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  August 1, 2018 6:21 AM EEST

  Ottawa Senators fans have been a nervous bunch over the past 18 months. They watched two captains walk out the door in consecutive summers, leaving many with the distinct impression that Ottawa was not the preferred destination for star players. And if you trace the line back beyond Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza - and connect the dots to Dany Heatley, Zdeno Chara and Alexei Yashin -- you could certainly understand why Senators fans may have an inferiority complex. So when the Bobby Ryan contract negotiations seemed to cool off last month, it was met with a collective, Uh-oh -- here we go again, by Senators fans. And in the absence of any tangible news, the rumours started to churn about how another star player was orchestrating his exit out of town. Ryan doesnt like it in Ottawa. He doesnt like the head coach. He wants to kill penalties. He wants to play in Philadelphia. Eugene Melnyk wont open his wallet. Everybody had a theory as to why Ryan wanted to take a wait-and-see approach to his commitment to Ottawa. And suddenly on Thursday morning, all of that changed with word that Ryan had agreed to a seven-year contract extension worth $50.75 million. He is truly the type of player we want to build our team around, Melnyk said in front of a packed news conference. The negotiations for a contract of this magnitude are never simple and the owner acknowledged that at the podium. If there was any hesitation from Ryan, it was never about the city and its fanbase. Calling the decision to stay in Ottawa a no-brainer, Ryan was quick to point out that the city has embraced him and his fiancee, Danielle from the moment his trade to Ottawa happened last July. We feel like we have found the place we can start a family and call home, Ryan said on Thursday morning - as if he was directly addressing those fragile fans in Ottawa who felt like their city wasnt a preferred destination for stars. General manager Bryan Murray is well aware of the reputation that stars dont want to stay in Ottawa and he says the organization has made a concerted effort to dispel that notion with their moves over the past couple of months. For the fans as well, we want to indicate to them that players want to be in Ottawa, Murray said on Thursday. All along, thats been our intent. With Turris, MacArthur and now Bobby Ryan and were trying to get something done with Marc Methot to show that this is a secure team and we just have to add to it going forward. And hopefully that happens fairly quickly for everybodys sake. Murray confirmed that another contract offer has been made to Methots camp, but they are waiting to hear back. Moments after announcing the Ryan extension, Melnyk stepped back up to the podium to announce that Erik Karlsson was named as the ninth captain in franchise history. This move seems to cement Karlssons status in Ottawa. The club could have easily chosen Chris Phillips as the captain, which would have been warmly received in this market. Instead, they opted to make Karlsson the face of the franchise moving forward. Theyve handed him the keys and in turn, hes promising to deliver. Its an incredible opportunity and its a task that is pretty rare, said Karlsson, who admitted that he had a 40-minute phone conversation with former captain Daniel Alfredsson on Thursday. Im excited about the next chapter and moving forward and taking responsibility for what is to come. Im really looking forward to the upcoming season and beyond that, so Im just really thrilled right now. On one day, the Senators made two superstars happy - but more importantly, they gave a single fanbase the ability to take a collective sigh of relief. Charles Oakley Knicks Jersey . Minutes before the final whistle of Sporting Kansas Citys 3-0 victory over a shorthanded Montreal Impact squad on Saturday afternoon, Saputo tweeted: "Our fans deserve better. Charles Oakley Jersey . Philippe Desrosiers stopped 42 shots through overtime and three more in the shootout to pick up his third shutout of the season for Rimouski (31-15-7). Zachary Fucale made 28 saves for Halifax (34-17-3) in the loss. http://www.nbaknicksproshop.com/womens-willis-reed-basketball-jersey/. Or at least on everyone elses expectations. Costa Rica followed up its surprise win over Uruguay with another World Cup stunner on Friday, beating four-time champion Italy 1-0 to secure a spot in the next round and eliminate England in the process. Derrick Williams Jersey . Langer appeared to be in trouble when his second shot on the par-5 18th ended up in the rough short of the green. He hit a brilliant pitch to 5 feet and made the putt after Slumans birdie attempt rolled just wide. Lance Stephenson Jersey . The Oilers jumped into the free agent market early by signing defencemen Keith Aulie (six-foot-six, 228 pounds) and Mark Fayne (6-3, 210 pounds) and left-winger Benoit Pouliot (6-3, 197-pounds). Two days earlier MacTavish traded lightweight forward Sam Gagner to Tampa Bay for 6-3, 203-pound right winger Ted Purcell.Here are five thoughts on the Eastern Conference first-round series between the Toronto Raptors and Brooklyn Nets following Game 1. 1. NETS DEFENSE: Im giving Brooklyn credit. Their offense can sometimes betray you on the road but the D is always a constant. Its ironic; just recently an advance scout who I have a lot of respect for gave me his quick thoughts on how hed defend the Raptors. Extend your pickup point and really pressure their guards. Get out and challenge threes and chase them off the line at all cost. Keep the ball out of DeMar DeRozans hands with very physical denials. Body up to their people - they dont like contact and theyll turn it over. If you allow them to have flow theyll punish you.  Its interesting in the last two games that the Raptors played versus the NY Knicks on April 11 and 16; the Knicks used this strategy to force the Raptors into a combined 38 turnovers in those games. The Nets came in and did a terrific job in their coverage and forced the Raps into 17 turnovers and never allowed them to get comfortable.  Raptors half-court offense needs to toughen up and get sharper. 2. RAPTORS OFFENSE: I say this a ton of times - playoff offense is like having to go five-on-six against an opponent. Some teams will even use this in practice to toughen their teams up and require even higher-end execution. Its that hard, plain and simple! You could see it on Saturday afternoon that the inability to execute their schemes and go to counters/pressure releases when they got taken out of what they wanted was evident. The ability to establish a consistent paint presence with post-ups and penetration was inconsistent. Overall, the level of offensive toughness that you must have to succeed in the playoffs was lacking. Am I surprised? No. A young team in their first playoff game and it looked it. Theyll steadily improve and fight through that and begin to establish their style of play. They looked at their best when they were able to run off their defense and have space to do their thing. A key to the Raptors offense - pick up the defensive pressure and get the Nets on their heels more. Creator of circumstance vs. creature of it - choose your approach. 3. NETS 3-POINT SHOOTING: They were abysmal, shooting 4-24, which is uncharacteristic for them. Raptors brought good energy in trying to defend the line, yet some of the shots that Brooklyn missed were just plain decent looks that didnt go down. Will be important for Toronto to stay after iit and not allow the Nets to get comfortable with the long range game.dddddddddddd 4. PLAY BETTER: (DeMar DeRozan / Terrence Ross / Amir Johnson / John Salmons): Just look at their numbers. Theyd all be the first to tell you that they have to play a whole lot better. Theyre all good players whove been significant to the success of this team and they cant win without each of them playing at the level theyre capable of playing at. Bounce back time for each in Game 2 and beyond. Cant force it yet - come in with that approach thats made you successful all year and get after it. 5. MATCHUPS: Im concerned with the Joe Johnson (24 Points) and Paul Pierce (a very difficult cover at the four-spot) matchups. The Raptors struggled with this and have to do a better job in both instances. Johnson hurt them with his physicality and efficiency in the mid and low post, while Pierces outstanding ball skills and smarts along with his three-point shooting ability at the four-spot are a tough scenario for traditional power forwards to cover. Better effort in these two matchups, along with improved defensive assistance to help the guy having to guard those guys counter the issues will help, yet it cant compromise the ability to rebound and defend the three-ball. Energy level, communication, multiple effort, help/recovery and tight rotations will be things to watch. Just a first guess here; I try not to second guess a whole lot and try to put out there a thought to consider as we go forward. I have no issues with the defensive approach in Game 1. Dwane Casey and his staff are excellent and are on top of the details. They know their team better than anybody else. Not even close. Just a thought as a respectful first guess; in my opinion, I think Landry Fields is someone to consider if the current players in the Joe Johnson and Paul Pierce matchups arent able to get the job done. Hes got the size, athleticism, smarts, defensive range and toughness to hold his own in both instances. Any time you call on him, hes ready to go and does a nice job. I understand the concerns with his lack of perimeter shooting but in the playoffs, matchups become even more important to try and counter. Johnsons size, strength and physicality are an issue and Pierces mobility and distance shooting are a problem. Im confident that if he were ever called upon he could hold his own against both. Its just something to consider, again, as a respectful first guess. Cheap Jerseys Store Jerseys NFL Cheap Cheap NFL Black Jerseys China Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Wholesale Wholesale Jerseys Camo China NFL Jerseys ' ' '