TORONTO -- In playing Real Salt Lake this weekend, Toronto FC is taking on the kind of team it aspires to be -- a perennial playoff side with a winning tradition and championship character. Chicago Blackhawks Gear . Now in its 10th season, Real Salt Lake has made the playoffs the last six years, winning the MLS Cup in 2009. Until overtaken in the MLS record books early last year, Real Salt Lake held the league mark for consecutive home wins at 29. Rio Tinto Stadium was an impregnable fortress from June 2009 to May 2011. Toronto (2-0-0 this season) has a 1-5-0 lifetime record in Sandy, Utah. RSL (1-0-2 this season) was also the first MLS team to reach the CONCACAF Champions League final, losing to Monterrey 3-2 on aggregate in 2011. Last season Real Salt Lake made it to two finals but lost both: beaten in the MLS Cup by Sporting Kansas City in an agonizing penalty shootout and 1-0 by D.C. United in the U.S. Open Cup. There has been stability on the sidelines with Jeff Cassar, who has been with the team since May 2007, moving up the ladder to head coach last December after Jason Kreis became the first head coach of New York City FC. Cassar is the third head coach in RSL history. Toronto was on coach No. 5 in Year 4 and is currently on its eighth manager in Ryan Nelsen. RSL captain Kyle Beckerman arrived in 2007 in a trade from the Colorado Rapids. The midfielder with the distinctive dreadlocks credits coaching and a little luck for the franchises success. "We were able to get players into this team that were ready to be coached by a coach like Jason and Jeff Cassar and Robin Fraser (a former RSL assistant coach who is now with the New York Red Bulls)," he said Thursday. "It just so happened that we were able to get a group of guys together that ... really just needed a good environment -- an ownership that cared, a coaching staff that did the right thing. A lot of the guys were coming from places that didnt do the game right. "A lot of us, that core group thats still here, it was a breath of fresh air that we really needed. And we just took full advantage because we knew exactly the opportunity that was in front of us, because wed had it the opposite way, where the owner doesnt care or the coach just doesnt get it. "So I think we lucked out a little bit that we had the core in the same place, here in Salt Lake, that was just absolutely ready to explode and take full advantage of what was in front of us. And thats what we did." The 31-year-old Beckerman is joined on the team by fellow U.S. internationals Nick Rimando (a goalie who came on board in 2007) and Luis Gil (a midfielder who joined in 2010). Other veterans include defenders Nat Borchers (200 and Chris Wingert (2007), midfielders Ned Grabavoy (2009) and Javier Morales (2007) and forwards Robbie Findley (two stints since 2007) and Alvaro Saborio (2010). Players want to come to winning clubs. And RSL does a good job checking out new talent. "They want to bring in not only good players but good people," said Beckerman. Toronto FC has followed the same road this off-season, with marquee signings Jermain Defoe, Michael Bradley, Gilberto and Julio Cesar all fitting in. Beckerman acknowledges that he respects Torontos search for success. "The thing that I really admire about Toronto is that they wont stop. Theyve kept at it. Theyve kept trying to fix and get the right recipe. And it doesnt seem like theyre going to stop any time soon. Theyre going to keep going and keep spending until they get the right recipe. "And I admire that. Thats something a lot of other teams would love to have that. With the fan base, theyve been loyal there and theyve stuck with them through tough times. The ownership and what theyre doing there, is kind of a reward to that loyalty and giving them a successful team. "Time will tell if this is the right one. But it seems so far that theyve brought in the right players so far. So I think its definitely on the up and up over there." Like Toronto, the early days were bleak in Salt Lake. The team went 5-22-5 with just 20 points in its inaugural season in 2005. In 2005-06, the fledgling franchise endured a league-record 18-game winless streak. But it didnt take long for Real Salt Lake to turn the corner. It had 39 points in Season 2 and 40 in Season 4, going 10-10-10 and reaching the 2008 playoff semifinals. In 2009, it was another 40-point season and the 11-12-7 team went on to win the title. Since then, RSL has collected 56, 53, 57 and 56 points. In contrast, Torontos points total since entering the league in 2007 is 25, 35, 39, 35, 33, 23, and 29. The two teams meet Saturday. Custom Chicago Blackhawks Jerseys .C. -- Colin Kaepernick raced into the end zone, then pretended to rip open his shirt with both hands imitating Cam Newtons Superman touchdown celebration. Cheap Blackhawks Jerseys . Replay backed him up. Adeiny Hechavarria immediately followed the ruling with a go-ahead sacrifice fly for the Miami Marlins, who held on to beat the Seattle Mariners 3-2 on Sunday completing a three-game sweep. https://www.cheapblackhawks.com/ . Tortorella told The Vancouver Province hell be cheering for Team Sweden to win gold when they take on the defending Olympic champions on Sunday morning. "I hope Sweden wins, cause I dont think Hammer (Dan Hamhuis) is going to play, judging by whats happened.The 2014 NHL Draft is nearly three weeks away and TSN Scout Craig Button is sticking to his guns, for the most part, in his final list of the Top 100 draft eligible players. Sam Reinhart of the Kootenay Ice completes his sweep of Buttons rankings, finishing in the top spot for the seventh time. Aaron Ekblad, Sam Bennett, Leon Draisaitl and Michael Dal Colle round out an identical top five from the previous list. "Its my projection of where players will be in three to five years time as they progress and mature," explains Button. "There will never be agreement on any ranking of this type and it is never static or without debate. There is nothing final about the players as they will develop and progress into NHL players of varying skills and types." Ekblad is the outlier of an emerging trend in the Top 100. Of the top 10 ranked skaters, seven are forwards. If the list were to mirror the upcoming draft, only seven defencemen would be selected in the first round and 28 in the top 100 - with some of those blueliners spending time at forward. "Each draft has its own unique personality and must be treated as such," adds Button. "We get hyped as we anticipate the next potential superstar and while this draft may not have that hype, it has players who will be stars in their own right and will help their NHL teams compete for the Stanley Cup. Wholesale Blackhawks Jerseys. quot; A few surprises shook up the rankings with Calgary Hitmen defenceman Travis Sanheim making the leap from 32 down to No. 8. The 6-foot-3 standout was a plus-25 in 67 games for the Hitmen, who finished third in the WHLs Eastern Conference but fell in the opening round of the playoffs in six games. Centre Vladislav Kamenev also caught Buttons attention, slicing his ranking by more than half in a jump from the No. 25 spot to No. 12. The Russian junior league product played just 15 games this season but did manage 10 points and a plus-10 rating. The final ranking, however, was not so kind to some. After reaching a high of the No. 8 spot on the previous list, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds centre Jared McCann nearly fell out of the top 20. Despite his 27 goals and 62 points in 64 games this season, McCann managed just one goal in March. "What history tells us is that this draft will be like all others, with players not achieving greatness and its steals, whereby the question inevitably becomes - how did they get him there?" said Button. "But make no mistake, the players have reached for their goal of playing in the NHL and all sacrifices are worth it because with no sacrifice, there is no reaching ones potential. That we can all agree on." For Craig Buttons final list click here. ' ' '