Anmelden » John Tavares is leaving the NHL guessing about his destination

On the eve of free agency Authentic Mats Zuccarello Jersey , John Tavares is leaving the NHL guessing about his destination.With less than 12 hours until the market opens, the elite center had not chosen between six suitors, with the San Jose Sharks, hometown Toronto Maple Leafs and incumbent New York Islanders considered the most likely options. Returning to the Islanders looks less likely now after the midnight deadline passed for Tavares to get an eight-year contract from his current team.The Tavares sweepstakes dragging on into Sunday seems to favor San Jose and Toronto, either of which could sign the 27-year-old to a seven-year deal worth $70 million or more. He met this week with the Sharks, Maple Leafs, Islanders, Boston Bruins, Dallas Stars and Tampa Bay Lightning, and his decision could drastically affect the plans of those teams and others.”I think other teams have admitted Mika Zibanejad Jersey , we would have to make moves (to clear salary-cap space),” Bruins general manager Don Sweeny told reporters in Boston on Friday. ”Pretty confident we’d be able to do that.”As hockey waited for the Tavares watch to end, several teams made moves Saturday ahead of the frenzy.The Sharks agreed to a $64 million, eight-year extension with forward Logan Couture, according to a person familiar with the contract who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal hasn’t been announced. It can’t become official until after noon Sunday because it doesn’t begin until the 2019-20 season – the same as long-term deals the Los Angeles Kings have with Drew Doughty and Arizona Coyotes have with Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Niklas Hjalmarsson.Detroit got its own defenseman under contract for the next two seasons by agreeing to deal with Mike Green that pays him $5,375,000 annually. Signing Green could be just the start of the action for the Red Wings, who have been linked to unrestricted free agent goaltender Jonathan Bernier and winger Thomas Vanek.New Jersey also shored up its goaltending situation by re-signing Eddie Lack to a $650,000, one-year deal. The Devils also have Cory Schneider and Keith Kinkaid Womens Pavel Buchnevich Jersey , who split time last season and in the playoffs.A person with direct knowledge of discussions said the Buffalo Sabres are expected to sign goalie Carter Hutton, who had been the St. Louis Blues’ backup to Jake Allen. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because agreements cannot be announced until the signing period begins.Hutton and others seem to already be ticketed for certain places, but many big-name players are still up for grabs.Maple Leafs winger James van Riemsdyk, who tied Tavares with 36 goals last season, has been drawing significant interest and, at 29, could easily command a seven-year contract at a substantial raise over his previous $4.25 million salary. The Western Conference champion Vegas Golden Knights have cap space but might lose wingers David Perron and James Neal, who combined for 110 points last season.The Winnipeg Jets are doing their best to try to bring back center Paul Stastny after he was so instrumental in their playoff run. They cleared about $5.5 million in cap space by trading goaltender Steve Mason and Finnish forward Joel Armia to Montreal on Saturday but may still need more room to bring back the 32-year-old.The Canadiens are set to buy out Mason, putting him on unconditional waivers as the Minnesota Wild did with forward Tyler Ennis to clear cap space.Stastny fit in seamlessly after Winnipeg acquired him from St. Louis at the trade deadline but also might be better served waiting to see what Tavares does. Teams looking for a center who don’t land Tavares will look to Stastny and Toronto’s Tyler Bozak and could look into a trade for Buffalo’s Ryan O’Reilly, who is signed for the next five years and owed a $7.5 million bonus Sunday.—AP Sports Writer Josh Dubow in San Jose Vladislav Namestnikov Jersey , California, contributed to this report. CALGARY, Alberta (AP) Christopher Gibson refused to take all the credit after leading the New York Islanders to a much-needed win.The rookie goalie made 50 saves as the Islanders beat the Calgary Flames 5-2 to snap an eight-game losing streak.”Personally it’s great, but hockey is a team game,” said Gibson, who improved his record this season to 1-0-2. ”It’s a great feeling. I’m happy that the team won today. I think it was a full team effort. I let out some bad rebounds and guys were there to clear them out.”It was the second NHL win for Gibson, who went 1-1-1 for the Islanders in the 2015-16 season.”Ever since he’s been in the organization he’s been a great goaltender and tough to score on,” said forward Anders Lee, who had two goals. ”We always know the potential that these (young) guys have, but when you come into the game and play as calm as he has been Bobby Ryan Jersey , it’s been a wonderful surprise.”Johnny Boychuk had a goal and two assists for the Islanders, who were 0-4-4 since winning at Carolina on Feb. 16. Nick Leddy and Jordan Eberle also scored, and Casey Cizikas and John Tavares had two assists each.New York pulled seven points behind Columbus for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.”To get a win, especially when we’ve been playing one-goal games and going into overtime and losing in a shootout or losing in overtime . something’s got to give, especially if you keep doing the right things,” Boychuk said. ”We know we’re in a corner and we have to win as many games as we can.”Johnny Gaudreau had a goal and an assist for the Flames, who kicked off a three-game homestand after going 2-0-1 on the road last week. Mark Giordano also scored.”It’s frustrating,” Giordano said. ”I think the problem is we’re getting down a lot at home where we’re forced to press a lot because you’re down by a few goals. That was the case again tonight.”Mike Smith made 22 saves in his return after missing 13 games with a lower-body injury.”I thought early on there I was a little sloppy, but I felt like I settled in pretty well as the game went on and got more comfortable,” Smith said. ”Tonight I think mentally we weren’t engaged enough at the start of the game and it cost us.”Leddy opened the scoring at 2:14 of the first period when he fired a point shot that deflected off the post and in behind Smith.Just 18 seconds later http://www.officialsenators.com/authentic-adidas-chris-wideman-jersey , another point shot by Boychuk deflected off Calgary forward Troy Brouwer’s stick and past Smith to make it 2-0.Gaudreau scored at 7:23 to pull the Flames within one when he took a pass from Sean Monahan before snapping a shot to the short side past Gibson.The Islanders regained their two-goal advantage 3:02 later as Eberle tipped Boychuk’s shot on net before picking up his own rebound and backhanding the puck past Smith.Boychuk continued his strong performance early in the second period when he fired another slap shot on net that Smith stopped, but the rebound went right to Lee, who swatted it into the net to put New York up 4-1.Giordano poked a loose puck in the crease into the net behind Gibson at 7:24 of the third to pull the Flames within two.The Flames continued to put on the pressure, but weren’t able to get any more pucks past Gibson, who stopped point-blank chances by Sam Bennett and Gaudreau.Lee then added an empty-net goal with 10.1 seconds remaining.NOTES: Smith sustained his injury late in Calgary’s 3-2 win over the Islanders in New York on Feb. 11. … The Flames compiled a 5-6-2 record with Smith out of the lineup. … In addition to activating Smith off injured reserve, the Flames also assigned G Jon Gillies back to Stockton of the AHL on Sunday. … Gaudreau snapped a seven-game goal-scoring drought, while extending his point-scoring streak to four games. … Gibson became the third Islanders goalie this season to have at least 50 saves. Jaroslav Halak made 50 in a 3-0 win over the New York Rangers on Feb. 15 and Thomas Greiss had 52 in a 5-4 overtime win at Montreal on Jan. 15.UP NEXTIslanders: Host Washington on Thursday night.Flames: Host Edmonton on Tuesday night.