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MONTREAL - There were no flashy new signings on the field as the Montreal Impact opened camp Monday. But there was a new head coach in Frank Klopas, the former Chicago Fire boss who hopes to take the Impact further this season with mostly the same personnel. "I know the team from playing against them," said Klopas, who was hired Dec. 18 to replace Marco Schallibaum. "I knew I was coming to a team with a good foundation to build on." Missing from his first 90-minute workout on the indoor pitch at Marie Victorin College were Italian defender Alessandro Nesta, who has retired, and former captain Davy Arnaud, now with D.C. United. Midfielder Andres Romero was also absent, but only temporarily due to a visa problem. Reserve midfielder Andrea Pisanu was let go. What was really missing was the presence of any new talent to make up for the loss of two key veterans and to raise hopes the club may go farther than in 2013 when they squeaked into the playoffs in only their second Major League Soccer season. It was main rival, Toronto FC, that stole the off-season spotlight with big money signings — Tottenham forward Jermain Defoe and U.S. international midfielder Michael Bradley. In Montreal, management was quiet, although they hope to bring in two or three new faces before the season opens in March. "Great for Toronto and great for the league," said Impact midfielder Patrice Bernier. "They were talking about the league in a lot of places. "Its their eighth season so I guess for their ticket holders, they had to bring something. But now theres added-on pressure because theyre going to have eyes like L.A. and New York on them for pretty much the whole season. "But I concentrate on our team. Weve got pretty much the same team and I think the organization will be looking at bringing in that extra two or three players that can bring us across the edge so we have more depth and are strong all year long." For now, the Impact has only 22 roster players and one of them, Spanish defender Adrian Lopez, wont be ready until April after knee surgery. Returning starters include goalkeeper Troy Perkins, central defenders Matteo Ferrari and Nelson Rivas, fullbacks Jeb Brovsky and Hassoun Camara, midfielders Bernier, Hernan Bernardello, Justin Mapp, and Felipe Martins and striker Marco Di Vaio, a 20-goal scorer. Veteran goalie Evan Bush, midfielders Sanna Nyassi, Collen Warner and Blake Smith and forward Andrew Wenger are also back. Klopas said hell likely wait until after the first phase of camp to name a captain but is leaning toward assistants Bernier and Di Vaio. The 34-year-old Bernier, of Brossard, Que., would welcome wearing the armband. "It would be a logical next step, having been the assistant behind Davy," he said. "It would be great, coming from here, to have the captaincy and hopefully hold it for the rest of my career. "That would be a great ending." Its Berniers third season with the Impact and hes on his third head coach after Jesse Marsch led the way in the teams 2012 MLS expansion season before Schallibaum arrived last year. Camara goes one farther as he has been with the Impact five years, since before they were in MLS, and has had five different coaches. "Its part of the game," said Bernier, who spent most of his career in Europe. "This is may be my 15th coach in 13 years. Its something that happens. "The office realizes we needed someone to bring us to another level. The decisions been made and Im looking at 2014. I thank Marco for 2013. We had a good year." The Impact was the talk of MLS through the first half of 2013, and not just because Schallibaum got suspended four times for sideline tantrums. They were first in the league at mid-season and had won the Amway Canadian championship, although they crashed out in the first round of CONCACAF Champions League play. They faltered down the stretch and just made it into the fifth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot. They were dominated 3-0 by Houston in their only post-season game, which saw Di Vaio and Romero ejected for initiating a skirmish. Both will be suspended for the first three games of this season. Bernier liked what he saw of Klopas when he coached Chicago, particularly his ability to make in-game adjustments when his team was behind. The 47-year-old Klopas hopes to get Montreal to play sounder team defence and figures the Impact has enough up front to provide goals. Hes already had dinner and a chat with Di Vaio, who will turn 38 on July 15. "I hope to do well like I did last year," said Di Vaio. "I want to score goals. I dont know how many, but to score goals to help the team. "Last year we did better than the year before and this year we have to try to be better. Last year we did well up to the last 10 matches, so we have to find a way to keep it going and do well through the entire season." One newcomer was former OFI Crete defender Nikos Kounenakis, who has not officially signed as an assistant coach but is likely to do so soon. Klopas wants him to handle the defence. "Nick played at a high level, he has a UEFA Pro license, hes played in the back line and I think he can complement the coaches we have," said Klopas, also a former Greek league player. Also in camp are four players taken in the MLS SuperDraft, including first pick Eric Miller and forward and Edmonton native Jordan Ongaro. Three players from the Impacts under-23 squad were also invited. Rico Carty Jersey . Im very excited about the playoffs, particularly in the Western Conference with amazing match-ups, as well as the wonderful local story in the Toronto Raptors. It should be a blast. Here are my predictions, but based upon my lousy prognostications during the NCAA Tournament, you might be better off going the other way on some of mine - particularly with the Raptors, who I hope and pray are able to win an incredibly difficult match-up. Adam Duvall Jersey .That is precisely what they got Sunday.The Ravens trailed at halftime and never built a comfortable lead against lowly Jacksonville, yet did just enough to squeeze out a 20-12 win to stay in the thick of the AFC playoff race. https://www.cheapbraves.com/383o-bob-uec...sey-braves.html. Spains victory rendered Frances 3-0 win against Finland meaningless as Spain needed just one point to secure passage to Brazil. Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema scored either side of Joona Toivios own-goal as France advanced to the playoff among the eight best second-place finishers. Matt Joyce Braves Jersey . With one week left in the regular season, Cornish - voted The Toughest Player To Bring Down - is a leading candidate for the CFLs Most Outstanding Player award. He has rushed for 1,799 yards and could break Willie Burdens club record for rushing yards in a single season with a 98-yard performance against the B. Greg Maddux Jersey . New York City FC introduced Frank Lampard in Brooklyn on Thursday after signing the 36-year-old former Chelsea midfielder to a two-year contract.The Edmonton Oilers traded for the rights to a free agent defenceman, and got him signed to a two-year deal, paying a premium for a shorter term contract. Numbers Game looks at the Oilers inking Nikita Nikitin. The Oilers Get: D Nikita Nikitin. Nikitin, 28, played a career-high 66 games last season, an indication that hes still trying to establish his place in the league. A couple of years ago, in 2011-2012, Nikitin contributed a career-best 32 points in 54 games for Columbus (after seven scoreless games with St. Louis to start the year), playing a career-high 23:12 per game for the season putting up strong relative possession numbers while facing high-quality opposition, while frequently paired with veteran Fedor Tyutin. Thats the Nikitin that the Oilers have to hope they are acquiring. In 2012-2013, Nikitins role was decreased somewhat, and while he still logged 21:12 per game, Nikitin was then surpassed on the depth chart last season by rookie Ryan Murray, leaving Nikitin to play 17:07 per game on the third pair. Playing on that third pair didnt bring ideal results, as Nikitin was a little below break-even in possession terms, but if there is reason to hold out hope for Nikitin, it may be that his with-or-without you numbers arent bad over the past three seasons. Among the 16 skaters with whom he played at least 300 5-on-5 minutes over those three seasons, Nikitin had better possession numbers apart than 11 of those skaters, but that relative effectiveness has decreased in the past two seasons, to the point that in 2013-2014, Nikitin had better possession stats apart from just three of the 13 skaters with whom he played more than 150 5-on-5 minutes. What this would seem to indicate is that Nikitin, who has good size, can skate and handle the puck a bit, isnt necessarily one to carry the play. He could be a useful complementary player and presumably Oilers Senior VP of Hockey Operations Scott Howson (who acquired Nikitin as GM in Columbus) is a fan, but there is risk in bringing in a player with falling possession numbers to a team that already ranked 28th in Fenwick Close (unblocked shot attempts during 5-on-5, score within one goal in first two periods and tied in third period). Its not aas though Nikitins play in the past couple seasons indicates that he would improve the results no matter with whom he is partnered and its reasonable to wonder if the Oilers have the right personnel to get positive results with Nikitin on the ice.dddddddddddd. If the Jeff Petry and Martin Marincin pairing goes ahead, then perhaps Nikitin gets a chance alongside Andrew Ference. Maybe that somehow works out and allows the Oilers some time to develop their young defencemen. Its entirely possible that it wont work out, though, and the short-term nature of the contract suggests that both sides recognize that risk. Signed to a two-year, $9-million deal, Nikitin will be well-compensated, particularly if he cant stick in the Oilers top four, but the downside of a two-year deal is limited compared to the longer term that will be available to other free agent defencemen. The Blue Jackets Get: A fifth-round pick. Since the Blue Jackets werent going to bring Nikitin back, getting any asset in return is a plus. The fifth-round pick, 137th overall, belonged to Columbus originally and was traded to Edmonton last season to acquire D Nick Schultz. A fifth-round pick doesnt bring a lot of value, but its something. From 1990 through 2009, just under 15% of the picks between 121 and 150 played at least 100 NHL games, so there is a little better than a one-in-seven chance of netting an NHL player. While its reasonable for the Oilers to have hope Nikitin can perform in a top-four role, it could be telling that the Blue Jackets would let Nikitin depart as a free agent. Mabye they simply didnt want to pay that kind of money to a third pair defenceman, when they have younger, cheaper options (David Savard, Dalton Prout, Tim Erixon) available and thats fair, but current Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen was the Blues Director of Scouting when St. Louis picked Nikitin in the fifth round in 2004. Lots can change over time and the Blue Jackets arent likely to regret letting Nikitin go, even if he works out well for the Oilers. 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 on Facebook. ' ' '