NHL Power Rankings: The best trade of the past five years for every team
The NHL’s 2023 trade deadline is March 3. We’ve seen two big deals consummated thus far — with Vladimir Tarasenko joining the New York Rangers and Bo Horvat heading to the New York Islanders — but we’re pretty sure the volume will pick up in the coming weeks.
For this week’s edition of the Power Rankings, we identified the best trade that each team has made at the past five deadlines.
How we rank: A panel of ESPN hockey commentators, analysts, reporters and editors rates teams against one another — taking into account game results, injuries and upcoming schedule — and those results are tabulated to produce the list featured here.
Note: Previous ranking for each team refers to the most recent edition, published Feb. 10. Points percentages are through Thursday’s games.
Previous ranking: 1
Points percentage: 80.56%
Next seven days: vs. NYI (Feb. 18), vs. OTT (Feb. 20), @ SEA (Feb. 23)
Hampus Lindholm (2022). Boston shipped a hefty package of picks and prospect to Anaheim last season for Lindholm, then signed the 28-year-old to an eight-year, $52 million contract. He’s worth every penny. Lindholm has boosted the Bruins’ blue line to new heights this season, playing upwards of 24 minutes a night, pumping in points and packing a physical punch. That’s a true game-changer.
Previous ranking: 2
Points percentage: 74.07%
Next seven days: vs. WSH (Feb. 18), vs. STL (Feb. 21)
Patrick Marleau (2019). Carolina never expected Marleau to play for them; they just played the role of middleman. Toronto needed to dump Marleau’s contract in 2019 and the Hurricanes took it on for draft capital, including a 2020 first-round choice that became forward Seth Jarvis. The 21-year-old has been an important addition for the Hurricanes (he had a 40-point freshman season in 2021-22) and projects to play a key role in the team’s future.
Previous ranking: 4
Points percentage: 67.27%
Next seven days: vs. MTL (Feb. 18), @ CHI (Feb. 19), @ BUF (Feb. 21)
Rasmus Sandin (2018). Toronto drafted Sandin in 2018 after GM Kyle Dubas swapped the No. 25 overall pick for the No. 29 and No. 76 overall selections. Dubas selected Sandin at No. 29, and he has become an integral piece of Toronto’s current blue line (not to mention its future). And with that extra pick at No. 76, Toronto got forward Semyon Der-Arguchintsev, a 22-year-old bursting with potential.
Previous ranking: 3
Points percentage: 69.44%
Next seven days: @ PIT (Feb. 18), vs. WPG (Feb. 19), vs. MTL (Feb. 21), vs. LA (Feb. 23)
Vitek Vanecek (2022). New Jersey was desperate to improve its goaltending this past offseason. Landing Vanecek from Washington in July for a pair of draft choices has given the Devils what they needed — a reliable No. 1 starter. Now, New Jersey looks like a legitimate Stanley Cup contender. Pretty clean work by GM Tom Fitzgerald.
Previous ranking: 6
Points percentage: 67.59%
Next seven days: @ VGK (Feb. 18), vs. ANA (Feb. 21), vs. BUF (Feb. 23)
Ryan McDonagh (2018). Former Lightning GM Steve Yzerman orchestrated a megadeal with the New York Rangers in 2018 to bring the Bolts their shutdown defenseman in McDonagh (plus forward J.T. Miller) for two impending Stanley Cup runs. Tampa Bay gave up a mix of players, prospects and picks to make it happen, but without McDonagh’s blue-line presence, the Lightning would have been far less likely to become champs (twice over).
Previous ranking: 5
Points percentage: 64.55%
Next seven days: @ MIN (Feb. 17), vs. CBJ (Feb. 18), vs. CHI (Feb. 22)
Scott Wedgewood (2022). Dallas boosted its goaltending depth by adding Wedgewood in March from Arizona in exchange for a conditional fourth-round pick that will become a third if the Stars make playoffs this season. Which they will. That’s a solid complement for Jake Oettinger in net on a tidy return. Well done, GM Jim Nill.
Previous ranking: 7
Points percentage: 62.73%
Next seven days: @ NJ (Feb. 19), @ NYR (Feb. 20), @ NYI (Feb. 22)
Neal Pionk (2019). Winnipeg had a disgruntled Jacob Trouba on its hands in June 2019, and offered him to the Rangers for a first-round pick (that became defenseman Ville Heinola) and Pionk. Back then the trade seemed to favor New York, but Pionk has emerged as a minute-munching, wholly reliable top-pairing blueliner and Heinola (still just 21 years old) has a promising future too.
Previous ranking: 8
Points percentage: 66.67%
Next seven days: @ EDM (Feb. 17), @ CGY (Feb. 18), vs. WPG (Feb. 20), @ DET (Feb. 23)
Adam Fox (2019). Yes, the Rangers’ recent trade for Vladimir Tarasenko has been so stunningly successful it almost ended up here. But let’s not go overboard. New York acquired Fox from Carolina in 2019 for a second-round pick and conditional third. In turn, Fox has become the Rangers’ top-pairing defenseman and just the second NHL blueliner — after Bobby Orr — to win a Norris Trophy before his third pro season.
Previous ranking: 10
Points percentage: 63.64%
Next seven days: vs. TB (Feb. 18), @ CHI (Feb. 21), vs. CGY (Feb. 23)
Jack Eichel (2021). The Golden Knights risked acquiring Eichel in November 2021 when he wanted an experimental surgery on a herniated disc in his neck. When Eichel got healthy, he proved Vegas right on rolling the dice. The 26-year-old is an elite top-line player, producing at nearly a point-per-game pace this season. And Eichel’s prime should be on display for years to come.
Previous ranking: 14
Points percentage: 60.91%
Next seven days: @ ANA (Feb. 17), vs. ARI (Feb. 18), @ MIN (Feb. 21), @ NJ (Feb. 23)
Kevin Fiala (2022). Los Angeles upgraded its attack last June by acquiring Fiala from Minnesota. He’s the Kings’ leading scorer this season, represented them at the NHL All-Star Game and continues to make what L.A. gave up in the deal (Brock Faber and a first-round pick) look exceedingly reasonable for a difference-maker.
Previous ranking: 9
Points percentage: 61.82%
Next seven days: vs. DET (Feb. 18), @ SJ (Feb. 20), vs. BOS (Feb. 23)
Daniel Sprong (2022). Seattle hasn’t made many trades, of course. But collecting Sprong from Washington last March in exchange for Marcus Johansson stands out. Sprong has carved out a solid bottom-six role, is producing the best numbers of his career this season and has scored some big goals for the Kraken.
Previous ranking: 11
Points percentage: 60.00%
Next seven days: vs. NYR (Feb. 17), @ COL (Feb. 19), vs. PHI (Feb. 21), @ PIT (Feb. 23)
Brett Kulak (2022). It wasn’t a splashy move by GM Ken Holland to pluck Kulak from Montreal last March for William Lagesson and two picks. It was a smart one. Kulak signed a four-year extension to stay in Edmonton and is a consistent second-pairing defender with good offensive upside who can play well with anyone. That’s good value.
Previous ranking: 12
Points percentage: 59.43%
Next seven days: @ STL (Feb. 18), vs. EDM (Feb. 19)
Devon Toews (2020). Colorado took advantage of the Islanders’ salary cap crunch and acquired Toews in October 2020 for a pair of 2021 second-round picks. Highway robbery. Toews has blossomed into a premier defender, analytics darling and, crucially, a perfect partner for Cale Makar (and they’ve got the Stanley Cup rings to prove it).
Previous ranking: 13
Points percentage: 59.43%
Next seven days: @ NYI (Feb. 17), vs. NJ (Feb. 18), vs. NYI (Feb. 20), vs. EDM (Feb. 23)
Rickard Rakell (2022). Pittsburgh grabbed Rakell — then a pending unrestricted free agent — from Anaheim last season without giving up a first-round pick. That was ideal. Even better? Having Rakell sign a six-year, $30 million extension and work his way into a top-line role. Talk about a massive early return.
Previous ranking: 17
Points percentage: 54.39%
Next seven days: @ CAR (Feb. 18), vs. DET (Feb. 21), vs. ANA (Feb. 23)
Michal Kempny (2018). Washington sent Chicago a third-round pick for Kempny in 2018. The Capitals’ return was a top-pairing defender for their ensuing run to a Cup championship. Injuries and age slowed Kempny after that, and he has since moved on from the NHL. But what he gave Washington at his best was more than enough.
Previous ranking: 15
Points percentage: 56.48%
Next seven days: vs. DAL (Feb. 17), vs. NSH (Feb. 19), vs. LA (Feb. 21), @ CBJ (Feb. 23)
Marc-Andre Fleury (2022). Wild GM Bill Guerin acquired Fleury — a three-time Stanley Cup winner and future Hall of Fame goaltender — from Chicago for a conditional second-round pick last season. Low risk; high reward. Fleury isn’t flawless, but he is durable and produces solid stats while standing tall as Minnesota’s No. 1 netminder.
Previous ranking: 19
Points percentage: 55.45%
Next seven days: vs. NYR (Feb. 18), vs. PHI (Feb. 20), @ ARI (Feb. 22), @ VGK (Feb. 23)
Jonathan Huberdeau/MacKenzie Weegar (2022). Calgary has yet to see Huberdeau’s best. That’s undeniable. But the trade Brad Treliving pulled off last July to bring Huberdeau and Weegar (plus prospect Cole Schwindt) from Florida? Stunner. The GM was in a tough spot when Matthew Tkachuk said he wouldn’t re-sign with the Flames. Treliving made something of nothing, and there is plenty of time for Huberdeau — now on an eight-year deal — to find his footing.
Previous ranking: 23
Points percentage: 53.85%
Next seven days: vs. FLA (Feb. 18), @ MIN (Feb. 19), vs. VAN (Feb. 21), @ SJ (Feb. 23)
P.K. Subban (2019). Some moves just have to be made. In 2019, Nashville needed cap space to extend Roman Josi and sign Matt Duchene. The Predators sent Subban (and his $9 million annual cap hit) to New Jersey to get that done. Josi is inarguably Nashville’s most important player, and Duchene has excelled (for the most part) in a top-six forward spot.
Previous ranking: 18
Points percentage: 54.72%
Next seven days: @ SJ (Feb. 18), vs. TOR (Feb. 21), @ TB (Feb. 23)
Tage Thompson (2018). No disrespect to GM Kevyn Adams’ work on the Jack Eichel trade last November. But Buffalo’s seriously feeling the benefits now from parting with Ryan O’Reilly and acquiring Thompson — among other assets — from St. Louis in July 2018. The towering centerman is at the core of the Sabres’ resurgence, as the team’s leading scorer, a budding playmaker and all-around offensive wrecking ball.
Previous ranking: 20
Points percentage: 53.51%
Next seven days: vs. PIT (Feb. 17), @ BOS (Feb. 18), @ PIT (Feb. 20), vs. WPG (Feb. 22)
Jean-Gabriel Pageau (2020). The Islanders ponied up for Pageau in February 2020, sending Ottawa a first-, second- and third-round pick for the versatile forward. The 30-year-old center has been worth the Islanders’ investment (which included a six-year, $30 million extension) to be a Swiss Army knife in the team’s offense; he can collect points while slotting into any situation across 5-on-5 and special teams.
Previous ranking: 16
Points percentage: 53.45%
Next seven days: @ NSH (Feb. 18), vs. ANA (Feb. 20)
Matthew Tkachuk (2022). Florida swapped its former top scorer (Jonathan Huberdeau) for its newest one. It’s safe to say that the Panthers are pleased. The blockbuster deal last July sending Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar to Calgary for Tkachuk was a risk that has paid off; Florida’s feisty forward has dominated offensively (with nearly 30 points more than his closest teammate) and Tkachuk represented the club well as the 2023 NHL All-Star Game MVP.
Previous ranking: 21
Points percentage: 55.56%
Next seven days: @ SEA (Feb. 18), @ WSH (Feb. 21), vs. NYR (Feb. 23)
Ville Husso (2022). Detroit traded with St. Louis at last year’s draft, grabbing its now-No. 1 netminder in Husso for a third-round pick. The deal is aging like a fine wine already, since Husso has been the Red Wings’ inarguable MVP through a tough first season. The 28-year-old might just be hitting his peak, and that’s good news for Detroit’s future prospects.
Previous ranking: 24
Points percentage: 51.89%
Next seven days: vs. CHI (Feb. 17), vs. STL (Feb. 19), @ BOS (Feb. 20)
Josh Norris (2018). Ottawa sent Erik Karlsson to San Jose in September 2018 for a return haul that had Norris — one of the Sharks’ top prospects — at its center (along with a handful of other players and picks, too). Norris is one of the Senators’ key core pieces now, despite being sidelined by injury most of this season. At age 23, there’s plenty more Norris will have to offer as the Senators continue finding their way back to contending status.
Previous ranking: 25
Points percentage: 48.21%
Next seven days: @ VAN (Feb. 18), @ CGY (Feb. 20), @ EDM (Feb. 21)
Owen Tippett (2022). Philadelphia added the up-and-coming Tippett — plus a first- and third-round draft choice — by trading then-captain Claude Giroux to Florida last March. Giroux held all the cards selecting his next destination, but the Flyers made the most of their options by getting a power forward in Tippett who’s just 23 years old and has so far exceeded expectations for Philadelphia in his best statistical season to date.
Previous ranking: 22
Points percentage: 50.93%
Next seven days: vs. COL (Feb. 18), @ OTT (Feb. 19), @ CAR (Feb. 21), vs. VAN (Feb. 23)
Justin Faulk (2020). St. Louis made waves acquiring Faulk from Carolina in 2020 for Joel Edmundson, a prospect and a draft pick. It took time for Faulk to find his fit, but the veteran has become a stalwart defensive defenseman providing stability — and a few timely goals — from the Blues’ back end.
Previous ranking: 26
Points percentage: 45.45%
Next seven days: @ TOR (Feb. 18), @ NJ (Feb. 21)
Nick Suzuki (2018). Montreal traded its former captain Max Pacioretty to Vegas in September 2018 to acquire a future one in Suzuki. The 23-year-old does a lot more for the Canadiens than just wear their “C” — he’s the team’s leading scorer this season and a foundational piece of the hopeful next chapter Montreal has been writing.
Previous ranking: 28
Points percentage: 41.82%
Next seven days: vs. PHI (Feb. 18), @ NSH (Feb. 21), @ STL (Feb. 23)
J.T. Miller (2019). Vancouver going all-in on acquiring Miller from Tampa in June 2019 was a controversial choice. The Canucks parted with a first-round and third-round choice, plus goalie Marek Mazanec, to grab the Bolts’ middle-six winger. Miller grew into much more than that in Vancouver, operating near a point-per-game clip in a top-six role the past two seasons.
Previous ranking: 27
Points percentage: 40.18%
Next seven days: vs. BUF (Feb. 18), vs. SEA (Feb. 20), vs. NSH (Feb. 23)
Erik Karlsson (2018). Controversial choice? Perhaps. San Jose swapped players and picks with Ottawa in September 2018 to get Karlsson, signed him to a mammoth eight-year, $92 million extension and then watched injuries and inconsistencies eat away at Karlsson’s abilities. That all changed this season with Karlsson back in the Norris Trophy conversation and boasting bona fide trade potential. If GM Mike Grier can find the right suitor, trading Karlsson away would be a major win for the Sharks, too.
Previous ranking: 29
Points percentage: 41.82%
Next seven days: @ LA (Feb. 18), vs. CBJ (Feb. 19), vs. CGY (Feb. 22)
Jack McBain (2022). Arizona pounced on McBain last March when it was clear the college free agent wouldn’t be signing with Minnesota (which drafted him 63rd overall in 2018). For a paltry second-round draft choice, the Coyotes acquired a 23-year-old forward who put up over a point per game at Boston College and has ample NHL potential. He’s another exciting young player to aid in the Coyotes’ build.
Previous ranking: 32
Points percentage: 34.55%
Next seven days: @ DAL (Feb. 18), @ ARI (Feb. 19), vs. MIN (Feb. 23)
Artemi Panarin (2017). Columbus targeted Panarin in a 2017 draft day deal with Chicago and received one the most talented forwards the club has ever had. Panarin stuck around for only two seasons, but he was the first skater in franchise history to produce multiple 80-plus-point seasons and helped Columbus make the playoffs both seasons, too.
Previous ranking: 30
Points percentage: 34.91%
Next seven days: @ OTT (Feb. 17), vs. TOR (Feb. 19), vs. VGK (Feb. 21), @ DAL (Feb. 22)
A pair of picks (2022). Chicago isn’t tiptoeing around a rebuild. It has leaned all the way in. That’s why the Blackhawks sent Brandon Hagel to Tampa Bay last March for a first-round pick in each of the 2023 and 2024 drafts (plus Taylor Raddysh and Boris Katchouk). The depth of talent available in 2023 is said to be excellent, too, which only makes the move look better on Chicago’s part.
Previous ranking: 31
Points percentage: 36.36%
Next seven days: vs. LA (Feb. 17), @ FLA (Feb. 20), @ TB (Feb. 21), @ WSH (Feb. 23)
Draft picks galore (2022). Anaheim is rebuilding, and so GM Pat Verbeek’s attention is on the future. That’s why shipping Hampus Lindholm to Boston last March to stock the cupboards with a first-round pick, two second-round choices and defenseman Urho Vaakanainen (Boston’s 18th overall pick in 2017) made so much sense. Sometimes the long game is the best one.
-
Jeff Legwold
BOULDER, Colo. — For the horde of NFL talent evaluators and some bleachers full of fans, Colorado coach Deion Sanders said Friday that they all got to see the top two players available in this year’s NFL draft.
Quarterback Shedeur Sanders and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter were among the 16 Colorado players who took part in the school’s showcase event for scouts, coaches and personnel executives from every NFL team. And Deion Sanders said the two marquee players confirmed what he has known for a long time.
“It’s tremendous,” Sanders said. “… They should be going 1-2 [in the draft], that’s the way I feel about it. They are the two best players in this draft. … The surest bets in this draft are those two young men, and I didn’t stutter or stammer when I said that.”
Neither Shedeur Sanders nor Hunter took part in most of the position drills or physical testing, but Sanders had a throwing session for just under an hour and Hunter was one of the wide receivers who participated. Neither player worked out at the scouting combine earlier this year, so it was the first time Sanders had thrown in such a setting since the end of the season. He showed some full seven-step drops and play-action from the shotgun and under center.
“I think I did pretty good, to my expectations,” said Sanders, who set the career FBS accuracy mark in his two years at Colorado (71.8%) to go with his 4,134 passing yards and 37 touchdowns last season. “I know I did the best in college football right now, for sure.”
Asked after the throwing session whether he believed he was the best quarterback in the draft, Sanders said: “I feel like I’m the No. 1 quarterback, and that’s what I know. But at the end of the day, I’m not stuck on that because it’s about the situation, so whatever situation, whatever franchise believes in me, I’m excited to go. … I’m comfortable in any situation.”
Players Hunter, who did not speak to the media after the workout, and Sanders met with the Cleveland Browns contingent, including team co-owner Jimmy Haslam, on Thursday night in Boulder.
“They got me really full,” Sanders said. “I definitely needed to go to the sauna after that. … It was a good vibe.”
Said Deion Sanders said: “[I] spoke to the owner, truly delightful. He was engaging. … I think one of those guys is going to be there [at No. 2].”
Hunter, the No. 1 player on Mel Kiper Jr.’s Big Board, did not do any defensive drills Friday, but he ran a full assortment of routes.
Colorado safety Shilo Sanders, Shedeur’s brother, offered plenty of encouragement, shouting commentary and clapping after each throw, including “not a lot of quarterbacks can make that throw” after one deep completion.
The highly attended event — by NFL representatives as well as fans packing small bleachers — had a festive atmosphere. Deion Sanders named it the “We Ain’t Hard 2 Find Showcase,” complete with a large lighted “The Showcase” sign next to the drills.
Hunter, who has said he wants to play offense and defense in the NFL, won the Chuck Bednarik (top defensive player) and Fred Biletnikoff (top receiver) awards in addition to the Heisman. He said whether he will primarily be a wide receiver or a cornerback in the NFL depends “on the team that picks me.”
On Friday, Deion Sanders said “ain’t nobody like Travis.”
Hunter had 96 catches for 1,258 yards and 15 touchdowns as a receiver last season to go with 35 tackles, 11 pass breakups and 4 interceptions at cornerback. In the Buffaloes’ regular-season finale against Oklahoma State, he became the only FBS player in the past 25 years with three scrimmage touchdowns on offense and an interception in the same game, according to ESPN Research.
He played 1,380 total snaps in Colorado’s 12 regular-season games: 670 on offense, 686 on defense and 24 on special teams. He played 1,007 total snaps in 2023.
Shilo Sanders, who hoped to show teams more speed than expected, ran a 4.52 40-yard dash after he measured in at 5-foot-11⅞, 196 pounds. He did not participate in the jumps or bench press that opened the workout, citing a right shoulder injury.
With all NFL eyes on the Colorado campus to see Shedeur Sanders throw, one player who made the most of it was wide receiver Will Sheppard. Sheppard, who measured 6-2¼, 196 pounds, ran the 40 in 4.56 and 4.54 to go with a 40½-inch vertical jump and a 10-foot-11 broad jump.
Baltimore Orioles All-Star shortstop Gunnar Henderson was activated from the 10-day injured list and will make his season debut Friday night against the Kansas City Royals.
Henderson has been sidelined with a right intercostal strain and missed the first seven games of the big league campaign.
The 23-year-old Henderson will lead off and play shortstop against the host Royals.
Henderson was injured during a spring training game Feb. 27. He was fourth in American League MVP voting last season when he batted .281 and racked up career bests of 37 homers and 92 RBIs.
Henderson completed a five-game rehab stint at Triple-A Norfolk on Wednesday. He batted .263 (5-for-19) with two homers and four RBIs and played four games at shortstop and one as the designated hitter. He did commit three errors.
“I think everybody’s looking forward to having Gunnar back on the team,” Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde said Thursday. “The rehab went really, really well. I talked to him a couple days ago, he feels great swinging the bat. The timing came, especially the last few days. He just had to get out there and get some reps defensively and get some games in, and it all went well.”
Baltimore optioned outfielder Dylan Carlson to Triple-A Norfolk to open up a roster spot. The 26-year-old was 0-for-4 with a run and RBI in two games this season.
-
Jorge Castillo
When New York Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns attempted to assemble the best possible roster for the 2025 season this winter, the top priority was signing outfielder Juan Soto. Next was the need to replenish the starting rotation and bolster the bullpen. Then, days before pitchers and catchers reported for spring training, the lineup received one final significant reinforcement when first baseman Pete Alonso re-signed.
Acquiring a player with a singing career on the side didn’t make the cut.
“No, that is not on the list,” Stearns said with a smile.
Stearns’ decision not to re-sign Jose Iglesias, the infielder behind the mic for the viral 2024 Mets anthem “OMG,” was attributed to creating more roster flexibility. But it also hammered home a reality: The scrappy 2024 Mets, authors of a magical summer in Queens, are a thing of the past. The 2025 Mets, who will report to Citi Field for their home opener Friday, have much of the same core but also some prominent new faces — and the new, outsized expectations that come with falling two wins short of the World Series, then signing Soto to the richest contract in professional sports history.
But there’s a question surrounding this year’s team that you can’t put a price tag on: Can these Mets rekindle the magic — the vibes, the memes, the feel-good underdog story — that seemed to come out of nowhere to help carry them to Game 6 of the National League Championship Series last season?
“Last year the culture was created,” Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor said. “It’s a matter of continuing it.”
For all the success Stearns has engineered — his small-market Milwaukee Brewers teams reached the postseason five times in eight seasons after he became the youngest general manager in history in 2015 — the 40-year-old Harvard grad, like the rest of his front office peers knows there’s no precise recipe for clubhouse chemistry. There is no culture projection system. No Vibes Above Replacement.
“Culture is very important,” Stearns said last weekend in the visiting dugout at Daikin Park before his club completed an opening-weekend series against the Houston Astros. “Culture is also very difficult to predict.”
Still, it seems the Mets’ 2024 season will be all but impossible to recreate.
There was Grimace, the purple McDonald’s blob who spontaneously became the franchise’s unofficial mascot after throwing out a first pitch in June. “OMG,” performed under Iglesias’ stage name, Candelita, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Latin Digital Songs chart, before a remix featuring Pitbull was released in October. Citi Field became a karaoke bar whenever Lindor stepped into the batter’s box with The Temptations’ “My Girl” as his walk-up song. Alonso unveiled a lucky pumpkin in October. They were gimmicks that might have felt forced if they hadn’t felt so right.
“I don’t know if what we did last year could be replicated because it was such a chaos-filled group,” Mets reliever Ryne Stanek said. “I don’t know if that’s replicable because there’s just too many things going on. I don’t know if that’s a sustainable model. But I think the expectation of winning is really important. I think establishing what we did last year and coming into this year where people are like, ‘Oh, no, that’s what we’re expecting to do,’ makes it different. It’s always a different vibe whenever you feel like you’re the hunter versus being the hunted.”
For the first two months last season, the Mets were terrible hunters. Lindor was relentlessly booed at Citi Field during another slow start. The bullpen got crushed. The losses piled up. The Mets began the season 0-5 and sunk to rock bottom on May 29 when reliever Jorge Lopez threw his glove into the stands during a 10-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers that dropped the team to 22-33.
That night, the Mets held a players-only meeting. From there, perhaps coincidentally, everything changed. The Mets won the next day, and 67 of their final 107 games.
This year, to avoid an early malaise and to better incorporate new faces like Soto and Opening Day starter Clay Holmes, players made it a point to hold meetings during spring training to lay a strong foundation.
“At the end of the day, we know who we are and that’s the beauty of our club,” Alonso said. “Not just who we are talent-wise, but who each individual is as a man and a personality. For us, our major, major strength is our collective identity as a unit.”
Organizationally, the Mets are attempting a dual-track makeover: Becoming perennial World Series contenders while not taking themselves too seriously.
The commemorative purple Grimace seat installed at Citi Field in September — Section 302, Row 6, Seat 12 in right field — remains there as part of a two-year contract. Last week, the franchise announced it will feature a New York-city themed “Five Borough” race at every home game — with a different mascot competing to represent each borough. For a third straight season, USA Today readers voted Citi Field — home of the rainbow cookie egg roll, among many other innovative treats — as having the best ballpark food in baseball.
In the clubhouse, their identity is evolving.
“I’m very much in the camp that you can’t force things,” Mets starter Sean Manaea said. “I mean, you can, but you don’t really end up with good results. And if you wait for things to happen organically, then sometimes it can take too long. So, there’s like a nudging of sorts. It’s like, ‘Let’s kind of come up with something, but not force it.’ So there’s a fine balance there and you just got to wait and see what happens.”
Stearns believes it starts with what the Mets can control: bringing positive energy every day and fostering a family atmosphere. It’s hard to quantify, but vibes undoubtedly helped fuel the Mets’ 2024 success. It’ll be a tough act to follow.
“It’s fluid,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “I like where guys are at as far as the team chemistry goes and things like that and the connections and the relationships. But it’ll continue to take some time. And winning helps, clearly.”
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports12 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway