SPORT-SCAN DAILY BRIEF NHL 12/26/2019 Arizona Coyotes Pittsburgh Penguins 1167867 The 5: Best surprise gifts from Arizona sports teams in 1167893 The most important Penguins of the 2010s: No. 5 through 2019 1 1167894 Mark Madden: No reason to complain about Penguins at Boston Bruins Christmas break 1167868 Pets teach Bruins’ old dog, David Backes, new tricks 1167869 Patrice Bergeron featured on ‘best of the decade’ lists San Jose Sharks 1167895 The Bay Area Year in Sports Media: Greg Papa tops the Buffalo Sabres list again, but this time for completely different reaso 1167870 Dylan Cozens among four Sabres prospects at world junior championships St Louis Blues 1167896 Blues mount steady Cup defense amid NHL chaos Calgary Flames 1167897 Blues' Schenn, Schwartz pick up their pace in Tarasenko's 1167871 Taping sticks tells story of Flames players differences, absence similarities and quirks 1167898 Keeping the Blues' ice nice is a huge job Chicago Blackhawks Toronto Maple Leafs 1167872 Whom should the Blackhawks deal at the trade deadline? 1167899 Maple Leafs captain Tavares lines up behind coach with Where does Patrick Kane rank among the decade’s top plenty of confidence pla 1167900 DECADE OF LEAFS: Some highs, some lows, but no 1167873 Rest and home ice — two of the biggest advantages in playoff series victories in 10-year span hockey — have been Blackhawks’ worst enemies 1167874 Blackhawks 2019-20 midseason grades: Defensemen Vancouver Canucks 1167875 The ones who got away: Ranking the Blackhawks’ best 1167905 Patrick Johnston: A long, fun road for Canucks therapist and worst decisions Jon Sanderson 1167906 Canucks at 50: Kirk McLean's road to Stanley Cup Final Colorado Avalanche paved with golden performances 1167876 WJC Preview: An avalanche of anticipation 1167907 Canucks at 50: How a short trade call from Lamoriello changed it all for McLean Detroit Red Wings 1167877 World Juniors looms big for Detroit Red Wings prospects Vegas Golden Knights and future picks 1167901 Golden Knights love Mark Stone’s ‘A-plus’ celebrations 1167878 'No stone unturned': Steve Yzerman's Tampa Bay blueprint gives Red Wings fans hope Washington Capitals 1167879 World junior hockey: Western Michigan's Mattias 1167902 Titles from Nationals, Capitals, Mystics cap D.C.'s decade Samuelsson named U.S. captain of highs (and lows) 1167880 Red Wings likely to select one of these top draft prospects 1167903 Ovechkins spend Christmas Eve at Mar-A-Lago with President Trump Florida Panthers 1167904 Ten thoughts on the Capitals at the holiday break: On 1167881 So this is Christmas: New Florida Panthers adjusting to life John Carlson’s record chase and the problems with penalt on the beach during the holidays Websites Los Angeles Kings 1167908 TSN.CA / Boosted by NHL experience, captain Barrett 1167882 Kings prospects, Bjornfot and Kupari, should improve with Hayton brings underrated toughness to Team Canada world juniors experience 1167909 TSN.CA / Joel Hofer turning Americans into Team Canada fans at World Juniors Minnesota Wild 1167910 USA TODAY / Lindsey Vonn proposes to P.K. Subban: 1167883 Christmas wish list to cheer local clubs 'Men should get engagement rings too' SPORT-SCAN, INC. 941-284-4129 New York Islanders 1167884 Islanders come off holiday break with tough remainder of the season New York Rangers 1167885 Lias Andersson miss not a massive hit to Rangers’ prospect pool 1167886 Adam Fox, Ryan Lindgren adjusting to grind of NHL schedule Ottawa Senators 1167887 Sens prospects Jacob Bernard-Docker and Shane Pinto switch sides in bid for world junior glory 1167888 From foes to friends: Senators' Thomas Chabot and Colin White reminisce about a world junior rivalry Philadelphia Flyers 1167889 After their holiday break, Flyers will try to keep winning streak alive on the road 1167890 Flyers’ captain Claude Giroux playing for his legacy 1167891 Kevin Hayes, Travis Sanheim help Flyers whip Rangers, 5-1, for 4th straight win 1167892 Win over Rangers makes it a 'joyeux noel' for Vigneault, Hayes 1167867 Arizona Coyotes Hall gave the Coyotes faithful a taste of his ability in his debut after assisting Oliver Ekman Larsson on the game-winning goal in Arizona’s 3- 2 win over the San Jose Sharks on Dec. 17. The 5: Best surprise gifts from Arizona sports teams in 2019 The only downside is that the 28-year-old is in the final year of his contract, so Hall will only be a one-year rental unless the Coyotes can resign the winger. BY JAKE ANDERSON Kenyan Drake DECEMBER 25, 2019 AT 6:06 AM Another mid-season find is running back Kenyan Drake, whom the UPDATED: DECEMBER 25, 2019 AT 3:45 PM Arizona Cardinals acquired from the Miami Dolphins via trade in October. For a backfield that has been plagued by both injury and lack of production, Drake has been the perfect antidote. The holidays are the most wonderful time of the year. Much like Hall, Drake is basically a rental, as his contract expires at the It’s a time to celebrate, be with loved ones, and of course everybody’s end of the 2019 season. favorite: gifts! And what better type of gifts than surprises? And with a middle of the pack rushing offense that ranks 14th in the NFL Arizona sports fans must have been good in 2019, as almost every team at 119 yards per game, retaining Arizona’s leading back will be a top gave their fan base a reason to be excited about the near future, ones priority for general manager Steve Keim. they weren’t expecting. The GM has even said that he would “love” to have Drake return. Here is a look at the top five surprise gifts from Arizona sports teams to their respective faithful: Aron Baynes First, let’s start with the Arizona Diamondbacks’ acquisition of starting It only took one game for Phoenix Suns fans to have their hope and left-handed pitcher Madison Bumgarner via free agency. optimism damaged in the 2019-20 season. Bumgarner, 30, was a four-time All-Star and three-time World Series Following the Suns’ 124-95 win over the Sacramento Kings on opening champion with the San Francisco Giants, where he made his reputation night, center Deandre Ayton was suspended for 25 games violating the as one of the best postseason starters in the game after his 2014 NBA’s anti-drug policy after testing positive for a diuretic. October that saw him awarded both the NLCS and World Series MVPs. He also owns a World Series-record 0.25 ERA (one earned run in 36 But it was Australian center Aron Baynes that stepped up in Ayton’s innings pitched). absence and delivered a level of production that nobody could have predicted. The Madison Bumgarner era is officially over in San Francisco. In an 11-game span prior to missing time due to injury, Baynes averaged Bumgarner can also swing the lumber, as the right-handed hitter’s career 15.4 points and 5.9 rebounds while shooting 55.9% from the field and 19 home runs, 62 RBIs and 40 walks in 679 plate appearances has 43.1% from 3-point range. landed him two Silver Slugger Awards. Phoenix went 6-5 in those 11 games. With the signing of the former division rival, the D-backs look poised to challenge for the NL West with one of the better starting rotations in the league. Arizona Sports LOADED: 12.26.2019 And that makes for one heck of a gift. What’s not to like about D-backs All-Star? Not only is the Dominican versatile in the field, but he can also rake from both sides of the plate. In 2019, Marte hit .329 (tied for 2nd in MLB) with 32 home runs, 92 RBIs and a .981 OPS (seventh in the league). Those metrics were good enough to see the 26-year-old finish fourth in NL MVP voting. But what makes Marte such a gift is that his contract is an absolute bargain. The All-Star is on a five-year, $24 million contract ($4.8 million per year average) that runs through 2022, per Spotrac. That allows for tremendous flexibility in the free agent and trade markets, if the signing of Bumgarner didn’t make that evident already. And it’s not just about the money that Ketel allows the D-backs to spend elsewhere. The production Arizona is getting for that dollar amount at 26 years old is absurd in comparison to other players around the league with similar numbers. Only five position players had a better WAR than Marte’s 6.9 this season: Cody Bellinger (9), Alex Bregman (8.4), Mike Trout (8.3), Marcus Semien (8.1) and Christian Yelich (6.9). Taylor Hall The Arizona Coyotes gave their fans a mid-season present by trading for former New Jersey Devils winger Taylor Hall just one day after Bumgarner agreed to call the Valley home. Hall, 28, was the 2017-18 Hart Trophy winner after his 93 points put him as the league’s MVP. He was also named to ESPN’s top 100 players of the decade list. 1167868 Boston Bruins David and Kelly just recently wrapped up the organization’s year-end appeal and its fall grant cycle, designating funding directly for animal health care and adoption. The two of them process all the grant applications themselves, noted David, and also donate the time and Pets teach Bruins’ old dog, David Backes, new tricks whatever added funds are needed for administrative costs. Anyone who donates, he said, can do so with the peace of mind that every penny goes directly to animal care.