Brad Stevens gets candid about dramatic Celtics offseason changes
A new era of Celtics basketball is set to begin Wednesday night after an offseason overhaul to the team’s roster by Brad Stevens. The Celtics successfully dipped under the second tax apron this summer with the trades of Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday along with the losses of Al Horford and Luke Kornet in free agency in order to avoid the financial and basketball penalities that came up being over the second apron for three straight seasons.
In an interview with Jay King of the Athletic, Stevens spoke candidly about the realities the team faced this summer and how the front office handled them.
“First and foremost, what we were staring at was a bill like no one has ever stared at, right?” Stevens told King. “So that was not the driver as much as the second apron, but that’s still a significant, significant thing. And our owners — past and present — have always been committed to spending, but it made sense for us, even in that perspective to retool, in my opinion. And then when you’re sitting over those aprons, you just have a lot of restrictions. You know, right now our 2032 (first-round) pick is frozen. That will be unfrozen if we’re under (the second apron) for three of four years.”
Stevens also acknowledged that the major moves were coming regardless of a devastating Achilles tear for Jayson Tatum last May.
“We were very forthright with everybody,” Stevens said. “We tried to be as proactive (as possible) communicating that, ‘Hey, these things are gonna happen. We’re gonna bring in young, hungry, maybe unproven, maybe a little scarred, but high-character people that are gonna play hard, that want to be a part of something special.’”
The Celtics now have five new players on their roster heading into opening night against the 76ers and should have a host of new talent in the team’s revamped rotation under Joe Mazzulla.
“We have a lot of depth and have a lot of guys and I think we have the ability to play a much of different ways,” Joe Mazzulla said Tuesday at practice. “We’re not going to go out of our way to do something like that on purpose, but we’re always going to try to take advantage of the matchup and what we have. It’s the same thing with who’s starting, who’s finishing, and I think all those things play into because of the type of guys that we have, because we can go 10-11 deep, it could be a combination of what’s going well that night versus what gives us the best chance versus that matchup, but it’s going to change a lot.”
Canucks announce black skate jersey schedule
On Tuesday afternoon, the Vancouver Canucks released the games in which they would wear their alternate black skate jersey for the 2025-26 season.
The Canucks have already worn the black skate jersey for their home opener against the
1. Thursday, October 9, 2025 – vs. Calgary Flames
2. Saturday, October 25, 2025 – vs. Montreal Canadiens
3. Saturday, October 26, 2025 – vs. Edmonton Oilers
4. Tuesday, October 28, 2025 – vs. New York Rangers
5. Thursday, November 20, 2025 – vs. Dallas Stars
6. Sunday, November 23, 2025 – vs. Calgary Flames
7. Monday, December 8, 2025 – vs. Detroit Red Wings
8. Thursday, December 11, 2025 – vs. Buffalo Sabres
9. Saturday, January 3, 2026 – vs. Boston Bruins
10. Saturday, January 17, 2026 – vs. Edmonton Oilers
11. Monday, January 19, 2026 – vs. New York Islanders
12. Wednesday, January 21, 2026 – vs. Washington Capitals
13. Friday, January 23, 2026 – vs. New Jersey Devils
14. Saturday, January 31, 2026 – vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
15. Monday, March 2, 2026 – vs. Dallas Stars
16. Saturday, March 14, 2026 – vs. Seattle Kraken
17. Tuesday, March 17, 2026 – vs. Florida Panthers
18. Thursday, March 19, 2026 – vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
19. Saturday, March 21, 2026 – vs. St. Louis Blues
20. Tuesday, April 7, 2026 – vs. Vegas Golden Knights
The Canucks first brought back their black skate jersey for a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on February 13, 2016, to honour their 20th anniversary of Rogers Arena. They then reintroduced the throwback jersey for select games in the 2019-20 season to celebrate the Canucks’ 50th anniversary – the design was chosen based on a fan vote between two other throwback jerseys.
However, come January 18, 2023, the Canucks introduced a more modernized black skate jersey. The organization removed the white trim and updated the font to match their current design on the regular home jerseys.
For the rest of the Canucks’ 21 games, fans will see their team sporting their blue and green orca jersey. However, once they return from their current five-game road trip, the Canucks will sport the infamous 1990s jersey in their next three home games against the Canadiens, Oilers and Rangers –
