DRUMMONDVILLE, Quebec — The winning driver was anyone’s guess throughout the entire 100 laps of action at Autodrome Drummond but Erick Rudolph saved his best stuff for last.

Stewart Friesen led the most laps but not the one that counted for the win. Jimmy Phelps started on the pole position and stayed in the top five all night to cross the finish line on the final step of the podium.

Five years ago, Erick Rudolph burst on the Super DIRTcar Series scene with his first series win at Autodrome Drummond. Now, holding his pro wrestling style Championship Belt, Rudolph beamed in victory lane, “The track was a pleasure to race on. I had a lot of fun out there. Drummond has always been good to me.”

He may have been having fun out there but Rudolph exercised significant patience in order to save his tires for the end. The top five had a revolving door but the No. 25r stayed in the mix for 80 laps. Then, on the restart with 20 laps to go, Rudolph turned up the dial and outdueled Stewart Friesen for first place.

All the stars were aligned for Rudolph. His tires were right, his racing lines were right, and it was five years ago to the day that he won his first Series race at Autodrome Drummond.

Multi-discipline racer Friesen made the trek North for both rounds of the Quebec doubleheader. Friesen started sixth. The No. 44 was fast in clean air and built a lead up during a long mid-race green-flag period. Unfortunately, Friesen used up his tires in the early going and had a difficult time matching Rudolph’s late-race pace.

Friesen was excited to race in front of his home country’s fans. “Thanks to everybody for coming out and supporting this event. This is awesome,” he said looking out at the standing-room-only-crowd.

Polesitter Jimmy Phelps had a fast race car but Rudolph and Friesen. “Congrats to Erick, Charlie, and the whole group over there. Those guys are working hard and they are on their game right now.”

Phelps had a perfect view of the battle for first place.

“It looked like the No. 9s was going to come in and make it interesting. It looked like Friesen started to get a little free. I know I was starting to get loose about halfway. We were too good too early. We’ve kind of struggled here over the last few years so all-in-all if I can get out of here with a podium, I’m happy.”

As the field’s tires began to wear out late in the race, Canadian hero David Herbert charged to the front of the field. He picked up 16 positions from his twenty-first place starting position to finish fifth.

Race-winner Erick Rudolph picked up his career first Billy Whittaker Cars Fast-Time Award.

The finish:

Feature (100 Laps): 1. 25-Erick Rudolph [4][$7,500]; 2. 44-Stewart Friesen [6][$4,000]; 3. 98H-Jimmy Phelps [1][$2,500]; 4. 54-Steve Bernard [5][$1,800]; 5. ONE-David Hebert [21][$1,600]; 6. 111-Demetrios Drellos [2][$1,400]; 7. 9S-Matt Sheppard [8][$1,300]; 8. 6m-Mat Williamson [10][$1,200]; 9. 91-Billy Decker [7][$1,100]; 10. 44G-Sebastien Gougeon [19][$1,000]; 11. 99L-Larry Wight [3][$800]; 12. 20-Brett Hearn [16][$700]; 13. 21A-Peter Britten [12][$600]; 14. 26-Ryan Godown [9][$575]; 15. 35-Mike Mahaney [11][$550]; 16. 63D-Dominic Dufault [23][$525]; 17. 39x-Alex Therrien [22][$500]; 18. 13-Kevin Hamel [24][$500]; 19. 27J-Danny Johnson [17][$500]; 20. 19m-Jessey Mueller [13][$500]; 21. 2L-Jack Lehner [20][$500]; 22. R2-Rusty Smith [26][$500]; 23. 35B-Francois Bellemare [29][$500]; 24. 37-Paul StSauveur [27][$500]; 25. 22C-Mario Clair [18][$500]; 26. 1MD-Mathieu Desjardins [15][$500]; 27. 96-JF Corriveau [28][$500]; 28. 17-Marcus Dinkins [25][$500]; 29. 21-Yan Bussiere [14][$500]

SOUTHLAKE, Texas – The Sportscar Vintage Racing Ass’n have announced that two of the most popular names of Indianapolis 500 lore have announced plans to be on hand at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Brickyard Invitational.

Lyn St. James will race in SVRA’s Vintage Race of Champions (VROC) Charity Pro-Am presented by Chopard Watch, while Dick Simon will be Grand Marshal for the Brickyard Invitational on Aug. 3-4.

“Whenever I am around Lyn and Dick at the speedway, I see how excited fans are to see them, talk to them, and get an autograph or a selfie,” said SVRA President and CEO Tony Parella. “Dick’s racing career dates back 50 years to 1969 and through all that time he earned great praise assisting and mentoring young drivers. That list of drivers included some big names like Arie Luyendyk, and, of course, Lyn St. James.”

St. James, a seven-time starter in the Indianapolis 500 and the event’s rookie of the year in 1992, raced in 15 Indy car races in her career. While many fans know Lyn best for her Indianapolis 500 achievements, she is an accomplished road racer and has earned numerous laurels at the wheel of a variety of racecars. She is a two-time competitor in the 24 Hours of Le Mans (1989 and ’91).

She was even more successful in 62 IMSA GT events, amassing a record of six wins, 17 top-five and 37 top-ten finishes. Her 1985 GT victory at Watkins Glen remains the only time a woman has scored a win in that series driving solo. Lyn raced in the 12 Hours of Sebring nine times, winning the GTO class in 1990, and was a two-time winner in the GTO Class at the 24 Hours of Daytona. Lyn raced in 53 Trans Am races with seven top-five finishes.

She has held 31 international and national closed circuit speed records and is a member of the Florida Sports Hall of Fame and the SCCA Hall of Fame. She has competed in all of the Indy Legends Pro-Am races since 2014 and has raced in a variety of cars on different tracks at SVRA events. Lyn has also authored articles for SVRA’s Speed Tour Magazine.

Simon, who maintains a level of physical fitness that is the envy of many younger drivers, is one of the most colorful characters of Indianapolis 500 history. Brimming with personality he saw the promotional value for his sponsors of being the first car to take to the track when practice opened in May.

A veteran of 17 Indianapolis 500s, he scored a best finish of sixth in 1987. He was a highly respected team leader who helped launch the careers of not only Luyendyk and St. James, but other notables such as Raul Boesel and Scott Brayton. He also managed the team for Eliseo Salazar’s IndyCar victory at Las Vegas Speedway in 1997.

The VROC Charity Pro-Am presented by Chopard Watch is a Saturday, August 3 feature event at the Brickyard Invitational. The cars are 1963 to 1972 vintage Corvettes, Camaros, and Mustangs of SVRA Group 6 A and B Production.  The professionals will be paired with amateur drivers. Amateurs will start the race and be required to drive a maximum of seven laps.

Artemi Panarin walked out of Madison Square Garden with the first New York Rangers jersey bearing his name draped around his shoulders like a cape. The grandeur of his play -- only seven NHL players have amassed more points the past four seasons than Panarin (320) -- had been matched by the enormity of his free-agent contract with the Rangers on July 1, totaling seven years and $81.5 million.

Striding toward Seventh Avenue, Panarin turned and faced the large video board atop Penn Station. His face, Photoshopped into a Rangers uniform, stared back under a message that read: "HE'S A GAME-CHANGER. AND HE'S OURS."

Is this what a rebuild looks like?

It has been just more than one year and five months since "the letter," the one co-signed by Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton and then-president Glen Sather that signaled a youth movement and predicted the losses of "familiar faces." The one that Gorton unabashedly said was a harbinger of a rebuild, a rare admission for the guy in charge of a New York sports franchise.

"When you're a pro team in New York, it's about winning now. That's what it is," said John Davidson, who is back with the Rangers as team president after Sather moved into a senior adviser role. "The reality is that they swung for the fences a few times. Almost hit the grand slam when they lost to Los Angeles [in the 2014 Stanley Cup Final]. Eventually, it's tough to stay in the upper echelon. For them to make a team decision, with everything on the line, honesty is the best way to go. It just is. For them to be that transparent with everyone in that city -- including the media and the fans and the season-ticket holders and large companies that sponsor things -- I think it was the right way to go."

But now Panarin is a Ranger. So is Jacob Trouba, the 25-year-old defenseman acquired from Winnipeg this offseason, who subsequently inked a seven-year deal worth $56 million. That's $137.5 million committed to two players this summer under the headline of a "rebuild."

Davidson said he has heard the rumblings of "same old Rangers!" from those who watched the team throw millions at its problems through the years -- from Bobby Holik to Scott Gomez to Wade Redden -- rather than exhibit patience.

But he isn't buying a word of that critique this time.

"Some people, and I think this is wrong, have said that 'they've gone against their rebuild by signing Panarin.' I don't think so. He's got a lot of years ahead of him. He's part of this build. And he's going to take a lot of pressure off the kids," he said.

"This is how we're going to get it done. If we're ever going to make a serious run at a championship, you can't stickhandle every summer and hope it's going to work. You have to have a dedicated plan.

"But I think you can expedite it a little bit."

Although the rest of the NHL assumed Panarin would join Columbus Blue Jackets teammate Sergei Bobrovsky in Florida, it turns out his heart was always on Broadway.

"He's studied the Rangers through his computer. The Pavel Bure years. Things along those lines. He told us he'd love to win in New York, just like Mark Messier did," Davidson said. "I don't want a guy that wants to be in New York. I want a guy that wants to be in New York and wants to play for the Rangers. That's been something that's important to him."

There was discussion among the brain trust, including Gorton and assistant GM Chris Drury, about where the Rangers were in their rebuild and whether the investment in Panarin would be beneficial. It was a brief discussion because it was clear that when this collection of young players actualizes as a contender, there might not be a player of Panarin's caliber available on the open market.

"That's one of the conversations we had. When we're starting to hit our stride here, who will be there?" Gorton said. "We couldn't count on 'Player X' being there because the best players generally sign [long-term] with their teams. So to get a player of his age and his skill level, it just fit into what we were doing. For the life of the contract, we would have a top player."

Not only that, but the Rangers will have a winger with unparalleled playmaking ability on a team that could be young down the middle with players such as Lias Andersson (20) and Filip Chytil (19). "He's not a center, but he drives a line because he makes so many plays," Gorton said.

Davidson knew Panarin from his time with the Blue Jackets, with whom Davidson served as team president until stepping down this year. "I knew him well, so I was able to talk to the management and give my thoughts and insights. He's a player that can do big things in important spots in games. He's got a twinkle in his eye. He loves the game," he said. "When I was with Columbus, we tried everything we could to keep him there. He's a good player. But he had his sights set on New York."

New York isn't, of course, a one-team town. The New York Islanders were also contenders for Panarin, reportedly outbidding the Rangers for his services. But he chose Broadway over Brooklyn (and Nassau) and gave the Blueshirts a victory in this round of the battle of New York.

"I think it was more about getting the player and what it means for the organization vs. whoever else was trying to get him. We don't spend a lot of time thinking about that," Gorton said.

Of course, there's another team in the market. That's the one over in Jersey, which had a significant influence on Gorton's rebuilding plans.

Did the Rangers ever believe that first overall pick Jack Hughes, taken by the Devils in the draft last month, might fall to them at No. 2, where they ended up selecting right wing Kaapo Kakko?

Not wholeheartedly. But maybe they saw that door crack open just a bit, Gorton admits.

"I think we always thought that Kakko was going to be No. 2. Then you go to the world under-18s, and Hughes lit up the tournament. And then Kakko does what he does," he said.

Hughes had 20 points in seven games for the U.S. in the world U-18 tournament. Kakko then made observers wide-eyed with 11 points in 18 games against NHL players at the IIHF world championships.

"So then you start to think that maybe it's getting tighter," Gorton said. "But the way we looked at it, we were going to get a really good player. There was no reason to lose much sleep over it."

The Finnish phenom joins a Rangers prospect pool filled with whales. Three of them made ESPN's top 50 ranking in March: right wing Vitali Kravtsov, goalie Igor Shestyorkin and defenseman K'Andre Miller. Andersson, Chytil and Brett Howden saw NHL time last season.

Kakko is a cut above them, a physical specimen with a nose for the back of the net and a player expected to make an immediate impact. Gorton said the key for him, and any of the young players, is to not let the limelight blind them.

"It's our job to try to protect him as much as we can. We understand this is an 18-year-old. This is New York City. This is the Rangers. There are things we have to do to protect him and just let him play hockey," he said.

Of course, for Kakko, the good news is that there are going to be other faces of the franchise. For instance, the 27-year-old Russian winger they just signed to a megadeal and the 37-year-old goalie who remains the Rangers' standard-bearer.

Fun fact: Henrik Lundqvist was an All-Star last season, something that speaks more to the event's format -- requiring a representative from each team and goalies from each division -- than his on-ice achievement. Even so, behind a porous young roster, Lundqvist posted the lowest save percentage (.907), goals-against average (3.07) and win total (18) of his illustrious career.

He's signed at $8.5 million against the cap for the next two seasons, wielding a no-move clause with zero desire to leave the market. He turns 38 next March and hasn't been in the Vezina Trophy conversation since 2015. There's an undeniable feeling that his window as an elite goalie is closing right as the Rangers start to swing their ship around and point it at the horizon, toward the Stanley Cup Lundqvist has chased since 2005.

It's a question Gorton has faced since "the letter": Where does Lundqvist fit into a youth movement?

"Of course you think about what Hank's meant to the organization. It would be nice for Hank to win here. You always have those thoughts," Gorton said. "But my job as a general manager is to think big picture about what's best for the organization, not just for Hank. I'd be lying if I said we don't think about Hank and his age and how much longer he has. But last year, he was an All-Star. We had to fix our defense, and we did a good job in doing that. If we can be better in our own zone, Hank can still win a lot of games for us."

Gorton talks about Lundqvist's commitment to excellence and how his age has become a motivating factor for him to work hard in the offseason on conditioning and technique. But there are young goalies pushing him too. Alexandar Georgiev played well in 33 games last season. Shestyorkin is eventually going to be a factor.

As for Lundqvist, he professed disappointment after last season but offered optimism about the rapidity of the rebuild.

"We were not really close in the end to making the playoffs, but does that mean we are far away?" Lundqvist said in April. "You see teams having a tough year add a few pieces, and just like that, you change the dynamic, and you're in the mix."

That was before his team acquired Artemi Panarin and Jacob Trouba.

"When you talk to players around the league right now, they really think that the league changes quickly. You can get better quickly if things go right," Gorton said. "And Hank's always felt that way."

Davidson sees a rebuild in the NHL -- in full disclosure, he prefers the term "build" -- like a football field.

"I've been through it twice already: in St. Louis and in Columbus. There's a lot of pain that you go through," he said. "But when you see the end zone a little bit, you start to get excited. The people that have stayed with you through it, they've seen the team grow right before their eyes. And then it becomes everybody pulling for everybody else to get to that same end zone, that same goal."

Where do the Rangers have the ball right now?

"I don't know yet. I know one thing: When you start a build, you've got the ball on your own 1-yard line, and you've got the whole field ahead of you," he said.

What impressed Davidson even before he returned to the fold with the Rangers was the total buy-in from the organization to this process. They jettisoned veterans. They hired an NCAA coach in David Quinn, rather than a retread, to replace Alain Vigneault. They did all of this with the blessing of controversial owner James Dolan, who isn't particularly known for his patience with mediocrity (which, of course, must make owning the Knicks an arduous ordeal).

"Look, you can't do this stuff unless you have absolute understanding from everybody in the organization. That starts with the ownership," Davidson said. "In talking with Jim before taking this job, he understands where this organization is. He's fully behind the development of young players. He wants to see improvement with everybody, which is what it should be. The commitment from Jim is exactly what you need. If you don't have it, don't do it. You'll just spin your wheels backward. You won't go forward. You'll be stuck."

The path forward for the Rangers is clearer than it is for many teams in the NHL. In the near term, there needs to be some cap maneuvering after Trouba signed and with Brendan Lemieux, Pavel Buchnevich and Tony DeAngelo all needing contracts as RFAs. But next summer, the Rangers have more than $19 million in cap space, with several contracts coming off their books, including forwards Chris Kreider, Vladislav Namestnikov and Jesper Fast, a couple of whom could be on the move well before then. In 2021, defensemen Marc Staal and Kevin Shattenkirk, as well as Lundqvist, are off the books. Meanwhile, the Rangers could have six contributing players on rookie contracts for the next two seasons.

"We spend most of the time thinking about right now, but you always keep an eye on down the road. Two, three, four or five years. But a five-year plan can change a lot. We're not naïve," Gorton said.

It's hard to square the pain of a rebuild with where the Rangers are currently, especially when one sees the zeroes next to names such as Panarin and Trouba on the roster. But the mantra from Davidson, Gorton and the organization remains the same: "We're getting there. Maybe even faster than we thought. But we're not there yet."

"Everyone thinks the Rangers are back in. We aren't anywhere yet. The puck hasn't even been dropped. I caution everyone that if you're going to be very, very young, there are going to be growing pains," Davidson said.

But this summer has been quite a growth spurt.

"We always get asked about the time frame. But it's been what, a year and a half since we came out with the letter?" Gorton said. "I look at it like this: We still have work to do to get to where we need to go. We're still building. Maybe we're further along than we thought we would be."

It's about that point in the summer where the NHL goes into hibernation; yes, it's cottage season. With the dust (mostly) settled on the draft and free agency, here's our rundown of where things stand a little more than two months before the 2019-20 season.

How we rank: The ESPN hockey editorial staff submits polls ranking teams 1-31, and those results are tabulated to the list featured here. For this edition, we're projecting how we think the teams will be rated heading into next season, taking into account recent success and other factors, such as the players added via the draft, free agency and trades. The "previous ranking" for each team refers to the club's spot in our way-too-early power rankings published right after the Stanley Cup Final.

Note: Stanley Cup odds are courtesy of Caesar's.

1. Tampa Bay Lightning

Previous ranking: 1
Stanley Cup odds: 7-1

The Lightning were a regular-season juggernaut who flamed out in the playoffs. They're banking on not letting that mistake happen again, returning with essentially the same roster for 2019-20. Before the season, they need to ink ascending star forward Brayden Point, a restricted free agent, to a new deal, though.

2. Boston Bruins

Previous ranking: 2
Stanley Cup odds: 12-1

Boston's big focus right now is working on new deals for their young RFA defensemen: Brandon Carlo and Charlie McAvoy. There hasn't been much change to last year's Stanley Cup runner-up roster. That said, GM Don Sweeney is still poised to make in-season adjustments, especially around the trade deadline.

3. Toronto Maple Leafs

Previous ranking: 5
Stanley Cup odds: 10-1

Do things ever go quiet in the Maple Leafs world these days? The offseason so far included a massive trade with the Avs (Nazem Kadri is out, while Alexander Kerfoot and Tyson Barrie are in) plus a defenseman swap with the Senators. But the big summer drama revolves RFA Mitch Marner. By all accounts, negotiations are tense -- and the sides are quite far apart.

4. Vegas Golden Knights

Previous ranking: 11
Stanley Cup odds: 10-1

The Golden Knights said goodbye to some regulars (penalty-killing extraordinaire Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, fourth-liner Ryan Carpenter, defensemen Colin Miller and middle-six winger Erik Haula) to shed cap space for their now-pricey roster. The big question hovering: do they unload Nikita Gusev before the season begins?

5. Nashville Predators

Previous ranking: 12
Stanley Cup odds: 20-1

The Preds needed a shakeup after back-to-back years of playoff disappointment. So they took from an area of surplus (the blue line) and added to their biggest area of need (talented forwards outside the top line). The offseason could be summed up as thus: P.K. Subban is out, Matt Duchene is in.

6. St. Louis Blues

Previous ranking: 6
Stanley Cup odds: 14-1

The defending Stanley Cup champs are probably getting a bit disrespected because we all know how hard it is to repeat. With a bunch of RFAs to take care of, St. Louis hasn't made any seismic (or really any) changes to the roster so far this summer. Should be essentially the same cast returning, including coach Craig Berube, who finally shed the interim tag.

7. Washington Capitals

Previous ranking: 4
Stanley Cup odds: 22-1

After spending the summer of 2018 partying and keeping the band together, the Capitals finally had to say goodbye to five regulars from their Stanley Cup-winning team. The Caps are in maintenance mode, knowing they need to shell out big new contracts for Braden Holtby and Nicklas Backstrom next summer.

8. San Jose Sharks

Previous ranking: 8
Stanley Cup odds: 15-1

San Jose leaned into its bet on Erik Karlsson, inking the defenseman to an expensive, long-term deal. GM Doug Wilson better be right about him. The collateral damage for the signing wasn't insignificant: Captain Joe Pavelski is gone, getting the term and money he wanted in Dallas.

9. Calgary Flames

Previous ranking: 3
Stanley Cup odds: 25-1

Everything was status quo for the Flames, a very good regular-season team in 2018-19. Then they made the curious move of swapping James Neal for Milan Lucic, one-for-one. Sure, Neal had a rough go during his first campaign in Calgary (buoyed by a very low shooting percentage), but this trade just felt drastic.

10. Colorado Avalanche

Previous ranking: 14
Stanley Cup odds: 10-1

It feels like the Avs can do no wrong these days. Their loaded defensive prospect pool means they could part with Tyson Barrie to land a terrific second-line center in Nazem Kadri. Trade acquisition Andre Burakovsky and free-agent signing Pierre Edouard-Bellemare fortify the bottom nine.

11. Winnipeg Jets

Previous ranking: 10
Stanley Cup odds: 22-1

It's been an interesting offseason for the Jets, who are strapped by the cap and have to sign to big RFAs to new deals: Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor. In the process, Winnipeg's blue line got worse, as it parted with defensemen Jacob Trouba via trade and Tyler Myers via free agency.

12. Carolina Hurricanes

Previous ranking: 15
Stanley Cup odds: 22-1

After a surprise run to the Eastern Conference final, the Canes inked franchise player Sebastian Aho to a new deal -- thanks, Montreal, for setting the terms! -- then doubled down on middle-six depth with Ryan Dzingel and Erik Haula.

13. Dallas Stars

Previous ranking: 13
Stanley Cup odds: 14-1

It was a sneaky-good offseason for the Stars. Signing Corey Perry (who was bought out by Anaheim) is a low-risk, high-reward move. Adding Joe Pavelski -- who'll potentially skate on the first line alongside Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin -- could be what transforms this team into a true contender.

14. New York Rangers

Previous ranking: 25
Stanley Cup odds: 22-1

Everyone in the NHL is gushing about the Rangers, who entered and exited rebuild mode in record time. Star Artemi Panarin changes the complexion of the franchise (and he's now the highest-paid winger in the league), but Kappo Kakko and Jacob Trouba will also make huge impacts. New York just needs to clear a little more cap space before October.

15. Pittsburgh Penguins

Previous ranking: 9
Stanley Cup odds: 22-1

Ever since Pittsburgh won back-to-back Cups, it feels like GM Jim Rutherford has been constantly tweaking his roster. The Phil Kessel era (and saga) is over. Alex Galchenyuk, Dominik Kahun and Brandon Tanev (with a questionably long contract term) are the newest depth forwards who get a chance to shine on Sidney Crosby's roster.

16. Florida Panthers

Previous ranking: 18
Stanley Cup odds: 22-1

The Panthers enter 2018-19 with two new faces of the franchise: coach Joel Quenneville and goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. Although they didn't land Artemi Panarin, GM Dale Tallon spent the rest of his ample cap space adding role players who could help make the Panthers a playoff team: That list includes Brett Connolly, Noel Acciari and Anton Stralman.

17. Montreal Canadiens

Previous ranking: 17
Stanley Cup odds: 40-1

This was supposed to be the summer of the offer sheet; thankfully (for fans, at least) Habs GM Marc Bergevin delivered. Not thankfully (for the Canadiens) his bid for Sebastian Aho was easily matched by the Hurricanes. But Bergevin might have been doing the rest of the league a favor, testing the limits of Canes owner (and new league wild card) Tom Dundon.

18. New York Islanders

Previous ranking: 7
Stanley Cup odds: 40-1

The Isles took a swing for Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky and whiffed on both. Lou Lamoriello's contingency plan: tapping Semyon Varlamov as their new goalie (over Robin Lehner, a 2019 Vezina Trophy finalist) and re-signing captain Anders Lee. In fairness, we were skeptical of Lamirello's offseason moves in 2018 also, and it all turned out OK.

19. Arizona Coyotes

Previous ranking: 20
Stanley Cup odds: 25-1

The Yotes almost made the playoffs last season, after a boatload of injuries and a strong late push. They'll look for a better start in 2019-20, and have reinforcements to do so. The big addition is top-line winger Phil Kessel, who gets to reunite with one of his favorite coaches, Rick Tocchet, and should boost the scoring at both even strength and on the power play.

20. Philadelphia Flyers

Previous ranking: 19
Stanley Cup odds: 30-1

Now that Philly has its goaltending solidified (the Carter Hart era is here, in earnest!) GM Chuck Fletcher is beginning to put his stamp on the roster. The big move was a mega contract for second-line forward Kevin Hayes. Fletcher made adjustments to the defense too, adding Matt Niskanen and Justin Braun.

21. Chicago Blackhawks

Previous ranking: 22
Stanley Cup odds: 35-1

The Blackhawks' biggest issues last season involved a leaky defense. Chicago made improvements, adding Calvin de Haan and Olli Maatta (while also parting with a top defensive prospect, Henri Jokiharju). Chicago also made one of the best free agency signings of the summer: goalie Robin Lehner on a one-year, $5 million deal.

22. Columbus Blue Jackets

Previous ranking: 16
Stanley Cup odds: 65-1

We knew the Blue Jackets would have a rough offseason since Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky -- two of the best players in franchise history -- telegraphed their exit months ago. Adding Gustav Nyquist (new top-line winger?) is the consolation, and we'll likely get a healthy look at many of the Blue Jackets' young prospects this season as well.

23. New Jersey Devils

Previous ranking: 30
Stanley Cup odds: 28-1

After winning the draft lottery and selecting top American center Jack Hughes, the Devils accelerated their build. They made a splash acquiring new franchise defenseman P.K. Subban, added veteran leader Wayne Simmonds for a year, and are making their best case to 2018 MVP Taylor Hall to sign long term. The Trans-Hudson rivalry is back!

24. Vancouver Canucks

Previous ranking: 24
Stanley Cup odds: 60-1

With Elias Pettersson changing the complexion of the franchise, the Canucks filled a big area of need (right side defense) with an expensive contact for Tyler Myers. Vancouver also paid a big price to get J.T. Miller to supplement the top six.

25. Minnesota Wild

Previous ranking: 21
Stanley Cup odds: 70-1

GM Paul Fenton inherited a roster saddled with big, aging contracts. He added one more, inking soon-to-be 32-year-old Mats Zuccarello to a five-year deal. The speedy Norwegian will help right away, but in the long range? That term raises eyebrows.

26. Edmonton Oilers

Previous ranking: 23
Stanley Cup odds: 40-1

GM Ken Holland is in charge now, meaning the Oilers' long-term prospects are already looking up. The priority for Edmonton is still drafting and developing players, although the James Neal addition instantly makes the top six better.

27. Buffalo Sabres

Previous ranking: 29
Stanley Cup odds: 75-1

The Sabres have a new coach in Ralph Krueger, and they desperately needed more roster depth heading into free agency. They sure got it, adding Marcus Johansson, Jimmy Vesey, Colin Miller and Henri Jokiharju. Adding Mike Bales (formerly of the Canes) as goaltending coach is a sneaky big hire.

28. Anaheim Ducks

Previous ranking: 26
Stanley Cup odds: 75-1

The Big Three era is officially over, with Corey Perry being bought out, and Ryan Kesler likely missing the entire 2019-20 season. After a prolonged search, Dallas Eakins was finally tabbed as the new coach. Anaheim will still try to get younger and faster. Perhaps their most interesting offseason addition: Darryl Sutter as a "consultant."

29. Detroit Red Wings

Previous ranking: 27
Stanley Cup odds: 150-1

After months of speculation, the Steve Yzerman era has begun in the Red Wings' front office. But he'll need to wait a little longer to truly shape this roster into a contender. The Red Wings are still shedding bad contracts and waiting for their prospect system to develop.

30. Los Angeles Kings

Previous ranking: 28
Stanley Cup odds: 125-1

The Kings are stuck in rebuild purgatory. They'd like to get younger and faster -- much like the rival Ducks -- but they're strapped by big contracts still on the books. And thus, it's probably another long season for the Kings.

31. Ottawa Senators

Previous ranking: 31
Stanley Cup odds: 400-1

There's no other way to put this: It's going to be another long season in Ottawa. This roster could use an injection of talent. The Senators' summer plan including snatching up a bunch of extraneous Maple Leafs: assistant DJ Smith (the Sens new coach), defenesemen Ron Hainsey and Nikita Zaitseve, plus fourth-liner Tyler Ennis.

Manchester United have slipped from second to sixth in the Forbes list of the world's most valuable sports clubs released on Tuesday.

United saw their value drop from $4.12 billion to $3.81bn and fell behind La Liga giants Real Madrid and Barcelona who retained their respective positions of third and fourth from last year.

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The Old Trafford club endured a miserable 2018-19 campaign, finishing sixth in the Premier League and missing out on a place in the Champions League for 2019-20.

NFL team Dallas Cowboys topped the list of 50 clubs for a fourth consecutive year, with MLB side New York Yankees, Madrid, Barca and NBA giants New York Knicks completing the top five.

Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool were the only other football clubs who made the top 50.

Champions League winners Liverpool made the list after missing out last year while Premier League champions City climbed five places to 25th with a value of $2.69bn.

Chelsea jumped 14 places to 32nd on the list after winning the Europa League and Arsenal slipped down three places to 42nd after missing out on Champions League football for a third consecutive season.

The 10 most valuable clubs:

1. Dallas Cowboys ($5bn)

2. New York Yankees ($4.6bn)

3. Real Madrid ($4.24bn)

4. Barcelona ($4.02bn)

5. New York Knicks ($4bn)

6. Manchester United ($3.81bn)

7. New England Patriots ($3.8bn)

8. Los Angeles Lakers ($3.7bn)

9. Golden State Warriors ($3.5bn)

10. Los Angeles Dodgers/New York Giants ($3.3bn)

You usually only see Mino Raiola as an extra in photographs: a fat little man with owlish glasses dressed in slobby leisurewear, pictured talking into one of his phones while an overdressed footballer loafs behind him. Yet Juventus fans waiting outside their team's medical centre last Wednesday, hoping for a glimpse of new signing Matthijs de Ligt, understood the superagent's importance.

When Raiola showed up, they chanted "Mino!" You could see why, too: with several of Europe's biggest clubs vying to sign the 19-year-old Ajax captain, the decision to join Juve was arguably made as much by Raiola as by his client.

To understand this transfer, you need to understand Raiola's thinking, which isn't all about money despite what some people might think.

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As an infant, Raiola moved with his family from southern Italy to the Netherlands, where his family opened pizzerias. One afternoon in his quiet hometown of Haarlem in 2016, he explained his transfer strategy to me. Instead of waiting for a club to approach his player, he decides which club is right for the player and then tries to engineer the transfer.

How to identify the right club? "You have go to the club that needs you." And, of course, the player has to need the club in return. In short, Juve didn't choose De Ligt; he chose Juve. Straight after last month's European Nations League in Portugal, the end of his 11-month season, he told Raiola that that's where he wanted to go.

To say James Pattinson has unfinished business in Ashes cricket in England would be quite an understatement. It's six years since he played the first two matches of the 2013 encounter at Trent Bridge and Lord's, tearfully withdrawing in the middle of the second match with a side strain that was to be only an early instance of the litany of injuries that would follow.

Foot, back, side, shin, stomach. All were areas where Pattinson experienced the pain of injury, though it was recurring back stress fractures that caused the most grief. It was something of a final gamble when Pattinson traveled to New Zealand in November 2017 for surgery previously undergone by Shane Bond, among others, a procedure he underwent with one goal in mind - to be in England for this Ashes series.

"I knew that if I was up and running, string a few on the pitch, that I would have every chance of getting picked in an Ashes team," Pattinson said. "Going back to a year-and-a-half ago when I was contemplating whether to get back surgery and whether it was going to work. There was a month there where there was a bit of unknown and conjecture around whether I would get back to playing cricket. Sitting here now after going through all that is quite pleasing that I am here and bowling and putting myself in position to get picked in an Ashes series.

"You go through your career, you try different things, you get setbacks, you go through strategies and theories and you work out what's best for you. You have to try things in cricket, some things don't work and some things do. For me it worked in a way, with my action it's sort of somewhere in between when I first started and when I tried to remodel it.

"I tried to let that evolve over the last few years and I am happy with where that is, my body is feeling good and more than anything I can relax and run in and bowl and not worry about where my back foot's landing and if the front arm is high and that stuff. When you are trying to play Test cricket and you are doing that it is hard work, I'm in a good spot at the moment and I have come off a bit of cricket and that's a bonus for me."

Now Pattinson is here, and by dint of his proven ability to be highly destructive when fit and in rhythm, he appears certain to be one of the members of the final Ashes squad to be named later this week. And as those who have seen him bowl for Nottinghamshire know well, Pattinson has the ability to claim a lot of wickets in a hurry.

"If my body holds up I think I can challenge them over here," Pattinson said in Southampton. "It's pretty simple, you get wickets that can assist you and you get wickets that are quite flat so, to have the ability to bowl on a flat wicket or a wicket that's seaming around hopefully I can do that. It's pretty simple over here you try to hit the same area. You look at Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson, they are always challenging the batsman, challenging the defence.

"If we can take something out of the series before is to be trying to always challenge the front foot, challenging the knee roll and trying to stay in one spot in the wicket and not release too many boundary balls. Over here you see a lot of boundaries hit, the run rate is often a lot higher if we can try and cut that down. Over the years we have managed to try and take wickets but a bit more expensive than what it would be in other places, so I think that's a big push from bowlers."

Since his debut in 2011 when he razed New Zealand at the Gabba, there has been nothing in Australian cricket quite like seeing Pattinson in full flight. It was a sight most recently glimpsed in this year's Sheffield Shield final at Junction Oval, where New South Wales' challenge was brought undone by a fiery Pattinson, screeching in aggressive delight at each one of his seven victims. Taking wickets "in clumps" is part of Pattinson's gift, now allied to a more mature understanding of the pace bowler's craft in England.

"Over the years I have been able to come on and take wickets in clumps so I suppose the selectors are looking for bowlers who can do a bit of that and bowlers who can bowl economically as well," he said. "I've played enough cricket, I've been over here three months with Nottingham which is fantastic for someone like me who hasn't had a great load of cricket over the last few years. I managed to play a fair few Shield games this year and obviously moved on into the summer here and the good thing is I've come off plenty of cricket.

"They've shown over here they can play swing bowling quite well, if it swings big and you're not getting the right areas, it doesn't really matter. So it's about trying to get the ball in the right area, i think it'll hopefully do it off the pitch. And obviously if the conditions are right it'll swing. The hard thing over here is if the sun does come out it's quite challenging to bowl, because your margin for error is quite low.

"So all off a sudden you've got to be on the spot, that's when you try to work with training your positions on the crease and all that sort of thing, to try and work with it. I think it'll be about thinking on our feet over here and during this next game as well, working together and bowling in partnerships. Hopefully that'll bring some good success."

Pattinson's aggressive, unbridled approach to fast bowling is epitomised by how he talks about bowling in the nets to Australia's leading players. In an era of workload management and careful preparation, Pattinson cannot help but admit that he always bowls a little faster to the likes of Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and now the returned Steven Smith.

"Throughout my career I've always tried to crank it up a little bit to the best batter," he said. "I know when I first came into a Test match, in 2010 in India, and Ricky Ponting was there. I always made a conscious effort to bowl a bit faster to him then always to Michael Clarke too. You always try to get in with the best batters and bowl well against them, I think the selectors like that."

Kevin Roberts, the Cricket Australia chief executive, has conceded that club cricket is in "gradual decline" and admitted that there is widespread disaffection in the game's grassroots following numerous signs of anger manifest in reports in the nation's two major newspaper groups.

In May, News Corp published a story revealing an old internal document in which Cricket Australia had called for a generational change in the leadership of clubs, spun to suggest that the governing body had "appealed for the dismissal of thousands of long-serving club volunteers".

This week, following the publication of CA's annual cricket census figures that habitually trumpet an overall increase in participation, the journalist and columnist Malcolm Knox wrote reports suggesting that the governing body vastly over-inflated its figures, making the contention that registered club cricketers number only about 250,000.

Roberts, who had declined to be interviewed by Knox before the publication of the story in the Sun-Herald on Sunday and instead asked to speak this week after his return home from the UK, conceded a problem area though disputing the precise nature of the figures. He did so in an open letter to all registered club players and volunteers around the country.

"Whilst I disagree with the conclusions reached and the figures provided by Malcolm, what came through clearly to me was the sense that some within the cricket community don't feel they are being heard," Roberts wrote. "We acknowledge that the number of registered players in traditional club environments has experienced a gradual decline over the past few years, even though total cricket participation continues to grow at a healthy rate.

"Cricket clubs, like all club sport, face retention challenges in an increasingly time-poor society. As a volunteer, I also appreciate that leading a cricket club is becoming harder and new volunteers are not always lining up to help the club stalwarts. The commitment to supporting volunteers and making sure the game has a successful and sustainable future is one of Australian cricket's top priorities under my leadership.

"I understand it will take more than a letter from me to make everything better. It's on me to lead ongoing consultation and action from all of us at Cricket Australia and the State & Territory Cricket Associations who serve their communities. We need to maximise the impact of the millions of dollars we've committed to improving community cricket facilities and the 68 new community cricket staff employed by State & Territory Cricket Associations to support clubs and volunteers."

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Following the announcement of the census results, ESPNcricinfo published a detailed breakdown of CA's club participation figures, reflecting three consecutive years of decline in club cricket numbers - from 392,812 male and female, senior and junior players in 2016 to 365,076 this year.

There has been a renewed focus within CA upon making its own participation numbers more accurate so that funding and resources can be better directed towards problem areas. At the same time, CA's community cricket chiefs Belinda Clark (currently acting as the head of team performance) and Kieran McMillan have openly acknowledged that more needs to be done to bridge the gap between burgeoning school programs and clubs.

"In recent years, we introduced modified junior formats to improve recruitment and retention, started offering free community cricket coaching programs and invested in growing cricket for girls," Roberts wrote. "These commitments are starting to bear fruit. Providing improved digital support to reduce volunteer workload is another key focus into the future.

"Having spent most of my life in cricket clubs as a player, coach, volunteer and parent, I'm passionate about clubs being the heart and soul of their communities. The initiatives I mentioned above are a positive step in the right direction, and we will continue to engage and listen to cricket communities, even if we don't like what we hear."

Roberts also conceded that some players were counted twice on the way to reaching CA's overall census participation figures - something he admitted was true even of his own daughter for the fact she plays both club and indoor cricket - but defended the wider methodology used.

"When combining school participation programs and registered players, we reach the total participation figure of 1.65 million. Whilst this does include some players more than once, like my daughter who plays club and indoor cricket, it's simply not true to suggest that total participation is inflated by double-counting most or all registered players," Roberts said. "We are proud of cricket's deep connection with local communities and the fact that cricket plays a part in the lives of so many participants across the country.

"Like most organisations, we are working to improve our data. Junior clubs will have noticed this with all registrations being managed online this season, a process which makes it much easier for parents and players to register anytime, anywhere. I have had the privilege of meeting many of cricket's employees, players and volunteers throughout my lifetime of involvement in cricket.

"Cricket has helped shape who we are, and in some cases, has seen us become friends for life. Your passion and commitment to the game are key reasons why cricket is such a strong part of our nation's fabric."

The ICC has appointed Ehsan Mani, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman, as the head of one of its most powerful committees - Finance & Commercial Affairs.

Mani's appointment brings to an end the stranglehold that the Indian, English and Australian cricket boards had for more than a decade over the F&CA, which is responsible for designing budgets for ICC events and distributing money to its member countries.

The other members of this committee are Indra Nooyi (independent director), Amitabh Choudhury (BCCI acting secretary), Chris Nenzani (CSA president), Imran Khawaja (ICC vice-chairman), Earl Eddings (CA chairman) and Colin Graves (ECB chairman). ICC chairman Shashank Manohar and ICC chief executive officer Manu Sawhney will also sit on the F&CA as ex-officio members.

This will be Mani's second time as F&CA chairman. He had held the post between 1996 and 2002 and negotiated the ICC's first ever broadcast rights deal then worth approximately USD 550 million. Mani, then, moved on to become ICC president until 2006 and was also instrumental in helping the ICC seal a USD 1.1 billion media rights deal with ESPN Star Sports for the 2007-15 cycle.

It is understood that Manohar had recommended Mani to the F&CA chair during the ICC annual conference held in London last week.

This committee holds significant power within the ICC. Back in 2014, when its working group comprising N Srinivasan, Wally Edwards and Giles Clarke (heads of the BCCI, CA and ECB respectively) put forward a revenue distribution model that allowed India, Australia and England to take home a greater share of the ICC's profits on the argument that they brought in the most money anyway. The model broke down in 2017 when Manohar took charge and said it amounted to bullying by cricket's Big Three countries.

In the last 10 years only one person outside the Big Three has led the F&CA - Alan Issac, former head of New Zealand Cricket, in 2011-12. Interestingly, when the ICC Board approved the Big Three revamp in 2014, Issac was the governing body's president.

Leading the F&CA, Mani, who also sits on the ICC Audit Committee, will be taking some major decisions, including identifying the events the ICC will host in its next cycle (post 2023 World Cup) and negotiating the media rights deal for that period.

Shubman Gill has admitted to being disappointed at not being selected for India's tour of the West Indies, saying he expected to be there in at least one of the squads.

India will play three T20Is, three ODIs and two Tests against West Indies, with the first T20I on August 3.

Gill, who is with the India A squad in the Caribbean, finished the one-day series as the top run-getter with 218 runs in four matches, averaging 54.50 with a strike rate of 98.19. He hit three half-centuries and was named the Man of the Series.

Gill had earned a call-up to the India squad for the New Zealand tour earlier this year, and played two ODIs, though he didn't get into double digits in either game.

"I was waiting for the Indian senior team to be announced on Sunday and I expected to be selected for at least one of the squads," Gill told CricketNext. "It was disappointing not to get picked but I am not going to spend time thinking over it. I'll keep scoring runs and performing to the best of my ability to impress the selectors.

"It was a fantastic series for me and team as well since we won with a 4-1 margin," Gill said. "Personally, I would have liked to carry on and score at least a couple of hundreds in those fifties. But I will learn from this experience. The biggest lesson that I have learned from my first West Indies tour is to try to curb my natural game depending on the match condition."

But while he didn't make it to the squad, Gill was discussed at the selection meeting, with chief selector MSK Prasad saying, "He went to New Zealand when KL Rahul was suspended and now Rahul has come back so he (Gill) is in the waiting list. Definitely he will be considered in the future."

In his brief career, Gill has shown he has the game to adapt to different formats, and found success at almost every level he has played at. His first-class career is only nine games old but he's already amassed more than 1000 runs, and has hit at least a half-century in each of those matches. His List A numbers are also good. In 47 matches, including 17 for India A, Gill has 1942 runs at an average of 47.36 and a strike rate of 87.51.

Most of his T20 career has come in the IPL for Kolkata Knight Riders, having batted at different numbers from 1 to 7. Despite that, Gill's average (32.31) and strike rate (132.90) have been impressive.

Gill's next assignment is the three four-dayers in the Caribbean, with the first match starting on Wednesday in North Sound.