With the NHL Draft coming up on June 27 and free agency opening on July 1, discussions between NHL general managers are already heating up towards a busy off-season. Each day, TSN.ca provides the latest rumours, reports and speculation from around the NHL beat. This And That From TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun on Wednesday: The Los Angeles Kings have already reached out to Marian Gaboriks camp to try to get something done to keep the pending UFA in the fold. Pending UFA defenceman Andrei Markov of the Montreal Canadiens remains unsigned as the clock ticks toward July 1. "No news. I dont expect anything to happen any time soon," Markovs agent, former NHLer Sergei Berezin, told LeBrun via text Wednesday morning. "But you never know." Agent Steve Bartlett remains in talks with the Tampa Bay Lightning about pending UFA Ryan Callahan: "Good-faith talks with Tampa continue, hard to handicap at this point," Bartlett said via email Wednesday morning. Avalanche of issues As per TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger on TSN Radio 1050 on Wednesday, the Colorado Avalanche will have some difficult decisions to make surrounding Ryan OReilly and Paul Stastny. One of these situations will definitely get messy and one wonders if Stastny will take a "home town discount." Bolland Banter While speculation continues to surround the Toronto Maple Leafs and pending UFA Dave Bolland, TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger told TSN Radio 1050 on Wednesday that as significant as Bolland is to the Leafs, there is a contract number in mind that the team is not comfortable going over. Singing The Blues? As per Andy Strickland of St. Louiss Big 550 KTRS, the Blues are Jason Spezzas top choice as a possible trade destination. Strickland adds that Spezza believes hes headed to either the Blues or the Anaheim Ducks. Not So Fast Calgary Flames general manager Brad Treliving denied a report over the weekend that suggesting he would offer Jiri Hudler, Mikael Backlund, "possibly" Dennis Wideman and and a draft pick for Ottawa Senators centre Jason Spezza. "Its categorically false," he told Eric Francis of The Calgary Sun. "I havent made any such offers. Thats 100 per cent Fantasy Island. I saw it early Sunday online and had to read it a couple times and had to remind myself oh ya Im the Flames GM. Interesting." Treliving added that while he and soon-to-be-free agent Michael Cammalleri are in talks regarding a possible contract, there was nothing to a report that both sides had agreed to his price but were not in agreement on term. "The only things were unable to agree on are term and price - other than that we have a deal," he told The Sun. Pause Button On Kane? TSN Radio 1260s Gary Lawless wrote in The Winnipeg Free Press on Wednesday that Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff wont deal Evander Kane just for the sake of trading him, as team management believes Kane has yet to reach his full potential and they wouldnt want to see him score 40-plus goals in a different uniform. Lawless adds that the Jets arent going to be offered a roster player of equal value and that teams will try to offer picks and prospects. Market for R.J. Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch writes that R.J. Umberger has given the Blue Jackets a list of 10 teams to which he would not approve a trade. He adds that the Blue Jackets first choice would be to trade Umberger for a player or a draft pick, but they will likely have to keep some of Umbergers salary to make it happen. Elandon Roberts Jersey . The Thunder earned the Game 1 win with a 100-86 victory Saturday night. 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Kevin Faulk Jersey .J. -- Freshman Eli Carter scored a career-high 31 points and hit the go-ahead basket in the second overtime as Rutgers rallied to stun No.MANGARATIBA, Brazil - A hard rain was falling when Gianluigi Buffon paused for a moment during an Italy training session Tuesday. Leaning forward with both hands on his knees, Buffon appeared to be resting or somehow trying to withstand the rain. Or perhaps the 36-year-old goalkeeper and Italy captain was reflecting on this: He is only the third player in history to be part of five World Cup squads, along with Germany great Lothar Matthaus and former Mexico goalkeeper Antonio Carbajal. Buffon first went to the World Cup back in 1998, although he didnt play a second-choice option behind Gianluca Pagliuca. He then took over the starting position from 2002 onward. "A fifth World Cup is a nice milestone but that doesnt mean Im satisfied," Buffon said before departing for Brazil. "Both individually and as a squad were preparing to surprise people." Buffon, of course, doesnt need to prove anything at this point in his career. He was one of the driving forces behind Italys run to the 2006 World Cup title, when he didnt concede a single goal to opponents during normal play over the course of seven matches — letting in only an own goal from Cristian Zaccardo and a penalty from Zinedine Zidane in the final won over France. He helped Parma to the UEFA Cup title way back in 1999 and has since won five Serie A titles with Juventus — including the last three. "As the years go by, Gigi still has the same amount of desire," said midfielder Claudio Marchisio, who plays with Buffon with both Italy and Juventus. "Hes a great professional, a great friend, and a top-level player. Hes a player who is able to give his all in every moment and always offer the right words of encouragement. "There are players here who are at their first big tournament and hes always there offering the right words of advice," Marchisio added Tuesday. Now that Buffon is setting records for longevity, its worth remembering what an early start he had. Born to members of Italys national teams in athletics (his mother) and weightlifting (father), Buffons distant relative Lorenzo Buffon was also Italys goalkeeper in the 1950s. Having played in midfield as a kid, Buffon decided he wanted to be a goalkeeper after seeing Thomas NKono defend Cameroons goal during the 1990 World Cup in Italy — when Buffon was 12 — and years later Buffon named his first son Louis Thomas after NKono. In 1991 when Buffon was just 13, Parma purchased his rights and put him in their youth system.dddddddddddd At 17, Buffon made his Serie A debut with Parma, keeping a clean sheet in a 0-0 draw against AC Milan. At 19, Buffon made a memorable Italy debut on a snowy pitch in Moscow during a playoff with Russia for a spot in the 1998 World Cup. Coming off a frigid bench as an injury replacement for Pagliuca, Buffon first raised eyebrows by wearing shorts in the arctic-like conditions then made a series of impressive saves in a 1-1 draw. Fast forward to 2006, when Buffon was one of the few key players to stay with Juventus when the Turin club was relegated to Serie B due to a match-fixing scandal — meaning that a month after guiding Italy to the World Cup title, he was playing in small second-division stadiums. Then at the 2010 World Cup, Buffon struggled with back pain. He played only a portion of Italys opening match and the Azzurri were promptly eliminated after the first round. But he was back in place to help Italy reach the final of the 2012 European Championship. And last October, Buffon surpassed Fabio Cannavaro with an Italy-record 137th appearance. So how does Buffon keep going? "Motivation is the key," he said in a recent interview with Italian daily La Repubblica. "Reflexes diminish. At my age you dont improve anymore, so its better to reduce training and take better care of injury prevention, nutrition and gym work." Buffon has often recounted how he fell into depression about 10 years ago, then resuscitated himself by turning to literature. He has also been the subject of a couple betting scandals. In 2011, he married Czech model Alena Seredova but Buffon announced last month when Italy gathered to begin training that they had separated. In announcing their split, Buffon thanked Seredova publicly for not making things too difficult for him, and said that he hopes she will bring their two boys to watch him play in Brazil. Whether Seredova and the boys come is yet to be seen. Either way, Buffon has already inscribed his name in the World Cup record books. And who knows, maybe Buffon will continue playing and go back to Russia and the site of his Italy debut for the 2018 World Cup, when hell be 40 — the same age that one of his idols, Dino Zoff, was when he helped Italy to the 1982 World Cup title. "Ill keep playing as long as I dont become a reserve," Buffon said. "Once the day comes that I get benched, thats when Ill hang my boots up." ___ Follow Andrew Dampf at http://twitter.com/asdampf ' ' '