[lw789]

TORONTO -- LeBron James going home to play for the Cleveland Cavaliers led to speculation about whether a star NHL player might do the same in the near future. Naturally, Steven Stamkos was at the centre of that speculation. The Tampa Bay Lightning captain and Markham, Ont., native could be an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2016, and the allure of playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs could be there. "Well see what happens. Its a couple years away," Stamkos said Wednesday. "Right now Im focused on what I have to do to win in Tampa, and I think weve really established ourselves as a team that can compete in upcoming years. "For me, thats the important thing is getting a chance to win. It looks like were going to have that chance for a couple years." At the age of 24, Stamkos is one of the most marketable stars in the NHL. He has topped 50 goals in a season twice already and only missed out on representing Canada at the Sochi Olympics because of a broken leg. Stamkos made a run with the Lightning to the Eastern Conference final in 2011, and Tampa Bay was swept by the Montreal Canadiens in this years playoffs. The Stanley Cup is his priority now, something he can legitimately think about with general manager Steve Yzerman piecing together one of the best young teams in the league. "We have a good thing going down in Tampa," Stamkos said at a Coca-Cola ball-hockey promotional event. "We have a great owner, we got a great GM in Steve Yzerman and we got a good young team. I want to win, and hopefully I can do it in Tampa." Stamkos said with the additions of centre Brian Boyle and defenceman Anton Stralman and the re-signing of winger Ryan Callahan, the Lightning are probably better on paper than they were at the end of last season. "We didnt have the finish we wanted to last year, but with the new faces coming in, the expectations are probably set a little higher," he said. Stamkos said chatter about joining the Leafs in two years was "absolutely not" a distraction for him in Tampa, where hell begin his first full season as captain this fall. "I try not to focus about that stuff," he said. "I think thats the great thing about playing in Tampa is hockey isnt the mecca that it is here in Toronto and you can kind of go about your life and kind of get away from the game when you need to." That said, Stamkos added that he loves playing in good hockey markets, including Toronto. "Im from around here and grew up cheering for the Leafs, so any time I get a chance to come back here I enjoy it, and any time I get a chance to play against the Leafs its fun," he said. "Its also fun beating them, too, because a lot of my friends are still Leaf fans." Stamkos is set to make US$13.5 million over the next two seasons. What could be in his not-too-distant future is a contract like the ones Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane signed with the Chicago Blackhawks: $84 million over eight years. "The business part of the game, its growing," Stamkos said. "Obviously the games in good shape, and when that happens the caps going to grow and players are going to get paid more money. Those guys deserve it: Theyre great players in this league, theyve won championships. "Thats the goal for me is to win a championship. You let your play take care of itself on the ice and when its time to re-sign or sign a contract, you back it up with your play." When James left the Miami Heat for the Cavaliers earlier this month, the chance to return to his native Ohio was cited as a prominent reason. James won two NBA titles during his time with the Heat. "He won his championships, he said he always wanted to come home and play, thats where it started," Stamkos said. "Good for him for making that decision." . Future Hall of Famer Ricky Ray is in his prime and back for a third season in double blue. The 34-year old was magnificent in 2013, throwing for just under 2,900 yards despite missing eight games, tossing an impressive 21 touchdowns against just two interceptions, completing 66 per cent of his passes in the process. . - The infectious smile was missing from Nam Nguyen last week. http://www.authenticjetsfanatic.com/c-7 ... ersey.aspx. -- Albert Pujols is thrilled to have a reason to forget about his first two disappointing seasons with the Los Angeles Angels. . There is no argument that the line of Pacioretty, David Desharnais and Thomas Vanek was one of the hottest in the NHL leading into the post-season, and they did combine for three goals and seven points, but it was the depth of all four lines that helped propel Montreal. . Playing in his 19th career final, the second-seeded Tsonga was favourite to win the Open 13 for the third time and to secure an 11th career title, but he struggled with Gulbis attacking approach.PORTLAND, Ore. -- Diego Valeri scored in the final minute of stoppage time to pull the Portland Timbers into a 1-1 draw with the Los Angeles Galaxy on Sunday. The equalizer came after Robbie Keanes header two minutes into stoppage time appeared to give the Galaxy the win. Los Angeles peppered Portland goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts with shots all game, but couldnt break through until Keanes fifth goal of the season. Valeris goal was his second of the year. "We fell asleep at the end of the game," Galaxy coach Bruce Arena said. "A bunch of guys can do better on the play. But we played very well today, should have walked away with three points." Galaxy midfielder Landon Donovan remained at 134 career MLS goals, tied with Jeff Cunningham for the league record. Neither team was satisfied with the draw. Portland, which finished with the best regular season record in the Western Conference last season, has only one victory so far this year, last weekends late 3-2 win over D.C. United. "Bottom line is, weve not been good enough," Timbers coach Caleb Porter said. Arena and Keane were upset that Portlands Donovan Nagbe wasnt called for a foul on Juninho on a breakaway before Valeris game-tying goal. "Some poor decisions we have to accept, and take responsibility ourselves as well, because the last minute of the game you shouldnt be conceding a goal," Keane said. The Galaxy were coming off a 1-0 loss to the Colorado Rapids last weekend, snapping a four-match unbeaten streak. Los Angeles was without centre back Omar Gonzalez, who hurt his left knee in the first half of the loss at Colorado. Hes being held out as a precaution so that he can take part in the U.S. national teams training for the World Cup. GGonzalez and Donovan are expected to report Wednesday to the U.ddddddddddddS. teams training camp at Stanford. Portland was hurt early when defender Michael Harrington left the match with an apparent right ankle injury. The ankle had bothered him early this week. Later in the game Portland midfielder Diego Chara came off after what appeared to be a left hand injury, replaced by Ben Zemanski. "For me its just disappointing," Timbers defender Jack Jewsbury said. "Were better than we showed today." The Timbers looked to have a chance in the 34th minute but Valeri couldnt get a shot off as he charged Galaxy goalkeeper Jaime Penedo. Most eyes were on Donovan, who looked to have a shot in the box in the 39th minute before Chara stole the ball. Donovan is scoreless in all seven league games hes played this season. Hes had four goals and three assists in seven career matches against the Timbers dating back to 2011 when Portland joined MLS. "Landon was the best player on the field today," Arena said. "Played very well. Good to see." Futty Dansos header for Portland in the 59th minute hit the far post as the sellout crowd at Providence Park gasped. Ricketts tipped a hard shot from Galaxy forward Keane in the 82nd minute, but couldnt stop Keanes second shot in stoppage time. There were five total minutes of extra time at the end of the match. "We certainly deserved to win today, theres no question about that," Keane said. The Galaxy finished with 21 shots to Portlands 10. "We can fault the referee as much as we want, but we were still the team in control at the end of the game where we could have denied a goal-scoring opportunity and didnt get that done," Arena said. ' ' '