NEW ORLEANS - The New Orleans Saints have placed their franchise tag on Jimmy Graham in order to protect the clubs rights to its star tight end through next season. Marc-Edouard Vlasic Jersey . The move means Graham, barring a holdout, will almost certainly play for New Orleans next season for no less than the tight end franchise tag of $7.04 million. It is also possible, under the NFLs collective bargaining agreement, that Graham could be tagged as a receiver because of how often he lined up split wide from the line. That would carry a tag of $12.3 million. However, since the Saints only placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on Graham, according to a report from ESPN, teams can still try to sign the star but the Saints would be able to match any offer or be compensated with two first-round draft picks from the signing team. Once Grahams tag has been determined, the two sides could continue to argue that matter before an arbitrator. That appears to be the likely process as both side aim to determine precisely how much negotiating leverage they have before hammering out a long-term deal. Similarly, the Saints use their franchise tag on quarterback Drew Brees in March 2012, then needed a little more than four months to work out the five-year, $100 million deal Brees signed shortly before training camp. Like Brees, Graham is represented by Creative Artists Agency. They do not have the same agent. Graham is represented by Jimmy Sexton and Brees by Tom Condon. The move, confirmed by team spokesman Greg Bensel, was expected as part of what is widely anticipated to be a protracted negotiation between the team and one of the best young tight ends in the NFL Graham has said publicly during the Pro Bowl in February that it would be "unfortunate," if the team used the franchise tag on him, but on Friday he reacted to the move with subtle humour. Afterward, Graham wrote on his Twitter account, "Confirming its officially Franchisefriday... TAG ... I guess Im it." Graham, a former college basketball who played one year of football at Miami, was drafted by the Saints in 2010. Last season, he led the Saints in catches with 86, yards with 1,215 and touchdowns with 16. He has led the Saints in catches in each of the past three seasons, while leading the club in yards receiving and touchdowns in two of the last three seasons. During the past three regular seasons combined, he has 270 catches for 3,507 yards and 36 touchdowns. Justin Braun Jersey . According to TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger, it doesnt appear the offer was warmly received by the team. Blue Jackets director of hockey operations John Davidson and general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said on Wednesday the team has made offers of $6 million for two years, $32 million for six and $46 million over eight years but each one was refused by the restricted free agent centre and agent Kurt Overhardt. Martin Jones Jersey . -- Aaron Rodgers isnt out for revenge in Green Bays season opener. http://www.officialsharksnhlshop.com/ryan-carpenter-jersey/ .com) - SirDominic Pointer posted career highs of 24 points and seven steals to lead No.The Los Angeles Kings jumped out to a 3-0 first-period lead and the Chicago Blackhawks couldnt catch them, with the Kings taking a 5-2 decision in Game Four to take a 3-1 lead in the series. Kings D Jake Muzzin scored the first of two power play goals for the Kings. Playing more than 21 minutes per game in the playoffs, Muzzin now has 11 points, placing him third among defencemen in the postseason. Not bad for a guy who didnt hook on with an NHL club until the Kings signed him during his overage junior season in Sault Ste. Marie. Four years later, Muzzin is on the top defence pairing for a team closing in on the Western Conference title. Muzzin is paired with Drew Doughty, who also had a goal and an assist in Game Four (though his goal appeared to be deflected in by Dwight King) and leads defencemen with 14 points in the playoffs. Game Four was so well in hand for the Kings that they could limit Doughtys ice time; 23:55 was Doughtys lowest ice time since Game Two of the playoffs (after which he complained about his lack of ice time). For once, the Blackhawks didnt get burned by the line of Jeff Carter, Tanner Pearson and Tyler Toffoli, until Pearson scored into an empty net, though Pearson had a team-high seven shot attempts and tied Carter with a team-leading four shots on goal. The bad news for Chicago is that the Kings other top scorers got on track. Marian Gaborik scored a goal while Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams each picked up a couple of assists; Kopitar extending his playoff scoring lead with 22 points and Gaborik leads all playoff goal-scorers, with 10. In their ultimately fruitless attempt to come back, the Blackhawks chances were created by their power forwards. Marian Hossa, Bryan Bickell and Brandon Sadd had nine, eight and seven shot attempts, respectively, to lead the Bllackhawks. Brandon Mashinter Jersey. Saad and Bickell scored Chicagos goals. Chicagos leaders, C Jonathan Toews and RW Patrick Kane, skated together for most of the game, as the Blackhawks tried to shake up lines and it didnt really work. While both assisted on Bickells third-period goal, Toews didnt register a shot on goal (though, immediately preceding Bickells goal, Doughty basically blocked a Toews shot in the crease to prevent a goal), the second time in the series Toews has been held without a shot on goal. The Blackhawks need their big guns to be firing, but they also need G Corey Crawford to perform better. After allowing four goals on 20 shots in Game Four, Crawford has stopped 69 of 82 shots (.841 SV%) in the last three games. The goals against arent all on Crawford, to be sure but, no matter how you slice it, .841 isnt good enough to win. Blackhawks C Michal Handzus played a game-low 4:28, not seeing the ice beyond six minutes into the second period. This isnt the first time in the playoffs that a team, on the verge of elimination, has looked like they were on the way out, and thats the situation in which the Blackhawks find themselves now. More than 90% of teams with a three-game-to-one lead in an NHL playoff series go on to win, so the Blackhawks have a steep hill to climb. But, they can look across the ice and take heart, knowing that the Kings had to overcome a three-games-to-none deficit in Round One against San Jose to get turned loose on this playoff run. Right now, the Kings look invincible, but hockey is a funny game sometimes and if the Blackhawks are better on home ice in Game Five, maybe they still have a way to dig out of this hole. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Discount NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys 2019 Wholesale Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys NFL Cheap ' ' '