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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. 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. Tottenham Hotspur Jerseys .Y. - For once, Clayton Kershaw was glad to see a long shutout streak end. Moussa Sissoko Jersey . Ryu (8-3) allowed a run and three hits in six innings and struck out six in his 13th start. In his first 13 starts last season -- his first in the major leagues -- the left-hander was 8-5 with a 2.85 ERA. This was the ninth time this year that Ryu has allowed fewer than three earned runs, and he is 7-0 in those games. http://www.footballhotspurstore.com/Wome...pur-Jersey/.com) - Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson lost an appeal to have his indefinite suspension overturned, the NFL announced Friday. Paulo Gazzaniga Jersey . Andrew Luck couldnt believe his ears. Colts fans couldnt believe the scoreboard, and the Kansas City Chiefs couldnt believe their incredibly bad luck. Harry Winks Jersey . PAUL, Minn. ATLANTA -- Blake Sims was good enough to finish his first start at quarterback for Alabama, getting plenty of help from Amari Cooper, T.J. Yeldon and Derrick Henry, and the second-ranked Crimson Tide held off West Virginia 33-23 Saturday. Sims was 24-for-33 for 250 yards and added 42 running, playing the entire opener at the Georgia Dome. The fifth-year senior beat out Florida State transfer Jake Coker for the start. Tide coach Nick Saban had suggested both quarterbacks would play, but Sims never came out. Yeldon (126 yards rushing and two touchdowns), Henry (113 yards rushing and a score) and Cooper (12 catches for 130 yards) provided plenty of support. Alabama needed all the offence it could get because West Virginia found plenty of soft spots in the Tides D. The Mountaineers up-tempo spread gave Clint Trickett his pick of open receivers, and he took advantage with 365 yards passing. But West Virginia didnt take full advantage, dropping more than a half-dozen catchable pass, including one off the hands of Elijah Wellman near the goal line that would have been a sure TD early in the fourth quarter. Coming off a 4-8 season, West Virginia was a 26 1/2-point underdog. The Mountaineers seemed like nothing more than the backdrop to Alabamas continued quarterback competition. They didnt play that way. Mario Alford returned a kickoff 100 yards for a score with 1:43 left in the first half to tie the game at 17-17. Henry scored the only touchdown of the second half on a 19-yard run midway through the third quarter to put Alabama up 27-17. It was all field goals from there. Coker warmed up briefly on the sideline in the first half, but that was it. Jameis Winstons backup last season spent a good amount of time sitting on the bench next to Sims, talking to the starter. Coker came to Alabama as a graduate transfer, immediately eligible and the presumptive replacement for AJ McCarron. Coker and McCarron even went to the same high school, St. Pauls in Mobile, Alabama. There are no presumptionss with Saban, though, and he tried to put an end to all that during the summer, making it clear that nothing was guaranteed to the 6-foot-5, 230-pound junior.dddddddddddd Throughout camp Saban would only say that both quarterbacks were progressing, heaping praise on Sims, while not slighting Coker. Saban has another Tide team ready to roll. Alabama is loaded with playmakers on offence. The biggest question in the preseason was who would be behind centre, but it sure looked as if a defence that struggled at times last year against spread offences could be a problem again for the Tide. New Tide offensive co-ordinator, and former Southern California coach, Lane Kiffin gave Sims some short, quick passes in his first series. Sims completed his first three throws, all toward the sideline and helped Alabama drive to the West Virginia 30. On third-and-4, Sims had Cooper open short over the middle and fired too low for the star receiver to grab. Adam Griffith kicked a 47-yard field goal to tie the game at 3. Griffith kicked four field goals from 47, 41, 27 and 45. No matter who plays quarterback for Alabama, hell have a treasure trove of talent with which to work. Sims only had to complete three passes on a 14-play, 95-yard touchdown drive that Yeldon finished with a 15-yard run, diving into the end zone for a 10-3 lead. That drive took 6:57. Trickett responded with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Kevin White, who went high over Bradley Sylve in the corner of the end zone. That 75-yard drive took 2:13 and tied it at 10-10. Alabama slowly drove to another Yeldon touchdown, this one from a yard out with 1:54 left in the half. West Virginia responded quickly -- even faster this time. Alford sidestepped one tackler and flashed some Big 12 speed, outrunning the Tide to the end zone to tie the game at 17. Bama came right back and regained the lead when Griffith kicked a 41-yarder as time expired on a half that left Saban calling his defence "soft" during his TV interview. 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