Maple Leafs Coach Ron Wilson says he has contract extension

Toronto Maple Leafs Coach Ron Wilson got his Christmas wish.

Two days after hinting on Twitter at his desire for a new contract, Wilson said the team gave him an extension.

“‘He came! He came!’ Remember saying that as a little kid? Well he did: I got a new Red Ryder BB gun and a contract extension!” Wilson wrote on Twitter on Sunday morning.

The team did not immediately respond to an email seeking confirmation. Wilson tweeted Friday that what he wanted for Christmas was a new contract from General Manager Brian Burke.

“This Xmas could be better if Santa stuffs a certain piece of paper in my stocking. whatcouldthatbe,” Wilson posted on his Twitter account.

Wilson, 56, is in the final season of a four-year contract. The Maple Leafs are sixth in the Eastern Conference with 40 points. Toronto has not made the playoffs in three seasons under Wilson, who is 119-120-42 with the Leafs.

Wilson, a defenseman as a player, was selected by the Maple Leafs in the 1975 draft. He has a 637-546-101-88 coaching record with the Ducks, Washington, San Jose and Toronto. He is 47-48 in the playoffs.

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At 68, Joe Watson is the oldest player competing in the Winter Classic alumni game between the Flyers and New York Rangers on Saturday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park.

The oldest doesn’t necessarily mean he is the most out of shape.

Watson organizes and plays in about 10 Flyers alumni games each year.

“It makes me feel young,” said Watson, a defenseman who played on the Flyers’ only two Stanley Cup champions, in 1974 and 1975, “The way I feel about life is, if I feel good, who cares what the (age) number is? You’re only as old as you feel.

“This is just a nice opportunity to play with and against a lot of guys I’ve never been on the ice with. I’m really looking forward to it.”

For most of the players in the game, this is their “last hurrah, especially for those on the Flyers, whose alumni team is much older than that of the Rangers.

“A lot of the Rangers we’re playing are not in my generation,” said Watson, whose alumni team has raised more than $2 million for local charities throughout the years. “I expected to see Harry Howell, Vic Hadfield, Rod Gilbert, some of those (older) guys, but none of them are there. But that’s OK.”