The Vancouver Canucks have signed defenseman Alexander Edler to a two-year, $12 million contract, general manager Jim Benning announced Thursday.

Edler, 33, could have become an unrestricted free agent next month. He has been a consistent presence on the blue line in Vancouver for his entire 13-year career.

"I've said from the beginning that if a deal was there with Vancouver, that was my number one priority," he said during a conference call. "You never know what's out there in free agency so I didn't think too much about that."

He is coming off a solid season with 10 goals and 24 assists. His season was limited to 56 games due to a February concussion that cost him over three weeks and coincided with the Canucks falling out of playoff contention.

"Alex is important to our team and has played as the cornerstone of our defence throughout his career," Benning said in a statement. "He's a leader with tremendous experience, plays important minutes and contributes to every part of our team game."

The Swede is coming off a six-year, $30 million contract with the Canucks. He has been a vital part of the team from the run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2010-11 to the current rebuild.

Asked if he would consider taking games off to preserve his health, Edler said: "I come into training camp in great shape every year and I certainly think my body can take 82 games," he said.

Still, Edler understands his role with the Canucks may evolve as younger defensemen like Quinn Hughes grow into stronger NHL players.

"I'm always going to try to be the best out there every game, the best that I can," he said. "If guys are better than me, they should play more. That's just how it works."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Stan Fischler said he has never seen anything like the Jack Hughes vs. Kaapo Kakko spectacle: two elite prospects, who will be taken first and second in the 2019 NHL draft by the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers, two storied geographic rivals.

"This is a first for me. And I've been watching the game since 1939," said Fischler, 87, a renowned hockey historian and a fixture on the New York puck scene since the 1950s.

This has never happened before in the NHL draft, tracking all the way back to 1963. There has never been a scenario in which neighboring blood rivals were both so bad at the same time as to earn the top two picks overall. Yes, there have been some rivals that have picked one and two, but not ones located in the same metropolitan area. And not ones that have the history of the Devils and Rangers, which spans from the gruesome battles in the Patrick Division to their playoff glories in the 1990s to Sean Avery waving his stick in Martin Brodeur's face while insulting his physique in the 2000s.

As both teams struggled for consistency in recent years, the rivalry cooled, even if the barbs from fans on social media remained as vicious as ever. Hughes and Kakko are expected to reignite it.

"This is a fantastic moment in time for the Trans-Hudson rivalry. Especially for New Jersey, since [general manager] Ray Shero picks first, and thereby sets the scenario all by himself," Fischler said.

In their decades-long feud, both the Devils and Rangers would either both be competitive -- see the Rangers' 1994 Eastern Conference finals win over New Jersey en route to their first Stanley Cup in 54 years, or the Devils' 2012 Eastern Conference finals win against the Rangers -- or one would be up while the other was down. But not last season, when both teams were terrible. The Devils had 72 points, tumbling down the standings after a playoff berth in the previous season. The Rangers had 78 points, in the midst of a calculated rebuild.

At the NHL draft lottery in April, Shero nervously watched NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly flip the placards revealing NHL logos. When Chicago jumped into the top three, he thought "that's not good for us." He figured the Devils would be sixth. But Daly flipped over the Detroit Red Wings' logo in the No. 6 spot. Then fifth, but that was the Los Angeles Kings. Then fourth, but that was the Colorado Avalanche by way of the Ottawa Senators, who were the NHL's worst team. The Devils were in the final three picks, which their pre-draft lottery odds (11.5%) had predicted. But so were the Rangers, who had the sixth-best chance (7.5%).

"At that point, you're not even really thinking. It happens so quickly. You're not even thinking that the other guy left is in your division or anything. You're just thinking, 'S---, that would be great.' You're there, and you might as well try to win," said Shero, whose team won the lottery for the second time in three years.

"I know Jeff [Gorton, Rangers GM] pretty well. He's a great guy. There are a lot worse positions than to be up there. I can't really worry about what other team is still standing. Just that it's Jersey that won."

Devils fans, of course, will worry about what the other team does. As Fischler noted, whatever player they don't chose defaults to the Rangers. Shero is essentially selecting New York's next franchise player in the process of selecting his own.

"I was amused as much as anything. But sure, given the fact the Rangers are a rival, I'm annoyed they're likely going to get a good player as well," said Hasan Allahverdi, a 41-year-old Devils season-ticket holder who blogs at Battle of New York, a site that covers the rivalry involving the Rangers, Devils and Islanders.

"Obviously, the Hughes-Kakko dynamic adds a new element to the Devils-Rangers rivalry that's seldom been seen before, with draft peers both expected to be impact players for rebuilding teams. Their different backgrounds and attributes as hockey players will only amplify the comparisons with each other that much more. It'll alternately be fun and tense -- especially if both live up to projections and help lead their teams back to relevance, hopefully with some Crosby-Ovi type playoff matchups to boot."

He's not the only one thinking about the Sidney Crosby vs. Alex Ovechkin rivalry that rekindled the animosity between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals beginning in 2005 -- and, in the process, giving the NHL its marquee rivalry for the next 14 years. Shero was Crosby's general manager in Pittsburgh, and saw it firsthand.

"Hughes vs. Kakko is not Crosby vs. Ovechkin. But if Crosby had been taken by Pittsburgh and Ovechkin by Dallas or something like that, then that Washington vs. Pittsburgh rivalry, which is fantastic, wouldn't have been reignited," Shero said. "These things are really good for hockey. Hopefully we play more than the four or five times we do in the regular season and both teams make the playoffs. This is good. It'll make the rivalry stronger."

There is, of course, another component, which is the personal one.

"It'll be really competitive for a lot of years," Hughes told ESPN during the Stanley Cup Final. "Whether it's the Devils or the Rangers, we're going to be linked for a long time, with us going to places that are so close to each other."

It was projected for more than a year that the winner of the 2019 NHL draft lottery would select the U.S.-born center at No. 1, to the point where tanking efforts were labeled "Lose For Hughes." But Kakko's electrifying performance at the IIHF World Championships for champion Finland, with six goals and an assist in 10 games, closed the gap with Hughes in the eyes of many observers, especially since Hughes sputtered to three assists in seven games.

Suddenly, the top pick was being debated a bit more vigorously.

"I think that he had a great tournament. But I think that [scouts] have seen us play about 25 times this year," Hughes said. "They've done a lot of scouting, a lot of research for sure. Both teams will make a good pick and get a good player out of it."

As for the personal rivalry, could that be an added motivation for Hughes?

"I don't need any extra motivation. You're in the NHL. You're playing unbelievable players, every night. I just think it would be fun to be linked with that for a lot of years," he said.

Fischler says he thinks it'll be fun, too. What he likes about the rivalry is that it's a study in contrasts, much like the Crosby vs. Ovechkin dynamic was.

"You have a kid born in Orlando, Florida, of all places, vs. Turko, Finland. Then there's the smaller American against the bigger, more experienced Finn. Plus, the hype," Fischler said. "Few Americans ever have obtained the kind of build-up Jack is getting. Then there's the Hughes family angle against the Finn's lower-key approach to the game. Contrast that with Hughes' disappointing performance in the Worlds while his rival hit the heights with highlight performances.

"What we're seeing is a five-act play that's one of a kind."

The final act will be the Battle of the Hudson. The closest thing the Devils and Rangers have had to this level of competitive rivalry between elite players was Martin Brodeur vs. Henrik Lundqvist in goal. But Brodeur was 34 when Lundqvist was a rookie, with the former having already won three Stanley Cups, two Vezina Trophies and Olympic gold. Hughes and Kakko will both have their skates on the starting line, beginning their careers at the same time.

May the best franchise player win.

Said Shero: "It's great for the Devils. It's great for the Rangers. They're both good players."

Perhaps you were caught up in the St. Louis Blues' run to a Stanley Cup championship and haven't had a chance to study up on the 2019 NHL draft class. Or maybe you've been right here all along, scouring all of the prospect breakdowns and mock drafts. Either way, we have you covered as the New Jersey Devils go on the clock with the first pick.

Our NHL team -- Chris Peters, Greg Wyshynski and Emily Kaplan -- answers 25 of the biggest final questions. And be sure to check out the rest of our pre-draft content to be as prepared as the 31 NHL teams when the draft begins on Friday night (8 p.m. ET).

Mock draft | Top 100 rankings
Top goalies | Late-rounders
Best by skill | Scouttakes | Draft order

What defines this draft class?

Chris Peters, NHL draft and prospects writer: The lack of consensus after No. 2 is really a standout feature. Anything can happen after Jack Hughes and Kaapo Kakko are drafted with those first two picks. That's going to lead to disparate draft boards, picks that could look like surprises in the first round and a general lack of predictability. It's just so wide open after the second pick.

Is there any chance the New Jersey Devils take Kakko over Hughes at No. 1 overall?

Peters: There's always a chance, but it seems wildly unlikely. Hughes is a better fit for where the NHL is going than Kakko, with his speed in transition and ability to create off the rush. Kakko might be the safest pick in the draft, though. He has already proved he's ready for a bigger challenge. I expect him to be a better rookie than Hughes, but Hughes has the higher ceiling. The Devils will take that super high ceiling of Hughes, while the Rangers get a dynamic player who is already ready to make an NHL impact.

How can Hughes help the Devils rebound?

Greg Wyshynski, senior NHL writer: Hughes and Nico Hischier up the gut for the next decade is a really nice start when attempting to build a winner. Winning the Hughes lottery also gave the Devils a puncher's chance of retaining Taylor Hall, who becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer, because they now have some semblance of a direction.

What will Kakko do for the New York Rangers' rebuild?

Emily Kaplan, national NHL reporter: Kakko can have a Patrik Laine-esque impact right away. He'd be my preseason pick for the Calder Trophy. The Rangers' rebuild has gone even better than planned and is the template a lot of aging teams should follow.

How many prospects have a chance to make an NHL roster right away?

Peters: The only two players I feel could comfortably jump into an NHL lineup next season are Hughes and Kakko. But I could also see Bowen Byram, Kirby Dach and Dylan Cozens among the players who at least give teams something to think about in training camp. Byram will be the first defenseman off the board, potentially at No. 3 to the Blackhawks, and likely no later than No. 6 to Detroit. A lot of what happens with him this fall depends on where he ends up. Brett Leason, a third-year eligible player, is a dark-horse candidate to make the immediate NHL jump, too.

So what do the Chicago Blackhawks do at No. 3?

Kaplan: A lot of the first round hinges on what Chicago does at No. 3. Despite having a surplus of defensive prospects, Byram might be too talented to pass up. But might a team that lucked into a top-three pick take a risk here? Probably not, but wouldn't it be fun to watch Cole Caufield -- who scored 72 goals this season -- and Alex DeBrincat in the Hawks' top six?

What is your favorite prospect-to-player comp in the class?

Peters: Caufield to DeBrincat really does fit. Caufield is essentially the same size DeBrincat was in his draft year and is a ridiculous goal scorer. I actually think Caufield may be a little better than DeBrincat was at the same age, but they both have an elite sense of timing and shooting ability.

OK, what about the best prospect-to-team fit?

Peters: I think the one that probably lines up best is Alex Turcotte with Chicago. He's a local kid who competes and plays the game fast. Chicago has a ton of good options, and no one is quite sure what it is going to do, but Turcotte seems like a natural fit as a strong two-way center with excellent speed and versatility.

Which team needs to ace the draft?

Wyshynski: The Los Angeles Kings need to get younger, faster and better as they take a little step back from contention. That starts with their 10 picks in this draft, including the No. 5 and No. 22 overall picks. It could be argued that the Kings haven't had a hit since Adrian Kempe at No. 29 in 2014. If Kirby Dach is available at No. 5, that's one logical play. If he's not, then the Kings can't screw this one up. Director of Amateur Scouting Mark Yannetti and general manager Rob Blake need to nail this one.

Kaplan: The Edmonton Oilers have a new GM in Ken Holland, and this draft will set the tone for their new era. While it won't single-handedly change their trajectory, getting an impact player at No. 8 and hitting on a few late-round picks would do wonders.

What are the hottest names in the class right now?

Peters: Turcotte and Caufield seem to be getting a lot more attention. Moritz Seider, the big German defenseman, is another surefire first-round pick who raised his stock toward the end of the season. And I've also heard from teams that view Cam York as the prototype for what modern defensemen look like: Average-sized, but smart and excellent offensively. He could go higher than many expect.

Who will be overdrafted based on what you've seen?

Peters: Samuel Poulin has a lot of the tools that teams crave in a first-round talent, including a good solid frame and some enticing puck skills. My concern is with his hockey sense and consistency. I believe he will go in the first round, but there are quite a few players likely to go after him who would afford teams more value than what I think Poulin ultimately will bring.

Which prospect will fall farther than he should?

Peters: He's a little more under the radar, but Patrik Puistola has some first-round abilities. I just don't know if that was showcased enough for NHL teams to take a chance on him. If he drops out of the first round, a team would be getting big-time value in the second.

Is there a team you think might trade up or down in Round 1?

Kaplan: Since the consensus is you can get a great player from No. 3 through No. 12, perhaps someone right on the outside (Montreal Canadiens at No. 15) sneaks in. The Dallas Stars don't have second- or third-round picks in each of the next two years, which makes them a trade-down candidate for me.

Wyshynski: The Philadelphia Flyers hold the No. 11 pick, which could net them a nice prospect like defenseman Philip Broberg or center Peyton Krebs. But with GM Chuck Fletcher being aggressive in words and actions, I wonder if that'll continue with the Flyers' pick being in play.

Which Day 1 prospect has the biggest range of where he could be picked?

Peters: I could see Arthur Kaliyev going in the top 15, and I could just as well see him tumbling into the second round. NHL teams must decide how to balance an elite scoring ability (51 goals this season) with a perceived lack of work ethic and defensive effort. His skating is also suspect. I've seen good and bad games for Kaliyev, so I understand the concern. But there just aren't many players in this, or any, draft who have that goal-scoring talent, size and legitimate puck skills. Kaliyev is going to need a team that's patient but also holds him accountable in his development.

Vasily Podkolzin also seems to be all over the place on draft boards. Why?

Peters: His contract with SKA St. Petersburg in the KHL, along with the fact that it's with a top club, puts him at least two years away from coming to North America. He also had underwhelming production both in club play back home in Russia and at the U18 World Championships. But he has high-end skill and plays with power. When he's at his best, there aren't many players in the class better.

What is one player-specific skill that will make that player very valuable in today's NHL?

Peters: Trevor Zegras' overall creativity, especially when it comes to gaining the zone and being able to make plays on the rush, is hugely valuable. He's one of the best playmakers in this draft.

Which lottery team will be most improved in 2019?

Wyshynski: The New York Rangers aren't stopping with Kakko. I think they start cycling back up after two years of rebuilding. They made a savvy move for Jacob Trouba and could still add Artemi Panarin. They have more than $19 million in cap space.

Kaplan: The Florida Panthers should have been a playoff team this season. They hired a legendary coach in Joel Quenneville, and they have the cap space (and audacity) to spend this summer. They're favorites to land Sergei Bobrovsky and/or Panarin. How will they not be better?

How do the Colorado Avalanche, with their two first-rounders, walk away happy on Friday night?

Wyshynski: The No. 4 pick is still the No. 4 pick. That's where Seth Jones and Alex Pietrangelo were taken in 2013 and 2008, respectively, and that's why someone like Byram could be more than just a consolation prize for the Avs. Besides, let's face it, they are playing with found money with that Senators pick anyway, and they will be able to add a potential future contributor in the middle of the first to complement that top-four selection.

What are the chances a goaltender goes on opening night of the draft?

Peters: I think it's pretty much a lock at this point. Spencer Knight is the consensus No. 1 goalie by a wide margin, and many teams I've talked to expect him to be picked in the first round. The only question is how early. This is a fairly deep year for goaltenders in particular, and it could be a position for teams to find options on Day 2, as well.

An NHL player you're watching to potentially be dealt on draft day?

Kaplan: Since it appears Phil Kessel may remain in Pittsburgh after all, I'll go with the guy he was supposed to be traded for: Minnesota's Jason Zucker. The winger has now been involved in advanced talks for two separate trades that fell through -- the other being with Calgary at the trade deadline -- so I have a hard time imagining him in Minnesota for much longer.

Which prospect team will dominate the draft?

Peters: The U.S. national team development program is often a big supplier to the draft, but this year is going to be exceptional even by its standards. That team could have as many as seven players go in the top 15 of the draft and as many as eight first-rounders, including Knight. Nineteen players from that team were ranked by NHL Central Scouting, and I have 15 in my top 100.

Which team lacking a first-rounder will miss it the most?

Kaplan: The Columbus Blue Jackets. They have only two picks in total, in the third and seventh rounds. GM Jarmo Kekalainen can have a nice weekend in Vancouver lounging on a patio.

Wyshynski: The San Jose Sharks. The window is still open for them to compete for the Stanley Cup, but stockpiling some future assets wouldn't hurt at this point, especially considering next season's first-rounder already belongs to Ottawa.

Any interesting teams regarding how they approach this year's draft?

Wyshynski: The Vegas Golden Knights have nine (!) picks in the first five rounds and an owner with an insatiable lust for the Stanley Cup. It's hard to believe that they won't be aggressive. The Anaheim Ducks also need to make some smart picks, including their pair of first-rounders. They have eight players on their current roster who are 27 years old or older.

Who is your favorite Day 2 sleeper?

Peters: This is probably a deep sleeper, but I'm a big fan of the way Spokane Chiefs center Luke Toporowski plays. He's a max-effort-at-all-times player. There's physicality, grit and work ethic all packed into an average-sized frame. I think he could be had especially late in this draft, too, maximizing his value.

To close, how about a bold prediction for the 2019 draft?

Peters: This is one I'd rather not see come true, but I have a feeling Caufield slips to the late stages of the lottery, or perhaps even to the second half of the first round. I still believe he's a top-10 caliber talent and one of the best natural goal scorers I've seen, but I wonder if the NHL overcorrects after the Blues won a Stanley Cup with a premium on size.

Wyshynski: The Panthers acquire at least one player Joel Quenneville has previously coached in Chicago, perhaps even from the current Blackhawks roster.

Kaplan: Despite the buzz and hoopla, there aren't any big NHL names traded on draft weekend. It was all a tease!

DENVER -- Jonathan dos Santos said he would be delighted to see his brother Giovani play for Liga MX giant Club America, with reports suggesting the Mexico City club is interested in the former LA Galaxy forward.

Giovani dos Santos is currently looking for a new club after the Galaxy exercised their option to buy out the contract of the Mexico international on March 1.

The 30-year-old's father had a successful career at Club America and Jonathan believes it would be an ideal move for his brother, who stressed Giovani has "a lot of offers."

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"I don't know anything, but hopefully," said Jonathan after Mexico's 3-1 win over Canada in Denver. "I've always said that we are America fans from the cradle and hopefully [Giovani's move to America] happens.

"We are life-long America fans, for us it is the best team in the world and what is better than going there?"

Giovani has previously been linked with Monterrey and Brazilian clubs, but has been silent about his future.

America allowed striker Oribe Peralta to leave for bitter rival Chivas this week and Las Aguilas coach Miguel Herrera confirmed the club would look for a replacement that wouldn't be like-for-like.

"Giovani is a possibility like any other player you mention," Herrera told reporters in Mexico City's international airport on Wednesday. "Any player of that level would be good, he's focused, but that doesn't mean he has to come to America.

"He's a free agent and he's Mexican, he'd fit in any team in Mexican football, not just America."

New Juventus boss Maurizio Sarri said moving to Juventus is a "step forward" in his coaching career after a year with Chelsea, and said he can understand the scepticism surrounding his appointment because it has been the same at every club he has been at.

Sarri was presented on Thursday after signing a three-year contract with the club that has won Serie A for the last eight seasons.

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Sarri called the Juventus job the "crowning achievement of a long and difficult career."

"I've taken a long road to get here, from Serie C2 to B, A, Premier League and now Juventus. It's special to be here. It's the best squad in Italy," Sarri said. "I'm coming from Chelsea, which has an inferior history to that of Juventus. It's another step forward for me.

"Coaching Ronaldo is also an escalation. I coached great players at Chelsea but with him it's the best in the world. He already holds all of the records you can have in world football but I would like help him break some more records."

Sarri signed a three-year contract with the club that has won Serie A for the last eight seasons.

Sarri's appointment has been greeted with mixed feelings among Bianconeri fans. He held up his middle finger a group of Juventus supporters when arriving as coach of their arch-rivals Napoli in 2018, where he spent three seasons before joining Chelsea last summer.

"I am used to scepticism," he said at a news conference in Turin where he was presented as Juve manager. "When I arrived in Serie C, everybody was sceptical, and it was the same to begin with at Empoli, at Napoli and when I got to Chelsea, they were all sceptical.

"Now here at Juventus, I think there could be a bit less scepticism, but that comes from my history. I only know one way of taking scepticism away and that is by winning and convincing."

Sarri spent the past 12 months in England, where he won the Europa League -- the first trophy of his career -- with Chelsea, but said Serie A was a better league tactically. However, he added Italian football still has a long way to go to match the Premier League off the pitch.

"I think we have a long path ahead of us," he said. "Going around English stadiums, you realise how inadequate our arenas are. There needs to be a cultural shift, as you turn behind you on the bench and are surrounded by children.

"I think in terms of club organisation and tactically on the field, we still have the upper hand compared to England."

At Juve, Sarri will find Gonzalo Higuain, who he managed at both Napoli and Chelsea. There are reports the Argentine is likely to leave this summer, but Sarri refused to commit to a decision either way.

"I have not spoken to Gonzalo since the Europa League victory," Sarri said. "I needed to get an idea of what Juve and my new surroundings are about.

"When he returns, we will have the chance to talk. Gonzalo has the capability of playing with anybody and I can't see any problems with him. I really like Higuain, but it's only right that I listen to the management on the players they already have in the squad here and they know better than me.

"I am obliged to trust them on the players they know better and when we have a clearer idea of our main system of play, then we can start to talk."

Sarri's season at Chelsea yielded a third-place finish in the Premier League and the first trophy of his coaching career with triumph in the Europa League, but in spite of these achievements he had difficulty imposing his style of football and encountered open hostility from many supporters.

"What changes are the characteristics of the players," he said. "Napoli had team players, who were totally at the disposal of the team and moved the ball at a decisively quicker pace.

"Chelsea are made up of probably technically superior players, but with different individual characteristics."

Juventus have also been linked with Paul Pogba and Adrien Rabiot this summer and sporting director Fabio Paratici acknowledged both players would be welcome in Turin.

"Pogba and Rabiot are two great players," he said. "Pogba is a Manchester United player, though.

"He gave us a lot and we have a lot of affection for him. Rabiot is a great player and we're in the hunt with other clubs. We'll make the right decisions to build a side based around what the coach requests and what we want."

Sarri is expected to summon his players for preseason training at the start of July, at the club's Continassa training centre. The squad will then fly to Asia, where they will face Tottenham Hotspur on July 21 and Antonio Conte's Inter Milan on July 24, both in Singapore, before returning to Europe to face Atletico Madrid in Stockholm, as part of the International Champions Cup.

The start of the Serie A season is foreseen for the weekend of August 24 and 25, with the fixtures due to be announced at the end of July.

Information from ESPN FC's Chelsea correspondent Liam Twomey and the Associated Press was used in this report.

It sure seemed like everything changed in August 2017, didn't it?

Before then, there was an established food chain in soccer's transfer market: Barcelona and Real Madrid at the top, and then everyone else. Those two clubs were as rich as anyone and for the most part, it seemed like it was every elite soccer player's goal to end up in the Spanish capital or Catalonia. Once you got there, you only left when you weren't needed anymore.

In this century, the only star who left either club in his prime while still a key starter was Luis Figo...and he moved from Barcelona to Real Madrid. Other than that transaction, the two Spanish giants paid the record transfer fees; they never received them.

That is, until two summers ago, when Paris Saint-Germain triggered Neymar's release clause and bought the Brazilian superstar for $253.8 million. It was more than double the previous record -- paid by Manchester United to Juventus for Paul Pogba the previous summer -- but more importantly, it seemed like it would reset the world soccer hierarchy.

At 25, Neymar was the presumptive Next Best Player in the World to his teammate Lionel Messi, and he left Barcelona to spend his prime playing for the team against which he'd just masterminded a 4-0 comeback in the Champions League. This wasn't Kevin Durant going to the Golden State Warriors; it was Stephen Curry signing with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

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In case Neymar wasn't enough, PSG also went out and signed Kylian Mbappe for the second-highest transfer fee ever, $203m, that same summer. At the time, Mbappe was just 19 and could claim the same number of Ligue 1 starts as years spent on this earth. If the move for Neymar was a massive exclamation point written in the sky for everyone to see, the Mbappe transfer was a bolt of lightning shot out of that same cloud.

With perhaps the two best under-30 soccer players on the planet suddenly both on a team that was not Real Madrid or Barcelona, the weather would never be the same. The prices teams pay for world-class players would forever be distorted, the transfer market would be ruined, and if the sport wasn't already tilted in favor of the mega-rich, the moves for Neymar and Mbappe ensured the gap would continue to increase and PSG would ascend to be the dominant club in Europe.

Except two years later, not much has changed, PSG might be ready to move on from Neymar, only one player has sold for north of $80m (Eden Hazard to Real Madrid this summer), directors of football and transfer committees have invested more time and money in scouting than transfer fees, and the fundamentals of the sport still look a lot like they used to.

The only thing that looks different is PSG.

The texture of the European soccer season allows teams to define success in all kinds of ways. Perhaps avoiding relegation is your goal, or maybe you want to qualify for the Europa League. Win a domestic cup? That's an option, too. Make a run at a Champions League place, try to win the league or even take a shot at the European Cup. There's a wide variety of potential objectives to pin to your vision board before Matchday 1.

However, since the Qataris took over the club back in 2011, PSG have really only had one goal. Starting in 2012, they've won every Ligue 1 title except for that in the year before Neymar and Mbappe arrived. Domestic trophies have become a fait accompli. As club chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi told The New York Times in 2016, "Our aim is to make the club an institution respected around the world. If we are going to make that happen, we have to win the Champions League."

Here's the problem with that: Everyone is way less likely to win the Champions League than they are to fall short. Based on the implied probability from the betting odds, the current favorites for next season's European Cup, Manchester City, have about a 17% chance of lifting the trophy. City just posted back-to-back seasons with the first- and second-highest point totals in the Premier League era. They're an incredible, historically successful team and it's hard to imagine PSG ever building a squad with significantly better odds than Pep Guardiola's current side.

More to the point, how do you build a team that's built solely for a competition comprised of 13 games at most anyway, many of which are elimination games that can swing wildly based on things like away goals?

PSG's approach has pretty clearly been to stack superstars, rather than to build depth with multiple capable contributors at every position. It's basically what Real Madrid did, and with their lack of domestic success (two titles in 10 years) but consistent continental titles (four in six years), they're the team the Parisians are trying to emulate.

Top-heavy teams tend to have higher ceilings because they have multiple superstars who can decide games with moments that live outside the flow of the match, but they also have lower floors because if those same stars have an off day or get hurt, there aren't as many other options to pick up the slack. Madrid's volatility makes this clear: In the two seasons they didn't win the Champions League since 2014, they fired three managers.

PSG have hit their floor in each of the past two seasons. They've been eliminated in the Round of 16 both times and Neymar missed three of those four knockout matches. They bought him so they could win the Champions League and he's only played in 25% of those games that truly mattered in 2017 and 2018. At the same time, PSG have played some breathtaking soccer in the Champions League. Two years ago, they won a group that included Bayern Munich. This year, under new manager Thomas Tuchel, they topped a group with Liverpool, who went on to win the whole thing.

PSG's European failure, especially this season's 3-1 loss to Manchester United thanks to a last-minute VAR penalty, makes clear what Real Madrid's recent run served to obscure: In order to win the Champions League, you need a lot of luck.

The shockwaves of both the Neymar and Mbappe transfers haven't even had much of an impact outside of Paris, either. Real Madrid won a third-straight Champions League in the first season of the Neymar-in-France era. The same team keeps winning domestic titles every year. The only two transfer fees that were clearly inflated by the Neymar deal were the two that Barcelona made in the immediate aftermath and in response to his exit: They shelled out the third-highest fee ever for Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool and the fourth-highest ever for Ousmane Dembele from Borussia Dortmund.

The Neymar money presented Barcelona with an opportunity to transform and fortify the club for the tail end of Messi's career. Instead, Coutinho was booed by Barca fans multiple times this season and Dembele has only been healthy enough to start 32 La Liga games over the past two seasons combined.

The most significant impact of the summer of 2017 might be that the Coutinho money (which was really the Neymar money) ultimately helped finance the two deals, first for central defender Virgil van Dijk and then for keeper Alisson, that helped turn Liverpool into Champions League winners. Where one club spent massively and gaudily in the hopes of dominating, those teams enriched by PSG's money down the line have used it smartly to win instead.

As Klopp & Co. try to figure out how to protect their title, PSG seem lost as to how to find their own.

The club's main transfer target is another expensive superstar: the 19-year-old Dutch man-child Matthijs de Ligt. Mbappe himself suggested at the Ligue 1 award ceremony last month that he might be willing to leave the club. He has, improbably, surpassed Neymar as the club's best player and led everyone in Europe's top five leagues in non-penalty goals+assists per 90 minutes this past season. Meanwhile, Neymar is being investigated after being accused of rape and Al-Khelaifi has openly questioned his commitment to the club, saying, "Nobody forced Neymar to sign for us. Nobody pushed him here. He knowingly signed up for this project."

Sources tell ESPN that PSG are open to selling Neymar, but given how they acquired him, they've basically created a market in which they're the only club in the world who can afford him. Plus, among the clubs who could conceivably swing a cheaper deal, Real Madrid have already spent a ton on attacking talent this window, Manchester City have never bought a player like him and Manchester United probably can't attract a player like him. That leaves Barcelona, who, according to a recent ESPN report, are at least looking into the possibility of reacquiring Neymar.

Maybe that's the most fitting end to all of the upheaval and attempted disruption. If Neymar ends up back in Spain, it'll be like none of this ever happened.

Yuvraj Singh, who recently announced his retirement from international cricket and the IPL, has been signed up by the Toronto Nationals for the 2019 season of Global T20 Canada.

During his retirement announcement, Yuvraj had indicated his desire to play in overseas T20 leagues, and said that he would seek the BCCI's permission in order to do so.

ESPNcricinfo understands Yuvraj has written to the BCCI asking for permission. The board is yet to respond, but since Yuvraj has retired, he is not bound in any way by the BCCI.

The 2019 season, the tournament's second edition, will be played in Brampton from July 26 to August 11. Five franchise teams - Vancouver Knights, Winnipeg Hawks, Edmondton Royals, Montreal Tigers and Toronto Nationals - took part in the 2018 season alongside a West Indies B team. This time, a sixth franchise team, Brampton Wolves, has replaced West Indies B.

Other new big-name signings for the 2019 season include Kane Williamson (Edmondton), Brendon McCullum (Toronto), Chris Lynn (Winnipeg), Shoaib Malik (Vancouver), Faf du Plessis (Edmondton), Shakib Al Hasan (Brampton) and Colin Munro (Brampton).

Players retained from last season include Chris Gayle (Vancouver), Dwayne Bravo (Winnipeg), Andre Russell (Vancouver), Kieron Pollard (Toronto), Thisara Perera (Montreal) and Sunil Narine (Montreal).

There are a few high-profile names among the six coaches too: Stephen Fleming (Edmondton), Tom Moody (Montreal), Phil Simmons (Brampton), Geoff Lawson (Toronto), Lalchand Rajput (Winnipeg), and Donovan Miller (Vancouver).