cluding 12 in the second half -- but only put three on tar

It was just before the 2008 World Championships in Halifax and Team USA was holding a pre-tournament camp in Portland, Maine. Roberto Romano Jersey . Jeff Halpern, serving as the American captain, was informing and inviting teammates to a fishing trip off the coast of Maine, in a gulf of the Atlantic Ocean. He wondered if Phil Kessel, then a 20-year-old playing for the Boston Bruins, wanted to come along. I get seasick in the bathtub, Kessel said, according to a later recounting by his future boss in Toronto, Brian Burke. I guess thats a no, Halpern responded. No, Kessel said, if the guys are going Im going. So he went, puked his guts out, but did it because was a team function, Burke beamed proudly on the day Kessel was officially traded to the Maple Leafs, defending the character of his newest asset, one that came with a high price ultimately. More than six long years later, Burke long since deposed as the teams president and general manager, and many of those same questions still surround Kessel, now 27-years-old and the highest-paid player in Toronto. Can the Leafs win a Cup with Kessel at the forefront? And if not, which seems to be case, then what should Brendan Shanahan and a revamped management group do about it? What can they do about it? Kessel remains under contract until 2022 at an annual cap hit of $8 million or more than 11 percent of the current cap. Is a player with that contract and those attributes tradable? And if so, then how tradable? What kind of market would exist for such a unique talent and personality? What kind of return would a player like Kessel net in a climate thats become increasingly wise to the functions of team success? Do the negatives of Kessels game outweigh the positives? Are the Leafs better in the long-term by trading by far their most talented player? Does that put them on the right path toward chasing a Cup? These are only some of the questions facing Shanahan as it pertains to the face of Torontos franchise, a player whos scored more goals than anyone but Alexander Ovechkin and Steven Stamkos since the start of the 2011-12 season, more points than anyone but Claude Giroux and Evgeni Malkin. I just want to help the team win here, Kessel said on the day he was first introduced as a Leaf. Thats the main goal here. Its not individual goals, its me coming in here doing whatever I can to help the organization and the team win hockey games. What wasnt in doubt then or now is the quality of those offensive gifts. Kessel remains one of the most dangerous and feared players in the league with a shot that may be unequaled in terms of the quickness with which it launches off the stick. Kessel, who has had a blasé kind of year, still sits around the top-10 in league scoring and remains on pace to either match or set new career-highs in a slew of offensive categories. Hes had several great years, Burkes replacement, Dave Nonis, said after re-signing Kessel for eight years and $64 million on the eve of last season. If you look at his point totals and his goal totals over the last two and three seasons hes up there with some pretty elite players. But for all the mesmerizing things Kessel can do on the ice, he detracts just about as much. Hes prone to bits of laziness – both on and off the ice – lacks noticeable effort in his own zone and often ends up costing his team more goals than he scores. Kessel and his two regular linemates, James van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak, have been the Leafs worst possession trio this season. They are consistently and unnervingly hemmed in the defensive zone for extended periods. Its not a new issue either, its one that dates back to the days of Ron Wilson, Kessels first coach in Toronto. Phils problem, said Wilson during an interview with TSN Radio on Tuesday, hes two weeks on and two weeks off and you just hope that you can get him playing his best hockey for as long as possible. You cant rely on Phil. Its just the way it is. You have to know that Phil is going to give you everything hes got for two or three weeks and then for the next two or three weeks everything seems to go wrong for Phil. Thats just the way it is. The Leafs signed Kessel for the long haul under the premise, seemingly, that his potent production would be impossible to replace. But that assumes that the good outweighs the bad and that may not be the case, especially if Kessel assumes the role of the teams best and highest-paid player. It also ignores the grander question of whether Kessel can help a team achieve the ultimate goal of winning a Cup. Boston, facing cap troubles in the fall of 2009, decided not. They pulled the trigger to move Kessel after he scored 36 goals as a 21-year-old. They won their Cup two years later. Claude Julien, Ron Wilson, Randy Carlyle, they all tried to change Kessel into something he was not, to mold him into a piece of a winning product. They could not. Whats to suggest then that something will change under the next head coach in Toronto? You never change a leopards spots, Wilson said. I think you paint over some of those spots, but theyll eventually shine through the paint and thats just too bad. Kessel is an incredibly capable and gifted player and he could probably be a piece on a winning team, just not the piece. Could he play the Patrick Kane role on a deeper team? Perhaps and perhaps thats the type of team willing to spring for his talents. Beyond just the burdensome decision of even trading Kessel is the potential return. What kind of value does Kessel have in a trade with the amount of money hes owed and the questions surrounding his performance and personality? How many teams would even be interested? And for a team like Toronto, one thats not contending for a Cup anytime soon, what kind of risk is there in hanging on to Kessel as he nears and then surpasses age 30, when the gifts that make him such a special talent start to wither if even a little? Kessel is the biggest piece of a web that needs to be untangled. The Leafs have too many flawed players locked up for too long, a core thats proven barely good enough to qualify for the playoffs, let alone win a Cup. Kessel is not the only problem – far from it – and on a different team he may not be a problem at all, but he also may not be part of the solution either, especially as the leading act. Is it worth sacrificing his tremendous gifts, though, for the betterment of the team in the long-term? These are really difficult questions. Moving on from Kessel is not a simple decision. Not many players, simply put, can do what he does. The Leafs would be worse, far worse really, without Kessel in the short-term. But theyve also been a badly flawed team with him at the forefront and that seems unlikely to change anytime soon. Kessel, ultimately, is the elephant in the room that Shanahan and the teams front office will have to confront one day, if they havent already. Moving on from the player, personality, and contract is a decision they probably should make given the bleak history of his time in Toronto as the front man, but its certainly no easy choice. This whole job is a high-wire act without a net, said Burke, Shanahans predecessor as team president, on the day Kessel was introduced. Every deal we make were betting on a human being, were betting on Phil, taking a chance. Thats how it works. I dont think were taking much of a chance. Syl Apps Jr. Jersey . Orlov, who scored two goals in the game, was assessed a major penalty for boarding on the play. The Flyers scored once on the power play and again with the extra attacker with 65 seconds remaining to send the game to overtime. Tom Kostopoulos Jersey https://www.cheappenguinsjersey.com/571q-orest-kindrachuk-jersey-penguins.html .com) - Blake Griffin led five Clippers in double figures with 24 points and the LA Clippers got back on track with a 101-97 win over the Utah Jazz. TORONTO -- Michael Bradley sat dejected in his locker stall, almost lost for words as Toronto FCs season looped to another loss. Cant defend. Cant score. Cant win. Repeat and add another loss to the standings. That was the bottom line of a 2-0 defeat Saturday afternoon at the hands of the Philadelphia Union that saw first-half goals by Conor Casey and Andrew Wenger extend Torontos MLS misery. "Weve been through this before," Bradley said with a sigh after a long pause. "To be quite honest, you get sick and tired talking about it . . . When you constantly dig yourself these kind of holes then you know its going to be hard to come back and get anything out of the game." Toronto (9-11-6) has lost three straight via shutout, is winless in five (0-4-1) and has just three victories in its last 15 outings (3-7-5). Toronto has dropped 31 of 45 points over that period. The club that once talked of making BMO Field its fortress has not won there since July 12 (0-3-2) and now has a 5-6-2 record at home in 2014. Still Toronto came hard in the second half at a Philadelphia side that had two first-half goals in its back pocket. The home side hit the woodwork three times, only to see its goalless streak stretch to 280 minutes. "I think we have more," said manager Greg Vanney, whose record at the helm dropped to 0-2-0. "We have to be better. It wasnt good enough. "We have eight matches left. We have a full week of training next week. I think its important that we take a good hard look and set our identity, the identity of this team and how were going to push forward for the next eight games and get everybody on the same page. Were still sort of a group moving in one direction and another group moving in another direction" Vanney has been handed an almost impossible task, trying to arrest the slide of a team whose bad habits have been amplified by injury and lack of squad depth at certain positions. Once again, Toronto paid the price for early slack defending before a disappointing crowd -- announced as a sellout of 22,591 but showing plenty of empty seats -- that booed them off the field for the second home game in a row. Toronto is 2-8-4 when it allows the first goal and 7-3-2 when it scores first The team is sliding down the standings like they were a greased pole. Toronto, with 33 points, started the day fourth in the Eastern Conference. It finished the game in fifth and could end up in seventh if Columbus and New York both post wins. "We played like we were a little bit underwater," said Vanney. "Maybe fatigued at a third game in seven days." There was some good news for TFC supporters. Fan favourite Dwayne De Rosario got his first start since April 12 and injured star striker Jermain Defoe, whose future with the club has come into question lately, is expected back in training in Toronto on Sept. 20. Vanney said he expected Defoe to play "soon thereafter." Toronto has games Sept. 21 and 27 and then five more in October. Defoe offered cause for hope for Toronto fans by tweeting: "Big game for boys tonight good lucck cant wait to be back out there scoring" Apprised of the Sept. Marcus Pettersson Jersey. 20 return for Defoe, Bradley said: "Awesome. Sounds good." And he insisted Toronto can turn things around and make the playoffs. "Frustrated for sure but not even close to giving up," said Bradley before taking a glass-half-full view of the schedule. "Theres still a lot of games left, a lot of soccer to be played and a lot of points still on the board. "Anybody that thinks that were ready to pack it in has another thing coming." While Toronto players take a long hard look at themselves, the well-drilled Union (9-9-9) are headed in the other direction. The victory, Philadelphias second in three days over Toronto with Casey scoring in both games, means the Union have won three of four and lost just one of its last nine (5-1-3). Philadelphia is 6-2-3 in MLS play since Jim Curtin was hired as interim manager. "Im happy with the guys performance," said Curtin. "Toronto is a very good team who are missing some pieces right now and we are a little bit fortunate to get them at the time we did." Toronto was without injured defenders Steve Caldwell and Justin Morrow and Canadian midfielder Jonathan Osorio. Veteran Bradley Orr, who played at centre back despite a painful toe injury, declined comment after a difficult day at the office. Vanney said he chose a sore Orr to play because the backline badly needed some experience. Canadian coach Benito Floro did the team a solid by releasing De Rosario and fellow midfielder Kyle Bekker from the national team game for Saturdays game. The 36-year-old De Rosario, showing bursts of energy, got a standing ovation in some quarters when he came off in the 69th minute. Bekker started on the bench, coming in just before halftime for an injured Collen Warner. Vanney and his players had hoped for a fast start to get the fans into the match. Instead it was a late-arriving crowd and Philadelphia went ahead in the eighth minute after a series of botched Toronto clearances allowed Sheanon Williams to deliver a perfect cross to Casey. The burly striker, who played two games for Toronto in its inaugural 2007 season, made no mistake with the header for his eighth of the season. Philadelphia went ahead 2-0 in the 44th minute off a corner and yet another failed clearance. Mark Blooms header went to Williams, who headed it back it to Wenger at the other end of the goal. Wenger, free of any Toronto pressure, headed it in for his fifth goal. Bloom had Torontos best chance to date in the 54th minute when his long-range shot bounced off the post. Nick Hagglunds bicycle kick went just wide minutes later. Bradley forced a save off a diving Zac MacMath in the 66th minute. A header by Brazils Jackson hit the crossbar in the 77th minute and Bekker slammed a ball off the crossbar in the 90th minute after his free kick came back to him. The Philadelphia defence bent but didnt break. Toronto had 16 attempts on goal -- including 12 in the second half -- but only put three on target compared to 12 (seven on target) for the Union. 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