DENVER - Jarome Iginla felt a little more youthful on his 37th birthday even as he became the old man of the Colorado Avalanche.
Nike Air Max 95 Running Heren Rood/Wit/Grijs Schoenen . Hes energized by the challenge of not only trying to keep up with the likes of speedy forward Nathan MacKinnon, who is half Iginlas
age, but also of helping this rising squad take another step in its growth. "I
dont want to be arrogant, but I still believe I can be very good," said Iginla,
who celebrated his birthday Tuesday by signing a three-year, $16 million deal
with Colorado. "And this is a dynamic group. I think they work hard and theyre
committed, and theyre just going to keep getting better and better." The Avs are
coming off a season in which they tied a franchise record with 52 wins in
Patrick Roys first year behind the bench and returned to the post-season for the
first time since 2009-10. Among their top priorities in the off-season? Adding
some grizzled veterans to the squad. First, the team picked up veteran forward
Daniel Briere from Montreal for right wing P.A. Parenteau and a fifth-round pick
in next years draft. Then, Colorado acquired defenceman Brad Stuart from the San
Jose Sharks for a second-round pick in 2016 and a sixth-rounder in 2017. On
Tuesday afternoon, shortly after losing fan favourite Paul Stastny in free
agency — he signed a four-year, $28 million deal with division rival St. Louis —
the Avs worked out a deal with Iginla. It wasnt a laborious task, especially
given the friendship between Iginla and Avalanche Hall of Famer turned executive
Joe Sakic. The two have been tight since their days with Team Canada and when
Sakic made his pitch, Iginla intently listened. Then again, one of Iginlas kids
is named Joe at least in part because of Sakic. "(Sakic) is a winner so it
definitely had something to do with this," Iginla said. Iginla has played in
1,310 regular season games with Calgary, Pittsburgh and Boston. He had 30 goals
in 78 games for the Bruins last season. "Jaromes track record speaks for
itself," Sakic said. "He is one of the top goal scorers of all time, as well as
a great leader. His addition will bolster our offence." As for being the elder
statesman of the team, Iginla just laughed. "I feel good," said Iginla, whos
earned two Olympic gold medals with Canada. "As far as my game dropping off, I
dont think it will. ... I dont come here expecting to do less." He joins a team
that captured a surprise Central Division crown. The turnaround of the Avalanche
led to quite a few post-season awards, too, with Roy taking home coach of the
year, MacKinnon being named the top rookie and Ryan OReilly capturing the Lady
Byng Memorial Trophy for gentlemanly play. Semyon Varlamov also was a finalist
for outstanding goaltender, which went to Tuukka Rask of Boston. Sakic was
hoping to return the nucleus for another run, but wasnt about to break the bank
to make that happen. Sakic said two weeks ago the team had a salary structure in
place, setting the financial bar in deals with Varlamov, Matt Duchene and
captain Gabriel Landeskog. These days, Sakic is attempting to work out a
long-term deal with OReilly, a restricted free agent who led the team with a
career-high 28 goals in 2013-14. In the meantime, Sakic orchestrated a deal to
add the 34-year-old Stuart in order to bring more tenacity to the Avalanches
blue line. He was third on the Sharks in blocked shots (114) and hits (122) last
season. Stuart may be called upon to mentor defenceman Nick Holden, who signed a
three-year extension that runs through the 2017-18 season. Briere is another
scorer who could help offset the loss of Stastny. Iginla likes the additions of
Stuart and Briere. "Its kind of neat to join a new team, but also having other
guys in the same boat and get to come in together," Iginla said. "Thats pretty
cool." One of the enduring images in Avalanche history is Sakic passing the
Stanley Cup over to Ray Bourque for him to hoist after their win in 2001. See
Landeskog doing the same for Iginla one day? "Thats a hope," Iginla said. "These
guys, theyre driven. I think there are lots of good things already happening."
___ AP Hockey Writer Larry Lage contributed.
Nike Air Max 90 Heren Zwart . Algeria led 3-0 at halftime, but withstood a stronger South Korean second half performance to
claim its first World Cup win since 1982 and move into second place in Group H
with one match left to play. Defeat for South Korea means it must now beat
already-qualified Belgium to stand a chance of progressing to the knockout
stages.
Air Max 90 PRM Heren/Dames Nike Schoenen Zwart/Mint . Philbin said Thursday he wants players to treat one another with civility and he wont tolerate anything less. In taking questions
for the first time since Ted Wells released his report into the bullying scandal
that rocked the league, Philbin made it clear things would be cleaned up.DENVER
-- Ryan OReilly and Gabriel Landeskog scored power-play goals, helping the
Colorado Avalanche snap a four-game losing streak with a 5-3 victory over the
Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night. Nathan MacKinnon, Jamie McGinn and
Jan Hejda also scored for the Avalanche, who won despite being outshot 38-23.
MacKinnons goal, also on the power play, came with just over a minute remaining.
Semyon Varlamov had 35 saves for Colorado. Nick Foligno, Boone Jenner and
Ryan Johansen scored Columbus goals. Leading 3-2, Colorado scored on the power
play for the second time when Paul Stastny passed across the slot to Landeskog,
who was perched on the doorstep. Landeskog put the puck into an open net at 8:10
of the third period. Just 37 seconds later, Foligno responded with a wraparound
shot that got past Varlamov to again narrow the Blue Jackets deficit to one.
Columbus snapped a 1-1 tie at 8:34 of the second period on a goal by Jenner, but
the Blue Jackets couldnt hold the lead as the Avalanche scored a pair of goals
less than three minutes apart later in the period. Matt Duchenes shot from the
slot bounded away from goalie Cuurtis McElhinney and onto the stick of McGinn,
who backhanded the rebound into the net to make it 2-2 at 12:04 of the second.
Nike Air Max 90 Dames Goedkoop. The Avalanche then capitalized on a power play to take the lead at 14:42 of the second with
Duchene again in the middle of the action. His shot was stopped by McElhinney,
but the rebound again got away. OReilly gathered in the loose puck and knocked
it into the net to put the Avalanche up by one at 14:42 of the second. The Blue
Jackets scored first 4:13 into the game. Foligno muscled his way past defenceman
Hejda to get a shot that bounced off the pads of Varlamov. Johansen beat
MacKinnon and slapped the puck past Varlamov for his 16th goal. Hejda, who spent
four seasons with Columbus from 2007-11, made amends at 6:33. He got to a loose
puck along the boards, and his slap shot from the left point wriggled through
McElhinneys pads for his fourth goal. NOTES: Duchene had a team-leading 16
points in December (4 goals, 12 assists). ... The Avalanche hosted a New Years
Eve game at the Pepsi Center for the first time. ... Johansen has 10 goals and
eight assists in his last 17 games. ... Columbus is 6-17-2 against Colorado.
Wholesale Jerseys China ' ' '
