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A 36-goal scorer is moving closer to home and couldn’t be happier about it.
No Mikko Rantanen Jersey , the other one.
James van Riemsdyk signed a $35 million, five-year contract with the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday, the second-richest deal signed by an NHL
unrestricted free agent when the market opened and John Tavares left the
Islanders for his hometown team in Toronto.
It’s the kind of long-term, big-money contract general manager Ron Hextall has been unwilling to hand out to free agents, though van Riemsdyk became an
exception.
”The term we could live with,” Hextall said. ”We can manage our way around the salary cap. We’ve looked up, down and all around at different projections
for the next few years and we felt comfortable with the term and the
player.”
Van Riemsdyk will count $7 million against the salary cap through 2022-23, which is currently third on the Flyers behind captain Claude Giroux at $8.275
million and winger Jakub Voracek at $8.25 million. Taken by Philadelphia second
overall behind Patrick Kane in the 2007 draft Johnny Gaudreau Jersey Kids , van Riemsdyk played with Giroux and Voracek during his first stint and talked to them before picking the Flyers over other
interested teams.
The 29-year-old wasn’t likely to return to Toronto even before the Maple Leafs won the Tavares sweepstakes. But the Middletown, New Jersey, native also
grew up rooting for the New York Rangers and picked the Flyers in large part
because of familiarity .
”There were a couple different teams in the mix,” van Riemsdyk said. ”I’m happy to be coming to Philadelphia, and I think it’s going to be a great
fit.”
Van Riemsdyk set a career high with 36 goals last season, a year after putting up a career-high 62 points. The 6-foot-3, 217-pound winger who was
traded to the Maple Leafs in 2012 isn’t a fundamentally different player now but
gained confidence and experience from a bigger role in Toronto the past six
seasons.
”I think my whole game has definitely expanded,” van Riemsdyk said. ”Style-wise David Krejci Jersey , I think I’m still very similar. I think I’m still a cerebral type of player who can skate well and have good offensive instincts and
can make the smart plays in all three zones.”
He has to be for the Flyers to make this type of commitment. This is by far Hextall’s biggest free agent signing and Philadelphia’s richest since giving
goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov $41.88 million on a nine-year deal in 2011.
Bryzgalov is retired and still collecting $1.6 million a year from the Flyers through 2026-27. As Bryzgalov was tweeting from Russia’s World Cup game against
Spain, the Flyers were introducing van Riemsdyk, who they hope will be a far
better use of money with an eye toward contending for the Stanley Cup in the
coming years.
”Our philosophy four years ago was to get our cap in order and gather young assets,” Hextall said. ”We’ve kind of been through that process now. It’s coming
to fruition in terms of guys we have on our team and where we can add to
strengthen our team, we want to do it.”
—

SALT LAKE CITY — Being a playoff novice isn’t preventing Utah Jazz point guard Ricky Rubio from making a major impact on the court.
Rubio turned in one of the finest performances of his career while sparking the Jazz to a 115-102 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday. He tallied
26 points on 9-for-18 shooting, 10 assists, 11 rebounds and two steals to help
Utah claim a 2-1 series lead over Oklahoma City. The Thunder will look to even
the series again when the two teams square off again on Monday night.
Rubio became the first Jazz player to earn a triple-double in the postseason since John Stockton did it in 2001. Being in the same company as an NBA Hall of
Famer meant a great deal to Rubio.
“Having my name next to his name is an honor,” Rubio said. “I don’t know what else to say. It’s huge. I have huge respect for him.”
Rubio’s efforts rescued Utah when the Jazz dug a hole late in the first quarter and early in the second quarter. Oklahoma City took a 45-33 lead on a
driving layup from Russell Westbrook about five minutes into the quarter. Rubio
suddenly took over and imposed his will on both ends of the court.
Over the final 7:13 of the first half Stefon Diggs Jersey Big , Rubio ripped off 15 points on 4 of 8 shooting, collected six rebounds, dished out a pair of assists and had a steal. It turned
a 12-point deficit into 58-53 halftime lead for the Jazz.
“Ricky attacked,” Utah coach Quin Snyder said. “He attacked, but with poise and he was making some shots. I thought he took good shots and it really
stabilized our group during that time.”
Utah never trailed in the second half and the team’s latest win has put Oklahoma City in a desperate position going into Game 4. The Thunder need a
victory to avoid going back to Oklahoma facing an elimination game on
Wednesday.
“Game 4 is going to be a test of what type of team we are and who we are as a team,” forward Carmelo Anthony said. “We look forward to these type of
challenges.”
The Thunder put tons of defensive pressure on the Jazz at times. Oklahoma City forced 19 turnovers and turned those turnovers into 33 points. But the
Thunder could not take care of the ball when it mattered as the game
progressed.
Oklahoma City coughed up 17 turnovers, leading to 15 points for the Jazz. Six of them came in the third quarter and led to 10 points for Utah. It allowed the
Jazz to build an 89-75 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
“We did a nice job midway through that second quarter and then I thought our turnovers came back and really caused a problem for us,” Thunder coach Billy
Donovan said. “I felt like our guys were working hard to get back Seth Jones Jersey , but it’s hard to recover when you turn the ball over like that.”
For Oklahoma City, snapping a two-game skid might come down to figuring out how to gain an edge around the basket. The Jazz have imposed their will in the
post during the series.
In three games, Utah has outscored the Thunder 140-108 in the paint. The Jazz also have a 37-25 advantage in offensive rebounds and a 49-36 edge in
second-chance points.
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