Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Notes and Answers for January 16, #115

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Pretty sneaky, Connections: Sports Edition. As a Minnesota Wild fan, I saw the team name there and the category it might fit into (green). I also see that you portrayed this as a red herring and that it actually belonged in a different category. Read on for clues and answers to today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle.

Currently, the game is in beta, meaning the Times is testing it to see if it’s popular before adding it to the site’s gaming app. You can play it for free every day for now – and then we’ll have to see if it sticks.

Read more: NYT has a connection game for sports fans. I tried

Notes for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four clues for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ordered from the easiest yellow group to the difficult (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Note on the yellow group: They work together.

Note from the green group: Wild would be another answer.

Note on the blue group: Amusement park city.

Note on the purple group: Deal me in.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Members of a staff.

Green group: NHL teams with unique nicknames.

Blue group: Orlando teams.

Purple group: ____ Map.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here are the most popular letters used in English words

What are today’s answers to Connections: Sports Edition?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The issue is employees. The four answers are coach, manager, scout and trainer.

The green words in today’s Connections

The topic is NHL teams with unique nicknames. The four answers are Avalanche, Kraken, Lightning and Utah Hockey Club.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The topic is Orlando teams. The four answers are Magic, Orlando City, Pride and UCF.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ____ card. The four answers are lineup, trade, wild and yellow.