TORONTO - Andrea Bargnani meant everything to this Raptors franchise once. Colby Lewis Rangers Jersey . Drafted first overall in 2006, he was once the source of hope for an ailing fan base. A mysterious 21-year-old from Italy, he possessed the unique skill set required to become a special player in a league obsessed with upside. A seven-footer who could shoot and put the ball on the floor, he had more upside than he knew what to do with. As silly as it seemed then to compare a player with no NBA experience, a player most knew nothing - or next to nothing - about to a future hall of famer and soon-to-be MVP, that stopped (almost) no one from doing just that. He was supposed to be the next Dirk Nowitzki. Bargnani meant everything to his former team until, gradually over seven years laden with false hope and hurt feelings, he meant nothing. "I dont know what it was," said Dwane Casey, Bargnanis coach for two of his seven seasons in Toronto, looking back at the tarnished relationship between fans and the former first-overall pick. "I thought Andrea needed a fresh start." One exhibition game into that fresh start, Bargnani will make his first return to the Air Canada Centre on Friday, three months after the trade that sent him to New York. Catch the game live on TSN Radio 1050 starting at 7pm et. "We have no ill feelings for Andrea," Casey acknowledged Thursday afternoon following practice. "For him personally and as a friend Im glad to see him not have to go through some of the things he went through here." Plagued by injuries and a perceived lack of effort, Bargnani experienced far more lows than highs in Toronto and as a result many fans began to sour on a player they once celebrated, however briefly. In seven seasons, Bargnani averaged 15.2 points and 4.8 rebounds, shooting 44 per cent from the field and 36 per cent from three-point range. Over his final two seasons as a Raptor he missed more games (82) than he played in (66) and saw his scoring average fall from a career-best 21.4 in 2010-11 - his first as the offensive focal point, sans Chris Bosh - to just 12.7 last year. By midseason and to the dismay of Casey and several vocal Raptors players, Bargnani was routinely booed by the home crowd. "You hate to see somebody on your team go through something like that," reiterated DeMar DeRozan, a teammate of Bargnanis for the past four seasons. "Just the [negative] energy, it can do a lot mentally to a player. We tried to keep him up, in good spirits all season but it was tough on him." Although Fridays game - the first of two preseason visits to Toronto for Bargnani and the Knicks - wont count towards the standings, the atmosphere in the ACC could resemble the return of past Raptors-turned-Raptor villains. "They can boo him all they want to now," Casey joked. "Fans are going to do what theyre going to do and so he should probably put on ear plugs." Bargnanis return will likely be the latest in a long line of former Raptors to be welcomed back with a chorus of boos and jeers from the ACC faithful. When beloved point guard Jose Calderon made his return to a standing ovation in April, Pistons head coach Lawrence Frank (now an assistant with the Nets) alluded to the Toronto franchises long history of hostile homecomings. It all started with Damon Stoudamire, who scored 22 points in 2000 returning with the Blazers two years after forcing a trade out of Toronto. Tracy McGrady poured in 24 points in his first game back a year later, followed by 39 points from Vince Carter in 2005 and 25 from Bosh in 2011. For what its worth, Hedo Turkoglu was held to 11 in his return, but that should surprise no one. Soon Bargnani will join that group, matching Boshs seven seasons as the longest tenured but unlike most of that list, who achieved some individual and/or team success here (Turkoglu being the obvious exception), his Raptors legacy will leave a predominately bitter taste in the mouths of Raptors fans. He wont be remembered as a 20-point scorer. He wont be remembered for finishing second, behind only Brandon Roy in Rookie of the Year voting. No, instead hell be remembered for his declining shooting percentages, his modest rebounding numbers, his laissez-faire attitude, the injuries, the general manager who blindly stood by him until the end and a Primo pasta ad that will forever be ingrained into our hearts. Most of all hell be remembered for what he failed to become. "I didnt get out of him what [I] was hoping for," Casey admitted Thursday; not the first and likely not the last coach to come to that realization. "I wanted him to be Dirk-like." Jeff Mathis Jersey . The 10-horse field of 3-year-old pacers will leave the starting gate at approximately 10:14pm et. Co-owned and trained by David Menary, Hes Watching will be driven by Tim Tetrick and is the 5-1 fourth selection in the field. Hunter Pence Jersey . Certainly not Monday night. George Hill took care of the early work, scoring a season-high 26 points, and Paul George closed it out by scoring 11 of his 26 points during a decisive second-half stretch that finally allowed Indiana to pull away from Minnesota 98-84 for yet another win. https://www.cheaprangersbaseball.com/2112h-jose-trevino-jersey-rangers.html . The cause of his death is as of yet undetermined, but police said foul play is not suspected.NEWARK, N.J. -- Having Ondrej Pavelec earn his 100th NHL win and seeing Mark Scheifele and Evander Kane break goal droughts were nice highlights for the Winnipeg Jets. Ending a four-game losing streak was much more important. Scheifele and Kane gave the Jets the lead, and Pavelec turned aside 25 shots in a 3-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Monday night. "This was huge," said forward Olli Jokinen, who set up Kanes goal with a faceoff win. "Any win is good, but getting one to start a six-game road trip, we needed this one. It was like a must-win for us to get back to .500 and feel good about ourselves moving forward." Winnipeg (11-11-4), which moved to the Western Conference this season, was tied for last place in the Central Division starting the night. The Jets were 0-2-2 in their previous four games. Devin Setoguchi added an empty-net goal in the final minute, sending the Devils to their second straight loss. "We had chances to score two or three and we just didnt put them in the back of the net," said Devils coach Pete DeBoer, whose team returned from a 2-1 California trip. Pavelec was less than 10 minutes from his second shutout of the season when Patrik Elias deflected a shot from the point by Andy Greene past him. Elias scored his fifth goal of the season after earlier firing a shot off the crossbar in the second period during a short-handed, 2-on-1 break. The Devils spent most of the third period in the Jets zone, but Pavelec came up big. He made his best stop against Adam Henrique, who shot from low in the left circle with just over four minutes to play. Pavelec laughed when reminded that the win was his 100th. "We lost four games in a row and I totally forgot," he said. "Its nice, but the number means nothing. A win for tonight was what I was worried about." Scheifele, who scored the Jets first goal of the season, ended a 24-game goal drought with 3:59 left in the first period on a wide-open shot from the right circle that found the top corner of the net. Jesse Biddle Rangers Jersey. The goal came on a quick counterattack. Michael Frolik took a cross-ice pass in the defensive zone, skated into the left side of the Devils end, and sent a cross-ice pass to Scheifele, who came late down the right side. Former Devils forward Matt Halischuk helped set up the shot by allowing Froliks pass to go through to Scheifele. "It felt pretty good to score there," Scheifele said. "I feel pretty happy, but Im a little more happy about the win." Kane ended an 11-game goal drought at 7:16 of the second period, just seconds after Devils goalie Martin Brodeur stopped a point blank shot that Jokinen set up with a pass from behind the net. The shot hit Brodeur and dropped on the goal line. The play was reviewed, and the no-goal call was upheld. Jokinen won the ensuing faceoff from Travis Zajac and sent the puck to Kane on the outside edge of the circle. He fired the puck at the net, and it beat Brodeur after possibly hitting off the stick of defenceman Marek Zidlicky. It was his seventh goal of the season and third against New Jersey. "It was a big goal for our team and gave us a two-goal lead," Jokinen said. "Its good for him. He has been working hard and playing hard. He just hasnt been able to score lately, so it was good to see him score." NOTES: Jets D Jacob Trouba, the No. 9 pick in the 2012 NHL draft, returned to the lineup after he missed 17 games with an upper-body injury. ... Winnipeg D Dustin Byfuglien had two assists, giving him a team-high 15. ... The Devils were without D Adam Larsson (lower body) and C Stephen Gionta (ankle). They were hurt Saturday at San Jose. ... The Jets beat the Devils 3-0 on Oct. 13 in Winnipeg. ' ' '