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WINNIPEG -- Head coach Paul Maurice has been given a four-year extention to guide the Winnipeg Jets, and he and general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff appear to be of one mind on some of the teams upcoming issues. One of them is keeping Ondrej Pavelec as the teams starting goaltender. Cheveldayoff said it was disappointing not to make the playoffs but he didnt suggest hes deviating in any big way from his draft-and-develop philosophy and that includes sticking with his 26-year-old starting netminder. "Ondrej Pavelec is the No. 1 goaltender going into next season," the general manager insisted. "Hes relatively a young goaltender when it comes to being a starting goaltender and when you give those young players those opportunities to excel theres going to be some bumps along the way." With a save percentage of .901 (70th among all goalies in the NHL) and a goals against average of 3.01 (69th) Pavelec is a frequent target of criticism. Maurice says he wouldnt have a lot to say about who plays for the team, which is a general managers job, but he had no problem at all with Pavelec as his starting netminder. "Were at a stage in our franchise where weve got three or four potentially critical pieces through our lineup that are here that weve got to make better. Weve got to put them in a position to be better then they have to be better. ... "And I think Evander Kane falls into that hole, really good young talented players that need to develop, that need to get better and I think they will get better ... In my mind, with Ondrej Pavelec, we have to do everything we can as a team to give our goaltending the best chance to win us games and that hasnt happened yet." Kane finished with only 19 goals this season, a far cry from the 30 the forward scored in 2011-12, although this season he missed 19 games -- 18 due to injuries and another as a healthy scratch, reportedly for missing a team meeting. Maurice came in as Claude Noels replacement in January and impressed Jets management as well as the players with his skills. "Hes an impressive hockey coach but hes an impressive person as well," Cheveldayoff said. "He walked in and he made a tremendous impact from the moment he walked in and we believe that were just scratching the surface on the impact he can make on this franchise moving forward." Maurice, 47, said on the phone from his current home in Ohio that he made the decision fairly early on that he wanted to stay in Winnipeg. The deal was done Tuesday and he immediately flew home to talk about it with his family and they supported him. "It didnt take much time, I called Kevin and said were in and put a sign on the front steps today," he said. Maurice guided the team to an 18-12-5 record over 35 games after Noels firing, a decision that Cheveldayoff said hurt him to the core. "Claude Noel is a tremendous coach and an even better person," he said. Noel had only part of one season as an NHL head coach on his resume when he was handed the reins of the Jets in 2011. His replacement has a career coaching record of 478-469-172 over 1,119 NHL games with the Jets, Toronto Maple Leafs and Carolina Hurricanes/Hartford Whalers franchise. Maurice, who also said Wednesday he has accepted an offer to join Team Canada as an assistant coach for the world championship, says the Jets are further along and have a better balance of youth and experience than some of the other teams hes coach in the NHL. He says that means their development should be faster. Whether the goal of making the playoffs can be achieved next year, the answer seems to be maybe, but not initially as a Stanley Cup contender. "Were trying to move to the middle of the pack, I mean the end goal here is to be a contending team, and I think there are six of those teams right now in the Western Conference, I think theres two in the Eastern Conference. . . then theres the other eight teams that are in the playoffs," he said. Winnipeg finished with a 37-35-10 record on the season and settled for an 11th-place finish in the Western Conference with 84 points. It was exactly the same record they managed in their first year in their new home in 2011-12, although the Jets were in the Eastern Conference until this season. It was also the third straight season they have missed the playoffs since relocating to Winnipeg from Atlanta. The former Atlanta Thrashers made the playoffs only once, in 2007. The Jets have a fairly long list of restricted and unrestricted free agents this season but the only one Cheveldayoff mentioned Wednesday as a player they want to keep for sure was forward and restricted free agent Michael Frolik. He finished with 42 points and met or exceeded the expectations the Jets had when they acquired him from Chicago last year. But the general manager also didnt rule out looking outside the Jets for the right unrestricted free agent or making a trade to strengthen their core group, particularly at forward. He hasnt made a lot of trades since taking on the job three years ago (only 13) and the only two that would even come close to involving higher profile players would be Frolik and Devin Setoguchi. They were also his last, in the summer of 2013. "Some of it might have to come from a trade," he said of his desire to add a winger or a centre. The Jets are still focusing on young players throughout the organization and the role they can play. At the end of the season, for example, they brought in goalie Michael Hutchinson from the AHLs St. Johns IceCaps and he won two of the three final games he played. Cheveldayoff says the core group the Jets have signed to long-term contracts continues to perform. "We like what we have in a lot of different areas here. . . Guys like Blake Wheeler had a tremendous year, Bryan Little had a tremendous year, Andrew Ladd had a tremendous year. . . We havent even touched on (Mark) Scheifele and (Jacob) Trouba." He said Scheifele and Trouba had a big impact and the two rookies are only going to get better. Air Max 270 Outlet . It was the first game back in Columbus for Rangers star Rick Nash, the Blue Jackets franchise leader in goals, assists and games. He was given a standing ovation during a video tribute in the first period, but was booed loud and long after a second-period, two-handed shove up high on Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. Air Max 270 Outlet Italia . "We cannot stay the same way the whole season long," said Reyes. "This is not acceptable. Something needs to change because were a better team than what were showing right now. Its a long season and we just need to continue to push." Its been a frustrating week for the ballclub. http://www.airmax270outlet.it/ . That further limits the options of Australia coach Ewen McKenzie, who on Monday suspended six players who were involved in a night out in Dublin ahead of the Saturdays 32-15 win over the Irish. The Wallabies play Scotland on Saturday before facing Wales on Nov. Air Max 270 Offerta . The Mavericks were not going to let San Antonio beat them with 3-pointers, and they did not want Tony Parker using the lane as his personal playground. Air Max 270 Saldi . -- Coyotes coach Dave Tippett thinks of one thing when he watches Eastern Conference teams struggle against Western opponents before they get to Phoenix: His team must keep pace.SAN ANTONIO - James Harden scored 28 points and Dwight Howard had 15 points and 20 rebounds, leading the balanced Houston Rockets to a 111-98 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday. Each of Houstons starters scored in double figures as the Rockets improved to 2-0 against the Spurs this season, with both victories coming on the road. They also moved within 3 1/2 games of San Antonio (22-7) for the lead the Southwest Division. Chandler Parsons and Terrence Jones each scored 21 points for the Rockets (19-11), who shot 52 per cent from the field. Jeremy Lin had 13 points, eight assists and just one turnover. The Spurs have dropped two of three and split their last six games. They are just 3-6 over the last month against teams with a record above .500. Super sub Manu Ginobili led San Antonio with 22 points, and Tim Duncan added 11 points and 14 rebounds. Kawhi Leonard had 13 points, but Tony Parker was held to six points on 3-for-11 shooting. San Antonio never recovered after Houston raced out to a 27-9 lead. The Spurs were unable to stop Parsons long shots, Hardens drives, Howard in the paint or Jones on the boards for follow ups. After trailing by 18 points in the first half, San Antonio made a ccouple of charges in the second half but couldnt get the defensive stops necessary to complete the rallies.dddddddddddd Leonards three-point play on Howards fourth foul pulled San Antonio to 71-64 with 4:47 left in the third. The Spurs closed to 73-71 before Harden and Lin began draining long jumpers to help the Rockets pull away again. Harden closed out the victory, scoring 16 points in the final quarter. His second 3 of the game made it 100-90 with 5 minutes remaining. NOTES: Rockets G Patrick Beverley (right hand) and C Omer Asik (thigh contusion) missed the game. . Academy Award winner Tommy Lee Jones sat courtside, a row in front of David Robinsons customary seats. The actor laughed and applauded when The Coyote, the Spurs mascot, snuck beside him disguised as a Christmas tree. . Terrence Jones pushed Matt Bonner after the Spurs reserve forward wrapped up Howard high after the Rockets star grabbed his third offensive rebound on one possession. Duncan stepped between, putting his hand in Jones chest and pushing him away before officials broke up the gathering. . While the Rockets got smatterings of cheers throughout the game, Howard was lustily booed whenever he attempted a free throw or entered the game. ' ' '