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.

January 21, 2013

The Hockey News - Jan-21-13

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-02330/9797077-1-eng-US/f0049-022.jpg" title="f0049-02" width="246" height="436"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(MALKIN: BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>Evgeni Malkin</b></h2><p><i>Known for being sly with the puck. Plays in Russia. Loathed in Philly. Won Hart as NHL MVP.</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-03260/9797070-1-eng-US/f0049-032.jpg" title="f0049-03" width="245" height="436"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(STALLONE: DIANE FREED)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>Sylvester Stallone</b></h2><p><i>Known affectionately as &lsquo;Sly.&rsquo; Fought Drago in Russia. Loved in Philly. Won with heart as Rocky.</i></p><p>Email your suggestions to <b><a href="mailto:sab@thehockeynews.com">sab@thehockeynews.com</a></b></p><p>WHO AM I: MIIKKA KIPRUSOFF<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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IN THIS ISSUE

SEPARATED AT Birth

<div class="byline">BY MICHAEL TRAIKOS</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-03747/9796069-1-eng-US/f0038-032.jpg" title="f0038-03" width="249" height="172"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-011330/9796076-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg" title="f0038-01" width="77" height="89"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-02926/9796062-1-eng-US/f0038-022.jpg" title="f0038-02" width="1297" height="1207"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>JOFFREY LUPUL</b> <span class="photo-credit">(LUPUL: GRAIG ABEL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>I</span></b>s it the Gargan Cup or the Gremlin Cup? Frankly, Joffrey Lupul doesn&rsquo;t really care. When the Toronto Maple Leafs winger went over to play in Russia in November, it wasn&rsquo;t with the idea of winning a Kontinental League championship.</p><p>With the lockout dragging on, Lupul simply needed to find a place to test the shoulder he had separated at the end of the last season. So while others chose North American-friendly Switzerland, Germany or Britain, Lupul picked the KHL because he likes a challenge. &ldquo;I just wanted to play,&rdquo; said Lupul, who has since returned to North America after playing nine games for bottom-dwelling Yekaterinburg Automobilist. &ldquo;It was a long summer for me, because I had missed the end of the year and I was going a little crazy working out and skating in California. There weren&rsquo;t a lot of guys there and I didn&rsquo;t think I was getting much out of it anymore. I had some offers and chose to go to Russia. Like I said before, it was an interesting experience, but it is the best league so that was why I picked it.&rdquo;</p><p>Lupul, who wrecked his shoulder March 6, said he started to feel fine after about a month of rehab and was back on the ice practising in May. But skating alone soon got boring. And for a player who previously sat out nearly a year because of a back injury, the last thing he wanted to do was wait around any longer &ndash; especially after the comeback season he had last year.</p><p>If 2010-11 was a season to forget, 2011-12 was a season to remember. In 66 games with the Leafs, he scored 25 goals and set a career-high with 67 points. Until his injury, he had been hovering around the top five in NHL scoring and formed a dynamic one-two punch with linemate Phil Kessel.</p><p>It was a breakthrough season for Lupul, who was a co-captain at the All-Star Game in Ottawa (where, not surprisingly, he received a chilly welcome from Senators faithful). The Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., native was also a finalist for the Masterton Memorial Trophy.</p><p>In Yekaterinburg, every meal reportedly came with a side of cow tongue and Lupul gained a new appreciation for the NHL. &ldquo;It was fun, it was fun to play hockey again, but my heart&rsquo;s here,&rdquo; said Lupul, who scored one goal and four points in nine games. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard to be playing there with the same drive and love that I have with the Toronto Maple Leafs. It was a good experience to be over there. It was an interesting experience in a lot of ways. But I want to be in the NHL. Winning the Gargan Cup, or whatever it is, in the KHL is not really on my list of priorities right now.&rdquo;</p><p>(For the record, Lupul meant the Gagarin Cup, named after Russian cosmonaut and first person in space, Yuri Gagarin.)</p><p>When asked how his shoulder fared in the less-physical KHL, Lupul said playing in Russia was a good test. Not so much because of the games, but because of the practices in between. &ldquo;One thing is they practice way more over there than we do here,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We go over our practices here and we work on systems and forechecking and backchecking and things like that. Over there you&rsquo;re working on passing and stickhandling. I think that can help any player, for sure.</p><p>&ldquo;We worked out hard, a lot harder than in the NHL during the season. We practised hard, an hour-and-a-half of skating and&hellip; leg sprints and lots of things &ndash; to be honest, exercises that I had never heard of before. But they were good. I was hurting the first week I was there, but after that it was a good experience. I definitely feel way more in game shape than when I arrived.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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What’s It Called Again?

<div class="byline">BY KEN CAMPBELL</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0017-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-011738/9795764-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>WALK LIKE A BETT-MAN</b></p><p><i>Murray Edwards has literally been near Gary Bettman&rsquo;s side during CBA talks.</i></p> <span class="photo-credit">(THE CANADIAN PRESS/CHRIS YOUNG)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span>HE</b>&nbsp;<b>CALGARY FLAMES</b> have not won the Stanley Cup in 24 years, have not been out of the first round in eight and have not even made the playoffs the past three. But goodness, they seem to be right in the thick of things when it comes to league business and labor disputes.</p><p>In 2004-05, it was the Flames owner, the late Harley Hotchkiss, the chairman of the NHL&rsquo;s board of governors, who was among Bettman&rsquo;s most trusted advisors. Hotch-kiss and then-NHL Players&rsquo; Association president Trevor Linden held a meeting in January aimed at salvaging the season. It failed, but the relationship between the two was one factor that ultimately led to a settlement after the league lost a full season.</p><p>This time it is N. Murray Edwards, who has taken over from Hotchkiss as the majority owner of the Flames. Every time you saw Bettman walking into a collective bargaining meeting, the media-shy Edwards was never far away. And it has been that way throughout the dispute.</p><p>Edwards, who bought into the Flames in 1994 and has seen the franchise through some lean times, has become one of Bettman&rsquo;s trusted lieutenants during the lockout. He has heavily been involved in every meeting with the players and while he might not get the same attention as Boston Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs, there is no doubt Edwards is part of the key group, along with Craig Leipold of Minnesota and Ted Leonsis of Washington. &ldquo;Murray is extremely smart, has an outstanding work ethic and is passionate about the game,&rdquo; says NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly. &ldquo;He offers a unique and valuable perspective both internally and across the table.&rdquo;</p><p>Edwards&rsquo; influence extends far beyond the hockey world. He has more stake in the oil sands in western Canada than any other individual. He is highly respected by policy and lawmakers and the business community. &ldquo;He can absorb a document, no matter how complex, better than anyone I have ever met,&rdquo; says Flames president Ken King.</p><p>Edwards, who declined to talk to THN for this story, is a self-made oil and gas tycoon, investing $100,000 in Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., with two other partners when he was 29. He also has a number of other successful businesses, including some of Canada&rsquo;s largest ski resorts, a management and holding company and an aerospace corporation. His net worth is estimated at $2.2 billion, making him the 14th richest man in Canada and 540th in the world, according to <i>Forbes</i>.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">HE CAN ABSORB A DOCUMENT, NO MATTER HOW COMPLEX, BETTER THAN ANYONE I HAVE EVER MET<br><b><i>&ndash; KEN KING</i></b></blockquote><p>Depending who you speak to, Edwards has been the driving force among the hawks on the board of governors. One source says he has been a main architect of the NHL&rsquo;s offers, including the first one made to the NHLPA that proposed they receive only 43 percent of revenues and galvanized the players. He is definitely in the militant camp, but he is not vocal about it. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a very tough negotiator,&rdquo; one observer says, &ldquo;but he&rsquo;s not the kind of guy who&rsquo;s going to bang his fist on the table.&rdquo;</p><p>With the Flames, Edwards, 53, has had mixed results, at least on the ice. With the largest stake among the team&rsquo;s six owners at 50.1 percent, he has been an integral part of an ownership group that refuses to give management the mandate to rebuild the Flames from the ground up. The result has been a team that has been mired in hockey purgatory, not good enough to make the playoffs and not weak enough to have a high draft pick. One person close to the team also says Edwards was instrumental in signing free agent defenseman Jay Bouwmeester to a five-year deal worth $33.4 million, a move that has not exactly reaped enormous benefits.</p><p>In terms of his impact on the league, there is talk Edwards is a rising star on the board of governors. Already a member of the executive committee, Edwards is being touted as the future chairman, one of the most powerful and influential roles in the game. &ldquo;Murray would never say that himself because he&rsquo;s the most apolitical person out there,&rdquo; King says. &ldquo;But it would not surprise me in the least if he took on a key leadership role with the league.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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RICH & FAMOUS

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-05189/9797146-1-eng-US/f0049-052.jpg" title="f0049-05" width="991" height="1294"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Patrick Roy, No. 52 on THN&rsquo;s People of Power list, lifts his second of four career Stanley Cups.</b> <span class="photo-credit">(ROY: HHOF)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-06110/9797139-1-eng-US/f0049-062.jpg" title="f0049-06" width="150" height="150"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

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Blast from the Past

<div class="byline">PHOTOGRAPH BY SHELLY CASTELLANO</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-012193/9795080-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(SCPIX)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>Players&rsquo; Wives Unchained</b></h2><p><b>Kristen Giguere, Amanda Elliott and Tiffany Parros had plenty on their plates with their husbands locked out.</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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THEBIGPICTURE

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-012238/9795125-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="907" height="580"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(JAMIE HODGSON/THN)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-031528/9795118-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="176" height="296"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>D</span>ress</b>&nbsp;<b>it up</b> any way you want, but from THN&rsquo;s People of Power and Influence perspective, 2012 will be remembered, and for many lamented, as the Year of the Suit.</p><p>In compiling our annual list of strength and sway, it became clear the guys in ties had to dominate the top of our food chain. From league and labor executives, to team owners and captains of industry, the boys in Boss rule like a boss. Heck, even one of the two players we managed to sneak into the top 20, Ron Hainsey, occupies his position because of his role in board-rooms, not dressing rooms.</p><p>Naturally, the lockout had a profound impact on shaping our ranking. Donald Fehr&rsquo;s ability to trade tactical punches with Gary Bettman and give as good as he gets, while keeping his constituents happy, earns the NHL Players&rsquo; Association director top billing (see pg. 14). The commissioner, meantime, treads water at No. 2 as he &ldquo;oversees&rdquo; his third lockout in 20 years and has us all hanging on tenterhooks about the fate of 2012-13. The leading men&rsquo;s top lieutenants, Bill Daly and Steve Fehr, also breathe rarefied POP air.</p><p>After baring their talons, governors such as Jeremy Jacobs and Murray Edwards fly up the list. Ditto for Philly&rsquo;s Ed Snider, who cracks the top 10 on the strength of his return to CBA prominence, while Pittsburgh&rsquo;s Ron Burkle debuts at No. 19 after making a splash at the players/owners summit. Other notable risers include the NHL&rsquo;s designated sitter in labor meetings, counsel Bob Batter-man, along with his union counterpart Don Zavelo.</p><p>We also whittled out notches for the businessmen leading the charges to build arenas in Quebec City (Pierre Karl Peladeau) and suburban Toronto (Graeme Roustan). If expansion is as imminent as the persistent rumors suggest, their imprints will be large. Conversely, GMs, TV execs and hockey operations kingpins stagnated or fell because of their relative inactivity in NHL arenas. This year.</p><p>By contrast, we&rsquo;re also shining the spotlight this issue on a different kind of NHL powerbroker: players&rsquo; wives (see pg. 34). It&rsquo;s a sequel of sorts to a feature we did in 2005, during the previous lockout, when we did a send-up of <i>Desperate Housewives</i>. Shortly after that story ran, the NHL and PA agreed to terms on a new CBA. History is hereby invited to repeat.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021894/9795111-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="414" height="222"></div><p><b>NEXT</b>&nbsp;<b>ISSUE</b> JANUARY 28, 2013</p><p><b>CUSTOMER SERVICE AND TO SUBSCRIBE:</b> <a href="http://THN.com">thn.com</a></p><p><b>CONTACT US:</b> <a href="mailto:editorial@thehockeynews.com">editorial@thehockeynews.com</a><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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The Ties That Grind

<p><b>PUBLISHER</b> Caroline Andrews</p><p><b>EDITOR IN CHIEF</b> Jason Kay</p><h2><b>EDITORIAL</b></h2><p><b>SENIOR EDITOR</b></p><p>Brian Costello</p><p><b>MANAGING EDITOR</b></p><p>Edward Fraser</p><p><b>SENIOR WRITER</b></p><p>Ken Campbell</p><p><b>ASSOCIATE SENIOR WRITER</b></p><p>Ryan Kennedy</p><p><b>COLUMNIST/WRITER</b></p><p>Adam Proteau</p><p><b>COPY EDITORS</b></p><p>Matt Larkin, Ronnie Shuker</p><h2><b>ART</b></h2><p><b>ART DIRECTOR</b></p><p>Erika Vanderveer</p><p><b>DESIGNERS</b></p><p>Shea Berencsi</p><p>Anthony Smith</p><h2><b><a href="http://THN.com">THN.com</a></b></h2><p><b>WEB EDITOR</b></p><p>Rory Boylen</p><p><b>VIDEO PRODUCER</b></p><p>Ted Cooper</p><p><b>INTERNS</b> Andrew Brethauer, William Chiu, Cory Wright</p><p><b>DIRECTOR, MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS</b> Tracy Finkelstein</p><p><b>SENIOR SPECIALIST</b> Erin Quinn</p><p><b>MARKETING SPECIALISTS</b> Carlie McGhee, Alyson Young</p><p><b>DESIGNER</b> Corissa Bagan <b>INTERN</b> Courtney Thompson</p><p><b>CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS</b> Steve & Brian Babineau, Hockey Hall of Fame</p><p><b>TORONTO PRODUCTION MANAGER</b> John Palmeri</p><p><b>PRODUCTION CO-ORDINATOR</b> Pamela Reyes</p><p><b>GENERAL SALES MANAGER - TORONTO</b> Kori Kobzina</p><p><b>ADVERTISING SALES DIRECTOR</b> Sandra Yakimchick</p><p><b>NATIONAL ACCOUNT MANAGERS</b> Dave Burgess, Nicole Mullin</p><p><b>MARKETPLACE SALES & SALES CO-ORDINATOR</b> Sharlane Valleau</p><p><b>KEY ACCOUNT DIRECTORS</b> Julie Preiner, Andrea McBride, Gayle Taguchi</p><p><b>KEY ACCOUNT SALES ASSOCIATES</b> Lori Muma, Kathryn Walsh</p><p><b>VICE PRESIDENT, 360&deg; SOLUTIONS & DIGITAL SALES (TORONTO)</b> Andrea Fernandes</p><p><b>SALES DIRECTOR, 360&deg; SOLUTIONS</b> Connie Corner</p><p><b>ACCOUNT MANAGERS, 360&deg; SOLUTIONS</b> Alyea Henderson, Kym Wyatt</p><p><b>SALES ASSOCIATE, 360&deg; SOLUTIONS</b> Patricia Mixemong</p><p><b>SALE DIRECTORS, DIGITAL</b> William Cormier, Shira Biderman</p><p><b>SENIOR DIRECTOR, DIGITAL AD OPERATIONS & INNOVATION</b> Eric Latreille</p><p><b>CUSTOMER INNOVATIONS ART DIRECTORS</b> Linda Stephenson, Bonnie Summerfeldt</p><p><b>CAMPAIGN MANAGERS</b> Megan Henderson, Sasha Fletcher, Melissa Carmichael</p><p><b>BUSINESS MANAGERS</b> Nancy Baker, Angel Palacios</p><p><b>NEWSSTAND DIRECTOR</b> Pat Strangis</p><p><b>DIGITAL MARKETING MANAGER</b> Jason Patterson</p><p><b>VICE PRESIDENT, CONSUMER MARKETING</b> Christopher Purcell</p><p><b>PRODUCT MANAGER</b> Sylvain Awad</p><p><b>CIRCULATION DIRECTOR, CONSUMER MARKETING GROUP</b> Doris Chan</p><p><b>EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT</b> Linda Gill</p><p><b>RESEARCH MANAGER</b> Wendy Lambie</p><p><b>SENIOR RESEARCH ANALYST</b> Eva Chau</p><p><b>TRANSCONTINENTAL MEDIA G.P.</b></p><p><b>INTERIM PRESIDENT</b> Fran&ccedil;ois Olivier</p><p><b>SENIOR VP, BUSINESS AND CONSUMER SOLUTIONS GROUP</b> Pierre Marcoux</p><p><b>SENIOR VP, DIGITAL SOLUTIONS</b> Bruno Leclaire</p><p><b>SENIOR VP, MULTIPLATFORM MEDIA AND DEVELOPMENT</b> Philippe Lapointe</p><p><b>VICE PRESIDENT, FINANCE</b> Haig Poutchigian</p><p><b>VICE PRESIDENT, MARKETING</b> Mathieu Peloquin<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

The Hockey News

<div class="byline">Thomas Oulton, Halifax, N.S.</div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>I</span>n the Dec. 1 Plus/Minus you gave the Ottawa Senators a minus for keeping Mika Zibanejad in the American League instead of letting him play with Sweden at the World Junior Championship. There is no way it is a bad thing to keep a young European prospect who is still learning the North American game on this side of the pond. Sending him to the world juniors would make him revert back to the way he plays on big ice and all progress would be lost. Not to mention he was the hero last year. Who wouldn&rsquo;t want to go out on top?</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-021680/9795194-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg" title="f0006-02" width="987" height="1161"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(ZIBANEJAD: JUSTSPORTS)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>SPILL FOR A DRILL!</b></h2><p><b>The author of our lead letter next issue wins a Premium DEWALT 20V MAX* Hammerdrill!</b></p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-04636/9795187-1-eng-US/f0006-042.jpg" title="f0006-04" width="113" height="30"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-012467/9795180-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="180" height="244"></div><p><b>Submit your letter at: <a href="http://THN.COM/LETTERS">thn.com/letters</a></b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0006-02

CAPITAL IDEA

<p><i>What&rsquo;s keeping you up at night, hockey fans?</i></p><p><i>If you&rsquo;ve got a question about the game, send it to columnist Adam Proteau at <a href="http://THN.COM/ASKADAM">THN.com/askadam</a></i></p><p><b>Adam, do you have any news on Geoff Courtnall? He&rsquo;s my all-time favorite St. Louis Blue. After a concussion stopped his career, I never heard any more about him.</b></p><p><i>Harvey Wright, Centreville, Ill.</i></p><p>Harvey: Courtnall is a real estate entrepreneur and is visible through a charity golf event he and brother Russ put on. The 50-year-old also ran the Boston Marathon this year.</p><p><b>Hey Adam, why did so many NHLers return home so fast after playing in Europe?</b></p><p><i>Gerry Piatkowski, Buffalo</i></p><p>Hey Gerry: Different players had different reasons for coming back. Some returned for family concerns and/or culture shock and others left for health reasons. It&rsquo;s about them, not Europe.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-031001/9795225-1-eng-US/f0006-032.jpg" title="f0006-03" width="483" height="633"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>SIDNEY CROSBY</b> <span class="photo-credit">(CROSBY: GRAIG ABEL/GETTY IMAGES FOR NHL)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Adam,</b>&nbsp;<b>in a shortened season, who would be your pick to win the Hart Trophy as MVP?</b></p><p><i>Fran Levinson, Batavia, N.Y.</i></p><p>Fran: With fewer games, many NHLers could get hot and be in Hart contention. But I&rsquo;d go the safe route and pick Sidney Crosby, who is in the best shape of his life. That should scare people.</p><p>Read more <b>&lsquo;Ask Adam&rsquo;</b> every Friday at <a href="http://TheHockeyNews.com">thehockeynews.com</a><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0006-03

ASK ADAM

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-08139/9795277-1-eng-US/f0006-082.jpg" title="f0006-08" width="592" height="457"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>M</span>ake The Hockey News come alive on your mobile device by scanning photos on the pages indicated below using the Digimarc app. Each scanned photo will take you to a video that complements the story.</p><h2><b>HOW-TO GUIDE</b></h2><p><b>DOWNLOAD</b> the Digimarc app on your mobile device from the iTunes App Store or Google Play.</p><p><b>LOOK</b> for this symbol:</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-05497/9795298-1-eng-US/f0006-052.jpg" title="f0006-05" width="57" height="52"></div><p><b>LAUNCH</b> the app and hold your device 4-6 inches above the image indicated.</p><p><b>WAIT</b> for your device to focus on the image. Your web browser will automatically open and take you to the video.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-06352/9795291-1-eng-US/f0006-062.jpg" title="f0006-06" width="148" height="48"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-07228/9795284-1-eng-US/f0006-072.jpg" title="f0006-07" width="148" height="48"></div><p>Best of 2012</p><p><b>PG. 8</b></p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p>Michael Del Zotto</p><p><b>PG. 39</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-0989/9795270-1-eng-US/f0006-092.jpg" title="f0006-09" width="339" height="428"></div><p>Max Domi</p><p><b>PG. 46</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-1065/9795263-1-eng-US/f0006-102.jpg" title="f0006-10" width="339" height="428"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-1149/9795256-1-eng-US/f0006-112.jpg" title="f0006-11" width="1041" height="202"></div><p>Passing Drill</p><p><b>PG. 12</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0006-08

BRING THN TO LIFE

<div class="byline">&#x2013; KEN CAMPBELL</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0008-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-031281/9795350-1-eng-US/f0008-032.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">JONATHAN QUICK</figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>U</span>sually, the body of</b> work is much bigger, twice as large to be exact. But as we&rsquo;ve all come to realize, 2012 hasn&rsquo;t been your garden-variety year when it comes to hockey. The second half of the calendar has provided us with no NHL hockey, so that presented us with a unique challenge in choosing our all-2012 team. With that in mind, we decided a little non-NHL flavor was in order when picking the team.</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-05521/9795357-1-eng-US/f0008-052.jpg" title="f0008-05" width="110" height="125"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2><b>FORWARDS</b></h2><p><b>Evgeni Malkin:</b> It would be ridiculous to suggest 2012 represented Malkin&rsquo;s coming out party, but he did prove in no uncertain terms he&rsquo;s not only among the best players on the planet, he&rsquo;s also quite capable of carrying the fortunes of a team on his back. You name the venue and Malkin dominated it in 2012.</p><p>Including the playoffs, Malkin had 38 goals and 74 points in 50 NHL games with Pittsburgh. He won the Art Ross Trophy, Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award. If that wasn&rsquo;t enough, he topped all scorers with 11 goals and 19 points in 10 games to lead Russia to the World Championship title.</p><p>Once the lockout hit, Malkin took his game to Magnitogorsk and was second in Kontinental League goal scoring, behind teammate Sergei Mozyakin, with 16 goals and 46 points.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-04733/9795343-1-eng-US/f0008-042.jpg" title="f0008-04" width="908" height="876"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>GENO&rsquo;S GENIUS</b></p><p><b>Evgeni Malkin was equally dominant in the NHL and KHL in the 2012 calendar year.</b></p></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-10151/9795336-1-eng-US/f0008-102.jpg" title="f0008-10" width="57" height="52"></div><p><b>VIDEO</b></p><p>Scan to watch Best of 2012 Puck Panel</p><p><b>Steven Stamkos:</b> Even though Stamkos was outscored 35-34 by Malkin during the 2012 portion of last season, he finished the full campaign with 60 goals and the Rocket Richard Trophy as the NHL&rsquo;s top goal-scorer. The Tampa Bay center had 10 more goals than Malkin.</p><p><b>Meghan</b>&nbsp;<b>Agosta:</b> Agosta spent much of 2012 establishing herself as one of the world&rsquo;s best female players. This much is certain: when it comes to providing offense, she proved she&rsquo;s without peer in the women&rsquo;s game.</p><p>First, she capped a remarkable 2011-12 in the Canadian Women&rsquo;s League, scoring 41 goals and 80 points in just 27 games. In doing so, she not only won the scoring title, but also broke the league&rsquo;s points record in her rookie year. She also led the Montreal Stars to the Clarkson Cup.</p><p>Then, in the final of the World Women&rsquo;s Championship, Agosta scored with 2:38 remaining and assisted on the overtime winner as Canada beat the U.S. 5-4 to win the title.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2><b>DEFENSE</b></h2><p><b>Erik Karlsson:</b> Any time you can be a point-per-game player, you&rsquo;re doing well. When you do it as a defenseman, it borders on remarkable. Karlsson almost did that in 2012, scoring 15 goals and 44 points in 49 regular season and playoff games for the Senators. He was particularly net-directed in 2012, as 15 of his 20 goals came after the calendar turned. He won his first Norris Trophy at 22.</p><p>Playing with Jokerit in Finland, he had seven goals and 27 points in 28 games.</p><p><b>Justin Schultz:</b> After capping a brilliant career at the University of Wisconsin, Schultz eschewed the Anaheim Ducks by signing with Edmonton Oilers as a free agent. And he has definitely added to the Oilers&rsquo; embarrassment of riches when it comes to young talent, scoring a 14 goals and 38 points in 26 American League games with the Oklahoma City Barons.</p><h2><b>GOALIE</b></h2><p><b>Jonathan Quick:</b> Quick turned in one of the all-time start-to-finish performances in history last season, with most of his heroics coming in 2012.</p><p>Without him, the Kings don&rsquo;t even make the playoffs. But with him, the Kings cruised to a Stanley Cup and Quick was handed the Conn Smythe Trophy.</p><p>Including playoffs, he played in 57 games in 2012. His overall record was 34-15-8 with a 1.70 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage. Of his 13 shutouts last season, eight came in 2012.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-021802/9795329-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="287" height="287"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(AUCOIN+MALKIN+HARTNELL: GRAIG ABEL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES; QUICK: ANDY DEVLIN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>11</b> Players who have reached 800 points in the AHL. Keith Aucoin joined the exclusive group in mid-December, passing Bruce Boudreau on the all-time list.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0008-03

Calendar Boys & Girl

<div class="byline">By Charlie Teljeur</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0009-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-012098/9795388-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0009-01

The Instigator

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-021470/9795419-1-eng-US/f0009-022.jpg" title="f0009-02" width="235" height="352"></div><h2><b>+PLUS</b></h2><p><b>HARTNELL DOWNS JVR</b></p><p><i>Philly&rsquo;s</i>&nbsp;<b><i>Scott Hartnell</i></b>&nbsp;<i>wins charity fundraising bet over ex-team-mate James van Riemsdyk; Hurricane Sandy victims benefit.</i></p><h2><b>&ndash;MINUS</b></h2><p><b>THE HILLS ARE ALIVE WITH ANGER</b></p><p><i>Austria&rsquo;s Red Bull Salzburg wages war of words with departed hired gun Derick Brassard of Columbus.</i></p><h2><b>+PLUS</b></h2><p><b>WHO&rsquo;S THE KID BETWEEN THE PIPES?</b></p><p><i>Sidney Crosby surprises Pittsburgh locals by playing goalie in a ball hockey game, gets the shutout.</i></p><h2><b>&ndash;MINUS</b></h2><p><b>FINNISH-ING MOVE</b></p><p><i>Article claims Kyle Turris hated his time with Karpat Oulu; Turris and agent state otherwise.</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0009-02

PLUS MINUS

<div class="byline">&#x2013; ADAM KOVAC</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0010-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-012331/9795457-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>DOC IN THE HOUSE</b></p><p><b>David Mulder has handled horrific injuries such as Max Pacioretty&rsquo;s in 2011.</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(MULDER: CLUB DE HOCKEY CANADIEN)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>David Mulder has seen</b> dev-astating injuries from his vantage point behind the Montreal Canadiens bench.</p><p>They include Max Pacioretty&rsquo;s collision with a stanchion at the Bell Centre, care of Zdeno Chara, which resulted in a severe concussion and fractured vertebrae.</p><p>Though that hit was bad, the scariest Mulder has seen was in 2000, when Canadiens winger Trent McCleary took a shot to the throat. &ldquo;He had an injury to the airway and couldn&rsquo;t breathe,&rdquo; Mulder said. &ldquo;He got hit in the larynx and it fractured. With that, and the swelling the breathing, it threatened his life. Something like that requires hospital treatment, so our goal is to stabilize things and get to the hospital. He was in the operating room 12 to 15 minutes after his injury.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-031104/9795450-1-eng-US/f0010-032.jpg" title="f0010-03" width="669" height="548"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(PENNER: MEGHAN SINCLAIR / TEAM COCO)</span></figcaption></div><p>The NHL requires two physicians at every game and they are called on for everything from minor cuts to life-threatening injuries. Versatility is key.</p><p>A hit to the head requires one kind of examination, while a foot hurt blocking a shot needs something different. &ldquo;We start with if it&rsquo;s a life threatening injury, to the brain, the spinal cord or airway,&rdquo; Mulder said. &ldquo;If it is, we have a set protocol for everything.&rdquo;</p><p>That protocol &ndash; called the Advanced Trauma Life Support System &ndash; is standardized across the NHL.</p><p>It involves checking and stabilizing an injured player&rsquo;s airway, breathing, circulation and other vital systems. It&rsquo;s something Mulder has had to use more than once since joining the Canadiens in 1999.</p><p>With the lockout stretching into late December, Mulder and other NHL doctors couldn&rsquo;t wait for hockey to start again. Though when it does, they hope to work as little as possible.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0010-01

Doctors In The House

<div class="byline">&#x2013; ANDREW BRETHAUER</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-021707/9795488-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg" title="f0010-02" width="967" height="688"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(TRAINERS: RICHARD WOLOWICZ/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>W</span>hile other NHLers</b> took their skills to Europe and Russia during the lockout, Dustin Penner brought his power forward game to the office of Conan O&rsquo;Brien for a brief internship of photocopying and fetching coffee for one of late night&rsquo;s biggest stars.</p><p>In his short stint on <i>Conan,</i> Penner wasn&rsquo;t shy about throwing around his 6-foot-4, 242-pound frame. The Stanley Cup champion terrorized O&rsquo;Brien&rsquo;s staff, bodychecking, tripping and roughing them up. He even dropped the gloves (well, oven mitts) with one staffer when told that O&rsquo;Brien wanted his pie out of the oven. It was Penner&rsquo;s second fight of his internship.</p><p>In all, he tallied 18 penalty minutes: two fighting majors and instigators, along with minors for tripping and boarding.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0010-02

Conan’s Crew Gets Icy Reception

<div class="byline">BY DEBRA RUGHOO</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0011-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011942/9795526-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(SUNDIN+DATSYUK: GRAIG ABEL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES; GUERIN: FRANCOIS LACASSE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>CURSED DIGITS? NOT FOR THESE NHL STARS</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><b><span>J</span>AN.</b>&nbsp;<b>1, 2013, MARKED THE BEGINNING</b>of the Year of the Snake, which in Chinese culture is considered good luck. But in the West, No. 13 isn&rsquo;t looked so well upon. Floors in office towers, apartment buildings and hotels often jump from 12 to 14, and some airplanes don&rsquo;t have an aisle 13. There&rsquo;s even a name for this superstitious silliness: triskaidekaphobia.</p><p>NHLers are among those who think it&rsquo;s cursed. Within numbers 1-47, No. 13 is the loneliest, having been worn by the fewest players, 80, since 1951-1952.</p><p>And it took a long time for players to get over the spooks. Only one, Jack Stoddard, slapped it on his back between 1951-52 and 1973-74 and just 15 more wore it until 1990-91, when the superstition subsided. Over the years, however, several players have had success wearing the supposedly damned digit.</p><h2><b>MATS SUNDIN</b></h2><p><i>Mats Sundin wore No. 13 throughout his entire NHL career with the Nordiques, Leafs and Canucks and he&rsquo;s the only player to have had the number retired. He chose it because he was born Feb. 13, 1971.</i></p><h2><b>PAVEL DATSYUK</b></h2><p><i>Thirteen is Datsyuk&rsquo;s favorite number and he doesn&rsquo;t consider it unlucky at all. He rode the No. 13 bus as a child and he met his wife on the 13th.</i></p><h2><b>VYACHESLAV KOZLOV</b></h2><p><i>In 1992, Kozlov became the first player to wear No. 13 for Detroit in 66 years, winning the Stanley Cup in 1997 and 1998.</i></p><h2><b>RAY WHITNEY</b></h2><p><i>Whitney wore different numbers throughout his career, but switched to No. 13 when he joined the Carolina Hurricanes in 2005-06, when he won his only Stanley Cup.</i></p><h2><b>BILL GUERIN</b></h2><p><i>Guerin switched to No. 13 when he joined the Bruins in 2000 and kept it for the five teams he later played for, including the Stanley Cup-winning Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009.</i></p><h2><b>KEN LINSEMAN</b></h2><p><i>&lsquo;The Rat&rsquo; became the first Oiler to wear No. 13 when he joined the team in 1982. He won the Cup with Edmonton two years later.</i></p><h2><b>VALERI KAMENSKY</b></h2><p><i>Kamensky switched to No. 13 with the Nordiques after Sundin was traded and continued wearing it with the Avalanche &ndash; a team he won the Stanley Cup with in 1996 &ndash; as well as the New York Rangers and Dallas Stars.</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-021412/9795519-1-eng-US/f0011-022.jpg" title="f0011-02" width="337" height="508"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(SELANNE: DAVE SANDFORD/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>TEEMU SELANNE</b></h2><p><i>Selanne wore No. 13 when he joined the Winnipeg Jets as a rookie in 1992 because No. 8 was taken. He wore it again with the Anaheim Ducks in 2005-06.</i></p><h2><b>MIKE CAMMALLERI</b></h2><p><i>Cammalleri wore No. 13 his first eight seasons with the Kings, Flames and Canadiens until taking 93 last year in his second stint with Calgary.</i></p><h2><b>CLAUDE LAPOINTE</b></h2><p><i>No New York Islander wore No. 13 until 1996 when Lapointe joined the team. He kept it after being traded to the Philadelphia.</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0011-01

Lucky #13

<div class="byline">By Sal Barry - webmaster of the hockey card site PuckJunk.com</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-012273/9795557-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="566" height="1099"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>B</span>efore the 1990s,</b> card companies would doctor a photo from the previous season if a player changed teams over the summer, either by airbrushing new team colors over the player&rsquo;s uniform or by superimposing one player&rsquo;s head on another&rsquo;s body. This was how it was done before digital imaging, so the results were usually terrible.</p><p>When Wayne Gretzky was traded in August 1988, an exception had to be made since you just don&rsquo;t perform a head swap on The Great One. So in their 1988-89 set, card company Topps did something never done before and used a press conference photo, a practice that would quickly be adopted throughout the hobby. Here, Gretzky is shown at his press conference in Los Angeles, while repainted photos were used for the Mike Krushelnyski and Jimmy Carson cards.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0012-01

IN THE Cards

<div class="byline">BY BRYAN MCWILLIAM</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0012-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-021791/9795588-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(NUGENT: JASON MERRITT/GETTY IMAGES; HOPKINS: JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0012-02

INSIDEHOCKEY

<div class="byline">WITH DANIEL TKACZUK</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0012-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-031160/9795633-1-eng-US/f0012-032.jpg"></div><p><b>Drill: Passing</b></p><p>In this drill, you&rsquo;re working on combining a pulling motion with a good pass. With a teammate, when you receive a pass, pull aggressively to other side of body, then pass back immediately in one motion. You should be able to do this on both sides: catch backhand, pass forehand; catch forehand, pass backhand. This skill translates into game situations, since it will give you a higher skill level to create better passing angles and lanes.</p><p><b>Pro Tip:</b> To increase your skill, avoid moving or crossing over your feet.</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-04697/9795626-1-eng-US/f0012-042.jpg" title="f0012-04" width="57" height="52"></div><p>Scan the rink with your Digimarc mobile app to watch the Pro Tips video</p><p>See <b>pg 6</b> for detailed instructions</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2><b><i>PRESENTED BY:</i></b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-05488/9795619-1-eng-US/f0012-052.jpg" title="f0012-05" width="1810" height="161"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0012-03

PRO TIPS

<div class="byline">&#x2013; MEGAN STEWART</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-011982/9795664-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg" title="f0013-01" width="935" height="840"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>FRESH FACE</b></p><p><b>Kimberly Newell is driven by her competitive spirit and knows she has to keep proving herself.</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(BEVERLY SCHAEFER)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>K</span>imberly Newell keeps a</b> dented mask hanging on her childhood bed-post in Burnaby, B.C. The inch-deep divot, she said, &ldquo;is my little memento.&rdquo;</p><p>The damaging blast came a couple years ago courtesy of a teenage friend of her brother, Victor, who&rsquo;s a defenseman for the Waterloo Black Hawks of the United States League. The cage is a banged-up badge of her appetite for hard shots and emblematic of her rise into the women&rsquo;s game.</p><p>Newell, 17, is a rookie in the women&rsquo;s circuit of the ECAC with the Princeton Tigers. Despite this being her first year, she had already secured the starter&rsquo;s job, playing in 16 games and posting a respectable a 3.24 goals-against average and .906 save percentage.  But her quick entrance into the women&rsquo;s ranks is a result of her stopping hard shots from the boys since she first put on skates.</p><p>It started in minor hockey with the Vancouver Thunderbirds before she pursued harder competition at the Burnaby Winter Club. In 2011, she dressed for the Kootenay Ice &ndash; becoming the first female goaltender in the B.C. Major Midget League. She doesn&rsquo;t know the name Manon Rheaume, but she idolizes Shannon Szabados, who is the first woman to have played in the Western League.</p><p>Now with Princeton, Newell has no intentions of letting up. &ldquo;If you were good last week, it doesn&rsquo;t mean anything,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;You have to be good this week and the next and the next. Every single time you have to prove, again, you deserve to be there.&rdquo;</p><p>In the spring, after her season with the Tigers concludes, Newell will be in net for Canada, aiming for a gold medal at the U-18 IIHF Women&rsquo;s World Championship in Heinola and Vierumaki, Finland. &ldquo;She has good technical skills, but also incredible patience and very good positioning,&rdquo; said goaltending specialist and Team Canada consultant Joe Johnston. &ldquo;Most shooters will not beat her on the first shot.&rdquo;</p><p>Her best attribute, according to Canada&rsquo;s coach Jim Fetter, is her competitive drive: &ldquo;She wants those hard shots all the time.&rdquo;</p><p>That drive will lead to a few more dents for Newell to put on display.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0013-01

Dents ’n’ Desire

<div class="byline">BY ADAM PROTEAU</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0015-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011948/9795702-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>TARGETING THEIR MAN</b></p><p><i>Don Fehr rejected the offer several times to lead the NHLPA before accepting in 2010.</i></p> <span class="photo-credit">(BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>I</span>T&rsquo;S</b>&nbsp;<b>TRUE: DON FEHR ISN&rsquo;T ANYBODY&rsquo;S</b> idea of a typical hockey guy. He probably doesn&rsquo;t know Lady Byng from Lady Gaga and can&rsquo;t regale you with stories of watching the Habs dynasty during his youth in Kansas City. So why is he atop our list of hockey&rsquo;s biggest power brokers?</p><p>Because in the span of only two years as executive director of the NHL Players&rsquo; Association, Fehr has restored pride to an organization that had been roughed up and humiliated. He has delivered transparency to an environment that once operated in shadows. He put an end to the power vacuum that made the PA a laughing stock. Most importantly, he kept his membership informed and galvanized throughout a bitter and prolonged labor war.</p><p>Yes, he will always be known for his 24 years as leader of the Major League Baseball Players&rsquo; Association. But if Fehr can do all that in hockey circles during such a short stretch of time, does it matter what kind of guy he is?</p><p>It sure didn&rsquo;t matter when the PA was stumbling from crisis to crisis in the post-Bob Goodenow Era and aching for stability. After the Ted Saskin debacle, it seemed Paul Kelly was going to get the union back on track, but a midnight coup in 2009 sent the organization reeling again and put players back on the hunt for a leader who could rebuild. That&rsquo;s where Fehr entered the picture, but not as a vulture circling the skies and waiting for the right time to attack.</p><p>Initially, Fehr was hesitant to get involved in any meaningful way. He agreed at first to serve only in a consulting role, but even a limited exposure to the NHLPA membership made the now 64-year-old an attractive option for players. &ldquo;I remember from the first call he was on, you knew right away this guy was &lsquo;The Guy,&rsquo; &rdquo; says NHL defenseman and NHLPA executive committee member Chris Campoli. &ldquo;He is a presence, his experience speaks for itself and you had to respect that. More than anything, that&rsquo;s something we desperately needed &ndash; to regain that respect that was there for so long.&rdquo;</p><p>In those early days, union people began pleading with Fehr to take the job, but still he refused and urged them to go through a formal search process. However, by the time the PA was down to its final three candidates, Fehr still stood out as the best choice. He again rejected the offer, but not outright: he&rsquo;d say &ldquo;yes&rdquo; if he had the full support of the membership. Following that direction, Fehr went on a team-by-team tour to inform players personally of what he was all about. When he was done, the players unanimously voted him in on Dec. 18, 2010. Since that day, he has endeared himself to membership for two main reasons.</p><p>The first is his poise. Nothing rattles the man. He would have the same demeanor if he were in possession of a winning Powerball lottery ticket as he would if he lost a winning Powerball lottery ticket. When you&rsquo;re emotional by nature as NHL players are, that levelheadedness is precisely what you want from a figure who in many regards plays the same role as a hockey coach. His disposition sets the tone for the players he represents and puts the blood of his negotiating opponents on maximum boil. &ldquo;The thing he preached most coming into this process was patience,&rdquo; says Campoli, who has come to know Fehr as well as any NHLer the past three years. &ldquo;After being involved in talks fairly extensively, I understand why. His demeanor throughout &ndash; he is calm, cool, collected and never, ever gets emotional &ndash; shows you that nobody has seen it all before the way Don has. That&rsquo;s why he is great at what he does.&rdquo;</p><p>The second reason Fehr has been able to command solidarity among players is his unwavering message that he works for them. Despite suggestions to the contrary, players insist there is no Cult of Don Fehr. When Fehr first became NHLPA executive director, one of his bigger challenges was getting members to speak their minds, as the imposing Goodenow hadn&rsquo;t left a legacy of openness and opinion-sharing among the larger group.</p><p>But in a short span, Fehr has instilled a fresh spirit and confidence in NHLers taking a bigger role in their own union. He has an open-door policy for the entire membership in all collective bargaining sessions and welcomes questions from any player on any issue. And players will tell you he doesn&rsquo;t do anything other than offer legal opinions and strategies. The choices are ultimately left up to them. Given the history of the NHLPA, such a reversal of policy has been like mouth-to-mouth resuscitation for a lifeless patient. &ldquo;The secret of his success, or the secret of the MLBPA&rsquo;s success, which he learned from (legendary baseball union head) Marvin Miller obviously, is understanding and teaching that it is the players&rsquo; association and it is the players who make the key decisions,&rdquo; says Fehr&rsquo;s brother Steve, the NHLPA&rsquo;s special counsel. &ldquo;The education and involvement of players and the constant effort to reach a consensus is never-ending. For more than 30 years, some have tried to suggest Don is a pied piper and the players are blindly following him. It is not true and it never has been true.&rdquo;</p><p>What is true is that, over the course of a few months, the mere mention of Fehr&rsquo;s surname is enough to send some owners and league negotiators into fits of frustration. On the surface, he can appear to be unfamiliar or unconcerned with details or procedures important to the other side, but he is much craftier than that &ndash; and hard to get a handle on as a personality. That&rsquo;s another reason for owners&rsquo; distaste for him. But they don&rsquo;t disrespect his ability.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo; I REMEMBER FROM THE FIRST CALL HE WAS ON, WE KNEW RIGHT AWAY THAT HE WAS &lsquo;THE GUY&rsquo;<br><b><i>&ndash; CHRIS CAMPOLI</i></b></blockquote><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-012016/9795695-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="1729" height="961"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>NHLERS ARE NO. 1 ON HIS LIST</b></p><p><i>Fehr learned his &ldquo;players first&rdquo; mantra from ex-MLBPA union leader Marvin Miller.</i></p> <span class="photo-credit">(BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>&ldquo;With the owners, there&rsquo;s a begrudging respect there for Don,&rdquo; said one NHL executive who spoke on condition of anonymity. &ldquo;His reputation precedes him in the room and owners know this is a smart guy who you have to be careful with.&rdquo;</p><p>When you speak to Fehr, as a media member or a professional athlete, you can come away from the conversation marvelling at his grasp of history beyond the sports world in which he works. This is somebody who, in between taking on team owners, likes to read books on string theory and send emails to friends and co-workers on unrelated topics (concussions among NFL players being a more recent example). Some interpret his stoicism for dourness, but those who&rsquo;ve been with him behind closed doors will tell you he has a healthy sense of humor and loves to kick back playing some pool at his Arizona getaway.</p><p>The truth is, Fehr is a man who isn&rsquo;t about to fawn over celebrities or celebrity athletes, nor be cowed by imposing bargaining opponents. At this point in his life, he is, at least on the surface, the polar opposite of the boogey-man NHL owners grew to dislike in Goodenow. But make no mistake: he shares Goodenow&rsquo;s resolve, someone who won&rsquo;t be compelled to play by the owners&rsquo; set of rules when it comes to labor wars. This is one of the reasons why his name has become mud in some NHL circles. People know he is working for the players and the players alone. In that sense, Fehr really is like an old-school union leader. His mandate is set by the masses, not his ego, and he isn&rsquo;t the slightest bit concerned about any voice that rails against him or his membership.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo; THE SECRET OF HIS SUCCESS IS UNDERSTANDING THAT IT&rsquo;S THE PLAYERS WHO MAKE THE KEY DECISIONS<br><b><i>&ndash; STEVE FEHR</i></b></blockquote><p>To know why Fehr is No. 1 on this People of Power and Influence list, picture him as a leader in charge of a mass sit-in protest. He has convinced a group of comparatively very-well-compensated young men to lock arms and drop their full weight to the ground as NHL team owners try to drag them up and to a location that best benefits the league. He has shown them their real power lies in maintaining that human chain and achieved total buy-in from the superstars of the game to the footsoldiers.</p><p>Fans may not like him &ndash; and many owners definitely don&rsquo;t &ndash; but that is beside the point. If you&rsquo;re looking for an advocate for your financial wellbeing and someone who has seen the routine of every bucking bronco in the labor-relations rodeo, you can&rsquo;t do much better than Don Fehr. &ldquo;He has our best interests at heart and that&rsquo;s the bottom line,&rdquo; Campoli says. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s been the best thing that&rsquo;s happened to NHL players in a long time.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0015-01

100 PEOPLE OF POWER & INFLUENCE

<p><i>Twenty-nine powerbrokers slipped off our top 100 list from 2011. Here&rsquo;s the rationale why some of them dropped.</i></p><h2><b>CHRIS PRONGER (19)</b></h2><p>Sidelined superstar has yet to speak about concussion issues.</p><h2><b>DAVID STERN (20)</b></h2><p>The NHL has pushed the NBA lockout model to a new level.</p><h2><b>LARRY TANENBAUM (27)</b></h2><p>The face of Maple Leafs owner-ship is now a third-stringer.</p><h2><b>TIM THOMAS (34)</b></h2><p>From affable to outspoken to cantankerous. He&rsquo;s off the radar.</p><h2><b>RYAN SUTER (44)</b></h2><p>Last year&rsquo;s big-ticket free agent all settled now in Minnesota.</p><h2><b>MIKE MILBURY (52)</b></h2><p>Lockout has sadly muted his typically opinionated views.</p><h2><b>ZACH PARISE (57)</b></h2><p>The hockey world hung on his free agent status. See Suter.</p><h2><b>NICKLAS LIDSTROM (62)</b></h2><p>Influential in how he played and the respect factor. Now retired.</p><h2><b>PHIL KESSEL (63)</b></h2><p>We haven&rsquo;t seen his speed or wicked wrist shot since April 7.</p><h2><b>DARCY OLSEN (64)</b></h2><p>Goldwater Institute still a factor in any future Coyotes sale.</p><h2><b>BREAKDOWN OF THE TOP 100</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-021541/9795733-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="577" height="1286"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0016-02

FALLING OFF

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0018-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011895/9795795-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>OLD-SCHOOL OWNER</b></p><p><i>Jeremy Jacobs has been in the NHL for all of Gary Bettman&rsquo;s tenure and then some.</i></p> <span class="photo-credit">(STEVE BABINEAU)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span>ECHNICALLY, BOSTON BRUINS OWNER</b> Jeremy Jacobs is not right in the ear of commissioner Gary Bettman at board of governors meetings, but he doesn&rsquo;t have to lean over very far. Here&rsquo;s how the meetings are set up: the NHL braintrust is seated at one table, while the representatives of the league&rsquo;s 30 franchises sit at tables that make up a &lsquo;C&rsquo; attached to form a square. Teams are seated next to each other by city name, meaning Jacobs is pretty close to Bettman thanks to his Bruins.</p><p>But alphabetical kismet cannot alone explain the influence Jacobs wields. He is the chairman of the board and widely reported to be a hardliner against the NHL Players&rsquo; Association. One of the few owners who sat in on negotiations early on (Washington&rsquo;s Ted Leonsis, Minnesota&rsquo;s Craig Leipold and Calgary&rsquo;s Murray Edwards were the others), Jacobs was also part of the cabal that took on the players in a meeting sans Bettman or Don Fehr early in December. Union supporters will tell you that&rsquo;s the reason things were never going to go anywhere. But who is Jacobs?</p><p>Louis Jacobs began the family fortune back in 1915, when he and his two brothers started selling popcorn and peanuts in Buffalo. The concessions business landed its first major league contract in 1930, providing refreshments for fans at Detroit Tigers games and the company, Delaware North, has become a titan in the industry with revenues in the $2-billion range. Jeremy Jacobs took the helm in 1968 upon the passing of his father and seven years later, at just 35 years of age, he bought the Boston Bruins.</p><p>Delaware North handles the concessions for numerous NHL arenas and will also handle those duties should a new rink be constructed in Markham, Ont., a site earmarked by some as the likely destination for a second NHL team in Toronto. Along with Philadelphia&rsquo;s Ed Snider, Jacobs is one of the few owners who was around when Bettman was hired by the league 20 years ago.</p><p>Though he was pilloried by Boston fans for years as a cheap owner, Jacobs ended his own Stanley Cup jinx (the team hadn&rsquo;t won since he took over) in 2011 thanks to big-ticket players such as Zdeno Chara and Tim Thomas. Still, Jacobs has a reputation. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s old school,&rdquo; says one former member of the board of governors. &ldquo;When I hear about the (lockout) negotiations, I&rsquo;m sure he&rsquo;d like it the way it was, when he paid guys $50,000 and they did what he said. I can see him being frustrated these days.&rdquo;</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">I&rsquo;M SURE HE&rsquo;D LIKE IT THE WAY IT WAS, WHEN HE PAID GUYS $50,000 AND THEY DID WHAT HE SAID<br><b><i>&ndash; FORMER BOG MEMBER</i></b></blockquote><p>A concession stand magnate paying peanuts? That headline writes itself. But talk to the folks that have negotiated with Delaware North outside the hockey spectrum and Jacobs isn&rsquo;t the labor bogeyman he&rsquo;s often made out to be. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s usually pretty straightforward and without much rigmarole,&rdquo; said Jim DuPont, director of Unite Here! Food Service Division. &ldquo;We have respectable medical coverage and decent wage increases for what is a low-wage industry.&rdquo;</p><p>Unite Here! is the union that represents Delaware North&rsquo;s concessionary employees and, according to DuPont, talks with the Jacobs crew have only hit a speed bump once in recent years. That&rsquo;s when they sat across from Bob Batterman, the reputedly tough-as-nails negotiator who is again serving as counsel for the NHL in this round of CBA talks. DuPont says he&rsquo;d done his home-work on Batterman and stood his ground. &ldquo;If you&rsquo;re ready&hellip;they won&rsquo;t get away with it,&rdquo; DuPont said. &ldquo;We were prepared.&rdquo;</p><p>Jacobs, through the Boston Bruins, politely turned down a request to be interviewed for this article and given the tumult that now surrounds him in addition to the NHL&rsquo;s so-called gag order, it&rsquo;s understandable. He has been painted as a bully in stories glorified by the NHLPA but roundly dismissed as fiction by the NHL. And though he made his fortune in candy, it&rsquo;s fair to say Jacobs rarely gets licked when it comes to his money or his power.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0018-01

THIS SEAT IS TAKEN

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0019-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-011663/9795826-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>PRINT-VIDEO-WEB</b></p><p><i>Bob McKenzie has kept up with technological change to stay at the top of his field.</i></p> <span class="photo-credit">(GREIG REEKIE/TSN)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>W</span>HEN IT COMES TO SOCIAL MEDIA IN HOCKEY,</b> there is Bob McKenzie and then there is everyone else. With nearly 450,000 Twitter followers, the TSN insider dwarfs not only his media rivals, but also the players he covers: Steven Stamkos, Evgeni Malkin, even Paul Bissonnette. The most intriguing aspect of McKenzie&rsquo;s presence online is he&rsquo;s an old-school journalist who has embraced and capitalized on new school methods of dissemination. &ldquo;Darren Dreger jumped on at least six months before me,&rdquo; McKenzie says, referring to his TSN colleague. &ldquo;All of a sudden, I understood what it was. It&rsquo;s like a custom newswire.&rdquo;</p><p>While McKenzie uses Twitter to learn about news and stories from beat writers, the hockey world generally turns to him first for the same thing and his presence is the gravitas on all of TSN&rsquo;s important broadcasts.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">IF YOU&rsquo;RE A HOCKEY FAN, YOU FOLLOW HIM ON TWITTER. BOB HAS ESPECIALLY COME OFF AS AGENDA-FREE<br><b><i>&ndash; STEVE LEPORE</i></b></blockquote><p>We don&rsquo;t often tout our own, but the McKenzie legacy began when he was named editor-in-chief of The Hockey News at the age of 25, in 1982. The office legend, as confirmed by McKenzie, is that the first thing he did as chief was close the door to the office and exclaim &ldquo;what the hell am I am going to do now?&rdquo; Fortunately, the young boss figured it out and his first cover featured draft picks Gary Nylund, Gord Kluzak and Brian Bellows.</p><p>When TSN needed a hockey expert in the late 1980s, who better to recruit than the man in charge of a hockey-only publication? That relationship eventually became a full-time job (McKenzie also spent time at the Toronto <i>Star</i> and had another stint at THN as associate editor). The rest is hockey history. Among his most important times of year are events that have become big, blowout circuses and ratings bonanzas &ndash; the World Junior Championship, the trade deadline and the first day of free agency. &ldquo;The world juniors I get,&rdquo; McKenzie says. &ldquo;Because it&rsquo;s really good hockey at a time of year when people have more time to watch TV.&rdquo;</p><p>As for the other two events, McKenzie was there right from the beginning. When TSN was still doing updates on the hour during its regular programming, it was colleague Gord Miller who realized he and McKenzie were interrupting host Jim Van Horne an awful lot for trade updates. &ldquo;I know Gord talked to the powers-that-be and said &lsquo;Hey, how about a show?&rsquo; &rdquo; McKenzie says. &ldquo;Now it&rsquo;s become trade deadline week, trade deadline month.&rdquo;</p><p>For thanks and/or blame over the July 1 follies from the first day of free agency, McKenzie shoulders the load. &ldquo;That ridiculousness was probably my idea,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;All these signings were coming in, it was like shooting fish in a barrel. I couldn&rsquo;t keep up.&rdquo;</p><p>Now all three are staples, along with the broadcaster&rsquo;s normal duties on TSN&rsquo;s game night coverage and SportsCentre. But despite TSN&rsquo;s limited international reach, McKenzie is known throughout the hockey world thanks to his Twitter feed and panel work on U.S. hockey shows. &ldquo;There really isn&rsquo;t an equivalent to him in America,&rdquo; said Steve Lepore, a stateside blogger known for his coverage of hockey media. &ldquo;If you&rsquo;re a hockey fan, you follow him on Twitter. Bob especially has come off as agenda-free. He&rsquo;s not necessarily tweeting non-stop and there&rsquo;s value in that.&rdquo;</p><p>For three decades, McKenzie has been informing and influencing the hockey world. In what can be a grueling position, he makes sure he has time to decompress (one guilty pleasure during the lockout has been ESPN&rsquo;s NFL Countdown show), reserving much of the summer for cottage life in Ontario. &ldquo;I couldn&rsquo;t do this job at 56 if I didn&rsquo;t have almost two months away,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;The job is so all-encompassing, there is no downtime during the season. You could literally cover hockey for 365 days a year now.&rdquo;</p><p>The ultimate insider estimates he has a little less than a decade before he retires from the game, citing 65 as the age he will likely pack it in. In the meantime, it&rsquo;s only prudent to ask what a journalist at the top of the pile does to stay there. &ldquo;No. 1 is to inform,&rdquo; McKenzie said. &ldquo;No. 2 is to entertain &ndash; in that order.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0019-01

THE NO.1 INFORMER

f0020-01

PEOPLE OF POWER & INFLUENCE

<div class="byline">WITH ADAM PROTEAU</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0033-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-011288/9795930-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>TEEN POWER</b></p><p><i>Gabriel Landeskog wasn&rsquo;t yet 20 when the Colorado Avalanche named him captain.</i></p> <span class="photo-credit">(MICHAEL MARTIN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-02887/9795937-1-eng-US/f0033-022.jpg" title="f0033-02" width="207" height="245"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>G</span>ABRIEL LANDESKOG IS STILL</b> a full year away from being able to legally consume alcohol in the U.S., a fact that makes his stature as one to watch for in future editions of The Hockey News&rsquo; People of Power and Influence list somewhat curious.</p><p>But Landeskog isn&rsquo;t your normal 20-year-old young man. The Swede is entering his NHL sophomore season, but after a rookie campaign that started with 22 goals and 52 points in 82 games for the Colorado Avalanche, continued with five points at the 2012 World Championship, and ended when Colorado gave him the captaincy this past September, it&rsquo;s clear Landeskog is preternaturally mature and a power-wielder to keep your eyes on.</p><p>He&rsquo;s far from the only one to keep tabs on. Here are the other men and women on THN&rsquo;s list of future powerful and influential hockey people:</p><p><b>SEAN BURKE:</b> Although Coyotes coach Dave Tippett gets credit for the successes of Phoenix goalies &ndash; Mike Smith and formerly Ilya Bryzgalov &ndash; don&rsquo;t fool yourself. Phoenix&rsquo;s goaltending coach and former NHL netminder Sean Burke deserves recognition as well. Small wonder the organization added &ldquo;assistant to the GM&rdquo; duties to his job title in the off-season.</p><p><b>BARRY PETCHESKY:</b> As a writer for Internet sports website <a href="http://deadspin.com">deadspin.com</a>, Petchesky broke the summertime story about the NHL turning to political pollster Frank Luntz. He also regularly comments on the NHL via Twitter. Although he covers more than hockey for his employer, the 28-year-old New Yorker already has made a notable splash in hockey waters.</p><p><b>BRENDA</b>&nbsp;<b>ANDRESS:</b>When Canadian Women&rsquo;s Hockey League teams in Toronto and Calgary recently secured breakthrough sponsorship from NHL franchises in their cities, it represented a hard-fought victory for Andress, the league&rsquo;s president. The 54-year-old former director of recreation for the city of Newmarket, Ont., has been promoting the CWHL since its 2010 inception. With rumors of more sponsorship coming for her league&rsquo;s teams, she&rsquo;s doing well at selling.</p><p><b>PAUL FENTON:</b> In 400 NHL games, Fenton scored 183 points. But what he&rsquo;s really known for is his management acumen. Now the Nashville Predators assistant GM, the 52-year-old has made the Preds&rsquo; development process one of the league&rsquo;s best and will get a chance to be a GM soon.</p><p><b>TROY WARD:</b> A finalist for the Flames coaching job that went to Bob Hartley, Ward is a hot commodity for his performance behind the bench of the AHL&rsquo;s Abbotsford Heat. The St. Paul, Minn., native has made the Heat competitive and is a frontrunner for an NHL job.</p><p><b>MIKE SNEE:</b> Named executive director of College Hockey Inc., in August, Snee has a background in sales and marketing that the three-year-old NCAA hockey advocacy group can benefit from. More importantly, the 43-year-old Duluth, Minn. native loves his element of the sport and will be highly visible as he attempts to fill the shoes of former CHI boss Paul Kelly.</p><p><b>SETH JONES:</b> By the time the 2013 NHL draft is over, Jones could be the first African-American player to go No. 1 overall. If he does &ndash; or even if he doesn&rsquo;t &ndash; his ability to expand the borders of the game will be as important as his on-ice production.</p><p><b>IGOR LARIONOV:</b> The Hall of Famer is a rising player agent whose clients include 2012 No. 1 overall pick Nail Yakupov and No. 3 Alex Galchenyuk. He is a key cog in the hockey relationship between his native Russia and North America.</p><p><b>NAIL YAKUPOV:</b> With a new NHL labor landscape, the 19-year-old Russian is the most prominent test case pitting the temptations of the Kontinental League versus the competitive highs of the NHL. If he chooses greater riches at home, he will help shape the course of relations between two continental superpowers.</p><p><b>TYLER BENSON AND SEAN DAY:</b> The Western League has never had a player gain exceptional status, but that will change. Tyler Benson and Sean Day, both 14, will likely play major junior next season. Benson had 82 points in 17 games for a AAA bantam team in Edmonton and Day is a smooth-skating defenseman in Detroit.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0033-01

POWER OF THE FUTURE

<div class="byline">WORDS BY ADAM PROTEAU </div><div class="byline">PHOTOS BY SHELLY CASTELLANO</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0034-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-011469/9796031-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-021026/9796024-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="2595" height="1511"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-011360/9796017-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg" title="f0035-01" width="1119" height="990"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>TIFFANY PARROS</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-02967/9796010-1-eng-US/f0035-022.jpg" title="f0035-02" width="1119" height="999"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>BRIANNE HUSKINS</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-03802/9796003-1-eng-US/f0035-032.jpg" title="f0035-03" width="1119" height="1515"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>AMANDA ELLIOTT</b></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span>he stereotypes</b> about hockey wives &ndash; you know, the image of a pampered, gorgeous, stay-at-home woman without a care in the world &ndash; have been around since the NHL itself, but in the era of the Basketball Wives reality (side)show, it can be easier than ever for the public to conclude spouses of NHL players are living on easy street. The reality, often, is quite different. The modern-day NHL wife is her own person with her own values, talents and choices. She suffers the emotional ups and downs of her husband&rsquo;s career as much as he does and is there for him when everyone else has gone home.</p><p>She is, in her own way, a major contributor to any hockey team. And she can do it in any number of ways. Here are five stories.</p><p><b>Amanda Elliott</b> never needed her husband, Blues goalie Brian Elliott, to validate her existence. The couple met as classmates at the University of Wisconsin, but even as Brian&rsquo;s hockey career took off, she had plans for herself &ndash; a future that also involved risk and sacrifice. She was already enrolled in the Reserve Officers Training Corps in college and moved on to become an intelligence officer in the Air Force after graduating.</p><p>Now 27, Amanda served on non-combat missions, but was stationed in Qatar and Kurdistan for long stretches and briefed air crews before missions and base leadership on force security. That commitment resulted in her and Brian only seeing each other one week out of every two months when he was still a member of the Ottawa Senators. &ldquo;It was really hard,&rdquo; Amanda says. &ldquo;When he got called up in Ottawa, I was in Qatar. Being so far away was tough and things went bad for him in that first year. You can only comfort so much on the phone. And if I was having a bad day, it was tough to relate that to him. But we did what we could and made the most of the situation.&rdquo;</p><p>Although their individual lives kept them physically apart for what to them felt like forever, the couple&rsquo;s fortunes changed for the better last year. Amanda finished with the Air Force in June 2011, they were married two weeks later and Brian followed that up with an incredible season that included an appearance at the All-Star Game and the modern-day records for goals-against average (1.56) and save percentage (.940). They&rsquo;re now together with their dog, Tug, but because they know how fickle fate can be for a pro athlete, they try simply to appreciate each moment. &ldquo;Everything went well, but we&rsquo;re still cautiously optimistic,&rdquo; Amanda says. &ldquo;We try and be level-headed. You hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-011369/9795996-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg" title="f0036-01" width="1661" height="1660"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>AMANDA ELLIOTT</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-02933/9795989-1-eng-US/f0036-022.jpg" title="f0036-02" width="1657" height="1864"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>BRIANNE HUSKINS</b></figcaption></div><p><b>Tiffany</b>&nbsp;<b>Parros</b> is like many hockey wives who have to be ready to handle turmoil when their husbands aren&rsquo;t around. And that&rsquo;s exactly what happened to the wife of Florida Panthers right winger George Parros. Pregnant with twins, she had to be hospitalized at 20 weeks and gave birth seven weeks later. But George couldn&rsquo;t be there for the first 10 days of his newborn babies&rsquo; lives as he was playing with the Anaheim Ducks on a road trip in Finland. &ldquo;You depend on your family to help you through, but not being there when I gave birth was very tough on George,&rdquo; Tiffany says. &ldquo;People only see the glamorous side, but people don&rsquo;t realize how hard these guys work and all the sacrifices they make. That&rsquo;s the most frustrating part.&rdquo;</p><p>Like Amanda, Tiffany was doing her own thing long before she met her husband. She founded her own online shopping business while in Europe in the late 1990s and has since found success designing a line of clothes under the name LTR Brands that ships to hundreds of stores. (George has his own clothing line called Stache Gear.) Both husband and wife are under no delusions as to their place in the financial food chain. &ldquo;We always knew we didn&rsquo;t want to be those people who weren&rsquo;t prepared for life after hockey,&rdquo; Tiffany says. &ldquo;One of the reasons I married George was that every boyfriend I have before was like, &lsquo;You sit back and hang on until I do good&rsquo;, but George always pushes me to do my own thing. And I always say I need my own accolades. Some wives stay at home and they love it, but that&rsquo;s not for me. I love getting up and going to work.&rdquo;</p><p><b>Kristen</b>&nbsp;<b>Giguere</b> also had a flair for fashion and studied design in California once her husband, veteran goalie and Stanley Cup winner J-S Giguere, solidified his role with the Ducks. But before she could pursue that interest, she became pregnant with their first son Maxime-Olivier. The little boy has coped with a serious eye disorder from his earliest days, but now is a healthy, happy five-year-old. And that&rsquo;s all due to the total family focus Kristen had from the get-go. She has that degree to fall back on, but as the mom to three boys now, she&rsquo;s more than happy with her decision to be a full-time homemaker. &ldquo;Especially as first-time parents, you don&rsquo;t know how strong you are until you have no choice,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;Hopefully our little guy&rsquo;s challenges made us better parents thereafter. We have nerves of steel now. The little things like skinned knees don&rsquo;t bother us. But you do all the work, no questions asked, because they&rsquo;re your kids.&rdquo;</p><p><b>Marie</b>&nbsp;<b>Beauchemin,</b> wife of Ducks blueliner Francois Beauchemin, has made a similar choice to Kristen Giguere. The Quebec native is far from friends and family in California, but with three kids (including a six-month-old), she is thankful to have Francois around during this lockout. &ldquo;For me, it&rsquo;s all about family,&rdquo; Marie says. &ldquo;This year I&rsquo;ve been lucky to have Francois here and we have a great baby-sitter who the kids love. But he&rsquo;s getting bored now, too. You want him to be happy and be back playing, but it&rsquo;s a nice change to have him here with the kids.&rdquo;</p><p><b>Brianne</b>&nbsp;<b>Huskins</b> is a relatively new member of the NHL wives community &ndash; she&rsquo;ll celebrate three years of marriage to free agent defenseman and most recently a St. Louis Blue Kent Huskins in July &ndash; and is in a different place than the aforementioned four women. Kent missed the majority of last season with an ankle injury and the couple don&rsquo;t have any children yet, so the future is as unclear for them as it is for anyone. &ldquo;Sometimes you feel like your life is one big question mark,&rdquo; Brianne says. &ldquo;We just appreciate any time we have together because we know things can change really quickly.&rdquo;</p><p>Brianne started an accessory line when she was still in high school and grew the business to 24 stores basically all on her own. She studied fashion in her home state of California before she was engaged and still has a deep interest in interior design she could pursue. But the uncertainty of Kent&rsquo;s employment has shelved those plans for the short-term. &ldquo;I definitely miss having something of my own, but the fact so much is up in the air makes it hard to commit to anything,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;So I like to find work here and there when I can and otherwise just be there to support Kent. That&rsquo;s what any good partner would do in a situation like this.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-011221/9795982-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg" title="f0037-01" width="1658" height="1155"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>TIFFANY PARROS</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-02860/9795975-1-eng-US/f0037-022.jpg" title="f0037-02" width="1658" height="1197"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>KRISTEN GIGUERE</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-03693/9795968-1-eng-US/f0037-032.jpg" title="f0037-03" width="1655" height="1148"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>MARIE BEAUCHEMIN</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0034-01

The Better HALVES

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-04608/9796107-1-eng-US/f0038-042.jpg" title="f0038-04" width="242" height="412"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>SIDNEY CROSBY</b> <span class="photo-credit">(CROSBY: ANDRE RINGUETTE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>BEST PTS/GAME IN 2011-12 (MIN. 20 GP)</p><p><b>Sidney Crosby</b></p><p>Pittsburgh</p><p><i>1.68</i></p><p><b>Evgeni Malkin</b></p><p>Pittsburgh</p><p><i>1.45</i></p><p><b>Claude Giroux</b></p><p>Philadelphia</p><p><i>1.21</i></p><p><b>S. Stamkos</b></p><p>Tampa Bay</p><p><i>1.18</i></p><p><b>Ilya Kovalchuk</b></p><p>New Jersey</p><p><i>1.08</i></p><p><b>Jason Spezza</b></p><p>Ottawa</p><p><i>1.05</i></p><p><b>N. Backstrom</b></p><p>Washington</p><p><i>1.05</i></p><p><b>Joffrey Lupul</b></p><p>Toronto</p><p><i>1.02</i></p><p><b>James Neal</b></p><p>Pittsburgh</p><p><i>1.01</i></p><p><b>Phil Kessel</b></p><p>Toronto</p><p><i>1.00</i></p><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b>42 Lupul&rsquo;s assists in 2011-12, besting his previous career high of 26</b></blockquote><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0038-04

ON Point

<div class="byline">&#x2013; ANDREW BRETHAUER</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0039-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-011217/9796229-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-04544/9796222-1-eng-US/f0039-042.jpg" title="f0039-04" 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/f0039-02818/9796215-1-eng-US/f0039-022.jpg" title="f0039-02" width="657" height="813"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(DEL ZOTTO: ANDRE RINGUETTE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-03646/9796208-1-eng-US/f0039-032.jpg" title="f0039-03" width="131" height="119"></div><p><b>Video</b> Scan to watch our feature on Michael Del Zotto</p><p><b>S</b>witzerland wasn&rsquo;t kind to the New York Rangers.</p><p>Michael Del Zotto was the second Blueshirt, following Rick Nash (groin), to return home due to injury after he sustained a lower back problem in mid-December.</p><p>The Rangers 2008 first round pick (20th overall) signed with Rapperswil in the National League A in November, where he played just nine games before shutting things down for precautionary reasons. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m getting worked on every day,&rdquo; said Del Zotto. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m able to walk, it&rsquo;s not like it is something terrible, but it is something I wanted to make sure I got checked by doctors I trust.&rdquo;</p><p>Del Zotto had two goals and seven points in his quick Euro excursion. He&rsquo;s coming off a career year in which he scored 10 goals and 41 points in 77 games. The totals led all Ranger defensemen and put him top-20 league wide. His performance couldn&rsquo;t have come at a better time for the 22-year-old considering it was the final year on his entry level contract. He still hadn&rsquo;t signed a new agreement with the Rangers before the lockout started.</p><p>With contract talks out of the question during the work stoppage, his focus was simply on getting back to 100 percent health and staying in game shape.</p><p>That included a mid-December charity game supporting the NHLPA&rsquo;s Goals and Dreams Fund held at the Mattamy Athletic Centre, a rink on the third floor of the former Maple Leaf Gardens.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2><b>FOR THE RECORD</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-05461/9796201-1-eng-US/f0039-052.jpg" title="f0039-05" width="937" height="792"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-06384/9796194-1-eng-US/f0039-062.jpg" title="f0039-06" width="327" height="551"></div><p>After being let go by Ottawa in the off-season, <b>Bobby Butler</b> hopes to resurrect his once promising career with the Devils. And he was doing just that in 2012-13, albeit in Albany. Butler had 10 goals and 15 points and was named AHL player of the week in mid-December. He&rsquo;ll be given every chance to win a bottom-six spot on New Jersey.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-07333/9796187-1-eng-US/f0039-072.jpg" title="f0039-07" width="753" height="602"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-08283/9796180-1-eng-US/f0039-082.jpg" title="f0039-08" width="327" height="546"></div><p>Re-signing Evgeni Nabokov gave the Islanders some stability in net, but behind him is nothing but insecurity. <b>Kevin Poulin</b> and Anders Nilsson were floundering in AHL Bridgeport through 13 games each. Both had GAAs above 3.00 and below average SPs. Don&rsquo;t ask about Rick DiPietro. He played one game in Germany before getting hurt.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-09230/9796173-1-eng-US/f0039-092.jpg" title="f0039-09" width="753" height="601"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-10199/9796166-1-eng-US/f0039-102.jpg" title="f0039-10" width="327" height="551"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(GABORIK: GRAIG ABEL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Panicky Blueshirts fans can rest easy knowing two of their big guns will be ready if the NHL returns to action in January. <b>Marian Gaborik</b> is expected back after off-season surgery in June to repair a torn labrum and Rick Nash returned to the U.S. to rehab an aggravated groin injury that he sustained while playing for Davos in Switzerland.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-11175/9796159-1-eng-US/f0039-112.jpg" title="f0039-11" width="753" height="601"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-12159/9796152-1-eng-US/f0039-122.jpg" title="f0039-12" width="327" height="551"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(POULIN+BRYZGALOV: ANDY DEVLIN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>In what had to be a dream come true, universe enthusiast <b>Ilya Bryzgalov</b> visited the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center mid-December. He tried on a space suit, checked out a zero-gravity simulator and met famed Russian cosmonaut Valery Tokarev. In 10 games with the KHL&rsquo;s CSKA Red Army, Bryzgalov had a 2.41 GAA and .907 SP.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-13135/9796145-1-eng-US/f0039-132.jpg" title="f0039-13" width="753" height="601"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-14117/9796138-1-eng-US/f0039-142.jpg" title="f0039-14" width="327" height="551"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(BUTLER+HARRINGTON: RICHARD WOLOWICZ/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Pittsburgh has plenty of &lsquo;D&rsquo; prospects and was represented well at the world juniors. <b>Scott Harrington</b> made Canada&rsquo;s national junior team again (and was named an alternate captain), as did Olli Maatta with Finland. The Pens had hoped fellow D-man Derrick Pouliot would make the trip to Ufa, too, but he was cut by Canada for the second consecutive year.</p><p><b>EL</b> Unsigned Entry Level <b>RFA</b> Unsigned Restricted Free Agent<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0039-01

Back Brings Him Back

<div class="byline">&#x2013; HERB ZURKOWSKY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0040-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-03463/9796337-1-eng-US/f0040-032.jpg"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-01924/9796344-1-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/f0040-02596/9796330-1-eng-US/f0040-022.jpg" title="f0040-02" width="658" height="782"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>MAX PACIORETTY</b></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>M</span></b>ax Pacioretty recovered from a fractured vertebra and severe concussion, sustained in March 2011, following a devastating hit by Boston&rsquo;s Zdeno Chara. So surely a chronic elbow injury aggravated in Switzerland would be just a minor hiccup for the Montreal Canadiens power forward.</p><p>Pacioretty, 24, returned to North America in mid-October following a five-game stint with Ambri Piotta of the Swiss League, where he had one goal. He was scratched from three games because of the elbow injury, though according to the team Pacioretty had the flu. Because of insurance issues, he asked to leave, believing he would get better treatment at home.</p><p>Both Pacioretty and his agent, Alex Schall, called it a nagging injury that wouldn&rsquo;t prevent him from preparing for or playing games. &ldquo;I have to do what&rsquo;s best for me, &ldquo; Pacioretty said. &ldquo;What was best at the time was to heal my injury in case the season starts so I could be 100 percent.&rdquo;</p><p>The elbow problems are chronic, exacerbated by jumping from summer skating to Swiss practices, complete with plenty of shooting, that inflamed the joint. The only way to reduce the swelling was rest and treatment. Once that was accomplished, Pacioretty was expected to resume on-and off-ice workouts with long-time trainer, Ben Prentiss.</p><p>Pacioretty scored 33 goals and 65 points last season. In August, he was signed to a six-year, $27-million contract extension.</p><h2><b>FOR THE RECORD</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-04370/9796323-1-eng-US/f0040-042.jpg" title="f0040-04" width="937" height="792"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-05315/9796316-1-eng-US/f0040-052.jpg" title="f0040-05" width="327" height="551"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(MCQUAID: FRANCOIS LAPLANTE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Adam McQuaid</b> has dealt with a more pressing concern than simply being locked out. He was working out at Harvard in October when a blood clot developed under his collarbone. He had the clot surgically removed and while he is skating, not relying on blood thinners and should recover fully, he won&rsquo;t be ready to play again until at least February.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-06277/9796309-1-eng-US/f0040-062.jpg" title="f0040-06" width="753" height="602"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-07239/9796302-1-eng-US/f0040-072.jpg" title="f0040-07" width="327" height="551"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(HODGSON: ANDRE RINGUETTE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>What is <b>Cody Hodgson</b> worth to Buffalo? If you judge the soon-to-be RFA by his performance as a pro and by his health, his value shrinks. A broken hand in early November was supposed to keep him out of AHL Rochester&rsquo;s lineup for two weeks, but lingered until he returned Dec. 17. He had 10 points in 10 games before the injury, but with only one goal.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-08207/9796295-1-eng-US/f0040-082.jpg" title="f0040-08" width="753" height="601"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-09156/9796288-1-eng-US/f0040-092.jpg" title="f0040-09" width="327" height="550"></div><p>After a breakout season in 2011-12, <b>David Desharnais</b> was eager to prove he could repeat it. He is in the second leg of a two-year deal with an $850,000 cap hit. With 60 points last season, he proved a capable playmaking center between Erik Cole and Max Pacioretty on the top line. Desharnais will get a significant raise as an RFA.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-10142/9796281-1-eng-US/f0040-102.jpg" title="f0040-10" width="753" height="601"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-11125/9796274-1-eng-US/f0040-112.jpg" title="f0040-11" width="327" height="550"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(ALFREDSSON: JONATHAN KOZUB/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>The Senators have most of their core signed long term, but not their captain and most popular player ever. <b>Daniel Alfredsson</b>, 40, is a UFA after this season. He and the Sens wanted to see how he handled a full season before deciding his future. He&rsquo;s made it clear there&rsquo;s almost no chance he would sign with another team, so he&rsquo;ll retire a Senator.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-12114/9796267-1-eng-US/f0040-122.jpg" title="f0040-12" width="753" height="601"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-1399/9796260-1-eng-US/f0040-132.jpg" title="f0040-13" width="323" height="551"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(PACIORETTY+ DESHARNAIS + GARDINER: FRANCOIS LACASSE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>The Marlies announced in mid-December <b>Jake Gardiner&rsquo;s</b> concussion would hold him out of the lineup until after Christmas at the earliest. But coach Dallas Eakins acknowledged there was no way of knowing exactly when he would return. The second-year pro was hit behind the net against Rochester Dec. 8. He had nine goals and 17 points in 22 games.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0040-03

The ‘Pac’ Came Back

<div class="byline">&#x2013; RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0041-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-01804/9796459-1-eng-US/f0041-012.jpg"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-02527/9796452-1-eng-US/f0041-022.jpg" title="f0041-02" 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/f0041-03429/9796445-1-eng-US/f0041-032.jpg" title="f0041-03" width="657" height="780"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>VICTOR HEDMAN</b> <span class="photo-credit">(HEDMAN: SCOTT AUDETTE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span></b>he flashes have been there for Victor Hedman. As a big, talented defenseman, the 6-foot-6 Swede has the capability to dominate in the NHL and were it not for a concussion costing him 13 games after New Year&rsquo;s 2012, he may have proven that new level full-time in his third year with Tampa Bay. &ldquo;I want to be relentless all the time on offense and defense,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;After Christmas last year, I got more time on the power play and I started to get used to that a little more. I still know I have the best years in front of me.&rdquo;</p><p>As proof, Hedman had quick success in the Kontinental League with Barys Astana. He was named defenseman of the month for the league in November and was putting up great offensive numbers &ndash; not bad considering he only signed with the team in late September.</p><p>The fact he hit the ground running helped. Hedman, along with fellow Swede Gabriel Landeskog, were two proponents of the new Flow competitive sports app, which helps players evaluate their fitness strengths and weaknesses through standardized tests, followed by HD video demonstrations and statistical analysis. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s like a personal trainer in your pocket,&rdquo; Hedman said. &ldquo;You do your tests and it calculates a training plan for you to make you a better athlete and get you in better shape.&rdquo;</p><p>If the app was accurate, it would have forecast a lot of important minutes coming in the Swede&rsquo;s future with the Lightning and adjusted his workouts accordingly.</p><h2><b>FOR THE RECORD</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-04372/9796438-1-eng-US/f0041-042.jpg" title="f0041-04" width="937" height="792"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-05335/9796431-1-eng-US/f0041-052.jpg" title="f0041-05" width="327" height="551"></div><p>When the Hurricanes signed <b>Alexander Semin</b> to a one-year, $7-million deal, the short-term risk was offset by his offensive potential. In the KHL for the lockout, though, he only scored three goals in 14 games and on his Torpedo team&rsquo;s website he was quoted as saying he needed to improve his conditioning, even after playing two months of hockey.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-06291/9796424-1-eng-US/f0041-062.jpg" title="f0041-06" width="753" height="602"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-07248/9796417-1-eng-US/f0041-072.jpg" title="f0041-07" width="327" height="551"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(SEMIN+GUDBRANSON: ANDRE RINGUETTE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Erik Gudbranson</b>, who sustained a shoulder injury wakeboarding this summer, recovered enough to skate with teammates and other NHLers in Florida in mid-December. It&rsquo;s expected he&rsquo;ll be game-ready sometime in January and join San Antonio to get his conditioning back. The 2009 third overall pick played 72 games last year, his first in the NHL.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-08194/9796410-1-eng-US/f0041-082.jpg" title="f0041-08" width="753" height="601"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-09145/9796403-1-eng-US/f0041-092.jpg" title="f0041-09" width="327" height="551"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(NAMESTNIKOV: AARON BELL/OHL IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>The Lightning were supposed to get a good look at first-year pro <b>Vladislav Namestnikov</b> in the AHL this season, but an early shoulder injury derailed hopes of a smooth transition. Tampa&rsquo;s first round pick (27th overall) in 2011, Namestnikov had two assists in five games before the injury and wasn&rsquo;t expected to be back until at least late December.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-10118/9796396-1-eng-US/f0041-102.jpg" title="f0041-10" width="752" height="601"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-1197/9796389-1-eng-US/f0041-112.jpg" title="f0041-11" width="327" height="551"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(RIBEIRO: JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Washington must be regretting the <b>Mike Ribeiro</b> trade. By acquiring the former Dallas Star, the Capitals added a second scoring center to help push them over the playoff hump. But Ribeiro is in the final year of his contract, making the price of trading away 21-year-old Cody Eakin and a second round pick a hefty one for a potentially short return.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-1282/9796382-1-eng-US/f0041-122.jpg" title="f0041-12" width="753" height="601"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-1366/9796375-1-eng-US/f0041-132.jpg" title="f0041-13" width="327" height="551"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(KANE: TRAVIS GOLBY/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Before the lockout, <b>Evander Kane</b> signed a six-year, $31.5-million contract with the Jets. Will the stories of his time with the KHL&rsquo;s Dinamo Minsk scare fans? Kane left the team after scoring only one goal in 12 games. He racked up 47 PIM, was suspended a game for a head check and was called out by the coach for not being in game shape.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0041-01

To Victor Go The Spoils

<div class="byline">BY BEN KUZMA</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-03436/9796497-1-eng-US/f0042-032.jpg" title="f0042-03" width="249" height="185"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-01853/9796504-1-eng-US/f0042-012.jpg" title="f0042-01" 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/f0042-02555/9796490-1-eng-US/f0042-022.jpg" title="f0042-02" width="1297" height="1225"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>RYAN KESLER</b></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>R</span></b>yan Kesler&rsquo;s recovery from off-season left shoulder and wrist surgeries was forecast for November. That changed to December. Then it became January. Perhaps February. And March, too.</p><p>The Vancouver Canucks center did know that two procedures on one side of his body could lengthen the six-month rehab process after a torn shoulder labrum was repaired May 8 and tendons in the wrist were mended June 27. &ldquo;If I had my shoulder surgery on the right side, it might have helped a bit,&rdquo; said Kesler. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to take time, but time heals everything.&rdquo;</p><p>Kesler was re-evaluated at the Cleveland Clinic in early December and his agent Kurt Overhardt suggested the 2011 Selke Trophy winner was months away from recovery. The late Pavol Demitra had the same surgery in 2009 as a Canuck and missed nine months because of complications and a second procedure. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s fair to have any sort of time frame as to when he&rsquo;s going to be 100 percent and cleared to play,&rdquo; said Overhardt. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s several months away, it&rsquo;s not weeks away. The surgeries have affected his strength and range of motion to stickhandle and shoot. You have to properly rehab or you&rsquo;re going to have imbalances.&rdquo;</p><p>The Canucks disputed the timeline because Kesler has been following their recovery protocol. &ldquo;I wouldn&rsquo;t necessarily say it&rsquo;s months &ndash; that&rsquo;s news to me &ndash; and I haven&rsquo;t been given a timeline,&rdquo; said assistant GM Laurence Gilman. &ldquo;The rehab for his shoulder was complicated by the surgery with his wrist and it&rsquo;s impacted his ability to build strength. We assume he&rsquo;ll be healthy in due course, but when that&rsquo;s going to be at this stage isn&rsquo;t clear.&rdquo;</p><p>Replacing the hard second-line minutes Kesler plays &ndash; he&rsquo;s also a fixture on the power play and penalty kill &ndash; will be as difficult as getting him to change his aggressive game. Chris Higgins has played the middle and Maxim Lapierre is another option. Jordan Schroeder, Manny Malhotra and Andrew Ebbett could fill other center spots and the Canucks could also get a pivot in a trade.</p><p>As for Kesler hitting stride when he does return, it will be tough. It took teammate Alex Burrows a month to feel right after an off-season shoulder surgery in 2010. He had just one goal in his first 10 games and knows Kesler will have to tailor his game to remain healthy and productive. &ldquo;Mostly, it&rsquo;s the mental side so you don&rsquo;t doubt or question yourself,&rdquo; said Burrows. &ldquo;If you&rsquo;re going to get hit, do you try to protect yourself with the other shoulder or move out of the way instead of taking a hit? He has to be smart about it. I&rsquo;m sure he&rsquo;ll pick his spots a little bit better and know when to go through the wall or when to hold back a bit.&rdquo;</p><p>Kesler isn&rsquo;t the only Canuck who underwent a lengthy off-season recovery. Alex Edler nursed a bulging lower-back disc and Jason Garrison a groin strain, but they were skating with the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds during the lockout. Edler suffered a herniated disc during 2010-11 and underwent a microdiscectomy procedure to relieve pressure. He missed 10 weeks and returned for the second-last game of the regular season. Last year, he missed a game with back spasms and also had to skip practices. Now, the biggest challenge will be to put the back to the test. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a frustrating injury and you have to be very patient with it,&rdquo; said Edler, who recently received medical clearance. &ldquo;I feel like it&rsquo;s going the right way. Surgery would have been the absolute last decision and right now the rehab is working.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0042-03

Double Jeopardy

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-04348/9796535-1-eng-US/f0042-042.jpg" title="f0042-04" width="242" height="413"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>MIKE MODANO</b> <span class="photo-credit">(KESLER+MODANO: JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>ALL-TIME PPG FOR NHLERS BORN IN MICHIGAN</p><p><b>Mike Modano</b></p><p>Livonia</p><p><i>0.92</i></p><p><b>Jimmy Carson</b></p><p>Southfield</p><p><i>0.90</i></p><p><b>Doug Weight</b></p><p>Warren</p><p><i>0.83</i></p><p><b>Mark Howe</b></p><p>Detroit</p><p><i>0.80</i></p><p><b>Brian Rafalski</b></p><p>Dearborn</p><p><i>0.62</i></p><p><b>Brian Rolston</b></p><p>Flint</p><p><i>0.61</i></p><p><b>Ryan Kesler</b></p><p>Livonia</p><p><i>0.60</i></p><p><b>David Legwand</b></p><p>Detroit</p><p><i>0.59</i></p><p><b>Kevin Hatcher</b></p><p>Detroit</p><p><i>0.59</i></p><p><b>Al Iafrate</b></p><p>Dearborn</p><p><i>0.58</i></p><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b>5 Seasons of 80-plus games played by Ryan Kesler in his eight-year career.</b></blockquote><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0042-04

STATE Greats

<div class="byline">&#x2013; TIM SASSONE</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0043-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-01832/9796650-1-eng-US/f0043-012.jpg"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-02579/9796643-1-eng-US/f0043-022.jpg" title="f0043-02" 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/f0043-03482/9796636-1-eng-US/f0043-032.jpg" title="f0043-03" width="657" height="782"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>DANIEL CARCILLO</b> <span class="photo-credit">(CARCILLO: DALE MACMILLAN/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>N</b>obody wanted the lockout to end more than Blackhawks left winger Daniel Carcillo.</p><p>He&rsquo;d been sidelined since Jan. 2, 2012, when he tore the ACL in his left knee after an illegal hit on Edmonton Oilers defenseman Tom Gilbert, which earned him a seven-game suspension. He&rsquo;s participated in several informal practices, as well as a recent charity game, and he&rsquo;s reported no problems. But he&rsquo;s been getting antsy to push it further. &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t usually get the luxury of having this much time to recover and really get strong,&rdquo; Carcillo said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s been a blessing in disguise, but it puts me out in a weird place because I can&rsquo;t really test it fully like I would be able to in training camp.&rdquo;</p><p>With 1,068 penalty minutes in 310 career games, Carcillo, 27, played the role of enforcer during three seasons with the Coyotes and another three with the Flyers. He signed as a free agent with Chicago in 2011, where he hoped to get a chance to grow other parts of his game. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve had something to prove my whole career, to be honest,&rdquo; Carcillo said.</p><p>During his time with the Hawks, Carcillo had 82 penalty minutes in 28 games. He also had opportunities to display his offensive skills (two goals, 11 points), when coach Joel Quenneville put him on the top line with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. Carcillo wants to be known for more than just protecting teammates: &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve seen over the years that kind of role is really diminished.You need to be able to play the game now.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>FOR THE RECORD</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-04368/9796629-1-eng-US/f0043-042.jpg" title="f0043-04" width="937" height="792"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-05321/9796622-1-eng-US/f0043-052.jpg" title="f0043-05" width="327" height="551"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(HOSSA: ANDRE RINGUETTE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Only in lockout times is getting medical clearance to play bittersweet. Doctors gave sniper <b>Marian Hossa</b> a clean bill of health in December after he spent months recovering from a concussion sustained on a hit by Phoenix&rsquo;s Raffi Torres in the 2012 playoffs. The catch: only injured players get paid during a lockout. Hossa&rsquo;s comeback literally came at a price.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-06265/9796615-1-eng-US/f0043-062.jpg" title="f0043-06" width="753" height="602"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-07225/9796608-1-eng-US/f0043-072.jpg" title="f0043-07" width="327" height="551"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(BOBROVSKY: GRAIG ABEL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Columbus lost crucial evaluation time for goalies <b>Sergei Bobrovsky,</b> Steve Mason and Allen York, all RFAs at the end of 2012-13. It&rsquo;s hard to imagine the Jackets not keeping Bobrovsky after trading for him, but seeing him respond to a full-season starter&rsquo;s workload would&rsquo;ve helped them decide on an appropriate salary and term for his next deal.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-08175/9796601-1-eng-US/f0043-082.jpg" title="f0043-08" width="753" height="601"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-09134/9796594-1-eng-US/f0043-092.jpg" title="f0043-09" width="327" height="551"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(EMMERTON: ABELIMAGES/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>A broken finger suffered in the Finnish League continues to muck up <b>Cory Emmerton&rsquo;s</b> season. As Christmas approached, he still hadn&rsquo;t played since breaking it blocking a shot in his first game with SaiPa in October. The plate he had surgically inserted was restricting tendon mobility, meaning it may take months to feel normal again when gripping his stick.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-10119/9796587-1-eng-US/f0043-102.jpg" title="f0043-10" width="753" height="601"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-11103/9796580-1-eng-US/f0043-112.jpg" title="f0043-11" width="327" height="551"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(WEBER: JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Shea Weber</b> got sued in December, but not because he was getting into trouble. Since he&rsquo;s on the NHLPA&rsquo;s negotiating committee, he was named a defendant in the NHL&rsquo;s pre-emptive lawsuit against the PA&rsquo;s movement to dissolve the union via disclaimer of interest. Weber hadn&rsquo;t even attended a collective bargaining session during the lockout.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-1291/9796573-1-eng-US/f0043-122.jpg" title="f0043-12" width="753" height="601"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-1377/9796566-1-eng-US/f0043-132.jpg" title="f0043-13" width="327" height="551"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(TARASENKO: RICK STEWART/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>The Blues need a bona fide first-line sniper and are banking on 2010 first-rounder <b>Vladimir Tarasenko</b> to grow into that role. Thanks to the lockout, it may happen sooner rather than later. The labor stoppage kept Tarasenko in the KHL, where he flourished on a line with Ilya Kovalchuk. He&rsquo;ll be brimming with confidence when he slips on a St. Louis uniform.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0043-01

Waiting Game

<div class="byline">&#x2013; MICHAEL RUSSO</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0044-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-01732/9796765-1-eng-US/f0044-012.jpg"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-02471/9796758-1-eng-US/f0044-022.jpg" title="f0044-02" 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/f0044-03357/9796751-1-eng-US/f0044-032.jpg" title="f0044-03" width="658" height="832"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>PIERRE-MARC BOUCHARD</b></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>A</span></b>s the calendar turned to 2013, Pierre-Marc Bouchard had to field the same questions he was asked in 2009 and 2010. &ldquo;How are you feeling? What are the symptoms like? Are you worried?&rdquo;</p><p>Last season, the Wild center thought the concussion problems that caused him to miss 81 games in 2009-10 and the first two months in 2010-11 were behind him. That was until he took an innocuous hit late in a game at Vancouver Jan. 4, 2012.</p><p>Bouchard, 28, didn&rsquo;t play again, but he is starting to feel himself again and is hoping to make a comeback with the Wild. He&rsquo;s been skating daily with team personnel and has practised with the American League&rsquo;s Houston Aeros. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know how these symptoms compare to my past symptoms, but for some reason they hang around and hang around,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The last few weeks I&rsquo;ve been pretty much symptom-free, so I&rsquo;m pretty excited about that.&rdquo;</p><p>Bouchard is in the last year of a five-year deal, so he knows his days are likely numbered in Minnesota. He has played the second-most games in Wild history (522), scored the fourth-most goals (98) and third-most points (327). &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to change my game,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d rather not play than change my game. It&rsquo;s not like I&rsquo;m a guy who throws 300 hits every year, anyway. I&rsquo;m going to play the same kind of hockey I did: control the puck, try to make plays, get into scoring opportunities.</p><p>&ldquo;I just want to be the same player I was before.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>FOR THE RECORD</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-04284/9796744-1-eng-US/f0044-042.jpg" title="f0044-04" width="937" height="792"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-05236/9796737-1-eng-US/f0044-052.jpg" title="f0044-05" width="327" height="551"></div><p>The lockout helped newcomer <b>Jiri Hudler</b> recover from a nagging abdominal injury that was bothering him early in the season with Prague Lev in the KHL. The 29-year-old was able to play with the muscle injury, but rest was the best way to resolve it. He had just one assist in four KHL games before leaving. Hudler was signed to play a top-six forward role.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-06208/9796730-1-eng-US/f0044-062.jpg" title="f0044-06" width="753" height="602"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-07178/9796723-1-eng-US/f0044-072.jpg" title="f0044-07" width="327" height="551"></div><p><b>Ryan O&rsquo;Reilly</b> was with family at Christmas, but it was with older brother Cal after joining the KHL&rsquo;s Magnitogorsk in Russia&rsquo;s Ural mountains. The deal with Metallurg is for two years, but O&rsquo;Reilly is also as restricted free agent with the Avalanche. His contract situation will be front and center when a CBA is settled and a new economic landscape is upon the game.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-08134/9796716-1-eng-US/f0044-082.jpg" title="f0044-08" width="753" height="601"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-0999/9796709-1-eng-US/f0044-092.jpg" title="f0044-09" width="327" height="551"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(BOUCHARD+HUDLER+O&rsquo;REILLY+PAAJARVI: JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>When the Oilers drafted <b>Magnus Paajarvi</b> in 2009, the hope was he&rsquo;d develop into a top-line scoring winger. But now that Edmonton is brimming with young front-line forwards and Paajarvi&rsquo;s development is stalled, the goal of his stint in Oklahoma City was to shape him into a two-way grinding support winger who can be sneaky good on offense.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-1087/9796702-1-eng-US/f0044-102.jpg" title="f0044-10" width="753" height="601"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-1174/9796695-1-eng-US/f0044-112.jpg" title="f0044-11" width="327" height="551"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(SETOGUCHI: GRAIG ABEL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>The pessimist says <b>Devin Setoguchi</b> will see another drop in production because the new additions will bump him off the power play. The optimist believes the opportunity to play with more offense-minded forwards such as Zach Parise and Mikael Granlund will help the 26-year-old former 30-goal-scorer regain the touch he showed in San Jose.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-1266/9796688-1-eng-US/f0044-122.jpg" title="f0044-12" width="753" height="601"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-1358/9796681-1-eng-US/f0044-132.jpg" title="f0044-13" width="327" height="551"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(GARRISON: FRANCOIS LACASSE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Despite chronic groin problems, <b>Jason Garrison</b> had a career year last season in Florida. The Canucks, who signed him to a six-year, $27.6-million contract, aren&rsquo;t taking any chances and have him working with Vancouver physiotherapist Rick Celebrini. The plan is to get Garrison hooked on a regimen of preventive maintenance exercises and stretching.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0044-01

Getting Back His Game

<div class="byline">&#x2013; MIKE HEIKA</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0045-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-01643/9796880-1-eng-US/f0045-012.jpg"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-02428/9796873-1-eng-US/f0045-022.jpg" title="f0045-02" 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/f0045-03363/9796866-1-eng-US/f0045-032.jpg" title="f0045-03" width="657" height="793"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>DEREK ROY</b></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span></b>he thinking in some circles is Dallas is taking a risk on Derek Roy. But are they really? Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk prefers to look at it as a sound investment.</p><p>He sent one his most popular players in agitating pivot Steve Ott, along with defenseman Adam Pardy, to Buffalo for Roy in early June.</p><p>Ott is a gritty leader coming off of one of his better seasons. Roy is a small, skilled player who has struggled the past two seasons. Ott has another year left on his contract after this season at $3.2 million. Roy will be a UFA when his $5.5-million salary come off the books after 2012-13. Ott&rsquo;s departure was mourned in Dallas. Roy&rsquo;s in Buffalo, not so much.</p><p>Then the Stars found looseness in Roy&rsquo;s shoulder after the initial physical and decided to have him get shoulder surgery, which allowed Roy, 29, to stay on the payroll during the lockout. &ldquo;We are interested in making him a long-term part of this team and that was our mindset from the moment we made the trade,&rdquo; Nieuwendyk said. &ldquo;We knew the contract situation and we knew that we wanted the best Derek Roy we could get, so we felt it was a good decision.&rdquo;</p><p>Roy is healthy now, though he wasn&rsquo;t medically cleared by mid-December, and he was pleased with his treatment by the Stars. &ldquo;Everything that has happened here as been first-class and I can&rsquo;t say enough about the team and the city,&rdquo; Roy said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m excited about getting out there and playing and I can see myself staying here a long time.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>FOR THE RECORD</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-04313/9796859-1-eng-US/f0045-042.jpg" title="f0045-04" width="937" height="793"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-05270/9796852-1-eng-US/f0045-052.jpg" title="f0045-05" width="327" height="551"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(ROY+SELANNE: JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>The constants in life now include <b>Teemu Selanne</b> on one-year contracts alongside the traditional death and taxes. And while the &lsquo;Finnish Flash&rsquo; has speculated about retirement for years now, he finally has a career to fall back on: Teemu Tavern and Grill is a fancy steakhouse in the making, which Selanne will own in Laguna Beach, Calif.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-06235/9796845-1-eng-US/f0045-062.jpg" title="f0045-06" width="753" height="602"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-07205/9796838-1-eng-US/f0045-072.jpg" title="f0045-07" width="327" height="551"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(JAGR: GRAIG ABEL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Jaromir Jagr&rsquo;s</b> stay in Dallas could be a short one. The future Hall-of-Famer signed a one-year pact with the Stars this summer, but has talked about ending his career in the Czech Republic. That&rsquo;s where he spent the start of this season with Kladno, the franchise he owns. Jagr, who turns 41 in February, tallied 21 goals and 47 points in his first 28 games.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-08134/9796831-1-eng-US/f0045-082.jpg" title="f0045-08" width="753" height="601"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-0997/9796824-1-eng-US/f0045-092.jpg" title="f0045-09" width="327" height="551"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(KOPITAR: RICH LAM/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Sweden&rsquo;s Mora IK is basically in the same place (mid-table in the standings) it was last year, despite adding a lot more flash thanks to <b>Anze Kopitar</b>. The big Slovenian was leading the second-tier Swedish club in scoring. He choose Mora as his lockout destination because his younger brother Gasper is on the roster. Later, Anaheim&rsquo;s Bobby Ryan joined, too.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-1080/9796817-1-eng-US/f0045-102.jpg" title="f0045-10" width="753" height="601"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-1166/9796810-1-eng-US/f0045-112.jpg" title="f0045-11" width="327" height="549"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(SMITH: BRAD WATSON/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Mike Smith</b> is a free agent this summer and Phoenix will have to make a leap of faith when it comes to his value. Smith is coming off a career season, when he tied for third in shutouts (eight) and save percentage (.930). The lockout killed his ability to prove he&rsquo;s not a one-year wonder. Regardless, he&rsquo;ll want more than his current $2-million stipend.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-1256/9796803-1-eng-US/f0045-122.jpg" title="f0045-12" width="753" height="601"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-1348/9796796-1-eng-US/f0045-132.jpg" title="f0045-13" width="327" height="547"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(CLOWE: BRAD WATSON/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Ryane Clowe</b> had more than one reason to get back into a teal jersey. He had a down 2011-12, with his fewest points since an injury-depleted 2007-08. His contract is up after this year and though skating and jumping behind the bench with San Jose&rsquo;s ECHL affiliate in San Francisco will earn him brownie points, it won&rsquo;t bring him more dough.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0045-01

Rolling The Dice On Roy

<div class="byline">BY MATT LARKIN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0046-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-01647/9796925-1-eng-US/f0046-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>DADDY&rsquo;S DNA</b></p><p><b>At 5-foot-10 and 194 pounds, Max Domi has a brick-house build similar to father Tie&rsquo;s.</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(CLAUS ANDERSEN)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-1060/9796932-1-eng-US/f0046-102.jpg" title="f0046-10" width="110" height="125"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-02423/9796918-1-eng-US/f0046-022.jpg" title="f0046-02" width="131" height="119"></div><p><b>Video</b>&nbsp;Scan to watch our feature on Max Domi</p><p><b>M</b>ention the 2013 NHL draft to Max Domi or any of his London Knights teammates and coaches and you&rsquo;ll be met with steely silence.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-03290/9796911-1-eng-US/f0046-032.jpg" title="f0046-03" width="121" height="138"></div><p>But it&rsquo;s hard not to think about June when watching the son of retired enforcer Tie Domi on the ice. He&rsquo;s speedy, has good puck skills and is an emerging leader on the Ontario League&rsquo;s top team. International Scouting Services ranked the 17-year-old center 36th in December.</p><p>But he wants nothing to do with any podium talk. All that matters right now is the Memorial Cup, which slipped through his fingers last spring when the Knights lost a heartbreaker in overtime in the final against Shawinigan.</p><p>London stumbled to start 2012-13, still feeling effects from the defeat, but rallied and carried an epic 20-plus-game winning streak toward the New Year. &ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t start like we wanted to, but in my opinion we needed some adversity,&rdquo; Domi said. &ldquo;There were a lot of questions at the start of the year, losing some older guys and Michael Houser, who won the (Canadian Hockey League) goalie of the year. But if you look at our team, everyone seems to be stepping up in the roles we lost. We have two unbelievable goalies, four lines that can play and score goals and a full set of &lsquo;D&rsquo; that can hold the fort back there, so we&rsquo;re enjoying ourselves.&rdquo;</p><p>A big reason why London was the OHL&rsquo;s highest scoring team into December: Domi&rsquo;s chemistry with linemate Seth Griffith, a Boston Bruins 2012 fifth-rounder (131st overall) who sat third in OHL scoring. &ldquo;We complement each other nicely,&rdquo; Griffith said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a playmaker and a goal-scorer at the same time, but even so, he&rsquo;s one of the hardest-working guys out there night in and night out. We find each other in the open spaces and create a lot of room.&rdquo;</p><p>Domi is listed at 5-foot-10 and 194 pounds. The height is generous, but the weight is honest. He&rsquo;s a fire hydrant, just like his father. Yet the similarities end there. As deadly as dad was with his fists, Max, while not afraid to get his nose dirty, intimidates with finesse. &ldquo;He has great agility east to west, he can make a lot of plays within full stride and his vision is high-end,&rdquo; said Knights assistant GM Rob Simpson. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s able to see the pass, but also has skill enough to put it where it needs to be and quickly.&rdquo;</p><p>He has learned some things from dad, however. &ldquo;He played 17 years in the NHL and he was doing something right,&rdquo; Domi said. &ldquo;He was probably the hardest-working guy out there and he&rsquo;s got a lot of heart, so I try to take those bits and pieces of his game.&rdquo;</p><p>One hole in the younger Domi&rsquo;s game, it&rsquo;s knowing when to use that heart. Simpson says Max some-times tries to do too much, though coach Dale Hunter has worked tirelessly in the video room training him to know when to make high-risk plays. &ldquo;Sometimes, even though he is a high-skill guy, it&rsquo;s making the right decision and not trying to force it,&rdquo; Simpson said. &ldquo;You have to be able to make the easy play and chip it in instead of trying to feather it through three or four sticks. That kind of stuff just comes with age and learning the game.&rdquo;</p><p>It&rsquo;s easy to forget Domi is in just his second junior season. He&rsquo;s still a kid who loves eating out and playing video games with his teammates. Yet by focusing on what&rsquo;s right in front of him, staying humble and avoiding draft talk, he conveys the wisdom of an older player. &ldquo;As far as how he deals with his teammates and media and all the requests he gets from fans and such, he&rsquo;s a real constant professional at all times,&rdquo; Simpson said. &ldquo;Really well spoken and mature for his age. He has a lot of hype around him right now and he handles it pretty well.&rdquo;</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b>1.32 Max Domi&rsquo;s 2012-13 points per game through mid-December with the Knights</b></blockquote><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0046-01

Knight Of A Royal Family

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0047-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-01581/9796970-1-eng-US/f0047-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>EARLY EXPOSURE</b></p><p><b>Jonathan Drouin is one of two 17-year-olds who made Team Canada for the world juniors.</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(DROUIN: HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-1057/9796977-1-eng-US/f0047-102.jpg" title="f0047-10" width="110" height="125"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>C</span></b>hew on this for a second: last year in mid-December, Jonathan Drouin was playing his first games of major junior hockey. One calendar later, he makes the cut for Team Canada&rsquo;s entry at the world juniors. Pretty remarkable, but when you&rsquo;re averaging two points a game in the Quebec League, it&rsquo;s tough to be overlooked.</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-02377/9796963-1-eng-US/f0047-022.jpg" title="f0047-02" width="149" height="127"></div><p>Getting back to last season, it wasn&rsquo;t as if Drouin didn&rsquo;t have the talent to make the Halifax Mooseheads to start the campaign. The young left winger simply thought he needed a little more time in midget before taking the leap into the &lsquo;Q&rsquo;. &ldquo;I put on more weight during the first half in midget,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Then I felt I was ready for major junior.&rdquo;</p><p>The theory paid off. Drouin was bigger once he joined the Herd mid-season, and his skating was also improved. Anything to do with the puck was already taken care of. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s got incredible vision, great hands and his hockey sense is way above average,&rdquo; said Halifax coach Dominique Ducharme. &ldquo;We like the way he works and competes.</p><p>Now the kid from Dollard des Ormeaux, Que., is one of the top offensive threats in the nation. Playing alongside potential No. 1 overall pick Nathan MacKinnon, Drouin has worked his way to No. 4 on International Scouting Services&rsquo; rankings. Though he scored seven points in his first two QMJHL games, Drouin really took off during the 2012 post-season, when he ran wild for nine goals and 26 points in 17 games and helped Halifax to the third round, upsetting the Quebec Remparts along the way. MacKinnon had 13 goals and 28 points during the same run. &ldquo;In the playoffs, the chemistry between them really developed,&rdquo; Ducharme said. &ldquo;They built something and they feed off each other.&rdquo;</p><p>Watching Drouin and MacKinnon makes you fearful for the opposition. Drouin fires hard, crisp passes and receives each puck fearlessly. He has a great shot and gets it off quickly. &ldquo;His vision is unbelievable,&rdquo; MacKinnon said. &ldquo;He can do a lot of things with the puck that others can&rsquo;t.&rdquo;</p><p>As good as Drouin has been, it was a pleasant surprise to see him and MacKinnon on Canada&rsquo;s final roster. The squadron&rsquo;s braintrust emphasizes its belief that the WJC is a tournament for 19-year-olds, but Drouin is 17 until March, while MacKinnon just turned 17 in September. Perhaps it&rsquo;s a matter of knowing that these kids, who are on a fast track to the NHL, may not have another chance to help Canada earn gold at the tourney. Or perhaps Canada simply watched the two play together and saw lethality in the offensive zone.</p><p>Defensively, Drouin would still like to improve. At 5-foot-11, 176 pounds, he&rsquo;s not a beast out there, but scouts are beginning to use Claude Giroux (5-foot-11, 172 pounds) as an example of a prospect who proved doubters wrong after he was taken 22nd overall in 2006, behind bigger forwards Chris Stewart, Kyle Okposo and Peter Mueller.</p><p>With the Mooseheads, expectations are high for an extended playoff run. For a kid who started last year in midget, imagine what hoisting the Memorial Cup would mean to him, and show the hockey world.</p><p><b>For more on the future, check out: <a href="http://thn.com/prospects">thn.com/prospects</a></b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p></div>

f0047-01

Moose On The Loose

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-03301/9797008-1-eng-US/f0047-032.jpg" title="f0047-03" width="479" height="476"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>ADAM ERNE</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>1. NATHAN MACKINNON, C</b></h2><p>Halifax Mooseheads</p><p><i>Explosive skater and offensive threat has inside track on No. 1 overall.</i></p><h2><b>2. JONATHAN DROUIN, LW</b></h2><p>Halifax Mooseheads</p><p><i>Combination of vision and stickwork have shot him up the charts.</i></p><h2><b>3. ADAM ERNE, RW</b></h2><p>Quebec Remparts</p><p><i>Stocky power forward in the making ringing up points for Remparts.</i></p><h2><b>4. ANTHONY MANTHA, RW</b></h2><p>Val-D&rsquo;Or Foreurs</p><p><i>Big-bodied winger brings tons of skill; has lit up the league in first half.</i></p><h2><b>5. FREDERIK GAUTHIER, C</b></h2><p>Rimouski Oceanic</p><p><i>Enviable size and a nose for defense, but Gauthier can also light the lamp.</i></p><h2><b>6. SAMUEL MORIN, D</b></h2><p>Rimouski Oceanic</p><p><i>Towering blueliner has shutdown ability and can really throw a punch.</i></p><h2><b>7. ZACH FUCALE, G</b></h2><p>Halifax Mooseheads</p><p><i>Technically efficient goalie also mature.</i></p><h2><b>8. NICK SORENSEN, RW</b></h2><p>Quebec Remparts</p><p><i>Skilled Swede rebounded nicely from knee injury.</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0047-03

‘Q’ It Up

<h2><b>GUESS Who</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-01435/9797039-1-eng-US/f0049-012.jpg" title="f0049-01" width="523" height="688"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(GUESS WHO: BRAD WATSON/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote"><i>&ldquo;I spent two seasons with the now-defunct Kentucky Thorough-blades of the American League.&rdquo;</i></blockquote><blockquote class="pullQuote"><i>&ldquo;I led the Calgary Flames to within one win of the Stanley Cup in 2003-2004 after being acquired from San Jose.&rdquo;</i></blockquote><blockquote class="pullQuote"><i>&ldquo;I won the Vezina and Jennings Trophies the first season after the 2004-05 lockout.&rdquo;</i></blockquote><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0049-01

LAST MINUTE OF PLAY

<div class="byline">By Larry Humber</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0049-04" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-04240/9797108-1-eng-US/f0049-042.jpg"></div><p><b>Answers available in the next issue and at</b> <a href="http://THN.com/XWORD">THN.com/<b>xword</b></a></p><h2><b>ACROSS</b></h2><p>1 Don Cherry coached this defunct team</p><p>4 Defeats narrowly</p><p>7 Hockey card maker O-Pee-___</p><p>8 Former Leaf Rich ___ (or The Hockey News&rsquo; senior editor)</p><p>10 He may bring hockey gear on December 25</p><p>12 Nashville is &lsquo;___ City&rsquo;</p><p>13 IIHF, ___national Ice Hockey Federation</p><p>14 Norris Trophy hopefuls</p><p>18 Scotiabank Place is their home</p><p>19 They play at the MTS Centre</p><p>20 More recent</p><p>21 Windsor&rsquo;s university team goes by this nickname</p><h2><b>DOWN</b></h2><p>1 Former Flyers MacLeish and Tocchet, pictured</p><p>2 Least dirty</p><p>3 Mar or ruin</p><p>4 Fieriness</p><p>5 Medal most prized by Olympians</p><p>6 Stan Mikita centered the &lsquo;___ Line&rsquo;</p><p>9 Home of the AHL&rsquo;s Monarchs</p><p>11 The Flames used to play at the ___ Corral</p><p>12 The &lsquo;M&rsquo; in MSG</p><p>15 Sign up</p><p>16 Broken ___ are a hazard in hockey</p><p>17 Garth ___ is an NHL GM</p><p><b>LAST WEEK&rsquo;S CROSSWORD SOLUTION ACROSS</b> 1. GLASSES, 4. SMITH, 7. ROMP, 8. HEADGEAR, 10. HARRY NEALE, 12. COLIN, 13. NEELY, 14. SUSPENSION, 18. AMATEURS, 19. SEMI, 20. OREST, 21. ST. LOUIS <b>DOWN</b> 1. GARTH, 2. ADMIRALS, 3. STEVE, 4. SIDELINING, 5. ICES, 6. HERSHEY, 9. RYAN NUGENT, 11. BELIVEAU, 12. CHICAGO, 15. PARKS, 16. NAILS,17. DAVE<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0049-04

CROSSWORD

<div class="byline">&#x2013; RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-0780/9797177-1-eng-US/f0049-072.jpg" title="f0049-07" width="676" height="689"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he Central League&rsquo;s new Denver franchise was getting a bit more coverage than usual since there was no competition from the NHL&rsquo;s Avalanche early on, but the Fish wouldn&rsquo;t have faded into the background, anyway, with their special Hometown Heroes sweaters, featuring an American flag background.</p><p>While such a sweater could easily get garish, the Cutthroats incorporated a key switch that made it both original and more palatable: a smoky grey replaced the white in the red, white and blue, blending things nicely.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0049-07

JerseyHound

<div class="byline">BY KEN CAMPBELL</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-01421/9797215-1-eng-US/f0050-012.jpg" title="f0050-01" width="282" height="499"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>I</span>n 1980, Peter Stastny</b> and his two brothers were spirited out of Austria cloak-and-dagger style in the middle of the night and brought to a place where they didn&rsquo;t speak a word of either official languages. Through his first season, he was abused so badly on the ice that he often had to drive home with his right hand because his left arm was covered in bruises. Even though he hated Communism with all his being, he had to endure taunts that he was a Commie and a job stealer. Somehow, he managed to overcome all those obstacles to be one of the best players of his generation and a Hall of Famer.</p><p>We present the previous anecdote as a backdrop to the Great Lockout of 2012, a time when NHL players have taken their sense of entitlement to a new low. Locked out by their owners for the second time in eight years, players &ndash; about 200 of them by Christmas &ndash; had beaten a path to other leagues in Europe and North America. That is all well and good, assuming you can live with yourself knowing that you&rsquo;re displacing some poor schlep who&rsquo;s trying to feed his own family by playing hockey.</p><p>But if you&rsquo;re going to take someone&rsquo;s job just to keep your skills until the millionaires and billionaires sort out their problems, here&rsquo;s a few words of advice: just play hockey and please keep your actual and electronic mouths shut. And perhaps it would be nice if you displayed the same commitment to your team as it has shown to you.</p><p>Evander Kane of the Winnipeg Jets was one of the first to head overseas when he signed with Dinamo Minsk of the Kontinental League. The team parted ways with the 21-year-old in mid-November, saying he was out of shape and out of touch with the KHL. A month later, Kane showed how hard-up he was in the lockout, flashing stacks of green on Twitter from a trip to Las Vegas.</p><p>Joffrey Lupul of the Toronto Maple Leafs finished a tour of duty with last-place Avtomobilist in the KHL and complained the food was awful. How unpredictable. He should have talked to Dominik Hasek, who had to have the term &ldquo;blueline&rdquo; explained to him when he first arrived in North America. Or Slava Fetisov, who brought his whole family to North America and whose wife learned English by watching soap operas during the day.</p><p>For once, players from North America are getting a little taste of the obstacles Europeans face all the time. Their bleats remind me a little of a recent Saturday Night Live sketch in which iPhone 5 users complain about glitches with the product to the Chinese factory workers who make the phone. &ldquo;I guess we are lucky,&rdquo; they say. &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t need maps. We sleep at work.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-02312/9797208-1-eng-US/f0050-022.jpg" title="f0050-02" width="725" height="812"><figcaption class="caption-body">DEVIN SETOGUCHI <span class="photo-credit">(BRUCE KLUCKHOHN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b>&ldquo; You can stay home and not take someone&rsquo;s else&rsquo;s job</b></blockquote><p>When you&rsquo;re a strange man in a strange land, you should expect things such as food and culture are going to be a little foreign to you. If you&rsquo;re not prepared for that, you can stay home and not take someone else&rsquo;s job.</p><p>But what makes these kinds of complaints even more bother-some is that at a time when the players should be wary of their public image, they&rsquo;re coming across more pampered and spoiled than ever. Can&rsquo;t speak the language? Then make an effort to learn a bit of it. That&rsquo;s what Zdeno Chara did in 2005 when he played in Sweden. Instead of complaining about having nothing to do, he had a tutor come over every night and teach him the basics of Swedish. He&rsquo;s not going to win any debates in that language, but at least he can get by and he gained a valuable life experience out of the whole thing. Go to a museum, read a book, do some charity work. You might find that when you expand your horizons, you have less to complain about than you thought.</p><p>What rankles just as much are these players who are treating these teams like they&rsquo;re a workout cycle.</p><p>Devin Setoguchi left the ECHL&rsquo;s Ontario Reign just before Christmas, telling the team he would decide whether or not to come back if the lockout was extended past the New Year. Nice, eh? What is this, a beer league team? &ldquo;Hey guys. Can&rsquo;t make it tonight because I have a wedding rehearsal.&rdquo; That&rsquo;s how Devin Setoguchi is treating the ECHL.</p><p>It would be interesting to see how these guys would react if the NHL decided to employ replacement players. In my mind, what they&rsquo;re doing is no different than guys who serve as scabs during a labor dispute. But we should be accustomed to this kind of thinking. After all, this is a union that threatens to disband for the sole purpose of gaining a bargaining advantage.</p><p>But we understand. After all, these players have to feed their families&hellip;with good North American food. Not that crappy European stuff.</p><p>CAN&rsquo;T GET ENOUGH CAMPBELL?</p><p>CLICK ON <b><a href="http://THN.com">THN.COM</a></b> FOR KEN&rsquo;S EXCLUSIVE BLOG<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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January 21, 2013

SEPARATED AT Birth

What’s It Called Again?

RICH & FAMOUS

Blast from the Past