title under Ferguson by 11 point

The NHLs Mar. 5 Trade Deadline is drawing closer and teams will be deciding on whether to buy or sell while figuring out which players can make the biggest difference and hold the greatest value. Check out todays trade-related reports and speculation from around the NHL beat. And follow TSN.ca through Deadline Day for all the updates. Teetering Tenures In a live chat on Tuesday afternoon, ESPN.coms Katie Strange said she believes Dustin Byfuglien may not be a member of the Winnipeg Jets much longer. In a response to a question about the future of the 6-foot-5, 265 lbs. defenceman, Strange was short and to the point. "I can see Dustin Byfuglien being dealt, yes. His size, offensive ability, and versatility will likely be attractive to some teams. Right-handed defensemen are hard to find," she wrote. Byfuglien is third among all defenceman with 10 goals and 37 points, but is ranked in the bottom three with a minus-16 rating.Another veteran whose job may be on the line, according to Strange, is New York Rangers forward Brad Richards. Strange said despite the price tag - six years left after this season at $6.67 million per year - the Rangers will decide Richards future based on how many "good years" they believe he has left. Richards will be 40 when his contract expires. Volatile Venture With the post-season now a realistic possibility for the surging Ottawa Senators, general manager Bryan Murray seems ready to make a deal. "We are available to make a deal," he said in a conference call Tuesday. However, Don Brennan of the Ottawa Sun writes that one of the prized names on the market, Buffalo Sabres forward Matt Moulson, may be a little too pricey for the nations capital. Brennan says one NHL executive believes a deal between the Senators and Sabres "makes sense", but another executive said the Sabres would likely ask for too much in the form of "a minimum of a first (round pick) and a top young player. And Im not even sure they even want a first in this draft." Moulson is making $3.13 million this year and is said to be looking for a long-term deal and double his current wage. The Senators likely wont be willing to give up the pieces or dollars for a deal going forward. Faint Twinkle If the Dallas Stars find themselves sinking further and further out of the playoff picture, a veteran sale might be on the way. Mike Heika of the Dallas News said Tuesday that if the Stars remain on the outside looking in at the beginning of February or after the Olympics, then "players like Vern Fiddler, Ray Whitney and Erik Cole will be made available." The Stars dont have to look far into the past as a reference for such moves. Last year the team sent Brendan Morrow to the Pittsburgh Penguins less than two weeks before the trade deadline and traded Jaromir Jagr to the Boston Bruins and Derek Roy to the Vancouver Canucks the day before. Heika says the Stars may also be interested in moving defencemen Trevor Daley or Alex Goligoski. Mike Muscala Jersey . The three Calgary natives will compete after the sport was skipped by the Vancouver Games in 2010 but later included on the program for Sochi, Russia. The fight to include womens ski jumping prior to Vancouver went to the courts only to have the Supreme Court of Canada rule against the athletes appeal in 2009. Darryl Dawkins Jersey . Kevin Martin and Kevin Love paced the Timberwolves like they do so often. Martin had 27 points with some key baskets down the stretch, Love had his usual double-double, and the Timberwolves snapped a three-game losing streak with a 112-106 victory Saturday night over the suddenly slipping Dallas Mavericks. http://www.76ersstore.com/kids-shake-milton-76ers-jersey/.Y. - Phil Varone was the lone scorer in the shootout as the Rochester Americans edged the Toronto Marlies 3-2 on Sunday in American Hockey League action. Ben Simmons Jersey . The Raptors general manager has his list of possible draft selections whittled down to a handful ahead of Thursday nights NBA draft in Brooklyn, New York. The Raptors, who have auditioned dozens of players over the past couple of weeks, have the 20th overall pick in the first round, as well as the 37th and 58th picks in the second. Landry Shamet Jersey . -- Jonas Hiller is cautiously confident he has kicked his vertigo. LONDON -- In this bleakest of introductions to Manchester United, David Moyes is struggling with the hand dealt to him by the club. A squad that was in need of more than just tinkering when Alex Ferguson retired, has faded as a force and seems incapable of competing with the elite. The giants of English football lurch to a new low each month as the transition following Fergusons 26-year reign proves more difficult than the fans or owners could have envisaged. Under Ferguson, seasons were about chasing trophies. Now its about avoiding further embarrassment, with United out of the domestic cups and sixth in the Premier League, 11 points from the Champions League places. Needing to lift the trophy in May to return to the Champions League, Uniteds matchup with Olympiakos in the round of 16 seemed like a gift to Moyes from UEFA. But United was insipid in Greece on Tuesday, and bereft of any attacking threat or defensive cohesion in a 2-0 loss. Thirty years ago pre-Ferguson, United overturned such a deficit against Barcelona to advance in the European Cup Winners Cup at Old Trafford, but such a feat would seem beyond this group of players, for whom the Theatre of Dreams has become the scene of too many nightmares this season. "I take responsibility, its my team," Moyes said at Olympiakos. The message from within Old Trafford remains that Moyes will be entrusted with leading the clubs revival. How much is Moyes to blame for Uniteds misfortunes? The Scot was chosen to replace his compatriot partly because he was low-maintenance and would not storm in wanting to rip up the squad. It was in an unusual moment of candour from within the United hierarchy, the day after the title was clinched with four games to spare last April, when this became apparent -- just before Moyes was approached to replace Ferguson. At that point, then-chief executive David Gill knew Ferguson would be retiring within weeks, despite the managers public denial days earlier. And, although Gill did not let slip Fergusons secret, what he said in an Associated Press interview indicated that a change might not be too far away, and that the Glazer family didnt want any drastic changes to the team. Although United would go on to win a 13th Premier League title under Ferguson by 11 points, such rampant success masked the necessity to strengthen an aging squad. "The quality of the squad, the composition of that squad, means that any new manager coming in will inherit a great squad of players," Gill told the AP on April 23, 2013. "And yes he may, whenever that is ... clearly want to bring in one or two of his own people, new players. But he wont want to change the squad wholesale because (then) he wont be our manager. Weve got to be consistent with that and thats what we are planning on." The comments were eye-catching but set against Fergusons retirement denial. The successsion plan, however, would be implemented rapidly, as Moyes was handed the job -- initially secretly -- to leave Everton and fill one of the toughest vacancies in football.dddddddddddd Perhaps United did not fully recognize the Ferguson factor in pushing the team beyond its limits, although the clubs shareholders had been warned about the dangers of British footballs most successful and feared manager hanging up his hairdryer one day. "Any successor to our current manager may not be as successful as our current manager," United said as it prepared to float on the New York Stock Exchange in 2012. "A downturn in the performance of our first team could adversely affect our ability to attract and retain coaches and players." As it proved in Moyes first transfer window. After the audacious pursuit of Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas failed, Marouane Fellaini was the only major summer signing and the recruit from Everton has made little impact during an injury-hit season. The flaws in planning for the post-Ferguson era have become apparent in recent months. And from within the United boardroom a different message has emerged about this summers strategy, with vice chairman Ed Woodward, who assumed Gills responsibilities, conceding the squad does in fact requirement a significant overhaul. Rather than building from a position of strength, as was possible last summer, the empire must fight back from one of weakness. "We are not afraid of moving in the market in a way we havent seen in recent years," Woodward said on a conference call with Wall Street insiders two weeks ago. Juan Mata was persuaded to join from Chelsea last month in a club-record 31.7 million-pound ($62-million) move. And Wayne Rooney was convinced to sign a new contract in the last week through 2019, a powerful if expensive message to the world that the club can retain talent. While not challenging for titles, United remains the indisputable commercial champion of English football, with the Glazer family building up a formidable marketing operation. The club expects to generate around 430 million pounds ($718 million) in revenue this season, although such prosperity diminishes with an enduring downturn on the pitch. The great fear is that the 20-time English champions morph into the next Liverpool, which is on the rise having won the last of its 18 topflight titles in 1990. The club, though, wont want to be living on past successes for too long, but its hard to see where the next trophy is coming from. "United need six top quality players," said outspoken former captain Roy Keane, a TV pundit. "I would think David Moyes has been shocked. When he went into United in the summer he probably looked at the players and was expecting great things. "Privately hes probably been shocked at the lack of quality that hes working with." ' ' '