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while Rattie fniished his WHL career
OWINGS MILLS, Md. Antonio Smith . - The Baltimore Ravens and tight end Dennis Pitta reached agreement on a five-year contract Friday. According to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun, the deal is worth $32 million. Pitta, Baltimores fourth-round pick in 2010, was set to become an unrestricted free agent when free agency starts March 11. "I could not be more excited to remain a Baltimore Raven," Pitta said in a statement. "There is no better organization or fan base in sports. To be given the opportunity to continue my career here is incredible. This organization drafted me and has always stood by me — especially during my difficult recovery last season. And for that, I am extremely grateful." Pitta has become a favourite option of quarterback Joe Flacco in recent seasons. He missed most of 2013 while recovering from a dislocated and fractured hip, but he returned to catch 20 passes for 169 yards and a touchdown in the final four games. He had 61 catches for 669 yards and seven touchdowns during the 2012 regular season and then added 14 catches for 163 yards and three touchdowns in the playoffs in helping the Ravens win the Super Bowl. "Dennis creates a number of mismatch problems for defences," Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome said. "He makes it tough on them. And because of that, he really helps out our wide receivers. "Opponents have to always pay attention to where he lines up and where his routes take him. Dennis is also a big target with very good hands, and his presence in the red zone is very important to us." Without Pitta for most of 2013, Baltimore finished just 18th in passing offence. "It was obvious when Dennis was out last year that we really missed him," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. "We all admire how he fought back from the hip injury and helped us down the stretch. Having Dennis as a part of the Ravens now and in the future is exciting news for us. "Dennis has a large catch radius and can snatch the ball in traffic. Not only is he a reliable player, but he is an outstanding person as well. Having a weapon like Dennis makes everyone on our offence better." The deal came a day after the Ravens terminated the contracts of three-time Pro Bowl fullback Vonta Leach and six-year linebacker Jameel McClain. Sonny Collins .Y. - The Buffalo Sabres reassigned forward Sam Reinhart to the WHLs Kootenay Ice on Friday. Jason Spriggs . The 23-year-old Poland international is back as first choice at Arsenal after losing his regular spot in the team on occasions over the last three seasons. A defensively-oriented and balanced team, the St. Louis Blues dont have mass fantasy appeal, but a little digging does present opportunities to find players that have fantasy appeal. Top Picks: There is such balance throughout the Blues lineup that there are few standouts, particularly for fantasy purposes. As such, their most valuable players, compared to others at the same position, are defencemen Alex Pietrangelo and Kevin Shattenkirk. Pietrangelo is a Norris Trophy contender who plays 25 minutes per game, and his 118 points over the last three seasons ranks eighth among defencemen. Hes also just 23, so his upside does make Pietrangelo a viable No. 1 fantasy blueliner. Shattenkirk isnt quite at Pietrangelos level, but has 109 points over the last three years and plays about 21 minutes per game. Hes also scored 42 of his 109 career points on the power play, so hes a solid No. 2 defenceman in fantasy. Value Plays: At his best, C David Backes is fantasy gold, providing a rare combination of goals and penalty minutes. Since 2008-2009, hes one of three to score at least 100 goals with at least 500 penalty minutes. Hes also a hitter, with 863 hits recorded over the last four seasons. This sounds wonderful, but Backes also scored just six goals last season, with a career-low shooting percentage (6.0%), so he could have value on draft day. C Derek Roy hasnt been the same player since suffering a quad injury in 2010-2011. He was scoring at a point-per-game pace (35 points in 35 games) that season, but has 72 points in 122 games since. He should get a serious offensive opportunity for a Blues team that needs skill and could, effectively, use Roy to replace retired Andy McDonald. C Patrik Berglund is a talented player with good size who has been up-and-down throughout his five-year NHL career. His 58 goals over the last three seasons ranks 61st and scored at a career-best rate (0.35 gpg) last season, but he also scored on 23.0% of his shots last year, an impossible-to-sustain number, so regression is on its way, unless Berglund creates a lot more chances. Consistency has been the hallmark of LW Alexander Steens game in St. Louis. Since 2008-2009, hes averaged between 0.65 and 0.71 points per game, playing more than 19 minutes per game over the last three seasons. As a No. 3 left winger, what he lacks in upside, he makes up for with stability. RW T. J. Oshie is similarly consistent, between 0.63 and 0.699 points per game in each of his five NHL seasons, but one of his other calling cards is missing time with injuries, missing at least 18 games three times in five seasons, including last season. Don Shy. Oshie has never scored 20 goals of 55 points in a season, but those numbers would be within his grasp if he stayed healthy. Sleepers/Breakthrough: The Blues leading scorer last year, RW Chris Stewart is still somewhat of a sleeper considering that last seasons 36 points in 48 games beat his point total (30) in 79 games the year before. Hes a high-percentage shooter, who needs more consistency to earn the trust of the coaching staff; hes played under 16 minutes per game in the last two seasons. After bursting onto the scene with 10 points in his first eight games last season, RW Vladimir Tarasenko faded quickly and missed time with a concussion. If hes healthy and in shape, Tarasenko has offensive skills that should not only translate to production, but earn him a bigger role with the Blues. Goaltending was supposed to be a strength of the Blues going into last season, considering they had the leagues best goals against average in 2011-2012, but Brian Elliott and Jaroslav Halak struggled and, with Halak getting hurt, Jake Allen even took the crease for a time. With a strong finish to the year, including a 1.28 goals against average and .948 save percentage in 13 April games, Elliott may have the edge going into this season, but if either one emerges as a starter, they will have value. Its just a matter of figuring out which one. In deep leagues, D Jay Bouwmeester could have appeal. He pretty much lost fantasy value in Calgary, but with a better Blues team, Bouwmeester could score enough, and maybe even have a half-decent plus-minus, so that hes useful in fantasy leagues. Rookies: The Blues have a lot of veterans up front and coach Ken Hitchcock isnt terribly forviging of the defensive mistakes that young players typically make, so the safe bet would be that none of the Blues rookies will put up big points, but wingers Dmitrij Jaskin and Ty Rattie do have scoring potential. Jaskin had 99 points in 51 QMJHL games last season, while Rattie fniished his WHL career with back-to-back seasons with more than 100 points. 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. ' ' '
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Activity: May 25 '20
