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TORONTO – The disappointment was evident all over his face. Nike Shoes Wholesale Australia . Attempting a re-launch of his NHL career this fall, Petri Kontiola, the former Blackhawks draft pick, was plainly dejected after his second exhibition game with the Leafs on Wednesday night. Kontiola, a 29-year-old who spent the past five seasons in the KHL, knew that what hed offered so far probably wasnt good enough. “Im not doing that well right now and I know it,” he said gloomily. “Thats about it.” Kontiolas biggest challenge in making the leap back to the NHL, as per Leafs head coach Randy Carlyle, was his ability to keep up with the pace of the game. And thats been precisely the struggle for the Finnish forward. His long, choppy stride appears just a step too slow for the high speeds of the NHL game, evident even at this early stage of the exhibition season. He teamed uncomfortably with Phil Kessel and James van Riemsdyk on a de facto top line against Ottawa, finishing without a shot on goal in about 13 minutes. “We try to use these games as assessment periods and sometimes people play themselves into situations and play them out of situations,” Carlyle said, not mentioning Kontiola specifically. “We tried to put people in situations where they can have the best possible chance for success and then thats when the evaluation process starts.” The evident fact of Kontiolas struggle, early as it may be in training camp, has made Torontos once uncertain centre dynamic become pretty clear pretty quick. With Kontiola seemingly out of the mix – hes not getting faster overnight – the final two centre spots would appear safely in the hands of Peter Holland and Mike Santorelli, an unproven duo in different regards. Given Carlyles stated intention of three “scoring” lines, Holland would seem the probable choice for third line centre duties beyond Tyler Bozak and Nazem Kadri. Just 23, the former first round pick has offered hints of promise in 68 NHL games – albeit inconsistently – including five goals and 10 points in 39 games with the Leafs last season. Making clear that he was just a rung above the American League in the spring, he went on to thrive with the Marlies in the playoffs, boasting 15 points in 11 games. But can he fulfill his potential with the increased NHL opportunity likely to come his way? That will indeed be the question. Santorelli could certainly push him for some of those offensive minutes, but appears better suited (of the two) to absorb the difficult minutes left by Jay McClement, a Carlyle favourite whom the organization let walk in the offseason. Under the direction of since-deposed Vancouver head coach John Tortorella, Santorelli was utilized in challenging defensive situations, also killing penalties along the way. And he fared okay, posting positive Corsi numbers at even-strength. If Carlyle can find in him a player to handle those difficult assignments in the coming year he could alleviate some of the burden carried by Bozak and the teams top trio, which was often overloaded against top lines a year ago. “Hes going to get opportunities,” Carlyle said of Santorelli. “We brought the player in feeling that he could make a contribution.” Unlike McClement, who scored just four goals in 81 games, Santorelli also offers some offensive potential. Averaging nearly 19 minutes, he scored 10 times in 49 games with his hometown Canucks, adding a 20-goal campaign to the resume in Florida a few years earlier. “I think as a player you want to come in and help with the team any way you can and thats all Im looking to do here,” said Santorelli, who also won 51 per cent of his faceoffs. As for Kontiola, his fight to remain in the race for a job with the Leafs hangs by an apparent thread. Though the transition to North American-sized rinks would seem a challenge, even for a player who spent two seasons over here, he refused to touch it after Wednesdays game, brushing it off as an excuse. “No, a good player can play wherever,” he said. The team wasnt quite as dismissive. “Were watching him very closely,” Peter Horachek, the Leafs assistant coach, said before the game, “as we are with a couple of the other centremen and seeing where they stand because theres some questions to be answered for our team coming through training camp.” One at least appears increasingly closer to a solution. Cheap Nike Vapormax Australia . Trailing 2-1 from the first leg, Fiorentina levelled on aggregate in the 14th minute when Joaquin Sanchez Rodriguez headed back a long ball from David Pizarro and Pasqual smashed home an angled volley. Air Max 270 White Australia . The 25-year-old native of Milford, Conn., has 18 points in 41 games this season. The five-foot-eight 166-pound centre also has 28 points (10-18) in 15 games with AHL Oklahoma City.NEW YORK, N.Y. – The troubled tenure of Jorge Vergara and Angelica Fuentes as owners of Chivas USA has ended with Major League Soccer purchasing the team. MLS said Thursday it had assumed operation of the team, which had the second-worst record in the league last year at 6-20-8 and averaged a league-low attendance of 8,366 at home. Vergara and Fuentes have controlled the Mexican club Chivas Guadalajara since 2002 and had a 50 per cent interest in Chivas USA when it was created in 2004 and started play the following year. The pair took operating control of Chivas USA in August 2012 when they bought out former partners Antonio and Lorenzo Cue, who had been running the team. „The original plan which we came up with in 2004 and executed in 05 was to extend one of soccers most venerable brands into the United States,“ MLS Commissioner Don Garber said during a conference call. „The concept was to take a team that in essence represented the hopes and dreams of Mexican soccer fans both in Mexico and the United States and try to extend that here to the United States. „Ultimately the concept didnt work out,“ he added. „I came up with the idea with folks here at the league. I dont believe it was the concept as much as there was some executional issues.“ The concept of a league owning a team is not unprecedented. An entity owned by Major League Baseball bought the Montreal Expos in 2002, moved the club to Washington, D.C., for the 2005 season and sold it to the Lerner family the following year. The NHL had operational control of the Phoenix Coyotes from 2009-13. MLS said Wilmer Cabrera, hired as coach on Jan. 9, will remain oon the job. Adidas NMD R2 Australia. The league said it will sell the team to an ownership group committed to keeping the team in the Los Angeles area. Garber hopes to have a deal in place by the end of the year. „Sometimes it takes time to get this done. Were not in a rush,“ Garber said. Garber said the new ownership group must intend to build a new stadium, and he mentioned the site of the L.A. Sports Arena as a possibility. Chivas USA shares the StubHub Center with the Los Angeles Galaxy. David Beckham was not considered a possible buyer. The former Galaxy star exercised his option to purchase an expansion team in Miami. „I wonder if he would have thought differently if his option execution date was a year from now versus a year ago,“ Garber said. The team will use the Chivas USA name this year, then will get a new name and logo along with new owners. „When Angelica and I gained full operational control of the team for the first time 15 months ago, we were hopeful we would be able to turn it around,“ Vergara said in a statement. „However, there is only one Chivas de Guadalajara, and we have realized that it will require more time, further resources, and a level of commitment that would divert too much of our focus from our other business interests.“ Two former Chivas USA youth coaches, Daniel Calichman and Theothoros Chronopoulos, filed a discrimination lawsuit against the team last May in Los Angeles County Superior Court, claiming they were fired because they arent Mexican or Latino. „Its been resolved. Its no longer a pending case.“ Garber said. „It was resolved very recently.“ ‚ ‚ ‚