Forum allgemein » WASHINGTON (AP) The Capitals have signed center

Lars Eller to a $17.5 million John Hayden Jersey , five-year contract extension.Eller will count $3.5 million against the salary cap through the 2022-23 season. General manager Brian MacLellan announced the deal Saturday.The 28-year-old Dane was in the final year of his contract with the Capitals and would have become a free agent on July 1.”This club and this city has been a great fit for me personally, for my family,” Eller said. ”There’s just so many things that have been good about it. It’s been good for my career. I’ve found my game here, especially this year.”Eller has 11 goals and 17 assists for 28 points in 53 games this season, three points shy of his career high. In 576 NHL games with the St. Louis Blues, Montreal Canadiens and Capitals, Eller has 96 goals and 113 assists.The signing solidifies Washington at center. Eller has played on the third line the past two seasons behind centers Nicklas Backstrom and Evgeny Kuznetsov. Backstrom is signed through the 2019-20 season and Kuznetsov through 2024-25.”Everybody in the league is dying for centermen,” Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. ”And we have a lot of them. … Those guys are assets in the organization. Every good team, it doesn’t matter what sport Authentic Jonathan Toews Jersey , if you’re strong up the middle, you’ve got a chance.”Washington traded two second-round picks to Montreal for Eller at the 2017 draft. Eller grew frustrated during his six seasons with the Canadiens.The No. 13 overall pick in the 2007 draft by the Blues, Eller was traded to Montreal in 2010 and never settled on a role as he moved between center and wing and played up and down the top three lines.”I don’t like to go back to talk about it, but it was a different situation in Montreal,” Eller said. ”I have more stability here. I get to learn from some of the best players in the league looking at (Kuznetsov) and (Backstrom) every day.”Eller was one of three significant Capitals unrestricted free agents, along with center Jay Beagle and defenseman John Carlson.”Lars had a good year last year,” MacLellan said. ”This year, he’s taken his game probably up a notch. There’s a little more offense involved. He’s playing more second power play. He’s done really well and I anticipate it to be like that going forward.”MacLellan said Washington would do ”everything we can” to re-sign Carlson, who ranks fourth in points among NHL defensemen (42) Blake Comeau Jersey Womens , but wouldn’t comment on where those negotiations stand other than to say the two sides have had contract discussions.Eller was tempted by the chance to explore free agency before deciding the fit was too good in Washington, the search for more money elsewhere not worth the uncertainty that came with it.”In my case I’m only going to have one time to be (an unrestricted free agent) when I’m still in my 20s and that’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Eller said.”But looking at the options, I wanted to stay here. It’s a good fit for me on the team. The team is going to be competitive – not just this year, but the next couple of years with the core that they have.”— MONTREAL (AP) With some top veterans sitting out, the youngsters took center stage for the playoff-bound Winnipeg Jets.Sami Niku scored in his first NHL game and Kyle Connor got his 30th goal of the season in overtime and the Jets downed the Montreal Canadiens 5-4 on Tuesday night.Add to that Patrik Laine’s 44th of the season to move only two behind Washington’s Alex Ovechkin for the NHL lead.”Any goal you score in this league is great, but overtime, and the way we stuck with it the whole game, it’s awesome Patrick Kane Jersey ,” said 21-year-old Connor. ”This group is so good.”We all push each other every day.”Nikolaj Ehlers, with his 29th, and Jack Roslovic also scored for the Jets, who reached 50 wins and moved within three points of first place overall and Central Division rival Nashville with two games remaining for both clubs. The Jets finish the regular season with home games Thursday against Calgary and Saturday against Chicago.Winnipeg, which ended a four-game road trip, had already established a club record for wins in a season. The Jets have won nine of their past 10 games.Alex Galchenyuk forced overtime with a power-play goal at 18:18 of the third period. Artturi Lehkonen, Paul Byron and Kerby Rychel also scored for Montreal in its last home game of the season.”I liked the way we kept working hard and got back in the game,” Canadiens coach Claude Julien said.The lineups had a preseason look as the Jets rested Mark Scheifele, Blake Wheeler http://www.officialavalanche.com/authentic-adidas-alexander-kerfoot-jersey , Adam Lowry, Jacob Trouba and Josh Morrissey with what were called minor injuries. And Montreal has regularly been using several minor league call-ups of late.”We’re so deep, you can see,” Connor said.The Jets were all over Montreal early and got the lead at 12:25 on a power play when Laine wired a goal to the top corner with an off-wing shot. Ehlers finished a 3-on-1 by knocking in Paul Stastny’s pass at 14:19.Roslovic one-timed Tucker Poolman’s pass along the ice from the left faceoff dot to score at 15:58, but Montreal got it back at 19:00 when Lehkonen picked up a loose puck in the slot and beat Steve Mason.Byron reached the 20-goal mark for a second straight season as he banged in Brendan Gallagher’s rebound 3:19 into the third period and Rychel tied it 3-3 with a deflection after a faceoff in the Winnipeg zone at 10:15.Only 24 seconds later, Niku scored on a wrist shot through traffic from the slot.”The puck was coming and I shot and I think it was lucky,” Niku said. ”I think it hit one of their players.”It was really nice to play my first game at the Bell Centre. Montreal is such a big hockey town.”Montreal was on a power play and had Carey Price pulled for an extra attacker when Galchenyuk’s shot from the right circle was juggled by Mason and dropped into the net with 1:42 left in regulation.Connor one-timed Roslovic’s pass for the game-winner three minutes into overtime.It was the 557th game for Price, who passed Jacques Plante for the Canadiens record for games played by a goaltender. A video tribute was played at 6:13 of the first period with messages from goaltending greats Ken Dryden and Patrick Roy and an emotionally moved Price got a long ovation. Plante has the team record for wins with 314.”Nobody enjoys losing, it wasn’t a lot of fun this year Erik Condra Jersey Womens , but it’s nice knowing that we have the support,” said Price, who stayed out the longest as the players signed autographs for fans after the game.”Obviously it’s tough when things aren’t going good, but there’s no better place when things are going well and that’s just a taste of it.”UP NEXT:Jets: Host Flames on Thursday.Canadiens: Travel to Detroit to face the Red Wings on Thursday.—