First awarded following the 2006-07 season, the honor is given to “the player who exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team, on and off the ice during the regular season.” Messier solicits suggestions from club and League personnel as well as NHL fans in compiling a list of potential candidates before personally selecting the three finalists and ultimately the winner.

Alfredsson, the NHL’s longest-serving active captain, is the Senators’ all-time leader in numerous categories, including games played, goals, assists and points. He has taken a leadership role off the ice as well, working with the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa, the Royal Ottawa Foundation for Mental Health, and the Sens Foundation.

Brown has spent his entire eight-season NHL career with the Kings, serving as their captain for the past five seasons. He was selected as the Kings’ Most Popular Player this season and is known for his physical playing style, which consistently places him among the League leaders in hits.

Toews volunteers to grant wishes through the Make-A-Wish Foundation and visits with patients at the local children’s hospital and the Misericordia Home in Chicago. Last fall, he returned home to join the Winnipeg Patrolmen Hockey Club and other NHL players for the “Goals for Dreams Hockey Challenge,” which helped raise $80,000 for the Children’s Hospital Foundation and the Dream Factory, a charity that grants dreams for critically and chronically ill children.

The incident occurred at 19:02 of the second period. Torres was assessed a minor penalty for charging. Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, Torres is considered a repeat offender.

With one minute remaining in the second period of the Sharks’ 2-0 loss, Torres hit Stoll in the Kings’ zone. Stoll was not skating completely upright after playing the puck with his hands and Torres followed through with a body check that had some people thinking it was a hit to the head.

Torres was given a two-minute minor penalty for charging.

No penalty was assessed on second-period hit to the head in the Kings’ 2-1 loss at Minnesota. Brown hit Pominville in the jaw, knocking him on his back.

The suspension will cost Brown $34,324. He will miss the final two regular-season games.

The series will start with the annual Winter Classic, recently confirmed for Ann Arbor, Mich., on January 1, 2014, and will continue with games in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and Vancouver.

The league hopes to unveil the additional games in the next two weeks.

The details of the various games significant undertakings for the NHL and the teams involved — remain fluid and there remains the potential for change based on team approval, licensing and contractual issues with the various facilities.

Among the new games will be the first outdoor regular-season game in California, with the Anaheim Ducks and the Los Angeles Kings set to do battle at Dodger Stadium on January 25.

That game will be the first of three outdoor games planned for the days leading up to Super Bowl XLVIII on Feb. 2, 2014, at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

The ambitious plan would latch onto the media and fan attention in the New York area during Super Bowl week by having the New York Rangers play two outdoor games at Yankee Stadium against the New Jersey Devils on January 26, and New York Islanders on Jan. 29.

The Rangers will be the visiting team for both games, a source told ESPNNewYork.com.

The final two outdoor adventures would take place during Hockey Weekend Across America, which runs Feb. 28 to March 2. The Pittsburgh Penguins will take on the Chicago Blackhawks at Soldier Field on March 1.

That game would mark the second time Chicago will have hosted an outdoor game, with Detroit in the Winter Classic at Wrigley Field in 2009. Pittsburgh also has hosted a Winter Classic in 2011 and played in the first one in Buffalo in 2008.

A day later, on March 2, the Canadian-based Heritage Classic will return for its third go-round (second as a full-fledged NHL event) with the Vancouver Canucks hosting the Ottawa Senators at B.C. Place. The last Heritage Classic was held in Calgary between the Flames and Montreal in 2011.

Canadian broadcaster TSN reported similar information regarding outdoor game plans Tuesday evening.

As ESPN.com’s Craig Custance reported earlier this month, NHL chief operating officer John Collins has indicated the league was looking at putting on multiple outdoor games, in addition to the annual Winter Classic.

There are some concerns about diluting what has become the league’s signature event. It also will be a challenge to meet the standards and expectations set in previous years, especially with the undertaking of multiple outdoor games.

“We set the bar pretty high on all these. If you’re going into a market that’s had [a Winter Classic], the bar is high,” Collins told Custance. “If you’re going into a market that hasn’t had it & they’ve seen it, they’ve heard about it and they want to experience it. The bar is possibly even higher for them.”

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings were scheduled to play at the “Big House” at the University of Michigan this season in the Winter Classic, but the game was postponed by the NHL lockout. The two teams will play there next Jan. 1, the NHL has confirmed.

• Renaud Lav0ie of RDS tweets Confirmation that their is no deal in place as we speak between Calgary-Boston for Jarome Iginla. No announcement tonight from Bruins.
• David Pagnotta of TheFourthPeriod tweets Hearing there is a possibility (not a guarantee) that BOS could have an announcement after game… Also told Iginla has left Saddledome.
• Joe Haggerty of CSNNE tweets that, Make of this what you will: Bruins scout was overheard at an NHL rink tonight saying Iginla deal is 100 percent done & he’s going to Boston.
• Dan Tencer of Host of Inside Sports tweets that Bobby Mac on TSN says Bartkowski, Khoklachev and 1st for Iginla is imminent according to sources close to the Bruins. Not confirmed, he says
• Gary Lawless of The Winnipeg Free Press is reporting that The Los Angeles Kings are out of the Jarome Iginla sweepstakes.
• Calgary Flames captain Jarome Iginla has limited his preferred list of teams to four, according to multiple reports. Iginla is believed to be on the verge of being traded prior to the April 3 NHL Trade Deadline. If that is the case, he is reportedly interested in going to the Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins, Los Angeles Kings or Chicago Blackhawks. Despite the 35-year-old captain playing in the final year of his contract, the Flames are still demanding a high price for his services, which potentially could scare off buyers. In exchange for Iginla, the Flames are requesting a first-round draft selection, a top prospect and a secondary prospect.
• Sources say the Calgary Flames are moving very cautiously in trade talks involving their captain, Jarome Iginla.

  The Boston Bruins have been in constant communication with the Flames and a variety of assets have been considered, however, more work is required for a deal to take shape.

  As keen on Iginla as the Bruins are, Boston is believed to be targeting as many as four other forwards, including San Jose Sharks Ryane Clowe, in the event the Bruins can’t reach an agreement with Calgary.

  Also noteworthy is the fact that three of the five players high on Boston’s list have term remaining on their contracts and are not rentals, as both Iginla and Clowe as pending unrestricted free agents could very well be.

  Clearly, the Bruins are considering other options and undoubtedly Calgary is doing the same with Chicago, Los Angeles and perhaps, Pittsburgh still in the Iginla hunt.

  There are a number of profile names on the “players in play” list, but Jarome Iginla remains at the top because of his status in the game and the attention of a potential trade will draw up to the April 3rd NHL Trade Deadline.

• Jarome Iginla would accept a trade to the Chicago Blackhawks. Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times suggests Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman isn’t willing to mess with a winning formula and relinquish the high price rumored to currently be a first-round pick and two prospects the Calgary Flames are asking for in return.

“The list of potential rental UFA defensemen is slim, but Leopold is one player who stands out. The Sabres will likely entertain selling Leopold and Robyn Regehr, and while either could be a target for the Kings, the former has undeniably been better this season. Compared with Regehr, Leopold’s GVT (a detailed explanation of GVT) is a full goal higher, he has been better at helping Buffalo’s shot differential and his cap hit is more than $1 million less. The Kings will be in the market for any defensive defenseman, and Leopold makes sense as a low-cost, low-risk acquisition.”

The Flames have taken the position of not commenting on the speculation. The 35-year-old Iginla is in the final year of a three-year, $21 million deal and will be an unrestricted free agent following the season.

Through 29 games this season, he has eight goals and 13 assists for 21 points.

“He decides where he goes if he goes and that decision (is) coming in the next couple of weeks,” LeBrun maintained Thursday evening

ESPN’s Barry Melrose believes Iginla wants to be dealt to a Stanley Cup contender  to get “one more kick at the can”, so to speak. If the Flames appear down and out in the coming days, look for all sides involved to massage a transaction in the most pleasant manner possible. One that won’t paint anyone as the “bad guy”. And while Melrose suggests Iginla’s style of play may best suit the Bruins, the opportunity to compete with his Team Canada linemate in Sidney Crosby could be mighty tempting as well.