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Gordon Hayward is staying in Utah after all. Guy Lapointe Jersey . The Jazz on Saturday matched Charlottes four-year, $63 million offer for the restricted free agent. Hayward posted to Twitter: „Officially back with the (at)utahjazz!!!! Wanna thank them and all of .jazznation for believing in me! Lots of work ahead…“ The Jazz had until late Sunday to match the Hornets maximum offer sheet for the 6-foot-8 small forward. Jazz general manager Gordon Lindsey repeatedly said he wanted to keep Hayward on the roster. „As we have said since the start of last season, we have always seen Gordon Hayward as a significant part of the future of the Utah Jazz,“ Lindsey said in a statement. „Gordon is a young, multi-faceted player and a high-character individual who we are pleased will remain a member of the Jazz for many years to come.“ Hayward averaged career highs of 16.2 points, 5.2 assists, 5.1 rebounds and 1.4 steals last season while leading the Jazz in scoring and minutes. He was the first Jazz player to average 16 points, five rebounds and five assists since Pete Maravich. He had seven games with double-digit rebounds and six with double-digit assists. He scored more than 20 points in 22 games. The Jazz, who couldnt reach an agreement on an extension with Hayward last fall, extended a qualifying offer on June 26, making him a restricted free agent. Hayward also saw interest from the Cleveland Cavaliers before Charlottes offer came Thursday. Haywards agent, Mark Bartelstein, confirmed that Utah had matched on Saturday morning. The move was first reported by Yahoo! Sports. „I think its certainly a gigantic statement of how the Jazz value Gordon,“ Bartelstein told The Associated Press. Hornets coach Steve Clifford had praised Haywards „size, skill, competitiveness“ and said he could play small forward or shooting guard. „Hes 24 years old and he has the talent, the character and the work ethic to be an All-Star player,“ Clifford said. The ninth overall pick in the 2010 draft, Hayward has played all four seasons in Utah. He has scored in double figures 63 times with nine double-doubles while averaging 12 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists. The young Jazz struggled last season, going 25-57. In the aftermath, coach Tyrone Corbin was let go after three-plus seasons in Utah and the Jazz hired Atlanta Hawks assistant coach Quin Snyder. Under Snyder, Utah is rebuilding around Hayward, Trey Burke, Derrick Favours and Enes Kanter. Last month, the team added promising Australian guard Dante Exum and former Duke forward Rodney Hood in the NBA draft. „I am excited to have the opportunity to coach Gordon,“ Snyder said. „He is a talented and versatile player, and will play an integral role in our effort to build the Utah Jazz into a championship-calibre team. We look forward to seeing him continue to develop as a leader on our team.“ Dave Poulin Jersey . 3 Ohio State. Amedeo Della Valle had 15 points, Marc Loving scored a career-high 13 and the bench provided 38 points as the Buckeyes sprinted past Nebraska 84-53 on Saturday. Dave Andreychuk Jersey . With the final four being arguably the four best – and most complete – teams from the regular season, picking a winner is not as easy as it sounds.The St. Louis Blues need to put a rough ending to the regular season behind them if they want to get past the defending Stanley Cup champions in the opening round of the playoffs. The struggling Blues hope to get back on track when they host the Chicago Blackhawks in Thursdays Game 1 encounter at Scottrade Center. Heading into the final week of the regular season, St. Louis was in the running to capture the Presidents Trophy as the leagues top point-earning team. Instead, an 0-6-0 skid knocked the Blues out of first place in the Central Division, where they finished a point behind the Colorado Avalanche to earn a much-tougher first-round matchup against a Chicago team that has won two of the last four Stanley Cup titles. St. Louis went 3-2-0 in the season series against the Blackhawks, with two of those wins coming in a shootout. Chicago, though, has won seven of the 10 all- time playoff series between the Central Division rivals. While this will mark the 11th all-time playoff series for these two clubs, they are meeting for the first time since the Blues ousted the Blackhawks in five games of the 2002 conference quarterfinals. The good news for St. Louis is that it is getting healthy.  Vladimir Tarasenko is set to return while forwards David Backes, Vladimir Sobotka, Brenden Morrow and Patrik Berglund are considered questionable for the start of this series. T.J. Oshie has been ruled out for the game however. „Were going to have everyone back at some point in the first round,“ Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock said on Wednesday. Ryan Miller was acquired from Buffalo at the trade deadline and enters this series as the No. 1 netminder for the Blues. St. Louis hopes Miller can help the club get out of the first round after it fell in six games to Los Angeles in the opening series last spring. Zdeno Chara Jersey. Miller was 10-8-1 with a 2.47 goals against average and .903 save percentage in 19 starts with the Blues and is 25-22 lifetime in the postseason with a 2.47 GAA and .917 save percentage. That includes two deep runs with the Sabres in 2006 and 07. Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford didnt slow down after helping Chicago win the Cup a season ago as he went 32-16-10 with a 2.26 goals against average and .917 save percentage in 59 games, including 56 starts. Crawford is 21-15 with a 2.04 GAA in the postseason. Like the Blues, Chicago played the end of the regular season without some key players but the Blackhawks are as healthy as they can be since forwards Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane have been declared ready to go for Game 1. Kane missed the final 12 games of the regular season with a lower-body injury, while Toews sat out the last six with an upper-body issue. Toews, the team captain, won the Conn Smythe Trophy when Chicago won it all in 2010 and Kane claimed the playoff MVP award last spring. „Im excited to get things going,“ said the reigning Conn Smythe winner. „Ive watched a lot of hockey lately, so its going to be nice to play in some games now.“ The return of Kane and Toews bulks up Chicagos talented top-six that also includes Patrick Sharp, Marian Hossa and the up-and-coming Brandon Saad. Chicago won the Central Division last season in a lockout-shortened campaign and battled its way to a second Stanley Cup title in four years. The Blackhawks hope to become the first repeat champions since the Detroit Red Wings in 1997-98. The Blues, who were 28-9-4 at home this season, will host Game 2 of this series on Saturday. Chicago was 19-14-8 on the road in 2013-14. ‚ ‚ ‚