The Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens and St. Ian Kennedy Jersey . Louis Blues all augmented their free agent classes by signing some European free agents. Numbers Game examines the signings of Petri Kontiola, Leo Komarov, Jiri Sekac and Jori Lehtera. The Maple Leafs Sign: C Petri Kontiola and LW Leo Komarov. Komarov is a familiar face for the Maple Leafs, a 27-year-old winger who was a regular in the Leafs lineup in 2012-2013 before returning to the KHL for a nice payday last season. Komarov had a strong year in the KHL, with Moscow Dynamo, leading the team with 34 points in 52 games, and he played for Finland in both the Olympics and the World Championships. Komarov didnt score much in his first go-round with the Leafs, tallying nine points in 42 games, but there may be more offence to his game than that. Usage would play a big part in whether or not Komarov is ever a factor offensively, but hes being brought back to Toronto more for his attitude than production. Komarov is a relentless pest, who hits a lot and gets under opponents skin. To his credit, he did have solid relative possession stats for the Leafs a couple of years ago. Heres the issue with Komarov, though. If he is capable of contributing offensively, and could fill a top-nine role, then it could justify the four-year, $11.8-million contract he received. If hes the same energetic fourth-liner that he was a couple of years ago -- a distinct possibility -- then hes vastly overpaid. Kontiola is a 29-year-old who was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2004 and played a dozen games with the Blackhawks in 2007-2008, registering five assists and, in that small sample, putting up great possession stats. In two AHL seasons, Kontiola scored 140 points in 159 (regular season plus playoff) games, before heading to the KHL, where he has scored 152 points in 204 games over the past four seasons, the last three with Chelyabinsk Traktor. He had 14 points in 16 games playing for Finland at the Olympics and in the World Championships. With that track record, its possible that Kontiola could contribute some offence for the Maple Leafs but, as a 29-year-old who has barely seen NHL action, he could also be a spare part. The good news is that, signed to a contract for $1.1-million for one season, hes a low-risk investment. If he wins a spot in the lineup and contributes, they can work on an extension; if he doesnt, no big deal. The Canadiens Sign: RW Jiri Sekac. 22-year-old Jiri Sekac was suddenly a hot name on the free agent market this spring after a nice season in the KHL, scoring 11 goals and 28 points in 47 games for Prague Lev, leading his team in points per game (0.60). As a junior, Sekac played a little in North America, earning zero points in eight games with the Peterborough Petes of the OHL as a 17-year-old before joining Youngstown of the USHL, where he scored 56 points in 96 games. Understandably, with that production, he wasnt considered a hot NHL prospect and went to the KHL, where he scored 21 points in 83 games over two seasons before breaking out last season. Signed for two years, at an entry-level of max of $925,000 per season (plus bonuses), Sekac is rapidly-improving and his potential drew lots of interest throughout the league, but it would be premature -- considering hes had basically one productive scoring season in three years -- to put big expectations on his scoring significantly for Montreal next season. However, if Sekac found a spot in Montreals top nine, maybe he could contribute some offence as a rookie. The Blues Sign: C Jori Lehtera. Lehtera, 26, was a third-round pick of the Blues in 2008 and has played all of 14 (regular season plus playoff games) in North America since, managing three points with Peoria in the 2008-2009 season. Since then, however, Lehtera has been very productive as a playmaking centre. In the past three seasons, playing for Novosibirsk Sibir in the KHL, Lehtera has tallied 39 goals and 118 points in 125 games (with zero goals and eight points in 13 playoff games). The 6-foot-2 centre had 12 points in 10 games at the World Championships this year, as well as four points in six games at the Olympics, not looking the least bit out of place against high-level competition. Coming to North America may require some adjustment, but Lehtera is going to have an opportunity to put up points right out of the game, slated to skate on the Blues second line with Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko on his wings. With quality playing time on a strong team, Lehtera could make an impact right away. 50 points seems a reasonable expectation, but theres upside beyond that if he can make a smooth transition. Lehtera is signed for two years, at a total cost of $5.5-million, a very reasonable price if he ends up fulfilling a top-six role for the Blues. His presence, along with Paul Stastny, allows the Blues to move David Backes and Patrik Berglund to the wing, giving the team outstanding depth up front. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Kansas City Royals Jerseys . -- Adam Tambellini scored three times and set up one more as the Calgary Hitmen won their sixth in a row by crushing the host Lethbridge Hurricanes 8-1 on Saturday in Western Hockey League play. George Brett Jersey . FLIP SAUNDERS (Timberwolves): Im not the least bit surprised that he appointed himself as head coach after his search concluded. http://www.royalsteamproshop.com/Royals-Joakim-Soria-Kids-Jersey/ . The 18-time champions, who havent won the title since 1990, moved two points behind Arsenal after the leaders were stunned 6-3 at Manchester City on Saturday. Defending champion Manchester United trails Arsenal by 10 points after winning 3-0 at Aston Villa to avoid a third successive league loss.BRISBANE, Australia -- After pulling out of the Brisbane International with injuries in recent seasons, Maria Sharapova is aiming to use the season-opening tournament this time as a springboard for her comeback and to see how her new support crew works in competition. Sharapova has only played one match since an early exit at Wimbledon due to a right shoulder injury and has spent months working with her new coach Sven Groeneveld. She arrived in Australia to prepare for the first major of the season with her boyfriend and fellow professional Grigor Dimitrov, who returns after losing the final here to Andy Murray last season. Serena Williams won the last Brisbane title and is back to defend it, hoping she hasnt lost any of the momentum from a stunning 2013 season when she won 11 titles including the French and U.S. Opens, had 78 wins from 82 matches -- including a 34-match winning streak -- and collected more than $12 million in prize money. Her brief off-season was not exactly business as usual -- although it was commercial. She trained in Florida with her father, Richard, so she could be close to home for the relaunch of one of her companies and to hire a CEO for it. "I was interviewing so many people. Corporate Serena was taking over," she told a news conference Sunday. "Im happy to be here right now." Corporate Serena conducted at least 10 interviews, and still has at least one more to do. She expects it to be a tough interview, like they all are. "I definitely am not easy ... Im a tough interviewer. For me, its all about business and removing a lot of emotion," she said. "I just want to get to the point." And that brings her back to tennis, where she can turn the corporate email account off for a while and concentrate on what she does best. "I took a couple weeks off, but I was already itching to get back on the court," she said. "I didnt want to lose any rhythm or anything. Didnt want to lose momentum." No. 3-seeded Sharapova is in Williams half of the draw, meaning they could meet in the semifinals. The Brisbane tournament will be Sharapovas only warmup for the Australian Open, which starts Jan. 13, so she needs to find her rhythm quickly. Michael Saunders Jersey. She said shed been practicing hard, but also concentrating on relaxing when shes off the court. Traveling with Dimitrov has helped, she said, despite or because of their major common interest. "Of course we share a lot of the same things just because we have an elephant in the room thats called tennis," Sharapova said Sunday. "But there are so many other things to life that are besides tennis, and there are a lot more things to discuss than forehands and backhands and strings and rackets, which we share similar ideas and things of." Sharapova split with coach Thomas Hogstedt after her Wimbledon loss, and said she wasnt in the right frame of mind to work with Jimmy Connors long term -- that partnership lasted one match. "You have to realize that the decisions you make, you have to make them selfishly in this business to be better, to know whats right for you," she said. "From the first time we met I really liked what (Groeneveld) had to say. Hes a team player. He works with everyone on my team, something I was missing for a little bit of time." In first-round results at Brisbane: Wimbledon finalist Sabine Lisicki had a 6-3, 6-4 win over Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia; Andrea Petkovic of Germany beat American Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-4, 7-5; Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm won 6-3, 7-5 over Australias Olivia Rogowska; and Swiss player Stefanie Vogele beat American Madison Keys 6-4, 6-3. Former No. 1-ranked Caroline Wozniacki withdrew after hurting her right shoulder in practice but said she expected to be fit the Sydney International next week. While Serena Williams gets a first-round bye in Brisbane, her older sister Venus Williams will be in action from the first round at the WTA event in Auckland on Monday when she plays 134-ranked Andrea Hlavackova of the Czech Republic. In Hopman Cup Group B action at Perth, Petra Kvitova and Radek Stepanek combined to give the Czech Republic a 3-0 win over Spain. Kvitova only lost one game en route to a comprehensive singles win over Anabel Medina Garrigues before Stepanek beat Daniel Munoz-De La Nava 6-2, 6-2. The Czech pair won the mixed doubles 6-3, 6-4. 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