, 1990-April 15, 1992 when they were the Hartford Whalers. ... Peter Laviolette was fired after Philadelp | Forum

NEW YORK - In the summer of 2006 John Salmons nixed a sign-and-trade deal that would have made him a Raptor heading into the prime of his career. http://www.magliaacmilan.it/maglia-ac-milan-jeremy-menez.html . He was 26 years old at the time and coming off his best season in Philadelphia. But his faith had led him in a different direction, it led him to Sacramento. Over seven years later, his career has come around full circle. He starred for playoff teams in Chicago and Milwaukee, ended up back with the Kings and now, fate - in the form of a seven-player swap - has finally steered him to Toronto. The 34-year-old swingman was supposed to be a spare part in the salary dump of Rudy Gay, a contract that could be bought out at an affordable price in the offseason or moved at the deadline. He still may end up being those things but two weeks into his ironic tenure in Toronto, he has brought something no one expected him to, something the Raptors have been without for years. As head coach Dwane Casey has put it, Salmons brings "old-school toughness." "He has a settling effect when hes in the game and it helps us," Casey said of Salmons, who is averaging 6.7 points and 3.2 rebounds, playing just under 26 minutes per game in six contests with the Raptors. "He doesnt get rattled." A versatile defender, Salmons has been used to frustrate the opponents best wing player, most notably Monta Ellis and Kevin Durant in a pair of surprising road victories last week. Hes been one of the first players off Caseys bench, a facilitator in the offence down the stretch but most importantly, hes been a calming presence in the face of adversity and thats rubbing off on his new teammates. After engineering a 19-point comeback in Dallas and withstanding a run from the leagues best team in Oklahoma City, the team pointed to Salmons and his understated brand of leadership. "Im not a rah-rah guy at all," the even-keeled Salmons admitted after Sundays win over the Thunder. "But Ive been around for a long time, Ive experienced a lot so I just try to give my advice when I can." "Being in the league as long as Ive been Ive seen a lot of things and I just try to show poise on the court and lead like that." If you didnt know any better you could easily mistake Salmons unflappable persona for indifference but that, as his new coach has learned, is not the case. "Hes very quiet, [a] quiet leader," Casey said. "He does more [with] his actions than his words but hes a solid man. You engage him in conversation and he has a lot to say. People take that quietness for, whatever but he has a lot to say once you sit down and talk with him. "I like his demeanour. I like his approach. Hes an old-school pro." Its been some time since the Raptors have rostered a vet able and willing to make that type of impact on the teams younger players. You may have to go all the way back to the days of Charles Oakley, Kevin Willis, Doug Christie and the veteran-laden teams that helped turn Vince Carter into an overnight superstar. "I remember walking in [on] day two," Carter reminisced before facing the Raptors in Dallas last week. "And Oak grabbed me by the shoulder and said, hey, Im going to take care of you and show you how to be a professional and be a pro in this league. "And I think of those days and I think of coming to practice when they used to kick the ball in the stands and what do you say? Nothing, youve just got to go get it. You learn a lot from that." Salmons is not Oakley - few are - but his experience and know-how could go a long way in the continued development of sophomores Terrence Ross and Jonas Valanciunas. Then theres DeMar DeRozan, another willing student who, in his fifth NBA season has been forced to learn on the fly without the benefit of a mentor. Veteran players have come and gone - DeRozan credited Reggie Evans and Jarrett Jack - but the roster has mostly been in flux since the 24-year-old was drafted. No one has been around long enough to truly take DeRozan under their wing. Salmons may not be a long-term fixture either, but for now DeRozan is taking in what he can. "Hes played in the playoffs, hes been a leader a long time, played with a lot of great guys," DeRozan said of his new teammates. "He knows how to play the game. "Were definitely paying attention to it, Im even paying more attention to it. I always look at it like, I could always learn more and thats what were doing." Salmons is due to make $7 million next season but the Raptors will only owe him $1 million should they waive him prior to June 30. For that reason, he could become a valuable trade chip and thanks to Masai Ujiris timely acquisition of the four Kings players, he can be repackaged before the February deadline. His time in Toronto may end up being short-lived but even as a temporary player, he could have a long-lasting impact on the future of the Raptors franchise. http://www.magliaacmilan.it/maglia-ac-milan-mario-balotelli.html . On Tuesday, Ottawa placed forward Cory Conacher and defenceman Joe Corvo on waivers as trade rumours swirl around the Senators. http://www.magliaacmilan.it/maglia-ac-milan-cristian-zapata.html . -- Matt Ryan needed one of the best games of his career to lead the Falcons and their depleted offence out of their three-game losing streak last week. http://www.magliaacmilan.it/maglia-ac-milan-diego-lopez.html . Detroit and Boston are deadlocked, 1-1, and Tigers manager Jim Leyland could be forgiven if he was caught rationalizing instead of dissecting how his club could blow a 5-1 lead late in Game 2.PHILADELPHIA - Jiri Tlusty scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period to lift the Carolina Hurricanes to a 3-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday night. Nathan Gerbe had a highlight-worthy goal and Alexander Semin also scored for Carolina, which improved to 3-0 against Philadelphia this season. Claude Giroux and Scott Hartnell scored for the Flyers, who lost for just the second time at home in their last 14 games. Tlusty beat Flyers goalie Steve Mason from close range high to the glove side with 6:10 remaining. The game originally was scheduled for Tuesday but was postponed due to the snowstorm that hit Philadelphia and much of the Northeast. As a result, Carolina also moved its home game against Ottawa from Friday to Saturday in order to avoid playing on three straight nights. The Hurricanes play at Buffalo on Thursday. Semin opened the scoring for Carolina with just over 8 minutes left in the first period when he fired a wrist shot over Masons glove hand into the top shelf. Neither team generated much offence in the opening period, as the Hurricanes outshot Philadelphia 8-3. Each team scored once in the second period, with Gerbe putting the Hurricanes up 2-0 with a breakaway goal with 6:22 left in the period. Gerbe benefited from a mistake by Flyers defenceman Luke Schenn, who misplayed a pass back to the point and couldnt recover when the speedy Gerbe got behind him. He put the puck through his legs and wristed it past Mason with his hands in an awkward position on a goal that surely will be plaayed countless times on the nightly highlight shows. http://www.magliaacmilan.it/maglia-ac-milan-personalizzata.html. Philadelphia got on the board with 35 seconds left in the second when Giroux scored from a tough angle when his backhander ricocheted off the chest of Carolina goaltender Anton Khudobin and into the goal. And the Flyers tied it just 3 minutes into the third period on Hartnells power-play goal. Giroux took the initial shot from the top of the left circle and Wayne Simmonds failed on the rebound attempt. But the puck caromed off Khudobin and to Hartnell, who scored from point-blank range. Mason had struggled in his last four games, with a 4.55 goals-against average, but brought a strong career record against Carolina into Wednesdays contest. Mason entered 5-1-1 with a 1.85 GAA against the Hurricanes. He finished with 29 saves. NOTES: Tuesdays postponement marked the first time in Flyers history that a home game was postponed due to weather. Philadelphia had to postpone a home game on March 13, 1993, due to arena issues at the Spectrum. ... Philadelphia RW Jakub Voracek started after being questionable due to a left hand injury suffered in Mondays game against the Islanders. ... Carolina hadnt won three straight against Philadelphia since a six-game winning streak from Dec. 22, 1990-April 15, 1992 when they were the Hartford Whalers. ... Peter Laviolette was fired after Philadelphias loss to Carolina on Oct. 6 and replaced by current Flyers coach Craig Berube. ... 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