Connect with us

Published

on

Hobey Baker Award finalist and University of North Dakota forward Jackson Blake signed his entry-level contract with the Carolina Hurricanes, the club announced Wednesday.

Blake’s contract will start this season. He’ll make $775,000 at the NHL level this season and earn $832,500 at the NHL level in the 2024-25 and the 2025-26 seasons. He’ll earn $80,000 at the AHL level for all three seasons, and his deal also includes a $277,500 signing bonus.

“Jackson is an explosive playmaker who has played a key role in North Dakota’s success over the past two seasons,” Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell said in a statement. “Hockey is in his blood, and we can’t wait to see how his game continues to grow at the next level.”

Jackson’s dad, Jason Blake, played in 871 NHL games from 1998-99 through 2011-12, and also represented Team USA in the World Championships and Olympic Games in 2006.

Blake was a fourth-round pick by the Hurricanes in 2021 who used his two seasons at UND to emerge into one of the nation’s premier collegiate players.

He scored 16 goals and led the Fighting Hawks with 42 points in 39 games as a freshman during the 2022-23 season, a campaign that saw UND miss out on the NCAA Division I men’s tournament.

A year later, Blake was one of the major reasons why UND was among the nation’s top 10 teams. His 22 goals and 38 assists for 60 points was not only the most on the UND roster, but he was only one of four players nationally to have 60 points at the time of his signing.

North Dakota finished the season winning the NCHC regular-season title before losing in the finals of the conference tournament. UND returned to the tournament where it lost to Michigan in the opening game of the Midwest Regional Semifinal in Maryland Heights, Mo.

Blake’s performance also led to him being named a Hobey Baker Award finalist alongside Boston University star freshman center Macklin Celebrini and Boston College star sophomore winger Cutter Gauthier.

Celebrini is expected to be the No. 1 pick of this summer’s NHL Draft while Gauthier was the fifth pick of the 2022 NHL Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers before he was traded to the Anaheim Ducks this season.

The Hobey Baker Award winner will be announced Friday.

Continue Reading

Sports

Sources: IF Kim, Rays agree to 2-year, $29M deal

Published

on

By

Sources: IF Kim, Rays agree to 2-year, M deal

Infielder Ha-Seong Kim and the Tampa Bay Rays are in agreement on a two-year, $29 million contract that includes an opt-out after the first season, sources told ESPN, adding a Gold Glove winner to a Rays team that places significant emphasis on defense.

Kim, 29, who is expected to return from shoulder surgery in May, likely will start at shortstop but also has played second and third base, with his Gold Glove coming in a utility role.

The deal, which will pay Kim $13 million this season, is the most Tampa Bay has guaranteed in free agency for a position player since signing outfielder Greg Vaughn for four years and $34 million in 1999.

Before the partial tear of his right labrum required surgery, Kim was expected to land a free agent deal in the nine-figure range. With his opt-out, he can join a free agent class next year that’s thin on infielders, with shortstop Bo Bichette and second baseman Luis Arraez the only players of Kim’s caliber.

He arrived from Korea in 2021, signing with the San Diego Padres as a bat-first middle infielder. While the power Kim displayed in Korea didn’t show up as frequently as it did with the Kiwoom Heroes, his glove was a revelation, and in four seasons with the Padres, he posted double-digit wins above replacement despite never slugging above .400.

Tampa Bay enters the 2025 season with playoff aspirations but had been relatively quiet over the winter, signing catcher Danny Jansen and trading left-hander Jeffrey Springs to Oakland. The Rays used Jose Caballero and Taylor Walls at shortstop last season and are expected to do the same this year before the return of Kim.

Their infield already was a strength, with first baseman Yandy Diaz, second baseman Brandon Lowe and star-in-the-making Junior Caminero at third, with Christopher Morel, Curtis Mead, Jonathan Aranda and Richie Palacios also capable to playing on the dirt.

Shortstop Wander Franco, who was expected to be the Rays’ long-term solution at the position after signing an 11-year deal, remains on the restricted list while facing charges in the Dominican Republic of sexual abuse, sexual exploitation against a minor and human trafficking.

Continue Reading

Sports

Fantasy baseball rankings, projections, strategy and cheat sheets

Published

on

By

Fantasy baseball rankings, projections, strategy and cheat sheets

All of your fantasy baseball draft preparation needs collected in one place! Here you’ll find rankings, projections, cheat sheets, analysis and strategy. Check back every day for new content through Opening Day of the 2025 season. If this is your first time playing fantasy baseball, might we recommend starting with the basics: The Playbook: How to play fantasy baseball.

Don’t have a team yet? Create or join a league and then dive into the latest draft-prep material tailored for whatever format you prefer.


The Playbook: Become an expert in 9 innings

Inning 1: How to play fantasy baseball

Inning 2: League Formats: Which is right for you?

Inning 3: Everything you need to know about salary-cap drafts

Inning 4: How to create the ultimate cheat sheet

Inning 5: Roster optimization

Inning 6: Nine must-follow tips

Inning 7: Staying ahead of league trends

Inning 8: Using advanced stats to get ahead

Inning 9: Mastering the 2025 player pool


Rankings and cheat sheets

Cockcroft: Points-league rankings

Karabell: Head-to-head categories/rotisserie rankings


Advice from our experts

Karabell: The top 10 fantasy baseball prospects for 2025 (1/29)

Karabell: News or Noise (1/24)

Zola: What to expect from Roki Sasaki and other Asian newcomers (1/15)

Cockcroft: Reaction to Juan Soto signing with the New York Mets (12/9)


Roster-building essentials

2025 Player Projections and Outlooks

“Hot stove” free agent and player movement tracker

Live Draft Results

Closer depth chart

MLB depth charts


For Dynasty Leaguers

Dynasty Top 300 (2025 edition coming soon!)

Continue Reading

Sports

Steinbrenner: ‘Difficult’ to spend like Dodgers

Published

on

By

Steinbrenner: 'Difficult' to spend like Dodgers

New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner weighed in on the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ offseason spending spree, saying it will be even more “difficult” to keep up with the reigning World Series champions.

The Dodgers have spent more than $450 million guaranteed this offseason, pushing their 2025 luxury tax payroll to approximately $390 million.

With the penalties for exceeding the $241 million threshold, the Dodgers’ total payroll for this year likely will be in excess of $500 million.

“It’s difficult for most of us owners to be able to do the kind of things that they’re doing,” Steinbrenner said during an interview with the YES Network that aired Tuesday. “We’ll see if it pays off.”

Despite losing superstar Juan Soto as a free agent to the crosstown rival Mets, the Yankees also have had an active offseason, headlined by Max Fried‘s eight-year, $218 million deal.

The Yankees currently have Major League Baseball’s third-highest luxury tax payroll at just under $303 million. The Phillies are second at just under $308 million, more than $80 million behind the Dodgers.

The Yankees were listed in March 2024 by Forbes as MLB’s most valuable franchise, worth an estimated $7.55 billion, while the Dodgers were the second-most valuable at approximately $5.45 billion.

Los Angeles’ latest free agent addition, sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan, is reliever Kirby Yates, who agreed to a one-year deal worth $13 million.

The Dodgers also have signed free agents Blake Snell, Tanner Scott, Roki Sasaki, Michael Conforto and Hyeseong Kim; they re-signed Teoscar Hernandez and Blake Treinen; and they reached a multiyear extension with Tommy Edman.

Steinbrenner, whose Yankees lost to the Dodgers in last season’s World Series, added Tuesday that Los Angeles’ busy offseason does not guarantee another championship.

“They still have to have a season that’s relatively injury-free for it to work out for them,” Steinbrenner said. “It’s a long season as you know, and once you get to the postseason, anything can happen. We’ve seen that time and time again. We’ll see who’s there at the end.”

Continue Reading

Trending