that they dont do during the season. They will start

As Canadians waited anxiously for the Team Canada Mens Hockey roster announcement Tuesday, there was constant debate. Tom Savage Saints Jersey . Who should be picked? Who is going to get left behind? This had been building for years. Then, when they finally got around to making the announcement, there were naturally some selections that caused some debate. Nothing off the rails -- its not like they took Petr Nedved or Henrik Tallinder -- but there were decisions made that will come under the microscope if Canada doesnt repeat with a gold medal. If they do repeat, never mind any questions, winning cures all. So, the roster has been picked, time to take stock. In goal, Roberto Luongo was automatic. He won gold in the last Olympics and has been very strong for the Vancouver Canucks -- his .922 save percentage is his second-best over the past decade. Luongo has been dealing with a few injuries lately, though it doesnt appear to be an issue for a month from now. He also has the highest save percentage among Canadian goaltenders since 2010 (minimum 100 games). Carey Price, who fits second on that list, is having the best season of his career, with a .928 save percentage. Price is 26-years-old, and if the NHL is going to send players to future Olympics (or even future World Cups), Price is at the head of the class to be Canadas goaltender of the future, if not the present. To be clear, he may already be the goaltender of the present. That leaves us with Mike Smith for the third spot. He does rank third among Canadian goaltenders in save percentage since 2010, but Smith is basically riding off his exceptional 2011-2012 season, during which he posted a .930 save percentage. If the average starting goaltender is putting up a save percentage of about .915 or so, Smith has been below average in every other season of his career, including a .911 save percentage in 69 games with the Phoenix Coyotes this year and last. Smith is also 31-years-old, so may not have future Olympic value. So who might have challenged for that spot? If we take down the minimum of games played to 50 for the link above, then we get Josh Harding, Jonathan Bernier and Braden Holtby coming in ahead of Smith. The way Harding has played this season, I would have been inclined to include him, but recent uneasiness over his MS medication, combined with a limited track record, make it easy enough to exclude him. Holtby has been pretty solid since joining the Capitals, but even he has acknowledged recently that hes lost his confidence (allowing 15 goals in his past three starts, on 83 shots, will do that) and rookie Philipp Grubauer is taking more starts for Washington. Which brings us to Bernier, who also has a limited track record, but hes posted a .928 save percentage in 30 games this year, and that includes Saturday night, when he had his worst start of the season (in terms of save percentage), allowing five goals on 32 shots (in about 37 minutes) against the Rangers. A 25-year-old who is just coming into a starting role, Bernier made more sense in the number three hole for me. If he ever did have to play, youd have to figure Bernier would appreciate a team that might be able to hold opponents under 40 shots per game. On defence, there are some automatic picks. Shea Weber, Duncan Keith, Drew Doughty and Alex Pietrangelo were pretty straight-forward. The lightning rod was Montreals P.K. Subban, last years Norris Trophy winner who seemed hard-pressed to get into the top six with Weber, Doughty and Pietrangelo ahead of him on the right side, and apparently Team Canada is extremely committed to left-right balance on their blueline. Subban made the squad, though projections seem to have him fitting as a seventh defenceman. Where you are are the outset isnt necessarily where you end up in an Olympic tournament, however. In 2010, Jonathan Toews was considered the 13th forward for Team Canada then, by tournaments end, he was Canadas leading scorer with eight points in seven games. So it could be with Subban, who can step into a role on the power play and move up the depth chart if Canada needs an offensive jolt. The Subban issue wasnt the only one to consider, however. On the left side -- remember, they have to shoot left! -- Jay Bouwmeester, Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Dan Hamhuis are very good NHL defencemen, but are they Olympic team good? There are some that will argue Bouwmeester is a product of playing alongside Pietrangelo. Bouwmeester has size and can skate, but if hes coming along because hes Pietrangelos partner, then hes getting that treatment ahead of Brent Seabrook, who is paired with Duncan Keith in Chicago. Seabrook cant skate like Bouwmeester, but hes a physical, two-time Cup-winner, who may be having the best season of his career. Vlasic is steady, safe and reliable. Hes played a defensive role from the moment he came into the league and thats fine. Dan Hamhuis isnt a dramatically different player. He offers more offence but, like Vlasic, has handled tough matchups throughout his career, particularly this year, and has done well. Since 2010, Hamhuis is the easy leader in plus-minus among Canadian NHL defencemen. Seabrook ranks third, among those with at least 4000 minutes played. Back to Subban for a moment. Given the resumes of Bouwmeester, Vlasic and Hamhuis, its hard to imagine that there isnt an opportunity for Subban to move up the projected depth chart, unless he really is incapable of playing -- or the coaching staff if unwilling to try him on -- the left side. Aside from Seabrook, there arent any huge omissions. Dion Phaneuf is probably worthy of discussion because he faces the oppositions best night-in and night-out, while Mark Giordano and Kris Letang have been productive enough when theyve been healthy this year, but the story of Canadas defence, may be more one of how the minutes are allocated and that will keep Subban, and his usage, in the spotlight. Canada has an abundance of great forward options and yet there was still a tier of guys above the rest, who were locks from the get-go. Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Patrice Bergeron and John Tavares would fall under that banner, while Steven Stamkos only question is health as he recovers from a broken leg. That meant Stamkos had to be named now, leaving open the option of replacing him if hes not ready to play, as opposed to trying to replace someone later once its known Stamkos is healthy. Then some young guys, Jamie Benn and Matt Duchene, jumped up and grabbed spots and they are reasonable enough for a team that wants some of the speed that comes from young legs. Theyre having productive seasons and should have some versatility to move around the lineup, if need be. They held the edge over other young candidates, like Taylor Hall and Logan Couture. Patrick Sharp forced his way onto the team, on pace for the best season of his career. With Stanley Cups, a solid performance in the 2012 World Championships and versatility that allows him to move about the lineup, Sharp couldnt be overlooked. Which brings us to the bubble. Veteran forwards Jeff Carter, Patrick Marleau and Rick Nash are among the more contentious inclusions, though a separate category could be left for Penguins left winger Chris Kunitz. Kunitz has 99 points in 92 games over the past two seasons and those numbers draw attention, but critics are quick to point out how Kunitzs production tails off dramatically when hes not skating on a line with the Best Player in the World. Now, maybe thats not an issue, because Kunitz will presumably get a shot at playing on Crosbys wing in the Olympics, but if Team Canada decides to split them up for whatever reason, where then would Kunitz fit in the equation? Alongside former Anaheim linemates Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry would be an option but the point is that if Kunitz isnt with Crosby, it becomes more difficult to include him on the Team Canada roster at all. In a short tournament, there is some justification for having ready-made chemistry. If not for scoring the Golden Goal in Vancouver in 2010, Crosbys Olympic experience would be remembered far less favourably. He struggled to create offence against quality opposition, so there is some credence to the idea that giving Crosby his regular linemate could help him be more comfortable and putting your best player in the best position to succeed is a worthwhile endeavour. At the same time, if a decent player like Kunitz can go from scoring 50-60 points to scoring better than a point-per-game this year, then what might a player with a higher ceiling do with Crosby? It would seem the potential would be even greater if, say, Taylor Hall was put on Crosbys wing, but there is also the chance that it wouldnt work out and that makes the selection of Kunitz more appealing because, playing with Crosby, hes a known commodity. There are some common threads that run through the selections of Jeff Carter, Patrick Marleau and Rick Nash. They all have good size and they are all strong skaters. Theyre also three of 11 Canadian forwards to have scored at least .40 goals per game since the 2010-2011 season (or a 33-goal pace in an 82-game season). Of those 11, only two -- Pittsburghs James Neal and Bostons Jarome Iginla -- werent included on the Canadian roster. Iginlas in the twilight of his career and Neal, while amazing when healthy this year, has missed a lot of time and an argument can be made that he, too, has been propped up by his centre in Pittsburgh -- usually Evgeni Malkin, but also Crosby recently -- and if a Penguin is going to come to ride shotgun with Crosby, Kunitz is the choice. But, including these players comes at a price and that is in the form of the players that are excluded from the roster as a result. The two most notable are Tampa Bays Martin St. Louis and Philadelphias Claude Giroux. St. Louis, whose GM for the Lightning is Steve Yzerman, the GM for Team Canada, led the league in scoring last season but, with Stamkos sidelined, St. Louis has been held to his lowest points per game (0.90) since 2005-2006. Even if hes a freak of nature, its easy to look at the numbers for an undersized 38-year-old and find perceived better alternatives. Bet it was a tough phone call for Yzerman to make. Giroux got a bad rap early in the year for his lack of production, but its never accompanied with the note that he had to undergo finger surgery late in the summer. Since being held off the scoresheet in the first five games of the season, Giroux has 38 points in 37 games, re-establishing his credentials as a point-per-game scorer and it would be really easy to see Giroux on this Canadian roster, but hes currently on the outside looking in, needing either an injury or Stamkoss recovery to stall before getting a chance. Carolinas Eric Staal got off to a slow start, which may well have been due to a knee injury suffered playing for Canada at the World Championships last spring, but does have 26 points in his past 24 games, so hes rounding into form and has lots of experience at an elite level, but his name wasnt as prominently involved in speculation throughout the process, possibly due to his scoring nine points in 18 games to start the season. Beyond those veteran options, the most notable exclusions are rising young stars, players that have the talent, but not the experience of playing at such an elite level. San Joses Logan Couture might be the most notable exclusion among the young guns, but if the team was ever inclined to bypass experience and go with pure skill, Taylor Hall, Tyler Seguin and Jeff Skinner -- three of the top seven picks in the 2010 Draft, are enjoying very productive seasons. Even so, Hockey Canada does not have a track record of going especially young in best-on-best tournaments so, right or wrong, it seemed like a reach for any of the three to get serious consideration. There is nearly a month before the Winter Olympics kick off in Sochi, Russia, so there will be more time to debate Canadas roster and talk about the calibre of the mythical second Canadian team, and it wont much matter who is on the roster if Canada wins gold. If they dont, and the left-side defence is shaky or the bubble guys dont produce, then the debate will rage. Each country has its share of quality players left home for the Olympics. Team USA had no room for Bobby Ryan and Keith Yandle; Sweden bypassed Victor Hedman, Russia said nyet to Alexander Semin and the Czech Republic wanted no part of Radim Vrbata, but was cool with 42-year-old Petr Nedved. Such is the depth of the talent in the pool, Canada is drawing a finer line between those selected and those that just miss, but its the number of quality options available that makes the task of selecting so difficult and leaves management open to be second-guessed. And winning gold will be the only way to quiet the naysayers. No pressure, eh? TreQuan Smith Saints Jersey . 3 seed Phillip Kohlschreiber from Germany. Defending champion Marin Cilic also reached the semifinals -- his fourth in Zagreb -- defeating fellow Croat Ivan Dodig. German qualifier Bjorn Phau beat Dudi Sela of Israel to reach his first semifinals in nearly five years. Patrick Robinson Jersey . It will be their 15th head-to-head meeting and fourth in the post-season (Sunday at 2pm et/11am pt on CTV) and for his part, Brady isnt downplaying just how big the game is for him. "Im excited - Its everything you could ask for as an athlete," the New England Patriots quarterback told WEEI Radio in Boston on Monday. http://www.saintsrookiestore.com/Saints-Kurt-Coleman-Jersey/ . New York (16-9-8) took over first place in the Eastern Conference and has the best record in the league with one game remaining. Houstons five-game unbeaten streak was snapped, and the Dynamo (13-11-9) are sixth in the East with one game remaining.TSN Baseball Insider Steve Phillips answers three questions each week. This week, topics covered are the Jays declining to make qualifying offers for Josh Johnson and Rajai Davis, the Jays deciding to pick up options on Casey Janssen, Adam Lind and Mark DeRosa but declining to keep Munenori Kawasaki, and if a new hitting coach can make that big a difference. 1) The Jays declined to make qualifying offers for Josh Johnson and Rajai Davis. Was that the right call in both cases - the Jays will get no compensation when they sign elsewhere. The Blue jays did not make a $14.1M qualifying offer to either Josh Johnson or Rajai Davis therefore they will get no compensation for either player if they opt to sign elsewhere. They can still sign the players if they so desire. The Jays decided that the risk of offering either the money is that they would take it. Rajai Davis has visions of getting a multi-year deal from someone who looks at him as a starter. His stolen base numbers (45 of 51) are attractive but his on base percentage is not (.312). As they say, "You cant steal first base." Davis made $2.5M is 2013. He is a decent 4th outfielder on a good team. The Jays made the right decision not to make a qualifying offer to him. If he wants to return to Toronto he may be worth a two-year $5M deal but I would have no interest in anything more than that for him. Josh Johnson made $13.75M in 2013. He was injured half of the season and didnt perform well. He was significantly overpaid considering his 2-8 record and 6,02 ERA. If the Jays had offered Johnson $14.1M for 2014 he would have taken it. Considering his health issues Johnson will most likely be looking at free agent offers that include a base salary in the $6M range with incentives to earn more if he stays healthy. The Jays should not try to resign Johnson for any price. He is too unpredictable. That is the last thing Toronto needs again is uncertainty in its rotation. In their division the jays need bang for their bucks. They cant afford to have dollars wasting away on the DL and they had a bunch of that this past season. Of course, things happen and players get hurt. But if you sign Johnson you have to expect that he will not make 33 starts for you. That just doesnt work. So, yes, it is a bummer that the Jays wont get compensation for either guy but it is the nature of the beast in baseball today. 2) The Jays decided to pick up options on Janssen, Lind and DeRosa but declined to keep Kawasaki. Do you like those decisions? (many fans wanted to keep the younger and enthusiastic Kawasaki). I absolutely agree with all of these decisions. Casey Janssen had a terrific season. He is slated to make $4M in 2104. That is an absolute bargain for a closer that was 4-1with a 2.58 ERA who converted 34 of 36 save opportunities. Whether the Jays want to keep Janssen or trade him he is a real value to the franchise at that price. Adam Linds salary next season is more than Janssen. He is slated to make $7M. That is a bargain as well, though, for a .288/.357/.497 slash line as well as 23 HR and 67 RBI. Plus being able to have a power bat for one year allows the Jays flexibility with the payroll moving forward. Lind is a trade chip for the Jays if it fits as well. He gives Alex Anthopolous an option to consider moving in a trade for a pitcher. He is affordable power. Small, medium and large market teams alike could have interest in Lind. Mark DeRosa will be 39 in February. He still has value to a team however. He is versatile. He is a quality veteran player who understands his role and is a leader. With a salary of only $750,000 he barely impacts the budget. Although health was an issue last year, DeRosa still had an impact. He is a guy that is good to have around during tough times. He offers stability and perspective gained through his years of experience. There will always be trade interest in a veteran guy like DeRosa There has been some speculation that DeRosa might retire but so far his return to Toronto is likely. I know there are plenty of fans who fell in love with Munenori Kawasaki last season His passion for the game was obvious. He doesnt hit for average or power and doesnt possess any great tool for the game beyond his passion to play. Overall he is short on talent and talent wins in the big leagues. His $1M price tag became too much once the decision to keep DeRosa was made. This doesnt preclude the Jays from signing Kawasaki to a minor league deal and bringing him into camp for a chance to compete however. 3) They Jays hired Kevin Seitzer to be their new hitting coach - the third in three years. The Jays were disappointing .252 hitters last year - can a new hitting coach make that big a difference and what are your impressions of Seitzer in that capacity? I played in the minor leagues against Kevin Seitzer in 1984. I was in Class A with the New York Mets in Columbia, SC and Seitzer played for the Royals Class A team in Charleston, SC. I remember Seitzer as a player almost as much as I remember the swarms of Palmetto bugs at night games and the amazing quarter beer night crowds that came out to the ballpark. Back then Seitzer was a smart player who had a good eye at the plate. Jermon Bushrod Saints Jersey. He didnt have much power but he did have quality professional at bats day in and day out. He hit from line to line using the entire field. He walked more than he struck out and was a good situational hitter. He went on to have a solid major league career over a 12-year span. His major league numbers never deviated much from what he showed as a minor leaguer. So why is a guy who had such little power in his own career a good fit for a team full of power hitters? Because he can instill a new fresh perspective and approach. The Jays have been a "grip it and rip it" mentality over the last several years. They have scored their runs via the home run. There is nothing wrong with that but the game offers so many more opportunities to score besides the home run. If hitters make small adjustments in their swing and their approach they can make significant improvements in certain situations. The Jays need to be better at advancing runners with productive outs. Seitzer can help. With a man on second and no one out a batter should be looking to advance the runner to third with a ball hit to the right side of the infield. The Jays of recent past have struck out or popped up too much in those situations. With a man on third and less than two outs hitters need to put the ball in play and drive in a run. The Jays have been too prone to striking out in those situations. The hitters need to think differently and cut down their swings a bit to make more contact. Hitting is more mental than physical at the major league level. When a batter is struggling it is rarely his swing that is the problem. More often than not it is his head that is causing him problems. Players over think or under think. They get caught in between pitches; behind the fastball and in front of the off-speed pitch; unable to hit either. Seitzer will be more of a hitting psychologist than mechanic for the Jays. If they listen to him and make the appropriate adjustments they could lead the league in runs scored. Fair or Foul Baseball fans are in hibernation now. The weather is getting cold and it is the heart of the NHL season. The players and coaches have all returned to their hometowns. They are hunting and fishing and taking vacations with their families. The guys are able to take their kids to school and do many of the husband and dad things that they dont do during the season. They will start getting in shape after Thanksgiving for the 2014 season. As a member of the front office the work never ends. Its 162 games and then the work starts. Alex Anthopolous and his staff dont have an off-season. This is as busy a time of the year as there is in a baseball front office. Anthopolous is reading reports from his Instructional League program in Florida. He is perusing the game reports and scouting reports from Winter Leagues in the Caribbean and Mexico and the Arizona Fall League. He and his staff are evaluating the players on the major league and minor league rosters. He is deciding which players he is going to protect on the roster and which he will not. He is evaluating the arbitration values for the applicable players on his roster. He is negotiating with agents in advance of arbitration to see what deals can be made. Anthopolous is discussing with his minor league director the needs for his AAA team next season, as he will need depth and inventory to compensate for injuries in Toronto. He is negotiating contracts with agents for these non-roster invitees to major league camp. He is analyzing off-season conditioning programs for all of the players with his training and medical staff. He is calculating his payroll budget for next season with ownership. He is studying every team in baseball to identify which clubs the Jays match up with in trades... ... and finally he is deciding what he wants for dinner at the end of this very full day. The job of a general manager is 365 days a year and 24 hours a day. You are on call all the time. If a player needs you then you take the call. If an agent calls you always call back for fear that you could lose out on a deal. If another GM is on the phone you drop all that you are doing just in case he has a trade proposal that could make your team better. Let me correct myself; it is not a job being a general manager. It is a lifestyle. It takes a very understanding family. The demands are never-ending and at times it is all-consuming. I know there are so many of you that would kill to be a GM but just remember it is a job. Like any other job, there are things that you like about it and things that you dislike. I was a GM for the Mets from July 1997 to June of 2003. When people ask me how long I was a GM I joke that I did it for 42 years. It was six years but they were like dog years. I started out with brown hair and ended up with it being almost completely white. I for one would never take a GM job again. The next step would be to lose my hair and I just cant take that chance. So this off-season when you are watching hockey and you have a passing thought of the Blue Jays, please know that Alex Antholopus and his staff are working tirelessly to prepare for next season. Wholesale NFL Womens Jerseys China Womens NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Autographed Jerseys Jerseys NFL China Youth NFL Jerseys Wholesale Youth NFL Jerseys Cheap ' ' '