The Blue Jays are apparently interested in George Springer and Jackie Bradley Jr.

I have a feeling we’re going to see a lot of ‘The Blue Jays have shown interest in _________’ this winter.

Most recently, the said-to-be-very-aggressive Blue Jays have reportedly shown interest in the two top centre fielders on the free-agent market, George Springer and Jackie Bradley Jr. Jon Heyman talked about it on MLB Network’s Big Time Baseball on Monday and Tim Kelly of WEEI (a Boston radio station) pointed it out.
Anyways, this type of report is no surprise because, through the first couple weeks of the off-season, all we’ve heard is that the Blue Jays have been aggressive and that they’re poised for a big splash. Both of these free agents are names who makes all kinds of sense for the team to add because of the glaring hole at centre field.
As of right now, Randal Grichuk is the team’s centre fielder. He had a decent offensive season in 2020, slashing a .273/.312/.481 line (112 wRC+) with 12 home runs across 231 plate appearances. His defensive metrics suggest that he was poor in centre field but, personally, I figure the eye-test says otherwise. Grichuk, bat and glove considered, is a fine centre fielder, but he isn’t great.
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Author: Cam Lewis / Blue Jays Nation

Toronto Raptors: Relive Vince Carter’s iconic dunk in bobblehead form

Twenty years ago (anyone else feeling old?), Vince Carter dropped an iconic dunk in the dunk contest. So Toronto Raptors fans are going to love this bobblehead. You know what? Let’s party like it’s 2000. When Vince Carter was on the Toronto Raptors and regularly putting opposing players on posters. When he was dominating the […]
Toronto Raptors: Relive Vince Carter’s iconic dunk in bobblehead form – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Nathan Cunningham / Raptors HQ

The NHL’s salary cap could remain stagnant for the next three seasons

The NHL will be feeling the ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic for years to come.

The league saw a massive revenue shortfall for 2019-20 as the league was forced to cancel a month’s worth of regular-season games in the wake of the pandemic back in March. Having a playoff tournament this summer will help the league offset some of those losses, but there’s still a considerable amount of damage to compensate for.
The NHL is a very gate-driven league in terms of generating revenue. Having a TV-only playoff will bring in cash, but nowhere near the amount that a regular playoff would for the league. Also, it doesn’t seem likely that fans will be filling up stadiums anytime soon, so the league is going to be looking at many TV-only games in 2020-21 as well.
There’s a handful of dominos to fall as a result of this economic catastrophe, but the big one that fans will care about is the salary cap.
The salary cap is grown at a massive rate since being implemented after the 2004-05 lockout. Back then, the ceiling was at $39 million. It’s grown all the way …

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Author: Cam Lewis / The Leafs Nation

Trading Kadri hurts, but it makes sense in the end

It’s starting to become a familiar feeling for Toronto sports fans. Letting go and making peace with the fact that one of the more beloved athletes in this market is making way to begin a new chapter for the franchise.
There are parallels with DeMar DeRozan and Nazem Kadri. A top-10 draft pick in 2009. Faced criticism early on in their career, but grew with their skill level and eventually saw the team make their first playoff appearances in a very long time.
Both players have been there through the dark years but also the beginnings of what will jump-start both franchises into their own legacies. It has already happened for the Raptors. They ripped off the band-aid and traded DeRozan for one of the best players in the game, leading to the first championship in franchise history.
But when it comes to the Leafs, they already have those players and Kadri was simply placed further and further in the background as the young players got better and new elite free agents came in to play for their childhood team.
Where Kadri sat, he was a surplus. Auston Matthews and John Tavares are in their rightful places in the lineup …

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Author: Thomas Williams / The Leafs Nation

Toronto Temperature: The Shot and preparing for Milwaukee

Everyone is feeling good after Kawhi Leonard’s buzzer-beater ended Philladelphia’s season. But there are bigger goals now, starting with Milwaukee. Let’s take the temperature. Here we are. The Eastern Conference Finals start tonight! The stakes are a little higher. Kyle Lowry and the Raptors, for the second time in franchise history, are four wins away from their first NBA Finals appearance. As you could imagine, that makes for a pretty hot temperature, which is highlighted this week by Kawhi Leonard’s buzzer-beater, an underdog mentality, and compelling matchups on the wing.
There is no need to waste time. Game 1 tips-off in less than six hours so let’s get right to it and take the Toronto Temperature!
Who’s Hot

Kawhi Leonard, The Shot

The Raptors play the Bucks tonight in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals but somehow the shot — and you know what I’m talking about — is still with us. Kawhi Leonard’s buzzer-beater to walk off the Sixers was joyous for many reasons. Now, some things that made it extra special:

Kyle Lowry walking around glowingly with the game ball in hand. “I don’t care, I’m here now”, he said, without …

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Author: Ben_Scott / Raptors HQ

Game Three Thoughts: Coaching adjustments continue to dictate the series

For most Toronto fans, there was a mixed feeling coming into game three. On one hand, the Leafs were dominated in an emotional game two and lost one of their key centers for the rest of the series thanks to a suspension. On the other hand, it was now a best-of-five series with three games in Toronto. The Leafs have to like their chances.
Game three was easily the evenest affair of the series. In the end, the Leafs powerplay was the difference as they scored two goals on three powerplays in an electric 3-2 win.
In this article, I will showcase some of the major talking points from game three as well as some areas I feel the Leafs need to improve if they want to win this series.
The top line of the Bruins had an unusually unorganized night
The Bergeron line has combined for a total of two even-strength points in three games, and haven’t looked close to how dangerous they were last year. One reason for this could be the players they are against. Last night, Mike Babcock did a great job of making sure the five-man unit of Hyman, Tavares, Marner, Muzzin, and Zaitsev …

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Author: Nick DeSouza / The Leafs Nation