Hurricanes Shake-Up? The Carolina Hurricanes have emerged as the team to watch from an Insider perspective. Orlando Scandrick Jersey . Decimated by injuries - including those to Eric and Jordan Staal - the Hurricanes remain the only NHL team without a win and even though the club has considerable time to make up ground, some around the league label the Canes as the early favorite to make a significant change this season. Ten days ago, Leafs nation was jolted by a suggestion on Insider Trading that Eric Staal could one day be a Maple Leaf. The information was based on the Leafs interest in the Carolina captain which the Leafs explored months ago, yet there has been no change in that level of interest since. However, Staals commitment to the team, his brother and the Carolina community also hasnt changed, so while some remain confident Staal may one day consider a move, its also possible that day never comes. The primary reason being, with a healthy lineup, Staal and management believe Carolina is much better than its woeful start indicates. Staal is said to be progressing and may return from an upper body injury as early as Tuesday and Nathan Gerbe should also be in Tuesday’s lineup, so help is on the way. Peter Karmanos is known as a budget-conscious owner. If things dont improve dramatically, the likelihood increases Karmanos puts heat on rookie general manager Ron Francis to trim the payroll that current stands at $66.2 million (according to capgeek.com). This seems somewhat obvious given the fact the Hurricanes invested money this season to put together a more competitive team. Francis will preach patience, soundly supported by not having his top two centres, a crippling blow for any NHL club. The longer Carolina waits to make a significant deal, the more money that is paid down in salaries, which may not be budget friendly, but could lure a larger collection of bidders - including cap-strapped contenders - if a key piece like Staal is legitimately in play. What we know at this point is; Staal is not going to be the one to come out and say he wants out. What Rebuild? The Calgary Flames remain in rebuild mode, strongly interested in making deals for age appropriate assets and are keenly motivated to strengthen the organization through the draft and development. Yet, as enticing as potential franchise players Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel might be, the Flames brass insists winning trumps everything. Calgary has won five of their first nine and sits third in the Pacific Division with 11 points, just one point shy of league leaders Montreal, Anaheim and Nashville. The Flames werent supposed to be able to score yet, early in the regular season, this hard-working group ranks 16th in goals for with 2.67 per game, above the likes of Los Angeles, St. Louis and Boston. Brian Burke says hes not surprised by his teams impressive start, directing praise at the Flames goaltending and a work ethic he gives head coach Bob Hartley credit for instilling. The notion Calgary is doing a disservice to its long-term plan by winning is dismissed by the president of hockey operations. Burke is as insulted by the suggestion of tanking today as hes ever been, and says he would support strong penalties against any club found guilty of doing anything other than trying to win. This comment is consistent with the opinion Burke shared on tanking during a TSN 1050 radio interview in March. If the coach made the suggestion, I would fire him on the spot, said Burke. If I made the suggestion, I would suggest to ownership that they fire me on the spot. Nine games is hardly a sample size worthy of planning a postseason party, but the early success does fall in line with Burkes belief teams in transition should still be competitive and entertaining to watch. Lightning Fast Heres another story to add to the Steven Stamkos file. We all know Stamkos commitment to training in the offseason is second to none. This past summer, Stamkos approached his routine under the supervision of fitness guru Gary Roberts with his usual intensity and machine-like execution, despite the fact he was hampered by a surgically inserted screw nearly protruding through his skin - the remaining piece of hardware used to stabilize a badly broken leg. Roberts recalls one particular workout designed around what was supposed to be a light run because of lingering issues with his leg, where after limping into position, Stamkos shredded the track and posted a time of 10.5 seconds over 100 metres. As a point of comparison, top Canadian decathlete Damian Warner recorded a personal best of 10.29 seconds this past July in Glasgow en route to winning the decathlon at the Commonwealth Games. OT Update The architects of the NHLs long change and pre-overtime dry scrape are rallying behind this weeks surge in games decided in overtime. To date, 11 of the 25 games that have gone past regulation have been settled in OT rather than a shootout. Last season, only 8 of 25 were decided in overtime. Now, as satisfied as those who pushed for the OT tweaks might be, the AHLs 3-on-3 experiment continues to produce impressive results. Eight of the 16 overtime games played this season have ended 3-on-3. Six have ended in 4-on-4 and just two of the 16 have required a shootout. Rest assured that Red Wings GM Ken Holland, a strong advocate for 3-on-3 hockey, is pleased with these results. Darren Dreger and the TSN Hockey Insiders will have another edition of Insider Trading on Tuesday on Sportscentre and TSN.ca. Geron Christian Jersey . The Montreal Canadiens goaltender has won three of his four games since returning from a lower-body injury that kept him out from the end of the Olympic break until March 15. Derrius Guice Redskins Jersey .J. - New York Giants cornerback Prince Amukamara left Monday nights game against the Indianapolis Colts with a torn biceps. http://www.cheapredskinslockroom.com/AUTHENTIC-ALEX-SMITH-REDSKINS-JERSEY/ . And follow TSN.ca right through Deadline Day for all the updates. Getting Creative The Pittsburgh Penguins will try their best to acquire Ryan Kesler from the Vancouver Canucks before the Trade Deadline. HOUSTON -- Chris Paul had 30 points and 12 assists, Jamal Crawford added 22 points and the Los Angeles Clippers clinched their franchise-record third straight playoff appearance with a 118-107 win over the Houston Rockets on Saturday night. The loss broke a five-game winning streak for Houston, which was without two of its starters as Dwight Howard and Pat Beverley sat out with injuries. The Clippers trailed by as many as 15 points in the first half before using two big runs to take the lead. Houston stuck around for most of the second half before consecutive 3s by Matt Barnes and Darren Collison made it 114-101 late in the fourth. But it wasnt all good for Los Angeles, as Blake Griffin left in the first quarter with back spasms and didnt return, and Glen Davis missed the second half for disciplinary reasons after throwing a temper tantrum in the second quarter. James Harden led the Rockets with 32 points, and Chandler Parsons had 28. DeAndre Jordan added 20 points with 12 rebounds for the Clippers, who are third in the Western Conference. Crawford scored all of the Clippers points in an 8-1 run to start the fourth quarter and leave them up 96-85. An 8-3 run by Houston cut the lead to 102-96 with five minutes remaining. Harden capped it with a free throw after a technical foul on Paul. The Rockets scored the first five points of the third quarter to take a 63-61 lead. The teams exchanged the lead several times in that quarter before a layup by Ryan Hollins left Los Angeles up 88-84 entering the fourth quarter. The first half was filled with drama for the Clippers, who lost Griffin in the first quarter before the incident wiith Davis in the second. Pernell McPhee Jersey. There appeared to be minimal contact between Griffin and Donatas Motiejunas before Griffin dropped to his hands and knees on his way to the bench after a timeout was called midway through the first quarter. He was clutching his lower back and remained on the court for a couple of minutes before being helped to his feet. He was biting his jersey as he gingerly walked off the court and to the locker room. Davis, whose nickname is "Big Baby," was apparently upset after being taken out in the second quarter and threw a temper tantrum at coach Doc Rivers. Rivers immediately sent him to the locker room and the team announced that he would not return after halftime. Davis was 0-for-2 with a steal in less than four minutes in the first half. With Griffin out, Houston used a 7-2 spurt to start the second quarter and extend its advantage to 40-25. The Rockets were still up by 15 points a couple of minutes later when the Clippers used an 8-0 run to cut the lead to 44-37. Harden made three free throws before another run -- this one 14-2 -- gave Los Angeles a 51-49 lead. Paul, who had 17 points in the second quarter, scored the first 10 points in that span with two 3s and he dished an alley-oop to Jordan to cap it with a dunk. Los Angeles led by a point soon after that before scoring six straight points to extend the lead to 61-54 Houston scored the last four points of the quarter to cut the lead to 61-58 at halftime. NOTES: Jordan went to high school in Houston and college at nearby Texas A&M. ... Howard is day to day with a left ankle strain and Beverley has a torn meniscus in his right knee and is out indefinitely. Cheap Heat Jerseys Cheap Bucks Jerseys Cheap Timberwolves Jerseys Cheap Pelicans Jerseys Cheap Knicks Jerseys Cheap Thunder Jerseys Cheap Magic Jerseys Cheap 76ers Jerseys Cheap Suns Jerseys Cheap Blazers Jerseys Cheap Sacramento Kings Jerseys Cheap Spurs Jerseys Cheap Raptors Jerseys Cheap Jazz Jerseys Cheap Wizards Jerseys ' ' '