The Florida Panthers have acquired forward Nico Sturm and a 2027 seventh-round pick from the San Jose Sharks on Thursday in exchange for a 2026 fourth-round pick.

It was the second trade between the teams in two days. Florida had acquired goaltender Vitek Vanecek from San Jose on Wednesday in exchange for forward Patrick Giles.

Sturm, 29, figured to be the focus of a few calls to the Sharks, as he's in the final season of a three-year contract that carries a $2 million salary cap hit.

After a stint on the injured reserve list with a lower-body issue in February, the 29-year-old Sturm, who has seven goals and six assists this season, seems to be ready for a postseason run with the Panthers.

The steady, 6-foot-3 center from Germany can take up space on the Panthers' fourth line and is a capable penalty-killer who has won 62.7% of his draws this season with the Sharks, the highest total of anyone who has taken part in at least 200 faceoffs.

This will be Sturm's fourth NHL club, after stints with the Sharks, Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild. He has 91 career points (46 goals, 45 assists) and won a Stanley Cup with Colorado during the 2021-22 season.

With top winger Matthew Tkachuk on long-term injury reserve, Florida still has space to potentially add another forward prior to Friday's trade deadline in the aim of becoming the third series of back-to-back champs over the past decade.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Vegas Golden Knights have acquired forward Reilly Smith from the New York Rangers on Thursday in exchange for prospect Brendan Brisson and a third-round draft pick.

Smith played for Vegas previously and was part of their Stanley Cup-winning team in 2023.

On a star-laden New York team that struggled for offense at times, Smith posted decent numbers with 10 goals and 29 points.

Smith, who had 26 goals with the Golden Knights in 2022-23, is skating out the final weeks of a three-year deal he signed with Vegas that carries a hefty $5 million salary cap hit.

New York Red Bulls academy product Astin Mbaye has signed with Italian Serie A giants AC Milan, a source confirmed to ESPN.

The source added that while there is no fee involved, the Red Bulls will receive training compensation from Milan, as specified by FIFA's Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players.

Fabrizio Romano was the first to report Mbaye's move to Milan.

Mbaye, 16, has represented the U.S. at under-15 and level before recently being promoted to the U16 roster.

The young center back possesses a German passport, which allowed him to head over to Europe at age 16 instead of having to wait until he is 18. Mbaye is also eligible to represent Senegal.

The Jersey City, New Jersey, native joins a club that already has two U.S. internationals in its ranks, Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah, though Mbaye will be expected to initially play in Milan's youth setup.

Mbaye is the latest Red Bulls academy product to head overseas, a group that includes Bournemouth midfielder Tyler Adams and Holstein Kiel defender John Tolkin.

The banged-up New Jersey Devils wasted no time filling an area of need just a little more than 24 hours before the NHL trade deadline, as talks pick up around the league and players keep changing places.

New Jersey acquired veteran defenseman Brian Dumoulin from the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday for a second-round pick and the rights to unsigned 19-year-old prospect Herman Traff. The Ducks are retaining half of Dumoulin's salary for the rest of this season and will get the better of the second-rounders between Edmonton's and Winnipeg's in the draft this summer.

Dumoulin, 33, has played 768 regular-season and playoff games in the league. He won the Stanley Cup with Pittsburgh in 2016 and '17 and this season has 16 points while skating just under 20 minutes on average over 61 games with Anaheim.

"Brian was good for us both on and off the ice, and we wish him well in New Jersey," Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek said. "This wasn't an easy decision for us. We do feel this allows more opportunity for our young defensemen, who have proven they can play and succeed at the NHL level."

The Devils' acquisition comes after they learned leading scorer Jack Hughes is done for the season after undergoing shoulder surgery and with No. 1 defenseman Dougie Hamilton also out because of injury. With Hughes joining Jonas Siegenthaler on long-term injured reserve, they can add roughly $10 million worth of players before the deadline, even after getting Dumoulin.

General manager Tom Fitzgerald has any number of options for how to use that space. Getting a high-end forward -- ideally a center -- would help fill the void left by Hughes' absence. Hughes is tied with Carolina's Mikko Rantanen in the league scoring race with 70 points on 27 goals and 43 assists.

Rantanen's future remains the biggest mystery to watch before the 3 p.m. ET deadline Friday. Already traded once this year from Colorado to the Hurricanes in a three-team blockbuster in late January, the 2022 Cup-winning, point-a-game winger in his prime could be on the move again with no guarantee Carolina will be able to sign the pending free agent beyond this season.

Others available include several forwards: the New York Islanders' Brock Nelson, the Penguins' Rickard Rakell, the Philadelphia Flyers' Scott Laughton and the Vancouver Canucks' Brock Boeser.

Wide receiver Deebo Samuel called his departure from San Francisco "bittersweet" but said Washington was always one of his preferred destinations after requesting a trade from the 49ers in part because of quarterback Jayden Daniels.

Samuel, in a 2,136-word essay for The Players' Tribune, reflected on his six seasons with San Francisco and termed his relationship with coach Kyle Shanahan "ridiculous" while also looking forward and saying, "D.C., we coming."

"I got a feeling this season is about to be one of them ones," Samuel wrote.

Samuel said he appreciates where the 49ers sent him and that there's "not a lick of bad blood when it comes to me and that organization. It's always love."

Washington traded a fifth-round pick for Samuel on Saturday; the trade will be official once the new league year begins March 12. Samuel has one year remaining on his contract.

He asked Shanahan for a trade in a meeting with him after the season, saying he told the coach he didn't think he knew how hard it was for him to have this conversation. ESPN's Adam Schefter broke the news on Super Bowl Sunday.

Samuel, a second-round pick in 2019, became a dangerous offensive weapon for San Francisco, capable of big plays as a running back as well. He finished his time in San Francisco with 4,792 receiving yards and 22 touchdowns while running for another 1,143 yards and 20 scores. In his All-Pro season of 2021, Samuel finished with 1,770 yards and 14 touchdowns from scrimmage.

But after a frustrating season in which he finished with 806 yards from scrimmage -- his lowest total since his second year when he played in only seven games -- Samuel wanted out.

"After I talked with Kyle, I talked to [GM] John [Lynch], and he understood where I was coming from and gave me his perspective on everything," Samuel wrote. "We talked about why we thought it was a good move for both of us. And listen, for John and Kyle to send me to a team in the NFC that was almost a Super Bowl contender, it just shows you the type of love and relationship that we have. I know at the end of the day, they didn't have to do that."

Samuel said he liked playing for Shanahan, though the ride was bumpy at times.

"One minute, he wanna knock my head off, and the next he's just going crazy, excited at something I'm doing," he wrote. "I've always felt like he coaches me harder than anybody else because at the end of the day, he knows I ain't no sensitive-ass player."

But Samuel said their relationship was deeper than just a coach-player one.

"Kyle knows damn near everything that I've been through in my life, and I damn near know everything he done been through," Samuel wrote. "It's like that. It's a bond you could never break. So, we talked it out. It was hard, in its own way. But more than anything, I was just proud of the way we both handled it, as men."

Samuel joins a Washington team coming off a loss in the NFC Championship Game at Philadelphia, the furthest the team has gone since the 1991 season. Daniels starred as a rookie quarterback, earning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors and finishing seventh in MVP voting.

Daniels and 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk are best friends from their time together at Arizona State; Samuel said he started watching Daniels when he played at LSU because of Aiyuk. Also, Commanders general manager Adam Peters spent five years as an assistant general manager in San Francisco with Samuel. Washington's run game coordinator, Anthony Lynn, was an assistant head coach/running backs with the 49ers in 2022 and 2023.

"This is one of the best possible fits for me, where I can go in and help a team," Samuel wrote. "When my agent asked me where I wanted to go, this was one of the teams at the top of my list. I knew [Daniels] was going to be a stud. Definitely ready to work with Terry for sure, because we came in the league at the same time. I've heard how hard he grinds. I'm just ready to match the energy and get to it."

Samuel reflected on his journey from playing Pop Warner to his time at the University of South Carolina. He looked back on his two Super Bowl losses with the 49ers and how close the teams were, writing that "our locker room gave college vibes." That's why he labeled his departure bittersweet. He thanked the coaching staff, the cooks and equipment managers, among others.

"When the trade happened I was happy because this is something that I wanted," he wrote. "But as the day went on, my mind just kept fading off to all these damn memories, man."

TAMPA, Fla. -- Yankees pitcher Luis Gil will be sidelined for at least three months because of his lat strain and designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton would have surgery on his elbows only as a last resort, according to general manager Brian Cashman.

Infielder DJ LeMahieu told reporters Thursday that he has a Grade 1 or 2 left calf strain and will be sidelined for several weeks in his fifth straight injury-hampered season.

Gil, the reigning AL Rookie of the Year, cut short a bullpen session last Friday because of tightness in his pitching shoulder, and the 26-year-old right-hander went to New York for an MRI that revealed a high-grade lat strain.

Cashman was quoted as saying the team hoped Gil will return "sometime in the summer."

Gil was 15-7 with a 3.50 ERA in 29 starts last year, striking out 171 and walking a major-league-high 77 in 151 innings. Marcus Stroman likely will replace him in a starting rotation that includes Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Carlos Rodon and Clarke Schmidt.

Stanton said on Feb. 17 after reporting to camp that he had not swung a bat in three or four weeks because of elbow pain. The Yankees said he has been in New York, where he received a second round of platelet-rich plasma injections in both of his elbows.

Cashman said he expected Stanton to return to Tampa by the weekend.

"We'll clearly look forward to getting him back at some point, but obviously in the near term that won't be the case," Cashman said.

Surgery is not yet being contemplated for the 35-year-old designated hitter, a five-time All-Star.

"It'd be a last resort," Cashman said. "I can't rule out a surgery, but I know it's not recommended in the front end of this thing, but obviously if you have a number of different failed attempts, then obviously you start looking at different ways of intervention."

Stanton hit .233 with 27 homers and 72 RBIs while playing 114 games last year, his season interrupted by a strained left hamstring that sidelined him between June 22 and July 29. Stanton batted .273 with seven homers and 16 RBIs in the postseason.

He signed a then-record $325 million, 13-year contract with the Marlins ahead of the 2015 season and had 59 homers and 132 RBIs in 2017, winning the NL MVP award. He was acquired by the Yankees that December and hit 38 homers with 100 RBIs in his first season with New York.

He missed 266 of 708 games over the next five seasons because of a series of injuries that included strains of right biceps, right knee, left hamstring (twice) and left quadriceps along with right ankle inflammation and left leg Achilles tendinitis.

LeMahieu was hurt Saturday in his first spring training game of the year. The 36-year-old ended last season on the injured list because of his right hip. He didn't make his season debut until May 28 after fracturing his right foot on a foul ball in spring training.

Those injuries limited the three-time All-Star and two-time batting champion to just 67 games last season, and he hit a career-worst .204 with just two homers and 26 RBIs.

LeMahieu has two years remaining in a $90 million, six-year contract.

Female tennis players will receive paid maternity leave on the WTA Tour for the first time.

More than 320 players will be eligible for up to 12 months paid leave through a new maternity fund introduced by governing body, the Women's Tennis Association.

Grants will also be made available for fertility treatment.

Players will need to compete in a minimum number of WTA tournaments over a certain period of time to be eligible.

The maternity programme will be fully funded by Saudi Arabias Public Investment Fund (PIF), which is a global partner of the WTA Tour.

Petra Kvitova and Belinda Bencic have both made their comeback from maternity leave in recent months.

Former world number one Victoria Azarenka, who gave birth to son Leo in 2016, told the BBC last year that it would be a "huge win for women in general" if the WTA was to introduce maternity pay.

Four-time major champion Naomi Osaka also spoke in support of maternity pay, saying it would be "life-changing".

It can be challenging to balance the physical and emotional demands of a professional tennis career with the complexities of motherhood and family life, WTA chief executive Portia Archer said.

This initiative will provide the current and next generation of players the support and flexibility to explore family life, in whatever form they choose."

It is only "a matter of time" until another Premiership club goes bust unless there is "radical change" according to the administrator who oversaw London Irish's insolvency.

London Irish, Wasps and Worcester went out of business during the 2022-23 season leaving the top flight of English rugby with only 10 teams.

A parliamentary report in January 2023 concluded that the financial situation of elite clubs was unsustainable.

"There is little prospect of profitability in the medium term and therefore considerable risk of other clubs going to the wall," Lee Manning told Sky Sports., external

"I think it is [just a matter of time]. Unless the game's financial model can be radically changed.

"It only takes one other club to fail, perhaps two, and where's the viability of the league? Where's the attraction of the league?"

The last set of accounts filed by all Premiership clubs in 2022-23 showed that the sides collectively lost 30.5m and have net debts of more than 300m.

Gloucester owner Martin St Quinton is among those to have said the Premiership business model is flawed, agreeing that another club could go bust.

Irish were doomed after a proposed deal with an American consortium to take over the club and it's 30m debt fell through.

The club were bought out of administration by a group led by former Formula 1 team owner and businessman Eddie Jordan last month.

Irish, along with Wasps and Worcester, have applied to be part of a new expanded Championship next season.

However Manning says that the club's new owners are exploring the possibility of joining the United Rugby Championship, in which sides from Ireland, Wales, Scotland and South Africa compete, rather than restarting lower down the English pyramid.

"My understanding is there is an intention of seeing if they can join the URC and I think that might be the case for Wasps as well because there's no viable entry route into the Premiership," he said, while admitting that such a move may require approval from the Rugby Football Union.