
SAN JOSE – Former San Jose Sharks center Tomas Hertl was a bit curious about what kind of reception he would get Friday night in his return to SAP Center. While Hertl became one of the Sharks’ most popular and productive players in his 11 seasons in a teal uniform, he was also returning – for the first time — as a member of the Vegas Golden Knights , San Jose’s once-fierce rival. “I think the rivalry kind of slipped away, but it will hopefully be good. I think it was a nice 11 years,” Hertl said Friday morning when asked about the reception he might get. “But it’s maybe up to the fans now. (There’s) nothing I can do about it really right now.” The reception was expected to be positive, considering Hertl had 484 points in 712 regular-season games for the Sharks before he was traded to the Golden Knights in March . Team officials plan to recognize Hertl for his time in San Jose with a pregame tribute similar to the ones they bestowed upon longtime Sharks Joe Pavelski and Brent Burns in their first games back in San Jose. But while Hertl’s time with the Sharks will not be forgotten, his departure from San Jose has perhaps created a complicated legacy. Hertl could have opted to become an unrestricted free agent in 2022. Instead, he signed an eight-year, $65.1 contract extension with the Sharks, hoping the team’s fortunes could quickly turn around after what would become — at that point — three years without a playoff appearance. The Sharks, too, did not entertain any trade offers for Hertl that year, hoping he could be an organizational tent pole as they remained in a transitional phase. However, the Sharks hired Mike Grier as their new general manager less than four months after the deal. Grier knew that for the Sharks to become Stanley Cup contenders again, he would have to rebuild the team from the ground up. That meant taking some steps back to have the opportunity to draft future stars with lottery picks. Grier also traded some high-profile players on long-term contracts, such as Burns, Timo Meier, and Erik Karlsson, to gain prospects, draft capital, and free up valuable cap space. Speaking about Hertl and captain Logan Couture as the 2023 training camp began , Grier said, “If there ever were to come a time when they felt like they needed or wanted to go somewhere else, it’s definitely something I would listen to, and if it made sense for us, I would explore it.” While Couture, injured and out indefinitely, remains a Shark, Hertl, a playoff participant in five of his first six NHL seasons, knew at that time it could be years before he could legitimately compete for a Cup again. He had a decision to make. Ultimately, Hertl, with a full no-movement clause in the first three years of his contract, decided it was best to move on and join a contender. Going into Friday, the Golden Knights led the Pacific Division and the Sharks were in eighth and last place. “I couldn’t say one bad word about the organization, about the teammates in the locker room right away, how they (included) me in the team, even the fans around the city,” Hertl said. “Obviously, when you win a lot of hockey games, everything gets pretty easy around it. I almost forgot over the last couple years, honestly, how fun is to win a lot of games. “The last couple of years (in San Jose) was pretty tough. When you’re one of the leaders and you try to help, but the winning wasn’t coming, it wasn’t easy. So this is definitely the fun part.” It turns out Grier and Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon began talking about a Hertl deal before the all-star break, and on March 7, just minutes before the deadline, the Sharks sent the No. 1 centerman, plus third-round picks in 2025 and 2027, to Vegas for center prospect David Edstrom and a 2025 first-round pick. “I just heard, like, maybe in January, before I was hurt, that (Vegas) was thinking about (trading for me) from my agent, but nothing happened,” said Hertl, who injured his knee earlier in a Jan. 27 game against the Buffalo Sabres. Hertl participated in the NHL All-Star Game in Toronto, and trade talks between the Sharks and Golden Knights began to ramp up again a few days before the deadline. Hertl then had to waive his no-trade clause to make it happen. Related Articles San Jose Sharks | Sharks without key forward for game vs. Golden Knights San Jose Sharks | Red Wings hire former Sharks head coach McLellan after firing Lalonde San Jose Sharks | Sharks’ all-2000s team: Franchise icons dominate the first line, but who makes the second? San Jose Sharks | Sharks’ Celebrini learns hard lesson in return to hometown San Jose Sharks | Pettersson, Canucks spoil Celebrini’s return to Vancouver; Eklund injured “I’m a competitive guy,” Hertl said Friday. “The Sharks give me everything and they give me a great career, they’ve been always great to me. (When) the offer came, I just couldn’t say no, because I think I’m still in my prime, I can help teams win hockey games, and Vegas, they are in a great spot, a great team, and I couldn’t say no. “Nobody can obviously guarantee you can win the Stanley Cup, but I thought there’s a chance (with Vegas), and I just want to grab it and try to fight for it.” Hertl has several friends within the Sharks’ organization and still cheers for the team. “After our games, I will be always cheering for them because I was here so long here and I want to see them do obviously better and turn this team around,” Hertl said. “But at that time I felt it could be my last chance and I was happy both sides could figure it out and work it out, and I could move.”
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BEIJING , Dec. 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- At the end of 2024, we take a look back at the Chinese economy's performance this year. China's domestic GDP grew by 5.3 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, 4.7 percent in the second quarter and 4.6 percent in the third quarter this year, with an average growth rate of 4.8 percent in the first three quarters. Since September, as a package of incremental policies continues to yield its effects, China's economy maintains an upward trend. Overall, we are fully confident in achieving our economic growth goal this year. The country's economic performance has been hard-won. Externally, transformations around the world unseen in a century are unfolding at a greater pace, with global economic growth remaining sluggish, and the complexity, severity and uncertainty of the external environment on the rise. At home, domestic demand is insufficient, social expectations remain weak and there are difficulties associated with structural adjustments. The situation is severe and complex, and the task is difficult and weighty. However, under the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, Chinese localities and government agencies are more confident and are taking solid steps to deliver outcomes. The results underscore that "fundamentals of the Chinese economy, and favorable conditions such as a vast market, strong economic resilience and great potential remain unchanged." Huge market, vast space Markets are the scarcest resource. The modernization achieved by 1.4 billion Chinese people has resulted in the addition of a new super-large market larger than those of all developed countries combined. The new development paradigm will enable China to fully unlock its market potential and create greater demand for other countries. With a new car rolling off production line on November 14 , China's annual production of new energy vehicles (NEVs) surpassed the 10 million milestone, becoming the first country in the world to do so. Behind the number is China's robust supply and demand. In the first 10 months, China's production and sales of NEVs grew by 33 percent and 33.9 percent year-on-year, respectively. China continues to take the lead in the electrification and intelligence transformation of the automotive industry, which is attributed to the supply, policy support and demand advantage in the ultra-large market. Markets bring valuable business opportunities. Take cars for example. By the end of June, China had 345 million cars, but the country's car ownership level per 1,000 residents is less than half of that in developed countries. Additionally, China's NEV ownership is only 24.72 million, which means continuous demand in the future. Markets breed competition advantages. China's vast market contributes to the formation of "economy of scale" and "economy of scope," which generates greater profits for enterprises and reduces innovations costs, and also helps provide a large number of application scenarios and boost the large-scale application of innovations. China leads the world in batteries, motors and electronic control technologies, while its intelligent cockpits and intelligent driving are internationally advanced. Thanks to the benign interactions between supply and demand, the industrialization of new technologies and new products is speeding up. Strong resilience, solid basis Resilience strengthens self-belief. China has come to where it is today after overcoming all kinds of difficulties and challenges. Foreign trade is an important barometer in this regard. In the first 10 months of the year, China's foreign goods trade rose by 5.2 percent year-on-year to reach a new high compared with the same period historically. The improvement in the quality and efficiency of the country's foreign trade against the backdrop of shrinking external demand reflects China's economic resilience. This resilience originates from China's solid manufacturing basis and industrial chain advantages. "We could not do what we do without them," Apple CEO Tim Cook said of Chinese suppliers during his third visit to the Chinese mainland this year, as over 80 percent of Apple's 200 major suppliers have set up factories in China . China has the world's most comprehensive industrial categories and a well-rounded industrial system, with the scale of manufacturing industry ranking top for 14 consecutive years. The high-end, intelligent and green development of the manufacturing sector continues to strengthen the stability of the country's industrial and supply chain. In the first three quarters, the manufacturing industry contributed 32.2 percent to the country's economic growth, up 11.2 percentage points. China moved up to 11th place in the ranking of the world's most innovative economies. The basis is solid, and risks and challenges are not to be feared. Resilience also comes from excellent policy adjustments. The nation has been strengthening counter-cyclical adjustments, accelerating the implementation of major national strategies and the development of securities capabilities in key areas while supporting large-scale equipment upgrades and trade-in policies for consumer goods with robust measures, boosting the stabilization of the property market and galvanizing the capital market. The government has also put forward a package of measures to dissolve local government debt risks. This year, a series of existing policies continue to produce effects and incremental policies are being effectively implemented, jointly helping the economy stabilize. Vast potential, strong momentum China's economy has vast potential and many advantages and favorable conditions for sustaining long-term development momentum. China has been the world's second-largest economy for many years, but still has vast development potential in terms of per capita and structure. China's per capita GDP remains relatively low, and the country's amount of infrastructure per capita is only 20-30 percent of that of developed countries. In 2023, China's urbanization rate, which measures the ratio of permanent urban residents relative to the total population, reached 66.2 percent by the end of 2023. Estimates show that each percentage point increase in the urbanization rate could drive 1 trillion yuan ( $137.55 billion ) in investment. Currently, both China's fiscal deficit ratio and government debt ratio are low, and the country's policy toolbox remains well-stocked. The potential also lies in elementary resources. China's human resources in science and technology ranked first in the country and the average length of education received by new entrants into the workforce has increased to 14 years, turning the demographic dividend into a talent dividend. In addition, overall sufficient social capitals, vast room for the highly efficient use of land and the vast unleashing of the potential of digital elements provide solid foundational support. This potential also comes from the huge market. The country's population of over 1.4 billion and middle-income population of over 400 million support a large-scale, diverse and huge domestic market. Accelerating the building of a unified national market will improve overall economic operation efficiency and continuously unleash the potential of domestic demand. Overall, China is a country with vast territory, a large population and unbalanced and uncoordinated development. This is a shortcoming, but also represents potential and a driving force for future development. Sparking vitality and building synergy through reform is essential to continuously unleashing development potential. From implementing regulations for fair competition reviews, accelerating the legislative process of the law on the promotion of the private economy and formulating normal communication mechanisms between governments and enterprises, to releasing a new national negative list for foreign investment and removing all market access restrictions for foreign investors in the manufacturing sector, China's reforms in key fields continue to deepen this year and high-level opening-up advances in an in-depth way. The third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China adopted the Resolution of the CPC Central Committee on Further Deepening Reform Comprehensively to Advance Chinese Modernization. Driven by reform of the economic system, China is correspondingly boosting reform in other fields, and the internal development momentum and vitality will continue to strengthen. Reviewing allows a clear understanding of the situation and better moving forward. While some major economies experience low growth rates and high inflation this year, China is expected to achieve its economic growth target of around 5 percent, and continue to contribute around 30 percent to world economic growth. This stable performance underlines the fact that China's economy will continue to remain on a positive trajectory over the long run. The story was originally published on the front page of the People's Daily on December 8, 2024 View original content: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-times-peoples-daily-article-says-favorable-conditions-for-chinas-economic-development-remain-unchanged-302325568.html SOURCE Global TimesFamily member books relative a vacation as Christmas gift - and then cancels it without telling them
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