BUFFALO, N. Discount Nike Shoes China .Y. - General manager Tim Murray decided defenceman Christian Ehrhoff and his hefty contract did not fit in his long-term vision for rebuilding the Buffalo Sabres. Former Sabres captain Steve Ott, on the other hand, just might. Fresh off clearing Buffalos books of the remaining seven years of Ehrhoffs contract, Murray is targeting veteran role players to augment his teams young roster once the NHLs free-agency period opens Tuesday. "Id like to acquire a couple of veteran guys who can play the game, but can also show our kids how to be pros," Murray said Monday. "So Im going to focus on at least two of those guys." And that makes Ott a candidate to return to Buffalo after he was part the Sabres trade that also sent goalie Ryan Miller to St. Louis in February. Murray said Ott is on the teams list of free-agent candidates, and added hes had preliminary discussions with the players agent. Ott was expendable at the time of the trade because he was in the final year of his contract. Murray, who spoke highly of Otts leadership ability before the trade, was careful to make sure Ott left on good terms by dealing him to a contender. As for Ehrhoff, who signed a 10-year, $40 million contract three years ago, Murray said the defenceman wasnt interested in being part of the teams rebuilding process. The way Ehrhoffs contract was structured was another factor. Under NHL rules, the Sabres would have faced a significant salary-cap penalty if Ehrhoff retired before the final year of his deal. "This seemed to be the best course of action for us to move on, be out from under that contract," Murray said. "And now we dont have to worry about it. Now we just have to focus on rebuilding, bringing in good young players and get going here." Murray, who took over in January after Darcy Regier was fired, is taking a patient approach to rebuilding a team that is coming off one of the worst seasons in franchise history. Buffalo (21-51-10) finished last in the NHL standings, set a franchise record for losses and established a post-NHL-expansion-era low by scoring just 150 goals. Murray has set his sights on rebuilding through youth, a process that continued at the NHL draft last weekend. The Sabres made nine picks, starting with playmaking centre Sam Reinhart at No. 2 overall. Buffalo is scheduled to have three first-round picks in next years draft, which leaves Murray preaching patience. "We all want to speed things up. As soon as we got (Reinhart), I said I wish it was 2016. But its not. And you have to do it properly," Murray said. "Its not easy. Its hard. It takes a long time. And I think that were on the right track." Aside from convincing free agents to buy into his rebuilding plan, Murrays other challenge is upping the Sabres payroll to the NHL salary cap minimum of $51 million. The Sabres are currently at about $30 million after buying out Ehrhoff and the final three years of underperforming forward Ville Leinos contract two weeks ago. Murray is confident the Sabres will reach the cap minimum before the start of the season, and can do so without handcuffing the teams salary structure with expensive long-term contracts. "Im not worried about the floor," Murray said, and then broke into a smile while pointing to a reporter. "Ill sign you if I have to." The Sabres have extended qualifying offers to retain the rights of a number of restricted free agents, including centres Tyler Ennis and Luke Adam, forward Marcus Foligno, defenceman Chad Ruhwedel and goalie Matt Hackett. Defenceman Jamie McBain will become an unrestricted free agent after the Sabres did not extend him and offer. Cheap Nike Shoes China Paypal .com) - Ben Lovejoy tallied a goal and an assist as the Anaheim Ducks cruised into the All-Star break with a 6-3 victory against the Calgary Flames. Cheap Nike Shoes Online Free Shipping .com) - The Grand Slam season will get underway Monday at the Australian Open in Melbourne, where a new champion will be crowned this year. http://www.discountnikeshoes.com/ .Y. - His opponent couldnt stop him, and LeBron James didnt quite know what to think when his coach tried.LAS VEGAS -- UCLA went into the season with the uncertainty that comes with a new coach. The Bruins suffered their share of setbacks, a notable one just a week earlier. Once the Pac-12 tournament got rolling, the Bruins took off. Now, after trading body blows with one of the nations best defensive teams, UCLA takes home a Pac-12 championship in its first season under Steve Alford. Outlasting one of the best closing teams in basketball, UCLA knocked off No. 4 Arizona 75-71 in the conference tournament final on Saturday. "Weve got an edge to us now, its a lot of fun," Alford said. "To win a championship means a lot to us." They definitely earned this one, emerging from a battle of the Pac-12s best teams that featured big plays, big blows and floor burns. The Wildcats locked UCLA down in the second half after an offensive show in the first. The Bruins countered by doing the same thing to Arizona down the stretch, and then made the big plays against the big-play Wildcats to finish it off. UCLA point guard Kyle Anderson was at his all-around best, finishing with 21 points, 15 rebounds and five assists. Jordan Adams made a big 3-pointer with 45 seconds left and scored 19 points. Norman Powell scored 15 points and combined with David Wear to hit four free throws in the final five seconds. After three games in three days, the Bruins are Pac-12 champions and on a big roll headed into the NCAA tournament. "This gives us the confidence that we not only play with anybody, but beat anybody," Alford said. "But youve got to get hot and stay hot." Arizona (30-4) started flat defensively, clawed back behind its offence and shut down the Bruins through most of the second half. The Wildcats were unable to finish it off for one of the rare times this season, hurt by 10 missed free throws and questionable shot selection down the stretch. Nick Johnson led Arizona with 22 points and Kaleb Tarczewski added 12. Aaron Gordon had 11 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for the Wildcats, who may have lost out on a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament with the loss. "We lost a game we could have won," Arizona coach Sean Miller said. "Jordan Adams hit a great shot and I believe some of the things we learned in todays game will better serve us for the biggest prize, why we all doo this, and thats to hopefully advance next week in the NCAA tournament. Wholesale Nike Shoes China Paypal. " After 10 games in three days, the Pac-12 tournament came down to UCLA and Arizona, the top two seeds, on a big roll since arriving in Sin City. Arizona, the conferences regular-season champion, overwhelmed its first two opponents with its dont-let-them-breathe defence. The Wildcats raced into the tournament record books with their 32-point win over Utah in the quarterfinals and cranked up the highlight reel in the second half of its semifinal rout over Colorado, allowing 82 combined points in the two games. UCLA swamped Oregon in its opener, turning what was supposed to be a track meet into a stomping. The Bruins did the same thing to Stanford in the semifinals, all but putting the game out of reach in the opening five minutes. These teams met once during the regular season, Jan. 9 in Westwood. Arizona ended a three-game losing streak to the Bruins in that one, escaping with a 79-75 win despite 17 turnovers and blowing a 13-point lead in the final 6 1/2 minutes. UCLA had the advantage early in the rematch by doing what two previous tournament opponents couldnt: Score on the Wildcats. Pushing the pace at every turn, the Bruins got shots seemingly wherever and whenever they wanted. UCLA used a 12-0 run to go up 14-3 and kept pouring em in against one of the nations best defences. The Bruins hit 18 of 31 shots and scored 43 points in the first half -- more than Utah did the entire game against Arizona and matching Colorados total. "They came out and punched us in the mouth," Johnson said. The Wildcats kicked their offence into gear to get back in it, shaking off some questionable shots in the opening minutes with a string of 3-pointers, including three by Gabe York. Arizona shot 16 of 30, including 5 of 8 from the arc, to close to 43-40 at the half. The game turned from an offensive show to a defensive shutdown in the second, every possession a struggle to get off a pass, much less a good shot. Travis Wear and Gordon typified the effort of the entire game late in the half, sprinting from beyond midcourt, simultaneously diving and skidding across the floor for a loose ball. Wear came up with the ball and the Bruins the win, giving them a big notch on the belt in their first season under Alford. ' ' '