The Florida Panthers had money to spend in free agency, and loaded up, bringing in four forwards, one defenceman and a goaltender on the first day of free agency. Nicky Delmonico Jersey . Numbers Game looks at the Panthers big first day of free agency. The Panthers Get: LW Jussi Jokinen, C Dave Bolland, C, Derek MacKenzie, RW Shawn Thornton, D Willie Mitchell, G Al Montoya. The Florida Panthers headed into the offseason giving general manager Dale Tallon more financial freedom than theyve had in recent seasons, and he wasted no time spending that money, with mixed results. Jokinen, 31, had a strong season playing on Evgeni Malkins wing in Pittsburgh, scoring 57 points in 81 games, the second-best point total of his career. That situation is not a luxury that Jokinen can count on in Florida where, despite their young talent, they have no one in Malkins class, but Jokinen has shown that he can be a productive contributor with solid possession numbers when playing with skilled players. Slot him alongside young Finn Aleksander Barkov and that has the makings of a solid two-way line and maybe Jokinen isnt likely to be scoring 50-plus points in Florida, where no one scored even 40 points last season, but Jokinen can be a useful player for at least three of the four years for which he signed, at a total cost of $16-million. Then, things got silly. Coming into free agency, there was a natural connection to make between Dave Bolland and Panthers GM Dale Tallon, given their time together in Chicago, but Bolland is a third-line centre so its really hard to justify the kind of money and term that was given. Bolland signed a five-year, $27.5-million contract, and its just flat-out outrageous. Bolland played well with the Maple Leafs last season, at least he did when he was healthy, but hes missed 142 games over the past five seasons and is coming off a season in which he missed 59 games due to a sliced ankle tendon. At his best, Bolland has been productive, scoring more than 35 points three times, and handled a lot of tough assignments in terms of zone starts and quality of competition, but assuming that hes up to that level now, after his latest injury, seems a tad optimistic and paying money and term that is more typical of a top-six forward is just really difficult to digest. For a checking centre, he also hasnt been very good at limiting shots against while killing penalties. Sure, the Panthers are nowhere near the cap now, and maybe they never will be, but its hard to take a team from being also-rans to contenders simply by paying a checking centre a boatload of money. By contrast, Paul Stastny and Thomas Vanek were the only two free agent forwards to come at a higher cap hit and neither one signed for five years. They didnt get as much term as Dave Bolland. MacKenzie, a 33-year-old checking centre, has been a reliable fourth-liner for the Blue Jackets. He had a career-high 237 hits last season and in four seasons with the Blue Jackets, hes won 54.9% of his draws. Signed for three years and $3.9-million, MacKenzie gives the Panthers good depth down the middle and it looks like Bolland and MacKenzie are going to bump prospects like Brandon Pirri and Vince Trocheck down the depth chart, presumably right out of the Top 12 unless they can fit on the wing. Shawn Thornton is a tough guy whose game has been declining in recent seasons. Hes fought 90 times over the past six seasons, but thats about what the 36-year-old (who turns 37 later this month) can do at this point. Whether thats worth more than a million dollars per season or multiple years probably has different answers for teams that arent trying to reach the salary floor. After missing the entire 2012-2013 season, Willie Mitchell had a nice comeback season, playing more than 20 minutes a night, a crucial part of the Kings second Stanley Cup win in the past three seasons. Hes 37, so not the fleetest afoot, but Mitchell has size, strength and adds a shot of reliability to the Panthers defence. In Mitchell and Brian Campbell (at least for now), the Panthers have a couple veterans that could show the way for first overall draft pick Aaron Ekblad and Mitchell, while a decent addition gets a nice payday -- two years, $8.5-million -- to eat some minutes on the Panthers blueline. Backup goaltender Al Montoya is a 29-year-old who posted a .920 save percentage in 28 games with the Jets last season. Trouble is, in the prevous two seasons, his save percentage was .894, so its not really reasonable to expect more than Montoyas career average which is .910. Adding Montoya would figure to mark the end of Dan Ellis time in Florida, though it may be difficult to find a taker for a 34-year-old coming off the worst season of his career. The Florida Panthers spent big money in the summer of 2011, overpaying a bunch of veterans in order to reach the salary floor, and this year has a similar feel to it. The issue for the Panthers is that they are a franchise that has reached the postseason once in the past 13 years; they dont need to overpay free agents as much as they need to build a stable base of talent. With all the money the Panthers spent on July 1, theres not much reason to believe any of those players are going to be long-term answers. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Ozzie Guillen Jersey . The Mavericks avoided a season sweep by the Nuggets, who ran away with a win in Denver two weeks ago to hand Dallas its longest losing streak at three games. Dallas (42-28) got a boost in the playoff race when Miami rallied from seven down in the last 3 1/2 minutes to beat Memphis 91-86 Friday night. Yoan Moncada Jersey . Under the deal, the Vikings will donate an undisclosed sum of money to five gay rights-related charities over the next five years. Kluwe said he wont receive any money as part of the settlement. "This will help a lot of people that really do need that help," Kluwe said. http://www.whitesoxteamshop.com/White-Sox-Bo-Jackson-Kids-Jersey/ . There are practical ideas, like this Chewbaca inspired Star Wars jerseys. Star Wars themed jerseys for the Toledo Mud Hens.Brasilia, Brazil - Brazil will still be trying to make sense of its semifinal implosion on Saturday when the team faces the Netherlands in the third-place match at the Estadio Nacional de Brasilia. Listen to all the action live on TSN 1050, TSN 690, TSN 1200, and TEAM 1410 beginning at 4pm et/1pm pt. The hosts were embarrassed by Germany, 7-1, in Tuesdays semifinal as the Germans scored five times in the span of 18 minutes in the first half on their way to the dominant win. Brazils players and coaches were sort of at a loss to explain the destruction after the match, but head coach Luiz Felipe Scolari is hopeful his men can still end the World Cup on a winning note. "I know my career will be marked by this defeat, but we have an obligation to move on and think about the next goal, which in this case is the match for third place on Saturday in Brasilia," Scolari said. "I know its a much smaller dream than we all wanted, but we have to honor the shirt of the national team." In addition to Neymar missing the Germany match because of injury, Brazil was also without captain Thiago Silva through suspension and his absence in the middle of the Selecaos defense was very evident. Brazil was booed off the field at halftime of the semifinal with the team trailing 5-0, but Silva is hopeful that the fans can help to lift the players for one last match at this tournament. "This is a bad time so we need strength from our fans," said Silva, who will be eligible to return to the lineup for Saturdays fixture. "I guarantee that we will play this Saturdays game like it was the final. Paul Konerko Jersey. quot; The Netherlands came extremely close to returning to the World Cup final as the Dutch lost on penalty kicks to Argentina following a 0-0 match through 120 minutes. After reaching the final in 2010 and losing in extra time to Spain, it will certainly be tough for Louis van Gaals team to lift themselves for Saturdays contest. The Oranje saw Argentina score on each of its four penalty kick attempts, while Ron Vlaar and Wesley Sneijder both saw their shots saved by Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero. "It does hurt [to lose this way], especially if you are one of the players to miss," Sneijder said of the shootout. "I think there was only one team that wanted penalties and that was them [Argentina]. And yes, they won, so well done to them. Its all about taking responsibility in those situations, and sometimes [in shootouts] things can go wrong. But of course I am sad." Sneijder scored a crucial equalizer in the 88th minute against Mexico in the round of 16 to help the Dutch advance, while his side was on the opposite side of a shootout against Costa Rica in the quarterfinals. The Netherlands has yet to win a World Cup despite playing in the finals three times, while the Dutch have now lost twice in the semifinals as well. For now the Dutch will once again have to settle for the role of bridesmaid, and while both teams would like to go out with a win, Saturdays match doesnt figure to offer much solace for either side. Cheap Ducks Jerseys Cheap Coyotes Jerseys Cheap Bruins Jerseys Cheap Sabres Jerseys Cheap Flames Jerseys Cheap Hurricanes Jerseys Cheap Blackhawks Jerseys Cheap Avalanche Jerseys Cheap Blue Jackets Jerseys Cheap Stars Jerseys Cheap Red Wings Jerseys Cheap Oilers Jerseys Cheap Florida Panthers Jerseys Cheap Los Angeles Kings Jerseys Cheap Wild Jerseys ' ' '