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Friday, 21 February 2025
Canucks, Kevin Lankinen agree to terms on five-year contract extension
The Vancouver Canucks‘ most surprising bright spot this season has earned a raise.
The team announced Friday that they agreed to terms with goaltender Kevin Lankinen on a five-year, $22.5 million contract.
“Kevin has done a great job for us in net this season,” said Allvin in a statement released by the team. “Right from the start of the year, he has shown a strong desire to compete and a willingness to do whatever it takes to win hockey games. A good leader and teammate, we wouldn’t be in the position we are in right now without his strong play.”
Per The Athletic‘s Thomas Drance, the contract contains a full no-move clause for the netminder during the first two years, then a modified 15-team no-trade clause for the final three years.
The 29-year-old has taken on a starting role for the Canucks as the team worked through an injury to Thatcher Demko to begin the season and has appeared in 34 of the team’s 55 games. During that time, he’s posted a .905 save percentage and 2.53 goals-against average with four shutouts. He made NHL history this season as the first goalie to start the season 10-0-0 on the road.
Most recently, Lankinen represented Finland — along with Juuse Saros — at the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament.
The Canucks return to regular-season action on Saturday against the Vegas Golden Knights.
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UFC announces Canada’s Malott vs. Radtke at UFC 315 in Montreal
Another Canadian has officially been added to UFC 315 in Montreal.
Mike “Proper” Malott will step into the octagon on May 10 at the Bell Centre to take on Charles “Chuck Buffalo” Radtke for a welterweight bout, the promotion announced on Friday.
The Waterdown, Ont. native enters the matchup following a bounce-back win over Trevin Giles in November. He picked up a unanimous decision victory on that Fight Night card in Edmonton, and now enters the matchup against Radtke having won four of his last five bouts.
Malott’s addition to UFC 315 makes him the second Canadian officially on the card. Quebec City’s Marc-Andre Barriault will fight in his home province for the first time under the banner when he faces Bruno Silva in a middleweight bout.
Both Malott and Barriault are going to hope to change their fortunes in May, compared to the last time the UFC made a trip north of the border for a pay-per-view event. At UFC 297: Strickland vs. Du Plessis in Toronto last January, Malott was defeated by Neil Magny via third-round TKO while Barriault lost to Chris Curtis by way of split decision.
UFC 315 will be the 33-year-old’s third pay-per-view matchup on home soil. Before UFC 297 in Toronto, Malott fought at UFC 273 in Vancouver. He won that bout, picking up a first-round TKO victory over Mickey Gall in 2022.
May’s Montreal card is quickly turning into a star-studded affair. Aside from the Canadian representation and two ranked matchups — No. 1 women’s flyweight Alexa Grasso versus No. 5 Natalia Silva and No. 8 welterweight Gilbert Burns vs. Micahel Morales — two championship bouts will headline the event.
Valentina Schevchenko, women’s 125-pound champion will defend her belt against No. 2-ranked Manon Fiorot. Meanwhile, Belal Muhammad will defend the 170-pound title for the first time, against No. 4 Jack Della Maddalena, since he dethroned Leon Edwards at UFC 304 in July.
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Thursday, 20 February 2025
Yankees sign manager Aaron Boone to two-year contract extension
The New York Yankees have rewarded manager Aaron Boone with a two-year contract extension.
The Yankees announced the deal Thursday that will run through the 2027 season.
Boone is entering his eighth season on the bench with the Yankees.
The team finished first in the American League last season with a 94-58 record and reached the World Series, losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games.
Boone, 51, has managed 1,032 games with the Yankees and holds a career 603-429 record.
The former infielder played 12 years in the majors including one season with the Yankees in 2003. He hit a walk-off home run that year in Game 7 of the ALCS against the Boston Red Sox to lift New York into the World Series.
Boone was named manager of the Yankees after the team fired Joe Girardi in December 2017. New York reached the post-season during the first five seasons with Boone on the bench.
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Wednesday, 19 February 2025
USA’s Brady Tkachuk absent from practice
Team USA got some good and bad news at its last full practice before Thursday’s 4 Nations Face-Off final versus Canada.
The good news was that both Auston Matthews and Matthew Tkachuk were on the ice at Wednesday’s practice after they both missed Monday’s game against Sweden.
The bad news? Brady Tkachuk did not practice with the team.
On Tuesday, U.S. head coach Mike Sullivan told reporters he expected both the Tkachuk brothers and Matthews to be available for Thursday’s championship.
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Canada vs. USA in 4 Nations Face-Off final on Sportsnet
Fierce rivals Canada and the U.S. collide in Boston on Thursday for the 4 Nations Face-Off final. Watch the game on Sportsnet, starting at 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT.
Matthew Tkachuk and Matthews appear to be trending in the right direction, while Brady’s status appears to be a little more up in the air.
With Brady absent from practice, Kyle Connor skated in his place on a line with Matthew and Jack Eichel.
Brady exited early against Sweden for precautionary reasons after he slammed into the post while going in on net.
Matthew suffered a lower-body injury in Saturday’s fight-filled win over Canada. The 27-year-old skated just 1:13 in the third period after testing out something that seemed to bother him. He appeared to tell assistant coach John Tortorella at one point that he “couldn’t go.”
Finally, Matthews was “battling something,” according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and was given the night off against Sweden to rest.
You can watch the highly anticipated rematch between the northern rivals on Thursday live on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ with coverage beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT.
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Canadian men to face Wales after Romania in September international window
The Canadian men will play Wales in Swansea in a Sept. 9 international friendly, Canada Soccer announced Wednesday.
News of the game against the 29th-ranked Welsh comes one day after word that the 31st-ranked Canadians will face No. 38 Romania in Bucharest four days earlier during the September FIFA window.
“We’re excited to be playing another high-quality opponent in Wales in September,” Canada coach Jesse Marsch, said in a statement. “Most of their players are playing in the (English) Premier League and (second-tier) Championship which will make for an excellent test for our group.”
While Canada has never played Romania before, it is 2-1-0 all-time against the Welsh.
Canada won 2-0 and lost 3-0 when the two sides met in Toronto and Vancouver, respectively, in May 1986 ahead of Canada’s debut trip to the World Cup. The Welsh won 1-0 in Wrexham in May 2004
The Sept. 9 game will take place at Swansea.com Stadium.
Next up for the Canadian men is the March 20 CONCACAF Nations League semifinal against No. 19 Mexico in Inglewood, Calif., with the winner moving on to either the 16th-ranked U.S. or No. 36 Panama in the March 23 final.
Canada will also be competing in the CONCACAF Gold Cup this summer.
Wales begins 2026 World Cup qualifying next month in a group that includes No. 8 Belgium, No. 67 North Macedonia, No. 110 Kazakhstan and No. 204 Liechtenstein.
Like Canada, the Welsh have participated in two World Cups with a lengthy gap between appearances — 1958 and 2022 for Wales compared to 1986 and 2022 for Canada.
And like the Canadians, Wales failed to advance out of the group stage in Qatar, losing to Iran (2-0) and England (3-0) after drawing the U.S. (1-1).
Wales missed out on Euro 2024, losing a penalty shootout to visiting Poland in a playoff final.
Wales is unbeaten in six games (3-0-3) since Craig Bellamy, a former Welsh captain who played for Liverpool and Manchester City, took charge in early July. The Welsh defeated Iceland 4-1 last time out in November, winning promotion to the UEFA Nations League top tier.
The Welsh women’s side is coached by former Canadian international Rhian Wilkinson.
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