SUNRISE, Fla.
Reggie Wayne Colts Jersey . -- When Roberto Luongo learned he wouldnt be starting the Heritage Classic, the disappointed
goaltender asked agent Pat Brisson to call Vancouver Canucks general manager
Mike Gillis just to get a read on his future. When Gillis gave Brisson
permission to seek out a potential trade partner for the goalie and his massive
contract, the attention turned quickly to the Panthers -- and not just because
Luongo calls South Florida home. "It had to be a hockey move," Brisson said.
"Roberto wants to play, wants to win. He wants to compete and win. ... When
Roberto asked me, I said, I do believe that theres a light at the end of the
tunnel for (the Panthers)," Brisson said. "I do believe theres a place where
this team is going to go in the right direction." While the Canucks head in the
direction of a rebuild, the Panthers look like a team on the upward climb thanks
to new owner Vinny Viola and a cadre of young prospects GM Dale Tallon has
assembled in the NHLs southernmost market. Through two games with his new team,
Luongo has already caught a glimpse of what he and many hockey people believe is
a bright future for the Panthers. Luongo sees potential stars in Jonathan
Huberdeau, Nick Bjugstad and a handful more young players around the
locker-room. At 34 years old, he wants to contribute to the revival of the
franchise rather than riding coattails. "Its all about making a commitment to
bringing some people in and trying to build a winner," Luongo said Sunday night
after facing the Boston Bruins. "Thats what its all about for me. Im not here to
fade into the sunset. I want to be part of something special coming here."
Something special in the short term might just mean making the playoffs after
missing in 11 of the past 12 seasons. Even as the Panthers head toward another
early off-season, Bjugstad hopes its just "growing pains" as part of an
important learning experience. Thats to be expected for a team whose top players
include 18-year-old Aleksander Barkov, 20-year-old Huberdeau, and 22-year-old
Erik Gudbranson. Players were on a bus in Boston when they found out Luongo was
coming and represented something of a safety valve for mistakes of youth. "Any
time you can have a solid goaltender behind you, it gives you confidence that
you can make some plays," said 20-year-old forward Vincent Trocheck, who made
his Panthers debut the same game Luongo returned. "If you do make a mistake, you
know that hes back there to save your butt, basically." Yet in the larger scope,
Luongo is not being asked to save a franchise by himself. It is, however,
Tallons hope that trading for him "sets the tone" for the organization. The
message of taking on the final eight-plus years and over US$28 million of
Luongos contract was that the Panthers are willing to spend. Hours after making
the move, Tallon said it was about making good on all the talk about wanting to
win a Stanley Cup because "talk is cheap." Doing so could be expensive, but its
not out of the realm of possibility that Florida has a better chance of winning
a Cup in the next four or five years than Vancouver. "You never know," Luongo
said. "Its tough to say. You hope so. Thats why Im here. I think the pieces are
definitely here, just a matter of making sure that we bring the right piece to
complement these young guys that are talented and theyre going to be stars in
this league." Tallon has a plan. After already taking the goaltending gamble
that was Jacob Markstrom out of the equation and getting Luongo, he has his
sights set on signing, drafting or trading for two power wingers to support
Barkov, Huberdeau, Bjugstad and Trocheck. The Panthers payroll is the lowest in
the league at just over US$50 million, but with Viola in charge, Tallon expects
to be "a cap team or close to a cap team" next season. Having almost $30 million
of cap space could help the Panthers continue down the path to being a
contender, but it also helps to have Luongo as a salesman and a symbol of the
clubs all-out push to get better. "Its hard to recruit anybody if they dont
think youre doing the right thing," Tallon said. "I think the commitment of
making that deal and the commitment that Vinny Violas going to make ... will
really influence a lot of decisions as far as players wanting to come here,
seeing that were really committed to winning." Luongo didnt keep close tabs on
the Panthers rebuild while he was playing for the Canucks because he didnt
expect to get traded, let alone back to Florida. But Brisson, who just
negotiated a two-year extension for winger Brad Boyes, had a good sense of what
was happening. New ownership meant a new opportunity for Luongo. "If it was back
to the former ownership where they werent sure what they wanted to spend, what
they wanted to do, I wouldnt have recommended it at the time -- absolutely not,"
Brisson said. "If you look at good ownership and willingness to spend and the
right chef, so to speak, the right cook in the kitchen, its an attractive place
for Roberto and the players that are there." Tallon is that chef, and he has
quite the recipe on his resume. Even though Stan Bowman was the general manager
when the Blackhawks won the 2010 Stanley Cup, Tallon orchestrated much of the
turnaround in Chicago. "It went well for them," Bjugstad said. "Thats kind of
what were banking on." For every Blackhawks success story theres another example
like the Edmonton Oilers, who are set to miss the playoffs for the eighth
straight season despite three straight No. 1 picks and six in the top 10. They
provide a cautionary tale for the Panthers, even as Tallon rattles off prospect
after prospect who could make a difference. Each one of those young, unproven
players represents essentially a raffle ticket for Florida, another chance to
hit it big. But theres plenty of risk and uncertainty in that. "Obviously weve
got to prove ourselves before we can get too excited," Bjugstad said. "Theres a
ways to go." In Luongo, the young Panthers get a goalie who is already
established. Even if his play is not Vezina Trophy-calibre, he could instill
plenty of confidence on and off the ice. "I think maybe as more of an
experienced guy in the locker-room to bring whatever I have learned over the
years and maybe help them out along the way as far as just being a pro and all
that kind of stuff to help their development," Luongo said. That team-wide
development and progression toward a playoff team is still in the "early"
stages, according to Tallon. Luongos addition speeds it up, but theres still no
set goal on when he figures the Panthers will get over the hump. "I dont put
numbers on that," he said. "I just let the players start to develop and see when
theyre ready to make a real hit on the team as far as moving forward. And when
they all come together as a group, as a team, not just in a group of
individuals, thats when you pretty well know when youve got something special."
Vontae Davis Colts Jersey . Laughton, a centre with the Ontario Hockey Leagues Oshawa Generals, is representing Canada
internationally for the third time.
Matt Overton Colts Jersey . Lyle followed his opening 72 and with a 71 on Friday to reach 1-over 143 at Royal Melbourne. The
Australian hadnt played a tournament since a second bout with myeloid leukemia
in early 2012 after having first fought off the disease when he was 17.CHICAGO -
David Ross said a 5-year-old could have caught Jon Lester on Thursday night.
That big hit in the ninth? Well, that was a nice swing by the veteran catcher.
Lester pitched eight sharp innings and Ross had a tiebreaking RBI double,
leading the Red Sox to a 3-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Thursday
night. Lester (2-2) allowed one run and seven hits for his second straight win
after opening the season with two losses. The left-hander struck out nine and
walked none, winning an impressive pitchers duel with White Sox ace Chris Sale.
Lester retired his first 16 batters before Tyler Flowers singled in the sixth.
Xander Bogaerts homered with two out in the sixth for Bostons only hit off Sale.
"(Lester) was very good. Threw pitches for strikes, was down in the strike zone.
He established an outstanding rhythm right from the start," Red Sox manager John
Farrell said. "As well as Sale was pitching it needed everything that John gave
us tonight." The game was tied at 1 when Mike Napoli and pinch-hitter Mike Carp
had consecutive one-out singles in the ninth for the Red Sox. Ross then had a
double to right against Ronald Belisario (1-2), driving home Napoli.
Jonathan Herrera added an RBI single against Scott Downs as the Red Sox captured
the last two of their three-game set in Chicago. "Obviously when youve got a guy
going like Sale on the other side and hes throwing the ball as well as he did
tonight, its good to grind out those innings and get some runs on the board late
for us," Lester said. Koji Uehara picked up his third save in three tries with a
scoreless ninth, getting pinch-hitter Jose Abreu to ground to third to end the
game. Sale struck out 10 and threw a career-high 127 pitches in seven innings.
The left-hander was trying to become the first White Sox pitcher to start 4-0
since Jose Contreras in 2006. "Going out there any giving everything you got,"
Sale said about the number of pitches. "A team rolls in there like this you cant
have any consternation with that, you cant shy away from that." Sale and Lester
provided a big lift for the tired bullpens on each team. The Red Sox used seveen
pitchers in a 6-4, 14-inning win on Wednesday, while the White Sox used nine,
including infielder Leury Garcia for one inning.
T.Y. Hilton Colts Jersey. The White Sox had a chance to grab the lead in the seventh but Adam Dunn was thrown out at the plate
when he tried to score from first on Alejandro De Azas two-out double into the
right-field corner. "Youve got to take a chance like that especially the way
Lesters pitching," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. Sale got some help from
centre fielder Adam Eaton in the first inning. With two out, David Ortiz drove a
2-2 pitch to deep left-centre field, but Eaton jumped and took a home run away
by making a one-handed grab. That was the closest either team came to scoring
until Bogaerts connected for his first home run of the season, driving a 1-0
pitch deep to left. The White Sox responded in the bottom half. Flowers got on
for Chicagos first baserunner and Garcia followed with a ground-rule double to
right. Eaton then reached on an infield single, tying it at 1. "If youre a
baseball fan that was a really good game tonight," Ross said. "Two big lefties -
probably two of the best ones in the game going at it - and we came out ahead."
Alexei Ramirezs two-out single in the ninth extended his season-opening hitting
streak to 16 games, setting a Chicago record. NOTES: Napoli was back in the
lineup after missing Wednesdays game with a dislocated left ring finger. ...
Abreu, who was 1 for his last 21 entering the game, was replaced in the lineup
by Paul Konerko. ... Red Sox OF Shane Victorino is set to begin a three-game
rehab assignment Saturday at Triple-A Pawtucket and could join Boston for his
season debut later next week. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list March 31
with a hamstring strain. ... Chicago purchased the contract of RHP Zach Putnam
and designated LHP Donnie Veal for assignment. ... RHP John Lackey (2-1, 3.86
ERA) will start for the Red Sox on Friday in Boston against Baltimore RHP
Chris Tillman (1-1, 0.84 ERA). ... RHP Felipe Paulino (0-1, 7.98 ERA) will pitch
Friday for the White Sox in Texas against LHP Martin Perez (2-0, 2.70 ERA).
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