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The Columbus Blue Jackets made a big addition on the eve of the draft by acquiring do-it-all winger Valeri Nichushkin in a trade with the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday.

The Blue Jackets sent the 43rd pick this weekend, a third-rounder next year and a fifth-rounder in 2028 to Colorado.

“Valeri is a big, strong forward who skates exceptionally well, can score goals, win puck battles and doesn’t shy away from playing in the hard areas,” Columbus general manager Don Waddell said. “He is an accomplished two-way player who competes at a high level and we are very excited to welcome him to the Blue Jackets family.”

Nichushkin scored nine goals during the Avalanche’s 2022 Stanley Cup run and played the clinching Game 6 in the final on a broken right foot. He has been one of their most useful players when on the ice.

Staying there has been an issue for the Russian who is now 31. He had off-ice trouble that sidelined him during the playoffs in 2023 and ’24, the latter being an indefinite suspension four months after entering the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program in January of that year.

Nichushkin has four more seasons left on his contract at a salary cap hit of $6.125 million. Moving on from him gives space for Colorado — with president of hockey operations Joe Sakic back as GM following Chris MacFarland’s exit to Nashville — which may be needed for a long-term extension with No. 1 defenceman Cale Makar.

In the Eastern Conference, meanwhile, the Florida Panthers ensured they would not lose any of their grit with A.J. Greer expected to leave in free agency by acquiring Garnet Hathaway from the Philadelphia Flyers.

Florida sent a fifth-round pick in the draft Saturday and a fourth-rounder next year to Philadelphia for the 34-year-old winger. Hathaway has one season left on his contract at a salary cap hit of $2.4 million.

Hathaway joins the Panthers fresh off them trading for Brady Tkachuk to unite him with brother Matthew after missing the playoffs following back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2024 and ’25.

Greer played a key depth role on the second of those title runs. Now 29, he could be a coveted addition when he hits the open market Wednesday.

The Washington Capitals made another move during their busy week, sending pending restricted free agent forward Hendrix Lapierre to rival Pittsburgh. The Penguins traded a 2027 third-round pick and a 2028 fifth-rounder for the 24-year-old, who never fully realized his potential with the team that drafted him and may benefit from a change of scenery.

Washington subtracted after adding two potential difference-makers in trades for Jordan Kyrou and Alex Tuch.

With the first round of the draft Friday night, the wheeling and dealing is only expected to pick up. After sending Kyrou to the Caps for fellow forward Connor McMichael, the 16th pick and a prospect, Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said the trade “allows the other 31 teams to digest what St. Louis is trying to accomplish and see if they can participate.”

“Instead of 12 hours, it allows them 48-plus hours to really dig into what they have and what we have and see if there’s a potential match there,” said Armstrong, whose team has a league-high four first-rounders. “Everyone knows what we have, and if they want to engage St. Louis at pick 1, 2, 3, 4, they know what we have and I would welcome the call.”

Toronto’s John Chayka told reporters Wednesday the Maple Leafs listened to calls about the first pick but decided to keep it. They are expected to take Penn State’s Gavin McKenna, a winger from the Yukon who has generated buzz for quite some time.

San Jose is worth watching closer after trading young forward William Eklund, who is cost-controlled through 2029, to Ottawa for the No. 9 pick, giving the Sharks another in the top 10 after No. 2.

“I think teams are curious to what what our plan was to do with 9,” GM Mike Grier said. “There’s lots more calls on 9 and probably two more on 2 — one that’s real interesting. … All stuff for us to consider.”

LONDON:

Nothing gets British fans more giddy at Wimbledon than a home favourite making a deep run in the tournament, and with Emma Raducanu back in form and Jack Draper back from injury, expectation levels are set to soar again.

Raducanu became the darling of British tennis with a stunning U.S. Open triumph as a teenage qualifier in 2021 but has struggled to get anywhere near hitting such heights again.

Since then, the 23-year-old’s career has been plagued by injuries, illness and a revolving door of coaches and she has only once reached the fourth round of a Slam since her Flushing Meadows fairytale – at Wimbledon in 2024.

Now reunited with Andrew Richardson, the coach she split with shortly after her U.S. Open triumph, Raducanu has shown signs of rediscovering her spark and returning to the free-flowing tennis she was known for.

That was evident at the Queen’s Club Championship where she reached the final and lost to Croatia’s experienced Donna Vekic – a run that means she will be seeded 30th at Wimbledon.

Draper back from injury

Her decision to withdraw from the Nottingham Open rather than try to build on the momentum of Queen’s raised some eyebrows and she skipped Eastbourne too, preferring instead to practise at the All England Club.

Having missed several tournaments this year recovering from a post-viral illness, Raducanu’s decision to conserve her energy for the physical and mental strain of Wimbledon is understandable, although there is also a school of thought that a few more wins on grass would have been the perfect tonic.

Sixth-seeded Naomi Osaka of Japan had seven aces and needed just 60 minutes to complete a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova on Thursday to reach the semifinals of the Bad Homburg Open in Germany.

Osaka converted 16 of 17 first-serve points (94.1%) and converted 5 of 7 break points during the easy victory. She will now face China’s Wang Xinyu, who moved on via walkover as No. 3 Elina Svitolina withdrew Wednesday with a right hip injury.

Romanian qualifier Elena-Gabriela Ruse won the final five  games of the match while posting a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Emma Navarro. Ruse is now 1-3 against Navarro, who upset top-seeded Iga Swiatek of Poland on Wednesday.

Ruse will oppose No. 4 Czech Karolina Muchova, who rallied for a 1-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory over Denmark’s Clara Tauson. Muchova had 35 of her 37 winners over the final two sets.

Second-seeded Madison Keys converted 27 of 30 first-serve points (90%) while sailing to a 6-3, 6-1 victory over No. 7 McCartney Kessler in an all-American affair in quarterfinal play in England.

Keys won seven straight games and eight of the last nine while finishing Kessler off in 72 minutes. Keys next faces Croatia’s Petra Marcinko, who knocked off Caty McNally 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

Third-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia had a 9-2 edge in aces during a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez. Ostapenko overcame five double faults while Sonmez converted just 20 of 43 first-serve points (46.5%).

Ostapenko will meet Germany’s Tatjana Maria in the semifinals. Maria notched a 6-3, 7-5 win over Czech Tereza Valentova.

Portugal’s Nuno Borges reached his first tour-level semifinal at a grass-court event with a 7-6 (1), 6-4 defeat of No. 1 seed Italian Luciano Darderi on Thursday at the Vanda Pharmaceuticals Mallorca Championships in Mallorca, Spain.

Borges, who is through to his third ATP semifinal, pulled off the only break of the match to finish off the sweep up 5-4 in the second set. He saved all four break points on his serve, all in the second set, He had 10 aces and no double faults, winning 78.5% (51 of 65) of his service points.

He’ll face another unseeded competitor, Ethan Quinn, for a spot in the finals. Quinn rallied for a 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 defeat of Czech Vit Kopriva to reach his first ATP semifinal.

In the other semifinal, No. 2 seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain will face Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan. Davidovich Fokina coasted to a 6-3, 6-3 defeat of Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria, while Marozsan bested Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic for the second time in as many weeks 6-4, 6-3.

Lexus Eastbourne Open

British lucky loser Toby Samuel continued his dream run at a local tournament, beating No. 8 seed Juan Manuel Cerundolo 6-3, 6-4 to reach the semifinals in England.

Samuel, who won his first tour-level match Wednesday to reach the quarterfinals, ironically only got this spot in the tournament due to Francisco Cerundolo, the brother of the competitor he beat Thursday, withdrawing due to a hip injury. Samuel won just 64.4% (47 of 73) of his service points but saved all seven break points he faced. His Argentine competitor had as many double faults as he had aces (four) and won just 60.7% (37 of 61) of his service points.

In order to reach the final, Samuel will need to beat Belgium’s Zizou Bergs, who swept British qualifier Jan Choinski 6-3, 6-3.

On the other side of the bracket, No. 6 seed Ugo Humbert will face Great Britain’s Jack Draper. Humbert won an all-French matchup against Quentin Halys 6-3, 6-4, while Draper coasted past Gabriel Diallo of Canada 6-1, 6-4.

VANCOUVER, June 25 : Belgium winger Jeremy Doku is not ready to play the full 90 minutes against New Zealand in their crucial Group G World Cup match after returning from illness and his brief absence for the birth of his son, coach Rudi Garcia said on Thursday.

The 24-year-old had drawn criticism from L’Equipe TV presenter France Pierron for leaving the squad mid-tournament to attend the birth of his son, Praise, who was born on Monday.

Doku featured in Belgium’s opening 1-1 draw against Egypt but missed their goalless draw with Iran due to breathing issues in training.

“Jeremy came back three days ago. So, he only participated in the practice today. He did a little more, but he did not train during seven days and that’s not insignificant,” Garcia told reporters.

“So, we’re thrilled to have him back. He’s probably not going to play for 90 minutes. But we know that he can make the difference once on the pitch.

“But all our game is not based upon one player. It’s the collective spirit. That’s the true force of Belgium.”

Striker Romelu Lukaku, still searching for his first goal of the tournament, is also unable to play a full match.

“Lukaku cannot handle 90 minutes,” Garcia added. “If he starts, he will be substituted. If he doesn’t start, he can help us from the bench. But he’s fit.”

Belgium centre back Brandon Mechele said the players were pleased for Doku.

“It’s lovely news that he became a father and that he was also present with his wife to help her. So, everybody was happy. It gives a boost for him, but also for us that he’s back, that he can help the team,” Mechele said.

Despite being widely tipped to top the group, Belgium head into Friday’s match in third place with two points.

Egypt lead with four, while Iran also have two points but are above Belgium on goals scored. New Zealand, still seeking a first World Cup victory, are bottom with one point.

“We need to match their intensity. If we manage that, I don’t see a problem for us,” defender Mechele added.

“On paper, we have more quality than New Zealand with all due respect to them.

“We might have lacked that intensity a bit in the previous match, but that was a wake-up call. I think we will be ready tomorrow.”

Major League Baseball has accepted the MLB Players Association’s proposal to reduce the amount of service time required to reach free agency for certain players and to eliminate the qualifying offer system as part of a reserve system proposal made to the union on Thursday.

Under the terms of the latest MLB proposal, the period of reserve would be reduced from six years to five years for players 30 years or older. That would be the first period of reserve below six years since the reserve system was introduced in 1976.

The proposal also calls for a historic increase to the minimum salary, a 30% rise in the pre-arbitration bonus pool, advantages for clubs trying to re-sign a “cornerstone player” (similar to the NBA’s “Bird Rights”) and the elimination of deferred compensation.

The proposal is made as part of MLB’s goal of establishing a salary cap and floor to address competitive balance within the sport during the ongoing collective bargaining agreement negotiations.

“The biggest issue baseball fans want solved to strengthen the game is fixing the payroll disparity that leaves too many fans without hope of their team competing for a World Series title,” MLB spokesperson Glen Caplin said in a statement. “Every other major U.S. sport has tackled this problem, and every year more small market teams in those leagues have a chance to win. The salary cap and floor proposal levels the playing field, allowing us greater flexibility to address longstanding player priorities while sharing baseball revenue with the players 50/50.”

Here are details of the major points in MLB’s latest proposal to the MLBPA.

Earlier access to free agency

MLB agreed to the MLBPA’s proposal to reduce the period of reserve from six years to five for players aged 30 and over, meaning that 48% of players with five years of MLB service during the current CBA would have reached free agency a year earlier — a goal of the MLBPA.

Based on this provision, 354 players on MLB rosters as of June 25 are projected to reach free agency a year earlier.

Under the MLBPA proposal, clubs would be able to re-sign a player with five years of service to a one-year contract with a salary equal to the average of the 125 highest-paid players ($22.025 million in 2026).

The proposed change to free agency would take effect beginning with the offseason following the 2027 season (the first offseason fully covered by the new Basic Agreement). There would not be a phase-in period. Examples of players who would benefit and qualify for free agency one year earlier under this provision include Jarren Duran, Ernie Clement, and Vinnie Pasquantino.

Historic increase to the minimum salary

Under the MLB proposal, the minimum salary would increase by 28% from $780,000 to $1 million in 2027 for players with at least two years of service. Any player with zero or one-plus years of service would receive $1 million if they receive a full year of service ($900,000 minimum salary plus automatic $100,000 service bonus from the pre-arbitration bonus pool).

The 28% increase would be the largest year-over-year increase in the minimum salary in baseball history. MLB calculates that 57% of players on Opening Day 40-man rosters this year would have benefited from this change.

Minimum salaries would grow with the salary cap and floor in future years.

Pre-Arbitration Bonus Pool increase

This bonus pool, which was introduced in 2022 as part of the current collective bargaining agreement, would increase from $50 million to $65 million in 2027, a 30% increase. It would then grow to $75 million by the end of the CBA term.

MLB is also proposing to add a new phase into the pre-arbitration bonus program that would provide a $100,000 bonus to any player starting the year with fewer than two years of service who receives a full year of service (with less than 50% of the year on the Injured List). This pool is paid centrally by MLB.

As a result of this provision, all pre-arbitration players who are in the Major Leagues all season will earn at least $1 million. In 2025, 178 players with less than two years of service would have earned at least $1 million between their salary and bonus.

Elimination of the qualifying offer system

The qualifying offer, which players have viewed as a drag on free agency and was the issue that caused the 1981 work stoppage, would be eliminated under this proposal, removing Draft-pick compensation for the first time since it was implemented in 1976.

During the 2025-26 offseason, 13 players received a qualifying offer. Four accepted it, and one player ultimately re-signed on a one-year contract.

The “Cornerstone Player” advantage

MLB is proposing a system similar to the NBA’s “Bird Rights” that would address the goal of teams being able to retain their superstars.

Any team signing a free agent from another club would be restricted to a contract that covers a maximum of five seasons and a maximum first-year salary of 15% of the cap ($202 million total guarantee for a deal starting in 2027). However, a team signing its own player would be able to offer a contract that covers up to six free-agent years with a maximum first-year salary of 16% of the cap (for a total of $265 million for a deal starting in 2027). Salaries would be permitted to grow by a maximum of 5% in the remaining contract years.

ARLINGTON, Texas — Japan booked a World Cup date with record five-time champions Brazil after a 1-1 draw with Sweden on Thursday that sent both teams to the knockout stage.

Daizen Maeda gave Japan the lead in the 56th minute and Anthony Elanga took it away six minutes later.

Japan are advancing out of the group stage for the third consecutive World Cup and fifth time in seven tries since first reaching the round of 16 as co-hosts in 2002. The Japanese team finished second in Group F behind the Netherlands and will play Brazil in Houston on Monday in the round of 32.

“For the good of football in Japan, I think it would be a very good experience,” coach Hajime Moriyasu said through a translator of his 16th-ranked team facing No. 5 Brazil. “We do believe there’s a chance for us to win. And then we hope that we will be able to move one step further move on to the next stage.”

The Swedes have advanced to the knockout round the past four times they’ve qualified for the World Cup going back to 1994 — when they reached the semifinals the last time the U.S. hosted soccer’s biggest event.

Sweden will have to wait to find out its opponent in the round of 32 next week.

“We have to probably recover the players first and make sure that physically we’re in a good place for whoever we play,” coach Graham Potter said. “We’ve got to be on our toes in terms of logistics. I would say if you had said to me when we first came that would be the challenge we’d face, I would have absolutely taken it.”

Elanga’s impressive left-footed strike from just outside the right corner of the box in the 62nd minute was his second goal of this year’s tournament. Elanga has scored only three goals in 49 games for Newcastle, but zero in 32 Premier League matches.

Six minutes earlier, Maeda settled a nifty pass from Ritsu Doan with his left foot in the penalty area and easily beat Jacob Widell Zetterström with his right foot.

It was Japan’s seventh goal of the tournament, the country’s most for an entire World Cup. That topped the six the Japanese scored while reaching the round of 16 in Russia eight years ago.

Elanga had another chance in injury time, with his right-footed attempted forcing goalkeeper Zion Suzuki to make a diving deflection.

On the ensuing corner kick, Suzuki deflected Alexander Isak’s header into the air and eventually ended the scoring chance with a leaping grab in a crowd of players.

The Blue Samurai’s bag-waving, chanting fans among 70,137 at the sold-out home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys were persistent as a scoreless game dragged into the second half. Japan seemed content to sit back and play for a draw that would have guaranteed the same spot in the knockout round as a win.

Just like that, things changed when Doan put Maeda in perfect position to score.

Elanga wasn’t anywhere near scoring range, but Suzuki appeared screened and reacted late as the shot beat him to the far post.

Just three minutes later, Isak was inside the penalty area with a great scoring chance, but Suzuki deflected it wide and over the end line, angrily gesturing toward some of his teammates as Sweden lined up for another corner kick. The Swedes had eight corner kicks to only two for Japan.

The Netherlands won the Group F thanks to a 3-1 victory over Tunisia and will face Morocco in the next round on Monday in Monterrey, Mexico

“We’re really happy about [topping the group] because that’s what our aim was,” Dutch defender Jan Paul Van Hecke said.

“I am not sure Morocco is going to play the same as Tunisia because they were with 11 men behind the ball, but we need to be more secure on the ball and make sure we don’t make mistakes,” he added.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Junior Caminero hit three home runs and drove in six runs, Victor Mesa Jr. added a three-run homer and three pitchers combined for 8 1/3 no-hit innings to lead the Tampa Bay Rays to a 13-2 victory against the Kansas City Royals on Thursday.

Opener Casey Legumina retired the first four batters before Ian Seymour (4-1) took over in the second inning. The pair combined to retire the first 16 Kansas City batters before Starling Marte drew a one-out walk in the sixth off Seymour.

Craig Kimbrel started the ninth with a walk to Marte, then struck out Tyler Tolbert before allowing a two-run home run to Carter Jensen to the right-field stands for the Royals’ only hit of the game.

The Rays salvaged a split of the four-game series after dropping the first two games.

Tolbert, who started at shortstop for Kansas City, moved to the mound for the eighth inning, allowing five runs on six hits.

Caminero tied a franchise record with his three home runs and registered his sixth career multi-homer game and second this season. He hit a two-run home run in the first inning and added a solo shot in the fifth, both off Seth Lugo (3-5), before going deep off Tolbert in the ninth. Mesa hit a three-run shot to right field in the fourth.

Tampa Bay’s Yandy Diaz extended his hitting streak to nine games with a seventh-inning double.

June 26 : Ecuador President Daniel Noboa declared Friday a national holiday after the country’s soccer team reached the knockout phase of the World Cup with a shock 2-1 win over Germany.

“Thanks to the players and the coach who, despite the criticism, the insults, and the tough moments they went through, managed to recover and give this immense joy to the entire country. Tomorrow, a holiday!” Noboa said in a post on X.

Ecuador needed victory in their final Group E match on Thursday following a defeat by Ivory Coast and a draw with Curacao.

The South American side conceded early against the Germans but fought back to secure the win, sparking celebrations among fans at a sold-out New York/New Jersey stadium.

Germany had already been assured of qualification as group winners. Ivory Coast finished second after their 2-0 win over Curacao.

Ecuador qualified as one of the best eight third-placed teams, reaching the World Cup knockout stages for only the second time. They advanced to the round of 16 at the 2006 tournament in Germany.

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey, June 25 : An increasingly desperate Ecuador stunned Germany 2-1 in their final Group E game on Thursday to drag their World Cup campaign out of the flames and qualify for a place in the last 32.

Needing a win – or a miracle – to keep their hopes alive, the South Americans suffered the worst possible start when already-qualified Germany struck in the second minute, with Leroy Sane opening his account at a major international tournament in his 15th appearance at one.

Ecuador had failed to score in this tournament despite 39 previous attempts, but finally broke their duck with their 40th shot when Nilson Angulo curled the ball beyond Manuel Neuer to spark wild celebrations among the sea of yellow in the stands.

Gonzalo Plata then bundled home the winner with 13 minutes remaining to complete Ecuador’s stirring comeback as their fans erupted with joy at the sold-out New York/New Jersey stadium.

“It was incredible. We had a lot of faith and want our fans to know that there are 26 players here that will give their all for everyone in our country,” Plata told reporters.

“People packed the stadiums wherever we played and made us feel right at home. They deserve this far more than we do. We struggled a lot in the first two matches but now we’re even more determined.

“We’ve learnt that you have to give it your all right up to the last minute, even if the goal doesn’t come early on. Today we struggled right to the end and, thank goodness, it went our way.”

GERMANY’S VULNERABILITY EXPOSED AGAIN

Already assured of qualification as group winners, Germany finished top with six points, ahead of Ivory Coast on goal difference after the African side beat Curacao 2-0. Ecuador have qualified as one of the best eight third-placed teams.

Germany had been chasing a third win from three Group E matches and a 12th successive victory, but their defensive vulnerabilities were exposed again and they have now conceded in all three group matches.

“We keep inviting the opposition in with turnovers, making them look good in the process,” captain Joshua Kimmich told reporters.

“Fortunately, no real harm has been done yet. But it’s clear we can’t afford another defeat. We can’t keep conceding one or two goals every game. We need to minimise our turnover rate; then we can beat anyone.”

Germany started explosively, with Sane finishing left-footed from just inside the area in the second minute after Florian Wirtz cleverly found his teammate after a quick throw-in.

Ecuador protested that Aleksandar Pavlovic had caught Pedro Vite in the head with a raised foot in the build-up, but referee Tori Penso allowed the goal to stand.

Ecuador, who had arrived under pressure after a defeat by Ivory Coast and draw with Curacao, responded swiftly. Angulo curled thee ball into the net from the edge of the box in the ninth minute, with goalkeeper Manuel Neuer slow to react.

The second half began with more controversy when Penso awarded Germany a penalty after Felix Nmecha played in Kai Havertz, who appeared to be tripped by Joel Ordonez.

After a VAR review, however, the referee overturned the decision for a Germany foul in the build-up.

Clear chances were then limited until Plata struck in the 78th minute, reacting quickest after substitute Kevin Rodriguez flicked on a corner at the near post and stabbing the ball past Neuer to send the stadium into uproar.