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McLaren Racing is in serious conversation about running a fourth Indianapolis 500 entry for NASCAR star Kyle Busch.

Busch, who last week left Toyota and Joe Gibbs Racing after 15 years to sign with Richard Childress Racing, has permission to compete in the Indy 500 with a Chevrolet team.

Busch is a Las Vegas native, and Arrow McLaren SP was founded by longtime Las Vegas resident Sam Schmidt. His brother, Kurt, raced in the 2014 Indy 500 for Andretti Autosport and finished sixth.

The talks with Busch come as the head of McLaren Racing held a town hall Thursday at its IndyCar shop to introduce new hire Brian Barnhart and quell any concerns over this week’s sudden departure of the team president.

Zak Brown did not give a title for Barnhart, an industry veteran who spent the past season as strategist for Alexander Rossi at Andretti Autosport. Rossi will be part of Arrow McLaren SP’s expanded three-car lineup next season, and Barnhart will report to Brown.

Brown told The Associated Press he was still finalizing the structure of the IndyCar arm’s senior management team and “hiring like crazy” in advance of the additional third car. McLaren is also building a state-of-the-art shop in Indianapolis designed to be similar to its Formula One factory in England.

It’s been a hectic season for McLaren — and Brown — as the organization has tried to shore up its lineups across several series with the best talent possible. It led to a dispute in Formula One with rival team Alpine for the rights to Oscar Piastri, which McLaren won, and a $15 million buyout of Daniel Ricciardo to open a seat for Piastri.

Then there was a prolonged legal battle in IndyCar for the rights to 2021 champion Alex Palou, who ultimately will remain with Chip Ganassi Racing for the final season of his contract. But he was permitted to test the F1 car for McLaren last week and is expected to make a full move to the team in 2024 when his Ganassi deal is done.

Now the team has lost president Taylor Kiel, who joined the organization nearly 15 years ago when Sam Schmidt Motorsports was an Indy Lights team.

“It’s been an honor to work for Arrow McLaren SP for more than a decade. As I step away, I am most proud of growing this team into a powerhouse able to fight for championships and wins each week. I now look forward to spending time with my own growing family and whatever’s next!” Kiel tweeted Wednesday.

Although he was vague on what his next move is, it is widely believed that Kiel will be introduced at Ganassi as soon as his noncompete clause expires. It is unclear what Kiel’s role would be; Mike Hull, his stepfather, has been with Ganassi for more than three decades and as managing director essentially runs the organization.

McLaren has said only about Kiel: “Taylor Kiel is stepping down as Arrow McLaren SP President after two seasons. As the team grows to three cars for the 2023 NTT IndyCar Series season, announcements on team management will be made in due course.”

Barnhart, meanwhile, is the former president of race operations and race director of IndyCar. He joined Harding Racing in 2017, which evolved into Harding Steinbrenner Racing and was absorbed by Andretti Autosport.

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Canucks, Boeser agree on new seven-year deal

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Canucks, Boeser agree on new seven-year deal

The Vancouver Canucks have come to terms with forward Brock Boeser on a new seven-year contract, carrying a $7.25 million AAV.

Canucks GM Patrik Allvin announced the deal on Tuesday during the first hour of NHL free agency. Boeser, 28, was an unrestricted free agent on a previously expiring contract.

Drafted by Vancouver 23rd overall in the 2015 NHL draft, Boeser has collected 204 goals and 434 points in 554 games with the Canucks to date. A top-six scoring threat, Boeser has elite playmaking skills and the potential to produce big numbers offensively. He had his best year offensively in 2023-24, producing 40 goals and 73 points in 81 games.

Boeser didn’t hit those marks again last season — settling for 25 goals and 50 points in 75 games — but was still second amongst teammates in output. He also plays a prominent role on Vancouver’s power play and when he can generate opportunities at 5-on-5, he is a true difference-maker up front for the Canucks.

The extension is a happy ending for Vancouver and Boeser. When the regular season ended, Boeser admitted “it’s tough to say” whether he’d be back with the Canucks. Boeser reportedly turned down a previous five-year extension offer with the club and Allvin subsequently looked into deals for him at the March trade deadline, with no takers. Boeser looked — and sounded — poised to explore his options on the open market.

Ultimately, Boeser decided to stay put by committing the best years of his career to the Canucks.

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Jake Allen agrees to 5-year deal with the Devils

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Jake Allen agrees to 5-year deal with the Devils

Jake Allen, one of the top goaltenders available entering free agency, is not heading to the market after agreeing to a five-year deal with the New Jersey Devils, sources told ESPN on Tuesday.

Allen’s average annual value on the deal is $1.8 million, sources told ESPN. That AAV allows the Devils to run back the same goaltending tandem for next season.

Jacob Markstrom has one year remaining on his contract for $4.125 million. Nico Daws is also under contract for next season, before becoming a restricted free agent next summer.

Several teams were interested in the 34-year-old veteran, whom sources said could have made more money on the open market. However, the deal with the Devils gives Allen long-term security. Allen has played for the Blues, Canadiens and Devils over his 12-year-career. He has started in 436 career games.

Last season, Allen started 29 games for the Devils, going 13-16-1 with a .906 save percentage, 2.66 GAA and four shutouts.

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Capitals sign Fehervary to 7-year, $42M extension

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Capitals sign Fehervary to 7-year, M extension

Washington Capitals defenseman Martin Fehervary signed a seven-year extension through the 2032-33 season that is worth $6 million annually, the team announced Tuesday.

Fehervary, who had one year of team control remaining, will enter the final season of a three-year bridge deal that will see him make $2.675 million before his new contract begins at the start of the 2026-27 season.

He finished the season with five goals and a career-high 25 points while logging 19 minutes. Fehervary also played a crucial role in the Capitals’ penalty kill by finishing with 245 short-handed minutes for a penalty kill that was fifth in the NHL with an 82% success rate.

Securing the 25-year-old Fehervary to a long-term deal means the Capitals now have seven players who have more than three years remaining on their current contracts.

It also means the Capitals front office has one less decision to make ahead of what is expected to be an active offseason in 2026 that will see the club have what PuckPedia projects to be $39.25 million in cap space.

That’s also the same offseason in which captain and NHL all-time leading goal scorer Alex Ovechkin‘s contract will come off their books along with that of defenseman John Carlson.

But until then, the Capitals have their entire top-six defensive unit under contract as they seek to improve upon a 2024-25 season that saw them finish atop the Metropolitan Division with 111 points before they lost in the Eastern Conference semifinal to the Carolina Hurricanes in five games.

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