The Dallas Stars wasted no time addressing one of their needs this offseason, making a deal for a veteran defenceman that should help on the power play.
Fake Rockies Jerseys . Numbers Game examines the Stars adding Sergei Gonchar. The Stars Get: D Sergei Gonchar. 39-year-old Sergei Gonchar is, naturally, no longer the player he was at his peak, but has still been a valuable part of the Ottawa Senators blueline for the past three seasons. Over the last two years, Gonchar has 64 points in 119 games (0.54 points per game ranks 18th in the league over that span) while averaging more than 23 minutes of ice time per game. Hes always been an offensive defenceman, his 101 power play goals and 775 career points ranking 10th and 18th all-time, respectively, among blueliners. Even at this stage of his career, Gonchar can get the job done on the power play. In three seasons with the Senators, 46 of his 91 points (50.5%) have come on the power play, so hes likely to have a role in improving the Stars 18th-ranked power play, which means potentially slight production upgrades for the likes of Jamie Benn, Loui Eriksson, Ray Whitney and Alex Goligoski, the four returnees who saw the most power play time for the Stars last season. Gonchars game isnt great at even-strength. Hes susceptible to get beaten by quicker forwards, so managing his match-ups and zone starts is necessary to get the best results. In my Stars Off-Season Game Plan, I had suggested that a top four defenceman was one of their needs, so new GM Jim Nill was quick about addressing that area. Dallas made a significant financial commitment, two years and $10-million, to keep Gonchar from hitting the open market and that second season is a sizeable show of faith for a player at this stage of his career. Getting Gonchar also gives the Stars some flexibility on their defence. There is no need to rush any of their prospects but, if some younger players are ready to make the jump, that could open up trade possibilities with one of the Stars other veteran defencemen, particularly if that is whats needed to bolster the Stars forward lines. The Senators Get: A sixth-round pick. Getting anything in return for Gonchar counts as a bonus for the Senators because he would have been an unrestricted free agent on July 5th. A sixth-round pick doesnt offer a lot of value, about a one-in-seven chance of yielding an NHL player, but thats more than they would receive if Gonchar left as a free agent. With Senators D Erik Karlsson missing a good portion of the 2013 season, they needed Gonchars puck-moving ability, but with Karlsson presumably healthy for next season, the Sens can look to a younger, less expensive, alternative in that role. Before any other acquisitions occur, Patrick Wiercioch looks like one who could benefit from an increased role next season. 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.
Custom Colorado Rockies Jerseys . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter.
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https://www.cheaprockiesjerseys.us/ . -- Jimmy Walkers first PGA Tour trophy came with a special gift tucked inside. BATON ROUGE, La. -- LSU interim coach Ed Orgeron is determined not to let the Tigers stagnate offensively and wont rest on the units school record-setting performance last weekend.Were going to expand on our package, obviously, said Orgeron, whose Tigers are scheduled to visit No. 18 Florida on Saturday. Were not going to show them the same thing and run the same plays this week and give them what they expect.While Orgeron has spent his career as a defensive coach, the Louisiana native wound up in charge last week in part because the Tigers offense was widely seen as too predictable under Les Miles, who was fired four games into his 12th season at LSU.The initial tweaks made by Orgeron and his newly appointed offensive coordinator, Steve Ensminger, paid considerable dividends. For all the lopsided victories LSU has posted in eight-plus decades of competition in the Southeastern Conference, the Tigers had never piled up as many yards in a league game as the 634 they had in a 42-7 victory over Missouri last Saturday.Ensminger, Orgeron said, is going to make some changes this week. Well see what we can do. But also, were very effective in doing the things that we did, so we dont want to completely get rid of it.The initial transformation wasnt radical, Orgeron said. Some of the statistics from last weekends victory back that up. The main source of LSUs dominance was its deep, dynamic and powerful running game, which accounted for 418 yards -- even without the services of hobbled star running back Leonard Fournette.LSU had two 100-yard rushers, with Derrius Guice gaining a career-high 163 and Darrel Williams finishing with a career-high 130. Nick Brosette added 73 yards on only five carries.The formations and personnel packages were different, however. For example, LSU ran a number of plays out of four-wide-receiver sets, rather than the traditional I-formation that allowed defenses to pack the middle of the field.With defenses spread out, LSUs ball carriers met less resistance at the line of scrimmage and used their athleticism to escape tackles as they reached the secondary. LSU had 11 running plays go for more than 10 yyards, including six for 20 or more.
Colorado Rockies Gear. It was a great job by Steve Ensminger calling the plays. I like the diversity, Orgeron said. I liked the way he mixed his personnel. ... The goal was to be very efficient and be multiple, put the ball in our playmakers hands and (in) space and let them play. He did a very good job of that.Guice raved about the quicker tempo with which plays came into the huddle and were executed. He said the whole offense seemed to have a good rhythm, particularly when it came to getting off the ball and initiating blocks. Meanwhile, Guice thought the coaching staff effectively used substitutions to help players remain fresh.The offensive line did a great job setting up cutting lanes. The receivers did a good job blocking downfield. There was better communication, Guice said. Rotating backs was good. It is always good to have fresh backs.Quarterback Danny Etling said the transition last week wasnt easy, but players had to give Orgeron and Ensminger the benefit of the doubt if they wanted to salvage their season. Now they have proof it can work.It was such a scramble getting everything together. But the coaches put together a good plan, Etling said. What happened last week is good for our confidence.The passing game also improved, but less dramatically. Etling had more success throwing short than deep.We took shots. We didnt hit them. But I like it, because its just going show the defense that were going to stretch the field, Orgeron said. Were going to continue to do that.Now LSUs offensive coaches and their players face the challenge of producing on the road against an old rival in Florida that sees itself as a contender in the SEC East. And Orgeron has said it looks like theyll have to do it without two starters on the offensive line -- guard Will Clapp (arm) and tackle Toby Weathersby (ankle).They have a tough job this week, Orgeron said. Its going to be a lot tougher defense than we played last week.---AP college football website:
www.collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '