Board-Informationen » a workshop in the southern city of Florianopolis

CALGARY - The Vancouver Canucks hope to put the disastrous John Tortorella era further in the past when they open their 2014-15 season on the road Wednesday against the Calgary Flames. The Canucks are aiming to hit the restart button after missing the playoffs last spring for the first time since 2008. As a result, Tortorella was axed from the head coaching position after only one season in Vancouver and general manager Mike Gillis also joined him on the unemployment line. Gillis, of course, was the man who made the ill-fated decision to fire head coach Alain Vigneault after the 2013 campaign and replace him with Tortorella. All Vigneault did in 2013-14 was take over the reins for Torts with the New York Rangers and lead the Blueshirts to the Stanley Cup Finals. Jim Benning, who replaced the fired Gillis, hopes he has done enough to retool the Canucks and get the club back to the postseason for the sixth time in seven years. The new GM finally pulled the trigger on a Ryan Kesler trade, sending the forward to Anaheim for depth and draft picks, while also signing star goaltender Ryan Miller to take over the No. 1 netminding position following Roberto Luongos trade at last seasons deadline. Benning also installed Willie Desjardins as Tortorellas replacement behind the bench and the rookie NHL coach will be tasked with developing a cohesive unit from the new faces and the old standbys, including the Sedin twins, who are out to prove a down 2013-14 season was merely an aberration. Vancouvers defensive depth is a big question mark heading into the season and the club could be even thinner on the blue line if Kevin Bieksa misses tonights game. Bieksa is dealing with an undisclosed injury and is a game- time decision for the season opener. You want to play on opening day, I definitely would like to play, but you also have to be smart, Bieksa told his clubs web site. Playing one game and then sitting for four or five is not smart and not good for the team. A lot of factors to consider but its Game 1 and theres a lot of games this year. The Flames, meanwhile, are in rebuilding mode and missed the playoffs last season for a fifth straight spring. Considering it plays in the stacked Western Conference, Calgary figures to have an uphill battle at making the postseason in 2014-15. Calgary is coming off a 77-point season, the lowest for the club since it notched just 75 in 2002-03. But just because the Flames are young and inexperienced doesnt mean they are pushovers. President Brian Burke, general manager Brad Treliving and head coach Bob Hartley have an exciting young nucleus to work with and they want it to be one that gives maximum effort and doesnt quit. Hartley certainly saw that last season, when Calgary matched an NHL record with 49 one-goal games. And while Calgary look for its young guns to gain valuable experience and deal with the free agency loss of Mike Cammalleri, the front office filled holes with solid veterans, adding wingers Mason Raymond and Devin Setoguchi, defenseman Deryk Engelland and goaltender Jonas Hiller. Those new faces join the rest of the veteran leadership, guided by defenseman and captain Mark Giordano as well as Curtis Glencross, Jiri Hudler and Matt Stajan. The Flames youth movement is led by Sean Monahan, Mikael Backlund and T.J. Brodie. Joining the parade of talented youngsters is Johnny Gaudreau, a 21-year-old former Boston College standout who made Calgarys roster out of training camp. The forward better known as Johnny Hockey won the coveted Hobey Baker Award as the NCAAs top hockey player in 2013-14. Gaudreau expects to play in his second NHL game tonight after debuting with the Flames late last season. Sam Bennett, the fourth overall pick at the 2014 draft, also could have made his NHL debut tonight for the Flames if not for a shoulder injury. Calgary fears the 18-year-old forward may need surgery and its unclear how long he will be sidelined. Hiller will get the call in the season opener for Calgary. He went 29-13-7, 2.48 GAA and .911 save percentage in 50 games for the Anaheim Ducks last season and hopes to bring stability to Calgarys crease. Vancouver dominated the Flames last season, winning all five meetings while outscoring Calgary by a combined 17-8 margin. The Canucks have won seven straight and 10 of 12 in the series overall and have claimed the last three encounters at Calgarys Scotiabank Saddledome. TSN Game Notes VAN was 5-0-0 vs CGY last season, winning twice past regulation VAN has won 7 straight vs CGY, 3 of the games in CGY 9th opening season match up between teams, last time in 2009 CGY: 0-3-1 last 4 openers final 17 games in 13-14, 12-5-0, 31/34 on PK, 58GF 88.8% home PK in 13-14, best in league Gaudreau 1G in 1 career NHL game, vs VAN VAN: 0-3-2 last 5 openers ranked 12th out of 14th in the West on the road last season (.451pts%) H Sedin final 12 road games, 0G, 3A Miller 2 career starts in CGY last Dec /2010 (lost both, 5GA in each) Line Combinations Calgary Flames Forwards: Glencross -Colborne - Hudler Raymond - Backlund - Bouma Gaudreau -Byron - jones Bollig - Stajan - McGrattan Defence: Giordano - Brodie Russell - Engelland Smid - Wideman Goalies: Hiller Ramo -- Vancouver Canucks Forwards: D.Sedin - H.Sedin - Vrbata Higgins - Bonino - Burrows Richardson - Vey - Kassian Dorsett - Matthias - Hansen Defence: Hamhuis - Sbisa Edler - Tanev Stanton - Weber Goalies: Miller Lack Toni Kukoc Jersey .S. President Barack Obama saluted the Stanley Cup winning Chicago Blackhawks at the White House on Monday -- a rare moment for a president hungry to see more victorious teams from his hometown. John Paxson Jersey . The Padres made the moves before Fridays game at Washington. They promoted infielder Jace Peterson from Double-A San Antonio and right-hander Kevin Quackenbush from Triple-A El Paso. http://www.officialbullsfanstore.com/kid...y-bulls-jersey/. The move is retroactive to Aug. 1. Hosmer was originally hit on the hand in the first inning of a July 20 loss to Boston. He has played most of the time since, but missed a few contests due to the injury, then departed Thursdays win over the Twins and had tests that revealed the fracture. Michael Jordan Jersey . This is the final meeting of the season between these teams.? The Capitals were 5-4 winners in a shootout Oct. Wendell Carter Jr. Jersey . George Hill had 13 points and seven rebounds for the Pacers, who stayed atop the overall NBA standings despite losing twice on their West Coast trip. Los Angeles kept it close into the second half before the Pacers finished an easy win over the injury-riddled Lakers, who have lost five straight.FLORIANOPOLIS, Brazil -- FIFA says it is concerned about security challenges during the World Cup in Brazil but isnt afraid of being targeted by public demonstrations expected in June. "FIFA is not coming now with less people. Instead, we are increasing our staff during the World Cup, obviously, and we are not hiding our brand," director of security Ralf Mutschke said on Thursday. "FIFA is not feeling as a target and we are not hiding ourselves or our symbol. We are proud to be here and to celebrate the World Cup." Footballs governing body was satisfied with the high level of security that will be provided by Brazilian authorities, said Mutschke, who guaranteed FIFA "is highly committed to ensuring the safety and security for fans, players and any other stakeholder involved in our event." Mutschke was at a workshop in the southern city of Florianopolis, where Brazilian officials made security presentations to representatives of all 32 teams, telling them and FIFA what to expect when they return in a few months. "It is pretty easy to be concerned about the fate of the World Cup when you are reading, for example, reportings on ongoing public demonstrations, the lamentable scenes of fan violence, the apprehension in regards to street crime, child prostitution or drug trafficking," Mutschke said. "There is no doubt about it, FIFA and the local organizing committee is condemning any form of violence. We just do not accept it." The fears of violence stem from last Junes protests that erupted around Brazil against corruption, poor public services and the billions of dollars being spent on the World Cup and 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Many of the complaints were against FIFA, and at the time one of its clearly marked buses was damaged by protesters. Mutschke said the demonstrations are not directly linked to FIFA and are about greater demands from Brazilian people.dddddddddddd "Obviously demonstrators took advantage that the World Cup and the whole world was looking to Brazil and they exploited the situation for all different reasons, as well as for the World Cup, for corruption, for spending too much money in the wrong direction and so on," he said. Protesters carrying banners saying "FIFA Go Away" were common last year, and were seen even on Wednesday when a few dozen demonstrators gathered outside the upscale resort which hosted the workshop. No matches were delayed during last years Confederations Cup, although protests raged near the stadiums. Police had to maintain a security ring around the stadiums that mostly kept protesters at bay, but on a few occasions groups did break through. "We saw during the Confederations Cup, when at one point we had one million people on the streets, that no match was interrupted, no fan was unable to get to a match and no team delegation faced any problems," said Andrei Rodrigues, one of the Brazilian governments officials in charge of security during major events. "It was a thorough test of public safety and it was considered a success." Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said this week that Brazils armed forces could be called on to contain possible violent protests during the World Cup. Rodrigues reiterated that peaceful protests will not be prohibited at any point, but any acts of violence and vandalism will not be tolerated. Brazil is expected to use 150,000 professionals from security forces and armed forces during the World Cup. The total public investment in safety during the event is nearly $800 million, according to the justice ministry. 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