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SUNRISE, Fla. -- When Roberto Luongo learned he wouldnt be starting the Heritage Classic, the disappointed goaltender asked agent Pat Brisson to call Vancouver Canucks general manager Mike Gillis just to get a read on his future. When Gillis gave Brisson permission to seek out a potential trade partner for the goalie and his massive contract, the attention turned quickly to the Panthers -- and not just because Luongo calls South Florida home. "It had to be a hockey move," Brisson said. "Roberto wants to play, wants to win. He wants to compete and win. ... When Roberto asked me, I said, I do believe that theres a light at the end of the tunnel for (the Panthers)," Brisson said. "I do believe theres a place where this team is going to go in the right direction." While the Canucks head in the direction of a rebuild, the Panthers look like a team on the upward climb thanks to new owner Vinny Viola and a cadre of young prospects GM Dale Tallon has assembled in the NHLs southernmost market. Through two games with his new team, Luongo has already caught a glimpse of what he and many hockey people believe is a bright future for the Panthers. Luongo sees potential stars in Jonathan Huberdeau, Nick Bjugstad and a handful more young players around the locker-room. At 34 years old, he wants to contribute to the revival of the franchise rather than riding coattails. "Its all about making a commitment to bringing some people in and trying to build a winner," Luongo said Sunday night after facing the Boston Bruins. "Thats what its all about for me. Im not here to fade into the sunset. I want to be part of something special coming here." Something special in the short term might just mean making the playoffs after missing in 11 of the past 12 seasons. Even as the Panthers head toward another early off-season, Bjugstad hopes its just "growing pains" as part of an important learning experience. Thats to be expected for a team whose top players include 18-year-old Aleksander Barkov, 20-year-old Huberdeau, and 22-year-old Erik Gudbranson. Players were on a bus in Boston when they found out Luongo was coming and represented something of a safety valve for mistakes of youth. "Any time you can have a solid goaltender behind you, it gives you confidence that you can make some plays," said 20-year-old forward Vincent Trocheck, who made his Panthers debut the same game Luongo returned. "If you do make a mistake, you know that hes back there to save your butt, basically." Yet in the larger scope, Luongo is not being asked to save a franchise by himself. It is, however, Tallons hope that trading for him "sets the tone" for the organization. The message of taking on the final eight-plus years and over US$28 million of Luongos contract was that the Panthers are willing to spend. Hours after making the move, Tallon said it was about making good on all the talk about wanting to win a Stanley Cup because "talk is cheap." Doing so could be expensive, but its not out of the realm of possibility that Florida has a better chance of winning a Cup in the next four or five years than Vancouver. "You never know," Luongo said. "Its tough to say. You hope so. Thats why Im here. I think the pieces are definitely here, just a matter of making sure that we bring the right piece to complement these young guys that are talented and theyre going to be stars in this league." Tallon has a plan. After already taking the goaltending gamble that was Jacob Markstrom out of the equation and getting Luongo, he has his sights set on signing, drafting or trading for two power wingers to support Barkov, Huberdeau, Bjugstad and Trocheck. The Panthers payroll is the lowest in the league at just over US$50 million, but with Viola in charge, Tallon expects to be "a cap team or close to a cap team" next season. Having almost $30 million of cap space could help the Panthers continue down the path to being a contender, but it also helps to have Luongo as a salesman and a symbol of the clubs all-out push to get better. "Its hard to recruit anybody if they dont think youre doing the right thing," Tallon said. "I think the commitment of making that deal and the commitment that Vinny Violas going to make ... will really influence a lot of decisions as far as players wanting to come here, seeing that were really committed to winning." Luongo didnt keep close tabs on the Panthers rebuild while he was playing for the Canucks because he didnt expect to get traded, let alone back to Florida. But Brisson, who just negotiated a two-year extension for winger Brad Boyes, had a good sense of what was happening. New ownership meant a new opportunity for Luongo. "If it was back to the former ownership where they werent sure what they wanted to spend, what they wanted to do, I wouldnt have recommended it at the time -- absolutely not," Brisson said. "If you look at good ownership and willingness to spend and the right chef, so to speak, the right cook in the kitchen, its an attractive place for Roberto and the players that are there." Tallon is that chef, and he has quite the recipe on his resume. Even though Stan Bowman was the general manager when the Blackhawks won the 2010 Stanley Cup, Tallon orchestrated much of the turnaround in Chicago. "It went well for them," Bjugstad said. "Thats kind of what were banking on." For every Blackhawks success story theres another example like the Edmonton Oilers, who are set to miss the playoffs for the eighth straight season despite three straight No. 1 picks and six in the top 10. They provide a cautionary tale for the Panthers, even as Tallon rattles off prospect after prospect who could make a difference. Each one of those young, unproven players represents essentially a raffle ticket for Florida, another chance to hit it big. But theres plenty of risk and uncertainty in that. "Obviously weve got to prove ourselves before we can get too excited," Bjugstad said. "Theres a ways to go." In Luongo, the young Panthers get a goalie who is already established. Even if his play is not Vezina Trophy-calibre, he could instill plenty of confidence on and off the ice. "I think maybe as more of an experienced guy in the locker-room to bring whatever I have learned over the years and maybe help them out along the way as far as just being a pro and all that kind of stuff to help their development," Luongo said. That team-wide development and progression toward a playoff team is still in the "early" stages, according to Tallon. Luongos addition speeds it up, but theres still no set goal on when he figures the Panthers will get over the hump. "I dont put numbers on that," he said. "I just let the players start to develop and see when theyre ready to make a real hit on the team as far as moving forward. And when they all come together as a group, as a team, not just in a group of individuals, thats when you pretty well know when youve got something special." Air Force 1 Off White Cheap .Shipulin pulled away from Martin Fourcade of France, Simon Eder of Austria and Fredrik Lindstrom of Sweden to finish in 35 minutes 16.8 seconds. Fourcade was 1.2 seconds back in second place to reclaim the overall World Cup lead, with Eder another 0. Buy Air Force 1 Australia .Steamboat Ski Resort contends Steamboat Springs, Colorado has long been known as Ski Town, U.S.A., and claims in a new lawsuit that Salt Lake tourism officials violated their trademark when they rolled out the Ski City marketing campaign last month. http://www.airforce1shoesaustralia.com/.com) - The Toronto Maple Leafs will try to play spoiler as the Los Angeles Kings will try to match their longest winning streak in over four years in Thursdays battle at Staples Center. Nike React Presto Cheap . Moors, from Cambridge Ont., landed a double-twisting, double somersault in the layout position, en route to a score of 14.600 points in the womens floor exercise, more than a full point ahead of runner-up Pia Tolle of Germany. Nike Air More Uptempo For Sale Cheap . Canadas Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse will reunite at this weekends season-opening World Cup at Canada Olympic Park as they begin their buildup to the Winter Games in Sochi.(Sports Network) - While Alfonso Soriano and Alex Rodriguez continue to turn back the clock, New York Yankees starter Hiroki Kuroda would just simply like to dial things back a few weeks. Kuroda tries to rebound from two straight subpar efforts and secure a series victory for the Yankees on Wednesday night in the finale of a three-game set versus the Toronto Blue Jays. Kuroda has been roughed up over back-to-back losses to Boston and Tampa Bay after having gone 4-1 with a 0.94 earned run average over seven starts prior. He gave up just five earned runs over 48 innings in that span, but the Red Sox got to him for five runs -- three earned -- and a season-high 11 hits over 5 2/3 innings on Aug. 17. The right-hander hoped to rebound on Friday versus the Rays, but instead matched career highs by giving up seven runs and four homers in six innings of work. It was the first home runs Kuroda had allowed since June 30. "It was really strange, he just didnt have his stuff tonight," said Yankees manager Joe Girardi. The 38-year-old hurler is now 11-9 with a 2.71 ERA in 26 starts this year, three of those coming versus the Blue Jays. He is 2-0 with a 1.69 ERA in those outings and 4-1 lifetime in six matchups against Toronto with a 3.03 ERA. Kuroda would love to see Alfonso Soriano stay red hot. The 37-year-old slugger is hitting .275 with 11 home runs and 33 RBI in 30 games since being reacquired by the Yankees and he went deep twice in last nights 7-1 win. Sorianos second homer was the 400th of his career. The first 98 of those came with New York to begin his career from 1999-2003 before he was dealt to the Texas Rangers for Alex Rodriguez. "Hes been great for us.dddddddddddd Hes the reason we have been scoring a lot more runs," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said of Soriano. "We get another big night out of him tonight. Hes been great." Rodriguez also homered last night, his second in as many games. The 38-year- old has four in 20 games this season and 651 in his career, nine back of Willie Mays for fourth on baseballs all-time list. Andy Pettitte was also solid over seven scoreless innings, though New York got a scare when Robinson Cano was hit in the left hand by a pitch in the first inning by Torontos J.A. Happ. He was replaced in the bottom of the inning by Eduardo Nunez and x-rays after the game were negative and Cano is day-to-day. Nunezs status is also up in the air after he tweaked his right knee later in the game and had to come out. Still, New York has won seven of 10 and 12 of its past 17 to sit 4 1/2 games out of the leagues second wild card spot. Moises Sierra collected three hits for Toronto, while Happ was charged with five runs over 4 2/3 innings. "I wasnt sharp enough. Its tough when you get behind against a team like that," Happ said. Toronto has lost eight of its last 10 games and is 2-13 versus New York this season. On Wednesday, the Blue Jays turn to Todd Redmond, who is 1-2 with a 4.44 ERA in 11 games (8 starts) this season. The righty has not won since July 7, posting six straight no-decisions before a 12-4 loss at Houston on Friday. Redmond gave up season highs of eight runs -- seven earned -- and eight hits, also walking three and striking out six over 3 1/3 innings. Redmond, 28, will face the Yankees for the first time. ' ' '