Forennews » "I think we were overly aggressive,

TORONTO – Randy Carlyle entered the dressing room of the Maple Leafs practice facility Monday morning to an unusual and almost eerie silence. There was no music pumping from the stereo system, nothing but the uncomfortable quiet of a team in midst of another memorable late season collapse. "Thats a sure tell-tale sign," he said of a group in shock, down in the dumps from a losing streak numbering eight games, one that has the clubs playoff hopes dangling from the thinnest of threads. Carlyle took the day to inject a little life into what remains of those hopes. He also did a fair bit of teaching, directing, and informing, tweaks to "things that we think that are very easily correctable". He implored his forwards to "turn your [butt]" to protect the puck and adjusted the positioning of Jay McClement and Tim Gleason during one particular defensive zone drill. Carlyle may be coaching for his job in these final six games of the regular season, but beyond the uncertain question of the head coach and his status for next season is the roster retooling that seems likely to take place under the direction of GM Dave Nonis and his management team this summer. With 10 players up for free agency – including half the forward group and two top-four defenders – and the core deserving of some scrutiny after another collapse, plenty of change could and probably will be coming to the Leafs. Forwards James van Riemsdyk Tyler Bozak Phil Kessel Joffrey Lupul Nazem Kadri Nikolai Kulemin** Mason Raymond** Dave Bolland** David Clarkson Troy Bodie** Jay McClement** Jerry DAmigo* Colton Orr Defencemen Carl Gunnarsson Dion Phaneuf Jake Gardiner* Cody Franson* Tim Gleason Morgan Rielly Paul Ranger** Goaltenders Jonathan Bernier James Reimer* Note: *Restricted Free Agent | **Unrestricted Free Agent Phil Kessel, James van Riemsdyk, Dion Phaneuf, David Clarkson, Joffrey Lupul, and Tyler Bozak are all locked up until the summer of 2017 and in some cases beyond. They constitute the Toronto core along with Morgan Rielly and Jonathan Bernier and the far less secure but high upside duo of Nazem Kadri and Jake Gardiner. Considering their place in three straight collapses – all of varying degree – and ongoing struggles to defend, adjustment to the group has to be considered with only Kessel, van Riemsdyk, Bernier and Rielly seemingly off the table this offseason. Luke Schenn, once a cornerstone of that group, was jettisoned after the meltdown in 2012. Mikhail Grabovski faced the same fate via compliance buyout after Game 7 last spring. Will the summer ahead bring with it more change to the building blocks of the organization? Is a 1-2 centre punch of Bozak and Kadri strong enough to be a force in the East or are upgrades needed down the middle? Is there enough two-way stability to the current top-six (all signed long-term, save for Kadri) with little in the way of youth on the way? Can Clarkson be redeemed in year two of a whopping seven-year contract? Might the organization buy him out? Is a trade even possible? Can Lupul be a part of the solution at age 30 and beyond that? Is the core, generally speaking, good enough to win as constructed or is a major or perhaps minor tinkering required? Beyond that core is the looming free agent bunch, of which Bolland figures to be the most intriguing. The 27-year-old began his Leaf career with a bang, posting six goals and 10 points in October. But a serious ankle injury kept him out nearly five months and muddled his status in the process. Theres value there, but at what price and what term? Can he stabilize the club at centre ice or is there a better fit elsewhere, perhaps 28-year-old Paul Statsny, also entering unrestricted free agency for the first time? Then there are the likes of Mason Raymond, Nik Kulemin, Jay McClement, Troy Bodie and Paul Ranger, all also unrestricted. McClement is useful if employed in a fourth line role, and Bodie has certainly earned himself another contract with an energetic presence. The others all have question marks with price point and fit among the concerns. Thats the entire group of bottom-six forwards, all in question to return next season. None of the three restricted free agents are certain or maybe even likely to come back next year with Jake Gardiner the likeliest of a bunch – by a good margin – that includes Cody Franson and the all-but-gone James Reimer. Torontos defence should be the top priority for upgrade followed by a forward complement that has plenty of holes in the bottom ranks (size, strength, defensive commitment among the issues) with question marks up top and down the middle as well. Nonis would be hard-pressed to bring back Carlyle if the Leafs do definitively fumble away their once certain playoff chances, but hell also have to give a long, hard look to a roster thats proven (in conjunction with that coaching staff) to be flawed and in need of improvement. Cheap Air Max Free Shipping . Scotlands Greg Laidlaw made one of two penalty kicks and all three conversions, and Stuart Hogg added a try in the second half. "The most important thing to come out of the game is that we did not get scored against," Laidlaw said. Replica Air Max . -- Rodney Stuckey scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half, and the Detroit Pistons beat the New York Knicks for the first time in eight meetings, 92-86 on Tuesday night. https://www.airmaxchina.us/ . "I dont know where we would be without him," McClendon said. "Hes done a tremendous job for us and (Wednesday) was no different." Logan Morrison drove in two runs in Seattles big sixth inning, Young pitched seven strong innings and the Mariners beat the Houston Astros 5-2 to complete a three-game sweep. Cheap Air Max .Y. -- The New York Islanders were seeking a positive finish to a frustrating season on home ice. Cheap Air Max For Sale . The 10-year deal the league and players agreed to that ended the 2011 lockout gave either side the right to opt out after six years. With the league projecting financial growth, there has been speculation that players will take that option in three years, especially since a new national TV contract will be in place by then.HOUSTON -- Not even a ninth-inning home run that ended his bid at a first career shutout could ruin Martin Perezs day. Perez threw a four-hitter for his first career complete game, leading the Texas Rangers to their seventh straight victory, 6-1 over the Houston Astros on Sunday. "When I go to the mound I think, Im the best here, and I have the ball," Perez said. "I just want to throw. Thats what I did tonight. I took the ball and threw the pitch where (catcher Geovany Soto) called it." Perez (5-3) struck out a career-high eight while walking two in earning his second straight win. Perez has allowed four runs over his last 22 2-3 innings, spanning his last three starts. "He threw a lot of strikes out there today," Texas manager Ron Washington said. "Hes good at keeping the ball down. He has good mechanics. I think when he gets erratic its only because he tries to do too much. As long as he stays throwing the ball through the catcher and spots his fastball down in the zone the way hes capable of doing, hell be fine." Perez retired 15 of 17 batters from the third to the eighth, including nine in a row before Jake Elmores single with two outs in the eighth. "His fastball command was there. His changeup was there," Soto said. "He had a lot of early outs in the third, fourth, fifth innings. "I think he looks a little bit different. He has more conviction, more aggressiveness, more attack. I feel like hes doing that. Whenever he needs a strike leading off the inning or leading off an at-bat, he got a strike. He uses all his pitches real well and he used all his pitches well today." The left-hander gave a lot of credit to Soto. "He helped me out with pitches, and we have a good relationship," Perez said. "He called the pitches. I just threw it 100 per cent. Hes a good catcher and called a good game." Chris Carter ruined Perezs shutout bid with a home run with two outs in the ninth inning, but Perez said the home run didnt matter because the most important thing was the Rangers won. Alex Rios had two hits, drove in a run and scored twice in his second game with the Rangers, who have won 12 of their last 13 games. Adrian Beltre also had two hits. Dallas Keuchel (5-7) allowed six runs and eight hits with eight strikeouts in 8 2-3 innings. He was the second Astros starter to go into the ninth this season, as Bud Norris threw eight-pluus innings May 8 against the Los Angeles Angels.dddddddddddd "That was the best I felt all year," Keuchel said. "(Perez) was better than me today, and I didnt make pitches when I needed to." Keuchel set down the first 13 batters before Rios beat out a grounder to short with one out in the fifth for the Rangers first hit. Soto then put the Rangers ahead 1-0 with a ground-rule double to centre field. Rios laced a two-out double down the right-field line in the sixth to extend the lead to 2-0. Elvis Andrus reached on an error with one out and advanced to second on Beltres single before scoring on Rios double. Perez had his offence to thank for the opportunity to finish off the complete game, as he was told he would not be given a chance to finish it if the Rangers did not score at least two runs in the ninth. The offence plated four in the inning. Texas upped the lead to 5-0 in the ninth on Jurickson Profars based-loaded single with two outs, plating Rios and Jeff Baker. Craig Gentry came around to score on an errant thrown by L.J. Hoes, and Profar scored on Leonys Martins single to make it 6-0. Houston has lost five in a row and nine of the last 10 games. The Astros own the worst record in the majors at 37-79. "I think we were overly aggressive," Houston manager Bo Porter said. "It would have been a better idea to slow the game down and get the pace in your favour, but it felt like the more outs (Perez) recorded, the quicker our at-bats got." NOTES: Texas DH Lance Berkman went 2 for 3 with a home run and drove in two runs in his first rehab game Saturday night for the Rangers Triple-A affiliate, Round Rock. Berkman has been on the disabled list since July 7 with left hip inflammation. . Texas RHP Neftali Feliz was expected to throw Saturday for Round Rock but did not pitch as a precaution because of mild right arm triceps tendinitis. He will throw on flat ground Sunday and be re-evaluated. Feliz has been rehabbing from Tommy John surgery last year. . Texas sent SS Leury Garcia to the White Sox on Sunday to complete the trade for Rios. . Houston SS Jonathan Villar, who had not started the previous three games because of a left thumb sprain, did not start Sundays game, either. Porter said Villar was not in the lineup Sunday because the Rangers were starting a left-hander and the thumb bothers Villar more batting right, but Villar is expected to start Monday. ' ' '