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Nylander and Leafs get back to business

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Tell them Willie Boy is here.

Wait, wrong movie. This was more a Titanic epic, threatening to smash against the iceberg of negotiation deadline, sinking to the bottom of restricted free agency waters, whilst GM Kyle Dubas madly rearranged the salary-cap deck chairs.

Okay, we’re done with that metaphor now.

In any event, Willie Boy — William Nylander — was present and accounted for on Monday, in the Maple Leafs dressing room, chuffed to tell it himself.

Looking very much like the posh $41.77-Million-Dollar Man he has become, wearing a shiny teal three-piece suit, black shirt and suede shoes.

Hockey players are THE best-dressed athletes on the planet.

And all the world is turning on its axis again, with the 22-year-old Swedish-Canadian returned to the fold, albeit not yet quite ready for prime-time game action and who knows if he’ll be restored to the Auston Matthews line, which has been clicking along just fine even when injured Matthews wasn’t there, either.

Just a long-delayed medical Monday as his ’mates flew off to Buffalo, but not before Mitch Marner welcomed the prodigal Leaf back with his version of the money dance, cha-cha-ka-ching-cha-cha.

Where Nylander has led, the RFA likes of Marner and Auston Matthews are soon enough to follow, to say nothing of other players across the NHL who are even now doing the projected math comps for next summer. But oh, this is a slap-happy ship at the moment, smiles all ’round and a great big glad-that’s-over whew.

“It was a tough process,” Nylander acknowledged. “I mean, it sure was a learning experience that I don’t ever want to go through again. I think it made me a stronger person.”

As we now know, the months clicked down to weeks down to hours down to minutes before Nylander finally put his John Henry on a contract Saturday afternoon, deadline looming to avert sitting out a complete season and having do endure the whole schmozzle once more, perhaps never to wear the blue-and-white again.

“I always wanted to be here, so I wasn’t thinking of going anywhere else.”

That was Saturday morning and, apparently, his self-actualization all the way through.

“The last 30 minutes was crazy. I think the contract was signed at 4:53. I couldn’t believe it.”

It was Nylander, in Stockholm, who made the call to Dubas within that last hour. “It was getting into the last 40 minutes before the deadline. I was talking to my agent. I said, let’s just call him.

“I was, like, now we’ve got to get something done here. I talked to the (players’ association) and they said the contract should be called by 4:30. That’s when I called, like, holy s–t, it’s tight.

“That phone call, I think, really got everything done.”

Followed by some frantic texting, assuring that the signed contract was in … the scanner, I guess. Nobody faxes anymore.

“Did you get it? Did you get it? And Kyle, like, yeah we got it. Okay, it’s good.” Then a whirlwind of giddy-up and go. “I was happy for two hours and then the ticket was booked, packed, slept for four hours and then left. It went really fast.”

Six more years a Leaf. Unless, of course, that front-ended contract loses its appeal for the Leafs and they trade him on. Which Nylander is confident won’t happen.

“Kyle has told me multiple times that as long as he’s here, he’s not going to trade me. And from what I saw that Babs (coach Mike Babcock) had said, that I’m going to be here … what did he say? … a long time.’’ Career Leaf is what Babcock said, after suggesting repeatedly over recent weeks that Nylander would be back, the only indicator of negotiations perhaps progressing from inside the sealed vault of the franchise brain trust.

Dubas echoed the no-trade assurance, a bit couched in qualifiers, though such proclamations should always be taken with a dollop of salt.

“He came here a month before I did,” noted the rookie GM. “We had the year with the Marlies. He’s someone who continues to improve and get better. I have faith, knowing him and his intelligence level and dedication to his craft, that he’s only going to continue to improve. He’s not the type of person we want to see walk out of here.”

Dubas scoffed at a reporter’s query about when, or if, he’d reached the “darkest hour” of these prolonged, endlessly discussed (on the media side) negotiations. “I have a hard time with darkest hour when it comes to hockey.’’ Yay Kyle, and get a grip, reporter. “Any time you get that close to deadline, you start to worry that it may not get done, even though we remained optimistic throughout. He reiterated that. So you retain that optimism, because both parties’ ambition was to have him be here for a long time.”

In fact, contrary to the spin which had gained traction in recent weeks — that the Leafs were doing just fine without Nylander and maybe it would be best if the wildly gifted forward were swapped to fill other roster needs, like a top-four D-man maybe, or he could just be left to rot for the season, the bloody ingrate, too big for his 22-year-old britches — Dubas was clear that he never swung that way.

“As the season started, there began a narrative: well, the team is playing so well, is it really necessary to have him? Should you look to moving him to address other needs? My message to William was: I don’t think our team will be at its full potential until he’s back and a part of it. Only then can we really assess our team.’’

Nylander admitted that he’d never foreseen the stalemate would last this long and it preyed on him, even as he went off to practise with a team in Austria, just to get out of the bubble.

“It wasn’t just the last couple of weeks. Once training camp started, I was thinking it was going to get done and then nothing happened. Then the season started and I thought, OK, it’s going to get done.”

It didn’t.

“I’m still amazed that it’s done. You don’t really understand it. I still don’t understand that it’s done and I’m here. It’s crazy.”

He’d watched only a few Leafs game from afar, was wowed by the team’s performance, enjoyed the early goal-racking by Matthews and Marner and John Tavares. Missed them, though teammates texted frequently, one even saying he’d dreamed that Nylander had signed.

But what are you going to do? Somewhere — and Nylander was clear that neither his dad Michael nor his agent Lewis Gross were pulling the strings — the young man found the cojones to keep his nerve. “Both sides were holding their ground and wanting what they wanted. That’s why it took the time.”

If there was a psychological breakthrough, a tentative meeting of the minds, it occurred in mid-October when Dubas went to Sweden to speak with Nylander, man-to-man, one-on-one, nobody else present.

“That’s just more my style,” said Dubas. “I wasn’t going to let this thing go on without me sitting across from him, face to face, and seeing what may have been bothering him, what was preventing the process from moving forward, various things that we had been doing or we could change.’’

Nylander: “That was probably the first time I talked to Kyle by myself. That meant a lot. It started to get stuff moving.”

Interestingly, Dubas shouldered the blame for the impasse.

“It came down to the last five, six minutes. Took that long. Frankly disappointed in myself that it did. I’m obviously hopeful that we learned from it. I don’t want any of our players to have to go through this again. I don’t want the coaching staff or our organization to have that distraction.

“That falls on me. Learn from it.”

Rosie DiManno is a columnist based in Toronto covering sports and current affairs. Follow her on Twitter: @rdimanno

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Anglais

Nostalgia and much more with Starburst XXXtreme

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Get a taste of adventure with Starburst XXXtreme based on the legendary NetEnt Game. The nostalgic themes are sure to capture fans of the classic version as they get treated to higher intensity, better visuals, and features. The most significant element of the game is its volatility. Patience will not be an essential virtue considering the insane gameplay, and there is a lot of win potential involved. It retains the original makeup of the previous game while adding a healthy dose of adrenaline. 

Starburst Visuals and Symbols

The game is definitely more conspicuous than before. The setting happens over a 5-reel, 3-row game grid with nine fixed win lines, which function if a succession from the left to the right reel is present. Only those players that that attain the highest win per bet line are paid. From a visual standpoint, the Starburst XXXtreme slots illustrates lightning effects behind the reels, which is not surprising as it is inherited from the original version. Available themes include Classic, Jewels, and Space. The game is also available in both desktop and mobile versions, which is advantageous for players considering the global pandemic. According to Techguide, American gamers are increasingly having more engaging gaming experiences to socialize to fill the gap of in-person interaction. Starburst XXXtreme allows them to fill the social void at a time when there is so much time to be had indoors. 

Starburst XXXTreme Features

Players get to alternate on three features which are Starburst Wilds, XXXtreme Spins, and Random Wilds. The first appears on reels 2,3, or 4. When these land, they expand to cover all positions while also calculating the wins. They are also locked for a respin. If a new one hits, it also becomes locked while awarding another respin. Starburst XXXtreme offers a choice between two scenarios for a higher stake. In one scenario with a ten times stake, the Starburst Wild is set on random on reels 2,3, or 4, and a multiplier starts the respin. The second scenario, which has a 95 times stake, starts with two guaranteed starburst wilds on reels 2,3, or 4. it also plays out using respin game sequence and features. The game also increases the potential with the Random Wilds feature to add Starburst Wilds to a vacant reel at the end of a spin. Every Starburst Wild gives a random multiplier with potential wins of x2, x3, x5, x10, x25, x50, x100, or even x150.

The new feature is sure to be a big hit with the gaming market as online gambling has shown significant growth during the lockdown. AdAge indicates the current casino customer base is an estimated one in five Americans, so Starburst XXXtreme’s additional features will achieve considerable popularity. 

What We Think About The Game

The gambling market has continued to diversify post-pandemic, so it is one of the most opportune times to release an online casino-based game. Thankfully Starburst XXXtreme features eye-catching visuals, including the jewels and space themes. These attract audience participation and make the gameplay inviting. The game also has a nostalgic edge. The previous NetEnt iteration featured similar visuals and gameplay, so the audience has some familiarity with it. The producers have revamped this version by tweaking the features to improve the volatility and engagement. 

That is characterized by the potential win cap of 200,000 times the bet. Starburst XXXtreme does not just give betting alternatives for players that want to go big. The increase of multipliers also provides a great experience. If the respins in the previous version were great, knowing that multipliers can go hundreds of times overtakes the game to a new level. 

Players should get excited about this offering. All of the features can be triggered within a single spin. Whether one plays the standard game or takes the XXXtreme spin route, it is possible to activate all of the features. Of course, the potential 200,000 times potential is a huge carrot. However, the bet size is probably going to be restricted and vary depending on the casino. It is also worth pointing out that a malfunction during the gameplay will void all of the payouts and progress. Overall, the game itself has been designed to provide a capped win of 200,000 times the original bet. 

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Anglais

‘We’re back’: Montreal festival promoters happy to return but looking to next year

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In downtown Montreal, it’s festival season.

In the city’s entertainment district, a musical act was conducting a sound check on stage Friday evening — the second day of the French-language version of the renowned Just For Laughs comedy festival. Tickets for many of the festival’s free outdoor shows — limited by COVID-19 regulations — were sold out.

Two blocks away, more than 100 people were watching an acoustic performance by the Isaac Neto Trio — part of the last weekend of the Festival International Nuits d’Afrique, a celebration of music from the African continent and the African diaspora.

With COVID-19 restrictions continuing to limit capacity, festival organizers say they’re glad to be back but looking forward to next year when they hope border restrictions and capacity limits won’t affect their plans.

Charles Décarie, Just For Laughs’ CEO and president, said this is a “transition year.”

“Even though we have major constraints from the public health group in Montreal, we’ve managed to design a festival that can navigate through those constraints,” Décarie said.

The French-language Juste pour rire festival began on July 15 and is followed by the English-language festival until July 31.

When planning began in February and March, Décarie said, organizers came up with a variety of scenarios for different crowd sizes, ranging from no spectators to 50 per cent of usual capacity.

“You’ve got to build scenarios,” he said. “You do have to plan a little bit more than usual because you have to have alternatives.”

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Anglais

MELS new major movie studio to be built in Montreal

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MONTREAL — MELS Studios will build a new film studio in Montreal, filling some of the gap in supply to meet the demand of Hollywood productions.

MELS president Martin Carrier said on Friday that MELS 4 studio construction will begin « as soon as possible », either in the fall or winter of next year. The studio could host productions as early as spring 2023.

The total investment for the project is $76 million, with the Quebec government contributing a $25 million loan. The project will create 110 jobs, according to the company.

The TVA Group subsidiary’s project will enable it to stand out « even more » internationally, according to Quebecor president and CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau. In the past, MELS Studios has hosted several major productions, including chapters of the X-Men franchise. The next Transformers movie is shooting this summer in Montreal.

Péladeau insisted that local cultural productions would also benefit from the new facility, adding that the studio ensures foreign revenues and to showcase talent and maintain an industry of Quebec producers.

STUDIO SHORTAGE

The film industry is cramped in Montreal.

According to a report published last May by the Bureau du cinéma et de la télévision du Québec (BCTQ), there is a shortage of nearly 400,000 square feet of studio space.

With the addition of MELS 4, which will be 160,000 square feet, the company is filling part of the gap.

Carrier admitted that he has had to turn down contracts because of the lack of space, representing missed opportunities of « tens of millions of dollars, not only for MELS, but also for the Quebec economy. »

« Montreal’s expertise is in high demand, » said Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante, who was present at the announcement.

She said she received great testimonials from « Netflix, Disney, HBO and company » during an economic mission to Los Angeles in 2019.

« What stands out is that they love Montreal because of its expertise, knowledge and beauty. We need more space, like MELS 4, » she said.

There is still not enough capacity in Quebec, acknowledged Minister of Finance, the Economy and Innovation Eric Girard.

« It is certain that the government is concerned about fairness and balance, so if other requests come in, we will study them with the same seriousness as we have studied this one, » he said.

Grandé Studios is the second-largest player in the industry. Last May, the company said it had expansion plans that should begin in 2022. Investissement Québec and Bell are minority shareholders in the company.

For its part, MELS will have 400,000 square feet of production space once MELS 4 is completed. The company employs 450 people in Quebec and offers a range of services including studio and equipment rentals, image and sound postproduction, visual effects and a virtual production platform.

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