goals per game.

Thursday the Yzerplan took a major hit, as Red Wings Captain Dylan Larkin requested a trade. Larkin signed an eight year 69.6 million dollar contract on March 1st 2023 and is signed through 2031. Larkin scored 34 goals and had 67 points in 74 games played this season. For Larkin it was his fifth consecutive thirty goal season. Larkin was also a key contributor for team USA on their way to the Gold Medal.

Yzerman is in a tough spot, on one hand he could trade Larkin and reap a lot of benefits, or he can hold onto him . Either way the Wings have to make the playoffs next season, but in my opinion they’re better off trading Larkin and altering the Yzerplan a tad. The Wings have a nice young nucleus led by Lucas Raymond, Moritz Seider,etc… And there are more young players coming. With the Atlantic Division being what it is becoming, the Wings may want to alter their plans and not just trade Larkin, but look into a couple of other guys. Alex Debrincat and Andrew Copp are also both entering the final years of their respective contracts, maybe you shop them at the draft, and try to recoup the first round pick you lost when you traded for Justin Faulk. The other guy they can look to move is John Gibson, with top prospect Trey Augustine signing his ELC, it could be time to turn to the kid in net. Gibson has one year left on his deal and there are a lot of teams in need of a goalie.

 While the Yzerplan has yet to be successful, now could be a perfect time for it to be altered. Yes, the Wings would be getting rid of good players, but these players haven’t won anything there, Steve Yzerman should be listening on everything.