Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid posed for a picture with Green Bay Packers edge rusher Micah Parsons after a 7-2 drubbing at the hands of the Dallas Stars. The two legends wrote personalized messages on each other’s jerseys, though the text was not legible in photographs.

McDavid is widely regarded as the best player in hockey. Through 66 games this season, the 29-year-old has recorded 36 goals and 74 assists, leading the NHL with 110 points.

The native of Richmond Hill, Ont., is in his 11th season with the Oilers, amassing 397 goals and 795 assists for a total of 1,192 points. He has led the NHL in points five times and goals once, won three Hart Memorial Trophies and four Ted Lindsay Awards as the league’s MVP, and took home the Conn Smythe as playoff MVP in 2024 despite Edmonton losing the Stanley Cup final.

Parsons was a first-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys in 2021 and spent four seasons with the organization before being shipped to Green Bay in a blockbuster trade last offseason. The 26-year-old has collected 267 career tackles, 75 tackles for loss, 65 sacks, and 11 forced fumbles in 77 NFL games.

The native of Harrisburg, Penn., is a five-time Pro Bowler and a three-time first-team All-Pro. He won NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in his first season.

McDavid has earned $106.5 million over the course of his NHL career, while Parsons has collected $62.2 million so far in the NFL.

The 45-year-old former NFL quarterback took those responsibilities seriously enough to show up at an unlikely location on Saturday night, taking in an NHL game between the Ottawa Senators and New Jersey Devils at the Canadian Tire Centre. Manning was in the nation’s capital this weekend for his daughter’s hockey tournament and was soaking up the unfamiliar action.

“It’s just all new for me. Growing up in the South, didn’t see a whole lot of hockey, so I’m learning with my daughter. She’s 10 years old, but we’re having a great time in Ottawa. The tournament’s been fun, but this is the highlight of the whole tournament,” Manning told Sportsnet‘s Shawn McKenzie on the broadcast. “They were looking forward to coming here. We live in New Jersey, so some of the kids might be Devils fans, you never know, but tonight, we’re just a fan of hockey.”

The four-time Pro Bowler’s unexpected arrival in the city that fun forgot understandably caused a minor stir, with surprised fans snapping pictures and sharing them on social media. Ottawa mayor Mark Sutcliffe and Senators president Cyril Leeder took the opportunity to present him with a signed Brady Tkachuk jersey.

The Senators went on to win the game 4-1, with goals from Tkachuk, Dylan Cozens, Tim Stutzle, and Shane Pinto. Asked what impressed him the most, Manning had an easy answer.

“I think just the conditioning part of it. You’re on the ice, you’re going hard for those 45 seconds, and thenyou’re out of breath. It’s hard to relate,” he said. “I’ve never been on skates before, so I think it’s hard the fact that you can skate, control the puck, stop and move and shoot. Just the body control of the athletes and the toughness these guys and girls have is pretty impressive.”

Manning played 16 seasons for the New York Giants after he was selected first overall in the 2004 NFL Draft. He became the greatest quarterback in the history of the franchise, throwing for 57,023 yards, 366 touchdowns, and 244 interceptions while twice leading the team to championship upsets of the New England Patriots. He was named the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year in 2016 and had his no. 10 jersey retired by the organization.

The retired signal caller is now known for his exploits as a broadcaster alongside his older brother, Pro Football Hall of Fame QB Peyton Manning. Asked which of the pair would win in a game of shinny, Manning only laughed.

“I don’t think anyone wants to see that. That’s a lose-lose situation. That’s like Comedy Hour,” he quipped. “If we just stay on skates, I think the winner, that would be it.”

The 59-year-old went viral this week after sharing a video of his impressive pond hockey setup with his 268 followers on Instagram. That clip, featuring a homemade Zamboni, was picked up by TSN‘s BarDown page and has since been viewed hundreds of thousands of times across multiple platforms, receiving more than 29,000 likes on the original post alone.

Nothin’ like a fresh sheet on the outdoor ice 🧊

(via IG/chrisflynnfootballcap) pic.twitter.com/1jOVSqgBQh

— BarDown (@BarDown) January 3, 2026

According to Flynn’s caption, he’s been erecting the outdoor rink on Long Lake in Mayo, Que., for the past 16 years. His operation improved substantially last winter when a neighbour, Stephane, rigged up a homemade Zamboni that uses hot water to flood the ice between periods. The rink is also open to the community, meaning that all can enjoy the dedication and innovation.

Prior to establishing himself as a premium D.I.Y. arena creator, Flynn was a dynamic and ultra-productive quarterback for Saint Mary’s University. In four seasons for the Huskies, he recorded 7,292 passing yards, threw a U Sports record 87 touchdowns, reached two Vanier Cups, and won an unprecedented three Hec Crighton Trophies as the top player in Canada.

The native of Buckingham, Que., would go on to spend two seasons as a backup with the Montreal Machine in the World League of American Football, before moving to France and playing four years with the Fighters de Croissy sur Seine. He would wrap up his career in 1996 with the Ottawa Rough Riders.

In 2011, Flynn became the first player to ever be inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame for their accomplishments at the university level. In 2019, his jersey was retired in 2019 by Saint Mary’s. He has also been decorated off the field, as in 1994 he was awarded France’s Medal of Honour for Courage and Bravery after saving a woman from drowning in the river Seine.

Three decades after his retirement, Flynn is still slinging the pigskin for the Buckingham Falcons in the Ligue de Touch Football de Buckingham, posting a 7-2 record this past season.

The Professional Women’s Hockey League franchise played up the importance of the Tiger-Cats ahead of their Takeover Tour game in Hamilton on Saturday, with multiple players showing up in gear for their city’s biggest CFL rivals.

Defender Renata Fast, a two-time Olympian with Team Canada and the team’s assistant captain, rocked a Bo Levi Mitchell jersey for her arrival before being presented with her own custom uniform courtesy of Hamilton safety Stavros Katsantonis. Forward Maggie Connors was ahead of the curve and already had a custom Ticats jersey featuring her name and number, while Claire Dalton wore a team sweatshirt for her pre-game fit.

CFL 🤝 PWHL

All love in Hamilton 🫶 pic.twitter.com/JR4SdTFdJ3

— Toronto Sceptres (@PWHL_Toronto) January 3, 2026

In addition to Katsantonis, a number of Ticats players were in attendance to support the event. Receivers Kiondre Smith and Kenny Lawler, linebacker Devin Veresuk, running back Johnny Augustine, and cornerback Jamal Peters all showed up to the game at TD Coliseum, which will serve as a test of the market’s interest in women’s hockey as the PWHL continues to expand.

Unfortunately for the Sceptres, wearing Black and Gold proved to be a bad omen, as they lost 3-2 to the Seattle Torrent in a shootout in front of a crowd of 16,012. Fast did record an assist in the game, proving that Mitchell isn’t the only one capable of completing scoring passes.

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats finished first in the East Division standings in 2025 with an 11-7 record, though the team lost the East Final to the Montreal Alouettes. Bo Levi Mitchell led the CFL with 5,296 passing yards, 36 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions after starting all 18 regular-season games, earning the East Division’s nomination for Most Outstanding Player.

The Tiger-Cats ranked third in net offence, eighth in net defence, and first with a turnover differential of plus-ten. The club’s leading rusher was Greg Bell with 1,038 yards, the leading receiver was Kenny Lawler with 1,443 yards, and the leading tackler was Stavros Katsantonis with 69 tackles. Hamilton ranked fourth in attendance with average crowds of 22,858, which was a 3.9 percent increase from the previous year.

Beginning in 2026, Gerry Townend will join the team as director of medical services, while Chris Schwarz has been appointed as the new director of high performance. Both men have extensive experience in the field and have previously worked for the NHL’s Ottawa Senators.

“With incredible support from our ownership, I’m proud to welcome Gerry and Chris to our organization in these newly created roles. We’re always looking for ways to evolve and enhance the support we provide our players, and feedback is an important part of that process,” vice president of football operations Shawn Burke said in a statement. “These additions reflect our ongoing commitment to investing in top-tier medical and performance resources. Gerry and Chris bring tremendous experience that will help us continue to build an environment focused on player care, availability and long-term success throughout the season.”

Townend has been with the Senators for 23 years and is currently the team’s director of sport medicine after previously holding the title of head athletic therapist. The Brock University graduate also has previous CFL experience, having spent 10 seasons as the head athletic therapist for the Toronto Argonauts from 1992 until 2002. He co-owns the Sports Medicine Centre alongside Hockey Hall of Famer Daniel Alfredsson, which offers various medical services to athletes in the Ottawa area.

In his new role, Townend will lead the club’s medical operations with a primary focus on player health and medical care, helping ensure players receive the best available care through the integration of athletic therapy and physician services. His focus will be on ensuring the organization is delivering consistent, informed and proactive care that supports player availability throughout offseason preparation and the CFL season.

Schwarz worked for the Senators for 13 seasons from 2009 until 2022 as the club’s strength and conditioning coach, after previously holding the same title for two seasons with the New York Islanders. He is currently the owner of Fitquest, a high-performance training organization with locations in Kanata and Ottawa.

In his new role, Schwarz will work with the strength and conditioning staff to design and implement comprehensive offseason and in-season training programs. His responsibilities will also include supporting return-to-play protocols and rehabilitation planning, with an emphasis on optimizing performance while reducing injury risk over the course of the CFL season.

The Redblacks had the second-most man-games lost to injury in 2025 with 281, a total which included franchise quarterback Dru Brown being limited to nine starts. After the season, Burke told the media that the team would closely examine all aspects of the organization in order to facilitate greater availability.

Ottawa finished fourth in the East Division standings in 2025 with a 4-14 record, missing the playoffs for the fifth time in the last six seasons. Dru Brown went 2-7 over nine starts at quarterback, throwing for 2,389 yards, 14 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. Dustin Crum went 2-4 over six starts, throwing for 1,771 yards, six touchdowns, and two interceptions.

The Redblacks ranked sixth in net offence, fifth in net defence, and ninth with a turnover differential of minus-16. The club’s leading rusher was William Stanback with 698 yards, the leading receiver was Justin Hardy with 1,019 yards, and the leading tackler was Adarius Pickett with 84 tackles. Ottawa finished eighth in attendance with average crowds of 18,136, which was a 4.2 percent decrease from the previous year.

The six-time Pro Bowler recently appeared on the popular Bussin’ With The Boys podcast and got into a discussion on international hockey with co-host Taylor Lewan, whose wife hails from Kelowna, B.C. Kittle revealed that he attended the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off in Montreal to support his close friend, Swedish winger Filip Forsberg, and was able to watch the round-robin matchup between Canada and the United States on February 15 with an unexpected seatmate: then-Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau.

“I ended up in the suite with the NHL commissioner (Gary Bettman), who could not have been nicer, and (UFC legend) Georges St-Pierre, could not have been cooler. And then in the third period, Trudeau was in my suite as well,” Kittle said.

“I’m sitting there and I’m off to the side, trying to take up as little space as I possibly can because it’s me, (Kittle’s wife) Claire, and then one of Fil’s buddies. I’m trying to not be in the way, and then like six security guys walk in with the wire in their ears. I’m like, ‘What’s going on?’ Turn over my shoulder and I’m like, ‘Oh, my God, that’s (Trudeau). Yeah, no, that’s crazy. I’m just gonna sit over here and just not move.'”

The United States secured a 3-1 victory over Canada in that game, which included three fights in the first nine seconds due to rising political tensions between the two countries. According to Kittle, things were equally heated in the stands, though it wasn’t American fans picking fights.

Due to the layout of the Bell Centre’s suites, the eight-year NFL veteran found himself at the centre of several awkward interactions between Trudeau and angry Canadian fans, who were calling for violence against the leader of their government.

“The stands are right in front of it, so you can interact with the crowd, except there’s less of a wall. I’m talking like they could reach up and touch me, they could just reach back and climb into the suite; that’s how low it is. All these Canadians are yelling at me during the game, and the third period starts, and I had like five people throughout the entire third period just yell at me to punch him in the face. Except they used way worse words,” Kittle recalled.

“He had two security guys who were sitting in front of me, in between me and the fan, and they’re saying, ‘Punch that dude in the face, Kittle.'”

While Kittle, Lewan, and fellow co-host Will Compton joked that he should have just apologized to Trudeau and delivered a blow “for the people,” the 31-year-old native of Madison, Wisc. seemed genuinely troubled by the interaction.

He noted that Trudeau, who had announced his decision to resign as prime minister a month earlier after a decade in the job, was attending the game with his son and handled the situation well.

“He’s just getting chirped the entire time,” Kittle said. “I was so uncomfortable for that period of time. He couldn’t have been nicer. I feel like his son’s right there, just leave the guy alone. It’s a hockey game, man.”

Kittle did get a chance to chat with Trudeau later in the night and no fisticuffs ensued. The moment was memorialized by one of the Bell Centre suite attendants, who posed for a personal picture standing between the 23rd prime minister of Canada and the Niners legend.

“What a weird, weird photo. A one-of-one photo,” Kittle laughed. “Like, what is this? Why do you want a photo with both of us at the same time?”

Even without a bruised prime minister to rally behind — or against– Team Canada got the last blow against United States five days later, when they captured the gold medal in Boston with a 3-2 overtime win over the Americans.

The Blue Bombers’ two-time Grey Cup-winning head coach took time from his regular training camp press conference on Sunday to praise the local NHL team for how they handled themselves during difficult circumstances the night prior.

“As a fan watching that unfold and seeing that massive display of courage and leadership from that group, it’s something we can all learn from,” O’Shea told reporters. “A hell of an entertaining season. Hate to see it end that way. But just that specific game last night, courage and leadership, gotta learn from it.”

The Jets were eliminated from the playoffs on Saturday night following a 2-1 overtime loss in Game 6 of their second-round series to the Dallas Stars. The game generated international headlines after star centre Mark Scheifele elected to play despite learning of the death of his father, Brad, that morning.

Teammates rallied around the Kitchener, Ont. native and he responded accordingly, scoring the game’s opening goal. However, Scheifele was also the man in the penalty box during the Stars’ game-winning powerplay, as he was called for tripping late in regulation while desperately trying to stop a partial breakaway.

“It is a sad thing, and we are so media involved, we are all abreast of the situation and it is terrible,” O’Shea said of Scheifele’s personal loss.

“That is the courage piece. I think you would find throughout high-level sport that all players are going to play, but what we can never understand is how difficult it is. They are all going to make that decision, it is just so very difficult to figure out how to get through it at the level you want to get through it. Once again, it was something we can watch, admire and learn from.”

Following the deciding goal, Jets captain Adam Lowry skated directly to the penalty box to give his support to Scheifele before escorting him to the rest of the team, where he was met by several emotional embraces. That action spoke volumes to O’Shea.

“I’ve been admiring Lowry’s captaincy from afar for a while now. It’s been awesome watching him and how he’s led,” he remarked. “You listen to him speak and the way he plays the game and then just last night… it’s pretty powerful.”

The Jets won the Presidents’ Trophy as the best regular-season team in the NHL during the 2024/25 season, compiling a 56-24-4 record for a total of 116 points. They knocked off the St. Louis Blues in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, before coming up short against Dallas. The franchise has never won a Stanley Cup or appeared in the Finals, advancing to the Western Conference Finals just once since returning to the Manitoba capital in 2011

Just two Canadian teams remain alive in the NHL playoffs. The Edmonton Oilers have already booked their ticket to the Western Conference Finals, while the Toronto Maple Leafs face off against the Florida Panthers in a must-win Game 7 at 7:30 p.m. EST on Sunday to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. O’Shea, a lifelong hockey fan, was invited on the Leafs’ mentors trip in January and got to spend a week travelling with the team.

The new NHL agreement is worth a reported $11 billion, over double the $5.2 billion Rogers paid for its existing 12-year broadcast deal, which expires after next season. Rogers broadcasts most national games on its own network, Sportsnet, though some are sublicensed to the CBC. There’s also an agreement in place for TSN, Bell’s network, to broadcast regional games.

In September, Rogers struck a deal with Bell to purchase its 37.5 percent stake in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) for a reported $4.7 billion. The sale has yet to officially go through, though that’s considered a formality as it’s expected to close sometime this year. MLSE’s portfolio includes the Maple Leafs, Raptors, Toronto FC, and Argonauts.

Some speculated that the deal was a sign of Bell’s long-term plan to leave the industry.

In December, sports media insider Jonah Sigel reported that Bell was considering selling TSN. He cited the company’s then-recent purchase of Ziply Fiber, a popular broadband provider in the Pacific Northwest, as a possible sign of Bell shifting its priorities from sports to telecommunications. For what it’s worth, a spokesperson for Bell denied the report.

Others speculated the opposite — that by selling billions in assets, Bell could use its newfound liquidity to push for the national NHL broadcasting rights it lost to Rogers in 2014. Losing the TV deal was a big blow to TSN just over a decade ago and there must have been at least some appetite to win the rights back.

With the NHL having now moved on without them, Bell is in an interesting spot. TSN still has a respectable portfolio, including NFL and college football simulcasts, select NBA and CEBL games, domestic and international soccer, Formula One, the men’s major golf championships, Canada’s major curling events, the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament, major horse racing events and, of course, regional NHL games.

The product most synonymous with TSN, however, is the Canadian Football League. The network has held the CFL’s exclusive broadcasting rights since 2008. The existing deal, which will expire after next year, is worth a reported $50 million per year. TSN’s initial deal from 2008 to 2013 was reportedly worth $15 million per season, which grew to a reported $43 million per year from 2014 to 2018. None of these figures have ever officially been confirmed by Bell.

Given that the value of the NHL’s broadcasting rights more than doubled over the past decade or so, the CFL might be expecting a similar jump. Last year, TSN averaged ratings of a little over 450,000 per regular season CFL game and 1 million per postseason CFL game, according to 3DownNation’s exclusive reporting. The Grey Cup was one of the strongest Canadian broadcasts of the year, averaging an audience of just under 3.4 million.

Hockey will always be king in Canada, but those numbers are nothing to sneeze at. For the first time since TSN secured the CFL’s exclusive rights in 2008, almost a dozen games were shown on CTV, Bell’s flagship network, this past year, which should help expose new audiences to the game.

A fat raise on its next TV deal doesn’t seem like a guarantee for the CFL, however. If Bell is planning to exit the sports market, ponying up for a long-term broadcasting deal with the CFL doesn’t make a lot of sense. If TSN is actually for sale, it also doesn’t seem optimal for the league to be exclusively tied to a network that could soon have a new owner.

There’s also the matter of leverage. With Rogers spending a boatload of cash on national NHL rights, it seems unlikely they’re planning to push for the CFL, a league that directly competes with the Blue Jays during the summertime. Rogers not only owns the exclusive national broadcasting rights for the Blue Jays but also the team itself and the building it plays in. Disrupting that synergy by drawing resources elsewhere throughout the summer might not be wise.

The Blue Jays are arguably the biggest reason TSN has invested in the CFL for so long. Canadian football is one of few properties that runs throughout the summer and can reasonably compete with Canada’s baseball team on television. The Blue Jays generally draw more viewers than the CFL, though the ratings are at least somewhat comparable, especially when the team struggles. The Blue Jays finished last in the AL East in 2024 and are widely projected to do so again in 2025.

There’s always a chance that a multinational megacorporation like Amazon, Google, or Apple vies for the CFL’s global broadcasting rights, though this might be a pipedream. Non-Canadians are generally receptive to the three-down game once exposed to it, but Canadian football has little appeal outside of Canada, particularly when compared to sports like soccer, baseball, or basketball.

It also seems fair to wonder whether or not the CFL, a legacy product woven into our country’s social fabric, would be best showcased by an ultra-bloated Wall Street giant. The CFL would love to be considered an international brand with global appeal, but there are no metrics to suggest it is one. Barring an unimaginable financial offer, a domestic partner, one with at least some reverence for its history, is probably best.

It also remains to be seen what will happen to the CFL’s French-language rights, which currently belong to RDS, an affiliate of TSN.

Pierre Karl Péladeau, the intrepid owner of the Montreal Alouettes, bragged during his introductory press conference in 2023 about stealing business away from Bell. As the president and CEO of Vidéotron, which owns RDS rival TVA Sports, it seems fair to speculate that he’ll want his team playing on his network sometime in the future.

Then again, Péladeau suddenly appears intent on making the Alouettes profitable after repeatedly stating he was comfortable losing money on the team, so who knows what he’s planning. Montreal’s team president “stepped down” last week and isn’t being replaced. A team without a president? Yikes.

For all the sports media landscape is changing, one could argue that TSN and the CFL are in the same boat they’ve been in for the better part of two decades. Bell just got a massive injection of cash but can’t use any of it to buy national NHL rights. This could mean extra money for a CFL rights deal, but there’s little reason for the network to up its offer unless there are other bidders in play. The league, meanwhile, needs a robust TV deal to thrive and it’s unclear how many potential partners are interested in making an agreement.

Whatever happens, it could happen relatively soon. The last time the two sides extended their deal, the previous agreement wasn’t set to expire for a little over two years. As of now, the existing deal is set to expire in 21 months. Once a new commissioner is in place, which seems imminent, a long-term television deal should be at or near the top of his or her list of priorities.

The native of London, Ont., attended Monday’s NHL game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and San Jose Sharks at Scotiabank Arena, sporting a sweater in support of the home team. During the second period, he was recognized on the videoboard.

The 24-year-old helped the Philadelphia Eagles win Super Bowl LIX over the Kansas City Chiefs last month by a score of 40-22. He became just the eighteenth Canadian player ever to win a Lombardi Trophy and the most recent to do so since Michael Hoecht and Alaric Jackson in 2022.

Brown saw action in 11 regular-season games in 2024, making seven total tackles, two pass knockdowns, one interception, and one forced fumble. He also dressed for all three of Philadelphia’s postseason contests, making one tackle in each.

Originally selected in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, Brown’s role was reduced this season after rushing back from a torn ACL he suffered late in his rookie year. Through 25 career NFL regular-season games, he has made 52 defensive tackles, one tackle for loss, two forced fumbles, five pass breakups, and two interceptions, including one returned 99 yards for a touchdown.

The University of Illinois product is the identical twin brother of Cincinnati Bengals running back and college teammate Chase Brown.

The Maple Leafs lost to the Sharks in a shootout by a score of 3-2. The team’s record now stands at 38-20-3 for the 2024-2025 season.