Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork. [url=http://www.laramsfansshop.com/c-64-rams-kayvon-webster-jersey.aspx] Kayvon Webster Jersey[/url] .com) - The Columbus Blue Jackets had to wait a while for their chance to host the NHLs brightest stars, but, at long last, the franchises moment has finally arrived. U

Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork. Kayvon Webster Jersey .com) - The Columbus Blue Jackets had to wait a while for their chance to host the NHLs brightest stars, but, at long last, the franchises moment has finally arrived. Unfortunately for hockey fans in Columbus, Ohio, and everywhere else, the honor of participating in All-Star weekend is not as luring as the prospect of some much needed time off from the grind of the regular season. Some players will skip the festivities due to injuries and other big names simply declined to put themselves up as replacement options. Even this weekends hosts were not immune to the trend, as Sergei Bobrovsky, Columbus star goaltender, will be forced to miss the All-Star activities due to a groin injury. The recent announcement that Pittsburgh Penguins stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin both will rest nagging lower-body injuries rather than go to Columbus is another blow for an All-Star weekend that will not feature some of the leagues most recognizable faces. In addition to Bobrovskys absence, goaltenders Jimmy Howard, Henrik Lundqvist and Pekka Rinne will not participate. Howard and Rinne are sidelined with injuries, while Lundqvist was snubbed but hinted hed rather use the break for rest anyway. There also will be no Zdeno Chara, as Bostons mammoth defenseman was not picked to be an All-Star and his absence will be noticed most when the players line up for the hardest shot competition at Saturdays skills showcase. But, of course, the show must go on. Even though some of the sports most recognizable faces wont be a part of All-Star weekend, this is still a great moment for the Blue Jackets, and one that was a long time coming. Columbus was originally slated to host All-Star weekend two years ago before the lockout knocked out half the season along with the midseason showcase. Last years Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia pushed back the Blue Jackets All-Star obligations even further, but like Norma Desmond, the franchise is finally ready for its close-up. Ohios capital city has never been considered an ideal locale for an NHL franchise, but the Blue Jackets enter this moment in the sun healthier than they have ever been. Columbus only has made the postseason twice in its first 13 seasons, but one of those times came last season when the Jackets gave the heavily favored Penguins a run for their money before exiting the first round in six games. Sure, the 2014-15 season has been an exercise in patience for Columbus and its fan base. The club was beset with injury issues from the start of the campaign and the fact the Jackets enter the All-Star break 14 points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference is in large part due to the teams inability to stay healthy. A terrific December seemed to put the Blue Jackets on track to make a run at the playoffs, but a 4-6-0 record in January has derailed those dreams temporarily. Columbus will need to jump out of the break playing near flawless hockey to qualify for the postseason. But even if they miss the playoffs in 2014-15, time still is on the Blue Jackets side. Bobrovsky recently signed an extension to stay in Columbus and with young forwards like Nick Foligno and Ryan Johansen in the fold (and also representing the Blue Jackets in this weekends activities), the once-derided expansion team could be on the verge of a renaissance. So, even if this All-Star contingent may not represent the absolute best and brightest the NHL has to offer, its going to be tough to dampen the mood in Columbus. The franchise has rarely held the spotlight since joining the league over a decade ago, and fittingly, the Blue Jackets are more prepared than ever to be the center of attention. Mark Barron Jersey . Wall made the comment in a speech to a Regina business crowd that included Lesnar. The U.S. wrestler and retired mixed martial artist says he was visiting his brothers farm in Saskatchewan and decided he wanted to hear what the premier had to say. Samson Ebukam Jersey . The midfielder had an operation on Saturday, and is set to miss seven Premier League games, the third round of the FA Cup and the semifinals of the League Cup. http://www.laramsfansshop.com/c-57-rams-connor-barwin-jersey.aspx . PAUL, Minn.PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- The salary cap is going up and business is booming, but still the NHL often gets the most attention for ugly stuff that happens on the ice. Ugly was front and centre Saturday night during the Boston Bruins-Pittsburgh Penguins game that led to two suspensions and three players on the injured list. But instead of expressing concern over Shawn Thornton and James Neal, the leagues board of governors gave vice-president of player safety Brendan Shanahan a thumbs up for his handling of discipline. "I believe the sense of the room is that Brendan Shanahan and the department of player safety has the confidence of the board of governors. He certainly has my confidence," commissioner Gary Bettman said. "Its about modifying an element of the games culture and we think weve made positive, dramatic steps forward." When Thornton is suspended following an in-person hearing Friday, it will be the 19th ban this season that costs players at least one regular-season game. The first 18 suspensions added up to 77 games, including Neals five for kneeing Brad Marchand in the head. But Shanahan told the board Tuesday that among roughly 55,000 hits over the course of a year, only 50 to 100 are problematic. General managers have noticed a major change over time. "Youre not going to rid yourself of suspensions and what have you, but weve certainly come so much farther," Nashville Predators GM David Poile said. "I mean, look where we were. Ive been around for a long time, and some of the stuff that happened in the so-called old days, to where we are now, its so much better for the players and a so much better game." Its a different game, too. Some of the same hits that used to be acceptable are now spelled out as illegal. Shanahan has taken to producing videos showing examples, something that earned praise from Bettman. "My guess is people dont analyse the things he does in the detail that he does, and if you study the videos that hes put online, the specific instances where supplemental discipline is imposed or the more general tapes that hes put online explaining what the standards are of play, people should take a great deal of comfort that were being extraordinarily proactive," Bettman said. The next step could be harsher punishments as more of a deterrent for players. But general managers didnt display much of an appetite for change in that regard. "If managers and the board of governors want the suspensions to increase, I think that thats a direction theyll certainly give me," Shanahan said. "I can say from my perspective that I think that players do feel the effect of the suspension. Whether its two games or a lot more games, I think that players dont like being in that position, they dont like the game being taken away from them." General managers dont want the game taken away from its roots, either. Shanahan gave his usual update on player safety on the second and final day of the board of governors meeting at the Inn at Spanish Bay, and Peter Chiarelli of the Boston Bruins emphasized that the league can absolutely have hitting and progress with safety at the same time. "You can have both and you should, and theres a respect factor that the players have to adapt, and theey are," Chiarelli said. Zach Laskey Jersey. "Theres a physical component to the game. Its just going to be a continuing challenge. Youre going to have discussions like these, youre going to have incidents like these. It may be longer suspensions, but you cant have a physical game without having these things." New Jersey Devils GM Lou Lamoriello said Monday evening that the onus is on players to follow the rules. Its his hope that maybe the fear of a season-long suspension will stop some of the violence around the league. Poile believes the incidents in the Penguins and Bruins game represented much more of an isolated incident than a trend. "I would think that the type of thing that Neal did, I cant even remember seeing something like that," Poile said. "And Shawn Thornton, he seems to be a stand-up guy, always seems to play his role really well. Hes already said he made a mistake, and hes going to pay for that. He knows that. And I dont think that stuff is going to happen very much. You cant say never, because its a physical game and thats why we partially like the game. Stuff is going to happen." How much stuff has happened was what Shanahan updated the board on Tuesday. As for the future of suspensions, it wont be much different right away. "There has to be the due process and it has to evolve and stuff," Chiarelli said. "You cant just say, All right, lets change the template. You cant say that. Its not fair to the process, its not fair to all the parties. You guys talk about trends and opinions on certain trends, and we do the same thing. In due course that will manifest itself." In addition to talk about player safety, deputy commissioner Bill Daly provided the board with a logistical update on the Sochi Olympics and a joint evaluation of substance-abuse policy between the league and the NHLPA. The deaths of Rick Rypien, Wade Belak and Derek Boogaard in the summer of 2012 prompted a look at how players mental health is handled. "We commissioned jointly with the Players Association and co-operated with them on an independent review of our program and I reported on the results of that review today," Daly said. "The bottom line is the report was good, that the program is doing what it is intended to do, it is helping players and former players in times of need." Daly updated the governors on what to expect from the Olympics and during the NHLs break, along with some logistical elements. Bettman said the governors were briefed on the leagues discussions with the NHLPA about reviving the World Cup of Hockey but predictably did not have any new information to share. "I think its no secret that we collectively believe having a world cup on a regular basis makes sense, the specifics were not there yet on," Bettman said. Bettman reiterated the NHL has no formal plans to expand beyond 30 teams, though he did spend a good portion of his time with reporters fielding questions about expansion. He did not rule it out in the near future. "Were getting lots of expressions of interest and no decisions have been made to do anything other than listen," he said. 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