ween the Leafs and Dion Phaneuf wont just be about the 28-year-o

ANN ARBOR, Mich. James Ihedigbo Jersey On Sale . – Tucked in the warmth on the surrounding grounds of the Big House, Maple Leafs general manager Dave Nonis made one point urgently clear as he announced the signing of Torontos captain through 2021. "We signed Dion to this deal because he deserved it," said Nonis on the eve of Wednesdays Winter Classic at Michigan Stadium. But the success of the seven-year extension between the Leafs and Dion Phaneuf wont just be about the 28-year-old defender, but the ability of Nonis and the organization to surround him and the Toronto core with capable talent. Right now that core includes at least six players; Phaneuf along with Phil Kessel, James van Riemsdyk, Joffrey Lupul, David Clarkson and Tyler Bozak – all signed until at least 2017. And while that group must remain productive – and increasingly so from a generally disappointing first half – the overall team success is likely dependent on the quality of talent the club adds in the coming years. "Weve added these pieces because we think that they can help us win long-term," said Nonis of that core group. "Its now going to be up to us to add players around them. We feel we have some pieces coming, but were not where we need to be yet. We still need to add some pieces around players like Dion and Phil and [Lupul], JVR. Those are players that will help any team in this league win, but we need to continue to add to that group." No team has done a more efficient job of surrounding their impressive core than the Chicago Blackhawks (though the Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins could make equal argument). "I think theyre a model for the league, not just our hockey club," Randy Carlyle said of the defending Stanley Cup champions earlier this season. Chicagos core is among the more dynamic in the league – much of it built through the draft – but the organization has done well in surrounding that group with wave upon wave of helpful young players and outside talent. In recent years, the likes of Andrew Shaw (fifth round pick), Marcus Kruger (fifth round), Bryan Bickell (second round), Corey Crawford (second round) and Brandon Saad (second round) all proved invaluable toward the Blackhawks capturing their second Cup in four years last season. For the Leafs that means improved drafting and development. It means finding more capable assets through the draft, ever an important tool in todays cap age. "Theres still only three ways to do [build around the core] – trade, free agency or the draft," said Nonis. "We have to do a better job in all three areas. But the draft is going to be more and more important as players start to earn six, seven, eight, nine, 10 million – who knows what the numbers are going to end up being. "If you have players that are entry-level players or just coming out of entry-level that are earning substantially less that can contribute youre going to have a better chance of winning. We need to try to find some of those players." Not only does that mean the continued development of young players like Morgan Rielly, Jake Gardiner, Nazem Kadri, Peter Holland and Jonathan Bernier, but success here and there from a solid and yet unspectacular prospect pool that features Matt Finn, Connor Brown, Petter Granberg, Dominic Toninato, and Josh Leivo. It also means finding more useful players to contribute right now. Chicago found help for example in the form of veterans like Johhny Oduya and Michal Handzus. Uneven all season, Torontos patchwork defence – which featured no major additions last summer – is a source requiring definite upgrading in the summer of 2014 and beyond. As for Phaneuf, he may be an imperfect first defender, but is a capable first defender no less in a league where commodities of such kind are difficult to find and then keep. More and more teams are locking up their most talented players long-term leaving the free agency pool increasingly weak and short of high-impact options, especially on defence. Among the top unsigned defenders for the summer of 2014 are 37-year-old Dan Boyle, 35-year-old Andrei Markov, and 29-year-old Dan Girardi. Internally, the Leafs have promising long-term options for the top of their defence in the 19-year-old Rielly and 23-year-old Gardiner, but neither is near ready to assume the difficult duties Phaneuf holds at the moment. And while the likes of Finn, Granberg, Stuart Percy, and Tom Nilsson offer prospective hope further on down the line, they are suitably unknown commodities. "If youre signing players because you dont have anyone to replace them youre making mistakes," said Nonis. "Hes going to play at this level and beyond, I feel, for seven years and maybe beyond that. Its not that you dont have anyone to replace Dion, its that hes done enough to prove to us that he is a player that is near the top of the league in terms of how he stacks up against the top defencemen." The difficulty of his minutes is easy to overlook. His role on a generally unstable Toronto defence requires him to match up nightly against the most difficult competition in the league. In Wednesdays Winter Classic for example, that tall challenge will include large quantities of Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg. "I dont think you can look beyond the situations and positions that Randy puts him in," said Nonis. "Theyre not always the best situations. He plays some pretty tough minutes." In fact, no defender in the league has faced more challenging competition in the past two seasons than the Leafs captain, this according to ExtraSkater.com. And though hes struggled to produce offence this season – 15 points in 39 games – Phaneuf has ranked amongst the top-20 at his position in offensive production in each of the past two seasons. The Leafs were in a surprise in 2013, finishing fifth in the conference while nearly upending the eventual Cup finalist Bruins in the first round. But theyve fallen under considerable strain this season – just four regulation wins since Nov. 1 – and have proven a poor defensive contingent again after struggling in that regard a year ago. Phaneuf is more solution than problem. The Leafs simply need better players around him. "You see some of the best players around the league," said Nonis, "if you put them on a team by themselves theyre going to have a hard time winning. We think were adding pieces that will help us win." Dan Orlovsky Jersey On Sale . - Once Gerald Green gets going, he doesnt think he can be stopped. Calvin Johnson Jersey . The Winnipeg Jets head coach, whose parents are French-Canadian, lost much of his mother tongue the result of playing and coaching hockey in the U.S. but still speaks enough to get by.BOSTON -- The Memphis Grizzlies may have missed Marc Gasols inside defence. His absence certainly didnt hurt their scoring in the paint. Jerryd Bayless scored 22 points and Mike Conley had 14 with nine assists to propel the Grizzlies to a 100-93 win over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night. Playing their second straight game without the NBAs reigning defensive player of the year, Gasol, who is expected to be lost for 3-4 weeks with a sprained MCL in his left knee, the Grizzlies built a big lead by overpowering Boston in the paint and hung on late. Zach Randolph scored 13 points, Tony Allen 12 and Ed Davis had 11 with seven rebounds for the Grizzlies, who posted their fifth consecutive road win after losing two straight home games. "Were playing well. Everyones contributing. Weve got to continue to do that," Bayless said of the teams effort without Gasol. "We still have Zach and Zachs a premier big man in the league. Weve got to continue to get him the ball and hes capable of doing great things." Kosta Koufos had 13 rebounds and seven points, starting at centre in Gasols absence. Randolph added seven boards. "Obviously, were going to have to do it by committee and his presence cant be filled by one guy," former Celtic Allen said. "Were going to have to do it together. Guys went down in previous seasons. Weve got to understand theres a lot of games left." Jeff Green led the Celtics with 26 points, Jared Sullinger had 23 and Avery Bradley 16. Sullinger added 12 rebounds. The Grizzlies grabbed the lead in the games opening minutes and never trailed the rest of the way -- though Boston made a late charge in the last 2 minutes. The Celtics trailed 90-77 with just under 2 minutes left before Sullingers late scoring barrage. It came after Boston finally figured out how to guard the paint better. "Thats why its a game of adjusting, changing," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. "If you look at the game, you give yourself a chance to win. We were never quite back in the game." Memphis five-game road winning streak is two off the club record set from Feb. 17-March 10, 2010. "It always feels good coming back to Boston and getting a win for me personally," said Allen, a member of Bostons 2008 NBA champions. Boston had won its last two games, both on the road. Jason Jones Authentic. Memphis opened a double-digit lead late in the first quarter en route to a 49-36 halftime edge. "They just came out aggressively and our intensity wasnt there," Green said. "We allowed them to put us on our heels and thats how they got their early lead." Grizzlies guard Mike Miller and a few of his teammates came out to warm up for the second half and there were no basketballs on the court. They had to stand around and wait a few minutes till some were brought out. It didnt matter because they were getting enough easy shots to keep fending off any charge the Celtics made. Boston cut its deficit to nine points three times in the third, but the Grizzlies kept going inside against the Celtics interior defence. Seven of Memphis nine baskets in the quarter came from inside the lane. Miller and Bayless each hit 3-pointers in the fourth and Memphis never allowed Boston to get close until Sullinger hit a pair of late 3-pointers and scored eight straight points in the closing 2 minutes. Bradleys 3 with 14.4 seconds left cut Indianas lead to 96-93. Bayless made two free throws with 13 seconds remaining to seal it. In the first half, the Grizzlies scored the final 11 points of the first quarter, taking a 27-13 lead at the break. Boston hit only 5 of 18 shots from the field in the quarter. Bayless had three points and Miller nailed a 3 during the spree. Memphis first eight baskets in the game came from layups or very short jumpers. Bayless scored seven points as Memphis had 11 of the first 17 points in the second, pushing its lead to 38-19 midway into the quarter. Bradley nailed a 3 from the left corner for Boston, slicing the gap to 45-34, but the Celtics never narrowed it into single digits in the opening half. NOTES: Celtics guard Courtney Lee sprained his left knee in the second half and didnt return. ... Boston F Kelly Olynyk missed his third straight with a sprained right ankle. ... Stevens said before the game that the Celtics would have a "small" inside lineup with the 7-foot Olynyk out. It hurt them in the opening quarter. ... Boston F Jeff Green was handed a microphone and spoke to the crowd at centre court before the tip-off, wishing them a Happy Thanksgiving. ... Memphis also beat Boston at home on Nov. 4. ' ' '