WASHINGTON - Heres a not-so-subtle message delivered by general manager Bruce Allen on the day Mike Shanahan was fired: If Shanahan had listened to his underlings more, the Washington Redskins wouldnt be in such a mess. This week, at the NFL draft, therell be another chance to find out if thats so. In addition to being the head coach, Shanahan had final say on all personnel matters, notably free agency and the draft. When Shanahan was dismissed after a 3-13 season, Allen decided to retain two front office employees who had toiled mostly in anonymity, giving advice on which players to pursue. "The personnel department of Scott Campbell and Morocco Brown actually do a very good job at what they do. ... To blame them, I think, would be unfair," Allen said. "We believe that we have the right people in place." Both Campbell and Brown were given greater authority by Allen, with Campbell focusing on the draft and Brown handling free agency. When Campbell speaks to reporters this week, it will be his first formal news conference in his 13 years in various roles with the team. "I think Scott Campbell running a college draft will be as capable as any personnel director in the NFL," Allen said. OK, Scott, the boards all yours. Here are five things Campbell is sure to be contemplating as the Redskins make their final preparations for the 2014 draft: FINAL PAYMENT: The Redskins are finally paying off the final installment of the Robert Griffin III invoice, the last of three first-round picks given to the St. Louis Rams in 2012 for the chance to move up and select the former Heisman Trophy winner. Its still too early to judge which team got the better of the trade, but the Rams are reaping a major benefit this year: Because Washington had such a lousy season, St. Louis has the No. 2 overall pick. WAITING FOR ROUND 2: Without a first-rounder, a last-place team that could really use another impact player will have to hope it can snag one with the second pick of the second round (No. 34 overall). The Redskins could package some lower-round selections and trade up, of course, but that would make sense only if one impact player was all they needed. If anything, they need more picks, not fewer. RIGHT TACKLE? Its not easy to project whos going to be around at No. 34, so Campbell and Co. cant target one position and stick with it. Still, one of the priorities has to be the offensive line, particularly right tackle. Tyler Polumbus has held the job for two-plus years and played better in 2013, but an upgrade would help keep Griffin upright and balance a line includes two-time Pro Bowl left tackle Trent Williams. Possibilities include Cyrus Kouandjio of Alabama, Morgan Moses of Virginia and JaWaun James of Tennessee. Even if the Redskins opt for another position in the second round, expect them to select at least one or two guard/tackle prospects in later rounds. INSIDE LINEBACKER? Defensive captain/linebacker London Fletcher has retired. Filling his leadership role is one thing, but someone also needs to take his spot in the heart of the 3-4 defence. Starter Perry Riley was re-signed, and a trio of veterans with special teams experience — Darryl Sharpton, Adam Hayward and Akeem Jordan — were added during free agency. One of them could step up and hold down the job, but the Redskins might also be tempted by someone like Christian Jones of Florida State at No. 34. SOMETHING ELSE? A pass-rushing defensive lineman would certainly help the cause. The Redskins got only 5 1/2 sacks from their line last season, not counting the times when Brian Orakpo or other linebackers lined up as at defensive end, so that could be an option in the second round. Safety was also an issue in 2013, but the Redskins went heavy at that position a year ago, selecting Phillip Thomas in the fourth round and Bacarri Rambo in the sixth. Thomas missed the season with a foot injury, and Rambo struggled after winning the starting job in training camp, so its too early to tell whether either one is a long-term solution. Wholesale Rockies Jerseys . Players suspended during the season for a performance-enhancing drug violation will not be eligible for that years post-season. In addition, discipline will increase from 50 games to 80 for a first testing violation and from 100 games to a season-long 162 for a second. A third violation remains a lifetime ban. Cheap Rockies Jerseys . Catch all the action on TSN2 and TSN GO at 9pm et/6pm pt. San Antonio took the series lead Monday night with a 122-105 home victory in Game 1. The Spurs used a balanced scoring attack and clamped down defensively late in the third quarter to claim the win. https://www.cheaprockiesjerseys.us/.com) - The Carolina Hurricanes hope to remain perfect at home in January on Friday night as they welcome the Vancouver Canucks to PNC Arena. Colorado Rockies Store . Coming off a 6-0 drubbing at Chelsea on Saturday, Arsenal endured another demoralizing result after rallying for a 2-1 lead -- only to concede a fluke equalizer. Rockies Jerseys 2019 . Each day, TSN.ca provides the latest rumours, reports and speculation from around the NHL beat. Keeping The Captain? Brian Giontas agent Steve Bartlett told La Presse on Tuesday that the Montreal Canadiens want to keep their captain - an unrestricted free agent on July 1 - in the fold, while sources tell the paper that the two sides will start talks this week.Each round of the playoffs, I forecast the round simply by using shots on goal and goaltender save percentage to come up with a baseline for the series. Its not intended to be some magical formula and doesnt apply any context, like, for example, taking injuries into account. This method was 5-3 in the first round and is currently 2-1 in the second round, with the Kings favoured entering their series against Anaheim (Game Seven goes tonight in Anaheim). More on context in a moment. The expected goals for each team in the series are determined by taking each teams shots for and against over the course of the season, as well as through the first round of the playoffs, and splitting the difference. So, for example, the New York Rangers, over the regular season and playoffs have averaged 32.9 shots on goal per game and the Montreal Canadiens have allowed 31.0 shots on goal per game; the average of those two numbers, 31.95 shots, is the number that is then multiplied by (1 - the opposing goaltenders save percentage) to determine an expected goals per game for the Bruins. Finally, the number is multiplied by seven to indicate an expected goal total for a seven-game series. Theres no guarantee that scoring more goals in a series will result in winning four games first, but the odds certainly favour the team that scores more. So, lets see how the numbers shake out for the Conference Finals: Team SF SA Goaltender SV% Expected GF/Series Montreal 28.7 31.0 Carey Price .927 15.92 N.Y. Rangers 32.9 29.6 Henrik Lundqvist .922 16.33 Verdict: This series projects to be very closely contested. Through the first two rounds this year, only the two Los Angeles series projected to have a closer differential than the forecasted 0.41 goals between the Rangers and Canadiens, and both of those series were seven-gamers. Montreal has been a subpar puck possession team this year, but it turns out that they have a great goaltender and a dangerous power play, one that was 32% (8-for-25) against Boston. Knock off a few power play goals or give Price a save percentage below the .936 that he posted against the Bruins and it would be easy enough to see Boston in this spot. As for the Rangers, they were a strong puck possession club during the season that eliminated Pittsburgh despite losing the possession game to the Penguins in Round Two. The Rangers also have the benefit of good goaltending, as they rallied from a three-games-to-one series deficit, as Henrik Lundqvist stopped 102 of 105 shots (.971 SV%) in the last three Rangers wins. It would be too simple to suggest that goaltending determines this series, since both Price and Lunqvist are among the best, so there are other factors to consider. Both teams top-scoring forwards havent produced in the postseason. No one on the Rangers has more than Brad Richards nine points in 14 games and Rick Nash has yet to score a goal. Montreals big goal-scorers, Thomas Vanek and Max Pacioretty, combined to score four goals in Game Six and Seven against Boston, after combining for four in the first nine games of the playoffs. The lack of a go-to-scorer for both teams has emphasized the team approach. For Montreal, Lars Eller, Brendan Gallagher, Daniel Briere, Dale Weise and Rene Bourque are among those that have risen to the occasion at times in the playoffs, while the Rangers supporting cast of Benoit Pouliot, Derick Brassard and Carl Hagelin has been able to score just enough for the Blueshirts to reachh the Conference Final.dddddddddddd If there is a single non-goaltender with the power to shift the series, it could be Montreals P.K. Subban, the top-scoring defenceman in the playoffs who has been in the middle of just about everything that happens with the Canadiens. If Subban is great, that alone could be enough to overcome the slight statistical disadvantage in this forecast. Team SF SA Goaltender SV% Expected GF/Series Chicago 32.4 27.7 Corey Crawford .919 17.64 Los Angeles 31.5 26.9 Jonathan Quick .915 16.78 Team SF SA Goaltender SV% Expected GF/Series Chicago 32.4 27.7 Corey Crawford .919 10.71 Anaheim 30.7 28.8 John Gibson .950 16.56 Verdict: Since there isnt much of a window between the second round ending, Friday night, and the Conference Final round beginning, Saturday at 1:00 pm ET, were going to look at both options in the Western Conference. Chicago hasnt even played their best hockey in the postseason, yet its still been good enough to dispatch St. Louis and Minnesota. Corey Crawford deserves some credit, because his .931 save percentage in this years playoffs is right on track with what he did last year (.932) on the way to the Blackhawks winning the Stanley Cup. Chicago was a dominant possession team during the regular season, second only to Los Angeles in Fenwick Close, but havent held that same edge in the playoffs. Better opposition, and all that. The same could be said for the Kings, who earned 56.7% of the unblocked 5-on-5 shot attempts during the regular season, but havent held that same territorial dominance in the playoffs. The interesting thing is that, while hes had some strong games in the playoffs -- both this year and historically -- Jonathan Quick hasnt been much better than average this year. Its reasonable enough to forecast the Blackhawks to survive that possible matchup, and not just because we know the Blackhawks will for sure be in the Conference Final. When it comes to breaking down the Chicago-Anaheim series, the model gets busted by Ducks rookie goalie John Gibson. Its one thing to have a goalie that has played a grand total of six games in the NHL as the starter, but his .950 save percentage in those games, stopping 171 of 180 shots, is a completely unsustainable level of play. Thing is, unsustainable levels of play can get a team through a playoff series. Gibson was a wildcard injection into the second round, against Los Angeles, after Frederik Andersen was injured, and gives the Ducks a chance in Game Seven. However, its not remotely reasonable forecast to suggest that the Ducks would be 5.85 goals ahead of the Blackhawks in a head-to-head seven-game series. The Ducks arent as strong a possession team as Los Angeles, or Chicago, and have relied on extraordinary shooting percentage, in addition to their hot goalie. The Blackhawks have been a team of high-percentage finishers too, so the Ducks best chance, should they survive the Battle of Los Angeles, may be for Gibson to keep on keeping on. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy Sports on Facebook. ' ' '