TWIW – This Week In Wrestling – 5/30/22 – 6/3/22

By Jeff Knapp

This biggest news story coming out of the world of wrestling must be the Sasha Banks and Naomi situation with the WWE. There are 3 sides to every story, side A, Side B and then the actual truth. As of this writing I haven’t seen any post from either Naomi or Sasha stating their sides of the story. We’ve seen releases from the WWE stating in a nutshell that both wrestlers were unhappy with the direction of their tag team story line and decided to leave the WWE Women’s tag belts with Johnny Laurinaitis and left the arena. I’m stating that from Side A and will wait on Side B’s end of the story. I refuse to pass judgment until the facts are in. 

Speaking of walking away, there are also rumors about MJF not being happy with AEW. This amazing performer lives his gimmick, so nobody really knows what’s happening, but if it has to do with money, all I can say is pay the man. There are only a handful of wrestlers that have my complete attention whenever they have a mic in their hand, and MJF is one of them. He has earned and deserves ever dollar he makes and wants.

Congratulation to Jeff Jarrett on his new role at Sr VP of WWE Live Events

Congratulations to NJPW wrestler, Okada, whose wife is expecting their 1st child. I wish them all the best and a happy and healthy baby.

According to reports, W. Morrissey is finished with Impact Wrestling after the 6/2 episode. Will he decide to resign, try his luck back with the WWE, sign with AEW / ROH or maybe Bill Corgan can actually sign him to the NWA? Hopefully we will find out sooner than later. This is the stuff that just drives me nuts with Impact. They get a name and they stay no longer than a year (Good Brothers and Moose are the exception)

After AEW’s Double or Nothing, one time Diamond Mine manager Stokely Hathaway and The Fallen Goddess, Athena (fka Ember Moon) are now All Elite. 

Andrade’s new business partner is former ROH World Champion, RUSH

Congratulations to CM Punk in becoming the new AEW World Champion over the weekend.

It looks as if Ace Austin of Impact Wrestling is the newest member of The Bullet Club. 

AEW – Double or Nothing PPV

This was an exciting wrestling show from start to finish. My only complaint is that it did go a bit long for my liking. It’s hard to stay up that late when you have to get up early the next morning for work, but other than that, top notch show.

Wardlow is now technically All Elite after defeating MFJ pretty easily and is no longer under contract to MJF.

Adam Cole & Britt Baker both won the Owen Hart Foundation men’s and women’s tournament by defeating Samoa Joe and Ruby Soho

Julia Hart joins the House of Black. She gets involved in the 6-man tag by spitting black mist in the eyes of PAC, allowing Malakai to get the 1-2-3.

In a 6-person mixed tag match Scorpio Sky, Ethan Page & Paige Van Zant defeated Sammy Guevara, Frankie Kazarian & Tay Conti. With this victory, neither Sammy or Kazarian can ever challenge Scorpio Sky for the TNT Championship ever again.

AEW Women’s Champion Thunder Rosa had her hardest fought victory on Sunday by defeating Serena Deeb. I’m a huge Thunder Rosa fan, so I’m pulling for her to keep the title for a long time.

In a wild match that was all over the arena, The Jericho Appreciation Society defeated Eddie Kingston, Santana, Ortiz & Blackpool Combat Club in the Anarchy In The Arena match when Jericho & Hager choked out Danielson to the point of ref stoppage when Brian passed out.

Finally in the main event, in a very emotional match, CM Punk defeated Adam Page to become the NEW AEW World Champion. I’m so excited for the next chapter for AEW with Punk as champion. 

All I can say is that next Sunday is the WWE Hell in a Cell PPV / Premium Live Event, and good luck with trying to out do what I just watched.

WWE – RAW

After getting attacked by Theory, Mustafa Ali gets the DQ win over Ciampa and becomes the #1 contender to the US Championship. Theory starts the match and quickly defeats the already hurt Ali. After the match, Pearce comes out and announces the Mr. McMahon has decided to make a rematch between the 2 men at Hell in a Cell this Sunday. 

Riddle & Shinsuke Nakamura became the new #1 contenders to the Tag Team Titles when they picked up a DQ victory over the current champions, The Uso, when Jimmy nailed Riddle with his scooter and got caught.

Yet another DQ finish.

Tozawa pins his ex-wife Tamina to become the new 24/7 champion. Horrible title, but the comedy of it can be entertaining at times, especially with R-Truth is involved.

After Liv Morgan gets an upset pinfall victory over Rhea Ripley, we find out that at Hell in a Cell, The Judgment Day will take on AJ Styles, Finn Bálor & Liv Morgan.

NXT

The NXT Tag Team Champions, Pretty Deadly continue to keep winning and retain their titles by defeating the Creed Brothers. Although they dress alike, just like tag teams should, I just can’t take them seriously. 

Speaking of the Creeds, if they don’t win the tag titles at IYH, they are out of Diamond Mine

Speaking of Champions, North American Champion Cameron Grimes narrowly defeated newcomer to NXT, Nathan Frazer.

During a sit-down meeting on Escobar’s yacht, there was a match made for “In Your House” LDF vs The Goombas (or whatever the faction is called) and with the winning team taking over and absorbing the other faction into their own. 

With Nakita Lyons out of action, we are still lucky enough to witness Electra Lopez

AEW – DYNAMITE

The action started off hot this week….again, with a 6 man tag between the NEW AEW World Champion, CM Punk and FTR vs The Ass Boys and Max Caster. 

Punk & FTR get the pinfall victory and after the match Punk talks about the AEW & NJPW Forbidden Door PPV that’s coming up on June 26th. He wants to know who he’s going to wrestle. Out comes the Ace, Hiroshi Tanahashi. Outside of Okada, this was the only other person from NJPW I wanted to see him face. 

After the break we get one of the greatest promos in a long time from MJF, who says this is Max Friedman talking, not MJF. In a nutshell, he is over performing and underpaid and underappreciated. Talks about how Khan needs to pay all the ex-WWE guys he’s bringing in. He is eventually censored, and his mic is cut off. 

He mentions that he’s a generational talent and I 100% believe that. Under no circumstance can Tony Khan let this man leave for the WWE in 2024 or even in 2034. I’m already cringing on how Vince would handcuff his mic work.

After that we follow things up with Johnny Elite issue an open challenge to anybody. This brings out the finally returning Miro “The Redeemer” who submits Johnny Elite.

We will get an Anarchy in the Arena rematch at Blood and Guts, but 1st there will be a hair vs hair match between Jericho and Ortiz

Dante Martin will face Scorpio Sky for the TNT Title this Friday on Rampage. Dante is an amazing talent, but that title looks great on Scorpio Sky

This week we also saw Toni Storm & Ruby Soho defeat Dr. Britt Baker & Jamie Hayter, who attacked Storm and Ruby after the match

Wardlow got served papers for a lawsuit

And in the main event, Jon Moxley defeated Daniel Garcia

IMPACT

June 19th is the next Impact PPV, Slammiversary and one of the biggest matches of the evening will be the Ultimate X match. This week we saw Kenny King defeat Blake Christian to secure his spot in the match

Rich Swann is back in championship gold, minus the stolen belt as the new Digital Media Champion and his 1st match as champion was against Matthew Rehwoldt. Some wrestlers are known as game changers, but Rehwoldt is known as a channel changer. This was the quietest I heard the crowd the entire night.

It’s revealed that The Good Brothers will challenge the Briscoe Brothers at Slammiversary for the Impact World Tag Team titles.

The main event of the evening saw Moose and Steve Maclin defeat W. Morrissey and PCO in what will be Morrissey’s last match in Impact. After the match Sami Callihan appeared and took out Moose. At Slammiversary, Moose will take on the Sami in his in ring return.

WWE – SMACKDOWN

Although the trio of Sheamus, Ridge Holland and Butch make a great team, the name the “Brawling Brutes” ranked up there with the worst names those in WWE “creative” can come up with. I don’t mind the idea of Butch being this loose cannon, almost like Yosemity Sam rootin’ tootin’ fighter.

Next week will be the first client of Maximum Male Clients with Max Dupree. I’ve always enjoyed Eli Drake / LA Knight / Max Dupree in the ring and if his in ring career isn’t going anywhere on the main roster, then please continue to give him the mic. He’s one of those who can hold my attention, and that’s what we need.

 Raquel Rodriguez, Shayna Baszler, Aliyah, Shotzi, Natalya, and Xia Li all fought to determine the new #1 contender to Ronda Rousey’s Smackdown Women’s championship. It now appears that Natalya will face Ronda at Hell in a Cell. All roads lead to Raquel being champion sooner than later, but in the meantime, we will see a very sound match between the queen of harts and the baddest woman on the planet. 

After a brief Corbin vs Moss match in which Corbin won via a DQ, but will get his hands on him one more time at HIAC in a No Holds Barred Match.

It’s also announced that next week that IC champion Ricochet will face Gunther. This will be interesting to see what the future plans for Gunther are. I’m sure that he will get the title next week or at the next “premium event” that face off against. It boggles my mind that the WWE has an amazing talent like Ricochet and they can’t get anything long term for him. 

Riddle and Nakamura get a tag team title shot only to have Nakamura get injured by the Usos. Riddle with a great comeback, but only to get distracted by Sami Zayn who had Roman’s music play. I love the fact they are putting obstacle after obstacle in front of Riddle. Will he and Shinsuke finally get the titles at HIAC, at a later date or will Riddle find a partner to reach the tag team mountain top, or will he have to wait for Randy to return? I’m leaning towards a returning Randy Orton. Possibly wait until Summer Slam.

AEW – RAMPAGE

AEW starts out once again with a ball of fire when we see the Young Bucks vs the Lucha Brothers. This was non-stop excitement, and as true heels, the bucks removed the mask from Penta, which in Lucha Libra is the ultimate act of disrespect.

Athena (FKA Ember Moon) has her 1st AEW match against Kiera Hogan. I’ll be honest, I was distracted by Kiera’s ring attire, which parts of it left little to the imagination, which I’m not complaining about. Since she left Impact, I want to see her get better week after week. 

The main event saw Scorpio Sky narrowly defeat the amazing high flying Dante Martin, who usually lands a day after he jumps. When it comes to the high flying, risk taking wrestlers he has to be at the top of most people’s list.

Although this show was solid from start to finish, it didn’t end without some heartbreaking news. AEW World Champion CM Punk came out and announced that he was injured and had to step away for a bit. I’m a huge Punk fan and after waiting 7 years for him to not only come back, but win a major championship, to then have this happen was a real blow to all his fans.

Next week on Dynamite there will be a battle royal where the winner will face Jon Moxley at the Forbidden Door PPV to crown an Interim AEW World Champion. 

The next question is, with Punk out, will there be somebody in AEW who will face Hiroshi Tanahashi?

Heavyweight Battle

By : Mike Rifkin

On Thursday night the two best teams in the National League will begin a four game series as the New York Mets will travel to Los Angeles to play the Dodgers. In 2021 The Dodgers took six of the seven meetings. 

The Mets are coming into LA hot, after sweeping a six game homestand against the Phillies and the Nationals. There aren’t many players on a better streak then Francisco Lindor. The reigning National League Player Of the Week has driven in a run in 10 consecutive game, making him only the second Met ever to do the feat along with Hall Of Famer Mike Piazza. Mets first baseman Pete Alonso is hitting .288 with four home runs and nine RBIs in his career against the Dodgers. . The Mets aren’t too reliant on the home run, they are more aggressive on the bases, stuff we have seen from the Dodgers in years past. 

The Dodgers are coming off getting swept by the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Dodgers have been the best team in the National League over the years. Prior to last season they had won the NL West eight consecutive seasons. This offseason the Dodgers made a massive splash by signing First baseman Freddie Freeman from the Braves. Freeman is hitting .295 with four home runs and 30 RBIs. In his career against the Mets Freeman has a .305 batting average with 28 home runs and 115 RBIs. Shortstop Trea Turner who was traded from the Nationals at the trade deadline last season along with Max Scherzer who is now a Met has hit in 24 straight games. Turner is hitting .297 with 12 home runs and 36 RBI and 32 stolen bases against the Mets. For the season is hitting .297 with five home runs and 41 RBIs. Then there is Mookie Betts who has been red hot recently. Betts for the season is hitting .306 with 16 home runs and 35 RBIs. 

These two teams are in the top 15 in major league baseball in Batting Average and ERA. This series should still be solid even though three of the best pitchers in baseball will miss it. Jacob DeGrom and Max Scherzer for the Mets and Clayton Kershaw for the Dodgers. 

Pitching Matchups

Thursday : Taijuan Walker (3-0 2.83 ERA) vs Tony Gonsolin ( 5-0 1.80 ERA)

Friday : Chris Bassitt ( 4-2 3.66 ERA) vs Tyler Anderson (6-0 2.90 ERA)

Saturday : David Peterson (2-0 3.03 ERA) vs Walker Buehler (6-1 3.22 ERA)

Sunday : Trevor Williams (1-3 3.58 ERA) vs Julio Urias (3-5 2.89 ERA)

Rangers Vs Lightning : Eastern Conference Finals Preview

By: Mike Rifkin

On Wednesday night the New York Rangers will host the two time defending Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning in Game One of the Eastern Conference Finals. It will be the second time these two teams have played in the Eastern Conference Finals, the first being in 2015 which saw the Lightning win in seven games. Now the roles are reversed as the Rangers are the young, upstart team and the Lightning are looking to win their third consecutive Cup. 

During the regular season these two teams met three times and the Rangers won all three. The first meeting was on New Year’s Eve and saw the Rangers win 4-3 in a shootout with two goals from former Lightning player Barclay Goodrow. The second meeting was January second and Mika Zibanejad had a hat trick to lead the Rangers in a 4-0 win and Igor Shesterkin made 38 saves for the shutout. The third and final meeting was on March nineteenth and with 16 seconds left in the third period Zibanejad scored on a pass from Artemi Panarin on the power play to give the Rangers a 2-1 victory. Shesterkin made 28 saves on 29 shots. 

In the three games against the Lightning Shesterkin went 3-0 with a 1.30 Goals Against Average and .958 save percentage and Zibanejad had four goals to lead the Rangers. For the Lightning Andrei Vasilevskiy was 0-2 with a 3.03 GAA and a .875 save percentage in the three meetings. But Vasilevskiy has been incredible lately going 5-0 with a 0.80 Goals Against Average, .978 save percentage and one shutout in his last five games after a rocky start to his playoffs. Igor Shesterkin also struggled early in the playoffs but is 7-3 with a 2.09 Goals Against Average and .939 save percentage his last 10 starts. 

This series might come down to which team’s trade deadline acquisitions will be better. For the Lightning Nick Paul who was acquired from the Ottawa Senators has six points in 11 games including two goals in game seven vs the Maple Leafs. Paul has stepped up in a big way defensively as well. Brandon Hagel who was acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks has a goal and three assists in 11 games brings speed, and an aggressive forecheck to the bottom six of the Lightning. For the Rangers Andrew Copp who was acquired from the Winnipeg Jets is third on the team in scoring with 12 points in 14 games has also helped on Penalty Kill and is out there in defensive situations. Frank Vatrano who was acquired from the Florida Panthers has three goals in fourteen games, but he can shoot the puck with the best of them, if he gets hot it could help the Rangers offensively. 

The ultimate X factor for game one could be how the Lightning look. They haven’t played in nine days since sweeping the President’s Trophy winning and in state rival Florida Panthers. The Rangers are coming off another game seven win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday. If Tampa isn’t sharp early the Rangers need to take advantage.

WHY PLAYERS YOUNG AND OLD CAN TAKE A LESSON FROM BRANDON NIMMO

By Mark Halpern

Baseball is kind of like a game of chess. First, you move your pawns to set up your front and out-think your opponent to win the game. In Baseball, it is crucial to have this plan of attack, but, in today’s game, lately, more players than not try to think they are more significant than the game and try to be the all mighty piece the “Queen” (the most valueable piece in the game) and try and control the game themselves.

   A friend of mine sent me a video of Anthony Siegler of the Hudson Valley Renegades; he hit a long fly ball to left field and he thought it was out of the park and started his home run trot. When he realized the ball had hit the wall and bounced off it, he turned on the jets only to be thrown out at second and ended the game. I know where he ranks in the Yankee organization, but this Primadonna attitude of thinking, I’m a big man, look what I did, and now he made the Renegades coaching staff look dumb.

    Brandon Nimmo is the starting centerfielder for the New York Mets, and he has the biggest smile, whether he is in the field or at the plate. Whether it is a hit, a double, a triple, or even better, a home run or just a plain-out, Brandon Nimmo is running full speed. He has cemented himself into the Mets lineup not just by being a good ballplayer but, his intensity on the field and at the plate is the best in MLB.

     If coaches would teach Nimmo’s mentality (I am not saying other players don’t do the same), I think they will be more prepared for the major leagues. Yes, we see Major Leaguers when they hit a no doubter and throw the bat, and trot around the bases. However, these no doubters are 450ft or longer. Today’s minor leaguers need to be taught the Nimmo effect; I believe that runs will increase and more games will be won. That is how the old man sees it.

Lightning Vs Panthers : Inside The Series

By: Mike Rifkin

The Tampa Bay Lightning’s quest for a third consecutive Stanley Cup will continue after sweeping the President Trophy winning and in state rival Florida Panthers on Monday. Trophy winning and in state rival Florida Panthers in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. 

In Game One the story was special teams as the Lightning went 3-6 on the power play and the Panthers were 0-3. The other major story in game one and was a story throughout was the play of Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy who made 33 saves in a 4-1 Lightning win. 

In Game Two  Vasilevskiy made 35 saves and with less than four seconds left in regulation Ross Colton scored the game winning goal for Tampa to win 2-1. 

In Game Three the stars came to play for Tampa Bay. Vasilevskiy was sensational with 34 saves, Nikita Kucherov had a goal and three assists, and Captain Steven Stamkos had two goals in a 5-1 Lightning win. 

In Game Four Vasilevskiy made 49 saves and Pat Maroon who is searching for his fourth consecutive Stanley Cup scored the game winning goal  in a 2-0 win. Vasilevskiy in his last seven clinching games Vasilevskiy has a .995 save percentage and 0.14 Goals Against Average with SIX shutouts. In Vasilevskiy’s last five games he has given up one goal or less and made at least 30 saves.

We can talk about how great  the other Lightning stars in Kucherov, Victor Hedman and Steven Stamkos and they are tremendous but this team has everyone step up. In game seven against the Leafs Nick Paul had two goals. Ross Colton, who scored the Cup clinching goal last season against the Canadiens scored a big goal in this series to give the Lightning a win. Corey Perry who the last two seasons has lost to the Lightning in the Stanley Cup Finals has five goals in the playoffs including three against the Panthers. 

The one thing more people need to talk about is the Lightning swept the Panthers without Brayden Point who got hurt in game seven vs the Leafs and didn’t play in this series. We don’t know his status going forward but the time off could help him recover in time for the Conference Finals where the Lightning will play either the Hurricanes or Rangers to see if they will play for a third consecutive Stanley Cup. 

Extending Brandon Nimmo

By Mark Halpern and Mike Rifkin

The New York Mets currently sit in first place in the National League East. One of the things the Mets had going for them going into the offseason was that they had figured out part of their core going forward However there is a player who has the greatest smile and not matter what the situation is he is busting it out of the box after a hit, charging hard from center field or after being walked doesn’t, walk, does not trot but, he runs to the bag. We are talking about Brandon NImmo. The burning question on the minds of Mets fans is when are they going to extend Nimmo? Nimmo didn’t want it to cause a distraction after the lockout and is committed to sitting with the Mets hierarchy and trying to work out a deal before the end of the season.

      Brandon Nimmo, who was the Mets first round pick in 2011 (13th overall). Nimmo will be a free agent after the season. In 38 games so far this year Nimmo has a slash line of .293/.390/.450. In his career Nimmo’s slash line is .269/.392/.446. Nimmo isn’t a power hitter, but he gets on base and in today’s game that is what’s important because small ball is still a big part of Showalter’s knowledge. Nimmo runs everything out which helped the Mets in their 2-0 win on Sunday in Colorado. On a base hit to right field the ball wasn’t handled by the right fielder and Nimmo wound up on third base and scored the go ahead run on a base hit by Francisco Lindor. Now if Nimmo wasn’t hustling he doesn’t get to third base and who knows what the outcome of the game would be.

Nimmo also has turned himself into an average to above average Center Fielder. Last season Nimmo had four defensive runs saved, and when the Mets signed Starling Marte to a four year 78 million dollar contract during the offseason everyone thought Marte would play Center and Nimmo would be bumped to a corner and that has not been the case. Starling Marte has had experience in right field and has had a good season and this has made it easy to leave Nimmo where he feels most comfortable.

. The question becomes what is he worth? As one of the best lead off hitters in the game and getting to be even better in the field I am thinking a 7 year 75mil (10.75 mil a year) could get it done but the number could be higher. Just because he isn’t a 30 Home Run, 100 RBI, or 30 stolen bases doesn’t mean he doesn’t make it up in other ways. Two elite center fielders signed massive contracts the last two offseasons. George Springer signed a six year 150 million dollar deal with the Blue Jays last offseason. Springer had been a big reason for the success of the Houston Astros over the past few seasons before signing with Toronto. Byron Buxton signed a seven year 100 million dollar deal with the Twins this offseason. Buxton, a former number one overall pick has had a hard time staying healthy throughout his career, but when healthy he is a very dynamic player. If the Mets want to re-sign Nimmo these are two contracts to look at because they could give him the Springer six years and Buxton’s 100 million. Brandon’s power numbers are not even close to what these two superstars are. Nimmo is loved not just by his teammate,  but by all the fans as well. Fans love Nimmo’s enthusiasm on the field and his hard work. 

    The Mets have a great thing going here and this team is committed to a “Never Quit” attitude. Nimmo is one of these players who can get a team hyped. His love of the game should make him a prominent Met for years to come.

Justin Thomas Is the PGA Championship Winner

By Ross Mazin

Justin Thomas is you’re 2022 PGA Championship winner. He was not even considered to be in the running to win the championship. Over the past year, Thomas has come into his own on the PGA tour. Thomas is starting to impress me with his improvements from years past, and he has cemented his legacy in the PGA.

This year’s championship was held at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma. You don’t usually associate golf with the Midwest because of the scorching summers, horrible weather, and the upkeep on the course. This PGA course is one of the most challenging and exciting courses on the PGA Tour. It has a short-yardage front nine but a challenging long yardage back nine with three long par four and two very hard to reach the green in two par fives.

The weather was the other player in this year’s tournament. It was a mix of wind and heat. There were reports that was severe storms producing large hail were forecasted earlier in the week, but the rest of the week was looking good, so they figured they could start the tournament on time without any significant delays.

The field mainly was thinned out by the end of the second round on Friday evening. I was amazed that Tiger Woods was even in the middle of the pack. I honestly didn’t think Thomas even had a chance to win the tournament; however, he made me a true believer in winning this tournament.

The next tournament is the Charles Schwabb challenge down in Fort Worth. My projected winner is Scotty Scheffler.

Reach For The Stars

By : Mike Rifkin

On Friday Dallas Stars head coach Rick Bowness has stepped down. It has also been announced that assistants Todd Nelson, Derek Laxdal, and John Stevens have been fired. In three seasons as the Stars coach Bowness had a record of 89-62-25. Bowness led the Stars to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2020 and this year lost to the Calgary Flames in seven games in the First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. 

In 2021 the Stars averaged 2.84 goals per game, which is up from last season where they averaged 2.79 goals per game. They were led by Jason Robertson who had 41 goals and was second on the team with 79 points is a restricted free agent. Robertson played on the Stars top line with Joe Pavelski and Roope Hintz, those three were the top three scorers for the Stars. Tyler Seguin who was limited to three games in 2020-21 scored 24 goals this season in 81 games played. Captain Jamie Benn played in all 82 games and registered 18 goals. Benn and Seguin were a combined -34, that top line of Hintz, Robertson and Pavelski were a +42. Now a lot of people don’t love the plus/minus stat but you need your best players to be better than a -34 combined. Young forwards Joel Kiviranta, Jacob Peterson, Denis Gurianov have a lot of upside to help offensively. 

Defenseman John Klingberg is a unrestricted free agent and is expected to sign elsewhere this offseason but the Stars Blue line should be in good shape. The defense led by Miro Heiskanen who had five goals and 36 points in 70 games is one of the best young defensemen in the NHL. Ryan Suter one of the best defensive defensemen of this era is signed through 2025-26 had seven goals in 82 games. Esa Lindell and Jani Hakanpaa both had four goals last season.

Goalie Jake Oettinger went 30-15-1 with 2.53 Goals Against Average, .914 save percentage and a shutout. In the Stars series against the Flames put on a show with a 1.81 GAA and a .954 save percentage. In game seven Oettinger was sensational with 64 saves on 67 shots. The 23 year old goalie is a restricted free agent and should get a very nice deal from Dallas. 

Now I am intrigued on what General Manager Jim Nill will do when it comes to changes on the roster, but when it comes to coaches I think there are two choices. Pete Deboer who was fired by the Golden Knights has been successful wherever he has been makes sense as does Alain Vigneault who was fired by the Flyers during the season. Both have had success in other places but Vigneault can help this team score consistently. Whoever Dallas hires they will be getting a very good job.

A Blow To The Max

By : Mike Rifkin

Mets pitcher Max Scherzer pulled himself out of his start on Wednesday. On Thursday the club announced that Scherzer has a strained oblique and will be sidelined for six to eight weeks. On top of the fact that ace Jacob DeGrom has yet to throw a pitch this season, although the team has provided news on DeGrom but fans are still waiting for his return. The plan when the Mets signed Scherzer was to pair him with DeGrom at the top of the rotation. Thus far this season Scherzer is 5-1 with a 2.54 ERA. Obviously you are losing one of the top pitchers in baseball, but what Scherzer gives you on days he isn’t starting is just as important. He is always seen talking to the starting pitcher about what they are doing or showing them on an IPad. His leadership is irreplaceable.

Now the Mets rotation which has been tremendous to start the season has been dealt another big blow. Tylor Megill is supposed to play catch soon and see what happens after. Megill was dealing with Biceps Tendonitis. David Peterson has been called up and has been really good when called upon. Chris Bassitt has been sensational since coming over from the Athletics. Bassitt is 4-2 with a 2.77 ERA.  Carlos Carrasco who had a rough first season with the Mets after coming over in the Francisco Lindor trade. Carrasco has been solid so far is 3-1 with a 3.73 ERA.  Carrasco along with Taijuan Walker who is 1-1 with a 3.52 ERA are going to step up big time for the Mets. The Mets also have Trevor Williams who threw four shutout innings against the Cardinals in game one of their doubleheader on Tuesday. They also signed veteran Trevor Cahill to a minor league contract last week. The organization can’t replace Scherzer who is one of the best pitchers in baseball, but the Mets should explore a trade for a guy who could fill out the backend of the rotation and give them some rotation depth.  One benefit for the Mets is that they currently hold a seven game lead in the National League East. But the Mets schedule is going to be more difficult including in the beginning of June going on a 10 game road trip playing four games at the Dodgers and three against the Padres and Angels. The Mets have gotten off to a great start, but with DeGrom and now Scherzer out until July the team will need everyone to keep contributing. 

Leafs of Change

By: Mike Rifkin

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. On Saturday night the Toronto Maple Leafs were defeated by the two time defending Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Maple Leafs have not won a playoff series since 2004, the longest current streak in the NHL. Every year when the Leafs lose there is a different excuse last year when they blew a 3-1 series lead to the Montreal Canadiens it was all about Carey Price, this year was they played the Lightning. If the Leafs don’t want to make changes in the front office or on the coaching staff that is fine, but then there has to be a change on the roster. 

Forwards Auston Matthews (14.3%), John Taveras (13.5%), Mitch Marner (13.4%), and William Nylander (8.5%) account for 49.7% of the Maple Leafs salary cap situation. Defensemen Jake Muzzin (6.9%), Morgan Reilly ( 6.1%) and TJ Brodie (6.1%) account for 19.1%. That is 68.8 % of their salary cap is tied up in seven players, it is very hard to create a deep roster this way. So here is the thing Taveras and the three defensemen all have no trade clauses so they are not going anywhere. Auston Matthews just scored 60 goals and will probably win the Hart Trophy as league MVP so there is no way you can trade him. But if the Leafs don’t get there act together and actually win a round in the playoffs could Matthews request a trade like Jack Eichel did for the Sabres? That leaves Marner and Nylander I go back and forth on these two and I think I would move Nylander. Now Marner and Matthews have a great chemistry together and if the Leafs consider moving Taveras to wing they could include Nylander in a trade that could bring them in a number two center behind Matthews. The other reason for trading Nylander is his 6.9 million dollars is easier for a team to take on rather than Marner’s 10.9 million dollars. This could help the Maple Leafs bring back goaltender Jack Campbell who had a very good season for them and is an unrestricted free agent. 

If I was Kyle Dubas this offseason I would trade Nylander and Alexander Kerfoot not because they are bad players but you have to change something with this team, they cannot keep getting eliminated in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.