NEWS » ird in Week 2. He and Tom Brady are ti

NEW YORK -- The New York Rangers signed forward Chris Kreider to a four-year contract worth $18.5 million in a last-minute deal that helped the sides avoid arbitration.General manager Jeff Gorton announced the agreement on Friday. Hours later, he also announced the signing of the Rangers other major restricted free agent, center Kevin Hayes.Hayes signed a two-year contract for $5.2 million. He was scheduled to have an arbitration hearing next week.Kreiders new contract will pay him an average of $4.6 million and keep him the team through 2020. It also includes a modified no-trade clause that prevents the 25-year-old Kreider from being traded to 11 teams.What happens in this type of deal is that both sides have stated positions and when the specter of `arb comes, it drives both sides closer, Matt Keator, Kreiders agent, said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. For us, the term was the right amount and for the team that amount was the right amount, so we were able to come together on both sides.It worked out fine, and Chris loves New York and wants to be there.Keator said both sides were ready to present their cases Friday morning before reaching an agreement.Kreider had 21 goals and 22 assists in 79 games for New York and a plus-10 rating. He established career-highs in even-strength goals (16) and hits (177), and he tied his career-high in goals, set the previous season.Kreider was one of six NHL players who registered at least 20 goals, 40 points, a plus-10 rating, and 50 penalty minutes this past season. Alex Ovechkin, Jonathan Toews, Milan Lucic, Brad Marchand, and James Neal were the others.He ranked third on the team in power play goals (five), fourth in even strength goals, fifth in goals and even strength points (35), and tied for fifth in points. Kreider also led the Rangers in goals (15) and ranked second on the team in points (26) on the road this past season.The 6-foot-3, 226-pounder had two goals in five playoff games.Kreider has skated in 248 career NHL games with the Rangers, registering 61 goals and 68 assists, along with a plus-47 rating. He is the only Ranger who has recorded at least 20 goals in each of the last two seasons.In 65 career NHL playoff games, Kreider has 20 goals and 13 assists.The native of Boxford, Massachusetts, was selected by the Rangers in the first round, 19th overall, of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.Hayes had 14 goals and 22 assists in 79 games this past season He established career-highs in game-winning goals (three), power play goals (three), power play points (six), and shots on goal (133).Hayes tied for fifth on the team in even strength assists (19), sixth in primary assists (14), and tied for sixth in assists, power play goals, and even strength points (30) this past season.The 6-foot-5, 227-pounder, who was signed as a free agent in 2014, has 31 goals and 50 assists and a plus-19 rating in 158 career games with the Rangers.Darrell Green Youth Jersey . If ever they start actually putting pictures beside words in the dictionary, the Blue Jays left-handers mug will appear beside “Consistency. Joe Theismann Jersey . -- Chicago Bears cornerback Tim Jennings was selected Monday to his second straight Pro Bowl, while guard Kyle Long made it after a solid rookie season. http://www.redskinsfansproshop.com/Redskins+Art+Monk+Rush+Jersey.html?cat=1303 . The move comes after the Canadiens were approached by the Buffalo Sabres for permission to speak to Dudley - a former Sabres player and head coach. "The Sabres called for permission and I appreciate that, Im flattered, Dudley told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun of ESPN. Case Keenum Jersey . Jon Montgomerys gold medal in skeleton at the Whistler Sliding Centre and his subsequent auctioning off of a pitcher of beer in the village square elevated him to folk-hero status. Ereck Flowers Womens Jersey . The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling "puts an end to my dreams of being a top player," the 27-year-old Troicki said in a statement. "I worked my entire life for it, and it has been taken away from me in one afternoon by a doctor I didnt know," said Troicki, whose ranking peaked at No.METAIRIE, La. -- Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints waited until the 11th hour. But they finally agreed to a contract extension Wednesday -- four days before the quarterbacks self-imposed Week 1 deadline.The extension was announced as a five-year deal but contains an automatic void at two years, sources told ESPNs Ed Werder. That means Brees is contractually committed to the Saints for only the 2016 and 2017 seasons.?His $20 million salary this season and $24.25 million for next season -- a total of $44.25 million -- is fully guaranteed, the sources said.The deal also includes a no-trade clause and forbids the Saints from using their franchise tag on the quarterback. In essence, the Saints get Brees under contract for one additional season, but by spreading the contract over five years, they significantly reduce Brees $30 million cap hit for 2016, which was the highest for any player in NFL history.The extension reduces Brees cap number from an NFL-record $30 million to $17.25 million for 2016, sources told Werder.Brees said Wednesday he is humbled and honored to continue his journey with Saints. He said both sides are very happy with the contracts structure and wants to finish his career in New Orleans.Ill be here as long as theyll have me, he said.Brees said the contact process is probably a bit more complicated than it should be but said he understands the job everyone has to do. One thing everyone is very much aligned with is what puts this team in the best position to win, he said. The salary-cap savings for the Saints was an important aspect of the deal for him.My approach is the same regardless, regardless of whether I have a five-year deal or I have a one-year deal. In my mind, youre always playing on one-year deals, he said. Playing on one-game deals, you know? I mean, youve gotta prove it each and every week. Youre only as good as your next performance. So that will always be mindset.Brees, 37, acknowledged that he would have preferred a long-term deal.I plan to play for longer than two years, so yeah, I think my mindset going into this was to bee able to secure a deal that would take me for as long as I plan on playing, he said.dddddddddddd But this is what was in the best interest of the team. And so thats why it was a two-year deal.This is Brees third contract with the Saints after he originally signed with the team in 2006. In 2012, he became the highest-paid player in NFL history to that point, thanks to his five-year, $100 million contract.Brees was headed into the final year of his previous contract.His decade in New Orleans has been the most prolific of any quarterback in NFL history. His 48,555 yards and 348 touchdown passes are the most of any quarterback in any 10-year span, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.Brees has won exactly 100 games with the Saints -- including the only Super Bowl victory in franchise history, a 31-17 win over the Indianapolis Colts after the 2009 season.He could pass Peyton Manning for No. 1 on the NFLs all-time passing yardage (71,940) and passing touchdown (539) lists before his next deal is up. Hes on pace to do so within three or four years.Brees ranks fourth in NFL history with 60,903 passing yards and will likely pass Dan Marino for third in Week 2. He and Tom Brady are tied for third in NFL history with 428 touchdown passes.And he is still thriving at age 37. Brees has led the NFL in passing yards in four of the past five seasons -- including last year, when he threw for 4,870 yards in just 15 games played.Re-signing him was easier said than done for a Saints team that has been spinning its wheels at 7-9 in each of the past two seasons, stretching the salary cap to its limit.Re-upping with Brees signals a desire to get back into playoff contention quickly rather than going into a full rebuilding mode. Because of Brees age, it was expected that the length of his contract and the total amount of guaranteed money was would be sticking points in negotiations between Saints general manager Mickey Loomis and Brees agent, Tom Condon. ' ' '