Habs pick Slafkovsky No. 1 in draft
The Canadiens selected winger Juraj Slafkovsky with the first pick in the NHL draft Thursday night, making him the first player from Slovakia to be taken No. 1.
While Shane Wright was long considered the front-runner to be the top pick, the Devils surprisingly selected Slovak defenseman and Slafkovsky Olympic teammate Simon Nemec second.
In another surprise, the Coyotes took Logan Cooley third with Wright slipping to the Kraken at No. 4.
Slafkovsky, who turned 18 in March, was named MVP at the Beijing Olympics for leading the tournament with seven goals in seven games.
Nemec and Slafkovsky are the highest-drafted players from Slovakia 22 years after Marian Gaborik went third to the Senators in 2000.
The Canadiens weren’t done making moves in their first home draft since 2009. They traded defenseman Alexander Romanov to the Islanders for the 13th pick and moved that selection and the 66th to the Blackhawks for young forward Kirby Dach.
It was the second dismantling move made Thursday by the Blackhawks, who also traded high-scoring winger Alex DeBrincat to the Senators for three picks.
The Stanley Cup champion Avalanche got the draft-day deals started by acquiring goaltender Alexandar Georgiev from the Rangers for a third- and a fifth-round pick in this draft and a third-rounder next year. The move ensures Cup-winning Darcy Kuemper won’t be returning and will instead hit the open market when free agency opens.
The Penguins re-signed veteran defenseman Kris Letang, 36, to a six-year, $36.6 million contract.
Golf: Alex Cejka birdied two of the final three holes for a 6-under 64 and a two-stroke lead at the Senior Players Championship in Akron, Ohio. The 51-year-old Czech-born German is chasing his third senior major title after winning the Tradition and Senior PGA last year.
WNBA: Sabrina Ionescu had 31 points in the highest-scoring triple-double in WNBA history and tied Candace Parker’s league record of three triple-doubles in the Liberty’s 116-107 victory over the Aces on Wednesday night in Las Vegas. Ionescu also had 13 rebounds and 10 assists. She hit a career-high seven 3-pointers in eight tries.