The Hockey News has been providing the most comprehensive coverage of the world of hockey since 1947. In each issue, you'll find news, features and opinions about the NHL and leagues across North America and the world.

July 6, 2009

The Hockey News - Jul-06-09

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-03915/9242232-1-eng-US/f0006-032.jpg" title="f0006-03" width="690" height="621"><figcaption class="caption-body">(HEATLEY: JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-012326/9242239-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="152" height="152"></div>Hey Adam,Just curious to hear your thoughts on the Dany Heatley speculation. Do you think Edmonton could pull off a trade with the Senators? If so, do you think he would fit in with the Oilers?Dylan Kelly, EdmontonHey Dylan,The Oilers have cap-friendly prospects and young players, which might interest Ottawa. But like a lot of GMs, Oilers boss Steve Tambellini understands the danger of bringing in a guy with a salary cap hit of $7.5 million a year until 2014 and who has earned the label of multi-time, multi-team malcontent. Regardless of where he lands, Heatley will have almost as much to prove next year as former teammate Ray Emery. But it almost assuredly won&rsquo;t be in Edmonton.Adam,What do you think Bob Gainey and the Canadiens should or will do, free agent-wise, during the off-season? Also, was the choice to hire Jacques Martin as coach a good idea?Shai R., MontrealShai,The Habs have many holes to fill. Some will be addressed via free agency, but I wouldn&rsquo;t be shocked if Gainey used the trade route to rebuild his roster. Martin is a solid, if unspectacular bench boss, but he&rsquo;ll be death on the Montreal media &ndash; something that&rsquo;ll work against him if things go awry.SUBMIT YOUR BURNING QUESTIONS AT <a href="http://thehockeynews.com">thehockeynews.com</a><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-04573/9242225-1-eng-US/f0006-042.jpg" title="f0006-04" width="66" height="65"></div>Need more of your questions answered? Read Proteau&rsquo;s &lsquo;Ask Adam&rsquo; column every Friday at <a href="http://thehockeynews.com">thehockeynews.com</a><a href="http://thehockeynews.com">thehockeynews.com</a></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2>POLL RESULTS</h2>&#8600; Will we see another Pens-Wings final in 2010?<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-1239/9242218-1-eng-US/f0006-122.jpg" title="f0006-12" width="267" height="69"><figcaption class="caption-body">(POLL: JIM MCISAAC/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-05448/9242211-1-eng-US/f0006-052.jpg" title="f0006-05" width="496" height="696"></div><h2>SPIT IT OUT!</h2>GET IT OFF YOUR CHESTSEND US AN E-MAIL<a href="mailto:letters@thehockeynews.com">letters@thehockeynews.com</a>OR LOG ON<a href="http://thehockeynews.com">thehockeynews.com</a>SEND US SNAIL MAILLetters, The Hockey News25 Sheppard Ave. W., Suite 100Toronto, ON., M2N 6S7, Canada<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-06318/9242204-1-eng-US/f0006-062.jpg" title="f0006-06" width="66" height="65"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2>BONUS!</h2>All subscribers get exclusive access on <a href="http://thehockeynews.com">thehockeynews.com</a> to digital magazine archives! &#9632;

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IN THIS ISSUE

ASK Adam

<div class="byline">William Kunec, Hanover Township, Pa.</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-012093/9242114-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg" title="f0005-01" width="247" height="203"></div><h2>FREE SWAG!</h2>Each issue, we&rsquo;ll give a cool THN hat to the top letter.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-021514/9242107-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg" title="f0005-02" width="880" height="933"><figcaption class="caption-body">(GREGORY SHAMUS/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-03972/9242100-1-eng-US/f0005-032.jpg" title="f0005-03" width="179" height="179"></div>As a lifelong Penguins fan living in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area &ndash; home of Pittsburgh&rsquo;s AHL team &ndash; most baby Pens fans enjoyed watching our former players lift the Cup, but the ultimate thrill for me was seeing Mario Lemieux raise Stanley over his head again.Without Mario there would be no hockey in Pittsburgh; none of this would have happened.When the cards were stacked against Lemieux, and with an unknown future of this team and the arena, he persevered and got what he so rightfully deserved&hellip;the Stanley Cup.Mario, you are a true hockey hero. Thanks again for saving the Pittsburgh Penguins. &#9632;

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SUPER MARIO

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0058-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0058-02131/9243523-1-eng-US/f0058-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">The rudderless Avs are a long way removed from &ldquo;Ray&rsquo;s Cup&rdquo; in 2001. (ELSA/ALLSPORT)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0058-01200/9243530-1-eng-US/f0058-012.jpg" title="f0058-01" width="206" height="245"></div>REPUTATIONS MATTER TO NHL TEAMS and once upon a time, the Colorado Avalanche enjoyed one of the best.It was in the early days of the franchise in Denver, when the team arrived from Quebec brimming with talent, the antithesis of an earlier NHL incarnation in the Mile High City, the sad-sack Rockies.The Rockies failed, largely because the on-ice product was so laughably bad it gave Don Cherry a lifetime of punch lines and, true or not, stuck Hardy Astrom with a reputation as one of the worst goaltenders ever to grace an NHL crease.Denver proved it was hockey town after all, starting that first season, when the Avalanche won a Stanley Cup on a foundation put into place by the former Quebec Nordiques GM, Pierre Page.Page&rsquo;s successor, Pierre Lacroix, disposed of some of those assets wisely &ndash; landing Patrick Roy in a steal of a deal from the Montreal Canadiens &ndash; but also gave up many others recklessly &ndash; a young Mats Sundin for an aging injury-ravaged Wendel Clark, who had already seen his best days.<blockquote class="pullQuote">THE AVS ARE FANATICALLY SECRETIVE ABOUT EVERYTHING</blockquote>Lacroix&rsquo;s advantage was he always had a lot to work with, so every year, as a contender in the Western Conference, he&rsquo;d do another deal to give the Avs a shot at winning the Stanley Cup. Ray Bourque came aboard that way, as did Rob Blake and Theoren Fleury.Some deals were good, some not so good and most of them followed a pattern &ndash; giving up a little something from tomorrow for help today. Lacroix operated like so many consumers did in the past decade, so enamored of living for the moment that he never worried too much about the future, or the cost of all that conspicuous consumption.Players generally appreciated the effort; the perception was, you always had a chance in Colorado, even if the Avs did win only one more Stanley Cup after that inaugural season. It became a destination of sorts &ndash; like Detroit, except that while Detroit remains a popular destination and a viable team, Colorado has clearly lost its way.The problem was the Avs never properly replaced all the aging or departing talent and thus slowly settled into mediocrity. This year, their plunge took them all the way to the bottom of a Northwest Division they once ruled.They have never been able to produce a goaltending successor to Roy; in 2008-09, the Avs surely had the worst netminding tandem in the NHL. They fired a good coach in Joel Quenneville two years ago for no good reason and then brought Tony Granato back for the second time, after acknowledging he simply wasn&rsquo;t ready the first time they put him in charge.Under the circumstances &ndash; and especially after the significant injuries to Joe Sakic and Paul Stastny &ndash; Granato did a moderately good job of keeping the team competitive for a time. But with a center-ice corps that at one point was led by Tyler Arnason, it was too much to think they had even the remotest chance of qualifying for the playoffs.What happened next was a breach of every protocol of good business practice. The Avs are fanatically secretive in everything they do and thus had the arrogance to think they could keep quiet their courtship of Roy, who&rsquo;s merely one of the most visible figures in the hockey world.Of course, they couldn&rsquo;t, which left Granato twisting unpleasantly in the wind, until Roy gave them his answer: Thanks, but no thanks. Just why they waited until Roy made his disclosure public to terminate Granato was unclear. Did they really think Granato was a viable candidate to stay on, if Roy turned them down? Knowing the way the Avs operate, they probably did.As it turned out, they were forced into adopting Plan B, appointing what amounts to a transition team (Joe Sacco to coach, Greg Sherman to GM) to run the club next season. That pair is left with the daunting task of rebuilding a team which has little going for it beyond Stastny.It will be up to them to set the table for the turnaround &ndash; in the same way Page did years ago &ndash; presumably so they can then hand off to the heir apparent, Eric Lacroix, who quietly joined his dad&rsquo;s organization amid the turmoil and is viewed as Pierre Lacroix&rsquo;s ultimate successor.The Avs aren&rsquo;t going anywhere until they commit to restocking the organization by building through the draft.After a couple more years at the bottom and a couple more building blocks in place, they can then dump their transition team and move forward, under the direction of the younger Lacroix. It worked for them once.Why not try it again? &#9632;

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IN EVERY ISSUE

ONCE CLASSY, AVS HIT BOTTOM

<div class="byline">by Nicolas Chabot</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0054-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0054-01264/9243409-1-eng-US/f0054-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

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Inside the Numbers

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-012102/9242021-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="587" height="497"><figcaption class="caption-body">(MARK WILSON)</figcaption></div>THE FIRST TIME WE ENCOUNTERED DAN BYLSMA, when he was an anonymous role player for the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, he set us straight on how to pronounce his name. The NHL Official Guide & Record Book phoneticized it &ldquo;BEEL-smah,&rdquo; while others in the hockey community were saying &ldquo;BILL-smah.&rdquo;&ldquo;It&rsquo;s BILE-smah,&rdquo; he deadpanned. &ldquo;Like bile.&rdquo;As it turns out, he is the polar opposite, the breath of fresh air Pittsburgh needed to turn around a flailing season and stunningly capture the Stanley Cup. For that, the rookie bench boss gets our nod as NHL coach of the year, an honor, similar to our GM-of-the-year award, that takes into account the regular season and playoffs.Bylsma&rsquo;s impact on the Penguins was immediate and resounding. Well, nearly immediate. His first game behind the bench was an overtime loss to the, ahem, last-place New York Islanders. From that point on, however, the Penguins were the best team in the NHL, posting an 18-2-4 regular season finish. In capturing the Cup, they became the first finalist in eight years to advance at least one round in the ensuing season &ndash; and the first one to win it all since the 1984 Edmonton Oilers.Bylsma, 38, helped engineer the startling turnaround with strategy and leadership. On the ice, he installed more aggressive forecheck and penalty-kill systems. In the final against Detroit, he made the necessary defensive adjustments to stifle the league&rsquo;s top-ranked offense and substantially limit the chances the Wings typically generate from their blueline. In Games 6 and 7, meantime, he coached his team to victories with just one point combined from Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby.Off the ice, he set the tone for a lighter mood, allowing players to breathe and be themselves in contrast to Michel Therrien&rsquo;s more rigid approach.Honorable mentions for coach of the year go to Claude Julien for proving the Milky Way wrong and leading Boston to the Eastern Conference regular season title, and Joel Quenneville, who played a major role in the revitalization of the Blackhawks.Our GM honor goes to Detroit&rsquo;s Ken Holland, the NHL&rsquo;s premier architect. Holland landed last summer&rsquo;s biggest free agent prize, Marian Hossa, managed the cap better than any of his colleagues and refused to panic at the trade deadline and overpay for a goalie when Chris Osgood was struggling. Also in the running for GM kudos were Jim Rutherford of Carolina, whose faith in numerous reclamation projects was handsomely rewarded, and Pittsburgh&rsquo;s Ray Shero.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021780/9242014-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="476" height="254"></div><h2>NEXT ISSUE AUGUST 3, 2009</h2>CUSTOMER SERVICE AND TO SUBSCRIBE: <a href="http://THN.com">THN.com</a> CONTACT US: <a href="mailto:editorial@thehockeynews.com">editorial@thehockeynews.com</a> &#9632;

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FROM BILE TO GLORY

<blockquote class="pullQuote">He was a fierce competitor who never gave up, but was also quick to crack a joke</blockquote><h2>MOURNING MARSTERS</h2>The hockey world lost one of its biggest fans June 8.Nathan Marsters, a Los Angeles Kings draft pick in 2000, was taken at the young age of 29 in a freak car accident. As someone who grew up splitting time between the pipes with Nathan in Grimsby (Ont.) rep hockey, I know how much he loved the game.He was a fierce competitor who never gave up, but was also quick to smile and crack a joke. Having recently returned home from playing in Europe, he leaves behind not just friends and family, but an enduring memory of a great person.On behalf of those who knew you and the game you loved: We&rsquo;ll miss you, Nate.Always remembered, never forgotten.Nick Wilkins, Vineland, Ont.<h2>LET VERSUS GROW</h2>It seems to be a major priority to get the NHL back on ESPN, or another major U.S. network, while disregarding the fine job that Versus has done covering the league.Sure, ESPN reaches many more households than Versus, but how many of those households watch hockey? It&rsquo;s like the old philosophical question about the tree falling in the woods. Furthermore, for years now, regular season network coverage of all the major sports in the U.S. has usually meant a national telecast of a game involving at least one New York team, called by the same old-boys club of New York-based announcers.What Versus has done is introduce fans in the U.S. to some of the better regional NHL play-byplay men and analysts, such as Joe Beninati, John Forslund, Andy Brickley and Darren Eliot.As a bonus, Versus also picks up the odd feed from Canadian networks, so American fans can appreciate the way the game is covered in its home and native land.Let Versus continue to provide real hockey fans with their excellent coverage of our sport.Richard O&rsquo;Kane, Rye, N.H.<h2>FINGER POINTING</h2>I got very tired of hearing about all the complaining about inconsistent refereeing in the Stanley Cup final.You know how a good GM counters the human error that happens in refereeing? He does his homework and grows a great penalty-killing group and power play unit.It&rsquo;s your players in these areas &ndash; and not the refs - who will determine how far your team goes.Bill Placzek, St. Petersburg, Fla.<h2>NO RESPECT</h2>Waking up on the morning of June 13, I walked outside to get a couple of newspapers, the Home News Tribune and the New York Times.On the cover of the sports section of the Tribune was a giant picture of some big car race, which took up practically the entire front page, along with a story about the Mets losing to the Yankees. Inside, there was an article less than a quarter-page long about how the Pens won the Stanley Cup.The Times had a huge picture of some pitcher who blew the win for the Mets and, at the bottom, was a picture the size of an index card of Sidney Crosby holding Lord Stanley&rsquo;s Cup.I just cannot understand people.Ethan Weg, East Brunswick, N.J.<h2>APPLAUDING PIMS?</h2>What I don&rsquo;t understand about the NHL today is how some people regard penalty minutes as a good thing.When a team signs someone, you hear &ldquo;so and so had 15 goals, 20 assists and a career-high 100 penalty minutes.&rdquo;Why are PIMs so highly regarded? A player with a lot of PIMs will leave his team shorthanded a lot and - despite his offense - will therefore be an overall negative to the team.Joey Pizzolato, Toronto &#9632;

Crowd Shots

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-0977/9242159-1-eng-US/f0006-092.jpg" title="f0006-09" width="258" height="301"></div>We announced our awards about six weeks before the league. For more on the NHL Awards show, see page 10.THN AWARDS VS. NHL AWARDSALEX OVECHKIN<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-07197/9242173-1-eng-US/f0006-072.jpg" title="f0006-07" width="139" height="409"></div>ALEX OVECHKINMOST VALUABLE PLAYERZDENO CHARA</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-08116/9242166-1-eng-US/f0006-082.jpg" title="f0006-08" width="173" height="360"></div>ZDENO CHARABEST DEFENSEMANMIKE RICHARDSPAVEL DATSYUKBEST DEFENSIVE FORWARDTIM THOMAS<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-1059/9242152-1-eng-US/f0006-102.jpg" title="f0006-10" width="249" height="477"></div>TIM THOMASBEST GOALTENDERSTEVE MASON<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-1148/9242145-1-eng-US/f0006-112.jpg" title="f0006-11" width="205" height="442"></div>STEVE MASONROOKIE OF THE YEAR &#9632;

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AWARDS COMPARISON

<div class="byline">&#x2013; SRYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0007-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-012085/9242277-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Martin Havlat&rsquo;s pending UFA status will keep his agent busy July 1. (DAVE REGINEK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-021416/9242284-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg" title="f0007-02" width="119" height="119"></div>THE FIRST DAY OF FREE AGENCY is like Christmas in July for hockey fans &ndash; the games are done, the entry draft is complete, but rosters are far from set. For the NHL&rsquo;s 30 teams, hope springs eternal with one squiggle of a pen. Players and fans alike can once again begin dreaming of a championship run &ndash; it&rsquo;s a lot of fun. But what if you&rsquo;re an agent?&ldquo;Fun is a difficult word,&rdquo; said Allan Walsh, an agent with Octagon whose clients include Martin Havlat, Patrik Elias and Marc-Andre Fleury. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s an exciting day, it&rsquo;s a stressful day, it&rsquo;s an exhausting day&hellip;Honestly, they&rsquo;re all a blur.&rdquo;Walsh, who works out of Los Angeles, has been in the game for 15 years, so July 1 is no mystery. He and his staff must be in the office by four in the morning that day and Walsh doesn&rsquo;t leave until at least 9 p.m., Pacific time, or later.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a lot of stamina involved,&rdquo; he said.Along with seven or eight staffers and interns, Walsh mans the phones in his office or a war room set up down the hall. The war room has three phones with four lines each, while Walsh&rsquo;s office phone is rigged to carry up to 12 lines.&ldquo;If everything is working,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;every phone is answered by the second ring.&rdquo;But the research starts well before the actual starting date: Walsh and his team do a lot of preparation.&ldquo;A lot of work occurs, historically, before July 1,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We survey each team in the league. You can&rsquo;t talk about specific players, but you can talk about team needs, &lsquo;We need a top-line scorer, we need a third-line checker&hellip;&rsquo; &rdquo;Walsh also sits down with his clients and briefs them on the current landscape, depending on that player&rsquo;s skill set. The clients are shown depth charts from around the league, along with which players are expected to return to that squad and what opportunities may arise based on departures.And despite the perception that certain locales just aren&rsquo;t attractive to free agents (commence groaning, citizens of Edmonton),Walsh disputes such wisdom.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s commonly misreported,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;From my experience, everyone wants to win a Stanley Cup, everyone wants to be on a winning team.&rdquo;The franchises that lack such a pedigree are the ones who end up gambling and doling out big contracts, the kind that end up on negative top-10 lists in the press.Another very important factor, especially once the week rolls on, is when a big-name player signs. Last year, players such as Brian Campbell, Cristobal Huet and Brian Rolston were all gone by the first day, creating a domino effect for teams still looking for talent.&ldquo;One deal usually has a ripple effect,&rdquo; Walsh said. &ldquo;There is a rather immediate reaction.&rdquo;As for how long it takes to actually seal a deal, each case is unique. Some may take just a few phone calls, while certain GMs demand a more thorough approach to negotiations and due diligence.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve had GMs say, &lsquo;I&rsquo;d like to talk to the player,&rsquo; I&rsquo;ve had GMs ask, &lsquo;Why does the player want to come here?&rsquo; &rdquo; Walsh said.&ldquo;In a 48-hour span, it may take 50 to 60 phone calls.&rdquo;No matter how long it takes, swinging deals today is a lot easier than it was, say, 10 years ago &ndash; and it&rsquo;s all thanks to BlackBerrys, Bluetooths and Wi-Fi.&ldquo;Technology has revolutionized our business, &rdquo;Walsh said. &ldquo;Information is immediate.&rdquo;Walsh recalled how the business was in the old days, when he would have to pull his car over several times during a three-hour drive to stop at a pay phone and check his messages. Pumping quarters into the telephone to call GMs was the fastest way to stay on top.The salary cap has also changed the game, but with the current economic climate, where the ceiling is set in the future is very much up in the air. Should the cap go down for the first time in its brief history, Walsh foresees a pullback in the number of years offered to players and in no-movement clauses.Of course, it only takes one desperate GM&hellip;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-012221/9242270-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="768" height="916"><figcaption class="caption-body">Allan Walsh client Ruslan Fedotenko was looking to cash in July 1. (FEDOTENKO: DAVE REGINEK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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FREE AGENT FRENZY

<h2>+ TUNED IN</h2>Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final drew eight million viewers on NBC, the biggest U.S. audience for a hockey game in 36 years.<h2>&ndash;&nbsp;OH DANY BOY</h2>Dany Heatley&rsquo;s trade demand smacks of selfishness and unfairly punishes the Ottawa Senators organization that committed to him with a big contract extension.<h2>+ STEEL CROWNS</h2>After nearly going bust a few short years ago, the Pittsburgh Penguins are back on top of the hockey world.<h2>&ndash; SHAKE IT OFF</h2>Sure seemed like Sidney Crosby caught some unfair flak for not immediately shaking hands after the Cup win.<h2>+ OVIE ALL OVER AGAIN</h2>Alex Ovechkin wins over writers and players, claiming back-to-back Hart Trophies and Lester Pearson Awards.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-021683/9242315-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="738" height="1058"><figcaption class="caption-body">ALEX OVECHKIN (OVECHKIN: BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES FOR NHL)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Plus/Minus

<h2>5FIVE</h2>Erik Johnson St. Louis youth movement wasn&rsquo;t complete this year thanks to pre-season golf cart mishap.<h2>4FOUR</h2>Daniel Briere Groin woes and eye surgery hopefully in the past for Flyers&rsquo; most expensive player.<h2>3THREE</h2>Marian Gaborik After a 17-game campaign in 2008-09, will we ever see Gabbo at full stride?<h2>2TWO</h2>Rick DiPietro It sounds like a broken record, but Isles need a healthy D.P. to stay out of NHL basement.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-031181/9242346-1-eng-US/f0008-032.jpg" title="f0008-03" width="740" height="599"><figcaption class="caption-body">(MORROW: JIM MCISAAC/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h2>1ONE</h2>Brenden&nbsp;Morrow Stars would have been a playoff team had captain not missed 64 games due to knee surgery. &#9632;

f0008-03

Starting from 5

<div class="byline">&#x2013; JOHN GRIGG</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0009-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011998/9242377-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Phoenix&rsquo;s Viktor Tikhonov, drafted 28th overall in &rsquo;08, played a full year in the NHL. (NORM HALL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>WITH THE 2009 NHL DRAFT COME AND GONE, the question is which of the youngsters selected in Montreal at the end of June will make their big-league debuts in 2009-10?This decade, 85 players have gone from the draft to an NHL dressing room in the same year. The 2008 edition offered a bumper crop of such players; 12 draftees made their NHL debuts during the &lsquo;08-09 season, with eight playing 39 or more games.Steven Stamkos (No. 1 overall), Drew Doughty (No. 2), Zach Bogosian (No. 3), Luke Schenn (No. 5) and Josh Bailey (No. 9) were at or near the top of their teams&rsquo; depth charts by season&rsquo;s end. Same goes for Patrick Kane and Sam Gagner in &lsquo;07-08; Jordan Staal in &lsquo;06-07; and, of course, Sidney Crosby and his 102 points three seasons ago.But some of that is about the team more than the player.&ldquo;There were probably 26 or 27 teams in the league that he wouldn&rsquo;t have played a game for,&rdquo; said one Eastern Conference scout of the Islanders&rsquo; Bailey. &ldquo;It just so happens the Isles were undermanned and injured and, you know, they don&rsquo;t have an awesome team to begin with, so they had a slot for him.&rdquo;So what about the 2009 class?Chances are if a player wasn&rsquo;t picked on the Friday in Montreal, when the first round dramatics played out, he won&rsquo;t be seen in the NHL next season (only one &ndash; Ottawa&rsquo;s Zack Smith, 79th overall &ndash; managed the feat this season). And outside of John Tavares and Victor Hedman, the candidates are few and far between, according to the bird dog.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t see any of the guys other than, maybe, (Matt) Duchene, maybe (Jared) Cowen,&rdquo; said the scout, whose NHL team made the playoffs this year. &ldquo;You know, some of those teams that are picking high. Maybe they already have guys kind of penciled in&hellip;but I don&rsquo;t know if any are truly worthy of playing on a good roster.&ldquo;But I wouldn&rsquo;t be surprised if two months into the season there are teams with injuries, teams not seeing results on the third or fourth lines saying, &lsquo;Why not bring them in?&rsquo; &rdquo;That would be something of a new phenomenon. Teams usually like to make their decisions on kids in training camp and then keep them in one spot. Play a few games in the show before going back to junior? Sure, that happens. But the other way around? Not so much.However, in the salary cap world, a new set of guidelines are being written &ndash; and youth prevails.&ldquo;If you&rsquo;re right up against the cap,&rdquo; said the scout, &ldquo;it would almost be the better option. An 18-year-old kid that&rsquo;s going to make mistakes and is making $500,000 or some other guy that&rsquo;s looking to make a million-and-a-half. If you need the space, sometimes those are the hard decisions you&rsquo;ve got to make.&rdquo;So other than Tavares, Hedman, Duchene and Cowen, is there anyone else? The scout offered one more name.&ldquo;A kid like Evander Kane, who doesn&rsquo;t need any more weight&hellip;he&rsquo;s got the size and strength,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Maybe his mind just needs to develop and that&rsquo;s the part he actually can develop playing in the NHL.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0009-01

FROM PROSPECT TO PRIME TIME

<div class="byline">&#x2013; JASON KAY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0010-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-012192/9242415-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">PAVEL DATSYUK LADY BYNG & SELKE RECIPIENT (DATSYUK: HARRY HOW/GETTY IMAGES FOR NHL)</figcaption></div>LAS VEGAS, NEVADALAS VEGAS &ndash; PALM TREES, POKER, poolside, pina coladas and&hellip;pucks?When the NHL announced its 2009 awards gala would be moved from traditional Toronto to exotic Las Vegas, it begged and pleaded the question: &ldquo;Why?&rdquo;Why hold one of your marquee events in a town saturated with marquees? A town that is firmly surrounded by desert, about 300 miles from your closest franchise location? A town in which NHL hockey barely registers on the radar screen, let alone the gambling board.Does this make any sense? We endeavored to find out upon our arrival in Nevada.It didn&rsquo;t start well. When we asked the cab driver who picked us up at the airport if he was aware the NHL awards were in town he said, &ldquo;NHL? Is that hockey?&rdquo;We proceeded to the strip to get reaction from people on the street, both residents and tourists. Most professed they were sports fans, though nearly all were oblivious to the presence of the NHL just down the road.&ldquo;I had no idea about that,&rdquo; said Ron, a Seahawks fan from Seattle, in town for the World Series of Poker. &ldquo;I can tell you the Penguins won it (all)&hellip;they beat the Red Wings.&rdquo;&ldquo;Absolutely no idea (about the awards),&rdquo; said Duane, a teacher in Las Vegas who enjoys football, basketball and the occasional hockey fight. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know if anybody knows much about hockey over here.&rdquo;That said, many were of the belief an NHL franchise would do well in Vegas, a novelty ice diversion from the blazing heat of the desert.Whether that&rsquo;s on the NHL&rsquo;s agenda isn&rsquo;t clear. They&rsquo;re saying the reasons they&rsquo;re here are multifold.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve made this another destination event, not unlike opening the season in Europe or the Winter Classic,&rdquo; said commissioner Gary Bettman. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve created a large-scale event that is good for our business partners, the players are here in record numbers and it&rsquo;s great for our fans.&rdquo;At the same time, there was a sense the gala was growing stale in Toronto and new life needed to be breathed into it. In recent years, more and more finalists were declining invites, a trend that started spreading to winners, too.Vegas, it was thought, would give players added incentive to be part of the program. That the NHLPA is holding meetings in town helps, but Calgary&rsquo;s Jarome Iginla believes there&rsquo;s more to it than a union conference.&ldquo;When I heard the awards were going to be here I was hoping to get a chance to come and be part of it,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve seen a lot of the guys here. A lot of guys come here for vacation anyway once the season ends. It&rsquo;s different. It&rsquo;s a nice way to cap the year.&rdquo;And what about a team being here one day?&ldquo;There has been a lot of talk about it among the players and usually it has been positive,&rdquo; Iginla said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s always the joke the home team would sure have a nice advantage and there&rsquo;s probably some truth there. It might be difficult to be focused (as a visiting player), but it would be fun. I&rsquo;d be all for it.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-021589/9242408-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg" title="f0010-02" width="1032" height="1351"><figcaption class="caption-body">TIM THOMAS VEZINA WINNER (THOMAS: BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES FOR NHL)</figcaption></div>The awards show itself received mixed reviews. Some found the event either fun and solid, others said it was lackluster and limp.The good:&bull; The red carpet experience was well-attended, well-received and well-performed by the players. Autograph and photo-seekers were delighted by their very obliging heroes.&bull; The Russian uprising. Pavel Datsyuk, Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin injected a modicum of humor as they scooped their copious hardware.&bull; Tim Thomas made the crowd chuckle when, upon accepting the Jennings, he offered to thank backup Manny Fernandez&rsquo;s wife.The bad:&bull; Where was the host? Ron MacLean may be too punny for some people&rsquo;s taste, but his presence as the &ldquo;glue guy&rdquo; was missed.&bull; Where were all the people? The Pearl Theater at the Palms lacked atmosphere in part due to a surprising number of vacant seats. Maybe the $500 face value had something to do with it.&bull; Where were the rock stars? No disrespect to the talented Chaka Khan and Robin Thicke, but hockey and rock music go together; hockey and easy-listening, not so much. &#9632;

f0010-01

GLITZ, GLAM AND GLASNOST

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0012-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-012137/9242453-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">(VICTOR DECOLONGON/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-021673/9242460-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="207" height="245"></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">FORGET DESERT DOGS; CALL THE COYOTES THE DESERT DONKEYS</blockquote>LAS VEGAS, NEVADAWHEN THE NHL DECIDED to move its annual awards show to Las Vegas this year, its biggest fear had to be that a tree (in this case, Zdeno Chara) would fall in the forest (in this case, the red carpet) and nobody would hear it.No such problem. The entrance to The Palms Casino and Resort was jammed with hockey fans, real ones with really bad hockey hair and T-shirts that said &ldquo;Fire Bettman!&rdquo; There were beautiful people who kissed and hugged each other with all the sincerity of a Dustin Penner bodycheck. There were sweaters of every team imaginable and fathers and sons and annoying autograph geeks. While some people say the auditorium had a lot of empty seats, it looked 90 percent full to me, at $504 a pop, and we know the NHL would never paper the house.This doesn&rsquo;t make Las Vegas a fertile hockey market, so let&rsquo;s not get ahead of ourselves. All it means is that the NHL Awards did not go over with a thud in a non-hockey locale.On that note, let&rsquo;s shift focus to another desert destination that has most definitely been saddled with that label, the much-talked about city of Phoenix.One thing that appears to have gone under-noticed through all the court filings and expressions of patriotism north of the 49th parallel is just how uncannily bad the Coyotes have been since the franchise moved from Winnipeg in 1996. The problem here is there is no point of reference. Nobody knows how the local market would respond to a really good team in Phoenix because there has never been one there.Forget Desert Dogs &ndash; these guys are the Desert Donkeys.The Donkeys have been in Phoenix for 12 seasons and their fans have never seen a second-round playoff game. They haven&rsquo;t made the post-season in six straight campaigns, they had a GM in Mike Barnett who essentially ran the roster into the ground, they&rsquo;ve generally been bereft of star quality and they&rsquo;re 23rd of the league&rsquo;s 30 teams in winning percentage since they entered the NHL. They came into the league with a ready-made roster in 1996, but expansion outfits that came on the scene around the same time have made far bigger strides.Given that, it&rsquo;s a wonder the Donkeys have even been able to attract any fans at all. To be sure, there are lots of markets in the United States &ndash; and Canada for that matter &ndash; that would not put up with that kind of nonsense. The Senators were two years removed from the Stanley Cup final this past season and couldn&rsquo;t even sell out all their home games because people in Ottawa were unwilling to pay top dollar for what they felt was an inferior product.Prior to their glory years, the Detroit Red Wings were irrelevant in their own market and were reduced to giving away a car at each home game to attract fans. The Chicago Blackhawks used to draw family and friends for Sunday afternoon games during football season, then got good and now you can&rsquo;t find a ticket. Thankfully, though, you can finally watch them on television.Maybe Gary Bettman is having us all on and perhaps it really is personal with Balsillie. Maybe he doesn&rsquo;t really care about Phoenix and is saving southern Ontario for the hundreds of millions in expansion money the league stands to gain. But he certainly gives the impression he thinks the Glendale venue can work in the long term, if only the Donkeys weren&rsquo;t so terrible.&ldquo;I was at a game there after Phoenix had been eliminated in the regular season and the game didn&rsquo;t really count,&rdquo; Bettman said.&ldquo;Twelve-thousand people on a weekday night with the NCAA tournament across the street and a Billy Joel concert downtown, and the building still had a big crowd. You hear it from fans, you hear it from the community.&rdquo;Does that make Phoenix a slam-dunk as a viable hockey market? Well no, just as the hundreds of people in hockey shirts and bad haircuts lining the red carpet in Las Vegas doesn&rsquo;t necessarily make that a place where the NHL could succeed.But the fact of the matter is hockey has never had a fair chance to flourish in the desert. This is not Nashville, where the team has been very well run and provided a reasonably good and successful product on the ice and still needs to buy tickets to qualify for revenue sharing.Until such a time as the Donkeys stop being donkeys and start being Coyotes, we&rsquo;ll never really know whether Phoenix is truly a good hockey locale or simply a wasteland in the desert.<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-031077/9242446-1-eng-US/f0012-032.jpg" title="f0012-03" width="52" height="53"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div>For Ken&rsquo;s web-exclusive Campbell&rsquo;s Cuts column, visit <a href="http://THN.com">thn.com</a> &#9632;

f0012-01

NOTHING TO CHEER FOR

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0014-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-012113/9242505-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">The Flyers hope Ray Emery returns to form on Broad Street next season. (EMERY: DAVE SANDFORD/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-021583/9242512-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="207" height="245"></div>GIVE THE PHILADELPHIA FLYERS and Ray Emery credit for one thing: They don&rsquo;t shy away from irony.Both that particular organization and that particular player have well-documented, not precisely pristine histories. To many people, those histories should have precluded either side from agreeing to a one-year, $1.5-million contract the way the team and the former Ottawa Senators goalie did in June.That they went ahead and joined forces anyway speaks to a mutual desperation on Emery&rsquo;s and Philadelphia&rsquo;s behalf. And though both sides are hoping it is a marriage formed of convenience and prior regret that winds up lasting a lifetime, it very easily, very quickly, very painfully could be headed straight to the annulment line.Emery is looking to be the newest goaltending savior in Flyerland since the days Pete Peeters and Ron Hextall protected Philly&rsquo;s pipes in the early to mid-1990s. Since that time, Philadelphians have seen a steady stream of could-bes, never-weres and don&rsquo;t-look-at-me-I-never-suggested-we-draft-hims tending their team&rsquo;s net.The Flyers have employed Dominic Roussel and Garth Snow and (old) Sean Burke and (old) John Vanbiesbrouck and Brian Boucher and Jeff Hackett and Robert Esche and Antero Niittymaki and Martin Biron in that time.What do they have to show for it? Not a championship, which is all that counts. All those veterans had fleeting runs that called for calm and confidence; all, in concert with their teammates who also failed the organization and its supporters, couldn&rsquo;t carry the franchise to the ultimate level.(And no list of Flyers G-bombs would be complete without Mr. Roman Cechmanek, who I won&rsquo;t say was one of the flakiest goalies the NHL has ever seen, but who I will definitely write was one of the flakiest goalies the NHL has ever seen. Sorry, I&rsquo;ve just got an irrational fear of enunciating words that have that double-E sound.)They&rsquo;ve also drafted many a goalie prospect who stayed that way. Jean-Marc Pelletier, for example. And Maxime Ouellet, Dov Grumet-Morris, Bernd Bruckler, Rejean Beauchemin and Roman Malek, for five additional examples.Now they&rsquo;re pinning a year or more of their hopes on Emery, a man who was pilloried in Ottawa more often than most Canadian prime ministers, and who had a 2.12 goals-against average, .926 save percentage, and 22-8 record with Atlant Mytishchi of the Kontinental League last season.At first glance, Emery and Philadelphia seem a perfect fit: Anybody who eats cockroaches on a measly (for him, anyway) $500 bet and is an avowed fan of famous, edgy boxers will be as embraced as much as an athlete is embraced in that city without winning a championship.But that is an ideal scenario. In Philly, ideal scenarios are as common as a Toby Keith rap song.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011876/9242498-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="1380" height="1303"><figcaption class="caption-body">ROMAN CECHMANEK (CECHMANEK: BRUCE BENNETT STUDIOS/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">TIME ISN&rsquo;T ON EMERY&rsquo;S SIDE. HE CAN&rsquo;T AFFORD TO BE RUSTY OUT OF THE GATE</blockquote>Instead, think of the worst-case scenario. Think of what will happen if Emery starts fighting with teammates, having run-ins with local legal constabularies, taking swings at trainers foolish enough to adorn his head with not-previously-approved baseball hats, and putting up numbers like the 12-13-4 record, 3.13 GAA and .890 save percentage he did in Ottawa in 2007-08.I&rsquo;ve thought about what will result if that happens. And I&rsquo;ve come to the conclusion only Hollywood director Tim Burton and stop-motion animation could adequately capture the ensuing disarray and despair.Now, I don&rsquo;t doubt people who say Emery&rsquo;s contract is a cost-conscious gamble that could look great if he returns to the 2.47 GAA and .918 save percentage he posted with the Sens three years ago.Indeed, if the 26-year-old isn&rsquo;t motivated to return to and remain in the NHL after a year spent sleeping on cots in gyms before games and learning how to say &ldquo;breach of contract&rdquo; in Russian, he never will be.And forget about the gruesome whispers and lurid gossip that hounded him in his last couple years in Ottawa. Whatever his off-ice proclivities were, they didn&rsquo;t trigger all the faults that so swiftly soured what once seemed an impenetrably positive future for the Sens.But it would&rsquo;ve been so much easier for Emery if he&rsquo;d signed with a team that wasn&rsquo;t located in an NHL-focused town.In places like Los Angeles or Florida, he could&rsquo;ve found his footing without the spotlight and pressure he&rsquo;ll deal with 23/6 in Philadelphia, where the locals get a day and an hour off each week to recharge their hate batteries.Philadelphia is a town that used to have Pelle Lindbergh and Bernie Parent as its goaltending stars. Its citizens will jeer not only Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, but also Santa&rsquo;s sickly cousin who volunteers weekends at North Pole-area soup kitchens when she&rsquo;s not operating a Labrador Retriever rescue clinic.And time is not on Emery&rsquo;s side. He can&rsquo;t afford to be rusty out of the gate. He can&rsquo;t allow mid-season tedium to distract him. He can&rsquo;t even be an above-average goalie if the Flyers fail around him and don&rsquo;t qualify for post-season play.As they always say about legends &ndash; OK, as I am now saying about legends &ndash; time only helps them grow.That is bound to be the case, one way or the other, next season in Philadelphia.If he can win, if he can deliver the Black & Orange to the Eastern Conference final and beyond, Emery will build his own legend and make the Senators rue another bungled personnel decision.If he can&rsquo;t, he&rsquo;ll be building the legends of Parent and Lindbergh &ndash; and the team the Goalie Gods forgot.<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-031079/9242491-1-eng-US/f0014-032.jpg" title="f0014-03" width="47" height="53"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div>For Adam&rsquo;s web-exclusive Screen Shots column, visit <a href="http://THN.com">thn.com</a> &#9632;

f0014-01

IMPERFECT PARTNERS

<h2>GOALIE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-021333/9242578-1-eng-US/f0015-022.jpg" title="f0015-02" width="229" height="306"><figcaption class="caption-body">(BILL SMITH/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h3>NIKOLAI KHABIBULIN</h3>KEY STAT: 2.33 GAAStingy stopper surprised with third-best mark in league<h2>DEFENSEMEN</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-03933/9242571-1-eng-US/f0015-032.jpg" title="f0015-03" width="229" height="306"><figcaption class="caption-body">(JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h3>SCOTT NIEDERMAYER</h3>KEY STAT: 26:55 TOIAt 35, smooth skater was No. 3 in ice time among all NHLers<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-04694/9242564-1-eng-US/f0015-042.jpg" title="f0015-04" width="229" height="305"><figcaption class="caption-body">(ELIOT J. SCHECHTER/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h3>JAY BOUWMEESTER</h3>KEY STAT: 25 YEARS OLDTwo-way threat has age and experience (six NHL seasons)<h2>FORWARDS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-05488/9242557-1-eng-US/f0015-052.jpg" title="f0015-05" width="229" height="306"><figcaption class="caption-body">(JIM MCISAAC/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h3>MARIAN HOSSA</h3>KEY STAT: 40 GOALSSniper led Detroit in goals and tied for fifth in the league<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-06392/9242550-1-eng-US/f0015-062.jpg" title="f0015-06" width="229" height="306"><figcaption class="caption-body">(RICHARD WOLOWICZ/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h3>MARTIN HAVLAT</h3>KEY STAT: 81 GAMESPlayed an injury-free season for the first time in his career<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-07330/9242543-1-eng-US/f0015-072.jpg" title="f0015-07" width="229" height="306"><figcaption class="caption-body">(GERRY THOMAS/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h3>MIKE CAMMALLERI</h3>KEY STAT: 19 PP GOALSCareer highs in goals (39) and points (82) while skating with Iginla &#9632;

f0015-02

HIGH-PROFILE UFAs

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0016-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011889/9242616-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mikko Koivu will have a better culture to work in thanks to some big changes. (BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-021455/9242623-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="206" height="245"></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;Somebody better stand up this off-season and take a hard, honest assessment of things and say, &lsquo;It&rsquo;s not good enough.&rsquo; &rdquo; &ndash; Michael Russo in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, April 5.</blockquote>WELL, CRAIG LEIPOLD TO THE RESCUE. After nine years of the Wild trying to temper expectations and making it abundantly clear it was content to merely be competitive, the Wild&rsquo;s owner &ndash; a year after taking control of the franchise &ndash; said just that by removing the only GM the team had ever known &ndash; Doug Risebrough &ndash; a few days after the only coach the team had ever known &ndash; Jacques Lemaire &ndash; resigned.&ldquo;What was good enough yesterday isn&rsquo;t necessarily good enough today,&rdquo; Leipold said. &ldquo;It is time to get better.&rdquo;Yep, it&rsquo;s a brand new day in Minnesota.In the post-expansion NHL, you&rsquo;d be hard-pressed to come up with a team that has made more of a philosophical transformation than the Wild is currently undergoing.Leipold is doing everything possible to rid his team of the conservative stigma it had both on and off the ice.Sitting-back, trap-happy hockey will be replaced by the more up-tempo, attacking style of 42-year-old rookie coach Todd Richards, a former University of Minnesota star defenseman who coached Wilkes-Barre to the Calder Cup final in 2008 and spent this season as an assistant with the Presidents&rsquo; Trophy-winning San Jose Sharks.And stand-pat, almost gun-shy managing will be replaced by the more aggressive, creative approach of 42-year-old GM Chuck Fletcher, the 16-year assistant GM in Florida, Anaheim and Pittsburgh and son of Hall of Fame NHL exec Cliff Fletcher. These are the strict orders of Leipold.&ldquo;I made it real clear to Chuck that he&rsquo;s accountable for providing us a Stanley Cup-quality team,&rdquo; Leipold said.Last summer, despite the Wild throwing boatloads of cash at Marian Hossa, Kristian Huselius and others, the team was shunned and shunned.Leipold felt Lemaire&rsquo;s defensive system caused free agents to sign elsewhere, something he says was later validated by a number of the 30-plus GM applicants. He also started evaluating the front office and it was a year of continuous flubs.&bull; First, even though the Wild could have started talking to all-time leading scorer Marian Gaborik about a new contract last July 1, it didn&rsquo;t get around to it until mid-August. By the time the Wild caught up with reality and discovered Gaborik had no intention of signing a long-term offer, most teams were capped out and the trade market was dry. Then, Gaborik got hurt, debilitating any chance of trading him.&bull; For six weeks, Risebrough allowed Lemaire to use budding star defenseman Brent Burns as a forward, then never stepped in during the second half when Burns was playing with a concussion, a claim made by Burns&rsquo; agent.&bull; Never learning its lesson that bargain deals don&rsquo;t come to those who wait, the Wild waited so long to talk to goalie Niklas Backstrom, it cost $6 million a year one day before the trade deadline.&bull; Another trade deadline came and went with Risebrough making no significant moves, while a number of contenders consummated big trades.&bull; Proving again his philosophy of &ldquo;not being afraid to lose free agents&rdquo; for nothing, Risebrough again let a number of them walk out the door without trading for at least some return. Gaborik was among that group.The Wild is severely short assets because of this philosophy and Risebrough&rsquo;s tendency to throw draft picks around like dice on a craps table.This makes Fletcher&rsquo;s job awfully tough, but he plans to completely change the culture in Minnesota.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know how far I&rsquo;ll hit the ball,&rdquo; Fletcher said, &ldquo;but I guarantee you the bat won&rsquo;t stay on my shoulder.&rdquo;Leipold, who attends every home game and occasionally travels with the team, recognized the fans&rsquo; growing angst.He felt a change was necessary to turn Minnesota &ndash; the State of Hockey &ndash; into the hockey hotbed it should be.This is a team that has sold out every game in franchise history. With all this market has to offer, from hockey tradition to a passionate fan base, there&rsquo;s no excuse for Minnesota not being one of the top destinations of anybody and everybody in the NHL.Leipold hopes this off-season&rsquo;s overhaul is a loud-and-clear statement to players throughout the NHL that this is not the Wild of yesteryear.&ldquo;We have everything to offer here,&rdquo; Leipold said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;ll look at us in a different light now and they&rsquo;ll want to come play here.&rdquo;<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-031077/9242609-1-eng-US/f0016-032.jpg" title="f0016-03" width="116" height="132"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2>EXPANSION TEAMS</h2>Of the four most recent expansion teams (listed with first NHL season and playoff record), the Wild and Preds easily have the most post-season experience.29 MINNESOTA WILDPLAYOFF GAMES2000-01 (11-18)22 NASHVILLE PREDATORSPLAYOFF GAMES1998-99 (6-16)4 ATLANTA THRASHERSPLAYOFF GAMES1999-00 (0-4)4 COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETSPLAYOFF GAMES2000-01 (0-4) &#9632;

f0016-01

MAXIMUM SHIFT IN MINNY

f0024-02

PEN DEMIC

<div class="byline">BY ALAN BASS</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-011293/9242797-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="463" height="895"><figcaption class="caption-body">(JAMIE SABAU/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02909/9242804-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="188" height="177"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-03663/9242790-1-eng-US/f0027-032.jpg" title="f0027-03" width="1508" height="1259"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-04487/9242783-1-eng-US/f0027-042.jpg" title="f0027-04" width="1556" height="928"></div>1 Game 1, DET, 13:38 of 1st, 1-0 DetroitStuart shot, banks off end boards and Fleury2 Game 1, PIT, 18:37 of 1st, 1-1Fedotenko rebound, backhand low glove side3 Game 1, DET, 19:02 of 2nd, 2-1 DetroitFranzen shot from goal line, off Fleury&rsquo;s skate4 Game 1, DET, 2:46 of 3rd, 3-1 DetroitAbdelkader shot from low slot, in off far post5 Game 2, PIT, 16:50 of 1st, 1-0 PittsburghBrad Stuart bats Malkin rebound into own net6 Game 2, DET, 4:21 of 2nd, 1-1Ericsson slapshot from point, low glove side7 Game 2, DET, 10:29 of 2nd, 2-1 DetroitFilppula backhand, far side post8 Game 2, DET, 2:47 of 3rd, 3-1 DetroitAbdelkader slapshot, high glove side9 Game 3, PIT, 4:48 of 1st, 1-0 PittsburghTalbot slapshot from slot, low blocker side10 Game 3, DET, 6:19 of 1st, 1-1Zetterberg snaps rebound through Fleury11 Game 3, DET, 11:33 of 1st, 2-1 DetroitFranzen one-timer, high blocker side12 Game 3, PIT, 15:57 of 1st, 2-2Letang slapshot, five-hole13 Game 3, PIT, 10:29 of 3rd, 3-2 PittsburghGonchar slapshot, high glove side14 Game 3, PIT, 19:03 of 3rd, 4-2 PittsburghTalbot, empty-netter from neutral zone15 Game 4, PIT, 2:39 of 1st, 1-0 PittsburghMalkin gets rebound, tips it in under pads16 Game 4, DET, 18:19 of 1st, 1-1Helm wrist shot, high glove side.17 Game 4, DET, 0:46 of 2nd, 2-1 DetroitStuart point slapshot, blocker side18 Game 4, PIT, 8:35 of 2nd, 2-2Staal breakaway deke past Osgood19 Game 4, PIT, 10:34 of 2nd, 3-2 PittsburghCrosby, 2-on-1 with Malkin, blocker side20 Game 4, PIT, 14:12 of 2nd, 4-2 PittsburghKennedy, 3-on-2, one-timer blocker side21 Game 5, DET, 13:32 of 1st, 1-0 DetroitCleary screened shot from top of right circle22 Game 5, DET, 1:44 of 2nd, 2-0 DetroitFilppula deke, breakaway, shot five-hole23 Game 5, DET, 6:11 of 2nd, 3-0 DetroitKronwall, from slot, over a diving Fleury24 Game 5, DET, 8:26 of 2nd, 4-0 DetroitRafalski, wrist shot point, low blocker side25 Game 5, DET, 15:40 of 2nd, 5-0 DetroitZetterberg, high wrist shot, glove side26 Game 6, PIT, 0:51 of 2nd, 1-0 PittsburghStaal gets own rebound, flips it glove side27 Game 6, PIT, 5:35 of 3rd, 2-0 PittsburghKennedy gets own rebound, shoots it far side28 Game 6, DET, 8:01 of 3rd, 2-1 PittsburghDraper gets rebound in low slot29 Game 7, PIT, 1:13 of 2nd, 1-0 PittsburghTalbot takeaway, shot from the slot, five-hole30 Game 7, PIT, 10:07 of 2nd, 2-0 PittsburghTalbot wrist shot, high glove side on 2-on-131 Game 7, DET, 13:53 of 3rd, 2-1 PittsburghEricsson one-timer from right point &#9632;

f0027-01

HOW THE GOALS WERE SCORED

f0044-02

NHL Team Reports

<div class="byline">BY KEVIN OKLOBZIJA</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-01299/9243118-1-eng-US/f0050-012.jpg" title="f0050-01" width="888" height="1092"><figcaption class="caption-body">(JANE SHAFER)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-02206/9243111-1-eng-US/f0050-022.jpg" title="f0050-02" width="213" height="214"></div><h2>Grant Clitsome</h2>Syracuse CrunchHt. 5-11Wt. 206Pos. DAge 24<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-03128/9243104-1-eng-US/f0050-032.jpg" title="f0050-03" width="197" height="103"></div>AND COUNTING271 Clitsome&rsquo;s overall draft position when selected by Columbus in 2004WHEN&nbsp;GRANT CLITSOME MADE the choice to play collegiate hockey, he believed his education was just as important.He wasn&rsquo;t quite so sure what he&rsquo;d do with his life after hockey. He was interested in the world of business, but law always appealed to him. The Gloucester, Ont., native decided to pursue both during his four years at Clarkson University.A ninth round draft pick by Columbus in 2004, Clitsome left school after four years with a degree in business and two minors, one in political science and the other in law.&ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t sure what I wanted to do when I was done playing hockey,&rdquo; he said.He&rsquo;s still not sure. But thanks to his play on the ice, he won&rsquo;t have to make that decision yet.Clitsome, 24, has climbed the Blue Jackets&rsquo; organizational depth chart on defense. He made steady and strong progress throughout his rookie pro season, going from a guy used sparingly to someone playing in every situation.&ldquo;At the beginning of the year he couldn&rsquo;t even get in the lineup,&rdquo; said Crunch coach Ross Yates. &ldquo;At the end of the year, after Dan Smith, he and (fellow rookie) Nick Holden were probably 2-3 on the depth chart.&rdquo;Clitsome&rsquo;s hockey career in some ways parallels his path to education. He is contemplating getting his master&rsquo;s degree in business administration, but hasn&rsquo;t abandoned thoughts of a law degree, On the ice, he&rsquo;s still trying to create an identity.At Clarkson, he delivered big hits, killed penalties and quarter backed the power play. At the pro level, he&rsquo;s probably not going to see a great deal of power play time.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to really label myself as playing just one type of game,&rdquo; Clitsome said. &ldquo;I like to see myself as an all-around defenseman, who can play all situations.&rdquo;But with just four goals and 19 points in 73 Crunch games this season, he won&rsquo;t be the first call-up for offense from the point.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think he&rsquo;ll be an offensive defenseman, that&rsquo;s pretty clear,&rdquo; Yates said. &ldquo;But with a little more experience, he can become a very reliable guy who can make that first good pass.&rdquo;Whatever Clitsome&rsquo;s role, physicality will be a large part.&ldquo;Not after the whistle, but during the play,&rdquo; he said.Yates said he&rsquo;d like to see it ramped up: &ldquo;He needs to be a little more physical on a consistent basis.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0050-01

PROSPECTS UNLIMITED

MOVING ON UP

<div class="byline">&#x2013; KEVIN OKLOBZIJA</div>While life in the NHL was just fine for Jim Playfair the past six-and-a-half years, something was missing &ndash; the final say.That&rsquo;s why the 45-year-old Playfair is now coach of the Abbotsford Heat, the Calgary Flames&rsquo; new AHL affiliate.Playfair has been an assistant coach, head coach and associate coach in Calgary since January 2003, but wanted to call the shots again as a teaching head coach.Playfair guided the Saint John Flames to the Calder Cup in 2001, his first season with the organization. He spent two-and-a-half seasons with Saint John before being summoned to Calgary.DOME HOCKEY When the Onondaga County Legislature balked at providing $350,000 for an outdoor game in Syracuse, the Crunch turned their sights to the largest indoor venue in the state: Syracuse University&rsquo;s Carrier Dome.The Crunch is doing preliminary work with the hopes of breaking the league&rsquo;s single game attendance record. The Dome seats about 49,000 for football and 33,600 for basketball.The AHL attendance record of 20,672 was set at the Greensboro Coliseum (home of the defunct Carolina Monarchs) in 1997.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-04102/9243156-1-eng-US/f0050-042.jpg" title="f0050-04" width="201" height="278"></div><h2>ON&nbsp;TOP</h2><h3>PASS-FIRST GUYS</h3>Keith AucoinHershey Bears<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-0568/9243149-1-eng-US/f0050-052.jpg" title="f0050-05" width="196" height="103"></div>18 &rarr; PLAYOFF ASSISTSChris Bourque, Her 16Jason Krog, Mtb 15Alexandre Giroux, Her 13Vladimir Sobotka, Pro 11 Martin St-Pierre, Pro 11Ville Leino, GR 10 &#9632;

f0050-04

PLAYFAIR WANTS HEAT

<div class="byline">BY PHIL JANACK</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-01279/9243201-1-eng-US/f0051-012.jpg" title="f0051-01" width="666" height="818"><figcaption class="caption-body">(JUSTSPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-02203/9243194-1-eng-US/f0051-022.jpg" title="f0051-02" width="213" height="214"></div><h2>Michal Neuvirth</h2>Hershey BearsHt. 6-1Wt. 193Pos. GAge 21<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-03142/9243187-1-eng-US/f0051-032.jpg" title="f0051-03" width="197" height="103"></div>AND COUNTING4&nbsp;Number of shutouts posted by Neuvirth during the playoffsWATCHING SIMEON VARLAMOV carry the Washington Capitals in the Stanley Cup playoffs gave Michal Neuvirth incentive to do the same for the Caps&rsquo; farm team.Only Neuvirth &ndash; who at 21 is just a month older than Varlamov &ndash; took it a step further.In his first full season in North America, Neuvirth led the Hershey Bears to their 10th Calder Cup championship and earned the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as playoff MVP.&ldquo;We knew he had the talent,&rdquo; said Bears coach Bob Woods of Neuvirth. &ldquo;Talking to (Caps goalie coach) Dave Prior, they had high hopes for him. He said, &lsquo;He&rsquo;s a guy who could win a Cup for us,&rsquo; and he was right. With Varlamov doing what he did in Washington, that was pretty good motivation for Neuvy to try and do something special.&rdquo;Washington&rsquo;s goaltending depth forced Neuvirth, a Czech drafted 34th overall in 2006, to start the 2008-09 season in the ECHL.He was up and down between South Carolina and Hershey, but turned a corner during a five-game stint with Washington in February and March.&ldquo;He could have played on any team in this league the whole year, but he kept his head high,&rdquo; said Bears alternate captain Keith Aucoin. &ldquo;He didn&rsquo;t pout; he just went down and played well and finally got a chance here. Going to Washington was a big boost for him. He played well there and carried it back here.&rdquo;When Varlamov was recalled by the Caps and Daren Machesney went off to the Spengler Cup, Neuvirth was in Hershey to stay. He went 9-5-2 in the regular season to help lift the Bears to the East Division title and became only the fourth goalie in AHL history with 16 wins in a single post-season. His 16-6 playoff record was accompanied by a miniscule 1.92 goals-against average and stellar .932 save percentage.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s the reason we won,&rdquo; said Hershey captain Bryan Helmer. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s scary. He&rsquo;s only 21 and when he&rsquo;s back there he never gets nervous. If he lets in a bad goal, he doesn&rsquo;t let it bug him.&rdquo;Added Woods: &ldquo;At the start of the year, goaltending was probably our only concern. We had three young goaltenders and we knew the talent was there, the worry was could they handle the pressure. Give the kid a lot of credit. He handled it with flying colors.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0051-01

PROVING HIS ’VIRTH

<div class="byline">&#x2013; PHIL JANACK</div>Peter Zezel&rsquo;s minor league stay was short, but impactful. Zezel, who died May 26 following complications from a rare and incurable blood disorder, played 35 games for the Albany River Rats in 1997-98 and represented them at the AHL All-Star Game.&ldquo;He&rsquo;d do anything for anybody; all you had to do was ask,&rdquo; said Albany assistant coach Geordie Kinnear, who captained that Rats team.Zezel was a veteran of 800-plus NHL games when he arrived in Albany. It was the only full-time minor league assignment of his 15-year playing career.&ldquo;When he got sent down, he never pouted or did anything negative,&rdquo; Kinnear said. &ldquo;The guy was unbelievable. He was on an NHL salary, so we had sushi on the bus more often than not.&rdquo;Zezel was MVP of the 1998 AHL All-Star Game, dedicating the victory to his sick two-yearold niece in Toronto, who died of cancer 15 months later.&ldquo;When I played with him, he was unbelievable,&rdquo; said ex-Rats defenseman and current Hershey Bears captain Bryan Helmer. &ldquo;I remember totally looking up to him. That was the year I had my best year in Albany and a lot of it was because of him.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-04112/9243239-1-eng-US/f0051-042.jpg" title="f0051-04" width="202" height="278"></div><h2>ON TOP</h2><h3>CLUTCH SNIPERS</h3>Alexandre GirouxHershey Bears<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-0579/9243232-1-eng-US/f0051-052.jpg" title="f0051-05" width="196" height="103"></div>15 &rarr; PLAYOFF GOALSCorey Locke, Hou 12Michael Grabner, Mtb 10Jason Jaffray, Mtb 9Matt Beaudoin, Hou 8Jason Krog, Mtb 8Brad Marchand, Pro 7Graham Mink, Her 7 &#9632;

f0051-04

ZEZEL’S LEGACY

WHEN IT COMES to Ryan Ellis of the Windsor Spitfires, &lsquo;D&rsquo; isn&rsquo;t just for defenseman. It&rsquo;s also for dedication to honing his game.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been amazing to watch his development and to see how he&rsquo;s grown as a player,&rdquo; said Spitfires coach Bob Boughner, who spent 10 seasons patrolling NHL bluelines.Boughner has no doubt Ellis will play in the NHL a lot longer than he did. He came to that conclusion during the World Junior Championship; Ellis went into the tournament a 17-year-old boy and came out an 18-year-old man.&ldquo;Ryan&rsquo;s going to be one of those guys who can run the power play, but also give you heavy minutes,&rdquo; Boughner said.&ldquo;He showed that on the world stage and he&rsquo;s going to eventually become that kind of player (at) the next level.&rdquo;Having Boughner behind the bench, with assistant coaches Bob Jones and D.J. Smith, who also played defense, has been a godsend for Ellis&rsquo; career.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a lot of NHL years behind our bench,&rdquo; said Ellis, a sure-fire first-rounder in the 2009 draft. &ldquo;Having that experience and knowledge behind us, especially as a defenseman, it helps.&rdquo;Ellis was 10 when he dropped to the blueline during a playoff series while his team was short a D-man.&ldquo;The more I played it the more I fell in love with it,&rdquo; Ellis said.&ldquo;Being an offensive guy I still have the chance to join the play or play on the power play. I never looked at it as scoring goals as much as just contributing to team success.&rdquo;Boughner said Ellis has never strayed from that unselfishness; he is smart enough to know there&rsquo;s more to the game than offense.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s always had that natural skill and a heavy shot, but he&rsquo;s rounded his game and is a complete player now,&rdquo; Boughner said. &ldquo;People don&rsquo;t understand, but he&rsquo;s also one of our shutdown defensemen and on any given night he can throw a big bodycheck. He&rsquo;s got a little of everything in his game.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-01274/9243312-1-eng-US/f0052-012.jpg" title="f0052-01" width="683" height="925"><figcaption class="caption-body">(AARON BELL)</figcaption></div>The knocks on Ellis going into the June 26 draft were size/strength and defensive zone play. He&rsquo;ll need to bulk up to defend against NHL forwards, but positioning and foresight will aid his defensive play.&ldquo;His biggest attribute is he anticipates the play and knows where that puck is going before it gets there,&rdquo; Boughner said.&ndash; JIM CRESSMAN<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-02169/9243305-1-eng-US/f0052-022.jpg" title="f0052-02" width="354" height="191"></div><h2>Ryan Ellis</h2>Windsor SpitfiresHt. 5-10Wt. 178Pos. DAge 18<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-03112/9243298-1-eng-US/f0052-032.jpg" title="f0052-03" width="360" height="72"></div><h3>Draft Status</h3>Ranked 17th overall by THN in Draft Preview &rsquo;09<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-0490/9243291-1-eng-US/f0052-042.jpg" title="f0052-04" width="197" height="102"></div>AND COUNTING7&nbsp;Ellis&rsquo; point total in six games at the 2009 World Junior Championship<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-0568/9243284-1-eng-US/f0052-052.jpg" title="f0052-05" width="276" height="155"></div><h2>COACH COMES OUT OF HIBERNATION</h2>Marc Habscheid is back with the Bruins. Before joining Chilliwack as coach-GM in early June, Habscheid had not been involved in hockey full time since spending the 2006-07 NHL season as an assistant coach with the Boston Bruins. &ldquo;After this, maybe UCLA,&rdquo; Habscheid quipped. &ldquo;Have they got a hockey team there?&rdquo; Habscheid, a former coach of the Kelowna Rockets and Kamloops Blazers, is excited about the new opportunity. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been in hockey since I was three years old, so it&rsquo;s part of my life and what I do,&rdquo; he said. Habscheid, 46, helped out with midget and youth hockey in Swift Current during his hiatus. &ldquo;I did miss it, but it wasn&rsquo;t a bad time to step back, either, because the previous 10 years were a whirlwind. I got to catch my breath a little.&rdquo;&ndash; ROB VANSTONE<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-0657/9243277-1-eng-US/f0052-062.jpg" title="f0052-06" width="332" height="103"></div><h2>NEW DIGS, BIG EVENTS</h2>&ldquo;If you build it, we will come.&rdquo; That&rsquo;s the message commissioner David Branch began preaching 10 years ago when he spoke of the need for new arenas. He said cities that invest would be first in line for special events. Kingston learned that with the awarding of the 2010 all-star classic to the 5,700-seat K-Rock Centre, which opened in February, 2008. Branch said it was the league&rsquo;s way of saying thanks and it might put Kingston in line for the 2011 Memorial Cup when the OHL hosts again. &ldquo;One of the real growth factors of our league has been the evolution of new facilities and we&rsquo;re really trying to reward these cities,&rdquo; Branch said. &ldquo;And when you host an event like (the All-Star Game), it only serves to enhance opportunities going forward.&rdquo;&ndash; JIM CRESSMAN<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-0742/9243270-1-eng-US/f0052-072.jpg" title="f0052-07" width="262" height="155"></div><h2>JUNIORS ENJOYING DYNAMIC NET DUO</h2>Both Montreal Juniors puckstoppers &ndash; Jake Allen and Jean-Francois Berube &ndash; were among the 14 who attended Hockey Canada&rsquo;s goaltenders evaluation camp in June, which means they&rsquo;re candidates for the national junior team. &ldquo;We feel very fortunate to have such a strong 1-2 punch in net,&rdquo; said coach-GM Pascal Vincent. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a luxury. We expect to lose Jake Allen to the national junior team for a few weeks this year.&rdquo; Allen, 19, was the 34th overall pick by St. Louis in the 2008 draft. Berube, 18, is eligible for the 2009 draft. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m sure next season will be Allen&rsquo;s last in junior and then Berube is waiting in the wings&rdquo; said Vincent. &ldquo;People have asked about our goalies, but at this time I&rsquo;m not looking at trading either of them.&rdquo;&ndash; NEIL HODGE &#9632;

f0052-01

OFFENSIVE, BUT ROUNDED

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-01259/9243378-1-eng-US/f0053-012.jpg" title="f0053-01" width="751" height="764"><figcaption class="caption-body">ALEXANDRE GIROUX (JUSTSPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-03122/9243371-1-eng-US/f0053-032.jpg" title="f0053-03" width="219" height="155"></div><h3>CALDER CUP</h3><h2>BEARS RACK UP RECORD TITLE</h2>With scoring and leadership from veterans and an MVP performance from a rookie goaltender, the Hershey Bears added another chapter to their legacy.Hershey&rsquo;s victory over the Manitoba Moose in the Calder Cup final gave the Bears franchise its record 10th AHL championship and second in four years.In its 71st season of operation Hershey had shared the record of nine titles with the original Cleveland Barons. The Bears&rsquo; 21 final appearances are also the most in the league&rsquo;s 73-year history.&ldquo;It means a lot to the organization,&rdquo; said 36-year-old Hershey captain Bryan Helmer. &ldquo;They expect a lot here in Hershey. Somebody said to me this year that Hershey is like the New York Yankees of hockey. That says a lot about your organization. To bring a 10th Calder Cup to Hershey was unbelievable and I&rsquo;m proud to be a part of it.&rdquo;Added coach Bob Woods: &ldquo;It makes for a short summer, but I think any guy would sacrifice some summer to be in that situation. This is the best franchise in the league and to get that 10th is pretty special. There&rsquo;s a lot of passion here for hockey.&rdquo;Regular season MVP Alexandre Giroux, 28, who had 60 goals in 69 games, added 15 in 22 playoff games and led the scoring race with 28 points. Center Keith Aucoin, 30, led all set-up men with 18 assists in 21 games. His empty-net goal with 20 seconds left sealed Hershey&rsquo;s series-clinching 4-1 victory in Game 6. First-year goalie Michal Neuvirth, 21, was named playoff MVP, going 16-6 with a 1.92 goals-against average and .932 save percentage, becoming the fourth goalie in AHL history to win 16 games in a single post-season.Five of the six games in the final were sellouts. The total (77,038) and average (12,839) attendance for the series are both league records.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think the league or the organization could ask for much more,&rdquo; Woods said.&ndash; PHIL JANACK<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-02173/9243364-1-eng-US/f0053-022.jpg" title="f0053-02" width="753" height="763"><figcaption class="caption-body">WINDSOR SPITFIRES (RICHARD WOLOWICZ/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-04106/9243357-1-eng-US/f0053-042.jpg" title="f0053-04" width="297" height="153"></div><h3>MEMORIAL CUP</h3><h2>SPITFIRES WIN FOR CAPTAIN</h2>The Windsor Spitfires&rsquo; Memorial Cup victory was perfect timing for a team still mourning its captain and a city devastated by the economy&rsquo;s effect on the beleaguered auto industry.Windsor&rsquo;s unemployment rate was the highest in Canada at 13.8 percent. But for a moment, the heartache was forgotten as a team and its city celebrated the 34-year-old franchise&rsquo;s first Cup.In just three years, ex-NHLers and native sons Bob Boughner (coach) and Warren Rychel (GM) along with business partner and former minor hockey teammate Peter Dobrich, built a squad that won 73 of 88 regular season and playoff games and arrived at the big dance a year ahead of schedule: They&rsquo;re supposed to be even better next season.But the story really began in February 2008, with the death of Windsor&rsquo;s 19-year-old captain Mickey Renaud, who collapsed and died at home from a rare heart condition. If there was a single driving force in the 2008-09 season, it was their captain&rsquo;s memory.&ldquo;We dedicated the season to Mickey and the championship was as much for him and his family as it was for us and the city,&rdquo; said center Eric Wellwood.The Spitfires were riding a high after winning the OHL crown. But they had to make history first by becoming the first team to win it all after an 0-2 start at the Memorial Cup, which also involved Kelowna, Drummondville and host Rimouski.&ldquo;It was meant to be this season,&rdquo; is how Cup MVP Taylor Hall explained it. &ldquo;No one thought it was possible. But we found a way. This team always did.&rdquo;Rychel and Boughner are no strangers to hard work.&ldquo;Me and Bob are Windsor guys,&rdquo; said Rychel, who had to carry the extra burden of losing his 39-year-old brother Andrew in a house fire in March. &ldquo;This is a blue-collar town. We know what kind of hockey Windsor fans want to see. Talented, hard-working, entertaining hockey.&rdquo;&ndash; JIM CRESSMAN<h3>ECHL</h3><h2>KELLY CUP</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-0579/9243350-1-eng-US/f0053-052.jpg" title="f0053-05" width="169" height="125"></div>At mid-season, South Carolina coach Jared Bednar had difficulty icing a team. A few months later, his Stingrays won their third Kelly Cup &ndash; tied for most in the league&rsquo;s 21-year history &ndash; in dramatic fashion.The Rays won a seven-game final with a 4-2 road victory at a packed Sullivan Arena in Alaska. South Carolina had 14 players called up to the AHL this year; coupled with a spate of injuries and Bednar was using as few as 13 skaters and an emergency backup while posting a 4-9 record in January.&ldquo;We faced a lot of adversity,&rdquo; Bednar told the Charleston based Post and Courier. &ldquo;It was a roller-coaster.&rdquo;Trades, acquisitions and a return to health put the resilient Rays back on the championship track.&ndash; MIKE MASTOVICH<h3>USHL</h3><h2>CLARK CUP</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-0669/9243343-1-eng-US/f0053-062.jpg" title="f0053-06" width="311" height="95"></div>Ice storms aren&rsquo;t the norm in Indiana &ndash; until this year.The Indiana Ice, led by first year coach-GM Jeff Blashill, blanketed the league with its own version of foul weather in 2009, going 39-19-2 in the regular season before claiming the Clark Cup with a 3-1 series victory over Fargo.Wisconsin recruit Brett Bennett stood tall in goal, while NHL draft hopefuls Mike Cichy (2009) and Russian Stanislav Galiev (2010) were 1-2 in team scoring with 74 and 64 points. At 6-foot-1, 177 pounds, the right-shooting Galiev, 17, will also be highly sought for the 2009 CHL import draft.&ldquo;When (Stan) gets the puck on his stick, he&rsquo;s something special,&rdquo; Blashill said, &ldquo;but the more he takes over a game, the better he&rsquo;ll be.&rdquo;&ndash; PAUL SHAHEEN &#9632;

f0053-01

BEST OF THE REST THE CHAMPIONS

<div class="byline">By Larry Humber</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0056-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-02133/9243447-1-eng-US/f0056-022.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-01202/9243454-1-eng-US/f0056-012.jpg" title="f0056-01" width="155" height="151"></div>ANSWERS AVAILABLE IN THE NEXT ISSUE AND AT <a href="http://THN.com/XWORD">THN.com/xword</a><h2>ACROSS</h2>1 Calgary&rsquo;s Rene ___ (or, Bruins great who wore No. 77)4 Joe Thornton is one7 Veteran center ___ Marchant8 The Flames once played at the tiny ___ Corral10 Team based in Raleigh, N.C.12 A ___maker is a player who tries to break up fights13 They won their only Cup in 199914 Tied18 He captains Columbus, pictured19 ___ Koivu20 He tends net for the Jackets21 A ___ goalie is a team&rsquo;s backup<h2>DOWN</h2>1 1981 Smythe Trophy winner ___ Goring2 In progress3 Tie games require ___time4 Mikael ___ is a winger with Detroit5 Ovechkin&rsquo;s first name6 Goalies9 He was coach when the Rangers won their first Cup in 54 years11 Kind of shot12 You need one to tell who is playing15 Pucks16 Chris ___ won a Cup with Colorado17 A legendary Quebec teamLAST WEEK&rsquo;S CROSSWORD SOLUTION&nbsp;ACROSS 1. KID LINE, 4. TOMAS, 7. CONN, 8. STAMPEDE, 10. STEVE MASON, 12. HALAK, 13. TRAIL, 14. PRETENDERS, 18. TRAINERS, 19. BELL, 20. NOTRE, 21. SEVENTY DOWN 1. KICKS, 2. DAN KELLY, 3. EXTRA, 4. TIM HORTONS, 5. MOEN, 6. SPECIAL, 9. PEKKA RINNE, 11. DAVE KEON, 12. HOUSTON, 15. TURNS, 16. SELBY, 17. HART<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-0380/9243440-1-eng-US/f0056-032.jpg" title="f0056-03" width="1673" height="844"></div> &#9632;

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CROSSWORD

<div class="byline">&#x2013; RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-0540/9243485-1-eng-US/f0056-052.jpg" title="f0056-05" width="901" height="723"><figcaption class="caption-body">TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS 1933-34 (CLASSIC AUCTIONS.NET)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-0463/9243492-1-eng-US/f0056-042.jpg" title="f0056-04" width="156" height="155"></div>A recent item up for bid at <a href="http://ClassicAuctions.net">ClassicAuctions.net</a>, how about this St. Patrick&rsquo;s Day one-off worn by King Clancy for one period against the Rangers? A gift from Leafs brass for his contributions to the team, the green jersey featured a clover on the back instead of Clancy&rsquo;s number. Spoiling the mood slightly was a New York protest to the officials, which forced Clancy to go back to his regular blue-and-white sweater for the second and third periods. Seventy-five years later, it still looks pretty sweet. &#9632;

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