The Winnipeg Jets finally sent Connor Hellebuyck away, Brady Tkachuk made his return to Ottawa, the World Series is under way, the NBA is back, and more NFL news.
Whiskey’s Garage
Sports Talk
Volume 21
25/10/2026
The Hellebuyck Situation Finally Ends
NHL
The Connor Hellebuyck situation in Winnipeg finally got settled, and Hellebuyck is now a New Jersey Devil. After months of back-and-forth talks, suspensions, and more, the Winnipeg Jets sent Hellebuyck to the Devils in exchange for Alexander Command (C), Dawson Mercer (C/W), Nick Bjugstad (C), Nico Daws (G), a 2029 2nd-round pick, and a 2027 7th-round pick. Command was drafted 12th overall by the Devils at this past year's draft. He is currently playing in the Swedish Hockey League. In my opinion, this is a pretty good return for a 33-year-old Hellebuyck. Many are speculating that the Devils are going to be acquiring more Team USA players in the near future. Dylan Larkin, who has requested a trade out of Detroit, recently expanded his trade list to 10 teams, including the New Jersey Devils. Two out of three Hughes brothers also play on the Devils already, Luke and Jack, with many expecting Quinn Hughes to join them there after his current contract expires at the end of this season. While it is all speculation, a lot of moves are aligning for this to become actual reality.
Brady Tkachuk made his return to Ottawa this past week as the Panthers took on the Senators, and it was wildly entertaining. Senators fans gave him exactly what we expected, with a multitude of chants throughout the game, loud cheers when he got hit, and of course, people wearing masks of Sloth from The Goonies right at ice level *(view bottom of page). The Senators ended up stomping the Panthers, 5-1, and Brady Tkachuk was the sole scorer for the Panthers. Although Tkachuk and many of the Senators' players went out for dinner together the night before, on Wednesday night it seemed like they were all arch enemies. It’s hard to know whether there is true hatred there, or if it’s just old friends going at each other. Either way, it made for an entertaining night of hockey, and I’m sure it felt good for Brady to get that done and over with.
NFL
Sam LaPorta, All-Pro tight end for the Detroit Lions recently made some headlines in the NFL after his comments made on a podcast. LaPorta’s rookie contract is up at the end of this season, and the Lions still haven’t reached a contract extension agreement with the tight end. It appears the Iowa alum is growing frustrated with the lack of urgency from the Lions after stating this on the Pardon My Take podcast this past week, “I’m going to continue to do my thing and ball out, and in three months, if I don’t get to wear Honolulu Blue and play for the Lions anymore, it’s going to be all good. I’ll go get paid somewhere else, so whatever.” These comments were a bit surprising, as LaPorta doesn’t generally make comments of this nature. LaPorta has already hauled in 27 receptions for 316 yards and 3 touchdowns this season, and continues to be an integral part of the Lions offence. Sam cleared up his comments in the following days, stating, “I feel bad if there was any sort of distraction to the team or my teammates or the coaches, but I think there was maybe a bit of a misconception with, I guess. My intentions are I want to play for this team.” LaPorta also went on to say "I guess I wouldn't expect anybody else to really even care, but emotionally for me and my family, it's an important thing for us. We want to have stability. We're excited, in the coming months, we're gonna have our first kid, me and my wife. We're gonna welcome our baby girl into the world in Metro Detroit. We want to be here with the Lions. I guess I'm getting emotional about it, but in the grand scheme of things, it's really a business. And you have to respect what the front office is doing because they're the ones calling the shots. They're the ones that brought me in. This is my first team. They've been nothing but supportive of me and my career." Contract talks between the Lions and LaPorta are currently stalled after he and the team couldn’t reach an agreement, and we’ll have to see if they ever get a deal done.
In other news, the Chicago Bears took down the New England Patriots 30-24 on Thursday Night Football this past week, snapping the Pats 3-game winning streak. Caleb Williams is looking back to himself, rushing 5 times for 18 yards and throwing 22/33 for 308 yards, 2 TDs, and no interceptions. Drake Maye played well again, throwing for 24/31 for 321 yards, 2 TDs, and 1 interception. The Bears move to 5-2 and head to Seattle for their next matchup, taking on the Seahawks on Monday Night Football, November 2nd, while the Patriots move to 4-3 and head to Miami to take on the Dolphins on Sunday, November 1st.
Monday Night Football tomorrow features an NFC East matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys, who both sit at 2-4 on the season. The Eagles will be without QB Jalen Hurts for the remainder of the season due to the blood clot situation, so Tanner McKee will be in at quarterback. They will also be missing WR DeVonta Smith and WR Dontayvion Wicks, who are both out due to injury. On the bright side for Eagles fans, Saquon Barkley is expected to be back in the lineup for the first time since suffering a hamstring injury in week 4 and missing the past 2 games. It’s been a tough start to the season for Philadelphia, but we will see what they can manage with this thrown-together lineup they have to work with. Their schedule isn’t the most difficult the next few weeks, facing the Washington Commanders, New York Giants, and then a Pennsylvania battle against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but the outcomes of those games will heavily depend on the status of these injuries that have plagued them.
MLB
The World Series is off to an exciting start, with the Milwaukee Brewers taking games 1 and 2 at home. Game 1 was a 3-2 win, holding off the Rays with solid pitching from the probable future Cy Young winner Jacob Misiorowski. Game 2 was a comeback win after the Rays scored 4 runs in the top of the 1st inning. The Brewers held the Rays scoreless the rest of the game, and only allowed 4 hits. The Brewers clawed back, scoring 2 themselves in the bottom of the 1st, and tacking on 1 more in each of the 4th, 6th, and 7th innings. William Contreras continues to stay hot at the plate for the Brewers, batting a whopping .394 this postseason with 7 RBIs and 3 Home Runs. Contreras posted 2 hits and an RBI in each of the first 2 games this World Series. For the Brewers, left-hander Robert Gasser is scheduled to start game 3, and for the Rays, Right-hander Freddy Peralta will take the mound. The series now shifts to Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay, Florida, for the next 2 games, where the Brewers will look to pull off another sweep, and the Rays will try to battle back and even the series. Game 3 takes place Monday, October 26th, at 5:00 PM PST.
NBA
Basketball is back with the NBA opening night tipping off this past week. The Boston Celtics hosted the Detroit Pistons, the San Antonio Spurs hosted the Oklahoma City Thunder, and last season's champions, the New York Knicks, hosted LeBron James and his new team, the Philadelphia 76ers. The Pistons pulled off a comeback win, the Thunder beat the Spurs, and the 76ers spoiled the Knicks' banner night with a 106-100 win. Prior to the game, the New York Knicks hung their 3rd Championship banner, their first in 53 years. They also hung a 2nd surprise banner for winning the NBA Cup (an in-season tournament competition) earlier in the season. Former Knicks legends from the 1970 championship-winning team, most notably Walt “Clyde” Frazier, presented the Knicks players with their championship rings. The Knicks wore clean-looking white home jerseys with gold accents for the occasion, but unfortunately couldn’t pull off the win. All in all, a very special night for the New York Knicks franchise, the players, fans, and the entire city.
The Toronto Raptors are looking good so far, starting the season 2-0, with wins over the Chicago Bulls and the Washington Wizards. Kawhi Leonard is back with the team this season and received a very warm welcome from fans on opening night. Kawhi was Finals MVP during the Raptors' championship season back in 2019, but left the team in that offseason. 7 years later, he has returned to Toronto for his 16th NBA season at 35 years old.
*(I thought this was worthy of including)
