yyys123
Joined: 08 Jul 2019
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 Posted: 22.02.2009 Post subject: on the horizon. One governor |
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| MINNEAPOLIS -- Kyle Rudolph hasnt put up the biggest numbers over the first three years of his career, which is due as much to the Minnesota Vikings revolving door at quarterback as anything else. The Vikings have known all along what they have in Rudolph, a big, field-stretching tight end who can be a difference-maker in the right offence with the right quarterback. So now theyre paying him like one. Rudolph signed a five-year contract extension with the Vikings on Sunday night, a sign that the team has big plans for Rudolph in new offensive co-ordinator Norv Turners offence. The deal, which was first reported by Fox Sports, is worth $36.5 million with $19.4 million guaranteed. Incentives can push the deal to $40 million. "Im very excited to get this extension done with Kyle," Vikings GM Rick Spielman said. "We drafted him, hes done a tremendous job since hes been here. Our whole focus on moving forward in this organization is to draft our players, develop them and keep them here. Hes one of our young guys who is going to be a building block as we go forward in the future and just very excited to get this behind us so we can look forward to seeing him produce over the coming years." Rudolph missed eight games because of a broken left foot last season. He caught 30 passes for 313 yards and three touchdowns last year, but was still named to the Pro Bowl and earned MVP honours in the game. His best season came in 2012, when he caught Rudolph was entering the final year of his rookie contract, and the Vikings know what he can do when he is healthy. In 2012, he 53 passes for 493 yards and nine touchdowns, just the kind of production the Vikings envisioned when they drafted him in 2011. Spielman took a little bit of a risk when he made that selection because Rudolph missed the final seven games of his last season at Notre Dame after having surgery to repair a severe hamstring injury. But Rudolph played 31 of 32 games in his first two seasons in the NFL before missing half the season a year ago with his broken foot. "Ive said all along I wanted to stay in Minnesota," Rudolph said. "I love the fans, the community and, most importantly, Im excited about where this team is going. Im looking forward to the 2014 season and helping this organization reach our ultimate goal." Rudolphs production to this point has been somewhat hindered by the Vikings inability to find a consistent quarterback. Rudolphs friend and draft classmate Christian Ponder has failed to live up to expectations and previous offensive co-ordinator Bill Musgrave struggled at times to get Rudolph involved in the passing game. New head coach Mike Zimmer brought in Turner, considered one of the best offensive co-ordinators of his generation, to run the offence. Turner has had success in the past with great tight ends like Jay Novacek in Dallas and Antonio Gates in San Diego, and he has been impressed early in training camp by Rudolph. The Vikings also hope to have a much more stable quarterback situation with veteran Matt Cassel and rookie Teddy Bridgewater competing for the job. "The thing Kyle has done is get up the field and he is running better than he has been in the past," Turner said. "I think he is understanding that we are trying to change his style of running in terms of routes and he is taking to it. I expect him to be a big part of what we do offensively." Jamal Adams Jersey .com) - Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh called Joe Flacco the NFLs best quarterback last week. Trevon Wesco Womens Jersey . -- The Toronto Maple Leafs are tightening the race for second place in the Atlantic Division. http://www.jetsrookiestore.com/Jets-Ladainian-Tomlinson-Jersey/ .com) - The disappointing Ottawa Senators hope to record consecutive wins for the first time since early November, as they visit the Boston Bruins on Friday for the opener of a home-and-home series. Joe Namath Jersey . Mladenovics quick hands at the net made the difference while Bencics inexperience in doubles showed. "We took a lot of pleasure," Mladenovic told Sport Plus television. "Its extremely difficult to play in such conditions, but our doubles team showed a lot of quality. Jamal Adams Youth Jersey . Scrivens stopped 48 shots and captain Andrew Ference scored in overtime as the Oilers pulled off a 4-3 upset of the Anaheim Ducks on Friday.TSN Hockey Insiders Bob McKenzie, Pierre LeBrun and Darren Dreger gathered for the latest installment of Insider Trading and the topics discussed were what a rising salary cap means for PK Subbans contract negotiations, the coaching situation with the New York Islanders, the Buffalo Sabres search for a new general manager, what stories emerged from Tuesdays Board of Governors meetings and Jakob Chychrun, the son of former Flyers defenceman Jeff Chychrun. Q: With the cap going over $71 million and climbing even higher, what does this mean to P.K. Subban and his contract talks? LeBrun: It could mean a lot. In many ways, he could be the poster child for young, star free agents and future negotiations. For guys like Alex Pietrangelo and Erik Karlsson, they signed long term deals because they were looking for security and didnt know where the salary cap was headed. Well, P.K. Subban and his advisors from Newport Sports know where its going and its going way up, so the debate for Subban is, do I sign an eight-year deal like a lot of people are expecting me to, but then, the salary cap might be at $100 million by the end of the eight-year deal, maybe Im better off taking a shorter term deal, three or four years. Of course, the Montreal Canadiens will be looking for some long-term security themselves, so a big decision for Subban because the cap is going way up. McKenzie: The players and agents are wondering whos going to be the guy who breaks the bank; whos going to be the guy who gets closer to the 20 per cent maximum salary thats allowed. If the salary cap is $75 million or $80 million in a couple of years, thats potentially $15-16 million a year. What player might command that kind of money? Well, lets have a look at the guys who are coming up to unrestricted free agency. Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane have a year left on their deals after this year. They can start negotiating in the summer. You can easily justify doubling your current $6.3 million salary if youre Toews or Kane. Steven Stamkos, a free agent in 2016, could he be the guy who breaks the bank? We saw the redefining of the goaltender market last week when Henrik Lundqvist brought the maximum goaltender salary from $7 million to $8.5 million. Agents and players believe its only a matter of time until some star player gets $12, $13 million or $14 million under this new salary cap environment. Q: Are the reeling New York Islanders going to be looking for a new head coach? Dreger: They might, but in the moment, the New York Islanders are willing to be patient, so there is no imminent coach firing. Jack Capuano has the full confidence of his general manager. What the team needs is more offence from its star players and thats aside from the top line. Garth Snow is also looking for a top-pairing defenceman. Hes taking more of the responsibility than putting it on the coaches. Q: What is the status of the Buffalo Sabres search for a new general manager? McKenzie: The list is getting longer, rather than shorter. The expectation is that the Buffalo Sabres will certainly take until the New Year and maybe beyond that, closer to the Olympics, before a general manager is named. Our sense is that there is somewhere between six and 10 names that Sabress president Pat LaFontaine is looking at and that hes probably spoken to two-thirds or three-quarters of that group, but hes continuing to look and theres one name thats popping into the mix lately.dddddddddddd The Buffalo Sabres have asked for permission from the Los Angeles Kings to talk to director of amateur scouting Mike Futa, but no word yet on whether or not that permission has been granted. Q: What stories emerged from Tuesdays Board of Governors meeting, including the push for the next World Cup of Hockey? Dreger: I believe Hockey Canada will reach out, if they havent already, to the Players Association. The NHL is waiting for some gesture from the Players Association on the scenarios that have been discussed over multiple meetings about the next World Cup. Hockey Canada would prefer that the next World Cup be in February 2016. Its unlikely that the owners will shut down part of the season again. Theyd prefer September of 2015. Theres still a lot of work to do, but the league is getting antsy. They want an answer in the next couple of months. LeBrun: Brendan Shanahan addressed the Board of Governors on Tuesday, talking about league discipline. One of the things he brought up was Matt Cooke and how he became a rehabilitated player in part because of the help he got from the Pittsburgh Penguins organization. The message from Shanahan was look at what that coaching staff did for Matt Cooke. Hed like to see more teams around the league adopt that model when it comes to helping out their own players when it comes to league discipline issues. Dreger: This was very much a business meeting for the governors of the NHL and good news for the small market owners, as they learned that they can earn upwards of $45 million. With the cap floor going to $52 million in 2014-15, those full revenue-sharing teams will get upwards of $20 million in national rights money, theyll get $20 million in revenue sharing and, perhaps, an extra $5 million in escrow. So thats $45 million of $52 million to get to the floor. LeBrun: The story that generated the most buzz today was something that wasnt even talked about within the walls of the Board of Governors meeting - expansion, but because Gary Bettman was questioned about expansion in the media, it was really his demeanour, more than what he actually said, that generated the buzz. He openly talked about receiving interest from other markets. In the past, he would just shut that down and not even broach it. It gives us the impression that expansion is on the horizon. One governor said, nevermind the next couple of years, he believes in the next year, expansion talk will heat up seriously. Q: Whats the next step for Jakob Chychrun, son of former Philadelphia Flyer Jeff Chychrun? McKenzie: Jakob Chychrun is a 62", 195-pound, 15-year-old defenceman who plays for the Toronto Canadiens of the Greater Toronto Hockey League. What makes him special is that if he decides to go the OHL route, hes expected to be the first-overall pick. While he never applied for exceptional status, even before that, they did make an exception at the Under-17 World Challenge this Christmas. He will be the first minor hockey player, not playing in the OHL, to go up and play on the Ontario under-17 team. ' ' ' |
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