Slotmachines » Naturally, Cano wont remain this produc

FRISCO, Texas - Jason Spezza wont deny that his arrival in Dallas helped create expectations that the Stars struggled to meet early in the season.Hes just glad the weight wasnt enough to ruin the season before the Stars reached the All-Star break.When youre a team that makes the playoffs and then you add a couple of pieces, the expectations take another step, said Spezza, who came in along with Ales Hemsky on the first day of free agency last summer, giving Dallas more firepower to go with Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn.Sometimes it doesnt work like that right off the hop, he said. And weve kind of had a wishy-washy first half, but fortunately find ourselves not too far on the outside with a chance here to make some ground in the second half.Seguin is tied for the NHL lead in goals with 28, and the Stars are fourth in scoring. But Dallas had the worst defence in the league before improvement at the blue line in recent weeks.The net result: The Stars return from the break with a visit to Montreal on Tuesday night, four points out of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference after ending a five-year playoff drought last season. They believe 11 wins in the past 18 games are a better indicator of their worth than just 10 victories in the first 28.We lost a few games and maybe thats part of the reason we couldnt get our traction back there for a little while, said Alex Goligoski, a veteran of several offseasons without any expectations in Dallas. Thats all history. I think weve settled in pretty nice now and its a 36-game season.Dallas had a seven-game losing skid to finish the first month, and allowed five goals each time during another four-game skid.Even when the Stars surged before the break, coach Lindy Ruff left the impression that Kari Lehtonen wasnt a lock as his top goalie. Lehtonens save percentage is the highest since his first full season nine years ago, and his goals-against average is his worst in six seasons in Dallas.While Lehtonen has shown improvement despite getting pulled from a game against Ottawa that Dallas won two weeks ago, whats saving him the most is that backup Anders Lindback hasnt been much better.Kari is still my guy, Ruff said. Its a tough place to be because hes the reason a lot of times when were winning games and theres been some nights hes had some tough ones go in and its probably the reason weve lost.Spezzas scoring pace is off significantly, and Hemsky didnt get his first goal until the 22nd game after the pair averaged about a point per game in a brief stint together in Ottawa last season.While Seguin is second in the NHL with 52 points, Benns scoring is down and Ruff has tinkered at times with his top lines trying to find the right mix.But the Stars are coming out of the break feeling much better than they did in early December.I think we found our identity more, Spezza said. We spent less time talking about how we need to play and more time just going over mistakes we made within our structure. And thats a sign usually that everybody knows what were doing.And perhaps finally adjusting to higher expectations for a franchise that hasnt known that feeling for a while. Justin Haley Jersey .ca look back at each of the Top 10 stories of 2013. Today, we look back at LeBron James and the Miami Heat winning their second straight NBA championship. Heath Hembree Jersey .com) - Mike Conley scored 20 points with five assists to help the Memphis Grizzlies remain unbeaten with a 91-89 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday. http://www.cheapredsoxjerseys.com/?tag=c...-swihart-jersey. Poti played in 824 regular NHL games with four teams in his career; the Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers, New York Islanders and the Washington Capitals. Carl Yastrzemski Jersey . - Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte sees the commitment to the handoff and cant help but come away impressed. Chris Sale Jersey .Connor Graham, Alex Lintuniemi and Sam Studnicka also scored for Ottawa (11-8-2). Liam Herbst made 21 saves for the win.Brendan Lemieux had both of Barries (10-10-2) goals.For once, the New York Yankees lost out on the bidding for one of their high-priced free agents. Numbers Game looks at the Mariners landing Robinson Cano. The Mariners Get: 2B Robinson Cano. Cano, 31, has been an elite second baseman, leading the offensive parade at the position. Sicne 2006, his 190 home runs ranks second, as does his .868 OPS and 36.9 fWAR. Clearly, hes been a top tier performer, so its no surprise that he was able to command a lucrative contract as a free agent. In addition to having a pretty sweet swing, Cano has been incredibly durable, missing a total -- total -- of 14 games in the last seven seasons, with more than 650 plate appearances in six of the last seven seasons. Naturally, Cano wont remain this productive as he heads into his late thirties, but the more immediate concern ought to be about park effects, moving from a lefthanded-hitters haven, Yankee Stadium, to cavernous Safeco Field. Over the course of his career, Cano has hit .309 with an .837 OPS in 40 games at Safeco, about the same as his career marks (.309/.860), but four home runs in those 40 games is below Canos career home-run rate (which is one every 6.7 games). While offence is his calling card, Cano has become an asset in the field as well. Since 2009, his 38 Defensive Runs Saved ranks fourth at the position and his Ultimate Zone Rating is above average for that span. The issue, of course, is that Cano is 31 and doesnt figure to be increasing his range as he gets olders so, at some point over the life of this deal, hes pretty much assured to be a liability at second base and then it could be a matter of finding him another position. Where all of this leads is to a certain point of inevitability, that by the time Cano is 37, 38-years-old, on a contract that pays him through age 41, hes not going to be productive enough to warrant $24-million per season. Since 1960, among second basemen that were at lleast 37-years-old, there are a total of four (Joe Morgan, Davey Lopes, Jeff Kent and Craig Biggio) that recorded a fWAR of at least 5.dddddddddddd0, total, after that point in their careers, so its asking a lot for Cano, even if he is going to be a Hall of Famer, to be overly productive through that age. That leaves the potential for 3-5 years of marginal production at the end of the deal. Given the annual cost, thats a pretty steep premium for the Mariners to pay. With Cano in the fold, the Mariners have more moves coming. Nick Franklin, their 2009 first-round pick, showed some promise last season, hitting a dozen home runs with a .225 batting average and .686 OPS in 102 games. Hes just 22 and hit .287 with an .819 OPS in five minor-league seasons, an indication that he should be able to hit at the major league level. Now that Cano is blocking Franklin at second base and Brad Miller is at shortstop, it seems likely that Franklin will be part of another transaction for Seattle, possibly to improve the pitching staff. From the Yankees perspective, they have signed Kelly Johnson, who offers respectable power -- his 79 home runs since 20010 ranks fourth among second basemen -- to a one-year deal and hes a fine stopgap solution. If there is a benefit to be gained by losing the leagues best second basemen, its in the financial flexibility that is gained and how the Yankees might spend money they had earmarked for Cano. If thats merely the Jacoby Ellsbury signing, then its hard to see this as a net gain, but if the Yankees turn around and add more pieces because they have room in the budget to do so, then it becomes easier to justify a fiscally-responsible decision, even if thats the last thing to expect from the Yankees. 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. ' ' '