Makar misses 4 Nations practice with illness
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Kristen Shilton
BROSSARD, Quebec — Team Canada is battling more blueline drama at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
The country’s top defenseman Cale Makar missed Friday’s practice with an illness, putting his status for Saturday’s game against the USA in jeopardy.
Canada was already down to just six healthy defensemen after Shea Theodore was knocked out of the tournament with an upper-body injury sustained Wednesday against Sweden. Makar was a workhorse for Canada as the team had just five defenders on the bench for much of that game, finishing with a team-high 28:06 TOI.
Canada’s coach Jon Cooper could only speculate on Friday what Makar’s status would be by puck drop.
“Expect is a big word,” Cooper said on whether he anticipated Makar being available. “But I’m confident. I’m confident he’ll be there.”
There is a contingency plan in place if Makar hasn’t recovered. Sources told ESPN that the NHL and NHLPA agreed Friday that Canada’s circumstance warranted bringing Dallas Stars defenseman Thomas Harley to Montreal in case the team has only five healthy skaters for its backend by Saturday night.
Travis Sanheim was Canada’s original seventh defenseman already elevated to replace Theodore. Harley — who’s expected to arrive in town by Friday night — can be around the team but isn’t allowed to participate in anything on the ice unless Makar is officially ruled out for the game.
While Canada waits to see how its backend comes together, Cooper is mulling another significant change to the team’s goaltending. Cooper wouldn’t commit to a starter for Saturday’s matchup after Jordan Binnington got the nod in Wednesday’s 4-3 overtime win over Sweden. Binnington recorded 23 saves and an .885 SV% in the victory.
Adin Hill was Binnington’s backup in that game; Sam Montembeault has been the country’s extra goalie so far.
Cooper said he was going to talk to the goalies first before making a final decision.
One lineup change Cooper would cop to was inserting Sam Bennett for Travis Konecny. Bennett was a healthy scratch Wednesday against the speedy Swedes, but he’ll add some needed physicality to Canada’s group when it takes on the USA — a team that levelled 32 hits on Finland in its 6-1 win over that country Thursday night.
Canada is preparing for the USA to invoke a similar strategy in Saturday’s meeting, and Bennett will help balance the scales.
“I thought [Thursday’s] game was maybe a little bit heavier than ours was against Sweden,” Connor McDavid said. “They’ve got big bodies. But [Bennett] is big and strong. Plays with a little bit of an edge, as we know. I’d expect him to bring that, I expect him to bring his energy. He scores big goals and does all of it.”
Having Bennett in the mix will pit him against Florida Panthers teammate Matthew Tkachuk. It was the gritty Tkachuk leading the U.S. to victory with three points in Thursday’s game, and Cooper couldn’t help wondering whether the two will find each other on the ice come Saturday.
“I’ll be interesting if Sam and Matthew meet in a corner at some point,” he said.
On the USA side, coach Mike Sullivan didn’t say Friday if he’d make further adjustments after shuffling his own defense pairings early on against Finland. The USA didn’t hold a practice following Thursday’s win.
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David Purdum
The good news for Chicago White Sox fans is that the betting market believes there will be an improved baseball team on the South Side.
The bad news? Oddsmakers still have the 2025 White Sox pegged as one of the worst teams in over 35 seasons.
Chicago’s current over/under on victories during the regular season is 53.5 at ESPN BET and other sportsbooks. It’s the lowest season win total set by sportsbooks in over 35 seasons, according to ESPN Research.
At the same time, it’s 12.5 wins more than the White Sox won last year during their record-breaking 121-loss campaign.
“It’s really hard to have two historically bad seasons in a row,” said Randy Blum, baseball oddsmaker for the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas. “Don’t get me wrong, though, there’s nothing to love about the White Sox this year.”
Some sportsbooks opened the White Sox win total in the high 40s, but the market moved upward, despite a roster that, on paper, is arguably worse than last year’s. Chicago traded away ace starting pitcher Garrett Crochet and cut ties with several veterans in the offseason, leaving a team of mostly young and unproven players that will be facing a significant talent gap with the rest of baseball.
The White Sox are projected to win six fewer games than any other team. The Colorado Rockies, at 59.5, are next.
In contrast, the Los Angeles Dodgers entered the season with a win total of 103.5 , the highest since the 1999 New York Yankees (104.5), 10 wins more than any other team and 50 more than the White Sox.
The White Sox open July with a three-game series against the Dodgers in Los Angeles. Oddsmakers said the series has the potential to produce some rare individual game lines, with the Dodgers possibly being as big as “-600 or -700” favorites.
Still, the betting market believes in the White Sox. At BetMGM, 83% of the money that’s been bet on the White Sox’s win total was on the over as of Wednesday. And, yes, some bettors have even backed the White Sox to win the World Series at 400-1 odds.
“The White are currently our biggest liability in all of the futures, World Series (400-1), pennant (225-1) and division (250-1),” said Eric Biggio, lead baseball trader for Caesars Sportsbook. “Understandably at their prices, it doesn’t take much for the risk to add up.”
Rafael Devers will serve as the primary designated hitter for the Boston Red Sox this season, opening the third-base job for newcomer Alex Bregman.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora confirmed the team’s plans Wednesday during an interview with sports radio WEEI, adding that the move shows Boston is “in the winning business.”
Cora’s announcement came nearly two weeks after Devers backed off his stance from earlier this spring, when he declared that third base was “my position” after the Red Sox signed Bregman. The three-time All-Star said on March 13 that he was “good to do whatever,” even if that meant being a DH.
“We made a decision,” Cora told WEEI on Wednesday. “Alex is going to play third, Raffy’s going to DH. We all are in the winning business, and [Devers] understands that.”
Bregman won the American League Gold Glove last season at third base, where Devers has posted poor fielding metrics over the years. Devers has led the AL, or been tied for the lead, in errors three times in the past seven seasons.
Playing Bregman at third also allows the Red Sox to give the starting second-base job to top prospect Kristian Campbell, who was announced earlier this week as part of Boston’s Opening Day roster.
Devers batted .272 with 28 home runs and 83 RBIs last season despite complaining of soreness in both of his shoulders. The Red Sox signed Bregman, a two-time All-Star, to a three-year, $120 million contract last month.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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