WINNIPEG -- Its a bit of a homecoming for new assistant Winnipeg Jets coach Perry Pearn, who cut his NHL teeth with the old Jets just before they left for Phoenix in 1996. Shane Vereen Jersey Elite . "I didnt want to leave when I left the last time," Pearn said Thursday at a press conference to announce his hiring. "I really enjoyed the year I coached there." He was an assistant to head coach Terry Simpson in 1995-96 but left for the Ottawa Senators when the Jets headed south. He admits that at the time, returning to Winnipeg within the NHL was something he thought would never be in the cards, with the way things were heading in the league for smaller-market teams. "I always knew the fan base was there and the city loved the team but financially, the way the league had gone . . . smaller centres, even a team like Ottawa when I was there, were going through problems. "To see where the league has come and to see what happened last year in Winnipeg was absolutely fantastic." Pearn, 61, lost his assistant coaching job early last season with the struggling Montreal Canadiens, although he remained with them as a scout for the remainder of his contract. It still rankles a bit, although he says coaches know what to expect. "Obviously I was really disappointed with how things ended there. I felt like the first two years as a staff we had done a very good job as of maximizing the talent we were working with. "The biggest disappointment for me was the lack of patience, eight games in the kind of decision that was made just seemed to be a bit premature." But he was happy at the chance it provided for him to see a lot of teams he hadnt seen much of in the West. "One of the teams I got a chance to see a number of times was the Winnipeg Jets. . . When you coach in the East as long as I have, you start to lose contact (with the West)." He already has lots of connections to the Jets and Winnipeg. His daughter lives in the city and he once coached Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff. He has remained friends with assistant GM Craig Heisinger. Head coach Claude Noel says hes pleased to add someone with Pearns extensive experience to his staff, although his exact role hasnt yet been determined. "To me it was very simple to make the decision this would be a smart addition to our staff," he said. "At the end of the day this gives a better opportunity to win and his experience is very valuable." The Jets also announced they had extended the contracts of their other assistant coaches -- Charlie Huddy and Pascal Vincent, as well as goaltending coach Wade Flaherty and video coach Tony Borgford. They also extended the contract of St. Johns IceCaps assistant coach Mark Morrison. In the NHL, Pearn has been an assistant coach with the Ottawa Senators, New York Rangers and Canadiens. He spent three seasons with the Canadiens alongside Jacques Martin and worked as an assistant to Martin with the Senators from 1996-2004. He also spent almost two decades at the university level, in the Western Hockey League and with Hockey Canada, as a gold-medal winning assistant coach and head coach with junior teams. Rob Gronkowski Camo Jersey . "I told him it was his fault we were playing," DeRozan said, laughing. Laughing was about all the Toronto Raptors guard could do after dropping a 140-133 loss to the Utah Jazz in triple overtime -- a game that was in Torontos grasp until Jefferson drained just the second three-pointer of his career with 2. John Hannah Jersey Authentic . Offensively, Rick Nash and Bobby Ryan are the two biggest trade pieces available. While the New York Rangers have been widely considered the frontrunners for Nash, the fact that both the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins failed to land Parise means these two powerhouse teams will now focus on Columbus and perhaps, engage in a bidding war that Blue Jackets general manager Scott Howson predicted would happen once Zach Parise made his move. http://www.... . -- Ai Miyazatos closing birdie on Sunday provided exactly what the Japanese star needed to get over the victory hump at the NW Arkansas Championship. [url=http://www.patriotsofficialteamstore.com/rob-gronkowski-jersey/]Rob Gronkowski Game Jersey . Stevenson (18-1, 15 KOs) has flattened his last five opponents, two of them in the first round. George (23-2-1, 20 KOs) has lost two of his last five by decision to opponents that have managed to take him deep into the fight. Jeff Demps Patriots Jersey . -- Tyler Ferry scored 1:51 into overtime as the London Knights edged the Kitchener Rangers 3-2 on Thursday in Game 1 of the Ontario Hockey Leagues Western Conference final.NHLPA head Donald Fehr said Friday the players are prepared for the eventuality of an owners lockout if a new collective bargaining agreement cant be reached. Fehr wrapped up a meeting held over parts of two days with about 40 players at a hotel outside of OHare International Airport. The union will hold similar informational meetings next week in Kelowna, B.C. and Toronto. Fehr said its no surprise for players to hear about the possibility of a lockout, especially since both the NFL and NBA have recently weathered shutdowns. Players are not surprised and fully understand what the ramifications of a work stoppage would mean, since most of them either lived through or have teammates who were playing when the NHL shut down in 2004, he said. "It was interested. It was focused. It was sobered," Fehr said, describing the tone of the meetings. "Players understand what is going on, understand what the issues are and understand how the owners proposal will affect them, understand how this compares to what happened seven years ago. ... understand that this will affect their lives if we cant find a way through this in the immediate future." The league wants the players to give up a significant amount of salary to stabilize the industry while the union maintains that goal would be best accomplished with the wealthy teams doing more to help their struggling counterparts. Fehr is scheduled to resume formal discussions with the league Aug. 22. When that starts, the league and the union will have just 24 days left to reach a new agreement and avoid a lockout. The current CBA runs out on Sept. 15 -- by which time Commissioner Gary Bettman wants a deal in place. The regular season is set to start Oct. 11. The entire 2004-05 season was lost to a lockout and then the players eventually accepted a 24 per cent rollback on salaries and a cap. Despite the wide philosophical gap between the two sides, Fehr said there is still time to reach an agreement. "If there is a mutual will to get this done, if we can find a common platform around which to construct an agreement, then obviously there is plenty of time in which to do that," he said, adding hes out of the prediction business. "Unfortunately, what you saw in the last two negotiations in football and basketball, and can be argued what happened in hockey iin 2004, is that the lockout was the strategy of first choice, not the strategy of last resort," Fehr continued. Elite Tim Tebow Patriots Jersey. "I hope thats not true this time, but time will tell. Having said that, when Gary says its much more preferable to get a deal done before Sept. 15, we agree with him." Phoenix Coyotes right-wing David Moss said the players are prepared and have discussed all eventualities. "The league are the ones saying that if we dont come to a decision. ... The players are still very optimistic and hopeful that things will get done on time, and were working in that fashion," said Moss, who played last season with the Calgary Flames. "The players are preparing theres going to be a season; they do all the things leading up to that until were told otherwise." Under the owners proposal, the players share in revenue would be cut from 57 per cent to 43 per cent and would include a change to the way the salary cap is calculated. Instead of being set at US$8 million above the midpoint, the upper limit would be reduced to $4 million above. As a result, the salary cap would drop to $50.8 million next season, which is below where the floor currently rests. The league also called for the elimination of salary arbitration, contract limits of five years (with equal money paid each year, essentially eliminating signing bonuses) and 10 years of service before unrestricted free agency kicks in. The NHLPA estimated the leagues proposal would cost players approximately $450 million per season. Fehr designed his own system, including an expanded revenue-sharing plan that would see the wealthy teams distribute more than $250 million per season to the ones having financial struggles. "One of the things the players asked me," Fehr said, "is, Why did we give them what we did the last time if this was going to be the result this time? "One of the things which appears to happen in the capped sports, is no matter what the economic circumstances are claimed to be, whether they are claimed to be losses as we had in basketball this last time, or whether theres an acknowledgment there are no financial problems, as we had in the NFL this last time, it doesnt matter. The position is, we have a cap and the cap has to be lowered. "That seems to be the case." ' ' '