National Sports

OTTAWA — Brady Tkachuk didn't want to call it a statement win. But he made it clear the Ottawa Senators — only just emerging from the darkest days of their rebuild — won't be an easy out in 2021.

HONOLULU — Canada's Nick Taylor will head into the weekend at the Sony Open atop the leaderboard. Taylor fired an 8-under 62 to get to 12 under, giving him a two shot lead on the rest of the field in Hawaii.

EDMONTON — The Edmonton Oilers have placed goaltender Mike Smith on long-term injury reserve, and have re-assigned Olivier Rodrigue to the club's taxi squad, pending quarantine protocols.

Once again, Jason Tangorra, Wayne Kretz and Leslie Churchill will be glued to their respective television sets watching the Buffalo Bills on Saturday night. And once again, their hearts will be in Orchard Park, N.Y.

REGINA — The Saskatchewan government is giving $4 million to help junior hockey leagues and teams that have had their play interrupted by provincial health restrictions.

Rhian Wilkinson, one of Canada's brightest young coaches, is leaving Canada Soccer. On the plus side, she says she is stepping aside to challenge herself and to add to her coaching skills — with an eye to coaching Canada in the future.

WINNIPEG — The Winnipeg Jets have claimed goaltender Anton Forsberg off waivers from the Carolina Hurricanes. Forsberg, 28, was 1-1-0 with a 3.35 goals-against average and .897 save percentage in three games with the Hurricanes last season.

Andrew Harris is back for another year with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The veteran running back signed a one-year contract extension with his hometown team Friday. But the 33-year-old Winnipeg native was more than willing to commit to a longer deal.

TORONTO — The Blue Jays have avoided arbitration with outfielder Teoscar Hernandez and right-hander Ross Stripling after signing them to one-year deals on Friday. Hernandez's contract is for US$4.325 million, while Stripling will be paid $3 million.

NEW YORK — The New York Jets were searching for a leader, someone who could bring a frustrated, playoff-starved franchise back to respectability. They think they found their guy in Robert Saleh.