because he has three first-round draft picks in 2015 and

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." John Brown Ravens Jersey . Picard had a goal and two assists to help Canada improve to 2-0 at the tournament. Seven different players scored for the two-time defending champions. "Today all four lines played excellent," said head coach Laura Schuler. Baltimore Ravens Jerseys . Nat Borchers headed in the sole goal in the 54th minute, getting on the end of a Kyle Beckerman free kick. The defeat cost Sporting top spot in the Eastern Conference. Even a draw would have moved the Kansas City club above Columbus. http://www.ravensrookiestore.com/Ravens-Lamar-Jackson-Jersey/ . Huntington doesnt want to help run the club unless Hurdle is in the dugout. The combination thats returned the franchise to respectability will remain intact for years to come. Jaleel Scott Ravens Jersey . Halak, 28, split his eighth NHL seasons between the St. Louis Blues, Buffalo Sabres and Washington Capitals, compiling a 29-13-7 record in 52 games. Orlando Brown Jr. Jersey ." The tournament was set to be held Sept. 15-21 and would have been the first ATP tournament held in Israel since 1996. But amid Israels military campaign against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, ATP President Chris Kermode said "we do not feel we can proceed as planned given the situation in the region.TSN Hockey Insiders Darren Dreger and Pierre LeBrun have the latest on Jason Spezzas future, the Kings plans for Mike Richards, possible destinations for Vincent Lecavalier, Dan Boyle, Bob Nicholson, and more. Bryan Murray made an announcement after the GMs meetings - and as was reported by Pierre LeBrun a couple of weeks ago - that Jason Spezza wants a trade out of Ottawa. Whats the latest on that? Pierre LeBrun: Yes, he made it public. As you said, we talked about this for a couple of weeks but I think that Murray felt compelled to stop playing around with this. Its not a rumour. Jason Spezza wants out and Murray has taken calls from other teams. Nothing is imminent, and Murray believes that things will heat up around the draft. But in any package for Spezza, he wants a player that helps them now plus some futures - it will be a high asking price. The Stanley Cup Final is on but GMs are already focusing about next season. We expect Brad Richards to be bought out by the New York Rangers - what about Mike Richards by L.A.? Darren Dreger: Well the Los Angeles Kings dont plan on buying out Mike Richards because then they would have to replace him. But Mike Richards doesnt want to be a fourth-line centre next year for the Kings. The Kings are expected to push Richards in the off-season to improve his conditions and get a little bit stronger. But we also know that Richards is a strong and confident young man and he may not want to follow the path that the Kings want him to follow. So this could get very interesting. Is current Philadelphia Flyer Vincent Lecavalier soon to be an ex-Flyer? Dreger: Hes a fourth-line forward making $4.5 million and I cant believe that Ron Hextall is going to want to pay him that. So the word on the street is yes, Lecavalier most definitely is in play. But keep in mind that he has a no-move clause. I know that his agent Kent Hughes has already talked to Hextall about the possibility of moving his client. There are no specific teams yet, theres no list, but if they want to move him they are going to have to go to Vinny and identify a specific place. LeBrun: To the disappointment of many teams, one player who is not on the move is Shea Weber and Im not sure why.dddddddddddd For whatever reason, his name pops up all the time as a trade target. David Poile, the GM of the Predators, after the meeting on Wednesday said, "I am never trading Shea Weber." Hes not going anywhere, theyre building their team around him...thats the end of it. Dan Boyles rights are owned right now by the New York Islanders. But could he end up a Toronto Maple Leaf? Dreger: The Toronto Maple Leafs are high on Dan Boyles list. Hes expected to alert Islanders GM Garth Snow at some point this week as to whether or not he intends to negotiate with the Islanders with the possibility of staying there after New York made the trade for his negotiating rights. I know that the Islanders have already made an offer but there is no negotiation. Boyle wants a two-year deal, and the money might be more than the Leafs are willing to pay but they definitely have interest. LeBrun: Speaking of money, the Chicago Blackhawks are going to open the vault again for Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. Chicago GM Stan Bowman told us today that he wants them signed by July 1. He has to set up his entire off-season and his cap room by knowing how much these guys will make. Hes optimistic that these deals will get done shortly between now and July 1. Bob Nicholson has left Hockey Canada, but we will find out shortly what his new job is going to be. Dreger: Yes, very soon news will break that Bob Nicholson is jumping into the National Hockey League. He left Hockey Canada and will join the high ranks of an NHL team in a high executive capacity - above the level of president and below that of an NHL owner. But hes joining the NHL. The NHL GMs discussed the draft lottery and possibly changing the odds, but is there no consensus just yet? LeBrun: Well it was sort of a confusing day. We spoke to Tim Murray of the Buffalo Sabres who said he was relieved, because he has three first-round draft picks in 2015 and his understanding is there wont be changes to the lottery before then. But we heard from league sources that its still possible that Bill Daly and commissioner Gary Bettman will make a proposal to the Board of Governors in less than two weeks. So its up in the air at this point. 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