NHL teams seeking a center are in luck Connor Williams Youth Jersey , especially the ones that can get an audience with John Tavares.
It’s no secret that Tavares is where free agency begins. He and his representatives have already met with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins and San Jose Sharks and are set to speak with the Dallas Stars and Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday to court the 27-year-old superstar.
”We’ve had a discussion on that front,” Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said Saturday at the NHL draft . ”I think that’s still a bit to be determined.”
As the No. 1 pending free agent, Tavares not only gets to hand out his rose like hockey’s version of ”The Bachelor,” he can set the tone for the rest of the players available.
Only the Islanders can offer an eight-year contract – unless they execute a sign-and-trade to recoup some value – and he could very well become the league’s second-highest-paid player behind Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid, who makes an average of $12.5 million a season.
”I think that (at)91Tavares should join the Sharks!” San Jose captain Joe Pavelski’s grandmother Mary Ann tweeted .
As soon as Tavares decides to stay with the Islanders or sign elsewhere, the movement will begin.
Paul Stastny should be the next-best center available after putting up 15 points in 17 playoff games with Winnipeg. Another 32-year-old, Toronto’s Tyler Bozak, could be a fallback plan for teams that don’t sign Tavares, and Buffalo will continue to get calls about two-way star Ryan O’Reilly as the push from contenders to add talent heats up.
The Sharks are right in the middle of a lot of those conversations. Owner Hasso Plattner, GM Doug Wilson and coach Peter DeBoer made their pitch to Tavares at Creative Artists Agency’s Los Angeles office Tuesday.
”We explore everything, every opportunity,” Wilson said Saturday after Ilya Kovalchuk chose to sign with Los Angeles. ”It’s a good thing that I think players look at our place as a place they want to consider to play.”
The Lightning, who re-signed J.T. Miller to a $26.25 million Zack Martin Jersey Womens , five-year deal, provide an attractive destination for Tavares and others after reaching the Eastern Conference final with a young core, but Tampa Bay’s salary cap space is tight.
”We would have to make room,” GM Steve Yzerman said. ”We would have to make room if we brought in a significant salary.”
Dallas could soon agree with center Tyler Seguin on a long-term contract, but has much more free cap space than Tampa Bay to use this summer. Expect GM Jim Nill to be active.
”We’ll be getting a lot of calls from players,” Nill said. ”It’s exciting just to see what’s out there.”
Tavares’ hometown Maple Leafs are the most intriguing destination because they’re a playoff team with a Stanley Cup-winning coach in Mike Babcock and young talent everywhere, from forwards Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander to defenseman Morgan Rielly. They also have almost $25 million in salary-cap space, and GM Kyle Dubas hopes Toronto can add a substantial player in free agency.
”We’ll try to figure that out if the opportunity presents itself,” Dubas said. ”We’re confident right now with our cap situation that we can do really whatever we want to do at this point. Nothing is going to stop us or hold us back and that’s how we’ll proceed here through the entire summer.”
Here are some things to watch in free agency beyond Tavares:
WINGING IT WITH JVR
Only two unrestricted free agents scored 30 goals this past season: Tavares and Maple Leafs left wing James van Riemsdyk, who had 36 a year after recording a career-high 62 points in 2016-17. Teams don’t ordinarily let a 6-foot-3, 217-pounder such as van Riemsdyk get to July 1, but the Maple Leafs are in on Tavares, will need to give Nylander a raise as a restricted free agent and can talk extensions for Matthews and Marner this summer.
With that in mind Derick Brassard Penguins Jersey , van Riemsdyk could easily get a maximum-length, seven-year deal in free agency – perhaps from the New York Rangers he grew up rooting for, or the nearby Islanders or Devils. New Jersey trade acquisition Patrick Maroon and veteran Rick Nash also fit the bill for teams looking for big forwards who can fill the net.
”We’ve had great communication with Rick and his representatives,” Sweeney said of Nash, whom the Bruins traded for in February. ”The time is in his court and stage to initiate whatever talks he wants wherever he wants to go. I think he strongly indicated that Boston is a place that he would consider and as would we.”
FLAWED GOALTENDERS
The crop of available puck-stoppers has a shortage of sure-thing starters. Veterans Jaroslav Halak, Kari Lehtonen and Cam Ward have done it before, but may be at the stage of their careers that they’ll have to split time.
Late-blooming 32-year-old Carter Hutton hasn’t been a No. 1 in the NHL, but looks to have that potential after his .931 save percentage last season was the best among goalies who appeared in at least 20 games.
Teams could also take a shot on goalies who were not tendered contract offers as restricted free agents and are now to open to sign anywhere: Robin Lehner and Petr Mrazek.
DEPTH DEFENSEMEN
After John Carlson, who re-signed with the Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals at $64 million over eight years, there’s a significant drop-off to rest of the available defensemen and not many out there who are particularly product
Leave it to Terrell Owens to choose to become the first person to celebrate being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame somewhere other than at the Canton, Ohio shrine.
The receiver who provided so many exhilarating and exasperating moments during one of the NFL’s most prolific careers is about 600 miles away from Canton this weekend. Hours before the other inductees are honored, Owens will give his own acceptance speech at Chattanooga , where he played college football and basketball and ran track.
Owens announced on Twitter in June that, while ”incredibly appreciative Landon Collins Jersey ,” he wouldn’t attend the induction ceremony. Owens never shared his reasons for staying away. Less than a month later, Owens again used social media to say he’d hold his own induction ceremony in Chattanooga.
”Getcha popcorn ready!” wrote the man who once celebrated a touchdown with popcorn.
Owens said Friday in Chattanooga there’s a ”flaw in that system” about how Hall of Famers are selected and he wanted to ”make a stand” for future candidates. Owens, who wasn’t selected to the Hall of Fame until his third year of eligibility, noted how grateful he was to accept this honor ”right here where it all began.”
He’s been quite chatty on social media in the weeks leading up to his induction. Owens tweeted that he ”wouldn’t have a PRO career if it wasn’t for Chattanooga (hash)THISISFORYOU.” When asked why he’s bypassing the Canton ceremony, Owens tweeted that ”I don’t need to be on their stage to do it. I’ll be fine & im sure they will be too.”
Chattanooga remains a place where Owens is loved for what he accomplished well before becoming an NFL star. Owens had 2,320 career yards receiving in college and also played basketball on two NCAA Tournament teams before the San Francisco 49ers selected him in the third round of the 1996 draft.
In the NFL, Owens strung together numerous antics – posing on the Dallas Cowboys‘ star logo at midfield, engaging in sideline tirades – with five teams over 15 seasons. But his college coaches marveled at his work ethic and considered him fun to coach.
”First guy (on the field), last guy off,” former Chattanooga football coach Buddy Green said. ”He worked hard, man. He tried to get better every practice. You’d put him on a special team, and he was the first guy down the field. He just loved to play the game. He was great to coach. He worked as hard as anybody on the field, even harder probably.”
Mack McCarthy coached Chattanooga basketball during Owens’ years on campus and remembers a guy who could come off the bench and defend at any position.
”He could not have been a better teammate,” McCarthy said. ”He couldn’t have been better to coach.”
Owens has a busy weekend planned for his return to campus.
He spoke to Chattanooga’s current student-athletes Friday morning and also took 35 area youths on a shopping spree . Athletic director Mark Wharton said the school will have a private dinner for him Friday night and estimates about 2 Tyron Smith Cowboys Jersey ,000 people will gather at McKenzie Arena for Owens’ induction speech Saturday afternoon.
Plans to celebrate Owens’ Hall of Fame career in Chattanooga had been in the works since March. That’s when Wharton attended Owens’ induction into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame and heard some of the receiver’s stories from his college days for over an hour.
”From there, his team started saying fairly immediately that he wanted to do something in Chattanooga round the Hall of Fame,” Wharton said. ”I assumed – we all assumed (since) nobody’s not gone to Canton – we assumed and started planning for the weekend before. Then in May or so, Terrell notified all of us his desires to have it here.”
Owens’ decision to avoid Canton has been called a mistake by Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, Owens’ former boss who was inducted into the Hall of Famer last year. Several former players and Hall of Famers also have criticized Owens.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame still will honor Owens as part of the weekend festivities. Owens, who ranks second in NFL history in career yards receiving (15,934) and third in touchdown catches (153) , will be part of the 2018 class exhibit with his picture on a light standard at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium and his own glass locker.
Hall of Fame President David Baker called Owens’ decision unprecedented and disappointing .
”We respect he has strong feelings of his own and I respect his right to make that decision,” Baker said. ”I invited him to the hall, even at the last moment he would be welcomed, and he is welcomed every day the rest of his life. Even though he is not here, we will honor him to the best of our ability.”
Owens has never wavered. He retweeted someone who noted any message he provides in his induction speech would be heard by many more people in Canton rather than Chattanooga.
”This choice wasn’t made for the millions,” Owens replied via Twitter . ”It was made for the ones that matter.”
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AP Pro Football Writer Barry Wilner contributed to this report.
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14.08.2018 05:10
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