Wilson, who had been the longest-tenured player on the team, took a pay cut to stay with the Cardinals before last season, but knew as it was winding down that it would be his final one in the desert.

“In every franchise, there is a select group of players whose contributions earn them iconic status and for us, Adrian Wilson will always be one of those players,” Cardinals president Michael Bidwill said. “He joined us at a key time in our organization’s evolution and helped lead us into a new era. We will always be grateful for that and look forward to the day when he’s placed in the Ring of Honor at University of Phoenix Stadium alongside the other all-time great Cardinals.”

Wilson played 12 seasons with the Cardinals and is one of six NFL players with 25 interceptions and 25 sacks. A Pro Bowler in 2006 and 2008-11, he has 27 interceptions and 25.5 sacks, including eight in 2005, which were the most ever by a defensive back.

Wilson played 181 games with Arizona, fifth-most in team history, and was a team captain five times, including last season.

“Decisions like this are never easy, but it’s especially tough with someone like Adrian because he’s been such a special player and important part of this organization for the last 12 years,” Cardinals GM Steve Keim said.

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Gagne spent his first 10 NHL seasons with the Flyers, but won his first Stanley Cup title last season in Los Angeles after a late-playoff return from a concussion. He hasn’t scored a goal in 11 games this season for the Kings, who decided the veteran didn’t fit in coach Darryl Sutter’s system.

Before Gagne even got up the nerve to ask for a trade, Kings general manager Dean Lombardi sent him back to Philadelphia.

“They just did it on their own,” Gagne said. “It just shows you the class those guys have. Even if it’s hard getting traded in the middle of the season, going to Philly — and they told me it was the best place for me to go — they’re really gentlemen to do that to me this year.”

Los Angeles will get a third-round pick if Philadelphia makes the playoffs or a fourth-round pick if the Flyers miss the postseason.

Gagne had 259 goals and 524 points in his decade with the Flyers, who traded him to Tampa Bay in July 2010 partly to get under the salary cap. The Kings signed him a year later, but Gagne has scored just 24 goals in 108 games since leaving Philadelphia.

“This is a good player that I’ve known a long time, and I know that if he would have wanted to go anywhere, that would be the place he wanted to go,” said Lombardi, a former Flyers scout. “Given that we had to do this, if we can, I would certainly put him someplace I know he’d be happy.”

Gagne scored a career-high 47 goals during the 2005-06 season while playing mostly on a line with Peter Forsberg and Mike Knuble, who re-signed with Philadelphia last month. Before the lockout last July, the Flyers re-signed Ruslan Fedotenko, who began his career alongside Gagne with the Flyers more than a decade ago.

Flyers GM Paul Holmgren spoke with Lombardi a few days ago about Gagne, but suddenly had urgency to add front-line depth. Matt Read is sidelined for six weeks with torn rib cage muscles, and Tye McGinn will be out for a few weeks after breaking an orbital bone in a fight with Toronto’s Matt Brown on Monday night.

“He improves our depth up front automatically,” said Holmgren, who traded Gagne three years ago. “He is a good two-way player that can skate. … Coaches have watched tape of him playing, so we feel comfortable that he is fine. He seems excited to be coming back, and looks forward to an opportunity to play and help us.”

The seven-time 20-goal scorer was sidelined for more than five months of his first season in Los Angeles with his latest concussion, but returned to action in the Stanley Cup finals. He played four games while winning his first NHL championship, but underwent neck surgery five days after raising the Cup for the first time.

Gagne’s ice time was down sharply this season, and he had been a healthy scratch recently for the Kings (9-6-2), who have won four straight after a slow start. Gagne had five assists this season, but lost playing time recently to fellow veteran Dustin Penner.

Gagne only recently pulled up some of his Philly roots. Flyers coach Peter Laviolette has been renting Gagne’s old house in Philadelphia’s New Jersey suburbs for the past 2½ years, but Gagne recently sold the house, with the closing scheduled for March 15.

While Los Angeles started clicking after a slow start, Philadelphia is off to just a 9-11-1 start despite scoring 60 goals, third in the Eastern Conference.

Gagne has a $3.5 million salary for the season and will be a free agent this summer, but Holmgren said the Flyers could afford him after losing players to injury.

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The Ducks announced Thursday that they’ve re-hired Burke, who was their general manager from 2005-08.

Burke was abruptly fired by the Toronto Maple Leafs last month after four playoff-free years as their president and GM.

Anaheim had two 100-point seasons and won its only Stanley Cup championship during Burke’s tenure.

When Burke left the Ducks in part to be closer to family on the East Coast, Bob Murray succeeded him as Anaheim’s general manager. Murray says he looks forward to working with Burke again.

Burke also was the general manager of the U.S. Olympic hockey team that won silver medals at the Vancouver Olympics in 2010.

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Six days after initially telling local reporters exactly that, Spielman came to the NFL’s annual scouting combine and was asked to address the situation again. He hasn’t budged.

Spielman says he has no intent to deal the receiver he calls a “dynamic playmaker,” and won’t even take phone calls about it. He intends to keep all information about contract negotiations internal, too, as he describes.

There has been speculation the Vikings might deal Harvin, whose contract is up after next season, or that Harvin may hold out to get a new, richer contract.

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However, a trade is unlikely because of Rondo’s injury, a torn left ACL, sources tell Broussard.

Celtics general manager Danny Ainge said Tuesday that he’s not sure any deals would get the Celtics what they need and give another team what it wants. Ainge, in fact, was not optimistic he would get any moves done before the 3 p.m. ET Thursday deadline.

“It looks unlikely that anything will be done, other than possibly some players we will add to our roster,” Ainge said. “Not sure yet of what that will be.

“There’s been a lot of conversation around the league, and we’ve been very busy. Trades are very challenging to make, and then on top of that we like our guys. I like watching this team play, I like the personality of our team. We just need to find a way to give them the best chance to win with the resources we have.”

There were reports before the All-Star break that the Lakers and Celtics had preliminary talks to trade Rondo to the Lakers for center Dwight Howard, but Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak denied that report to Broussard, saying he hadn’t talked to Ainge and reiterating that the Lakers do not plan on trading Howard.

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Tannenbaum, who has run the football operation since 2006, was fired Monday, owner Woody Johnson announced in a statement. Rex Ryan will remain as coach, according to Johnson.

A search for a new GM will commence immediately.

Johnson made the move after the Jets failed to make the playoffs for a second straight season. The Jets, undermined by poor quarterback play and a lack of playmakers on offense, stumbled to 6-10. Johnson said he informed Tannenbaum on Monday morning.

“Although he helped guide us to two consecutive AFC Championship Games, we are not where we want to be, and a new General Manager will be critical to getting this team back on the right track,” Johnson said in the statement.

Johnson said he has consulted with “a number of football executives,” adding that he has hired Korn/Ferry International, which will conduct the search for a new GM. It will be headed by Jed Hughes, who previously led the general manager search for the Seattle Seahawks.

Johnson eliminated any doubt about Ryan’s future.

“I believe that he has the passion, the talent, and the drive to successfully lead our team,” Johnson said.

Ryan has two years and approximately $6 million remaining on his contract.

“Like all Jets fans, I am disappointed with this year’s results,” Johnson said. “However, I am confident that this change will best position our team for greater success going forward.”

It was a stunning fall for Tannenbaum, who was considered one of the NFL’s top young executives when the Jets reached back-to-back AFC Championship Games in 2009 and 2010.

Since then, the talent base has eroded, leaving a roster filled with question marks and uncertainty at the quarterback position. The Jets are also saddled with several bad contracts.

In Tannenbaum’s seven seasons, the Jets went 57-55, made the postseason three times and won four playoff games. On his watch, they’ve had two head coaches, Eric Mangini and Rex Ryan.

Tannenbaum became known as “Trader Mike” for his aggressive deals. His biggest trade came in 2009, when he dealt for Brett Favre. Some of his better moves were drafting Darrelle Revis and trading for Antonio Cromartie.

But Tannenbaum also had some clunkers, none bigger than drafting Vernon Gholston in 2008 and making the controversial Tim Tebow trade. Tannenbaum predicted that Tebow would be a “dynamic” weapon in the offense, but it was an unmitigated disaster. The decision to extend Mark Sanchez’s contract last offseason also proved to be a poor decision.

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