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CHICAGO -- This was a no-brainer from start to finish. Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane wanted to stay in Chicago and the Blackhawks wanted to keep the high-scoring forwards in the only NHL uniform they have ever known. All that was left was crunching the numbers on two of the biggest contracts in franchise history. The Blackhawks announced Wednesday they had reached eight-year extensions with two of their top performers in a long run of success that includes Stanley Cup titles in 2010 and 2013. Toews and Kane led Chicago back to the Western Conference final this year, where it lost to the eventual NHL champion Los Angeles Kings. General manager Stan Bowman said all along that the extensions were his biggest off-season priority, and it didnt take very long to reach the agreements with Pat Brisson, who represents both players. Toews and Kane each have one year left on their five-year extensions from December 2009, and July 1 was the first day they could sign new deals. Each contract is worth $84 million for an average annual value of $10.5 million, according to a person familiar with the situation who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team did not announce the contract numbers. Toews and Kane made it clear right after the Game 7 loss to Los Angeles that they wanted to stay with the Blackhawks, who added .8MoreYears to their tweets about the deal. "Theres no organization in sports that cares more about the overall experience of their fans and the success of their players," Toews said in a statement released by the team. "Theres nothing we want more as players than to continue to win Stanley Cups for the best hockey fans on the planet." Toews, the No. 3 selection in the 2006 draft, was just 20 when he became the 34th captain in team history in July 2008. He is regarded as one of the NHLs best two-way players, winning the 2013 Selke Trophy as the leagues best defensive forward. Kane, the top overall pick in the 2007 draft, has developed into one of the NHLs most clutch players after questions about his maturity dogged the dynamic winger for the first part of the career. He had the series-clinching goal in Game 6 of the 2010 Stanley Cup finals at Philadelphia, and won the Conn Smythe Trophy last year as playoff MVP. The 25-year-old Kane put on another impressive display in this years post-season, almost bringing Chicago back from a 3-1 deficit against Los Angeles. He had two goals and eight assists in the final four games of the series against the Kings. The $168 million worth of extensions for Toews and Kane mean the Blackhawks have much of their core group locked up through the 2016-17 season. Bowman could face some sticky situations with the salary cap in the coming years, but his team should be a Stanley Cup contender for a while. "The signings of Jonathan and Patrick symbolize an important milestone in franchise history," Blackhawks President and CEO John McDonough said. "We are driven by the pursuit of consistent excellence and today is a huge step forward." The 26-year-old Toews has at least 23 goals and 25 assists in each of his seven NHL seasons. He set career highs with 32 goals and 44 assists in the 2010-11 season. Kane averages 25 goals and 45 assists per year. He had a career-high 30 goals and 58 assists for the 2009-10 campaign. More important for Chicago, each player has been at his best in the post-season. Kane is fifth on the franchises career list with 37 playoff goals and his 54 assists ranks sixth in team history. Toews (29 goals, 52 assists) also is in the top 10 in each category. Lakers Jerseys 2020 . Head coach Lindy Ruff confirmed on Sunday that his starting goalie has a head injury and the team will take it day by day. Custom Los Angeles Lakers Jerseys . But defending champion Elena Vesnina of Russia held off a strong challenge to beat Shuai Peng of China 6-3, 6-4, and there was another hard-fought victory for 2012 runner-up Angelique Kerber of Germany, who defeated Alison Riske of the United States 7-6 (6), 6-4. https://www.lakersjerseycheap.com/ . Following the Ford Womens World Curling Championship gold medal match that attracted record-breaking audiences to TSN, the networks exclusive live coverage of the tournament begins Saturday at 7am et/4am pt with Canadas opening draw against Denmark. Wholesale Lakers Jerseys . -- Arizona came out of its last meeting with California a bit discombobulated, hurting from its first loss and the loss of forward Brandon Ashley for the rest of the season. Los Angeles Lakers Gear . Still, Milan remained five points behind city rival Inter Milan in the race for fifth place and the final Europa League berth, after Inter beat 10-man Parma 2-0. Meanwhile, Paul Pogba led the way as Juventus stayed on course for a third consecutive title with a 1-0 win over relegation-threatened Bologna. MIAMI -- Ray Allen was somewhat surprised to see how open he was. So was Dwyane Wade, who even took an extra dribble before believing his eyes and sending a 50-foot pass to the best 3-point shooter in NBA history. Moments later, the Miami Heat were back on track. Allen scored 14 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter on a milestone day for the veteran, Wade and LeBron James each added 24 points and the Heat closed with a flourish to beat the Houston Rockets 113-104 on Sunday and snap their worst stretch of results since 2011. "When Ray gets into a rhythm, hes the best 3-point shooter of all-time," said Heat forward Chris Bosh, who scored 18 points to help Miami win for just the second time in its last seven games. Miami trailed 97-92 following a 3-pointer by James Harden midway through the fourth, then finished the game on a 21-7 run. Allen had 11 points during that late stretch, including a 3-pointer that allowed him to pass Allen Iverson for 21st on the NBAs scoring list. It was also the 750th regular-season win that Allen was a part of in his career. "I dont know how I get open," said Allen, who took about 1,000 shots on a practice day Saturday by Heat coach Erik Spoelstras estimate. "When I am, I have to be ready to shoot it." Harden finished with 30 points for Houston, which got 21 points and 14 rebounds from Dwight Howard. Patrick Beverley added 15 points and Terrence Jones scored 12 for the Rockets, whove dropped three straight. "We just didnt play well down the stretch," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. And that all started when no one seemed to want to guard Allen. Houston led by five when Wade sparked the late run with a 50-foot assist after a timeout that set up a 3-pointer from the left corner by Allen. "A critical possession," Wade said. Allen also made three technical-foul free throws to help his late rhythm. One came after a defensive three-second violation, another following Houstons second delay-of-game whistle on the afternoon, and the third when Beverley was hit with a technical in the final minute. James hit a pair of free throws with 46 seconnds left for his first points of the final quarter, and that sealed it for Miami, which moved back within three games of Indiana for the No.dddddddddddd 1 spot in the Eastern Conference. Allen now has 24,370 points, two more than Iverson. Afterward, he was all about the win. "Tonight we came out and finished the game," Allen said, "as opposed to letting it slip away from us." The first surprise of the day came about 20 minutes before tip-off, when the Heat announced Greg Oden -- who appeared in his 100th career game, nearly seven years after being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 draft -- would be starting at centre. It was the second start of the season for Oden, who also opened a game against Chicago last month in part because James was unavailable while dealing with a broken nose. Oden had three rebounds in the games first three minutes, and the Heat never trailed in the first half, going into the break with a 57-54 lead. Harden and Howard combined for 15 in the third, and Houston led 81-79 entering the final 12 minutes. "It was a couple of mental mistakes for us down the stretch and they had a couple of calls go their way," Harden said. "Its tough. Clearly, it was a win Miami needed. Wades fiancee, Gabrielle Union, was on her feet to yell and cheer midway through the fourth, and James wife, Savannah, was nearby doing the same thing, almost as if it was a playoff game. Like all other Heat fans, they finally left a game happy. "They see the way weve been acting at home in between games," James said of his wife and Wades fiancee. "We came in with a mindset that we wanted to get this win. It was good to see us have to gut one out." NOTES: Allen appeared in his 1,287th game, breaking a tie with Sam Perkins for 15th on the career list. He could pass Mark Jackson (1,296) and Elvin Hayes (1,303) later this season. ... Houstons Chandler Parsons became the 15th player to log at least 5,000 minutes over the last two seasons. ... Jeremy Lin has been on teams that have played at Miami eight times; theyre 0-8 in those games, though hes appeared in only three of those contests. ' ' '