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DALLAS -- When the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars meet Thursday night at American Airlines Center, both teams hope to have important contributors back on the ice.Colorado, which beat the visiting Los Angeles Kings 4-1 on Tuesday, is starting a three-game road trip. The Avalanche (7-8-0) might see the return of forward Matt Duchene, who leads the team with six goals and 11 points.Duchene missed the past two games with concussion symptoms.Meanwhile, the Stars (6-6-5) could get back center Cody Eakin, who has yet to play this season due to a knee injury he sustained during preseason.Duchene said after practice Wednesday, I feel good right now. Well see what (Wednesday) brings. I feel better every day. Today I felt like I could be myself out there.Avalanche coach Jared Bednar shares Duchenes optimism that the veteran could be back in the mix against Colorados Central Division rivals.As long as he feels good ... then he should be a player for us, Bednar said.Two Colorado players who scored in the win against the Kings, captain Gabriel Landeskog and defenseman Patrick Wiercioch, missed practice Wednesday, absences which Bednar termed as maintenance days.I think they both got dinged up just a little bit (Tuesday) night, Bednar said. I think theyre going to be fine, but were just going to keep them off the ice (Wednesday).One decision Bednar already made about Thursday is that Semyon Varlamov, who stopped 32 of 33 shots against the Kings, will start between the pipes.Hes played three really strong games here for us, Bednar said. We like what (Varlamov) has done lately, so were going to go with him again.Dallas started its three-game homestand with a 2-1 overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, the Stars ninth consecutive OT defeat.Stars coach Lindy Ruff didnt like the energy level he saw from his team against the Devils, so he made both Wednesdays practice and Thursdays morning skate optional.This is a physical grind, its a mental grind, Ruff said Wednesday. We had a team that lacked energy (Tuesday) night. Im going to try to switch things up maybe from game to game. I think it mentally freshens up our personnel.One player who was on the ice at the Stars practice facility in Frisco, Texas, on Wednesday was Eakin. He was a key faceoff man who centered Dallas top line for a good part of last season.Feeling pretty good, getting back to where I want to be, Eakin said after practice Wednesday.Ruff makes no secret of his love for Eakins game and what he brings to the ice for Dallas, qualities the Stars missed so far this season.Well, he is our guy that typically goes head to head with the other teams top player, Ruff said of Eakin. Hes probably our best down-low centerman. He brings some speed down the middle, which is important for our game.At some point this week, Dallas also figures to get back veteran forward Patrick Sharp, who missed the past 13 games due to a concussion he sustained Oct. 20 against the Kings.However, instead of seeing Sharp back on the ice against Colorado, it sounds like a more realistic scenario that his return would be Saturday against the Edmonton Oilers, according to Ruff.No matter whether Duchene returns for the Avalanche or Eakin is back on the ice for the Stars, the man behind the Dallas bench knows what sort of game is in store for both teams on Thursday evening.Well, I expect a desperate team, Ruff said of the Avalanche. Its a team that got off to a real good start, struggled a little bit, and now they seem to be going a little bit better. Theyve got good speed up front. I want to see our energy up. I want to see our puck possession up. Jack Morris Jersey . Brett Kulak and Jackson Houck of the Vancouver Giants were each charged with assault causing bodily harm on Aug. 18, according to the B.C. court services. Ken Giles Jersey . The Canadian squad, skipped by Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg, got on the board first with two in the second end, and followed that with two more apiece in the fourth and sixth ends. https://www.cheapbluejays.com/3626h-jerry-garvin-jersey-blue-jays.html . The Oilers come in having lost five in a row (0-4-1) and 16 of their last 20 games, dropping a 2-1 decision to the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday. Alex Gonzalez Jersey . Anthony Davis had 31 points and 17 rebounds in his seventh straight game with more than 20 points, but that was only enough to keep the Pelicans competitive into the final minutes. Andrew Bogut had 10 points and 15 rebounds for Golden State, which rebounded from a loss a night earlier in Oklahoma City and snapped a two-game skid. Jonathan Davis Blue Jays Jersey .5 million, one-year contract on Friday. Hawkins, who turns 41 in December, will compete with Rex Brothers for the closers role at spring training. 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. ' ' '