From John Ferguson Jr. Andre Johnson College Jersey . to Cliff Fletcher (part II) to Brian Burke to Dave Nonis, the annual free agent frenzy has been nothing short of a recurring nightmare for Maple Leaf general managers (recent) past and present. Each and every July 1st signing has brought with it excitement and all too large expectations only to fizzle into one pricey disappointment after another. Now helming another rebuild in Calgary, Burke often described the day in disastrous terms for the NHLs management community, decrying the slew of exorbitant contracts with "unrealistic values and unrealistic term…that bite you right in the butt at some point". Value, all too important under the confines of a cap system and best found in homegrown products, is never harder to find than on July 1st – a day that sees the contracts get larger and sillier with each passing year. It began in earnest for the Leafs shortly after the outset of the cap era in the summer of 2006. John Ferguson Jr., fighting for a job that would soon run its course, plugged two holes on the Toronto defence that July with a pair of expensive free agent additions. Formerly a member of Tampas Cup winning squad in 2004, Pavel Kubina was inked for four years and $20 million and Hal Gill, once a towering defender in Boston but far less effective under the free-flowing rules of the league post-lockout, raked in more than $6 million for three years. Both were overpaid from the outset – especially in the case of Kubina, one of many to struggle under the weight of an onerous contract – and both were eventually traded. 2007 Jason Blake came next. Scoring more frequently as an Islander in 2006 than at any other point in a 13-year career, Blake – age 33 – signed with the Leafs for five years and $20 million in the last significant move of the Ferguson Jr. era. Blake, predictably, could not live up to the expectations of such a large contract, never coming close to 40 goals again; he was dealt to Anaheim alongside Vesa Toskala for J.S. Giguere in 2010. 2008 Mostly forgotten now, but of considerable damage to the organization during a brief 10-month tenure, Fletcher continued the free agent plight in 2008. Maybe even more stunning now than it was then, Fletcher handed former Avalanche defender Jeff Finger, he of 94 games of NHL experience, four years and $14 million. Finger played 62 forgettable games in a Leaf uniform, was eventually buried in the minors, never to be heard from again. Joining Finger in the free agent trot that day was Niklas Hagman, a Finnish winger who scored 27 goals the year prior in Dallas. Hagman also cashed in under Fletcher, lured for four years at a bloated $12 million. Though he scored 42 goals in two seasons with the Leafs, Hagman was consistently inconsistent, soon to be dealt to Calgary in the famed Dion Phaneuf trade. 2009 Still months from pulling the trigger on the noisiest (and most controversial) move of his busy Toronto tenure – the hotly debated Phil Kessel trade – Burke sought a big and ultimately failed splash in his first summer as the Leafs front man. It was all about truculence then and truculence he got. There were the four years and $4 million pitched to former Rangers heavyweight, Colton Orr; five long years and $22.5 million to Mike Komisarek; three years at just over $11 million for Francois Beauchemin. Orr lingered as a mostly unused tough guy for Ron Wilson before being briefly banished to the minors (he eventually returned to the NHL). Komisarek, a step or two slow for the speedier new game, tumbled quickly under the burden of a deal he could never live up to and was bought out by the organization last summer. Beauchemin eventually found his game, but not in Toronto. He returned to the Ducks in the Jake Gardiner-Joffrey Lupul swap, finishing fourth in the 2013 Norris Trophy voting. 2010 Still trying to fill various holes through free agency, Burke added the veteran grinder Colby Armstrong from Pittsburgh the following summer (three years, $9 million). Armstrong never found much health as a Leaf though and preceded fellow free agent signee, Komisarek, on the buyout line. 2011 Tim Connolly recorded just 42 points in his final go-around in Buffalo, but still landed $9 million for two years in the summer of 2011. Connolly never hit the desired mark of No. 1 centre for the Leafs (he had 36 points in 70 games), was demoted to the Marlies after a year and is now out of the NHL. 2013 And then last summer there was David Clarkson, the first signee of Nonis as Leafs GM. In perhaps the worst deal of the aforementioned bunch, Clarkson landed in his hometown for seven years and more than $36 million on July 1st, 2013. Year 1 was an all-out nightmare and while theres every chance of a bounce-back of some kind in Year 2, his talents are unlikely to ever match the value of an incredibly burdensome contract. Clarkson was just the latest in a line of July 1st blunders. The fundamental flaw in continually swinging big in free agency is the lacking value the process ensures – players are almost always overvalued on Day 1 of the contract. As demonstrated yet again by the L.A. Kings earlier this summer, team building (and sustained success) is best accomplished through successful draft and development, not pricey spending on a mistake-laden day. And so while impending UFAs like Paul Statsny may appear to solve long-standing needs, Nonis (and Brendan Shanahan) would be wise to approach with caution. The answer, especially in Toronto, is almost never found on July 1st. Player Contract End Result Pavel Kubina 4 years, $20M Traded Hal Gill 3 years, $6.25M Traded Jason Blake 5 years, $20M Traded Jeff Finger 4 years, $14M Demoted Niklas Hagman 4 years, $12M Traded Colton Orr 4 years, $4M Demoted * Mike Komisarek 5 years, $22.5M Bought Out Francois Beauchemin 3 years, $11.4M Traded Colby Armstrong 3 years, $9M Bought Out Tim Connolly 2 years, $9M Demoted David Clarkson 7 years, $36.75M N/A Cheap Miami Jerseys Free Shipping .com) - Tony Parker scored 17 points to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a comfortable 99-85 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday. Jon Beason College Jersey . This is Lowry’s third time winning the award in his career. He won the award last season and as a member of the Houston Rockets in 2011. http://www.cheapmiamijerseys.com/ .NYCFC confirmed to The Associated Press on Saturday that this week Lampard signed a contract to start in July — midway through the new teams first season in MLS.NASHVILLE -- The Anaheim Ducks got off to a slow start falling behind 2-0 in the first period. Ryan Getzlaf certainly got them started in the second. Getzlaf scored the first two goals in the second, and Teemu Selanne scored the go-ahead goal late in the period as the Anaheim Ducks beat the Nashville Predators 4-3 Thursday night. Selannes fifth goal this season came on the power play at 18:52 of the second, capping a four-goal period for the Ducks. Getzlaf also had an assist on Corey Perrys goal. Matt Beleskey had two assists. "It seems like when were down and were not playing well, he takes it upon himself to do what he does until the other guys catch up," Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau said of Getzlaf. "And Corey does it too. Both of those guys are pretty magical as far as being tough to play against. The Ducks started a two-game road trip winning their fifth straight and 15th in 16 games. Getzlaf, who now has a team-high 52 points, said they have to figure out how to play better in the first 10 minutes of games. "I thought our guys did a great job in that second half of that first period turning the momentum a little bit and obviously, we came out on fire in the second," Getzlaf said. "I knew we needed to get at least one for our group. Thats what we try to do every night, and tonight we got a couple." Paul Gaustad, Craig Smith and Rich Clune scored a goal each for Nashville, and Matt Cullen had two assists. But the Predators lost for only the second time in regulation when scoring first, and it was their first loss when scoring at least three goals. "At the end of the day, you look at the score sheet and its Getzlaf, Getzlaf, Perry, Selanne," Nashville coach Barry Trotz said. "I thought we played a pretty solid game but just mismanaged three or four shifts in the Getzlaf-Perry line." Anaheim started a two-game road trip a bit sluggish as the Predators opened by quickly scoring twice. Gaustad scored 200th NHL point with his seventh goal this seasson at 1:52 on a wrister, and Smith got his 13th at 2:22 off a 2-on-1 with a nice pass from Kevin Klein. Cheap Miami Gear. The Ducks came out ready to play in the second when they outshot Nashville 17-8. Perry tied it up with his own quick goals early in the second period. He got his first 55 seconds into the second on a wrister and beat Nashville goalie Marek Mazanecs glove again at 4:36 with another wrist shot. Clune put Nashville ahead 3-2 when he swatted the puck out of the air past Ducks goalie Frederik Andersen at 5:31 off a pass from Smith. But Perry answered almost immediately beating Mazanec glove-side with a wrister at 6:27. Gabriel Bourque went to the box for holding Ducks defenceman Ben Lovejoy at 17:07, and Selanne scored on a snap shot at 18:52 off an assist from Patrick Maroon giving the Ducks their first lead of the game. "When you dont get as many chances as you are used to in your career, when those chances come you have to take advantage of them," Selanne said. The Predators had the man advantage twice in the third and couldnt beat Andersen. Mazanec at least kept them close when he stopped Ducks centre Daniel Winnik on a breakaway with a pad save in the first seconds of the second power play. Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau took his timeout with Nashville outshooting Anaheim 9-5 at the time and 12-4 for the period. Gaustad hit the side of the net on a chance with 5:19 left, and Andersen held off a flurry of shots in the final 95 seconds after Nashville pulled Mazanec. NOTES: Anaheim improved to 23-1-2 when leading after the second period. ... The Predators are 16-2-4 when scoring first and 17-1-4 when scoring at least three goals. ... Perry has goals in three straight games. ... Ducks F Dustin Penner missed his second straight game with an upper body injury. ... Anaheim now has won seven of its last eight road games. ... The Predators brought back F Filip Forsberg to the active roster Thursday after he was named MVP at the IIHF World Junior Championships with Sweden. 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