Former NHL player Alex Kovalev has announced his retirement. Kovalev last played in the NHL with the Florida Panthers during the 2012-13 season and spent last season with Swiss second-tier team EHC Visp. According to the International Ice Hockey Federations website, Kovalev made the announcement in an interview with Swiss TV station Kanal9. He cited injuries as the reason for his decision. The 41-year-old Russian native was selected by the New York Rangers with the 15th overall pick of the 1991 NHL Entry Draft and joined the team for the 1992-93 season. He then helped the Rangers end a 54-year Stanley Cup drought the following year, posting 21 points in 23 playoff games. Kovalev spent his first six-plus seasons with the Rangers, then was traded to Pittsburgh and played with the Penguins until the 2002-03 campaign when he was sent back to New York. He also played with Montreal and Ottawa before rejoining Pittsburgh late in the 2010-11 season and signed with the Panthers in January 2013. In 1,316 NHL regular-season games, most of any Russian-born player, Kovalev notched 430 goals and 599 assists for 1,029 points. He added 45 goals and 55 assists for 100 points in 123 playoff games. On the international level, Kovalev won Olympic gold at the 1992 Games in Albertville and bronze at the 2002 Salt Lake Games. Matt Stajan Jersey .com) - Blake Griffin led five Clippers in double figures with 24 points and the LA Clippers got back on track with a 101-97 win over the Utah Jazz. Curtis Lazar Jersey . Team officials travelled to Los Angeles on Thursday night to meet with the free agent, a person with knowledge of the plans said. http://www.cheapflamesjerseyschina.com/mike-vernon-jersey/ . -- Phil Hughes ended a personal losing streak that dated to last July, pitching into the seventh inning Sunday and helping the Twins top the Kansas City Royals 8-3 to avoid a three-game sweep. Tanner Glass Jersey . Louis Blues brought in the premier unrestricted free agent centre, and did it without breaking the bank. Matthew Tkachuk Jersey . - Dolphins safety Louis Delmas has been carted off the field with a right knee injury against the Ravens.Shin-Soo Choo passed his physical with the Texas Rangers, clearing the way for the completion of the outfielders $130 million, seven-year deal. A person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Thursday night that Choo passed his physical and would be formally introduced in Texas on Friday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because there was no official announcement from the team. The Rangers scheduled a press conference Friday afternoon. The said only that it was to "announce a major free agent signing" and provided no other details. Choos deal, worth about $18.6 million per season, is the third-highest this off-season. The deal was agreed upon last weekend, but was pending the completion of the physical. Second baseman Robinson Cano got $240 million over 10 years from Seattle and outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, like Choo, a client of agent Scott Boras, signed a $153 million, seven-year contract with the New York Yankees. Choo started 150 games in centre field and had a .423 on-base percentage last season for Cincinnati in his only year with the Reds. He hit .285 with 21 homers and 20 stolen bases and scored 107 runs as their primary leadoff hitter.dddddddddddd The Rangers will likely use Choo in left field because they have Leonys Martin in centre and Alex Rios in right. And Choo could be their leadoff hitter. The deal comes a month after the Rangers acquired five-time All-Star first baseman Prince Fielder in a trade with Detroit for second baseman Ian Kinsler, their primary leadoff hitter last season. Both Fielder and Choo will be under contract through the 2020 season. The Rangers, who won their only AL pennants in 2010 and 2011, missed the playoffs for the first time in four years. Texas scored only 730 runs, its fewest in a non-strike season since 1992. Choos deal calls for salaries of $14 million in 2014 and 2015, $21 million in 2016 and 2017, and $20 million in each of the last three years of the deal. There are also performance bonuses and a limited no-trade clause. Choo has a .288 career batting average and .389 OBP with 104 home runs and 427 RBIs in 853 major league games for Seattle (2005-06), Cleveland (2006-12) and Cincinnati. The 31-year-old South Korean had at least 20 homers and 20 stolen bases three times, including last season. 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