(SportsNetwork.com) - Ryan Kesler will face his former team for the first time on Sunday evening as the Anaheim Ducks play host to the Vancouver Canucks. Kesler was a key contributor for the Canucks after they selected him 23rd overall in 2003 draft. In 655 career games with the franchise, he had 182 goals and 211 assists while also winning the Selke Trophy in 2011. The center also impressed with seven goals and 19 points in 25 playoff games in 2011, when Vancouver made a run to the Cup Finals and lost to Boston in seven games. Seeing how passionate that city was, and the fans, and the hundreds of thousands of people in the streets after every game sticks out, Kesler told Anaheims website of that run to the Finals. I was with the team for 11 years, and going through what I went through with them and that city, its going to be exciting. After Vancouver failed to make the playoffs last season following two straight first-round exits, Kesler was dealt to the Anaheim Ducks on June 27 along with a third-round pick in 2015 for forward Nick Bonino, defenseman Luca Sbisa and a first and third-round selection in 2014. In 15 games with the Ducks this season, the 30-year-old Kesler has three goals and 10 points in 15 games. Hell take on some added responsibility tonight with Corey Perry expected to miss a third straight game with the flu. Perry, who is tied for the NHL lead with 11 goals, missed an overtime loss to the New York Islanders on Wednesday, as did Ryan Getzlaf due to illness. Getzlaf, though, was able to return on Friday and scored in a 3-2 shootout setback to the Arizona Coyotes. Matt Beleskey also lit the lamp for the Ducks, who play the third contest of a four-game homestand looking to avoid a third straight loss. Frederik Andersen finished the game with 23 stops. We had opportunities to score goals and we werent able to get them by (Arizona goaltender Mike Smith), Getzlaf said. Cam Fowler left the game in the third period with a lower-body injury and is day-to-day. Fellow defenseman Francois Beauchemin also is a game-time decision due to the flu as he missed practice on Saturday along with Perry. Andersen should get the start and has won all three of his previous games versus the Canucks with a 1.00 goals against average. He has stopped 97 of the 100 shots faced. The Canucks eye a bounce back effort tonight after getting blasted 5-1 on Saturday night by the Los Angeles Kings. Vancouver had netted eight goals in winning the first two of a four-game road trip before suffering just its second loss in eight games. Chris Higgins scored the only goal of the game for the Canucks on Saturday and Ryan Miller allowed four goals on 22 shots in two periods of work. Eddie Lack allowed a goal on 14 shots in the third period. We are not good enough right now, we have to get better, Canucks head coach Willie Desjardins said. Having gotten pulled last night, Miller may get a chance to start again tonight. He is 3-3-0 with a 2.56 GAA and .923 save percentage in his career versus the Ducks. Bonino and Sbisa will make their returns to Anaheim tonight. Bonino has been a solid addition to the Canucks with seven goals and 12 points in 15 games, while Sbisa has three points in 14 contests. The Ducks swept their five-game set with the Canucks last season and have won nine of the past 12 meetings overall and three straight as the host. Ricky Jean-Francois Jersey . -- Steven Stamkos scored his first goal since returning from a major injury, Ryan Callahan had his first goal with Tampa Bay, and the Lightning beat the Florida Panthers 5-4 on Thursday night. Kenny Clark Jersey .Y. - Sven Andrighetto scored once and set up two more as the Hamilton Bulldogs hung on to defeat the host Adirondack Flames 5-3 on Tuesday in American Hockey League action. http://www.shoptheofficialpackers.com/E ... ersey/.com) - The San Antonio Spurs will try to even their series with the Dallas Mavericks Monday night when the two teams collide at American Airlines Arena for Game 4. Davante Adams Jersey . It was the quickest three-goal sequence in Olympic history, with the latter two coming just eight seconds apart. Kessel, Lamoureux and Kendall Coyne all scored twice for the Americans, and Molly Schaus made 10 saves in her Sochi debut. Richard Rodgers Jersey . It looked like being another miserable day for Moyes when Ashley Westwood put Villa in front from a 13th-minute free kick. But Rooney headed United level seven minutes later, and the striker netted his 16th of the season for the struggling champions from the penalty spot before halftime.When the clock strikes noon, money will be thrown like crazy ... as usual. Even with the salary cap being set lower than many general managers expected and hoped for at $69 million and whats considered a shallow pool of top-end players available, this unrestricted-free-agent period figures to follow the familiar script of teams bidding up prices to keep up with each other. "You have to be prepared rightly or wrongly to overspend and to give more term than you probably would want to," Boston Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli said on a conference call last week. "That doesnt mean you dont make a good deal, its just the deal is probably pricier than you would like." Bad contracts of years past are being revisited now as theyre bought out, like the Buffalo Sabres getting out from the rest of Ville Leinos deal or the New York Rangers having little choice but to cut ties with Brad Richards. Last years madness included Mike Ribeiro getting $22 million over four seasons, and last week he was bought out. "It is a time where I think the day after some of these contracts are signed, people go, Hmmm, and sit back and think," Winnipeg Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff said last week in Philadelphia. "Thats the age were living in. Thats the nature of it." The teams that sign winger Thomas Vanek, centre Paul Stastny, defenceman Matt Niskanen hope their investments prove more sound. Those three players lead the crop, followed by wingers Matt Moulson and Jarome Iginla, centre Dave Bolland, defencemen Christian Ehrhoff and Dan Boyle and goaltenders Ryan Miller and Jonas Hiller. Already, before teams are free to sign players at noon Tuesday, over $1.1 billion has been spent to retain potential unrestricted free agents at an average cost of $3.57 million, according to CapGeek. Many of the top free agents will get more money than that on an annual basis, just based on the market value. Still, Chiarelli believes its possible to spend smart money in free agency. "As long as the expectations are in place and you know the player that youre getting, I wouldnt necessarily call it a bad deal," he said. "It may be in five years if it is a bad deal, but it is something that can help your team and you just have to be cautious of the hysteria that happens." The hysteria started early this year thanks to the new five-day window teams and pending unrestricted free agents have to talk before dealss can get signed.dddddddddddd. Theyve been free to discuss fits and salary parameters, just not agree verbally or in principle. It seems to have given players more leverage than before because they can consider options rather than make a quick decision on July 1. For teams, the negotiating period is still a work in progress. "Its useful in that you can lay some plans and some groundwork," Toronto Maple Leafs GM Dave Nonis said last week in Philadelphia. "Whether it helps in getting players in or not, I think that remains to be seen.” Compliance buyouts have also changed the landscape, pouring more players like Richards, Ehrhoff, ex-Vancouver Canucks winger David Booth and ex-New Jersey Devils defenceman Anton Volchenkov into the market. Those players can double-dip on pay cheques, while their former teams can allocate the saved salary-cap space elsewhere. The Buffalo Sabres have the most cap space, according to CapGeek, with almost $39 million. They need to spend more than $20 million just to get to the $51-million floor. First-time GM Tim Murray isnt worried about needing to get to the floor, nor is he scared of the perils of free agency. "I dont think its dangerous. I go back to my old cliche: evaluate properly and its never dangerous," Murray said Saturday in Philadelphia. "If you fall in love with the flavour of the week, it could be very dangerous. "But do your homework. Evaluate players properly. Go after the right players, which doesnt mean its the top guy on somebody elses list. Its who you feel is the right guy." The negotiating window has shed some light on the idea that some guys are wanted by a lot of teams. Niskanens agent, Neil Sheehy, said in an email that more than 10 teams had shown interest in the 27-year-old defenceman and that they were planning to pare down that list before Tuesday. Thats a task many of the top free agents and their representatives have been going through because its still very much a players market. "Its kind of the double-edged sword," Cheveldayoff said. "Youre trying to find pieces that can maybe push you and the different depths of the free agent market in different years entices you or maybe doesnt excite you. "But its a way to add and if you can do it reasonably and maybe someone fits in your organization and maybe it becomes a long-term thing. You have to take a look at that regardless of the dollars." Follow @SWhyno on Twitter Cheap Stitched Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China Discount Jerseys Wholesale NFL Hoodies Cheap NFL Womens Jerseys China Jerseys Cheap Wholesale Throwback Jerseys ' ' '