OTTAWA - Eugene Melnyk is already predicting a return to the playoffs for the Ottawa Senators this season. [url=https://www.cheapjerseyslines.com/jordan-franks-jersey-retro/]Jorda n Franks Jersey Retro[/url] . The NHL teams owner said he sees no reason why this years lineup wouldnt have the capabilit

OTTAWA - Eugene Melnyk is already predicting a return to the playoffs for the Ottawa Senators this season. Jordan Franks Jersey Retro . The NHL teams owner said he sees no reason why this years lineup wouldnt have the capability to be one of the more competitive teams in the Eastern Conference. "I think you can pretty well predict what were going to have on the ice," Melnyk said Tuesday. "If everybody just plays to their potential I think its a great team and is going to be very competitive and will be a playoff team, but they just need to play to the level that we know that they can play." The Senators missed the playoffs last season and finished 11th in the Eastern Conference, but Melnyk is confident the Senators will finish in the top eight this year. "I think we have the potential to be in the playoffs and be competitive throughout the whole year," he said. "Once the playoffs start anything can happen. Thats the first step, lets get into the playoffs and let it run from there." There will be some significant changes to the Senators this year after the trade of Jason Spezza and the addition of David Legwand, Alex Chiasson and prospects Nicholas Paul and Alexander Guptill. Curtis Lazar, 19, will also be pushing to make the roster. "I think were going to be very, very competitive," said Melnyk. "Last year was not the kind of year we want to have this coming season. Everyone knows their roles and Im just hoping we stay away from injuries and were all set to go." Melnyk feels the Senators have a better schedule this season, adding he senses a renewed energy from players who are eager to put last season behind them. Ottawa dealt Spezza to the Dallas Stars last month. He was drafted by the Senators with the second overall pick in 2001 and had spent his career in the nations capital. The team has yet to name a new captain. Melnyk said he understood and accepted Spezzas request to be traded. "I spoke to him as far back as five years ago and he was already starting to talk about potentially moving and this time around he was looking for a change and I totally understand what he wanted to do," he said. Melnyk was in town to announce that the Senators and the Senators Foundation have surpassed the $100-million mark in community contributions and initiatives. "Were at the top, weve won the Stanley Cup in that area," he said of the teams charitable efforts. "I know what everybody else does, we talk about it, and they come here to see what weve done to get a sense of it. Theyre just in awe of the organization and how well we are organized. Its a machine." Melnyk capped off the afternoon with another charitable contribution as he and Senators defenceman Erik Karlsson took part in the Ice Bucket Challenge to raise awareness for ALS. Myron Pryor Jersey Retro .com) - The surging Montreal Canadiens will try to match their longest winning streak of the season when they visit the Florida Panthers for Saturdays clash at BB&T Center. Buzz Sawyer Jersey Retro . -- Gary Harris gave No. https://www.cheapjerseyslines.com/ . -- John Fox will coach the Denver Broncos from the sideline and not the booth upon his return Sunday five weeks after heart surgery.In his job running the NHLs department of player safety, Brendan Shanahan often had to make quick decisions. He would hold a hearing, make a ruling and shoot a video explaining a suspension all sometimes in a matter of hours. Tasked in his new role as Toronto Maple Leafs president with fixing what ails a team that lost 12 of its final 14 games to miss the playoffs, Shanahan feels plenty of internal pressure to make some changes. But he knows it wont be an easy or fast process. "Im realistic that you cant do everything overnight, that there are 29 other teams that are trying to accomplish the same goal and also covet good players," Shanahan said in a phone interview Wednesday. "No ones going to lay down for us because were the Toronto Maple Leafs and give us their assets." Shanahan, who took his time before deciding along with general manager Dave Nonis to extend coach Randy Carlyle for two more seasons and fire assistants Scott Gordon, Greg Cronin and Dave Farrish, seems willing to take a patient approach in remaking the roster to suit his style. One month into this new challenge, the 45-year-old insisted its too early to even know how much change the Leafs need. "You want to be ready to come out of the gates, we all know how important each game is, but I would say with most teams the team that starts a season isnt necessarily the same team that ends a season," Shanahan said. "For me, timing is less an issue as is the quality of the decisions. I dont feel and Im not getting any pressure from anyone in the organization saying this team has to look like this by this date." There may not be a firm deadline for major or minor changes to player personnel, but there are certainly mile-markers along the way. Sometime in the near future the Leafs must replace the three fired assistant coaches, which will happen with input from Shanahan, Nonis and Carlyle. Then the draft and free agency provide the first real chances to reshape the team. Shanahan will lean on the scouting staff as far as the drafting goes,, but he wont shy away from sharing his opinion. Buy Cheap Jerseys. When it comes to making trades and signing free agents, hell begin the true process of moulding the Leafs in his image. Given the talk about culture change and a lack of an identity from Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment president Tim Leiweke on the day Shanahan was introduced and reports that captain Dion Phaneuf, defenceman Jake Gardiner and centre Nazem Kadri are the subject of trade talks, some significant moves should probably be expected. Nonis is fond of saying even as he signs players to long-term deals that none of them include full no-trade clauses. Shanahan believes that gives the Leafs roster flexibility to make changes. "I would agree with Daves assessment," he said. "Absolutely." Shanahan wasnt showing his hand on how quickly he might want to make moves, cautioning that he doesnt have a one-size-fits-all theory on how to conduct business. "Im confident in my ability to make informed decisions when I think theyre right not on any timetable," he said. "Basically we could be making decisions that would appear that were being hasty, but if the right decision is there and its there right now, well make it. And if I feel that the strong decision and the strong move is to sit back and wait, then Ill do that as well." In the short-term, theres keen interest in what Shanahan does with a team that made the playoffs in the lockout-shortened 2013 season and fell short in 2013-14 following a memorable collapse. But beyond hinting that in-season changes could also be coming, he intends to look elsewhere in the organization for big-picture alterations. "I know that whats probably most interesting to fans and to people around the league are coaching decisions and player-personnel decisions," Shanahan said. "But also I think its equally as important to devote time to your player-development staff, your scouting staff -- just the entire guts and foundation of what makes a strong organization." ' ' '