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With the NHLs free agency period just days away from opening, teams are making decisions on how to build their rosters for next season. Check out todays rumours and speculation from around the NHL beat, and follow TSN.ca each day until July 5 for all the updates. Be sure to tune in to TSN2 and visit TSN.ca on July 5 for Free Agent Frenzy, starting at Noon et/9am pt. Something Bruin? For Ottawas hockey fans it is downright unfathomable to consider Daniel Alfredsson wearing any other jersey than the Senators, but Boston Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli isnt letting that get in the way of trying to make it a reality. TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun of ESPN reported today that Chiarelli – a former Senators executive himself – reached out to Alfredssons camp and spoke with them “at great length” in hopes of luring the pending free agent to Boston for the coming season. Chiarelli was believed to be interested in acquiring Alfredsson at the 2013 NHL Trade Deadline, but the Senators – still in the playoff hunt at the time – did not opt to move their franchise face. The 2012-13 season marked the final one for the 40-year-old Alfredsson on a four-year deal he signed prior to 2009-10 worth an annual average value of $4.875 million. His 2012-13 salary was $1 million. The Nathan Horton Tour According to TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun on Twitter, unrestricted free agent forward Nathan Horton is already visiting an NHL team in its respective city today. No one with the Jackets nor with his camp will confirm it, but LeBrun believes he was in Columbus. LeBrun believes hell end up in a quieter, non-traditional hockey market. Danny Boy With Vincent Lecavalier off the market, some of the focus will now be on unrestricted free agent Daniel Briere. The Canadiens, having lost out on Lecavalier, made contact with Brieres camp Tuesday night, a source confirmed to Pierre LeBrun. Sources also indicated that the New Jersey Devils and Nashville Predators are among the teams to show solid interest in Briere and have already spoken to the Briere camp, which is led by agent Pat Brisson. Other teams were expected to contact Brieres camp Tuesday night and Wednesday. Briere is apparently no longer considering the New York Islanders, but the New Jersey Devils are one of the finalists, according to Newsdays Arthur Staple. Briere told the Buffalo News earlier Wednesday he was down to eight teams, including his former team the Sabres. Other notes from Pierre LeBrun: - Rob Scuderis agent, Steve Bartlett, said he began to hear from other teams Wednesday regarding his client, but the Los Angeles Kings remain very much in the mix for the unrestricted free agent. - Patrice Bergeron and the Bruins are close to agreeing to an extension that LeBrun believes will pay him between $52-54 million. - Three teams have reached out to Bill Zito, the agent for Tim Thomas, on Wednesday morning to express their interest in signing the veteran netminder. Jacket Fitting Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen is headed into his first free agent season in the NHL and he already knows what hell be looking for once the bell rings on July 5. Kekalainen told the Columbus Dispatch that a scoring forward is definitely on his shopping list, but that theyre more interested in skill over size. “If you ask anybody, theyd take a 6-5 guy who scores 30 goals over a 5-8 guy who scores 30 goals,” Kekalainen told Aaron Portzline of the Dispatch. “But me personally, I prefer the small guys who play with big heart to the big guys who are less passionate.” The biggest names available are blends of size and skill, players like David Clarkson and Nathan Horton. However, if Kekalainen is true to his word it could open the door for the Jackets to grab a talent like Danny Briere, Valtteri Filppula or Clarke MacArthur. Ring Ring The open market has lit up the phone lines for Los Angeles Kings defenceman Rob Scuderi. While the Kings are still very much in the mix, LeBrun confirmed that there remains interest from other teams on the 34-year-old. Scuderi just completed a four-year, $13.6 million deal he signed with the Kings prior to 2009-10. Off The Table As tweeted by TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger on Wednesday, the Canucks buyout of defenceman Keith Ballard means that Alexander Edler is off the market. Jordan 11 Retro Cheap . The San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders are giving it a try, too. Jordan 11 For Sale Cheap Real .C. -- Martin Kaymer set a U. http://www.cheapairjordan11.net/.com) - Real Madrid claimed its 20th consecutive win across all competitions by cruising to a 4-1 victory at Almeria on Friday. Discount Air Jordan 11 . Hernandez (3-0) struck out 11 and shut down Oakland for the second time in a week, becoming the first Mariners pitcher to win three times in the first nine games of a season. With the usual "Kings Court" for Hernandez home starts expanded to a "Supreme Court" encompassing the entire stadium with yellow shirts and "K" cards, Hernandez gave up four hits in the 28th double-digit strikeout game of his career. Jordan 11 Cheap China . -- Coyotes coach Dave Tippett thinks of one thing when he watches Eastern Conference teams struggle against Western opponents before they get to Phoenix: His team must keep pace.The 2014 NCAA football season kicks off on Thursday and, as always, there is plenty of intrigue leading into Division 1 in the post-BCS world. Here are five storylines to follow as the season gets underway: 1. The BCS is dead: The system still isnt perfect and not exactly what everybody wants to see, but its better than the BCS. No longer will teams vie for only two spots in the BCS Title game, but now four teams will be eligible to compete for the College Football Championship in a semi-final playoff format. Bowl season will still exist, but rather than have the title game conclude the bowl schedule, two bowl games will act as de facto semi-finals. Those bowls will come from the six games that were previously designated as part of the BCS series and will rotate every year among the Orange Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Peach Bowl, Sugar Bowl and Rose Bowl. This season, the two semi-final bowls will be the Sugar and Rose Bowls. The four participants in these semi-finals will be selected from a committee made up of 13 members, including former United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The criteria for selection into the semi-finals will take into account much of what was previously considered for the BCS Title game, but the NCAA notes that the new format would not preclude multiple teams from the same conference to appear in the two semi-finals and that AP Top 25 rankings will not be considered. A week after the semi-final bowls, the National Championship Game will be played on January 12, 2015 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. 2. Jameis Winston and a second Heisman: Defending Heisman Trophy winner Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston is the early betting favourite to claim this years trophy, but he certainly has his work cut out for him and will enter rarefied air if he can do so. Only one man in the trophys 78-year history has claimed two awards, Ohio State running back Archie Griffin (1974 and 1975). Though history might not be on Winstons side and the redshirt sophomore, whose offseason was plagued with a sexual assault complaint and a pair of shoplifting incidents, would much rather help coach Jimbo Fisher and the preseason top-ranked Seminoles retain their national title than claim individual glory, the 20-year-old might have the best chance to do what the likes of Roger Staubach, Tim Tebow and Johnny Manziel couldnt. Perhaps not as deep as last years squad, Winston will still have many of the same weapons at his disposal this season, including WR Rashad Greene and RB Karlos Williams, and the Seminoles are expected by many to perform up to last years highs. That said, the field is stacked with potential Heisman candidates this year and, if Winston cant surpass or even equal his impressive numbers from last season, voters will likely look elsewhere. If not Winston, then who? Quarterbacks Marcus Mariota (Oregon) and Brett Hundley (UCLA) chose not to enter the 2014 NFL Draft to return to their respective schools and will give Winston the most competition on the pivot front. There are no shortage of running back candidates, including Duke Johnson (Miami), Ameer Abdullah (Nebraska), TJ Yeldon (Alabama), Mike Davis (South Carolina), Melvin Gordon (Wisconsin) and Todd Gurley (Georgia). 3. Academic fraud hits Notre Dame again: The Fighting Irish went on a run unforeseen by most two seasons ago, going 12-0 through the year only to be humbled in the BCS Title game 42-14 by Alabama. Though key players like LB Manti Teo, TE Tyler Eifert and safeties Zeke Motta and Jamoris Slaughter moved on to the NFL, hopes were still high around South Bend that the team could try to replicate the previous years high. That, of course, was before starting quarterback Everett Golson was suspended for the season after being deemed academically ineligible last May. Golson later admitted to cheating on a test as the reason for his suspension, but Brian Kellys Irish struggled with Tommy Rees at quarterback and the team finished a disappointing 8-4, falling well short of expectations. Golson was readmitted to Notre Dame and Kelly once again installed him as his starting QB, but academic infractions have reared their ugly heads again, this time with four players, including three starters.dddddddddddd Suspended for Week 1 against Rice are starters CB KeiVarae Russell, OLB Ishaq Williams and WR DaVaris Daniels. Danielss absence will be felt most, as the junior was to be a key weapon for Golson and was last seasons leading receiver. While the probe investigating the quartet has yet to be completed and theres a chance that all four could return at some point this season, a second academic scandal in two years has taken some lustre off of the storied institution and there could be program-wide penalties to follow. It will be interesting to see how Kellys charges can cope with what could be a season-long black cloud hanging over the Irishs heads. 4. Taking the reins: There are a number of new coaches at high-profile institutions this season and, when it comes to a big program, theres never any grace period. After 15 seasons, six Big 12 titles and a national championship, Mack Brown was shown the door at Texas. Taking charge of the Longhorns will be Charlie Strong, who spent the last four seasons at Louisville. Known for his commitment to defence and a no-nonsense approach, Strong will look to reignite a Longhorns program that has been in decline since losing the 2009 BCS Title game to USC. Speaking of the Trojans, Southern California hopes to have found its long-term successor to Pete Carroll. The Lane Kiffin era, which came nowhere close to Carrolls reign, ended with a thud just five games into last season when the former Oakland Raiders coach was dismissed from his post. Assistant Ed Orgeron did an admirable job in guiding the team to a 6-2 finish, but was never really considered for the permanent position. Steve Sarkisian, after five seasons with Washington, returns to the Trojans as the man given the task of restoring USC back to prominence. Sarkisian has eight years of experience coaching at various positions with the school, including acting as offensive coordinator under Carroll. Carroll even saw Sarkisian as his successor with the Trojans. Though, Sarkisian was greatly influenced by the now Seattle Seahawks coach, he brings his own style back to USC with a no-huddle offence and a 3-4 defence. Bill OBrien did an admirable job at Penn State in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal and the dismissal of Joe Paterno, but with OBrien now coaching the Houston Texans, James Franklin assumes control in Happy Valley. Franklin already seems to have good rapport with sophomore quarterback Christian Hackenberg and, with the end of NCAA sanctions on the horizon, the Nittany Lions are looking at what could be a top-three recruitment class next season. Also of interest is Bobby Petrinos return to Louisville seven years after his very acrimonious exit from the Cardinals. 5. Can SEC domination be stopped?: Florida State claimed a national title last season for the ACC, but in the 16 years of the BCS era, nine national titles were claimed by Southeastern Conference schools, including seven of the last 10. With seven SEC representatives in the preseason AP Top 25 (Alabama, Auburn, South Carolina, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Mizzou) the SEC can once again stake its claim as the best conference in Division 1, but can it produce a champion? Of the title contenders, Nick Sabans Crimson Tide has the most favourable out-of-conference schedule, while Auburn will play a good Kansas State team and South Carolina has a date with Clemson. It will be, of course, the conference schedule that decides who comes out alive from the SEC, but one loss in the conference wont necessarily preclude a trip to the Sugar or Rose Bowl. The same scenario could play out in the Pac-12, who have six teams of their own in the preseason AP Top 25 (Oregon, UCLA, Stanford, USC, Arizona State and Washington), where one of the most competitive seasons in years appears to be on tap out west. Prediction: Alabama, UCLA, Oklahoma and Georgia are the four College Football Playoff teams with the Crimson Tide claiming their fourth national championship in six seasons and 20th overall. TSNs NCAA football coverage kicks off on Thursday with Wake Forest taking on Louisiana-Monroe on TSN2 (7pm et/4pm pt) and #18 Ole Miss hosting Boise State on TSN3 (8pm et/5pm pt) ' ' '