TORONTO – On the third day of July in the summer of 2011 the Nashville Predators flipped Matthew Lombardi to Toronto. Lombardi still had two years to go on a pricey three-year contract and questions lingered as to whether he would ever play again. To grease him along to the Maple Leafs and subsequently free up cap space Nashville had to surrender a 23-year-old defender whom they drafted and developed in the third round of the 2005 draft. That trade surprised Cody Franson. Another deal that may come to pass in the coming five weeks isnt likely to sneak up on the 6-foot-5 defenceman. His name has been bandied about in trade speculation almost to no end during three-plus seasons in Toronto, that chatter only heating up again recently. An impending unrestricted free agent this summer, Franson and the Leafs have yet agree upon terms for a new deal. Given that murky contract status and the clubs rapid descent out of a playoff spot – 14 losses in 17 games - speculation picked up that the club may opt to move the 27-year-old defender before the Mar. 2 trade deadline. Its one of those things where its everywhere you go, said Franson of the trade talk. If its not on the radio its on the TV. If its not on the TV its on any Twitter feed and even though I dont have [a Twitter account] sometimes its tough to stay away from. Teammates will crack jokes about the possibility. Buddies from back home in Sicamous, B.C. will fire texts with links to some rumour or another. Try as he might Franson cant really escape the swell of speculation – real or fiction – that surrounds his future. At the end of the day its not in my hands, he said. I can control how I play and try and continually prove my worth here to this team and how I want to be here. Those decisions ultimately get made by the people upstairs and theyve got a tough job. Fransons stock has risen this year. Hes emerged with increased responsibilities, is well on his way to a career-high in points and is that rare right-shot defender with size and puck-moving skills. All of that makes him a desired candidate for trade before the deadline and a candidate for a large contract on July 1 – one the Leafs may not be prepared to pay. Franson, who signed his third consecutive one-year deal worth $3.3 million last summer, wants to stay in Toronto and always has, but hell also be after fair value. And given how tightly the organization squeezed him previously in restricted free agency theres no reason to expect him to settle for less. Torontos cap situation, additionally, complicates his future with the club beyond this season. Already looking tight with next years potential cap (projected to be between $71-73 million) and restricted free agents in Jonathan Bernier and Nazem Kadri still to be signed, the Leafs may not have room to ink Franson to the kind of hefty contract hes in line to demand (and get) in free agency. That could change if Brendan Shanahan and his front office staff opt to dramatically restructure the roster, be it now or in the summer months. One such option would be to move Dion Phaneuf – who has six years remaining with an annual cap hit of $7 million – to create the space needed to sign Franson (not to mention Bernier and Kadri), who is two years younger and just reaching his potential. That would leave a foundation on defence of Franson, Morgan Rielly, Jake Gardiner as well as future (potential) parts like Stuart Percy, Petter Granberg and Tom Nilsson. (Toronto will get a look at such a unit in the coming days with Phaneuf sidelined on a week-to-week basis, the result of a week-old fight with Milan Michalek.) The Leafs could still trade Franson before the deadline and then attempt to woo him back in free agency. But if theyre not willing to meet his price now its entirely reasonable to suspect they wont do so later. Its an odd dynamic for Franson at the moment. He wants to be a Leaf, wants to commit to the club for the long haul and yet could be lifted off the roster at any moment. When youre in that situation, he explained, where youre in the place where you want to be and you hear those trade rumours it makes it tough to swallow that pill sometimes. [But] coming through the whole process of trying to make pro and through juniors and into the NHL the second you think you understand what theyre trying to do upstairs youre wrong. I couldnt tell you how many times I thought I knew what they were going to do and they did something completely different. I try to take every rumour for what its worth and at the end of the day I dont know whats going to happen so I approach it like Im going to be here and this is where I want to be. And until that day comes or if that day comes Ill figure it out from there. Buffalo Bills Devin Singletary Jersey . - Houston defensive end J. Buffalo Bills Cody Ford Jersey . -- Conor Casey scored two goals, his first of the season, as the Philadelphia Union beat Chivas USA 3-0 on Saturday night. http://www.cheapbills.us/. Johns IceCaps erased an early two-goal deficit to come from behind and defeat the host Portland Pirates 5-4 on Saturday in American Hockey League action. Buffalo Bills Jerseys Outlet .Best moustache: How can we not give this to Lanny McDonald? Check out the duster for yourself. Cheap Buffalo Bills Gear . The Kelowna, B.C. rink made the announcement on their facebook page on Thursday night.Almeria, Spain (SportsNetwork.com) - Barcelona snapped a two-game slide in La Liga play by rallying for a 2-1 victory over Almeria at the Estadio Mediterraneo on Saturday. The Catalans entered the contest in poor form after dropping back-to-back matches in league play to slip from their perch atop the table, and things appeared to heading further south after Thievy Bifouma handed Almeria a 37th- minute lead by slotting a shot past Claudio Bravo on the counter. The hosts held the advantage until the 73rd minute when Neymar got on the end of Luis Suarezs square pass and tucked home the equalizer with a nifty finish. Barcelona ultimately found a winner eight minutes from time and it was Suarez again playing the role of the architect. The Uruguayan delivered an inch- perfect cross to the back post where Jordi Alba was arriving to guide the pass into the back of the net with a first-time finish. It wasnt a vintage Barcelona performance, but it was enough for the fableed club to stop the rot and climb to 25 points on the season.dddddddddddd The Catalans climb to second place in the table after Real Madrid cruised to a 5-1 demolition of Rayo Vallecano at the Bernabeu later on Saturday. Gareth Bale and Sergio Ramos put the hosts in good stead with first-half goals, though Alberto Bueno managed to pull one back for Rayo before the intermission. The second half, though, belonged to Madrid as Toni Kroos, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo notched a goal apiece to put the club back atop the table on 27 points. Malaga claimed a 2-1 home win over Eibar on Saturday to improve to 21 points on the season. The visitors took the lead through Mikel Arruabarrenas opener in the 42nd minute, but Juanmi leveled the score in the 53rd before a 90th-minute penalty from Nordin Amrabat handed Malaga the vital victory. Also on Saturday, Celta Vigo was held to a 0-0 home draw by Granada while Elche claimed a point from a 0-0 draw at Getafe. 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