TORONTO – Dont etch Keith Aulies name into stone on the Leafs roster just yet. The 22-year-old was presumed to be a lock on the blue-line based on his finish and fit with Dion Phaneuf late last season, but like the more established Mike Komisarek, Cody Franson, and Carl Gunnarsson, as well as the blossoming Jake Gardiner, Aulie is in a fight just to make the team, according to Ron Wilson. "Oh for sure he is," said Wilson, following a lengthy, two-session practice at the Mastercard Centre on Monday. "Hes in a fight, yeah." "I come in here with the mind-set that Ive got to make the team," said Aulie, in full agreement. "Im not taking anything for granted. Its no secret that weve got a lot of good d-men here and a lot of good d-men that look like theyre ready to play." Aulie played in 40 games with the Leafs last season – most of which occurred after his second call-up from the Marlies in early February - averaging over 19 minutes in a comfy fit with Phaneuf. The Leafs captain enjoyed his best stretch of Toronto hockey during that second half – seven goals, 19 points – and it was Wilson who often credited the youthful Aulie for sparking the emergence. But with a deeper and generally more experienced blue-line this fall, his stature is suddenly less secure. According to Wilson, Aulie must, "keep himself grounded, work hard every day and dont take anything for granted because its very competitive right now. Last year at the end [of the season] we werent very competitive on the back-end and he was able to get in there and play well. Now you have to see can you play well when theres a little bit of competition and pressure from other people?" The defensive logjam has created some difficult decisions for Wilson and the rest of the Maple Leafs brass. Phaneuf will certainly man one spot on the top pairing, while John-Michael Liles and Luke Schenn figure to be fairly set in the second bracket. Beyond that, much is up in the air. Aulie, Gunnarsson, Komisarek, Gardiner and Franson are essentially competing for three spots, with the potential for an additional seat in the press-box. Roster flexibility is where it gets interesting. Only Aulie and Gardiner can return to the Marlies free from waivers – theyre both on entry-level contracts – and while its generally assumed that Gardiner will start the year in the American League, Aulie is suddenly much more vulnerable than expected. "Theres not very many guys on every team every year that can come into camp and say Ive played well in the past, I shouldnt have to worry about making this team," he noted. "Im smart enough to realize, like I say, weve got a lot of good d-men here and Im not taking anything for granted." Not entirely pleased with his start so far, Aulie is looking to be more assertive defensively in the final three exhibition games. "I want to pin em up against the boards and eliminate em right away," he said. Hes confident it will come soon, but perhaps not soon enough. On Monday, it was Gunnarsson who skated with Phaneuf for much of practice. "Ive got to come in like its my first training camp ever," concluded Aulie. "Ive got to go as hard as I can. Ive got to show em everything that Ive got."
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wholesale jerseys . Albert, Alta., has an easy time of it Sunday at the world senior curling championship.The face of the National Hockey League will be changing as early as next season. The NHLs Board of Governors approved a four-conference alignment format this week, creating two eight-team conferences and two seven-team conferences in place of the six-division, two-conference setup. The proposed new conferences would be arranged to accommodate both geographic proximity as well as established rivalries. The existing Northeast Division would be expanded to include the leagues two Florida-based teams, making a conference of: Boston, Buffalo, Florida, Montreal, Ottawa, Tampa Bay and Toronto. The existing Atlantic Division would gain two teams for a seven-team conference including: Carolina, New Jersey, the New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Washington. The Winnipeg Jets would be the only Canadian team in an expanded version of the Central Division that would also include Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, Minnesota, Nashville, and St. Louis. Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver would remain together in a conference that also includes Anaheim, Colorado, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Jose. Under the new arrangment, every team would play every other team outside its conference twice - once home, once away. The top four teams in each conference qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs and the four respective conference champions would meet in the third round of the playoffs with the survivors playing for the Stanley Cup. And pending input from the NHL Players Association, it looks like its ready to be set stone. So here was Daves question to you - "What do you like most, or least, about the NHLs realignment?" Here are some of the best responses: "Home and home with every team is the best part of this.dddddddddddd The league needs Sidney Crosby in every arena." - Justin But thats not unanimous. "Im a Habs fan who has no interest in seeing Phoenix when I could be seeing another game against Boston." - Tom "The West will see eight of its teams miss the playoffs and only six in the East will not qualify. Unfair to the West....as usual." - Matt from BC Heres a long-term solution: "This begs for two more teams to create balance – Hamilton and Toronto 2." - Andrew "It looks great.....til the Coyotes move. Then what? Another realignment? (the rather long and involved answer is...yes)." - Mike And what about this problem: "I always root for the eighth-place teams. What do I do now?" - Dan Daves reply to all: Well, what I like most – a wider range of possibilities for the Stanley Cup Final if an East-West matchup – is deemed unnecessary in the new playoff format. And hopefully it will be. What I like least is that the range of possibilities isnt wide enough – that is to say, wide open to include the possibility that any two teams could play for the Stanley Cup. This is my broken record. Apparently, the NHL will guarantee two rounds of playoff matchups between conference rivals, so it can declare four conference champions, but by doing so, it continues to make impossible a Stanley Cup Final that could see Toronto play Montreal, Chicago play Detroit, Pittsburgh play Philly – the list goes on.If those rivalries are so attractive that the NHL wants to see more of them, why wouldnt it want to see one in the Stanley Cup Final? I know I would.
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