SUNDAY SPORTS PAGE: BOMBERS TOP ALS, NHL FREE AGENT ROUND-UP

MONTREAL – The Montreal Alouettes’ two-game unbeaten streak came to an abrupt end on Saturday night as they dropped a 17-3 decision to the dominant Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Heavy rain and lightning forced the CFL to delay the Canada Day contest by nearly two hours. Kickoff was first delayed to 8 p.m. ET, but later further delayed as it became clear the severe weather wasn’t letting up as soon as officials hoped.

It wasn’t until 8:50 p.m. ET that play commenced, with none of the pre-game fanfare planned for the Alouettes’ first Canada Day game at home. The Alouettes won the coin toss, opting to kick first.

Although play looked pretty even to start the first quarter, it wouldn’t stay that way for long. With a 45-yard field goal attempt by Alouettes kicker David Cote, the team had its first chance to open the scoring but the kick was missed and recovered by Winnipeg receiver Janarion Grant and returned to the Bombers’ 15-yard line.

The Alouettes’ defence put up a fight but to no avail as Bomber QB Zach Collaros completed a pass to wide receiver Drew Wolitarsky deep in the Als’ end zone, putting the Bombers on the scoresheet, 7-0.

This was the first touchdown the Alouettes allowed in the 2023 season in two-plus games.

Winnipeg successfully held off the Alouettes’ offence for the rest of the quarter, scoring a 48-yard field goal with under two minutes remaining in the half, further extending their lead.

Down 10-0 to start the second half, the Alouettes needed a strong offensive push to kick things off. Gaining 20 yards on their first two plays, the Als were creeping into Winnipeg’s defensive zone, only to lose possession on a fumble forced by Winnipeg’s Deatrick Nicholls.

Things finally seemed to turn in the Alouettes’ favour with an impressive 65-yard pass from Fajardo to receiver Kaion Julien-Grant, only to be denied entry into the end zone with a key interception by Winnipeg defensive back Brandon Alexander returned 62 yards, putting them right back where they started.

Winnipeg held strong on offence throughout the quarter, securing a second touchdown six plays later off a pass from Collaros to wide receiver Dalton Schoen to go up 17-0 with under a minute left in the third.

Midway through the fourth quarter, the Alouettes were able to get on the scoreboard as rookie receiver Austin Mack broke into the end zone to capitalize off a 20-yard pass from Fajardo. Upon review the pass was deemed incomplete, but the home team still managed to make something of their possession with a 27-yard field goal from kicker David Cote.

While the Alouettes tried to create some more offensive action to close out the game with Austin Mack adding 46 more yards to his stats sheet, Winnipeg held them off to secure a 17-3 victory, snapping not one but two Alouettes streaks in the process.

UP NEXT

The Blue Bombers (3-1) host the Calgary Stampeders (1-2) on July 7, while the Alouettes (2-1) travel to Vancouver to tackle the B.C. Lions (3-0) on July 9.

NHL

The Toronto Maple Leafs waved farewell to a number of familiar faces.

And added some big-time toughness up front along with skill on defence.

The Ottawa Senators, meanwhile, have a new No. 1 goaltender.

Ryan O’Reilly bolted Toronto as free agency opened Saturday, signing a four-year, US$18-million contract with the Nashville Predators after he was acquired via trade in February from the St. Louis Blues.

The Predators also plucked Luke Schenn from Toronto, inking the bruising defenceman to a three-year, $8.25-million deal. He had returned to the team that drafted him in 2008 from the Vancouver Canucks.

Michael Bunting then departed the Leafs for the Carolina Hurricanes on a three-year, $13.5-million contract. Toronto also lost defenceman Justin Holl to the Detroit Red Wings, who signed the polarizing blueliner to a three-year, $10.2-million deal.

The Penguins added centre Noel Acciari, who also came to Toronto in the O’Reilly deal, to a three-year, $6-million contract as Pittsburgh president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas – fired as Leafs general manager in May – made a series of splashes.

Toronto responded by adding hulking forward Ryan Reaves to a three-year term worth $4.05 million, while puck-moving defenceman John Klingberg heads to hockey’s biggest market for one season at $4.05 million.

The Leafs also lost Alexander Kerfoot to the Arizona Coyotes, who signed the forward to a two-year contract. Terms of the new agreement were not disclosed. Last season the 28-year-old recorded 10 goals and 22 assists in 82 games for Toronto.

The Senators, meanwhile, are hoping to have finally settled their long-term crease issues after inking Joonas Korpisalo to a five-year, $20-million contract.

The Edmonton Oilers signed Connor Brown, who missed most of last season with a knee injury, re-uniting the forward with former junior teammate Connor McDavid.

The Vancouver Canucks added to their blue line by signing Carson Soucy to a three-year, $9.75-million contract, Ian Cole to a one-year pact worth $3 million, and Matt Irwin for one year at $775,000. The club also added forward Teddy Blueger on a one-year deal worth $1.9-million.

The big-money moves included defenceman Dmitry Orlov getting a two-year, $15.5-million deal with Carolina after the Bruins acquired him ahead of the deadline from the Washington Capitals.

Alex Killorn received a big pay day from the Anaheim Ducks with a four-year, $25-million deal after winning back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021.

Detroit signed centre J.T. Compher to a five-year, $25.5-million contract.

The Colorado Avalanche, who let Compher walk, inked Miles Wood for the next six years, and fellow forward Jonathan Drouin for one. Colorado also re-signed restricted free agent defenceman Bowen Byram for a combined $7.7 million over the next two seasons.

The Penguins re-signed goaltender Tristan Jarry to a five-year, $26.875-million contract, added defenceman Ryan Graves on a six-year deal worth $27 million, and inked forward Lars Eller for one year at $2.45 million.

The Coyotes also signed forward Jason Zucker from Pittsburgh for one year at a reported $5.3 million.

The Seattle Kraken inked defenceman Brian Dumoulin to a two-year, $6.3-million contract, and the Predators signed Gustav Nyquist to two-year, $6.37-million contract.

The Dallas Stars took advantage of the buyout market, signing centre Matt Duchene to a one-year, $3-million deal a day after Nashville cut him loose.

The Florida Panthers signed defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson for one year after the Vancouver Canucks bought out his contract, and added Dmitry Kulikov for the same length to bolster the blue line even further.

The New York Islanders signed Ilya Sorokin to an eight-year contract extension that starts in 2024-25 worth a reported $66 million. The club also re-signed forward Pierre Engvall and defenceman Scott Mayfield to seven-year deals, while netminder Semyon Varlamov is staying on four more seasons.

The Winnipeg Jets signed Vladislav Namestnikov to a two-year, $4-million contract, and are also bringing back goaltender Laurent Brossoit – in the Manitoba capital from 2018 to 2021 – for one year at $1.75 million.

And with the future of No. 1 option Connor Hellebuyck up in the air, the Jets added netminder Collin Delia for one year at $775,000.

Bought out by Winnipeg on Friday, former Jets captain Blake Wheeler signed a one-year deal with the New York Rangers for a reported $800,000.

Milan Lucic is heading back to Boston after signing a one-year, $1-million deal with the Bruins after departing the Calgary Flames. Boston also inked forward Morgan Geekie on a two-year deal worth $4 million, and defenceman Kevin Shattenkirk for one year at $1.05 million.

The Los Angeles Kings, who acquired Korpisalo prior to the trade deadline from the Columbus Blue Jackets, signed netminder Cam Talbot to a one-year, $1-million contract.

The Anaheim Ducks signed defenceman Radko Gudas from the Panthers, while the Buffalo Sabres picked up a pair of veteran blueliners Erik Johnson and Connor Clifton.

The Hurricanes re-signed netminders Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta. Andersen gets $6.8 million over two years, while Raanta will make $1.5 million in 2023-24.

The Tampa Bay Lightning signed forward Conor Sheary to a three-year, $6-million deal.

The Capitals signed forward Max Pacioretty, who’s coming off consecutive Achilles tendon injuries, to a one-year contract worth $2 million.

On the trade front, the Montreal Canadiens dealt defenceman Joel Edmundson to Washington for a seventh-round pick in 2024.

The annual free-agent bonanza returned to Canada Day for the first time since 2019 because of the pandemic’s impact on the league calendar since 2020, but issues with Twitter limited users to a capped number of posts that could be viewed on one of hockey’s busiest days.

MLB

Rafael Devers hit his 20th home run, Justin Turner homered and scored three times as the Boston Red Sox spoiled Canada Day celebrations in Toronto with a 7-6 win over the struggling Blue Jays. Right-fielder Alex Verdugo threw out Bo Bichette at home plate for the final out of the game. Matt Chapman hit a two-run home run for the Jays, while Springer and Bichette had solo homers.

Alec Bohm homered twice and tied his career high with six RBIs, and Philadelphia scored its most runs in five years in winning for the sixth time in eight games and for the 12th time in 16 by blitzing the Washington Nationals 19-4 today. Kyle Schwarber had a grand slam, and Nick Castellanos homered, singled and doubled with three RBIs for the Phillies.

MLS

Anderson Julio scored three minutes into second-half stoppage time tonight as visiting Real Salt Lake defeated Toronto FC 1-0 in Major League Soccer action at BMO Field. The CF Montreal-New York City match, which is now underway in Montreal, was delayed by two hours due to a heavy rain storm. Elsewhere, the Vancouver Whitecaps are playing Sporting K-C at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City.

(The Canadian Press)