Dein erstes Forum » a great play by MacKinnon

TORONTO -- Toronto Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos said Thursday that hes confident hell have financial flexibility should he need it later in the season. Boston Bruins Shirts . Anthopoulos, who held a media availability before his team opened a four-game series against Kansas City, was asked about an online report by columnist Peter Gammons that quoted him saying the team is "pretty much maxed out" in terms of payroll. "Were at our number to start the year," Anthopoulos explained to reporters. "Thats fair so I dont think it varies from anything else weve ever said." The Blue Jays, who have a payroll of about US$135 million, dont have a locked-in salary ceiling. If a situation presented itself, it appears there would be room to heighten it if needed. Toronto has been one of the surprises of the American League this season, rising to the top of the East division and taking a nine-game winning streak into Thursdays game. Talk of potential upgrades and loading up for a post-season run is already underway in the playoff-starved city even though the season is barely one-third old. Anthopoulos said while its still quite early, he does not expect to be hamstrung when it comes to finances. "I have every confidence that if we have a need come the trade deadline, which is obviously late July, I have every confidence that well have the resources to do that," Anthopoulos said. "I dont have any doubts about that at all." The teams purse strings were in the news last April when reports surfaced that some Toronto players discussed deferring portions of their salary to help land Ervin Santana. The free agent pitcher ended up signing with Atlanta for the same one-year US$14-million deal offered by the Jays. But Anthopoulos stressed that if something came up in the next month or two, he feels the team could take on salary if required. "We may need to be creative, we may need to do some things," he said. "But weve been able to add payroll when needed." One potential upgrade area is the starting rotation, which has improved significantly this season despite Brandon Morrow going on the 60-day disabled list and a variety of pitchers handling the No. 5 spot. Anthopoulos gave credit to his starters and said their performance will be key going forward. "I know the offence has been great, were hitting home runs and all that, its fun to watch," he said. "But we will go as far as the rotation will bring us, there is no doubt about that." The Blue Jays could get an in-house upgrade if Morrow is able to return to form. "Well have more of a report by the end of June," Anthopoulos said. "Hes going to be back around the all-star break and by late June, he should be going out on a rehab assignment. So I think it could actually time well." For now, Anthopoulos is focusing on preparations for next weeks draft. He expects GMs to pick up trade discussions once the selection process is complete. "Were not having any active talks at all," Anthopoulos said. "Were really immersed in the draft right now. But I do expect once that draft is over and we get to the Monday after the draft, I think thats when everyone is going to start making the calls again." The teams play over the next month will determine the GMs next move. But again, Anthopoulos doesnt believe money will be an issue. "I think if were in a good position at the beginning of July, well know the landscape a little bit more with what our needs are," he said. "I have every confidence in the world that I can have that conversation with (president) Paul (Beeston), and Paul has that conversation with ownership. "But one, we need to be playing well at that time and were still very far away from that (date)." Bruins Jerseys 2019 . The team let Keaton Ellerby, James Wright and Matt Halischuk become unrestricted free agents after declining to make them qualifying offers. Ellerby, 25, appeared in 51 games for the Jets last season and had two goals and four assists. Bruins Jerseys China . Altidore strained his left hamstring in the Americans opener against Ghana on June 16 and didnt play in their next two games. "We dont know how much because we need to see how hes going, but hes available," U. https://www.cheapbruins.com/ . The Cottagers last victory came in a 2-1 home win over West Ham when Rene Meulensteen was still in charge. Since then, a miserable run of seven defeats and two draws has seen the club part with the Dutch coach and replace him with German Felix Magath. WINNIPEG -- Matt Duchene breathed life into the Colorado Avalanche not once, not twice, but three times Thursday night. The centre scored two goals in regulation and added another in a shootout along with teammate P.A. Parenteau, as the Avs stopped a two-game losing skid with a 4-3 victory over the Winnipeg Jets. The Jets went on the power play three times in the first seven minutes of the game, coming away with one even-strength and one power-play goal against goalie Semyon Varlamov to go up 2-0. Duchene finally stopped the bleeding with his team-leading 13th goal of the season at 15:08 of the first when he went in alone on Ondrej Pavelec and got a high shot past the netminder. "We got behind the eight ball in penalties," said Duchene, who hadnt scored in seven games after returning from a stomach injury. "They started really well. Youve got to tip your hat sometimes. Getting that one, kind of gave us some life and got the momentum going again so it was a big goal." Duchene, who also had an assist, scored his second goal to give the Avalanche a 3-2 lead with 1.6 seconds left in the second period when he backhanded a rebound into the open side of the net as Pavelec tried to slide back. Ryan OReilly had tied the game 2-2 at 14:27 and added an assist for the Avs (21-9-0). Blake Wheeler scored twice, Michael Frolik added another and Grant Clitsome had a pair of assists for Winnipeg (14-4-5). Varlamov faced 38 shots, including five in overtime. Pavelec made 20 saves in regulation and three in overtime. Winnipeg used its fifth power play to tie the game 3-3 at 10:00 of the third period after Mark Scheifele sent a shot from the point that Wheeler put in past a screened Varlamov with two seconds left in a tripping penalty to Cory Sarich. Duchenes shootout goal beat Pavelec after he lifted one leg and paused for a split second before firing the puck. Parenteau followed with a high shot over Pavelecs glove. Colorado coach Patrick Roy was proud of his team for rebounding after being down 2-0. "Thats the dangerous part of this beecause sometimes when you get behind you have the tendency to go individually and thats not what we did tonight," Roy said. Custom Boston Bruins Jerseys. "We sticked to the plan, we sticked together, we played as a team a 2-1 by a super play by Dutchy, Matt Duchene, and then after (Nathan) MacKinnon did another really good play. "An outstanding defensive play by Duchene, but a great play by MacKinnon, put the puck on the net and picked up the rebound by Matt." Jets coach Claude Noel lamented the loss of a point, but acknowledged Colorados difference-makers. "Duchene is a good player and MacKinnons not a donkey, either. Hes moving out there," Noel said. The Jets were 2-for-6 on the power play and the Avalanche 0-for-2. Colorado hasnt scored in its last 24 power plays. The Jets had also lost to Western Conference rivals St. Louis 2-1 on Tuesday. Theyre now 6-11-4 against their conference counterparts. "Our division, our conference, isnt easy," Wheeler said. "There arent any easy games. "I think weve done a good job, weve risen to the challenge, but weve been taking positives out of losses too long. Feels like three years, come after a game like this and we say, Well, you know you did some good things. "But youve got to stay positive and youve got to draw from the positives of the game because we did a lot of really good things, but we didnt do enough to win the game and thats the bottom line." Noel was also having a tough time focusing on the positives. "Were a .500 team and its not good enough," he said. "This year in the conference we are in, it wont come close. You are going to be really scrambling. We know the urgency. It has to come in our actions, not our words. Moral victories are empty." Notes: With the win, the Avalanche equalled their most wins through 30 games in franchise history (21 in 2000-01 and 1994-95) a Winnipeg has played 20 games decided by a single goal this season and is 7-8-5 in those games a The Avs are 18-0-0 when ahead after two periods and 2-0 in shootouts this season. 00:23ET 13-12-13 ' ' '