The Globe and Mail reported on the trade, with a bio of each player.

"Our organization believes that Steve Downie will add grit and skill to our lineup offensively," Avalanche general manager Greg Sherman said in statement. "He plays the game with an edge, and we look forward to seeing the immediate and future impact he can bring to our team."

Tampa Bay also made an additional deal involving minor league forwards with the Chicago Blackhawks, obtaining Brendon Segal for Matt Fornataro.

Piche has been assigned to the Florida Everblades of the ECHL. Segal will join Norfolk of the AHL.

The Hockey Analysis blog has some numbers, for those interested in stats.

Steve Downie was traded from the Tampa Bay Lightning to the Colorado Avalanche today for Kyle Quincey (who was later shipped to Detroit). I featured Downie in a post I wrote on the weekend about mixing toughness with skill and how having a big, physical winger can make a skilled center more productive, especially a smaller skilled center. Downie did this with Stamkos, St. Louis and to a lesser extent with Lecavalier. The beneficiary of Downie’s toughness in Colorado will be either Paul Stastny or Matt Duchene.

Is hockey becoming a more popular sport in America?

It was an unlikely cradle for a hockey prodigy. A sun-baked expanse of concrete, equipped with a makeshift set of boards—the haven of a passionate cadre of in-line skaters who in the mid-1990s had adapted the game of Wayne Gretzky to the climate of southern California. From the moment three-year-old Emerson Etem wobbled onto the roller-hockey surface at the Los Altos YMCA, it was clear he’d found his métier. "He just had this ability on wheels," recalls his mother Patricia, a former Olympic rower. "It was a lot of fun to watch. But more than anything, I was intrigued."

Like Theo Fleury, Sheldon Kennedy has become an advocate against child abuse. However, he isn't feeling particularly confident that Graham James will face jail time - even with pleading guilty.

You know, Graham James is going to walk -- again. That's not right."

Kennedy said that in the community of Swift Current, Sask., in the early 1990s, population 20,000, many people knew something was amiss with the high-profile junior coach, but nobody spoke out.

"There was a lot of people that knew what Graham James was doing in that town, but didn't have the confidence to act on their gut," said Kennedy.

"We've come a long ways and I think the justice system, this bill, is going to bring up to speed kind of where we've come in society in the understanding of these issues."

His testimony was just part of a day of hearings that largely focused on the child sex offence provisions in the new legislation.

Bill C-10 includes new offences, such as providing sexually explicit material to a child and arranging through telecommunications to commit a sexual offence against a child, along with more than a dozen new mandatory-minimum sentences for other sex crimes.

And finally, here is the link to this weeks' suspension vs concussions list.

An update on ex- Colorado Avalanche player, Theo Fleury's, fight against Graham James. If you haven't read it his book, it's stunningly painful. As is Sheldon Kennedy's.

Retired NHL star Theoren Fleury says it's common sense that his junior hockey coach should get jail time for sexually abusing him when he was a teenage player.

But Fleury also says he's already moved on — no matter what happens to Graham James in court.

James is to appear at a sentencing hearing in Winnipeg on Wednesday. He pleaded guilty via video link in December to repeated sexual assaults against two former junior players: one of them Fleury and another who cannot be named because of a court-ordered publication ban.

The Crown and defence will make their sentence recommendations. The hearing will also allow the victims to be heard.

Cameron Gaunce 's brother is getting some NHL.com love.

Gaunce, who said he tries to model his game after Selke Trophy finalist Jordan Staal of the Pittsburgh Penguins, said he takes as much pride in preventing goals as he does in scoring them.

"That's one thing I learned from a young age from a couple coaches," Gaunce said. "If you can't play defense you're not going to play in the NHL."

Also helping Gaunce learn lessons like that has been his older brother, Cameron, a Colorado Avalanche prospect currently playing with the club's AHL affiliate, the Lake Erie Monsters.

An article on how athletes need a back-up plan for when they retire.

"He said when you’re finished playing hockey, either stay in the game or completely break away from it. Pull yourself away from the game for two or three years and get some other career going and build confidence in it, then you can come back to hockey if you want," Kirton said. "Where a lot of guys get into trouble is they get caught with one foot dragging back into the game and the other into a new career and they never fulfill that new career.

"You do need to have something to fall back on, although the money pro athletes make these days makes it a bit easier when it’s over. But if I didn’t have real estate, I wouldn’t have a clue as to what I would be doing now."

Alice Cooper is a hockey fan - so the Phoenix Coyotes paid tribute to him with a bobble head.

Rocker Alice Cooper's shows include guillotines, fake blood, electric chairs, the occasional boa constrictor.

So when it comes to sports, there's no surprise which sport he loves: hockey.

Hard hits, speed, adrenaline, some real blood — it's a perfect fit.

"Hockey just never stops," Cooper said before the Phoenix Coyotes played the Dallas Stars on Saturday night. "It's like rock 'n' roll — it's relentless."

Be prepared to love Shane O`Brien a little bit more.

However, you don’t have to be a lip-reader to realize that the barbs from O’Brien in the box that day had something to do with contracts and who has more money. Ouch.

"I don’t know who was doing the camera work that night because he did a good job," laughed O’Brien. "All over Twitter, people were reading my lips. Burr is a great guy. He gets under my skin and I like to let him know about it."

Said Burrows of the exchange: "It was a good one. We wanted to see who had the best chirps and I won that battle."

Maybe that’s why his new teammates have labelled O’Brien "a ­beauty." From trying to get to the opposition and trying to get the Avalanche back to the postseason, the one-year, $1.1 million US contract investment in O’Brien has paid dividends. And there’s a good chance the Avalanche, who could move the injured (groin strain) and ­unrestricted Jean-Sebastien Giguere and others at the deadline if they falter this week, may re-sign O’Brien for all the right reasons.

Stefan Elliott and Evan Brophey are enjoying some success.

Elliott opened the scoring at 12:18 of the first. His wrister from inside the blue line zipped through traffic and past goalie David Leggio. Two minutes later, Elliott went top-shelf from the top of the right circle for his fifth.

Both of Elliott's shots had an NHL feel. He was with the parent Colorado Avalanche from late November until early February, appearing in 13 games and scoring seven points.

"He has a very bright future," Quinn said.

Evan Brophey used terrific stick work to make it 3-0 at 8:56 of the second. With the Monsters on the power play, Brophey chipped in a backhander from short range off a fluttering shot by Brad Malone, whose stick broke in the process.

If you like hockey history, this article is an interview with a man who played in the NHL in the 1940's.

Hockey history covers the walls. But it lives in the big, blue easy chair below.

There, the man with the twinkling eyes and infectious cackle, puffs his pipe purposefully, the smoke framing an aging face more friendly than grizzled. This is performance theatre, a dramatic pause before the next story begins.

It’s not easy, at first, to make the connection between the frozen moments of a young Maple Leaf posing with the Stanley Cup or beaming, Hollywood-handsome, on the cover of a framed game program to the raconteur with the tussled grey hair, rubbing his chin with a hand gnarled by arthritis.

"I can’t expect the young people to know about me," he says with no hint of regret. "The only people who would really know about me would have to be my age or a little younger. Maybe 80. I understand that. Most people my age are gone."

Almost all of them, actually. At least from the hockey world.

An article commending Shane O`Brien for his mentoring abilities of Tyson Barrie.

Forget adjusting to the heightened game pace. Has the Victoria native been out on the town yet with the outgoing and outspoken Shane O'Brien?

"No comment," chuckled the promising Colorado Avalanche defenceman.

"Shane's a beauty. He's taken me under his wing right from the start and he's super easy to talk to and always joking around, so that makes things a little lighter. I just sit in the locker-room before the game and just listen to him and I can't stop laughing."

Jean-Sebastien Giguere isn't too worried about his groin, so fans shouldn't be either.

"I'm not too worried about it," said the 34-year-old Giguere, the Post reports. "I'm not sure what it is, but I honestly don't think it's anything serious."

A fairly in-depth article into the on-goings of the Steve Moore - Todd Bertuzzi case.

Former Canucks senior vice-president of hockey operations Dave Nonis, now an official with the Toronto Maple Leafs, seems to have corroborated Bertuzzi's allegation.

Court documents quote Nonis admitting under similar questioning "that Crawford pointed to Steve Moore’s name (among others) just prior or during the March 8, 2004, game and said that Steve Moore must ‘pay the price tonight.’ "

"I am ordering not only disclosure, but also production to the plaintiffs of the minutes of settlement showing the percentage allocation of liability agreed among the defendants and (Crawford and Orca Bay)," Dash wrote.

It’s unclear if or when details of the Bertuzzi-Crawford agreement will be made public. Dash ordered that they be filed to the court under seal.

A preview of the Colorado Avalanche and Edmonton Oilers game - with a recap of the Oilers - Maple Leafs game.

"We didn’t get off to the start that we wanted, but we did come back to play as well as we could. For us to come back from 2-0 against a team that has a lot of fans in the building and were able to get off to a start like that, it’s a good thing for us. But at the same time, we can’t get down 2-0, because those holes can be pretty deep to get out of."

With the Avalanche coming in chasing a playoff spot, the Oilers don’t expect to get into a similar free-flowing contest.

"Colorado plays a little bit different than Toronto," said Hall. "But they’re a good team, they’re in the playoff hunt and they’ll be coming for us for sure. We’ve seen them so much that we know what to expect and they know what to expect, so it’ll probably be a pretty tight-checking game."

A story about Tyson Barrie,the game against the Canucks was an expensive one for Barrie.

Tonight's trip into Rogers Arena will be as close as it gets to being home for Victoria's Tyson Barrie.

Slated to make his fourth National Hockey League start since joining the Colorado Avalanche, the 20-year-old will have upwards of 20 friends and family members in attendance in Vancouver as the Avs take on the Canucks.

Here is a video of a robot "skating" and shooting a ball while on ice. This video is hosted on TheStar.com

An ex-Avalanche member just signed a deal.

Boston will have three more years of Johnny Rockets after this season.

The Bruins announced Tuesday night that Johnny Boychuk has agreed to a three-year contract extension. The team did not release the details, but according to TSN's Bob McKenzie, the deal is worth $3.36 million per season.

If you were in Barrie last night, you had a chance to see Ray Bourque play.

The crowd will be cheering ‘let’s go black and gold’ when Boston Bruins alumni take to the ice of the Barrie Molson Centre tonight.

Ray Bourque, Rick Middleton and Terry O’Reilly will be backed by an all-star team when they square off with the Ontario Law Enforcement Torch team for charity.

"It’s usually a very entertaining game," Middleton said.

"Sometimes it’s very competitive. It all depends on the opposition."

More about Rick Nash. For those asking, his cap hit is 7.8 million through the 2017- 2018 season.

"We’re open to all options to try to improve the team," Howson told the Columbus Dispatch on Tuesday, rattling the earth as he spoke. "As far as rumours go, we’re just not going to comment."

Columbus has made one post-season appearance since joining the league in the 2000-01 season, and it was ugly. The Detroit Red Wings outscored the Blue Jackets 18-7 during a sweep of their Western Conference quarter-final three years ago — and Nash factored in three of those seven Columbus goals.

Nash has represented Canada twice at the Olympics (in 2006, and again in 2010), and has become a fixture on the world championship circuit. Every spring. Because Columbus is never in the playoffs.

"I’m a Blue Jacket right now," he said, in the Dispatch. "I’ve played my whole career here and it’s a special place to me. So as of right now I’m a Blue Jacket."

Apparently there was almost a fight in Montreal.

A shouting match erupted at the Montreal Canadiens practice Tuesday, with an angry assistant coach tearing a strip off the team's highest paid player.

An argument between forward Scott Gomez and assistant coach Randy Ladouceur was so long and intense that some media observers thought it might turn into a fistfight.

Colorado Avalanche's Erik Johnson is getting some love.

Erik Johnson played like he had a score to settle with the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night. The young Avalanche defenseman was chippy but did not commit a penalty, and his mean streak was pure benefit to his team.

Johnson scored a power-play goal, using his big shot from the point to perfection, and did not commit a defensive-end turnover. Overall, it was the type of game the Avs expect Johnson to have regularly — and what the Blues expected from him when they took him with the first pick in the 2006 draft.

The Avs believe Johnson, 23, will fulfill his lofty long-term potential if he continues to play with a mean streak and keep his body in continuous motion during shifts.

A fairly in-depth article about the Trade Deadline Day.

Every NHL trading deadline differs from the one before and last year, the overriding theme was how many of the most important deals were done weeks or even a month before TSN assembled their multiple panels and began the nine hours of chatter and analysis.

That, obviously, isn’t happening this time around. Just about every general manager tells you the same thing - it’s quiet, eerily quiet, and it’s pretty clear why.

So often in the past, teams that have fallen by the wayside would move assets to contenders in exchange for help down the road.

TheScore is looking at the Calder race, and surprisingly, Gabriel Landeskog is one of Cams favorites.

For Colorado, Landeskog would be my pick as Calder front-runner even with a healthy Nugent-Hopkins; the young Avalanche centre has lead the team in Corsi and quality of competition and has become an offensive force ever since Colorado head coach Joe Sacco started playing him more in the offensive end starting in around early December, playing at a 20-goal, 49-point per 82 game pace since December 1.

These factors aside, Landeskog also leads all rookies in shots (we all know how much I like looking at that statistic) and is probably the one who is the best at moving the puck forward into those shooting positions.

So even while Nugent-Hopkins waits on the sideline for medical clearance, I’m not sold he ought to be back in an Edmonton sweater for the remainder of the season. In the meantime, there is still an impressive crop of rookies to follow who have exceeded their expectations at the early stage of their National Hockey League careers.

Most of you know I love highlighting the philanthropist ways of NHL players. Dustin Penner has taken a lot heat over a comment, but true to NHL'er form, he turned this into a positive, with the help of IHOP, raising almost $3,000 for charity.

Whatever you may think of Dustin Penner as a hockey player, one’s thing for sure – the Los Angeles Kings’ forward is one funny man. It’s something that should have been obvious to people a month ago, when back spasms forced him to miss a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The day after, Penner compared his painful, bent-over posture to being in the "third stage of evolution," a description that should have provided a clue to the humorous context of what came next – an admission that his back problems originally flared up while digging into a stack of his wife Jessica’s "delicious" pancakes.

But the nuance of his tone and the timing of his delivery was lost in cyberspace, where it was simply interpreted as the worst kind of dog-ate-my-homework excuse from a slumping player, who’d just missed a game against the NHL’s worst team because of a breakfast-related injury.

Those of you who know me, know that I love talking about the philanthropist ways of hockey players. Matts Sundin has decided to do some good.

Retired Toronto Maple Leafs captain Mats Sundin is donating roughly $330,000 to fund a scientific exchange program for medical researchers in Canada and Sweden, with the aim of examining questions around developmental health — tracing the link between illnesses in adults and their formative years.

"When you visit Sick Kids Hospital and see the kids who are sick, even life-threatening ill, and what they’re going through with various treatments, you want to reach out and help," Sundin said at a news conference on Friday. "This program supports scientists trying to understand the most important thing; the importance of the first 2,000 days of our lives."

Jeremy Roenick has a rather large mouth, almost as big as Patrick Roy's ears (have you seen those Stanley Cup rings? They are massive!). Can you see him as an owner?

"We’ll see what happens. But the team is very, very interesting. If you can somehow get a hold of the building along with the team, then it becomes a different scenario."

Roenick currently lives in neighbouring Scottsdale, and according to the Arizona Republic, he was approached weeks ago by Greg Jamison. Jamison — the former CEO of the San Jose Sharks — has expressed his interest in buying the team.

Quebec really wants another NHL team, and apparently they might be closer to having an arena than many thought.

The public rarely sees how stories are made in the mainstream media. But the recent news about Quebec City’s preparedness for the NHL offers a unique exception. It also gives insight into how the In Plain Sight principle works in Canadian media.

Viewers watching Tuesday’s Prime Time Sports on Sportsnet, or listening on Sportsnet Fan 590 Radio, heard an interview with Quebec City lawyer Marcel Aubut, ostensibly about his role as chairman of the Canadian Olympic Association. As the chat neared an end, host Bob McCown casually segued into asking Aubut about the odds of Quebec City getting the financially strapped Phoenix Coyotes. Specifically, when could they have a new arena up and running? Any time now, Aubut said. The financing is in place for a new arena and we’re ready to go, he said. The news about a shovel-ready arena surprised both McCown and co-host Stephen Brunt. Clearly, neither had any idea that the arena plans were so advanced and said so.

Gordie Howe's son is talking about his father's memory loss, he seems to think it has to do with concussions.

But the younger Howe, 57, says he has no doubt his father’s condition is related to concussions, one of hockey’s hot-button issues.

"I can just about guarantee it," Marty said.

"His first year in the league when he went headfirst into the boards, they had to drill a hole in the side of his head to relieve the pressure on his brain. It’s like when you break your arm when you’re 12. At 30, it’s going to hurt you later. It’s the same thing with your brain. I know he’s had other concussions (a teammate once nailed him in the back of the head with a hard clearing pass). You play 33 years at that level without a helmet and things are going to happen."

Overall, Marty said his father "is okay." The son encourages the father to take naps in the afternoon, but at the same time, the family attends "50 to 60" public events a year, which "give him something to look forward to."