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TORONTO -- Pending free agents remain the biggest concern when it comes to expansion after the GMs meetings Tuesday.The Las Vegas expansion team and some of the 30 existing teams are worried about less-than-honest agreements circumventing the expansion-draft rules.What, GMs looking for loopholes? Come on.Specifically, GMs worry that Vegas could take advantage of the 48-hour window before the expansion draft in June to quietly agree to terms on a deal with a pending unrestricted free agent, then wait until July 1 to sign him, so as to pluck another player off a teams roster in the expansion draft.This would circumvent the rule that if a team loses a free agent to Vegas in that 48-hour free-agent-signing window, it cannot lose another player in the expansion draft. Some GMs worry that veteran GM George McPhee, who wasnt born yesterday, would take advantage of the situation.Conversely?George has the same concerns about existing teams doing those types of deals with players they dont have to protect, deputy commissioner Bill Daly said Tuesday after the GMs meeting.McPhee wisely worries that a team or two might do a drawer deal with a pending UFA but not officially sign it until after the expansion draft. Why? Teams dont have to protect pending free agents because they arent eligible for the expansion draft. Heres an example: If the San Jose Sharks didnt officially re-sign Joe Thornton until after the expansion draft, they could protect another player.There has to be a high level of diligence to make sure those things dont happen and to make sure people know there will be significant penalties imposed if they were to screw around with the rules, Daly said.Daly said violators of the expansion rules forgo a first-round draft pick, so penalties in the same vein would be appropriate.?New Jersey Devils GM Ray Shero insisted anyone would be crazy to attempt that type of circumvention.I certainly dont want to be involved in that because I certainly love my job and cant afford the fine, Shero said with a smile. Sure, we talked about it today [in the GMs meeting]. Those are the what-ifs? But with anything, everything has to pass the smell test with the league. You got to have some big you-know-whats to screw around with that.Rule 48 rages onAs one GM succinctly put it Tuesday, the consensus on Rule 48 is that there is no consensus.The room is split among GMs who fear that tweaking Rule 48 will further decrease the physicality of the game and those who are fearful of blindside hits -- hits to a player who doesnt see it coming -- and want the blindside language put back into Rule 48 (blindside was taken out in 2012).NHL Player Safety met with eight GMs on Monday ahead of Tuesdays full GMs meeting in order to get a head start on the raging Rule 48 debate that was renewed after?Toronto Maple Leafs?center?Nazem Kadris hit on the Vancouver Canucks Daniel Sedin two weeks ago. That hit didnt warrant a suspension because the shoulder was hit first, so it wasnt deemed a head shot. But it was definitely a blindside hit to a vulnerable player.?Now what? Said one of the eight GMs in the room Monday when they voted on the Kadri-Sedin hit: The room was split.It will be talked about again at the March meetings, but finding consensus is proving difficult.It is the hardest part,?Winnipeg Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff said. Im sure if you put 15 of you media guys in the room and ask to raise your hand, yes or no, youre probably going to be split on a lot of things. And thats generally the conversation here. Theres a lot of passion on both sides of the coin when it comes to hitting and making sure that is still an integral part of the game because nobody wants to see that lost. Now, certainly the mindset is players safety first. The hard part, and I feel for Player Safety, they have to rule by the letter of the rule.Added?Philadelphia Flyers?GM Ron Hextall: No one wants to see blindside hits, but when you put that blindside [language] in [Rule 48], youre going to eliminate a lot of things. You also encourage players to turn away from hits. Its not as easy and simple as people think it is. I wish it was. I think its one of those issues that needs to be looked at and studied and talked about before any rash decision is made.Colorado Avalanche GM and Hall of Famer Joe Sakic said he doesnt like hits on vulnerable players, but he added that the player with the puck has responsibility too.Theres some good, hard hits, and youve got to keep that, Sakic said. I also think its up to the players with the puck that you got to keep your head up as well. You have to have awareness.Shootout change coming?St. Louis Blues GM Doug Armstrong proposed discussion about tweaking the shootout.My thought process was that we had great drama in Sochi with what T.J. Oshie did, Armstrong said, referring to Oshies being given and scoring on multiple shootout attempts in a game against the Russians in the 2014 Winter Olympics.The Blues GM proposed that teams use three shooters, but if the shootout goes on, coaches could deploy any shooter they want, even the same player over and over again. In other words, it would be similar to international rules.As another GM said, why do fans want to see the seventh defenseman or 13th forward take a shootout attempt when the shootouts go long? Why not put your best players in the spotlight for the whole shootout?The GMs will discuss it again at the March meetings.Nike Vapormax Plus Wholesale . But Bourque, who has missed three games with a lower-body injury, wont be in the lineup when the Habs travel to Buffalo to take on the Sabres on Wednesday. Fake Off White Vapormax . After Mondays hard-fought loss, the wait seemed longer than usual. Getting set to go their separate ways for a short Christmas break, the Raptors coach credited his team for their effort on a seemingly impossible three-game road trip, urging them to build on that success when they get back to work at the end of the week. http://www.cheapvapormaxtrainers.com/cheap-vapormax-mens.html . -- Matt Kuchar and Harris English ran away with the Franklin Templeton Shootout, shooting a 14-under 58 on Sunday in the final-round scramble to break the tournament course record. Wholesale Vapormax Plus . Having already announced that the race will start May 9 with three stages in Northern Ireland and Ireland and finish in Trieste on June 1, the rest of the route was unveiled Monday. Nike Vapormax Plus China . The incident occurred at 19:56 of the second period of the Kings 4-2 road win over Edmonton on Sunday. Nolan punched Oilers forward Jesse Joensuu in the jaw in front of the Kings goal during a scrum.RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- Team GB will be represented by just 55 of 366 athletes at the Olympic Games opening ceremony in Rio on Friday.British Olympic Association (BOA) officials admitted the number was likely to look small compared to other nations but said there was little they could do about it.Team GBs pre-Games training camp is at Belo Horizonte, around a 45-minute flight away from the Olympic Park in Rio, and has been the base for many of the athletes who have already arrived.It will be a fairly small delegation, said BOA chief executive Bill Sweeney. We have a big crew in Belo Horizonte training and some competing 24 or 48 hours after the opening ceremony.We expect there to be in the region of 55 or so marching athletes. So given the fact that we have 366 athletes, its a small number but their priorities are on competing not the marching bit.How the marching contingent and their teammates have travelled to Brazil has become an issue in some quarters, with athletes, particularly from track and field, being given different levels of luxury on their flights from Britain.Team GB has a partnership with British Airways but there have been flights with athletes spread throughout the same plane from bussiness class to economy.ddddddddddddSuch a set up could cause divisions but the BOA insisted it was out of its control.We guarantee them a seat on the flight, said Sweeney. Its then up to the governing bodies themselves who they want to upgrade.Team GB has remained one of the more confident national associations going into the Games, proud both of its training base and the work it has done -- bringing in plumbers and working on facilities for six days -- to ensure the British area of the Olympic Village is comfortable for the athletes.Consequently, the UK Sport-set target of winning more than 47 medals has been bullishly backed by the governing body.We feel really confident, chef de mission Mark England said. We are here to make history. We think we have got the best ever chance.We have the most talented team that has ever been to an away Games. It is certainly the largest team we have been to an away Games for quarter of a century, since Barcelona 1992.We are 366-strong and each and every one of those athletes has a very, very good chance of doing something special out here. ' ' '