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10 months ago

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  • Greg Wyshynski, ESPNApr 10, 2024, 10:34 AM ET

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      Greg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.

Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby was once again named the NHL’s most complete player in the annual NHLPA poll released Wednesday.

Crosby earned 38.4% of the votes for “most complete player” ahead of Aleksander Barkov of the Florida Panthers (14.6%). In the five seasons the NHLPA has voted on this category, Crosby has won it every year.

A total of 639 NHLPA members took part in the NHLPA Player Poll this season, the ninth time the players association has conducted one. Players from each of the 32 teams were surveyed anonymously by the NHLPA during the first half of the regular season.

Crosby was a close second (13.6%) to Ryan O’Reilly of the Nashville Predators (14.5%) in “the player you’d most want to take a faceoff on your team.”

But Crosby (11.6%) finished a distant second to Connor McDavid (48.7%) as “the forward you’d want on your team if you needed to win one game.” Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning (46.9%) won the goalie category for the third straight season, while Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche won for defensemen (56.4%) for the second straight season.

Makar was also named the best breakout passer with 26.6% of the vote.

McDavid also won best stick handler (35.5%), finally topping Detroit Red Wings star Patrick Kane in the category after finishing second for three straight seasons. But the Edmonton star was second overall (20.9%) for “best playmaker” to Nikita Kucherov of the Lightning (28.5%). Both McDavid (99 assists) and Kucherov (96 assists) are trying to become the first players since Wayne Gretzky in 1990-91 to tally 100 assists in a season.

McDavid (17.5%) was also second in “which player do you least enjoy playing against, but would like to have on your team?” The winner for the third straight season was Brad Marchand of the Boston Bruins (29.2%), who is infamous for frustrating opponents with his offensive skill and his trash talk.

McDavid (9.5%) was second in the “most difficult player to face in their own end” category behind Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman (20.3%).

T-Mobile Arena, home to the Vegas Golden Knights, was named the toughest place to play as a visiting team (31.4%) with PNC Arena in Raleigh, home to the Carolina Hurricanes, ranking second (16.3%). For the sixth straight season, Montreal’s Bell Centre was named the arena with the best ice.

Away from the rink, Bruins forward David Pastrnak was judged to have the best style (15%).

Italy was named the global destination where NHL players most want to play a game — no surprise, given that the 2026 Olympic Winter Games are being held there.

Finally, Marie-Philip Poulin of Montreal in the Professional Women’s Hockey League was named the “PWHL player you most enjoy watching” with 31.8% of the vote, outpacing Hilary Knight of PWHL Boston (14.8%).

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

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12 hours ago

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January 29, 2025

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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.

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Fantasy baseball rankings, projections, strategy and cheat sheets

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12 hours ago

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January 29, 2025

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Fantasy baseball rankings, projections, strategy and cheat sheets

  • ESPN Fantasy

Jan 29, 2025, 06:53 AM ET

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!)

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Steinbrenner: ‘Difficult’ to spend like Dodgers

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18 hours ago

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January 29, 2025

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Steinbrenner: 'Difficult' to spend like Dodgers
Jan 29, 2025, 09:16 AM ET

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.”

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