There were a couple trades and deals that I expected to happen.  I expected to see the Calgary Flames sign a deal with Jay Bouwmeester (they did).  I wanted the Sedin twins to get a decent deal, preferably with the Vancouver Canucks (they did).  I was hoping a deal would put an end to the Dany Heatley drama (it didn’t).

There were, however, a good number of free agent signings yesterday.  Check out the list below (I sorted it alphabetically by team) and let me know what you think of these deals.  Montreal had the most acquisitions and while they look great on paper, I’m not sure how well all of the players will mesh.  It’s a fresh start for them with a new coach and new owners so we’ll just have to wait and see how it all turns out.

Anaheim Ducks

• Re-sign Scott Niedermayer - $6M for 1 year
• Re-sign Erik Christensen – 1 year, no salary details

Atlanta Thrashers

• Nik Antropov (from NY Rangers) - $16M for 4 years
• Re-sign Chris Thorburn – no details

Boston Bruins

• Steve Begin (from Dallas) - $850K for 1 year
• Re-sign Byron Bitz – no details
• Re-sign Mark Recchi - $1M for 1 year

Buffalo Sabres

• Steve Montador (from Boston) - $3.1M for 2 years

Calgary Flames

• Frederik Sjostrom (from NY Rangers) - $1.5M deal for 2 years
• Re-sign Adam Pardy – no details

Carolina Hurricanes

• Re-sign Erik Cole - $5.8M for 2 years

Chicago Blackhawks

• John Madden (from New Jersey) – $2.75M for 1 year
• Tomas Kopecky (from Detroit) - $2.4M for 2 years
• Marian Hossa (from Detroit) - $62.8M for 12 years

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In our nation’s capital, Canada’s junior hockey team took home their fifth consecutive gold medal by beating Sweden 5-1 today at the 2009 IIHF World Junior Championships.  It was an interesting and intense game as Team Canada kept their “drive for five” alive!

These are juniors we are talking about so I try to be nice and fair but Sweden’s goaltender, Markstrom, is a real drama queen.  I think that the Canadians definitely had some questionable plays but his reactions to getting bumped, hit or even shot at were nothing short of ridiculous, at times. 

Moving on… P.K. Subban opened the scoring early tonight for Canada in the first period on a power-play.  Angelo Esposito scored in the second while Cody Hodgson struck in the final period.

Joakim Andersson scored the lone goal for Sweden, beating netminder, Dustin Tokarski, in the third period.

With about 2:30 left on the clock, Sweden pulled their goalie allowing Jordan Eberle and Cody Hodgson (second of the game) to score on the empty net.  What were they thinking?

Top 3 Canadian Stars of the Game

• P.K. Subban (drafted by Montreal Canadiens)
• John Tavares (2009 draft)
• Jordan Eberle (drafted by Edmonton Oilers)

John Tavares was named the top forward of the tournament and the MVP.  Amazing!  I can’t wait to find out where he’s been traded!

images: TSN

I was on the edge of my seat during the thrilling semifinal game between Canada and Russia at the 2009 World Junior Championship. 

It was really a game of cat and mouse with both teams edging each other out.  I thought it was all over when Russia took the lead in the final minutes of the game but with just 5 seconds left in the third period, Canada scored and forced the game into overtime. 

The OT was really intense with the Canadians putting a lot of pressure on the Russian goaltender and, in the end, neither team scored.

In overtime, both Jordan Eberle and John Tavares scored while goaltender Dustin Tokarski (all Team Canada) denied both Russian players.  It was amazing!!!

The dream for five is still alive!  Canada will face off against Sweden in Monday’s gold medal game on Monday at 7pm ET/4pm PT on TSN.  Since both teams squared off in the finals last year in Pardubice, Czech Republic, I wonder if the result will be the same…

image: TSN

Team Canada and Team Russia have advanced to the semifinals at the 2009 IIHF World Junior Championships in Ottawa, Ontario.  This is the first truly exciting match-up for me at the tournament (I’m sure everyone is looking forward to it).

Last year Canada squared off against USA during the semifinals and Russia faced Sweden.  Ultimately, the Canadians beat the Swedes in the Gold medal match with a final score of 3-2.

Watch it live on TSN, TSN HD and TSN.ca at 7pm et/4pm pt.

image: TSN

Team USA was shocked yesterday to be eliminated in a 5-3 loss against Slovakia.  The Americans failed to even make the semifinals which is the first big surprise of this year’s tournament.

Slovakia will face Sweden in the semifinals today.

image: TSN

The 2009 NHL Winter Classic went off without a hitch today and the rink looked amazing!  The Detroit Red Wings beat the Chicago Blackhawks at Wrigley Field 6-4 today.

I had a lot of fun watching it but I had to keep reminding myself that this was an outdoor game because the rink and visual clarity (over last year’s snow-fest) was just perfect.  Watch the highlights:

Here’s the scoring summary:

DET: Samuelsson, M. (PPG, 09:50 in 1st), Hudler, J. (01:14 in 2nd), Hudler, J. (12:43 in 2nd), Datsyuk, P. (17:17 in 2nd), Rafalski, B. (PPG, 03:07 in 3rd), Lebda, B. (03:24 in 3rd)

CHI: Versteeg, K. (PPG, 03:24 in 1st), Havlat, M. (PPG, 12:37 in 1st), Eager, B. (19:18 in 1st), Keith, D. (PPG, 19:50 in 3rd)

I’ve been off-duty for the last couple days enjoying the turkey-fest at my home but here’s an update on what’s happened so far in the 2009 IIHF World Junior Championship in Ottawa.

PRELIMINARIES

December 26

• Latvia 1 – Russia 4 - Ottawa Civic Centre
• Germany 2 - USA 8 - SBP Arena
• Finland 1 - Sweden 3 - Ottawa Civic Centre
• Canada 8 – Czech Republic 1 - SBP Arena

December 27

• Slovakia 7 - Latvia 2 - Ottawa Civic Centre
• Kazakhstan 2 - Germany 9 - SBP Arena

December 28

• Russia 5 - Finland 2 - Ottawa Civic Centre
• Kazakhstan 0 - Canada 15 - SBP Arena
• Sweden 3 - Slovakia 1 - Ottawa Civic Centre
• USA 4 – Czech Republic 3

image: TSN

An elf-free Santa Claus was spotted sitting on the steps of GM Place at a Vancouver Canucks game on December 16, 2008.  Too bad they lost 2-1 against the visiting Ottawa Senators.  I would have paid cash money to see Santa swearing over officiating or something… That would have made the news!

image: Newscom

NHL stars, Henrik Lundqvist (NY Rangers), Vincent Lecavalier (Tampa Bay Lightning) and Martin Brodeur (New Jersey Devils) were spotted with their wives at the premiere for the HBO series, Entourage.  I really love that show and I’m getting ready for the televised premiere right now (starts in less than two hours!). 

More after the jump!

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All three Staal brothers, Eric Staal, Marc Staal and Jordan Staal, participated in the NHL Media tour.  Here are some behind-the-scene pictures of them at the photoshoot.  Can you imagine being their family?  What team do you root for - all three?  At least they are in the same conference so they won’t go head-to-head for the Stanley Cup ever.

More after the jump!
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