combined 100 points Vancouver will have to replace.”It’s the right time for us to leave,” Henrik Sedin said. ”We’ve been part of a coaching staff and a group that we really enjoyed working with.”The Canucks host the Vegas Golden Knigh

The NHL is staging more exhibition games in China this fall TJ Brodie Jersey , hoping to make further inroads in establishing hockey as a sport in the world’s most populous nation.The Boston Bruins and Calgary Flames will face off Sept. 15 in Shenzhen in southeast China and then again Sept. 19 in Beijing in the second incarnation of the China Games.The Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks played preseason games in Shanghai and Beijing last September, the NHL’s first foray there.China represents an as-yet untapped resource for the NHL, especially ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.Commissioner Gary Bettman has so far been noncommittal about the NHL going to the 2022 Games after skipping South Korea this year, but the work is already underway in China, where the NBA has had a presence for decades.”I think there is an enthusiasm to grow the sport, first at the grassroots level, but I think bringing games there and bringing NHL teams there and NHL players helps kind of support the story from the top down, as well,” deputy commissioner Bill Daly told The Associated Press by phone Wednesday.”It’s really a two-pronged approach where you’re trying to build hockey infrastructure in a society that’s never really had any and then in order to drive that, you’re bringing hockey at its highest level so that people can appreciate what the sport can look like.”Growing youth hockey and bringing NHL games to China is the plan, but from the league’s perspective, it’s not a three-pronged approach tied to Olympic participation.”I was there in the spring and we had lots of discussions with officials at all levels to talk about the development of hockey and how we can work together, and those are things that we’re working on Womens Travis Hamonic Jersey ,” Bettman said last month.”Not once did we get asked about the Olympics in 2022. I’m not sure if we’re helping develop the game particularly at the grassroots level and giving them our software, if you will, whether or not we play for two weeks makes a difference.”The league is working with local authorities to develop hockey programs as the government of the country with a population of 1.3 billion aims to have 300 million participants in winter sports by 2022. The Bruins made visits each of the past two summers to participate in hockey camps.”Over the past three years we have collaborated with (businessman Zhou Yunjie) on growing the game both within the Chinese community in Boston and with youth hockey players in China,” Bruins president Cam Neely said.”We look forward to continuing these efforts by bringing Bruins hockey to China with these two preseason games.”Shenzhen’s location close to Hong Kong, its burgeoning population and its world-class facility that’s home to the two China-based Canadian Women’s Hockey League teams made it a natural fit along with Beijing for NHL preseason action. More cities are in the running in the future, which could at some point include regular-season games.”Part of it is exposing the sport in different major cities throughout the country,” Daly said.”These games over the next number of years are going to hit different locations, and we’ll see what’s worked well and what can be improved and it’s very much kind of a learning process for us.”Hockey in China is one big learning process, and the NHL is in the early stages of its assistance.China is ramping up its hockey programs with an eye toward the 2022 Olympics, but that doesn’t mean the NHL is a sure thing to go. Daly said the league sees hockey in China and the NHL at the Beijing Olympics as mutually exclusive.”Our philosophy is one that isn’t necessarily connected to the other,” Daly said. ”I don’t think the fact that we want to grow our presence in China and grow hockey’s presence in China necessarily means we have to be in the Olympics. But it doesn’t necessarily preclude us from being there if ultimately we want to be.”Bettman noted that Germany reached the gold medal game at the non-NHL Olympics in February, and wondered if staying out would actually be beneficial.”Maybe the Chinese would have more success in 2022 in being competitive if we’re not there,” Bettman said. ”A lot of variables to be considered.”One of those variables that could help the NHL return to the Olympics for the sixth time would be the Chinese government pushing for it. Sochi was an example of that.”I think it could happen Custom Los Angeles Kings Jerseys , but even if that was something that they weighed in on, I’m not sure at the end of the day that would be a determining factor for us,” Daly said.”I think there are a whole host of factors. It’s not just about kind of the conditions under which we go. It’s all the other things that are associated with Olympic participation, including what’s happening back here in North America.”—Sports Deputy Editor for Newsgathering Howie Rumberg in New York contributed.— VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) Vancouver Canucks forwards Henrik and Daniel Sedin announced they will retire at the end of the season.The 37-year-old twins disclosed their plans Monday in a letter on the team’s website before addressing media later.The Sedins are in their 17th season in the NHL, all with Vancouver. They led the Canucks to within one game of winning the 2011 Stanley Cup.”There’s been a lot of talk,” Henrik Sedin said at Rogers Arena. ”We felt the longer the season went, it became clearer to us this was going to be our last year.””It’s a happy day for all of us,” Daniel Sedin added. ”We’re really comfortable where we’re at.”They relived the tough early times when they were criticized for being too slow and soft, the high-flying glory days, the crushing defeats, and the last three seasons that have seen the Canucks lose more combined games than any other team in the league.”It’s always tough losing,” said Daniel Sedin http://www.hurricanesshoponline.com/authentic-andrei-svechnikov-jersey , who along with his brother will play just three more NHL games. ”But with the team we had, you have to stay positive, you have to keep playing the right way, and trying to teach the young guys.”Heading into the final year of their contracts, the Sedins penned an open letter in the fall stating their desire to remain with the only franchise they’ve ever known – even if it meant forgoing the chance at a Stanley Cup elsewhere.”We know we had the best jobs in the world,” Henrik Sedin said Monday. ”We tried to treat it that way. … We haven’t looked too far ahead or we haven’t looked back. I’m sure we will after this is done.”The twins said in their letter Monday that they originally wanted to wait until after this season to make a decision, but they decided the time was right to make the call.Selected second and third overall at the 1999 draft after the Canucks made a series of trades to grab both brothers, the Sedins have been the faces of the franchise for more than a decade. However, it wasn’t initially a smooth transition from Sweden to North America.”There’s lot of people that believed in us early on that were part of this organization,” Henrik Sedin said. ”If they would have listened to a lot of voices out of this room, it would have been easy to trade us because we didn’t live up to the hype.”The Sedins would eventually do so to become one of the most fearsome duos in the league, with what sometimes seemed like a telepathic ability to find each other with passes. Their vision and ability to find each other on the ice often left opponents shaking their heads.”We’ll miss them as people and as players,” said Canucks president of hockey operations Trevor Linden Brock McGinn Jersey Kids , who played six seasons with the Sedins. ”Happy for them because I know this is a decision they’ve come to for the right reasons.”Two likely Hall of Famers when their numbers are eventually called, Henrik Sedin has 1,068 points (240 goals, 828 assists) in 1,327 regular-season games, while Daniel Sedin has 1,038 points (391 goals, 647 assists) in 1,303 outings.Henrik added 23 goals and 55 assists in 105 playoff games, with Daniel adding 25 goals and 46 assists in 102 games.Henrik won the Art Ross Trophy as the league’s top scorer in 2009-10 with 112 points. He also won the Hart Trophy as league MVP that year.Daniel won the Art Ross in 2010-11 with 104 points. He also won the Ted Lindsay Award as the league MVP voted on by the players.”When they dropped the puck, we wanted to be on the ice,” Henrik Sedin said. ”We wanted to be the go-to guys.”The Sedins plan to stay in Vancouver for the time being and are looking forward to spending more time with family.”Going on the road, leaving the kids home www.minnesotawildteamshops.com , family, that’s been the toughest part,” Daniel Sedin said. ”It will be fun to be around them a lot more.”The core that got so close to a Stanley Cup title in 2011 has been slowly stripped away, with the Sedins among the only players left.With players like Brock Boeser and Bo Horvat at the front of a new wave under the leadership of rookie coach Travis Green, the Sedins said they feel they’re leaving the franchise in good hands.The Canucks also now have some holes to fill. Daniel Sedin has 21 goals and 31 assists in 78 games this season, while Henrik Sedin has three goals and 45 assists in 79 outings – a combined 100 points Vancouver will have to replace.”It’s the right time for us to leave,” Henrik Sedin said. ”We’ve been part of a coaching staff and a group that we really enjoyed working with.”The Canucks host the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday before the Sedins’ final home game Thursday against the Arizona Coyotes. The twins will then wrap up their careers Saturday at Edmonton.”It’s a chance for us to thank the fans,” Daniel Sedin said. ”We told our teammates this morning they should be regular games. Treat us the same way.”It should be no different this last week.”—