David Legwand played almost 1,000 games in the NHL wearing jersey No. 11 for the Nashville Predators. But when he signed with the Ottawa Senators this summer, he wasnt going to take his old number back even though it was technically available. Yeah, I mean Alfie wore it forever and its going to go into the rafters here one day as it should. Hes a phenomenal hockey player and its just something you just dont do as a hockey player. It never even crossed my mind, Legwand told me yesterday. Instead, Legwand is going to wear No. 17 for the Senators this season - the same number he wore when he joined the Detroit Red Wings for the final 21 games of the regular season last year. He probably would have taken jersey No. 11 with the Red Wings - except it was already being used by Alfredsson. Legwand says hes not a superstitious guy, but he chose No. 17 now because thats a jersey number he used to wear as a kid. But here in Ottawa, No. 17 hasnt brought a whole lot of luck to any forwards who have worn that sweater number in recent years. In fact, the last forward to wear No. 17 for the Senators for an entire season was Bill Muckalt, who infamously went the entire 2001-02 campaign without scoring a single goal in 70 games. Since then, Denis Hamel was the only other forward to wear No. 17, producing four goals in 43 games in the 2006-07 season when he was shuttled between Binghamton and Ottawa. (It should be noted that defenceman Filip Kuba wore the jersey for parts of four seasons in between). Looking at the last few forwards to wear No. 17 for the Senators, you will notice a distinct trend: Denis Hamel (2006-07): 4 goals in 43 games Bill Muckalt (2001-02): 0 goals in 70 games Eric Lacroix (2000-01) 0 goals in 9 games Colin Forbes (2000-01) 0 goals in 39 games Colin Forbes (1999-00) 2 goals in 45 games Chris Murray (1998-99): 1 goal in 38 games Thats a total of only seven goals scored in 244 games by forwards wearing this jersey number in the last 15 seasons. Or about one in every 35 games - which means if that curse continues, Legwand would score two - or maybe three - goals this season. However, the smart money is on Legwand having a nice offensive season for the Sens, considering he is coming off a 51-point season last year. Somewhere between 12-15 goals seems like a realistic target for Legwand, who will start the season on the Sens first power play unit. Thats a far cry from Muckalts 2001-02 season, when Roger Neilson - who coached the team for the final two regular season games - put him on the clubs top power play unit in the regular season finale in an attempt to buy Muckalt a goal. That strategy proved fruitless for Muckalt, but Paul MacLean seems very confident in Legwands ability to help the Senators power play. The Sens head coach likes the diversity of having some left-handed shots like Legwand and MacArthur on the first unit power play and believes that Legwand was a driving force in the Senators scoring five goals with the man-advantage in their final two pre-season games. I think David had a lot to do with getting it organized and having things done. Along with Erik, I think the two of them really took charge and said, Listen, heres what were going to do and they went on the ice and did it, MacLean said. Legwand will make his Sens debut on Thursday night in Nashville in a building he is very familiar with, having been the Predators first draft pick back in 1998. This will mark the first time hes been back in the city since the trade that sent him to Detroit on deadline day last spring, although he doesnt sound like he will be too emotional. Its weird going back. Getting traded at 2pm eastern time, I think I was out of there at 7pm and I havent been back since, Legwand told reporters yesterday. Its interesting - its kind of a chapter that is over in our lives and weve moved on. Athletics Jerseys 2020 . According to a report from ESPN, the veteran safety has signed another one-year deal with the team Raiders, the team that drafted him, and who he returned to last year after a long stint with the Green Bay Packers. Custom Oakland Athletics Jerseys . Lack made 20 saves for his third shutout of the season as the Canucks blanked the St. Louis Blues 1-0 in the first post-Olympic game for both teams night. https://www.cheapathleticsonline.com/. Kelli Stack and Alex Carpenter also scored for the Americans, who avoided a repeat of Finlands upset at the Four Nations Cup in Lake Placid, N.Y., in November. Finnish goalie Noora Raty made 58 saves in that one, but the three-time Olympian could stop just 40 of 43 U. Oakland Athletics Store . The victory strengthened Liverpools position in the top four after Tottenham lost 1-0 at Norwich in the days late kickoff, cutting the north London club six points adrift of fourth place and the final Champions League slot for next season. Athletics Jerseys China . - Pittsburgh Steelers president Art Rooney II says the NFL has told the team it will not be docked a pick in this years draft for coach Mike Tomlins foray onto the field against Baltimore last November. NEW YORK -- Baseball writers could elect a quartet of players to the Hall of Fame for the first time in more than a half-century. Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas appeared to be on track to gain election from the Baseball Writers Association of America on Wednesday, and Craig Biggio could join them. The last time four players received the required 75 per cent was in 1955, when Joe DiMaggio, Gabby Hartnett, Ted Lyons and Dazzy Vance all got in. Surprisingly, it was the third ballot appearance for DiMaggio, who fell 81 votes short in 1953 and 14 shy the following year. When he announced his retirement in December 2008, Maddux wouldnt talk about the Hall. "I think theres a lot of good players in there," he said. "Dont really have any thoughts on it." Maddux could break the mark for highest percentage (98.84), set when in 1992 when Tom Seaver topped the record Ty Cobb set in 1936. "I just have just never come across any human being, whether theyre a voter or just a fan, that doesnt think Greg Maddux is a Hall of Famer and one of the greatest pitchers who ever pitched," The Boston Globes Nick Cafardo said Tuesday. "I cant imagine someone not voting for him. So I would guess that hes going to break Seavers record." Maddux is among three high-profile players on the BBWAA ballot for the first time, joined by his former Atlanta teammate Glavine and Thomas. Holdovers include Biggio, who topped voting at 68 per cent last year, 39 votes short of the 75 per cent needed for election. It was only the second time in four decades the BBWAA failed to elect anyone. Ken Gurnick of MLB.com, a former reporter for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, said Tuesday the only player he voted for was Jack Morris, on the writers ballot for the 15th and final time after falling 42 votes shy last year. "To me, I didnt exclude Maddux. I excluded everybody from that era, everybody from the Steroid Era," Gurnick said. "It wasnt about Greg Maddux, it was about the entire era. I just dont know who did and who didnt." Gurnick said Morris also was the only player he voted for in 2013 and added he intends to abstain in future elections. "Some people quibblle over when the era starts, but the bulk of his career was in my opinion well before all of the widespread use of performance-enhancing drugs," Gurnick said.dddddddddddd Given that 569 ballots were submitted in 2013, Maddux likely could be omitted from six this year and still break the record set by Seaver, who received 425 of 430 votes. Seaver was left off by Paul Hagen of the Philadelphia Daily News, Bob Hertzel of The Pittsburgh Press and freelance writer Bob Hunter. They all submitted blank ballots to protest the decision by the Hall of Fame board of directors to bar Pete Rose from the vote because of his lifetime ban from baseball following a gambling probe. Retired writers Deane McGowen and Bud Tucker also did not vote for Seaver. "If it had cost Seaver anything, yeah, I probably would regret it at some level, but it didnt really cost him anything," Hagen, now with MLB.com, said Tuesday. "He still got the highest vote (percentage) total ever, and he wouldnt have been unanimous anyway." The Steroids Era has impacted the vote totals of players with stellar statistics. In initial appearances last year, Mike Piazza was at 57.8 per cent, Roger Clemens at 37.6, Barry Bonds at 36.2 and Sammy Sosa at 12.5. Mark McGwire received 16.9 on his seventh try. The Baseball Think Factory website compiled votes by writers who made their opinions public, and with 194 ballots had Maddux at 99.5 per cent, followed by Glavine (95), Thomas (90) and Biggio (78). The websites count had Piazza (69), Morris (61) and Jeff Bagwell (58) falling short along with Tim Raines (54), Bonds (42), Clemens (41), Curt Schilling (37) and Mike Mussina (26). McGwire (11) and Sosa (8) had little support. Approximately 600 writers who have been members of the BBWAA for 10 consecutive years at any point considered the 36-player ballot. Next years ballot could be even more crowded when Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz, Carlos Delgado and Gary Sheffield become eligible, five years after their retirements. The BBWAA last month formed a committee to study whether the organization should ask the Hall to change the limit of 10 players per ballot. ' ' '