During the 2013-14 season, Jim Benning studied the Vancouver Canucks from afar. Cheap Under Armour Shoes China .Months later, the former general manager of the Boston Bruins is unsure what went so drastically wrong for a franchise that only three years prior had represented the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup final.For whatever reason, Benning told the Associated Press, last year things didnt go as scripted.Vancouver finished fifth in the Pacific Division, 12th in the Western Conference, and did not qualify the playoffs for the first time since 2007-08.The punishment for missing the playoffs was harsh. GM Mike Gillis, coach John Tortorella and his top assistant, Mike Sullivan, were fired. In place of Gillis and Tortorella are Benning and Willie Desjardins, who are tasked with returning Vancouver to the playoffs.With the Canucks set to begin their season Oct. 8 in Calgary, here are some things to watch for:POWER PLAY: The Canucks learned what the New York Rangers had long known: Tortorella and Sullivan arent the remedies for a malfunctioning power play. Vancouver had the second-worst man advantage in the West a€” and fourth-worst in the NHL a€” last season, despite the presence of Daniel and Henrik Sedin, Ryan Kesler and Jason Garrison.YOUTH MOVEMENT: By his own admission, Benning and the hockey operations department could make difficult verdicts about the construction of the team prior to the start of the season due to the play of prospects Bo Horvat, Nicklas Jensen, Hunter Shinkaruk and Linden Vey in preseason.Theyve given our group energy through the exhibition (season). These guys have scored, so its creating interesting scenarios and its going to make some tough decisions in the end, Benning said. Theyve had strong camps.NEW DESJARDINS: The disconnect between Tortorella and his team was evident on the last day of the Canucks 2013-14 season. The coach wanted the roster gutted, while his charges thought tweaks needed to be made in order for the team to qualify for the playoffs. Vancouver believes there will be more unity in 2014-15 with Tortorella replaced by Desjardins.Willie is the type of personality that the players all want to work hard for him, Benning said. Everywhere hes been, hes got buy in from players. He respects the players. He gets them to compete hard, to work hard every night. I think with his personality and the type of players and team (we have), its a good fit.KEEP ON ROLLING: Tortorella favoured a philosophy in which top players were overloaded with ice time. That will change under Desjardins, who told reporters in September that the Canucks want to play with four lines. To that end, Vancouver added forwards Radim Vrbata Nick Bonino and Derek Dorsett, and defenceman Luca Sbisa, to add depth to Vancouvers skaters.We want to get back to who we are, Benning said. Thats a hard working team when (we) dont have the puck (and) when we do have the puck, have the ability to use speed and skill to create scoring chances and take the puck to the net.CHARACTER CANUCKS: One intangible players, coaches and executives stress as being vital to a teams success is character. Benning is no different, as he praised the substance of the players he brought in this off-season.Theyre all hard-working, character guys, Benning said. We brought in skill players in Radim Vrbata and Nick Bonino. Derek Dorsett (is a) guy who will do whatever needs to be done to help the team. Luca Sbisa is a physical, stay-at-home defenceman. I would say the one quality they all have is that theyre all high character players. Discount Under Armour Shoes .The other side of the Bruins special teams unit delivered in the end.Gregory Campbell netted the game-winner with less than 10 minutes remaining and the Bruins fended off a late four-minute San Jose power play to earn a wild 5-3 win over the Sharks. Under Armour Shoes Clearance Sale . -- The way Ted Ligety carved into turns looked so easy. http://www.underarmourwholesale.com/ . Weise left the arena with a splint on his wrist and underwent tests to determine whether the tendon is torn. Winger Travis Moen will also miss some time after suffering a concussion in Mondays contest.Former NFL lineman Jeremy Newberry often hobbled into the 49ers locker room on game days using a walking boot and crutches, then lined up behind as many as two dozen teammates, in his case to get a shot of the painkiller Toradol in the butt. Ten minutes later, he sprinted out of the tunnel and onto the field. The toughness of pro football players may be legendary, but a lawsuit filed Tuesday on behalf of more than 600 former players contends it was abetted by team physicians and trainers across the NFL who routinely -- and often illegally -- dispensed powerful narcotics and other controlled substances on game days to mask the pain. Among them were the painkillers Percodan, Percocet and Vicodin, anti-inflammatories such as Toradol, and sleep aids such as Ambien -- "handed out like candy at Halloween," according to lead attorney Steven SIlverman. Sometimes, the lawsuit also charges, the drugs were given in combinations as "cocktails." "The stuff works," Newberry, who played seven of his nine seasons in San Francisco before retiring in 2009, told The Associated Press in an interview. "It works like crazy. It really does." But only for so long. Newberry, now 38 and one of the eight plaintiffs so far named in the lawsuit, says that because of the drugs he took while playing, he suffers from kidney failure, high blood pressure and violent headaches. Others -- including three members of the NFL champion 1985 Chicago Bears: quarterback Jim McMahon, Hall of Fame defensive end Richard Dent and offensive lineman Keith Van Horne -- reported a range of debilitating effects, from chronic muscle and bone ailments to permanent nerve and organ damage to addiction. "Our attorneys have not seen the lawsuit," said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, in Atlanta for the leagues spring meetings, "and obviously I have been in meetings all day." The lawsuits main burden is proving cause and effect -- that use of painkillers long ago is responsible for chronic problems the players face now. The claims are for a wide variety of problems that are common in older people, such as high blood pressure, knee replacements, arthritis, kidney problems, heart attacks and abnormal heart rhythms. The diversity of these problems, affecting so many different parts and body systems, tends to argue against a single cause, such as painkiller use. The players also would have to show that they are suffering these problems at a greater rate than other people their age, and that its not due to other risk factors such as obesity, smoking and family history. Six of the plaintiffs in the new lawsuit filed in federal court in San Francisco, including McMahon and Van Horne, were also parties to the concussion-related class-action lawsuit less than a year ago. The NFL agreed tto pay $765 million to settle that case -- without acknowledging it concealed the risks of concussions from former players. Under Armour Shoes Cheap Online. A federal judge has yet to approve the settlement, expressing concern the amount is too small. "The difference is that the concussion case claimed the NFL knew or should have known," Silverman said. "Were saying this was intentional, putting profits ahead of players health -- and in violation of federal controlled substance laws, as well as state laws. You dont order hundreds of narcotic painkillers in their names without telling them." The lawsuit covers the years 1968-2008. Silverman said a number of clients reported teams had "tightened up" dispensing procedures since then, including one incident in which a player said a trainer waited until the team plane on a flight home was 10,000 feet in the air before handing over a narcotic "to avoid violating any state laws." McMahon and Van Horne were among several players wqho said they were never told about broken bones and fed pills to mask the pain instead. Toradol, which players called a "full-body numb-er" and "the current game-day drug of choice of the NFL" was prevalent enough that Newberry described frequently seeing both teammates and opponents during warm-ups with blood spots on the buttocks of their pants -- a telltale sign theyd taken a pre-game injection. "There was a room set up near the locker room and you got in line," said Kyle Turley, who played for three NFL teams in an eight-year career. "Obviously, we were grown adults and we had a choice. But when a team doctor is saying this will take the pain away, you trust them. Newberry said he regrets that decision now, but never considered not taking the drugs during his career because he feared hed be out of a job if he didnt play. After his retirement, a specialist who reviewed his medical records concluded the protein levels in his urine had been elevated -- a precursor to kidney problems -- for years. Newberry said he got blood work during a team-sponsored physical every year but was never told about any problems. "They said, Youre good to go, you passed another one. Youre cleared to play," he recalled. Silverman said he planned to serve the NFL with the lawsuit within the next 120 days, after which the league has 30 days to respond. The case could be significantly delayed if there are similar filings and the lawsuits are eventually consolidated into a single class-action. "We hope this gets to trial," Silverman said. "I could see a scenario where, if it were to go to discovery, there would be more doctors and trainers taking the Fifth (Amendment) than providing sworn testimony. We think the problem is that profound." ' ' '