01-27-2016, 03:41 AM
The Edmonton Oilers traded for the rights to a free agent defenceman, and got him signed to a two-year deal, paying a premium for a shorter term contract. nike free 5.0 hombre baratas . Numbers Game looks at the Oilers inking Nikita Nikitin. The Oilers Get: D Nikita Nikitin. Nikitin, 28, played a career-high 66 games last season, an indication that hes still trying to establish his place in the league. A couple of years ago, in 2011-2012, Nikitin contributed a career-best 32 points in 54 games for Columbus (after seven scoreless games with St. Louis to start the year), playing a career-high 23:12 per game for the season putting up strong relative possession numbers while facing high-quality opposition, while frequently paired with veteran Fedor Tyutin. Thats the Nikitin that the Oilers have to hope they are acquiring. In 2012-2013, Nikitins role was decreased somewhat, and while he still logged 21:12 per game, Nikitin was then surpassed on the depth chart last season by rookie Ryan Murray, leaving Nikitin to play 17:07 per game on the third pair. Playing on that third pair didnt bring ideal results, as Nikitin was a little below break-even in possession terms, but if there is reason to hold out hope for Nikitin, it may be that his with-or-without you numbers arent bad over the past three seasons. Among the 16 skaters with whom he played at least 300 5-on-5 minutes over those three seasons, Nikitin had better possession numbers apart than 11 of those skaters, but that relative effectiveness has decreased in the past two seasons, to the point that in 2013-2014, Nikitin had better possession stats apart from just three of the 13 skaters with whom he played more than 150 5-on-5 minutes. What this would seem to indicate is that Nikitin, who has good size, can skate and handle the puck a bit, isnt necessarily one to carry the play. He could be a useful complementary player and presumably Oilers Senior VP of Hockey Operations Scott Howson (who acquired Nikitin as GM in Columbus) is a fan, but there is risk in bringing in a player with falling possession numbers to a team that already ranked 28th in Fenwick Close (unblocked shot attempts during 5-on-5, score within one goal in first two periods and tied in third period). Its not as though Nikitins play in the past couple seasons indicates that he would improve the results no matter with whom he is partnered and its reasonable to wonder if the Oilers have the right personnel to get positive results with Nikitin on the ice. If the Jeff Petry and Martin Marincin pairing goes ahead, then perhaps Nikitin gets a chance alongside Andrew Ference. Maybe that somehow works out and allows the Oilers some time to develop their young defencemen. Its entirely possible that it wont work out, though, and the short-term nature of the contract suggests that both sides recognize that risk. Signed to a two-year, $9-million deal, Nikitin will be well-compensated, particularly if he cant stick in the Oilers top four, but the downside of a two-year deal is limited compared to the longer term that will be available to other free agent defencemen. The Blue Jackets Get: A fifth-round pick. Since the Blue Jackets werent going to bring Nikitin back, getting any asset in return is a plus. The fifth-round pick, 137th overall, belonged to Columbus originally and was traded to Edmonton last season to acquire D Nick Schultz. A fifth-round pick doesnt bring a lot of value, but its something. From 1990 through 2009, just under 15% of the picks between 121 and 150 played at least 100 NHL games, so there is a little better than a one-in-seven chance of netting an NHL player. While its reasonable for the Oilers to have hope Nikitin can perform in a top-four role, it could be telling that the Blue Jackets would let Nikitin depart as a free agent. Mabye they simply didnt want to pay that kind of money to a third pair defenceman, when they have younger, cheaper options (David Savard, Dalton Prout, Tim Erixon) available and thats fair, but current Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen was the Blues Director of Scouting when St. Louis picked Nikitin in the fifth round in 2004. Lots can change over time and the Blue Jackets arent likely to regret letting Nikitin go, even if he works out well for the Oilers. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. nike roshe run hombre baratas . Haden signed a five-year, $68 million extension with Cleveland on Monday, the total value of the contract surpassing cornerback Richard Shermans four-year, $57 million agreement last week with the Seattle Seahawks. adidas zx flux baratas . Safarova converted her only break point in the first set and added two more breaks in the second to wrap up the win in 1 hour, 32 minutes. In another first-round match, Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium beat Heather Watson of Britain 6-0, 5-7, 6-2, breaking her opponent seven times even though the Briton landed 81 per cent of her first serves compared to just 49 per cent for Wickmayer. CASABLANCA, Morocco -- Top-seeded Kevin Anderson of South Africa lost to Victor Hanescu of Romania 6-4, 6-4 Wednesday in the second round of the Grand Prix Hassan II. The Moroccan tournament lost its two highest-seeded players on the same day as No. 2 Gael Monfils of France withdrew after straining his right ankle in practice. Hanescu saved five break points and broke for a 3-2 lead in the first set. Anderson, last years runner-up, dropped serve again at 1-1 in the second. Hanescus quarterfinal opponent will be Federico Delbonis of Argentina, who edged Canadian qualifier Filip Peliwo 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-4. The sixth-seeded Delbonis, who won the Brazil Open last month, won six straight games to take the first set and lead 2-0 in the second. But Peliwo, the 2012 world junior champion, fought back to force a tiebreaker and levelled at one set apiece. In the third, Delbonis earned the decisive break at 4-4. Also, Aleksandr Nedovyesov oof Kazakhstan and Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic advanced to the second round. nike air max 90 essential mujer. Vesely defeated Leonardo Mayer of Argentina 6-4, 6-3, and Nedovyesov earned his first victory on the main tour by rallying from a 5-2 deficit in the opening set to stun the seventh-seeded Robin Haase of the Netherlands 7-6 (6), 6-4. The Spanish trio of Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Albert Montanes and Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain also won their first-round matches. The eighth-seeded Garcia-Lopez beat Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan 7-6 (5), 7-6 (6) despite making seven double faults. Named most improved player of the year by the ATP for climbing from 715th to 65th in the rankings last season, Carreno Busta cruised past Tobias Kamke of Germany 6-1, 6-2. The Spaniard broke Kamke twice in each set and did not face any break point. Montanes saved all four break points he faced in his 6-2, 6-3 win over Kenny de Schepper of France. cheap jerseys cheap jerseys cheap nfl jerseys Ray Ban Outlet Michael Kors Outlet Michael Kors Sale Cheap Michael Kors ' ' '