Ron Wilson received his wish of coaching a few a more years in Toronto with a new contract extension. As for the teams, we have some ideas of what they're wishing for this holiday season.

Ron Wilson was in an impish mood on the night of December 23.

Wilson’s Toronto Maple Leafs had just completed a 5-3 win over the New York Islanders at the Nassau Coliseum. The Leafs went into the two-day Holiday break with an 18-13-4 mark, good for 40 points and sixth in the East.

The coach took to Twitter to write, “This Xmas could be better if Santa stuffs a certain piece of paper in my stocking. #Whatcouldthatbe,” a sly reference to a contract extension.

Thirty-something hours later, Wilson updated his situation via the social medium: “‘He came! He came!’ Remember saying that as a little kid? Well he did: I got a Red Ryder BB gun and a contract extension!”

Jonas Siegel of TSN Radio 1050 in Toronto and National Post Leafs writer Sean FitzGerald tweeted Monday that Wilson had told reporters that he had received the extension “3-4 weeks ago,” and “was given the freedom to announce it on his schedule.”

Wilson’s mischief caused this space to think about what each of the National Hockey League’s 30 franchises may have wished for during the Holiday season.

So without any further ado:

ANAHEIM: The Ducks have the league’s best line, and their most beloved and still-effective veteran in Teemu Selanne. Cam Fowler is a burgeoning back end star and Jonas Hiller is a better-than-average goaltender. Yet the Ducks have the league’s second-worst record. After that six there is a drastic drop-off; depth is much needed.

BOSTON: The reigning Stanley Cup Champs have scored the third-most goals in the league, allowed the fewest, and seem well-positioned for another long playoff run. Perhaps the only thing the Bruins could want is a fully healthy Marc Savard to return. 

BUFFALO: Owner Terry Pegula authorized General Manager Darcy Regier to spend over the summer. Despite the splurging, Buffalo is just 17-15-3. One of the biggest issues has been Ryan Miller's season-long struggles (9-8-2; .904 save percentage; 3.05 goals against average). A return to Olympic form would be greatly appreciated in Western New York.  

CALGARY: GM Jay Feaster has been adamant that Calgary will not trade Jarome Iginla despite acknowledging that the Flames are in a rebuilding mode. Yet Calgary only has $13,963 in cap space. Good luck would be greatly appreciated.     

CAROLINA: Scoring wingers to skate on either side of Eric Staal.

CHICAGO: The NHL’s best team has outscored the rest of the league. Yet the ‘Hawks have been scored on 103 times. For an organization that has Cup aspirations, improved goaltending is a necessity.

COLORADO: Hanging around the Western Conference playoff periphery. Still, the feeling is GM Greg Sherman will regret sending the Avs’ first round pick in June’s draft to the Capitals in the Semyon Varlamov trade.

COLUMBUS: A reset button on the season.

DALLAS: Predicted to be among the league’s middling teams before the start of the season, the Stars have been one of the league’s best stories in 2011. Dallas has a new owner, a new coach and a coterie that has been better than its individual parts. Yet the Stars have scored six fewer goals than they have allowed, so scoring is essential.   

DETROIT: Ho-hum. Another year and the Red Wings are among the league’s powers. I hope Red Wings fans are grateful for Detroit’s Two Decades of Dominance.

EDMONTON: The young Oilers are loaded upfront and their defense corps is solid, if mostly unknown. All that’s missing is a franchise goaltender.

FLORIDA: Patience. Florida will have seven prospects participate in the World Junior Hockey Championships. Oh, did we mention that the Panthers are third in the East?

LOS ANGELES:  A collective hug after the first Darryl Sutter lecture.

MINNESOTA: Like Dallas, one of the league’s better stories. The Wild’s 45 points are sixth most in the West. It’s been three springs since The State of Hockey hosted a playoff game. At least two home playoff games would be a welcome sight.

MONTREAL: A mulligan on the Scott Gomez trade.

NASHVILLE: The financial strength to sign defensemen Ryan Suter and Shea Weber to long-term contracts.

NEW JERSEY: A young franchise goaltender that can step in once Martin Brodeur retires.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS:  A redo on the Aug. 1 new arena referendum vote.

NEW YORK RANGERS: As of this writing, the Rangers have the best record in the Eastern Conference while not having been completely whole. It would be fascinating to see what the Rangers could be once Marc Staal, Wojtek Wolski and Michael Sauer are cleared to play.

OTTAWA: The Senators – The Senators! – would the East’s eight seed if the playoffs started today. Can Ottawa hold on to the final slot? Probably not, but a fun wish for now.

PHILADELPHIA: To never have another Flyer suffer a concussion or any head trauma after losing Chris Pronger, Brayden Schenn, Claude Giroux, Ian Laperriere and Sean Couturier to the insidious injury.

PHOENIX: An owner.

PITTSBURGH: The same thing that the National Hockey League longs for: A fully healthy Sidney Crosby.

SAN JOSE: A playoff run that concludes with a Cup.

ST. LOUIS: Received its wish when David Perron dressed and played for the first time in over a year after experiencing post-concussion symptoms from a Joe Thornton skate-by elbow last Nov. 4. Hopefully he will be able to enjoy a long and fruitful career.  

TAMPA BAY: Goaltending.

TORONTO:  The Center of the Hockey Universe’s first Cup since 1967 is too much to ask for, but the organization’s first playoff appearance since 2003-04 is reasonable and should be in the offing.

VANCOUVER: An opportunity to prove that their performance in last June’s Stanley Cup Final was not a sign of the Canucks reaching their limit.

WASHINGTON: The Capitals are a mismatched mess without any real direction.  Remember when the Caps were 21^st Century descendants of the 1980s Oilers? Yeah, those was good times. Reverting back to the go-go-go Caps might salvage what’s rapidly becoming the most disappointing Washington season since the Redskins’ 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007…well, it’s been a while.  

WINNIPEG: The capital of Manitoba is back in the National Hockey League and Winnipeg couldn’t be happier, save for an inevitable move to the Western Conference. Which will happen this summer.

While we cannot grant you, the readers of HockeyPrimeTime.com, the same one-year extension that Wilson received, we want to thank for taking time out of your day to read our site and sincerely wish for you the happiest of Christmases, Chanukahs and Kwanzaas, and a wonderful New Year.

You can follow us on Twitter @HockeyPrimeTime and @DenisGorman

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