SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — General manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. and the rest of Golden State’s front office staff had a feeling this season would wind up short of the ultimate goal for a franchise that has won four NBA championships over the past decade.

That’s the way the season went for Stephen Curry and Co. — losing big leads, making costly mistakes, repeatedly unable to deliver the big defensive stop when it mattered most.

Coach Steve Kerr had hoped the 10th-seeded Warriors could somehow fight through the NBA’s play-in tournament and into a playoff series. Instead, they lost 118-94 at Sacramento on Tuesday night and were eliminated.

“I think the overarching emotion right now is disappointment. We’re still sort of settling in on what happened,” Dunleavy said Thursday. “But on the whole, we knew this season no matter how long it went along, was going to end at some point probably disappointing us and so not a shocking surprise. But I think as far as what we need to do, it’s pretty straightforward. It’s to get better. I think that presents a really good challenge for everybody.”

Being run off the court by the Kings especially stung, given how closely the teams played this season but also the because the Warriors had thrilling seven-game victory against their Northern California neighbors in the first round of last year’s Western Conference playoffs.

“That was the worst game we played all year,” Dunleavy said.

Now, they regroup and evaluate how much of the roster to keep intact.

Working to bring back Klay Thompson — at the right price — will be a priority going into the summer.

The 34-year-old Thompson missed all 10 shots in the loss to the Kings and becomes a free agent in July when his five-year contract worth nearly $190 million expires. He missed more than 2 1/2 years recovering from surgeries on his left knee and right Achilles tendon before returning in January 2022 and helping the Warriors to their most recent title that spring.

“Certainly we want Klay back first and foremost. I expressed that to him yesterday,” Dunleavy said. “I think our players have expressed that, our coach, front office, ownership, look, everybody wants Klay back. He’s still a really good player and I think we have enough good players in our system, we have enough assets to acquire good players and we have the ability to keep getting better.”

The question for Dunleavy is whether the Warriors can make another title run while led by the core trio of Thompson, the 36-year-old Curry and Draymond Green, who is 34.

“There’s a lot of value in our three guys being Warriors for life,” Kerr said Thursday. “There’s a lot of value in ending with dignity.”

Thompson has repeatedly said he would “love to be a Warrior for life,” even if it was too soon Wednesday to address his future as he said he needed to decompress from the early finish.

Dunleavy said he is “hopeful, optimistic” about the sides getting something done.

“I think it’s a mutual feeling. I mean, the guy’s been here a long time. He means so much to the organization,” Dunleavy said. “We really, really value him. So there’s nothing that would make me think that he want to go somewhere else or we don’t want him back. And for that reason I’m hopeful we can make it happen, but, you know, it’s a deal both sides got to be good with it and we’ll work through that.”

Dunleavy also said of Green, “fully expect him to be back,” following a season in which the fiery forward served two suspensions.

The 2022 NBA champions must get better defensively, Dunleavy said, having missed the playoffs following last season’s elimination by LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals.

Losing games earlier in the season hurt late, according to Kerr.

“We put ourselves in a position to lose in an elimination game and we lost,” said Kerr, who will shift gears to coaching first-time Olympian Curry and the U.S. team at the Paris Games. “We won 46 games in a loaded conference. It’s usually enough. It’s not enough. … It’s way harder now than it was nine years ago to succeed in this conference. This summer will be a lot of self-reflection.”

This marked a tough finish to Dunleavy’s first season since taking over for Bob Myers, but it was also a year that saw rookies Trayce Jackson-Davis and Brandin Podziemski make sizeable contributions and Jonathan Kuminga emerge as a reliable rising star.

“We know clearly what this team was. It wasn’t good enough,” Dunleavy said. “There’s no doubt about that, there’s no what-ifs.”

When Dunleavy and Curry spoke Wednesday, the GM expressed his disappointment that the veterans — and the young players — aren’t playing deep into the postseason.

“That’s what everybody wants to see not only here in the Bay Area but frankly around the world, to see those compete at the highest level, so for them not to be able to do that is really disappointing,” Dunleavy said. “I feel for them. But it is what it is, it’s our own undoing. We’ve got to live with it.”

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

DETROIT (AP) — Leody Taveras scored the go-ahead run on a fielder’s choice in the eighth inning and added an RBI single in the ninth as the Texas Rangers beat the Detroit Tigers 9-7 on Thursday.

Taveras doubled with one out and went to third on Marcis Semien’s fielder’s choice, eluding a tag by Detroit third baseman Gio Urshela. Seager then grounded to first and Taveras scored to break a 7-all tie.

“He made a great play, ” Tigers manager A .J. Hinch said of Tavares’ play. “We made plenty of mistakes today, but that wasn’t one of them. It was a baseball athletic play that didn’t go our way.”

Jose Leclerc (1-1) got the win in relief for Texas, which won three out of four games in Detroit. Kirby Yates earned his second save

Shelby Miller (3-2), the fifth of six Detroit pitchers, took the loss for the second day in a row.

The game marked the major league debut of Texas starter Jack Leiter, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 draft. He was brought up from Triple A Round Rock, where he was 1-1 with 25 strikeouts and three walks in 14 innings over three appearances.

“He was all right,” Texas manager Bruce Bochy said. “He had a little trouble hitting his spots in the second inning, but he came right back in the third and got two quick outs in the fourth before he ran into trouble.”

He is the son of Al Leiter, who won 162 games in 19 major-league seasons.

Jack Leiter got off to a strong start, catching leadoff hitter Riley Greene looking for his first strikeout.

Semien, who had three hits, gave Leiter an early run with a leadoff homer. The Rangers added three runs in the second, highlighted by Jonah Heim’s two-run homer, but the Tigers evened things with four in the bottom of the second on RBI hits by Javier Baez, Carson Kelly and Riley Greene and a run-scoring ground out.

Adolis Garcia homered to give the Rangers the lead in a two-run third, and Texas added another run in the fourth, when Semien doubled and reached third on an error and scored on a sacrifice fly by Seager.

Bochy’s day ended early, He was ejected in the eighth inning for arguing whether a ground ball down the third base line was fair or foul.

Leiter’s day ended in the bottom of the fourth. With two out and two on, Kerry Carpenter drove home both runners with a triple to center field, then scored on a double by Torkelson.

He allowed seven runs, all earned, on eight hits in 3 2/3 innings.. He walked three and struck out three.

“Obviously, it’s a surreal experience,” Jack Leiter said. “It’s something you dream about since you were a little kid. Beings around the game always, it’s a special day. I know I’m better and I need to be better and I will be better. And that’s kind of the frustration is some pitches that I left on the table and some mistakes that I made. ”

To make room for Leiter, the Rangers optioned pitcher Grant Anderson to Round Rock.

TRAINER’S ROOM

The Rangers moved LHP Brock Burke (broken right hand) from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list. He had surgery on the fifth metacarpal bone in his right hand by Dr. Paul Hovis in Arlington, Texas on Thursday. Burke will be eligible to return on June 12.

UP NEXT

The Rangers begin a weekend series at Atlanta on Friday. LHP Andrew Heaney (0-2, 5.75 ERA), whose scheduled Thursday start was pushed back a day, will start for Texas against Atlanta’s Chris Sale (1-1, 4.58).

Detroit begins a weekend series at Minnesota. Jack Flaherty (0-1, 4.91), will start against Joe Ryan (0-1, 2.60).

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

BOSTON (AP) — Carlos Carrasco picked up his first win with Cleveland since 2020 and Andrés Giménez had two RBIs to lead the Guardians to a 5-4 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Thursday.

Ramón Laureano, Josh Naylor and José Ramírez also drove in runs for Cleveland, which took three of four at Fenway Park and improved to a Central Division-best 13-6. The Guardians are 10-3 on the road.

“You want to win every series. Every team talks about it,” first-year Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “It’s not this new idea, but any time you can go on the road and win a series, especially from a very good team across the way, you feel good about it heading home.”

Carrasco (1-1), who re-signed with the Guardians after spending three seasons with the New York Mets, allowed two runs and four hits in 5 2/3 innings. It was his first win with Cleveland since Sept. 20, 2020.

He left after allowing a two-out single to Reese McGuire in the sixth with Cleveland leading 5-1.

“Trying to be too perfect, which led to the first run,” said Carrasco, who was with Cleveland for 11 years before being traded in the 2020 offseason. “After that, I went back and thought the same way I did in the bullpen (for pregame warmups). I just went out there and attacked.

“We’re winning series. That’s important for us.”

Emmanuel Clase pitched a scoreless ninth for his fifth save as the Guardians won three games in a series in Boston for the first time since 2000.

Giménez had two hits while batting leadoff Thursday, and is hitting .293 overall this season.

“He’s the Swiss Army knife of the lineup. He hits all over the place,” Vogt said. “His at-bats since the start of the year have been phenomenal … clutch hit after clutch hit.”

After starting the season with seven wins in 10 road games, the Red Sox went 3-7 on their first homestand.

Trailing 5-1, Boston cut into Cleveland’s lead behind Jarren Duran’s two-run triple in the Red Sox’s three-run sixth inning.

Left-hander Brennan Bernardino had two scoreless innings in the start for the Red Sox, who used five pitchers. Cooper Criswell (0-1) was charged with the loss after allowing four runs — three earned — in 2 1/3 innings.

Boston made two more errors that led to three unearned runs. The Red Sox have committed an MLB-worse 19 errors.

“It sounds repetitive, but we have to play better defense,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “That’s the bottom line. We don’t make two routine plays and don’t turn a double play, and we lose by one. They’re good defenders. We’re not making plays right now.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Guardians: RHP Pedro Avila was added to Cleveland’s major league roster one day after being acquired from San Diego. … RHP Wes Parsons was optioned to Triple-A Columbus to make room for Avila.

Red Sox: All-Star 3B Rafael Devers wasn’t in the lineup for the series finale against Cleveland. He underwent an MRI before the game to check on the knee soreness that has bothered him in recent days. After the game, Cora said Devers is dealing with a bone bruise. “At least we have an idea of what it is,” Cora said. “He should be fine.” … OF Tyler O’Neill was placed on the 7-day injured list, retroactive to April 16. Taking his spot on the active roster was OF Rob Refsnyder, who started the season on the injured list (left toe fracture). Refsnyder was used as a pinch hitter in the seventh and played the final two innings in left field.

UP NEXT

Guardians: RHP Triston McKenzie (1-2, 6.23) is scheduled to open the three-game series against Oakland on Friday. McKenzie hasn’t faced the Athletics since the 2022 season. RHP Joe Boyle (1-2, 5.68) is listed as the probable starter for the A’s.

Red Sox: Travel to Pittsburgh for a three-game series that begins Friday. RHP Brayan Bello (2-1, 3.92) will make his fifth start of the season for Boston. The Pirates have yet to announce a starter.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

The NHL team moving from Arizona to Salt Lake City will be known as Utah, at least initially, until a long-term name is determined.

“We’ll start with Utah on the jersey and we’ll figure out the logo and everything else and what it is that we are,” new owner Ryan Smith told The Associated Press. “We’re going to be Utah either way. We have the first part of the name. We don’t have the last.”

Smith Entertainment Group, which bought the franchise formerly known as the Coyotes in a deal unanimously approved Thursday by the league’s Board of Governors, has already contracted ad agency Doubleday & Cartwright for rebranding efforts. Former owner Alex Meruelo keeps the Coyotes name and has the chance to reactivate the franchise if he’s able to build an arena.

The short timeline of relocating the club could mean it has a placeholder name for the first season, like the Professional Women’s Hockey League did for year one or Washington’s NFL team had in 2020 and ’21 before becoming the Commanders.

“It’ll be Utah something, obviously,” Smith said. “It’s really important that we’re not saying, ‘Hey, this has to be ready by the fall,’ especially when it’s going to be Utah something. I think both the league feels better and we feel better to just run the process and then we’ll drop it when we drop it.”

While working on that process, Smith’s first priority is physically moving players and staff to Utah and getting them set up in the state.

“There’s a good roster and a lot of young talent and we’ve got to onboard those people into Smith Entertainment Group and show them what that means and what that’s like,” Smith said. “I think that’s a good opportunity for us and introduce them to the state of Utah and also bring the community together to receive them.”

Then it’ll be “full speed ahead” with the infrastructure, including potential renovations to Delta Center, home of the NBA’s Utah Jazz also owned by SEG, which has 12,000 unobstructed view seats for hockey. The plan is to expand that number to roughly 17,500.

“We want to actually use our arena and really spend time creating the best dual-sport arena that exists out there because we want to keep people as close as we possibly can or as vertical as we possibly can to watch both games,” Smith said. “It’s super fun and challenging, but we’re going to do it.”

It’s also a challenge to make Utah a hockey market, though 17 sheets of ice already in place and a youth hockey program give ownership a head start. Smith plans to build more rinks to make it easier for people of all ages to play the sport.

Former NHL player Ken Sabourin, who played in the minors for the Salt Lake Golden Eagles of the International Hockey League from 1987-91 and then again in ’92-93, raves about the city but thinks success will be determined by how the team plays.

“If they put a winning product out there, it’s going to help, obviously, and maybe (Smith’s group is) dedicated to do that,” Sabourin said Thursday. “It’s a good hockey market, it’s a good sports market — there’s no doubt about it. I think they have the fans. It’s whether they’ll come out or not. They’ll watch it for sure. It’ll be not a problem on TV. The first year in the building I’m sure it won’t be an issue no matter how good they are.”

Smith, who can skate a little and played mostly roller hockey, isn’t worried about that. He points to the sold out NCAA Tournament men’s basketball games at Delta Center as evidence that fans will fill the building to watch NHL hockey.

“The one thing I do know about Utah is people show up,” he said. “It’s just different here. We’ve got 291 straight sellout games at the Delta Center (for the Jazz). I think every concert that’s come to town has sold out. It’s just what we do. We show up, and I have a lot of faith in the people in Utah.”

That faith was rewarded right away, as Smith said the organization had received 6,000 season-ticket deposits in two hours after the sale was announced.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

MIAMI (AP) — The results are in: Jimmy Butler is out.

Butler will not be able to play for the Miami Heat in a win-or-else game on Friday night against the Chicago Bulls in the NBA’s play-in tournament because of a right knee injury, one that will sideline him for several weeks.

An MRI exam on Thursday showed that he sprained the MCL ligament, an injury that typically takes at least four weeks or more to heal.

That means if Miami wins Friday, it still won’t have Butler for a Round 1 playoff matchup with the Boston Celtics — a daunting matchup even if Butler was healthy. Boston, the top playoff overall seed, finished 18 games ahead of Miami and went 3-0 against the Heat in the regular season.

“We will do this the hard way,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said in Philadelphia on Wednesday night, when Butler played most of the game after getting hurt and Miami lost 105-104 — missing out on a chance to be the No. 7 seed in the East. “That has to be the path right now.”

The path gets much harder now for the reigning Eastern Conference champions.

Butler was injured in the first quarter of the game in Philadelphia, grabbing at the knee in obvious pain and limping throughout the remainder of the contest — but staying in the game most of the way. He played 40 minutes, finishing with 19 points, four rebounds, five assists and five steals.

His mobility appeared to get worse as the game went along, and Spoelstra said postgame that Butler’s knee kept getting stiffer and stiffer. Butler was 2 for 4 from the floor when he got hurt — then just 3 for 14 in the remainder of the game.

“I thought the adrenaline would kick back in and I’d be able to move,” Butler said after the game. “And it just wasn’t the case. I wasn’t able to do anything on either side of the ball and I think I hurt us more than I helped us, actually.”

Butler’s absence on Friday will only add to serious injury issues for the Heat.

Miami has been without starting point guard Terry Rozier for two weeks because of a neck injury, and will play without him again on Friday. Shooting guard Duncan Robinson has missed 10 of Miami’s last 15 games with a back problem, and in the five games he did play in that stretch he was clearly affected — shooting only 6 for 26 (23%) from 3-point range. For his career, he’s a 40% shooter from beyond the arc.

“We’ve had experience with that,” Heat center Bam Adebayo said of playing shorthanded. “The biggest thing for us is to rally around each other and get the W.”

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Ryan Pepiot allowed one run and three hits in six strong innings, Amed Rosario hit an RBI triple in Tampa Bay’s two-run first and the Rays beat the Los Angeles Angels 2-1 on Thursday to split their four-game series.

Pepiot (2-2) struck out seven and walked three after having some stomach issues before the game. He was acquired in a trade in which Rays ace Tyler Glasnow was dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“Pretty strong performance,” Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said. “I didn’t think he felt that well going into the game. It’s amazing how sometimes people find out they got that extra gear. He certainly pushed it.”

Pepiot felt physically fine on the mound, but a little tired.

“I was going to take the ball no matter what,” he insisted.

Colin Poche, the third Rays reliever, worked out of a jam with two on and two outs in the ninth for his second save in three chances. Struggling closer Pete Fairbanks, who has a 9.00 ERA, pitched in the previous two games.

Rosario extended his hitting streak to 10 games with his RBI triple that made it 1-0 in the Rays’ opening inning against Griffin Canning (0-3). He has nine RBIs over the stretch.

Harold Ramírez’s sacrifice fly to right drove in Rosario to make it 2-0.

The Angels got within 2-1 in the sixth when Mike Trout walked, stole second and third and scored on Miguel Sanó’s sacrifice fly. Trout has five steals this year after having just a combined six over the previous four seasons. It was his 23rd multisteal game, and first since July 23, 2018.

“That’s what he does,” Angels manager Ron Washington said. “That’s a part of his game. It’s a part of his skill set. It doesn’t always have to be where you hit balls out of the ballpark.”

Canning allowed two runs and four hits over 5 1/3 innings. His ERA decreased to 8.05 from 9.88.

Cash said before the game he is sticking with Fairbanks (0-2, 9.00 ERA) as his closer. The right-hander allowed five consecutive batters to reach in blowing a save Wednesday night and has given up eight runs — seven earned — in eight games.

“I’m confident he’s going to right himself and we’re going to be appreciating giving him the ball with one-run leads here soon,” Cash said.

Slumping 2023 AL All-Star Randy Arozarena was out of the Rays’ starting lineup and popped out as pinch hitter in the eighth. The Rays left fielder hit .127 (7 for 55) with no homers and three RBIs in his previous 14 games.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Rays: OF Josh Lowe, sidelined since the start of the season with a right oblique strain, is starting a minor league rehab assignment with Triple-A Durham. He hit .292 with 20 homers, 83 RBIs, and stole 32 bases last season.

UP NEXT

Angels: LHP Tyler Alexander (2-1, 1.47 ERA) will start Friday night at Cincinnati.

Rays: Will face New York Yankees RHP Clarke Schmidt (1-0, 3.68 ERA) on Friday night. Tampa Bay had not announced its starter.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — The Arizona Coyotes are officially headed to Salt Lake City.

The NHL Board of Governors voted unanimously Thursday to approve a $1.2 billion sale from Alex Meruelo to Utah Jazz owners Ryan and Ashley Smith, clearing the way for the franchise’s move to Utah next season.

The deal includes a provision for Arizona to get an expansion team if a new arena is built within the next five years. The deal will be facilitated through the NHL, with $200 million going to league owners as a relocation fee.

“We expressed our interest publicly with the NHL,” Ryan Smith told The Associated Press. “It’s probably been two years where we’ve said, ‘Hey, look, we really believe Utah can be an incredible hockey town.’ You look at all the demographics, we were just talking about the Olympics and you think about the Olympics coming back. It all kind of made sense.”

Smith will take over the franchise’s hockey operations and Meruelo will maintain his business operations in Arizona in an effort to secure and develop a tract of land for a new arena in north Phoenix.

Meruelo also retains ownership of the Tucson Roadrunners, the franchise’s AHL affiliate, and hopes to move them to Mullett Arena, the Coyotes’ temporary home shared with Arizona State University the past two seasons. He plans to pay back the $1 billion once an expansion team is approved.

“The NHL’s belief in Arizona has never wavered,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement. “We thank Alex Meruelo for his commitment to the franchise and Arizona, and we fully support his ongoing efforts to secure a new home in the desert for the Coyotes. We also want to acknowledge the loyal hockey fans of Arizona, who have supported their team with dedication for nearly three decades while growing the game.”

Meruelo will retain the Coyotes’ name, logo and trademark, so Smith’s group will have to rename the team. The team will play at Delta Center, home of the Jazz, until a new arena can be built.

“We’ll start with Utah on the jersey and we’ll figure out the logo and everything else, and what it is that we are, but that’s a one-way door,” Smith said. “You’ve got to do it once. And with this timeline, I think both the league feels better and we feel better to just run the process and then we’ll drop it when we drop it.”

The sale ends the Coyotes’ long-running bid to find a permanent home.

The franchise shared an arena with the NBA’s Phoenix Suns after relocating from Winnipeg, moved to Glendale and ended up at Mullett Arena when the city of Glendale backed out of a lease agreement.

Meruelo had been adamant about not wanting to sell the team despite receiving numerous offers since buying the team in 2019. When an auction for the land in north Phoenix got pushed back to June, the Coyotes had no guarantee a deal for a new arena would go through.

With the NHL and players’ association hesitant for the Coyotes to play at 5,000-seat Mullett Arena for a third season, Meruelo opted to sell the team, his focus shifting to the new arena and expansion team.

“I agree with Commissioner Gary Bettman and the National Hockey League, that it is simply unfair to continue to have our players, coaches, hockey front office, and the NHL teams they compete against, spend several more years playing in an arena that is not suited for NHL hockey,” Meruelo said in a statement. “But this is not the end for NHL hockey in Arizona. I have negotiated the right to reactivate the team within the next five years, and have retained ownership of the beloved Coyotes name, brand and logo. I remain committed to this community and to building a first-class sports arena and entertainment district without seeking financial support from the public.”

The Coyotes played their final game in Arizona on Wednesday night, a 5-2 win over the playoff-bound Edmonton Oilers. The players celebrated on the ice with team personnel and a few handed their sticks over the glass to fans, who chanted “We love you Coy-otes!”

“It’s tough to take it all in,” Coyotes rookie forward Logan Cooley said. “A lot of noise, a lot of personal stuff and obviously the organization, you hear you’re going one spot then you’re going to the next spot. We’ve done a good job in this locker room focusing on keeping out the noise and getting better as a team, striving to be the team we want to be one day.”

Officials from Salt Lake City and the city’s 2034 Olympic bid supported Smith’s attempt to bring hockey to Utah, giving the state two major professional franchises.

“This announcement is about more than bringing an NHL team to Salt Lake City — it’s a defining moment in our trajectory, becoming a catalyst for a positive vision that integrates community, connection, and more possibilities for families, residents, and visitors to experience our capital city,” Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall said in a statement. “I’m thankful for the close partnership with Ryan & Ashley Smith, and the entire SEG team. This is the beginning of a new era that will generate exciting opportunities for our communities, amplify pride and unlock new potential in our downtown core.”

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AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno contributed to this story.

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AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL

General manager Don Waddell likes how his Carolina Hurricanes finished the season, winning 16 of their final 21 games. He knows it means nothing now.

“Your points get erased and you all start with zeroes,” Waddell said. “Playoffs are a different time. That’s what’s great about the NHL. Once you get to the playoffs, it’s wide open.”

This year more than many in the recent past.

Unlike last year, when Boston broke league records for the most wins and points in a season, there is no clear favorite to hoist the Stanley Cup. Carolina, Florida, defending champion Vegas, Dallas, Winnipeg, Edmonton and the league-best New York Rangers are among the many contenders who could be the last team standing in June.

“I don’t think there’s that separation,” former player-turned-TNT analyst Ed Olczyk said. “I think that there is eight or nine or 10 teams that I really feel could win the Stanley Cup.”

Carolina, which opens against the New York Islanders, are 13-2 Cup favorites, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, followed by Florida (7-1), Dallas (15-2), Colorado, Edmonton and the Rangers (all 8-1), Boston (11-1), Vegas (12-1 to repeat) and Toronto (14-1). The Canucks and Jets are listed at 15-1. and 2020- 21 Cup-winning Tampa Bay is 25-1, even with top goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy rounding back into form.

“He’s at his best when the games are on the line, and we look for that once again this year,” 2020 playoff MVP Victor Hedman said. “It’s obviously so fun to have the best goalie in the world behind you when the playoffs start.”

The conversation starts with the Rangers, who won the Presidents’ Trophy, have home-ice advantage throughout the postseason and open Sunday against eighth-seeded Washington. Igor Shesterkin, like Vasilevskiy, has won the Vezina as the league’s best goalie, and this season winger Artemi Panarin has been one of the most productive and valuable players on any team.

What could set New York apart? Maybe its depth, which comes in handy in the playoffs when unlikely players become heroes.

“It might not be the headliners — it might be somebody you go, this guy just got four goals in a series and that was the turning point,” said former player Ray Ferraro, now an ESPN analyst.” You know who I think of? It could be Kaapo Kakko. It could be a guy like that, who had a trying year.”

Or, Ferraro wondered, it could be someone like Boston’s Jake DeBrusk. The Bruins are a year removed from being stunned by Florida in the first round after their record-setting season and begin their redemption tour Saturday against Toronto.

Coach Jim Montgomery hopes his team learned “how to handle adversity when it smacks you in the face. … We know there’s a way we need to look on the ice and what we should look like, to ourselves most importantly. And when we look like that, we think we can play with anyone in the league.”

The East is no cakewalk. As Lightning coach Jon Cooper pointed out ahead of his team’s first-round series against the cross-state Panthers, more than a decade on the job has led to just two championships.

“That’s a lot of times not being able to get through the gauntlet,” Cooper said. “It’s hard. It’s really hard to do.”

The West has what Ferraro called a “beast” of a first round. Among the intriguing matchups are Winnipeg vs. Colorado and Vancouver opening against Nashville. Dallas finished first in the conference, but are the Stars the team to beat?

“I think five out of the eight are contenders for the Cup that are legitimate that could win,” said former defenseman Jason Demers, now an NHL Network analyst. “It really is going to come down to a matchup that you get in the first round to get the ball rolling and then whoever stays the healthiest.”

The top-seeded Stars, who open against either Vegas or Los Angeles, will try to outrace opponents to the Cup, using their speed and skill and relying on Jake Oettinger and a stacked blue line behind an elite group of forwards. But they know it won’t be easy.

“It’s going to be a hard run to get through everything,” winger Mason Marchment said. “It’ll be exciting, but I think we’ll be ready for it.”

Reigning and three-time MVP Connor McDavid could put the Oilers on his back and carry them through the playoffs like Nathan MacKinnon did when the Avalanche won the Cup in 2022. A lot will depend on Edmonton goalie Stuart Skinner.

With a first-round matchup against the Golden Knights or Kings, Demers said “Edmonton just needs to exorcise those demons.”

So do the Jets, who haven’t made it to the West final since 2018. Winnipeg has this season’s best goaltender in Connor Hellebuyck and a big, tough lineup full of players who can also score but think first about their end of the ice.

“Defend first,” assistant coach Scott Arniel said. “We don’t give teams very much time and space to do anything, and we grind people out and we kind of frustrate them by kind of smothering them to death.”

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AP Sports Writers Pat Graham in Denver and Stephen Hawkins in Frisco, Texas, contributed

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

By Frank Pingue

(Reuters) -The National Hockey League’s Board of Governors have approved the sale and relocation of the Arizona Coyotes to Utah starting with the 2024-25 season, the league said on Thursday.

The deal includes a clause that could ultimately see Arizona get an expansion team if a state-of-the-art facility appropriate for an NHL team is constructed within five years.

The Utah team will be owned and controlled by Smith Entertainment Group — the parent company of the NBA’s Utah Jazz — which is led by Ryan and Ashley Smith.

“As everyone knows, Utah is a vibrant and thriving state, and we are thrilled to be a part of it,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a news release.

“We are also delighted to welcome Ashley and Ryan Smith to the NHL family and know they will be great stewards of the game in Utah.

“We thank them for working so collaboratively with the League to resolve a complex situation in this unprecedented and beneficial way.”

Effective at closing, the approved transactions will result in the Coyotes’ franchise transferring their existing hockey assets – including its roster of players and draft picks and its hockey operations department – to the Utah franchise.

“We are committed to building a Stanley Cup contending team and are thrilled to welcome incredible players, coaches, staff, and their families to Utah,” the Smiths said.

“Today is a great day for Utah, for hockey, and for building a legacy that will have a lasting impact for generations to come.”

The Coyotes franchise had a tumultuous tenure in Arizona since relocating to Phoenix from Winnipeg in 1996 and then to nearby Glendale in 2003 and faced plenty of struggles on the ice and at the gate and an inability to secure an NHL-caliber arena.

Former team owner Jerry Moyes took the team into bankruptcy in 2009, prompting the NHL to operate the franchise for four years, and in 2021 Glendale terminated the Coyotes’ year-to-year lease for the city-owned Gila River Arena they had called home.

Amid a struggle to find a permanent home, the Coyotes played the last two seasons in a rink on the campus of Arizona State University that was not suited for NHL hockey and only had a capacity of about 4,600 for games.

In addition to the Utah franchise, the Board approved a plan that renders the Coyotes franchise inactive, with a right to reactivate if owner Alex Meruelo can have a new arena ready within five years.

“This is not the end for NHL hockey in Arizona,” said Meruelo. “I have negotiated the right to reactivate the team within the next five years, and have retained ownership of the beloved Coyotes name, brand and logo.

“I remain committed to this community and to building a first-class sports arena and entertainment district without seeking financial support from the public.”

(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, editing by Pritha Sarkar)

AJ Simon, a defensive lineman from the University at Albany who was hoping to be drafted into the NFL next week, died at age 25, the school confirmed Wednesday.

Simon played four seasons of football at the FCS level — two at Bloomsburg (2018, 2021) and two at Albany. The native of Pennsylvania had 12.5 sacks for Albany in 2023 and was named to the All-CAA first team.

A cause of death was not released.

“The UAlbany football program was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of former student-athlete Amitral ‘AJ’ Simon this morning,” the team said in a statement. “AJ was a tremendous young man and even better teammate throughout his time at UAlbany. He was a role model both on and off the field, serving as a pillar to this program over the last two years. He will be profoundly missed.”

Albany coach Greg Gattuso posted on X, formerly Twitter, that he spent two “joyous” years getting to know Simon as a coach and friend.

“My prayers are dedicated to the Simon family,” Gattuso wrote. “I love you AJ and will always have a special place in my heart for #8.”

Simon had taken a pre-draft visit to the New England Patriots, NBC Sports reported.

–Field Level Media