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SIMMONS SAYS: What McDavid, SGA are doing, Canadian sports fans may never see again

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Article content There is no highlight that can compare Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to the once-in-a-lifetime series-winning goal that Connor McDavid scored on Thursday night in Dallas.

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Article content There is no natural comparison. Part of that comes from the difference in the games they play. Part of that comes from the singular genius that is McDavid. He does what no one else in his game can do. On occasion, he Secretariats the rest of the field. All Gilgeous-Alexander does is score and win, more than anyone else in basketball, purposefully and artistically leading the best team in the NBA, the Oklahoma City Thunder. Now the two young Ontario men, born one year apart in Toronto and Richmond Hill, respectively, are championship bound. McDavid leading the Edmonton Oilers to a second straight Stanley Cup final appearance; SGA leading OKC into its first championship series under this new group of players. What a time this is for Canadian sport — the best Canadian hockey player leading the best Canadian team to a possible championship season and the best Canadian basketball player leading the best NBA team to what looks like a certain title.

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Article content Steve Nash never played for the NBA championship. McDavid has never won a Stanley Cup. This could — and should — be the year for McDavid’s Oilers and certainly for Gilgeous-Alexander’s Thunder. And that should link their names together, because nothing like this has ever happened simultaneously before. Pretty much everybody in Canada knows McDavid’s name. He’s all over television. He’s everywhere you look. The same isn’t true for Gilgeous-Alexander: Sometimes, I mention his name in conversation — after all he has accomplished — and still get blank looks from friends. Part of that is because the NHL tramples on the NBA on Canadian television. But this isn’t a time to divide. It’s a time to appreciate. This has never happened before in our lives, should Oke City and Edmonton come away with championships at the very same time. That would be sweet.

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Article content And it may never happen again. THIS AND THAT One of the teams eyeing Mitch Marner in free agency is the Vegas Golden Knights, which doesn’t have enough cap room to sign the Maple Leafs’ free agent come July. That has never stopped the Golden Knights from getting what they want in the past. They found a way to Alex Pietrangelo. They found a way to Jack Eichel. They found a way to win a Stanley Cup. Vegas has just more than $10 million to spend. It is going to take much more than that in order to sign Marner … One odd juxtaposition: The Leafs, who claim interest in Marner, haven’t won anything with him. Vegas is a go-for-it team every year. It wants Marner because it wants to win. The Leafs quietly figure they can’t win with him and the combination remaining. Somebody is going to be very wrong here in the end … I was with coach Peter DeBoer in my mind when he pulled Jake Oettinger after two goals in Game 5 against Edmonton. But I would have put Oettinger back in net after Dallas came back to make the score 3-2. That might have made a difference. But to follow up pulling Oettinger by bad-mouthing him post- game wasn’t DeBoer’s finest moment … The only thing Dallas doesn’t have is a first-line centre … Oettinger and Connor Hellebuyck are supposed to battle for the starting spot in goal on Team USA in the upcoming Olympics, but both had dubious playoff runs this year. The third American goalie, Jeremy Swayman, had a tough regular season in Boston but a shutout in the gold-medal game at the world championship. Which means all bets may be off for February … When Canadian teams won eight Stanley Cups from 1984-93 — eight Cups in 10 seasons — all of the starting goaltenders were Canadian: Grant Fuhr four times, Patrick Roy twice, Bill Ranford and Mike Vernon being the others. Now Edmonton has a chance to win with the unflappable Stuart Skinner in goal … If a single Leafs player, including captain Auston Matthews , has publicly commented on the dismissal of team president Brendan Shanahan, I must have missed it … Don’t expect Shanahan to say anything public about his time with the Leafs. He released a water-downed statement when he was let go. He’s not looking to do post-Leafs newspaper or radio interviews. Like Greta Garbo, he wants to be alone … Thought the Buffalo Sabres would have been a perfect stop for Shanahan before they added Jarmo Kekalainen to their front office. The Sabres have some talent. What they need is direction … Not surprised that Leafs’ associate coach Lane Lambert wound up as the head guy in Seattle. Lou Lamoriello raved about the job Lambert did as both an assistant and head coach with the Islanders. He said it wouldn’t be long before he gets another head coaching opportunity … After Pat Quinn stopped coaching in the NHL, he told me that one of his largest regrets was how hard he was on officials. He would have liked to have a do-over in that area. I thought of that watching Rod Brind’Amour in the final game against Florida, screaming from the Carolina bench. I wish Brind’Amour could have a conversation with the late Quinn.

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Article content HEAR AND THERE Department of Rather Small Thinking: Attributing the success of the Panthers to the notion that Florida has no state tax, as some have done, is an insult to the work of general manager Bill Zito. In five years on the job Zito has traded for Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett, Sam Reinhart, Eetu Luostarinen, Seth Jones and Brad Marchand, and claimed Gustav Forsling off waivers. That is spectacular work. He did all of that after inheriting Sergei Bobrovsky, Sasha Barkov, Aaron Ekblad, Anton Lundell and the players he eventually traded away. Zito also made terrific small signings such as Niko Mikkola, Evan Rodrigues and Carter Verhaeghe (who have all turned into a big signings). And he hired coach Paul Maurice. That’s as good a five-year run as any GM has ever had … What doesn’t get mentioned often: The team Florida beat out to originally sign Verhaeghe was the Leafs … Word out of Florida is that free agent Bennett would like to remain a Panther and they would like to keep him if the dollars work out. Also, word out of Florida is that the Panthers don’t have a whole lot of interest in re-signing the veteran defenceman Ekblad … If Bennett is available, the Maple Leafs will be among those bidding for the centre from Holland Landing. He’s the perfect fit, price aside, for the DNA roster switch the Leafs are attempting … Leafs apparently have no interest in Ekblad … If Bennett is unavailable in free agency, expect Treliving to be an active trader this summer … Should Bennett leave Florida, the returning to the NHL Jonathan Toews would be a perfect fit for the Panthers. Few players comprehend winning the way Toews does. And if you slide Lundell up to second-line centre — and he’s capable of that — Toews would be an ideal third-line fit for Florida … Where wouldn’t Toews fit, depending on the kind of contract he’s asking for? He would probably fit in perfectly in Vegas, in Colorado, in Dallas, Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, Vancouver: We could go on … Toews has won three Stanley Cups, two Olympic gold medals, two world junior titles … Another fit for Toews: Anaheim, where former Chicago head coach Joel Quenneville has landed … Lane Hutson of the Habs, drafted 62nd overall in 2022, is the likely winner of the Calder Trophy as NHL’s rookie of the year. He’s just the latest high-end defenceman improperly identified by the NHL scouting fraternity. You can add Hutson to the list of misdiagnosed wonderful blue-liners such as Shea Weber (drafted at 49), Duncan Keith (54), Chris Chelios (46), P.K. Subban (43), Nick Lidstrom (53) and Adam Fox (66) … When Dave Hodge began hosting at Hockey Night in Canada, Darryl Reaugh was playing minor hockey in British Columbia. Hodge was at HNIC for 16 fine seasons, and later moved on for two decades of hockey broadcasting at TSN. So, how do NHL broadcasting voters explain the annual passing of Hodge, Ron MacLean, James Duthie and the late Don Wittman — four of the best of all time — for a team broadcaster such as Reaugh, who came after most of them.

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Article content SCENE AND HEARD This is the stuff of baseball dreams: Aaron Judge vs. Shohei Ohtani, Yankees vs. Dodgers, on a weekend series at Dodger Stadium. Judge hit a home run in the first inning on Friday night. Ohtani followed up with a home run in the bottom of the first. Then, just to make it more fun, Ohtani hit a second one … The past four MVPs in the American League: Judge, Ohtani, Judge and Ohtani. The most recent NL MVP: Ohtani … There would be nothing wrong with the Blue Jays offence if it had a schedule with more games against the West Sacramento Athletics … Go figure the Blue Jays. They sweep the San Diego Padres at home then get swept in Tampa Bay by the Rays … Anthony Santander’s month of May: 70 at-bats, 24 strikeouts, one double, two home runs, a batting average of .186 and an OPS of .582. That is beyond atrocious for the first-year Blue Jay … More interesting Canadian news: If Indiana gets to the NBA Finals, there will be two Montrealers playing head-to-head in the final. Lu Dort for OKC, Ben Mathurin for the Pacers. I don’t think that’s ever happened before … What many don’t seem to understand about offer sheets in the NHL: All a player has to say is no, not interested, and the offer goes away … Should the Jays make a move in the AL East, that game-winning Bo Bichette home run in the series finale at Texas might be the team’s most important hit of this wonky season … Congratulations to old friend and colleague Francois Gagnon, who got Hall of Fame recognition in the writers category, by being named winner of the Elmer Ferguson Award. Anyone who has been around hockey long enough is well aware of Gagnon’s work out of Montreal, his passion for the sport, his insider knowledge, his dogged work ethic. Gagnon is pure Hall of Famer, in the arena and out … When Team USA won gold at the world hockey championship, I found myself thinking about the late trio of Bob Johnson, Art Berglund and Herb Brooks, how much they did for American hockey and how happy this win would have made them.

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Article content AND ANOTHER THING Two things were obvious near the end of the sexual exploitation trial of hockey’s David Frost in 2008. One, he was clearly guilty in the court of public opinion. Two, he was found not guilty by the presiding judge. Too many witnesses lied in the trial. Too many didn’t hold up under cross examination. And too many conveniently changed their stories. For legal purposes, there was far too much doubt to find Frost guilty. There was also a mismatch in court between the defence attorney and the lead prosecuting attorney. And now, some of this seems to be repeating itself in a court room in London, Ont., where five former Team Canada junior players currently stand trial for sexual assault. Don’t know what the verdict will be for the any of the accused players. The daily reports, though, remind me so much of the terribly frustrating trial of the junior hockey mogul Frost, where discovering the truth became a challenge all its own … When he was Blackhawks GM, Stan Bowman brought in puck-moving defencemen at the bottom of his roster late to bolster his team. He won Stanley Cups with Kimmo Timonen and Michal Rozsival. He’s getting nice play now from the unlikely John Klingberg, who looked like he was finished when he tried to play for the Leafs … Big props to Victoria Mboko, the local tennis kid who had an impressive first major appearance at the French Open. There’s nothing quite like Roland Garros in Paris for atmosphere. This tournament, she will remember forever … Happy birthday to Joe Namath (82), Paul Coffey (64), Iga Swiatek (24), Erik Karlsson (35), Roman Josi (35), Jim Craig (68), Kenny Lofton (58), Nikki Glaser (42), Jake (The Snake) Roberts (70) and Dave Roberts (53) … And hey, whatever became of Gizmo Williams?

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