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.

June 1, 2012

The Hockey News - Jun-01-12

<h2>Plays Both Wings</h2>While reading the heart-warming story of the SPHL champion Columbus Cotton-mouths&rsquo; two new dads (Inside Hockey, May 14), something jumped off the page. Center Orrin Hergott&rsquo;s wife is named Fonda. The couple named their new son Nixon. Did any other American readers catch the political irony in that?&nbsp;Richard S. O&rsquo;Kane, Rye, N.H.<h2>Type Writers</h2>The email chain between THN&rsquo;s writers (Bad Blood, May 14) was one of the most entertaining columns I&rsquo;ve read in years, with all roles being filled&hellip;the angry one, played by Ken Campbell; the young upstart, by Rory Boylen; the comic relief, by Adam Proteau; and the voice of reason, by Ryan Kennedy. If only we had some linesmen to separate this fight.Chris Farley, TorontoJust finished reading the email thread&hellip;I thought you were going to drop the gloves. Well, maybe not Ken.&nbsp;Peter Grecco, Oakville, Ont.I was struck by Proteau&rsquo;s assertion that &ldquo;suspensions are like snowflakes.&rdquo; Very rarely is a player suspended who does not cause a serious injury. Shouldn&rsquo;t it be the act that draws punishment and not the consequence? This is where supplemental discipline fails.Thomas Zakrewski, Atlanta, Ga.Ken, do you think viewership is up because of the high-profile teams or perhaps a few more people have come to appreciate the Cup is the toughest trophy to win because of the intensity of each and every game? Why assume it&rsquo;s just blood-thirsty types who are only in it for the mayhem?Pete Borrelli, Jr., Rochester, N.Y.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-03973/9611774-1-eng-US/f0006-032.jpg" title="f0006-03" width="558" height="743"></div><h2>Love For Glove</h2>What a fantastic cover (May 14). That photo perfectly represents everything wrong with Vancouver and everything right with Los Angeles. Drew Doughty&rsquo;s facial expression is classic and Justin Williams providing a nice sweaty-glove facewash is icing on the cake. You guys nailed this one. It&rsquo;s going on my wall.Donald Perez, Helendale, Calif.<h2>Bauble Bobbles</h2>You gave the Comeback Player Award to Joffrey Lupul (May 14). I can&rsquo;t argue he doesn&rsquo;t deserve it, but the fact that Max Pacioretty wasn&rsquo;t included in the notable players is mind boggling. After his devastating hit from Zdeno Chara, which almost ended his career, he came back to be the first Canadiens player to score 30 goals since Alex Kovalev in 2007-08.&nbsp;Brandon Maron, MontrealI disagree with your justifications for choosing Jonathan Quick as Best Goalie over Henrik Lundqvist. While the Rangers may have &ldquo;been the same&rdquo; whether Lundqvist or Marty Biron played, that&rsquo;s a product of John Tortorella&rsquo;s coaching. Lundqvist also had greater success against a powerhouse Atlantic Division where four of the five teams had more than 100 points.Brian Birnbaum, New YorkSubmit your letter at: <a href="http://THN.COM/LETTERS">thn.com/letters</a> &#9632;

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IN THIS ISSUE

THN INBOX

<div class="byline">&#x2013; RORY BOYLEN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0039-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-02782/9613401-1-eng-US/f0039-022.jpg"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-011181/9613394-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg" title="f0039-01" width="77" height="89"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-08265/9613387-1-eng-US/f0039-082.jpg" title="f0039-08" width="658" height="824"><figcaption class="caption-body">ROMAN CERVENKA (BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>Ask Jaromir Jagr what he thinks of Roman Cervenka and you&rsquo;ll get a glowing review. The two played alongside each other at the 2010 Olympics and again last season with Omsk in the Kontinental League. Cervenka led the KHL in goals that year, his first outside of the Czech League.But what can the Flames expect from their newest center? GM Jay Feaster anticipates him playing on Calgary&rsquo;s top two units, which is why he maxed out the bonuses allowed under the CBA on Cervenka&rsquo;s entry level contract (one year at $3.775 million). &ldquo;One of the things we&rsquo;ve identified that we very badly need is to improve our skill level,&rdquo; Feaster said. &ldquo;We saw it with the play of Sven Baertschi when he came in and played five games for us this season. We need to become more skilled.&rdquo;Cervenka, 26, adds the potential for more skill, but production is not a certainty. When considering the success rates of recent late-blooming European signees, it&rsquo;s fair to be skeptical toward the scale of Cervenka&rsquo;s NHL contribution.Jonas Gustavsson, Ville Leino and Fabian Brunnstrom (who scored a hat trick in his first NHL game) all arrived with great fanfare they never lived up to. Will Cervenka be the same? While he did see a drop in production without Jagr, he did lead the KHL in playoff goal-scoring. But as one scout said of him, &ldquo;The only notes I have on him are his lack of size, which would be a problem.&rdquo;Time will tell.<h2>FOR THE RECORD</h2><h3>CALGARY 2012 UFA | RFA</h3>Jokinen, C, 33 $ $ $ $Stempniak, RW, 29 $ $ $Hannan, D, 33 $ $Moss, RW, 30 $ $Sarich, D, 33 $ $Desbiens, RW, 27 $Ivanans, LW, 33 $Kostopoulos, RW, 33 $Letourneau, RW, 27 $Backlund, C, 23 $ $Comeau, LW, 26 $ $Byron, C, 23 $Irving, G, 24 $Jones, C, 25 $<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-03616/9613380-1-eng-US/f0039-032.jpg" title="f0039-03" width="327" height="569"><figcaption class="caption-body">(GERRY THOMAS/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>Olli Jokinen had nine goals and 23 points in a 22-game winter run to get the Flames in a playoff position and buzz was the pending UFA would command $5 million. But two goals and three points in 13 games down the stretch sullied that belief. Now with free agent Roman Cervenka signed, the Flames will take Jokinen at a bargain or let him walk.<h3>COLORADO 2012 UFA | RFA</h3>Jones, RW, 27 $$$$Hejduk, RW, 36 $$$O&rsquo;Brien, D, 28 $$$Hunwick, D, 27 $$McClement, C, 29 $$McLeod, LW, 28 $Duchene, C, 21 $$$$$Johnson, D, 24 $$$$$Downie, RW, 25 $$$$O&rsquo;Reilly, C, 21 $$$$Wilson, D, 25 $$$McGinn, LW, 23 $$Mueller, RW, 24 $$Olver, C, 24 $Porter, LW, 26 $<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-04515/9613373-1-eng-US/f0039-042.jpg" title="f0039-04" width="327" height="568"><figcaption class="caption-body">(RICH LAM/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>The Lightning weren&rsquo;t disgruntled with Steve Downie before trading him to Colorado. They just knew it would be costly to keep the soon-to-be RFA in the fold. The Avs picked him up in a three-way deal with Detroit that cost them Kyle Quincey, knowing full well Downie&rsquo;s effective sandpaper style is worth twice the $1.9 million he made.<h3>EDMONTON 2012 UFA | RFA</h3>Smyth, LW, 36 $$$Petrell, C, 28 $$Green, C, 34 $Hordichuk, LW, 31 $Gagner, C, 22 $$$$Barker, D, 26 $$Dubnyk, G, 26 $$Peckham, D, 24 $$Petry, D, 24 $$Chorney, D, 25 $Omark, LW, 25 $Plante, D, 23 $Vande Velde, C, 25 $<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-05433/9613366-1-eng-US/f0039-052.jpg" title="f0039-05" width="327" height="568"><figcaption class="caption-body">(ANDY DEVLIN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>There are big-game players and there are players who have big games. Sam Gagner belongs to the latter group, coming through with a fabulous eightpoint night against Chicago in February. Gagner had eight goals and 15 points during a hot five-game streak. But in the other 70 games, he had a pedestrian 10 goals and 32 points and is now an RFA.<h3>MINNESOTA 2012 UFA | RFA</h3>Harding, G, 28 $$$$Foster, D, 30 $$Lundin, D, 27 $$Stoner, D, 27 $$Christensen, C, 28 $Ortmeyer, RW, 33 $Peters, C, 29 $Veilleux, LW, 30 $Latendresse, LW, 25 $$$Falk, D, 23 $$Johnson, RW, 26 $$Almond, C, 22 $Kassian, LW, 25 $McMillan, RW, 23 $Palmieri, RW, 22 $<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-06359/9613359-1-eng-US/f0039-062.jpg" title="f0039-06" width="327" height="569"><figcaption class="caption-body">(FRANCOIS LACASSE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>Josh Harding comes across as a young stopper who had a breakthrough season. But he&rsquo;s actually a seven-year pro with barely 100 NHL games under his belt. Embattled with injuries throughout his career, this was his most stellar campaign. In a suppressed UFA goalie market, Harding is sure to have many suitors who believe he&rsquo;s ready to be a No. 1 netminder.<h3>VANCOUVER 2012 UFA | RFA</h3>Pahlsson, C, 34 $$Rome, D, 28 $$Salo, D, 37 $$Bitz, RW, 27 $Ebbett, C, 29 $Mancari, RW, 26 $Reinprecht, C, 36 $Volpatti, LW, 27 $Schneider, G, 26 $$$$ $Raymond, LW, 26 $$$Gragnani, D, 25 $$Lack, G, 24 $Oreskovich, RW, 25 $Parent, D, 25 $Weise, RW, 23 $<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-07314/9613352-1-eng-US/f0039-072.jpg" title="f0039-07" width="327" height="569"><figcaption class="caption-body">(JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>Cory Schneider is poised to take the reins from Roberto Luongo in Vancouver and it&rsquo;s not going to come cheaply. With 36 wins in part-time duty the past two seasons and a career save percentage of .928, Schneider has the credentials, press clippings and expectations to get a five-fold raise from the $900,000 he pulled in each of the past two years.PROJECTED CAP HIT $ $ $ $ $ $+ $6M+ | $ $ $ $ $ $ $5-6M | $ $ $ $ $ $4-5M | $ $ $ $ $3-4M | $ $ $ $2-3M | $ $ $1-2M | $ $525K-1M &#9632;

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Cervenka No Certainty

<div class="byline">&#x2013; BRIAN MCNALLY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0037-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-011186/9613241-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-02832/9613234-1-eng-US/f0037-022.jpg" title="f0037-02" width="77" height="89"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-09250/9613227-1-eng-US/f0037-092.jpg" title="f0037-09" width="706" height="754"><figcaption class="caption-body">TOMAS VOKOUN (Andre Ringuette/NHLI via Getty Images)</figcaption></div>What looked like a perfect match last summer just didn&rsquo;t work out for goalie Tomas Vokoun and the Capitals. They were thrilled to get an established veteran at a cheap price. He was happy to have a one-year landing spot on a Stanley Cup contender when the market for goalies collapsed.But after a rough pre-season, Vokoun was passed over to start the opener on Oct. 8. He started 46 games to Michal Neuvirth&rsquo;s 30 during the regular season, but a groin injury ended Vokoun&rsquo;s season in late March.He was left off the active playoff roster, but said his groin injury, a severe tear, had healed by season&rsquo;s end.Given rookie goalie Braden Holtby&rsquo;s standout performance in the post-season, and with Neuvirth still under contract, Vokoun will have to seek employment elsewhere. &ldquo;For me, it was never my intention to be here more than a year,&rdquo; Vokoun said. &ldquo;For me, it&rsquo;s more disappointing about how it went and obviously getting hurt and not having the chance to play in playoffs. That&rsquo;s what I regret more than worrying about what&rsquo;s going to be next year.&rdquo;Reports Vokoun would sign with Kontinental League club Lokomotiv Yaroslavl &ndash; the team his best friend, Josef Vasicek, was playing for when he and 43 others were killed in a plane crash Sept. 7 &ndash; were incorrect.Tampa Bay is one possible NHL landing spot for Vokoun. His wife and two daughters stayed in the Miami area even after he left the Panthers to sign with the Caps.<h2>FOR THE RECORD</h2><h3>CAROLINA 2012 UFA | RFA</h3>Allen, D, 31 $ $ $ $Spacek, D, 38 $ $ $Peters, G, 25 $Bre. Sutter, LW, 25 $McBain, D, 24 $ $ $Bowman, LW, 23 $Boychuk, LW, 22 $Dadonov, RW, 23 $Murphy, G, 23 $Samson, LW, 24 $Sanguinetti, LW, 24 $Welsh, C, 24 $<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-04573/9613220-1-eng-US/f0037-042.jpg" title="f0037-04" width="327" height="569"></div>The 10 points in 14 games Jamie McBain logged in 2009-10 left Carolina fans hoping they had stumbled on an under-the-radar point producer. While his PPG average has been cut almost in half since then, McBain has become a standard 30-point guy capable of handling more PP time than the 2:34 he averaged in 2011-12, third among Canes &lsquo;D.&rsquo;<h3>FLORIDA 2012 UFA | RFA</h3>Garrison, D, 27 $$ $$Samuelsson, RW, 35 $$$Clemmensen, G, 34 $$Barch, RW, 32 $Cullen, C, 33 $Kearns, LW, 31 $Madden, C, 39 $Sturm, LW, 33 $Versteeg, RW, 26 $ $ $ $ $Kulikov, D, 21 $ $ $ $Wolski, LW, 26 $$Ellerby, D, 23 $Foster, G, 25 $Repik, 23, RW $<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-05518/9613213-1-eng-US/f0037-052.jpg" title="f0037-05" width="327" height="568"><figcaption class="caption-body">(Francois Lacasse/NHLI via Getty Images)</figcaption></div>Kris Versteeg had the highest PPG average on the Panthers, but he&rsquo;s still under their control as an RFA. Jason Garrison, however, is poised to hit the UFA market after a breakout season that saw him finish third among NHL defensemen with 16 goals. The question is, can Garrison do it again? The 27-year-old only had three goals after Jan. 20.<h3>TAMPA BAY 2012 UFA | RFA</h3>Clark, D, 35 $$$Roloson, G, 42 $Caron, G, 32 $Commodore, D, 32 $Gervais, D, 27 $Hall, RW, 31 $Shannon, C, 29 $Wallace, RW, 27 $Wyman, LW, 26 $Aulie, D, 23 $$Lee, D, 25 $$Janus, G, 22 $Mikkelson, D, 25 $Oberg, D, 24 $<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-06460/9613206-1-eng-US/f0037-062.jpg" title="f0037-06" width="327" height="568"><figcaption class="caption-body">(GRAIG ABEL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>There aren&rsquo;t any big names up for contract renewal in Tampa, but Brett Clark could benefit from circumstance. Shot-blocking has been a storyline in the post-season, so you can bet at least a few teams will try to improve in that area. Enter Clark, who was second in the NHL in blocked shots in 2011-12 and has established himself as a D-man who plays in all situations.Semin, RW, 28 $ $ $ $ $ $Wideman, D, 29 $ $ $ $ $Vokoun, G, 35 $ $ $ $Knuble, RW, 39 $$Aucoin, C, 33 $Halpern, C, 36 $King, LW, 28 $Sabourin, G, 31 $Green, D, 26 $ $ $ $ $ $Carlson, D, 22 $ $ $ $ $Perreault, C, 24 $$Beagle, C, 26 $<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-07394/9613199-1-eng-US/f0037-072.jpg" title="f0037-07" width="327" height="569"><figcaption class="caption-body">(ANDRE RINGUETTE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>Washington has a lot of tough decisions to make, but the bigger question is whether Alexander Semin will return to the NHL at all. He was a 40-goal scorer two seasons ago, but only a 21-goal scorer in 2011-12. Semin&rsquo;s past two contracts were one-year deals he signed with the Caps in January. He&rsquo;ll test the free agent market, but who will pay him?<h3>WINNIPEG 2012 UFA | RFA</h3>Glass, LW, 28 $$Mason, G, 36 $$Slater, C, 29 $$Stapleton, C, 29 $$Wellwood, C, 29 $$Flood, D, 27 $Jones, D, 30 $Meech, D, 28 $Kane, LW, 20 $ $ $ $ $ $Pavelec, G, 24 $ $ $ $Fehr, RW, 26 $$Postma, D, 23 $Machacek, RW, 23 $<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-08307/9613192-1-eng-US/f0037-082.jpg" title="f0037-08" width="327" height="569"><figcaption class="caption-body">(Travis Golby/NHLI via Getty Images)</figcaption></div>The first overall pick in 2009, John Tavares, finished with his first 30-goal season and so did the fourth overall pick, Evander Kane, showing why he is the Jets&rsquo; star of the future. However, a few stories of off-ice troubles in Winnipeg caused some fans to sour on him. Still, he&rsquo;s the Jets&rsquo; most valuable asset. His RFA contract will reflect that status.PROJECTED CAP HIT $ $ $ $ $ $+ $6M+ | $ $ $ $ $ $ $5-6M | $ $ $ $ $ $4-5M | $ $ $ $ $3-4M | $ $ $ $2-3M | $ $ $1-2M | $ $525K-1M &#9632;

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Win-Win To Capital Loss

SWEDISH LEAGUEBrynas IFFINLAND SM-LIIGAJYP JyvaskylaCZECH EXTRALIGAHC PardubiceSWISS LEAGUEZSC LionsDEUTSCHE LIGA Eisbaren BerlinAUSTRIAN LEAGUEEHC Black Wings Linz&nbsp;BRITISH LEAGUENottingham Panthers<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-031128/9612195-1-eng-US/f0012-032.jpg" title="f0012-03" width="526" height="587"><figcaption class="caption-body">JEFF TAMBELLINI (WALDEMAR DA RIN/ZSC LIONS PHOTOGRAPHER)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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EUROPEAN ELITE LEAGUE CHAMPIONS

<div class="byline">PHOTOGRAPH BY BRUCE BENNETT</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-012166/9611674-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">(GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h2>Nice Save, Bro&hellip;deur</h2>Marty still has plenty of tricks up his sleeve, including this blind back-kick stop that helped the Devils draw even. &#9632;

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THEBIGPICTURE

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-012197/9611719-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="907" height="580"><figcaption class="caption-body">(JAMIE HODGSON/THN)</figcaption></div>Having&nbsp;worked at The Hockey News for nearly 23 years, I&rsquo;ve come to subscribe to a variation of Friedrich Nietzsche&rsquo;s theory of eternal recurrence. Or as the Barenaked Ladies sang, &ldquo;it&rsquo;s all been done.&rdquo; Over and over.Playoff upsets, bad goals, blown calls, story ideas and magazine headlines. Somewhere, at some point, it invariably feels like it&rsquo;s already happened before in hockey. That&rsquo;s not a complaint, but an observation.So it goes in 2012, as the NHL scales popularity heights, with rocketing ratings and soaring revenues, with the New York marketplace gripped by Rangers fever. And looming in the backdrop, dark and ominous, is an expiring collective bargaining agreement. Say hello to 1994. Nice to see you again?Well, no. Not really. There is still some excitement to be had this summer: a Cup to be won, a draft to execute, awards to bestow and, as Ken Campbell chronicles in our cover story (pg. 22), blockbuster deals to be consummated. But all that rolling momentum could be dealt a Raffi Torres-like headshot if the league and the players can&rsquo;t agree to terms on a new CBA before the start of 2012-13.From an outsider&rsquo;s perspective, common sense says the sides will be compelled to shake hands in a timely manner. The business, while it may have its fissures, is growing and the players are thriving. Why jeopardize harmony?If there&rsquo;s anything we&rsquo;ve learned from our eternal recurrences, however, it&rsquo;s that common sense isn&rsquo;t mandatory. Remember, these are the same two parties that forfeited $2.1 billion in 2004-05 when they opted not to play the season.Sources tell us the owners are resolved this time around to limit contract lengths to five years and split revenues down the middle 50/50; they currently retain 43 percent. The players will fight to keep a larger portion of the pie and demand the owners do a better job sharing their massive revenues. Few who are closely linked with either side would be surprised to see another work stoppage. Maybe even a lengthy one.Before any agreement is reached, the parties will have to sit down to negotiate. We&rsquo;re told that hasn&rsquo;t happened yet and likely won&rsquo;t until at least the middle or end of June. And while nobody knows for sure how things will play out, you can expect it to go down to the wire or beyond. It always does.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021867/9611712-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="414" height="222"></div>NEXT&nbsp;ISSUE JULY 1, 2012CUSTOMER SERVICE AND TO SUBSCRIBE: <a href="http://THN.com">thn.com</a>CONTACT US: <a href="mailto:editorial@thehockeynews.com">editorial@thehockeynews.com</a><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-031503/9611705-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="272" height="339"></div>LISTEN UP!THE HOCKEY NEWS RADIO SHOWFRIDAYS 3-4 EST XM 92SIRIUS 207 IN USA &#9632;

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Recurring Nightmare

PUBLISHER Caroline AndrewsEDITOR IN CHIEF Jason Kay<h2>EDITORIAL</h2>SENIOR EDITOR Brian CostelloMANAGING EDITOR Edward FraserSENIOR WRITER Ken CampbellASSOCIATE SENIOR WRITER Ryan KennedyCOLUMNIST/WRITER Adam ProteauCOPY EDITORS Matt Larkin, Ronnie Shuker<h2>ART</h2>SR. ASSOCIATEART DIRECTOR Erika VanderveerDESIGNER Gregory Pynn<h2><a href="http://THN.com">THN.com</a></h2>WEB EDITOR Rory Boylen&nbsp;VIDEO PRODUCER Ted CooperINTERNS Liz Bevan, Danielle Emanuele, Casey Ippolito, Andrew Mendler, Taylor Rocca, Michael Stephens, Natalie TopolskiDIRECTOR, MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS Tracy FinkelsteinMEDIA RELATIONS Janis Davidson Pressick - <a href="mailto:pressickj@tc.tc">pressickj@tc.tc</a>MARKETING SPECIALIST Carlie McGheeCOORDINATOR Alyson YoungINTERN Lauren DayDESIGNER Corissa BaganINTERN Lauren DayPHOTOGRAPHER Getty ImagesCONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Steve & Brian Babineau, Hockey Hall of FameTORONTO PRODUCTION MANAGER John Palmeri&nbsp;PRODUCTION CO-ORDINATOR Pamela ReyesGENERAL SALES MANAGER - TORONTO Kori KobzinaADVERTISING SALES DIRECTOR Sandra YakimchickNATIONAL ACCOUNT MANAGERS Dave Burgess, Nicole MullinMARKETPLACE SALES & SALES CO-ORDINATOR Sharlane ValleauKEY ACCOUNT DIRECTORS Monique HourdKEY ACCOUNT SALES ASSOCIATES Paul Jaramillo, Patricia MixemongDIRECTOR 360&deg; SOLUTIONS Patricia ChateauneufACCOUNT DIRECTOR 360&deg; SOLUTIONS Connie Corner, Jessica ScottPROMOTIONS ART DIRECTOR Peter RobertsonBUSINESS MANAGER Nancy BakerASSOCIATE BUSINESS MANAGER Angel PalaciosNEWSSTAND DIRECTOR Pat StrangisDIGITAL MARKETING MANAGER Jason PattersonVICE PRESIDENT, CONSUMER MARKETING Christopher PurcellPRODUCT MANAGER Sylvain AwadCIRCULATION DIRECTOR, CONSUMER MARKETING GROUP Doris ChanEXECUTIVE ASSISTANT Linda GillRESEARCH MANAGER Wendy LambieSENIOR RESEARCH ANALYST Eva Chau &#9632;

The Hockey News

<div class="byline">Matthew Galloway, Mississauga, Ont.</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-021645/9611812-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">BRANDON PRUST & CHRIS NEIL (PRUST+NEIL: ANDRE RINGUETTE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>I really enjoyed the last two issues of THN. They covered every topic I wanted to read about. I must say that as a lover of old-time hockey, Ken Campbell and I rarely see eye to eye. But he was right that the NHL should openly admit it likes violence in the game (Overtime, May 14). Put an end to the debate of fighting and say it&rsquo;s a part of the game and it&rsquo;s here to stay. Ken is wrong, however, to say the league doesn&rsquo;t care about player safety. They continue to invest in research and make changes to the rinks for a reason.<h2>SPILL FOR A DRILL!</h2>The author of our lead letter next issue wins a Premium DEWALT 20V MAX* Hammerdrill!<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-012424/9611805-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="271" height="366"></div> &#9632;

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FIGHT & WRONG

<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-04621/9611843-1-eng-US/f0006-042.jpg" title="f0006-04" width="118" height="118"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2>@JesseWright_TML:</h2>It&rsquo;s definitely the Canadian Hockey League. It&rsquo;s fun to watch young people fighting for their dream of pro hockey.<h2>@JWoolhead:</h2>Best hockey right now is in the American League. It&rsquo;s the only place to see the Blue and White in the playoffs!<h2>@Eric_Alves87:</h2> It is NCAA college hockey as a whole. Look at the NHL playoffs and you will see the impact of college players.<h2>@BradSlager:</h2>ECHL. It has a pure thing going on with a blend of those vying for the NHL and journeymen playing for the love of the game. &#9632;

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WHERE IS THE BEST HOCKEY OTHER THAN THE NHL?

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-021461/9611874-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg" title="f0007-02" width="563" height="570"><figcaption class="caption-body">(DON SMITH/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-012154/9611881-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="87" height="88"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div>Toronto Maple Leafs 13%New York Rangers 10%San Jose Sharks 10%Columbus Blue Jackets 8%Detroit Red Wings 7%Vancouver Canucks 5%Washington Capitals 5%Others 42% &#9632;

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POLLRESULTS

Adam, can Brendan Shanahan be replaced as NHL disciplinarian? We need consistency.Katelyn Cook, Charlotte, N.C.Katelyn, I&rsquo;ve criticized Shanahan&rsquo;s decisions numerous times during his first year in office &ndash; he and the league owe James Wisniewski an apology for the suspension that cost him more than $536,000 &ndash; but his inconsistency doesn&rsquo;t indicate any personal flaws. Combined with the similarly baffling history of predecessor Colin Campbell, Shanahan&rsquo;s choices prove the problem isn&rsquo;t the person holding that job, but rather the league, GMs and team owners who provide direction and feedback to the top disciplinarian. With no impetus for change among them, it won&rsquo;t matter who delivers punishment.Adam, in Brian Burke&rsquo;s most crucial off-season as Leafs GM, will he consider five years from now when making moves or just reaching the playoffs right away to save his job?Hayden Stewart, Kingsville, Ont.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-03910/9611912-1-eng-US/f0007-032.jpg" title="f0007-03" width="957" height="781"><figcaption class="caption-body">BRENDAN SHANAHAN (ANDRE RINGUETTE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>Hayden, I don&rsquo;t believe Burke will drain his franchise of prospects for an immediate playoff push. He still carries a lot of capital among Toronto&rsquo;s ownership and has always intended on stockpiling talent to make the Leafs more consistently successful. Pressure to make the post-season will increase in 2012-13, but Burke came to hockey&rsquo;s biggest fishbowl under the impression there would be frustrating times. He needed patience from his superiors to build a long-term contender and he still has it.| Read more &lsquo;Ask Adam&rsquo; every Friday at <a href="http://thehockeynews.com">thehockeynews.com</a>&nbsp;| &#9632;

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ASK ADAM

<div class="byline">&#x2013; CHRIS JOHNSTON</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-07269/9611964-1-eng-US/f0008-072.jpg" title="f0008-07" width="396" height="111"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-021765/9611985-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="156" height="118"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-031247/9611978-1-eng-US/f0008-032.jpg" title="f0008-03" width="150" height="120"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-05499/9611971-1-eng-US/f0008-052.jpg" title="f0008-05" width="145" height="142"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-012314/9611957-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="788" height="801"><figcaption class="caption-body">MAX PACIORETTY</figcaption></div>DrewDoughty showed everyone the way. The smooth-skating defenseman was off Steve Yzerman&rsquo;s Olympic radar until going to the 2009 World Championship and delivering a standout performance for Canada. Less than a year later, Yzerman gave Doughty the chance of a lifetime with a roster spot for the Vancouver Games.<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-06363/9611950-1-eng-US/f0008-062.jpg" title="f0008-06" width="109" height="144"></div>Canada&rsquo;s executive director puts a heavy emphasis on international experience, which explains why he made the trip to Helsinki this month to closely monitor the World Championship. &rdquo;It&rsquo;s an important event for the guys who are really serious about the Olympics and want to be there,&rdquo; Yzerman said. &ldquo;Some guys, it can make a difference being here in this tournament.&rdquo;That&rsquo;s no secret, particularly for forwards John Tavares, Jordan Eberle and Jeff Skinner, who have already combined to play in eight world championships despite being 22 or younger. They also formed an impressive line for Canada in Helsinki and saw their stock rise as a result.A high priority for Yzerman and his staff for 2014 is identifying who can best transition to the larger international ice, which will be used in Sochi, Russia for the Olympics. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s an eye opener for the players,&rdquo; Yzerman said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just a different game and some players adapt better to it than others. The big thing is skating. You&rsquo;ve got to be able to get around the ice.&rdquo;</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-04705/9611943-1-eng-US/f0008-042.jpg" title="f0008-04" width="1032" height="925"><figcaption class="caption-body">OLYMPIC AUDITIONYoung stars like Jeff Skinner used the worlds to showcase themselves for spots at Sochi. (ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/GETTYIMAGES)</figcaption></div>That was no problem for the young Canadian trio at the worlds. They were the team&rsquo;s most consistent offensive unit over the two-plus weeks and delivered more than a few highlight-reel moments.And if Yzerman wants players who work well together, he&rsquo;d be wise to stick with Tavares, Eberle and Skinner. &ldquo;Those are two great players,&rdquo; Skinner said. &ldquo;We found a nice little chemistry. In these short tournaments, it&rsquo;s sometimes difficult to do that, but those guys are easy to play with and easy to work off. Obviously, they&rsquo;re two young guys, so it&rsquo;s easy for us to relate to each other.&rdquo;The knock on Tavares was once his skating ability, but he spent the past few summers working hard on that aspect of his game and was surprisingly mobile at the World Championship. Tavares knew Yzerman and his Olympic management staff were in the stands at Hartwall Arena. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve worked hard on my game over the years,&rdquo; Tavares said. &ldquo;Obviously, I&rsquo;d love to be in Sochi and be a part of that team. Most importantly, I just try and do what I have to do to be the best that I can. The rest will take care of itself.&rdquo;There will be other members of this team in Russia as well. Defenseman Duncan Keith is virtually a lock to play in his second straight Games while Jay Bouwmeester &ndash; an Olympian in 2006 &ndash; had a surprisingly strong showing and could get his name back in the conversation as well.The Olympic carrot lured numerous players to the tournament and Canadians weren&rsquo;t the only ones upping their Olympic profile. Left winger Max Pacioretty has an excellent chance to make Team USA after a breakout offensive effort and Semyon Varlamov, Russia&rsquo;s third-string goalie at the 2010 Games, made a case for the starter&rsquo;s role with his effort at the 2012 worlds.Ultimately, the World Championship ended in disappointment for the Canadian team after a 4-3 loss to Slovakia in the quarterfinal, but the experience gained throughout will be invaluable the next time Tavares, Skinner and Eberle get the call. &ldquo;They were tremendously coachable young guys that are going through things in their life right now that will make them all better players,&rdquo; said Canadian coach Brent Sutter. &ldquo;They&rsquo;ve got to leave here and learn from this.&rdquo;Record number of Canadian NHL affiliates in the final four of the American 3 League playoffs: Oklahoma City (EDM), St. John&rsquo;s (WPG) and Toronto (TOR). &#9632;

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Olympic Audition

<div class="byline">By Charlie Teljeur</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0009-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-012070/9612016-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

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The Instigator

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-021446/9612047-1-eng-US/f0009-022.jpg" title="f0009-02" width="293" height="382"><figcaption class="caption-body">(ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h2>+PLUS</h2><h3>GIANT SLAYERS</h3>Slovakia scores an epic upset over Canada the World Championship thanks to a late-game&nbsp;Michal Handzus&nbsp;goal.<h2>&ndash;MINUS</h2><h3>SACRAMENTO SACRILEGE</h3>NBC4 newscast displays the wrong Kings logo: Sacramento of the NBA instead of Los Angeles of the NHL. The L.A. affiliate issues a sheepish on-air apology the next day.<h2>+PLUS</h2><h3>FORTY AND FANTASTIC</h3>Greybeard Petr Nedved snagged Czech Extraliga MVP honors, while Martin Brodeur&rsquo;s scorpion save in Game 2 on Marion Gaborik was a beauty.<h2>&ndash;MINUS</h2><h3>PROCRASTINATORS</h3>With the Sept. 15 CBA expiration date drawing near, the NHL and NHLPA aren&rsquo;t yet speaking to each other. &#9632;

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PLUS MINUS

<div class="byline">&#x2013; JIM GINTONIO</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0010-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-012285/9612078-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">STAN & DENVER WILSON (NORM HALL/PHOENIX COYOTES)</figcaption></div>For a decade, beginning when he was 11, Denver Wilson was always around the Phoenix Coyotes, helping his father, Stan, the team&rsquo;s equipment manager. The elder Wilson thought it was an experience his son would look back on fondly when it was time to start thinking about his future.Unknown to both of them, the future was beginning to manifest.While family rivalries are not uncommon in sports, the Wilsons added a twist to that during the Western Conference final. Stan, who has been with the Coyotes since their arrival in Phoenix, and Denver, an assistant equipment manager with the Kings, were working behind the scenes. &ldquo;To tell you the truth, it&rsquo;s a pretty cool feeling to know that you&rsquo;re on the same level as your hero growing up,&rdquo; said the 25-year-old Denver, who also worked for the Arizona Sun Dogs of the Central League. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s something that you always lived and wanted to do, but against your father in the Western Conference final is just pretty crazy. You just never think anything like that would really happen.&ldquo;My dad said you don&rsquo;t want to do that to yourself, there&rsquo;s a lot of stuff you got to give up to pursue this career and he wasn&rsquo;t too happy with me going to do that, but once he realized that I got into it and was going to climb the ladder, he was pretty proud.&rdquo;Stan admits it is exciting to see his son, who was once leaning toward a broadcasting career, working in the same profession. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m proud of him for what he&rsquo;s done,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s basically worked his way up on his own and so I am proud of him for that. I was hoping he&rsquo;d try something else, but he&rsquo;s grown up doing this, he&rsquo;s been involved his whole life and I think it was too natural not to do.&rdquo;The younger Wilson knows how to combine business with pleasure. He showed that when he worked for his dad, entertaining the team with wild dances after wins. He has hoofed it for the Kings a few times this season, too. &ldquo;I have fun with it,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;(Kings coach) Darryl Sutter thinks it&rsquo;s funny.&rdquo;But as he matures, he is establishing some boundaries. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m trying to keep professional in most matters, but a couple of the big key games this year, I did it for the boys and just a way to keep things loose in the locker room after a big win,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Everyone gets riled up, so it&rsquo;s fun.&rdquo; &#9632;

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Family Rivalry

<blockquote class="pullQuote">If I told you what I really thought it would cost me a lot of money. &ndash; COYOTES COACH DAVE TIPPETT ON THE OFFICIATING IN THEIR GAME 3 LOSS TO L.A.</blockquote> &#9632;

HE SAID What!?

<div class="byline">&#x2013; DENIS GIBBONS</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-021668/9612133-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg" title="f0010-02" width="767" height="737"><figcaption class="caption-body">CHARLIE SPURR</figcaption></div>Aside from a brief stint with the Middleton High School hockey team in Nova Scotia&rsquo;s Annapolis Valley, Charlie Spurr focused on raising a family of five with his wife Margaret.It wasn&rsquo;t until he turned 50, far too old to be named rookie of the year, when he took the game up seriously as a founding member and player with the Burlington (Ont.) Oldtimers Hockey Club.Spurr, who died in April at age 88, took a regular shift on left wing, sometimes playing as many as 50 games a season, and was 83 before he hung up the blades. At 81, Charlie was chosen by Toronto&rsquo;s City-TV as its Athlete of the Week. Spurr once said he never felt out of breath. &ldquo;Hockey is an anaerobic exercise,&rdquo; he explained. &ldquo;We have three lines and the games last only an hour. I&rsquo;m lucky to get 12 minutes of ice time out of it.&rdquo;Gerry Park, a past president of the Burlington club, recalls Charlie used to chew garlic and eat kelp for good health. &ldquo;Nobody wanted to tell him it was time to quit,&rdquo; Park said. &ldquo;They wanted him to do it on his own and that&rsquo;s the way it happened.&rdquo;Spurr was proud of his city. Hockey Hall of Fame Curator Phil Pritchard was a neighbor who saluted his efforts in picking up litter in Sheldon Park every morning.Don Kay coached Spurr near the end of his oldtimers career. He said Spurr loved the game, though to a fault. &ldquo;In his last year, Charlie was hard of hearing and couldn&rsquo;t hear us calling for him to come off the ice after a shift,&rdquo; Kay said. &ldquo;When he did come off, instead of sitting down on the bench he stayed on the ice and just leaned on the boards to rest. The next thing I know the referee gives us a penalty for too many men on the ice.&rdquo; &#9632;

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Oldtimer Hockey

<div class="byline">&nbsp;&#x2013; JUSTIN COHN</div>Mike Vaskivuo had the last laugh. After being let go by the Rapid City Rush late in the regular season, the 26-year-old center thought his year was over. &ldquo;I was in the dumps a couple months ago,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I was ready to go home and get my summer going. I was fortunate enough for Fort Wayne to call me and they gave me an opportunity &ndash; a real opportunity &ndash; and I&rsquo;m just grateful for that.&rdquo;Vaskivuo made the most of that opportunity, scoring 10 goals and 24 points in 18 games to lead Fort Wayne over the Wichita Thunder in five games to claim the Central League&rsquo;s Ray Miron Presidents&rsquo; Cup. Vaskivuo was named playoff MVP &ndash; not bad for a guy who was jobless less than two months before and had five teams pass him over on the waiver wire. &ldquo;Looking back, I can&rsquo;t believe this is where I&rsquo;m at,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just a great feeling.&rdquo;Vaskivuo played 54 games with Rapid City, scoring 13 goals and 37 points before the Rush cut him late in the season. The Komets had just lost a top-line forward, Artem Podshendyalov, who opted to return to Russia, so they grabbed Vaskivuo and immediately put him on the top line with Colin Chaulk and Chris Auger. &ldquo;What a pickup,&rdquo; said center Brett Smith. &ldquo;The guy has the softest hands I&rsquo;ve ever seen and he battles hard, too. That&rsquo;s what&rsquo;s made him such a complete player. He scored a lot of big goals for us.&rdquo;Vaskivuo helped Fort Wayne &ndash; the second-longest tenured minor pro team in North America&ndash;to its ninth championship in franchise history and fourth in the past five years, including three straight in the now-defunct International League. The Komets are expected to join the ECHL this summer.In the first round, the Komets beat the Rush in six games, with Vaskivuo getting his revenge, scoring the overtime, series-winning goal in Rapid City. In the Turner Conference final against the Missouri Mavericks, the Komets dropped the first two games at home before coming back to win in seven.Vaskivuo was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, the homeland of his mother. Almost immediately, he moved to his father&rsquo;s native Finland, where he had his first taste of hockey. By age four, the family moved to West Palm Beach, Fla., where his interest in hockey took off after watching the NHL&rsquo;s Panthers on TV.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-012231/9612164-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="825" height="1285"><figcaption class="caption-body">DOWNED TO CROWNEDMike Vaskivuo was let go by Rapid City, then won the CHL title with Fort Wayne. (KEN WIEGMANN)</figcaption></div>Vaskivuo mostly played roller hockey until he was 12, when he realized any future in the sport was going to come in a rink, not on a floor. Fortunately, a coach from the northeast discovered him and that path landed him at Merrimack College.He played his first two pro seasons with the CHL&rsquo;s Dayton Gems before catching on with Rapid City for 2011-12. &ldquo;Vaskivuo never really said it, but I could tell the impact this all had on him, winning a championship and MVP,&rdquo; said left winger Stephon Thorne. &ldquo;He didn&rsquo;t have a job and now he&rsquo;s the playoff MVP. We&rsquo;re all happy for him and I know for a fact he&rsquo;s very happy.&rdquo; &#9632;

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The Best Revenge

Hey, Mike! Haven&rsquo;t you read Sun Tzu&rsquo;s Art of War? Never surrender. Er, or was that Corey Hart? Whichever, send us your funniest caption idea for a shot at some THN swag. We&rsquo;ll publish our favorites in the August issue. (See the May 14 issue&rsquo;s best on pg. 49.)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-04673/9612233-1-eng-US/f0012-042.jpg" title="f0012-04" width="770" height="675"><figcaption class="caption-body">(JEFF GROSS/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-021752/9612226-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="200" height="162"></div>To win, submit your captions at <a href="http://www.thn.com/caption">www.thn.com/caption</a> &#9632;

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Caption CONTEST

<div class="byline">&nbsp;&#x2013; DEBRA RUGHOO</div>When the playoffs reach the Stanley Cup final, nothing is more exciting than a series that goes seven games. It becomes a one-night showdown for all the marbles. After the final buzzer sounds and the winning team celebrates on the ice, it&rsquo;s amazing how quickly players don T-shirts and hats announcing them as Stanley Cup champions. This must mean championship gear has been made for the other team, too. But what happens to the losing squad&rsquo;s duds?The official licensed dressing room T-shirts and hats for the 2011 Cup final featuring the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins were produced by Reebok-CCM, which has the rights for championship gear in alternate years. The T-shirts and hats (less than 100) made for Canucks players and staff were destroyed after the team lost to the Bruins in Game 7.But what about the merchandise made for retail? The small quantity of T-shirts printed declaring Vancouver as champ were returned to Reebok&rsquo;s jersey factory in Quebec, chopped up and repurposed with a vendor who recycles fibres.The limited number of Canucks hats made, meanwhile, were returned and recycled into Bruins caps. The hats could be reused because they were mainly white, with a black and grey trim. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s such a quick turnaround, you can&rsquo;t design the hat for each team,&rdquo; said Dan Sarro, corporate communications manager at Reebok.The hats have to work for all 30 teams, so the colors have to be simple. &ldquo;If you picked black and gold and Vancouver won, they would be like, &lsquo;What?&rsquo; &ldquo;said Keith Leach, director of NHL merchandise at Reebok. &rdquo;What you&rsquo;ll find is the hat being a neutral colour: a white, a grey, a black.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-012204/9612264-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg" title="f0014-01" width="821" height="1056"><figcaption class="caption-body">SWALLOWED BY THE BRUINSVancouver Stanley Cup hats were recycled into Boston ones after the 2011 final. (DAVE SANDFORD/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>The Canucks hats could be turned into Bruins ones because a heat-sealed logo was used, not a stitched one. The heat seals can be removed and the other team&rsquo;s logo put on. While there is a chance of damage during the patch removal process, more than 90 percent of the hats were salvageable.In addition to being destroyed, recycled and reused, championship gear gets donated, too. The NHL, along with other major North American sports leagues, gives the misprinted apparel, as well as confiscated counterfeit items, to the humanitarian organization World Vision. The clothing is distributed to impoverished countries with long-term development programs.With Boston and Vancouver out of the running this year, we&rsquo;ll see a new Cup winner, new runner-up and new championship swag. For fans of the bridesmaid, the wouldbe championship apparel &ndash; destroyed, recycled into gear for the victors or circulated somewhere else in the world &ndash; is the closest they&rsquo;ll get to Cup glory. &#9632;

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Fashion Footnote

<div class="byline">&#x2013; ADAM PROTEAU</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-031120/9612295-1-eng-US/f0014-032.jpg" title="f0014-03" width="630" height="210"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-021655/9612302-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="233" height="286"></div><h2>AS NHL COMMISSIONER</h2>Gary Bettman has noted repeatedly, hockey&rsquo;s best league hasn&rsquo;t yet committed to the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia. That&rsquo;s due, in part, to the fact participation must be negotiated in the next CBA, but it&rsquo;s also because team owners aren&rsquo;t sure shutting down the 2013-14 regular season for two weeks for a tournament on the other side of the planet is worthwhile.However, that doesn&rsquo;t mean the host Russians and the Kontinental League will politely await the NHL&rsquo;s consent. Instead, they&rsquo;re moving to secure as much homemade talent as possible before the Games begin.According to Slava Malamud of Sport-Express, the KHL will allow a team to exceed the salary cap to sign a &ldquo;returning Russian NHLer&rdquo; who has the possibility to make the Olympic squad.If, as some expect, NHL labor deal negotiations drag into training camp, some Russian stars could hedge their bets on a long lockout by signing two-year contracts that would take them through the Sochi Games.The prospect of players &ndash; such as pending UFA Alex Semin or RFA Alexander Radulov, or even projected top-three 2012 draft pick Mikhail Grigorenko &ndash; getting bigger bucks to head home won&rsquo;t make NHL team owners happy. But clearly, the KHL won&rsquo;t be a passive actor in this process. &#9632;

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CBA WATCH

FORMER NHL defenseman Brad Marsh was never known for his foot speed. Endurance was the M.O. of his 15-year NHL career. Now 54, Marsh will put that persistence to the test during his 90-day, 10,000-kilometer bike ride across Canada in support of the Boys & Girls Clubs. He started out in Vancouver April 25 alongside his son Erik, who&rsquo;s riding with him the entire way, and expects to reach St. John&rsquo;s, Nfld., July 8. Marsh hopes to raise $500,000.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-04765/9612340-1-eng-US/f0014-042.jpg" title="f0014-04" width="446" height="319"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-05494/9612333-1-eng-US/f0015-052.jpg" title="f0015-05" width="379" height="372"><figcaption class="caption-body">BRAD MARSH</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0014-04

Coast To Coast

If a loyal pooch is man&rsquo;s best bud, then Desert Dog Shane Doan must get mad love for sticking it out in Phoenix. Here are the longest tenured active NHLers who&rsquo;ve played through times awesome and awful with one franchise.1. NICKLAS LIDSTROM, D, DETROIT1,564 GP over 20 seasons, first 1991-922. SHANE DOAN, RW, WINNIPEG/PHOENIX1,198 GP over 16 seasons, first 1995-963. MARTIN BRODEUR, G, NEW JERSEY1,191 GP over 19 seasons, first 1991-924. JAROME IGINLA, RW, CALGARY1,188 GP over 15 seasons, first 1996-975. DANIEL ALFREDSSON, RW, OTTAWA1,131 GP over 16 seasons, first 1995-966. PATRICK MARLEAU, LW, SAN JOSE1,117 GP over 14 seasons, first 1997-987. PATRIK ELIAS, LW, NEW JERSEY1,042 GP over 16 seasons, first 1995-96<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011921/9612371-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="804" height="936"><figcaption class="caption-body">SHANE DOAN (JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>8. TOMAS HOLMSTROM, LW, DETROIT1,026 GP over 15 seasons, first 1996-979. CHRIS PHILLIPS, D, OTTAWA1,025 GP over 14 seasons, first 1997-98&nbsp;10. VINCENT LECAVALIER, C, TAMPA BAY998 GP over 13 seasons, first 1998-99 &#9632;

f0015-01

GOTTA HAVE FAITH

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0015-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-021358/9612402-1-eng-US/f0015-022.jpg"></div>The Los Angeles Kings are laying waste to the idea a team needs home ice to win in the playoffs, but the post-lockout trend still shows playing in your own barn becomes a significant advantage as the &ldquo;real&rdquo; season rolls on. From Round 1 until the Stanley Cup final, home winning percentage spikes from .492 to .763. The Kings hope to continue bucking this upward trajectory, but those piling on the Hollywood bandwagon better beware, because no eighth seed has ever gone home with Lord Stanley&rsquo;s mug. In fact, only one team that wasn&rsquo;t a top-four seed has won the Cup: the 1995 New Jersey Devils (seeded fifth).<h2>HOME WINNING PERCENTAGE &#9632;</h2>

f0015-02

HOME Cookin’

The margin of victory gets smaller in the post-season as games get tighter with more on the line: 82 percent of playoff game time is played with teams tied or separated by one goal &ndash; up 10 percent from the regular season. Here&rsquo;s a breakdown of game-time goal differential over 2011-12.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-03947/9612440-1-eng-US/f0015-032.jpg" title="f0015-03" width="611" height="970"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-04706/9612433-1-eng-US/f0015-042.jpg" title="f0015-04" width="609" height="907"></div> &#9632;

f0015-03

Playoff Squeeze

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0016-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011974/9612492-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg"></div>Sent By: Ken Campbell, May 14, 2012, 7:55a.m.To: Rory Boylen (Editor, <a href="http://THN.com">THN.com</a>)Good morning, Rory. I was thinking of writing my web column today on the New York Rangers and how their insipid penchant for shot-blocking is a blight on the game and will lead us back towards the Dead Puck Era. There was a time when standing in front of a piece of frozen vulcanized rubber coming at you at a high velocity actually meant something. The guys who did it wore their sense of courage like a badge of honor. Now, shot-blocking has become the participation badge of the NHL.<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-021511/9612485-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="87" height="84"></div>Attached: Rangers_rookie_Chris_Kreider_ prepares_for_pain_for_playoff_gain.jpg</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-031102/9612478-1-eng-US/f0016-032.jpg" title="f0016-03" width="1381" height="982"><figcaption class="caption-body">(BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h2>On May 14, 8:35 a.m., Rory Boylen wrote:</h2>Morning, Ken. This will be a tongue-in-cheek piece, right? Because you can&rsquo;t be serious. What&rsquo;s new about the Rangers&rsquo; style? They&rsquo;re actually blocking an average of 1.1 fewer shots per game than they did last playoffs. Ever since this topic came up this year and rule changes were being suggested I&rsquo;ve wanted to bang my head on my desk. It still takes a ton of courage to step in front of a shot. You&rsquo;ll have to explain it.<h2>On May 14, 8:47 a.m., Ken Campbell wrote:</h2>Well, let&rsquo;s see. In Game 1 of the East final, the Devils had 21 shots on goal and had 26 blocked. Is there not something ridiculous about that? Is that basically what success in the NHL has come to these days &ndash; collapsing in front of your own net and trying to score a goal or two a game off the rush? I can&rsquo;t imagine there are too many people outside Gotham City who think that&rsquo;s even remotely exciting.<h2>On May 14, 9:02 a.m., Rory Boylen wrote:</h2>These playoffs have been amazing, including the Rangers games. Plus, the other three teams left seem to have found success through offense and transitional play. And let&rsquo;s not forget the Capitals blocked more shots than the Rangers and lost the series. The Rangers are the exception to what has defined success so far these playoffs. More teams that have been out-blocked have won their series so far.<h2>On&nbsp;May 14, 9:07 a.m., Ken Campbell wrote:</h2> But the NHL is a copycat league and if the Rangers can win a Cup with this strategy, it will be a green light for everyone else to do it.<h2>On May 14, 9:19 a.m., Rory Boylen wrote:</h2>You think the GMs around the league will completely ignore what Los Angeles, Phoenix and New Jersey have done? No freakin&rsquo; way. This is not as much a copycat league as it used to be. When Anaheim won, brute force was going to be the way to win&hellip;until Detroit won with puck possession. When Chicago won two years later, the idea you needed a top-notch goalie went out the window. Now we&rsquo;ve had back-to-back years with Vezina finalists playing the key roles. There is no single one way to win anymore, so let&rsquo;s not blow a gasket because one is having success with shot-blocking.<h2>On May 14, 9:36 a.m., Ken Campbell wrote:</h2>My concern is that after years of exciting, compelling hockey after the lockout, the NHL is going back to a situation where the pendulum has swung in a big way back to defense over offense. The more we laud teams that do it and the more they&rsquo;re rewarded, the more likely this is going to become the standard of play.<h2>On May 14, 9:39 a.m., Rory Boylen wrote:</h2>But average blocked shots per game are down from last year.<h2>On May 14, 9:50 a.m., Ken Campbell wrote:</h2>Did you ever pause to think that blocked shots are down because teams are less inclined to shoot because they realize the chances of it reaching the net are about as good as Snookie joining a nunnery? No wonder blocked shots are down. It&rsquo;s pretty difficult to block a shot when all your opponent is doing is passing the puck around the perimeter. Now instead of launching bombs from the point, they&rsquo;re working it in deep and hoping to get the puck up and over the mass of humanity in front of the net. Oh, the excitement!<h2>On May 14, 9:55 a.m., Rory Boylen wrote:</h2>Explain to me then how the Devils and Kings have been so successful despite the fact they don&rsquo;t block many shots. Or how Phoenix is winning despite allowing the most shots against.<h2>On May 14, 10:12 a.m., Ken Campbell wrote:</h2> Because they play a different style of game, one that isn&rsquo;t predicated upon collapsing in front of the net. But for that type of game you have to have the kind of dynamic personnel that can create offense and score goals. It&rsquo;s much more difficult to do that than to put together a bunch of hard-working, lunch-bucket guys and ask them to constantly put themselves in the way of shots. This is a league in which teams have always chosen the path of least resistance, so which one do you think they&rsquo;re going to take?<h2>On May 14, 10:29 a.m., Rory Boylen wrote:</h2>Well, none of this logic makes sense to me, but I&rsquo;ll allow you to have your voice and say go for it. We&rsquo;ll let our readers decide.<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-04822/9612471-1-eng-US/f0016-042.jpg" title="f0016-04" width="145" height="132"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div>JOIN THE DISCUSSION AT <a href="http://THN.COM/SHOTBLOCKDEBATE">THN.COM/SHOTBLOCKDEBATE</a> &#9632;

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To Block Or Not To Block

<div class="byline">BY KEN CAMPBELL</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0018-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011852/9612551-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-021385/9612544-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="636" height="535"></div>With Jonathan DavisYOU KNOW HOW THEY SAY&nbsp;Facebook and Twitter are the 21st century&rsquo;s window to the soul? Didn&rsquo;t think so. But at least you know when your friends are going to the washroom. If they were, though, Dustin Brown&rsquo;s entries would reveal his soul is indeed a dark and complex place.This from Facebook: Activities: Ice hockey. Interests: Hockey, playing with my kids. Favorite sports: Ice hockey. Favorite teams: L.A. Kings. Favorite athletes: Wayne Simmonds, Ryan Smyth, Jarret Stoll, Kevin Westgarth, Justin Williams.And this from his Twitter account: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s some damn good yogurt,&rdquo; he says in imploring folks to patronize a frozen yogurt emporium in his hometown of Ithaca, N.Y. &ldquo;Fine family gourmet meal at Chili&rsquo;s,&rdquo; followed by, &ldquo;Starting the fire for s&rsquo;mores night.&rdquo; (There&rsquo;s also a little rant about the ubiquitous L.A. traffic. &ldquo;Left lane is for passing, right lane is for slower traffic.&rdquo;)There isn&rsquo;t be a captain whose personality fits the market in which he plays less than Brown. He lives in a city where everyone drives everywhere, while his idea of a great day is hiking with his family in Ithaca. This is Los Angeles, where the Kings&rsquo; co-tenants at Staples Center made Showtime famous. It&rsquo;s where people order a half double decaffeinated half-caf with a twist of lemon, a place artist Andy Warhol described by saying, &ldquo;Everybody&rsquo;s plastic, but I love plastic.&rdquo;They don&rsquo;t get much more salt-of-theearth than Brown, whose transformation from painfully shy teen to elder statesman of the Kings has been slow and awkward and not without its setbacks. People who know him well claim Brown is one of the least confrontational people you&rsquo;d ever meet &ndash; off the ice. Showtime? Well, the closest he&rsquo;s ever gotten to that kind of exhibitionism was as a &ldquo;dancy dancy guest&rdquo; doing the Peanut Butter Stomp at a Yo Gabba Gabba! concert he attended with his kids at the Nokia Theatre.We do know Brown loves his video games, the Call of Duty series in particular. It should come as no surprise Brown excels at a video game renowned for its graphic violence &ndash; although there are worse ones out there, way worse &ndash; where the main objective of the game is to search and destroy. &ldquo;Hands down, best on the team,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Not sure how I compare league-wide. Just don&rsquo;t know enough about the competition.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-011632/9612537-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="1919" height="1754"><figcaption class="caption-body">KING OF THE CLUTCHAs Dustin Brown&rsquo;s mother notes, his playoff wizardry dates back to his childhood. (ANDREW D. BERNSTEIN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGESY)</figcaption></div>The competition, however, is beginning to get to know him and its inner crash test dummy if it has the pleasure of being taken into the boards by Brown. That has thrust the Kings captain and the rest of his teammates into the spotlight during these playoffs, carrying them on one of the most unlikely &ndash; and dominating &ndash; post-season runs in NHL history. Even though two local television stations ran graphics of the NBA&rsquo;s Sacramento Kings while talking about the local hockey team, the Kings are capturing the imaginations of more than just the 18,118 who show up to most of their games. And they&rsquo;re being led by Brown, who is in the middle of everything, including whacks to the back of the legs from Phoenix Coyotes goalie Mike Smith and face-plants into the boards courtesy of Martin Hanzal. Not only was he second in playoff scoring in the midst of the conference final, but there have been times when he has been a one-man wrecking crew. And if it keeps up, Brown stands a chance to become the first L.A. King and just the second American-born captain in history to raise the Stanley Cup over his head.None of this is surprising to Sharan Chambliss, an emergency room nurse in Raleigh, N.C. She remembers back when Brown was playing bantam with the Syracuse Stars on a line with Rob Schremp and Tim Sestito. She recalls watching her son play in the national championship tournament and with his team trailing 6-5 with three minutes remaining in the game, score a hat trick to seal the victory. &ldquo;Dustin has always been meant to play playoff hockey,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s always when he&rsquo;s been his best.&rdquo;It&rsquo;s accurate to assume the Dustin Brown playoff legend, though, could have ended before it had a chance to begin. Brown&rsquo;s name was prominently mentioned at the trade deadline as the Kings zeroed in on acquiring Jeff Carter. The thinking was that to fit Carter into their salary structure, the Kings would have to sacrifice Brown, which would naturally lead to Mike Richards taking over the captaincy. Had that happened, the team getting Brown would have been acquiring one of the best bargains in the game. A cap hit of $3.2 million for the next two years on a player who consistently scores 20-plus goals and has finished in the top three in the league in hits each of the past six seasons is a friendly one indeed.Kings GM Dean Lombardi blames the Brown trade rumors on things getting way too out of hand leading up to the deadline. But, to his credit, he does not back down from the notion there were conversations. Serious ones. Lombardi reckons he wouldn&rsquo;t be doing his job if he weren&rsquo;t listening to offers. Any GM wanting to fortify his roster with a reasonably priced and productive player with high grades on the leadership scale would have to be interested in trading for Brown. Lombardi blames a lot of the rumors on secondary bloggers, &ldquo;who just make s---up,&rdquo; combined with the fact the Carter rumors created a perception the underachieving Kings were on the verge of making massive changes. &ldquo;What exacerbated everything was this perception we were blowing it up,&rdquo; Lombardi said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re supposedly in blow-up mode and my phone is ringing off the hook. Then the GMs get nervous because they were hearing something that we were blowing things up and it became a feeding frenzy. It took on a life of its own.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-011604/9612530-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="1396" height="883"><figcaption class="caption-body">GIVING MOODNot only does Brown donate at least 20 pucks to opponents&rsquo; nets every year, he&rsquo;s renowned for his charity work. (ANDREW D. BERNSTEIN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>The best trades, as they say, sometimes are the ones you never make, but that Mike Richards deal last summer is beginning to look a winner. Brown is a quiet leader who brings people together. A couple of summers ago, he instituted two weeks of &ldquo;captain&rsquo;s skates&rdquo; for the Kings during the summer. The idea is they&rsquo;re optional, but, well, not really optional. A dressing room that has often been fractured is a cohesive unit, in part because Brown has made it that way. Had he been dealt away, who&rsquo;s to say the Kings would have even made it past the Vancouver Canucks in the first round? The fact he cares is pretty self-evident and his teammates care for him back. &ldquo;Definitely no one wanted to see him go,&rdquo; said teammate Jarret Stoll. &ldquo;It was a sense of relief when the deadline came and went and his locker stall wasn&rsquo;t empty.&rdquo;And there is little doubt the relief of notbeing dealt has brought out the best in Brown. Two days before the deadline, he made a statement by scoring three goals and an assist in a 4-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. In 62 games leading up to the deadline, Brown had just 17 goals and 35 points. Through Game 3 of the Western Conference final, his totals in 32 games since the deadline were 12-22-34. &ldquo;When your name is out there, no player just can&rsquo;t think about it,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Whether that game against the Blackhawks kept me in L.A., I just don&rsquo;t know.&rdquo;Those who believe there&rsquo;s an eastern bias in the game have a case when it comes to Brown, who is continuing throughout the playoffs to prove he&rsquo;s much more than just a beat-up face. Yes, he routinely registers somewhere in the range of 300 hits a year, but this is a guy who scored 30 goals on a bad Kings team and in the 25 range on a good one. And those who don&rsquo;t know how good Brown is weren&rsquo;t watching him at the Olympics in Vancouver. Even though he went pointless and played on the fourth line with David Backes and Ryan Callahan &ndash; that&rsquo;s a fourth line? &ndash; he played some of the best hockey of his career.It&rsquo;s just that Brown isn&rsquo;t, well, very flashy. He has a lisp, you know. He worked with a speech therapist on it when he was a child and it&rsquo;s hardly even noticeable now, but even getting over his lisp could not cure him of his shyness. Lombardi recalls one time when Brown was in his office shortly after Lombardi became the Kings GM in 2006. &ldquo;He stood there looking at his feet and could barely put two words together,&rdquo; Lombardi recalled.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-021155/9612523-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg" title="f0020-02" width="2287" height="1341"><figcaption class="caption-body">(HARRY HOW/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>The early years in the NHL were not easy. During much of his first season, Brown would sit in the dressing room and not speak with anyone. He came into the league as an 18-year-old (going on 19) and was teased mercilessly by teammate Sean Avery. &ldquo;He was like a bully,&rdquo; Sharan recalled. Even though veterans such as Mattias Norstrom, Ian Laperriere and Luc Robitaille were helpful, it was not an easy season. Right away, Brown had decided he wanted to contribute to a charity and pledged money on a per-goal basis. The only problem was he scored just one goal in 31 games during his rookie season before being sent down to the American League for the lockout, where he flourished the way so many other young players who are now stars in the league did. It was after that Brown decided to base his charitable contributions on hits instead of goals and the charities are eternally grateful for that decision.But it was difficult for someone as naive and shy as Brown to deal with Avery&rsquo;s needling. In fact, it was part of the reason Lombardi dealt Avery to the New York Rangers in 2007. By that time, the Kings were in the midst of their fourth straight season out of the playoffs and the dressing room was a mess. &ldquo;The reason I got the job was the room fell apart and it wasn&rsquo;t just Avery,&rdquo; Lombardi said. &ldquo;If it was just Sean Avery, I don&rsquo;t think I would have ever been hired.&rdquo;The lisp and the shyness should not be misconstrued, though, as something that held Brown back. In fact, he would have been a perfect candidate to be an Ivy League man at Cornell, the university in his hometown, if he hadn&rsquo;t gone to play with the Guelph Storm of the Ontario League as a 15-year-old. And it was with the Storm that he not only established himself as a first round pick and future NHL star, but also did something no other player has ever done. He was named the league&rsquo;s scholastic player of the year three consecutive seasons before taking the Canadian League&rsquo;s student-player of the year award in his last season of junior. It turns out hockey was a godsend for the Browns, whose older son played Div. III lacrosse in college. &ldquo;Dustin was a child who was never officially diagnosed with ADD (attention deficit disorder), but hockey was the best thing we could have done for him,&rdquo; Sharan said. &ldquo;He was a natural athlete, but hockey was like his release that would allow him to expend all this energy. As good as he was at baseball, if he was put in the outfield he was kicking through the grass looking for something. He was a kid who was always on the go. He had to be busy, he had to be doing something every second.&rdquo;That&rsquo;s hardly a problem these days for Brown and his high-school sweetheart, Nicole, who have three boys at home, all of whom are four or younger. When he&rsquo;s not doing the Peanut Butter Stomp, he&rsquo;s pretty much a homebody who rarely takes advantage of the social scene in Los Angeles. He&rsquo;s really big on supporting charities, most notably one called KaBOOM!, a national non-profit that helps communities build playgrounds for kids. Its biggest concern is something it refers to as &ldquo;the play deficit,&rdquo; which it believes leads to problems such as childhood obesity and anxiety and depression problems. Its goal is to construct a place to play within walking distance for every child in America.Lofty goals, but Brown has always been goal-oriented. The next one is to lead the Kings to something superstars such as Wayne Gretzky, Marcel Dionne, Jeremy Roenick and Rob Blake couldn&rsquo;t: the starcrossed franchise&rsquo;s first Stanley Cup. That would leave the St. Louis Blues as the only Original 12 expansion member to not win a Cup. It would also pull them out of a drought they share with the TorontoMaple Leafs, whose GM had no interest in seeing his team finish in eighth place and get the stuffing kicked out of it in the first round.<blockquote class="pullQuote">IT WAS A SENSE OF RELIEF WHEN THE TRADE DEADLINE CAME AND WENT AND HIS LOCKER STALL WASN&rsquo;T EMPTY -JARRET STOLL</blockquote>The Kings finished eighth in the Western Conference, but this is no typical eighth-place team. The Mike Richards experiment took a lot longer to germinate than anyone expected and that has had a domino effect on the lineup. To be sure, it suddenly made the line of Anze Kopitar in the middle with Justin Williams on the left and Brown on the right far more dangerous. The addition of Slava Voynov on defense has helped tremendously, and while Darryl Sutter had some real shortcomings as a GM, the man obviously knows how to coach.And all the while, Brown is making a case for Conn Smythe Trophy contention. He is not a hit-to-hurt player. If he were, the body count in the Western Conference would be a lot higher than it is. But his thunderous hit on Henrik Sedin &ndash; a hit even Sedin acknowledged was clean &ndash; was a game-changer in the first round that helped vault the Kings to a 3-0 lead in the series.Brown had six points in the Kings&rsquo; second round sweep of the Blues and then scored a goal and added three assists in the first three games of the Western Conference final. He was also averaging more hits per game in the playoffs than any other player. &ldquo;Right now I am feeling good about my game,&rdquo; Brown said. &ldquo;From a playing standpoint, you just keep your head down and keep going.&rdquo;Memo to players who don&rsquo;t play for the Los Angeles Kings: Taking that advice would not be a good idea when Dustin Brown is on the ice. That&rsquo;s because keeping your head down will result in not very nice things happening to you. &#9632;

f0018-01

WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU?

<div class="byline">By Ken Campbell</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0023-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-011291/9612638-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">ZACH PARISE (ANDRE RINGUETTE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>WHEN THE NEW JERSEY DEVILS won the Stanley Cup in 1995, their parade through the parking lot of the Meadowlands was almost over-shadowed by speculation of a move to Nashville. This spring, the Devils could become the first team in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup, then declare bankruptcy.It&rsquo;s always something with the Devils, who do everything right on the ice, but are facing a world of financial hurt. The NHL head office, which normally isn&rsquo;t in the ownership business, could have another blazing inferno in Newark, just as it stamps out the one in Phoenix. The Devils are still on the hook for an $80-million loan payment and there are reports the NHL has advanced the Devils more than $10 million of its share of television revenues.Oh yes, and Zach Parise spent much of the first two rounds getting richer with every passing game. So you can forgive Devils owner Jeffrey Vanderbeek if he&rsquo;s dreading seeing the calendar turn from June to July, because July 1 is the day Parise could become an unrestricted free agent and the day that, according to speculation, Vanderbeek&rsquo;s lenders can put the team into default if he doesn&rsquo;t raise enough money to pay the $80 million loan payment the Devils missed last September.Ugh. Doesn&rsquo;t sound terribly encouraging, does it? Particularly when you consider that including Parise, Devils GM Lou Lamoriello faces the prospect of signing seven UFAs at forward, two ondefense and both goalies. Or when you consider the Devils are entering the real salad years of Ilya Kovalchuk&rsquo;s 15-year, $100 million contract, the first of six years in which they&rsquo;ll have to pay between $10 million and $11.8 million in hard cash on a contract that carries an annual cap hit of $6.7 million. &ldquo;I believe it will be resolved in due time and we&rsquo;ll be able to make all the right decisions going forward,&rdquo; Lamoriello said. &ldquo;With Zach, we&rsquo;ll do everything we possibly can. He knows the way we feel and we know the way he feels.&rdquo;One can assume, then, the Devils know it will take a Kovalchuktype of contract to keep Parise in New Jersey in the long term. And that is even before the NHL and the NHL Players&rsquo; Association start negotiating on a new collective bargaining agreement that will almost certainly set term limits on contracts.That&rsquo;s just one of the moving parts in what promises to be a summer that could shake the NHL to its foundations. Free agency is a constant and a summer never goes by where there aren&rsquo;t at least a couple of big-name UFAs in the mix, but with the prospect of a couple of blockbuster trades and the uncertainty over the CBA, this summer promises to be a doozy. Things will get going, we reckon, sometime in the hours before the first round of the draft June 22 at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh.With that in mind, we present to you three things that could alter the balance of power this summer:<h2>The UFAs</h2>PARISE AND RYAN SUTER are Nos. 1A and 1B when it comes to the big-name unrestricted free agents and the decisions made by both of them will have far-reaching effects.There are a couple of things working in their favor, not the least of which is that aside from them, the UFA crop isn&rsquo;t all that strong. And anyone who is familiar with the laws of supply and demand as they apply to GMs knows the fewer high-profile agents there are, the more interest and better offers the marquee players are going to receive.Like Parise, Suter finds himself in a vexing situation, part of a good team that has developed him and treated him well and whose most competitive days still lay ahead. But unrestricted free agency comes along too few times in a career to get caught up in sentiment. Suter&rsquo;s agent Neil Sheehy said after the Nashville Predators were eliminated in mid-May, Suter would need two weeks to reflect on things. So Sheehy thinks Suter will let the Predators know where he stands long before July 1. Before then, Suter will also let the Predators know he has taken one of three options: he intends to return to Nashville and wants to work on a deal; he won&rsquo;t be back; or he intends to test the market on July 1 to see what&rsquo;s out there, with a return to Nashville being one of the options.Door No. 3 is the most likely option, but Sheehy said he doesn&rsquo;t even know which way Suter is leaning. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s torn, really torn, I know that,&rdquo; Sheehy said. &ldquo;He loves Nashville, but he hasn&rsquo;t said yet that he will stay in Nashville. He hasn&rsquo;t said it.&rdquo;Convoluting matters is the fact Predators GM David Poile hasmade it clear he wants Suter back and has gone on the record as saying he&rsquo;ll do everything possible to keep him. But the word &ldquo;possible&rdquo; is the key one here. First, Poile has no inclination to sign any player to one of those 15-year deals that pays minimum wage the last three years to get the cap number down. And is he willing to give Suter in excess of the $7.5 million teammate Shea Weber makes on a five-plus-year contract? If so, what does that do to the market value of Weber, who is one year away from unrestricted free agency?<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-02930/9612631-1-eng-US/f0023-022.jpg" title="f0023-02" width="1111" height="673"><figcaption class="caption-body">RYAN SUTER (JOHN RUSSELL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>And if you want to connect the dots further, does Poile sign Suter to the long-term contract, then trade Weber and his $7.5 million qualifying offer while Weber still has a ton of value?If Suter doesn&rsquo;t stay with Nashville, then Philadelphia and Detroit are the most presumed destinations for him, but don&rsquo;t rule out the Minnesota Wild making a play for him. There has been speculation that the moment they acquired his former University of Wisconsin teammate Tom Gilbert from the Edmonton Oilers at the trade deadline, they became the instant front-runner to get Suter in the summer. The team with the winged wheel on its sweater will have something to say about that, though.<h2>The Trades</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-011434/9612624-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="1070" height="758"><figcaption class="caption-body">RICK NASH (ANDY DEVLIN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>HOW MANY TIMES do two big-money, big-contract, star players demand trades in the same off-season? With Rick Nash and Roberto Luongo in play, that will make the hours leading up to the draft some of the most exciting of the off-season.First, let&rsquo;s deal with Nash. When he asked for a trade out of Columbus, the Blue Jackets demanded a heavy price, one they still could get given the favorites who fell by the wayside early in the playoffs. But with the combination of picking up a $7.8-million cap hit until 2017-18 and the return the Blue Jackets are seeking in a trade, doing a Nash deal will not be easy.Can you imagine the Rangers giving up what Columbus originally wanted in the deal &ndash; defensemen Michael Del Zotto and Ryan McDonagh, rookie Chris Kreider, prospect J.T. Miller and a first-round pick? &ldquo;There aren&rsquo;t many GMs in the league who would trade Kreider straight-up for Nash now,&rdquo; said one observer.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-03723/9612617-1-eng-US/f0024-032.jpg" title="f0024-03" width="1153" height="653"><figcaption class="caption-body">JORDAN STAAL (RICHARD WOLOWICZ/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-021033/9612610-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg" title="f0024-02" width="1070" height="750"><figcaption class="caption-body">ROBERTO LUONGO (JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>The other chip in play at the draft is Luongo, who has narrowed down his list of desirable teams and appears eager to start anew somewhere else. Like the Nash trade, this one will not be an easy one to make either, but there are two teams in the Eastern Conference &ndash; the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning &ndash; whose goaltending woes are severe enough to have to seriously consider trading for a bona fide No. 1 goalie.The speculation will continue to swirl around those two players, but there could be other high-profile deals on the horizon. Has Tim Thomas worn out his welcome with the Boston Bruins? The Pittsburgh Penguins have a glut of centers with a reasonably priced, 24-year-old Jordan Staal at No. 3. And the Calgary Flames could finally come to the realization a major rebuild is in order and put both goalie Miikka Kiprusoff and captain Jarome Iginla up for auction.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-04522/9612603-1-eng-US/f0024-042.jpg" title="f0024-04" width="1152" height="673"><figcaption class="caption-body">TIM THOMAS (GREGORY SHAMUS/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h2>The Goodbye Guys</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-011266/9612596-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg" title="f0025-01" width="716" height="925"><figcaption class="caption-body">NICKLAS LIDSTROM (JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-02892/9612589-1-eng-US/f0025-022.jpg" title="f0025-02" width="703" height="925"><figcaption class="caption-body">TEEMU SELANNE (HARRY HOW/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-03620/9612582-1-eng-US/f0025-032.jpg" title="f0025-03" width="716" height="920"><figcaption class="caption-body">CHRIS PRONGER (TRAVIS GOLBY/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>THE&nbsp;MOST PROMINENT of the players who could retire this summer is obviously Red Wings defenseman and future Hall of Famer Nicklas Lidstrom. What happens with Lidstrom will go a long way toward determining how hard the Red Wings go afterSuter if he becomes available July 1. Teemu Selanne, Jaromir Jagr, Chris Pronger and possibly Martin Brodeur may have played their last games as NHL players as well. And if they do, they&rsquo;ll all leave significant holes in their team&rsquo;s lineups. &#9632;

f0023-01

The Craziest Summer Yet??

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-021041/9612690-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="788" height="210"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-011446/9612683-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="410" height="392"></div>In this space one year ago, we predicted the Oilers would skip projected No. 1 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to fill their hole on the blueline with Adam Larsson. That need still exists in a big way, but we won&rsquo;t be fooled again. If the Oilers stay at No. 1, they&rsquo;ll grab yet another high-octane forward to top off an already rich bounty.But where will the other pieces fall? There are always surprises and swaps, but influenced by team shortcomings and the ranking from our 2012 Draft Preview, this is how we see June 22 in Pittsburgh playing out.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-03818/9612676-1-eng-US/f0026-032.jpg" title="f0026-03" width="305" height="416"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-04612/9612669-1-eng-US/f0026-042.jpg" title="f0026-04" width="2371" height="2147"></div><h2>1&nbsp;EDM</h2><h3>Nail Yakupov, RW</h3>Best player available brings dynamic scoring; scouts loved his play-making side at world juniors<h2>2&nbsp;CLB</h2><h3>Ryan Murray, D</h3>All-around blueliner is mature for his age and skates well. Jackets need a safe pick this year<h2>3&nbsp;MTL</h2><h3>Mikhail Grigorenko, C</h3>Big pivot rarely makes the wrong play and can put up some serious points. Habs can use his large frame<h2>4&nbsp;NYI</h2><h3>Filip Forsberg, RW</h3>Talented and creative, Forsberg is a proven winner who has played with men all year in Sweden<h2>5&nbsp;TOR</h2><h3>Alex Galchenyuk, C</h3>Skilled and works hard at both ends. Surely needs another year of junior after injury-filled season<h2>6&nbsp;ANA</h2><h3>Matt Dumba, D</h3>Hard-hitting, offensively gifted defenseman played big minutes on injury-laden Red Deer team<h2>7&nbsp;MIN</h2><h3>Morgan Rielly, D</h3>Offensive blueliner who dazzles would give Minny a game-breaking playmaker on the back end<h2>8&nbsp;CAR</h2><h3>Radek Faksa, C</h3> Big-bodied Czech will continue to fill out. Power forward prowess perfect threat behind Eric Staal<h2>9&nbsp;WPG</h2><h3>Teuvo Teravainen, LW</h3> Shifty producer doesn&rsquo;t boast a monster frame, but his skill and creativity are impossible to ignore<h2>10&nbsp;TB</h2><h3>Jacob Trouba, D</h3> Tough and strong, can produce on the offensive end and man the power play; will drop the gloves<h2>11 WSH1</h2><h3>Olli Maatta, D</h3>Huge OHL playoffs for Finn who proved he can explode offensively and shut down his own zone<h2>12&nbsp;BUF</h2><h3>Derrick Pouliot, D</h3>High-scoring &lsquo;D&rsquo; led Portland to WHL final. Plays a Brian Campbell-style game, but with some edge<h2>13&nbsp;DAL</h2><h3>Brendan Gaunce, C</h3>A big-bodied center. Dallas will need more talent up front in future and he brings character, too.<h2>14&nbsp;CGY</h2><h3>Griffin Reinhart, D</h3>Brother Max is already in system and dad Paul was a Calgary standout. Has size and can put up points<h2>15&nbsp;OTT</h2><h3>Hampus Lindholm, D</h3>Two-way game gained steam as season went on. If any team knows skilled Swedes, it&rsquo;s the Sens<h2>16&nbsp;WSH</h2><h3>Sebastian Collberg, RW</h3>Not the biggest guy, but he wields a great stick and can be explosive. Key for Sweden as WJC champs<h2>17&nbsp;SJ</h2><h3>Malcolm Subban, G</h3>Athletic and comes from NHL bloodlines. Is early favorite to helm Canada&rsquo;s crease at 2013 WJC<h2>18&nbsp;CHI</h2><h3>Pontus Aberg, LW</h3>Injury kept him out of world juniors, but he boasts great speed and a willingness to shoot the puck<h2>19 TB2</h2><h3>Matt Finn, D</h3>Do-everything blueliner for Guelph can play physical and clear the crease while also putting up points<h2>20&nbsp;PHI</h2><h3>Oscar Dansk, G</h3> Big-game goaltender shines internationally and has already had his share of North American hockey<h2>21 BUF3</h2><h3>Nicolas Kerdiles, C</h3>Burgeoning power forward goes all out every shift and had a huge under-18s. Committed to Wisconsin<h2>22&nbsp;PIT</h2><h3>Zemgus Girgensons, C</h3>Latvian national can do it all and brings leadership. Power forward played huge minutes at world juniors<h2>23&nbsp;FLA</h2><h3>Cody Ceci, D</h3>Offensively inclined and has cannon shot. He can also play against an opponents&rsquo; top lines<h2>24&nbsp;BOS</h2><h3>Slater Koekkoek, D</h3>Shoulder injury limited him to 26 games, but skating ability and composure on bad team can&rsquo;t be ignored<h2>25&nbsp;STL</h2><h3>Brady Skjei, D</h3>Smooth-skating blueliner formed an excellent pairing with 2013 top prospect Seth Jones26 VAN<h3>Ludvig Bystrom, D</h3> Lots of upside for Swedish defender who played in both junior and Sweden&rsquo;s top league<h2>27&nbsp;PHX</h2><h3>*Tomas Hertl, C</h3>Playmaker had breakout world juniors for Czechs and played with men in nation&rsquo;s top league<h2>28 NJ</h2><h3>*Scott Laughton, C</h3>Heart-and-soul type can also tally points. He put himself back on radar at under-18 tournament<h2>29&nbsp;NYR</h2><h3>*Stefan Matteau, LW</h3> Son of Stephane Matteau was an offensive threat on Team USA and will play for dad in &lsquo;Q&rsquo; next year<h2>30 LA4</h2><h3>*Dalton Thrower, D</h3>Played top minutes against tough opponents and still thrived as a producer from the blueline*FINAL ORDER WILL BE DETERMINED BY PLAYOFF OUTCOME | 1 FROM COLORADO; 2 FROM DETROIT; 3 FROM NASHVILLE; 4 COLUMBUS HAS OPTION TO TAKE PICK IN 2012 OR 2013 &#9632;

f0026-02

MOCK DRAFT

<h2>1. Teuvo Teravainen, LW</h2>His play both in the Finnish League and internationally had scouts raving. Teravainen, ranked No. 12 in our Draft Preview is one of the most talented players in the draft.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02941/9612721-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="252" height="328"><figcaption class="caption-body">(JOKERIT)</figcaption></div><h2>2. Hampus Lindholm, D</h2>Saw continued improvement throughout the year. Lindholm&rsquo;s performance in the Swedish post-season didn&rsquo;t hurt, either.<h2>3. Josh Anderson, RW</h2>Multi-dimensional winger made the jump from midget and continually improved, despite seeing no power play time.<h2>4. Anthony Stolarz, G</h2>Big goalie posted high save percentage while facing a ton of rubber, committed to Nebraska-Omaha.<h2>5. Mike Winther, C</h2>Led less-than-gifted Prince Albert Raiders team in goals and was rewarded with under-18s spot. &#9632;

f0027-02

TOP 5 RISERS

<h2>1. Gianluca Curcuruto, D</h2>An expected progression after a promising freshman season didn&rsquo;t materialize on a disappointing Sault Ste. Marie squad, dropping him to No. 75 in our rankings.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-03681/9612752-1-eng-US/f0027-032.jpg" title="f0027-03" width="252" height="327"><figcaption class="caption-body">(JAMES EGAN PHOTOGRAPHY)</figcaption></div><h2>2. Charles Hudon, LW</h2>Diminutive sophomore failed to improve numbers after being named top rookie. Down year for the &lsquo;Q&rsquo; in general.<h2>3. Lou Nanne, LW</h2>Grandson of legend with same name didn&rsquo;t produce offensively for top Edina (Minn.) high school team.<h2>4. Nick Ebert, D</h2>Expectations were crushing for prodigy who is a tweener in many ways. His numbers dropped and his mental mistakes rose.<h2>5. A.J. Michaelson, C</h2>After big year in his final high school season, the pure sniper didn&rsquo;t produce as expected and that&rsquo;s his bread and butter. &#9632;

f0027-03

TOP 5 FALLERS

<h2>1. Tanner Pearson, LW</h2>Passed over in 2011 draft, he put up major points in Barrie and secured a surprise spot on Canada&rsquo;s WJC squad. He will likely be a second round pick. We have him at No. 36.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-04501/9612790-1-eng-US/f0027-042.jpg" title="f0027-04" width="252" height="334"><figcaption class="caption-body">(BARRIE COLTS)</figcaption></div><h2>2. Tomas Hyka, RW</h2>The Philadelphia Flyers could have signed him last year, but now the world knows how skilled the Gatineau rookie really is.<h2>3. Jimmy Vesey, C</h2>New England prep star put up huge numbers in Jr. A for South Shore Kings. He&rsquo;s committed to Harvard.<h2>4. Nikita Gusev, LW</h2>Undersized Russian speedster was an offensive catalyst for Russia &ndash; three goals, nine points &ndash; at world juniors.<h2>5. Andrey Makarov, G</h2>Athletic netminder was a star between the pipes at WJC. Switched from Quebec to Western League when Lewiston folded.<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-011344/9612783-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="145" height="138"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div>GET LIVE PICK-BY-PICK COVERAGE AT <a href="http://THN.com/draft">THN.COM/DRAFT</a> &#9632;

f0027-04

TOP 5 OVERLOOKED

<div class="byline">BY ADAM PROTEAU</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0028-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-011426/9612849-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">(GRAIG ABEL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>By now, most people are fully aware of what New York Rangers star center Brad Richards can do once he steps on the ice. But few people understand how all the things that define him on the ice &ndash; the dedication, the loyalty, the burning desire to help in any area he&rsquo;s able &ndash; also define him off of it.Indeed, as Richards&rsquo; agent, Pat Morris of Newport Sports Management, said of his client, &ldquo;when you get into Brad&rsquo;s inner circle of friends, you have to do a lot to get out of it.&rdquo; And a recent story of the friendship between Richards and Morris illustrates that fact perfectly. The preface to it began at the Brad Richards Foundation&rsquo;s celebrity golf tournament that was held for seven years in P.E.I. and raised more than $400,000 for Children&rsquo;s Wish Foundation and Autism charities in that province. One year, Morris brought along his father, Rich, a fellow Maritimer born in New Glasgow, N.S., and Richards and his dad hit it off immediately.Fast forward to this year, when Rich passed away May 3. With the Rangers taking on the Washington Capitals in the second round, Richards was unable to attend the funeral, but sent his cousin, Dave, to represent him and pay his respects.After his cousin filled him in on the details of the service, Richards reached out to Morris. &ldquo;The message said, &lsquo;Dave said the service was brilliant &ndash; I hope you found it the same way,&rsquo; &rdquo; Morris said. &ldquo;Then he said, &lsquo;I will score a goal for your dad in the next game.&rsquo; &rdquo;It took Richards 59 minutes and 52 seconds to make good on the promise, but he did just that in Game 5 against Washington, forcing overtime (which the Blueshirts won) in the last moments of regulation. &ldquo;Boy, did that create emotion,&rdquo; Morris said. &ldquo;I told him later, &lsquo;My dad knows you scored.&rsquo; He said he just wished it hadn&rsquo;t taken him so long to do so.&rdquo;It may take Richards time to achieve his goals, but he almost always does.Rewind 11 months back to July 1 at Newport&rsquo;s West Toronto offices, where the then-unrestricted free agent was plotting out his future. On that first day of free agency, while rumors swirled that a contract with the Rangers was all but a fait ac compli, NHL management members from a slew of prospective employers lined up to pitch themselves to him. But while the star center, Stanley Cup winner and 2004Conn Smythe recipient was polite and respectful to all teams who wanted him and took more than a day to weigh his options, he wasn&rsquo;t going to do anybody any favors. For the first time in his adult life, Richards was in complete control of his destiny. And after he chose to sign what amounts to a rest-of-his-career contract with the Rangers, he has been proving himself worth the nine-year, $60-million investment the Manhattan Hockey Project made in him.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-011258/9612842-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="1398" height="1634"><figcaption class="caption-body">A FINE BALANCEBrad Richards is appreciative that he&rsquo;s able to maintain his privacy even in hockey-mad Manhattan. (GREGORY SHAMUS/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>Prior to that first day of July, Richards had been jettisoned by Tampa Bay ownership after leading the Lightning to their first championship. The Dallas Stars team to which the Bolts traded him in 2008 also gave the star center the heave-ho, though not willingly, as ownership dif-ficulties prevented GM Joe Nieuwendyk from retaining his services.So when it came time to choose a new home, Richards wasn&rsquo;t about to be charitable. All who know the 32-year-old knowhim to be the ultimate team-first, ego-last player, but he no longer was bound by loyalty, as he was when he signed a fiveyear, $39-million contract extension with Tampa Bay in 2006. There was no way he would again be beholden to the whims of ownership as he was when incoming Bolts owners Oren Koules and Len Barrie forced then-Lightning GM Feaster to deal him at the 2008 trade deadline. He was going to approach unrestricted free agency with the same attention to detail and professionalism he uses every day.That said, it was going to be difficult for any team to outbid the Rangers. Richards&rsquo; coach in Tampa Bay, John Tortorella, was now bench boss for the Blueshirts. He had friends in Manhattan to help him acclimate to a new home. And, perhaps most importantly, New York City was at once the type of hockey town Richards hadn&rsquo;t previously played for in his NHL career, yet also a place where he could disappear once the games were over. He never could have had that semblance of privacy in a Canadian market, but it is a measure of the respect Richards has for the hockey world that he listened to any and all GMs who wanted to sign him.One of those GMs was Calgary Flames boss Feaster, who knows Richards as well as anyone from their time together in Tampa Bay. Feaster didn&rsquo;t have the cap room to acquire Richards until he traded Robyn Regehr to Buffalo at the end of June, but even then, from a short talk he had with Richards during 2010-11, he realized it would be tough to convince him to remain in the Western Conference.&ldquo;When I started in Calgary, we were on a trip to Dallas and beat them and I asked the visiting equipment room guy to see if Brad would meet with me,&rdquo; Feaster said. &ldquo;He came out and I knew it was tough for him, because he hates to lose. But he said to me, &lsquo;How about the travel in the West?&rsquo; and, &lsquo;In the West, every night is like a playoff game. Every game is a battle.&rsquo; I knew then it was going to be a difficult sell to get him in Calgary. And his family is in Prince Edward Island. The one thing we couldn&rsquo;t compete with was geography.&rdquo;When Richards chose the Rangers and signed the contract at Morris&rsquo; house around 4 p.m. July 2, he was all in and driven to ensure Blueshirts GM Glen Sather didn&rsquo;t regret the signing. Indeed, the Murray Harbour, P.E.I., native always has been the most competitive person inside or outside the rink.Already an avid golfer, he caught the tennis bug in recent years and wasn&rsquo;t happy when he couldn&rsquo;t beat Morris, who&rsquo;s much more experienced. Richards worked on his tennis game at the Saddlebrook Resort in Tampa and befriended 6-foot-9 pro John Isner, who was part of the longest match in Wimbledon history in 2010, along the way. He tried to best Morris in Florida last June, but Morris won again, though Richards said his mind was on the free agent process and would try again soon. The next chance came minutes after Richards signed with the Rangers. He asked Morris for a rematch to blow off a little steam and when the two were tied 1-1 in sets, it was enough of a temporary victory for Richards to end the battle for the time being.<blockquote class="pullQuote">WHEN YOU GET INTO BRAD&rsquo;S INNER CIRCLE, YOU HAVE TO DO A LOT TO GET OUT &ndash; Pat Morris</blockquote><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-02989/9612835-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="1530" height="1123"><figcaption class="caption-body">BORN TO WIN Richards solidified his reputation as a winner after claiming the Cup and Conn Smythe with Tampa Bay in 2004. (DAVE SANDFORD/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>Like many players, Richards has always needed a little adjustment time to new environs. He amassed five points in his firstgame as a Star (after Feaster traded him for a package that included goalie Mike Smith and left winger Jussi Jokinen) and helped Dallas to a lengthy playoff run that spring, but his first full season in Dallas was filled with injuries and adjustments (as reflected in his career lows of 16 goals and 48 points in 56 games). And when he began life as a Ranger, it took a while for him to find his groove, scoring just one goal in the first eight games.However, goal scoring wasn&rsquo;t the chief reason Tortorella and the Rangers wanted him in their lineup. The things he did behind the scenes, such as taking his new teammates out one or two at a time on the road to foster familiarity and team cohesion and sell his coach&rsquo;s message, were equally crucial. And it is this side of Richards &ndash; the loyalty he cultivates in a dressing room, the support he provides to his fellow players &ndash; that&rsquo;s one of the biggest drivers of his success.Former Lightning teammate Martin St-Louis recalls the days shortly after they won the Cup in 2004, when both he and Richards were at the NHL Awards. &ldquo;Richie thinks of the team before anything else,&rdquo; St-Louis said. &ldquo;I remember in &rsquo;04, he&rsquo;d won the Conn Smythe and I was nominated for the Lester B. Pearson Award (now the Ted Lindsay Award for the game&rsquo;s most outstanding player as voted on by the NHLPA) at the time. We had gone to Toronto together, but they were presenting the Pearson early in the morning. He came to that ceremony to support me &ndash; that just showed what kind of teammate and individual he was, because that morning wasn&rsquo;t about him.&rdquo;That&rsquo;s typical of Richards&rsquo; humility and willingness to let others occupy the spotlight, but the truth is, like all the sport&rsquo;s true greats, he steps up his game at the most crucial of times. Before his NHL days, Richards often heard he was too small, wasn&rsquo;t strong enough or fast enough. In response, he became a fanatic about his health, about working out and eating properly. His nutritionist is as important as his physical trainer. He only drinks almond milk and he&rsquo;s specific about the foods he eats. One of the reasons he rented the apartment he did in Manhattan was because there is a Whole Foods health food store on the main floor.And whatever he lacks in strength and speed, Richards more than makes up for in the departments for which you can&rsquo;t simply choose to improve. &ldquo;&lsquo;Richie,&rsquo; he just out-thinks everybody,&rdquo; said former Bolts teammate Vincent Lecavalier. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s probably not as fast as (fellow Ranger) Marian Gaborik, but the vision and smarts he has, you can&rsquo;t teach that. I&rsquo;ve known him since age 14 when we were at (Saskatchewan hockey factory) Notre Dame and he&rsquo;s always been this big, intense competitor. He&rsquo;s a clutch player who has the drive to take it to another level.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-011311/9612828-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="1530" height="964"><figcaption class="caption-body">HEALTH MATTERS Richards chose his Manhattan apartment in part because there is a Whole Foods store on the main floor. (SCOTT LEVY/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">HE&rsquo;S A HECK OF HOCKEY PLAYER, BUT HE&rsquo;S TWICE THE PERSON &ndash; Martin St-Louis</blockquote>Richards found the next level for the Rangers in the post-season, leading the team in goals and points. But there is much more to him than just production. He wants to win when he competes, but as evidenced by the $500,000 donation he made in 2010 to the pediatric unit of P.E.I.&rsquo;s Queen Elizabeth Hospital &ndash; in honor of his cousin and best friend, Jamie Reynolds, who died in 1989 of a brain tumor at age seven &ndash; Richards wants to make a difference off the ice as well. &ldquo;I love Brad like a son and I think the world of him,&rdquo; Feaster said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s just a wonderful young man who was raised the right way. And he&rsquo;s a student of the game. He isn&rsquo;t a guy who looks at the team he&rsquo;s playing that night and that&rsquo;s it. He&rsquo;s watching the other teams in the playoffs. He knows what&rsquo;s going on and not every guy in the league does that.&rdquo;Loyalty. Dedication. Professionalism. That&rsquo;s the essence of Brad Richards. The Rangers paid a premium for him, but he&rsquo;s been worth each and every penny. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a heck of a hockey player,&rdquo; St-Louis said, &ldquo;but he&rsquo;s twice the person.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-011437/9612821-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="522" height="775"><figcaption class="caption-body">(JEFF GROSS/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h2>BRAD RICHARD IS A WINNER!</h2>CAREER TEAM PLAYOFF RECORDS1997-98 &ndash; Rimouski &ndash; 11-8&nbsp;(lost in final)1998-99 &ndash; Rimouski &ndash; 7-4&nbsp;(lost in second round)1999-00 &ndash; Rimouski &ndash; 12-2 (won QMJHL title)1999-00 Memorial Cup &ndash; 4-0 (won Memorial Cup, MVP)2002-03 &ndash; Tampa Bay &ndash; 5-6&nbsp;(lost in second round)&nbsp;2003-04 &ndash; Tampa Bay &ndash; 16-7 (won Stanley Cup, Conn Smythe)2005-06 &ndash; Tampa Bay &ndash; 1-4 (lost in first round &ndash; 8 points)2006-07 &ndash; Tampa Bay &ndash; 2-4&nbsp;(lost in first round &ndash; 8 points)2007-08 &ndash; Dallas &ndash; 10-8 (lost in third round)&nbsp;2011-12 &ndash; Rangers &ndash; 9-6 as of May 15th (won two rounds, in ECF)JUNIOR TOTALS: 30-14 | NHL TOTALS: 43-35 &#9632;

f0028-01

RICH IN MANHATTAN

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0032-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-02952/9612880-1-eng-US/f0032-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">GREAT 8&rsquo;S FATEThe new Caps coach will have to decide how to handle Alex Ovechkin.</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-011413/9612887-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg" title="f0032-01" width="206" height="245"><figcaption class="caption-body">(RICHARD WOLOWICZ/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>It&rsquo;s difficult to blame Dale Hunter for resigning as coach of the Washington Capitals. In fact, when you look at: (a) how quickly the franchise has regressed from run-and-gun Stanley Cup contender to a defense-first, (hockey) stick-in-the-mud; and (b) the rocky road that lies ahead in its immediate future, it&rsquo;s no wonder at all Hunter bailed as rapidly as he did.Forget, for a moment, that Hunter turned Washington into a team that played 14 playoff games in 2012 after being swept by Tampa Bay in the second round last post-season. Forget that he proved superstar Alex Ovechkin didn&rsquo;t have to be a liability whenever he didn&rsquo;t have the puck. Forget that Braden Holtby emerged as a dynamic goalie and someone who can push netminder Michal Neuvirth in the coming years.Rather, look at how far the once mighty Capitals have fallen in a short span of time. At the end of the 2010-11 campaign, they were the Eastern Conference&rsquo;s topteam and the second-best franchise with 48 wins and 107 points. This year, Washington barely made the playoffs with 92 points and allowed 33 more goals than the prior season. Even before the firing of Hunter&rsquo;s predecessor, Bruce Boudreau, the team was shifting toward a more defense-minded game plan. Hunter greatly accelerated the philosophical change, leaning on foot soldiers such as Jay Beagle and Matt Hendricks and making stars like Ovechkin and Alexander Semin earn every second of ice time.Contrast that with the way two other teams &ndash; the Senators and Devils &ndash; dealt with disappointing 2010-11 seasons: neither team deviated from its core values. Ottawa didn&rsquo;t morph into the type of puck-suffocating D-first squad the Devils are famous for being, nor did New Jersey start playing fast-and-loose after decades of GM Lou Lamoriello&rsquo;s stewardship. They tweaked their lineups and both drastically improved their fortunes.<blockquote class="pullQuote">Look how far the once mighty Caps have fallen</blockquote>Capitals GM George McPhee didn&rsquo;t blow up his roster last summer, but virtually all the pieces he brought in &ndash; including goalie Tomas Vokoun and forwards Jeff Halpern and Joel Ward &ndash; were acquired to make them more defensively responsible. Many (including, uh, me) thought those were solid choices at the time, but it seemed whatever McPhee did to strengthen his team away from the puck wound up throwing heavier shackles on its offense.Indeed, by the time the Caps were eliminated by the Rangers in seven games this spring, nobody was happy with the way things were headed. The soon-to-be unrestricted free agent Semin and his agent Mark Gandler talked to the media as if his days in Washington were a thing of the past, while Ovechkin &ndash; whose effervescence has been eroding for a while &ndash; seemed less sure of himself than ever.And there are more dark clouds on the horizon. Top prospect Evgeny Kuznetsov (No. 1 overall in THN&rsquo;s Future Watch) decided to remain in the Kontinental League for at least next season. McPhee already has more than $45 million in committed salary cap space for 17 players and still must give a sizeable raise to restricted free agent defenseman Mike Green and try to retain UFA blueliner Dennis Wideman.And that brings us back to the Caps&rsquo; coaching predicament. With the stern Hunter gone, which type of coach will McPhee choose? If he goes for an even tougher disciplinarian, he risks further alienating his stars. If he chooses a more player-friendly type of bench boss, he risks re-establishing the culture of expectancy that ultimately ended Boudreau&rsquo;s tenure.So you can see why there isn&rsquo;t a lineup of front-line coaches to take the job. What once was one of the NHL&rsquo;s most sparkling franchises now has its wheels encased in mud. The harder they spin to move the team forward, the deeper in the dirt they get.WANT MORE PROTEAU? READ HIS EXCLUSIVE WEB COLUMN THURSDAYS AT <a href="http://THN.COM/PROTEAU">THN.COM/PROTEAU</a> &#9632;

f0032-02

Capital Pain Comin’ As D.C. Declines

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0033-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-011256/9612925-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg"></div><a href="http://THN.COM/DIGITAL">THN.COM/DIGITAL</a>GET IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS, CUTTING OPINIONS ANDEND-TO-END COVERAGE OF ALL 30 NHL TEAMS AND BEYOND!ACTIVATE YOUR DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTION TODAY!<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-03680/9612918-1-eng-US/f0033-032.jpg" title="f0033-03" width="206" height="106"></div> &#9632;

f0033-01

STAY CONNECTED ANYTIME, ANYWHERE

<div class="byline">BY DAVID BOCLAIR</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-02994/9612963-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="482" height="185"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-011430/9612970-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="77" height="89"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-03789/9612956-1-eng-US/f0034-032.jpg" title="f0034-03" width="1297" height="1132"><figcaption class="caption-body">RYAN SUTER (LANCE THOMSON/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>The NHL adopted a salary cap specifically for teams like the Nashville Predators. And for the most part Nashville has benefited from the labor agreement forged through the lockout that cancelled the 2004-05 season. The Predators have routinely maintained a payroll in the league&rsquo;s bottom third and have been bolstered by revenue sharing. They made the playoffs in each post-lockout season except &rsquo;08-09.However, following a secondround loss to Phoenix, GM David Poile and his staff are in an uncomfortable position. They must figure out how much they can spend and which players they can afford to keep. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s a lot of moving parts right now,&rdquo; Poile said. &ldquo;Our first order of business is to talk about the players we have here. I&rsquo;m notsaying everybody&rsquo;s coming back, but we&rsquo;re not dissatisfied with many players on our team.&rdquo;Satisfaction comes with a cost and now is the time for Nashville to pay. Among those on the active roster for the post-season, eight become unrestricted free agents July 1 and seven hit restricted free agency. That group includes a topthree forward from the past two seasons in Sergei Kostitsyn, a key point producer in the playoffs in Alexander Radulov, five of the top six defensemen and many players who have become virtually synonymous with the Predators.Defenseman Ryan Suter, for example, will to be one of the most coveted UFAs on the market. He resisted the team&rsquo;s attempt to lock him up long-term during the regular season and will command top dollar on the open market.His partner, two-time Norris Trophy finalist Shea Weber, is an RFA for the second straight year. This time, though, he comes off a season in which he earned a hefty $7.5 million courtesy of an arbitrator&rsquo;s ruling and did nothing to warrant a pay cut.The UFAs include right winger Jordin Tootoo, who had a careerbest 30 points in 2011-12, his first full season after seeking treatment through the league for substance abuse issues. It also includes left winger Andrei Kostitsyn, center Paul Gaustad and defenseman Hal Gill, all of whom were acquired in trade deadline deals. &ldquo;Over the last five years this team has really blossomed,&rdquo; Tootoo said. &ldquo;I couldn&rsquo;t say how exciting it&rsquo;s been. This is where I want to win a Stanley Cup ultimately.&rdquo;The RFAs include left winger Sergei Kostitsyn, whose team-high 23 goals in 2010-11 earned him a bump in salary to $2.5 million (up from $550,000) for this season, when he produced another 17 goals and 43 points.Then there&rsquo;s Radulov, who shared the team lead in playoff scoring (six points) despite missing two games, one due to a suspension and the second in a coach&rsquo;s decision. The high-scoring right winger satisfied the final year of his entry level contract when he played the final nine games of the regular season. Any attempt to get him to stay rather than return to the Kontinental League will require a significant increase over his $919,000 cap hit. &ldquo;This is a player that &ndash; fortunately or unfortunately &ndash; has a lot of options,&rdquo; Poile said.Virtually every decision, though, must wait on Suter because of the money he will command. &ldquo;For this to work, we probably need the co-operation of everyone in doing this,&rdquo; Poile said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a lot of moving parts. We need to have the discussion of where they fit in and what&rsquo;s the appropriate contract. Maybe there are some guys that don&rsquo;t want to come back, too.&ldquo;The core of our team is pretty good. The idea is to retain the core of our team and that starts with guys like Ryan Suter.&rdquo;Free agent worth depends on age, contract length, arbitration rights, supply, demand, cap room and projections. Bearing in mind all the variables, we&rsquo;ve provided estimated cap hits for the 2012 NHL free agents. Ages are as of July 1. &#9632;

f0034-02

Nashville Must Face The Music

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-04640/9613001-1-eng-US/f0034-042.jpg" title="f0034-04" width="260" height="425"><figcaption class="caption-body">SERGEI KOSTITSYN (JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>Shea Weber RFA49 pointsRyan Suter&nbsp;UFA46 pointsS. Kostitsyn&nbsp;RFA43 points&nbsp;A. Kostitsyn&nbsp;UFA36 pointsColin Wilson&nbsp;RFA35 pointsJordin Tootoo UFA30 points&nbsp;Paul Gaustad UFA21 pointsHal Gill UFA13 points &#9632;

f0034-04

Free FOR ALL

<div class="byline">&#x2013; WAYNE FISH</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0035-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-02945/9613081-1-eng-US/f0035-022.jpg"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-011329/9613074-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg" title="f0035-01" width="77" height="89"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-08366/9613067-1-eng-US/f0035-082.jpg" title="f0035-08" width="657" height="778"><figcaption class="caption-body">JAROMIR JAGR</figcaption></div>How&rsquo;s this for a challenging job: Jaromir Jagr&rsquo;s travel agent this summer. Do you book a new NHL stop? A trip back to Europe? A glitzy retirement resort? Or another rental in Philadelphia?The 40-year-old future Hall of Famer, who had 54 points in the regular season and eight in two playoff rounds, said it&rsquo;s early to make arrangements, but he enjoyed his first year as a Flyer. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know what&rsquo;s going to happen,&rdquo; Jagr said. &ldquo;But I have to say, thanks for the support from the fans. I love everybody on this team. That was probably my most enjoyable year I ever had.&ldquo;I win some Cups (with Pittsburgh), I win some trophies, but I love this year. From the organization to the last player on the team and the fans, they were so nice to me.&rdquo;After a one-year, $3.3-million deal with Philly, Jagr hits the open market July 1. There were no contract talks with the Flyers as of May 10, but GM Paul Holmgren wants Jagr back, as much for his mentoring of young players as his on-ice contributions. &ldquo;What he brought to our locker room and what he brought to the practice rink and our strength and condition room was outstanding,&rdquo; Holmgren said. &ldquo;Having him around for the young guys was a great, great thing.&rdquo;Added Jagr: &ldquo;I want to play in the NHL. I want to play somewhere I know teams will want me to. Hopefully, we are going to find some team where I can play. I still love the game and I am going to be better than I was this year.&rdquo;<h2>FOR THE RECORD</h2><h3>NEW JERSEY 2012 UFA | RFA</h3>Parise, LW, 27 $ $ $ $ $ $+Brodeur, G, 40 $ $ $ $ $Salvador, D, 36 $ $ $Ponikarovsky, LW, 32 $$Hedberg, G, 39 $$Sykora, RW, 35 $$Bernier, RW, 27 $Carter, C, 28 $Harrold, D, 29 $Janssen, RW, 28 $Fayne, D, 25 $$Corrente, D, 23 $Taormina, D, 25 $<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-03785/9613060-1-eng-US/f0035-032.jpg" title="f0035-03" width="327" height="569"></div>All signs point to legendary goalie Martin Brodeur returning &ndash; hardly surprising given his play in the playoffs &ndash; but for how much? Zach Parise is the biggest of many fish GM Lou Lamoriello must reel in to fill out his roster, but Parise will eat up significant cap space if he stays. That leaves the 40-year-old Brodeur to take a cut on his $5.2-million salary.<h3>NY ISLANDERS 2012 UFA | RFA</h3>Parenteau, RW, 29 $ $ $ $Eaton, D, 35 $ $Jurcina, D, 29 $ $Staios, D, 38 $Colliton, C, 27 $Gillies, LW, 33 $Montoya, G, 27 $Pandolfo, LW, 37 $Reese, D, 27 $Martin, LW, 23 $ $ $Rakhshani, RW, 24 $Wishart, D, 24 $<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-04645/9613053-1-eng-US/f0035-042.jpg" title="f0035-04" width="327" height="568"><figcaption class="caption-body">(ANDRE RINGUETTE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>The Islanders are flush at forward for the foreseeable future, so negotiations with late-bloomer P-A Parenteau will be intriguing. The 29-year-old posted back-to-back solid seasons and spent most of 2011-12 with John Tavares on the top line. This is Parenteau&rsquo;s chance to land a big contract, but the budget-conscious Isles may balk at his asking price.<h3>NY RANGERS 2012 UFA | RFA</h3>Biron, G, 34 $$Fedotenko, LW, 33 $$Prust, RW, 28 $$Deveaux, RW, 28 $Eminger, D, 28 $Mitchell, C, 27 $Newbury, C, 30 $Woywitka, D, 28 $Del Zotto, D, 22 $ $ $ $Stralman, D, 25 $$ Bickel, D, 25 $ $Johnson, G, 26 $<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-05549/9613046-1-eng-US/f0035-052.jpg" title="f0035-05" width="327" height="568"><figcaption class="caption-body">(ANDY DEVLIN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>The Blueshirts are built around minute-munching, shot-blocking blueliners, which makes negotiations with RFA Michael Del Zotto great theater. He&rsquo;s the top offensive D-man and the Rangers need his puck-moving skills. After rebounding from a sophomore slump, he&rsquo;s as integral as Dan Girardi, Ryan McDonagh and Marc Staal. He&rsquo;ll expect to be paid as such.<h3>PHILADELPHIA 2012 UFA | RFA</h3>Carle, D, 27 $ $ $ $ $Jagr, RW, 40 $ $ $ $Kubina, D, 35 $ $ $Betts, C, 32 $Laperriere, RW, 38 $Leighton, G, 31 $Voracek, RW, 22 $ $ $ $Bourdon, D, 22 $$Zolnierczyk, LW, 24 $ Holmstrom, C, 25 $Sestito, LW, 24 $<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-06496/9613039-1-eng-US/f0035-062.jpg" title="f0035-06" width="327" height="569"><figcaption class="caption-body">(RICHARD WOLOWICZ/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>With Chris Pronger&rsquo;s future in flux, keeping Matt Carle becomes much more important. The four-year Flyer has been as steady as any Philly D-man, posting three straight 80-game, 35-point seasons as a top-four defenseman. With Braydon Coburn&rsquo;s extension carrying a $4.5-million cap hit, Carle will seek at least $5 million per year on a long-term deal.<h3>PITTSBURGH 2012 UFA | RFA</h3>Sullivan, LW, 37 $ $ $Asham, RW, 34 $Johnson, G, 35 $MacIntyre, LW, 31 $Park, RW, 36 $Williams, RW, 31 $Niskanen, D, 25 $ $ $O&rsquo;Reilly, C, 25 $Strait, D, 24 $Thiessen, G, 26 $<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-07425/9613032-1-eng-US/f0035-072.jpg" title="f0035-07" width="327" height="569"><figcaption class="caption-body">(GRAIG ABEL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>After Marc-Andre Fleury&rsquo;s flop in the playoffs, who will the Penguins bring in to back him up? Brent Johnson did well his first two seasons in Pittsburgh, but was dreadful in an injury-plagued 2011-12 with a 3.11 GAA and .883 SP in 16 games. Expect the Pens to find a No. 2 netminder they&rsquo;d be comfortable with should Fleury falter again or get injured.PROJECTED CAP HIT $ $ $ $ $ $+ $6M+ | $ $ $ $ $ $ $5-6M | $ $ $ $ $ $4-5M | $ $ $ $ $3-4M | $ $ $ $2-3M | $ $ $1-2M | $ $525K-1M &#9632;

f0035-02

Forty And Fabulous

<div class="byline">&#x2013; HERB ZURKOWSKY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0036-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-02899/9613154-1-eng-US/f0036-022.jpg"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-011331/9613161-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg" title="f0036-01" width="77" height="89"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-03743/9613147-1-eng-US/f0036-032.jpg" title="f0036-03" width="658" height="837"><figcaption class="caption-body">CAREY PRICE</figcaption></div>The words, uttered in the heat of the moment after he was introduced as the new Montreal Canadiens GM in early May, could come back to haunt Marc Bergevin.Bergevin admitted the re-signing of franchise goaltender Carey Price, who becomes a restricted free agent July 1, was a top priority. Price, a fifth overall draft pick in 2005, is about to complete a two-year, $5.5-million contract. &ldquo;Look at the teams that are still playing in the (Western Conference playoffs) and you see they all have outstanding goaltenders,&rdquo; Bergevin said. &ldquo;When you have a goaltender like Carey Price, you&rsquo;re ahead of the game.&rdquo;The compressed spine, sore neck and concussion that forced Price to miss the final week of the regular season have fully healed. He said he&rsquo;s already had a brief introductory conversation with Bergevin and has repeatedly stated his desire to remain with Montreal.It would be surprising if the negotiations prove anything but smooth, though Price can expect to get a healthy raise. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m pretty confident we&rsquo;ll get something done,&rdquo; Price said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m really not the type of guy who&rsquo;s going to push everything to get a contract done faster. We&rsquo;re trying to build a team here and we want to build it the right way.&rdquo;As far as negotiations go, this will be Bergevin&rsquo;s first round at the table. How things transpire and how quickly the matter is resolved will speak volumes about Bergevin&rsquo;s style and philosophy.<h2>FOR THE RECORD</h2><h3>BOSTON 2012 UFA | RFA</h3>Kelly, C, 31 $ $ $ $Zanon, D, 32 $$$Campbell, C, 28 $$Corvo, D, 35 $ $Paille, LW, 28 $$Rolston, RW, 39 $$Mottau, D, 34 $Turco, G, 36 $Rask, G, 25 $ $ $ $Pouliot, LW, 25 $$Bartkowski, D, 24 $Hamill, RW, 23 $MacDermid, LW, 22 $<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-04594/9613140-1-eng-US/f0036-042.jpg" title="f0036-04" width="327" height="569"><figcaption class="caption-body">(RICHARD WOLOWICZ/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>Tuukka Rask has patiently waited for the Bruins&rsquo; starting goalie job. With incumbent Tim Thomas entering the final year of his contract and the subject of trade speculation, that time likely has arrived. Rask posted better regular season numbers (2.05 GAA, .929 SP) than Thomas (2.36 GAA, .920 SP) and will triple his 2011-12 cap hit of $1.3 million.<h3>BUFFALO 2012 UFA | RFA</h3>Hecht, C, 35 $$Boyes, RW, 30 $$Kotalik, RW, 33 $Morrisonn, D, 29 $MacIntyre, G, 29 $Stuart, LW, 29 $Sulzer, D, 28 $Ennis, LW, 22 $ $ $Kaleta, RW, 26 $$Brennan, D, 23 $Szczechura, C, 26 $<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-05503/9613133-1-eng-US/f0036-052.jpg" title="f0036-05" width="327" height="568"></div>Tyler Ennis missed 34 games with an ankle injury, but the sophomore winger was a revelation in the 48 games he did play. He amassed 19 assists and 34 points, including 29 in 33 games after the all-star break. The 22-year-old RFA made $875,000 in 2011-12 and will be management&rsquo;s top priority to re-sign in the off-season.<h3>MONTREAL 2012 UFA | RFA</h3>Campoli, D, 27 $$Moen, LW, 30 $ $Darche, LW, 35 $Staubitz, RW, 27 $Price, G, 24 $ $ $ $ $ $Subban, D, 23 $ $ $ $ $Eller, C, 23 $ $ $Diaz, D, 26 $$Emelin, D, 26 $$Geoffrion, LW, 24 $$Blunden, RW, 25 $Nokelainen, C, 26 $Palushaj, RW, 22 $<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-06445/9613126-1-eng-US/f0036-062.jpg" title="f0036-06" width="327" height="568"><figcaption class="caption-body">(JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>While many focus on Carey Price&rsquo;s contract demands, another Canadiens RFA &ndash; star defenseman P.K. Subban &ndash; presents an equally interesting dilemma. Does the team pay him in the area of what fellow blueliner Josh Gorges will make ($3.9 million) in 2012-13, or do they give him a smaller raise on his 2011-12 salary of $875,000? Bet on the latter.<h3>OTTAWA 2012 UFA | RFA</h3>Kuba, D, 35 $ $ $ $Gilroy, D, 27 $$Konopka, C, 31 $$Auld, G, 31 $Carkner, D, 31 $Klinkhammer, C, 25 $Winchester, C, 28 $Karlsson, D, 22 $ $ $ $ $ $Foligno, LW, 24 $ $ $Da Costa, C, 22 $$Daugavins, LW, 24 $O&rsquo;Brien, C, 23 $<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-07375/9613119-1-eng-US/f0036-072.jpg" title="f0036-07" width="327" height="569"><figcaption class="caption-body">(ANDRE RINGUETTE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>Erik Karlsson has become a superstar and the Senators must pay the RFA blueliner accordingly. The 22-year-old led Ottawa in ice time (25:19) and game-winners (five) and was tied for third in the league in assists (59). He&rsquo;ll quadruple his 2011-12 cap hit of $1.3 million, but the real question is how many years his new contract will run.<h3>TORONTO 2012 UFA | RFA</h3>Crabb, RW, 29 $Dupuis, C, 27 $Finger, D, 32 $Gustavsson, G, 27 $Hamilton, LW, 27 $Rosehill, LW, 26 $Kulemin, RW, 25 $ $ $Franson, D, 24 $$Frattin, RW, 24 $$Rynnas, G, 25 $$Fraser, D, 25 $Holzer, D, 24 $Scrivens, G, 25 $<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-08319/9613112-1-eng-US/f0036-082.jpg" title="f0036-08" width="327" height="569"><figcaption class="caption-body">(GRAIG ABEL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>Cody&nbsp;Franson&rsquo;s first season in Toronto was an emotional roller-coaster ride. The 24-year-old RFA had a decent season, posting five goals and 21 points in 57 games, almost perfectly mirroring the six goals and 21 points he had in 61 games for Nashville in 2009-10. But he&rsquo;s low on the Leafs depth chart and could be packaged in a trade.PROJECTED CAP HIT $ $ $ $ $ $+ $6M+ | $ $ $ $ $ $ $5-6M | $ $ $ $ $ $4-5M | $ $ $ $ $3-4M | $ $ $ $2-3M | $ $ $1-2M | $ $525K-1M &#9632;

f0036-02

Show Me The Money

<div class="byline">&#x2013; AARON PORTZLINE</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0038-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-02891/9613314-1-eng-US/f0038-022.jpg"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-011291/9613321-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg" title="f0038-01" width="77" height="89"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-03720/9613307-1-eng-US/f0038-032.jpg" title="f0038-03" width="657" height="773"><figcaption class="caption-body">KRISTIAN HUSELIUS (RICHARD WOLOWICZ/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>Kristian Huselius, an unrestricted free agent, hopes to catch on with another club this summer. Not that Blue Jackets fans will notice his absence.The 33-year-old was exactly what the Jackets expected in his first two seasons in Columbus. He totalled 44 goals and 75 assists, bringing a much-needed infusion of skill to the top six and power play. But Huselius was exactly what Columbus feared in the final two years of his contract. He&rsquo;s missed 100 of the past 106 games, including all but two in 2011-12. And there are no guarantees for next season. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s still not cleared to play,&rdquo; said GM Scott Howson in mid-May. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s maybe a month away.&rdquo;Huselius tore the groin muscle off his leg on Dec. 6 in Montreal, finishing his season after only 43 shifts and five periods. The injury should be healed by July 1, though, and Huselius still hopes to remain in the NHL.Though Howson isn&rsquo;t interested in bringing him back, he thinks Huselius still is a viable player. &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t see too many players who have hands like he has, who have that kind of vision,&rdquo; Howson said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s not a physical player, so there&rsquo;s not a lot of wear and tear on his body. He doesn&rsquo;t hit or get hit very often. When you look at the injuries he&rsquo;s suffered, you could say they&rsquo;re fluky in nature, not proof that he&rsquo;s breaking down.&rdquo;Huselius signed a four-year, $19-million deal with the Blue Jackets in 2008. He won&rsquo;t get that term or money this time.<h2>FOR THE RECORD</h2><h3>CHICAGO 2012 UFA | RFA</h3>Oduya, D, 30 $ $ $ $Brunette, LW, 38 $ $Huet, G, 36 $Lepisto, D, 37 $Mayers, RW, 37 $Morrison, C, 36 $O&rsquo;Donnell, D, 40 $Bollig, LW, 25 $Smith, RW, 23 $<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-04585/9613300-1-eng-US/f0038-042.jpg" title="f0038-04" width="327" height="569"><figcaption class="caption-body">(JANA CHYTILOVA/FREESTYLE PHOTOGRAPHY/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>Chicago took a risk trading second-and third-rounders to Winnipeg for D-man Johnny Oduya, but the pending UFA was handy down the stretch and in the playoffs, especially killing penalties. GM Stan Bowman wants to keep him, but the Hawks already have four D-men making more than $2.7 million. Retaining Oduya likely means trading Niklas Hjalmarsson.<h3>COLUMBUS 2012 UFA | RFA</h3>Huselius, LW, 33 $ $Martinek, D, 35 $ $Boyce, C, 27 $Byers, LW, 26 $Giroux, LW, 31 $Johnson, D, 29 $Lebda, D, 30 $MacKenzie, C, 31 $Russell, LW, 25 $Sanford, G, 32 $Dorsett, RW, 25 $$Nikitin, D, 26 $$Boll, RW, 26 $Hunwick, G, 25 $Mayorov, LW, 23 $<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-05471/9613293-1-eng-US/f0038-052.jpg" title="f0038-05" width="327" height="568"></div>Nikita Nikitin amassed a career-best 32 points after Columbus got him for Kris Russell last fall. The RFA is due a large raise on his $600,000 cap hit, but Columbus shouldn&rsquo;t pay for 2011-12 production. With James Wisniewski healthy and Jack Johnson in town all year, Nikitin won&rsquo;t play 23 minutes a game again &ndash; or repeat the offensive output.<h3>DETROIT 2012 UFA | RFA</h3>Lidstrom, D, 42 $ $ $ $ $ $Hudler, LW, 28 $ $ $ $Stuart, D, 32 $ $ $ $Holmstrom, LW, 39 $ $Brunnstrom, LW, 27 $Conklin, G, 36 $Conner, RW, 28 $Janik, D, 32 $Quincey, D, 26 $ $ $ $Helm, C, 25 $$ $Abdelkader, LW, 25 $ $<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-06403/9613286-1-eng-US/f0038-062.jpg" title="f0038-06" width="327" height="568"></div>It&rsquo;s will-he-or-won&rsquo;t-he time for UFA Nicklas Lidstrom again. If the 42-year-old future Hall of Famer returns for another season, he&rsquo;ll command another $6 million or so. Detroit can afford him, but if it wants to make a serious run at Ryan Suter, signing Lidstrom may mark the end of fellow free agent blueliner Brad Stuart ($3.8 million) in Hockeytown.<h3>NASHVILLE 2012 UFA | RFA</h3>Suter, D, 27 $ $ $ $ $ $+Gaustad, C, 30 $ $ $Gill, D, 37 $ $ $A. Kostitsyn, LW, 27 $ $ $Bouillon, D, 36 $ $Tootoo, RW, 29 $ $McGrattan, RW, 30 $Yip, RW, 27 $Weber, D, 26 $ $ $ $ $ $+Radulov, RW, 25 $ $ $ $ $S. Kostitsyn, LW, 25 $ $ $C. Wilson, C, 22 $ $ $Blum, D, 23 $ $Lindback, G, 24 $ $Hillen, D, 26 $Laakso, D, 24 $Stortini, RW, 26 $<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-07340/9613279-1-eng-US/f0038-072.jpg" title="f0038-07" width="327" height="569"><figcaption class="caption-body">(JOHN RUSSELL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>With so many vital cogs to sign, Nashville may have to let UFA Paul Gaustad walk, but that doesn&rsquo;t mean he won&rsquo;t bring value to a new team. There will always be a market for 6-foot-5 centers who finish in the top 10 in faceoff percentage and kill penalties. He won&rsquo;t have trouble duplicating his $2.3-million cap hit on a new team.<h3>ST. LOUIS 2012 UFA | RFA</h3>Jackman, D, 31 $ $ $ $ $Colaiacovo, D, 29 $ $ $Arnott, C, 37 $ $Langenbrunner, RW, 36 $ $Cheechoo, RW, 31 $Huskins, D, 33 $Nichol, C, 37 $Porter, LW, 28 $Sterling, LW, 28 $Perron, LW, 24 $ $ $ $ $Oshie, C, 25 $ $ $ $Stewart, RW, 24 $ $ $<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-08277/9613272-1-eng-US/f0038-082.jpg" title="f0038-08" width="327" height="569"><figcaption class="caption-body">(JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>Even with Alex Pietrangelo breaking out, Barret Jackman&rsquo;s grit and experience were indispensable on the blueline&hellip;until the second playoff round, when Jackman&rsquo;s play slipped and he was scapegoated by fans and media. The UFA hopes to return; the Blues still need leaders, but will only want him back at a discount. He&rsquo;ll generate interest elsewhere.PROJECTED CAP HIT $ $ $ $ $ $+ $6M+ | $ $ $ $ $ $ $5-6M | $ $ $ $ $ $4-5M | $ $ $ $ $3-4M | $ $ $ $2-3M | $ $ $1-2M | $ $525K-1M &#9632;

f0038-02

Huselius On The Market

<div class="byline">&#x2013; ERIC STEPHENS</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0040-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-02558/9613474-1-eng-US/f0040-022.jpg"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-01883/9613481-1-eng-US/f0040-012.jpg" title="f0040-01" width="77" height="89"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-03434/9613467-1-eng-US/f0040-032.jpg" title="f0040-03" width="657" height="783"><figcaption class="caption-body">TEEMU SELANNE</figcaption></div>For the Ducks, the off-season marks the time of the Teemu Selanne retirement watch. Selanne is no stranger to keeping his fans in Anaheim and beyond in suspense. Several times he has left his playing future in question heading into the summer months. The Ducks always indulge him because he ultimately suits up in September.And he&rsquo;s been worth indulging. At 41, Selanne remains relevant as he led the Ducks in scoring with 66 points and continues to be one of their top offensive players.In the past, Ducks GM Bob Murray has taken the route of patience and not pushed Selanne. Murray sees no reason to change his strategy. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re obviously giving Teemu his time,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I saw him the other day and he seems fine to me. He kind of wants to see where his knee is at. So I&rsquo;m just waiting. That&rsquo;s all.&rdquo;The feeling is Selanne won&rsquo;t want to hang them up just yet, given he is healthy &ndash; he played in all 82 games in 2011-12 &ndash; and won&rsquo;t want his final season to be with a disappointing Ducks team that had its worst season since 2003-04.Selanne has said he&rsquo;ll announce his intentions by July 1. Fellow Finn Saku Koivu knows the annual drill with his linemate. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m sure he&rsquo;s going to sit down with his family and see how they feel,&rdquo; Koivu said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;d love to have him back. He was again a huge part of our offense. You cannot replace a player like that, so we cross our fingers and see what could happen with him.&rdquo;<h2>FOR THE RECORD</h2><h3>ANAHEIM 2012 UFA | RFA</h3>Selanne, RW, 41 $ $ $ $ $Blake, LW, 38 $ $Brookbank, D, 31 $ $Hagman, LW, 32 $$Ellis, G, 32 $Jacques, LW, 27 $O&rsquo;Marra, C, 25 $Parros, RW, 32 $Pelley, C, 27 $Tarkki, G, 27 $ $Bonino, C, 24 $Cumiskey, D, 25 $<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-04349/9613460-1-eng-US/f0040-042.jpg" title="f0040-04" width="327" height="569"></div>Sheldon Brookbank has earned a nice raise. The blueline bruiser went above and beyond his $750,000 cap hit, setting career highs across the board. He scored three of his four career goals in &rsquo;11-12 and more than doubled his hits and blocks from the year prior. He&rsquo;s set to become a millionaire. And if the UFA leaves Anaheim, some team will overpay for him.<h3>DALLAS 2012 UFA | RFA</h3>Souray, D, 35 $ $ $Burish, C, 29 $ $Dvorak, RW, 35 $ $Dowell, C, 27 $Petersen, C, 33 $Raycroft, G, 33 $Wathier, LW, 27 $Ja. Benn, LW, 22 $ $ $ $ $ $Bachman, G, 24 $ $Fistric, D, 26 $ $Larsen, D, 22 $ $Jo. Benn, D, 24 $Garbutt, C, 26 $Wandell, C, 25 $<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-05296/9613453-1-eng-US/f0040-052.jpg" title="f0040-05" width="327" height="568"><figcaption class="caption-body">(GERRY THOMAS/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>Sheldon Souray should&rsquo;ve cashed in his chips while he was ahead. The UFA defenseman sparkled with eight points in his first 11 games, but he declined as the season progressed and had just four points in 22 games after the all-star break. He&rsquo;s shown he still belongs in the NHL, but his days of making $5 million-plus per season are done.<h3>LOS ANGELES 2012 UFA | RFA</h3>Stoll, C, 30 $ $ $ $Penner, LW, 29 $ $ $Fraser, C, 27 $Hunter, RW, 31 $Moreau, LW, 36 $Parse, RW, 27 $King, C, 22 $<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-06258/9613446-1-eng-US/f0040-062.jpg" title="f0040-06" width="327" height="568"><figcaption class="caption-body">(JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>No player boosted his stock in the playoffs like Dustin Penner. The hulking winger endured a nightmarish regular season (17 points in 65 games), but rebounded on a stellar postseason line with Mike Richards and Jeff Carter. The Kings won&rsquo;t pay the UFA another $4.3 million, but a size-starved team &ndash; like Toronto &ndash; will, whether he&rsquo;s worth it or not.<h3>PHOENIX 2012 UFA | RFA</h3>Doan, RW, 35 $ $ $ $ $Whitney, LW, 40 $ $ $ $Aucoin, D, 38 $ $ $Langkow, C, 35 $ $ $Rozsival, D, 33 $ $ $Pyatt, LW, 30 $ $Sauer, D, 31 $ $Pouliot, C, 27 $Watkins, RW, 25 $Brule, C, 25 $ $Chipchura, C, 26 $ $Miele, C, 24 $Summers, D, 24 $<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-07224/9613439-1-eng-US/f0040-072.jpg" title="f0040-07" width="327" height="569"><figcaption class="caption-body">(MARIANNE HELM/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>Shane Doan will technically be a UFA, but don&rsquo;t expect the Coyotes captain to leave Phoenix. Winnipeg fans may dream, yet Doan only spent one of his 16 seasons there before the team moved to the desert. With the Dogs going deeper in the playoffs than ever, Doan has extra motivation to stay, even if it means taking a pay cut from his $4.6-million cap hit.<h3>SAN JOSE 2012 UFA | RFA</h3>Mitchell, C, 27 $ $Moore, C, 31 $ $Niittymaki, G, 32 $ $Vandermeer, D, 32 $$White, D, 34 $ $Winnik, LW, 27 $ $McCarthy, LW, 25 $Winchester, LW, 31 $Petrecki, D, 22 $ $Braun, D, 25 $Desjardins, C, 25 $Ferriero, RW, 25 $Galiardi, LW, 24 $McLaren, LW, 24 $Wingels, C, 24 $<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-08192/9613432-1-eng-US/f0040-082.jpg" title="f0040-08" width="327" height="569"><figcaption class="caption-body">(BRAD WATSON/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>His impact didn&rsquo;t match that of Jamie McGinn, the man he was traded for, but Daniel Winnik was useful after San Jose acquired him from Colorado. He had five points in 21 games, killed penalties and showed more physicality than he did with the Avalanche. He said he wants to return and if he does his cap hit should stay around $950,000 or rise slightly.PROJECTED CAP HIT $ $ $ $ $ $+ $6M+ | $ $ $ $ $ $ $5-6M | $ $ $ $ $ $4-5M | $ $ $ $ $3-4M | $ $ $ $2-3M | $ $ $1-2M | $ $525K-1M &#9632;

f0040-02

Summer Spotlight

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0042-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-02520/9613519-1-eng-US/f0042-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">HIGH ON THE LADDERA crisp puck-mover who dishes punishing hits, Matt Dumba is a shoo-in top-10 draft pick. (DAVE BRUNNER PHOTOGRAPHY)</figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-01811/9613526-1-eng-US/f0042-012.jpg" title="f0042-01" width="77" height="89"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div>Draft eligible defenseman Matt Dumba had an excellent opportunity to lengthen his season when he was named to Team Canada for the World Under-18 Championship. And based on his dominating performance, the dynamic blueliner will still be one of the most coveted players when the 2012 selections are made in Pittsburgh.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-03408/9613512-1-eng-US/f0042-032.jpg" title="f0042-03" width="155" height="147"></div>Not only did Dumba captain the squad to a bronze medal, he also led the tournament in scoring with five goals and 12 points in seven games. The Calgary native also wore the &lsquo;C&rsquo; for his country at the Ivan Hlinka tournament last summer, so he was more than happy to get in another learning opportunity against European competition on the international stage. &ldquo;What you take away from it is battling and competing,&rdquo; Dumba said. &ldquo;Outwilling them, playing that Canadian style where you work hard every shift. Get gritty, get dirty, don&rsquo;t be afraid to block shots.&rdquo;Unfortunately for Dumba and his Canadian mates, Team USA was also thereand the Americans beat their northern brethren in both the round-robin and the semifinal before cruising past Sweden 7-0 to win gold for a fourth straight year.Playing for the Red Deer Rebels of the Western League, Dumba had a character-building season. Ranked fifth overall in THN&rsquo;s Draft Preview, the offense-gifted defenseman had to take on a lot more responsibility due to injuries on the team. &ldquo;He played a lot of minutes for us, especially in the second half,&rdquo; said coach Jesse Wallin, who also helmed Team Canada at the under-18s.&ldquo;Mathew&rsquo;s season started off really well and then things started to slide on us. In November, we lost our captain and one of our 20-year-old defensemen and at that point Matty &ndash; he&rsquo;s got such a passion and wants to make a difference &ndash; really struggled. He was trying to do too much. It was coming from a good place, but it wasn&rsquo;t helping him and it wasn&rsquo;t helping us.&rdquo;A player who is at his best when he&rsquo;s handling the puck, Dumba has a great talent for making the first forechecker miss when he&rsquo;s getting the puck out of his zone. He can also set a building on fire with his splashy open-ice hits, which can be attributed in part to a youth spent watching ex-Calgary Flame dump truck Dion Phaneuf.But with Red Deer in need of minutes more than YouTube clips, Dumba simplified and took on a different role. &ldquo;It was a big learning curve, but it was fun,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You play against the top guys every night, you&rsquo;re battling hard and playing big minutes.&rdquo;As the WHL season rolled along, the IR got even more cramped in Red Deer and at one point, the team had lost three defenseman, including two 20-year-olds. With no choice but to step up, Dumba elevated his game. &ldquo;That helped because he had to keep his game within a certain boundary,&rdquo; Wallin said. &ldquo;He was solid defensively, kept his game simple, moved the puck. For Matty, you don&rsquo;t want to take those things away because he&rsquo;s so special rushing the puck, but he was picking his spots.&rdquo;The race to become the first D-man picked in the June 22 draft has been intense. Dumba&rsquo;s Team Canada performance is a checkmark, but Everett&rsquo;s Ryan Murray joined the nation&rsquo;s World Championship squad and saw exhibition time alongside Norris Trophy winner Duncan Keith. Portland&rsquo;s Derrick Pouliot went deep into the WHL post-season, fighting with Edmonton&rsquo;s Griffin Reinhart for the league title before Reinhart&rsquo;s Oil Kings prevailed. All bring slightly different skills to the table, but Wallin goes to bat for his own kid when it comes to preparation and passion.The teenaged star just wants to keep a level head about the future. &ldquo;Everything&rsquo;s a privilege,&rdquo; Dumba said. &ldquo;Nothing is a right.&rdquo;20 Goals for Dumba in 69 games with WHL Red Deer after scoring 15 the year prior &#9632;

f0042-02

Rebel With A Cause

<div class="byline">BY JOHN MATISZ</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0043-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-03454/9613557-1-eng-US/f0043-032.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">GROWING GAINSJosh Anderson shot up five inches and gained more than 30 pounds in one year. (CHL IMAGESI)</figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-01793/9613571-1-eng-US/f0043-012.jpg" title="f0043-01" width="77" height="89"></div>It&rsquo;s 20 minutes after a 4-3 London Knights shootout win in front of 9,000-plus hometown fans. They have just taken down the Kitchener Rangers, their eventual Western Conference final foes, in a mid-season battle.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-02545/9613564-1-eng-US/f0043-022.jpg" title="f0043-02" width="129" height="147"></div>It&rsquo;s their first triumph over the Rangers in four tries this year. The arena still buzzes, taking in the conquering win. Two men wait for a particular player to emerge from London&rsquo;s dressing room. They grin in anticipation, ready to swarm at a moment&rsquo;s notice.Once Josh Anderson emerges, the trio frantically reminisces about his thirdperiod tango with a fellow Burlington, Ont., native, Stephen Midensky.There are high-fives, a re-enactment of the fight and a flurry of smiles. Anderson has just proven his mettle in the Ontario League. The undrafted 18-year-old didn&rsquo;t demolish the Rangers defenseman by any means, but sent a definitive message to the hockey world. &ldquo;He lets his play do the talking for him,&rdquo; said teammate Austin Watson, a 2010 Nashville Predators first-rounder. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a tall kid with good speed and he&rsquo;s not afraid to get into the hard areas. He takes the puck wide, goes to the net and is just always doing the little things right.&rdquo;Just a year ago, &ldquo;tall&rdquo; was the last adjective anyone would&rsquo;ve used to describe Anderson. Passed over in his OHL draft year in part due to diminutive dimensions, which were fit more for a 13-year-old than anything &ndash; 5-foot-8, 150 pounds &ndash; Anderson remained positive throughout the summer. &ldquo;My dad always told me that you can still get drafted in major midget and that there&rsquo;s always someone watching,&rdquo; he said after confirming one of the giddy men waiting around after the Kitchener game was his proud father.It turns out both Lindsay Hofford, the Knights&rsquo; director of scouting, and GM (and now coach) Mark Hunter were keeping tabs on the raw talent. They knew about Anderson in his minor midget season with the Burlington Eagles, but were deterred by his size.In a matter of a year, however, Anderson blossomed into the power forward he is today. He sprung up to 6-foot-1 and gained more than 30 pounds. And from the moment he was inserted into London&rsquo;s lineup on opening night, scouts began drooling over Anderson&rsquo;s upside. And why not? He recorded three assists in his OHL debut.The news of this late bloomer quickly spread, making its rounds around the scouting fraternity. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s definitely going to be a soughtafter player, in my opinion,&rdquo; said NHL Central Scouting Bureau scout David Gregory in regards to Anderson&rsquo;s chance of being drafted in June. &ldquo;Because of his limited time on ice at the beginning of the year, he was trying to do too much on each shift. As he got to play more, he became more responsible.&rdquo;</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>Anderson, who sat 161st among North American skaters in Central Scouting&rsquo;s mid-term rankings, jumped an astounding 104 spots to end up 57th in the final issuing. He finished a 64-game rookie regular season with 12 goals, 22 points and a plus-17 rating.Anderson began playing right wing on a line with center Chris Tierney (2012 draft eligible) and Bo Horvat (2013) about halfway through the season. Despite all being under the age of 18, they were arguably the Knights&rsquo; most effective line combination in the OHL playoffs. &ldquo;Chris has some good hands, so he&rsquo;s the playmaker,&rdquo; Anderson said. &ldquo;And Bo is just so tough down there. He&rsquo;s already a big kid. They can both score, too.&rdquo;Along with finding the right chemistry, the trio have embraced their role as the team&rsquo;s adrenaline pumpers counted on to relentlessly cycle the puck to tire out opponents.With at least a line&rsquo;s worth of Knights forwards bound for the American League or NHL in 2012-13, Anderson will surely move up the pecking order. &ldquo;He has the potential to develop into a top-six forward (for us) in the future,&rdquo; Hofford said. &ldquo;To do that, he will need to work on his shot and release.&rdquo;For more on the future, check out: <a href="http://thn.com/prospects">thn.com/prospects</a> &#9632;

f0043-03

Better Late Than Never

<div class="byline">BY ANDREY OSADCHENKO</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0044-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-03327/9613602-1-eng-US/f0044-032.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">SWEET 17Anton Slepyshev had an almost unheard of impact for his age in his first KHL season. (NOVAKUZNETSK)</figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-01688/9613616-1-eng-US/f0044-012.jpg" title="f0044-01" width="77" height="89"></div>Last spring, left winger Anton Slepyshev was on everybody&rsquo;s radar. At the IIHF Under-18 World Championship in Germany, he was one of the few 16-year-olds on Russia&rsquo;s roster. He wasn&rsquo;t as hot as Mikhail Grigorenko, who notched a mind-boggling 18 points (four goals, 14 assists), but he was still among the top five Russian scorers with three goals and one assist in seven games.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-02435/9613609-1-eng-US/f0044-022.jpg" title="f0044-02" width="132" height="142"></div>A few months later he was taken first overall at the Kontinental League draft. It&rsquo;s not as big a deal as you think. Grigorenko, for example, went below Slepyshev at No. 8, and past No. 1 picks include Mikhail Pashnin and Dmitrij Jaskin.Slepyshev spent the following season with Novokuznetsk, which is impressive for somebody who wasn&rsquo;t groomed by a KHL program. Slepyshev was born and raised in Penza, where he played for a local team, Dizel, in the VHL, a second-tier Russian league. Slepyshev adjusted well to the KHL given his age, finishing with four goals and three assists 39 games. &ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t as difficult as you would think,&rdquo; said Slepyshev, ranked 10th among European skaters by NHL Central Scouting. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s difficult the other way around &ndash; coming back to junior hockey from pro hockey. We felt it when they sent us down to the MHL (Russia&rsquo;s junior league). We had different goals in front of us. Sometimes we didn&rsquo;t even know what we were supposed to do. In the KHL they tell you exactly what to do. You get out there and do it, improvising sometimes. It&rsquo;s different in the MHL. You need some time to adjust.&rdquo;Slepyshev elevated his game in &rsquo;11-12 and gives his mentors much of the credit. &ldquo;I played on the same line with Sergei Brylin,&rdquo; Slepyshev said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a very experienced player. He won three Stanley Cups. He was my mentor on the ice, on the bench and in the locker room.&ldquo;He wasn&rsquo;t the only one, though. So was Chris Simon. He did his best at giving me advice in English. All in all we had a great team.&rdquo;Slepyshev was the one of the few 17-year-olds in the KHL and outperformed teammates Mikhail Fisenko and Maxim Kitsyn, both of whom played in the Canadian League before returning to Russia. &ldquo;I went to the training camp, but I didn&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;d make the team,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I was ready to come back home and continue to play in the VHL. Even after I made the team, I didn&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;d stay up in the KHL for the entire season. I was wrongand I&rsquo;m happy I was. The under-18 World Championship is going to be the final exam for me this season. This is where I can show what I&rsquo;m capable of.&rdquo;</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>So he did. With three goals and four assists for seven points in six games, he tied for first on Russia in scoring. Team-wise, the result wasn&rsquo;t as kind &ndash; Russia finished fifth, losing to Canada in the quarterfinal. Slepyshev refused to comment on the outcome of the tournament. Via teammates, he told reporters he &ldquo;doesn&rsquo;t even want to talk to his dad at the moment.&rdquo; No surprise &ndash; competitive guys tend to take losses seriously.Despite having two more years left on his contract with Novokuznetsk, Slepyshev was ranked fairly high for the June NHL draft (51st in THN&rsquo;s Draft Preview). Scouts want more consistency from him, but like his 6-foot-2 frame and feistiness. &ldquo;He can be unpredictable and really competitive,&rdquo; said one scout. &ldquo;He has a little kamikaze to his game, which is nice.&rdquo;Most scouts project him as a secound-rounder. Not that he cares. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t follow the rankings,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I heard it doesn&rsquo;t even matter at the draft. If I get drafted, it&rsquo;s good, but I don&rsquo;t think about leaving the country yet. I will leave only for the NHL.&rdquo;7 Points for Slepyshev in six games at the 2012 U-18 World Championship &#9632;

f0044-03

Don’t Sleep On Slepyshev

<div class="byline">BY GREG OLIVER</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0045-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-01600/9613647-1-eng-US/f0045-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">SEASONED VETCurt Bennett estimates he&rsquo;s built more than 100 waterfalls in his business venture. (PHOTO COURTESY OF CURT BENNETTI)</figcaption></div>It&rsquo;s a long way from standing up to the likes of The Broad Street Bullies and the &lsquo;Big, Bad Bruins&rsquo;, but in 40 years since being an original member of the Atlanta Flames, Curt Bennett has found the idyllic lifestyle of building waterfalls in Hawaii. At 64, he&rsquo;s happy and content about being a 100-mile swim from the nearest rink.How he got there is quite the story.After 10 NHL seasons with St. Louis, the Rangers and Atlanta, he went with his brother Harvey Jr. to Nikko, Japan, where both were employed by Furukawa Denko as player-coaches for two seasons. &ldquo;I had a chance to immerse myself in Japanese language and culture,&rdquo; said Bennett, who studied Russian in high school, then earned a degree in Russian Studies at Brown University.The trips to Japan stopped over in Hawaii and the islands made a deep impression on the son of former AHL goalie Harvey Bennett, who was born in Regina, Sask., but raised in Cranston, R.I. &ldquo;Once you&rsquo;ve been in Hawaii, you go, &lsquo;Holy mackerel.&rsquo; &rdquo;When hockey ended, Bennett worked in commercial real estate in Atlanta for 18 years, specializing in office space leasing. He ran his own company for 12 of those years.<blockquote class="pullQuote">Once you go to Hawaii, it&rsquo;s &lsquo;Holy Mackerel&rsquo; &ndash; Curt Bennett</blockquote>Bennett didn&rsquo;t find it too dif-ficult to step away from hockey. In fact, after his playing days were over, he was one of the players sought by the NHL Players&rsquo; Association to help set up a post-hockey training program for his peers. &ldquo;A lot of athletes, the longer they stay in the game, the harder it is to adapt to the real-world life,&rdquo; Bennett said. &ldquo;You get used to being taken care of, where you get on the bus, you have an itinerary &ndash; everything is taken care of for them. Then when you get out, you have to take care of yourself. If you go a long time, it&rsquo;s hard to adapt.&ldquo;I remember when (former Flame and 1977 Calder Trophy winner) Willi Plett finished his career and we&rsquo;re playing an oldtimers game. He says, &lsquo;I&rsquo;ve got to find a job where I can make $100,000 a year and not have to work many hours.&rsquo; At that time, I was in commercial real estate, I was in the business world. I said, &lsquo;Willie, they don&rsquo;t have jobs like that. You had one like that.&rsquo; &rdquo;By 2000, Bennett had enough of Atlanta and took a big chance, moving to Oahu, Hawaii to build waterfalls. &ldquo;I built one in Atlanta,&rdquo; Bennett said. &ldquo;But when I came here &ndash; I decided, &lsquo;That&rsquo;s whatI do. I build waterfalls.&rsquo; I&rsquo;ve built more than 100, so now I can say it. But when I first came, I was full of s&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;.&rdquo;Bennett had a pair of 30-goal seasons in six years with the Flames. Though he didn&rsquo;t rack up many penalty minutes, he did have a reputation as a tough customer with training in karate. Former Islanders broadcaster Jiggs McDonald said rugged NHLers of the 1970s didn&rsquo;t mess with Bennett because of his dormant toughness.Bennett&rsquo;s formative years were spent in Rhode Island, where his dad &ndash; who surrendered Rocket Richard&rsquo;s goal No. 50 in 50 games &ndash; had a 12-year career with the Providence Reds. Curt&rsquo;s brothers Harvey Jr. and Bill also played in the NHL while John played in the WHA and Jim the IHL.Becoming an American citizen, Curt Bennett played for the U.S. at the 1976 Canada Cup and in the World Championship in 1978 and 1979. &ldquo;International hockey is exciting because the game is the same, but the attitude and culture of the players is so different,&rdquo; Bennett said. &ldquo;I used to imagine it would become as international as soccer. Now it has.&rdquo;In his second career, Bennett relies on word-of-mouth to promote Hawaiian Waterfalls and website <a href="http://MauiWaterfall.com">MauiWaterfall.com</a>. &ldquo;Building waterfalls is just as reactive as hockey because though you have a game plan for each feature, each feature ends up being different and challenging. Building a feature is more artistic than putting parts together on an assembly line. That&rsquo;s what I like best &ndash; I never know for sure where it will take me.&rdquo;FOR MORE TALES OF PAST HOCKEY GREATS, CLICK ON <a href="http://THN.COM/BACKCHECKING">THN.COM/BACKCHECKING</a> &#9632;

f0045-01

Making A Splash

<div class="byline">WORDS BY ADAM SHERLIP </div><div class="byline">PHOTOS BY PAUL KOZOWYK</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0046-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-01606/9613692-1-eng-US/f0046-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">FRIENDLY FOESIndians and Canadians face off for fun during an annual game in Ladkah, India.</figcaption></div>Ice hockey in India. To most, it&rsquo;s as far-fetched as Jamaican bobsled. In a country of more than one billion people, there is a region of less than 300,000 (smaller than all 50 States and larger than only Prince Edward Island, the Northwest Territories, the Yukon and Nunavut) who get to play on natural ice for fewer than three months in the year. Ladakh, a predominantly Buddhist region in the predominantly Muslim state of Jammu and Kashmir, is a Himalayan desert with an altitude that averages nearly 10,000 feet (3,000 meters) and has become the heartland of hockey in India. In Leh, the capital of Ladakh, it&rsquo;s not uncommon to see the locals climb up trees to watch games.Winters in Ladakh are harsh and the people who stayed in there hibernated by drinking butter tea and eating yak meat. That all changed when hockey was introduced into the region by the Indian Army in the mid-1970s. P.T. Kunzang is the former president of the Ladakh Winter Sports Club and advisor to the organization, which is based out of Leh. &ldquo;In Ladakh, we love ice hockey,&rdquo; Kunzang said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s so cold here &ndash; minus-20 Celsius (minus-4 Fahrenheit) &ndash; and in the freezing cold, people are still interested.&rdquo;In March 2009, the Indian national team travelled to the United Arab Emirates toparticipate in its first international competition, the IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia. The tournament was established to help developing ice hockey programs in Asia improve their competency. Prior to the tournament, most Ladakhi players had only played in an irrigation pond with fourinch-tall plywood beams as a border that ate pucks at an alarming rate.The team lost every game in that competition, scoring only one goal. During one of many blowout losses in the UAE, one of the Indian players was approached by Akshay Kumar, General Secretary of the Ice Hockey Association of India. Kumar asked one of Indian players what he was doing. The player replied: &ldquo;These guys are cheating. They are using the boards to divert the puck.&rdquo;Around the same time India was competing in Abu Dhabi, the first full-sized arena was being built in Dehra Dun (a city so bland even Lonely Planet had a hard time making it sound appealing), the capital of the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, in an attempt to position itself as a winter sports destination. The arena&rsquo;s construction was marred by rumors of mismanagement and poor planning. To this date, there are incomplete sections of the building, improper dressing rooms, no pro shop, no concessions and an Olympic-sized swimming pool with no water. The stands start 20 feet from the boards and slope ever so gradually, giving the spectators in the last row a view over the glass from nearly 60 feet away. The biggest arenas in the NHL have better sightlines.In an effort to draw attention to the sport and save the fledgling arena from certain doom, Kumar petitioned the IIHF to be able to host the 2012 Challenge Cup of Asia. &ldquo;We need this arena the whole year,&rdquo; said Kumar. &ldquo;For the last seven months this arena&rsquo;s been shut.&rdquo;While the arena houses a state-of-the-art cooling system and ice resurfacer, the rink&rsquo;s staff was ill-equipped to get the facility operating at IIHF standards. An ice master from New York was recruited to ensure the ice could handle a tournament.Prior to the tournament, the Indian team practised twice a day, for a minimum of two hours per session, on a thin layer of ice, though the paint had yet to arrive. Players frequently caught edges on exposed cement. Language barrier notwithstanding (many of the players don&rsquo;t speak or understand English, which is the lingua franca of the sport &ndash; and more importantly, the language of their coach) there were some challenges in training the team, which had a week to prepare for the tournament in a &ldquo;proper&rdquo; facility, something they weren&rsquo;t afforded in their previous competitions.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-01548/9613685-1-eng-US/f0047-012.jpg" title="f0047-01" width="1731" height="826"><figcaption class="caption-body">MAKING PREPARATIONSAdam Sherlip coaches players in the Indian region of Ladkah, some of whom used sticks crafted by a local woodworker.</figcaption></div>Players on the team range from 19 to 45 years old and only a couple received intermediate training. The practices reinforced fundamentals: passing, shooting and playing proper positions. As the training week concluded, the team had nearly perfected being unable to score on a 5-on-3 power play.That being said, they improved greatly. The tournament had two divisions: the top-ranked group comprised UAE, Thailand, Chinese-Taipei (Taiwan) and Kuwait; the bottom-ranked group was Malaysia, Macau and India.The first game of the tournament was against Macau. The team came out doing nearly everything they&rsquo;d practised and even led for two periods. Unfortunately, the excitement of a potential win (for the players and the crowd), combined with a more disciplined Macau in the third period, resulted in a 5-3 loss. The following game was a blowout loss to bronze medal-winning MalaysiaWe are looking at a competitive team in the next five years &ndash; Akshay KumarOn March 21, India recorded its first international victory with a 5-1 win against Macau &ndash; the most goals scored in a game for the club. (The second game of the doubleheader was a familiar trouncing at the hands of Malaysia.)<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-02358/9613678-1-eng-US/f0047-022.jpg" title="f0047-02" width="1127" height="780"></div>The win propelled India into the first playoff round, as a result of the two-game goal differential against Macau. Even though they lost handily to Kuwait, the perpetrator of their biggest defeat in team history (39-2), India can take a small measure of glory.There&rsquo;s still a long way to go, but that&rsquo;s not to suggest India shouldn&rsquo;t be proud of the progress it has made. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been working in a very big way with the smaller kids,&rdquo; Kumar said. &ldquo;In the next five years, we&rsquo;re looking at a competitive team.&rdquo;Asked where he felt this win stood in significance to the national program, Kumar replied: &ldquo;in the Hall of Fame, straight away.&rdquo;Adam Sherlip is coach of the Indian hockey team and founder of The Hockey Foundation. Read more about his work in India at <a href="http://hockeyfoundation.org">hockeyfoundation.org</a>. &#9632;

f0046-01

Asia’s Aspiring Hockey Hotbed

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-03226/9613723-1-eng-US/f0049-032.jpg" title="f0049-03" width="576" height="453"><figcaption class="caption-body">(JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>WINNER&ldquo;How many Canucks does it take to screw in a light bulb?&rdquo;DEBORAH CONNER-BRENNER. WARRINGTON, PA.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll be able to dive real good from up here.&rdquo;BRIAN LUCZAK, CARY, ILL.&nbsp;&ldquo;Vancouver&rsquo;s impression of Zdeno Chara&rdquo;SUNNY SIDHU, SURREY, B.C.&ldquo;I think we&rsquo;re ready to audition for the Bring It On remake.&rdquo;HARRISON CAMPBELL, MORGAN HILL, CALIF.&ldquo;Looking for Luongo? He&rsquo;s been hiding in the rafters since our early exit&hellip;won&rsquo;t come out until he&rsquo;s traded.&rdquo;ERIC BRONKHURST, YORBA LINDA, CALIF.&nbsp;&ldquo;When coach said clean out the locker room, he really meant it.&rdquo;CAROL GROFF, GLENDALE, ARIZ.&ldquo;Did I leave my scoring touch up here?&rdquo;MATT KLINKOVSKY, VACAVILLE, CALIF.&nbsp;&ldquo;Now where are those golf clubs&hellip;I know I put them somewhere around here last summer.&rdquo;ZACK FITZMAURICE, LONDON, ONT.SEE THIS WEEK&rsquo;S CAPTION CONTEST PHOTO ON PAGE 12<a href="http://THN.com">thn.com</a> &#9632;

f0049-03

Caption CONTEST

<div class="byline">By Larry Humber</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0049-04" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-04207/9613754-1-eng-US/f0049-042.jpg"></div>ANSWERS AVAILABLE IN THE NEXT ISSUE AND AT <a href="http://THN.com/">THN.com/</a>xword<h2>ACROSS</h2>1 Rob or &lsquo;Toe&rsquo;8 Fall suddenly and dramatically, like the Leafs did this season9 Something worn by female field hockey players10 Wayne Gretzky was great at this sport, too11 Jeff ___ is goalie coach in Philly14 Two-minute penalty15 Mike ___ helped the Avs to their first Cup20 Canadian curlers vie for the ___, their Holy Grail21 Detroit&rsquo;s ___ ___ Arena22 Another word for team23 Where Brandon Sutter plays24 Don ___ was briefly captain in Vancouver<h2>DOWN</h2> 2 Home of the AHL&rsquo;s Monsters3 Erik ___ is on defense in Ottawa4 Faithful5 One of the Stastnys6 Boston&rsquo;s ___ Lucic7 Former Oiler ___ Buchberger12 Devils rookie Adam ___13 The WHA got a jump on the NHL by signing ___ players like Gretzky16 Throw out17 Hershey&rsquo;s AHL team18 Dan ___ is with the Sharks, pictured19 Pekka ___ is in net in NashvilleLAST WEEK&rsquo;S CROSSWORD SOLUTION ACROSS 1. MATCH, 8. VALTTERI, 9. COREL, 10. FILPPULA, 11. STEVE, 14. ANDRE, 15. BOWER, 20. KNOBS, 21. AMERICAN, 22. JASON, 23. BRASSARD, 24. BLAKE DOWN 2. AGOSTINI, 3. CHEEVERS, 4. JAMIE, 5. STOPS, 6. DEBUT, 7. MILAN, 12. CORNWALL, 13. SEABROOK, 16. GABBY, 17. TEXAS, 18. FIRST, 19. BARRY &#9632;

f0049-04

CROSSWORD

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-01391/9613792-1-eng-US/f0049-012.jpg" title="f0049-01" width="908" height="1167"><figcaption class="caption-body">(NAT TUROFSKY)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-05162/9613785-1-eng-US/f0049-052.jpg" title="f0049-05" width="150" height="150"></div>Hap Day and Tim Horton switch sticks for shovels at Conn Smythe&rsquo;s gravel pit in the 1955 off-season. &#9632;

f0049-01

Blast from the Past

<div class="byline">&#x2013; TAYLOR ROCCA</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-02292/9613823-1-eng-US/f0049-022.jpg" title="f0049-02" width="447" height="557"><figcaption class="caption-body">(CHL)</figcaption></div>The host Cataractes donned a special military-themed jersey for the Memorial Cup opener. The sweater honors the 62nd Field Artillery Regiment, a Canadian Army unit located in Shawinigan, Que. Featuring a cannon and a crown, the crest is adorned with two Latin mottos that read: &ldquo;Ubique,&rdquo; meaning &ldquo;Everywhere,&rdquo; and &ldquo;Quo Fas et Gloria Ducunt,&rdquo; which translates to &ldquo;Whither Right and Glory Lead.&rdquo;The game-worn jerseys will be auctioned off with proceeds going to the Dominion Command Poppy Trust Fund, which provides financial assistance to exservice personnel. &#9632;

f0049-02

JerseyHound

<div class="byline">BY KEN CAMPBELL</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-01377/9613861-1-eng-US/f0050-012.jpg" title="f0050-01" width="282" height="499"></div>Dale Hunter owns a junior team that, by conservative estimates, took in about $6 million in ticket revenues alone this season. So it&rsquo;s not as though he desperately needed that gig coaching the Washington Capitals. In fact, judging by how wildly successful his London Knights have been, it&rsquo;s a wonder the Capitals managed to get him out of Southern Ontario for even six months.But the fact Hunter was so easily convinced to turn his back on running his own team in the best league in the world underlies what a thankless job coaching in the NHL actually is. You&rsquo;d have to think Hunter &ndash; whose mama didn&rsquo;t raise no dummy &ndash; looked at the situation in Washington with a sense of realism. He knew it would be one thing to convince Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals to play his way for two months during the playoffs. But to do so consistently for 82 games would have undoubtedly created all kinds of friction between the coach and his players.It would not have ended well. It never does when the stars and the coach cross swords. So Hunter likely looked at the inevitability of the situation and that made it an easy decision. He goes back to London where he has a job for life and nobody will ever, ever tune him out. And who can blame him for that?Unlike career coaches, Hunter had his time in the NHL as a player and nothing can compare with that. With that in mind, Hunter almost certainly decided he couldn&rsquo;t be bothered with life as an NHL coach. He maintained it wasn&rsquo;t an easy decision, but the fact it took him fewer than 36 hours after the Capitals season ended indicates it also wasn&rsquo;t overly gut-wrenching.So, the NHL loses a guy who looks like he would&rsquo;ve been a topnotch coach because the position is the biggest meat grinder in the game. Guys who walk behind the bench invariably always walk the plank as well. The average salary for a bench boss is just over $1 million, which sounds really nice if you&rsquo;ve spent your entire career coaching in junior hockey and the minors, but isn&rsquo;t a whole lot when you own a multi-million-dollar business the way Hunter does.Much of the coaching profession is ruled by the law of supply and demand. There are 30 head coaching jobs in the NHL andhundreds of people qualified to fill them. But it still boggles the mind how little money coaches make and how little job security they have. And when you account for the pressure coaches have to endure, it&rsquo;s a pittance. There are fourth-liners who often make more money than their coaches. Consider Mike Babcock is thought to be the highest-paid coach in the NHL at an annual salary of about $2 million. That&rsquo;s $1.7 million less than Chris Drury was paid by the New York Rangers to not play hockey for them this season.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-02275/9613854-1-eng-US/f0050-022.jpg" title="f0050-02" width="537" height="780"><figcaption class="caption-body">DALE HUNTER (JANA CHYTILOVA/FREESTYLE PHOTOGRAPHY/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;Coaching is the biggest meat grinder in the game</blockquote>And unlike players who are bought out of their contracts and signed by other teams, coaches generally do not double dip when they get fired. If a coach can&rsquo;t find another job, he receives the balance of what he would have been paid for the duration of his contract, but once he finds another job, in most cases the teamthat fired him is off the hook or pays only the difference between what he made previously and what he makes with his new job.Hunter&rsquo;s situation is not the norm to be sure, but he&rsquo;s not the only one who can&rsquo;t be bothered with the NHL. There are plenty of college coaches, guys such as Mike Eaves at the University of Wisconsin, who have had ample opportunities to move their way up the pro ranks. But why would they? They don&rsquo;t make the same money at the college level they would make in an NHL season, but the paychecks flow steadily and the employee parking spot is a lot more secure.So Hunter will ride off into the sunset and settle back into a situation where he&rsquo;s more comfortable. And whoever takes the Capitals over will be faced with the task of continuing what Hunter started or finding more of a balance between stultifying defense and exploiting their offense. (And don&rsquo;t underestimate that when it came to dealing with Ovechkin and his teammates, Hunter was not beholden to a single one of them and had the currency to tell the players he didn&rsquo;t care what they thought of him. That&rsquo;s the luxury you gain when you have options.)It will not be an easy task. It will likely be a thankless one that will invariably lead to the person who takes it being shown the door and adding more momentum to the perpetual motion machine known as the NHL&rsquo;s coaching carousel.CAN&rsquo;T GET ENOUGH CAMPBELL? CLICK ON <a href="http://THN.com">THN.COM</a> FOR KEN&rsquo;S EXCLUSIVE BLOG &#9632;

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June 1, 2012

THN INBOX

Cervenka No Certainty

Win-Win To Capital Loss

EUROPEAN ELITE LEAGUE CHAMPIONS