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.

May 26, 2014

The Hockey News - May-26-2014

<div class="byline">BY JASON KAY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0026-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-011528/9989727-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b><i>PRICEY BUDS</i></b></p><p>The Leafs make and spend a ton of dough, but they still can't build a contender.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(STEVE RUSSELL/TORONTO STAR 2014)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span><b>HERE&rsquo;S BEEN A LOT OF</b> hand-wringing and navel gazing about why no Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup since the week after Panthers sophomore Jona than Huberdeau was born.</p><p>Theories include poor management, less hunger due to profitable businesses, inability to attract top free agents (taxes, climate, fishbowl pressure - take your pick), the curse of Marty Mc Sorley&rsquo;s illegal stick.</p><p>Another factor in the mix is basic math. Smaller share of the clubs equals fewer cracks at Lord Stanley. For much of the era, American teams have dwarfed Canucks between 3 and 4 to 1.</p><p>Still, no matter how you dissect it, one of the franchises from the land of Tim Hortons should have rolled up the rim to win by now.</p><p>Nate Silver of the FiveThirtyEight blog did a thorough and thought-provoking study on Canada&rsquo;s drought around this time last year for the <i>New York Times</i>, leaning heavily on metrics, probabilities and analytics to paint the picture.</p><p>In the piece, he explains that if you chose a random champion in each of the 20-plus years the study covered, the chances Canada would not have produced at least one winner were 0.8 percent. Taking into account relative strengths of during that span - that is, how the Canadian franchises stacked up against their American counterparts on paper - that probability nudges upwards to 2.5 percent. Or looked at from the other end of the wedge, there&rsquo;s a 97.5 percent probability a Canadian team would have won the Cup since the Habs did in 1993.</p><p>Silver also concludes that, like a couple of authors from the Conference Board of Canada announced recently, the Great White North could support more NHL franchises.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-021102/9989720-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="998" height="640"><figcaption class="caption-body">OTTAWA <b>SENATORS</b> <span class="photo-credit">(ANDRE RINGUETTE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Their approaches and projected number of markets differs, however. Here&rsquo;s what each says in a nutshell: Mario Lefebvre and Glen Hodgson, the authors of the Conference Board book <i>Power Play: The Business of Economics in Pro Sports</i>, believe Quebec City and Hamilton have the necessary climates to support NHL teams at some point in the next couple of decades. They&rsquo;re not as bullish right now on a second team in Toronto (though that could change). They also aren&rsquo;t particularly keen on Saskatchewan or the Atlantic provinces.</p><p>Silver&rsquo;s view is more expansive. He runs numbers on the &ldquo;avidity&rdquo; of NHL fans in various markets by evaluating how many of them searched the term &ldquo;NHL&rdquo; in Google. Using this methodology, he concludes there are slightly more NHL fans overall in the United States than Canada (about 23 million vs. 18 million respectively), but far more per capita north of the 49th Parallel. For example, the Toronto area (which includes the Niagara region for his purposes) has in excess of five million hockey fans, more than twice that of any other current NHL market. As such, based primarily on the calculated number of serious fans per region, Canada could actually support several more franchises.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-011403/9989713-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="1003" height="921"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b><i>PIPE DREAMERS</i></b></p><p>Even with promising young talent, the Oilers can&rsquo;t get out of the NHL basement.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(DEREK LEUNG/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Of course, that doesn&rsquo;t take into account economic factors such as corporate engagement, household income and the fluctuation of the Canadian-American dollar exchange rate. Still, it&rsquo;s a good read and an interesting theory, under which Silver fancifully suggests second teams in Montreal and Toronto and also adds clubs in Hamilton and Quebec City.</p><p>So, if Canada were to see its numbers bump from seven to the Conference Board&rsquo;s nine or Silver&rsquo;s 11, the country&rsquo;s chances at icing a champion should jump significantly. Shouldn&rsquo;t they?</p><p>Back in the real world, you never know. Canada has beaten the odds resoundingly for more than two decades and the fans continue to lay down their dollars, more so than ever for their nation&rsquo;s sport.</p><p>And perhaps that&rsquo;s the X-factor. We&rsquo;re too forgiving. We love hockey too much.</p><p>The 2004-05 lockout was a fascinating case in point. Predictions of doom for the NHL following a cancelled season were shockingly wrong, especially in Canada. The indifference that was predicted instead surfaced as pent-up demand. Canadian fans came back to the game with a vengeance. The same was not true in the United States. Americans were far more skeptical and slower to return.</p><p>Similarly, Canadians fill NHL arenas, regardless of how well their team performs. They buy the merchandise and watch on TV and the internet. Rogers Communications wouldn&rsquo;t have paid $5.2 billion over 12 years if that weren&rsquo;t the case.</p><p>As a result, there&rsquo;s little economic pressure, comparatively, in the seven Canadian markets. It&rsquo;s not that the franchises don&rsquo;t want to win as badly as the 23 in the U.S. The players and executives share the exact same dream on both sides of the border. But if the profits roll in regardless of on-ice success, does it invite even a smidgen more complacency to set in? Does the culture become a little too comfy? Are some employees held a little less accountable?</p><p>It might not be quantifiable or even very discernible, but in an era when parity is pervasive and the line between winning and losing is razor-thin, it just might carry enough weight to tip the scales of probability.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0026-01

IN THIS ISSUE

SMOTHERING AFFECTION

<div class="byline">BY SAL BARRY, WEBMASTER OF THE HOCKEY CARD SITE PUCKJUNK.COM</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0008-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-021849/9988742-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(SYRACUSE CRUNCH)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>A</span>FTER WOWING BASEBALL</b> and football fans with their amazing detail and ability to strike a pose, OYO Sports Toys has finally released hockey figures. Standing at 1.75 inches tall, the figures have 10 points of articulation to make a wide range of poses. Each includes a display stand, stick, puck, helmet and removable visor. There are more than 150 figures from across all 30 teams.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0008-02

DEPARTMENTS

BE A POSER

<div class="byline">BY ADAM PROTEAU</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0030-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-011513/9989941-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b><i>FLAMES LIT HIS FIRE</i></b></p><p>John Tortorella lost it after the Flames dressed their goons to start a game.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>E</span><b>VERY NHL TEAM HAS ITS</b> best-and-worst-case scenarios laid out before each season begins, but there&rsquo;s no way the Vancouver Canucks could have envisioned nightmare that was to The franchise stumbled and bumbled on and off the ice and fell from third in the Western Conference in 2012-13 to 12th in 2013-14. And it&rsquo;s hard to say which mistake was worst.</p><p>If you go back to the summer of 2013, the trading of goalie Cory Schneider certainly qualifies as a contender. After years of grooming Schneider to be Vancouver&rsquo;s starting goalie for the next decade or more, then-GM Mike Gillis shocked the hockey world when he shipped the 28-year-old to New Jersey for draft. Schneider and veteran Roberto Luongo, who had nearly been dealt at the 2012-13 trade deadline, were dumbfounded by the move. But that was only the beginning of the madness.</p><p>In a home game against the Flames in mid-January, the Canucks - now led by coach John Tortorella, who&rsquo;d promised a kinder, gentler approach when the team hired him months earlier - found themselves embroiled in a huge controversy when an irate Tortorella attempted to charge into Calgary&rsquo;s dressing room to confront Flames counterpart Bob Hartley. Tortorella was angered by Hartley&rsquo;s decision to start the game with enforcers Brian McGrattan and Kevin Westgarth, but Tortorella&rsquo;s cartoonish tough-guy antics, all of which were captured on camera, were a black eye for the franchise and resulted in Tortorella receiving a 15-day suspension. Prior to their coach&rsquo;s outburst, the Canucks were 24-16-9 and in a playoff spot. The rest of the season, they went 12-19-2.</p><p>That wasn&rsquo;t the last egregious mistake Tortorella would make. When he benched Luongo for backup goalie Eddie Lack in the Canucks&rsquo; high-profile game March 2 at Vancouver&rsquo;s B.C. Place stadium, Tortorella alienated Luongo for what turned out to be the last time. The good-natured goalie had kept his composure for months during trade rumors. But in the same way Rangers center Brad Richards was incensed when Tortorella made him a healthy scratch for a Rangers playoff game last spring, Luongo was at the end of his rope with the organization. Two days later, in another unexpected move, Gillis dealt Luongo back to the Florida Panthers for center Shawn Matthias and goalie Jacob Markstrom.</p><p>Astonishingly, a team that had two stars in net at the conclusion of the &rsquo;12-13 campaign had gotten rid of both before the end of the following season. That was a massive indictment of Gillis&rsquo; mishandling of his goaltending situation and one of the reasons it came to light by this year&rsquo;s trade deadline that star center Ryan Kesler wanted out of Vancouver. The 29-year-old&rsquo;s no-trade clause gave him control of any potential destination in a deal, and nothing was consummated prior to the deadline. But most expect their leading goal-scorer in &rsquo;13-14 will be moved before the start of next season.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-021043/9989934-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="1223" height="862"><figcaption class="caption-body">ROBERTO <b>LUONGO</b> <span class="photo-credit">(GRAIG ABEL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>It won&rsquo;t be Gillis doing the moving, however. After engaging in a late-season, thinly veiled, &ldquo;It&rsquo;s-me-or-Tortorella&rdquo; conversation during a radio interview, Gillis was fired by team owner Francesco Aquilini April 8. With the Canucks&rsquo; fan base furious over their team&rsquo;s dreadful season, Aquilini moved quickly to hire beloved former Vancouver captain Trevor Linden as president of hockey operations and tasked him with finding Gillis&rsquo; replacement as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, the damage done to the Canucks can&rsquo;t be quickly reversed. More pain and changes are to come.</p><p>And the organization has no place to point the finger of blame other than at itself.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0030-01

BEGINNING OF THE END

<div class="byline">WITH STAN FISCHLER</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0046-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-02464/9990561-1-eng-US/f0046-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>DON&rsquo;T STOP BELIEVIN&rsquo;</b></p><p>Punch Imlach&rsquo;s faith in his Maple Leafs team seemed borderline comical, but he never wavered.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(BRUCE BENNETT STUDIOS/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-01693/9990568-1-eng-US/f0046-012.jpg" title="f0046-01" width="191" height="227"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span><b>HERE ARE REALISTIC LIMITS TO THE POWER OF POSITIVE</b>&nbsp;thinking. Trouble is, nobody bothered convincing George &lsquo;Punch&rsquo; Imlach of that during the home stretch of the 1958 59 campaign.</p><p>The rookie coach-GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs should have known better than to predict his team would make the playoffs. Not even the NHL schedule-makers believed him. &ldquo;Near the end of the season the official announcement from league head-quarters had Montreal, Boston, Chicago and New York making it,&rdquo; Imlach wrote in his autobiography, <i>Hockey Is A Battle</i>. &ldquo;There was no mention of Toronto against anybody.&rdquo;</p><p>Then again, a less optimistic Punch would have known the reason why. &ldquo;By March 9th,&rdquo; added Imlach, &ldquo;we were nine points out of fourth (the last playoff berth.) But I still said we&rsquo;d make it.&rdquo; That got a laugh out of Rangers coach Phil Watson, who had a long-running feud with Imlach. &ldquo;Imlach can crow all he wants,&rdquo; needled Watson, &ldquo;but it will be the same this year as last. The Rangers will make it, the Leafs won&rsquo;t.&rdquo;</p><p>Watson&rsquo;s confidence was rooted in his starry lineup that included future Hall of Famers Gump Worsley, Harry Howell, Bill Gadsby and Andy Bathgate. Maple Leafs patriarch Conn Smythe was so skeptical of Imlach&rsquo;s confidence, he wondered out loud, &ldquo;Did we get a coach or a madman?&rdquo;</p><p>What nobody could have forecast was the curious turn of events that damaged the Rangers&rsquo; playoff bid. Their downfall began inside the dressing room where players were in open rebellion against Watson, who worked them to exhaustion in practice. &ldquo;Down the stretch,&rdquo; Camille Henry said, &ldquo;Phil nearly killed us with a one-hour workout right after we played a game.&rdquo;</p><p>Still, on the weekend of March 14-15, 1959, the Rangers could have disposed of Toronto&rsquo;s playoff chances during their home and home clash. All New York needed was one win and all of Imlach&rsquo;s predictions would have the shelf life of smoke rings.</p><p>The Leafs trashed Watson&rsquo;s troops 5-0 on Saturday, but Watson figured that wasn&rsquo;t a problem. Even a tie Sunday would crush the visitors. Late in the third period of a 5-5 tie, Watson almost got his wish. Then, it happened. Before going off on a line change - and merely to kill time - Toronto&rsquo;s Bob Pulford sent an ordinary wrist shot towards Worsley that strangely eluded the Gump and gave the Leafs a 6-5 win, pulling them within three points of the Rangers with just three games left to play on the season.</p><p>The usually reliable Worsley was failing. With another chance to secure the playoffs, he lost to Boston, 5-3. &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t understand why our goalie has lost his touch,&rdquo; said GM Muzz Patrick, whose bleats turned into screams a night later when the Leafs played Montreal at The Forum, usually a guaranteed loss to the soon-to-be four-straight Cup champs. Alas, the unseen hand was on Imlach&rsquo;s side. Hall of Fame goalie Jacques Plante was injured and always-reliable backup Charlie Hodge was available, but, inexplicably, coach Toe Blake started inexperienced Claude Pronovost. His lack of experience showed. The final score was 6-3 for the Leafs, who climbed within one point of New York.</p><p>It all came down to a pair of weekend games for each team. The Rangers opened with an afternoon 5-2 win in Detroit. The Leafs replied with a home win over Chicago. This meant the race would be settled Sunday night. First, Montreal against the Rangers in New York, then, an hour later, Toronto at Detroit. Blake angered the Rangers by starting Hodge, who beat the Blueshirts, 4-2. Prior to the late-starting game at Detroit&rsquo;s Olympia, Leafs boss Stafford Smythe greeted Imlach. &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; comforted Smythe, &ldquo;at least you had a good try.&rdquo; With that, Imlach exploded: &ldquo;What the hell are you talking about? We&rsquo;ve come too far to lose now. Don&rsquo;t be stupid.&rdquo;</p><p>Smythe was smart enough to know only a Leafs victory would ensure a playoff berth. With the third period underway, the game was tied 4-4. But Dick Duff scored early in the third and Billy Harris scored to cement a 6-4 win. The chap Conn Smythe called a &ldquo;madman&rdquo; had done the impossible. &ldquo;They got a madman all right, but they didn&rsquo;t know it at the time,&rdquo; Imlach said. &ldquo;In the coaching business there&rsquo;s a thin line between a madman and a genius.&rdquo;</p><p>How astonishing was Imlach&rsquo;s feat? The normally reserved Toronto Star columnist Jim Proudfoot put it bluntly, &ldquo;It rates as one of the most spectacular sports comebacks of all-time.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0046-02

DIARIES OF A MADMAN

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-012226/9988348-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(ANDRE RINGUETTE/FREESTYLE PHOTOGRAPHY/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0003-01

RED, WHITE AND BLEU

<div class="byline">WITH JASON KAY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-012287/9988386-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="526" height="927"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(RYAN BROOK/TC MEDIA)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>I</span>N HOCKEY CLICHE</b>&nbsp;<b>PARLANCE,</b> we&rsquo;re endeavoring to keep our feet moving, have our head on a swivel and, of course, go to the Net. The publishing industry is changing rapidly and the staff at The Hockey News is giving 110 percent to meet the market&rsquo;s evolving needs.</p><p>If you&rsquo;ve visited <a href="http://THN.com">thn.com</a> recently, you&rsquo;re familiar with Post-to-Post, our blog that provides frequent and blanket coverage. Traffic has climbed steadily and we thank readers who have embraced it.</p><p>Simultaneously, we&rsquo;ve made the magazine available via a tablet app. This version of THN replicates what you get in print and is enhanced with bonus material. The kicker is faster, more reliable delivery.</p><p>But wait, there&rsquo;s more. We&rsquo;re working on content additions and changes, both in print and on digital platforms, that we expect will make us more valuable to the hardcore hockey fan.</p><p>Of course, we don&rsquo;t have all the answers. So we&rsquo;ve reached out, via survey and focus groups, to hear what you want to see. Here are some of the more common themes that emerged:</p><p>&bull; You like our themed/special issues, such as Draft Preview and commemorative editions, and would welcome more of them</p><p>&bull; You&rsquo;re interested in as much inside information as possible. You want to be taken behind the scenes and would like to see more pieces on player development, training and drills</p><p>&bull; You want to be entertained/tickled, while learning something new</p><p>&bull; Most of you are interested in the new &ldquo;fancy&rdquo; stats, such as Corsi, and would like to see them embedded in content more frequently</p><p>&bull; You want expert information on how to win pools and wagers</p><p>&bull; You are very interested in prospects, particularly those who belong to your favorite team</p><p>&bull; You want a mobile app that&rsquo;s modern, customizable, quickly delivers the news most relevant to you and has an impartial voice</p><p>&bull; You like our iPad version of the magazine, once you&rsquo;re aware of its existence, and its myriad features</p><p>I could go on, but I&rsquo;m getting too close to my signature. Before signing off, I invite you to contact us via email, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or carrier pigeon to tell us what you want to see in THN. We might have our feet moving, but we&rsquo;re ready with our sticks on the ice.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021938/9988379-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="456" height="245"></div><p><b>NEXT ISSUE</b> DRAFT PREVIEW 2014</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>

f0004-01

BRING ON THOSE IDEAS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0005-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-012153/9988483-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg"></div><p class="dropcap"><i><span>F</span>ollowing the death of 20-year-old Ontario League player Terry Trafford, I am concerned with how little attention we pay to mental health. Far too often when we talk about being healthy we only think about the physical side, but the mental also matters. It&rsquo;s sad that it has to take a player&rsquo;s suicide in order for us to realize the importance of mental health. Let&rsquo;s hope in the future all teams strive to help players in every way.</i></p><p><b><i>Adam Stiles, Saskatoon, Sask.</i></b></p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-021572/9988490-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg" title="f0005-02" width="122" height="121"></div><p>LOVE OR HATE ONE OF OUR FEATURES/STORIES?</p><p>LET US KNOW BY EMAILING US AT <a href="mailto:letters@thehockeynews.com">LETTERS@THEHOCKEYNEWS.COM</a></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/f0005-031026/9988476-1-eng-US/f0005-032.jpg" title="f0005-03" width="77" height="78"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p><b>@THEHOCKEYNEWS</b></p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-04629/9988469-1-eng-US/f0005-042.jpg" title="f0005-04" width="77" height="77"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p><b>/THEHOCKEYNEWS</b></p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-05401/9988462-1-eng-US/f0005-052.jpg" title="f0005-05" width="77" height="77"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p><b>/+THEHOCKEYNEWS</b></p><h2><b>NOT BLACK & WHITE</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-06257/9988455-1-eng-US/f0005-062.jpg" title="f0005-06" width="154" height="95"></div><p>In &ldquo;The Impetus To Be Impartial&rdquo; you cite a study that concluded that referees subconsciously try to make games balanced, leading to &ldquo;even-up calls&rdquo; (Playoff Preview). But what doesn&rsquo;t appear to be taken into account was other factors that could lead to a &ldquo;penalty pendulum.&rdquo; What about coaches warning their players to cut down on the number of penalties taken? What about the opposing team retaliating for infractions and getting caught? Officials are human and they get to know teams and players, so it makes sense that their emotions will enter the game at some point. But it&rsquo;s too simple to just put all of this on the hands of the refs.</p><p><b><i>Jen Gregory Highland, Ind.</i></b></p><h2><b>SAFE NOT SOUND</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-07143/9988448-1-eng-US/f0005-072.jpg" title="f0005-07" width="154" height="95"></div><p>The quote in your Future Watch edition from Maple Leafs director of amateur scouting Dave Morrison - &ldquo;You have to rate the risk-reward factor versus a guy you know is going to be an asset&hellip;he might not be as flashy but you know he&rsquo;ll be an asset&rdquo; - speaks volumes about why Toronto is an absolute mess. Was it this rationale that was behind the decision to trade up to select Tyler Biggs 22nd overall in 2011. The Leafs got a &ldquo;safe&rdquo; player, but Anaheim used the picks they got in return on Rickard Rackell (30th) and John Gibson (39th), who are ranked No. 28 and No. 2, respectively, on your top 50 prospects list. Biggs, of course, is nowhere to be found. As a Leaf fan I wonder how management expects to build a championship team with an organization full of third-liners. The fact that the Leafs are one of the worst teams in the NHL and have zero players in your top 50, despite enormous resources they could invest in scouting and development, is both embarrassing and sad.</p><p><b><i>Christopher Michael, Calgary</i></b></p><h2><b>BROTHERLY LOVE?</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-0878/9988441-1-eng-US/f0005-082.jpg" title="f0005-08" width="154" height="95"></div><p>Why is Cam Neely, with 395 goals and 694 points in 726 career games, a Hall of Famer, but Tim Kerr, with similar career numbers in fewer games, not even considered? Kerr is 41st all-time in points per game and nearly everyone ahead of him is in the Hall of Fame. Both players battled injuries and played around 68 percent of their team&rsquo;s games. And their careers were in similar eras. Why no love for Kerr?</p><p><b><i>Steve Lourenco Fall River, Mass.</i></b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0005-01

HOLISTIC HELP

<p class="dropcap"><b><span>Q</span>UESTION:</b> Can you explain the NHL draft lottery? Why were the New Jersey Devils the only non-playoff team excluded from this year&rsquo;s lottery drawing?</p><p><b><i>Michael Markarian, Washington</i></b></p><p><b>ANSWER:</b> The NHL&rsquo;s draft lottery was tweaked last season, with all 14 non-playoff teams having a chance to win the No. 1 pick: last overall Buffalo had a 25 percent chance; 17th overall Washington had a 0.5 percent chance. Florida, which won the lottery after finishing 29th overall, had an 18.8 percent chance. In the past, only the top five teams were eligible. The Devils were excluded from this year&rsquo;s lottery as punishment for their salary cap circumvention with Ilya Kovalchuk&rsquo;s contract. Initially, they weren&rsquo;t supposed to receive any first-round pick, but the league changed the punishment and gave them the No. 30 selection instead.</p><p><b>QUESTION:</b> Can a Kontinental League team and an NHL team make a trade?</p><p><b><i>Eric Duncan, Toronto</i></b></p><p><b>ANSWER:</b> No, the NHL doesn&rsquo;t permit player trades with any other pro league. But as we saw when Kovalchuk left New Jersey via retirement to return to Russia last summer, it&rsquo;s possible for NHLers to finagle their way out of their North American contract to play in the KHL if they so chose. If more players did so, the NHL might take a harder line, but they also realize a protracted court battle with a star Russian might not be a productive use of their time.</p><p>READ MORE &lsquo;ASKADAM&rsquo; EVERY FRIDAY AT <a href="http://TheHockeyNews.com">THEHOCKEYNEWS.COM</a><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

ASK Adam?

<div class="byline">&nbsp;- RONNIE SHUKER</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-012517/9988587-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="273" height="311"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-021726/9988580-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg" title="f0006-02" width="518" height="784"><figcaption class="caption-body">MARC <b>STAAL</b> <span class="photo-credit">(STAAL: FRANCOIS LACASSE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-031034/9988573-1-eng-US/f0006-032.jpg" title="f0006-03" width="419" height="687"><figcaption class="caption-body">MANNY <b>MALHOLTRA</b> <span class="photo-credit">(MALHOLTRA: JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-04665/9988566-1-eng-US/f0006-042.jpg" title="f0006-04" width="638" height="773"><figcaption class="caption-body">CHRIS <b>PRONGER</b> <span class="photo-credit">(PRONGER: ANDY MARLIN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-05526/9988559-1-eng-US/f0006-052.jpg" title="f0006-05" width="1032" height="758"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>HELLISH VISION</b></p><p>The New Jersey Devils have the highest percentage of visor-wearing players in the NHL.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(SALVADOR: GERRY THOMAS/NHL VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>B</span><b>RYAN BERARD, AL MACINNIS,</b> Ian Laperriere, Manny Malhotra, Chris Pronger, Marc Staal. See a thread? All of them suffered severe eye injuries, some of which wound up as career-enders. No one in the group was wearing a visor.</p><p>Follow the thread further: each was born in North America.</p><p>That&rsquo;s no mere coincidence. According to a recent study in the <i>Journal of Sports Medicine</i>, evidence suggests there&rsquo;s a strong cultural undercurrent that determines whether or not a player is likely to wear a visor. In their article, &ldquo;Factors influencing visor use among players in the NHL,&rdquo; co-authors Robert Micieli, a biomedical student at York University, and brother Jonathan, an ophthalmology resident at the University of Toronto, found that 88.4 percent of European-born NHLers wear visors, compared to 75.7 for American-born and 68.6 for Canadian-born players. Swedes (90.5) were tops, followed by Russians (89.5), Finns (86.7) and Czechs (84.6). &ldquo;Among NHL players, it is generally considered respectful as part of the unwritten &lsquo;code&rsquo; for aggressive players not to use a visor if they aim to play an aggressive game,&rdquo; the Micieli brothers wrote. &ldquo;Consequently, Canadian players, who are generally considered to represent a more physical style of play compared to Europeans, may feel pressure to play without a visor. Moreover, European players may have had earlier role models in the game who influenced them to play with a visor.&rdquo;</p><p>The study covered players on active rosters as of Nov. 13, excluding those with fewer than 26 NHL games since they&rsquo;re mandated to wear visors.</p><p>Age appears to be a significant factor, too. Among players younger than 24, 90.6 percent wore a visor, compared to 62.8 percent of veterans 34 or older.</p><p>Overall, though, players are getting the message to protect their eyes. In our annual sight survey, visor users increased to 80 percent league-wide. The survey covered all skaters with 20 or more games played. The New Jersey Devils top the list at 91 percent.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-06377/9988552-1-eng-US/f0006-062.jpg" title="f0006-06" width="493" height="318"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-07253/9988545-1-eng-US/f0006-072.jpg" title="f0006-07" width="1149" height="634"></div><h2><b>62.8</b></h2><p>Percentage of players aged 34 or older who chose to wear a visor in 2013-14. More than 90 percent of players younger than 24 who aren&rsquo;t mandated by the NHL to wear a visor still opted for eye protection.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0006-01

SEEING IS BELIEVING

f0007-01

% OF PLAYERS WHO WORE VISORS IN 2013-14

<div class="byline">By Charlie Teljeur</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0007-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-021512/9988649-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0007-02

THE INSTIGATOR

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-03942/9988680-1-eng-US/f0007-032.jpg" title="f0007-03" width="567" height="792"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(COOKE: DAVE REGINEK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>+PLUS</b></h2><h3><b>CANNONIZED</b></h3><p>The Columbus Blue Jackets win their first playoff game ever, downing the Penguins in overtime with Matt Calvert netting the clincher</p><h2><b>-MINUS</b></h2><h3><b>THE RAT RETURNS</b></h3><p><b><i>Matt Cooke</i></b> reverts to his old form by ending Tyson Barrie&rsquo;s season with a knee that nets the Minnesota Wild winger a seven-game suspension.</p><h2><b>+PLUS</b></h2><h3><b>BLUELINER NO. 1</b></h3><p>Aaron Ekblad of the Barrie Colts - a lock to go in the top four of the NHL draft - is named the Ontario League&rsquo;s defenseman of the year.</p><h2><b>-MINUS</b></h2><h3><b>LACK OF FINNISH</b></h3><p>Months after winning gold at the world juniors, Finland is embarrassed at home by the Swedes 10-0 in the world under-18s quarterfinal.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0007-03

PLUS MINUS

<div class="byline">- JARED CLINTON</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-012407/9988711-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="688" height="631"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>ALWAYS GIVING BACK</b></p><p>Eric Neilson has made a point of being active in the community of every AHL team he&rsquo;s played for.</p></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span><b>HE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE</b> when talking to Eric Neilson is his presence - his voice booms. It makes sense that a man who makes his living playing as an enforcer would convey his 6-foot-2, 200-plus-pound frame just with his tenor. But even with his voice filtering through a phone, you can hear his cheeks pulled up in a smile.</p><p>All of this is to say that Neilson,  contrary to his tough guy persona, is a gentle giant off the ice. So it&rsquo;s no surprise that he received the 2013-14 Yanick Dupre Memorial Award, which is given to the American League player who best exemplifies the spirit of community service. Neilson has been nominated six consecutive years - one for each of his full seasons in the AHL - but what makes his accomplishment more incredible is that he&rsquo;s played those campaigns in five different AHL cities. &ldquo;I like to go where I get an opportunity,&rdquo; said Neilson, who has played the past two seasons with the Syracuse Crunch. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s always my goal. I&rsquo;ve been a journeyman throughout my career. I always try to go where my greatest opportunity is. I&rsquo;m 29, but my goal is to one day play in the NHL.&rdquo;</p><p>He hasn&rsquo;t quite made an impact in the NHL, but what he has achieved during his time in the AHL is just as special. Earning Man of the Year nods in six straight seasons is a welcome acknowledgement for Neilson, though it&rsquo;s not about getting kudos. &ldquo;In the ECHL the first couple of years of my career, I came to the understanding that these people in the community are supporting my job,&rdquo; Neilson said. &ldquo;So if I can give back in any way - helping out with practices, going to a school - I did it. And it snowballed, and I got pure enjoyment out of doing it.&rdquo;</p><p>Neilson&rsquo;s community achievements make it clear he has a soft spot for helping children. It stems from when he was a kid growing up in Fredericton, N.B. His father always encouraged him to meet people and enjoy new experiences. Visits to his classes by community leaders from the police or the hockey team from the University of New Brunswick always struck a chord.</p><p>Just this season, he introduced &ldquo;Breakfast With A Champion&rdquo; for elementary school children in Syracuse, teaching kids the importance of nutrition. The idea, which took shape under Neilson&rsquo;s watch, saw him spend his spare time shopping for kids and pitching the program to local schools.</p><p>It goes beyond just the breakfast program, though. He helped New York&rsquo;s Upstate University Hospital raise concussion awareness, showing off his acting chops in a &ldquo;Safe Kids&rdquo; public service announcement.</p><p>When he wasn&rsquo;t defending his teammates, he was travelling throughout Syracuse to speak to schools about bullying, asking everyone to look out for their peers. Everywhere his career has taken him, Neilson has made a point of making sure management knew he wanted to get out and help: In San Antonio, he worked with the food bank and took part in a program called &ldquo;Face-Off Against Kids Cancer.&rdquo; In Peoria, he waited tables for the Children&rsquo;s Hospital of Illinois. While playing for the Admirals in Norfolk, Neilson visited a fan that had been hospitalized following a motorcycle accident. And in Hamilton, he traded in his Bulldogs jersey for an apron to serve up meals at a nearby soup kitchen.</p><p>In earning his first of what could be many Yanick Dupre Awards, Neilson is simply honored to give back to those who cheer him on, especially his young fans. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to reach everybody,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But if one or two kids get the same enjoyment out of it that I did, then it makes me pretty happy and satisfied with what I have accomplished.&rsquo;&rsquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0008-01

NO MORE MR. TOUGH GUY

<div class="byline">- SAL BARRY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-012134/9988780-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="437" height="607"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-021500/9988773-1-eng-US/f0009-022.jpg" title="f0009-02" width="612" height="437"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>L</span>OVE GOALIES?</b> Then Between the Pipes - In The Game&rsquo;s annual release of netminders - is the set for you. This year&rsquo;s 150-card set features 23 current NHL stars, 57 Canadian Hockey League prospects and 70 retired greats from the past 50 years. A box of 18 nine-card packs retails for about $90. Each box averages two autographed and two memorabilia cards that contain a piece of a game-used jersey, glove, pad or stick.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0009-01

In The CARDS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0009-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-03914/9988811-1-eng-US/f0009-032.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(PATRICK MCDERMOTT/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>F</span><b>OR THOSE OF YOU WHO FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER, YOU KNOW I HAVE A</b>&nbsp;pretention to post my thoughts on fan flubs, which I have harmlessly termed &ldquo;hockey fan faux pas.&rdquo; For the many who don&rsquo;t, I think fans are fair game for constructive critique as much as players, coaches, GMs, owners, teams and, of course, media.</p><p>Truth be told, however, I think fans can do, wear, say, shout, scream or yell whatever the heck they want, short of verbal or physical violence. They&rsquo;ve paid their money, and the M.O. of any sports zealot should be to cut loose and have fun. That said, it stabs me right in my hockey heart to see fans - particularly jersey junkies, which make up the bulk of my list - cross the cool line into flat-out uncool territory. After all, ours is the coolest sport on the planet.</p><p>So to that end, I&rsquo;ve gone through my Twitter history to list my top 10 hockey fan faux pas. Feel free to tweet your agreement, disagreement or hair-raising hostility to my list at <b>@THNRonnieShuker.</b></p><p><b>1.</b>&nbsp;Wearing the jersey of a player who is younger than you.</p><p><b>2.</b> Going to a game wearing a jersey of a team not playing.</p><p><b>3.</b> Wearing the jersey of a team from a different sport.</p><p><b>4.</b> Putting No. 69 on an NHL jersey.</p><p><b>5.</b> Leaving before the game is over (see Boston Bruins fans, May 13, 2013).</p><p><b>6.</b> Putting your name on the back of an NHL jersey.</p><p><b>7.</b> Tucking your jersey into your jeans.</p><p><b>8.</b> Wearing the jersey of one team and the cap of another.</p><p><b>9.</b> Wearing the jersey of an active player who no longer plays for the team.</p><p><b>10.</b> Favoring your fantasy team over your favorite team.</p><h2><b><i>POST TO POST</i></b></h2><p><b><i>Get features like this and a whole lot more daily at <a href="http://TheHockeyNews.com">THEHOCKEYNEWS.COM/BLOG</a></i></b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0009-03

FAN FAUX PAS

<div class="byline">BY JARED CLINTON & ANDREW HELIOTIS</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0010-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-012382/9988940-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(SAKIC: JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>N</span>o player has been more clutch in the playoffs than Hall of Famer <b>JOE SAKIC</b>. His eight overtime goals rank No. 1 in NHL history. Sakic also tops the all-time list of most game-tying goals in the playoffs with eight</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-021747/9988933-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg" title="f0010-02" width="1057" height="1127"><figcaption class="caption-body">CARTER HUTTON <span class="photo-credit">(HUTTON: MARISSA BAECKER/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2>0</h2><p>Shorthanded goals allowed by the <b>NASHVILLE PREDATORS</b>. The last team to allow zero shorties in a full season was the 1975-76 Canadiens</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-06415/9988926-1-eng-US/f0010-062.jpg" title="f0010-06" width="255" height="170"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-031131/9988919-1-eng-US/f0010-032.jpg" title="f0010-03" width="1037" height="691"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(ALLAN CUP: MICHAEL P. HALL/HOCKEY HALL OF FAME)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-04779/9988912-1-eng-US/f0010-042.jpg" title="f0010-04" width="429" height="344"></div><p>The <b>DUNDAS REAL MCCOYS</b>, led by former NHL defenseman Jay McKee, captured their first Allan Cup as Canadian senior men&rsquo;s hockey champions. The McCoys downed the Clarenville Caribous 3-2 in double overtime on a goal from 33-year-old Randy Rowe</p><h2><b>$9,800</b></h2><p>The Tampa Bay Lightning got the most bang for their buck with Ondrej Palat. The rookie had the best value per point of all skaters in the NHL this season</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-07294/9988905-1-eng-US/f0010-072.jpg" title="f0010-07" width="367" height="229"></div><p>Winnipeg became the only NHL franchise without a playoff victory after Columbus picked up an overtime win over Pittsburgh in Game 2 of their first-round series</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-08216/9988898-1-eng-US/f0010-082.jpg" title="f0010-08" width="239" height="239"></div><p><b>2013-14</b> marks the first full season during Detroit&rsquo;s run of 23 straight playoff appearances in which not one Red Wings&rsquo; player reached 50 points</p><p>Although Wayne Gretzky has repeatedly said he believes his career scoring records will be broken, he&rsquo;s got to be the only one. To consistently score at the rate Gretzky did is almost incomprehensible when juxtaposing his totals with today&rsquo;s NHL. In order for The Great One&rsquo;s goal total of 894 to be surpassed, it would have taken the league leaders in goals from the past 18 seasons combined. This year&rsquo;s top sniper, Alex Ovechkin, scored the &ldquo;record breaking&rdquo; tally Nov. 5 against the Islanders when the Caps forward blew a shot past goaltender Evgeni Nabokov. How many seasons of league leaders in other categories would it take for some of the NHL&rsquo;s other all-time marks to fall?</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011977/9988891-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="718" height="515"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>GOALS</b></figcaption></div><p><b>WAYNE GRETZKY, 894</b></p><p>1995-96 to 2013-14 = <b>953</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-021440/9988884-1-eng-US/f0011-022.jpg" title="f0011-02" width="705" height="504"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>ASSISTS</b></figcaption></div><p><b>WAYNE GRETZKY, 1,963</b></p><p>1988-89 to 2013-14 = <b>1977</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-03966/9988877-1-eng-US/f0011-032.jpg" title="f0011-03" width="705" height="495"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>POINTS</b></figcaption></div><p><b>WAYNE GRETZKY, 2,857</b></p><p>1988-89 to 2013-14 = <b>2.979</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-04719/9988870-1-eng-US/f0011-042.jpg" title="f0011-04" width="705" height="495"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>PLUS-MINUS</b></figcaption></div><p><b>LARRY ROBINSON, +730</b></p><p>1995-96 to 2013-14 = <b>+763</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-05559/9988863-1-eng-US/f0011-052.jpg" title="f0011-05" width="705" height="507"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>PENALTY MINUTES</b></figcaption></div><p><b>DAVE &ldquo;TIGER&rdquo; WILLIAMS, 3,966</b></p><p>1997-98 to 2013-14 = <b>4,224</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-06470/9988856-1-eng-US/f0011-062.jpg" title="f0011-06" width="705" height="497"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>GAME-WINNING GOALS</b></figcaption></div><p><b>JAROMIR JAGR, 124</b></p><p>2001-02 to 2013-14 = <b>127</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-07418/9988849-1-eng-US/f0011-072.jpg" title="f0011-07" width="705" height="490"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>WINS</b></figcaption></div><p><b>MARTIN BRODEUR, 688</b></p><p>1996-97 to 2013-14 = <b>698</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-08375/9988842-1-eng-US/f0011-082.jpg" title="f0011-08" width="705" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>SHUTOUTS</b> <span class="photo-credit">(GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>MARTIN BRODEUR, 124</b></p><p>2000-01 to 2013-14 = <b>124</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0010-01

Ice CHIPS

<div class="byline">WITH ADAMP ROTEAU</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0013-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-012021/9988971-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>LESS IS MORE</b></p><p>Alex Ovechkin fleeing for the KHL would free up valuable cap space for the Washington Capitals.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(PATRICK SMITH/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-021409/9988978-1-eng-US/f0013-022.jpg" title="f0013-02" width="194" height="216"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>A</span><b>T FIRST BLUSH, THE IDEA OF ALEX</b> Ovechkin leaving the NHL to go home to his native Russia and play in the Kontinental League seems screwy. Unfortunately, after nine NHL seasons, Ovechkin has failed to live up to expectations - if not as an individual, then certainly as the driver of a team.</p><p>His Washington Capitals are awash in mediocrity and have moved from being a bona fide Cup contender to a draft lottery candidate. He won his second consecutive Rocket Richard Trophy, but had the NHL&rsquo;s third-worst plus-minus (minus-35). Where once he was the Hockey Elvis, he&rsquo;s now the King in his unhappy later years, surviving on what he&rsquo;s always been good at, but never growing as an artist.</p><p>So now when you wonder if Ovechkin could actually leave the NHL for the KHL, the question doesn&rsquo;t seem far-fetched at all. Increasingly, it&rsquo;s near-fetched. And to this writer, it seems like the best solution for the star and the Capitals.</p><p>Of course, should Ovechkin decide to change leagues, he&rsquo;d need to be extremely careful lest he come off looking like an even bigger villain than Ilya Kovalchuk did when he abruptly abandoned the New Jersey Devils last summer. There would be a sizeable contingent of mortified Washington fans no matter what Ovechkin said to explain himself, but life is all about framing and this situation would be no different. Here&rsquo;s how he should frame it: by pointing to other teams that have parted ways with their franchise player and discovered the devil they knew wasn&rsquo;t always better than the one they didn&rsquo;t. Take the Blue Jackets, for example. There was no shortage of angst-ridden Columbus fans when management traded their franchise cornerstone, Rick Nash, to the Rangers in the summer of 2012. That transaction benefitted the Jackets as much as it did Nash (who no longer had the full weight of an organization sitting on his shoulders). It was a classic short-term-pain-for-long-term-gain scenario.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">THERE IS A LEGAL WAY TO PLAY IN ANOTHER LEAGUE WITHOUT BREAKING THE (KHL/NHL) AGREEMENT <br>- A. Medvedev</blockquote><p>Ovechkin leaving for the KHL would free up some $9.5 million in salary cap space for the seven years remaining on his contract. As we should know by now, that space would allow Caps management to acquire two or three high-quality talents and add balance to a roster that desperately needs it. Ovechkin could paint himself as making a sacrifice for the long-term good of the franchise.</p><p>There is some question whether the NHL would provide cap relief to the Capitals if Ovechkin returned to Russia, but the league would have an extremely tough time justifying a rejection of cap relief for one team after providing it to the Devils. As well, KHL president Alexander Medvedev recently gave an interview with Russian publication <a href="http://championat.com">championat.com</a> in which he said, &ldquo;there is a legal way for any player if he decides to play in another league (to do so) without breaking the mutual (KHL/NHL) agreement to respect each other&rsquo;s contracts.&rdquo; Clearly, it&rsquo;s technically possible.</p><p>Most importantly, how would leaving the NHL be good for Ovechkin? For one thing, he&rsquo;d be in his own element as the biggest star ever to skate in the KHL. He wouldn&rsquo;t be reminded every day of his inability to claim Cups in Washington, and he&rsquo;d also have the chance of returning to North America if and when the opportunity was right.</p><p>He&rsquo;s still just 28. He&rsquo;s got time.</p><p>A vision quest is a trip an individual takes back to nature to focus on his identity and solidify his future. In essence, that&rsquo;s what Ovechkin would be doing by going back to Russia. If he wants to, the last thing the Caps should be doing is persuading him otherwise.</p><p><b>WANT MORE PROTEAU?</b> GET DAILY UPDATES AT <b><a href="http://TheHockeyNews.com">THEHOCKEYNEWS.COM</a></b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0013-01

BACK TO RUSSIA, WITH LOTS OF LOVE

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0014-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-012301/9989009-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg"></div><p class="dropcap"><i><span>W</span>hat happens in Vegas doesn&rsquo;t have to stay in Vegas. We&rsquo;ve got our NHL awards - plus a whole lot more: 19 top, and bottom, lists split into four categories (or &ldquo;hashtags&rdquo; for you Twitterati out there).</i>&nbsp;<b><i>#EPIC</i></b>&nbsp;<i>is the season&rsquo;s &ldquo;wow&rdquo;</i>&nbsp;<i>performances; <b>#ICYMI</b> is, no surprise, In Case You Missed It; <b>#FAIL</b> is the best of the worst; and <b>#WTF</b> is the What The, er, &ldquo;Fudge&rdquo; moments. Let the count down(s) begin&hellip;</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0014-01

2013-14 in LISTS

<div class="byline">BY MIKE LOFTUS</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0015-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011988/9989222-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(RASK: STEVE BABINEAU/BOSTON BRUINS)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-021413/9989215-1-eng-US/f0015-022.jpg" title="f0015-02" width="165" height="164"></div><h2><b>PATRICK ROY AWARD</b></h2><h3><b>BEST GOALIE / TUUKKA RASK</b></h3><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span><b>UUKKA RASK ALWAYS</b> seems to be proving something. In 2009-10, it was that he had the stuff to be a No. 1 goalie - something he emphasized by leading the NHL with a 1.97 goals-against average, as a rookie. In 2012-13, he proved that, like his predecessor, Tim Thomas, he could carry the Bruins to the Stanley Cup final.</p><p>This season, despite concerns about how he&rsquo;d hold up over an 82-game schedule, all Rask did was finish in the league&rsquo;s top-five in wins (36), goals-against average (2.04), save percentage (.930) and shutouts (seven). For good measure, he threw in a bronze-medal performance for Finland at the Winter Olympics, posting 3-1-0, 1.73, .938 numbers that included a shutout over the U.S. in the bronze medal game.</p><p>Rask admits he had a lot of help throughout a Vezina Trophy-worthy season. The emergence of Chad Johnson as a competent No. 2 helped keep his workload reasonable and the Bruins&rsquo; commitment to two-way play usually made life simple for him.</p><p>Don&rsquo;t take that to mean that Rask, 27, is into taking it easy, however. He does a lot of good with his down time.</p><p>From cradling a puppy from MSPCA-Angell Animal Medical Center for the Boston Bruins Foundation&rsquo;s Pucks & Pups charity calendar, to hosting a cancer-stricken nine-year-old girl, Maddie Santosuosso, at a team practice (Rask also set her up with new gear, including a replica of his mask, see pg. 49), to making visits on behalf of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Progeria Research Foundation, to setting up his own charity foundation, Rask is often helping others. &ldquo;That shows a lot about him as a person,&rdquo; Johnson said. &ldquo;He does it for the right reasons. He doesn&rsquo;t try to get a lot of attention for it. He does it because he&rsquo;s a good guy.&rdquo;</p><p>With all the Vezina buzz surrounding his season, Rask tends to either deflect the attention or at least share it. &ldquo;All the credit from the outside comes to you, but you&rsquo;ve got to recognize that nobody gets there by himself,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;A lot of credit goes to your team.&rdquo;</p><p>Rask&rsquo;s regular season wasn&rsquo;t without challenges. Coach Claude Julien pulled him from four starts between Dec. 14 and Jan. 30, but Rask never questioned his teammates, coach or himself. He stayed calm, focused and determined and didn&rsquo;t make anyone pay for whatever frustration he may have felt. &ldquo;He doesn&rsquo;t act like he&rsquo;s better or different than anyone else,&rdquo; Johnson said. &ldquo;You can tell that&rsquo;s part of his personality. He&rsquo;s really a modest guy.&rdquo;</p><p>Rask roared back after Sochi, and entered the playoffs after a nearly perfect month of March (9-1-1). As talk of potential hardware grew, his eyes were locked more on the trophy with the most names on it, not just that of a single goalie. &ldquo;If those individual awards come, they come,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But if you can accomplish something together as a team, it&rsquo;s that much better&rdquo;</p><p><b>OH, SO CLOSE</b></p><p><i>These 'tenders impressed</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-03983/9989208-1-eng-US/f0015-032.jpg" title="f0015-03" width="411" height="300"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(VARLAMOV: JONATHAN KOZUB/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>SEMYON VARLAMOV</b></h2><p><i>He rewarded new coach Patrick Roy&rsquo;s faith and blocked out serious off-ice allegations to win a league-best 41 games and finish third with a .927 SP.</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-04736/9989201-1-eng-US/f0015-042.jpg" title="f0015-04" width="410" height="300"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(BISHOP: GRAIG ABEL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>BEN BISHOP</b></h2><p><i>Hard to believe this</i>&nbsp;<i>6-foot-7 juggernaut was traded in consecutive seasons. He&rsquo;s a Bolt to stay after his superb showing (63 starts, 2.23 GAA, 5 SO).</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-05516/9989194-1-eng-US/f0015-052.jpg" title="f0015-05" width="410" height="300"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(PRICE: FRANCOIS LACASSE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>CAREY PRICE</b></h2><p><i>He&rsquo;d win the Vezina in a walk if the Olympics counted as part of the vote. Was almost as good for Montreal as he was for Canada, posting a .927 SP.</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-06417/9989187-1-eng-US/f0015-062.jpg" title="f0015-06" width="411" height="300"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(BOBROVSKY: DEREK LEUNG/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>SERGEI BOBROVSKY</b></h2><p><i>&lsquo;Bob&rsquo; proved resilient a year after winning the Vezina. He started cold, but was as good as any goalie from January on, leading Columbus to the playoffs.</i></p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-012065/9989180-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="1094" height="1676"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(CHARA: DEREK LEUNG/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-021572/9989173-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="164" height="164"></div><h2><b>BOBBY ORR AWARD</b></h2><h3><b>BEST DEFENSEMAN / ZDENO CHARA</b></h3><p><b><i>AT 37, THE B&rsquo;S BEHEMOTH</i></b>&nbsp;<i>has yet to show signs of decline. His 17 goals tied for the second most of his career and he logged 24:39 a game against opponents&rsquo; stars.</i></p><p><b>RUNNERS UP</b></p><p>2. Duncan Keith</p><p>3. Shea Weber</p><p>4. Erik Karlsson</p><p>5. Ryan Suter</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-031139/9989166-1-eng-US/f0016-032.jpg" title="f0016-03" width="164" height="165"></div><h2><b>JOHN FERGUSON AWARD</b></h2><h3><b>TOUGHEST PLAYER / ZDENO CHARA</b></h3><p><b><i>CHARA LAUGHED</i></b>&nbsp;<i>when Detroit&rsquo;s Brendan Smith, 6-foot-2 and 198 pounds, tried to fight him. The 6-foot-9, 255-pound monster is the NHL&rsquo;s most feared player.</i></p><p><b>RUNNERS UP</b></p><p>2. David Backes</p><p>3. Radko Gudas</p><p>4. Shea Weber</p><p>5. Milan Lucic</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-04842/9989159-1-eng-US/f0016-042.jpg" title="f0016-04" width="164" height="164"></div><h2><b>ROD LANGWAY AWARD</b></h2><h3><b>BEST DEFENSIVE DEFENSEMAN / ZDENO CHARA</b></h3><p><b><i>ADVANCED STATS</i></b>&nbsp;<i>say Chara faced the NHL&rsquo;s third-toughest quality of competition, yet he ranked 12th in Corsi Close among D-men. Second on the Bruins in hits and blocks.</i></p><p><b>RUNNERS UP</b></p><p>2. Marc-Edouard Vlasic</p><p>3. Ryan Suter</p><p>4. Alex Pietrangelo</p><p>5. Niklas Hjalmarsson</p><h2><b>TEEMU SELANNE AWARD</b></h2><h3><b>BEST ROOKIE / NATHAN MACKINNON</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-05600/9989152-1-eng-US/f0016-052.jpg" title="f0016-05" width="646" height="467"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(MACKINNON: JONATHAN KOZUB/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-06491/9989145-1-eng-US/f0016-062.jpg" title="f0016-06" width="165" height="165"></div><p><b><i>OF EVERY ACTIVE</i></b>&nbsp;<i>NHLer, only Sidney Crosby scored more than MacKinnon&rsquo;s 63 points as an 18-year-old. The Avs rookie is as fast and furious as we hoped.</i></p><p><b>RUNNERS UP</b></p><p>2. Ondrej Palat</p><p>3. Torey Krug</p><p>4. Jacob Trouba</p><p>5. Olli Maatta</p><h2><b>SAKU KOIVU AWARD</b></h2><h3><b>COMEBACK PLAYER / MANNY MALHOTRA</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-07427/9989138-1-eng-US/f0016-072.jpg" title="f0016-07" width="646" height="467"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(MALHOTRA: ANDRE RINGUETTE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-08368/9989131-1-eng-US/f0016-082.jpg" title="f0016-08" width="164" height="165"></div><p><b><i>CAROLINA GAVE</i></b>&nbsp;<i>Malhotra a shot after Vancouver decided his eye injury made him unfit to play. He responded by posting the NHL&rsquo;s No. 2 faceoff percentage.</i></p><p><b>RUNNERS UP</b></p><p>2. Willie Mitchell</p><p>3. Jaromir Jagr</p><p>4. Dominic Moore</p><p>5. Josh Harding</p><h2><b>CAM NEELY AWARD</b></h2><h3><b>BREAKOUT PLAYER / BEN BISHOP</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-09321/9989124-1-eng-US/f0016-092.jpg" title="f0016-09" width="645" height="467"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(BISHOP: RICHARD WOLOWICZ/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-10291/9989117-1-eng-US/f0016-102.jpg" title="f0016-10" width="165" height="165"></div><p><b><i>BIG</i></b>&nbsp;<b><i>BEN</i></b>&nbsp;<i>won 37 games with a .924 SP in his first full season as an NHL starter. If he'd stayed healthy for the playoffs, Tampa&rsquo;s fate could&rsquo;ve been different.</i></p><p><b>RUNNERS UP</b></p><p>2. Ryan Johansen</p><p>3. Tyler Seguin</p><p>4. Kyle Okposo</p><p>5. Gustav Nyquist</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-011768/9989110-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="778" height="1412"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(CROSBY: MARIANNE HELM/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>WAYNE GRETZKY AWARD</b></h2><h3><b>MVP / SIDNEY CROSBY</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-021342/9989103-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="165" height="164"></div><p><b><i>USUALLY THE PENGUINS</i></b>&nbsp;<i>rely on their supporting cast to step up when Crosby is hurt. It was the opposite in 2013-14. He played 80 of 82 games and did so at an elite level.</i></p><p><b>RUNNERS UP</b></p><p>2. Claude Giroux</p><p>3. Semyon Varlamov</p><p>4. Ryan Getzlaf</p><p>5. Ben Bishop</p><h2><b>MARO LEMIEUX AWARD</b></h2><h3><b>BEST PLAYER / SDNEY CROSBY</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-03953/9989096-1-eng-US/f0017-032.jpg" title="f0017-03" width="165" height="165"></div><p><b><i>A HEALTHY</i></b>&nbsp;<i>Crosby is the best player of his generation and he didn&rsquo;t disappoint in a full season, reaching 100 points for the fifth time and winning the scoring title by 17 points.</i></p><p><b>RUNNERS UP</b></p><p>2. Ryan Getzlaf</p><p>3. Claude Giroux</p><p>4. Patrice Bergeron</p><p>5. Corey Perry</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-04697/9989089-1-eng-US/f0017-042.jpg" title="f0017-04" width="164" height="164"></div><h2><b>GUY CARBONNEAU AWARD</b></h2><h3><b>PENALTY KILLER / SEAN</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-05491/9989082-1-eng-US/f0017-052.jpg" title="f0017-05" width="526" height="414"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(COUTURIER: ABELIMAGES/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><i><b>NO FORWARD</b> averaged more shorthanded minutes than Couturier, who helped the Flyers finish seventh in penalty killing. His presence was crucial on a team that led the league in penalty minutes per game.</i></p><p><b>RUNNERS UP</b></p><p>2. Patrice Bergeron</p><p>3. Tomas Plekanec</p><p>4. Tyler Johnson</p><p>5. Adam Henrique</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-06378/9989075-1-eng-US/f0017-062.jpg" title="f0017-06" width="164" height="164"></div><h2><b>BOB PROBERT AWARD</b></h2><h3><b>BEST FIGHTER / LUKE GHZDIC</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-07306/9989068-1-eng-US/f0017-072.jpg" title="f0017-07" width="526" height="406"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(GAZDIC: JEFF VINNICK/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b><i>GAZDIC</i></b>&nbsp;<b><i>FOUGHT</i></b>&nbsp;<i>15 times, third-most in the league, and compiled an 11-2-2 record according to <a href="http://hockeyfights.com">hockeyfights.com.</a> Lost to Brian McGrattan, but still wins the belt because he threw down far more often.</i></p><p><b>RUNNERS UP</b></p><p>2. Brian McGrattan</p><p>3. Rich Clune</p><p>4. Chris Neil</p><p>5. Tom Wilson</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-08255/9989061-1-eng-US/f0017-082.jpg" title="f0017-08" width="164" height="165"></div><h2><b>PAEL BURE AWARD</b></h2><h3><b>BEST SHOOTOUT SHOOTER / T.J. OSHIE</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-09214/9989054-1-eng-US/f0017-092.jpg" title="f0017-09" width="526" height="411"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(OSHIE + FLEURY: CLAUS ANDERSEN/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b><i>OSHIE&rsquo;S</i></b>&nbsp;<i>four-goal Olympic shootout magic was amazing and also no fluke. Back home in the NHL, he scored nine times on 12 shots and notched a league-best five shootout-winning goals.</i></p><p><b>RUNNERS UP</b></p><p>2. Joffrey Lupul</p><p>3. Frans Nielsen</p><p>4. Sean Monahan</p><p>5. Jordan Eberle</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-10193/9989047-1-eng-US/f0017-102.jpg" title="f0017-10" width="174" height="174"></div><h2><b>GILLES VILLEMURE AWARD</b></h2><h3><b>BEST SHOOTOUT GOALIE / MARC-ANDRE FLEURY</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-11166/9989040-1-eng-US/f0017-112.jpg" title="f0017-11" width="526" height="414"></div><p><b><i>FLEURY CRITICISM</i></b>&nbsp;<i>never extends to shootouts, as he&rsquo;s always dynamite there. He stopped 23 of 28 attempts and went 6-2, including 4-0 on the road. His 45 shootout wins rank third all-time.</i></p><p><b>RUNNERS UP</b></p><p>2. Tim Thomas</p><p>3. Martin Jones</p><p>4. Ben Bishop</p><p>5. Eddie Lack<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0015-01

B’S STINGY BEAR IS A HUGE SOFTY

<div class="byline">BY MICHAEL RUSSO</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0018-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011942/9989260-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b><i>CALM BEFORE STORM</i></b></p><p>A rested Josh Harding was a force early in the season, but his illness took over.</p></figcaption></div><p>H<b>OCKEY COACHES OFTEN</b> loosely toss around &ldquo;day-to-day&rdquo; for even the most serious of long-term injuries. Josh Harding is truly day-to-day.</p><p>The Wild goaltender is battling multiple sclerosis, a debilitating autoimmune disease that has turned his life and career upside-down. Diagnosed in the fall of 2012, Harding was lost for two months last season because of complications with medication. He returned and was thrust into the starting role in the playoffs because of Niklas Backstrom&rsquo;s abdominal injury sustained minutes before Game 1 against the Chicago Blackhawks.</p><p>This season, Harding, the 2013 Masterton Trophy winner, reeled off a first half for the ages, going 18-7-3 with a league-best 1.65 goals-against average and .933 save percentage. But in mid-December, after beating Vancouver in a shootout, Harding didn&rsquo;t travel on a road trip because of what was termed a necessary but &ldquo;minor&rdquo; adjustment to his treatment.</p><p>He returned to start two games before the New Year but hasn&rsquo;t played since Dec. 31 because of a &ldquo;rough patch,&rdquo; which certainly sounds like he had another flare-up. &ldquo;There were a lot of things that unless you were part of my immediate family that you wouldn&rsquo;t have seen what I went through and what I have been going through,&rdquo; says Harding, 29. feel bad. It&rsquo;s just what it is and &ldquo;There&rsquo;s no need for people to you deal with it.&rdquo;</p><p>Harding did return to practice in early April, but the Wild&rsquo;s playoff reins were handed to rookie Darcy Kuemper and veteran Ilya Bryzgalov. Harding&rsquo;s hockey future is in flux. He has one year left on his contract, but the problem is nobody knows what tomorrow brings with MS. One day Harding can feel great, the next he may not. &ldquo;The reality is it&rsquo;s always going to be day-to-day, basically,&rdquo; says Wild coach Mike Yeo.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote"><i>I JUST FELT &lsquo;ON.&rsquo; I FELT BACK TO NORMAL. UNFORTUNATELY, THINGS HAPPENED</i><br> &mdash;Josh Harding</blockquote><p>This season really hurt Harding, though. He had an incredible first half and went through so much just to be able to play. &ldquo;Behind the scenes, the outward appearance might be that he was just feeling good and going out and playing well, but he has to do a lot to make sure he&rsquo;s in that state,&rdquo; Yeo said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s overcoming challenges that not many people have to try to deal with.&rdquo;</p><p>There were injections and cooling vests between periods to keep from overheating and countless other protocols Harding had to endure to simply be able to strap on the pads. He doesn&rsquo;t want to talk about what they were in order to maintain his privacy, but Harding&rsquo;s incredible perseverance is why the Twin Cities chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers&rsquo; Association selected him as the Wild&rsquo;s Masterton nominee again. &ldquo;This year was harder than last year,&rdquo; Harding says. &ldquo;Last year you&rsquo;re coping with the new reality and this year, things were going probably the best they have in my career. From Day 1 of training camp, I just felt &lsquo;on.&rsquo; I felt back to normal. Unfortunately, things happened.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-011695/9989253-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="1115" height="1306"><figcaption class="caption-body">JOSH <b>HARDING</b> <span class="photo-credit">(BOTH: JANA CHYTILOVA/FREESTYLE PHOTOGRAPHY/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Harding, who has started the charitable foundation Harding&rsquo;s Hope, doesn&rsquo;t know what the future entails, personally and professionally. There is no doubt this offseason he will need to sit down with GM Chuck Fletcher to talk about the days ahead.</p><p>He says retirement has not crossed his mind. &ldquo;I would love to give you a distinct plan,&rdquo; Harding said. &ldquo;I would if I could. Where I&rsquo;m at right now is a million times better than where I was a month ago. The way I&rsquo;m feeling right now is the feeling I had before my leave of absence. Now it&rsquo;s just getting back to hockey and doing what I love.</p><p>&ldquo;When you&rsquo;re out an extended period of time and it&rsquo;s not a leg injury or an arm injury, you take life lessons away and it gives you more motivation and appreciation for the life that we have. We&rsquo;re doing something that we love and we&rsquo;ve worked all our lives to do this and I don&rsquo;t want to give this up.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0018-01

HE’S A LOVER AND A FIGHTER

<div class="byline">- Jared Clinton</div><p><b>1. JOSH HARDING&rsquo;S COMEBACK</b></p><p><b>2. PEVERLEY RETURNS AFTER COLLAPSING</b></p><p><i>It was clear when Stars players started to hop onto the ice, en masse, in the midst of play that something was wrong. During the March 10 game, Dallas center Rich Peverley, who had been diagnosed earlier in the season with an irregular heartbeat, collapsed, suffering what team doctors called a &ldquo;cardiac event.&rdquo; Peverley was revived and taken to hospital. The game, which the visiting Blue Jackets were leading 1-0, was postponed and finished in April. Peverley was released from hospital just three days later and by the end of March he was taking part in light skating exercises. Although he was ruled out of returning in 2013-14, the 31-year-old says he wants to come back as soon as next season.</i></p><p><b>3. LETANG REBOUNDS FROM STROKE</b></p><p><i>When Penguins defenseman Kris Letang was sidelined indefinitely in late February with an undisclosed injury, no one would have predicted the mystery ailment was a stroke. Letang, 26, is an athlete in peak physical condition, which made the news of a potentially career-ending condition that much more harrowing. In addition, Letang had a small hole in his heart. Initially sidelined for six weeks, he was a long shot to return at all in 2013-14. Two months later, however, Letang was back on the ice, skating and taking part in team practices. Shortly thereafter, he suited up for the Pens, returning to the ice 10 weeks after suffering the stroke.</i></p><p><b>4. SLOVENIA SHOCKS THE WORLD IN SOCHI</b></p><p><i>At the Sochi Games, Slovenia played its first Olympic hockey since being part of the Yugoslavian entry in 1988. It was a ragtag group whose members played on club teams everywhere from France to the NHL. They turned out to be the darlings of the men&rsquo;s tournament. To qualify for the Games, the Slovenians, powered by Swedish second division forward David Rodman, downed Belarus, Ukraine and Denmark in 2013. Expected to flame out in the &lsquo;A&rsquo; Division, Slovenia defeated a Slovak team featuring the likes of Marian Hossa, Andrej Meszaros and Jaroslav Halak. The 3-1 victory, the first Olympic win in Slovenian men&rsquo;s hockey history, came with their lone NHLer, Anze Kopitar, tallying just one of the goals in close to 30 minutes of ice time. Slovenia pulled off a second stunning win by beating a sluggish Austrian squad in the quarterfinal.</i></p><p><b>5. SAM TAGESON&rsquo;S MAGICAL MOMENT</b></p><p><i>In San Jose&rsquo;s March 18 contest against the Florida Panthers, Sam Tageson could have been the first, second and third star, and no one would have complained. A lifelong Sharks fan, the 17-year-old has a life-threatening heart condition, and his favorite team went out of its way to make his day special. He practised with the Sharks, spoke with GM Doug Wilson and had his own stall, complete with jersey. To cap it all off, Tageson joined the Sharks starting lineup, skating out onto the ice through the giant Shark head. Before leaving the bench, Tageson was honored by the Sharks faithful at the SAP Center. A rousing ovation brought Tageson to tears in one of the most heart-warming gestures of 2013-14.</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0020-01

STEPPING UP WHEN IT COUNTS

<div class="byline">- Rory Boylen</div><h2><b>1. T.J. OSHIE&rsquo;S OLYMPIC SHOOTOUT</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><i><span>W</span>hen the St. Louis Blue was tabbed for the U.S. Olympic team, his shootout prowess was in mind. Of the 29 NHLers with at least 10 shootout attempts this season, Oshie&rsquo;s 75 percent conversion rate was tops. Imagine what his totals would have been if the NHL let any player shoot any time after the third round, as is the case at the Olympics. Because, in Team USA&rsquo;s Sochi quarterfinal match against the host Russians, Oshie went up against Ilya Kovalchuk and Pavel Datsyuk in an incredibly entertaining skills competition. American coach Dan Bylsma kept putting Oshie on the ice to counter the two Russian stars and in six shootout attempts, he scored on four of them. &lsquo;T.J. Sochi&rsquo; singlehandedly pushed the Americans into the semifinal, saving them from an early exit and earning public praise from U.S. president Barack Obama.</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-011358/9989353-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="626" height="1134"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(OSHIE: AL BELLO/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b><i>2.</i> BEN SCRIVENS&rsquo; RECORD-SETTING 59-SAVE SHUTOUT AGAINST SAN JOSE</b></h2><p><i>In less than a year, Ben Scrivens was traded from Toronto to Los Angeles and from Los Angeles to Edmonton, so you wouldn't expect a nomadic player like that to set any positive NHL records. But on Jan. 29, Scrivens established an expansion era, regular season standard for saves in a shutout - and he did it against the mighty San Jose Sharks. Scrivens made 20 stops in the first period and turned aside all 59 shots for a 3-0 win. He surpassed Phoenix goalie Mike Smith&rsquo;s record of 54 saves in a 2012 shutout and, obviously, Scrivens also set an Oilers record.</i></p><h2><b>3. KRISTERS GUDLEVSKIS, CINDERELLA MAN</b></h2><p><i>Speaking of things no one saw coming, goalie Kristers Gudlevskis almost led an upset for the ages when his underdog Latvian team scared all of Canada silly and threw a major fright into the nation&rsquo;s Dream Team. A prospect of the Tampa Bay Lightning who toiled for Florida in the ECHL and Syracuse in the AHL for most of 2013-14, Gudlevskis made 55 exhausting saves that game and had the Latvians in a 1-1 lock deep into the third period. But a Shea Weber goal with seven minutes remaining gave the Canadians a 2-1 edge from which they didn&rsquo;t look back and a country breathed again. Two months later, Gudlevskis appeared in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs for Tampa Bay.</i></p><h2><b>4. TOMAS HERTL&rsquo;S FOUR-GOAL MAGIC</b></h2><p><i>In just his third NHL game, San Jose Sharks rookie Tomas Hertl launched his campaign for the Calder Trophy, setting himself up as the early favorite. On Oct. 8 against the New York Rangers, the Czech scored four goals on seven shots in a 9-2 San Jose romp. But it wasn&rsquo;t just the stats-packed night that got Hertl a ton of attention - it was the between-the-legs breakaway goal that put him in the spotlight. He scored it against Martin Biron, who retired less than two weeks later. If Hertl hadn&rsquo;t have gotten injured, the Calder race between him and Nathan MacKinnon would have been ferocious.</i></p><h2><b>5. TEEMU SELANNE&rsquo;S BRONZE MEDAL GAME</b></h2><p><i>The &lsquo;Finnish Flash&rsquo; had his ice time cut this season and his role has been less pronounced in his later years, but on the Olympic stage, Selanne remained the go-to guy for Finland. Selanne scored four goals and six points in six Sochi games, and saved his best for last against the Americans in the bronze medal game. Selanne scored twice in his final appearance to lead his country to a 5-0 win, which earned Finland its fourth men&rsquo;s hockey medal in the past five Olympics. Though the Suomi has never captured gold, no country has medalled more in the NHL Olympic era - and Selanne was there for each one.</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0021-01

TOP 5 SINGLE-GAME PERFORMANCES

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-02882/9989384-1-eng-US/f0021-022.jpg" title="f0021-02" width="293" height="387"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(JAGR: JIM MCISAAC/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b><i>&ldquo;EVERYONE WHO VOTED FOR ME, IT WAS A GREAT DECISION. THOSE WHO DIDN&rsquo;T VOTE FOR ME, MAKE A BETTER DECISION NEXT TIME&rdquo;</i></b><br><b><i>- The Devils&rsquo; Jaromir Jagr in his acceptance speech for the team MVP award</i></b></blockquote><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b><i>&ldquo;I DON&rsquo;T KNOW IF HE THOUGHT (GM) DAVID POILE&rsquo;S HEAD WAS IN THE NET AND HE WAS AIMING FOR IT&rdquo;</i></b><br><b><i>- The Islanders&rsquo; John Tavares on Kyle Okposo&rsquo;s overtime-winner in the game after being left off the U.S. Olympic team</i></b></blockquote><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b><i>&ldquo;WHAT, YOU MEAN LIKE BLOOD PRESSURE?&rdquo;</i></b><br><b><i>- Wild goalie Ilya Bryzgalov when asked if he faces pressure entering the playoffs</i></b></blockquote><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b><i>&ldquo;I WISH THAT WE COULD TUMBLE THEM IN THE DRYER FOR 30 MINUTES AND GET THEM TO SHRINK, BUT THAT WON&rsquo;T HAPPEN&rdquo;</i></b><br><b><i>- Flames coach Bob Hartley on playing Anaheim, San Jose and Los Angeles on a road trip</i></b></blockquote><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b><i>&ldquo;MY HUG FOR SERGEI IS ALWAYS THE LAST HUG. AND IT IS ALWAYS THE GRANDEST&rdquo;</i></b><br><b><i>- The Blue Jackets&rsquo; Nick Foligno on his post-win ritual with goalie Sergei Bobrovsky</i></b></blockquote><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0021-02

TOP 5 QUOTES

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0022-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-011578/9989450-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(L-R: MICHAEL MARTIN/NHLI VIA GETTY IM AGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>C</span><b>ALGARY&rsquo;S BRIAN MCGRATTAN KNEW IN THE SUMMER</b> his Flames would be young and in need of protection. The veteran heavyweight went out and backed up the statement by sparring 11 times, his most since 2009-10. McGrattan also had new competition in Edmonton&rsquo;s Luke Gazdic and Colorado&rsquo;s Patrick Bordeleau. Here are THN&rsquo;s picks for the best tilts of the year.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-021153/9989443-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg" title="f0022-02" width="386" height="321"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(DEREK LEUNG/GETTY IM AGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>1 BRIAN MCGRATTAN vs. PATRICK BORDELEAU</b></h2><p><i>One criterion for this list was that the fights had to be even. One-sided bouts can&rsquo;t truly be considered great. That limits McGrattan, one of the most proficient pugilists of his generation, but he did have a great fight against Bordeleau in November.</i></p><p><i>The Avs enforcer stood toe-to-toe with McGrattan, but in the end, the decision went to McGrattan, according to <a href="http://hockeyfights.com">hockeyfights.com</a> readers. It was also one of the highest-rated scraps of the season, garnering an average rating of 8.2. McGrattan has acknowledged Bordeleau as his top fighter in the NHL.</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-03846/9989436-1-eng-US/f0022-032.jpg" title="f0022-03" width="388" height="322"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(RONALD C. MODRA/SPORTS IM AGERY / GETTY IM AGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>2 LUKE GAZDIC vs. MILAN LUCIC</b></h2><p><i>The breakout heavyweight of the year was Edmonton&rsquo;s Gazdic, who only got a shot due to an injury sustained by Steve MacIntyre. Gazdic made the most of his opportunity, taking on all the top names and usually winning (though McGrattan bested the Oilers tough guy).</i></p><p><i>In December, Gazdic had a tightly contested match with Boston&rsquo;s Lucic, narrowly winning the <a href="http://hockeyfights.com">hockeyfights.com</a> readers poll. Nobody can match Lucic&rsquo;s combination of skill and punching power in the NHL, and the spirited bout with Gazdic came in with an average rating of 7.7.</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-04622/9989429-1-eng-US/f0022-042.jpg" title="f0022-04" width="391" height="322"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(CHRISTIAN PETERSEN/GETTY IM AGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>3 ANTOINE ROUSSEL vs. KEVIN KLEIN</b></h2><p><i>Roussel, the Dallas agitator, has quickly become one of the greatest distractions in the NHL. Whatever he says to opponents works and when they come to unload on him, he is more than happy to throw a flurry of punches in return.</i></p><p><i>In late January, Klein took exception to the Stars sophomore while still playing for Nashville and the resulting donnybrook was a classic. In fact, it was the highest-rated fight of the year according to <a href="http://hockeyfights.com">hockeyfights.com</a> readers, with a score of 8.7. The action was so furious that Klein&rsquo;s visor became unmoored at the end.</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-05474/9989422-1-eng-US/f0022-052.jpg" title="f0022-05" width="388" height="317"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(JONATHAN DANIEL/GETTY IM AGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>4 JAY ROSEHILL vs. PAUL BISSONNETTE</b></h2><p><i>Rosehill and Bissonnette are no strangers to the Devilish Dance and their enthusiasm in an early January tilt was unquestioned.</i></p><p><i>The pair nearly went before the puck was even dropped and once the festivities began, not even a spill by the Coyotes&rsquo; Bissonnette could stop the party. The two simply regrouped and continued throwing for another solid minute. Rosehill had a couple great bouts this season, but this one was the closest of the biggies, registering a win for the Flyers bruiser and a <a href="http://hockeyfights.com">hockeyfights.com</a> approval rating of 7.8.</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-06383/9989415-1-eng-US/f0022-062.jpg" title="f0022-06" width="382" height="318"></div><h2><b>5 ANDREW SHAW vs. ANTOINE ROUSSEL</b></h2><p><i>What did I tell you about Roussel? He gets under his opponents&rsquo; skin. That was on perfect display in an early December run-in with Chicago&rsquo;s Shaw, who quickly became a Blackhawks folk hero for his timely scoring and scrappy, underdog play.</i></p><p><i>In this tilt, Shaw was absolutely unhinged, continuing to throw punches even while Roussel had him jerseyed and after the officials had stepped in to break up the proceedings. Tons of bombs were thrown in this fight and fans of <a href="http://hockeyfights.com">hockeyfights.com</a> showed their appreciation by scoring it a 7.7.</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0022-01

HAYMAKERS INCORPORATED

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-011356/9989509-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="466" height="551"></div><h2><b>1. STEVE MASON</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><i><span>I</span>f you don&rsquo;t enjoy a mask with zombie versions of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and Betsy Ross, you obviously haven&rsquo;t seen</i> Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.</p><h2><b>2. JACK CAMPBELL</b></h2><p><i>John F. Kennedy was killed in Dallas in 1963. Campbell honored him 50 years later on this highly creative lid, which includes JFK, the Oval Office and even Navy SEALs.</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-02975/9989502-1-eng-US/f0023-022.jpg" title="f0023-02" width="507" height="569"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-03727/9989495-1-eng-US/f0023-032.jpg" title="f0023-03" width="495" height="585"></div><h2><b>3. RYAN MILLER</b></h2><p><i>The American showed his patriotism on his Olympic mask with Uncle Sam. He gave a stick-tap to Sochi by featuring his wife and dog as Russian nesting dolls on the back.</i></p><h2><b>4. ONDREJ PAVELEC</b></h2><p><i>No goalie wore a more fitting mask in 2013-14. Fighter jets drop bombs from the heavens and Pavelec did the same all season, be it with Winnipeg or the Czech Olympic squad.</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-04541/9989488-1-eng-US/f0023-042.jpg" title="f0023-04" width="483" height="592"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-05397/9989481-1-eng-US/f0023-052.jpg" title="f0023-05" width="441" height="567"></div><h2><b>5. HENRIK LUNDQVIST</b></h2><p><i>The New York Rangers played two games at Yankee Stadium and &lsquo;King Henrik&rsquo; thanked the ballclub with a pinstripe mask honoring Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio.</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0023-01

TOP 5 MASKS

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-06320/9989568-1-eng-US/f0023-062.jpg" title="f0023-06" width="422" height="514"></div><h2><b>1. MONTREAL (HOME)</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><i><span>T</span>he classic logo framed by the mid-jersey stripe is iconic. There&rsquo;s no other way to put it. The Canadiens&rsquo; look is simple, effective and timeless, often duplicated but never equalled.</i></p><h2><b>2. CHICAGO (HOME)</b></h2><p><i>Though the logo can be controversial, the Hawks have not been targeted like the NFL&rsquo;s Redskins or baseball&rsquo;s Indians. The jersey is a favorite in sports with a great shoulder patch, too.</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-07257/9989561-1-eng-US/f0023-072.jpg" title="f0023-07" width="390" height="548"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-08217/9989554-1-eng-US/f0023-082.jpg" title="f0023-08" width="391" height="515"></div><h2><b>3. DETROIT (HOME)</b></h2><p><i>So classic, so clean. The Red Wings get away with the most minimal of striping, putting the famous logo front and center. Understated and elegant, it&rsquo;s one of just a few two-color sweaters.</i></p><h2><b>4. DALLAS (HOME)</b></h2><p><i>A brand new entry. The Stars reinvented themselves over the summer and the look is sharp. The green pops, the stripes are simple and the logo is a bold, original creation.</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-09177/9989547-1-eng-US/f0023-092.jpg" title="f0023-09" width="384" height="533"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-10155/9989540-1-eng-US/f0023-102.jpg" title="f0023-10" width="419" height="542"></div><h2><b>5. TAMPA BAY (HOME)</b></h2><p><i>Another recent entry, Tampa Bay followed Detroit and Toronto in producing a two-color sweater design. The new logo is almost solemn in its simplicity and, pardon the pun, striking.</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0023-06

TOP 5 JERSEYS

<div class="byline">BY MATT LARKIN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0024-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-011520/9989620-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">ANZE <b>KOPITAR</b> <span class="photo-credit">(NOAH GRAHAM/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span><b>HE EARTH WAS ONCE FLAT, CIGARETTES WERE HARMLESS AND</b> advanced hockey statistics were the ramblings of nerds who had no understanding of the game. We&rsquo;ve been thoroughly convinced the first two statements were way off, and it&rsquo;s time to acknowledge &ldquo;fancy stats&rdquo; tell us something profound. When simplified, they track which players and teams control the puck best, including how often it&rsquo;s directed at the other team&rsquo;s net and where on the ice it appears to start and finish each play.</p><h2><b><i>Best Corsi Close</i></b></h2><p><i>Corsi tracks shot attempts by the team - including shots on goal, missed nets and blocked shots - while a player is on the ice. It&rsquo;s an approximation of puck possession. Note that the NHL leaders are all Kings and Bruins, who finished first and second in GAA. It&rsquo;s hard to get scored on when you always have the puck. &ldquo;Corsi Close&rdquo; is more accurate than Corsi, as the &ldquo;Close&rdquo; metric only includes situations in which the score is tied in any period or within one goal in the first or second periods. The reason: blowouts skew the stats, as teams shoot less with a big lead.</i></p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-021093/9989613-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg" title="f0024-02" width="1114" height="368"></div><h2><b><i>Best Offensive Zone Finish Percentage</i></b></h2><p><i>Zone starts and finishes are increasingly trendy in the advanced stats community, but most useful when paired together. Brad Richards finished more of his shifts in the offensive zone than all but three players, but he started more of his shifts there than all but five players. Brendan Smith, on the other hand, was 111th in zone start rate and third in finish rate. Translation: Smith had a much stronger influence on pushing the puck away from his net and toward the enemy&rsquo;s.</i></p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-03757/9989606-1-eng-US/f0024-032.jpg" title="f0024-03" width="1297" height="368"></div><h2><b><i>Best Trend Buckers</i></b></h2><p><i>Chalk a win up for the purists who hate the advanced stats movement. These five players were remarkably bad in Corsi Close, meaning a high percentage of pucks were directed at their own net when they were on the ice. They still, however, managed outstanding offensive seasons. They were efficient when they did have chances, showing deft scoring touch. Gabriel Landeskog&rsquo;s name is a surprise given his reputation as a physical, defensively responsible player.</i></p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-04544/9989599-1-eng-US/f0024-042.jpg" title="f0024-04" width="1297" height="368"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0024-01

THE DEMONS OF POSSESSION

<div class="byline">- Andrew Hsliotis</div><h2><b>1. WAYNE SIMMONDS</b></h2><h3><b><i>RW, Philadelphia Flyers</i></b></h3><p class="dropcap"><i><span>T</span>his past season Simmonds hit career highs in all three scoring categories and his 60 points were good enough for a top 50 scoring finish. Simmonds really excelled on the power play, however. Scroll down the special teams list of top goal scorers and it won&rsquo;t take long to hit his name. Only Washington&rsquo;s Alex Ovechkin and San Jose&rsquo;s Joe Pavelski finished with more than Simmonds&rsquo; 15 power play goals. With 209 shots all season he scored at the same rate as Sidney Crosby and finished with a better shooting percentage than six of the top 10 point-getters of the season.</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-011331/9989651-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg" title="f0025-01" width="642" height="1049"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(SIMMONDS: DREW HALLOWELL/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>2. ALEXANDER STEEN</b></h2><h3><b><i>LW, St. Louis Blues</i></b></h3><p><i>Early in 2005-06, two rookies for the Maple Leafs made their team&rsquo;s scouts look like geniuses. Steen and Kyle Wellwood combined for 90 points and the Toronto faithful began salivating. But 20 games into 2008-09 Steen would forever be an afterthought in Hogtown when he was sent to the St. Louis Blues for Lee Stempniak. Oh, how things have changed. This season Steen, who built a reputation as a consistently underrated, solid two-way forward, led the Blues in goals (33) and points (62), recorded in just 68 games. Steen&rsquo;s 0.49 goals per game was seventh in the NHL.</i></p><h2><b>3. KYLE OKPOSO</b></h2><h3><b><i>RW, New York Islanders</i></b></h3><p><i>Anyone who stopped paying attention to the Islanders after John Tavares went down in the Olympics missed quite a show by Okposo. In between the negative off-ice storylines that underlined and marred the Islanders' season - everything from the failed Thomas Vanek experiment to an owner who publicly stated he would entertain offers to sell the team - you will find a player with 27 goals and 69 points in 71 games. If Okposo can put together another season like the one he just had, there is no doubt his name will be thrown out a lot more around the water cooler.</i></p><h2><b>4. ANDREJ SEKERA</b></h2><h3><b><i>D, Carolina Hurricanes</i></b></h3><p><i>He&rsquo;s far from flashy, but the 27-year-old Sekera epitomizes &ldquo;Under The Radar.&rdquo; Selected 71st overall by the Sabres in 2004, Sekera spent every season in Buffalo until he was dealt to the Hurricanes on draft day. It was clear Carolina had Sekera squarely on its radar when the team sent defenseman Jamie McBain and the 35th overall pick to the Sabres. Sekera&rsquo;s plus-four rating and 33 assists this season were both good for second on the Hurricanes, while his 44 points ranked him on a roster containing producers such as Eric Staal and Jeff Skinner.</i></p><h2><b>5. ROMAN JOSI</b></h2><h3><b><i>D, Nashville Predators</i></b></h3><p><i>Ever since Ryan Suter left Nashville for Minnesota, the Predators have been looking to fill a major hole on &lsquo;D&rsquo;. Luckily for of a 23-year-old from Switzerland. In his them, the answer has come in the form first full NHL season after being drafted in 2008, Josi was the perfect complement to all-world blueliner Shea Weber. It seems like the pair will be together long term as Josi is inked for another six years, but you don&rsquo;t never know what can happen in Nash expect to see him on any more under the radar lists.</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0025-01

TOP 5 UNDER THE RADAR GUYS

<h2><b>700</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><b><i><span>C</span>areer goals for Jaromir Jagr</i></b>&nbsp;<i>after he scored March 1. He finished the year with 705 and passed Mario Lemieux and Steve Yzerman to reach seventh place all-time.</i></p><h2><b>700</b></h2><p><b><i>Coaching wins for Joel Quenneville</i></b>&nbsp;<i>after his Blackhawks won March 19. By season&rsquo;s end he had 706 victories, good for third all-time.</i></p><h2><b>43</b></h2><p><b><i>Career Olympic points for Teemu Selanne,</i></b>&nbsp;<i>who scored six points in Sochi to become the Games&rsquo; all-time leader.</i></p><h2><b>800</b></h2><p><b><i>Games for Roberto Luongo,</i></b>&nbsp;<i>who finished the season with 803, 13th-most in NHL history.</i></p><h2><b>1,000</b></h2><p><b><i>Games-played milestone reached by</i></b>&nbsp;<i>Martin St-Louis, Henrik Sedin, Robyn Regehr, Michal Handzus and Matt Cooke in 2013-14.</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-02941/9989682-1-eng-US/f0025-022.jpg" title="f0025-02" width="696" height="883"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(SELANNE: BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0025-02

TOP 5 MILESTONE ACHIEVERS

<h2><b>1. QUEBEC CITY, QUEBEC</b></h2><p><b><i>Population:</i></b>&nbsp;<i>491,140</i></p><p><b><i>Current Team:</i></b>&nbsp;<i>Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)</i></p><p><b><i>Average Attendance/Capacity:</i></b>&nbsp;<i>9,974/15,176 (65.7%)</i></p><h2><b>2. MARKHAM, ONTARIO</b></h2><p><b><i>Population:</i></b>&nbsp;<i>332,000</i></p><p><b><i>Current Team:</i></b>&nbsp;<i>No AHL/CHL team</i></p><p>&nbsp;<b><i>Attendance:</i></b>&nbsp;<i>No AHL/CHL team</i></p><h2><b>3. HAMILTON, ONTARIO</b></h2><p><b><i>Population:</i></b>&nbsp;<i>519,949</i></p><p><b><i>Current Team:</i></b>&nbsp;<i>Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL)</i></p><p><b><i>Average Attendance/Capacity:</i></b>&nbsp;<i>4,946/17,383 (28.4%)</i></p><h2><b>4. SASKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN</b></h2><p><b><i>Population:</i></b>&nbsp;<i>253,000</i></p><p><b><i>Current Team:</i></b>&nbsp;<i>Saskatoon Blades (WHL)</i></p><p><b><i>Attendance:</i></b>&nbsp;<i>4,719/15,199 (31%)</i></p><h2><b>5. HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA</b></h2><p><b><i>Population:</i></b>&nbsp;<i>390,096</i></p><p><b><i>Current Team:</i></b>&nbsp;<i>Halifax Mooseheads</i></p><p><b><i>Attendance:</i></b>&nbsp;<i>8,168/11,093 (73.6%)</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

TOP 5 NHL DESTINATIONS

<p><b>1. TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS <i>Worth:</i></b>&nbsp;<i>$1.2 billion</i></p><p><b>2. NEW YORK RANGERS <i>Worth:</i></b>&nbsp;<i>$850 million</i></p><p><b>3. MONTREAL CANADIENS <i>Worth:</i></b>&nbsp;<i>$775 million</i></p><p>&nbsp;<b>4. VANCOUVER CANUCKS <i>Worth:</i></b>&nbsp;<i>$700 million</i></p><p><b>5. CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS <i>Worth:</i></b>&nbsp;<i>$625 million</i></p><p><b>6. BOSTON BRUINS <i>Worth:</i></b>&nbsp;<i>$600million</i></p><p><b>7. PHILADELPHIA FLYERS <i>Worth:</i></b>&nbsp;<i>$500million</i></p><p><b>8. PITTSBURGH PENGUINS <i>Worth:</i></b>&nbsp;<i>$480million</i></p><p><b>9. DETROIT RED WINGS <i>Worth:</i></b>&nbsp;<i>$470 million</i></p><p><b>10. LOS ANGELES KINGS <i>Worth:</i></b>&nbsp;<i>$450million</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

TOP 5 FRANCHISE VALUES

<div class="byline">BY ADAM PROTEAU</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0028-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-011504/9989841-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">DAVID <b>CLARKSON</b></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span><b>HE NHL&rsquo;S UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENCY PERIOD IS A CRAPSHOOT AND</b> sometimes the emphasis is on the crap. For every savvy signing - say, Tampa Bay&rsquo;s five-year contract with Valtteri Filppula, or Boston&rsquo;s one-year deal with Jarome Iginla - at least one free agent megadeal sends fans screaming for the weeping tissues. Here are the worst free agent deals signed last summer.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-021055/9989834-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="270" height="354"></div><h2><b>1 DAVID CLARKSON</b></h2><h3><b><i>Toronto</i></b></h3><p><b><i>Seven years, $36.8 million</i></b></p><p><i>The former Devil and native Torontonian was heralded loudly and proudly by the Leafs when they signed him to the biggest UFA deal of the off-season, but right from the get-go - when the league made him get up and go to the press box by suspending him the first 10 games of the year for leaving the bench in a pre-season brawl - Clarkson looked lost in Blue and White. If Toronto still had an amnesty buyout to use - and if the CBA would allow them to use one (it doesn&rsquo;t) - the 30-year-old would almost assuredly be looking for another place to play.</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-03780/9989827-1-eng-US/f0028-032.jpg" title="f0028-03" width="268" height="365"></div><h2><b>2 STEPHEN WEISS</b></h2><h3><b><i>Detroit</i></b></h3><p><b><i>Five years, $24.5 million</i></b></p><p><i>Weiss was a four-time 20-goal-scorer with the Panthers when he left Florida for Detroit. Unfortunately for him and his new team, the 31-year-old struggled with a groin injury all season and finished the 2013-14 campaign with just two goals and four points in 26 games. Because Weiss was so undependable, Red Wings GM Ken Holland had to make a deal with Nashville for pivot David Legwand at the trade deadline. With four years left on his contract, Weiss is stuck in the Motor City and may face a reduced role if Holland chooses to bring Legwand back.</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-04566/9989820-1-eng-US/f0028-042.jpg" title="f0028-04" width="268" height="356"></div><h2><b>3 RYANE CLOWE</b></h2><h3><b><i>New Jersey</i></b></h3><p><b><i>Five years, $24.3 million</i></b></p><p><i>As a member of the Sharks, Clowe was renowned for his physical game - but players of that ilk often break down as they enter their 30s. Clowe was 30 when he signed a massive deal with New Jersey - and wouldn&rsquo;t you know it, he missed 39 games this year and amassed just seven goals and 26 points. Playing on the low-scoring Devils, it seems unlikely he&rsquo;ll get back to the career-best 24 goals he scored for San Jose in 2010-11. New Jersey has always found ways to employ high-energy, gritty players, but Clowe is earning far too much to play that role.</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-05447/9989813-1-eng-US/f0028-052.jpg" title="f0028-05" width="268" height="351"></div><h2><b>4 BRYAN BICKELL</b></h2><h3><b><i>Chicago</i></b></h3><p><b><i>Four years, $16 million</i></b></p><p><i>Bickell was a revelation for the Hawks in the 2013 playoffs when he scored nine goals (including two game-winners) and 17 points in 23 games. Chicago faced a tough decision with the pending UFA last summer. Management made the choice to trade center David Bolland to Toronto to make financial room for Bickell, but the 28-year-old winger didn&rsquo;t deliver this year (11 goals and 15 points in 59 games). Was GM Stan Bowman fooled by Bickell&rsquo;s playoff success skating on a line with stars Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane? Sure seems that way.</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-06390/9989806-1-eng-US/f0028-062.jpg" title="f0028-06" width="270" height="355"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(CLARKSON: GRAIG ABEL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>5 MIKE RIBEIRO</b></h2><h3><b><i>Phoenix</i></b></h3><p><b><i>Four years, $22 million</i></b></p><p><i>Despite producing at least 51 points in each of his first nine full NHL seasons, Ribeiro has become a journeyman in recent years. So when the 34-year-old joined the Coyotes - the fourth team of his career - on a lucrative, long-term contract, skeptics wondered if he could be a real difference-maker for Phoenix. The skeptics were validated when he posted only 16 goals and 47 points in 80 games this season. Nobody has ever questioned Ribeiro&rsquo;s talent with the puck, but when you pay someone $5.5 million a season, you expect more than what he provided.</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0028-01

BUYER’S REMORSE

<div class="byline">- Jared Clinton</div><h2><b>1. CORY CONACHER</b></h2><h3><b><i>C, Buffalo Sabres</i></b></h3><p class="dropcap"><i><span>E</span>arly last season, Conacher was a sneaky favorite for the Calder Trophy The diminutive forward was turning in an eye-opening offensive campaign in Tampa Bay when, out of the blue, he was dealt to Ottawa in exchange for Ben Bishop. History will not be kind to that trade. The Senators waived Conacher after he failed to show even moments of the brilliance that put him in the conversation for rookie of the year In 79 games this season, Conacher failed to match the 11 goals he tallied in his lockout-shortened rookie campaign.</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-011322/9989872-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="771" height="1181"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(CONACHER: BILL WIPPERT/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b><i>2.</i> JONATHAN HUBERDEAU</b></h2><h3><b><i>LW, Florida Panthers</i></b></h3><p><i>Before Nail Yakupov began to surge, Huberdeau was running away with the lead in the rookie point race. The former Saint John Ice Dog made the most of his first season in the</i>&nbsp;<i>NHL, racking up 14 goals and 31 points, but in his second year, he fell short of matching that production. Albeit, the Panthers had the worst power play and one of the worst offenses in the league, but expectations for Huberdeau were much higher than what he delivered.</i></p><h2><b>3. VIKTOR FASTH</b></h2><h3><b><i>G, Edmonton Oilers</i></b></h3><p><i>Fasth was the big story of early 2013. Then 30, he had come to North America after back-to-back seasons of outstanding numbers in Sweden. While too old to qualify for the Calder, Fasth was still an NHL freshman. After threatening to unseat Jonas Hiller in Anaheim, Fasth found himself playing not second, but third string in his sophomore year behind Hiller and sensational rookie Frederik Andersen. Fasth was sent packing to the Edmonton Oilers at the trade deadline.</i></p><h2><b>4. NAIL YAKUPOV</b></h2><h3><b><i>RW, Edmonton Oilers</i></b></h3><p><i>It&rsquo;s not so much Yakupov had a terrible year in 2013-14 as it was last season&rsquo;s shooting percentage was a statistical anomaly. The 2012 first overall pick shot out the lights to the tune of 21 percent, putting him almost three percent ahead of perennial goal-scoring leader Steven Stamkos. Yakupov has been the topic of trade speculation, but don&rsquo;t expect to see him anywhere but Edmonton next fall.</i></p><h2><b>5. JUSTIN SCHULTZ</b></h2><h3><b><i>D, Edmonton Oilers</i></b></h3><p><i>A highly sought after undrafted free agent, Schultz began his pro career in American League Oklahoma City, where he piled up 48 points in 34 games. However, the blueliner has struggled at the best of times this year. While his point totals are appealing, he was among the Oilers worst possession players. In close game situations, Schultz had a Corsi For of 41 percent, the worst of all Oilers defensemen.</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0029-01

TOP 5 SOPHOMORE SLUMPS

<div class="byline">- JC</div><p class="dropcap"><b><i><span>I</span>T&rsquo;S EASY TO POINT</i></b>&nbsp;<i>and laugh at the contract the Sabres handed Ville Leino, but you won&rsquo;t find him on this list of the most overpaid forwards this season. After all, the Finnish forward did contribute 15 assists in an attempt to justify his $4.5-million cap hit. Each player below suited up for at least 25 games and had a base salary of more than $1 million. You won&rsquo;t find Colton Orr, who made a tidy $925,000 for zero points, but another Maple Leaf did find his way onto this list.</i></p><h2><b>1. STEPHEN WEISS, DET</b></h2><p><i>$4.9 million cap hit; 26 GP, 2 G, 2 A, 4 PTS</i></p><p><b><i>$1.23 million/point</i></b></p><h2><b>2. MIKAEL SAMUELSSON, DET</b></h2><p>&nbsp;<i>$3 million cap hit; 26 GP, 1 G, 2 A, 3 PTS</i></p><p><b><i>$1 million/point</i></b></p><h2><b>3. JIM SLATER, WPG</b></h2><p><i>$1.6 million cap hit; 27 GP, 1 G, 1 A, 2 PTS</i></p><p><b><i>$800,000/point</i></b></p><h2><b>4. JARED BOLL, CLB</b></h2><p><i>$1.05 million cap hit; 28 GP, 1 G, 1 A, 2 PTS</i></p><p><b><i>$525,000/point</i></b></p><h2><b>5. DAVID CLARKSON, TOR</b></h2><p><i>$5.25 million cap hit; 60 GP, 5 G, 6 A, 11 PTS</i></p><p><b><i>$477,273/point</i></b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-02907/9989903-1-eng-US/f0029-022.jpg" title="f0029-02" width="709" height="974"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(WEISS: DAVE REGINEK/NHL VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0029-02

TOP 5 OVERPAID PLAYERS

<div class="byline">- JC</div><p><b>1. TORTORELLA CHARGES FLAMES DRESSING ROOM</b></p><p><b>2. ST-LOUIS ASKS OUT OF TAMPA BAY AFTER OLYMPIC SNUB</b></p><p><i>St-Louis was a victim of the Team Canada numbers game, as stars like Claude Giroux didn&rsquo;t even make the team, but suffice to say the 38-year-old saw it differently. Coming off a campaign in which he won the Art Ross Trophy, St-Louis seemed a lock to don a Team Canada sweater at the Sochi games. However, Team Canada&rsquo;s brain trust went in a different direction, and GM Steve Yzerman, who happened to be St-Louis&rsquo; GM in Tampa Bay, delivered the bad news.</i></p><p><i>The evening following the announcement of his exclusion, the winger potted two goals, one a game-winner, in a 4-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets. When Steven Stamkos was deemed unable to play in the Olympics, St-Louis was announced as his replacement, but the snub had severed the relationship between the then-Lightning captain and his GM. Just days after the Olympics ended, St-Louis&rsquo; trade demand became public. And come the deadline, St-Louis was shipped to the New York Rangers.</i></p><p><b>3. BRUINS&rsquo; THORNTON SUCKER PUNCHES ORPIK</b></p><p><i>One minute, Shawn Thornton is speaking about how many people could deem him almost &ldquo;too honorable.&rdquo; The next, he&rsquo;s standing over Brooks Orpik after delivering a slewfoot and vicious sucker punch to the head of the Penguins&rsquo; defenseman. Thornton won&rsquo;t be called honorable again any time soon.</i></p><p><i>In a Dec. 7 contest between the Penguins and Bruins, two of the Eastern Conference&rsquo;s finest, Orpik delivered a massive blow to Boston forward Loui Eriksson. After challenging Orpik to a fight, which the defenseman declined, Thornton sought retribution in his own way, and what followed was eerily reminiscent of Todd Bertuzzi&rsquo;s 2004 attack on Steve Moore. Following the blindside, Orpik was stretchered off the ice, and Thornton was handed one of the stiffest suspensions in NHL history at 15 games.</i></p><p><b>4. HERTL&rsquo;S BETWEEN-THE-LEGS GOAL CAPS SHARKS ROUT OF RANGERS</b></p><p><i>Among the main tenets of hockey&rsquo;s unwritten rules: you don&rsquo;t further embarrass an already embarrassed opponent, and that was why Hertl&rsquo;s sensational, Marek Malik-style tally was one of the early-season&rsquo;s biggest talking points.</i></p><p><i>Already with three goals and his Sharks leading 7-2, Hertl received an outlet pass and streaked into the Rangers zone. Barrelling down on New York backup Martin Biron, the rookie forward tucked the puck between his skates, and with a deft flick of the wrists he deposited it into the top corner. The adverse reaction to Hertl&rsquo;s perceived flamboyancy could have set a land speed record. Some called Hertl a showoff, disrespectful, and said he would be a target when the two teams next met. Less than two weeks later, Biron retired, with some citing &ldquo;the goal&rdquo; as the reason. Hertl missed significant time with a knee injury, but finished the year with 15 goals in 37 games.</i></p><p><b>5. BURKE COMMENTS IGNITE CONTROVERSY AROUND BOBBY RYAN OLYMPIC SNUB</b></p><p><i>With the advent of all-access sports coverage, it was only a matter of time before something uttered in a closed-door meeting sparked controversy. It finally came in the form of Ryan&rsquo;s inability to spell certain words in the English language, if Brian Burke is to be believed.</i></p><p><i>Burke, David Poile and the Team USA brass were discussing the prospect of taking the Senators right winger to the Sochi Olympics. During the meeting it came to light that Burke didn&rsquo;t believe the 27-year-old possessed some of the almighty intangibles. &ldquo;He is not intense,&rdquo; Burke said, according to <a href="http://ESPN.com">ESPN.com</a>. &ldquo;That word is not in his vocabulary. It&rsquo;s never going to be in his vocabulary. He can&rsquo;t spell intense.&rdquo; Ryan, days after the comments went to air, told media the comments were &ldquo;gutless,&rdquo; but later backpedalled, saying Burke, the man who drafted him in 2005, was entitled to his opinion. In the end, the Americans failed to medal without Ryan anyway.</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-011373/9989972-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="584" height="869"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(ANDRE RINGUETTE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0031-01

TOP 5 CONTROVERSIES

<div class="byline">BY CASEY IPPOLITO</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-011492/9990003-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg" title="f0032-01" width="922" height="925"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b><i>AGELESS WONDER</i></b></p><p>Gordie Howe was ageless. His production fermented like a fine wine into his 40s.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(WALTER IOOSS JR. /SPORTS ILLUSTRATED/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>O</span>N MARCH 1, JAROMIR</b>&nbsp;Jagr became the seventh player to reach the 700-goal plateau. Just three weeks after hitting 42-year-old became the oldest player in history to record 60 points in a season. The Czech right winger is one of a handful of ageless greats who have produced long after their &ldquo;best before&rdquo; dates. Here are the 10 most productive seasons from players 40 and older.</p><h2><b>1. GORDIE HOWE, 40</b></h2><h3><b><i>103 points, 1968-69</i></b></h3><p>In a career defined by defying the limits of age, it&rsquo;s appropriate that Howe&rsquo;s only 100-point NHL season came the year he turned 40. Alongside Alex Delvecchio and Frank Mahovlich, No. 9 scored 44 goals, the third-highest total of his five-decade career.</p><h2><b>2. JOHNNY BUCYK, 40</b></h2><h3><b><i>83 points, 1975-76</i></b></h3><p>After debuting in the NHL with the Red Wings and playing two years in Motown, Bucyk migrated to Boston where he played 21 seasons. In the 19th of those 21 campaigns, Bucyk turned 40 and bettered his point total of a year earlier. He retired as the highest-scoring left winger of all-time, later surpassed by Luc Robitaille.</p><h2><b>3. TEEMU SELANNE, 40</b></h2><h3><b><i>80 points, 2010-11</i></b></h3><p>Ducks fans will remember 2010-11 as the year Corey Perry caught fire down the stretch, becoming the league&rsquo;s only 50-goal scorer. The attention on Perry resulted in the quietest 80-point season of Selanne&rsquo;s career, as the 40-year-old showed he was unfazed by his transition out of his 30s by scoring two points for every year of his life.</p><h2><b>4. ALEX DELVECCHIO, 40</b></h2><h3><b><i>71 points, 1972-73</i></b></h3><p>Alongside a 21-year-old Marcel Dionne and a 24-year-old Mickey Redmond, Delvecchio hit the 70-point plateau for the third time while his linemates each hit 90. It was his 23rd season in a 24-year career, all of which he spent with the Red Wings.</p><h2><b>5. GORDIE HOWE, 41</b></h2><h3><b><i>71 points, 1969-70</i></b></h3><p>Howe is third all-time in NHL scoring with 1850 points, despite playing six productive seasons in the WHA toward the end of his career. Even if he spent those years in the NHL and scored at a low rate, he&rsquo;d have easily broken the 2000-point mark. And it&rsquo;s reasonable to conclude he&rsquo;d have produced in the NHL during those WHA years when you consider his final pro season in 1979-80 was spent in the NHL with Hartford and saw Howe collect 41 points at the age of 51.</p><h2><b>6. JAROMIR JAGR, 42</b></h2><h3><b><i>67 points, 2013-14</i></b></h3><p>Jagr was far-and-away the best forward on the New Jersey Devils this season, keeping them in a playoff race in what was supposed to be a disastrous year. If Jagr plays one more season and has 50 points, he&rsquo;ll pass Steve Yzerman, Marcel Dionne and Ron Francis, moving into fourth on the all-time points list. Two 50-point seasons would put him past Mr. Hockey for third.</p><h2><b>7. MARK MESSIER, 40</b></h2><h3><b><i>67 points, 2000-01</i></b></h3><p>When the face of Lays potato chips returned to the Big Apple for his second stint with the Blueshirts, things started out well. &lsquo;Moose&rsquo; poured in 67 points at age 40 before playing three more seasons with dwindling production. His 67 points were more than he scored in any of his three seasons in Vancouver.</p><h2><b>8. TEEMU SELANNE, 41</b></h2><h3><b><i>66 points, 2011-12</i></b></h3><p>When Paul Kariya and Selanne joined the Colorado Avalanche for 2003-04 and flopped, it would have been believable if Selanne&rsquo;s career slid further from there. He had 32 points in 78 games at 33 years old, heading into a lockout year in which he didn&rsquo;t play. But Selanne enjoyed a second wind as he burst into the &ldquo;New NHL&rdquo; with back-to-back 90-point seasons. With 66 points in 2011-12, the 41-year-old led the Ducks in scoring.</p><h2><b>9. NICKLAS LIDSTROM, 40</b></h2><h3><b><i>62 points, 2010-11</i></b></h3><p>For Lidstrom, success on the ice was about intelligence and economy of movement. He was never explosive, but he managed to produce at an elite level until retiring at age 42. Lidstrom&rsquo;s 62-point season in 2010-11 won him the Norris Trophy. It was his seventh and final Norris, the second most all-time, trailing only Bobby Orr&rsquo;s eight.</p><h2><b>10. MARK RECCHI, 40</b></h2><h3><b><i>61 points, 2008-09</i></b></h3><p>Recchi had 45 of his 61 points with Tampa Bay and finished the remarkable season as a Boston Bruin after being dealt at the deadline. Recchi enjoyed a career of astounding longevity, beginning in 1988 and retiring in 2011. He&rsquo;s 12th in all-time league scoring and won three Cups, each in a different decade (Pittsburgh in &rsquo;91, Carolina in &rsquo;06, Boston in &rsquo;11).<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0032-01

THESE OLD DOGS HAVE SOME BITE

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-011322/9990062-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="452" height="593"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(COUTURIER: LEN REDKOLES/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>1. SEAN COUTURIER</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><i><span>P</span>rior to shaving for the postseason, Couturier grew a jungle facial mane that belied his 21 years of age. It was the envy of vets league-wide, though his toothless kisser sure wasn&rsquo;t.</i></p><h2><b>2. BRENT BURNS</b></h2><p><i>Although his beard was every bit Couturier&rsquo;s equal, &lsquo;Burnsie&rsquo; takes second, since he trimmed his wild whiskers earlier this season so as not to be confused with a Neanderthal.</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-02919/9990055-1-eng-US/f0033-022.jpg" title="f0033-02" width="452" height="594"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(BURNS: ROCKY WIDNER/GETTY IMAGE)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-03711/9990048-1-eng-US/f0033-032.jpg" title="f0033-03" width="413" height="554"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(MACLEAN: GRAIG ABEL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>3. PAUL MACLEAN</b></h2><p><i>The NHL&rsquo;s &ldquo;bug-eyed walrus,&rdquo; according to Brandon Prust, sports a stache rivalled only by Friedrich Nietzsche&rsquo;s facial rat. At lunch, a little breakfast is always left over for MacLean.</i></p><h2><b>4. RADKO GUDAS</b></h2><p><i>Gudas gets props for keeping a razor away from his facial follicles year-round. Full marks, too, for fullness, which gives him a beastly look apropos of his nasty style of play.</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-04581/9990041-1-eng-US/f0033-042.jpg" title="f0033-04" width="484" height="567"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(GUDAS: ANDRE RINGUETTE/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-05491/9990034-1-eng-US/f0033-052.jpg" title="f0033-05" width="411" height="572"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(LUNDQVIST: TAYLOR HILL/FILMMAGIC)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>5. HENRIK LUNDQVIST</b></h2><p><i>Not all NHLers fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down. King Henrik&rsquo;s metrosexually manicured facial fuzz perfectly complements his coiffed hair and pearly whites.</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0033-01

TOP 5 FACIAL HAIR

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-06428/9990121-1-eng-US/f0033-062.jpg" title="f0033-06" width="399" height="544"></div><h2><b>1. BUFFALO (THIRD)</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><i><span>T</span>here&rsquo;s just way too much going on here. Not only does it look like a practice jersey, but the two-tone collar is weird and the blue shoulders look like a cape. And grey is not a Sabres color.</i></p><h2><b>2. NY ISLANDERS (THIRD)</b></h2><p><i>&ldquo;Everybody in black" was a terrible 1990s trend and this Isles creation doesn&rsquo;t improve the notion. It&rsquo;s not a New York color and the lettering couldn&rsquo;t come in a duller font. And Dallas did the college look better.</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-07358/9990114-1-eng-US/f0033-072.jpg" title="f0033-07" width="450" height="553"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-08290/9990107-1-eng-US/f0033-082.jpg" title="f0033-08" width="416" height="554"></div><h2><b>3. CAROLINA (HOME)</b></h2><p><i>There&rsquo;s a fundamental flaw in naming your team after weather: the logo is rarely good. Tampa got it right, but Carolina is always hemmed in by the swirly thing in the middle of its sweater.</i></p><h2><b>4. ANAHEIM (HOME)</b></h2><p><i>The striping echoes back to the dark days of the late 1990s but it&rsquo;s the lack of logo that hurts here. Anaheim&rsquo;s thirds with the big webbed 'D' are actually pretty cool.</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-09231/9990100-1-eng-US/f0033-092.jpg" title="f0033-09" width="387" height="565"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-10196/9990093-1-eng-US/f0033-102.jpg" title="f0033-10" width="447" height="533"></div><h2><b>5. LOS ANGELES (HOME)</b></h2><p><i>That font. Why can&rsquo;t that font on &ldquo;LA" be better? The Kings have trotted out some of the best jerseys ever, but this latest incarnation just doesn&rsquo;t have the same impact as past editions.</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0033-06

TOP 5 WORST JERSEYS

<div class="byline">BY KEN CAMPBELL</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-021062/9990215-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="326" height="356"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-011514/9990208-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="2098" height="2190"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><i><span>D</span>URING THE STANLEY CUP</i></b>&nbsp;final last spring - a series that extended into the summer thanks to the lockout - Patrick Sharp was recalling his early days with the Blackhawks in 2006. Players would regularly be handed a stack of business cards with instructions to give them out to people in bars, restaurants and everywhere else they went around town. On the back of the card was a website where anyone with a card could log on for free tickets to a Blackhawks game. And they couldn&rsquo;t even paper the house. Announced attendance would be 10,000, which would have been accurate if everybody who came to the game did so with an invisible friend. &ldquo;People went from angry to indifferent,&rdquo; says Rocky Wirtz, chairman of the and the patriarch of a family that has held an ownership stake in the team for some 50 years. &ldquo;And that&rsquo;s worse than anger. When they&rsquo;re angry, at least they care about you.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-011398/9990201-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg" title="f0035-01" width="187" height="179"></div><p>In 2004, ESPN named the Blackhawks the worst organization in all of pro sports. Not the worst of the 30 NHL teams, but dead last among the 122 major North American teams that played games for money. Two years earlier, Rocky&rsquo;s father Bill was named the third greediest owner in any sport. The Blackhawks&rsquo; road games were drawing an audience of 0.4, numbers that are usually the domain of tractor pulls, strongman competitions and the wee hours of the morning on The Shopping Channel. It was so bad that when the team held a moment&rsquo;s silence before a game in 2007 after Bill Wirtz died, the United Center filled with boos.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-011415/9990194-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg" title="f0036-01" width="1398" height="1000"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>PATRICK KANE & JONATHAN TOEWS</p><p><b>STATUS NO</b></p><p>Chicago&rsquo;s franchise culture is to never be satisfied, even following Stanley Cup victories.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(OPENER+TOEWS: BILL SMITH/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>There&rsquo;s an old saying that suggests people in Philadelphia boo Santa Claus and safe landings at the airport. But on the night of Oct. 6, 2007, just 11 days after Bill Wirtz&rsquo;s passing, the fans of Chicago booed the memory of a dead man. &ldquo;I told (brother) Peter not to do that moment of silence because the fans were angry, and it wouldn&rsquo;t have put Dad in a good light,&rdquo; Rocky Wirtz says. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t want to put him in that position.&rdquo;</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">WE DON&rsquo;T TALK ABOUT PARADES. WE&rsquo;RE UNIMPRESSED WITH OURSELVES. WE&rsquo;RE HORRIBLE CELEBRATORS<br>- John McDonough</blockquote><p>Goodness, how things have changed. The Blackhawks are now the class of the league, as evidenced by their No. 1 ranking in THN&rsquo;s Franchise Rankings for 2013-14. (From Wirtz to First? Sorry, couldn&rsquo;t help it.) They&rsquo;re the only franchise to win two Cups in the post-salary cap era, are a preferred  destination for players looking to win, sell out every game in the cavernous United Center and have a smoothly running machine that groomed Kevin Cheveldayoff and Marc Bergevin for their current GM jobs.</p><p>The Blackhawks finished at or near the top of every category of our study, which ranked the NHL teams from No. 1 to 30 on everything from front office stability and playoff performance to their prospect list and the number of Twitter followers they have. To give you an idea how much has changed, the last time we did our rankings in 2007-08, the Blackhawks were 25th.</p><p>The key to the Hawks&rsquo; success? How do we put this delicately? Things really began to change for the better when Rocky Wirtz took over the team after Bill&rsquo;s death. It was not even a job he wanted, since it was assumed Peter, who had been a vice-president under his father&rsquo;s ownership tenure, would take control of the team and continue to enforce his father&rsquo;s archaic policies. But Peter resigned suddenly, and Rocky set about changing the course of the franchise.</p><p>The biggest change in philosophy came when he negotiated a local television package to broadcast Blackhawks home games. &ldquo;That was pretty low-hanging fruit,&rdquo; Rocky acknowledges. But he also hired John Mc Donough away from the Cubs to be team president; repatriated former legends such as Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita and Tony Esposito, who had been alienated by the former regime; and began reaching out to fans who wanted to love the Blackhawks, but just couldn&rsquo;t anymore. It helped this all coincided with the drafting of Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews and the emergence of Duncan Keith as a big-time defenseman.</p><p>Oh yeah, and those cards the players gave out so people could get free tickets? Three days into his tenure, McDonough took them all back. &ldquo;We tried a novel idea,&rdquo; Wirtz says, &ldquo;and actually tried to sell tickets.&rdquo;</p><p>Mission accomplished. One of the areas the Blackhawks finished tied for first was in attendance. The team that couldn&rsquo;t give tickets away now can&rsquo;t print them quickly enough thanks in large part to the fact the team has delivered in a big way on the ice. Winning takes care of so many things and the Blackhawks have done their fair share of that the past five years. But there&rsquo;s more to it than that, according to McDonough, a Type-A personality who hates the status quo, even when the status quo is really good.</p><p>During the Blackhawks&rsquo; first playoff run in 2010, their team mantra was &ldquo;One Goal.&rdquo; When a local newspaper printed out 500,000 placards for the victory parade that said &ldquo;One Goal Achieved,&rdquo; McDonough went bonkers. That was the last message he wanted the players and members of the front office to see.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-02899/9990187-1-eng-US/f0037-022.jpg" title="f0037-02" width="1398" height="1042"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>EPIC GRAIL</b></p><p>The Hawks have gone from irrelevant to regular guests of U.S. president Barack Obama.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(OBAMA: CHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-011263/9990180-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg" title="f0037-01" width="659" height="1019"><figcaption class="caption-body">PATRICK <b>SHARP</b> <span class="photo-credit">(SHARP: JARED WICKERHAM/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Dissent is welcomed in McDonough&rsquo;s world. When the Blackhawks negotiate a new TV or radio deal or contemplate raising ticket prices, the guys in the hockey department are part of the conversation. And when they decide whether to offer a free agent a contract, the marketing people are allowed to give input. But with that consensus comes accountability and in the Blackhawks front office, nobody is impressed with past accomplishments. Mc Donough says he&rsquo;s never been able to recall anyone among the Blackhawks front office actually wearing their Stanley Cup rings. &ldquo;I would say my management style is comfortably uncomfortable,&rdquo; McDonough says. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think there&rsquo;s ever a comfortable moment here at 1901 West Madison because we&rsquo;re not swept up in all of this. We don&rsquo;t talk about parades and we&rsquo;re very unimpressed with ourselves. Very unimpressed. We&rsquo;re horrible celebrators.&rdquo;</p><p>And it works in Chicago. From 1997 to 2007, the Hawks had five GMs and eight different coaches. They continued to make bad personnel decisions on the ice and in the front office until they promoted Stan Bowman to GM. He took over the fine work done by his predecessor Dale Tallon, and Joel Quenneville took over for Denis Savard behind the bench.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-011373/9990173-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg" title="f0038-01" width="1398" height="958"><figcaption class="caption-body">COREY <b>CRAWFORD</b> <span class="photo-credit">(CRAWFORD: BILL SMITH/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Bowman and Quenneville couldn&rsquo;t be more different as personalities, but they form one of the most formidable GM-coach tandems in the NHL. Bowman is contemplative and always planning for the future. Quenneville is what McDonough calls a force of nature. &ldquo;You hire Joel Quenneville, you&rsquo;re not going to get lilies in the field,&rdquo; McDonough says. &ldquo;This is not for the faint of heart, but I wouldn&rsquo;t want it any other way.&rdquo;</p><p>And things are buttoned-down with these Blackhawks. This is a team that engages with the community as well, or better, than any other. It&rsquo;s not a written edict, but Blackhawks players are under strict orders never to wear ball caps backward or sideways in interviews and they must always refer to the interviewer by first name to create a comfort level with the viewer. On the ice, the team remains a perennial Stanley Cup contender because Bowman has locked up the young stars long-term, including Kane, who was being run out of town two years ago by fans for his off-ice indiscretions, but had the faith of Bowman and the organization. Bowman had confidence Kane would learn, but it was still a risky move given his checkered off-ice past. Kane has rewarded that faith by maturing as a person and continuing to be one of the most explosive players in the league.</p><p>Put all of it together and the Blackhawks have become the Detroit Red Wings of this era. They won&rsquo;t win the Stanley Cup every year, but it&rsquo;s hard to imagine they won&rsquo;t be in the conversation for the short- and long-term future. &ldquo;I said after we won the first Cup,&rdquo; McDonough says, &ldquo;I did not want this to be that comet that came and went and then people would say, &lsquo;What happened to the Blackhawks?&rsquo;&rdquo;</p><h2><b>CATEGORIES</b></h2><p>Here are the different categories used to determine the rankings and how the points were allotted. Nos. 7, 8 & 10 are given more weight because success, on-ice and at the draft, is paramount</p><h3><b>1 FRONT OFFICE CONTINUITY</b></h3><p><i>Total number of coaches and GMs employed in the past five years. Two gets a team 10 points, three gets eight, four gets five, five gets three, six gets one</i></p><h3><b>2 FRANCHISE VALUE</b></h3><p><i>Based on Forbes&rsquo; numbers. The top three teams received 10 points, the next three nine points and so on.</i></p><h3><b>3 FENWICK CLOSE</b></h3><p><i>On-ice measurement of shots directed at the net, including missed (but not blocked) versus those given up in a game that is within one goal during the first and second period or tied during the third and overtime. Top three teams received 10 points, the next three nine points and so on.</i></p><h3><b>4 FUTURE WATCH RANKING</b></h3><p><i>Top three teams in our annual prospect ranking received 10 points, the next three nine points and so on.</i></p><h3><b>5 ATTENDANCE</b></h3><p><i>Averaged over five seasons and based on percentage of capacity. Teams got 10 points for 100 percent or more, 99.9 - 98.9 got nine points, down to three points for 79-70 percent. Only the Jets&rsquo; two seasons in Winnipeg were counted.</i></p><h3><b>6 TWITTER PRESENCE</b></h3><p><i>Number of followers for the team&rsquo;s official feed. Top three teams received 10 points, the next three got nine points.</i></p><h3><b>7 REGULAR SEASON</b></h3><p><i>Average finish at the end of the past five seasons, inverted. The best team got 30 points, the worst got one.</i></p><h3><b>8 PLAYOFF SUCCESS</b></h3><p><i>Based on past five years. Teams got 12 points for Cup win, eight for making final, six for conference final, four for second round, two for playoff berth.</i></p><h3><b>9 OWNERSHIP</b></h3><p><i>Subjective ranking of how owners affect team. Best get 10 points.</i></p><h3><b>10 DRAFT SUCCESS</b></h3><p><i>Based on 2005-09. One point for each NHL regular produced, regardless of the team he plays for now.</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-02973/9990166-1-eng-US/f0036-022.jpg" title="f0036-02" width="744" height="2978"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-03724/9990159-1-eng-US/f0037-032.jpg" title="f0037-03" width="745" height="2978"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-03677/9990152-1-eng-US/f0039-032.jpg" title="f0039-03" width="744" height="2978"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0034-02

FEATURES

SECOND CITY

<div class="byline">- RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-02962/9990246-1-eng-US/f0038-022.jpg" title="f0038-02" width="840" height="843"><figcaption class="caption-body">PATRICK KANE & <b>JONATHAN TOEWS</b> <span class="photo-credit">(KANE+TOEWS: JONATHAN DANIEL/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><i><span>S</span>IX</i></b>&nbsp;<b><i>YEARS DOESN&rsquo;T SEEM</i></b>&nbsp;<i>like a long time, but when it comes to hockey it&rsquo;s another story. Back in 2007-08, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane were getting acquainted for the first time as rookies on the Blackhawks. Tyler Seguin was playing in the OHL Cup for the minor midget Toronto Young Nats, while Dany Heatley ended up scoring 41 goals for the Ottawa Senators. It was also the last time we did franchise rankings. We had gone through the exercise the year before and in both instances, Detroit came out on top.</i></p><p><i>Now, the Red Wings are still a respectable fifth, but other teams have made huge jumps. Those rookie-laden Blackhawks from &rsquo;07-08 are now the NHL&rsquo;s best outfit, thanks to two Stanley Cups in four years, a savvier owner and a boom in attendance. They were 25th in our last rankings. One spot behind them in &rsquo;08 was the Pittsburgh Penguins, who, thanks to Sidney Crosby&rsquo;s arrival (and Evgeni Malkin a year later), went from moribund to marquee.</i></p><p><i>But some things never change. The Florida Panthers were 30th overall in &rsquo;08 and are still locking down the basement six years later. A lack of on-ice success and front office continuity has kept attendance low, which also reflects the team&rsquo;s social media presence. So who will be the next Chicago or Pittsburgh? Edmonton has the fan base. It just needs wins in the standings and stability in the management. The Islanders have a new building waiting for them in Brooklyn, plus a star in John Tavares who already got them to the playoffs once. And don&rsquo;t sleep on Phoenix: The Coyotes have the management and the talent, but only recently found owners who seem to know what they&rsquo;re doing. Maybe Arizona won&rsquo;t be such a hockey desert after all.</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0038-02

FRANCHISE CHANGE

<div class="byline">BY KEN CAMPBELL</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0039-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-011258/9990284-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">ROBERTO LUONGO <span class="photo-credit">(ELIOT J. SCHECHTER/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>G</span></b><b><i>M DALE TALLON WAS A</i></b> significant contributor to one team emerging from the abyss to become a perennial Stanley Cup contender and earn the No. 1 team Franchise Rankings. And with the Panthers, he gets to try to it all over again.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-02858/9990277-1-eng-US/f0039-022.jpg" title="f0039-02" width="185" height="186"></div><p>But this isn&rsquo;t going to be easy. The Panthers have been bottom-feeders in the for the better part of a decade. In fact, they were dead last the most recent time we did our Franchise Rankings in 2008. Little has changed since then, but there are for a turnaround. a quick one, mind you, but a turnaround</p><p>For starters, the Panthers won the draft lottery and go into this year&rsquo;s proceedings with the No. 1 overall pick. That should allow them to add to a stable of promising young players that made them the third-ranked team in THN&rsquo;s annual Future Watch issue this season. Of their top 10 prospects, four of them - Mike Matheson (Boston College), Ian McCoshen (Boston College), Rocco Grimaldi (North Dakota) and Kyle Rau (Minnesota) - played in the NCAA&rsquo;s 2014 Frozen Four tournament.</p><p>Add that to a group of promising young is reason for long-suffering Panthers fans to get their hopes up. A little. Luongo gives the Panthers a veteran goalie who can help usher the make their inevitable mistakes without getting burned every time.</p><p>Off the ice, they&rsquo;ve got an owner in Vinnie such deep pockets that he up for sale last December for $114 Yes, $114 million.</p><p>It&rsquo;s going to take more than Viola&rsquo;s money and a steady stream of young players, ship and the track record of building a solid but Tallon has the confidence of owner team from his days in Chicago. It would be unwise to start planning a Stanley Cup parade, or even a playoff party, in the near for quite a while. future, but at least it looks better than it has for quite a while.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0039-01

LOOK AT THE BRIGHT SIDE

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0040-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-02640/9990364-1-eng-US/f0040-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>COLE COMFORT</b></p><p>Seen here with HNIC analyst Gary Galley, Bob Cole has a voice familiar to any hockey fan.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(JONATHAN KOZUB/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>H</span><b>IS IS THE VOICE THAT BECKONS YOU TO THE</b> other room immediately, the one that leaves the microwave popcorn unattended and, inevitably, burnt. There&rsquo;s a warmth to his timbre that pegs his voice as legendary even if you didn&rsquo;t know he was in the midst of calling his 45th season of Stanley Cup playoff action. The workload isn&rsquo;t what it used to be and a new generation has nudged its way behind the same microphone, but ohhhh baby, there&rsquo;s only one Bob Cole.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-01969/9990371-1-eng-US/f0040-012.jpg" title="f0040-01" width="239" height="239"></div><p>The CBC play-by-play man was reached at his hotel in Pittsburgh as he prepared for his duties in the first round and he&rsquo;s still game at age 80. To keep in fighting trim, Cole gets to bed at a decent hour these days, sleeps in as much as possible and then shuts it down again from 2-4 p.m. But when it comes to playoff hockey, it&rsquo;s not hard to get him excited. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s knowing how intense the players are,&rdquo; Cole says. &ldquo;To make it to this stage, they had to be serious since they were kids and it shows. Every moment seems to be more important than the last. They all have each other&rsquo;s back. Everybody&rsquo;s just up. Same goes for me. It takes over your life and I love it.&rdquo;</p><p>What&rsquo;s not to love? Cole has been living the dream since his radio days and still lives in New-foundland, the province he was born in. Even though his regular season duties often had him flying to Toronto in past years, the broadcaster never thought of leaving the beautiful island (maybe once when he was younger, but never too seriously). So travelling for the post-season is just the same old routine, except that there&rsquo;s a bit more electricity when his workday begins. &ldquo;It starts to hit me when I get to the building,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;The fans are coming in, the organist is doing his thing and that&rsquo;s when the butterflies begin.&rdquo;</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">WHEN I GET TO THE BUILDING, THAT&rsquo;S WHEN THE BUTTERFLIES BEGIN<br>- Bob Cole</blockquote><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-03497/9990357-1-eng-US/f0040-032.jpg" title="f0040-03" width="494" height="618"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(JANA CHYTILOVA/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Though he has been criticized for missing a player&rsquo;s name here and there, Cole still has a whip-crack memory: his first NHL game was for CBC radio April 24, 1969, a semifinal match between Montreal and Boston that went to double overtime, with Jean Beliveau scoring the winner (see sidebar for more). Since then, he has worked some of the most iconic games ever and become a legend. Much of that can be traced to his delivery, that voice that stays low in moments of flux, then rises sharply in anticipation of a goal or a great save. Cole might even prefer the stop since he&rsquo;s a big fan of goalies and was friends with Hall of Famer Terry Sawchuk back in the day. &ldquo;Probably the best goalie ever, some say,&rdquo; Cole says. &ldquo;And I&rsquo;m not going to shoot that down.&rdquo;</p><p>Cole had influential broadcasters such as Danny Gallivan and Foster Hewitt before him, but another name from the entertainment world is near and dear to his heart: Frank Sinatra. Cole is a huge fan of Ol&rsquo; Blue Eyes and owns all of Sinatra&rsquo;s albums. &ldquo;I admire pros on every stage,&rdquo; Cole says. &ldquo;He conveys the song the way the writer intended: it&rsquo;s the diction, the feeling he puts in a song.&rdquo;</p><p>Another Cole passion over the years has been curling, though from the way he laughs when the sport comes up, it&rsquo;s easy to infer the passion invokes equal parts frustration and love. He first came upon the game on a hockey trip back in Newfoundland when his team went to Corner Brook on the west side of the island. &ldquo;It started there and I got into it big-time,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I discovered how difficult it was to get the rock to stop right where you want it to. It&rsquo;s a difficult game to master.&rdquo;</p><p>Cole was no slouch, though. He represented Newfoundland twice at the national Brier tourney.</p><p>Like those goalies he admires, Cole is known for being incredibly focused. His realm is the broadcast booth rather than the crease. According to industry lore, he made &ldquo;No touching!&rdquo; a rule way before <i>Arrested Development</i>, while his color analysts have had to figure out a different way to get his attention if they want to interject on the broadcast, it&rsquo;s not because Cole is mean-spirited or cold. &ldquo;I suppose I might be tough to work with,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I have idiosyncrasies, but I don&rsquo;t do it to be mean.&rdquo;</p><p>The hockey media landscape is rapidly changing  and it will be interesting to see what happens with Cole. When Rogers media takes over the Canadian national hockey TV landscape next season and for the next 12 years, there will be changes, but it hasn&rsquo;t yet been established what that entails. Jim Hughson had already taken some of the workload off Cole in the past few years, but Cole is still up for calling games as long as he can. &ldquo;I hope it keeps rolling,&rdquo; Cole says. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never thought about leaving.&rdquo;</p><p>The veteran&rsquo;s assignment in the first round already delivered some classic scenarios for Cole, who saw Pittsburgh and Columbus go into overtime twice in the first four games, with high drama in every contest: the winner of all four trailed 3-1 in those games. That meant lots of undulations in Cole&rsquo;s delivery, like a boat being tossed in the waves. It mirrored the unpredictable action on the ice and in the end, it heightened the tension for viewers at home. Cole knows just how insane a game can be when you&rsquo;re in the building and he can still bring a part of that into a living room.</p><h2><b>Boi Code&rsquo;s</b>&nbsp;<b>Landmark Moments</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-01845/9990350-1-eng-US/f0041-012.jpg" title="f0041-01" width="219" height="274"></div><h3><b>FIRST NHL BROADCAST</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-02566/9990343-1-eng-US/f0041-022.jpg" title="f0041-02" width="431" height="149"></div><p><b>APRIL 24, 1969</b></p><p><i>Radio broadcast of the Stanley Cup semifinal. Jean Beliveau scores the winner in double overtime for the Habs.</i></p><h3><b>FIRST CUP FINAL</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-03462/9990336-1-eng-US/f0041-032.jpg" title="f0041-03" width="431" height="149"></div><p><b>APRIL 27, 1969</b></p><p><i>Cole treats the tilt with pro calm. &ldquo;A game is a game, really. The climax is just greater&rdquo;</i></p><h3><b>THE SUMMIT SERIES</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-04400/9990329-1-eng-US/f0041-042.jpg" title="f0041-04" width="431" height="148"></div><p><b>SEPT. 28, 1972</b></p><p><i>Waiting for a hotel elevator in Moscow, Cole asks Paul Henderson if he'll ever score a goal bigger than his Game 6-winner. Little did he know&hellip;</i></p><h3><b>FIRST NHL OLYMPICS</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-05361/9990322-1-eng-US/f0041-052.jpg" title="f0041-05" width="431" height="148"></div><p><b>FEB. 20, 1998</b></p><p><i>Canada loses to Hasek: &ldquo;The bad memory I have is Wayne Gretzky, sitting on the bench with his arms folded."</i></p><h3><b>CANADA IS GOLDEN</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-06314/9990315-1-eng-US/f0041-062.jpg" title="f0041-06" width="431" height="148"></div><p><b>FEB. 24, 2002</b></p><p><i>Joe Sakic&rsquo;s second seals win over USA. &ldquo;That got me on my feet. I&rsquo;ve always loved how Sakic played&rdquo;</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0040-02

Oh, Baby! What a Career

<div class="byline">BY MATT LARKIN</div><p class="dropcap"><span>I</span><b>T&rsquo;S A DARK, FRIGID MORNING DURING TORONTO&rsquo;S CRUELEST</b> winter in 20 years. Anyone awake is annoyed about it, unable or unwilling to string two sentences together. Except a Hall of Fame goaltender named Grant Fuhr, who saunters into the Westin Harbour Castle hotel lobby, fashionably late, with the cheerful Zen of a monk. Maybe it&rsquo;s his surgically replaced knee, made of titanium, which keeps him from hurrying anywhere. &ldquo;He sets off all the alarms at the airport,&rdquo; says his fiancee, Lisa. Or maybe Fuhr glides along with such tranquility because he simply has life all figured out.</p><p>What he&rsquo;s about to do is daunting in theory. After years out of the public eye, he&rsquo;s resurfacing to make about a dozen major media appearances in a row. Breakfast Television, TSN Radio, and so on. He&rsquo;s promoting a soon-to-be released autobiography. It&rsquo;s a tell-all, meaning he&rsquo;ll account his best days backstopping the Edmonton Oilers dynasty and his adventures in golf, but he&rsquo;ll also face the harder parts of his life head on. That includes his battle with cocaine use, which led to a lengthy suspension during his playing career.</p><p>Some people would be jittery resurfacing to be thrust in the spotlight for 12 straight hours, but not Fuhr. He&rsquo;s one of the sport&rsquo;s all-time best money goalies. He has five Stanley Cup rings and a Canada Cup. And when the camera or microphone is in his face, Fuhr, now 51, laps up the pressure without problem. He answers questions on anything, from his playing days to Canada&rsquo;s 2014 Olympic team, with such little hesitation that he&rsquo;s goalie-like in his reaction time. &ldquo;This is fun,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t done this for years.&rdquo;</p><p>Maybe Fuhr is so comfortable with the attention because he attracted so much of it during his career. He was a highly coveted goaltender coming out of junior, drafted eighth overall by the Oilers in 1981. An athletic netminder who modelled himself after Tony Esposito, he was a perfect fit on the most high-octane offense the game has ever known, because the team&rsquo;s style was familiar to him. &ldquo;I loved playing for a run-and-gun team,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I got lucky enough that when I was playing junior in Victoria, that was the first time I&rsquo;d seen a run-and-gun team, so with junior and the training, my progression to the NHL was playing the same style of hockey. It was comfortable for me.&rdquo;</p><p>Fuhr battled for time with Andy Moog, which Fuhr believes made him a better goalie, and became Edmonton&rsquo;s primary starter for most of the 1980s, especially during the playoffs. Fuhr played a crucial role in four of the five Cups he won with Edmonton, including an incredible 1988 run in which he went 16-2 en route to the Oil&rsquo;s fourth Cup in five years. Wayne Gretzky called Fuhr the greatest goalie in the history of the game.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-01899/9990409-1-eng-US/f0042-012.jpg" title="f0042-01" width="801" height="1135"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>BRING IT ON, BOYS!</b></p><p>Grant Fuhr loved all the shots he faced backstopping a run-and-gun Oilers offense in the 1980s.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(BRIAN MILLER/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Fuhr played in six All-Star Games, won the 1988 Vezina Trophy and was acrobatically sensational for Canada in the 1987 Canada Cup, too. But he wasn&rsquo;t just a star for what he did on the ice. He&rsquo;s not the first black player in NHL history, but he is the first black superstar. &ldquo;You notice it more now,&rdquo; Fuhr says. &ldquo;At the time you just treated yourself as a player, first and foremost. Obviously with Willie O&rsquo;Ree and Mike Marson, Bill Riley, Tony McKegney, all those guys playing ahead of me, you didn&rsquo;t really think of it that way. So I just feel pretty fortunate to have ended up in a spot where I could be successful.&rdquo;</p><p>He is also remembered for being suspended by the NHL for a year in 1990 for using cocaine throughout the mid- to late 1980s. The league was aware Fuhr had been clean for a year, but punished him for conduct &ldquo;dishonorable and against the welfare of the league.&rdquo; He earned early reinstatement by February 1991 and played a key role in another deep Oilers playoff run. &ldquo;My only hard feelings out of the whole thing was it was probably about two or three years late, but at the same time, you make a mistake and you&rsquo;ve got to pay the price,&rdquo; Fuhr says. &ldquo;We were just young and got caught up with the wrong crowd. It was a young, dumb mistake.&rdquo;</p><p>He was traded from Edmonton in 1991-92 and, after a year trying to keep a lowly Toronto Maple Leafs team afloat, ended up backing up Dominik Hasek in Buffalo. But a trade to L.A. in February 1995 let Fuhr suit up for 14 late-season games and he realized he could still play. The ensuing off-season, Mike Keenan and the St. Louis Blues came calling. &ldquo;I thought I&rsquo;d get a fair shake to play, but I didn&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;d get to play every day,&rdquo; Fuhr says. &ldquo;As it turned out, Mike basically told me, &lsquo;Play until you&rsquo;re tired.&rsquo; And when you get an opportunity, you don&rsquo;t want to turn it down, so I was fortunate enough to play most of the year.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;Most of the year&rdquo; is modest. In 1995-96, Fuhr started an NHL-record 79 games. On a stacked Blues team that added Wayne Gretzky at the trade deadline, Fuhr had a great shot at a sixth ring, especially when he was stymying the Leafs in the first round of the playoffs. Then Nick Kypreos happened. The enforcer infamously ran Fuhr in the crease, blowing out several of the goalie&rsquo;s knee ligaments. Fuhr is still asked about it today. He says he doesn&rsquo;t doubt the hit was a deliberate attempt to throw him off his game, but that he doesn&rsquo;t believe Kypreos meant to injure him.</p><p>Fuhr returned from the knee injury to play several more years in the NHL, but never at the same level. He retired in 2000 after a stint with the Flames, then took a healthy run at being a pro golfer. In 2004 in his sixth trip to &lsquo;Q&rsquo; school, Fuhr was about to finally qualify for the Canadian PGA Tour, but an improperly signed scorecard disqualified him. It&rsquo;s not as much of a sore spot as you may expect, however. He doesn&rsquo;t believe he was as close to golf stardom as he was portrayed to be. &ldquo;I have enough friends that actually play on the Tour and realize how much work they&rsquo;ve put into it, and at that time I didn&rsquo;t have the time to put in that work,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;You realize how good they are when you know how much work has to be done.&rdquo;</p><p>Fuhr stayed in hockey as a goalie coach, starting with the Western League&rsquo;s Prince George Cougars and catching on with the Gretzky-coached Phoenix Coyotes for four seasons from 2005-06 to 2008-09. None of those teams made the playoffs and none had strong goaltending, but Fuhr&rsquo;s cast of stoppers to work with included a 38-year-old Curtis Joseph, Brian Boucher, Mikael Tellqvist and a young Ilya Bryzgalov. It&rsquo;s fair to wonder what he&rsquo;d do with a higher-pedigree netminder. Fuhr says he&rsquo;d consider coaching an NHL team&rsquo;s goalies again if the opportunity arose.</p><p>And where has he been since? For one, Fuhr dabbled in coaching minor hockey at the bantam AAA level. He remains a diehard fan of the game today, following the star-crossed Edmonton Oilers closely. Of the modern generation of goalies, he enjoys watching Carey Price, Roberto Luongo, Kari Lehtonen and Jonathan Bernier the most.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-01876/9990402-1-eng-US/f0043-012.jpg" title="f0043-01" width="1060" height="731"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(ELSA HASCH/ALLSPORT)</span></figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">I HAVE FIVE CUP RINGS, AND DO YOU KNOW WHO HAS MORE? KEN DRYDEN AND JACQUES PLANTE<br>- Grant Fuhr</blockquote><p>It&rsquo;s a refreshing experience to walk the Hall of Fame with Fuhr, who is genuinely excited to slip inside on a weekday relatively unnoticed and look around. He&rsquo;s not one to pretend milestones don&rsquo;t matter, either. &ldquo;I have five Cup rings, and do you know who has more than me?&rdquo; he asks. &ldquo;Ken Dryden and Jacques Plante.&rdquo;</p><p>His personal life also changed when he met Lisa at a golf tournament organized by New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees. The happy couple spends a lot of time in Palm Springs, where Fuhr helps a local golf club in public relations. He has also launched a website to promote his personal brand, <a href="http://grant-fuhrmkt.com">grant-fuhrmkt.com</a>, with help from marketing consultant Paul Cookson, who does promotional work for many retired NHLers. Lately, of course, he&rsquo;s put lots of time into his book. He covers his entire career in it and gets to address the more controversial parts of his life, the drug use in particular, in his own words. &ldquo;We indulged as kids, but at the same time it wasn&rsquo;t this big crisis,&rdquo; Fuhr says. &ldquo;You can&rsquo;t play to a level of being one of the best in the world if it&rsquo;s that big of an issue. The players, you&rsquo;ve got to remember, we play and practice every day. And at the time they said I was at my hardest partying, I managed to play 75 games, go 16-2 in the playoffs and win a Canada Cup, so it couldn&rsquo;t have been that bad.&rdquo;</p><p>Fuhr is just as serene talking about drugs as he is any other aspect of his career. He has conquered his demons and is utterly at peace. The prevailing theme in his upcoming book, he says, is that he&rsquo;s happy with how his life has gone. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s always easy to look back and say, &lsquo;Hey, if I could, if I had known this now, back then, it would be easy to say, &lsquo;bad choice,&rsquo;&rdquo; Fuhr says. &ldquo;But at the time it&rsquo;s also a part of growing up and learning. So, did I grow up and learn the hard way and pay a price for it? Yeah, I did. But at the same time, it&rsquo;s made me a better person today, so I wouldn&rsquo;t change it.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0042-01

HIS LEGACY LIVES ON

<div class="byline">BY CASEY IPPOLITO</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-01779/9990454-1-eng-US/f0044-012.jpg" title="f0044-01" width="326" height="356"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-02513/9990447-1-eng-US/f0044-022.jpg" title="f0044-02" width="985" height="1247"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>RITCHIE RICH</b></p><p>The NHL will be full of Ritchies. Nick will be the second drafted from his family since 2011.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(AARON BELL/OHL IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>T<b>HE PETERBOROUGH PETES MADE</b>&nbsp;the playoffs for the first time in four seasons, and they have Nick Ritchie to thank.</p><p>The burly power winger, 18, blossomed offensively in his third Ontario League season, just in time for the 2014 draft. On the top line alongside fellow 2014 eligible forward Eric Cornel, Ritchie just missed the 40-goal mark on a team bereft of veteran star power. &ldquo;How scary is Ritchie if he&rsquo;s playing in Guelph with Robby Fabbri and Kerby Rychel?&rdquo; said one NHL scout. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s probably at 60 goals right now.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s carrying his team. He&rsquo;s probably playing too much. He&rsquo;s out every minute and a half or two minutes to try to make things happen. It&rsquo;s rare to say a draft-eligible kid is playing too much.&rdquo;</p><p>At 6-foot-3 and 226 pounds, Ritchie is playing at or perhaps even above his eventual pro dimensions. He excels at what a gifted player his size should: shielding the puck with defenders on his back and driving to the net with and without the puck.</p><p>It doesn&rsquo;t take long to notice Ritchie loves to hit. He drives through opponents ruthlessly, creating ripples in spectators&rsquo; drinks like a T-Rex footstep from <i>Jurassic Park.</i> &ldquo;It&rsquo;s the Eric Lindros factor - let him sleep, don&rsquo;t wake him up,&rdquo; said Petes coach Jody Hull. &ldquo;Once they try to be physical against him, before you know it, he&rsquo;s being physical the other way. It gets him going.&rdquo;</p><p>Ritchie&rsquo;s exceptional hands and vision are owed in part to athletic genes. His dad, Paul, played four years in the OHL, while older brother, Brett, a Dallas Stars draftee (44th overall in 2011), gave Nick a strong role model to compete with in hockey and lacrosse. Before choosing skates over shoes full time, Nick was an elite lacrosse player in Orangeville, Ont., where lacrosse is king. &ldquo;I played &lsquo;til midget, but then being drafted into the OHL, I had to choose what I wanted to do and obviously hockey was my choice,&rdquo; Ritchie said. &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t have the stick on the ground, but it&rsquo;s hand-eye and there&rsquo;s a lot of similar things in the two games. You can definitely incorporate those skills into hockey.&rdquo;</p><p>The defining game of Ritchie&rsquo;s season came Feb. 7 against Kings ton. Despite his club falling 7-6 in a shootout, Ritchie poured in five goals and added an assist. &ldquo;We were down early, I think 4-1,&rdquo; recalled Hull. &ldquo;It was one of those ones where we didn&rsquo;t want to get embarrassed, and he just took control of the game. He got the first one and you could just sense he wanted the puck.&rdquo;</p><p>While Ritchie&rsquo;s defensive game won&rsquo;t be among the positive bullet points on his scouting reports, his play on that side of the puck has evolved. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s buying in, he&rsquo;s watching lots of video, and I trust him to do the right thing defensively, especially when he&rsquo;s put in PK situations,&rdquo; Hull said. &ldquo;To me that shows that he&rsquo;s getting it, and his positioning has really improved.&rdquo;</p><p>On the technical side, Ritchie&rsquo;s skating leaves room for improvement. With a lengthened stride and heightened conditioning, his top speed can certainly improve. He appears to labor at times, hauling such a dense frame playing top minutes. When the game gets quicker at the pro level, he may be told to shed a few pounds for the sake of quicker feet. In terms of areas Ritchie needs to nurture, Hull says conditioning is at the top of the list. If a player Ritchie&rsquo;s size begins to coast through summer conditioning, he risks becoming a big, skilled underachiever like Ryan Malone.</p><p>Come draft time, teams will salivate at Ritchie&rsquo;s rare combination of size and skill. He&rsquo;s ranked seventh by NHL Central Scouting and ninth by International Scouting Services, but he may sneak into the top five. Milan Lucic, Ryan Getzlaf and Jamie Benn influence Ritchie&rsquo;s approach. &ldquo;Ritchie has more skill than Lucic,&rdquo; the scout said. &ldquo;I see quite a bit of Todd Bertuzzi in him. They were very similar in size and numbers in their draft year.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>NICK RITCHIE</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-03390/9990440-1-eng-US/f0044-032.jpg" title="f0044-03" width="197" height="172"></div><p><b>POSITION</b> Left winger</p><p><b>AGE</b> 18</p><p><b>HEIGHT</b> 6-3</p><p><b>WEIGHT</b> 226 lbs</p><p><b>DRAFTED</b>&nbsp;2014 eligible</p><h2>1</h2><p>Forward with a heavier listed weight than Nick Ritchie among International Scouting Services&rsquo; top 200 draft prospects. Joe Wegwerth, the 123rd-ranked skater, weighs 230 pounds, four more than Ritchie, the ninth-ranked skater.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0044-01

WHO WILL PICK THICK NICK?

<div class="byline">BY DANIEL NUGENT-BOWMAN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-04336/9990499-1-eng-US/f0045-042.jpg" title="f0045-04" width="326" height="356"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-01685/9990492-1-eng-US/f0045-012.jpg" title="f0045-01" width="1128" height="1152"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>AHEAD OF SCHEDULE</b></p><p>With surprisingly stellar play, Brayden Point forced his way into regular WHL duty at 16.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(POINT: CORY KERR PHOTOGRAPHY)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>B</span>RAYDEN POINT HAS ALWAYS</b>&nbsp;heard people question his stature, even while he was playing novice and atom bodychecking in peewee was supposed to hinder him, too. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m obviously not going to be running around and killing guys,&rdquo; Point said. &ldquo;I try to use my speed down low and use my head more than my body. That&rsquo;s worked for me so far. I just try that say I&rsquo;m too small.&rdquo;</p><p>At 5-foot-9 and 160 pounds, he won&rsquo;t be mistaken for a bruising power forward. Yet the 2014 NHL draft-eligible center has still managed to be one of the Western League&rsquo;s most productive players. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not always about big hits or fights,&rdquo; said goes a long way.&rdquo;</p><p>The 18-year-old finished the season with 36 goals and 91 points in 72 games, good for 13th in WHL scoring. He had 36 more points than the next highest scorer on the team.</p><p>Point had barely turned when he was called up for the 2012 playoffs. That was less than a year after the then-5-foot-5, 130-pound forward was selected in the 2011 WHL bantam draft. Warriors coach Mike Stothers admits the playoff action was meant for the youngster to gain experience before his rookie season. But Point played so well that Stothers kept pencilling his name into the lineup. Since then, the center has continued to impress with his smarts and dogged determination. &ldquo;I look at a guy that seems to have the puck all the time,&rdquo; Stothers said. &ldquo;So if he was that small and it was a problem, he&rsquo;d have a hard time getting it and he&rsquo;d have a hard time keeping it.&rdquo;</p><p>Point ranked 53rd among North American skaters in NHL Central Scouting&rsquo;s midterm rankings for the 2014 draft and 57th overall on International Scouting Services&rsquo; April list. One scout who focuses on the WHL said his undersized frame will almost certainly make him a lower draft pick than his skill suggests. &ldquo;It really doesn&rsquo;t matter where he goes in the draft,&rdquo; the scout said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s what he does after he gets drafted.&rdquo;</p><p>The scout believes Point&rsquo;s versatility and hockey sense should allow him to play in the NHL under the right circumstances. &ldquo;He sees plays develop before other players see them develop,&rdquo; the scout said. &ldquo;Some guys can only see the play in front of them. A guy like Brayden can break through that first wave and into that second wave.&rdquo;</p><p>Point was left off the initial roster for the BMO CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game, but was a last-minute injury replacement for Kingston Frontenacs center Sam Bennett. He earned an assist and wound up being arguably the best player in the game, the scout said. He then caught fire for 49 points in his next 29 WHL games. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve proven people wrong so far, so hopefully I can keep doing that,&rdquo; Point said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think about it too much when I&rsquo;m on the ice. I try to play big and let my game do the talking for me. Hopefully, someone likes that.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-02466/9990485-1-eng-US/f0045-022.jpg" title="f0045-02" width="196" height="204"></div><h2><b>BRAYDEN POINT</b></h2><p><b>POS</b> Center <b>AGE</b> 18 <b>HT</b> 5-9 <b>WT</b> 160 lbs</p><p><b>DRAFTED</b> 2014 eligible<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0045-04

HEART OF A WARRIOR

<div class="byline">- Ryan Kennedy</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-03396/9990530-1-eng-US/f0045-032.jpg" title="f0045-03" width="491" height="698"><figcaption class="caption-body">ROBBY <b>FABBRI</b> <span class="photo-credit">(FABBRI: TERRY WILSON/OHL IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>1. ROBBYFABBRI C</b></h2><h3><b>GUELPH (OHL)</b></h3><p>The speedy pivot doesn&rsquo;t play like he&rsquo;s 5-foot-1O; he&rsquo;ll battle much bigger opponents and still score.</p><h2><b>2 KEVIN FIALA LW</b></h2><h3><b>HV 71 (SWE.)</b></h3><p>Great at the world juniors, amazing at the under-18s, the Swiss dynamo plays in Sweden at 5-foot-10.</p><h2><b>3. CHASE DE LED, C</b></h2><h3><b>PORTLAND (WHL)</b></h3><p>Strong and hard to play against, the 5-foot-9 Hawk is a producer like teammate Nic Petan.</p><h2><b>4. DANIELAUDETTE C</b></h2><h3><b>SHERBROOKE (QMJHL)</b></h3><p>The 5-foot-8 son of ex-NHLer Donald Audette fights his own battles and has loads of skill.</p><h2><b>5. SPENCERWATSON RW</b></h2><h3><b>KINGSTON (OHL)</b></h3><p>His skating is just decent, but scoring is no problem for the 5-foot-10 Frontenac, who also competes hard.</p><h2><b>6. SEBASTIANAHO D</b></h2><h3><b>SKELLEFTEA (SWE.)</b></h3><p>The 5-foot-9 frame doesn&rsquo;t stop this puckmoving defenseman from playing tough and doing his job.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0045-03

SMALL WONDERS

<div class="byline">BY JOSH ELLIOTT</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0047-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-01625/9990599-1-eng-US/f0047-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>LONDON CALLING</b></p><p>The 2004-05 Knights still feel the urge to get together and catch up on each other&rsquo;s lives.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(DAVE SANDFORD/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>I</span><b>T&rsquo;S BEEN NEARLY A DECADE SINCE THE LONDON KNIGHTS HOSTED</b> and won their only Memorial Cup. In the nine years since, owners Dale and Mark Hunter have solidified the Knights as one of the Ontario League&rsquo;s premier franchises and earned the right to play host again this year. Players from the 2004-05 team have gone on to win Stanley Cups, Olympic gold medals and more, but they&rsquo;ll never forget where they came from.</p><p>In what turned out to be textbook foreshadowing, the 2004 05 Knights began with a 31-game unbeaten streak. What followed were a J. Ross Robertson Cup as OHL champions and an incredible home-ice Memorial Cup victory as the hockey world watched on during the doldrums of an NHL lockout.</p><p>Today, Stanley Cup champions Corey Perry and Dave Bolland trace their winning pedigrees back to that team. Hard-nosed defensemen Dan Girardi and Marc Methot faced top-tier competition with those Knights and Brandon Prust learned to be the energy player he&rsquo;s become in the NHL under the Hunters&rsquo; guidance.</p><p>Others from that team are now scattered throughout the hockey world or out of the sport entirely, but they often return to London to renew the friendships they forged when they won the Canadian League&rsquo;s top prize. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a family,&rdquo; Perry says. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re all brothers in this and you never forget where you came from.&rdquo;</p><p>Whether it&rsquo;s lining up for opposing teams in the NHL or hanging out at charity golf tournaments, players from that Knights squad still find an instant connection. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll run into one of them and it&rsquo;s like we haven&rsquo;t missed a beat,&rdquo; Methot says. &ldquo;You develop  a bond when you go through something like that. It&rsquo;s really unbreakable.&rdquo;</p><p>Many of the former Knights now make their offseason homes in London, where they love to gather in the summer and relive their junior glory days. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a pretty tight-knit group,&rdquo; Perry says. &ldquo;A lot of guys keep in contact with each other.&rdquo;</p><p>The easiest member of the Memorial Cup winning team to find is Dylan Hunter. He&rsquo;s still a London Knight, though now he&rsquo;s behind the bench. After a five-year career in the minors, the son of Dale took up the family business and became an assistant coach with the team in 2011. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re getting older, married, a couple of us are having kids, so it&rsquo;s funny when we sit around in the summer and talk about it, and see where guys are going,&rdquo; Dylan says.</p><p>The player who&rsquo;s gone the farthest, geographically speaking, is defenseman Scott Aarssen, who played three playoff games with the Knights in 2004-05 as a 17-year-old rookie before cracking the roster the following year. Aarssen is now closer to London, England, than London, Ont., as a member of the Braehead Clan in the U.K.&rsquo;s Elite Ice Hockey League. But even with so many years and miles between, Aarssen likes to check in with former teammates and follow their successes. &ldquo;You feel some small connection to that,&rdquo; he says.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">WINNING A CHAMPIONSHIP BRINGS TEAMS THAT MUCH CLOSER<br>- Dylan Hunter</blockquote><p>Dylan Hunter has tried to foster that bond among his players as they prepare for their third straight appearance in the Memorial Cup. &ldquo;You&rsquo;ll make friendships and you&rsquo;ll have guys that you&rsquo;ll be with,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;But winning a championship brings teams that much closer.&rdquo;</p><p>Adds Methot: &ldquo;It was such an incredible experience for me. It feels like just yesterday we were all living in our billet families&rsquo; basements, making basically no money and playing junior hockey.&rdquo;</p><p>This year&rsquo;s Knights team has an excellent shot at bringing the Memorial Cup back to London, but even if it does it&rsquo;ll be hard-pressed to match the storybook season of the 2004-05 Knights, which is widely recognized as one of the greatest, most dominant junior teams ever. &ldquo;They say it&rsquo;s one of the hardest trophies to win,&rdquo; Perry says. &ldquo;It was something special to do it in front of the home fans in London, and I&rsquo;m going to remember all of those guys that were on that team forever.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0047-01

UNFORGETTABLE MEMORIES

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-01483/9990630-1-eng-US/f0049-012.jpg" title="f0049-01" width="523" height="642"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(GUESS WHO: GRAIG ABEL COLLECTION/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><i>&ldquo;I reached 40-plus points six times as a D-man, but never played in an All-Star Game.&rdquo;</i></p><p><i>&ldquo;I have the highest post-season plus-minus in NHL history at plus-94.&rdquo;</i></p><p><i>&ldquo;I am one of seven players who were on all five Stanley Cup-winning Oiler teams.&rdquo;</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0049-01

Guess WHO!

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-02375/9990668-1-eng-US/f0049-022.jpg" title="f0049-02" width="244" height="436"></div><h2><b>CORY SCHNEIDER</b></h2><p>Jennings Trophy winner. One half of talented partnership with Martin Brodeur on modern Devils.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-03298/9990661-1-eng-US/f0049-032.jpg" title="f0049-03" width="245" height="433"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(FERGUSON: MICHAEL TRAN/FILMMAGIC)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>JESSE TYLER FERGUSON</b></h2><p>SAG award winner. One half of talented partnership with Eric Stonestreet on <i>Modern Family</i>.</p><p><b>Submitted by:</b> Philipp Fortin</p><p>Email your suggestions to <b><a href="mailto:sab@thehockeynews.com">sab@thehockeynews.com</a></b></p><p>WHO AM I: CHARUEHUDDY<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0049-02

Separated AT BIRTH

<div class="byline">By Larry Humber</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0049-04" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-04277/9990699-1-eng-US/f0049-042.jpg"></div><h2><b>ACROSS</b></h2><p>1 Boston&rsquo;s David ___ was at past two Olympics</p><p>4 Got the worst of a trade, was ___</p><p>9 Putting one&rsquo;s signature to a contract</p><p>10 The upper body</p><p>11 Overtime, ___ time</p><p>12 Pavel Bure was &lsquo;The ___ Rocket&rsquo;</p><p>13 Sami ___ is with the Lightning</p><p>15 ___ Brewer was Calder runner-up in 1959</p><p>18 Make an opponent look bad, ___ him or her</p><p>21 ___ Backstrom edged Brewer in 1959</p><p>23 Albany was home of the &lsquo;___ Rats&rsquo;</p><p>24 Wendel Clark was drafted first ___ in 1985</p><p>25 Keith ___, pictured, is a Boston-born Coyote</p><p>26 Hard shots</p><h2><b>DOWN</b></h2><p>1 Steve ___ was known as &lsquo;The Friendly Ghost&rsquo;</p><p>2 Number worn by Drew Doughty</p><p>3 Where Jonathan Toews wears the &lsquo;C&rsquo;</p><p>5 He&rsquo;s coach in Washington</p><p>6 Jonathan ___ is in goal in T.O.</p><p>7 Marcel ___ was dubbed &lsquo;Little Beaver&rsquo;</p><p>8 Hall of Famer ___ Larionov</p><p>14 Former ref _____ Hellemond</p><p>15 Ken Dryden&rsquo;s school</p><p>16 Tim ___ is GM in Buffalo</p><p>17 Chris Chelios&rsquo; restaurant, ___ Chili Bar</p><p>19 Former Leaf and Red Wing ___ Thompson</p><p>20 Slap ___ is a classic hockey film</p><p>22 Dion Phaneuf captains the Maple ___</p><p><b>ANSWERS AVAILABLE IN THE NEXT ISSUE AND AT <a href="http://THN.com/XWORD">THN.com/XWORD</a></b></p><h2><b>LAST WEEK&rsquo;S CROSSWORD SOLUTION</b></h2><p><b>ACROSS</b> 1. BABCOCK, 4. TORTS, 7. KYLE, 8. PLAYOFFS, 10. RON ROLSTON, 12. GREGG, 13. HOUND, 14. MILAN LUCIC, 18. HOLDS OUT, 19. FUHR, 20. ROBIN, 21. EXPOSES</p><p>&nbsp;<b>DOWN</b> 1. BAKER, 2. BALANCED, 3. KILLS, 4. TAYLOR HALL, 5. REFS, 6. SUSPEND, 9. DOUG WILSON, 11. PUNCH UPS, 12. GONCHAR, 15. ABUSE, 16. CHRIS, 17. CLUB<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0049-04

CROSSWORD

<div class="byline">&nbsp;- MATT LARKIN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-05222/9990737-1-eng-US/f0049-052.jpg" title="f0049-05" width="723" height="679"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-06143/9990730-1-eng-US/f0049-062.jpg" title="f0049-06" width="465" height="428"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(MASK: RON SLATER/RONSLATER.COM)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>MADDIE SANTOSUOSSO</b>&nbsp;| BOSTON BRUINS</p><p>Maddie is a nine-year-old Bostonian battling cancer. The Bruins&rsquo; Tuukka Rask helped her pick out equipment (see pg. 15) and had designer Ron Slater make a version of his lid customized for Maddie, featuring a cancer ribbon and &ldquo;Kick sarcoma&rdquo; on the back.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0049-05

Behind THE MASK

<div class="byline">&nbsp;- RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-0792/9990768-1-eng-US/f0049-072.jpg" title="f0049-07" width="676" height="746"><figcaption class="caption-body">CHAD <b>BROWNLEE</b> <span class="photo-credit">(JERSEY: MSU-MANKATO)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he Minnesota State-Mankato Mavericks have David Backes as one of their flag-bearers and the crunching Blues captain had the chance to rock a sweet retro sweater during his college tenure.</p><p>Back then, the Mavs dug into their closets and found a circa 1979 sweater to be redone, one which featured the school&rsquo;s bull mascot composed of the word &ldquo;Mavericks.&rdquo; The &lsquo;S&rsquo; tail is particularly clever. Along with the sweet logo, the throwback amps up the gold in the team&rsquo;s color scheme, accenting it with the traditional purple.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0049-07

Jersey HOUND

<div class="byline">WITH KEN CAMPBELL</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-02359/9990799-1-eng-US/f0050-022.jpg" title="f0050-02" width="694" height="995"><figcaption class="caption-body">ERIC <b>LINDROS</b> <span class="photo-credit">(BRUCE BENNETT STUDIOS/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-01472/9990806-1-eng-US/f0050-012.jpg" title="f0050-01" width="196" height="238"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>W</span>HEN YOU&rsquo;VE WATCHED HOCKEY FOR</b> more than four decades and covered it for almost three, the first thing you think is, &ldquo;Man, I should really make that appointment to get my prostate checked.&rdquo; Get it? I&rsquo;m old.</p><p>And with this being THN&rsquo;s lists issue, I figured it was time to take stock of the best five hockey games among the thousands I have seen over the years. So here they are. The rule: I had to actually be attendance at the game, either as a spectator or media member.</p><p><b>5. December, 1974, Sudbury Arena <i>Sudbury Wolves 6, Wings of Soviet 5</i></b></p><p>I was 12 at the time and I had never before seen a player from the Soviet Union in person. Neither had Jim Bedard, now the Detroit Red Wings goalie coach, who was playing for the Wolves. &ldquo;I saw these guys in warmups and I thought, &lsquo;We&rsquo;re dead. These guys are huge,&rsquo;&rdquo; says. &ldquo;They were hitting each other in the warmup.&rdquo; The Wolves fell behind 3-0, but paced by stars Bobby Russell, Rod Schutt, Ron Duguay and Randy Carlyle they battled back admirably and, against all logic, won the game. The Sudbury Arena was an old barn even then, and I&rsquo;ve never heard it louder or more appreciative.</p><p><b>4. Feb. 28, 2010, GM Place <i>Canada 3, United States 2 (OT)</i></b></p><p>This game would have been a classic regardless of which team or player scored in overtime, because it was the best game in the best best-on-best tournament unimpressive start to tournament, the Canadians had come on, but they were also smarting from losing to the U.S. in the round-robin. through the game, Canada was ahead 2-0, but the Americans battled back, capped by a goal with 25 seconds left by Zach Parise, whose father Jean-Paul played for Canada in the 1972 Summit Series.</p><p>The entire tournament was a frenzy of speed and skill, but the final game took all of that to another level. You could tell the coaches were frustrated they couldn&rsquo;t put a stamp on the game because things were happening too quickly. The game was to almost as impressive as the river of vomit flowing down Robson Street from people celebrating after the game.</p><p><b>3. Jan. 2, 2000, McIntyre Arena <i>Team Ontario 6, United States 5 (SO)</i></b></p><p>Ilya Kovalchuk was the star of the 2000 Hockey Challenge and made a name for himself with his ridiculous skill and brawling in the pre-tournament games. But it was the semifinal that provided one of the wildest momentum swings these eyes have ever witnessed.</p><p>With future NHLers Stephen Weiss, Derek Roy, Jay McClement, Trevor Daley and Dennis Wideman in the lineup, Ontario took a 2-0 lead before the U.S., with Tim Gleason and Eric Nystrom in their a 4-2 lead. Ontario tied the score, then Team USA scored before Canada tied it late. Weiss provided the winner in the shoot-out to send Ontario to the final against Russia. After the game, a concussed Brendan Bell was sobbing uncontrollably.</p><p><b>2. June 5, 2006, RBC Center <i>Carolina 5, Edmonton 4</i></b></p><p>Hockey fans had waited two years to see a Stanley Cup final game after a lockout and the Hurricanes and Oilers did not let them down in Game 1. The Oilers jumped out to a 3-0 lead, partially penalty shot goal Hurricanes came back with three of their own before going ahead for the first time in the game The Oilers tied it before disaster struck when Dwayne Roloson was knocked out of the series with a knee injury. Ty Conklin, who replaced Roloson, misplayed the puck and Rod Brind&rsquo;Amour scored with 32 seconds left. Then Cam Ward robbed Shawn Horcoff of a goal with 3.8 seconds remaining. Had the Oilers won that game, there&rsquo;s no doubt they would have won their sixth and most unlikely Cup.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">IT WAS THE BEST GAME OF WHAT MANY BELIEVE WAS THE BEST MEMORIAL CUP EVER PLAYED</blockquote><p><b>1. May 13, 1990, Copps Coliseum <i>Oshawa 4, Kitchener 3 (2OT)</i></b></p><p>It was the best game of what many believe was the best Memorial Cup ever played, but it was an unlikely hero who ended it. Defenseman Bill Armstrong of the Generals scored on a floater from the point that glanced off two sticks and into the net behind Rangers goalie Mike Torchia, who had stopped a mind-boggling 19 shots in the first overtime period.</p><p>A 17-year-old Eric Lindros, who was quiet until the final, had three assists in the title game, which featured two teams that could not have been more evenly matched. The Generals won the OHL final that year over the Rangers in seven games and the teams had played a double overtime game in the round-robin.</p><p>Generals goalie Kevin Butt was injured during the game and replaced by Fred Brathwaite, who rushed to Torchia&rsquo;s side to console him after the overtime goal. It was thought to be a wonderfully heart-felt gesture, but what most people didn&rsquo;t see was while Brathwaite was consoling Torchia, he was reaching for the puck in the back of the net.</p><p><b>CAN&rsquo;T GET ENOUGH CAMPBELL? GO TO <a href="http://TheHockeyNews.com">THEHOCKEYNEWS.COM</a> FOR DAILY UPDATES</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Search for your favorite player or team

May 26, 2014

SMOTHERING AFFECTION

BE A POSER

BEGINNING OF THE END

DIARIES OF A MADMAN