Minnesota inks Foligno on eve of camp
The Minnesota Wild have agreed to terms with restricted free agent left winger Marcus Foligno on a four-year, $11.5 million contract.
The Wild announced the deal yesterday, the day before they take the ice for the start of training camp. Foligno will make $2 million this season, $3 million in 2018-19, $3.5 million in 2019-20 and $3 million in 2020-21 for an average annual value of $2.875 million.
The 26-year-old Foligno was acquired June 30 in a four-player, two-draft pick trade with Buffalo. He had a career-high 13 goals and 57 blocked shots last season for the Sabres while ranking fifth in the NHL with 279 hits, also a career best . ...
Winnipeg Jets forward Bryan Little agreed to a six-year contract extension. The deal has an average annual value of 5.29 million, starting next season. The 29-year-old Little had 21 goals and 26 assists in 59 games for the Jets last season . . . .
Forward Matt Duchene says he arrived for the start of the Colorado Avalanche training camp to honor his contract and out of respect for his teammates even though his future with the team remains murky.
Duchene’s name was floated last season in trade talks, but no deal was struck. General manager Joe Sakic wasn’t able to move Duchene over the offseason.
The 26-year-old Duchene showed up for his physical Thursday. He has two years left on his contract and will make $6 million this season . . . .
Ottawa Senators forward Clarke MacArthur has failed his training camp physical examination. MacArthur sustained a concussion during training camp last year and failed a baseline test in January . . . .
The Toronto Maple Leafs resigned free-agent defenseman Roman Polak to a professional tryout. The 31-year-old Polak is coming off a serious leg injury during the playoffs.
College games shuffled
The American Athletic Conference has juggled its football schedule to make up games involving South Florida, Connecticut, Memphis and Central Florida, which were canceled or postponed as a result of Hurricane Irma. The rescheduling ensures that all 12 teams in the American will play eight conference games.
USF at UConn, originally scheduled for last Saturday, will now be played in Connecticut on Nov. 4. Memphis and UCF will make up a game originally scheduled for Sept. 9 on Sept. 30. To do so, Memphis has canceled its game at Georgia State and UCF will not play a home game scheduled against Maine. The schedules of three other AAC teams also had to be adjusted to allow for the USF-UConn game to be played.
All the maneuvering will likely come with some cost to the conference. Georgia State said, per its contract with Memphis, it will receive $1.1 million in cancellation fees and expenses . . . .
Isaiah Wright, one of the featured players in the first two seasons of the Netflix documentary series “Last Chance U,” was arrested in Tennessee and charged with criminal homicide on Wednesday. Wright was a running back at East Mississippi Community College who was featured in both seasons of the series. According to the Knoxville News-Sentinel, Wright and his older brother Camion D. Patrick were both arrested and charged in the July 25 stabbing death of 18-year-old Caleb Thomas Radford . . . .
ESPN’s “College GameDay” will broadcast from Times Square on Sept. 23, the first time the popular pregame road show travels to New York City.
Misc.: Germany to No. 1
Germany is back at the top of world soccer, taking over from Brazil as No. 1 in the FIFA rankings which will have a greater role deciding how the World Cup groups are drawn. In the September rankings, European champion Portugal rose three places to No. 3, while Argentina fell one to No. 4, and No. 5 Belgium climbed four places . . . .
Conchita Martinez called the Spanish Tennis Federation’s decision to fire her as the Fed Cup and Davis Cup captain as unfair and disrespectful. Martinez lashed out after the federation announced that its board of directors unanimously decided to “make a change in the leadership of its professional teams ... in order to face new challenges in 2018.” . . .
Minnesota Lynx center Sylvia Fowles has been named the WNBA’s most valuable player . . . .
Gary Wadler, one of the strongest voices in the fight against performance-enhancing drugs in sports, has died. He was 78.