As 2013 winds to a close, TSN. Torry Holt Rams Jersey .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. TSN.cas writing staff reflects on the best hockey moments from the past 12 months including Alfie going to Detroit, Ovi finding another gear, Patrick Roy losing his cool and more. Daniel Alfredssons Motown Revue By: Shane McNeil Hockey fans had seen it before. The hero leaves the city where hes enjoyed years, sometimes decades of memories and successes in search of one or two years worth of hunting down a Championship ring. Ray Bourque, Mats Sundin, Jarome Iginla - It happens. Its no slight on the player and more often than not, the organization and the fans do nothing but wish them the best. But, Daniel Alfredsson? Did anyone see that coming? Here is the man that took a pay cut to keep the team afloat amidst bankruptcy. Alfie is a man who ascended to nearly religious standards in the Nations Capital after years of battling the Toronto Maple Leafs and getting the team to its only Stanley Cup Final. In the days (hours?) that followed Alfredssons signing in Motown, the Senators brass tried to foist the breakdown on their long-time captain and his agent J.P. Barry. The lines of communication, they believed, went silent at the most crucial time. Alfredssons decision to sign in Detroit appeared to be based on a player not being willing to settle for another discount deal. But whats more surprising than Alfredsson leaving Ottawa is that the Senators let it happen. Ovechkin makes fast work post-lockout By: Ken Rodney Nobody embodied the sprint mentality of the lockout-shortened 2012-13 NHL regular season quite like the Washington Capitals and more specifically their superstar Alexander Ovechkin. After not scoring in the first four games of the season, Ovechkin finished the first month of the schedule with only two goals and in those seven games, his team had only managed to pick up three points. However as their captain and leader caught fire so did the team Capitals, who rely on him for both an offensive and emotional boost. When the dust settled at the end of the 48 game regular season, Ovechkin had 32 goals, including 24 in the final 23 games and the Capitals had captured the Southeast Division and were the third seed heading into the playoffs. The Moscow native won the scoring race by three goals to earn his third Maurice Richard Trophy as the leagues top goal scorer, the only player to win as many since it was first awarded in 1998. Proving three is a charm for the man they call The Great Eight, he was also awarded with his third Hart Trophy as league MVP for his spectacular season. Patrick Roy blows up on his first night as Avalanche head coach By: Ryan Horne It didnt take long for Patrick Roy to make his mark as an NHL head coach. In fact, it only took one game. Roys Colorado Avalanche were pummeling the visiting Anaheim Ducks on the inaugural night of the regular season. When the first-year coach witnessed what he viewed as a cheap shot against his star rookie Nathan MacKinnon, he didnt hold back. Roy cursed and hollered at Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau and even pushed the plexiglass separating the two teams, almost knocking it down. He was hit with a game misconduct and fined $10, 000 for the incident. Not bad for your first night as a professional bench boss. A lot of people speculated this could happen with the fiery former goalie, but probably not this quickly. Regardless, the Avalanche players seem to be cool with it as they hold one of the better records in the Western Conference after being forecast as a non-playoff team before the season. Its yet to be seen whether Roys actions will get him into any further trouble, but theres a good chance hes not going to change for anybody. If the Quebec City native feels a certain way, he has no problem with expressing it. Just ask Ronald Corey. Martin St. Louis: One for the Ages By: Mike Beauvais There are a lot of things Martin St. Louis probably shouldnt have been. Undrafted, the diminutive native of Laval, Quebecs stay in the NHL probably shouldnt have lasted for much longer than the cup of coffee he had with the Calgary Flames in the late 90s. Conventional wisdom also didnt see St. Louis developing into the offensive juggernaut, six-time All-Star, Hart Trophy-winning, Stanley Cup champion that St. Louis blossomed into while a member of the Lightning. With the list of things Martin St. Louis probably shouldnt have been already lengthy, he added yet another to the list in 2013. Alongside young sniper Steven Stamkos, the 37-year-old St. Louis was the Batman to his Robin in 2013. The cagey veteran partnered with the Boy Wonder. The NHL was their Gotham City in 2013 and they were the premier Dynamic Duo of offence. In the Lightnings April 27 season-ending 5-3 win over the Florida Panthers, St. Louis had a goal and assist to bring him to the 60-point plateau in the shortened 48-game season. That was three points more than Stamkos haul for the year and the most in the NHL, handing St. Louis his second Art Ross Trophy. When he did it before in 2003-2004, it was improbable, but when he did it again in 2013, he did it as the oldest player in NHL history. There are a lot of things Martin St. Louis probably shouldnt have been, but it should surprise nobody at all when he decides to add something else to that list. The Lockout ends, the fans flock back By: Barry Riz The NHLs arenas were empty. The lockout had dragged on some 100 days. The first week of 2013 saw some headway in negotiations but no deal yet. As fans described it, billionaire owners and millionaire players just couldnt figure out how to divide up $3.3 billion in revenue. And the fans had seen more than enough through a battle that dragged on through the fall and early winter. Fans were going to protest by returning season tickets. They were going to boycott games if any were ever played. They were going to stop buying NHL-branded merchandise. They were going to stop watching on television. But things turned quickly in the early days of 2013. A deal was struck Jan. 6, and after a speedy training camp the season opened Jan. 19. And the fans came back. Oh, did they ever. League attendance and TV numbers returned stronger than before. The 48-game season was fast-paced and quickly consumed, with a Bruins-Blackhawks Stanley Cup Final topping off the leagues return. Forgiven? Probably not. Forgotten, absolutely. And as someone tweeted on opening night: "Somewhere Gary Bettman is watching all this hoopla and making a note to himself, and is putting it in a file marked "NHL LOCKOUT 2020." MacKinnon lights it up at Memorial Cup, locks in at first overall By: Ryan Horne Saying Nathan MacKinnon earned the right to be drafted first overall in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft would be an understatement. In the finals of the Memorial Cup against Seth Jones, the other first overall hopeful, and the Portland Winterhawks, MacKinnon netted a hat-trick, added a couple assists and helped the Halifax Mooseheads win their first national championship in team history. He was named tournament MVP, scoring seven goals and six assists in just four games after a spectacular regular season tallying 75 points in 44 games. Going into the tournament, many thought the smooth skating Jones would be the man the Colorado Avalanche would end up taking with their No.1 selection, especially considering their lack of depth on defence. But on June 24, 2013, Joe Sakic stepped up to the podium in New Jersey and took the 18-year-old from Halifax. And with MacKinnons stellar play at both the Memorial Cup and in the QMJHL, you cant blame them. Jones, on the other hand, fell to the Nashville Predators at number four. Both are having solid rookie seasons, but it will be interesting to see if Colorado still likes their decision a few years down the road. Greg Zuerlein Jersey .500 mark at 21-21. Thats not overwhelming, but its still four games better than they were a year ago when they were sitting at 17-25 through May 17. Tavon Austin Womens Jersey . PAUL, Minn.NHL and NHLPA executives are expected to announce on Friday the details of the rekindled World Cup of Hockey, a tournament that will feature eight teams, including two unconventional ones. Besides Canada, the U.S., Russia, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Finland, the league and union will announce a European All-Star team will participate. That team will be stocked with players who come from countries other than those participating as nations. Also, the tournament will feature a team with North American players under the age of 23. An executive with an NHL sponsor confirmed the details to TSN. The tournament will also feature a best-of-three final, which will help to drive up the broadcast and sponsor rights for the tournament both in North America and Europe. The National Hockey League and its players association have told team executives they hope to generate between $75 million and $100 million from the rekindled World Cup of Hockey. A person familiar with the matter told TSN that the tournament, which is scheduled to be held in September 2016, will raise about half its revenue from the sale of broadcast and internet streaming rights. The NHL and NHLPA have predicted those rights may garner close to $50 million. Its a gamble to spend so much on a tournament like the World Cup when theres no guarantee Team Canada will advance beyond the round robin portion. But if it does, there could be a big payoff in TV ratings. The final of the World Cup will be a best-of-three format, TSN has learned. Besides TV rights, the NHL and NHLPA will also sell sponsorship rights to the World Cup. They anticipate selling to eight premier corporate sponsors and negotiating deals of at least $1.5 million in each category, a source told TSN. The NHL and NHLPA will also garner revenue from ticket and merchandise sales. However, its expected that the NHL and the Players Association will have to pay Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment at least $5 million for hosting the three-week tournament. While executives with the Montreal Canadiens wanted to host some of the World Cup games at the Bell Centre, the NHL and its players union decided to host all of the games in Toronto. That way, if the tournament is a success, they could auction off the rights to host the gamees in 2019, perhaps, to the city that offers the best revenue guarantee - be it Montreal, New York, Stockholm, Moscow, or another city. Tavon Austin Jersey. To be sure, there are still many unanswered questions about how much profit the NHL and players union will generate from the World Cup. They need to pay for insurance for all of the players. Typically, the NHL and the Players Association buy premiums that offer better coverage than simply career-ending policies. Payouts are rare, but they do happen. The Islanders John Tavares, for instance, was covered by an insurance policy when he was injured during the Winter Olympics earlier this year in Sochi, Russia. The Islanders were compensated by an insurance company for the time he missed. Its unclear how much insurance will cost the NHL and NHLPA. Then Hockey Canada president Bob Nicholson said last August that it would cost at least $1 million simply to pay for insurance for the 47 Canadian players invited to Team Canada workouts in advance of the Winter Olympics. NHL player agent Allan Walsh said some NHL players have been skeptical over whether its a good idea to steer away from the national team concept. Some players believe this should be limited to players playing for their country, Walsh told TSN. What are you playing for if its Team Young Guns or European All Stars? What are you playing for? Thats a problem. Its an issue. Walsh said featuring a young guns team particularly could lead to lopsided scores. The downside is that team gets pounded, Walsh said. I dont think it would have an impact on the players psychology or career - just an impact on the legitimacy of the team in the tournament, when people sit back and say whether this kind of team was a good or bad idea. Still, Walsh and other agents said there could be a great payoff for the league from marketing a team built around young stars like Nathan McKinnon, Connor McDavid and Jonathan Drouin. Walsh said that while some fans have called for the NHL and NHLPA to include teams from Slovakia or Slovenia, that might not be practical, since the tournament is run by the league and its players association - both of which want to use the event to build the profile of their own players, not those playing in leagues overseas. cheap jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '