BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Once Lightning captain Steven Stamkos took himself off the free-agent market, the Buffalo Sabres turned to Plan B: Kyle Okposo.The Sabres signed the former New York Islanders forward to a seven-year, $42 million contract in one of the first deals completed after the NHLs signing period opened Friday.He was drafted high. He was a high-profile guy. And hes lived up to that, general manager Tim Murray said of Okposo, who was selected seventh overall in the 2006 draft.Its exciting to get a player of his caliber that had a choice of I wont say 30 teams, but certainly a lot of teams, and decided to come here.The three-time, 20-goal scorer fills a top-line need on a Sabres team that has spent the past two years rebuilding through youth. Murray already envisions Okposo playing right wing on a line centered by either Ryan OReilly or Jack Eichel.After playing alongside Islanders captain John Tavares, Okposo is already looking forward to the possibilities of what the Sabres lineup has to offer.What sold me first and foremost, and Ive been saying it all day, is the chance to win the Stanley Cup, and I think we have a lot of pieces in place that can help us achieve that goal, Okposo said.And when I looked at their forwards, and especially their top two centers in OReilly and Eichel, those guys are only going to continue to get better, especially Jack. Hes got superstar status.Okposo is an eight-year NHL veteran and regarded as one of the top players available on the market after Stamkos elected to re-sign with Tampa Bay on Wednesday. Murray noted that the Sabres had a face-to-face meeting with Stamkos and his representatives on Sunday.The Sabres are attempting to quicken their push to become contenders after showing signs of improvement last season. Buffalo finished 23rd in the standings this past season after two consecutive last-place finishes.After being part of a lengthy rebuilding plan on Long Island, Okposo likes the Sabres approach.I think theyre been going at an accelerated rate, Okposo said. I think we can get there quicker than I did with the Islanders.Okposo becomes the Sabres second-highest-paid player, behind OReilly, who signed a seven-year, $52 million deal shortly after being acquired in a trade from Colorado last summer. And Okposo is close with Sabres forward Matt Moulson. The two played together in New York, and are godfathers of each others children.Listed at 6 feet and 217 pounds, Okposo has scored 67 of his 139 goals over the past three seasons, including 10 game-winners and 11 coming on the power play.The Sabres have now addressed several key needs.Last weekend, they acquired veteran defenseman Dmitry Kulikov in a trade with Florida.Buffalo is also in the position to sign forward Jimmy Vesey, after acquiring the rights to college hockeys top player last season in a trade with Nashville two weeks ago.Murray said his next priority is meeting with Vesey and his representatives next week. The Sabres took a gamble in acquiring Vesey, who is eligible to become a free agent on Aug. 15.The Sabres on Friday also filled depth needs by signing free-agent defensemen Justin Falk and Taylor Fedun to one-year, two-way contracts.Falk split last season between the Columbus Blue Jackets and their American Hockey League affiliate. Fedun had a brief stint with Edmonton in 2013-14, while spending much of the past five seasons in the AHL.Without saying who, Murray said he had a verbal agreement to sign a backup goalie, but the deal fell through when the player reneged and signed with another team.Murray wasnt pleased with what happened by saying: Im going to leave it at that. I wouldnt say anything very nice, I guess.The Sabres need to restock their goalie depth behind starter Robin Lehner after backup Chad Johnson signed with Calgary.---AP Sports Writer Stephen Whyno contributed to this story. Matt Judon Jersey .ca NHL Power Rankings for the second straight week, ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Colorado Avalanche. Marlon Humphrey Jersey . The players spoke Jan. 13 during a Major League Baseball Players Association conference call after Rodriguez sued the union and Major League Baseball to overturn an arbitrators decision suspending him for the 2014 season and post-season. http://www.cheapravensjerseysauthentic.com/ . He was followed closely by David Clarkson, donning red, seconds later. Clarksons actions one night earlier, leaping off the bench in defence of Kessel during a pre-season game against the Buffalo Sabres, will cost him the first 10 games of the regular season. Jimmy Smith Jersey . -- Jakob Silfverberg is making himself right at home with the Anaheim Ducks, scoring four goals in his first four games. Ray Lewis Jersey . -- Catcher Brett Hayes has agreed to a $630,000, one-year contract with the Kansas City Royals, avoiding salary arbitration.November 17, 2016 marks 20 years since The Rock made his in-ring debut for WWE. The event was Survivor Series 1996 and his performance was excellent - The Rock emerging as a sole survivor in one of the pay-per-views traditional elimination matches. Survivor Series 2016: How to order Booking details for Sundays WWE pay-per-view From there on, The Peoples Champion - thanks to tweaking his name from Rocky Maivia to The Rock and altering his haircut - became one of the most successful WWE Superstars in history. So as The Rock hits his 20-year milestone, lets look at some of his memorable numbers and moments, with the help of some video highlights…Ten World Championship reigns The Rock last held the WWE Title in 2013 Two years after his star showing at the 1996 edition of Survivor Series, The Brahma Bull landed his first world title at the event in controversial circumstances as he and Vince McMahon swindled Mankind out of the title in a fashion similar to the Montreal Screwjob a year earlier.The Rock would go on to claim 10 world titles in WWE, most recently when he prised the belt from CM Punk at the 2013 Royal Rumble, with his longest stint with the strap standing at 119 days.His other in-ring accolades include winning the 2000 Royal Rumble - after lastly eliminating Big Show - claiming the Intercontinental Championship twice and earning five Tag-Team Title reigns, one apiece with The Undertaker and Chris Jericho and three with a man we will get on to later…Three WrestleMania matches against Stone Cold Steve Austin We look back at one The Rocks most memorable rivalries, his battles with Steve Austin The Rocks greatest WWE rivalry arguably came against The Texas Rattlesnake, Austin. Few could have predicted the battles they would share when they squared off in singles action for the first time in 1997 - Austin beating Rock on that occasion to retain the Intercontinental Title.The first Rock-Rattlesnake ruckus at The Show of Shows came at Mania 15 in 1999 after Austin earned a shot at Rocks title by beating Vince McMahon in a Steel Cage Match on Valentines Day. Austin then triumphed at WrestleMania, finally felling Rock with a Stunner. WWE on Sky Sports Find out when your favourite Superstars are on the telly The Rock lost the world title to Austin at WWEs premier event again two years later - Royal Rumble winner Stone Cold, who was surprisingly aided by Vince McMahon, winning a No Disqualification Match after walloping his opponent with 16 chair shots.However, The Rock would exact revenge at WrestleMania 19 in what turned out to be Austins final WWE match - the two using each others finishing moves before The Peoples Champion clobbered his foe with three Rock Bottoms and securing the pinfall.Three Tag-Team Title reigns with Mick Foley As The Rock celebrates the 20th anniversary of his first WWE match, we look at his partnership with Mick Foley Foley was the man with whom Rock shared three Tag-Team Title reigns.dddddddddddd. A quite bizarre duo, I think youll agree - one WWEs resident daredevil scruff-bag, the other with the chiselled good looks and charisma that would help him become a star in Hollywood.Rock was initially reluctant to band with Foley but the tandem worked, the duo beating Big Show and The Undertaker on Raw in September 1999 to claim the belts for the first time before enjoying two more, albeit brief, stints with the belts before the year had elapsed.Rock and Foley, known collectively as The Rock n Sock Connection due to the formers name and the latters fascination with sock puppets, united again at WrestleMania 20, losing a two-on-three handicap match to Evolutions Randy Orton, Batista and Ric Flair.Two WrestleMania matches against John Cena John Cena battled The Rock at WrestleMania 29 in 2013 Rocks team-up with Foley looked for some time to be his final appearance as an in-ring star at WrestleMania - but he laced up his boots again at the show in 2012 for a one-on-one dustup with John Cena, the man who had ascended to the top of WWE in his absence.The Brahma Bull, who had shaken off any ring rust by teaming with Cena against The Miz and R-Truth at Survivor Series in November 2011, pulled out the victory, pouncing with a Rock Bottom after Cena had become a tad too cocky and attempted a Peoples Elbow.The rivalry was far from over, though - with Rock winning the world title at the 2013 Royal Rumble and Cena triumphing in the Rumble Match itself, the rivals collided again at WrestleMania 29. This time it was Cena who prevailed, after nailing a third Attitude Adjustment.A truckload of Peoples Elbows The Rocks Peoples Elbow has become an iconic WWE move Its hard to quantify exactly how many Peoples Elbows The Rock has hit throughout his career - although theres probably some boffin somewhere whos worked it out!The move worked a treat during his feud with Punk - the Rock using it to win the last of his world titles - while it may also have been an inspiration for Cenas not-too-dissimilar Five Knuckle Shuffle.Much more to come Will The Rock end up in the White House? The Rock has competed in a WWE match since his reverse against Cena in 2013, downing Erick Rowan in six seconds at WrestleMania 32 in April, but many fans will be hoping he has another contest left in him? Against Brock Lesnar perhaps? What about The Undertaker?Whats clear is his career is white-hot outside the ring - he has been declared as the worlds highest-paid actor by Forbes and was this week named The Sexiest Man Alive by People Magazine.Mr Johnson has also not ruled out running for President of the United States in 2020, telling Vanity Fair. It would be a great opportunity to help people, so its possible. This past election shows that anything can happen. Watch this space… Six months half price Upgrade to Sky Sports to watch Man Utd v Arsenal on Saturday and get the first six months half price Also See: WWE Survivor Series: How to book Triple H backs McGregor for WWE WATCH: Great Smackdown moments Wiese returns to football China NFL Jerseys Stitched Jerseys Jerseys From China Cheap Jerseys China Jerseys NFL China Jerseys NFL Cheap Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic ' ' '