SATURDAY SPORTS PAGE: REDBLACKS SNAP THE STREAK

CFL

Tyrie Adams picked up his first career win in his first CFL start Friday night as the Ottawa Redblacks defeated the Edmonton Elks 26-7. Adams finished the game 14 for 20 for 185 yards and one touchdown. He also had 31 yards rushing.

Jarret Doege also made his first CFL start for Edmonton but didn’t fare as well, going 19 for 33 for 214 yards and one touchdown. He was picked off three times and sacked four in the loss.

It had been 640 days since Ottawa last won at TD Place. The last win was also against the Elks – a 34-24 victory on Sept. 28, 2021.

With the win, Ottawa improves to 1-2-0 on the season while Edmonton falls to 0-4-0.

NHL

The Vegas Golden Knights re-signed playoff hero goalie Adin Hill on Friday to a $9.8 million, two-year deal that carries an annual salary cap hit of $4.9 million through 2025. Hill is the second contributor to the Cup run to get a new deal in Vegas after Ivan Barbashev signed a $25 million, five-year contract earlier in the week.

Other teams were busy offloading players on the eve of the start of free agency with some big-money buyouts.

The Nashville Predators led the way by buying out Matt Duchene. The 32-year-old center had three years left on his deal at an annual cap hit of $8 million.

The Winnipeg Jets also put former captain Blake Wheeler on unconditional waivers to buy out the final year of his contract. The Boston Bruins did the same with defenseman Mike Reilly, and the Detroit Red Wings took the same step with Kailer Yamomoto a day after acquiring him from the Edmonton Oilers.

Edmonton continued the process of bringing back key players, re-signing forward Mattias Janmark to a $1 million contract for next season. Ken Holland, looking to help reigning MVP Connor McDavid win the Stanley Cup in what could be his final year as GM, has made it clear the Oilers are firmly in win-now mode, so this is likely not the end of their dealings.

Shifting into win-soon mode, the Chicago Blackhawks signed winger Corey Perry to a $4 million contract for next season, a day after acquiring his rights from Tampa Bay. That was the latest step in their plan to surround No. 1 pick Connor Bedard with experienced players, which began earlier this week with a trade with Boston for forwards Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno.

Friday was also the deadline for teams to tender qualifying offers to restricted free agents. Over 100 did not receive one, including Carolina’s Jesse Puljujarvi, Florida’s Colin White, Minnesota’s Sam Steel and a couple of players traded in recent days: Detroit’s Klim Kostin, San Jose’s Mackenzie Blackwood.

The New York Rangers tendered defenseman K’Andre Miller and 2020 top pick Alexis Lafreniere, among others. They did not qualify defenseman Libor Hajek, meaning he’ll become an unrestricted free agent.

Seattle re-signed goalie Joey Daccord to a $2.4 million, two-year deal, fresh off him helping the American Hockey League ‘s Coachella Valley Firebirds reach Game 7 of the Calder Cup Finals.

NBA

Fred VanVleet is leaving the Toronto Raptors and signing a three-year, 130-million dollar US contract with the Houston Rockets, ESPN reports. It’s the largest contract for an undrafted player in NBA history. VanVleet was part of the Raptors team that won a championship in 2019 and was named an all-star in 2022.

The Raptors reportedly hung on to centre Jakob Poeltl on a four-year contract worth 80 million dollars, and moved quickly to replace Fred VanVleet by signing guard Dennis Schroder to a two-year, 26-million-dollar deal.

MLB

The Toronto Blue Jays lost 5-0 to the Boston Red Sox to open a three-game series Friday night. Jarren Duran had a two-run homer and Masataka Yoshida hit a solo shot in the sixth inning to lead the Red Sox. James Paxton of Ladner, B-C, was superb for Boston, striking out seven over seven-and-a-half scoreless innings. He only gave up three hits.

Spencer Steer hit a game-winning two-run home run in the 11th inning and the Cincinnati Reds overcame Alexis Diaz’s first blown save of the season in a wild 7-5 win over the stumbling San Diego Padres. The Reds have won three straight after dropping three in a row. They lead the majors with 30 come-from-behind wins and have won 15 games in their final at-bat, including five walk-off wins.

PGA

Richmond Hill, Ontario’s Taylor Pendrith shares the lead at the PGA Tour’s Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit. The 32-year-old Pendrith shot an 8-under 64 at Detroit Golf Club, one off the tournament record, to tie Taylor Moore. Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B-C, is three strokes back, while Adam Svensson of Surrey, B-C, is 6 under after two rounds.

(Canadian Press)