The Tampa Bay Lightning have acquired longtime Philadelphia Flyers forward Simon Gagne in exchange for defenseman Matt Walker and a fourth-round draft pick in 2011, the team announced Monday.

Gagne was drafted by the Flyers in 1998 and had played his entire career in Philadelphia. He has one year left on his contract, which will pay him $5.25 million.

“In adding Simon to the Lightning today, we acquire a very talented player that will play along side our top forwards,” Lightning vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman said. “With his combination of speed and skill we are excited to have him with us and grateful he was willing to waive his no-movement clause.

“This trade not only makes us a better team in the short term, it helps create long-term flexibility for us, which all along has been one of our top priorities.”

In 664 NHL games, Gagne has 259 goals and 265 assists. He ranks ninth on the Flyers’ career list in goals and 10th in points and games played. He had 17 goals and 23 assists in 58 games last season and added nine goals and three assists in 19 playoff games as Philadelphia reached the Stanley Cup finals before losing to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games.

“I’m looking at this opportunity as a new challenge and a new start,” Gagne said. “I’m really looking forward to playing with guys like [Vincent] Lecavalier, [Steven] Stamkos and [Martin] St. Louis. I’m excited to be a member of the Lightning and I’m looking forward to starting next season in Tampa Bay.”

The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Walker has played in 304 career regular season games over seven seasons. The 30-year-old Alberta native was originally selected by the St. Louis Blues in the third round of the 1998 draft.

Walker had two goals, three assists and 90 penalty minutes in 66 games last season with the Lightning. While with St. Louis, Chicago and Tampa Bay, Walker amassed four goals, 26 assists and 444 penalty minutes during his NHL career.

“We like the way Matt plays,” Flyers GM Paul Holmgren said. “He’s a character-intense player. He plays physical. He’s a stay-at-home guy that is a good penalty killer. On our team he can buy us dirty minutes and not be a liability, but be a positive force and help and defend our own zone.”

Walker said he has “always wanted to play in Philly” and that he would be a “good fit” with the Flyers.

“My initial reaction was pure excitement,” Walker said.

The 30-year-old Gagne led the Flyers in goals three times — including two 40-goal seasons — and twice in points. He was chosen as the team’s MVP in two seasons and was selected to the NHL All-Star game twice.

“Anytime you’re talking about a young man that has brought as much to the organization that Simon has, it’s very difficult,” Holmgren said of dealing Gagne.

Gagne, who scored a career-best 47 goals during the 2005-06 season, scored the winning goal in overtime of Game 4 against Boston in the second round and the decisive goal in Game 7 of that series to complete Philadelphia’s comeback from a 3-0 deficit.

Series 26 of McFarlane’s celebrated Baseball figure line has just been released and is now available individually or as the full set of 6. The line-up boasts talents and stars like Evan Longoria, Victor Martinez, Prince Fielder, Kevin Youkilis, CC Sabathia White and Tim Lincecum.

And if baseball isn’t your sport, well, I’ll also make mention of the upcoming 25th series of McFarlane’s 6-inch hockey figure collection. No pictures of it yet, but the line will include Dustin Penner, Henrik Sedin, Marian Gaborik, Nicklas Backstrom, Patrick Kane, Sidney Crosby, Scott Gomez and Phil Kessel.

As per usual, you can order those as individual figures, or as a complete set. Or, if you’re a serious collector, grab the sealed package of figures to make sure you get your hands on some of the awesome variants sure to be found in every McFarlane series.

The 2010 playoffs are in full swing and Michael Cammalleri appears to the MVP candidate for this season. The Canadiens’ Michael Cammalleri has joined some select company with his playoff scoring binge, matching a mark set by some of Montreal’s greatest stars.

With seven goals in a seven-game victory over the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins, Cammalleri equaled a team record for tallies in a single playoff series shared by Maurice Richard (1944 and 1958), Jean Beliveau (1956), Bernard Geoffrion (1957), Guy Lafleur (1975) and Marcel Bonin (1959). All but Bonin are in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

And Cammalleri, who left the Calgary Flames last summer to sign with the 24-time Stanley Cup champions as a free agent, has a shot at making more history when Montreal moves into the conference final for the first time since 1993, the year of its last Stanley Cup conquest.

Here is a really kewl youtube video of Cammalleri as a Star Wars Jedi:

Michael Cammalleri has been made into an action figure by McFarlane Toys. This NHL Series 24 set also includes the following figures:

Jonas Gustavsson
Jonathan Toews
Tim Thomas
John Tavares
Robyn Regehr

We got one!

Of the only fifty signed Gordie Howe figures McFarlane has released with its 23rd series of hockey toys, we’ve just secured #17. It’s an exceedingly rare piece sought after by thousands of collectors all vying to get their paws on one and is thus priced accordingly: an item like this doesn’t come around all the time and the market is reacting as you might expect.

Fortunately, though, for anyone more interested in the toys than the investment, we’ve got all the non-signed and non-variant figures available at a price the rest of us can easily afford. Go check out our McFarlane NHL collection for everything we have to offer in hockey.

By the way, bumped into Roberto at The Keg in Old Montreal this past summer (super nice guy…and surprising taller that he looks compared to my hockey card photo). Ahh…nothing beats a big piece of Canadian Beef (talking ’bout the Ribeye at The Keg…not Roberto!).

We have a very limited amount of figures available….Buy them here.

Here are some pictures of the white jersey variants offered by www.cmdstore.com which are limited and individually numbered.

Limited amount available….Buy them here.

Tagged: exclusive mcfarlane, hockey figures, jerome iginla, mcfarlane, mcfarlane hockey, mcfarlane toys, nhl, nhl figures, roberto luongo, sidney crosby, team canada 2010, vancouver 2010 ]]> http://blog.cmdstore.com/2010/02/03/roberto-luongo-sidney-crosby-figures-team-canada-released/feed/ 1 actionfigureworld Winter Olympics 2010 Team Canada Hockey The Keg's Ribeye Steak http://blog.cmdstore.com/2010/02/02/marc-andre-fleury-figure-leads-mcfarlane-nhl-series-23/ http://blog.cmdstore.com/2010/02/02/marc-andre-fleury-figure-leads-mcfarlane-nhl-series-23/#comments Tue, 02 Feb 2010 16:35:07 +0000 actionfigurecanada http://blog.cmdstore.com/?p=4453 ]]>

Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury is easily the most popular item from the newly-arrived series 23 of McFarlane’s NHL Hockey Figures. The 25 year-old goaltender’s 6-inch figure is flying off our shelves at a rate that would be surprising were he not among the most exciting players in hockey today. A Stanley Cup winner, his moves on the ice have been nothing short of dazzling, originating what is now referred to as he “Secret Service Save”. As one would hope, this figure of Fleury includes a miniature version of the Cup itself that can be placed in his hands and held aloft for the crowds to see. Definitely worth a look if you’re a fan of the team, whether you grab the original figure or its rare variant.

Also included in this series are a few more hockey greats: Alexander Ovechkin, Gordie Howe, Bobby Orr, Luke Schenn and Teemu Selanne in a few different outfits for good measure. The variants, of course, are part and parcel of McFarlane’s new Collector Level program, which is their way of adding value to the line of figures with different versions and special accessories. For anyone out there who collects, take a look at this chart to know what’s what:

Series 23 comes with Marc-Andre Fleury, Alexander Ovechkin making the best face ever, silver fox Gordie Howe, Teemu Selanne, Bobby Orr and Luke Schenn. As usual, each figure features some pretty incredible sculpting and painting, capturing everything down to the last little detail. They come with bases that mimic the ice rink and stand in poses taken from life. Though I’m not a hockey fan, I am an action figure fan and I have to say that the dynamic quality of each one is pretty amazing. Sure, there isn’t much in the way of articulation, but the same can be said of NECA’s action figures and they don’t have half the life that McFarlane’s designers can boast. Really great stuff.

If you’re a collector, you’ll definitely want to grab these while you still can. And if you’re not, at least get this Ovechkin figure. It’s hilarious.

We finally received our shipment of McFarlane NHL Legends Series 8….and they look pretty awesome. This assortment contains one of my all-time favorite players: Tim Horton. I blogged about Tim in an earlier blog….Read it here!

This assortment also consist of:

• Terry O’Reilly – Finally a Boston Bruin….We also definitely need more Irish guys!
• Wayne Gretzky – Enough of him….we don’t need another Wayne figure!
• Mario Lemieux – Super Mario is always a class act….so yea….I’m cool with this figure.
• Terry Sawchuk – Great goalie from the good ole times!
• Theoren Fleury – What the freak is he doing with these other guys! Look, I feel bad about what happened to him (getting molested by his junior coach) but he shouldn’t be with these guys. There are hundreds of other HOF players that could have been added instead.

The paint finish looks much better than previous series and overall they appear to be higher quality. I still question their player selection for each series though. Remember, you can always pick up individual figures or a set. You can also buy a sealed case of 8 figures and hope to get that valuable chase figure. We only have a limited amount of sealed cases left…..check it out at www.cmdstore.com.

The success of September’s Montreal Comic Con means that the organizers aren’t going to waste any time prepping for the next one! And so, on December 6th, expect a one-day Comic Con featuring guests like Kane Hodder, Lloyd Kaufman and Monica Rial, plus a number of other guests soon to be announced! You can check out the official website for more info!

And coming up even sooner is the Montreal Toy Con–it’s a little out of the way for downtown-dwellers, taking place in St. Laurent’s Courtyard by Marriott Hotel, but if you’re looking for the best new and vintage comic, toys and collectibles, this is worth the trip! There’ll be a ton of dealers, plus cosplayers, LEGO and building enthusiasts and more! It goes down October 18th, costs only $4 (Kids 5 and under free) and is sure to be a blast! Click the pic to visit the site and find out more!

DENVER — Joe Sakic would typically rather retreat from the spotlight than bask in it.   Always a humble and reserved player, the longtime Colorado Avalanche captain doesn’t like a fuss to be made over him.

He made an exception Thursday night.  This was his evening.

Sakic’s No. 19 sweater was raised to the rafters at Pepsi Center before the season opener against San Jose. His number is just the third retired since the Avalanche relocated to Denver in 1995, joining Patrick Roy (33) and Ray Bourque (77).

The capacity crowd gave Sakic numerous ovations during a lengthy ceremony that featured a look back on his 20-year career, video highlights, and a speech from team president Pierre Lacroix.

The current cast of Avalanche players all came out to watch the show, sitting on the bench decked out in Sakic jerseys.

San Jose defenseman Rob Blake took in the celebration as well, listening as Sakic delivered his speech. Blake helped Sakic and the Avalanche win a Stanley Cup title in 2001.

Usually not one for speeches, Sakic enjoyed this moment. He was back on the ice, even if it was in a dark suit and purple tie.

“I didn’t think I’d be able to hold up,” he said. “As soon as I got on the ice I felt comfortable. It was great.”

In the middle of his talk, though, a fan blurted out, “One more time, Joe!”

“I don’t know if I can do that,” Sakic responded.

Unlike his retirement speech in July, Sakic kept the tears at bay.

Not that it was easy.

Sakic had a camera following him as he made his way from outside the arena to center ice, his every movement captured and shown on the big screen inside.

He greeted coaches in the hallway and then walked into the Avalanche dressing room, where his former locker had his jersey hanging on a hook.

The stall is his — forever. It’s a gift from the team.

“They didn’t even give me a heads-up on that so when I walked in the room and saw that, I did a double take,” Sakic said. “When I saw it I almost broke down. Then I saw [Adam] Foote coming over and I was like, ‘Uh oh, cameras are on. I can’t cry.’ Never in my dreams could I imagine that.”

Sakic walked out of the dressing room and onto the ice, waving to the crowd as he sauntered along the burgundy carpet to where his family, Lacroix and team owner Stanley Kroenke were waiting.

A few words, more highlights, a couple of gifts — including two paintings — another round of ovations, his jersey raised to the rafters and then it was over.

Just like that, the team said farewell to the face of the franchise.

Sakic leaves the game among the NHL’s career scoring leaders, winding up eighth in points (1,641), 11th in assists (1,016) and 14th in goals (625). He also guided the team to two Stanley Cup titles, won league MVP honors in 2001, and captured an Olympic gold medal as a member of Team Canada in 2002.

Any regrets as he made his way to the ice?

“I know I made the right decision,” Sakic said. “Hockey is my life. It’s given me everything and I’m so lucky to play it. When it’s time to go, it’s time to go.”