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The Washington Capitals overhauled their defence, by paying huge money to a pair of former Pittsburgh Penguins. Numbers Game breaks down the signings of Matt Niskanen and Brooks Orpik. The Capitals Get: D Matt Niskanen and D Brooks Orpik. Niskanen, 27, picked a terrific time to have the best year of his career, scoring a career-best 10 goals and 46 points while playing a career-high 21:18 per game. He was also a career-best plus-33, which is all well and good, but he was one of six regular defencemen (minimum 62 games played) to have a combined on-ice save percentage and on-ice shooting percentage (PDO) at 5-on-5 of 103.0 or better. An on-ice shooting percentage over 10.0% is difficult for any defenceman to sustain, but Niskanens 10.32% was the third-best of his career; basically, its the kind of good fortune that shouldnt be expected, but its not out of the realm of possibility from season to season for Niskanen. Where the puck luck really stuck with Niskanen last year, was that he also had a .928 on-ice save percentage during 5-on-5 play, so getting favourable percentages at both ends of the ice during the same year contributed to that strong plus-minus. That shouldnt diminish the evaluation of Niskanen entirely, though, because he has consistently been on the right side of the puck possession ledger, and that makes him an asset to any team that acquires him. While Niskanen hasnt typically played hard minutes, and in some years has been excessively sheltered, hes likely to face more difficult matchups now that hes the highest-priced defenceman on the Capitals roster. Signed for seven years and $40.25-million, Niskanen landed the biggest free agent contract of the year. There was probably an element of paying for the good fortune that Niskanen experienced last year, and it is a gamble that Niskanen is going to be able to live up to the money involved in that contract, but if a team is going to swing for the fences on a free agent defenceman, doing so on a guy with consistently strong possession numbers is at least a reasonable foundation on which to make that investment. Which brings us to Brooks Orpik, a 33-year-old who has made his bones as a physical, hard-hitting defenceman, registering more than 200 hits in five of the past seven seasons. The unfortunate part, however, is that Orpik in position to hit so much -- particularly in recent years -- because his team doesnt have the puck as often when hes on the ice and the problem with a defensive defenceman who is already on the wrong end of the possession game is that hes certainly not likely to get better as he gets older. For example, in the 2013-2014 season, there were seven defencemen that were over 35 and scored fewer than 20 points (as Orpik has in every season of his career, except one). Its an okay list, some useful players, but six of the seven were 35 or 36. Orpik is signed through his age 38 season and the only -- the only -- NHL defenceman that played more than 60 games without scoring more than 20 points last season was Tampa Bays Sami Salo, who has never played the kind of physical, banging style that characterizes Orpiks game, in part because Salo was always hurt anyway. This doesnt offer much encouragement that the Capitals wont have massive regrets about the Orpik signing; the only question is how soon will those regrets occur? Can he give the Capitals a couple of solid years, maybe facing lower-calibre of competition than he did in Pittsburgh? Thats probably the best hope, but its a longshot that the last two, maybe even three years, wont have the Capitals paying big money for a spare part on their blueline. Orpik is signed for five years, at a cap hit of $5.5-million per season. Big money, long term. Pittsburgh anticipated that they would lose both Niskanen and Orpik and, in addition to having an opening or two for some prospects, they also signed Christian Ehrhoff to add stability to their defence. Its entirely understandable for the Capitals to make a move to upgrade their defence. They allowed 33.5 shots per game, ranking 27th in the league, last season, so the defence needed to get better. Ultimately, the Capitals are better today after adding Niskanen and Orpik, but that should never be up for debate when committing close to $11-million annually to two players. What has to matter is how much better they are, whether the money spent is worth it and what the fall-out will be. The Capitals dont have to make any moves --- they are under the $69-million salary cap -- but they have $28,762,500 committed to their defence, according to Cap Geek. The only teams spending in that neighbourhood for their defence are Philadelphia and Tampa Bay, who have Chris Pronger and Mattias Ohlund, respectively, on long-term injured reserve. St. Louis and Chicago are spending in the $24-million-to-$25-million on their respective bluelines right now, so its hard to imagine that the Capitals maintain the status quo, leaving a hole at second line centre while sticking with the most expensive defence corps in the league. We will see what other moves the Capitals have in mind this summer but, right now, it appears that they spent a lot of money to get better in the short-term; signing deals that appear to have more downside risk because of the long terms involved. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. 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Nowitzki scored 28 points, Harris had a season-high 14 for the second straight game and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Detroit Pistons 116-106 Sunday night.TORONTO - Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment has cleared up the uncertainty surrounding president and chief executive officer Tim Leiwekes long-term future with the company. He will stay in the position until June 30, 2015 or until a new CEO is found, MLSE said Thursday in a statement. "Under Tims leadership, MLSE has made a number of key moves to strengthen our organization on the path to championship success," said MLSE chairman Larry Tanenbaum. "We look forward to working closely with Tim to build on this foundation and further accelerate our momentum as we seek a new leader for MLSE." The Toronto-based sports organization counts the NHLs Maple Leafs, NBAs Raptors, AHLs Marlies and Toronto FC of Major League Soccer among its properties. The search for Leiwekes successor is underway, MLSE said in the statement. Leiwekes future with MLSE has been a hot topic this week after a report indicated he would "soon" be leaving the company. He denied the report, called the rumours a distraction and said he was focused on the teams current and upcoming seasons. However, Leiweke, who joined MLSE in April 2013 and is reportedly under contract for five years, did not reveal his long-term plans. He also did not say how long he wanted to stay in the position. That became much more clear Thursday morning when MLSE issued a five-paragraph statement. Once he leaves, the longtime sports executive plans to pursue his goal of owning and operating his own business. "Its an honour to lead MLSE, a world-class organization in a city and a country so passionate about sports," he said. "But with new opportunities on the horizon, its time for me to begin the transition from sports and entertainment executive to entrepreneur. "Right now, my total focus is here at MLSE and I look forward to working with the Board and MLSE team to continue strengthening our franchises while ensuring a smooth transition to a new leader." Until his successor is found, the company will continue to operate with its current executive management structure. The statement did not say whetther Leiwekes successor would also assume his title of president.dddddddddddd A decision on that would be made at a later date, an MLSE spokesperson said in an email. "Ive always told everyone Im not here forever," Leiweke said Wednesday during a brief media availability at the Air Canada Centre galleria. "My job is to change the culture and get it headed in the right direction." Leiweke has helped guide dramatic change at all levels during his 16 months at the helm. In May of last year, he lured NBA executive of the year Masai Ujiri away from the Denver Nuggets. Two months later, he restructured the senior management team at MLSE. Leiweke then turned his attention to Toronto FC, firing president and general manager Kevin Payne and later hiring Tim Bezbatchenko as GM. On the NBA front, the Raptors announced plans for a two-year rebranding effort last fall, named local rapper Drake as their global ambassador and Toronto landed the 2016 NBA all-star game. Toronto FC underwent a roster makeover over the winter, landing Jermain Defoe, Gilberto and Michael Bradley while bringing back former league MVP Dwayne De Rosario. In April, the Maple Leafs brought in former star player Brendan Shanahan to oversee all team operations as club president and alternate governor. The teams have had mixed results under Leiwekes watch. The Maple Leafs missed the playoffs last spring but the Raptors claimed the Atlantic Division title and returned to the post-season for the first time in six years. Toronto FC, meanwhile, is in third place in the Eastern Conference standings and could make the playoffs. Leiwekes pro sports business career has spanned over 30 years. He previously worked as president and CEO of AEG, which owns the NHLs Los Angeles Kings, NBAs Lakers and the Galaxy of MLS. He joined the Kings as president in 1996 and became president and CEO of AEG Worldwide in 2001. Leiweke also previously served as president and CEO of U.S. Skiing and has worked for the NBAs Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves as well as the St. Louis Steamers of the Major Indoor Soccer League. Wholesale USA Soccer Jerseys discount uswnt jersey Wholesale AC Milan Jerseys Wholesale Arsenal Jerseys Wholesale A.S. 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