MONTREAL – The meeting between Leafs general manager Dave Nonis and Phil Kessel last week had little to do with contract negotiations. Instead, Nonis and Kessel were sorting through the fallout of a wild melee with the Buffalo Sabres, one that saw Kessel suspended for the duration of the pre-season. "He brought up to me how important it was to stay," Nonis said on Tuesday afternoon of the conversation with Kessel. "And thats when we started negotiations. There werent negotiations early in camp. I wanted to hear from him and I wanted him to tell me that he wanted to be a Toronto Maple Leaf. And once he did, we worked quickly and were able to reach an agreement." Kessel, who will turn 26 on Wednesday, and the Leafs agreed to an eight-year deal that will pay the winger $8 million per season, keeping him in Toronto until beyond his 34th birthday. "Ive always wanted to be here," said Kessel, who expressed no interest in negotiating an extension during the season, the deadline thus ticking in recent hours. "Its a place I wanted to play, want to finish my career here. Its a great city. The organization is unbelievable and Im real excited to continue here." Only two players in the NHL have finished top-10 in league scoring in each of the past two seasons: Lightning star Steven Stamkos and Kessel. Its that level of production, not easily replaced in todays NHL, which enticed the Leafs to lock him up as a cornerstone for the long-term, longer in fact than any player on the roster. "If you want to retain an elite player, youre going to probably have to give them fairly lengthy term," Nonis insisted, the David Clarkson seven-year deal this past summer another example of such requirements. "What you want to make sure of or be as comfortable as you can be that that player is going to be able to perform at a high level for most, if not all of it. And again, Phil being 26-years-old, Im pretty comfortable that weve got, hopefully, the best eight years of his career." Though he enters his eighth NHL season, Kessel remains relatively young and has demonstrated in recent years an ability to grow – both on and off the ice – and further mold an overall game that had been previously lacking. Maybe most striking, however, and most prominent in the playoffs last spring was the intensity he presented against the Bruins, a handful opposite Chara and company with four goals and six points in the seven-game series. "Its not like he hadnt done anything prior to that series, but his desire to win and to compete and do things that dont come natural to him, I think that opened a lot of peoples eyes," Nonis said. "One thing with that is he has to continue doing that and he knows it." "I think maybe some people dont think he has a ton of compete in him, but we in the room know he does," said Tyler Bozak, who remained a Leaf this past summer with a five-year deal. "He puts up those points every single year for a reason." Kessel had scored 30 goals for four consecutive seasons before tallying 20 in the shortened 48-game schedule last year. Only three players have found twine more in the past three seasons, an impressive trio that includes Corey Perry, Alex Ovechkin and Stamkos. Whether that line of production continues to ascend though will be up to the player, according to Nonis. "Its going to be where he wants it to go," Nonis stated. "If he wants to continue that compete that he showed in the postseason... if he wants to continue to work on his conditioning and his strength and his playmaking and all those things that have improved over the last three or four years, Phil should continue to improve. We shouldnt see a flat-line, he should keep getting better." Dion Phaneuf is the next contract for Nonis and his management team to work on, the Leafs captain unsigned beyond this season. Ahead in the summer of 2014 looms a daunting list that includes Jake Gardiner (RFA), James Reimer (RFA), Cody Franson (RFA), Mark Fraser (RFA), Mason Raymond (UFA), Paul Ranger (UFA), Nik Kulemin (UFA) and Dave Bolland (UFA). With Kessel now securely in the fold though, the Leafs do have a core group of forwards locked up long-term, with Clarkson, Bozak, Joffrey Lupul, and James van Riemsdyk all signed until at least the conclusion of the 2016-2017 season. Antonio Callaway Jersey . Re-signed by the club to a one-year, two-way (NHL/AHL) contract on July 5, Bass appeared in three preseason games with Columbus prior to breaking a bone in his hand on Sept. Ricardo Louis Browns Jersey . -- Barry Bonds is all set to return to the San Francisco Giants. http://www.footballbrownsnflprostore.com...d-Elite-Jersey/. The Toronto Maple Leafs were holding a news conference, so they got curious. It didnt take long for them to find out via social media that coach Randy Carlyle was coming back — with a two-year extension — and assistants Greg Cronin, Scott Gordon and Dave Farrish were being let go. Tyrod Taylor Browns Jersey . -- The Oakland Athletics and free agent right-hander Bartolo Colon have agreed to terms on a US$2 million, one-year contract, bolstering their depleted starting rotation. Damarious Randall Jersey . Helwani said that Weidman has been dealing with recurring swelling and pain in his knees related to torn meniscus he suffered as a teenager and the problems came to a head last week when he suffered prolonged swelling and pain in his left knee, resulting in the decision to undergo an arthroscopic scope procedure to clean up the tear in both knees. BERLIN -- Kevin-Prince Boateng scored late for Schalke to beat Wolfsburg 2-1 and move fourth in the Bundesliga on Saturday, while Hamburger SV slipped further into crisis with a 3-0 loss at Hoffenheim. Boateng scored in the 81st minute following some good interplay between Leon Goretzka and Roman Neustaedter, restoring the home sides lead after Maximilian Arnold equalized for 10-man Wolfsburg in the 65th. Felipe Santana opened the scoring in the ninth, when Boatengs effort rebounded off his shoulder and squirmed inside the post after a corner. Wolfsburgs task was made more difficult when midfielder Daniel Caligiuri was sent off in the 50th. TV replays suggested he had made a remark to the linesman. "Im delighted with the win," Boateng said. "It was hugely important. The fans got to see a good match, they had to fret for a little bit, but that keeps us all young." Borussia Moenchengladbach lost 3-1 at Hannover in the late game, missing out on the chance to reclaim fourth place. "Its not undeserved, the 3-1," Moenchengladbach coach Lucien Favre said. "We lost the ball too often, didnt move enough. They played well, countered well, theyre very dangerous here." Artjoms Rudnevs opened the scoring in the 57th when Szabolcs Huszti crossed to the far post. It was the Latvian strikers second goal in as many games since switching from Hamburg. Huszti also created Hannovers second in the 82nd, with another precise cross for Mame Biram Diouf. Peniel Kokou Mlapa pulled one back two minutes later to set up a frenetic finish, but Diouf sealed the result in the 89th to maintain new Hannover coach Tayfun Korkuts winning start. Earlier, Bayer Leverkusen left it late to come from behind and beat Stuttgart 2-1 and consolidate second place. Eren Derdiyoks 84th-minute header condemned Stuttgart to its fourth successive defeat. Moritz Leitner opened the scoring for Stuttgart with a fine strike to the top left corner in the 12th, 14 minutes before Stefan Kiessling equalized by beating a defender and curling his shot inside the far post. "Its like Groundhog Day for me," Stuttgart coach Thomas Schneider said. "Wee take the lead like in the last games and then give the game away.dddddddddddd Altogether a bitter afternoon for us." Mainz defeated Freiburg 2-0, and Augsburg beat 10-man Werder Bremen 3-1. Hamburg, the only side to have played every season of the Bundesliga, offered little to suggest it would escape its first relegation in slumping to its fifth successive loss. "Our biggest problem is that were conceding goals too easily," said Hamburg coach Bert van Marwijk, whose side has the worst defence in the league. Roberto Firmino fired Hoffenheim ahead in the fourth, though TV replays suggested a hint of offside when Kevin Volland played him through. Poor defending allowed Niklas Suele to make it 2-0 with a header from Sejad Salihovics cross at the end of the first half, and the visiting fans began leaving when Andreas Beck made it 3-0 on the hour. Hamburg is in the relegation playoff place and will end the weekend in a direct relegation place if Nuremberg beats Hertha Berlin on Sunday. "Were facing criticism, were playing catastrophically. The coach cant do anything about that," Hamburg midfielder Rafael van der Vaart said. "We understand his system. Its the quality thats lacking at the end of the day." Goals from South Koreans Park Joo-ho and Koo Ja-cheol in the 25th and 86th respectively were enough for Mainz to give Freiburg its 10th defeat of the season and leave it just one point ahead of Hamburg. Augsburgs seven game unbeaten run is a club record. It started badly against Bremen when Jan-Ingwer Callsen-Bracker headed Zlatko Junuzovics corner into his own net in the third minute, but Tobias Werner equalized with a deflected shot in the 11th, and the visitors were reduced to 10 men before the break when Santiago Garcia received his second yellow card for a lunge. The Argentine was incensed with the decision after appearing to make no contact with Matthias Ostrzolek. Halil Altintop gave Augsburg the lead with a fine volley in the 49th and Andre Hahn capitalized on a defensive mix-up to secure the win six minutes later. Runaway league leader Bayern Munich hosts Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday. Cheap Jerseys Store China Jerseys White NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping Youth NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale Stitched Jerseys China NFL Gear ' ' '