Bewerbungen » d the Blues are not only hoping for P

NHL players are going to the 2014 Winter Olympics. It took months of deliberation, but participation in the games was made official after an agreement was reached between the league, the NHL Players Association and the International Ice Hockey Federation. "I think like everyone thought it was just kind of a matter of time, working out logistics," Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said. "With it being a little further in Russia Im sure there was a little bit more work to do. Im glad that were going and obviously excited to kind of start the process." Commissioner Gary Bettman has been optimistic for several weeks about a deal getting done. But until it was finalized there was uncertainty about players going to the Games in Sochi, Russia, despite NBC securing broadcast rights for the games and players expressing the desire to go. "The decision to participate in the XXII Olympic Winter Games in Sochi was in many ways a difficult one, but one that we know will be well received by our players and, most importantly, by the vast majority of our fans and sports fans everywhere," Bettman said in a statement. It will be the fifth Olympics featuring NHL players since they were first allowed to represent their countries in 1998. The NHL will interrupt its season from Feb. 9-26 for the tournament, which will take place from Feb. 12-23. The 2013-14 NHL schedule, delayed until this deal was finalized, was released later Friday. Canada won gold at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, when Crosby scored to beat the United States in overtime. "Its gone by really fast," Crosby said. "Obviously with injuries and stuff like that, too, it wasnt like there was three full hockey seasons to kind of look back on. Its definitely gone by quick, but its exciting. You start to kind of think about it and obviously with it being announced that were going." Overall its been an up-and-down experience for Canada at the Olympics. Canada finished seventh in Turn in 2006, won gold in Salt Lake City in 2002 and finished fourth in Nagano in 1998. Canada will be in Group B along with Austria, Finland and Norway. Group A is made up of the United States, Russia, Slovakia and Slovenia, while Group C is made up of the Czech Republic, Sweden, Switzerland and Latvia. Canada opens the Olympic tournament Feb. 13 against Norway. Naturally, the expectation for Canada is the same as it was in 2010. "Just being Canadian you realize pretty quickly that people come together that time of year, especially, and when its hockey even more so," Crosby said. "I think that you want to go there and find a way to win gold." Some Russian stars, including Alex Ovechkin, have said they would go to Sochi regardless of NHL permission. Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis even said he would allow Ovechkin to go with or without the leagues blessing. That is no longer an issue the league or players association needs to worry about. "The players are very pleased that an agreement has been reached that will allow the worlds best hockey players to compete at the Winter Games in February," NHLPA executive director Don Fehr said in a statement. "Having the opportunity to wear their nations sweater in Sochi is something the players look forward to." Seven NHL referees and six linesmen will go to Sochi, joining the IIHFs on ice officiating crew. Canada is expected to announce its coaching staff in the coming days. Reportedly Mike Babock will be back as head coach, joined by assistants Claude Julien, Lindy Ruff and Ken Hitchcock. Hockey Canada president and CEO Bob Nicholson said he hopes orientation camp in Calgary begins Aug. 25 but said in an interview he wasnt sure if players would be able to skate because of insurance issues. "We got some quotes yesterday that it would be over a million dollars to skate," Nicholson said. "So if its that type of dollars, itd be very difficult for us to do that. But were just starting to look into that now with the agreement being done today." Scarpe Air Max 270 Scontate . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. Air Max 200 Scontate ., and Rudi Swiegers of Kipling, Sask., took sixth spot on Saturday in pairs at the NHK Trophy ISU Grand Prix figure skating competition. http://www.airmaxitaliascarpe.it/ . -- Sergey Tolchinksy scored his second goal of the game 3:56 into overtime as the Sault Ste. Scarpe Air Max2 Light Scontate .In my heart and mind Im competing for India, luge competitor Shiva Keshavan told The Associated Press in an email interview. Every day Im flooded with messages from Indians all over the world telling me they are supporting me. Nike Air Max Ingrosso Italia . Haas said he "felt a lot of pain" in his right shoulder when he slammed his racket to the ground in frustration after losing his serve at 3-3 in the first set.The Edmonton Oilers, showing urgency to compete for a playoff spot, traded for a more experienced scoring forward, sacrificing a prospect, who hasnt yet shown how good he can be. Numbers Game looks at the deal sending David Perron to Edmonton for Magnus Paajarvi and a second-round pick. The Oilers Get: LW David Perron. Perron, 25, is a very talented forward, a dazzling puckhandler with a good physical game; a two-time 20-goal scorer who has missed significant time (96 games in 2010-2011 and 2011-2012) due to a concussion, but he played all 48 games for the Blues last season. While he was healthy in 2013, Perrons production wasnt ideal, as his points per game (0.52) and shots on goal per game (1.75) were his lowest since his rookie season, 2007-2008. Perron played a strong two-way game, spending most of his time on the Blues number one line with David Backes and T.J. Oshie, which meant facing tough assignments on a nightly basis, something that may not be an issue for Perron in Edmonton, where his role will likely have a different focus. Joining the Oilers, Perron looks like he would be a nice fit on the second line with Sam Gagner and Nail Yakupov (Paajarvis most common linemates), a spot that could give him a chance to exceed 50 points for the first time in his career. Perron has three years and $11.25-million remaining on his contract, which comes at a cap hit of $3,812,500 (www.capgeek.com). In his prime years, thats not an expensive cost for a top-six forward that is going to be counted on to score 20-plus goals in each of those three seasons. The Blues Get: LW Magnus Paajarvi and a second-round pick. Paajarvi has grown into a healthy 6-foot-3, 205 pounds, but the 22-year-old isnt a proven commodity to the extent that Perron would be considered proven. Paajarvi scored 15 goals and 34 points in 2010-2011, as a rookie, but has 24 points in 83 games since (with 45 points in 72 AHL games over the last two years) and played a modest 14:08 per game in the NHL last season. However, while Paajarvi isnt proven, he definitely has potential worth exploring and, with his size and speedd, could be a top-six forward.dddddddddddd Consider that, last season, Paajarvi had 1.79 shots per game and 16 points in 593 minutes of ice time, which works out to 1.62 points per 60 minutes. Perron, the established scorer, with 25 points in 864 minutes, had 1.74 points per 60 minutes; not much of a difference. Its fair, then, to consider that Paajarvi could continue to develop into a role where he at least provides adequate secondary scoring. In St. Louis, Paajarvi could fit either alongside free agent addition Derek Roy or fellow countryman Patrik Berglund, both skilled centres that would provide Paajarvi some opportunity to score. Further incentive to this deal comes from the fact that Paajarvi is a restricted free agent and isnt likely to come near Perrons salary with his next contract. If the Blues save in the neighbourhood of $2-million or more on Perrons cap hit, then thats money that they will have to sign their other high-profile restricted free agents, including top scorer Chris Stewart and number one defenceman Alex Pietrangelo. The second-round pick doesnt provide huge value, but is a sweetener on the deal. From 1994-2008, there were 450 second-round picks, with a little more than 30% either having played at least 100 NHL games or very likely to cross that threshold. Immediately, the Oilers are better because of this deal, but both teams are still banking on potential. Perron is talented, but injuries stalled his career ascent, so he could still become more than what hes shown to this point in his career and the Blues are not only hoping for Paajarvi to turn into a productive player but, ideally, one that doesnt cost quite as much. This is the kind of deal that gets made in a salary cap league, where teams have to prioritize their assets and if finding a reasonable lineup alternative to Perron comes cheaper for the Blues, allowing them to spend elsewhere, then both teams could get what they want out of it. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. ' ' '