the play and the 6-foot-3, 223-pound Foligno threw a right hand that caugh

The Vancouver Canucks have named former captain Trevor Linden as the teams new president of hockey operations and alternate governor. “Today is a real honour," Linden said. "I came to Vancouver 26 years ago and I have never left. I love this city. It is my home and the Canucks have always been part of my family." "Im passionate about the Canucks and I want to win – just like the Canucks fans do," he added. "I believe Im ready for this challenge. Im passionate about this team and I want to win." Francesco Aquilini, chairman of Canucks Sports and Entertainment offered glowing praise of the captain-turned-president. "We believe in Trevors leadership abilities," he said. "His 20 years of NHL experience including seven as team captain, his role as NHLPA President, community leader and businessman offers a very special skill set; one that will positively shape the direction of this club in the future." Speaking on the succession plan for replacing Mike Gillis, who was dismissed as general manager on Tuesday, Linden said that he has a multitude of options to explore and has already begun looking. "Thats a process that I have to thoroughly evaluate," Linden said when asked about the GM search. "We will do a general manager search from both within and outside our organization." With only three games remaining in the regular season, the Canucks announced that Gillis was fired after the team was officially eliminated from postseason contention. The Canucks were also eliminated in the first round in each of the last two seasons after falling one win short of a Stanley Cup in 2011. "I have a profile of a general manager that I would like," Linden said Wednesday. "Now its about putting a candidate list together. Thats a critical path." He would add that he will operate with "full autonomy" as Canucks president and will make all decisions on hockey operations. Linden also expressed his intention to have a new general manager in place by the 2014 NHL Draft, scheduled for June 27-28 in Philadelphia. Under first-year head coach John Tortorella, they sit 11th in the Western Conference. And as for Tortorellas future with the Canucks, Linden said theres no hurry to decide. "Any sort of coaching decision will be made in due time, after a thorough evaluation," he said at Wednesdays introductory news conference. Aquilini elaborated on the need for a new man at the top of the Canucks hockey department. "We came from within one game of winning a Stanley Cup [in 2011], and it was time for a change," he said. Aquilini added that he would not stop short of pointing the finger at his recently-dismissed GM and his current coach. ""Mike (Gillis) hired Tortorella and Im responsible for that and thats why we have a change in direction today," he explained. Linden would not offer up any theories as to what led to the Canucks failure to make the playoffs this season, but pointed to the timing of the decision as beneficial to getting answers. Linden said hed use this coming week to talk to coaches and players and conduct a "thorough review" of the season. "Ill reserve comment until I have more detail," Linden concluded. Gillis came to the organization in April of 2008, taking over for the fired Dave Nonis. He turned a club which had missed out on the postseason in two of the previous three seasons and built them back up into a contender, snagging five straight playoff berths, five Northwest Division titles and two straight Presidents Trophies (2011, 2012). "On behalf of my entire family, I would like to sincerely thank Mike Gillis for his hard work and the many contributions he made on and off the ice during his tenure," said Aquilini in a statement on Tuesday. "The Vancouver Canucks had success under Mikes leadership, and we nearly reached our ultimate goal; but I believe we have reached a point where a change in leadership and new voice is needed. "I also want to thank our fans for their support for the Vancouver Canucks through a difficult and frustrating season," continued Aquilini. "We havent met their expectations or ours. We are committed to bringing the Stanley Cup to Vancouver for our fans and we will continue to do everything possible to reach that goal." Linden played 16 seasons with the Canucks and is the franchise leader in games played. As team captain from 1991 to 1997, he helped lead the Canucks to their second-ever appearance in the Stanley Cup final in 1994. Randall Cunningham Youth Jersey . Villar connected off Joe Saunders (11-14), sending a drive well over the left-field fence for his first career homer. The Astros scored six times in the first three innings to chase Saunders. Jerome Brown Youth Jersey .Y. - The New York Yankees made it official Saturday, announcing the completion of a seven-year deal with free-agent outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury and a one-year contract for returning starter Hiroki Kuroda. https://www.eaglessportsgoods.com/Womens-Brian-Dawkins-Inverted-Jersey/ .C. -- Colin Kaepernick raced into the end zone, then pretended to rip open his shirt with both hands imitating Cam Newtons Superman touchdown celebration. Ron Jaworski Eagles Jersey . 1. AMIR JOHNSON: Nice to see him back in the lineup Tuesday night in Washington DC. Played with great energy and purpose. Its amazing when a guy gets those few precious days to recover what it does to the bounce in their step and overall game/confidence. Brian Dawkins Womens Jersey .Y. - Brooklyn Nets centre Brook Lopez has a strained lower back and will miss at least a week. NEWARK, N.J. -- Steve Bernier scored at 4:19 of overtime and Cory Schneider made 15 saves and the New Jersey Devils shut out the Buffalo Sabres 1-0 on Saturday. Schneider has won back-to-back games after beating Carolina on Friday night. Andy Greene stole the puck and passed it to Bernier, who beat Jhonas Enroth with a high shot for the Devils. Enroth stopped 23 shots for the Sabres. Devils forward Ryan Carter left the game just 12 seconds into his first shift on the ice at the 2:05 mark of the first period when he lost a fight to Marcus Foligno. The two squared off away from the play and the 6-foot-3, 223-pound Foligno threw a right hand that caught Carter square on the side of his helmet. That ended the fight and sent Carter to the locker room for treatment. He did not return. The Devils held a 9-3 advantage in shots in the first period and nearly scored in the final minute when Patrik Elias point-blank attempt banged off the left post. Schneeider drew cheers when he made a kick save to deny a point-blank shot by Tyler Ennis of the Sabres near the end of the second period.dddddddddddd The Devils held a 15-10 shot edge through two periods. The Sabres had a chance early in the third period when Ville Leino skated in alone, but his shot was knocked wide by Schneider. Enroth foiled a shot on his doorstep by Travis Zajac late of the third with a brilliant glove save. NOTES: The Devils killed all three Sabres power plays to make them 16 for 16 over their past four games. ... Patrick Kaleta is out for the rest of the season for Buffalo after a torn ACL in a game for Rochester of the AHL on Friday. Kaleta was sent down by the Sabres on Nov. 2. ... The Sabres snapped a five-game losing streak with 3-2 overtime victory over Toronto on Friday. ... Jaromir Jagr scored the 692nd goal of his career on Friday against Carolina, tying him with Steve Yzerman for eighth place on the NHL list. ' ' '