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TORONTO -- Pending free agents remain the biggest concern when it comes to expansion after the GMs meetings Tuesday.The Las Vegas expansion team and some of the 30 existing teams are worried about less-than-honest agreements circumventing the expansion-draft rules.What, GMs looking for loopholes? Come on.Specifically, GMs worry that Vegas could take advantage of the 48-hour window before the expansion draft in June to quietly agree to terms on a deal with a pending unrestricted free agent, then wait until July 1 to sign him, so as to pluck another player off a teams roster in the expansion draft.This would circumvent the rule that if a team loses a free agent to Vegas in that 48-hour free-agent-signing window, it cannot lose another player in the expansion draft. Some GMs worry that veteran GM George McPhee, who wasnt born yesterday, would take advantage of the situation.Conversely?George has the same concerns about existing teams doing those types of deals with players they dont have to protect, deputy commissioner Bill Daly said Tuesday after the GMs meeting.McPhee wisely worries that a team or two might do a drawer deal with a pending UFA but not officially sign it until after the expansion draft. Why? Teams dont have to protect pending free agents because they arent eligible for the expansion draft. Heres an example: If the San Jose Sharks didnt officially re-sign Joe Thornton until after the expansion draft, they could protect another player.There has to be a high level of diligence to make sure those things dont happen and to make sure people know there will be significant penalties imposed if they were to screw around with the rules, Daly said.Daly said violators of the expansion rules forgo a first-round draft pick, so penalties in the same vein would be appropriate.?New Jersey Devils GM Ray Shero insisted anyone would be crazy to attempt that type of circumvention.I certainly dont want to be involved in that because I certainly love my job and cant afford the fine, Shero said with a smile. Sure, we talked about it today [in the GMs meeting]. Those are the what-ifs? But with anything, everything has to pass the smell test with the league. You got to have some big you-know-whats to screw around with that.Rule 48 rages onAs one GM succinctly put it Tuesday, the consensus on Rule 48 is that there is no consensus.The room is split among GMs who fear that tweaking Rule 48 will further decrease the physicality of the game and those who are fearful of blindside hits -- hits to a player who doesnt see it coming -- and want the blindside language put back into Rule 48 (blindside was taken out in 2012).NHL Player Safety met with eight GMs on Monday ahead of Tuesdays full GMs meeting in order to get a head start on the raging Rule 48 debate that was renewed after?Toronto Maple Leafs?center?Nazem Kadris hit on the Vancouver Canucks Daniel Sedin two weeks ago. That hit didnt warrant a suspension because the shoulder was hit first, so it wasnt deemed a head shot. But it was definitely a blindside hit to a vulnerable player.?Now what? Said one of the eight GMs in the room Monday when they voted on the Kadri-Sedin hit: The room was split.It will be talked about again at the March meetings, but finding consensus is proving difficult.It is the hardest part,?Winnipeg Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff said. Im sure if you put 15 of you media guys in the room and ask to raise your hand, yes or no, youre probably going to be split on a lot of things. And thats generally the conversation here. Theres a lot of passion on both sides of the coin when it comes to hitting and making sure that is still an integral part of the game because nobody wants to see that lost. Now, certainly the mindset is players safety first. The hard part, and I feel for Player Safety, they have to rule by the letter of the rule.Added?Philadelphia Flyers?GM Ron Hextall: No one wants to see blindside hits, but when you put that blindside [language] in [Rule 48], youre going to eliminate a lot of things. You also encourage players to turn away from hits. Its not as easy and simple as people think it is. I wish it was. I think its one of those issues that needs to be looked at and studied and talked about before any rash decision is made.Colorado Avalanche GM and Hall of Famer Joe Sakic said he doesnt like hits on vulnerable players, but he added that the player with the puck has responsibility too.Theres some good, hard hits, and youve got to keep that, Sakic said. I also think its up to the players with the puck that you got to keep your head up as well. You have to have awareness.Shootout change coming?St. Louis Blues GM Doug Armstrong proposed discussion about tweaking the shootout.My thought process was that we had great drama in Sochi with what T.J. Oshie did, Armstrong said, referring to Oshies being given and scoring on multiple shootout attempts in a game against the Russians in the 2014 Winter Olympics.The Blues GM proposed that teams use three shooters, but if the shootout goes on, coaches could deploy any shooter they want, even the same player over and over again. In other words, it would be similar to international rules.As another GM said, why do fans want to see the seventh defenseman or 13th forward take a shootout attempt when the shootouts go long? Why not put your best players in the spotlight for the whole shootout?The GMs will discuss it again at the March meetings.Bill Hamid Jersey . -- Anaheim Ducks captain and leading scorer Ryan Getzlaf has been scratched from Sunday nights game against the Vancouver Canucks because of an upper-body injury. Paul Arriola Jersey . -- Running backs Darren McFadden and Rashad Jennings were back at practice for the Oakland Raiders on Wednesday despite being hampered by hamstring injuries. http://www.soccerusateamonline.com/Darlington-Nagbe-Copa-America-Jersey/ . R.J. Umberger scored twice to lead the Blue Jackets to a franchise-record for consecutive wins with a 5-3 victory Tuesday night over the Los Angeles Kings. Bobby Wood USA Jersey . -- For the first time in two months, an opponent was standing up to Alabama. Clint Dempsey USA Jersey . Olli Jokinen, Mark Scheifele, and Bryan Little each had a goal and an assist as Winnipeg won 5-2, handing Calgary its record-setting seventh consecutive loss on home ice.BALTIMORE -- Josh Donaldson is making a push for another AL MVP Award, and the Toronto Blue Jays may be narrowing the field in the AL East.Donaldson hit his fourth homer in two days and Jose Bautista also went deep in support of Marco Estrada, leading the Blue Jays over the fading Baltimore Orioles 5-1 on Monday night.Toronto maintained a two-game lead over the Red Sox for the division lead, while Baltimore fell four games back. The Orioles have lost four of five and are clinging to the second wild card.Donaldson hit a solo homer in the fourth to tie it 1-1. The reigning AL MVP had three homers in a 9-6 win over Minnesota on Sunday.Hes such a good player, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. When hes doing his thing, it makes such a big difference for this team. It really sets everything up. It really helps Eddie (Encarnacion) out behind him and those other guys to drive in runs when hes on base. What can you say? The last few years hes come into his own. Hes one of the top dogs out there.Estrada (8-6) allowed one run and four hits with four strikeouts over seven-plus innings. The Blue Jays have won three of his four starts against the Orioles this year.We used a lot of curveballs early on and they werent really swinging at it so I was able to get a few called strikes with that, Estrada said. I was able to locate a little better. I had a little better feel for my changeup today and just tried to throw strikes.J.J. Hardy provided Baltimores only run with his eighth homer in the third. But thats about all Baltimore could muster against Estrada.Weve had trouble with him for a while, Hardy said. He locates his pitches, kind of right on the top. His fastball is sneaky. He can elevate it. He can pitch down with it, and his changeup is a really tough pitch.Baltimore left-hander Wade Miley (8-11) allowed three runs and five hits while tying a season high with nine strikeouts over seven innings. He has lost three of six starts since being acquired from Seattle on July 31.We just got to play ball, Miley said. Weve got plenty of games against Toronto. Its in our own hands. We just got to play ball games.Miley retired the first 10 batters befoore allowing Donaldsons 34th home run.dddddddddddd Troy Tulowitzki gave the Blue Jays a 2-1 lead later that inning with an RBI single.Bautista provided a two-run cushion when he led off the sixth with his 16th homer, and that was all the support Estrada needed.He was like his old self, Gibbons said. Good changeup, he was hitting his spots. He threw more breaking balls I thought tonight, and they were pretty good.The Blue Jays added two more runs in the ninth on an RBI single by Justin Smoak and a fielders choice by Devon Travis off Tommy Hunter.LIGHTS OUTJoaquin Benoit, who was acquired from Seattle on July 26, pitched a perfect ninth for Toronto. Benoit has yet to allow a run in 14 games (13 1/3 innings) for the Blue Jays.NAVARRO RETURNSCatcher Dioner Navarro reported to the Blue Jays on Monday, three days after the club re-acquired him from the Chicago White Sox for LHP Colton Turner. Navarro played with Toronto in 2013-14 before signing with the White Sox in December.I was in shock when it happened and I was happy two minutes later because I was coming to an organization where I feel really comfortable and to a group of guys that I have good relationships with, said Navarro, who hit .210 with six home runs and 32 RBI in 85 games with Chicago.To make room, C Josh Thole was designated for assignment.TRAINERS ROOMOrioles: CF Adam Jones was out of the starting lineup for the third straight game with a left hamstring strain. ... Right-hander Chris Tillman, on the 15-day DL with right shoulder bursitis, threw on flat ground without any setbacks. He will play catch again Wednesday before throwing off a mound.UP NEXTBlue Jays: Left-hander J.A. Happ (17-4, 3.19) had his 11-game winning streak snapped in his last start against the Angels. Happ has won both of his two previous outings against Baltimore this season.Orioles: Ubaldo Jimenez (5-11, 6.62 ERA) is back in the rotation with the injury to Tillman. He took the loss in his past outing Thursday against the Nationals after allowing one run over six innings. ' ' '