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Stars lock up 2 key defensemen just before camp with deals for Esa Lindell, Thomas Harley

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Stars lock up 2 key defensemen just before camp with deals for Esa Lindell, Thomas Harley
News

News

Stars lock up 2 key defensemen just before camp with deals for Esa Lindell, Thomas Harley

2024-09-18 09:26 Last Updated At:09:30

FRISCO, Texas (AP) — The Dallas Stars locked up two key defensemen with new contracts just before the start of training camp, giving Esa Lindell a $26.25 million, five-year extension and signing Thomas Harley to an $8 million, two-year deal.

The agreement with Lindell announced Tuesday came with the 30-year-old set to go into the final season of a $34.8 million, six-year contract. The deal averaging $5.25 million a season will take effect with the 2025-26 season and run through 2029-30.

Harley led Dallas blueliners in goals with 15 in his first full season as the Stars reached the Western Conference Final for a second consecutive year. The 23-year-old had 32 assists for 47 points and led NHL defensemen with three overtime goals.

Dallas opens training camp Thursday.

Lindell's 26 points (five goals, 21 assists) last season were his most since 32 in 2018-19. He also had a club-high 162 blocked shots while averaging 20:28 of ice time per game.

“Esa is a stalwart presence on our blueline and has become a player that can be trusted in all situations,” Stars general manager Jim Nill said. “He is a proven penalty killer who logs some of the toughest minutes and defensive assignments.”

Lindell has skated in all 164 regular-season games the past two seasons. He has 191 points (49 goals and 142 assists) in 604 NHL games, all with the Stars, since his debut in four games at the end of 2015-16.

Lindell, Harley and Miro Heiskanen form the core of the Dallas defense. The 25-year-old Heiskanen is going into the fourth season of the $67.6 million, eight-year contract he signed in 2021.

Last season, Harley became the fourth-youngest defenseman in franchise history to score an overtime goal and was the sixth blueliner in NHL history to have OT goals in consecutive games.

“Thomas is one of the league’s top young defensemen,” Nill said. “His performance last season was a testament to the way that he has worked on and off the ice to become a better player.”

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL

FILE - Dallas Stars defenseman Esa Lindell skates with the puck against the Vegas Golden Knights during the third period in Game 7 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, May 5, 2024, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Brandon Wade, File)

FILE - Dallas Stars defenseman Esa Lindell skates with the puck against the Vegas Golden Knights during the third period in Game 7 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, May 5, 2024, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Brandon Wade, File)

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The Latest: Hurricanes have jumbled campaign schedules for Harris and Trump

2024-10-12 02:45 Last Updated At:02:50

Back-to-back hurricanes have jumbled the presidential campaign schedules of Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump.

Trump and Harris have separately gone to Georgia to assess hurricane damage and pledge support. Harris also has visited North Carolina, requiring the candidates to cancel campaign events elsewhere and use up time that is a precious resource in the final weeks before any election. Both Georgia and North Carolina are political battlegrounds.

Meanwhile, a recent poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that a solid majority of Hispanic women have a positive opinion of Harris and a negative view of Trump. Hispanic men are more divided on both candidates.

Follow the AP’s Election 2024 coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.

Here’s the latest:

President Joe Biden said ahead of a Friday briefing about hurricane damage that estimates are the Hurricane Milton alone caused $50 billion of damage, while adding that his predecessor, Donald Trump, is “just the biggest mouth” for disinformation about the government’s response.

The president added that the disinformation is a “permanent state of being for some extreme people,” but that he believes the country as a whole wants facts and bipartisan cooperation to address natural disasters.

“I think those who have been spreading these lies to try to undermine the opposition are going, gonna pay a price for it,” Biden added.

Donald Trump has been running a decidedly “bro-y” campaign.

But he will try to expand his appeal with women as he participates in a Fox News town hall focusing on issues impacting women

Fox News Channel announced that host Harris Faulkner will moderate the discussion in front of an audience of women.

“Women constitute the largest group of registered and active voters in the United States, so it is paramount that female voters understand where the presidential candidates stand on the issues that matter to them most,” Faulkner said said in a statement.

Trump’s campaign has aggressively courted men — especially younger men of color — with appearances on podcasts and sporting events popular with the demographic.

Polls have repeatedly shown he is seen more favorably by men than by women.

The Trump sit-down will be taped Tuesday and air the next day, Oct. 16th.

Fox says it has extended a standing invitation to Vice President Kamala Harris to participate in a town hall as well.

A trio of Wisconsin conservatives declared Friday that they support Democrat Kamala Harris rather than Donald Trump in the Nov. 5 election.

Charlie Sykes, a former conservative radio talk show host from Milwaukee; former Republican state Senate Majority Leader Dale Schultz; and former Republican state representative and appellate judge David Deininger told reporters that Trump lacks the character and moral fiber to serve as president.

Sykes said the election is a referendum on constitutional values that the country had always taken for granted before Trump’s political ascendance.

“Republicans have decided winning or staying in power is more important than standing up for these values, which used to be fundamental,” Sykes said. “I’m going to be voting for Kamala Harris for president and it’s not a difficult choice for me. It’s absolutely essential to keep Donald Trump out of the White House.”

Schultz said the country needs real leadership.

“I continue to consider myself a good Republican but it’s time to put the good of the country ahead of the party,” Schultz said.

Deininger said Trump has lied to Americans “about just about everything.”

“A second Trump term would be far worse and far more dangerous,” Deininger said. “If he regains power, he won’t have guardrails to restrain him.”

Doug Emhoff, Kamala Harris’ husband, says Donald Trump won’t debate his wife again because he was badly beaten in their first encounter.

“He’s afraid that that’s going to happen again,” Emhoff says in an interview for the MSNBC show “Morning Joe.”

The husband of the Democratic nominee says Trump would rather spread “this fog of misinformation and disinformation and gaslighting” than face Harris directly.

Emhoff says he doesn’t have the time to be angry at Trump’s criticisms of him and his wife, because that would be a “distraction” and the focus of the Democratic ticket is on campaigning to win the Nov. 5 election.

Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is firing back at Donald Trump in Michigan for insulting Detroit while campaigning in the city.

Trump said Thursday that if Vice President Kamala Harris wins the White House, “The whole country will be like — you want to know the truth? It’ll be like Detroit.”

Walz was to use a campaign event in nearby Warren, Michigan, to attack Trump’s record in the battleground state, according to prepared remarks shared by the campaign.

“Maybe if he ever spent any time in the Midwest, he’d know Detroit is experiencing a great American comeback. Crime is down. The city is growing. Factories are opening again,” he was to say. "But all these guys know about manufacturing is how to manufacture bulls—-.”

Walz plans to quote Trump campaigning in the state in 2016 promising that they “won’t lose one” automotive plant if he’s elected. ”I guess, technically, that wasn’t a lie — because he lost 6 of them across the country,” Walz was to say.

Walz also plans to reassure the auto-heavy state that Harris was not trying to ban gas-powered vehicles.

Vice President Kamala Harris will participate in a town hall hosted by Charlamagne tha God on Tuesday, the influential radio host announced on his show Friday.

The appearance comes as Harris’ campaign is looking to shore up support among Black men for her candidacy.

The announcement comes a day after former President Barack Obama delivered a forceful call for Black men to support Harris during a campaign swing in Pennsylvania.

Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz says, “I don’t know if any of us do everything right,” as he tried to draw some distance between the Democratic ticket and President Joe Biden.

Speaking to ABC’s "Good Morning America,” Walz was asked whether he and Vice President Kamala Harris would have done anything different over the last four years.

“Look, I don’t know if any of us do everything right,” he replied. “But I can tell you he’s done everything in the best interests of the American public.”

Harris drew fire from former President Donald Trump when she told “The View” earlier this week that she couldn’t think of a difference with Biden — before saying she would put a Republican in her Cabinet if elected.

Walz also used the interview to try to walk back his call at a fundraiser this week to eliminate the electoral college. Harris’ campaign quickly stated it doesn't support such a move and Walz told ABC, “My position is the campaign’s position.”

Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz greets supporters after speaking at a campaign event, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, in Warren, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz greets supporters after speaking at a campaign event, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, in Warren, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Republican vice president nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, speaks during a campaign event in Greensboro, N.C., Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

Republican vice president nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, speaks during a campaign event in Greensboro, N.C., Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks to the crowd during an early voting rally at Palo Verde High School in Tucson, Ariz., Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. (Kelly Presnell/Arizona Daily Star via AP)

Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks to the crowd during an early voting rally at Palo Verde High School in Tucson, Ariz., Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. (Kelly Presnell/Arizona Daily Star via AP)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris poses for a photo with a supporter after speaking at a campaign event Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, on the Gila River Indian Community reservation in Chandler, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris poses for a photo with a supporter after speaking at a campaign event Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, on the Gila River Indian Community reservation in Chandler, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a meeting of the Detroit Economic Club, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a meeting of the Detroit Economic Club, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

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