The growth in Ovechkin’s game

SAN JOSE Womens Will Butcher Jersey , Calif. (AP) Evander Kane knew San Jose was a good fit when Joe Thornton showed up for a late-night airport pickup following a trade deadline deal.That comfort was only reinforced over the next 10 weeks on the ice and in the dressing room. It left Kane with an easy choice as he headed toward free agency.Kane bypassed a chance at the open market by signing a seven-year deal Thursday worth $49 million to stay with the Sharks for the long term.”It’s good to be wanted and I wanted them just as much as they wanted me,” Kane said. ”The fact that we were able to work out a deal so quickly reflects that. Obviously, when you’re a free agent you have the option to do what you want and I made it clear to them that I didn’t want to go anywhere else.”Kane will be paid $9 million the first year of the deal, followed by salaries of $8 million, $6 million, $7 million, $7 million and two years at $6 million, according to a person familiar with the deal who spoke on condition of anonymity because terms were not released. He also has a limited no-trade clause.Kane, who turns 27 in August, was acquired from Buffalo at the trade deadline in February and became a key part of San Jose’s team down the stretch and in the playoffs.Under the terms of that trade, the Sabres will get a first-round pick in 2019 instead of a second-rounder because Kane signed with San Jose. The selection is lottery-protected, so it could be moved to 2020.The Sharks aren’t concerned about that price.”You don’t find guys like this unless you’re picking in the top three, four guys in the draft, and no one wants to be there,” coach Peter DeBoer said.”When you’re signing free agents, especially elite players and guys that are going to play huge roles for you http://www.officialislanders.com/authentic-adidas-adam-pelech-jersey , you really want to know about them as much as possible. And you really don’t know a player until you stand behind the bench and are around them every day. So that was a nice luxury to have. I think we all felt comfortable that this was a guy that could help us win.”Kane’s status was one of the biggest questions heading into this offseason for the Sharks, who were knocked out of the playoffs in six games in the second round against eventual Western Conference champion Vegas.Thornton is the other prominent potential free agent on the team. But he’s said he’s willing to come back on a reduced one-year deal.The Sharks still have salary cap flexibility to make more moves, which will be easier now that Kane’s deal is done and he can be slotted in on a top line.”He plays with great speed and fits with not only our game but where the league is trending,” general manager Doug Wilson said.”To get him in place and secured was very important to us. Top-six forwards like that, there aren’t many out there and when you get one you want to make sure that he’s secured. It fills in our roster.”Kane stepped right onto the top line with captain Joe Pavelski after arriving in San Jose and helped ease the loss of Thornton, who went down with a season-ending knee injury in January. Kane used speed and physical play to deliver nine goals and five assists in 17 games and helped San Jose make the playoffs, giving him a first taste of the postseason.Kane shined in the first round with three goals and an assist during a sweep against Anaheim. But he struggled a bit against the Golden Knights, slowed by injuries to his knee and shoulder that lingered from the end of the regular season.He had one goal and a minus-5 rating in five games against Vegas. He missed Game 2 of that series when he was suspended for cross-checking Pierre-Edouard Bellemare.Kane finished last season with 29 goals and 25 assists, his second-most productive season to his 30-goal, 27-assist run for the Jets in 2011-12. Kane has 186 goals and 168 assists in 574 games since entering the NHL as the fourth overall pick by Atlanta in 2009.Despite his credentials, there was not a robust trade market for Kane back in February in part because he had issues off the ice with some teammates during his stints with Winnipeg and Buffalo.Kane also had legal run-ins.In March 2016, prosecutors announced after a three-month investigation that Kane would not face a sexual assault charge. In June 2016, he was arrested for allegedly grabbing three women by the hair and neck during an altercation at a Buffalo bar. The charges were eventually dismissed on condition Kane stayed out of trouble as part of a plea agreement.Also that year, the Sabres suspended Kane for one game for missing practice a day after pictures surfaced on social media of the player celebrating in Toronto after attending the NBA All-Star Game.There haven’t been issues in his brief time with the Sharks.”We really started things off on the right note and it just carried on from there,” Kane said. ”The one thing about this team and this group and this organization is that they allow you to be yourself. They embrace you for that. It’s a very unselfish group that makes it super easy to come into and mesh well with.”—AP Hockey Writer John Wawrow contributed to this report— WASHINGTON (AP) Everyone around Alex Ovechkin had a hunch this was his night.His wife, Nastya Anders Lee Jersey , had flown back from Moscow just in time. Coach Barry Trotz noticed Ovechkin was unusually quiet.By the time he scored the 599th goal of his career, Ovechkin sensed it, too. Less than four minutes into the second period of the Washington Capitals‘ game against the Winnipeg Jets, Ovechkin put back a rebound and skated into the spotlight as the latest member of the NHL’s 600-goal club.The Russian superstar scored twice to reach the milestone in typical Ovechkin fashion, becoming the fourth-fastest player in NHL history to 600 behind only Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Brett Hull.”When I score 599, I felt like, `OK I still have to make a push two periods,”’ Ovechkin said. ”Finally, I scored.”Ovechkin’s rebound goal past Connor Hellebuyck 3:53 into the second period was his 42nd of the season as he tries to hit 50 for the eighth time. His first goal 4:35 into the first period came on a 5-on-3 power play as the Russian winger looked determined to reach 600 after several games on the doorstep.”He knew he was going to get it done today,” Trotz said after the Capitals’ 3-2 overtime victory . ”The great thing about Ovi is when he puts something to it in his mind, he was going to get it done.”Capitals fans who have watched Ovechkin shine as the most productive goal scorer of the past decade-plus gave him a standing ovation for almost a minute after he reached the mark. Chants of ”Ovi! Ovi!” continued as he waved from the bench in the moments after and during a video montage at the next timeout.After scoring 33 goals in 2016-17, his second-lowest total in a non-lockout-shortened season, the 32-year-old Ovechkin’s resurgence made his climb to 600 all the more impressive. No player 32 or older has led the NHL in goals since Phil Esposito in 1974-75.”He’s the best goal scorer probably of my time, definitely, and a generation Andrew Ladd Jersey ,” said linemate Tom Wilson, who had the primary assist on Ovechkin’s 600th. ”It’s on us if we don’t get him the puck. It’s a little bit of pressure, definitely, but you just go out there and play your game and it was one of those things that was just going to happen. He’s too good not to hit that milestone.”Greeting Ovechkin the locker room, owner Ted Leonsis took the moment to express his gratitude for 600 goals over the past 13 seasons.”I told him I loved him and respected him and was very grateful and appreciated everything he’s done for the fans and for our team and looking forward to the next 100 goals,” Leonsis said. ”We should never take Alex for granted. It’s really remarkable what he’s accomplished.”Ovechkin recaptured sole possession of the NHL lead against Jets winger Patrik Laine, who scored his 41st of the season to attempt to keep pace with his idol. Even while hoping Ovechkin wouldn’t score No. 600 against Winnipeg, Laine can’t help but appreciate the scoring pace.”That’s pretty amazing to reach that,” Laine said Monday morning. ”Six-hundred goals in under 1,000 games, it’s pretty unreal.”Two former Capitals teammates, Matt Hendricks and Mathieu Perreault, were watching from the Jets’ side when Ovechkin reached his latest round number in a career full of accomplishments.”When I played here, it’s funny, you always want to get the puck on his stick,” said Hendricks Anthony Beauvillier Jersey , who was in the penalty box for Ovechkin’s first goal. ”He has that ability to change games just like that. … Ovi’s a terrific talent.”Perreault, who played with 684-goal scorer Teemu Selanne in Anaheim, said Ovechkin reaching 600 so quickly was indescribable.”The way he can shoot the puck and score goals is beyond what you can even think about,” Perreault said. ”I can tell my grandkids, my kids, I played with Ovechkin. He’s going to be a legend of the game.”Ovechkin has been an impressive scorer for a long time, but had to adapt his game several years ago when opponents figured out how to stop some of his usual moves. Barry Trotz taking over as Capitals coach helped Ovechkin round out his overall game and avoid the kind of lull that goal-scorers typically hit when they turn 30.”It’s very, very unique and unusual for a player of Alex’s vintage to be staring 50 goals in the face,” Leonsis said.The growth in Ovechkin’s game isn’t lost on players and coaches around the league who have watched his career.”When he came in (he was) a hitter almost – a shooter and a hitter,” Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice said. ”He was a very physical player, covered an awful lot of ice during the games. And he’s matured into kind of picking his spots, he’s still a hard guy to play against, physically very, very strong.”But he uses the people around him better, maybe. And that’s true of all players. But his game has really changed. He’s really grown and matured.”—

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