Scott Cullen takes a look at the stories from November 29th through December 5th in the NHL, including Jean Beliveau, Daniel Alfredsson, All-Star voting and more. Austin Johnson Jersey . BELIVEAU DIES Hockey lost perhaps its premier statesman when 83-year-old Hall of Famer Jean Beliveau died this week. Beliveau came up as a supremely-touted prospect, who was making more money playing senior league hockey for the Quebec Aces before he embarked on his pro career with the Montreal Canadiens. Over the course of his career, he scored 1,219 points in 1,125 games and added 176 points in 162 playoff games, winning 10 Stanley Cups with the Habs. During his final season, as a 39-year-old in 1970-71, Beliveau led the Canadiens with 76 points in 70 games, then added 22 points in 20 playoff games on the way to the Stanley Cup. That illustrious career, on its own, was a remarkable achievement, worthy of recognition, but what stands out about Beliveau is that after he retired, he may have been held in even higher esteem for how he carried himself as a representative for the Canadiens. In a purely anecdotal sense, every one that Ive ever come across that met Monsieur Beliveau gushed about the experience. To hold that reputation for 40-plus years in retirement is quite remarkable and it explains why there were so many glowing tributes to Beliveau this week. TSN Hockeys Managing Editor Steve Dryden wrote A Final Farewell to My Idol; Mike Ulmer wrote that Beliveaus Success was Unequaled in NHL History; Teammate Ken Dryden wrote about how Beliveau was such a nice man and venerated Montreal sportswriter Red Fisher offered a great tribute. On video, Michael Farber discussed hockeys Most Universally Respected Player and Man and Keith Olbermann weighed in on Beliveaus class. ALFREDSSON RETIRES Daniel Alfredsson signed a one-day contract so that he could retire with the Ottawa Senators, the team for which he played from 1995-96 through 2012-13. There was an unfortunate turn of events, something about a new contract, that led to Alfredsson leaving Ottawa for Detroit last season, but the fences were mended and Alfredsson was honoured for his illustrious career. Now the question is whether or not Alfredssons career, which included 444 goals and 1,157 points in 1,246 games would warrant induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Through the peak years of his career, from 1999-2000 through 2009-2010, Alfredsson ranked third in the league in scoring (behind Joe Thornton and Jarome Iginla), so his best years were at a very high level. Combine that with his international career, with Sweden, and his place as a face-of-the-franchise player for Ottawa and hes certainly worthy of discussion. ALL-STAR VOTING Second-year Buffalo Sabres centre Zemgus Girgensons is a surprise leader in voting for the NHL All-Star game. That may seem incongruous for a player with 14 points in 26 games, but hes reaping the rewards of national pride, getting mass support from his native Latvia. We can give Girgensons some credit, though. Its not like hes a fringe NHLer. He was the 14th pick in the 2012 Draft, has 10 points (6 G, 4 A) in his past 12 games and leads Sabres forwards in ice time with 18:27 per game. Maybe not quite All-Star calibre, but if he has a dedicated voting base, its going to be tough to knock Girgensons out of the starting lineup. Other leaders: Patrick Kane, Sidney Crosby, P.K. Subban, Duncan Keith and Carey Price. A NEW BLUE 42-year-old Martin Brodeur, a surefire lock Hall of Famer, who is the all-time leader in wins (688) and shutouts (124) played his first game for the St. Louis Blues Thursday, surrendering four goals on 24 shots at Nashville, after playing 1,259 games with the New Jersey Devils. The Blues, in a somewhat desperate position after the injury to Brian Elliott, turned to Brodeur, even though his game has clearly been in decline in recent seasons. What lingers over this decision is how much, ultimately, that Brodeur will play. If hes here, hes going to play, said head coach Ken Hitchcock. Hes not going to back up. If that playing time comes at the expense of Jake Allen, then Brodeurs results simply have to be better than they have been the past couple seasons. PHILLY PHADING The Philadelphia Flyers have one win in their past 11 games, winless in six, and the freefall has led to them leaving some high-priced talent in the press box. Defenceman Andrew MacDonald, in the first year of a six-year, $30-million contract, spent time as a healthy scratch and, more recently, it has been Vincent Lecavalier. Lecavalier, 34, has seen his game drop off significantly in the past couple seasons and is mired in a personal slump that has seen him score no goals and two assists in his last dozen games. Lecavalier has three more years remaining on his contract, at a cap hit of $4.5-million, and that appears to be, at best, difficult to move. There are rumours that he could retire before his contract is up, but the current reality is a tough one for Philadelphia. Theyre capped out with a team more likely for the lottery than a playoff spot. WATCH YOUR STEP Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford will be out at least a couple weeks after suffering a foot injury at a Rise Against concert. Extra-curricular activities can intrude on a teams day-to-day and it appears that Crawford is the latest hockey player to knock himself out of action. Capitals right winger Tom Wilson broke his leg in the summer and Wild goaltender Josh Harding broke his foot, so its not like these off-ice injuries are unprecedented. With Crawford out, Antti Raanta and Scott Darling will man the net for the Blackhawks. Raanta has been excellent (.947 save percentage) in the four games that he has played this season. JETS DEFENCE GROUNDED With Tobias Enstrom already out, the Winnipeg Jets have also lost Zach Bogosian for a month and Grant Clitsome for a couple weeks, thinning their defence in short order. Desperate times call for desperate measure, so they have pushed Dustin Byfuglien back to the blueline to help out. Byfuglien shifted from defence to right wing last season, but he hasnt been especially productive up front this season, scoring 11 points (5 G, 6 A) in 26 games while primarily on the wing. If Byfuglien happens to be effective in this turn on the blueline, maybe the Jets would consider this move to be more than just a stopgap measure. STRANGE PRACTICE The Los Angeles Kings were fined $100,000 by the league for allowing suspended defenceman Slava Voynov to skate with the team during an optional practice. If it was indeed an accident, its a strange one, as it seemed out of place the moment it was reported. If it was the Kings thumbing their nose at the league, expressing frustration over the indefinite nature of the suspension, its strange timing because the league had alleviated the Kings salary cap situation by finally allowing Voynovs contract to be placed on Long-Term IR. Naturally, given the heightened awareness to domestic violence, anything surrounding Voynov wasnt going to sneak past anyone, so its hard to understand what exactly was happening here. OILERS HIT BOTTOM, AGAIN For as long as the Oilers winless streak continues -- and its up to 11 games -- there is the notion of impending doom around the Oilers, so there were lots of meetings following an overtime loss to Winnipeg Wednesday and trade rumours heated up, but there isnt an easy solution. Its hard to preach more patience, for a team that hasnt seen the playoffs since 2006 but, currently sitting in last, there just isnt an easy and immediate fix to their problems. Given that the playoffs are already out of reach, the Oilers really cant be facing any urgency to make moves. If a deal puts them in better position, long-term, then so be it, but there is no great incentive to get slightly better. RED WING RESURRECTED After two seasons marred by injury, it was getting to the point that no expectations could be placed on 31-year-old Red Wings forward Stephen Weiss. His contract, with a $4.9-million cap hit through 2018, seemed to be a millstone, one that could only be alleviated if Weiss was injured enough to be placed on the Long-Term Injured Reserve. With such low expectations on him, Weiss returned to the Detroit lineup on November 24, scoring a pair of goals. He has nine points (4 G, 5 A) in his past six games and is suddenly a contributor for Detroit. It may not last -- his percentages are sky-high -- but getting any kind of contribution from Weiss, even in a complementary role, is a major bonus for the Red Wings. Scott Cullen can be reached at scott.cullen@bellmedia.ca Corey Davis Jersey . At 11:06 of the first period, Neal struck Marchand with his knee when Marchand was down on the ice. Marchand remained in the game. Neal was assessed a kneeing penalty for his hit on Marchand. Derrick Morgan Jersey . Five years ago, Nestor and Zimonjic beat the American twins to win the title. But the Bryans, the worlds top-ranked team, needed 74 minutes to earn the victory Saturday as both Nestor and Zimonjic lost serve in the second set. http://www.officialtennesseetitansfootball.com/authentic-taywan-taylor-jersey-womens . A judge had summoned Clemens and Brian McNamee to federal court in Brooklyn for settlement talks aimed at heading off a trial in the defamation case. McNamees lawyer emerged saying an agreement wasnt likely. "I think this is a case where the lines are deeply drawn in the sand," said attorney Richard Emery.Melbourne, Australia (SportsNetwork.com) - World No. 1 Serena Williams and former top-ranked star Venus Williams secured berths in the quarterfinals at the 2015 Australian Open. Serena dropped the first set before rallying to top rising 24th-seeded Spaniard Garbine Muguruza 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 in two hours at Melbourne Park on Australia Day. Muguruza stunned Serena at the French Open last year, handing the American, who won just four games in that match in Paris, the worst loss of her Grand Slam career in the process. The 33-year-old American great blitzed her 21-year-old opponent with 17 aces and won 38 of 49 first-serve points on Monday. It was a great match -- congratulations to Garbine, she played so well, Serena said. The 18-time Grand Slam champion and reigning U.S. Open titlist owns five Aussie Open titles, but none since 2010. Her quarterfinal opponent will be 11th-seeded Slovak Dominika Cibulkova, who doused on-the-mend Belarusian star Victoria Azarenka, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. Azarenka led 2-0 in the third set, but couldnt hold on against the diminutive Cibulkova. Today I wasnt thinking about the score, I was just going for it, Cibulkova said. And when I was up, I was going for it even more. I always have tough matches with Vika. The tennis she plays goes well with mine, Cibulkova added. Cibulkova was last years Aussie runner-up to since-retired Chinese star Li Na. The former world No. 1 Azarenka is a two-time Aussie Open champ and two-time U.S. Open runner-up. Her 2014 season was interrupted by a foot injury and shes been trying to re-locate her game since last spring. This marks Azarenkas earliest exit from the Aussie since 2011. I take it as progress. I think there are a lot of the positive things to take from here, she said. Overall, I can be pretty happy. In other fourth round action on Day 8 of the fortnight, an 18th-seeded Venus reached her first major quarterfinal since 2010 and remained undefeated in 2015 by surprising sixth-seeded former Wimbledon runner-up Agnieszka Radwanska 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 and rising Madison Keys vanquished fellow American Madison Brengle 6-2, 6-4. Curley Culp Jersey. Brengle reached her first-ever WTA final in Hobart two weeks ago. Venus will clash with the 19-year-old Keys in an all-American quarterfinal on Wednesday. Venus is a seven-time Grand Slam champion who was the 2003 Aussie runner-up to her younger sister. Shes a perfect 9-0 this year, including a title in Auckland three weeks back. The 34-year-old Venus was asked what her inspiration has been to keep plugging away all these years. Definitely my sister Serena, she replied. Shes just the ultimate champion. She definitely gives me a lot of inspiration. And of course all of my fans, whove always stayed behind me. Keys will play in her first-ever Grand Slam quarterfinal when she faces Venus. It feels really good, she said. My mom texted me before the tournament. She said, Its your last Grand Slam as a teenager, and sent me a bunch of grandma faces. Im like, Thanks for reminding me mom! Thank you. Love you. But its huge. Its my last Slam as a teenager. I hope I can keep it up. The quarterfinals will get underway Tuesday, as second-seeded former No. 1 Maria Sharapova will battle seventh-seeded Wimbledon runner-up Eugenie Bouchard and third-seeded French Open finalist Simona Halep will take on consistent 10th-seeded Russian left-hander Ekaterina Makarova. Sharapova is 3-0 all-time against the Canadian Bouchard, including some French Open match wins in 2013 and last year, while Halep is 1-0 lifetime versus Makarova. The reigning French Open champion Sharapova was the Aussie champ in 2008 and runner-up in 2007 and 2012. 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