There were rumours throughout the NHL season that the Minnesota Wild would be a free agent destination for a particular top goal-scoring winger and, when free agency opened, they got their man. Air Max Vendita Online . Numbers Game looks at the Wild signing Thomas Vanek. The Wild Get: LW Thomas Vanek. Vanek, 30, has been one of the most prolific goal-scorers in the game. Since 2006-2007, his 252 goals ranks fourth, behind Alex Ovechkin, Jarome Iginla and Ilya Kovalchuk. Vanek is a four-time 30-goal scorer who has scored at least 20 goals in each of the last nine seasons. Only Ovechkin and Rick Nash have managed that same feat. So, with that goal-scoring resume, Vanek should have been incredibly appealing as a free agent, but there was the small matter of his slump in the playoffs that left a sour taste for some. Vanek had eight points in 10 games, through Game Six of the Boston series, but fell flat after that, managing two assists and a total of eight shots on goal in the next seven games. He played under 15 minutes in each of his last eight playoff games. For a season in which he played a career-high 19:21 per game, with the Sabres, Islanders and Canadiens, that role reduction made it clear that Vanek would be moving on from Montreal. This following a season during which he scored 15 points in 18 games with the Habs, giving him 68 points in 78 games while moving around the Eastern Conference. Which brings us to Minnesota, which had been linked to Vanek pretty much from the get-go of his contract year. Vanek played college hockey at the University of Minnesota. His wife is from Minnesota. The Wild would have Dany Heatleys $7.5-million cap hit coming off the books. Former Sabres teammate Jason Pominville was playing well for Minnesota. It was all lining up for Vanek with the Wild. Ultimately, nothing really changed that. Maybe a great playoff would have given Vanek more leverage on the open market, but he didnt sign a break-the-bank deal, inking for $19.5-million over three years. The $6.5-million annual cap hit is actually less than Vaneks previous contract, but when a player has a preferred destination, and particularly when he has earned a boatload of money in his career already (more than $57-million in his career, according to Cap Geek), there is an opportunity for a team to get him for less than the top price on the market. That Vanek was willing to accept a three-year term is a clear indication that Minnesota was his preferred location. When it comes to his game, Vanek doesnt use his size (6-foot-2, 205 pounds) very effectively, aside from when hes in front of the net, where he positions well for tip-ins, deflections, screens, etc. Throughout his career, Vanek hasnt been much of a puck possession player, varying up and down a little bit in relative terms from year to year, but Vanek has always been a high-percentage finisher in his own right and consistently had high on-ice shooting percentages (which includes others on the ice with him in 5-oin-5 play), so hes going to bring offence to Minnesota. Depending on how the Wild want their lines to shake out, Vanek should have either Mikael Granlund or Mikko Koivu -- two pass-first playmaking centres -- setting the table for him and if Vanek is getting opportunties -- he had a career-high 3.18 shots on goal per game last season -- take 25 goals to the bank, with 30 or 35 possible at the top end. This is a nice upgrade for the Wild, who made some noise in the playoffs and have added a premier goal-scorer to their mix and have done so without spending too much in order to get him. 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. Air Max Outlet Italia . "Im proud, obviously. Its been a long day, but now Im a Crystal Palace player, Im very happy," Bannan said. "The seasons been started now for a couple of weeks and Ive not featured at Villa. Scarpe Air Max In Offerta . Cain departed in the fourth inning of a 10-5 loss to the Pirates on Thursday. X-rays on Cains bruised forearm were negative. He was hit when Sanchez led off the fourth with a groundout. http://www.italiaairmax.it/ . Gomes drove in all three runs, including a go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth inning, and Cleveland rallied for a 3-2 win over the Chicago White Sox on Sunday. HARROGATE, England -- Marcel Kittel of Germany won the first stage of the Tour de France for a second straight year after a late crash brought down British rival Mark Cavendish in the presence of royals on Saturday. Kittel, who earned four Tour stages last year, won the 190.5-kilometre (118-mile) run in mainly bucolic Yorkshire countryside from Leeds to Harrogate. The German raised his arms skyward and cried after he edged Peter Sagan of Slovakia in second, and Ramunas Navardauskas of Lithuania in third. "I am incredibly proud of this victory," Kittel, a Team Giant-Shimano rider who also won two Giro dItalia stages in May, said through a translator. "It happened pretty easily. It was like coming out of a tunnel. I was able to accelerate like never before. "Its really awesome. Deja vu, yeah." Christian Meier of Langley, B.C., was the top Canadian, finishing 141st in 4:44:07, while Svein Tuft, also from Langley, placed 163rd in the same peloton. The two favourites for victory in the three-week race, Alberto Contador and Chris Froome, finished safely in the trailing pack that clocked the same time as Kittel. With fewer than 400 metres to go, and the speedsters rushing ahead, Cavendish veered slightly to his left, tilted his head and bumped into Australias Simon Gerrans. The two crashed alone, with Cavendish landing hard on his right shoulder. Cavendish got up gingerly and cruised over the finish line -- cradling his right arm. X-rays revealed he separated his right shoulder, a Tour statement said. Omega Pharma QuickStep said in a separate statement that a decision about whether he will continue the race will be made on Sunday morning. "Im gutted about the crash today," Cavendish said in the statement. "It was my fault. Ill personally apologize to Simon Gerrans as soon as I get the chance. In reality, I tried to find a gap that wasnt really there. I wanted to win today." Many British fans were hoping for a win by Cavendish, a native of the Isle of Man, whose mother is from Haarrogate. Scarpe Nike Air Max Scontate. Prime Minister David Cameron, Princes William and Harry, and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, were on hand among throngs of British fans who lined the route -- a testament to the cycling craze in the U.K. England hosts the first three stages of this 101st Tour before riders enter France on Tuesday. In all, the 198 riders are to cover 3,664 kilometres (2,277 miles) of road before the July 27 finish in Paris. Stage 2 on Sunday covers 201 kilometres from York to Sheffield, in southern Yorkshire. Cavendish previously said that winning the first Tour stage was his main goal this year. He was hoping to capture his first yellow jersey and his 26th Tour stage win. "Its sad because he (Cavendish) was racing in front of the home country," Sagan said. Added Kittel: "I hope he gets well soon. Im looking forward to seeing him on the race tomorrow ... its not nice to have Mark crash. Nobody wants that." A second German excelled on the English roads: Veteran Jens Voigt took the polka-dot jersey as the races best climber, after getting out early on a three-man breakaway that first cleared three low-grade hills including Buttertubs pass. At 42, the Trek Factory Racing rider is the oldest competitor this year: This is his 17th Tour, equaling the record. The nervous first day included more mishaps. Untold tens of thousands of fans turned out in such big numbers that a train service shuttle between the start and finish towns was crammed, and some had to wait for 90 minutes or even longer to get aboard -- or gave up altogether. Yorkshire, the largest county in England, has paid richly for the right to host the Tour. The peloton sped by abbeys in ruins and sights like 14th century Bolton Castle, near Leyburn, before finishing in Harrogate, known for its spas. Nearly three dozen countries are represented at this Tour, led by France with 44 riders. Its the second time cyclings greatest race has begun in Britain, though the Tour also crossed the English Channel for stages in 1974 and 1994. ' ' '