The Vancouver Canucks have locked up another key piece to the puzzle in signing Ryan Kesler to a 6-year extension.

Kesler has been having a banner year offensively and is really coming into his own as a defensive forward worth taking seriously. The 25-year-old was one of the highlights of the American Olympic team, too, and is one of the league’s most sought-after two-way forwards.

“Today is an exciting day for the Canucks organization,” general manager Mike Gillis said in a statement. “Ryan Kesler has excelled as a two-way player and in his role as an alternate captain. Ryan has showcased his ability to perform under extreme pressure and we are looking forward to continuing to see Ryan develop into one of the League’s premier players.”

The Canucks have done well to lock down their core players this season, with extensions given to the Sedins and Roberto Luongo keeping those players in the fold for several years.

Kesler has 21 goals and 45 assists in his sixth season with the Canucks. He boasts 12 power play markers and is one of Vancouver’s go-to forwards in key game situations. Kesler’s four game-winning goals attest to his value on the ice.

With Kesler, the Sedins and Luongo all locked down in long-term deals, the vision for Vancouver’s Canucks is clear. Gillis obviously knows the direction he wants this team to head in, so now it’s up to those players prove his beliefs right by heading on to make it happen in the post-season.

Posted by Jordan Richardson.

Alex Ovechkin continues to define himself as a player that skates right on the edge of sanity. This time he was tossed out of the game for shoving Chicago Blackhawks defenceman Brian Campbell from behind into the boards. Ovie was assessed a match penalty and a boarding major for the senseless move.

“I didn’t hit him hard,” Ovechkin told reporters. “He fell bad. But you can see, every shift this happens — little pushes, little battles … I didn’t think it deserved five minutes.”

The hit was a dangerous play, to be sure, and Ovechkin should have been thinking clearer. But the league certainly won’t be looking at any suspension on the play, especially with Matt Cooke going without a suspension for his actions against Marc Savard.

This brings up a compelling point, though, and shines a light on a growing movement of hockey fans who categorize Alex Ovechkin as a dirty player the likes of Cooke. I think it’s probably worth arguing, but the final conclusion appears to have more layers to it.

In order to categorize Ovechkin as the same type of opportunistic thug as a Matt Cooke, we have to make a few jumps.

For starters, I remain unconvinced that Ovechkin is a player who skates with the intent to injure. Instead, I deem him as a player who wants the puck more than anybody out there on the ice. And I think he’s willing to do anything to get the puck, too, which puts him right on the edge between controlled and reckless play.

In looking at Ovie’s litany of questionable calls, there are a number of examples of hits that could have deserved a more significant look from the league. His hit on Buffalo’s Patrick Kaleta, for instance, got him a match penalty and is often considered to be a hit from behind. Watching the hit over again, it’s clear that Kaleta has more than a few looks in the direction of Ovechkin before playing the puck. It’s certainly a play that could have been avoided, but it’s hardly the type of thing that makes for a dirty player overall.

The Jamie Heward hit is a compelling one and may be one of the best example of Ovechkin crossing the line as a player. Watching it over again, it’s certainly a questionable play but it almost looks as if Ovechkin shoves Heward and rolls off of him to the side.

The case for Ovechkin being a dirty player gets stronger, however, when one looks at the host of knee-on-knee type hits that he’s delivered. The knee-on-knee to Sergei Gonchar is especially damning and the knee-on-knee to Tim Gleason doesn’t get any better. Of course, it’s possible to argue that those two knee-on-knee collisions have more to do with both players attempting to avoid contact than they do with intents to injure.

The question about Alex Ovechkin’s play has been in existence since he stepped into the game. He’s always been a player on the edge and he’s always used his explosive speed and strength to get at the puck - wherever it happens to be. But does that make him a dirty player?

Posted by Jordan Richardson.

Reebok Canada is offering a sum of $10,000 with no questions asked for the return of Sidney Crosby’s stick and glove. Crosby used the stick and glove to score the gold medal-winning goal at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver and the equipment disappeared after the star tossed them off to celebrate the victory with his teammates.

“The stick and glove are priceless,” said Len Rhodes, vice president and general manager for Reebok Hockey CCM. “There’s absolutely no substitute for that exact stick and glove.”

There is an email hotline that Reebok has set up to let people leave tips as to where the equipment might be. “He’s been a very close partner of ours and a member of the Reebok hockey family,” said Rhodes. “We just wanted to do what we thought was right.”

Cynics are already expressing the idea that Sidney Crosby should just somehow move on without the stick and glove, but true hockey fans know the importance of these sorts of objects in hockey’s storied history. The significance of the stick and glove to Crosby himself should also not be underestimated, as the gold medal win is a certain career highlight for the young player.

This notion that Crosby should somehow just “get over it” is ridiculous. The honour system in hockey is one that collects the pucks of first goals, first hat tricks and other significant career milestones. I can think of no bigger milestone than a gold medal-winning goal, so the simple dismissal of this equipment by some is rather striking in its obnoxiousness.

Reebok is doing the right thing here and I truly hope Crosby’s equipment turns up. He deserves it.

Posted by Jordan Richardson.

It could be a matter of days or even hours, but a trade involving Atlanta’s Ilya Kovalchuk is expected soon. Very soon.

There are still a number of possibilities for a final destination for Kovalchuk and the speculation is running rampant. The only sure bit of news is that Atlanta Thrashers GM Don Waddell told his player to expect a trade in the coming hours or days. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on Tuesday that Waddell had not talked to Kovalchuk or his agent, Jay Grossman, about anything in over a week.

Some are looking at busy Calgary Flames GM Darryl Sutter to make a move for Kovalchuk. He’s got about $1.2 million worth of cap space and has been rather active making moves as of late and Sutter could swing the deal by simply sending a bit of money to Atlanta in exchange for the player.

Chicago, Boston and Los Angeles are also said to be in the running for Kovalchuk’s services.

As the clock ticks away, a number of other possibilities are being discussed. Twitter is abuzz with rumours, with suggestions that Kovalchuk is nearing a deal with Anaheim or New Jersey. One discussion has him going to the Devils in exchange for Bergfors, Oduya, Palmieri, and a draft pick. Others are reporting a deal with Anaheim involving Scott Neidermayer and Bobby Ryan.

Waddell also scouted the Flyers and Islanders last week, too, and the New York Rangers are said to also be in the running after clearing some cap room.

The problem with signing Kovalchuk is that he’s a bit of a risk at this point and time. Nobody is sure about his intentions for next season, with word that he’s going to head to the KHL being floated around most clubs. When Kovalchuk signs, he’ll most likely be signing to a team he believes will take him to a Cup win.

We’ll be keeping you posted on all the Kovalchuk news as the clock ticks away.

Posted by Jordan Richardson.

In a controversial move that has many scratching their heads, the Calgary Flames have traded away Olli Jokinen and Brandon Prust for Ales Kotalik and Christopher Higgins. Higgins and Kotalik, former Rangers, will join a Calgary team that finds itself in the middle of a significant shake-up as the Sutters make a bid for the post-season.

The trade was sitting around in the rumour mills for quite a while as it seemed that Kotalik was holding out on the deal. After Calgary’s 3-0 loss to the Flyers, however, the trade was announced as official and the move was on.

The makeover in Calgary builds on the trades made with the Leafs over the weekend. The Flames swapped defensive stalwart Dion Phaneuf, Keith Aulie and Fredrik Sjostrom for a pile of Leafs including Ian White, Jamal Mayers, Niklas Hagman, and Matt Stajan.

A lot of Flames fans are currently wondering just what the Sutters are thinking, as these trades appear to downgrade the Flames in terms of size and grit. It seems management is gearing up for a smaller, quicker team to help feed Jarome Iginla the puck and boost power play production, but whether Brent Sutter can actually coach such a team remains to be seen.

The Jokinen deal makes even less sense from a Calgary perspective, as Kotalik is far from an ideal player for the Flames system. He’s an inconsistent, unimpressive forward and he lacks the grit and personality of Jokinen. Adding Higgins to the mix, a slick and quick forward good on the kill, doesn’t particularly sweeten the pot when one considers that Sutter also tossed in Brandon Prust.

Flames fans are still scratching their heads about the way the deal went down, too, as both Jokinen and Prust were seemingly asked to take the ice in the Philly loss all while knowing that they were being shipped off to New York as soon as the game ended. In any event, a lot of people are of the opinion that Calgary’s 3-0 was exactly what Sutter’s club deserved after such a classless display.

Objectively, the deal seems to benefit the Rangers the most. Calgary takes on Kotalik’s absurd three-year $9 million salary, while the Rangers get Jokinen’s $5.5 million salary with an expiry date set for season’s end. In other words, the Blueshirts are taking little risk with Olli. Prust, too, represents a big step up in the size department and will help flesh out a Rangers checking line.

If for no other reason than for cap savings, the Rangers come out on top here. It’s hard to say whether Jokinen will benefit them offensively, although his goal total does help boost the Rangers in scoring. Kotalik and Higgins, on the other hand, will be pretty big risks in Calgary. The Flames will hope Higgins regains some of his game in Calgary, of course, but this Kotalik angle still remains really, really perplexing.

Posted by Jordan Richardson.

Defenceman Paul Martin will have to miss his chance to play for Team U.S.A. at the Olympics this year. A slow-healing broken left forearm will keep him on the shelf, he announced today, and he’ll have to miss the games in Vancouver.

Martin withdrew his name from the U.S. Olympic hockey roster today. He was injured in an October 24, 2009, game after being hit by Bill Guerin’s shot. Martin suffered a setback in his recovery in December after the fracture wasn’t healing at a rate the doctors would have liked. He had another surgical procedure to get things on the right track, but it doesn’t look as though he’ll be back in time to compete.

“It is healing properly, it’s just not to the point where the doctor wants to see it,” Devils president and general manager Lou Lamoriello said.

Martin skated last week but was told on Monday that he’d have to continue wearing a cast for at least another two weeks.

“While the decision was an extremely difficult one, I feel it is in my long-term best interest to not rush any return to the ice,” said Martin. “I look forward to rejoining my New Jersey Devil teammates in the near future, and would also like to wish my fellow Devils’ Olympians and the rest of Team USA good luck in their pursuit of the gold medal.”

Lamoriello said that he believed Martin would be ready when the Devils take their West Coast swing in March after the Olympic break. His return would be vital at this point and time, as the Devils are currently stuck in a 3-6-1 skid.

With teammates Zach Parise and Jamie Langenbrunner, a late addition to the roster, headed to Vancouver to play for Team U.S.A., Martin’s got to be feeling pretty bad about having to miss this opportunity. Even so, I think the defenceman is making the right call here in setting his priorities on a complete return to the game. Rushing it is never a good idea.

Posted by Jordan Richardson.

Brian Burke has officially begun the process of retooling the Toronto Maple Leafs. Within a few hours, the Leafs GM made some big moves and transformed the entire landscape of his hockey club.

A seven player deal kicked things off with a bang, as the Leafs acquired Calgary’s Dion Phaneuf, Fredrik Sjostrom and Keith Aulie in exchange for Ian White, Niklas Hagman, Matt Stajan and Jamal Mayers. The deal was announced just hours after the Leafs dropped its fifth consecutive loss after coughing up a 3-0 lead to Vancouver.

For his part, Phaneuf was in shock. “I know that’s a cliche … If Wayne Gretzky can get traded, anyone can get traded,” he said. “I was very surprised but on the other hand, I’m very excited to be going to the biggest hockey market in the world. I talked to them this morning and I’m very excited to be a Toronto Maple Leaf and getting there.”

Phaneuf is certainly the key component to the deal and his arrival in Toronto will certainly reconfigure the defensive core of the team. He adds toughness and will anchor the club defensively, showing an edge of grit that should set a nice tone for the rest of the Leafs’ defenders.

But Burke wasn’t finished…

Hours later, Burke closed another trade that saw goalie Vesa Toskala and Jason Blake head to Anaheim in exchange for Jean-Sebastien Giguere. The deal brings Giguere that starting job he wanted in Anaheim and gives him some motivation to play hard. It also provides Toronto’s Jonas Gustavsson with a solid mentor figure.

“J.S. is as classy and professional as they come,” Ducks general manager Bob Murray said in a statement. “On behalf of the organization, we thank him for his tremendous contributions to the franchise both on and off the ice, not the least of which were two trips to the Stanley Cup Final and one championship. We wish him well in Toronto.”

So will the changes help the Leafs? Will the changes help the Flames?

There’s no question that Toronto has some pretty significant build blocks to work with. They also dumped off some dead weight and cleared some salary cap room by moving disappointing players like Blake.

Burke comes out the winner with the best players in the deals, too, and Phaneuf is a huge acquisition for his hockey team. The Leafs are still right up against the cap, sure, but Burke probably dodged a few bullets by ditching the White contract’s expected raise. Hagman, too, had two more years to go on a $3 million price tag and was starting to look every bit his 35 years of age.

Brian Burke has finally gotten the ball rolling in T-Dot. Is he finished? Only time will tell, but these moves are significant enough to show that the GM has finally gotten serious about making big changes to his hockey club. Nobody is safe.

Posted by Jordan Richardson.

One of the more obvious inferences in the world is to say that hockey is a physical game. People get hurt, people fight, people hit. But there is also a realization in hockey, as there is in any sport, that players do not attempt to injure their opponents. There is a code of ethics in the sport of hockey, as there are codes of ethics in other sports, that carry with them a certain series of connotations.

Not unlike a social contract in which we don’t steal or don’t kill, hockey’s code of ethics is often enforced with simple common sense. There are, as there are in life, numerous instances of players stepping outside of the boundaries of common sense and acting outside of the code. Andy Sutton is one such player.

Sutton is a favourite of mine, admittedly, and for whatever reason he’s earned a spot on most video game hockey teams I put together. Perhaps it’s due to his 6′6, 245-pound frame and the fact that he’s always seemed like a bit of a poor man’s Chris Pronger. Or perhaps it’s that he’s a good ol’ Kingston “kid.”

But that 6′6, 245-pound frame is at the core of a two game suspension now as a result of his violation of the code. And, to be honest, I can’t help but think he deserves a longer tenure off the ice for his deplorable actions.

This hit on Pascal Dupuis is vile. The NHL has been feebly attempting to remove hits like this from the game for obvious reasons, but one has to wonder what has to happen before a broader, more comprehensive effort is made to eradicate hits from behind of this nature.

That Sutton, 6′6 and 245 pounds, should be able to level Pascal Dupuis, 6′1 and 205 pounds, in such a fashion is inexcusable. More inexcusable is the slap on the wrist Sutton received for his actions.

Sure, he’s sorry he did it. And I fully understand getting caught up in the moment out there on the ice: things get heated, a hit looks easy, a player can be taken out in a hurry without a second thought. But that second thought is often the difference between a clean hit and a badly injured player. Or worse.

“I feel awful,” said Sutton, who played with Dupuis in Minnesota and Atlanta. “I played with Pascal for a long time and I obviously never intended that to happen.”

He obviously did not and I do, in some small way, feel bad for Sutton. While he is a sizable player and he does play with a physical edge, this isn’t in his usual bag of tricks. Indeed, it seems that Sutton more than realizes that he crossed a line with this hit. “Obviously it wasn’t clean. Pascal was injured. I just hope he’s okay. That’s about all I can say,” he said.

The good news is that Dupuis is okay, as verified by his agent over Twitter.

Regardless of how sorry Sutton is or how badly injured Dupuis is or could have been, this is a situation that calls for the league to step up and set consistent, bold policy regarding hits from behind. There is no need to wait for a ceremonial GM meeting, nor is there a reason to wait for the off-season. These hits are dangerous and one day may even prove to be deadly. There’s no room for them in the National Hockey League.

If Colin Campbell doesn’t start setting a stronger, more consistent precedent with these sorts of hits, he’s never going to be able to determine policy that makes a difference in the way the game is played.

Posted by Jordan Richardson.

In watching the Pittsburgh Penguins face off against the Vancouver Canucks and getting decidedly trounced for their efforts, I started to wonder about Evgeni Malkin. He wasn’t much of an offensive force, despite scoring a goal, and his dangerous hit on Willie Mitchell left me thinking that something must be eating the sniper.

Sure enough, Malkin finds himself mired in a pretty significant slump. He ranks in the 20s in the scoring race and is producing at a lower rate than his rookie campaign. Malkin, before his goal against Vancouver, hadn’t scored since a pre-Christmas hat trick. A recent four-game stretch saw him go an embarrassing minus-8.

“It’s a tough situation but I’m learn now,” said Malkin to the media scrum in Vancouver without the use of a translator. “I’m learn it’s two tough years we play finals. Different situation now. Not scoring now and a little bit nervous now but it’s team game. Coaches help me and we sit and look video and my shifts. It’s tough but head up, not stop and work in practice. I’m playing little bit better.”

In about a month, Malkin will suit up for Russia at the Olympics. He noted that he’s looking forward to playing with his friends, Alex Ovechkin and Ilya Kovalchuk, at the tournament. And he went out of his way to ensure that he wouldn’t be calling his teammate and pal Sidney Crosby a “friend” when the puck drops for the Games. “No, no, not in Olympics,” chuckled Malkin. “Of course, still here but not in Olympics.”

Still, one has to wonder what’s going on in Malkin’s world. Poolies would have considered him a sure thing to produce points in the top portion of the league’s scoring race and few would have predicted that Malkin would sit 23rd in league scoring prior to Saturday’s game.

Malkin will make $9 million this year alone in Pittsburgh and is in the first year of a five-year $43.5 million contract.

Some are suggesting that Malkin’s lack of suitable linemates could be part of the problem for his lower production. Playing with Jordan Staal and Luca Caputi appears to have provided Malkin with some options, but not enough to really boost the forward to the scoring pace he should be hitting.

There is also Malkin’s shoulder to consider. He missed a couple of weeks due to shoulder trouble at the beginning of November and came back to the game before the injury had completely healed. Perhaps not taking a full 21 days to get things right hurt Malkin’s chances at putting the puck in the net.

Regardless of the reasoning, it’s no secret that Malkin is experiencing some difficulty in Pittsburgh. It may well be a passing issue, with the Olympics giving him a boost and the playoff rush providing him with more motivation to get his ducks in a row. Even so, it’ll be interesting to see how he approaches the finish line on the season and how poolies respond to his lack of production.

Posted by Jordan Richardson.

Former Maple Leafs goaltender Curtis Joseph will formally announce his retirement Tuesday afternoon at the Air Canada Centre, ending a career that leaves him with 454 wins.

Joseph served as backup to Vesa Toskala last season in Toronto but left the team after they signed 25-year-old Jonas Gustavsson.

Joseph has an impressive career under his belt and should leave the game with his head held high. He is fourth in all-time wins, trailing only Martin Brodeur, Patrick Roy and Ed Belfour in that category. Joseph played in 958 regular season games, suiting up for 19 seasons with six different teams. He played for St. Louis, Edmonton, Detroit, Phoenix, Calgary and Toronto.

Joseph’s best days were probably in the time between 1998 and 2002, as he suited up as a workhorse in goal for the Maple Leafs. He posted 17 shutouts in 249 games during that period, helping the Leafs make the conference finals twice.

A quality individual on and off the ice, Cujo’s presence in the National Hockey League will be missed. He always came to play and gave it his all each and every single time he stepped between the pipes.

Posted by Jordan Richardson.