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gstar288 Alex Nylander's stint with the Toronto Maple Leafs has come to an end as he was re-assigned to the minors after clearing waivers to open up a spot for a returning defenseman. With the Toronto Maple Leafs finally getting back to full health, several placeholders are being sent back to the Toronto Marlies. Nikita Grebenkin was re-assigned to the minors last week before being recalled today, and now Alex Nylander has officially been demoted after clearing waivers. The younger of the two Nylander brothers was brought up to the parent club after he signed an NHL contract ahead of their tilt against Utah on Nov. 24. Having been brought over as a PTO over the summer and then signed to an AHL contract, Nylander needed a standard contract with the Leafs in injury shambles. Unfortunately, Nylander wasn't able to take advantage of the opportunity as he went without a point in five games, held a minus-1 rating, and averaged just 9:53 TOI. With the Marlies, he posted eight goals and 12 points in 14 contests and is expected to reprise his role in the top six upon his return. Nylander was placed on waivers yesterday and went unclaimed, with news that Jake McCabe was ready to be activated off the IR. In correlation to his waiver placement, the Leafs also placed Dakota Mermis on waivers, but he was plucked by Utah before ever playing a game in Toronto. McCabe is expected to make his return to the lineup for the first time since Nov. 30. In 23 contests, McCabe has 5 assists, a plus-11 rating, and has averaged 21:20 TOI in a pivotal top-4 role for the Maple Leafs. McCabe was seen skating with Chris Tanev on the top pair during Thursday's practice, which indicates that one of the NHL's top shutdown pairings will resume their duties next to one another. This article first appeared on Maple Leafs Daily and was syndicated with permission.

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A proposed deal that would see three tobacco giants pay out billions to provinces and territories, as well as smokers across Canada, has been approved by the companies' creditors, a lawyer representing some of the creditors said Thursday, calling it an important milestone in a lengthy legal saga. The proposed $32.5-billion global settlement between the companies — JTI-Macdonald Corp., Rothmans, Benson & Hedges and Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd. — and their creditors was announced in October after more than five years of negotiations. Representatives for the creditors, which include provincial governments seeking to recover smoking-related health-care costs as well as plaintiffs in two Quebec class-action lawsuits, voted on the plan in a virtual meeting Thursday afternoon. André Lespérance, who represents plaintiffs in one of the Quebec lawsuits, said creditors overwhelmingly supported the proposal. "We're not surprised, but we're glad the creditors are united right now to see this plan approved," he said in French. Before the plan can be implemented, it must obtain the approval of the court. A hearing has been scheduled for the end of January, and Lespérance said he's optimistic the proposed deal will clear that hurdle as well. "I think we're really close to the end," he said. Dominique Claveau, executive director of the Quebec Council on Tobacco and Health, which is part of the lawsuit, said they look forward to having the court "bring this long-fought battle for justice and truth to its conclusion." At least one of the companies has said it opposes the plan in its current form. The proposed deal includes $24 billion for provinces and territories, $4 billion for tens of thousands of Quebec smokers and their heirs, and more than $2.5 billion for smokers in other provinces and territories. It also includes more than $1 billion for a foundation to help those affected by tobacco-related diseases. The Canadian Cancer Society, which is a social stakeholder in the case, said Thursday it hopes the proposal will be amended before it's approved by the court. Rob Cunningham, the organization's lawyer, said the plan should include smoking-reduction measures and the release of confidential industry documents, similar to what was achieved in the United States decades ago. "There's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to better control the tobacco industry and to reduce tobacco use. We're never going to get this chance again," he said. The foundation funded through the proposed deal should also have its mandate expanded to include prevention of tobacco-related disease and public awareness efforts to help people quit smoking, said Manuel Arango, vice-president of policy and advocacy for Heart & Stroke. "We already have a lot of studies and a lot of knowledge about the treatment of tobacco-related disease," he said. "So it's really about looking forward and helping prevent tobacco-related disease in the future." The proposal is the culmination of a corporate restructuring process set off by a decades-long legal battle over the health effects of smoking. In 2015, a Quebec court ordered the three companies to pay about $15 billion in two class-action lawsuits involving smokers in the province who took up the habit between 1950 and 1998 and either fell ill or were addicted, or their heirs. Four years later, the landmark ruling was upheld by the province's Appeal Court. The companies then sought creditor protection in Ontario in order to negotiate a global settlement with their creditors. All of the legal proceedings against them were put on hold during the talks. That order has now been extended until Jan. 31, 2025. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 12, 2024. Paola Loriggio, The Canadian PressLOS ANGELES — Until he sustained a season-ending knee injury last week in the Western Conference final, Galaxy playmaker Riqui Puig was having a tremendous season. So I heard. I watched Puig play only twice this year, once in the Galaxy's season-opening 1-1 draw with Inter Miami and a second time in his team's Fourth of July defeat to LAFC at the Rose Bowl. Outside of short highlight clips on social media, I never saw the former Barcelona prospect, not even when he assisted on the goal that sent the Galaxy to the MLS Cup final. That wasn't a reflection of my interest. Some of my friends will make fun of me for publicly admitting this, but I like Major League Soccer. I covered the league in my first job out of college and have casually kept up with it since. I take my children to a couple of games a year. My 11-year-old son owns Galaxy and LAFC hats but no Dodgers or Lakers merchandise. When flipping through channels in the past, if presented with the choice of, say, college football or MLS, I usually watched MLS. But not this year. While the MLS Cup final between the Galaxy and New York Red Bulls will be shown on Fox and Fox Deportes, the majority of games are now exclusively behind a paywall, courtesy of the league's broadcasting deal with Apple. MLS Season Pass subscriptions were reasonably priced — $79 for the entire season for Apple TV+ subscribers, $99 for non-subscribers — but I was already paying for DirecTV Stream, Netflix, Amazon Prime, PlayStation Plus and who knows what else. MLS became a casualty in my household, as well as in many others, and the possibility of being out of sight and out of mind should be a concern for a league that is looking to expand its audience. Which isn't to say the league made a mistake. This was a gamble MLS had to take. Now in the second year of a 10-year, $2.5 billion deal with Apple, MLS did what Major League Baseball is talking about doing, which is to centralize its broadcasting rights and sell them to a digital platform. Regional sports networks have been decimated by cord cutting, making traditional economic models unsustainable. The move to Apple not only increased the league's broadcast revenues — previous deals with ESPN, Fox and Univision were worth a combined $90 million annually, according to multiple reports — but also introduced a measure of uniformity in the league. The quality of the broadcasts are better than they were under regional sports networks. Viewers know where to watch games and when, as every one of them is on Season Pass and most of them are scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. local time either on Wednesday or Saturday. "That's been fueling our growth and driving our fan engagement," MLS Commissioner Don Garber said Friday at his annual state of the league address. Apple and MLS declined to reveal the number of League Pass subscribers, but the league provided polling figures that indicated 94% of viewers offered positive or neutral reviews of League Pass. The average viewing time for a game is about 65 minutes for a 90-minute game, according to Garber. In other words, the League Pass is well-liked — by the people who have it. The challenge now is to increase that audience. The launch of League Pass last year coincided with the arrival of Lionel Messi, which presumably resulted in a wave of subscriptions. But the league can't count on the appearance of the next Messi; there is only one of him. MLS pointed to how its fans watch sports on streaming devices or recorded television than any other U.S. sports league, as well as how 71% of its fans are under the age of 45. The league also pointed to how it effectively drew more viewers to the Apple broadcast of Inter Miami's postseason opener with a livestream of a "Messi Cam' on TikTok, indicating further collaborations with wide-reaching entities could be in its future. Garber mentioned how Season Pass is available in other countries. The commissioner also made note of how Apple places games every week in front of its paywall. "What we have, really, is a communication problem," Garber said. "This is new, and we've got to work with Apple, we've got to work with our clubs and we've got to work with our partners to get more exposure to what we think is a great product." The greatest benefit to the league could be Apple's vested interest in improving the on-field product. MLS insiders said Apple has not only encouraged teams to sign more high-profile players but also pushed the league to switch to a fall-to-spring calendar more commonplace in other parts of the world, reasoning that doing so would simplify the process of buying and selling players. The on-field product is what matters. The on-field product is why MLS continues to face competition for viewers from overseas leagues. The on-field product is why the league hasn't succeeded in converting every soccer fan into a MLS fan. And ultimately, if casual viewers such as myself are to pay to watch the Galaxy or LAFC on a screen of some kind, the on-field product will be why. ©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit latimes.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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