• Robert Bortuzzo and the St. Louis Blues agreed to a two-year extension. [NHL]

• The Ottawa Senators will retire Daniel Alfredsson’s number tonight. James Duthie shares memories of covering him. [TSN]

• Making the case for Alfie to be in the Hockey Hall of Fame. [Ottawa Citizen]

• Seats still remain for the Centennial Classic in Toronto on Sunday; however, the NHL is expecting the event to sell out. [Metro News]

• Brandon Saad writes about his time winning a Stanley Cup with Chicago and how that’s impacts him on and off the ice with the Columbus Blue Jackets as they continue on their historic win streak. [The Players’ Tribune]

• The Nashville Predators continue to implement strict ticketing procedures to keep Chicago Blackhawks fans out of Bridgestone Arena. [CBS Chicago]

• How to make the Winter Classic relevant again. [Vice Sports]

• How Kris Draper got Chris Osgood to play for Detroit Red Wings alumni in the Centennial Classic Alumni game. [Detroit Free Press]

• Meet Tim Ohashi. He wrote his first analytics piece about the Washington Capitals at age seven. Now 28-years-old, he finds himself a member of Barry Trotz’s coaching staff. [Washington Post]

• Rasmus Dahlin is only 16-years-old and playing defense for Team Sweden at World Juniors. He could become a highly sought after commodity in the NHL when he comes of age. [IIHF]

• Few players needed the holiday break more than Jack Eichel. The young star is refreshed and ready for the second half. [Buffalo Hockey Beat]

• Diving into the contract extension for Artemi Panarin. [Committed Indian]

• Debating whether Ryan Nugent-Hopkins should be a part of the Edmonton OIlers long-term plans. [Oilers Nation]

• Making the case to trade Valtteri Filppula now if anyone is looking to buy. [Raw Charge]

• The Boston Bruins are facing a ‘must-sweep’ home and home series against the Buffalo Sabres to close out 2016. [Bruins Daily]

• “This Bruins team is a classic 1980’s/90’s model, high end talent on the top line, then a combination of aging veterans and unproven youngsters filling out the rest of the roster.” [Boston Sports Desk]

• This season hasn’t been easy for the New Jersey Devils, but they may have found a blueprint for success a game where they blanked the Philadelphia Flyers. [The Hockey Writers]

• Fantasy hockey cage match: the most sustainable breakout player. [Dobber]

• Ryan Ellis, meet Ryan Ellis. The Nashville Predators defenseman gets together with his NASCAR counterpart. [Predators]

• Breaking down the goaltenders masks for the 2017 Winter Classic. [Hockey By Design]

• Concept license plates for the Vegas Golden Knights. [The Sin Bin]

• Finally, a look back at the 1987 World Juniors where Canada and the USSR brawled in the ‘Punch-Up in Piestany’ with those that were involved. [Robert Söderlind]