INDIANAPOLIS -- Indianapolis conversion to a younger team continued Friday when longtime offensive lineman Ryan Diem announced his retirement on Twitter. wholesale jerseys . The 32-year-old Illinois native apparently informed team owner Jim Irsay of his decision Friday morning, before both men took to social media to spread the news. "Its been a heck of a ride... Time for a new chapter. I am retiring! " Diem wrote. He started 150 games in 11 seasons with the Colts, most at right tackle. During that time, Diem became a favourite of Peyton Manning. The bond was so tight that when Manning took less money to stay with the Colts than Irsay offered last July, the team used its savings to bring back Diem and running back Joseph Addai, two players Manning thought would be key to the Colts success. Now, none are with the team. Manning was released March 7, two days before he was to be paid a $26 million bonus to stay in Indy. That made Manning a free agent, and he signed Tuesday with Denver. Addai was one of five players released in a cost-cutting move two days after Mannings release, and now Diem has retired. "ColtFans,met with Ryan D,big(hash)71 in ur hearts n program,yesterday;he is going 2 retire,raise those new twins,we wish him happy alumnus status," Irsay wrote. Its yet another move in a major off-season overhaul for the Colts. After Manning missed the entire 2011 season following a series of neck surgeries, Indy went a league-worst 2-14 and wound up with the No. 1 overall draft pick. It is expected to take Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck with that choice. The sudden collapse immediately put the Colts, one of the leagues model franchises for more than a decade, into rebuilding mode. Indy is essentially starting over. Irsay cleaned out the front office, replaced coach Jim Caldwell with Chuck Pagano and got rid of most of Caldwells assistants. But the biggest moves have come in just the past few weeks with the release of Manning and the subsequent decision to cut Addai, defensive captains Gary Brackett and Melvin Bullitt, tight end Dallas Clark and backup quarterback Curtis Painter. Indy also lost starting receiver Pierre Garcon to Washington in free agency. Diems departure could give the Colts as many as seven new offensive starters next season. "Thanks for the opportunity, Mr. Irsay! The last 11 years have been unbelievable, and I appreciate every minute of it," he wrote. The Colts took Diem as a fourth-round draft pick in 2001. The Northern Illinois alum started eight games his rookie season at right guard, then became a regular at right tackle until moving back inside last season. cheap nfl jerseys . He lost to Georges St-Pierre and Jake (The Juggernaut) Ellenberger. cheap jerseys . Even though, the 2014 edition enjoyed three days of practice and four skates, in total, before the opener, Sidney Crosby and Co. http://www.worldcupjerseys.us.com/ . "I thought that was probably the best game we have played," said Hiller. "When you play Spokane, you accept that challenge. We needed to measure ourselves against a team like that.The New Jersey Devils missed the playoffs last season for the first time since 1995-1996, so there are expectations that they will return to their previous levels of success, but that wont come automatically. Bounceback or breakthrough seasons will be needed to get the Devils back to the postseason. The best hope for the Devils turning around their fortunes is the return of Zach Parise, the dynamic scorer who missed all but 13 games last season with a knee injury. Prior to last season, Parise had missed a total of three games in five NHL seasons, so hes been durable, and had four consecutive 30-goal seasons. If hes healthy, hell go a long way towards providing offensive balance for the Devils. The challenge for Parise may lie in the fact that his usual centre, Travis Zajac, is out long-term following an Achilles injury suffered this summer. Zajac has been a reliable complement to Parise, providing sound two-way play, so it will be a matter of Parise meshing with another centre if hes going to return to his elite production. Its hard to imagine a worse follow-up season to a monster free agent contract than the one Ilya Kovalchuk provided in 2010-2011, scoring 29 points and going minus-29 in 48 games prior to the All-Star break before rallying down the stretch to score 31 points (with a plus-3 rating) in 33 games. Before last season, Kovalchuk had reeled off six straight seasons with at least 40 goals, so a return to that level would go a long way towards providing the Devils bang for their considerable bucks. For years, goaltender Martin Brodeur would play 70-plus games, winning at least 40, which made him a sure thing in terms of fantasy value. Now 39, hes missed time in two of the last three seasons due to injuries and last years .903 save percentage was his lowest since 1994-1995. To his credit, Brodeur recovered from a brutal start to the season (5-18-1, 3.04 GAA, .876 SV% through December) to finish strong (18-8-2, 1.96 GAA, .920 SV%), so he might still have a great season left in him, but it seems advisable to be conservative with expectations now. Patrik Elias has been a consistent performer for a long time, scoring at least 20 goals in nine of the last 11 seasons and at least 50 points in 10 of the last 12 seasons and, its worth noting, that the two seasons in which he missed those thresholds he was injured, playing 58 and 38 games, respectively. Now 35, and coming off the first minus season of his career, its fair to modify expectations for Elias, but hes not done yet. With Zajac out, there is a huge opportunity for Jacob Josefson, the 20-year-old centre who chipped in 10 points in 28 games, while playing 13:14 per game, as a rookie last year. It might be too soon to place offensive expectations on Josefson, but the Devils may have little choice but to thrust him into the fire. As underwhelming as Dainius Zubrus has been in the last four seasons with the Devils, never scoring more than 40 points in a season, he could be an important contributor, particulaarly in Zajacs absence. cheap jerseys from china. . After a couple of promising seasons, winger David Clarkson took a step back last season, but hes shown an ability to contribute offensively as well as with fisticuffs. 20 goals and 150 penalty minutes isnt out of the question if he finds chemistry with the right linemates, but its tough to expect that breakthrough following the worst season of his career. Looking for some breakthrough performances, the Devils could use more from young wingers Nick Palmieri and Mattias Tedenby and both showed flashes last season, but its asking a lot for them to become primary contributors. While Devils first rounder Adam Larsson might improve the defence immediately, his production in the Swedish Elite League (26 points in 86 games over the last two seasons) doesnt suggest that hes ready to make an offensive impact as a rookie. That could mean that Andy Greene wuold get a shot to anchor the New Jersey power play. Greene had 15 power play points a couple of years ago before falling off to six last year. The Devils have enough high-end talent to remain interesting, but the loss of Zajac, coupled with a lineup comprised of too many players that are either a) hitting the downside of their careers or b) just getting started in their careers makes it a daunting task for the Devils to reclaim their place in the postseason dance. NHL Depth Chart - New Jersey Devils LW C RW Zach Parise Patrik Elias Dainius Zubrus Ilya Kovalchuk Jacob Josefson Nick Palmieri Mattias Tedenby David Steckel David Clarkson Eric Boulton Rod Pelley Vladimir Zharkov Mike Hoeffel Adam Henrique Cam Janssen Tim Sestito Travis Zajac Mike Sislo D D G Henrik Tallinder Anton Volchenkov Martin Brodeur Adam Larsson Andy Greene Johan Hedberg Mark Fraser Bryce Salvador Keith Kinkaid Mark Fayne Matt Taormina Alexander Urbom Matt Corrente 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 Sports on Facebook. cheap jerseys ' ' '
