CALGARY - The Calgary Flames were sellers heading into Wednesdays NHL trade deadline, but buyers had yet to open their wallets a day out. Cam Newton Panthers Jersey . The showiest items on Calgarys lot were forwards Mike Cammalleri and Lee Stempniak. Both will be unrestricted free agents this summer. Interim general manager Brian Burkes theory for slow business was shoppers were temporarily preoccupied elsewhere. Other forwards said to be on the market were New York Rangers captain Ryan Callahan, Vancouver Canucks forward Ryan Kesler, Matt Moulson of the Buffalo Sabres, Ales Hemsky of the Edmonton Oilers and Thomas Vanek of the Buffalo Sabres. "I think theres a logjam thats been presented or created by two, three, four players thats going to paralyze the rest of the league," Burke told reporters Tuesday at Scotiabank Saddledome. "Youll see other deals happening but I think the hold up for a high-end forward has kind been captivated by two, three, four players. "I think were on the backburner for a lot of teams right now. Doesnt mean nothing is going to happen, but thats where we are today. "Weve been in discussions with every team in the league and what theyre trying to do. We have some unrestricted free agents we will move if the price is right. Im not close on anything that makes sense for us." Trade speculation in Calgary has centred on Cammalleri, but with a record of 23-31-7 and destined for a fifth straight season out of the playoffs, the only Flames that Burke considered off limits were captain Mark Giordano and rookie sensation Sean Monahan. "When youre in the place we are in the standings, your list of untouchables should be either nonexistent or tiny," Burke said. Burke, the Flames president of hockey operations, stepped in as interim GM when he fired Jay Feaster on Dec. 12. He intends to hire a new GM. But Burkes mandate is to speed up Calgarys rebuild by whatever means necessary: trades, spending to the cap or the signing of free agents. "You cant be waiting for the next guy," Burke said. "Were going to do what we can to improve. If that means theres a few less decisions for the new guy, thats fine. "The dynamic of the trade deadline is, you want to show your players first and foremost, if youre close, you want the room to feel youve done something to add. You want the players to believe management is trying to make the team better." Only the Buffalo Sabres have scored fewer goals than Calgary in the NHL this season, but upgrades are needed both up front and on the blue-line. Cammalleri, 31, scored 39 goals and had 43 assists as a Flame and a linemate of Jarome Iginla in 2008-09. Cammalleri is in the final year of a five-year contract paying him $6 million annually. With the right linemates, Cammalleris offensive skills and experience make him an attractive rental for a playoff push. "Things change very quickly in the business," Cammalleri said. "When it comes to that, I think you understand why certain things take place and why they might be thinking along certain lines. "I feel my best hockey is ahead of me and I feel great about my game. Whether its here, or whatever happens, Im not concerned about my ability to help my team out." Stempniak, also 31, is in the second year of a two-year deal that counts $2.5 million against the salary cap. He has eight goals and 15 assists in 52 games this season. His wife gave birth to twin girls following the Olympic break and he could be on the move Wednesday. "I know thats a very likely possibility and have sort of braced myself for that," Stempniak said. "Ill either get a phone call or I wont get a phone call. "It could be two big life changes in the span of five days, but its part of the business. Thankfully on the family front, everything is going well there and everyone is healthy. Thats the most important thing. Whatever else happens, you think you can deal with it." Defenceman Chris Butler, whose salary is $1.7 million this season, is also scheduled for unrestricted free agency in July. Burke said he prefers adding a player who can upgrade the Flames immediately over acquiring draft picks. Calgary has a healthy dose of cap space to take on unwanted contracts as part of a deal as well. "I hope to be up here in a year talking about buying players, not selling players. Were selling," Burke said. "That being said, if we can salvage a hockey deal out of this were going to do that. "If we can turn our cap space into assets were going to do that. It could be a very important day for the franchise, the next 24 hours, but its not the same as when youre adding to try to make a push." The Flames host the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday. Coach Bob Hartley said Joni Ortio will get the start in net. Ortio was called up from Abbotsford, B.C., when goaltender Karri Ramo injured his knee Feb. 2. Ramo skated Tuesday for the first time since the injury prior to Calgarys optional skate. Black Friday Carolina Panthers Jerseys . Beaulieu has four goals and 10 assists in 32 AHL games and had one assist in five games for Montreal this season. The 23-year-old Nattinen has five goals and six assists in 37 games for the Bulldogs this season. Jason Avant Jersey . - Former NFL safety Darren Sharper pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges that he drugged and raped two women he met at a West Hollywood night club, while the emergence of a new accuser in Florida left him under investigation in five states.INDIANAPOLIS -- When Ed Carpenter, Carlos Munoz and Helio Castroneves were pushed to the edge Saturday, each remained calm and came up with their best-qualifying runs of the day. Now they have to do it again one more time Sunday. The American, Colombian and Brazilian who have celebrated some of their biggest career moments at Indianapolis each made daring runs over the final 80 minutes Saturday to take the top three seeds heading into Sundays Indianapolis 500 shootout. Carpenter finished first with a four-lap qualifying average of 230.661 mph. Munoz was second at 230.460. "I wasnt sure we were going to go 230 in our first run, so I was relieved when we did," Carpenter said. "But to be honest, I didnt think going into qualifying I was going to exceed 230." Others drivers thought Carpenter would, and it only took one practice lap and one qualifying lap to assuage any doubts. Carpenter, the fifth car on the track, averaged 230.114 then sat around all day as other drivers tried to knock him off the top rung. Nobody caught him until a rain delay ended at 4:18 p.m. Then in a flurry of speed, Andretti Autosport driver James Hinchcliffe knocked Carpenter off the pole, Munoz knocked Hinchcliffe, his teammate, off the pole, and Carpenter retook the pole. He finished the day waiting 65 minutes to see if it would stand. Normally, the reward for surviving such tension would be celebrating a pole win. Instead, under the new qualifying format, all Saturday did was assure Carpenter and the other eight top cars of a top-nine starting spot on Indys traditional 33-car starting grid. Each of the top nine will have one qualifying run Sunday with the fastest claiming the coveted No. 1 starting spot for the May 25 race. The success of Carpenter, Munoz and Castroneves was hardly a surprise. Carpenter, last years pole winner, had one of the fastest cars in practice Thursday and Friday. If he wins the pole again Sunday on the track his stepfather, Tony George, once ran, Carpenter would be the second driver since 1990 to earn consecutive poles at Indy. Castroneves also did it in 2009 and 2010. Munoz, meanwhile, drives for Michael Andretti, whose team has consistently put four or five drivers in the top 10 all week. In 2013, Munoz made his InndyCar debut here and responded by qualifying second, finishing second and walking away as the 500 rookie of the year. Charles Johnson Jersey. "I was questioning myself, the team, everything before, but as soon as I hit the track I forgot everything," Munoz said. "The car was really fast, and its a shame we wasted that second outing. I think were looking strong, and well see what happens tomorrow." Castroneves owns three 500 wins and three pole wins at Indy -- all for team owner Roger Penske. But there was plenty of intrigue, too. Kurt Busch, the fourth driver to attempt "the double" by racing in Indy and Charlotte on the same day, May 25, nearly made it into the pole shootout, too. He was bumped with 39 minutes left in qualifying when 2000 Indy winner Juan Pablo Montoya surpassed Buschs speed of 229.960. Busch could have bumped his way back into the fast nine had he not already left for NASCARs All-Star race in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was scheduled to be back in Indy for Day 2 when the top 30 starting spots will be determined. Two other Andretti drivers, Hinchcliffe and Marco Andretti, overcame unusual circumstances to reach the shootout. Hinchcliffe was fourth (230.407) despite spending most of this week recovering from a concussion. Andretti actually withdrew his original qualifying time to move into a shorter line, then waved off on another attempt before making it back to No. 6. Frances Simon Pagenaud, who won the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis last weekend, was seventh. Carpenters teammate, JR Hildebrand, and Sarah Fishers driver, Josef Newgarden, also made the shootout, though Chip Ganassis four drivers were shut out. "I think we need to find a little more speed," Charlie Kimball said. "As a team, the fact that we arent in the top nine would prove that. We all work toward that goal, having four of our cars in the top nine. It was a lofty goal, but that was the expectation within the team." This time, theyll all be watching Carpenter and the rest of the gang. "We came in with a good car and a good package from last year," Carpenter said. "Like I said, with the second car here, weve been able to try some more things than what we did last year." ' ' '
