MJHL season preview: Virden Oil Capitals

After narrowly missing out on a Manitoba Junior Hockey League championship and a trip to the 2026 Centennial Cup last year, the Virden Oil Capitals step into the 2026-27 season hoping to take another step forward.

The Oil Capitals ended the 2025-26 season with a 39-14-3-2 record to sit atop the West Division. Their 83 points put the team third in the league behind Steinbach and Niverville.

They swept the Neepawa Titans in the opening round of the playoffs and moved on to play the Steinbach Pistons in the second round. Six games later, the Oil Capitals were set to play the Niverville Nighthawks in the final.

Niverville swept Virden in the final and went on to win the 2026 Centennial Cup. The loss was disappointing but the season was an unqualified success given that the year before, Virden missed the playoffs entirely.

Summer success sends Brezden to the Black Sea

Breken Brezden got off to a flying start as a new figure skating season dawned in August making the Manitoban one to watch, once again, among the sport’s elite in Canada.

The Dauphin athlete pocketed a silver medal in Montreal, then notched a win in Waterloo, outscoring a handful of Canada’s higher ranked women along the way.

In Montreal, Brezden, 20, topped the standings in the free skate portion of the competition and, with a total score of 171.03, exceeded the 166 benchmark Skate Canada set for international assignments.

“I’m quite happy with how my summer competitions went,” said Brezden, who trains in Hamilton, Ont.

Tigers win fifth in a row with wild 6-5 win over Blue Jays

TORONTO - Zach McKinstry scored on Louis Varland's fielding error in the ninth inning as the Detroit Tigers slipped past the Toronto Blue Jays 6-5 on Monday.

Infielder Hao-Yu Lee grounded to Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., with Varland running from the mound to cover the base. Varland missed Guerrero's throw and as Toronto's closer chased it down McKinstry raced home.

Brett Callahan's single up the left-field line tied it 5-5 in the eighth to help Detroit (71-79) win its fifth straight. Max Clark had a two-run double in the seventh and Spencer Torkelson drove him in with another double. Dillon Dingler had an RBI single earlier in the inning.

Troy Melton gave up two runs on five hits and four walks, only lasting 2 2/3 innings and striking out three. Relievers Beau Brieske, Tyler Holton, Kyle Finnegan, Tyler Kinley (7-5) and Kenley Jansen followed him to the mound.

CP NewsAlert: Raptors-Clippers deal sending Leonard back to Toronto made official

The trade sending Kawhi Leonard from the Los Angeles Clippers to the Toronto Raptors has been made official.

More coming.

First Canadian X Games headed to Calgary’s Canada Olympic Park next February

CALGARY - Calgary will host the X Games next February, marking the first edition of the action sports event in Canada.

WinSport’s Canada Olympic Park will stage skiing and snowboarding competitions from Feb. 19-21, 2027, with big air, knucklehuck, slopestyle and superpipe on the program.

Calgary will be the second stop of the inaugural three-event MoonPay X Games League winter season, between Aspen, Colo., and Ruka, Finland.

The new league format adds a team competition to the traditional individual events. Athletes will continue to compete for medals while also earning points toward a season championship for one of four winter clubs.

Poland downs host Canada 79-65 in men’s wheelchair basketball knockout game

OTTAWA - The Canadian men were eliminated from medal contention at the IWBF Wheelchair Basketball World Championships with a 79-65 loss to Poland in round-of-16 action Monday.

The teams were tied at the half, but Poland took control by outscoring the hosts 25-14 in the third quarter.

Nikola Goncin led Canada with 22 points, while captain Colin Higgins had 17 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. Garrett Ostepchuk chipped in with nine points, three rebounds and three assists.

Mateusz Filipski had a game-high 26 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists for Poland.

Joe Sakic plans to indefinitely stay in GM role for Avs with no search scheduled, AP source says

CASTLE ROCK, Colo. (AP) — Joe Sakic will remain in the role of general manager for the Colorado Avalanche indefinitely with no search scheduled, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Monday.

Already the president of hockey operations, Sakic added the title of GM in June when the Nashville Predators hired away Chris MacFarland to lead their front office. The person spoke of Sakic's dual responsibilities on condition of anonymity because the team hasn't announced the decision.

Sakic was the architect behind building the Avalanche squad that captured the 2022 Stanley Cup title. He turned the responsibilities over to MacFarland soon after the celebratory parade that summer. It's a position MacFarland held until the Predators made him their president of hockey operations/general manager.

As a player, Sakic led the Avalanche to Stanley Cup titles in 1996 — their first season in Denver — and 2001. The Hall of Fame forward is the only one in league history to win a title as a captain and GM with the same franchise.

Buffalo Sabres bank on Noah Ostlund’s potential by signing 22-year-old to 8-year, $52.8M contract

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — The Buffalo Sabres are banking on forward Noah Ostlund’s potential by signing the 22-year-old to an eight-year, $52.8 million contract, the team announced Monday.

The sizable terms of the contract reflects the confidence the Sabres have in a player who made significant strides last year in his rookie season. He finished with 11 goals and 27 points in 60 regular-season games, and then added a goal and assist in three playoff outings.

The Sabres are projecting Ostlund to fill a top-two line role this season as either a center or winger. The Sweden native was selected 16th in the 2022 draft and is entering the final year of his rookie contract.

He is now regarded as a key piece of Buffalo's 27-and-younger core that includes forwards Josh Doan, Zach Benson and Josh Norris and defensemen Rasmus Dahlin, Mattias Samuelsson and Owen Power — all of whom are under contract through at least 2030.

Gabriel Diallo withdraws from Canada’s Davis Cup tie against France due to leg injury

TORONTO - Gabriel Diallo withdrew from Canada's upcoming Davis Cup tie against France due to a leg injury, Tennis Canada said Monday. 

Diallo, who was hurt at the National Bank Open last month in his hometown of Montreal, was replaced by Keegan Rice for the second-round qualifier starting Friday at Videotron Centre.  

"I’m of course disappointed and sad that I won’t be able to compete with the team in Quebec City,” Diallo said in a statement. "The Davis Cup means so much to me, and it’s one of the events I look forward to most each year. 

"While I continue to rehab my leg injury, I do plan to make my way to Quebec City to cheer on the team. I hope the fans will be ready to support us as loudly as possible and help us get back to the finals."