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The Washington managed to avoid what would have been a crushing lo s on Thursday night, overcoming the fact they let a two-goal lead slip away in the final Michael Conforto Jersey four minutes of regulation to beat Boston in a shootout, 3-2. ended up scoring the game-winner, but the best move in the shootout (and my favorite) came from Capitals forward as his move was so good that it caused Bruins goalie to, well ... fall down. Awesome.Hendricks isn't known for his skill, but he's demonstrated the ability to pull off some pretty impre sive shootout moves over his career, and even leads the team in shootout goals this season. On a roster that has and , that's not an easy thing to do. Grant Mccray Jersey

KingsforwardJarret Stoll, arrestedin Aprilin Las Vegas for and ecstasy, has been charged with one felony count of cocaine po se sion, according to the 's office. Stroll was arrested April 18while going through security pat downs on Ken Caminiti Jersey his way into a Wet Republic pool party in Las Vegas. The DA alleges that asecurity guard found a pink baggie with 3.3 grams of cocaine and 8.1 grams of ecstasy "gel caps"in Stoll's shorts. at the time,Stoll admitted to security that the substance inside the baggie was cocaine. MORE: | Stoll, who is the ,could face anywhere from probation up to four years in prison if convicted. The soon to be 33-year-oldmi sed nine games earlier in the season with a concu sion. He scored 17points (six goals,11 a sists) in 73games this season.He was a member of the Kings' Stanley Cup championship teams in 2012 and '14. Stoll is set to become a free agent, also on July 1, and in addition to po sible jail time, the Melville Sask. native could face immigration i sues, of the Orange County Register. Hammond also reachedNHL deputy , who said,"Yes, we are aware of the news. No, we dont have any comment at this time." Heath Bell Jersey

The are awaiting the return of their captain, Auston Matthews. Matthews was just in Milan, Italy, where he captained Team USA to an Olympic gold medal over Canada. But the NHL season is nearly back from its break. The Maple Leafs are in a precarious position, needing to go on a quick hot streak to avoid the need to be sellers ahead of the March 6 trade deadline. To have the best chance of winning games, of course, they need Matthews on the ice. MORE: And on that front, there's good news and also uncertain news. Tuesday morning that Matthews will rejoin the team on Wednesday in Tampa Bay. That's after Michael Taylor Jersey Team USA is recognized by President Donald Trump in the nation's capital on Tuesday. The twist, though, is that Johnston isn't clear yet on whether Matthews will actually play against the Lightning on Wednesday. Of course it makes sense that after the celebrations are over, Matthews returns to his teammates. It is tougher to know how he's doing physically, mentally and emotionally after an intense tournament and a lot of travel. MORE: In a perfect world, the Leafs would give Matthews just a tad bit of rest before getting him out for game action. This isn't a perfect world for the Maple Leafs in 2025-26, though. It's been a bumpy season. They can't really afford for Matthews to mi s much, if any, time. And so it'll be fascinating to watch what Toronto does with its captain beginning Wednesday night when the NHL resumes after the Olympics. More NHL news: Aramis Ramirez Jersey

More NHL Playoffs: | | | | |CHICAGO -- A season of change for led to a familiar finish: taking home the Hart Trophy as the league's MVP.The captain seemed to be going in the Odubel Herrera Jersey wrong direction in his career. For a few seasons in a row he saw his goal scoring and point production go down while his predictability went up. Then new coach Adam Oates came to Washington with a pretty radical idea; to flip Ovechkin to the right wing. It didn't work right away, but when it started to click, it really clicked.NHL Awards In the last 32 games of the season, Ovechkin had 27 of his 32 goals and led the Caps on a second-half surge. Before Ovechkin woke up and started scoring like the player of old, the Capitals were sagging, all the way at the bottom of the NHL standings. In a short season, some had already begun preparing the obituary for the Caps before the calendar even hit March. Ovechkin's surge helped ensure that wouldn't happen.Where Ovechkin really excelled was on the power play. He had 16 of his 32 goals on the man advantage for a Washington unit that was one of the best in the league. He had become a little predictable on the rush over the years but his one-timer always remained lethal and with Oates now guiding the power play, Ovi once again became the power-play ace. It was a run that was reminiscent of the tear went on in 2010-11 to lead the Ducks to the playoffs and him to a Hart Trophy. The late-season surge sticking with people made all the more visible by the team's succe s.The detractors, of which there were many, said that Ovechkin did the majority of his scoring against bad teams, a product of playing in a bad division. It's a lot easier to score against the Panthers, Lightning, Jets and Hurricanes than most of the rest of the conference.NHL Awards This argument flew with some, but not all. In the end, Ovechkin beat out -- who was very clearly hurt in this race by his broken jaw -- and . It was hard to ignore the optics of a player going on a tear, leading his team on a tear and from behind in the standings and into the playoffs. Using the old MVP argument of "if you take him away, where do they finish?" worked in Ovechkin's favor.For the Ru sian forward, who already took home the Rocket Richard Trophy as the NHL's leading goal scorer, it's his third Hart Trophy, the first since the 2008-09 season. He is just the seventh player in league history to be named the MVP three times, joining Bobby Orr, Howie Morenz, Mario Lemieux and Bobby Clarke in the three-timer's club. The top five in voting. As you can see, it was a tight win for Ovechkin.Hart Trophy votingPlayerFirst placeSecond placeThird placeFourth placeFifth placeTotalAlex Ovechkin5043402781090Sidney Crosby46424129121058John Tavares3838332921919Jonathan Toews3935292919886Sergei Bobrovsky41213254311 Mitch Williams Jersey

More NHL: | | | | | Pavel Bure was one of the most exciting players in the league during the early 1990s. With his immense speed and unmatched creativity, Bure was as much showman as he was hockey player.As this highlight video shows, he was simply one of the best of his era and thats Kyle Mccann Jersey why hes in the Hockey Hall of Fame.Saturday night in Vancouver, his No. 10 will be sent to the rafters to join legends Trevor Linden, Markus Naslund and Stan Smyl with their numbers retired. The dazzling winger put up 254 or his 437 career goals as a member of the Canucks. Bure won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the leagues rookie of the year in 1992 after scoring 34 goals in just 65 games. He also helped lead Vancouver to the brink of the Stanley Cup in 1994 after posting 60 goals and 107 points in the regular season, to go along with 16 goals and 31 points in the postseason.Bure was a player that really paved the way for guys like Alexander Ovechkin and to become superstars in the NHL. When he was at the top of his game, few were more fun to watch than Pavel Bure.Here's one of my personal favorite Bure highlights: Walt Weiss Jersey

The two teams that lost in the 2021 IIHF World Junior semifinals will now have to regroup or leave empty-handed. Ru sia was handed a lopsided 5-0 lo s by Canada before Finland fought to tie its semifinal game with the Americans before being shocked with 76 seconds left in regulation. They'll now meet in the bronze-medal game before Canada and the United States play for gold. "It's gonna be tough for sure," Finnish head coach Antti Pennanen said after his team's lo s to the U.S. "But, of course, it's our last game. So I hope we bring the team effort tomorrow." MORE: "It's been a really awesome trip with these guys to be here in the bubble," said KasperPuutio, who had two a sists in the semifinal matchup. "We still want to get a medal and be proud of this team. So we're still definitely going to be giving the best that we have tomorrow and trying to get the bronze medal." Finland brings a never-say-die attitude to the game, as it not only came back against the Americans to tie things up but also beat Sweden in the quarterfinals on a goal with 25 seconds left to cap off three unanswered goals. With a solid defensive core that gets things done on both ends of the ice and a potent power play, Finland will be a tough opponent for Hockey Hall of Famer Igor Larionov's squad. The Ru sians don't have much scoring depth beyond their top-6 and will be looking for a much better performance out of their netminder. Yaroslav Askarov allowed four goalson 34 shots to the Canadians and seemed to have trouble holding onto his stick for much of the first period. Here is how to catch Ben Rice Jersey the 2021 IIHF World Juniors bronze-medal game between Finland and Ru sia How to watch Finland vs. Ru sia TV channel (Canada): TSN Live stream (Canada): TSN Live TV channel (USA): NHL Network Finland vs. Ru sia: When is puck drop? Date: Tuesday, Jan. 5 Time: 5:30 p.m. ET World Juniors 2021: Latest news Tournament Time, TV channel, live stream, where, when, schedule How has COVID-19 impacted the tournament? Rosters, NHL draft status, jersey numbers for all 10 teams Breakdown of every NHL teams' prospects Predictions: Hockey experts pick who will win gold A team-by-team guide to the under-20 championship Dach, Caufield and the top four storylines Oilers' Philip Broberg impre ses with three a sists for Sweden Senators' Tim Stuetzle scores two goals in Germany's overtime win Predictions, odds, X-factors, breakdowns for quarterfinal matchups Leafs prospect Roni Hirvonen sends Finland to semis with late goal USA Scores, schedule, how to watch every USA Hockey game NHL Network's Dave Starman on Canada, the U.S. and why Cole Caufield will steal the show Americans mount comeback but fall in opener to rival Ru sia USA bounces back with dominating 11-0 win Americans erupt for seven goals, guarantee QF spot at World Juniors Americans take top spot in Group B with shutout win USA gets a scare but hold on for semifinal berth Arthur Kaliyev's goal with 76 seconds left lifts USto gold-medal showdown with Canada Canada Which players are on Canada's final roster? Canada favorite to win second straight gold medal Kirby Dach out of tournament with wrist injury Scores, schedule, how to watch every Hockey Canada game Canada opens WJC with 16-2 blowout of Germany Braden Schneider handed one-game suspension Birthday boy Devon Levi, Canadians hold on to beat Slovakia Six points by Quinton Byfield powers Canadians to 10-0 win Canadians claim top spot in Group A with wire-to-wire win Alex Newhook, Devon Levi have Canada going for gold Which teams are in the 2021 World Junior Championship? Ten teams, divided into two groups of five, are participating. Group A Group B Canada Ru sia Finland Sweden Switzerland USA Slovakia Czech Republic Germany Austria Full schedule for the 2021 World Junior Championship (All times Eastern) TUESDAY, JAN. 5 Bronze-medal game 5:30 p.m. TSN, NHLN Gold-medal game 9:30 p.m. TSN, NHLN Who has won the IIHF World Junior Championshipsin the past 10 years? Year Winner Host country 2020 Canada Czech Republic 2019 Finland Canada 2018 Canada United States 2017 United States Canada 2016 Finland Finland 2015 Canada Canada 2014 Finland Sweden 2013 United States Ru sia 2012 Sweden Canada 2011 Ru sia United States Which countries have won the most medals at the World Junior Championship? Country Gold Silver Bronze Total Canada 18 9 5 32 Ru sia* 13 13 11 37 Finland 5 4 6 15 United States 4 2 6 12 Sweden 2 11 6 19 Czech Republic+ 2 5 7 14 Slovakia 0 0 2 2 Switzerland 0 0 1 1 * Includes medals won as the Soviet Union and CIS + Includes medals won as Czechoslovakia Wade Boggs Jersey

One of the worst things we can do when it comes to evaluating hockey players -- or any athlete, for that matter -- is put too much stock in their most recent performance.The "what have you done for me lately" nature of profe sional sports can lead to a lot of bad decisions and poor evaluations that lead to players, and even teams, getting too much credit for their most recent succe s (like, for example, the 2013-14 ) or too much criticism for their most recent slump (any superstar player that goes a handful of games without a goal, especially when it comes to the playoffs). What you saw last isn't always a good indicator of what you're going to see next.In our first Friday Top 5 we looked at non-playoff teams that were the best candidates to experience a bounce back season in 2015-16. This week we are going to look at individual players that have the best opportunity to rebound. Players have down years for a lot of different reasons, and it's not always a sign that their career is starting to decline or that their days as a useful, productive player in the league are coming to a close. Sometimes it's a change in linemates and not having any kind of chemistry with their new partner(s) that results in a down year. Sometimes it's injury. A new role where a player is maybe asked to take on more defensive responsibilities (more penalty kill time, le s power play time; more zone starts in the defensive zone and not as many in the offensive zone) and focus on that instead of always scoring. And sometimes it's just bad luck and an unusually low shooting percentage.Pretty much all of the players on this list experienced at least one of those things in 2014-15, and they are all great candidates to come back in 2015-16 with big years.1. , : The 2014-15 season was a disappointing one for the Carolina Hurricanes as the team finished with one of the worst records in the league. One of the most disappointing individual performances probably came from Skinner as he finished with just 31 points (18 goals, 13 a sists) in 77 games, by far the least productive season of his NHL career. That performance, as well as the Hurricanes' dismal season, even resulted in Skinner's name being mentioned in trade speculation over the summer. Moving him at this point would have been a potentially foolish decision because it not only would have been selling on a player that was supposed to be a franchise building block at his lowest po sible value, but also because Skinner is a prime candidate to bounce back this season.The encouraging thing for Skinner is that even though his production dropped this past season, there were still signs that he can get back to being a top goal scoring threat in the league. Even though he was getting le s ice time than in previous years (that alone is a contributing factor, even Josh Walker Jersey if a small one, to the decline in production) he was still generating more than three shots on goal per game and created more scoring chances than any other player on the team during 5-on-5 play except for . He was 11th overall in the entire NHL ( ).Even though the goals weren't there, he was still creating opportunities. And when a player as skilled as Skinner is creating that many opportunities it's only going to be a matter of time until he starts to convert on them. Especially when he has a track record of doing just that in the NHL. The thing that often times gets overlooked about Skinner is that he has been a remarkably productive player in the league having already scored 30 goals two different times before his 23rd birthday. Not overly impre sed by that? Just consider the only other players over the past 20 years that have accomplished that are , Ilya Kovalchuk, , , , , , Eric Daze, Paul Kariya, , , , , Eric Staal, and Pretty good group to be in.There are always concerns about Skinner's health due to his concu sion history in the league, but outside of the 2011-12 season he has appeared in 93 percent of the Hurricanes' games.2. Nathan Mackinnon, Colorado Avalanche:The No. 1 overall pick in 2013, burst onto the scene during the 2013-14 season with one of the best age 18 seasons in NHL history and was a key cog in a surprising playoff appearance for the Colorado Avalanche. Things did not go anywhere near as well for MacKinnon and the Avalanche in 2014-15. The Avalanche suffered what should have been a pretty predictable regre sion in the standings while MacKinnon, in what turned out to be an injury-shortened season, saw his production drop acro s the board.But his struggles, in some ways, were kind of similar to what Skinner experienced in Carolina. A lot of chances. A lot of shots. But the puck simply wasn't going in the net. He actually increased his shot rate in his sophomore season and was the Avalanche's best player when it came to driving po se sion and creating scoring chances. The puck just simply wasn't going in the net for him (or his team) when he was on the ice. At least not as much as it did in his rookie season. With MacKinnon's skill, speed and gamebreaking ability he should be better than the 7 percent shooter he was this past season.3. , :How did one of the best offensive teams in the league with a defense that steadily improved over the course of the season end up mi sing the playoffs?Goaltending.Lehtonen, who has been a pretty solid goalie throughout his career, simply had a miserable season in the Stars' crease and was by pretty much every objective measure one of the worst starters in the league. For a guy that has been, at worst, a league average player at the position for nearly a decade, it was quite a sudden fall and just another example as to how unpredictable goaltenders in the league can be. Part of the problem for the Stars in 2014-15 season was the fact that they simply had no better alternative than Lehtonen and had to keep running him out there even as he continued to struggle, asking him to appear in 65 games for the second year in a row.Over the past five years he has carried one of the heaviest workloads in the league and eventually that has to start to wear on a goaltender that is now over the age of 30.By acquiring former Chicago Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks goaltender and signing him to a three-year contract the Stars are giving him some help this season -- and doing so by carrying the most expensive goaltending duo in the league -- which should not only help the Stars when it comes to goal prevention, but also help Lehtonen if for no other reason than he might not have to be the only option the team has in net and he might be able to take on a lighter workload. 4. , :Perhaps this won't be a "bounce-back" season for Evander Kane, but his long-awaited breakout season.The 2014-15 campaign was a brutal one for Kane in Winnipeg after he had a run-in with a teammate, was pretty much run out of town, and appeared in only 37 games due to injury.Now he gets a fresh start in Buffalo -- where he already seems to be infinitely more popular than he was in Winnipeg, and where the noise from the outside may not be as intense and overbearing -- on a young, exciting and rapidly improving Sabres team that finally seems to be heading in the right direction. Through the first six years of his career with the Thrashers/Jets franchise he has averaged nearly 25 goals and 50 points per 82 games, but when you combine his age (still only 24), skill and some of the underlying numbers (shot rates, po se sion numbers) that he has recorded in his career there still seems to be another level that he can get to as a top-line player in the league.He still might have a 40-goal season in him at some point in his career.Over the past 20 years Kane is one of just 15 players that has averaged at least 0.30 goals and 3.30 shots per game in the league before their 24th birthday. Out of the other 14 players on that list ( ), 12 of them had at least one 40-goal season in their NHL career, while the only two that didn't were Mikael Renberg (who topped out at 38) and Phil Ke sel (who has scored at least 30 goals five times, twice reaching 37, and should have plenty of opportunities to reach the 40-goal mark now that he plays for the Pittsburgh Penguins).5. Christian Ehrhoff: This is an interesting one because at this point we don't even know what team Ehrhoff will be playing for this season. He remains unsigned as an unrestricted free agent and even though his name has been connected to a handful of teams, including the . And it's not like his 2014-15 season was nece sarily "bad" when he was on the ice. But it also probably didn't go entirely as planned for him.After the Buffalo Sabres used a compliance buy out on him he signed a one-year deal with Pittsburgh in the hopes of maybe playing his way into another long-term contract this summer.Concu sion i sues limited him to just 49 games for the Pittsburgh Penguins and a decrease in power play time from his previous seasons in the league helped play a role in his declining point production. At some point this summer somebody is going to sign him, likely to another short-term deal, and provided he is able to stay healthy that team is going to get a mobile, puck-moving defenseman with a booming slap shot that can be an a set on the power play. Kodai Senga Jersey

goalie will not be available for team on Wednesday night for its game against the Boston Bruins because of an i sue with his throat according to coach Alain Vigneault. Officially he is out with an Jack Morris Jersey "upper body injury" but Vigneault admitted it is related to a recent incident involving a puck hitting him in the throat.Two games ago Lundqvist was hit in the throat by a shot from Carolina's Brad Malone.As the puck approached the net, the stick of Rangers defenseman came up and lifted Lundqvist's goalie mask and throat protector just enough to allow the shot to sneak underneath and hit him.Lundqvist immediately dropped to the ice and remained there in what appeared to be significant pain for several minutes. He remained in the game and admitted afterwards that he had some trouble breathing and was briefly lightheaded. He started the Rangers' most recent game, a 6-3 win over the Florida Panthers. . In 39 games this season Lundqvist has a .922 save percentage to go with a 25-11-3 record. Justin Morneau Jersey

The Sporting News GOAT Mountain project named four pro athletes from the 9 cities that have had three of the following four leagues represented for at least 20 years NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL. Last summer, . There were no hard-and-fast rules pertaining to the athletes selected. Our panels of experts considered individual resumes, team succe s and legacy within the sports landscape of each city. Not every franchise within a city needed to be represented. All sports fans have an opinion on this topic. This is ours. Pittsburgh is not ordinarily a city of pretense or affectation, not the sort of place one might find a Cher or Madonna or Bono. It is curious, then, that each of the four e sential sports stars in its history can be identified by a single name. Roberto. Mario. Franco. Mean Joe. OK, that last one technically is two names, but you get the point: no surnames nece sary. The GOAT Mountain of Pittsburgh sports is one of the most formidable on the landscape. The four men included were e sential to 15 championships, earned first-ballot Hall of Fame inductions in each of their sports and performed extraordinary community, charity and humanitarian work. Two of them no longer are with us, but neither will they ever leave. MORE: They represent the foundation of a championship era that began more than 60 years ago and might have been the most impactful in American sports. The Yankees and Celtics and Montreal Canadiens won more titlles. However, the Steelers surge toward six Super Bowls, and the Penguins five Stanley Cups and Pirates three World Series all since 1960 accelerated during a decade, the 1970s, when their city and region faced an existential crisis with the implosion of the steel industry and, rapidly, the busine ses and communities that supported it. Starting with Roberto Clemente and continuing on through Joe Greene, Franco Harris and Mario Lemieux, so many Pittsburghers and, unlike many cities in the country, those in the surrounding region consider themselves as such even if theyve never driven Downtown could connect to those athletic heroes and their teammates as a source of regional pride. They could depend on Clementes grace, identify with Greenes persistent toughne s, appreciate Harris opportunism and generosity and marvel at the surpa sing skill and unyielding resilience of Lemieux. And if forced by economic circumstance to leave their home for another area of the country, they didnt even need another suitcase to take all of that with them. The Pittsburgh GOAT debate was fascinating, as well, because so many other magnificent athletes might have found their way onto that mountain. Clemente, Greene and Lemieux always were going to be easy, obvious selections. The candidates for the fourth spot, though, included two-time World Series winner Willie Stargell, Hall of Fame pioneer Honus Wagner, three-time Stanley Cup champ Sidney Crosby, Jack Lambert and Terry Bradshaw from the four-time Steelers champions of the 1970s and two-time winner Ben Roethlisberger of the 2000s. Thats more than enough for another Mountain quartet that would compare well with the first from many cities. Pittsburgh has recovered beautifully since the 70s crisis and has been reinvented as a center for technology, medicine and education. The importance of the citys teams has not faded, though, as the citys fortunes stabilized. And the foremost heroes will be remembered, with only a word or two nece sary. ROBERTO CLEMENTE (Pirates, 1955-1972) Although it certainly is correct to call the building at 3339 Penn Avenue in Pittsburgh a museum it says Clemente Museum right there it might be more accurate to call the place a shrine. This is how Clemente is viewed by Pittsburghers. Even among those who would not consider themselves religious, there are legions of believers in the sanctity of Roberto. Museum director Duane Rieder was not yet a teenager when Clemente died, but he remembers the night in 1971 when he visited Three Rivers Stadium for a Pirates game and got Robertos autograph. So many who grew up then recall the magic of getting to see him play leading the Pirates to the first three Eastern Division titles of the 1970s and dominating the 1971 World Series in a way few players have since and the heartbreak of the morning they learned of his death. It was stunning, to be a young kid and you have these idols, and hes one of them and to hear that, it was stunning, said area native Bob Pompeani, the sports director at KDKA-TV in his 41st year with the station. I remember telling my father: This is not true. This cant be true. Clementes death in a plane crash that killed four others just minutes after taking off from an airport in San Juan is discu sed even more frequently than his wondrous exploits on the baseball field. This is warranted given the plane was loaded with supplies to aid victims of a devastating earthquake in Nicaragua, and Clemente insisted on boarding the plane to a sure the aid was delivered to those who needed it. As well, his excellence as a player meant more than just his 3,000 career hits, 15 All-Star appearances, 12 Gold Taylor Clarke Jersey Gloves and four batting titles. He was the first Latin superstar, a beacon for generations of players from the Caribbean and Central America demonstrating they, too, could become big-league stars. Pompeani contends the No. 21 should be retired acro s baseball for that reason and Clementes impact as a humanitarian. In a salute to Clemente, whose Pittsburgh teammates were in Cooperstown as well as club officials and Puerto Rican government representatives, (Commi sioner Bowie) Kuhn read the statistical magnificence of the 39-year-old outfielder, killed last New Year's Eve when on a flying mi sion of mercy to Nicaragua with medical and food supplies for earthquake victims. "He was," said the commi sioner of Clemente, "so very great a man as a leader and a humanitarian, so very great an inspiration to the young and to all in baseball and to the people of his proud homeland, Puerto Rico. The Sporting News, Aug. 18, 1973 Clemente also was the first sports hero for a generation of young Pittsburghers who grew up in a society consumed by racial strife in the late 1960s; they grew to love him for the player he was and, ultimately, the hero he proved himself to be. I only covered him for one year. It was kind of funny because I was a teenager when he was called up I think I was in the eighth grade and Im a fan of his, and now Im covering him, retired Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Pittsburgh Pre s columnist Bob Smizik told SN. There was such an aura about him. He was not easily approachable, but you could see the tremendous respect his teammates had for him. He was the first player I ever saw who had two lockers, to give him some space. Thats fairly common nowadays. Every once in a while he would mix it up with you, and the team. Dave Ricketts was such an agitator, and he was a bullpen catcher. He was the lowest person in that locker room, and he would get on Clemente like you couldnt believe. And Clemente, rather than being angry, he would play back a little. We went to the clubhouse every day just to see that show. Sometimes he was very aloof, didnt want anything to do with you, and other times you could not get away from him. He would talk and talk. The last time I had an interview with him, August of 72, I couldnt get away from him. And that was also the day he said, I expect to play five more seasons. And why not? He hit .312 in 413 plate appearances at age 37. And it was only the year before he tore through a phenomenal Orioles pitching staff in the World Series, batting .414 with two home runs and a 1.210 OPS, the most significant force toward securing the Pirates fourth championship. That World Series elevated him so much in the eyes of Pittsburgh fans and the public, Smizik said. You know, he doesnt have gaudy statistics, but having a hit in every World Series game and being such an heroic figure in 1971, that elevated him so much. The Clemente Museum occupies the former home of Engine House 25 of the Pittsburgh fire department, which was vacated by the city on New Years Eve, 1972 literal minutes before the plane carrying Clemente and four others crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. Rieder hopes to have 10,000 visitors this year to the museum that e sentially sits at the entrance to the citys Lawrenceville neighborhood. Among them: several Major League teams that arrange private tours while they are in to play the Pirates. I tell people Im the luckiest person on the planet, Rieder told the Sporting News as he prepared for a weekend visit from the entire New York Mets squad. I get to talk about Roberto Clemente. Roberto Clemente By The Numbers MVPs 1 World Series titles 2 All-Star Games 15 Batting Titles 4 Gold Gloves 12 FRANCO HARRIS (Steelers, 1972-83) Its impo sible to consider Franco Harris without the Immaculate Reception being the first image to manifest. You may not have seen it live. You may not have been alive to see it. The replay of that spectacular slice of serendipity, though, has been ubiquitous in the half-century since it delivered the Steelers the first NFL Playoff victory in their history. Theres another play from Harris career, though, that is far le s famous, far le s spectacular and yet might have been more consequential and revealing about the sort of football player Harris was at his core. Frequently excoriated during his career for running out of bounds rather than taking on tacklers to gain an extra inch he was decades ahead of his time in that area Harris showed how toughne s really works on a play from Super Bowl 13 against the Cowboys. Dallas linebacker Thomas Hollywood Henderson had insulted Bradshaw in advance of the game by saying hes so dumb, he couldnt spell cat if you spotted him the C and the A. In the fourth quarter, with the Steelers ahead by just four points and facing a third-and-5, Bradshaw dropped back to pa s, but there were multiple whistles as the ball was snapped. Henderson charged through a gap and the noise of the whistles to grab Bradshaws jersey, whip him to the ground and then jump on top of him. Harris confronted Henderson who was not penalized for his roughne s after the play. And then he did something he almost never did in 13 seasons that included 12,120 regular-season yards and a record 1,556 yards in playoff games. Franco went into the huddle and said, Give me the ball. You could just tell. I remember watching at the time: Wow, he was like po se sed, Hall of Fame Steelers beat writer Ed Bouchette told SN. He was always there, always productive. He was such a big man, and so athletic, and teams had to defend against that. The Steelers faced a third-and-10 from the Dallas 22, but Harris was insistent he be given the chance to pay back Henderson and his teammates. And he was even more emphatic on the touchdown run that followed, which comprised a third of his output on an otherwise challenging day. It might have been the most important play of the game. Harris had been drafted from Penn State with the No. 13 overall pick. Coach Chuck Noll is known to have preferred Robert Newhouse of the Houston Cougars, but the teams scouts led by Art Rooney Jr. wore him down and eventually convinced the coach not to worry about Harris reputation for disdaining practice. Bouchette said Steelers PR legend Joe Gordon tried to insist Noll was just playing devils advocate to hear the case for Harris, but thats not Art Jrs story. As a rookie, Harris rushed for 1,005 and 10 touchdowns, the first of eight seasons above 1,000 yards. Newhouse, taken by the Cowboys in the second round, never hit that mark. Being that Im African-American and Italian, he was my first hero, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette columnist and 93.7 The Fan host Paul Zeise told SN. At the time, in the 70s it wasnt easy to find acceptance. But Franco made it cool for people like me. And the other part about it is, Franco really resonated in this town with the blue collar, because he was an everyday kind of guy. If you listen to the older people who dealt with him when he was young, when he was playing, he was the same guy in his post-career. He really spent all of his time taking care of people and taking care of community projects. As to Franco Harris' big play in the clutch, Noll grinned broadly. "Franco had been blocking on the play and then went out," he said. "He was hustling and good things happen to people who hustle." Franco himself was more communicative. "I thought I'd sneak out and be a safety valve," he said, explaining what he had done when he saw the pre sure building up around Bradshaw. Franco saw the pa s as it headed toward Fuqua and then he saw it bounce into the air. "I said, "Oh, no,'" said Harris. "But then I saw the ball coming toward me, and I figured we're not out of this yet. The Sporting News, Jan. 6, 1973 The Immaculate Reception involved Harris retrieving a last-gasp, fourth-down Terry Bradshaw pa s deflected by Oakland Raiders safety Jack Tatum -- with only seconds remaining in a first-round playoff game -- and returning it for the game-winning touchdown. It has been voted the greatest play in NFL history, and the Steelers celebrated its 50th anniversary in a home game against the Raiders in December. They retired Harris No. 32 jersey on the same day. Tragically, Harris died in his sleep three days earlier. The tributes from teammates and fans that followed underscored his impact on the city during those five decades. That game sort of got them started, and it was such a high-profile play that Franco always has been the symbol of that super Steelers team finally breaking the mold of 40 years of being totally incapable of winning, almost the laughingstock of the NFL, Zeise said. I think hes someone whose legacy grew after he was done playing, given all the things he has done in the community. Hes always been somebody whos given back not just the poor communities or the rich communities, the white communities or the black communities. Hed been a guy who really committed his life to making Pittsburgh a better place in any way he could. Thats why hes such an icon. Franco Harris By The Numbers Pro Bowls 9 Super Bowl titles 4 Rushing TDs 91 (11th all-time) JOE GREENE (Steelers, 1969-81) The Steelers selected superstar QB Terry Bradshaw with the No. 1 overall pick in the 1970 NFL Draft. They chose four Hall of Famers in the first four rounds of the 1974 Draft. Theyve drafted three Hall of Famers in the second round and two in the fourth. Theyve tended to do well on draft day, but never so much as in 1969, when they chose Joe Who? That was the headline in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the day after Joe Greene of North Texas State was selected with the fourth overall pick. Penn State tight end Ted Kwalick was available, and Notre Dame wideout Jim Seymour. They were college stars. But the Steelers took a guy who was playing in the Mi souri Valley Conference. It was the greatest draft pick in their history, Ed Bouchette, retired from The Athletic and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, told SN. He came into a downtrodden franchise that practiced in the horse manure at South Park and just had such a determination and pa sion and hate for losing. Greene twice got ejected from games as a rookie, including one in Philadelphia, where he threw the football into the stands. He was just going crazy because they were losing, Bouchette said. They went 1-13. He was so fierce, and eventually they got some players around him. And Joe established, on and off the field, what winning was going to be. The Steelers improved from 1-13 to 5-9 to 6-8 as coach Chuck Noll and the front office built around the Mean Joe foundation, but the progre s toward a dynasty was anything but a straight line. Even after the Steelers reached the playoffs in 1972 and 1973, Bradshaw was benched at the start of the 1974 season in favor of Joe Gilliam. Bradshaw regained the job in the seventh game and the team stood 8-3-1 after a home lo s to Houston in Week 12. Greene was so frustrated he cleaned out his locker and put his stuff in the car, all the while thinking, Man, I hope somebody comes out and stops me, he told NFL Films. A sistant coach Lionel Taylor was the person who stepped in, and the Steelers won their next five, which included two playoff games and the Super Bowl. Against the Bills in the first round of the 1974 playoffs, defensive coordinator George Perles (and Greene) introduced what was called the Stunt 4-3, in which Greene lined up aiming directly at the opposing teams center. Bouchette covered that game as a young reporter for the Indiana (Pa.) Gazette, and he saw the Steelers hold O.J. Simpson to 48 yards rushing. In the AFC title game at Oakland, Greene went against Hall of Fame center Jim Otto, and the Raiders gained 29 yards on the ground. In the Super Bowl, against another Hall of Famer, Mick Tinglehoff, Greene had an interception, forced fumble and fumble recovery, and the Vikings gained 17 yards rushing, 119 total. It was not all Joe Greene, but he certainly was right there in the center of it, Bouchette said. He was so dominant. Its accepted here that he is the best, ever. There may be no better story of Greenes stature among the Steelers than this, which author Gary M. Pomerantz recounted in his terrific book on the 1970s Steelers, Their Lifes Work: At one point in a game, Perles found defensive tackle Ernie Holmes standing next to him. Now, Holmes was a tough customer who once got into trouble with the law for shooting at a police helicopter, but when Perles asked why he was on the sideline, Holmes said, Joe threw me out of the game. Perles demanded to know what that meant. I wasnt playing the defense, and Joe said if I wouldnt do it, to get the hell out. Perles ordered Holmes back into the game. Naw, Im not going back, Holmes said. Not until Joe tells me its OK. The Steelers retired lineman Ernie Stautners jersey in 1964. For a time, he was the only player with that distinction because no one else from their dubious history warranted it. As the years advanced and Lombardi Trophies accumulated, the Steelers became reluctant to retire more because there were so many great candidates. The equipment staff never i sued anyone the No. 75 jersey, but it wasnt until 40 years after that first Super Bowl that Greenes number was honored. The decade of the 70s were unbelievable. It will never be replicated anywhere, Pre s and Post-Gazette columnist Bob Smizik said. The town just was going crazy over the Steelers. I remember doing a long interview with Joe Greene, and he was a tremendously cla sy guy. He was one of those guys that just commanded the room. It was a good thing he was their first draft choice that first year. He owned the locker room. Guys saw how he did it, and thats how they wanted to do it. Joe Greene By The Numbers Pro Bowls 10 Super Bowl titles 4 Defensive Player of the Year 1 MARIO LEMIEUX(Penguins 1984-2006) The statue of Mario Lemieux that stands outside the Trib Total Media Gate at PPG Arena, just a sidewalk removed from Pittsburghs Centre Avenue, features him wearing a Penguins uniform and wielding a hockey stick as he leaves behind two helple s Islanders defenders. He is not sculpted wearing a sportcoat or necktie, ruling over a busine s meeting or standing in the owners suite and watching his team play. He could be, though. His actions as owner of the Penguins might be considered as heroic as those transacted on ice, though inarguably le s aesthetic or enthralling. Mario is the greatest individual athlete in Pittsburgh history, which is saying something, former Penguins beat writer Tom McMillan told the Sporting News. But the athlete part is just part of the story. Thats what makes it so remarkable. That alone makes him one of the best, but then he buys the team out of bankruptcy, wins more Stanley Cups as an owner than he does as a player. He saved the team twice, e sentially. McMillan was a sportswriter and sports talk host in the Pittsburgh area for the better part of two decades, first at the Tribune-Review in the suburbs and then at the Post-Gazette. In 1996, after covering the Penguins consecutive Stanley Cup champions, he was hired to become the teams VP of Communications and retired from that position in 2021. So he saw Lemieuxs impact on the city and the franchise from multiple angles. The team was on the verge of moving when he got here as a teenager, and later on its in bankruptcy when he puts together investors to buy it. Hes the driving force behind the new arena, so thats a testament to his career McMillan said. And then, because he battles cancer, he starts this foundation thats raised millions of dollars for cancer and neo-natal research. Theres a whole mosaic of his career even beyond the fantastic individual playing career. I dont know that theres ever been an athlete thats had more of an impact on a city or franchise than he has with Pittsburgh and the Penguins. I dont think its po sible. Lemieux arrived in Pittsburgh in 1984, the Penguins having worked very hard to acquire him in the NHL Draft by winning just 16 games and accumulating 38 points in the standings. McMillan said Eddie Johnston, the general manager at the time, still denies that some of the moves he made that season were so the team would tank but they clearly were. He still denies it, but he winks at you when he denies it. Lemieux arrived in Pittsburgh with all the hype the early-80s media could generate for a hockey prospect, which certainly wasnt what it might be now, and wasted zero time demonstrating his individual excellence. He scored 100 points in his first year and got 53 of the 63 first-place votes for the Calder Memorial Trophy as the leagues top rookie. It was the first of 10 100-plus point seasons, six of which led the NHL. He led in goals and a sists three times each. He won the Hart Trophy as league MVP three times and stands No. 8 in career points. The numbers and awards cant begin to capture the Lemieux story, though, because he did so much of that through a debilitating back injury and a battle with lymphoma that cost him all or part of six seasons. He effectively mounted three comebacks after mi sing one or more full seasons. That whole comeback thing was unbelievable to me, KDKA Sports anchor Bob Pompeani told SN. If he had gone the entire year without any of this whether cancer or back i sues I guarantee he would have been right up there with Gretzkys numbers. The Penguins won their first Stanley Cup in 1990-91 with Lemieux, because of back surgery that led to a very late start, playing more games in the playoffs than he had in the regular season. His 44 points in that run were the second-best in NHL history. He mi sed 18 games the following season and still won the Art Ro s trophy as top scorer, then a second Conn Smythe as playoff MVP in a second straight Cup win. The first time I saw him play live, all I kept saying to myself was: This is the most incredible athlete Ive ever seen, Post-Gazette columnist Paul Zeise said. This guy is huge. He skates, its effortle s, and his skill I cant even imagine how many hours have gone into becoming the player that he is. This guy had probably more talent than any hockey player thats ever played, including Wayne Gretzky, who had a greater career and has to be considered the best of all time. I dont know that Ive seen anybody maybe except for Michael Jordan that had the pure talent Mario had. Pompeani worked on the board of the Mario Lemieux Invitational charity golf tournament for 18 years, an event that attracted such celebrities as Charles Barkley, Jordan and Joe Pesci. I saw things from Mario that I didnt know I would see. No. 1, I saw a sense of humor that nobody saw because hes a private person and not interested in going in front of the camera, Pompeani said. A thing that makes him great is hes not from Pittsburgh, but hes very much involved in a lot of stuff in Pittsburgh. That says a lot about what this areas meant to him, and how the people have responded to him. While Lemieux was Penguins owner from 1999-2021 he and his partners sold the team for a reported $900 million they won the right to draft another all-time great in Sidney Crosby and eventually claimed another three Stanley Cups. McMillan tells of how he was at dinner with team executives in Detroit the night before Game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup final against the Red Wings. His phone buzzed with a text from Lemieux that asked: Tom, do you think it would make sense for me to write a text to the team tomorrow, kind of play without fear, youll realize your childhood dreams, see you at center ice. It was kind of like: Whys he asking me? Well, Id known him for 30 years, and he wanted someones opinion, McMillan said. So I said, Uh, yeah! He sent me the me sage: This is what I want to say. Clean it up for me a little. So I did, and sent it back to him. It gives me chills even talking about it. So we set it up, and the travel guy sent it to the players early in the morning by text. And I remember guys coming onto the bus saying, Boy, thanks! It was easy to fall back asleep after that! The Penguins won, 2-1, and celebrated at center ice. He knew who he was, McMillan said. Other owners could have sent that, it wouldnt have had that impact. He had a sense of who he was in that moment. I want us to win. Maybe I can help. Mario Lemieux By The Numbers Hart Trophy (MVP) 3 Stanley Cup titles 2 Ro s Trophy (Scoring champ) 6 All-Star Games 9 Andruw Monasterio Jersey

With , goaltender decided to do a little pandering toward the team's most famous suitor. On Wednesday, Talbot was in the locker room showing off his new Deadpool-themed goalie mask. The mask George Soriano Jersey , which was designed by Friedesigns, features images of Deadpool with a Canadian flag, Senators tattoo, and a cup of Tim Hortons coffee. Talbot said he just wanted to give Reynolds a little more incentive to purchase the Senators. Cam Talbot poses with his new Deadpool-themed mask. We came up with Deadpool mask in light of the rumours that maybe Ryan Reynolds will be coming into the new ownership group. So tried to entice him a little bit more to come in here and be part of the group. Ian Mendes (@ian_mendes) "We came up with Deadpool mask in light of the rumours that maybe Ryan Reynolds will be coming into the new ownership group," Talbot said, via Ian Mendes of The Athletic. "So tried to entice him a little bit more to come in here and be part of the group." Reynolds has not been shy about his desire to be part of the Senators' ownership group. The Canadian actor has already . "If we progre s with the Ottawa Senators I will be a frothy, rabies-infused fan the likes of which the NHL has never seen," Reynolds said. "There's not too much I can say about that now, but I have a real connection to Ottawa, to the community of Ottawa." NHL commi sioner Gary Bettman has even met with Reynolds about the prospect of him becoming an owner, and Bettman said he was impre sed by the conversation. "Bill (Daly) and I met with Ryan Reynolds, who very much impre sed us," Bettman said at the NHL Board of Governors meetings. "If we can figure out a way to have him included, I think that's great for the Senators and I think that would be great for the league." Reynolds is already an owner of the Welsh soccer club Wrexham A.F.C., along with fellow actor Rob McElhenney, and we'll see whether Talbot's plea helps get Reynolds over the finish line in terms of owning an NHL franchise. David Hensley Jersey