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2014 Season Commemorative

The Hockey News - 2014 Season

<div class="byline">BY SEAN SHAPIRO</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0063-02114/10010854-1-eng-US/f0063-022.jpg" title="f0063-02" width="483" height="583"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0063-01174/10010861-1-eng-US/f0063-012.jpg" title="f0063-01" width="75" height="85"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>I</span>T WAS LIKE BEING THE NEW</b> kid at school if you arrived just in time for exams. With the exception of a morning skate, Brett Ritchie didn&rsquo;t even have a chance to practice with the American League&rsquo;s Texas Stars before making his 2014 Calder Cup playoff debut, which came May 18 in Game 6 of the second round against the Grand Rapids Griffins.</p><p>Nursing an injured ankle back to health, Ritchie missed the Stars&rsquo; first eight playoff games and hadn&rsquo;t played since April 13 against the San Antonio Rampage. Not knowing how the ankle would hold up or how he&rsquo;d feel jumping into a playoff series against the defending Calder Cup champion, Ritchie shook off some early jitters and scored in a 7-1 series clinching victory. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s good, it gives you some confidence around the net,&rdquo; Ritchie said. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t feel very comfortable around the net at the start of the game, but for that one to go in, it bounced me back to where I was before I got hurt.&rdquo;</p><p>Ritchie recapturing his pre-injury form provided a boost for Texas as it battled through a seven-game series with the Toronto Marlies and a five-game series against the St. John&rsquo;s IceCaps to win the AHL title. He had 11 points in 13 post-season games, two of which came in the 4-3 Game 5 overtime win that clinched the Calder Cup for Texas.</p><p>Ritchie, a 2011 second-round pick of the Dallas Stars, is more man than boy already. He&rsquo;s a 6-foot-3, 220-pound power forward who models himself after Dallas captain Jamie Benn, so his return from injury gave Texas a much-needed blunt instrument for playoff warfare. He also brought stability and normalcy back to the lineup. With Ritchie sidelined, Texas juggled myriad combinations on the second and third lines.</p><p>Once he returned, however, Ritchie worked on the right wing with Chris Mueller and Kevin Henderson for seven games. Then he rejoined his normal line with Mike Hedden and Justin Dowling after Dowling returned from an arm injury in time for Game 7 against Toronto. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a big body and he skates really well, and he&rsquo;s looked real fresh for not having skated in four or five weeks after injury,&rdquo; said Stars coach Willie Desjardins before Game 1 of the final. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a real asset and really makes our team better.&rdquo;</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0063-0453/10010847-1-eng-US/f0063-042.jpg" title="f0063-04" width="1031" height="1125"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>DON&rsquo;T MESS&hellip;</b></p><p>The injection of Brett Ritchie&rsquo;s size and skill helped pushed Texas to the top in the playoffs.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(COLIN PEDDLE)</span></figcaption></div><p>Ritchie&rsquo;s success at the pro level was instant. It started at the end of the 2012-13 season when he joined Texas after finishing up a stellar junior career with the Ontario League&rsquo;s Niagara IceDogs. Ritchie had six points and got his first taste of AHL hockey in 14 combined regular season and playoff games. That taste helped him prepare for his true rookie season and develop early chemistry with Dowling and Hedden, forming Texas&rsquo; most consistent line throughout 2013-14.</p><p>Ritchie, whose brother Nick is poised to be a 2014 first-round pick, finished the regular season with 48 points in 68 games, tying for eighth in the AHL&rsquo;s rookie scoring race. He gives much of the credit to his undrafted linemates. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t know who they were when I came here,&rdquo; Ritchie said. &ldquo;I only knew about the first and second rounders. That&rsquo;s the way the hockey world is. A lot of guys fly under the radar for a while, but everybody gets their chance, and those guys have helped me make the most of it.&rdquo;</p><p>Dowling had 47 points, while Hedden finished with 55. The offensive output gave Texas a dangerous second scoring line after the top unit, which featured AHL MVP Travis Morin and rookie of the year Curtis McKenzie. &ldquo;You look around the league and you see a lot of second-line scoring lines that really didn&rsquo;t put up the points that we did,&rdquo; Ritchie said. &ldquo;I thought we did a pretty good job throughout the year. That&rsquo;s a testament to our depth.&rdquo;</p><p>The question now is whether Ritchie&rsquo;s late but successful arrival to the AHL playoffs will result in an early arrival in the NHL next season.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0063-0377/10010840-1-eng-US/f0063-032.jpg" title="f0063-03" width="288" height="162"></div><h2><b>BRETT RITCHIE</b></h2><p>POS Right winger AGE 20 HT 6-3 WT 220 lbs DRAFTED Dallas, 44th overall in 2011<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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DEPARTMENTS

A BIG LIFT FROM A HEAVY LOAD

<div class="byline">BY GUSTAN KOUMANTAROS & ARI YANOVER</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-021854/10009015-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="914" height="221"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span>EEMU SELANNE</b> turns 44 July 3. When he was born in 1970, Boston won its fourth Cup, Buffalo and Vancouver were introduced as expansion teams, bringing the league to 14, and The Beatles disbanded. He&rsquo;s also the last remaining player drafted in 1988 draft &ndash; the year the &ldquo;World Wide Web&rdquo; was invented</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-012412/10009008-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="2159" height="2125"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-04760/10009001-1-eng-US/f0008-042.jpg" title="f0008-04" width="458" height="458"></div><p><b>25%</b> of NHLers in the 2014 playoffs were American, the most in league history</p><p>10 Years since a team has won a Stanley Cup championship while wearing blue on its jersey. Sixteen clubs wear the color</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-05541/10008994-1-eng-US/f0008-052.jpg" title="f0008-05" width="270" height="195"></div><p>The <b>ABBOTSFORD HEAT</b>, which recently relocated to Glen Falls, N.Y., were isolated in the AHL. Their closest division rival was the Oklahoma City Barons &ndash; 2,093 miles away</p><p>The final contest of the Western Conference final was <b>DARRYL SUTTER&rsquo;S</b> 10th Game 7 as a head coach, tying him with Claude Julien and Mike Keenan for most all-time. Strangely, of the six Sutter brothers who played in the NHL, Darryl is the only one who never appeared in a Game 7 as a player</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-06377/10008987-1-eng-US/f0008-062.jpg" title="f0008-06" width="327" height="448"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(SELANNE: DEBORA ROBINSON/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>ALEX OVECHKIN</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-031326/10008980-1-eng-US/f0008-032.jpg" title="f0008-03" width="476" height="532"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(OVECHKIN+SUTTER: JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>For seven of the past 10 seasons, a Russian has led the NHL in power play time</p><p><b>2013-14:</b>&nbsp;<i>Alex Ovechkin</i></p><p><b>2012-13:</b>&nbsp;<i>Andrei Markov</i></p><p><b>2011-12:</b>&nbsp;<i>Ilya Kovalchuk</i></p><p><b>2010-11:</b> Brad Richards</p><p><b>2009-10:</b> Mark Streit</p><p><b>2008-09:</b>&nbsp;<i>Ilya Kovalchuk</i></p><p><b>2007-08:</b> Tobias Enstrom</p><p><b>2006-07:</b>&nbsp;<i>Sergei Gonchar</i></p><p><b>2005-06:</b>&nbsp;<i>Ilya Kovalchuk</i></p><p><b>2003-04:</b>&nbsp;<i>Ilya Kovalchuk</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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IN THIS ISSUE

Ice CHIPS

<div class="byline">BY RONNIE SHUKER</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0064-01187/10010899-1-eng-US/f0064-012.jpg" title="f0064-01" width="949" height="1022"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>NEWMAN A NEW MAN</b></p><p>Chasing his pro-hockey dream all the way to Italy made Brad Newman feel &ldquo;alive.&rdquo;</p></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>B</span>RAD NEWMAN SITS ON THE BENCH, HOPING FOR THE TAP ON</b> the shoulder he&rsquo;s been dreaming about for 14 years. Just 24 hours earlier, he cried when his coach told him he&rsquo;d be dressing him for the game.</p><p>The first period goes by and Newman still hasn&rsquo;t had a shift. He&rsquo;s so close to realizing his dream of playing pro hockey, but it&rsquo;s a tight game late in the season, Feb. 1, against Asiago, the second-best team in the Italian League, and Cortina SG is in a fight to make the playoffs.</p><p>How Newman even got to this point was a miracle. At 36, he hadn&rsquo;t played competitively since 1999-00, yet there he was in the lineup for Cortina SG after begging for a tryout and playing the role of Rudy Ruettiger at practice for months, with no guarantee he&rsquo;d play.</p><p>Newman, who grew up in Chicago, was a nominal player at Bowling Green, where he had just two goals and four points in 40 games over four seasons. After graduating, he moved to Los Angeles and continued to play, but never anything higher than rec hockey for the next 13 years.</p><p>If you&rsquo;re a cynic, call it a mid-life crisis. If you&rsquo;re an optimist, call it daring to dream. But in April 2013, the odds be damned, Newman started training six days a week, preparing to head to Italy in September for a shot at the pros in a league that has had players such as Matt Cullen, Craig Adams, Andrew Raycroft and J-S Aubin. &ldquo;Once I committed to doing this, there was such a spark and excitement in my life, like &lsquo;I&rsquo;m just going for it,&rsquo;&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;It lit up everything. I felt so alive.&rdquo;</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">GOING FOR THOSE BIG GOALS, THAT&rsquo;S WHAT LIFE IS ABOUT <br>&ndash; Brad Newman</blockquote><p>Newman chose Italy for a few reasons. He&rsquo;d been there before and had business to do in Milan in September. He also knew that Cortina SG had a North American coach, ex-NHLer Clayton Beddoes. Heck, if it didn&rsquo;t work out for Newman, he&rsquo;d at least have a great vacation. &ldquo;This is why I want people to hear about this, because I know a lot of people are on the fence about pursuing their big crazy goals,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;Whether it&rsquo;s writing a book, running for office, going to grad school &ndash; going for those big goals, that&rsquo;s what life is about.&rdquo;</p><p>After his business trip in Milan, Newman took a bus to Cortina in northern Italy one Sunday in October. The next morning, with his equipment in tow, he went to the arena. After listening to Newman tell his story, Beddoes told him to come to an optional skate the next day. &ldquo;Either he would come in and be a great influence and an inspiration to the team,&rdquo; Beddoes says, &ldquo;or it would be a short little one-week thing where no damage was done and it wouldn&rsquo;t have any impact.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0064-02114/10010892-1-eng-US/f0064-022.jpg" title="f0064-02" width="726" height="702"><figcaption class="caption-body">BRAD <b>NEWMAN</b> <span class="photo-credit">(BRAD NEWMAN)</span></figcaption></div><p>Newman impressed and continued to skate with the team for the next few months while staying at a hotel on his own dime. He runs an online marketing company, so he&rsquo;d practise in the morning and work the rest of the day. Then on Jan. 31, he got the news. &ldquo;The coach came to me at a team meal and said, &lsquo;I&rsquo;m going to dress you tomorrow night,&rsquo;&rdquo; Newman says. &ldquo;I almost fell over. I hadn&rsquo;t heard those words in a long time.&rdquo;</p><p>In the second period, Newman finally gets the tap on the shoulder he&rsquo;s been waiting for. &ldquo;Brad, you&rsquo;re up!&rdquo; Beddoes shouts. Newman hops the boards, jumps into the play, throws a few hits and nearly has a chance to score. &ldquo;After that shift, it was like, &lsquo;Wow, I played!&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;It was the most extraordinary feeling of my life. I&rsquo;ll never forget that. I hope people experience it, one way or another. Pursuing something crazy in their own way &ndash; it&rsquo;s the greatest gift.&rdquo;</p><p>It was Newman&rsquo;s only shift, but that&rsquo;s all it had to be. He&rsquo;d played in his first pro game. Cortina won 2-1 in overtime.</p><p>He played only one more game, but kept practising with Cortina until the team bowed out of the playoffs. He went home and had the jerseys from his two games framed. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m just so happy he got to live his dream,&rdquo; Beddoes says. &ldquo;There are a lot of times in professional hockey when the meaning of the game can get clouded, when it really should be about the passion and the dream of playing the game.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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NO PINCHING NECESSARY

<div class="byline">WITH KEN CAMPBELL</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0012-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-012325/10009153-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-012025/10009160-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg" title="f0013-01" width="195" height="227"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

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STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS JOURNEY TO THE CUP

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-012230/10008780-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>CALIFORNIA RAISIN&rsquo;</b></p><p>New for Tyler Toffoli, old for Dustin Brown: it&rsquo;s the Kings&rsquo; second parade in two years.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(NOAH GRAHAM/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

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OPENING FACEOFF

<div class="byline">WITH JASON KAY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-012293/10008818-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="526" height="923"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(RYAN BROOK/TC MEDIA)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>W</span>HEN DEAN LOMBARDI WAS GIVEN THE KEYS</b> to the Los Angeles Kingdom in 2006, he inherited a team that had drafted Anze Kopitar and Jonathan Quick a year earlier. In retrospect, it was a little like being gifted a lottery ticket, one that wins the Powerball jackpot. While Kopitar was a first-rounder, he wasn&rsquo;t a sure thing. Quick was a fifth-round project.</p><p>So why, then, are we anointing Lombardi The Hockey News executive of the year, when two of his key building blocks can&rsquo;t be credited to him? And a third, Drew Doughty, was a no-brainer? Because the L.A. Kings are about so much more than their aristocracy.</p><p>Lombardi&rsquo;s patient approach to constructing and maintaining a winner has been integral to his franchise&rsquo;s success. Despite some rough patches, including a 1-8-1 slide, he resisted temptation to pull the trigger on a mortgage-the-future trade. While he did acquire playoff goal-scoring leader Marian Gaborik at the deadline, the cost was reasonable. No blue-chip prospect or high draft picks going the other way. He also has shied away from blowing out his brains on high-priced summertime free agents and his lineup is well positioned against the salary cap to remain virtually intact next season.</p><p>The supporting cast he and his talent evaluators assembled is formidable. Jake Muzzin was a scrap heap pickup, Alec Martinez a fourth-rounder, Tyler Toffoli a second-rounder. He pried Jeff Carter from Columbus at below market value and got Justin Williams from Carolina in what is now grand theft. Lombardi&rsquo;s trade record is impeccable; he never hurts his team and almost always makes it better. His best transaction might have been landing Darryl Sutter to steer the ship. The antithesis of Hollywood, Sutter has been a master at managing his players, their emotions and ice time. That Lombardi has been able to put these pieces together without granting a single no-movement clause is remarkable. That&rsquo;s why we&rsquo;re crowning him the top executive.</p><p>As for our coaching award, Sutter might have been part of an L.A. sweep if not for Patrick Roy&rsquo;s regular season mind-bender (see pg. 66). The Avalanche&rsquo;s rise from base camp to the summit was one for the ages, and despite Colorado&rsquo;s first-round heartbreaker, it was a wildly successful year in the Rockies. Almost like they&rsquo;d won the lottery.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021944/10008811-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="414" height="222"></div><p><b>NEXT ISSUE</b> AUGUST, 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>

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THE DEAN OF NHL BIGWIGS

<div class="byline">&#x2013; RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-031039/10008887-1-eng-US/f0006-032.jpg" title="f0006-03" width="423" height="479"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-021731/10008880-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg" title="f0006-02" width="1889" height="769"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>JIM <b>BENNING</b></p><p>BRAD <b>TRELIVING</b></p><p>RON <b>FRANCIS</b></p><p>BRIAN <b>MACLELLAN</b></p><span class="photo-credit">(BENNING: JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES; TRELIVING: JANETTE AHRENS/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-012523/10008873-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="1032" height="1008"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>CRAM SESSION</b></p><p>Buffalo&rsquo;s Tim Murray met his amateur scouting staff just weeks before the draft combine.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(MURRAY: BILL WIPPERT/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span>HE TWO WEEKS THAT SPAN LATE</b>June and early July represent one of the most important stretches in the NHL calendar year thanks to the draft and free agency. So imagine the challenge of hitting the ground running as a first-time GM when those summer days come barrelling toward you and you&rsquo;re still finding your office and unpacking your ficus.</p><p>Tim Murray was hired away from Ottawa by Buffalo in January and even he found himself rushed to get acclimated as the draft combine rolled around at the end of May. In fact, he had met his amateur scouting staff just a couple weeks before that. &ldquo;You sit in there and listen, and right off the bat you&rsquo;re trying to put a name to a face,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re also trying to evaluate who has strong opinions and who doesn&rsquo;t.&rdquo;</p><p>New Calgary GM Brad Treliving had even less time to get settled once he was scooped up from the Coyotes, signing on with the Flames less than a month before the combine. He too sat in on amateur meetings and gained precious knowledge about how his new scouts think and react, but another challenge was grasping the subtleties of the organization itself. &ldquo;A lot of it is getting to understand internally what&rsquo;s going on,&rdquo; Treliving said. &ldquo;You come into an organization with opinions, but when you&rsquo;re inside, it&rsquo;s a different view. You can do more digging, find out how players fit within a team frame. There have been a lot of whys and why nots.&rdquo;</p><p>Getting up to speed for the draft is particularly important this season: Four of the top seven picks will be made by GMs hired after the calendar flipped over to 2014. Along with Murray in Buffalo (second overall) and Treliving in Calgary (fourth), there&rsquo;s Jim Benning in Vancouver at No. 6 and Ron Francis in Carolina at No. 7. Add in Washington&rsquo;s Brian MacLellan at No. 13 and there will be a whole lot of baptisms by fire.</p><p>Francis and MacLellan at least have the advantage of being internal hires by their organizations, but it goes without saying their teams need them to nail their first-ever picks. &ldquo;Hey, we&rsquo;re a 30th place team, so we have lots of needs,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;We do have some good young players coming up in different positions, but we need to take the best player available. There are a lot of immediate needs, but we&rsquo;re not going to address them. We&rsquo;re going to go through this long-term. Take the best player available, and if he has to go back to junior, so be it.&rdquo;</p><p>Treliving is going from a team that usually picked in the middle of the pack with the Coyotes to a top-five selection in Calgary. And there&rsquo;s always some intrigue when a Canadian team goes through a rebuild. &ldquo;The template of team-building remains the same,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But we know where we&rsquo;re at in Calgary. When you have a topfive pick like we do, you&rsquo;ve got to hit on those picks. There&rsquo;s a lot of pain that you go through to select there, and you&rsquo;ve got to make it count.&rdquo;</p><p>While the new GMs will have their hands full, Winnipeg&rsquo;s Kevin Cheveldayoff can at least relate to their plight. The Jets didn&rsquo;t even ask Chicago permission to speak with him about their vacant GM position until the 2011 draft combine, but he still managed to get up to speed. &ldquo;I had a little bit of a foundation on the players, but I also knew a lot of the people,&rdquo; Cheveldayoff said. &ldquo;At the end of the day I felt we had some really good people and we meshed on philosophy.&rdquo;</p><p>The Jets made a surprise pick that year when Cheveldayoff tabbed Mark Scheifele seventh overall with his maiden selection. The young center is already becoming a pillar in Winnipeg, so clearly the GM and his scouts were on the same page.</p><p>As for the old boys, Cheveldayoff laughed when asked if any of his more experienced peers tried to take advantage of him with a lopsided trade offer early on. &ldquo;The guys are pretty respectful,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;There are lots of calls even now that are made, and you&rsquo;re always asking who might be available from other organizations.&rdquo;</p><p>So once the craziness of the draft floor is finished, with all the selections made and trades confirmed, it gets easier, right? Not so much. As Cheveldayoff points out, as soon as the draft ends, the focus shifts to free agency.</p><h2><b>4</b></h2><p>Draft slots in the top seven overall held by new GMs in 2015. Tim Murray&rsquo;s Sabres pick second, Brad Treliving&rsquo;s Flames pick fourth, Jim Benning&rsquo;s Canucks pick sixth and Ron Francis&rsquo; Hurricanes pick seventh<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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THROWN INTO THE DEEP END

<div class="byline">By Charlie Teljeur</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0007-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-012210/10008918-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

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THE INSTIGATOR

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-021515/10008949-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg" title="f0007-02" width="472" height="759"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(FRANCIS: GREGG FORWERCK/GETTY IMAGES; MACLELLAN: PATRICK MCDERMOTT/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES; WILLAMS: DAVE SANDFORD/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>+PLUS</b></h2><h3><b>CONN ARTIST</b></h3><p>Unheralded and underrated <b><i>Justin Williams</i></b> takes home the Conn Smythe thanks to record-setting (see pg. 9) clutch play throughout.</p><h2><b>&ndash; MINUS</b></h2><h3><b>T-SHIRT CANON</b></h3><p>Williams was MVP, but he evidently wasn&rsquo;t <i>that</i> important. His name was left off several team shirts featuring the L.A. roster at the NYC NHL Store.</p><h2><b>+PLUS</b></h2><h3><b>BIG APPLE, BIG HEART</b></h3><p>New York fans raise money to get a heartbroken father, whose infant daughter had passed away, tickets to Game 4 at Madison Square Garden.</p><h2><b>&ndash;MINUS</b></h2><h3><b>CHIN MUSIC</b></h3><p>Blue-chipper Sam Bennett spawns a slew of silly articles when he fails to complete a chin-up at the combine. Luckily, he&rsquo;s really good at hockey&hellip;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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PLUS MINUS

<div class="byline">&#x2013; GK</div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span>HE LEGEND OF JUSTIN WILLIAMS</b> keeps growing. With two points in the Kings&rsquo; Game 7 victory over the Blackhawks, Williams passed Doug Gilmour for most career Game 7 points, earning the moniker &lsquo;Mr. Game 7.&rsquo; In the seven Game 7s he&rsquo;s played, his teams have never lost. He is currently tied with Glenn Anderson for most Game 7 goals (7).</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-021503/10009046-1-eng-US/f0009-022.jpg" title="f0009-02" width="510" height="829"></div><p><b>1. JUSTIN WILLIAMS 14</b></p><p><b>2. DOUG GILMOUR 13</b></p><p><b>3. WAYNE GRETZKY 12</b></p><p><b>4. TREVOR LINDEN 12</b></p><p><b>5. MARK MESSIER 11</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0009-02

Follow The LEADER

<div class="byline">&#x2013; SAL BARRY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-012138/10009077-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="425" height="558"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(HARRY HOW/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>S</span>HORT-LIVED TRADING CARD</b> company Pro Set released one hockey card that made a lasting impression. In 1990, the company randomly inserted a hologram of the Stanley Cup in packs of their Series One Hockey cards. It was the first ever &ldquo;chase card&rdquo; for hockey collectors &ndash; a card so rare that fans would buy many packs hoping to get it. More than 20 years later, the card is still one of the hardest to find from an era when cards were grossly overproduced. Hold it in the light just right and the Cup is illuminated in an explosion of colors and appears to float off the surface. The hologram was limited to 5,000 copies and &ndash; like the Cup itself &ndash; has to be seen in person to be truly appreciated.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0009-01

In The CARDS

<div class="byline">BY STAN FISCHLER</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-021752/10009115-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg" title="f0010-02" width="957" height="1091"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>SHIRLEY FISCHLER</b></p><p><b>1940-2014</b></p><p><b>JUMPING OVER HURDLES</b></p><p>Shirley Fischler was the first female reporter allowed in NHL press boxes and first female TV hockey analyst.</p></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-012388/10009122-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg" title="f0010-01" width="193" height="227"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>I</span> DARE SAY I&rsquo;M THE ONLY JOURNALIST IN CAPTIVITY WHO TOOK A</b> course in Hockey 101 for 46 straight years. The beauty part was I didn&rsquo;t pay a penny for tuition, because the professor was my wife, Shirley. Was I ever lucky to be wedded to a woman who loved the ice game as much as I did and who understood its nuances, its ebb and flow in the intuitive Gretzky genius manner. When Shirley died of cancer May 13, quite a fuss was made of the fact she led the fight to have women sit side by side with men in NHL press boxes. And it was a justifiable angle, particularly since she won that battle and then quietly moved on to other accomplishments. She virtually singlehandedly researched, edited and produced the first <i>Hockey Encyclopedia</i> for the high-class Macmillan publishing company.</p><p>&lsquo;Toots,&rsquo; as we called her, loved writing about hockey and for years penned a column called <i>Shirley On Shinny.</i> As a sidebar, she became the first female TV hockey analyst, in 1973, supplying insights for the World Hockey Association&rsquo;s New England Whalers.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">WAS I EVER LUCKY TO BE WEDDED TO A WOMAN WHO LOVED THE GAME AND WHO UNDERSTOOD THE NUANCES</blockquote><p>Occasionally, her innate honesty got her in hot water, especially with the likes of super-enforcer John Ferguson. Introduced to &lsquo;Fergy&rsquo; over dinner in Philadelphia one night, she opened by telling the two-fisted Canadien how much she loathed him. But by the end of the evening he told her he&rsquo;d be tickled if she helped him write his autobio, <i>Thunder and Lightning</i>, which she did. Shirley never once bragged about the fact she was the last journalist to interview Hall of Fame goalie Terry Sawchuk before he died in a New York hospital. Nor did she toot her own horn after being invited to lunch by superheroes Gordie Howe and Olympic track star Jesse Owens. Lou Lamoriello had a soft spot for my wife. At our annual summer dinners in Manhattan&rsquo;s Little Italy, she never failed to tell the New Jersey Devils boss how to run his hockey team &ndash; while I nervously cringed behind my menu.</p><p>She learned her hockey at Ann Arbor when Michigan&rsquo;s Red Berenson was the Babe Ruth of the university game. Shirley later honed her puck knowledge to sharpness at the old Madison Square Garden in the year before the 1967 expansion. Meanwhile, she raised two boys and collaborated on dozens of hockey books, including <i>Up From The Minor Leagues Of Hockey, More Power To Your Skating</i> and <i>Everybody&rsquo;s Hockey Book</i>.</p><p>A feminist before Gloria Steinem became a household name, Shirley was stunned in 1970 when refused membership in the Professional Hockey Writers&rsquo; Association because of her gender. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m sure,&rdquo; she said, &ldquo;that I&rsquo;m qualified in every other way.&rdquo;</p><p>Still, the men wouldn&rsquo;t budge, nor would the Rangers high command. On every journalist&rsquo;s credential was a clearly printed message: LADIES NOT PERMITTED IN THE PRESS BOX. But in April 1971, Toots was on assignment from the Kingston, Ont., <i>Whig-Standard</i> to cover the Rangers-Leafs playoff series at Madison Square Garden. Shunned by male writers and refused press box entry by a guard, she filed a discrimination complaint with the New York Human Rights Commission and won her case.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-031135/10009108-1-eng-US/f0010-032.jpg" title="f0010-03" width="551" height="545"><figcaption class="caption-body">THE <b>FISCHLERS</b> <span class="photo-credit">(BEN FISCHLERS)</span></figcaption></div><p>Shirley covered the next game from where she belonged: the press box. Her story appeared in the April 10, 1971 edition of the <i>Whig-Standard</i>.</p><p>I always respected Shirley&rsquo;s opinion &ndash; with one exception. It was during an argument over a hot topic, &ldquo;The sexiest man in hockey.&rdquo; Naively believing her husband topped the list, I enthusiastically asked her to name her choice.</p><p>&ldquo;Jacques Lemaire,&rdquo; Toots shot back.</p><p>Upon further review, I conceded she was right. And by now you can understand why Hockey 101 never will be the same without such a lovely, insightful NHL Prof at my side.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0010-02

FAREWELL TO A WIFE AND PEER

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0014-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-012306/10009191-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>HEAVY HEART</b></p><p>Martin St-Louis carries the weight of his mother&rsquo;s sudden death into the Stanley Cup final.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><i>JUNE 3, 2014</i></p><p class="dropcap"><b><span>G</span>AINING DECENT ACCESS TO THE</b> athletes during the Stanley Cup final is a little like herding cats, which is to say it&rsquo;s impossible. So in recent years, the NHL has adopted its own version of media day on the eve of the final, this year in L.A. It&rsquo;s similar to Super Bowl media day, minus the thousands of creepy fans watching, the corporate sponsors and the marriage proposals. With more than 1,300 accredited media for this final, however, there are a lot of questions. Players sit at individual podiums, wearing snappy polo shirts with their numbers embossed over their right breasts, and repeatedly answer them with nary a thought of going postal.</p><p>Naturally, a group gravitates toward Martin St-Louis. From his unlikely NHL career to his trade demand to his family tragedy to his playoff heroics, there&rsquo;s a lot of grist for the mill.</p><p>Over the past 16 years, Martin has gone from an undersized afterthought to the final laps of what will likely be a Hall of Fame career by being two things: fast and slick. These qualities were passed on to him by his father, Normand, who was known for his quickness and apparently had some pretty good moves himself. Take the day he laid eyes on France Theroux, for example. He met her at a party on a Sunday in Montreal and his heart stood still. From that moment on, it was a full-court press. &ldquo;I was with my brother and he said to me, &lsquo;Whoa, there,&rsquo; and I said, &lsquo;No, that&rsquo;s the girl who is going to be my wife,&rsquo;&rdquo; Normand recalls. &ldquo;I met her on Jan. 3 and I asked her to marry me on Jan. 10, one week later. I always said it was the best contract I ever signed. She put up with me for 43 years.&rdquo;</p><p>They were married June 26, 1971, and would have celebrated their 43rd wedding anniversary this year not long after their son&rsquo;s 39th birthday and the Stanley Cup final. But on the afternoon of May 8, France was having a bowl of soup for lunch at the kitchen table with Normand when she noticed a pain on the right side of her chest. Since it didn&rsquo;t seem to be near her heart, neither she nor her husband gave it much thought. But when France awoke from a nap later that day clearly in distress, Normand called 9-1-1. France went into surgery almost immediately after arriving at the hospital, but doctors couldn&rsquo;t remove the blockage in her aorta. She died on the operating table. She was 63.</p><p>When Martin&rsquo;s mother passed, the Rangers were down 3-1 to the Pittsburgh Penguins and had just come off their worst performance of the playoffs. &ldquo;We had put ourselves in a really tough spot, and we didn&rsquo;t think things could get any worse,&rdquo; says goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. &ldquo;Then we found out that things can actually get a lot worse.&rdquo;</p><p>Without trivializing a moment so devastating, Martin continued to play, and the way the Rangers rallied around him provided a seminal moment in these playoffs. By the time France was buried 10 days later, the Rangers had vanquished the Penguins and were ahead of the Montreal Canadiens 1-0 en route to the Eastern Conference championship. It&rsquo;s impossible to know how Martin and the Rangers would have responded if they hadn&rsquo;t endured what they did, but there&rsquo;s little doubt for Martin and Normand that France remained very much an inspiration for her son. &ldquo;He is not skating alone,&rdquo; Normand says. &ldquo;He has an angel with him. She is my angel and she is always going to be our angel.&rdquo;</p><p>On media day, Martin is prepared for the questions he&rsquo;s about to face. Most players pay homage to their fathers, and there&rsquo;s no doubt Normand had a lot to do with his son&rsquo;s success. One of 14 children, Normand worked at the family lumber mill before becoming a letter carrier in Laval, Que. To make extra money to send his children to private school and to help pay for his son&rsquo;s hockey, he built four homes from the ground up. One of them was on <i>rue des Petunias,</i> where Martin grew up. As a teenager, Martin helped his father in construction, but clearly he had a calling to something that wasn&rsquo;t manual labor.</p><p>That was hockey. Yet Martin&rsquo;s struggles to make it in the game are well documented. He was always the smallest player on the team, and whenever he would question himself, his mother would be there to tell him one thing: <i>&ldquo;Poursuis tes reves.&rdquo;</i> Chase your dreams. &ldquo;Since she passed, you start to think a little bit about how she shaped you,&rdquo; Martin says. &ldquo;A lot of my work ethic, I got that from my dad, but the more I think about it this past month or so, my mom&rsquo;s determination&hellip;as a kid she would always tell me in French to chase my dreams. She was always really intense when she would tell me. This is a 4-foot-11 lady that would just look at me straight in my eyes and tell me to chase my dream. And show them, show them.&rdquo;</p><p>For the better part of two decades, Martin has been doing just that. Every time he was waived through the NHL and cut without a thought from a training camp, he would remember those words his mother told him while intently staring into his eyes. &ldquo;She was a great lady,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;Probably the best human being I&rsquo;ll ever know.&rdquo;</p><p>For 34 years, France worked on the assembly line at a drug company in Laval. Eight years ago, she and Normand retired and spent much of their time travelling around North America in a motor home. Normand thinks he&rsquo;ll probably sell it now. Things will be different for him, for Martin&rsquo;s sister, Isabelle, and for Martin himself. Everything has happened so quickly that he hasn&rsquo;t had the time to grieve properly. That process will begin this summer. &ldquo;Marty is going to miss her, he&rsquo;s missing her a lot right now,&rdquo; Normand says. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s thinking of his mother often.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0014-01

MEDIA DAY

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011992/10009229-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="744" height="1354"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>DREW DOUGHTY</b> <span class="photo-credit">(HARRY HOW/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><i>JUNE 4, 2014</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-021416/10009236-1-eng-US/f0015-022.jpg" title="f0015-02" width="195" height="227"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>B</span>EFORE THE START OF EVERY HOME</b> game, the Kings show a video montage that sends chills up your spine. With <i>Dream On</i> by Aerosmith playing in the background, players are shown as youngsters, followed by cuts of them as Kings. The first shot of the video is of a kid who can&rsquo;t be any more than four years old. He&rsquo;s jumping on his bed. In the background you hear his mother say, &ldquo;Drew, what do you want to be when you grow up?&rdquo; And he responds, &ldquo;A hockey player,&rdquo; before going back to jumping, oblivious to how prescient he is being.</p><p>Just so you know, yes, Drew Doughty was born to play hockey. If you can&rsquo;t tell by the way he plays and everything he does, well, that video pretty much clinches it.</p><p>Skip ahead two decades and there&rsquo;s another video, this one making the rounds on the blog circuit. It&rsquo;s of the Kings playing the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 7 of the Western Conference final. It&rsquo;s overtime and Doughty watches from the bench, which is rare footage in and of itself, given he played almost half of the 65-minute game. When Alec Martinez scores, Doughty jumps up, smashes his gloves into the glass, then jumps over the boards&hellip;only to get his left leg stuck in the bench and do a face plant. &ldquo;You just kind of black out in those situations,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re so happy and so excited, especially with an overtime win.&hellip; Sometimes stuff goes wrong.&rdquo;</p><p>Indeed, it does, but not often for Doughty. Really, the only time anything has gone wrong for him is during the NHL Awards ceremony. Just once in his career has Doughty come close to winning the Norris Trophy as the league&rsquo;s top defenseman: 2009-10, his second season in the league, when he finished third in voting. Last year, Doughty finished ninth. He wasn&rsquo;t even in the top 20 in 2012, and he wasn&rsquo;t a finalist this season.</p><p>But if you were starting an NHL team from scratch, is there a defenseman you&rsquo;d want more than Doughty? He was the best blueliner, arguably the best player, for the best team at the Winter Olympics and the Stanley Cup playoffs in 2014. When asked whether his level of play in Sochi was higher than it had ever been, Doughty responds, &ldquo;No, definitely not. I&rsquo;ve played that way many times here for L.A.&rdquo;</p><p>He&rsquo;s not lacking in confidence or chutzpah, which is all part of his unique charm. But what makes Doughty so special as a player is he wants to be a difference maker in the worst way. Sometimes that leads to problems, but more often than not anyone who has coached him has been able to live with his emotional outbursts and boundless energy, because it almost always leads to good things.</p><p>That was the case in Game 1, one of those few times when stuff was going wrong. First he burped up the puck, which resulted in a breakaway goal by Benoit Pouliot, and then, if you were looking hard enough, you could see him skating back on a shorthanded goal against by Carl Hagelin. (Had Hagelin scored later in the game on another shorthanded breakaway, Doughty would have been on the ice for the rare trifecta, just days after declaring to the world, &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to be on for a goal against ever. That&rsquo;s all I care about, basically, is never being on the ice for a goal against.&rdquo;)</p><p>Some players respond to patches of bad play by trying to do too much and they look even worse in the process. Doughty, though, is one of those unique players who can take control of a game when he decides to impose his will on it. Later in Game 1 was one of those times, an instance when he channelled all that emotion into something special. After receiving a pass from Justin Williams (who else?), Doughty took the puck, toe-dragged around Derek Dorsett then held up to avoid the Santa Monica Freeway rush hour in front of the Rangers net before lifting the puck into the top corner.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-012071/10009222-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="1359" height="1175"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>&lsquo;D&rsquo; FOR DYNAMITE</b></p><p>Doughty&rsquo;s highlight-reel goal in the second period is the kind only the game&rsquo;s greats score.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(DOUGHTY: ANDREW D. BERNSTEIN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>This Kings team is a bit of an anomaly in the place that gave birth to Showtime. The Kings are young, eager and brash. They&rsquo;re a little like the 1980s Edmonton Oilers in that respect. But the way they win is by wearing the other team down into dust. They&rsquo;re a collection of players singular in purpose, which is to make their opponent realize that giving up is the best option. There is, with the exception of Doughty, almost no flair. (On the ice, that is. Jarret Stoll, who&rsquo;s the team&rsquo;s third-line center and never seems to be defensively out of position, once dated Rachel Hunter and now he&rsquo;s with Erin Andrews. Off the ice, Stoll is playing superstar minutes.)</p><p>Anze Kopitar was identified by Wayne Gretzky as the third-best player in the NHL, but it&rsquo;s because he plays the game the right way, not for bringing people out of their seats. Jonathan Quick might be the best player the Kings have, but people don&rsquo;t put down a couple hundred bucks for a club seat to watch a guy stop pucks.</p><p>That leaves Doughty, who has the skill level to wow and the confidence to back up his words. In short, he has superstar potential. And he&rsquo;s quickly becoming one of the NHL&rsquo;s most quotable top-shelf players. During the final, he talked about seeing the fear in the eyes of the San Jose Sharks, &ldquo;especially their captain,&rdquo; as the Kings mounted their first-round comeback. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s got a little rebel in him,&rdquo; says GM Dean Lombardi, &ldquo;but those guys rise to the occasion. He&rsquo;s a special, special human being. And he&rsquo;s only going to get better. He&rsquo;s 24 years old. Ray Bourque didn&rsquo;t hit his prime until he was 27.&rdquo;</p><p>The only concern with Doughty is whether he&rsquo;s won everything too early in his career. He&rsquo;s 24 and already has his name on the Stanley Cup and two Olympic gold medals. He&rsquo;s had three straight long playoff runs, in which he has logged huge amounts of ice time. But through Doughty&rsquo;s eyes, there&rsquo;s only one thing that matters and it&rsquo;s been that way since Day 1: &ldquo;When I was getting drafted, before I was even drafted, Dean just continually said he wanted a team of winners,&rdquo; Doughty says, &ldquo;and he asked me to make him a promise that I would be a winner in this league and I promised him that.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0015-01

GAME ONE

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0016-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-021578/10009267-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>DAN GIRARDI</b></figcaption></div><p><i>JUNE 5-6, 2014</i></p><p><b>THE SKATE BACK TO THE BENCH. THAT&rsquo;S</b> the hardest part of it sometimes. Skate of Shame, call it whatever you want, but sometimes it feels like the loneliest place in the world.</p><p>There are worse places, though. First of all, you could be one of the hundreds of NHL players who aren&rsquo;t Dan Girardi, and your team could be sitting at home in June. And there are worse places to stew over a giveaway in overtime than a plush seaside resort in Santa Monica. You can see why people would want to live here. Once you get through the soul-crushing traffic, you&rsquo;re in a corner of paradise.</p><p>As the Rangers gather themselves after losing in overtime in Game 1, they don&rsquo;t retreat from their Santa Monica digs. No on-ice workout, very little media access, just a day to get away from the rink and forget about the nightmare that was Game 1.</p><p>It&rsquo;s also a day for Girardi&rsquo;s teammates to rally around him. That&rsquo;s not that difficult for them because Girardi has taken more pucks for their cause and endured more bruises for them than they could ever repay with a few pats on the back and encouraging words. In Game 1, Girardi blocked only one shot, but it was the 1,364th of his career, playoffs included.</p><p>Think about that for a minute. Almost 1,400 times in his career, Girardi has thought it would be a fine idea to put his body between some of the hardest shooters on the planet and his goaltender. Talk about gaining cred with your teammates. And if Girardi cashes in a few of the goodwill chips he&rsquo;s accumulated along the way, his teammates won&rsquo;t have an issue with that. &ldquo;It could have happened their way, it could have happened to anyone on our team,&rdquo; Girardi says. &ldquo;It just happened to me, and that&rsquo;s the way it is.&rdquo;</p><p>Girardi&rsquo;s path to the NHL wasn&rsquo;t littered with signing bonuses or accolades. He played for three junior teams, including the 2005 London Knights squad that defeated Sidney Crosby&rsquo;s Rimouski Oceanic in the Memorial Cup final, and he sat through the NHL drafts in 2002 and 2003 as the names of 583 players were called. First he was signed to a minor-league contract with the Rangers, then a two-way deal. When he was called up to replace an injured Darius Kasparaitis in 2007, he put the minor leagues behind him for good.</p><p>And the reason why Girardi stayed in the NHL is he&rsquo;s a man who knows his role and plays it perfectly. Twice he has finished at the top of the league in blocked shots and no player has blocked more than the 900 Girardi has in the past five seasons. The sacrifices, it turns out, have been worth it. Going into next season, he will embark on a six-year, $33-million extension that includes a base salary of $7 million each of the next two seasons. That&rsquo;s not why Girardi stands in front of pucks, but it probably helps absorb the impact a little.</p><p>Nothing hurts more, though, than the helpless feeling of watching the puck roll off your stick in overtime of the Stanley Cup final, then, while you&rsquo;re falling to retrieve it, putting it on the stick of your opponent with nothing between him and the net. &ldquo;Whenever you make a play that costs the game, you&rsquo;re going to feel no lower than I&rsquo;ve ever felt before, to tell you the truth,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just one play. It cost us. I stewed about it, but today is a new day and it&rsquo;s sunny in California and we have a chance to win Game 2.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0016-02

OFF DAYS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0017-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-011771/10009298-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>PLAYOFF PERFORMER</b></p><p>Dustin Brown&rsquo;s two worst regular seasons were years in which the Kings won their Cups.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(GIRARDI + BROWN: HARRY HOW/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><i>JUNE 7, 2014</i></p><p class="dropcap"><b><span>I</span>T&rsquo;S WITH NO SENSE OF IRONY THAT DUSTIN</b> Brown&rsquo;s charity of choice for much of his NHL career has been an organization called Ka-BOOM!, a non-profit whose lofty goal is to provide a playground within walking distance for every child in the United States.</p><p>You see, Brown hits. He hits hard and he hits often, but he doesn&rsquo;t hit to hurt, though that occasionally happens. Brown has led the Los Angeles Kings in hits in both the regular season and the playoffs for each of the past nine seasons. And he&rsquo;s the only player in the league who has been in the top 10 in hits each of the past eight years. His teammates have no idea what it&rsquo;s like to be at the other end of a Brown bodycheck, and they&rsquo;re just fine with that. &ldquo;I wouldn&rsquo;t want to be hit by him,&rdquo; says Dwight King, who just happens to have four inches and 23 pounds on Brown. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a big, strong guy and he can move pretty quickly.&rdquo;</p><p>By the end of next season, barring injury, Brown will have more than 2,500 career hits. That&rsquo;s slightly more than The Beatles. He gets most of them on the forecheck and is a big factor in the Kings getting the puck back. So even when he has a miserable season, as he did before these playoffs, the Kings can live with it. And all the better when he catches fire in the post-season and shows just why the Kings inked him to an eight-year, $47-million extension that kicks in next season.</p><p>Playing on the top line with Anze Kopitar and Marian Gaborik, Brown once again elevated his game. You could argue his two worst regular seasons were 2011-12, the year the Kings won their first Cup, and 2013-14. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a big part of the identity of our hockey club,&rdquo; says coach Darryl Sutter. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s kind of beating a dead horse. He and I talked a lot about his regular season. The only thing that made the difference then was making the playoffs. Nobody was more dissatisfied with his regular season than &lsquo;Brownie.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p><p>And true to form, Brown plays his best hockey when his team needed him most. He was the best player in Game 7 of the Western Conference final against the Chicago Blackhawks, a series in the running for The Greatest Ever in the History of the Playoffs. And in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup final, it&rsquo;s Brown who establishes his presence in front of the Rangers net and tips in Willie Mitchell&rsquo;s point shot to give the Kings a 5-4 double overtime victory.</p><p>That play typifies Brown&rsquo;s captaincy with the Kings. Brown is one of the few players on the team who was there during the bad times, when the Kings were terrible on the ice and their dressing room was a mess. He has helped shepherd the organization on the ice to the point where it is a well-oiled juggernaut, not through his words, but his actions. If you&rsquo;re looking for a player to give an inspirational speech with all the right words, Brown is probably not your guy. If you&rsquo;re seeking someone who you might actually want on the ice in critical situations, you&rsquo;ve found him. &ldquo;The big cliche, the big speech before a big game&hellip;if that&rsquo;s what you&rsquo;re relying on to come back or to find a way to win, you&rsquo;re probably not playing at this time of year anyway,&rdquo; Brown says. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s one thing to talk and say all the right things. It&rsquo;s another to go out and do them.&rdquo;</p><p>It&rsquo;s not that Brown can&rsquo;t talk or say the right things. He&rsquo;s a smart guy who could have been an Ivy League man at Cornell in his hometown of Ithaca, N.Y., had he not opted for junior hockey with the Guelph Storm. In the Ontario League, he did something no other player has done: win the Bobby Smith Trophy as the league&rsquo;s scholastic player of the year three years in a row. He was the Canadian Hockey League&rsquo;s top student-athlete in 2002-03.</p><p>But it&rsquo;s more an insight thing with Brown. He has a unique way of dealing with his teammates. Case in point was in Game 7 of the second round when Brown had to talk Drew Doughty off the ledge after the Anaheim Ducks were awarded a penalty shot in the first period. Brown looked into Doughty&rsquo;s eyes and spoke directly to him, making Doughty realize this wasn&rsquo;t the right time to lose his composure. Not that Brown will take the credit. &ldquo;I wouldn&rsquo;t say I was in charge, but it was more of a few guys trying to talk to him,&rdquo; Brown says. &ldquo;Knowing him well and rooming with him, there&rsquo;s a certain way to deal with certain guys and with me and Drew, it&rsquo;s give-and-take.&rdquo;</p><p>Just the way it is with Brown and the Kings. They can take his shortcomings as long as he gives them what he does in the post-season: a great chance to win the Stanley Cup.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0017-01

GAME TWO

<p><i>JUNE 8, 2014</i></p><p class="dropcap"><b><span>O</span>N AN OFF-DAY CONSUMED WITH</b> cross-country travel, it gets a guy thinking. If Nick Leddy doesn&rsquo;t redirect that shot in overtime in Game 7 of the Western Conference final, the Kings might not be here. If Chris Kreider buries a breakaway, the Rangers win Game 1. If Dwight King gets called, as he should have, for goaltender interference, the Kings don&rsquo;t tie Game 2 and send it to overtime.</p><p>Then there are the big-picture what ifs. Two would have had franchise-altering consequences. If the Kings had been successful in either one, they&rsquo;re likely still looking for their first Stanley Cup.</p><p>The first was at the trade deadline in 2010, when they wanted Ilya Kovalchuk from the Atlanta Thrashers. It was down to L.A. and New Jersey. The Devils won out because Dean Lombardi wasn&rsquo;t comfortable parting with Brayden Schenn and Wayne Simmonds.</p><p>The second was in the summer of 2011 when Brad Richards became a free agent. He was camped out at the suburban Toronto office of his agent Pat Morris, and teams lined up to give their pitches. At one point, cameras captured the Kings brain trust trying to enter the building, but the doors were locked. One Kings executive said afterward that in light of the reception they received from Richards, they might as well have stayed locked out.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011948/10009329-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="818" height="1212"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>MIKE RICHARDS</b> <span class="photo-credit">(HARRY HOW/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>If Los Angeles had landed Kovalchuk in 2010 and then signed him to a long-term deal, it would have prohibited them from using Schenn and Simmonds to get Mike Richards the following summer. If they&rsquo;d signed Brad Richards, there&rsquo;s little chance they get Jeff Carter at the deadline in 2012.</p><p>And there&rsquo;s an even better chance the Kings are still fumbling their way around the dark instead of being on the precipice of a modern-day NHL dynasty.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0018-01

OFF DAY

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0019-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-011700/10009360-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>UNFLAPPABLE</b></p><p>Acrobatic saves to awkward interviews, Jonathan Quick is the Kings&rsquo; toughest nut to crack.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><i>JUNE 9, 2014</i></p><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span>HERE&rsquo;S A GUY WHO DOES RADIO IN LOS</b> Angeles who looks like a parody of himself. He has a long beard and wears a big furry hat that makes it look as though any minute he&rsquo;ll be off to a meeting of the Loyal Order of Water Buffaloes with Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble.</p><p>&ldquo;Hey, &lsquo;Quickie,&rsquo;&rdquo; the guy asks Jonathan Quick. &ldquo;How are you staying so calm while the other goalie is going all Hollywood? How are you maintaining your composure?&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t get the question,&rdquo; Quick responds. &ldquo;What do you mean?&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;Well, you know Lundqvist is all Hollywood, &lsquo;Carts&rsquo; (Jeff Carter) hits him and he goes down, yet you just maintain&hellip;&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;Uh, yeah,&rdquo; Quick says. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t really get the question.&rdquo;</p><p>It doesn&rsquo;t occur to Quick, not even for one second, to play along with the guy. This is the Stanley Cup final, after all, and the inane questions are almost as commonplace as the ones that try to elicit a sensible response. Most players just chuckle and say something pithy and move on to the next question. Not Quick. His response elicits a very uncomfortable couple seconds, but you get the sense he revels in that.</p><p>Quick, it seems, is rarely in a comfort zone. Must have something to do with being the last line of defense for a team that, until these playoffs, hasn&rsquo;t provided him with a whole lot of run support. There have been times this post-season when he didn&rsquo;t create much of a comfort zone for himself. He was pulled in Game 2 of the first round and was just as guilty as his teammates in the Kings&rsquo; penchant for falling behind early in games. But the thing about Quick is once he gets it together, he is nearly impenetrable.</p><p>That&rsquo;s certainly the case in Game 3. He has the look about him that he simply isn&rsquo;t going to give up a goal. And he doesn&rsquo;t, pitching a 3-0 shutout. At the other end, the Henrik Lundqvist apologists are out in full force, talking about how &lsquo;King Henrik&rsquo; couldn&rsquo;t possibly have stopped the three goals he allowed. But Quick made some impossible saves as well.</p><p>And that&rsquo;s the biggest difference between Quick and Lundqvist. Both of them make the saves they&rsquo;re supposed to make, but Quick makes the ones he isn&rsquo;t supposed to make.</p><p>Lundqvist and Quick are two goalies who couldn&rsquo;t be more stylistically different. On the ice, Lundqvist is controlled and fundamentally perfect, Quick is ducking and diving and making the job of goaltending look akin to being a broker at the New York Stock Exchange. Off the ice, it&rsquo;s much the same. Lundqvist apparently once had a hair out of place and one of his shoelaces undone. Quick, on the other hand, looks like a cross between Eminem and the guy you don&rsquo;t know who woke up on your couch after last night&rsquo;s frat party.</p><p>The Kings are a team that, if you don&rsquo;t know the status of the series, you&rsquo;d never know whether they were up two games, down two games, on the verge of winning the Stanley Cup or on the cusp of being eliminated. Quick typifies that trait more than anyone else on the team. He utters every word with the same monotone delivery, never once opening up even just a crack to let anyone in but his teammates and his inner circle. He hasn&rsquo;t wavered from that young kid in 2007 who was sent to the ECHL because he overslept and missed a team meeting with the American League&rsquo;s Manchester Monarchs. He didn&rsquo;t see that as an indication his career was going down the sinkhole, nor does he see the heady days of 2012 and 2014 to be anything more than him doing his job. &ldquo;Maybe it seems like I&rsquo;m not having fun,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;Whether you win or lose, these are the games you want to play. This is why you work so hard.&rdquo;</p><p>He wants to play games at this time of year, but he doesn&rsquo;t want to play games. There&rsquo;s a difference. His refuge is on the ice. Off it, he&rsquo;s not about to put on any airs or be something he&rsquo;s not. He has almost nothing to say and isn&rsquo;t afraid to say it.</p><p>When asked after his Game 3 performance whether he could taste the Cup with it so close, his response was: &ldquo;Nope.&rdquo;</p><p>Another awkward pause, then onto the next question.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0019-01

GAME THREE

<p><i>JUNE 10, 2014</i></p><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span>HE LOS ANGELES KINGS ARE A LITTLE</b> bit like the kid at the mall with his parents. He tries to get what he wants by slowly and meticulously breaking them down. He doesn&rsquo;t take no for an answer. He keeps coming back until he notices a crack in the armor, then he exploits it until his parents are beaten down and he leaves with a video game or toy truck.</p><p>Jarret Stoll talked about that before the series. He talked about how the Kings &ldquo;break&rdquo; teams, how they can always tell by their opponents&rsquo; body language and their lack of willingness to compete that they have them where they want them. It&rsquo;s usually a subtle thing, but there are times when the opponent throws up the white flag.</p><p>The New York Rangers have learned what much of the Western Conference has about the Kings. They&rsquo;re automatons. They&rsquo;re impervious to the off-ice hoopla that comes with playing in the final, and they&rsquo;re almost impossible to break down.</p><p>With three games in the books, the difference in talent and physical presence between the Western Conference and Eastern Conference has widened. The Kings are built for this kind of competition better than any other team. Perhaps that&rsquo;s why the Rangers, by this time, don&rsquo;t even pretend to talk about winning the series. Instead their resolve is in not having the Kings win the Stanley Cup on their ice.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not going to happen that way,&rdquo; says Marc Staal.</p><p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s not the way we want to go out,&rdquo; says Dan Girardi.</p><p>&ldquo;Today is pretty much impossible to be upbeat,&rdquo; adds Brad Richards.</p><p>There&rsquo;s nothing wrong with a team being honest. It&rsquo;s just you rarely see it to that degree. Darryl Sutter maintains his team was convinced it could win its first-round series when it fell into a 0-3 hole against the San Jose Sharks. He says he knew it in Game 1 when the Kings pulled Jonathan Quick after the second period. &ldquo;We could see we&rsquo;re not a team that somebody says, &lsquo;Go away,&rsquo; and we go away,&rdquo; Sutter says. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re a team that&rsquo;s going to respond. Doesn&rsquo;t mean you&rsquo;re always going to win, but you&rsquo;re going to respond. The other team is going to know they played you. We knew we were going to win the series. It just took a little bit longer.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0020-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-011700/10009422-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>ALL HAIL THE KING</b></p><p>Henrik Lundqvist staves off elimination for the Rangers with a 40-save performance.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(ANDREW D. BERNSTEIN/NH LI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><i>JUNE 11, 2014</i></p><p class="dropcap"><b><span>W</span>E&rsquo;LL LEAVE IT TO OTHERS TO DECIDE</b> whether the hockey gods are smiling disproportionately on the Los Angeles Kings in the Stanley Cup final. Logic tells us this is a game played by some of the best, most precisely prepared athletes in the world, and to chalk up significant developments like the outcome of games to luck is selling the process just a little short. Or as Justin Williams likes to say, &ldquo;Luck is for the unprepared.&rdquo;</p><p>Then along comes Henrik Lundqvist. You think maybe good fortune has something to do with it, and not just because two pucks stop in the snow directly on the goal line in the Rangers&rsquo; 2-1 win in Game 4. It&rsquo;s more because you look at a guy whose every hair knows its place and never dares to wander. It&rsquo;s because you see a fellow whose clothing thanks him for having graced it with his body. He&rsquo;s a guy who showed up for his first hockey practice, and when the coach asked who wanted to play goal, Lundqvist had his hand grabbed by his identical twin brother, Joel, and raised in the air. Joel went on to become an industrious center with stints playing for the Dallas Stars and as the captain of Sweden&rsquo;s national team, while the reluctant goaltender has been linked to Swedish princesses and owns a swanky apartment in Manhattan.</p><p>But maybe that&rsquo;s selling Lundqvist a little short. After all, it&rsquo;s not as though everything just fell into his lap. All right, maybe the good looks did, but he still has to work at it because you know those designer suits don&rsquo;t pay for themselves. And when it comes to goaltending, Lundqvist leaves nothing to luck. He&rsquo;s one of his era&rsquo;s best technical keepers, rivalling Hall of Famer Ed Belfour on the &ldquo;Wow, he stopped everything without making a single save look difficult&rdquo; meter. That takes work.</p><p>It also takes work to carry a team on your shoulders as Lundqvist has done for the better part of a decade. It requires even more work to carry a team to the Stanley Cup final, as Lundqvist has this spring, going 4-0 in elimination games through the first two rounds. While the Kings have any one of five players who could win the Conn Smythe Trophy, Lundqvist is the only legitimate candidate for the Rangers.</p><p>Before the series began, Lundqvist was talking about how so many times at the Rangers practice facility in Tarrytown, N.Y., he has walked past a prominent photo of the Rangers 1994 Stanley Cup celebration and how it took on more meaning when the Rangers beat the Montreal Canadiens to go to the final. &ldquo;Now, it&rsquo;s not different than earlier years,&rdquo; Lundqvist says. &ldquo;This is something I&rsquo;ve wanted for a long time. And it doesn&rsquo;t change when you get closer. You always have this feeling going into the season and going into the playoffs. But over the past couple of days at our training center, seeing that photo from &rsquo;94&hellip;I&rsquo;ve been walking by that photo every day for nine years and I&rsquo;ve seen myself being there. It&rsquo;s been a dream for a long time.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-021217/10009415-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg" title="f0020-02" width="646" height="583"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(DAVE SANDFORD/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>The dream is fading away, but Lundqvist does everything he can to make it happen. Even as the Kings pound him with 41 shots in Game 4, he makes that dream live on for one more game.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0020-01

GAME FOUR

<p><i>JUNE 12, 2014</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-011361/10009460-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="646" height="542"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>O</span>NLY ONE GAME STANDS BETWEEN THE</b> Los Angeles Kings and their second Stanley Cup on home ice in three years. Things have never been this good for them, not even during the Wayne Gretzky years.</p><p>GM Dean Lombardi has made a point of acquiring young, single guys who flock to Manhattan Beach and hang out together off the ice. Do they party sometimes? Well, duh. They&rsquo;re 20-something millionaires who look as though they&rsquo;ve been Photoshopped. Guys like that don&rsquo;t spend their nights with each other playing Dungeons and Dragons.</p><p>Lombardi knows that may mean the Kings will never win a regular season division championship, but he also knows the camaraderie that develops over the season is what has made his team such a force in the playoffs. It&rsquo;s also given players a more prominent profile in their market, however. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know if I like it better or not,&rdquo; says Drew Doughty. &ldquo;I for sure don&rsquo;t like it better, actually. Back in the day, we could pretty much roll in anywhere, and now we&rsquo;re getting recognized. It&rsquo;s like being back home in Canada. We&rsquo;re making hockey a presence, but that was the bonus of playing here. You could do what you wanted and not get in trouble for it.&rdquo;</p><p>Not that long ago, things weren&rsquo;t so great for the Kings. It&rsquo;s easy to forget that in 2008 they missed out on the first-overall pick only because they had one more win than the Tampa Bay Lightning, or that their fourth-line center was a 37-year-old defenseman named Jon Klemm.</p><p>Off the ice, the Kings were irrelevant in their own market. The same team that has had more than 100 straight sellouts had just six in its first 24 games of 2007-08. They were bad and boring and the <i>L.A. Times</i> had stopped covering them on the road, with the sports editor at the time describing the Kings as, &ldquo;basically a minor league team.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-02884/10009453-1-eng-US/f0021-022.jpg" title="f0021-02" width="1355" height="1383"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(BOTH: BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Lombardi had been GM for more than a season by that time, and the Kings were showing little signs of improving. Then, instead of having Steven Stamkos fall in their laps, the Kings got Doughty with the second-overall pick. That was preceded and followed by an uncanny whack of terrific picks by the tandem of co-directors of amateur scouting Michael Futa and Mark Yanetti and shrewd moves by Lombardi, the most important of which was hiring Darryl Sutter as coach, a move that was panned at the time but turned out to be exactly what the franchise needed.</p><p>Sutter has always pushed the right buttons with his team, knowing when to impose himself (regular season) and when to let his players figure it out (in the playoffs). Asked why his team was able to overcome a 3-0 deficit in the first round against the San Jose Sharks, he said, &ldquo;Because we won before. It&rsquo;s not as hard as you think. We could have lost and said we&rsquo;d left everything out there, and that&rsquo;s what we did when we won.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0021-01

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0022-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-011584/10009512-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>THE SILVER GOAL</b></p><p>Alec Martinez&rsquo;s OT winner gives the Kings their second Cup and Justin Williams his third.</p></figcaption></div><p><i>JUNE 13, 2014</i></p><p class="dropcap"><b><span>H</span>E DOES NOTHING SPECTACULARLY,</b> but he does everything well. He raises his game at the most crucial times, and his ability to make clutch plays is uncanny. He&rsquo;s a proven winner and, with his performance in 2014, he has ensured his spot alongside Hall of Fame players and his place in history.</p><p>We&rsquo;re talking, of course, about Justin Williams, the club champion at the 106-year-old Whitemarsh Valley Country Club in Lafayette Hill, Pa. Took the title last summer, he did. And since it was match play, in which his opponents had to look him dead in the eye, of course they never stood a chance. As the champion, his name will forever be on the trophy that graces the clubhouse, alongside that of Chuck Bednarik, who is in the Pro and College Football Halls of Fame. &ldquo;He made a lot of clutch shots,&rdquo; says Whitemarsh Valley club pro David Pagett. &ldquo;I was really impressed.&rdquo;</p><p>That was just the warmup act for this year&rsquo;s playoffs, in which Williams became one of the most unlikely Conn Smythe winners in history. Of the 42 players who have won it, 29 are in the Hall of Fame or on their way there once they retire. Williams falls more into the Butch Goring/Claude Lemieux wing of playoff MVPs.</p><p>There are players in the NHL who are better than Williams. Lots of them. There are players who are faster, more physical, better skaters, better defensively, more dynamic and many more who put up superior numbers. This season there were 121 who did just that. All but seven of them, however, are watching the playoffs while Williams is still playing in them.</p><p>At the most crucial juncture of the most important game, who would you rather have with the puck on his stick than Williams? Patrick Kane perhaps? That list of guys who do things a whole lot better than Williams does shortens considerably. Perhaps down to single digits.</p><p>Other than teammate Colin Fraser, there&rsquo;s just one active player among the 983 that played one game in the NHL this season who has as many Stanley Cup rings as Williams. That would be future Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur. And after Williams&rsquo; one-goal, one-assist performance in the deciding game of the Western Conference final, he passed Hall of Famer Doug Gilmour for the most Game 7 points in NHL history.</p><p>Williams is a 21st century version of Lemieux, minus the nasty stick work and driving guys&rsquo; heads into the boards. And he&rsquo;ll probably never compete on <i>Battle of the Blades</i>. Then again, you never know, because this guy can surprise you. If he does, expect him to win. Three Stanley Cups and two world championships, with an integral role in all of them, are a testament to Williams&rsquo; ability to claw his way to the top.</p><p>The Kings have taken to calling Williams &lsquo;Mr. Game 7,&rsquo; but &lsquo;Mr. Clutch&rsquo; will suffice. There he was in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final, with the puck on his stick and a chance to give his team a win it didn&rsquo;t deserve. And of course, he made no mistake, putting a shot into the top corner on one of the best goalies in the world. At that moment in time, the Kings needed an unstoppable shot and that&rsquo;s exactly what they got.</p><p>After Game 1, Drew Doughty made Williams get all gosh-golly by telling the world Williams is the Kings&rsquo; most underrated player &ldquo;by a mile.&rdquo; You want underrated? Williams has been traded twice in his NHL career, once for Danny Markov and then for Patrick O&rsquo;Sullivan and a second-rounder. &ldquo;He doesn&rsquo;t get enough credit for what he does,&rdquo; Doughty said. &ldquo;There are two guys on this team that I want to give the puck to, and that&rsquo;s him and &lsquo;Kopy&rsquo; (Anze Kopitar). When they get the puck, plays happen.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-021156/10009505-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg" title="f0022-02" width="999" height="1565"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>JUSTIN WILLIAMS</b><span class="photo-credit">(DAVE SANDFORD/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES; VICTOR DECOLONGON/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Sixteen years ago, not much was happening and nobody was calling Williams anything. Then he was just another teenager muddling his way through the bottleneck between minor hockey and junior and things weren&rsquo;t going gangbusters. Williams couldn&rsquo;t even stick with his hometown Jr. A team in Cobourg, Ont., and it&rsquo;s not because they were good. The 1997-98 edition of the Cougars were 20th in a league of 22 teams with an 8-39-3 record. And it wasn&rsquo;t as though Williams didn&rsquo;t get a fair chance, because pretty much anyone who could skate got a fair chance. The Cougars went through 55 skaters and eight goaltenders that year. Williams got into 17 games and had a grand total of three assists.</p><p>So off he went to play Jr. C, which is pretty much beer league hockey without the beer. But the Plymouth Whalers of the Ontario League saw enough to draft him 125th overall in 1998. He&rsquo;s won more Cups, made more money and had a better NHL career than every other player taken in that draft. He bounced between the Whalers and their Jr. A affiliate that year, but he came back the next season and had 83 points en route to becoming a first-round pick of the Philadelphia Flyers.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-011360/10009498-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="1358" height="883"></div><p>Then he made the NHL at 18 and hasn&rsquo;t played a game in junior or the minors since. If it seems as though you&rsquo;ve heard this story before, it&rsquo;s because you have. Williams is one of those rare players who are better as pros than they ever were as amateurs. Once his sense of determination got him over the hump, there was no looking back. &ldquo;The &lsquo;f-you&rsquo; attitude has gotten me pretty far,&rdquo; Williams says. &ldquo;Not everyone goes through success ever since you&rsquo;re young. Not everything is given to you. It&rsquo;s not a silver platter where you&rsquo;re anointed in the NHL. I&rsquo;ve been cut from several teams, three or four teams in my career, and it was hard for me to get to the next level. The attitude is, &lsquo;You&rsquo;re not going to break me. You&rsquo;re not going to get the better of me. I&rsquo;m going to show you.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p><p>Williams has done that with two 30-goal seasons and a reputation as one of the best clutch players of his generation. After his goal in Game 1, he was almost uncomfortable talking about himself, and he kept saying if it weren&rsquo;t him, it would have been somebody else. But if scoring goals and coming up big in the most important games were that easy, anybody would be able to do it. There&rsquo;s something that sets players like Williams apart. When he added three assists in the Kings Game 2 victory, talk about the Conn Smythe Trophy surfaced. That talk only grew as the series went on. &ldquo;I just feel that you got here for a reason and you followed your instincts and that&rsquo;s simply what I do during crunch time,&rdquo; Williams said. &ldquo;You can&rsquo;t be afraid to make a mistake. You&rsquo;ve got to be on your toes and wanting to make a difference &ndash; especially late in games and in overtimes.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-02978/10009491-1-eng-US/f0023-022.jpg" title="f0023-02" width="646" height="589"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>THE SPOILS OF WAR</b></p><p>Williams is all smiles with teammates Anze Kopitar and Brown after their Game 5 win.</p><span class="photo-credit">(NOAH GRAHAM/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES; DAVE SAND FORD/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Williams, as it turns out, is a lot like the team for which he plays. The Anaheim Ducks will have a nice little ceremony at the beginning of next season to celebrate their Pacific Division championship, while down the road the Kings will raise a Stanley Cup banner. Like the Kings, Williams might not wow you with his production during the regular season, but that&rsquo;s not when reputations are made.</p><p>Ever notice that Williams has a big bushy beard in most of his photos? That&rsquo;s not a coincidence for a guy who flies under the radar for 82 games, then starts to make people take notice. In that respect, he and the Kings are a perfect match. &ldquo;Listen, we try to be a tough team to knock down and if we do get knocked down, we&rsquo;re going to get back up and get in your face again and make you do it again,&rdquo; Williams says. &ldquo;You need to have that aura about yourself that it&rsquo;s too hard for the other team.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0022-01

GAME FIVE

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0024-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-021097/10009809-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">1. Staples Center rocks and flags fly as host L.A. begins its second final in two years. <span class="photo-credit">(1. KEVORK DJANSEZIAN/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-011525/10009816-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="195" height="227"></div><p><b><i>SERIES IN PHOTOS</i></b>&nbsp;<i>| GAME</i>&nbsp;<b><i>1</i></b>&nbsp;<i>| JUNE 4, 2014 | KINGS</i>&nbsp;<b><i>3 &ndash;</i></b>&nbsp;<i>RANGERS</i>&nbsp;<b><i>2</i></b>&nbsp;<i>| OT</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-03760/10009802-1-eng-US/f0024-032.jpg" title="f0024-03" width="908" height="876"><figcaption class="caption-body">2. Mike Richards looks poised after his Kings won three Game 7s to get here.</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-04546/10009795-1-eng-US/f0024-042.jpg" title="f0024-04" width="1566" height="842"><figcaption class="caption-body">3. Rangers&rsquo; emotional leader Martin St-Louis digs deep against Willie Mitchell.</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-05401/10009788-1-eng-US/f0024-052.jpg" title="f0024-05" width="1190" height="866"><figcaption class="caption-body">4. The Rangers are bewildered after the Kings tie the game 2-2. <span class="photo-credit">(4: BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-06326/10009781-1-eng-US/f0024-062.jpg" title="f0024-06" width="524" height="342"><figcaption class="caption-body">5. Star Kings blueliner Drew Doughty gains a head of steam in the neutral zone.</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-07265/10009774-1-eng-US/f0024-072.jpg" title="f0024-07" width="342" height="342"><figcaption class="caption-body">6. Legend Luc Robitaille and celeb Kings fan Will Ferrell.<span class="photo-credit">(2+5+6: DAVE SANDFORD/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-08223/10009767-1-eng-US/f0024-082.jpg" title="f0024-08" width="907" height="499"><figcaption class="caption-body">7. Dan Girardi, No. 5, hangs his head while L.A. celebrates its sudden death victory.<span class="photo-credit">(3+7: ANDREW D. BERNSTEIN//NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b><i>SERIES IN PHOTOS</i></b>&nbsp;<i>| GAME</i>&nbsp;<b><i>2</i></b>&nbsp;<i>| JUNE 7, 2014 | KINGS</i>&nbsp;<b><i>5 &ndash;</i></b>&nbsp;<i>RANGERS</i>&nbsp;<b><i>4</i></b>&nbsp;<i>| 2nd OT</i></p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-011336/10009760-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg" title="f0025-01" width="1214" height="875"><figcaption class="caption-body">1. Dwight King gets in Henrik Lundqvist&rsquo;s face to score as L.A. tries another comeback. <span class="photo-credit">(1. KEVORK DJANSEZIAN/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-02945/10009753-1-eng-US/f0025-022.jpg" title="f0025-02" width="342" height="507"><figcaption class="caption-body">2. Star support stays strong as Alyssa Milano takes in Game 2 with her son.</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-03658/10009746-1-eng-US/f0025-032.jpg" title="f0025-03" width="342" height="340"><figcaption class="caption-body">3. Even musicians like Gene Simmons root for the Kings.</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-04456/10009739-1-eng-US/f0025-042.jpg" title="f0025-04" width="508" height="875"><figcaption class="caption-body">4. Doughty staples New York&rsquo;s Brian Boyle to the Staples Center boards.</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-05337/10009732-1-eng-US/f0025-052.jpg" title="f0025-05" width="1506" height="842"><figcaption class="caption-body">5. Brad Richards isn&rsquo;t fast enough to solve a stretched out Jonathan Quick.</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-06276/10009725-1-eng-US/f0025-062.jpg" title="f0025-06" width="907" height="866"><figcaption class="caption-body">6. It&rsquo;s Rick Nash&rsquo;s first final. Dustin Brown gives him the rudest welcome possible. <span class="photo-credit">(1+4-6: HARRY HOW/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-07222/10009718-1-eng-US/f0025-072.jpg" title="f0025-07" width="1190" height="866"><figcaption class="caption-body">7. Brown takes a Hollywood curtain call after scoring in overtime to win Game 2.<span class="photo-credit">(2+3+7: DAVE SANDFORD/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b><i>SERIES IN PHOTOS</i></b>&nbsp;<i>| GAME</i>&nbsp;<b><i>3</i></b>&nbsp;<i>| JUNE 9, 2014 | KINGS</i>&nbsp;<b><i>3 &ndash;</i></b>&nbsp;<i>RANGERS</i>&nbsp;<b><i>0</i></b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-011533/10009711-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="787" height="875"><figcaption class="caption-body">1. Madison Square Garden&rsquo;s seats are ready for their first Cup final action in 20 years.</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-021105/10009704-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="1305" height="884"><figcaption class="caption-body">2. Lundqvist searches for his Zen before a crucial Game 3, not a hair out of place.</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-03858/10009697-1-eng-US/f0026-032.jpg" title="f0026-03" width="1506" height="841"><figcaption class="caption-body">3. The Kings are masters of keepaway, and blueliner Matt Greene is no exception.</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-04637/10009690-1-eng-US/f0026-042.jpg" title="f0026-04" width="576" height="866"><figcaption class="caption-body">4. Anze Kopitar owns the faceoff circle in Game 3, as he has all post-season. <span class="photo-credit">(4. SCOTT LEVY/NHLI VIA GETTY IM AGES)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-05489/10009683-1-eng-US/f0026-052.jpg" title="f0026-05" width="573" height="866"><figcaption class="caption-body">5. There&rsquo;s nowhere to shoot on Quick, who shuts out the Blueshirts in Manhattan. <span class="photo-credit">(5. BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-06411/10009676-1-eng-US/f0026-062.jpg" title="f0026-06" width="907" height="874"><figcaption class="caption-body">6. Frustration boils over for the outgunned Rangers, as D-man Ryan McDonagh trips Trevor Lewis.<span class="photo-credit">(1-3+6: DAVE SANDFORD/NHLI VIA GETTY IM AGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b><i>SERIES IN PHOTOS</i></b>&nbsp;<i>| GAME</i>&nbsp;<b><i>4</i></b>&nbsp;<i>| JUNE 11, 2014 | RANGERS</i>&nbsp;<b><i>2 &ndash;</i></b>&nbsp;<i>KINGS</i>&nbsp;<b><i>1</i></b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-011408/10009669-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="812" height="841"><figcaption class="caption-body">1. Mats Zuccarello shows he isn&rsquo;t afraid of mighty Brown.</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02987/10009662-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="813" height="883"><figcaption class="caption-body">2. The Rangers&rsquo; Marc Staal fights for new life with New York in a 3-0 series hole. <span class="photo-credit">(1-2: MIKE STOBE/GETTY IM AGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-03711/10009655-1-eng-US/f0027-032.jpg" title="f0027-03" width="1281" height="1751"><figcaption class="caption-body">3. Jeff Carter won&rsquo;t get an easier look at the net than this &ndash; and he doesn&rsquo;t score. <span class="photo-credit">(3. DAVE SANDFORD/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-04525/10009648-1-eng-US/f0027-042.jpg" title="f0027-04" width="1521" height="919"><figcaption class="caption-body">4. Desperate Derek Stepan resorts to a goal line stand. <span class="photo-credit">(4. BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-05369/10009641-1-eng-US/f0027-052.jpg" title="f0027-05" width="597" height="342"><figcaption class="caption-body">5. New York savors its first fan salute of the series. <span class="photo-credit">(5. SCOTT LEVY/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b><i>SERIES IN PHOTOS</i></b>&nbsp;<i>| GAME</i>&nbsp;<b><i>5</i></b>&nbsp;<i>| JUNE 13, 2014 | KINGS</i>&nbsp;<b><i>3 &ndash;</i></b>&nbsp;<i>RANGERS</i>&nbsp;<b><i>2</i></b>&nbsp;<i>| 2nd OT</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-011509/10009634-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="779" height="883"><figcaption class="caption-body">1. Justin Williams embodies focus minutes before he nets the first goal of Game 5.</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-021058/10009627-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="1310" height="883"><figcaption class="caption-body">2. A sea of black engulfs Staal as he pursues the puck in the Kings&rsquo; zone.</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-03783/10009620-1-eng-US/f0028-032.jpg" title="f0028-03" width="919" height="842"><figcaption class="caption-body">3. There&rsquo;s heavy traffic around both nets in Game 5. <span class="photo-credit">(1-3: DAVE SANDFORD/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-04568/10009613-1-eng-US/f0028-042.jpg" title="f0028-04" width="562" height="842"><figcaption class="caption-body">4. Nash and Brown resume pleasantries, and Nash gets the upper hand this time. <span class="photo-credit">(4. ANDREW D. BERNSTEIN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-05449/10009606-1-eng-US/f0028-052.jpg" title="f0028-05" width="1191" height="874"><figcaption class="caption-body">5. Interference or perfect sell job? Benoit Pouliot gets the gate for running Quick. <span class="photo-credit">(5. HARRY HOW/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-06392/10009599-1-eng-US/f0028-062.jpg" title="f0028-06" width="907" height="874"><figcaption class="caption-body">6. Streamers rain from the Staples Center rafters after L.A. clinches its second Cup. <span class="photo-credit">(6. NOEL VASQUEZ/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-011326/10009592-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="1309" height="882"><figcaption class="caption-body">7. Doughty and Tyler Toffoli share a gravity-defying hug after the Kings&rsquo; stunning win. <span class="photo-credit">(7. HARRY HOW/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-02910/10009585-1-eng-US/f0029-022.jpg" title="f0029-02" width="788" height="875"><figcaption class="caption-body">8. Lundqvist&rsquo;s face says it all after his Rangers suffer double-overtime heartbreak.</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-03650/10009578-1-eng-US/f0029-032.jpg" title="f0029-03" width="1514" height="841"><figcaption class="caption-body">9. Williams has it all: a kiss from Kopitar, a third career Cup and a Conn Smythe.</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-04491/10009571-1-eng-US/f0029-042.jpg" title="f0029-04" width="558" height="874"><figcaption class="caption-body">10. Doughty has earned his lap with the Cup after logging 40-plus minutes. <span class="photo-credit">(8+10: BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-05409/10009564-1-eng-US/f0029-052.jpg" title="f0029-05" width="899" height="499"><figcaption class="caption-body">11. Kyle Clifford makes his celebration a family affair with his wife and son.</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-06342/10009557-1-eng-US/f0029-062.jpg" title="f0029-06" width="333" height="342"><figcaption class="caption-body">12. Coach Darryl Sutter, a man of few words, needs none to convey his joy.</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-07268/10009550-1-eng-US/f0029-072.jpg" title="f0029-07" width="524" height="342"><figcaption class="caption-body">13. Mitchell and Marian Gaborik mug for cameras with Lord Stanley&rsquo;s mug. <span class="photo-credit">(13. ANDREW D. BERNSTEIN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-08227/10009543-1-eng-US/f0029-082.jpg" title="f0029-08" width="599" height="874"><figcaption class="caption-body">14. Brown prepares to take the sip dreams are made of.<span class="photo-credit">(9+11-12+14: DAVE SANDFORD/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0024-02

FEATURES

STANLEY CUPⓇ FINAL LR 2014

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-011519/10009896-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="423" height="479"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-021046/10009889-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="1581" height="1050"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(HERTL: ROCKY WIDNER/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>1 TOMAS HERTL&rsquo;S FOUR GOALS VS. NEW YORK</b></h2><h3><b>OCT. 8, 2013</b></h3><p class="dropcap"><span>I</span>n just his third NHL game, the rookie Tomas Hertl put up his statement performance with four goals in 11 minutes of playing time against the Rangers. Hertl&rsquo;s final goal was a breakaway between-the-legs instant classic that drew gushing reviews from most of the hockey world and the occasional dissenter, such as then-Washington coach Adam Oates, who said the move was disrespectful. Nonetheless, Hertl became a frontrunner for the Calder Trophy from that game until mid-December, when he required knee surgery after being hit by L.A.&rsquo;s Dustin Brown. Marty Biron, the goaltender who gave up Hertl&rsquo;s famous goal, would play just one more NHL game before retiring.</p><h2><b>2.T.J. OSHIE&rsquo;S SHOOTOUT HEROICS VS. RUSSIA</b></h2><h3><b>FEB. 15, 2014</b></h3><p>It was the most anticipated matchup of the Olympic round-robin, a Cold War classic starring the United States and the host Russians. Controversial Russian President Vladimir Putin was even in the building as the two rivals went at each other for 65 minutes without resolving matters. So with the score tied 2-2, the game went to a shootout where, under IIHF rules, only the first three shooters had to be different. So with the score still tied, Team USA sent out Blues winger T.J. Oshie five additional times in a row, while Russia countered with Pavel Datsyuk and Ilya Kovalchuk. Oshie finished with four goals to win the match for America and earn the nickname &lsquo;T.J. Sochi&rsquo;.</p><h2><b>3. KRISTERS GUDLEVSKIS ALMOST HELPS LATVIA UPSET CANADA</b></h2><h3><b>FEB. 19, 2014</b></h3><p>Led by Buffalo Sabres coach Ted Nolan, Latvia upset the Swiss en route to a quarterfinal showdown with heavily favored Canada at the Olympics. And though Buffalo&rsquo;s Zemgus Girgensons was the only NHLer on the roster, the Latvians did have Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Kristers Gudlevskis in net &ndash; and he made a game of it. Despite being peppered with 57 shots, Gudlevskis thwarted Canada&rsquo;s all-star roster time and again, ceding just one goal in the first 52 minutes. Nashville&rsquo;s Shea Weber finally broke a 1-1 tie with seven minutes to play, but the sight of Gudlevskis using every last bit of strength to keep his team in the game, even when he was past the brink of exhaustion, was truly inspiring.</p><h2><b>4 RICH PEVERLEY COLLAPSES</b></h2><h3><b>MARCH 10, 2014</b></h3><p>During an otherwise innocuous meeting between Dallas and Columbus, horror gripped the crowd in the first period when veteran Stars center Rich Peverley collapsed suddenly on the bench. Peverley, who had previously been treated for an irregular heartbeat, was rushed into the tunnel for treatment by trainers Dave Zeis and Craig Lowry in just 14 seconds. Peverley also credited doctors Robert Dimeff, Gil Salazar and Bill Robertson for saving his life. The pivot did not return to game action this year.</p><h2><b>5 BEN SCRIVENS&rsquo; 59-SAVE SHUTOUT VS. SAN JOSE</b></h2><h3><b>JAN. 29, 2014</b></h3><p>There have been few nice stories to come out of Edmonton lately, and practically none of them have involved goaltending. So when Ben Scrivens came to town from Los Angeles in exchange for a third-round pick, there was reason for hope. The Alberta native put his stamp on the season a couple weeks later when he stopped all 59 shots against the offensively powerful Sharks, setting a record for the most saves in a shutout. And make no mistake, the Oilers needed him: Edmonton threw just 27 shots at San Jose in the 3-0 win.</p><h2><b>6 VANCOUVER, CALGARY BRAWL OFF THE FACEOFF</b></h2><h3><b>JAN. 18, 2014</b></h3><p><b>JAN. 18, 2014</b> What a bizarre first game for Kellan Lain. The towering Canucks winger got in just one shift in his debut thanks to the antics of Vancouver coach John Tortorella and his hated rival, Flames bench boss Bob Hartley. With Hartley dressing his tough guys for the opening faceoff, Tortorella responded in kind. And there was no question what was about to happen when Canucks defenseman Kevin Bieksa decided to take the draw against Calgary enforcer (and right winger) Kevin Westgarth. Lain was one of eight players booted at the two-second mark of the game as the faceoff sparked a line brawl, while Tortorella made headlines by attempting to rush the Calgary dressing room between periods. Tortorella was suspended 15 days for his actions and Hartley was fined $25,000. Both teams would miss the playoffs and Tortorella would eventually be fired.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-011375/10009882-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="741" height="1321"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02933/10009875-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="1024" height="742"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(LETANG: GREGORY SHAMUS/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES; SCRIVENS: DEREK LEUNG/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>7 KRIS LETANG COMES BACK FROM STROKE</b></h2><h3><b>APRIL 9, 2014</b></h3><p>As shocking as it was to learn that Penguins blueliner Kris Letang had suffered a stroke, it was just as reassuring to see the offensively gifted player back on the ice months later. Letang, who has a hole in his heart, was discovered unconscious by his wife Jan. 29. He missed 26 games before returning to play more than 22 minutes, and grab an assist, against Detroit.</p><h2><b>8 RAY EMERY BEATS UP BRADEN HOLTBY</b></h2><h3><b>NOV. 2, 2013</b></h3><p>Philadelphia goaltender Ray Emery is no stranger to fisticuffs &ndash; he&rsquo;s even had boxers on his mask. But during a line brawl against Washington, he made more than a few observers squeamish when he went after Capitals counterpart Braden Holtby. The Washington netminder was clearly outgunned in the fight, yet the refs wouldn&rsquo;t jump in. The Capitals were already ahead 7-0 and easily won the game, but Emery got his revenge. The question remained, however: Does &lsquo;The Code&rsquo; include goalies?</p><h2><b>9 ROBERTO LUONGO RETURNS TO FLORIDA</b></h2><h3><b>MARCH 4, 2014</b></h3><p>His contract was so big, so long, that the chances of trading him were remote. Add to the fact it was well known Roberto Luongo wanted to go back to Florida, the team he had his first prolonged NHL success with, and the task for Vancouver was immense. But the Canucks and then-GM Mike Gillis had bungled their netminding position so badly, something had to be done, so Luongo and a minor-leaguer were sent to the Panthers for goalie Jacob Markstrom and forward Shawn Matthias, while Vancouver ate part of Luongo&rsquo;s contract.</p><h2><b>10 L.A. WINS FOUR STRAIGHT TO BEAT SAN JOSE IN SEVEN</b></h2><h3><b>APRIL 30, 2014</b></h3><p>Everyone knew the Pacific Division was going to be a street fight under the new playoff alignment and the Sharks were the first to get shanked. After winning the first three games against rival Los Angeles in the first round, San Jose was unable to produce the dagger and the Kings rebounded to take the next four games. It was just the fourth time in NHL history a team had come back from such a deficit, and the Kings rode that momentum all the way to a Stanley Cup.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-011498/10009868-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg" title="f0032-01" width="1577" height="1064"></div><h2><b>11 CANADA BEATS SWEDEN FOR GOLD</b></h2><h3><b>FEB. 23, 2014</b></h3><p>The game itself was almost anticlimactic. After struggling to overcome a stubborn Latvian team in the quarterfinal, the Canadians put up a wall against the Americans in the semi and then continued playing near-perfect hockey against Sweden in the final. The 3-0 masterpiece, punctuated by a Sidney Crosby breakaway goal, gave Carey Price two straight shutouts. But the game carried a shadow. Sweden&rsquo;s top center, Nicklas Backstrom of Washington, had mysteriously been suspended hours before the game by the IOC for an allergy medication he openly used for seven years. The fact the test had been taken four days prior to the suspension also rang of conspiracy or incompetence on the part of Olympic officials.</p><h2><b>12 MARTIN ST-LOUIS BECOMES NEW YORK&rsquo;S EMOTIONAL LEADER</b></h2><h3><b>MAY 9, 2014</b></h3><p>His career on Broadway began on a low note, as the former Lightning captain had sulked his way out, getting traded at the deadline for Ryan Callahan. A slow start in New York didn&rsquo;t help, but Martin St-Louis faced horrible adversity and lived up to his sterling reputation. Just before Mother&rsquo;s Day, his mom passed away. He played the next night against Pittsburgh, scored for her one game later and helped the Blueshirts win the series.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-021014/10009861-1-eng-US/f0032-022.jpg" title="f0032-02" width="986" height="979"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(STAMKOS: JIM DAVIS/THE BOSTON GLOBE VIA GETTY IMAGES; ST-LOUIS: SCOTT LEVY/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>13 TEEMU SELANNE&rsquo;S LAST REGULAR SEASON GAME</b></h2><h3><b>APRIL 13, 2014</b></h3><p>Sure, we&rsquo;ve thought he was gone before, but this time it really seems like Teemu Selanne is retired for good. &lsquo;The Finnish Flash&rsquo; ended his regular season campaign in typical classy style, waving to fans as he skated around, then grabbing Colorado goalie J-S Giguere to celebrate. Selanne and Giguere won a Cup together in 2007 with Anaheim.</p><h2><b>14 STEVEN STAMKOS BREAKS HIS LEG</b></h2><h3><b>NOV. 11, 2013</b></h3><p>During an afternoon tilt with the Bruins, Tampa Bay superstar Steven Stamkos drove to the net and was upended by D-man Dougie Hamilton. Stamkos collided with the iron and broke his leg on the play, costing him a shot at the Olympics (he did return four months later). Fellow young gun John Tavares also went down this year. The Islanders captain tore knee ligaments against Latvia at the Olympics and never returned to New York&rsquo;s lineup.</p><h2><b>15 NEW JERSEY LOSES ALL 13 SHOOTOUTS</b></h2><h3><b>APRIL 11, 2014</b></h3><p>In the end, the Devils missed the post-season by six points, and while goaltending was a factor, the shootout was a huge reason. New Jersey lost all 13 shootouts it took part in, bleeding away points it desperately could have used. Part of the problem? Normally slick-handed Jaromir Jagr, Patrik Elias and Travis Zajac combined for just one goal in 20 attempts. The Devils only scored four shootout goals all season long.</p><h2><b>16 COLUMBUS GETS FIRST PLAYOFF WIN</b></h2><h3><b>APRIL 19, 2014</b></h3><p>They went in as a cast of lunchpailers taking on some of the most elite talents in the world. But the Blue Jackets knocked Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and the Pittsburgh Penguins for a loop in Game 2 of their first-round series when Matt Calvert scored in double overtime. The 4-3 tri-umph was the first playoff win for the Ohio franchise and the Jackets would add another in Game 4, when Nick Foligno beat Marc-Andre Fleury on a wrister early in overtime to tie the series at two games apiece. But the inspirational story ended there, as Pittsburgh would close out the Jackets in six games.</p><h2><b>17 ANAHEIM BEATS L.A. AT OUTDOOR GAME IN DODGERS STADIUM</b></h2><h3><b>JAN. 26, 2014</b></h3><p>An outdoor game in California. Who knew it was possible? Despite being played in the Golden State, the evening tilt between Anaheim and Los Angeles, held at Dodgers Stadium, went off without a hitch. The ice was fine, the crowd was into it and a new spin on the novelty ended with a 3-0 Ducks victory. Other big outdoor games included two matches at Yankee Stadium involving the Rangers, plus Toronto and Detroit at the University of Michigan&rsquo;s football stadium, where more than 100,000 fans braved the snow.</p><h2><b>18 JAROMIR JAGR SCORES GOAL NO. 700</b></h2><h3><b>MARCH 1, 2014</b></h3><p>It wasn&rsquo;t pretty, but it still counted. In the second period of a 6-1 win over the Islanders, Jagr scored his 700th goal when the Czech legend&rsquo;s shot went off a defenseman and past goalie Evgeni Nabokov. Jagr, ageless at 42, would go on to lead the Devils in scoring with 67 points while playing in all 82 games. The talented right winger couldn&rsquo;t get the Devils back to the playoffs, but, hey, he&rsquo;s not a miracle worker.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-011327/10009854-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="1581" height="1439"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-02922/10009847-1-eng-US/f0033-022.jpg" title="f0033-02" width="656" height="1274"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(AMKOS: JIM DAVIS/THE BOSTON GLOBE VIA GETTY IMAGES; ST-LOUIS: SCOTT LEVY/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>19 SHAWN THORNTON SUCKER PUNCHES BROOKS ORPIK</b></h2><h3><b>DEC. 7, 2013</b></h3><p>One of the most bitter rivalries in the game today put another chapter in the books when Bruins goon Shawn Thornton pulled down Pens blueliner Brooks Orpik from behind and proceeded to sucker punch the Pittsburgh veteran. Orpik would leave the game on a stretcher and miss the next eight games with a concussion. Thornton was suspended 15 games. The precursor to the attack saw Pittsburgh&rsquo;s James Neal &ldquo;accidentally&rdquo; knee a prone Brad Marchand in the head. Orpik had also concussed Loui Eriksson earlier in the game on a hit, though it warranted no discipline.</p><h2><b>20 DETROIT MAKES THE PLAYOFFS FOR 23RD STRAIGHT SEASON</b></h2><h3><b>APRIL 9, 2014</b></h3><p>Detroit has been a scion of excellence for more than two decades, though recent times have presented more challenges. First there was the retirement of Nicklas Lidstrom, one of the greatest defensemen of all-time. This year, it was major injuries to stars such as Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen, not to mention goalie Jimmy Howard. But a youth attack led by Gustav Nyquist, who went off for 23 goals in a 28-game stretch, propelled Detroit back into the post-season and, while the Wings couldn&rsquo;t tame the Boston Bruins, they did establish that this team is not going anywhere.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0030-01

Looking back on a magical 2013-14 season

<div class="byline">by matt LARKIN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0038-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-011378/10009948-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>NO &lsquo;I&rsquo; IN OVECHKIN?</b></p><p>Ex-teammates insist Alex Ovechkin puts winning above his own success.</p></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>W</span><b>ATCHING ALEX OVECHKIN DEVELOP</b> in the NHL is like watching a child grow up. When he entered the league at 20, his ceiling was sky-high, but first he had to learn how to play the game, even how to speak his first words. Of English, that is.</p><p>We watched with the same wonder as when a baby takes his or her first steps when Ovechkin hit the 50-goal mark in a freshman campaign for the ages. &lsquo;The GR8&rsquo; was born, master of the breathtaking goal. His first coaches in Washington, Glen Hanlon and Bruce Boudreau, knew he was gifted and let him treat the ice like his personal playground. Fifty goals gave way to 60-plus and the Capitals stormed into perennial contention. Ovechkin was the best player on Earth.</p><p>But we all lose our innocence sooner or later. Ovechkin received the Capitals captaincy in January 2010 and learned about right and wrong when he blew up Chicago&rsquo;s Brian Campbell with a hit later that season and wound up suspended. Ovechkin lacked the same youthful abandon when he returned, seemingly holding back. And, after four 100-point seasons in a five-year stretch, he hasn&rsquo;t hit that milestone since.</p><p>Life as an adult NHLer hasn&rsquo;t always been sunny for Ovechkin, 28. His Caps have regressed, from the second round of the playoffs, to the first, and out of the big dance altogether this season. Washington has burned through coaches, too. Ovechkin and Boudreau clashed when the coach cut Ovechkin&rsquo;s ice time for a lack of accountability. The marriage with Dale Hunter was worse, and Ovechkin ended up playing checking-line minutes. Adam Oates produced a boom in Ovie&rsquo;s game by moving him to the right wing, but by the following spring he was publicly lambasting his star for a lack of effort. Next up is Barry Trotz, a defense-minded bench boss who, on paper, doesn&rsquo;t look like a natural match for Ovechkin.</p><p>Ovechkin has gone from the golden child who could do no wrong to a lightning rod for criticism, be it for a lack of leadership, not taking the game seriously and especially for his inability to play defense. Fans and keyboard warriors are no longer convinced he can carry a team to a championship, and his $9.5-million cap hit through 2020-21 suddenly looks more like a burden than a safety net.</p><p>Everyone has an opinion on Ovechkin these days, but what is the true story from within the Washington organization? Is he really a bad leader? Does he care about backchecking? It&rsquo;s time to unearth the Myths of Ovie, with help from past and present coaches and teammates.</p><p><b>IS OVECHKIN A TEAM-FIRST GUY?</b></p><p>Ovechkin remains sublimely talented. The &ldquo;bad&rdquo; version of him leads the league in goals two years running, giving him four Rocket Richard Trophies. He&rsquo;s as dangerous as any player in the game with a full head of steam off the rush. He&rsquo;s carried the &ldquo;uncoachable&rdquo; myth for years, but not necessarily because he defies his taskmasters. Sometimes the coaches find themselves loosening the slack involuntarily. &ldquo;You get carried away just watching him and forgetting to coach,&rdquo; says Boudreau, Ovechkin&rsquo;s boss from 2007-08 to 2011-12. &ldquo;Because when he&rsquo;s going in full flight, it reminds you of Bobby Hull. Watching Ovie when he was really on was exciting. I could see how the fans, he&rsquo;d get them right out of their seats with a dynamic shot, a hit, a rush, any of those things.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-01974/10009941-1-eng-US/f0040-012.jpg" title="f0040-01" width="1415" height="1142"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(PATRICK SMITH/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>How much responsibility, then, falls on Ovechkin for freelancing? On one hand, his most recent coaches, Hunter and Oates, declined to participate in this story, and the silence is deafening. Ovechkin bucked when they tried to fit him into their game plans. But Boudreau&rsquo;s perspective suggests Ovechkin is sometimes granted special privileges because he&rsquo;s so skilled. &ldquo;Coaches can pitch them the system, but superstars are allowed to take chances sometimes because you know those chances are going to pay off,&rdquo; says Chris Clark, Ovechkin&rsquo;s teammate in Washington from 2005-06 to 2009-10. &ldquo;If I took the same chances, it&rsquo;s a lot less likely it was going to pay off in the end as a scoring chance or a goal. If he&rsquo;s allowed to take certain liberties, teammates know that.&rdquo;</p><p>Hanlon, Clark and Mike Knuble, Ovechkin&rsquo;s teammate from 2009-10 to 2011-12, say he is well liked in the dressing room, that his love for the game is infectious, and that everyone respects how hard he plays. They don&rsquo;t paint a picture of an enigmatic star playing only for himself. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s naturally talented, so he&rsquo;s going to win individual awards,&rdquo; Knuble says. &ldquo;He loves to get those, there&rsquo;s no doubting that, but team success is important to him. He looks like more of an individual than he is.&rdquo;</p><p><b>DOES HE HATE PLAYING DEFENSE?</b></p><p>Even if superstardom earns Ovechkin freedom, his defensive play was historically poor in 2013-14. His minus-35 ranked 884th out of 886 NHLers, his Corsi close ranked 248th out of 435 qualifiers. The latter is crazy-low given he&rsquo;s the league shots leader. You must be severely allergic to backchecking if you put that many pucks on opposing nets and still place middle-of-the-pack in a stat that tracks the ratio of shots directed toward either team&rsquo;s goal.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;If I said to you, &lsquo;Hey, I know how to fix him, 100%&rsquo;, I would probably be lying&rdquo;<br>-BARRY TROTZ</blockquote><p>Does he simply dislike playing defense? The eye test suggests so. Watch footage of goals scored against the Caps and it&rsquo;s common to catch him floating late into the play like a piece of driftwood. But maybe looks are deceiving. Clark calls Ovechkin &ldquo;very coachable&rdquo; and says the Russian would listen to teammates or coaches pointing out his mistakes, plus he&rsquo;d pick up on errors himself. &ldquo;If he didn&rsquo;t get a guy on a backcheck, he cared more than a lot of guys did,&rdquo; Clark says. &ldquo;He really took it hard. It was his fault when something went wrong. He&rsquo;d work twice as hard next time on the defensive end, or he&rsquo;d go and score a goal and make up for it.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-02645/10009934-1-eng-US/f0040-022.jpg" title="f0040-02" width="1318" height="759"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>BRIAN MACLELLAN & BARRY TROTZ</b> <span class="photo-credit">(PATRICK MCDERMOTT/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Knuble occasionally caught Ovechkin deep in the offensive zone hunting for a loose puck when there wasn&rsquo;t one there, but says, &ldquo;we&rsquo;re all guilty of that.&rdquo;</p><p><b>DOES HE WANT TO BE CAPTAIN?</b></p><p>Ovechkin is a passionate captain at the international level, as he displayed in leading Russia to the World Championship in May. Away from his countrymen, he hasn&rsquo;t profiled as a natural leader. If there&rsquo;s a story about him picking his fellow Capitals up by the bootstraps in trying times, it hasn&rsquo;t yet been told.</p><p>Boudreau says Ovechkin was never an overly vocal captain and that No. 8&rsquo;s method is to be the best player on the ice and inspire others to follow. Clark, the Capital to wear the &lsquo;C&rsquo; before Ovechkin, sees things differently. Ovie relished the &ldquo;hockey-related stuff,&rdquo; Clark says, and was a strong voice in the room even before taking over as captain. &ldquo;Outside of hockey, that&rsquo;s when sometimes being a captain is a lot of pressure,&rdquo; Clark says. &ldquo;You&rsquo;ve got a lot more responsibilities outside the rink, talking to the media. With the language barrier, he did very well, but that&rsquo;s the only thing I can see that maybe wasn&rsquo;t a fit for some people.&rdquo;</p><p>Knuble says the Capitals were more captain-by-committee when he was there. Ovechkin had many off-ice responsibilities, especially promotional work with the NHL, so Knuble and some of the other veterans took it upon themselves to share the leadership. &ldquo;Nobody wanted his play to falter, nobody wanted him to get bogged down in this captain stuff,&rdquo; Knuble says. &ldquo;We just wanted him to keep going and be the player he could be.&rdquo;</p><p><b>CAN OVECHKIN EVOLVE HIS GAME?</b></p><p>To call Ovechkin broken is to exaggerate. He&rsquo;s still the sport&rsquo;s pre-eminent goal scorer. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to be negative with Alex at all,&rdquo; Boudreau says. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s still got the best shot in the league.&rdquo;</p><p>That said, he&rsquo;s reached the point where bad habits hold him back. One popular opinion among pundits and analysts is that Ovechkin slipped into the 30-goal range a few years ago because, unlike fellow all-planet sniper Steven Stamkos, he couldn&rsquo;t evolve his attacking style. Ovechkin would gain the zone, cut to the middle and shoot through the defenseman, creating a screen. Opponents clued in and began shutting him down. Boudreau insists Ovie listened when told to fake to the middle and take the puck wide to surprise opponents.</p><p>Clark cites another example from Ovechkin&rsquo;s first two seasons, when Hanlon coached the Caps. Hanlon noticed Ovechkin would receive passes almost in the neutral zone on a breakout, a result of not backchecking deep enough. &ldquo;He had to start from zero and go to 60 miles an hour and try to beat the guy,&rdquo; Clark says.</p><p>Ovie would still get past the checker sometimes, but Hanlon suggested a deeper backcheck meant Ovie could receive the puck at the top of the circle, then have 20 feet to gain steam coming at opposing D-men. They didn&rsquo;t stand a chance. Hanlon also taught him to move less in the defensive zone and give defensemen an easier outlet for passes. &ldquo;He worked on it, and in the end he played important defensive situations,&rdquo; Hanlon says. &ldquo;We gave him freedom offensively to find his space on the ice and asked him to play a team game defensively. He had no problem with it.&rdquo;</p><p>So maybe Ovechkin isn&rsquo;t the stubborn mule he&rsquo;s made out to be. He also has more than one attack in his arsenal, and Boudreau says Ovechkin is a better playmaker than he gets credit for. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s got an extremely high hockey IQ, and I never hear people say anything about that,&rdquo; Boudreau says. &ldquo;If he&rsquo;s coming down the boards on a 2-on-1 and he&rsquo;s on the left side, he&rsquo;s almost impossible to stop, because he&rsquo;ll pass it <i>or</i> shoot it. Everybody seems to think all he does is shoot. He makes great plays.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-01850/10009927-1-eng-US/f0041-012.jpg" title="f0041-01" width="1314" height="758"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>BRUCE BOUDREAU</b> <span class="photo-credit">(GREG FIUME/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;You get carried away just watching him and forgetting to coach&rdquo;<br>-BRUCE BOUDREAU</blockquote><p>If we accept that Ovechkin is a mold-able mind, what&rsquo;s the secret to fixing him?</p><p><b>HOW CAN BARRY TROTZ FIX HIM?</b></p><p>Washington fired Oates and GM George McPhee, but owner Ted Leonsis&rsquo; intent was not to blow up the franchise. He&rsquo;s reloading with Trotz and wants to keep building around Ovechkin. &ldquo;If I said to you, &lsquo;Hey, I know how to fix him, 100 percent,&rsquo; I would probably be lying,&rdquo; Trotz says. &ldquo;I have an idea of how I would go about trying, and I believe in that method, and there has to be a little bit of a give and take on both sides.&rdquo;</p><p>How will Trotz, known for hardworking, stingy teams during his 15-year run with the Nashville Predators, get through to Ovechkin, for whom the ice is permanently tilted toward the opposing goal?</p><p>Two words: Steve Yzerman.</p><p>Trotz cites the Hall of Fame pivot as proof that a pure offensive weapon can be transitioned into a two-way monster. Remember Yzerman&rsquo;s early relationship with Scotty Bowman in Detroit? When Bowman called him out for not paying attention to defense, and Yzerman surfaced in trade rumors? Us neither. Yzerman responded so well that it&rsquo;s easy to forget he wasn&rsquo;t always known for two-way play. In Trotz&rsquo;s eyes, that means Ovechkin isn&rsquo;t a lost cause. &ldquo;Yzerman gave some of himself up on the offensive side of the puck to become a top talent on both sides of the puck, and they started winning championships,&rdquo; Trotz says.</p><p>At the same time, Ovechkin will never be Yzerman. That&rsquo;s not an insult. The two players have different strengths, and while Ovie can become more diligent in defensive zone coverage, he&rsquo;s best used as an offensive weapon. &ldquo;He got 51 goals last year, and I&rsquo;d love for him to get 52,&rdquo; Trotz says. &ldquo;But not at the expense of the other side of the puck.&rdquo;</p><p>Trotz is as optimistic as any new coach should be and, if the testimony of people from Ovechkin&rsquo;s past is to be believed, there may just be a special bond in the making here. Boudreau and Hanlon have incentive to pull punches, but Ovechkin&rsquo;s retired teammates don&rsquo;t, so it&rsquo;s telling that they&rsquo;re so supportive. Now, it&rsquo;s Ovie&rsquo;s turn to reward their faith and transition from boy to man in the NHL. &ldquo;I can reassure Barry that Alex is a great person that enjoys hockey and is driven to win the Cup,&rdquo; Hanlon says. &ldquo;Anything less will not satisfy him. He is one of the most enjoyable players I have coached. Form your own opinions on what you see on the ice. Any other opinions mean nothing.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0038-01

deconstructing OVIE

f0042-01

BURNING DESIRE

<div class="byline">&#x2013; PAVEL BARTA</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-01495/10010073-1-eng-US/f0048-012.jpg" title="f0048-01" width="258" height="261"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-02318/10010066-1-eng-US/f0048-022.jpg" title="f0048-02" width="1032" height="1404"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>HARTS & HEART IN BUFFALO</b></p><p>Dominik Hasek won two MVP awards with the Sabres and still to gives to the community.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(DENIS BRODEUR/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>IF THERE HADN&rsquo;T BEEN AN NHL</b> lockout in the 2012-13 season, Dominik Hasek might still be in net today.</p><p>Two years ago, the Czech goaltender was considering another comeback between the pipes at the age of 47 and was contacted by several teams, including NHL clubs. &ldquo;The Vancouver Canucks were one of them,&rdquo; says Hasek, now 49. &ldquo;We talked about possibilities. I proposed to begin the season in the minors, but we weren&rsquo;t that close that we would sign a contract.&rdquo;</p><p>The last NHL lockout thwarted the final rebirth of the netminder once called &lsquo;Dominator,&rsquo; who didn&rsquo;t play for three seasons during his career, including 2004-05, which was cancelled due to the work stoppage. Hasek left the NHL for good in 2008 after winning two Stanley Cups with Detroit and two Hart Trophies, two Pearson Awards and six Vezina trophies with Buffalo. He took a year-long hiatus before winning the Czech League title with his hometown club, Pardubice, for the second time and playing with Spartak Moscow in the Kontinental League in 2010-11.</p><p>Aside from playing leisure hockey on an amateur basis, Hasek hasn&rsquo;t worn goalie equipment &ndash; except for photo shoots &ndash; since he planned his comeback two years ago. Last year was the 15th anniversary of the 1998 Olympics, when he helped the Czech team to gold and became a national hero. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not missing goaltending at all, I&rsquo;m not mentoring our netminders either,&rdquo; smiles Hasek, who skates once a week. &ldquo;But it&rsquo;s about something else. The life of a professional hockey player is lined a certain way for a pretty long time: one thing followed by another, practice, game, movement, you mostly knew what was coming next. Suddenly you quit what you were used to doing all of your life. You have to stand up every day and find motivation.</p><p>&ldquo;Someone is playing golf, somebody spends all day with his dog, another wants to achieve something else. I&rsquo;m looking for something that impresses me.&rdquo;</p><p>The former top goaltender in the world&rsquo;s life has changed. He got divorced two years ago after 23 years of marriage. He is not saving pucks and playing golf anymore. Instead of goaltending, he is training his English Setter named Gandhi, passing his gamekeeper&rsquo;s exam and preparing for a test to get a gun license. But these are all hobbies. What drives Hasek most is business.</p><p>In the past, Hasek put millions into the Dominator sports and fashion clothing company. Now he sits on the boards of companies and runs one that produces and sells a relaxing and stimulating non-alcoholic drink called Smarty. &ldquo;This is different from Dominator,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;There I was mostly an investor, seeing numbers from time to time. Now I&rsquo;m solving any and every detail each day. Introducing and expanding a new brand step by step, that&rsquo;s what really interests me. I wake up and see that something new is arising. I&rsquo;m also financially secure, so it&rsquo;s not the same risk as the people who go into it from scratch. That&rsquo;s what I always admired about them.&rdquo;</p><p>And Hasek continues to help youth in Buffalo by running a project called Hasek&rsquo;s Heroes, which he established in 2001 with a personal donation of $1 million. At that time it was one of the largest individual donations to a single charity in sports history. Since then, Hasek&rsquo;s Heroes has helped underprivileged children around Buffalo, teaching them the sport along with the life lessons that come with it. It includes more than 500 children each year.</p><p>Hasek also meets with former teammates, like seven time Norris Trophy winner Nicklas Lidstrom, when they visit the Czech Republic, and he stays involved in the sport as head of the selection committee of the Czech Hockey Hall of Fame, an institution he helped establish. Plenty of honors are coming his way, too. The No. 9 he wore in Pardubice was retired last December; In March, he was inducted into the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame, and his No. 39 will hang in the rafters at the First Niagara Center next season; and now that it has been three years since he stopped playing, he&rsquo;s eligible &ndash; and a shoo-in &ndash; for induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame, where he&rsquo;ll become the first Czech-born member. &ldquo;It would be a great honor for me. There are a lot of great players eligible now,&rdquo; he says through a smile, &ldquo;but I&rsquo;d rather manage it all in one year.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-03223/10010059-1-eng-US/f0048-032.jpg" title="f0048-03" width="187" height="190"></div><p><b><i>WHICH FORMER PLAYERS</i></b>&nbsp;<i>will make up the 2014 HHOF class? We&rsquo;ll find out June 23, with the induction ceremony taking place Nov. 17 in Toronto</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0048-01

DOMINATOR’S DIFFERENT LIFE

<div class="byline">&#x2013; UFFE BODIN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-01489/10010111-1-eng-US/f0049-012.jpg" title="f0049-01" width="258" height="261"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span>HREE OF THE MOST PROMINENT</b> stars from the Colorado Avalanche&rsquo;s golden era are already there. Soon, they will be joined by a fourth. This year, Peter Forsberg can be elected into the Hall of Fame, where Ray Bourque, Patrick Roy and Joe Sakic have already made their place. &ldquo;Oh, that would be incredibly big,&rdquo; Forsberg says. &ldquo;You only need to take a look at the players who have been inducted to understand what an honor that would be. It would be evidence that people enjoyed what I did during my career.&rdquo;</p><p>Forsberg, who was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame last year, has never experienced any HOF ceremony first hand, but he remembers how big of a deal it was when buddies Mats Sundin and Joe Sakic were elected in 2012. &ldquo;Everyone was talking about it, and the Swedish papers were all over the Sundin story,&rdquo; Forsberg says. &ldquo;I would relish such an experience myself.&rdquo;</p><p>Forsberg, a native of hockey hotbed Ornskoldsvik who turns 41 this summer, had 885 points in 708 NHL games before injuries ended his career in 2011. His best memories from the big league revolve around the late &rsquo;90s and early 2000s, when the Avalanche were one of hockey&rsquo;s super powers, winning Stanley Cups in 1996 and 2001. Forsberg had his best season in 2002-03, when he captured the scoring title after a close race with childhood friend Markus Naslund of the Vancouver Canucks. &ldquo;When you look back at that time, you feel kind of spoiled,&rdquo; Forsberg says with a laugh. &ldquo;At the time, you felt like every season was an opportunity to win the Cup. We played six conference finals in seven years, had something like 10 straight division titles and won two Cups. Today, you understand that you usually don&rsquo;t have that kind of luxury as a team. But thanks to GM Pierre Lacroix, we had really competitive teams.&rdquo;</p><p>Forsberg has found new ways to fill his calendar, first and foremost as a family man. His first-born son, Lennox, turned two earlier this summer and fiancee Nicole is due again in September. &ldquo;When I played hockey, all I had in my head was hockey,&rdquo; Forsberg says. &ldquo;It was like there wasn&rsquo;t room for anything else. Nowadays, it can be the same thing with the family, but I&rsquo;m also involved in several business projects.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-02381/10010104-1-eng-US/f0049-022.jpg" title="f0049-02" width="1031" height="1258"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>AVALANCHE OF HONORS</b></p><p>Peter Forsberg will be the fourth member from Colorado&rsquo;s halcyon days inducted into the HHOF.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(FORSBERG: STEVE BABINEAU/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>That includes an airline company, a hotel and a golf course.</p><p>While he lives with his family in Stockholm, he&rsquo;s heavily involved with his former team Modo as its assistant GM. He jokes that he runs the team&rsquo;s Stockholm office. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not up there with the management on a daily basis, but I fly home for every home game and work pretty close to our GM, Per Svartvadet, just as I did with former GM Markus Naslund before that,&rdquo; Forsberg says. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m pretty involved with recruiting new players and trying to find sponsors for the team. My heart still beats for Modo.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0049-01

BALANCING ACT

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-03302/10010142-1-eng-US/f0049-032.jpg" title="f0049-03" width="515" height="807"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(MODANO: JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Mike Modano will make it a hat trick of first-year eligible players selected to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Or so goes the prevailing wisdom.</p><p>The 18 members of the Hall&rsquo;s selection committee meet June 23, with up to four former players with at least 75 percent of the vote receiving the green light. Dominik Hasek and Peter Forsberg are shoo-ins, while Modano, the highest scoring U.S.-born player in NHL history, is a heavy favorite.</p><p>Modano places in the top 30 in all-time goals (561), assists (813) and points (1,374) and scored 30 or more goals in nine of his 21 seasons. He guided Dallas to the Stanley Cup in 1998-99.</p><p>Other former players eligible for Hall selection for the first time are Mark Recchi, Doug Weight, Owen Nolan, Adam Foote, Chris Osgood and Brian Rafalski. Previously passed over candidates are:</p><p><b>&gt; Rob Blake</b>, eligible since 2013<br><b>&gt; Curtis Joseph</b>, eligible since 2012<br><b>&gt; Jeremy Roenick</b>, eligible since 2012<br><b>&gt; Eric Lindros</b>, eligible since 2010<br><b>&gt; Dave Andreychuk</b>, eligible since 2009<br><b>&gt; Alexander Mogilny</b>, eligible since 2009<br><b>&gt; Phil Housley</b>, eligible since 2006<br><b>&gt; Mike Richter</b>, eligible since 2006<br><b>&gt; Tom Barrasso</b>, eligible since 2006<br><b>&gt; Guy Carbonneau</b>, eligible since 2003<br><b>&gt; Dale Hunter</b>, eligible since 2002<br><b>&gt; Sergei Makarov</b>, eligible since 2001<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0049-03

MODANO MAKES 3

<div class="byline">BY ADRIAN DATER</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0050-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-02364/10010173-1-eng-US/f0050-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>MILE-HIGH POTENTIAL</b></p><p>Nathan MacKinnon, 18, was so good in the playoffs that one GM calls him a future Hall of Famer already.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(MICHAEL MARTIN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-01478/10010180-1-eng-US/f0050-012.jpg" title="f0050-01" width="75" height="85"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>H</span>E STARTED OFF THE SEASON, LITERALLY,</b> as a minor in the state of Colorado. By season&rsquo;s end, if there was a song title that best exemplified Nathan MacKinnon&rsquo;s status with the Avalanche and hockey fans in the Rocky Mountain region, it was Kanye West&rsquo;s <i>We Major.</i></p><p>MacKinnon, to begin, was 17, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2013 draft, and at times seemed like just another frightened kid his first couple weeks with the Avs. People were calling him &lsquo;The Man&rsquo; by springtime, and why not? He became only the ninth player in NHL history to record 60 or more points by age 18, and he even broke a record held by Wayne Gretzky for longest point streak by an 18-year-old (13 games). He posted 10 more points in seven post-season games for Colorado, whose season was cut short by Minnesota in Game 7 in Denver.</p><p>MacKinnon was the huge favorite to win the Calder Trophy and his rookie trading card is selling into the hundreds of dollars, while rare misprinted cards are being nabbed for thousands.</p><p>Through it all, MacKinnon remained the same humble, polite kid from Nova Scotia. But there was a marked difference in his bearing on the ice and in behind the scenes as the season went along. Quiet, nervous, even tense early on, MacKinnon was relaxed, confident and a bit of a dressing room jokester by the end. &ldquo;He definitely loosened up as time went on,&rdquo; says Avs captain Gabriel Landeskog, whose locker sits kitty-corner to MacKinnon&rsquo;s. &ldquo;He wasn&rsquo;t as shy to speak up about things and just be one of the guys. That&rsquo;s what you hope to see, and it happened with Nate.&rdquo;</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p>MacKinnon posted points in his first three NHL games (four assists), but from Oct. 17 to 27 he went five games without a point, and after 12 games had just one goal. It was around this point he seemed a bit overwhelmed by everything and genuinely worried about his transition to the NHL. That&rsquo;s when executive vice-president of hockey operations and team legend Joe Sakic took him under his wing a bit. &ldquo;I talked to him a fair amount at that time,&rdquo; Sakic says. &ldquo;The main message was not to get too ahead of himself, to just try and have fun and that it would come, not to worry about any one game.&rdquo;</p><p>After Jan. 1, MacKinnon&rsquo;s game took off. He scored two goals apiece in successive games Jan. 4 and 6, and never looked back. He was particularly hot in January and February, tallying 12 goals and 23 points in 21 games. By the playoffs, Minnesota Wild GM Chuck Fletcher was calling him a &ldquo;future Hall of Famer.&rdquo; Such praise mostly makes MacKinnon blush. But he admits his confidence level is at a much different place than where it was his first few weeks in the league. &ldquo;I proved to myself I can play here,&rdquo; MacKinnon says. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m sure I&rsquo;ll look back more on the season as the summer goes on. It still seems like everything kind of happened in a blur.&rdquo;</p><p>MacKinnon lived in the basement of teammate Jean-Sebastien Giguere, but with the veteran goalie expected to retire, he will have to find new digs, yet another step in him becoming an adult.</p><p>And speaking of Kanye West&rsquo;s musical genre, rap is MacKinnon&rsquo;s preferred kind of music and why some still call him &lsquo;Nate Dogg,&rsquo; one of his favorites. Teammates also call him &lsquo;Razor&rsquo; for reasons that aren&rsquo;t clear. &ldquo;Inside joke,&rdquo; one Avs teammate says.</p><p>He may not need a real razor just yet &ndash; mostly just peach fuzz on his mug still &ndash; but MacKinnon is now officially a man. And he figures to be &lsquo;The Man&rsquo; around the Pepsi Center for a long time to come. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s got a pretty bright-looking future,&rdquo; Sakic says. &ldquo;Yeah, you might say that.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0050-02

PICK OF THE LITTER

<div class="byline">&#x2013; ERIC STEPHENS</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-02262/10010253-1-eng-US/f0051-022.jpg" title="f0051-02" width="960" height="167"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-01363/10010260-1-eng-US/f0051-012.jpg" title="f0051-01" width="75" height="85"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-03190/10010246-1-eng-US/f0051-032.jpg" title="f0051-03" width="1248" height="969"><figcaption class="caption-body">DEVANTE <b>SMITH-PELLY</b> <span class="photo-credit">(SMITH-PELLY: HARRY HOW/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span>HE END OF THE FIRST PLAYOFF SE</b>ries between the NHL&rsquo;s southern California teams had the victorious Los Angeles Kings bid a respectful farewell to the Anaheim Ducks and, in particular, retiring icon Teemu Selanne.</p><p>Young wingers Devante Smith-Pelly and Tyler Toffoli met in the handshake line. It was a snapshot of their childhood in Scarborough, Ont., as teammates in the Greater Toronto League. Little did the Ducks&rsquo; Smith-Pelly know, his high school classmate would later parade around Staples Center with the Stanley Cup. &ldquo;I just told him &lsquo;good series,&rsquo; and wished him good luck,&rdquo; Smith-Pelly said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know if I wanted him to win it. Now it&rsquo;s been a couple of weeks. I&rsquo;m happy for him. He did so well.&rdquo;</p><p>Perhaps Smith-Pelly, a power forward in the making, will hoist the Cup one day. He led Anaheim with five playoff goals. Not bad for a player the Ducks stashed in the American League for more than four months and recalled a week before the playoffs.</p><p>Anaheim&rsquo;s depth kept him with the Norfolk Admirals for a second season and Smith-Pelly made the most of it, scoring 27 goals in 55 games. By year&rsquo;s end he was a Duck, on a line with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, scoring big goals like his last-second equalizer in a series-clinching Game 6 of the first round against Dallas. The promise he showed as a rookie is back after his development appeared to stall. &ldquo;I feel that at this point, I&rsquo;m an everyday NHLer,&rdquo; Smith-Pelly said. &ldquo;Obviously a couple of ups and down since my first year. I thought even at the start of the year I did enough to probably make the team.</p><p>&ldquo;It didn&rsquo;t work out, whether it was numbers or coach&rsquo;s decision or whatever. I just said, &lsquo;I&rsquo;ll go down to Norfolk and make sure I work hard every day and when I get back up, take advantage.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p><p>Smith-Pelly&rsquo;s success brings further pride to Scarborough, which is home to other African-Canadians in the NHL like Wayne Simmonds, Joel Ward and the Stewart brothers &ndash; Anthony and Chris.</p><p>Hockey kept Smith-Pelly from getting involved in the rougher parts of the Toronto borough. Seeing other black players flourish in the pros fills him with quiet pride. &ldquo;Just seeing a few guys a couple years older than me make the NHL and make the jump, that was huge for me,&rdquo; Smith-Pelly said. &ldquo;And that probably helped me stay out of trouble.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>TEAM NEEDS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-04152/10010239-1-eng-US/f0051-042.jpg" title="f0051-04" width="317" height="475"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(COGLIANO: ANDY DEVLIN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>With Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu moving on, the Ducks need a reliable second wave of scoring. Anaheim has talented youth in the system and the likes of <b>Andrew Cogliano</b> and Mathieu Perreault are best suited to the third line. Even though the Ducks were the top scoring team in the league, it wasn&rsquo;t enough in the playoffs.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-05111/10010232-1-eng-US/f0051-052.jpg" title="f0051-05" width="333" height="485"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(SAVARD: STEVE BABINEAU/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>The Bruins cultivate players who put up lots of points. The problem is they don&rsquo;t do it for the Bruins. Two of the NHL&rsquo;s top six scorers, Tyler Seguin and Phil Kessel, are ex-Bruins. Boston hasn&rsquo;t had anything close to a point-per-game player in five seasons. With <b>Marc Savard&rsquo;s</b> career essentially over, there is not one on the roster.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-0693/10010225-1-eng-US/f0051-062.jpg" title="f0051-06" width="305" height="463"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(HODGSON: RICH LAM/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>The Sabres were not only last in the standings, they were last in most offensive categories. They were the only team that scored fewer than two goals per game and their offense suffered further when Thomas Vanek and Matt Moulson were dealt. It&rsquo;s up to the likes of <b>Cody Hodgson</b> and Tyler Ennis to go from 20-goal scorers to 30-goal scorers.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-0766/10010218-1-eng-US/f0051-072.jpg" title="f0051-07" width="305" height="463"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(MCGRATTAN: DEREK LEUNG/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Behemoth <b>Brian McGrattan</b> played a career-high 76 games this season, but didn&rsquo;t get a lot of important shifts. For the Flames to really ramp up their size and toughness, they need a rugged forward who can play in the top six. More importantly, Calgary needs a rugged defender who isn&rsquo;t shy about playing a physical game.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-0846/10010211-1-eng-US/f0051-082.jpg" title="f0051-08" width="305" height="459"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(BELLEMORE: ABELIMAGES/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>The Canes were one of the least intimidating teams in the league, with just eight fights (only Detroit fought less with seven). That&rsquo;s fine if you&rsquo;re winning, but Carolina was not, so bulking up would be wise. <b>Brett Bellemore</b> led the team with three scraps. He&rsquo;ll need help, as he&rsquo;s not a traditional enforcer who can take on a heavyweight.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0051-02

PATIENCE PAVES PATH TO POND

<div class="byline">&#x2013; MATT CARLSON</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-02235/10010333-1-eng-US/f0052-022.jpg" title="f0052-02" width="938" height="167"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-01364/10010340-1-eng-US/f0052-012.jpg" title="f0052-01" width="75" height="85"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-03166/10010326-1-eng-US/f0052-032.jpg" title="f0052-03" width="1248" height="969"><figcaption class="caption-body">BRANDON <b>SAAD</b> <span class="photo-credit">(SAAD: BILL SMITH/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>B</span>RANDON SAAD LOOKED OLDER THAN</b> his age the moment he joined the Blackhawks, so odds are his performance in the 2014 post-season wasn&rsquo;t a fluke. Chicago&rsquo;s &lsquo;Man-Child,&rsquo; 21, has arrived as a big-time NHL power forward. &ldquo;With the step he made in the playoffs, along with consistency we saw this year, the upside is huge,&rdquo; said coach Joel Quenneville.</p><p>More than Saad&rsquo;s playoff beard caught fans&rsquo; eyes in Game 5 of the Western Conference final against Los Angeles. The defending Stanley Cup champs were down three games to one and Quenneville put Saad on a line with Patrick Kane and Andrew Shaw. The trio clicked, and the 6-foot 1,210-pound Saad found a higher gear on a big stage. Shift after shift, he bulldozed through traffic with the puck. At other times, Saad pulled away from opponents and opened space on a rink where real estate was at a premium. He muscled off 10 shots in the contest, with seven reaching Jonathan Quick. &ldquo;A two-way forward who uses my size getting to the net, that&rsquo;s the type of player I want to be,&rdquo; Saad said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m growing into that player, so I want to elevate my game and get better.&rdquo;</p><p>Saad is undoubtedly getting better. He was a Calder Trophy finalist after the shortened 2012-13 campaign, and he followed with 19 goals and 47 points this season.</p><p>Saad is from Pittsburgh, where successful Penguins teams have boosted the number of rinks and minor hockey registration. He advanced as far as midget in his hometown, before jumping to junior at 16. Then two seasons with the U.S. National Team Development Program steered Saad to Saginaw of the Ontario League for 2010-11. Chicago drafted him in the second round, 43rd overall, in 2011.</p><p>At 19, Saad survived the Blackhawks&rsquo; entire 2011 training camp. He played in two NHL games in October 2011 before returning to the Saginaw Spirit, but had made an impression. He launched his 2012-13 season with Rockford of the AHL, then became a Blackhawks regular after the lockout ended. &ldquo;The biggest thing I saw with &lsquo;Saader&rsquo; was not only his skill and ability at his age, but also that he always wanted to improve and get better,&rdquo; said Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews. &ldquo;He wants to be a difference maker.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>TEAM NEEDS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-04128/10010319-1-eng-US/f0052-042.jpg" title="f0052-04" width="305" height="467"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(KEITH: FRANCOIS LAPLANTE/FREESTYLEPHOTO/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Duncan Keith</b> and Brent Seabrook anchor Chicago&rsquo;s blueline. Johnny Oduya and Niklas Hjalmarsson eat minutes. But the Hawks need a big, mean customer for their back end. Sheldon Brookbank is a UFA and Michal Rozsival is past his prime. A true top-six D-man with size and snarl should top GM Stan Bowman&rsquo;s wish list.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-0589/10010312-1-eng-US/f0052-052.jpg" title="f0052-05" width="305" height="467"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(JOHNSON: DEREK LEUNG/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>The Avs are stacked with young forwards and Semyon Varlamov has blossomed in goal, but they had poor possession stats and will regress if they don&rsquo;t improve their defense. <b>Erik Johnson</b> and Jan Hejda need support. The Avs could seek a top-four blueliner via free agency or trade, but getting one might mean letting UFA Paul Stastny walk.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-0677/10010305-1-eng-US/f0052-062.jpg" title="f0052-06" width="305" height="459"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(WENNBERG: BILL WIPPERT/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Hard work only gets you so far, as the Jackets learned this spring. There&rsquo;s a solid foundation and Ryan Johansen is growing by leaps and bounds, but they still need more scoring. One option is <b>Alexander Wennberg</b>, the 2013 first rounder who announced he would come to North America in search of a roster spot.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-0753/10010298-1-eng-US/f0052-072.jpg" title="f0052-07" width="305" height="467"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(PEVERLEY: CLAUS ANDERSEN/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Rich Peverley&rsquo;s</b> outlook for 2014-15 is cloudy at best as he recovers from heart surgery, so the Stars have a hole at the No. 2 center position. Shawn Horcoff is more of a third-line checker at this stage of his career, and while Cody Eakin improved dramatically in his first full season with the team, he&rsquo;s not a true playmaker.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-0833/10010291-1-eng-US/f0052-082.jpg" title="f0052-08" width="305" height="467"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(KRONWALL: RICHARD WOLOWICZ/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Though GM Ken Holland has done a good job patching together a defense corps after Nicklas Lidstrom&rsquo;s retirement, the group is thin on experience after alternate captain <b>Niklas Kronwall</b>. Detroit needs reinforcements, but the UFA crop is thin. Holland will have to deal a promising young player or roll with the youngsters.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0052-02

THE WINDY CITY MAN-CHILD

<div class="byline">&#x2013; MICHAEL RUSSO</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-02238/10010413-1-eng-US/f0053-022.jpg" title="f0053-02" width="960" height="167"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-01341/10010420-1-eng-US/f0053-012.jpg" title="f0053-01" width="75" height="85"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-03172/10010406-1-eng-US/f0053-032.jpg" title="f0053-03" width="1248" height="917"><figcaption class="caption-body">NINO <b>NIEDERREITER</b> <span class="photo-credit">(NIEDERREITER: DOUG PENSINGER/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>W</span>HEN YOU ASK OUT OF YOUR</b> first organization, fans and media are naturally going to look for red flags. But as the Wild approach the one-year anniversary of acquiring Nino Niederreiter from the Islanders, the fit in Minnesota has been seamless.</p><p>Not only did Niederreiter, 21, finish with 14 goals and compile 36 points in his first season with the Wild, the big power winger was one of the club&rsquo;s best playoff performers, scoring three goals and three assists, including the Game 7 overtime-clincher in the first round against Colorado. He scored the goal streaking down the wing with the &ldquo;silly hard shot&rdquo; coach Mike Yeo often raves about. And Niederreiter proved this season what Yeo said the first time he got his eyes on him in training camp. &ldquo;He just screams NHL player,&rdquo; Yeo said last fall.</p><p>Niederreiter, drafted fifth overall, is one of three 2010 first-round picks in the Wild lineup, along with Mikael Granlund and Charlie Coyle. That&rsquo;s a big reason why the future is bright.</p><p>From the small town of Chur, Switzerland, Niederreiter is unlike many Swiss players on the ice. He&rsquo;s a relentless machine who gets into more goalmouth scrums than his teammates. He loves driving the net and getting under opponents&rsquo; skin. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s something that everyone on our team loves and respects about him,&rdquo; said center Kyle Brodziak. &ldquo;He goes to the net hard and with a purpose, and if he gets pushed, he&rsquo;s not taking it. He&rsquo;s going to push back.&rdquo;</p><p>Niederreiter scored 77 goals and 130 points in 120 games with Portland in the Western League, was a world junior stud and then soared in the 2013 World Championship.</p><p>In 64 games with the Islanders, Niederreiter scored just two goals and averaged less than 11 minutes per game playing on the fourth line. Niederreiter&rsquo;s agent, Andre Rufener, requested a trade for his client and Islanders GM Garth Snow obliged, dealing Niederreiter for Cal Clutterbuck at last year&rsquo;s draft.</p><p>Niederreiter played on what he called a &ldquo;big man&rsquo;s line&rdquo; with captain Mikko Koivu and Coyle for part of the playoffs. &ldquo;It gave me the feeling that that&rsquo;s where I want to be next year,&rdquo; Niederreiter said. &ldquo;I will do everything it takes to be in that spot and it&rsquo;s great motivation to push myself this summer.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>TEAM NEEDS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-04143/10010399-1-eng-US/f0053-042.jpg" title="f0053-04" width="305" height="467"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(FERENCE: ANDY DEVLIN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>The Oilers D-corps has been beleaguered in recent years and it&rsquo;s the same old refrain each summer. Wanted: NHL defensemen. Captain <b>Andrew Ference</b> is the only experienced rearguard under contract. While there are good prospects in the system, no one expects them to step into a top-four role just yet. The search continues.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-05106/10010392-1-eng-US/f0053-052.jpg" title="f0053-05" width="305" height="467"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(BJUGSTAD: DEREK LEUNG/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>It was great that <b>Nick Bjugstad</b> had 38 points as a rookie, but when he&rsquo;s your leading scorer, an offensive upgrade is in order. With the Panthers having the first overall pick and a GM willing to deal it, it&rsquo;s imperative the Panthers get someone in return who can create offense and help the power play if they pull the trigger on a deal.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-0691/10010385-1-eng-US/f0053-062.jpg" title="f0053-06" width="305" height="459"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(GABORIK: JONATHAN KOZUB/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>While L.A. has enough cap space to keep UFAs <b>Marian Gaborik</b>, Willie Mitchell and Matt Greene, the danger is locking them up long-term and the ramifications that will have a year from now. The Kings have 10 regulars up for contract in 2015, so GM Dean Lombardi must be cautious about spending next year&rsquo;s money on contracts now.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-0767/10010378-1-eng-US/f0053-072.jpg" title="f0053-07" width="305" height="467"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(HARDING: JANA CHYTILOVA/FREESTYLE PHOTOGRAPHY/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>The Wild&rsquo;s goaltending was a revolving door in 2013-14. Niklas Backstrom had abdominal surgery, <b>Josh Harding</b> battled Multiple Sclerosis, Darcy Kuemper was solid yet inexperienced and Ilya Bryzgalov wilted in the playoffs. Harding deserves to start but, sadly, his condition stops him from being fully healthy. Minny should shop for a No. 1.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-0840/10010371-1-eng-US/f0053-082.jpg" title="f0053-08" width="305" height="467"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(PACIORETTY: FRANCOIS LAPLANTE/FREESTYLE PHOTOGRAPHY/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>The Canadiens proved skill, speed and tenacity can overcome size issues. <b>Max Pacioretty</b> had a breakout season with 39 goals, but the team hasn&rsquo;t had a 40-goal scorer in 20 years. Montreal also lacks a point-per-game producer, although there&rsquo;s potential for that in Alex Galchenyuk and/or Brendan Gallagher.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0053-02

EL NINO TAKES MINNY BY STORM

<div class="byline">&#x2013; RICH CHERE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0054-02215/10010493-1-eng-US/f0054-022.jpg" title="f0054-02" width="961" height="167"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0054-01354/10010500-1-eng-US/f0054-012.jpg" title="f0054-01" width="75" height="85"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0054-03144/10010486-1-eng-US/f0054-032.jpg" title="f0054-03" width="1248" height="902"><figcaption class="caption-body">CORY <b>SCHNEIDER</b> <span class="photo-credit">(SCHNEIDER: LANCE THOMSON/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>I</span>T HAS BEEN A YEAR SINCE CORY</b> Schneider received a text from a friend at TSN telling him to turn on his television. As he tuned into the NHL draft, he found out the Vancouver Canucks had traded him to the New Jersey Devils for a first-round pick.</p><p>After a season sharing the goaltending duties with Martin Brodeur, Schneider still wonders if he&rsquo;s better off now than he was a year ago. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll find out,&rdquo; Schneider said with his typical honesty. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m probably 50 or 75 games short of where I would have liked to be as far as career games played. That&rsquo;s a result of splitting the time in goal in Vancouver as well as last year. I was hoping to step into that (No. 1 role) earlier.</p><p>&ldquo;If I can start playing 60 games next year and go from there, it will be a great spot. You realize there are only 30 starting positions in the league. If you have one, that&rsquo;s a good place to be.&rdquo;</p><p>Schneider, 28, is right about the long wait in getting a No. 1 job. This summer is the 10-year anniversary of him being selected 26th overall by Vancouver.</p><p>He has talked to Devils GM Lou Lamoriello about a contract extension, but that bit of uncertainty has prompted him to wait. Where will Brodeur play next season? If it&rsquo;s not with New Jersey, who will the team acquire or promote to be the backup?</p><p>New Jersey suits Schneider just fine. He loved Vancouver but, being a New Englander, he enjoyed his first season in the East. Like several Devils, he lived in Hoboken, N.J., just across the Hudson River from New York City. &ldquo;Being from Boston, I spent very little time in New York City,&rdquo; he noted. &ldquo;I got a chance to live in close proximity to New York and Hoboken itself is a great community. A lot of the guys lived there. Different in many ways from Vancouver, but my wife and I really enjoyed it.&rdquo;</p><p>Stephen Gionta and Peter Harrold, also Boston College alumni, were already friends. Schneider developed friendships with Hoboken neighbors Andy Greene, Ryane Clowe, Michael Ryder and Adam Henrique.</p><p>Lamoriello said his priority was to keep Schneider as the Devils&rsquo; long term starter between the pipes. More importantly, Brodeur said he was not inclined to re-sign with New Jersey, and that he intended to test the free agent waters in July. It was time for them to commit fully to the goalie they acquired last June.</p><h2><b>TEAM NEEDS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0054-04116/10010479-1-eng-US/f0054-042.jpg" title="f0054-04" width="305" height="463"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(HORNQVIST: MARISSA BAECKER/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Shea Weber makes Nashville hard to play against for opposing forwards, but opposing D-men have it relatively easy against the likes of <b>Patric Hornqvist</b> and Filip Forsberg. Nashville needs a bruising top-six forward to drive the net, forecheck aggressively and create traffic, in the mold of Milan Lucic and Wayne Simmonds.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0054-0585/10010472-1-eng-US/f0054-052.jpg" title="f0054-05" width="304" height="465"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(BOUCHER: GRAIG ABEL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>No doubt about it, the Devils need sizzle. Even if the team isn&rsquo;t going to be run-and-gun, New Jersey has boasted players such as Ilya Kovalchuk and Zach Parise in the past and Jaromir Jagr, while still scoring, isn&rsquo;t what he used to be. Not much offensive talent is in the pipeline, though junior sniper <b>Reid Boucher</b> has potential.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0054-0665/10010465-1-eng-US/f0054-062.jpg" title="f0054-06" width="305" height="459"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(VISNOVSKY: JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Defense wins championships and in that respect, the Islanders are a long way off. Sure, there are some nice young players in the organization, but this squad needs veterans. <b>Lubomir Visnovsky</b> is the only legitimate top-four blueliner over the age of 25 under contract &ndash; and, at 37, he&rsquo;s already in the twilight of his career.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0054-0743/10010458-1-eng-US/f0054-072.jpg" title="f0054-07" width="305" height="467"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(KREIDER: FRANCOIS LACASSE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Hard to find much fault with the Rangers after the post-season run they had, but their future is going to get hot in a hurry. All the top-end talent is locked down, but at a steep price. They have more than $64 million committed to just 13 players next season. <b>Chris Kreider</b> needs a deal, as does Derick Brassard and Mats Zuccarello.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0054-0833/10010451-1-eng-US/f0054-082.jpg" title="f0054-08" width="305" height="467"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(TURRIS: FRANCOIS LAPLANTE/FREESTYLEPHOTO/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Depending on what the Senators decide to do with Jason Spezza, Ottawa either needs some of its young players to step up offensively or GM Bryan Murray is going to have some serious holes to fill. The play of <b>Kyle Turris</b> does make it more palatable for Murray to deal Spezza for an offensive player in the off-season.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0054-02

THE DEVIL’S ASCENSION

<div class="byline">&#x2013; DAVID POLLAK</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-02202/10010573-1-eng-US/f0055-022.jpg" title="f0055-02" width="960" height="167"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-01309/10010580-1-eng-US/f0055-012.jpg" title="f0055-01" width="75" height="85"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-03149/10010566-1-eng-US/f0055-032.jpg" title="f0055-03" width="1248" height="957"><figcaption class="caption-body">MARC-EDOUARD <b>VLASIC</b> <span class="photo-credit">(VLASIC: DON SMITH/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>W</span>ITH SHARKS GM DOUG WILSON</b> showing Dan Boyle the door, Marc-Edouard Vlasic will have a bigger role next season both on the blueline and in the dressing room. And he believes he&rsquo;s ready for it: &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been here eight years, so the last four or five I&rsquo;ve felt like a young veteran,&rdquo; said Vlasic. &ldquo;I just have more responsibility now moving forward.&rdquo;</p><p>Vlasic, 27, made the jump from junior in 2006-07, a year after he was drafted in the second round (35th overall). This season, he was sixth in Corsi Close (58.2 percent) and second in plus-minus (plus-31) among NHL defensemen, and those numbers came while playing against the opposition&rsquo;s best. His 24 points were his highest since 2009. Vlasic&rsquo;s presence on Team Canada at the Sochi Olympics added outside recognition that he had become San Jose&rsquo;s top D-man, but Boyle &ndash; even during a year that saw him limited by an Oct. 15 concussion &ndash; still held the title of top dog. No longer, however: Boyle was the first casualty after the Sharks became only the fourth team in NHL history to blow a three-game playoff series lead.</p><p>With his team ousted in Round 1 by L.A., Wilson wants a change in culture and that means bigger roles for younger players such as Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture and Vlasic, whose absence for much of Game 5 and beyond due to injury contributed to the Sharks&rsquo; demise.</p><p>On the ice, Vlasic hopes a bigger role translates into more time on the power play. He plans to focus on his offensive game in training camp. Off the ice, Vlasic said he already feels comfortable in a leadership role and will benefit from his gold medal experience at the Olympics. &ldquo;I think going to Sochi, playing with leaders, captains and assistants, really helped me,&rdquo; Vlasic said. &ldquo;You can see the different types of players. There are guys who are vocal on the ice and guys who are vocal off the ice, so every leader is different in his own way.&rdquo;</p><p>Vlasic&rsquo;s biggest assets always have been his consistently strong positional play and effective stick work. But working the past two seasons with long-time NHL defensemen on the Sharks coaching staff &ndash; Hall of Famer Larry Robinson and Jim Johnson &ndash; Vlasic has added an element of bite to his game. &ldquo;Getting older, getting stronger,&rdquo; Vlasic said. &ldquo;Being more aggressive, pushing back without taking penalties. You&rsquo;ve got to stand your ground.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>TEAM NEEDS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-04112/10010559-1-eng-US/f0055-042.jpg" title="f0055-04" width="305" height="467"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(MACDONALD: GRAIG ABEL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Apparently rearguard <b>Andrew MacDonald</b> was not the answer. Philly tried to tighten up its &lsquo;D&rsquo; at the deadline by grabbing the former Isle, but the Flyers still got dropped in the first round. More help is needed in that area. The blueline needs an infusion of youth, but the top prospects in the organization are at least a year away.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-0577/10010552-1-eng-US/f0055-052.jpg" title="f0055-05" width="305" height="467"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(VERMETTE: BEN NELMS/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>The average age of the four highest-paid Coyote forwards is in excess of 34 years next season. And while Shane Doan, Mike Ribeiro, Martin Erat and <b>Antoine Vermette</b> still produce, a changing of the guard has to start sooner than later. If Radim Vrbata moves on, the Coyotes will have to counter with a big signing of their own.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-0654/10010545-1-eng-US/f0055-062.jpg" title="f0055-06" width="305" height="459"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(NEAL: JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Despite having two of the best centers on the planet, the Pens haven&rsquo;t challenged for the Stanley Cup since winning it five years ago. Getting enough wingers for Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin has been an issue and it&rsquo;s still present, especially since <b>James Neal</b> and Lee Stempniak weren&rsquo;t exactly lightning in the playoffs.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-0741/10010538-1-eng-US/f0055-072.jpg" title="f0055-07" width="305" height="467"></div><p>What kept St. Louis from meeting Stanley Cup expectations? One factor was the lack of a game-breaking scorer. The Blues would have to get creative financially to find one via free agency. It&rsquo;s more likely they cross their fingers and hope <b>Vladimir Tarasenko</b> makes a huge developmental leap. That&rsquo;s not a pipe dream.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-0828/10010531-1-eng-US/f0055-082.jpg" title="f0055-08" width="305" height="467"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(TARASENKO+BURNS: ANDY DEVLIN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>The Sharks need an offensive defenseman who can quarterback the power play and blast bombs from the point. With UFA Dan Boyle getting traded, the hope is <b>Brent Burns</b> can make the successful re-transition back to the blueline. Even if Burns does, there&rsquo;s still a need for another rearguard who can play with an offensive flair.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0055-02

SHARKS’ NEW NO. 1 FINDS A BIGGER BITE

<div class="byline">&#x2013; ERIK ERLENDSSON</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-02185/10010653-1-eng-US/f0056-022.jpg" title="f0056-02" width="959" height="167"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-01282/10010660-1-eng-US/f0056-012.jpg" title="f0056-01" width="75" height="85"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-03118/10010646-1-eng-US/f0056-032.jpg" title="f0056-03" width="1248" height="984"><figcaption class="caption-body">TYLER <b>JOHNSON</b></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span>YLER JOHNSON USED TO SHUFFLE</b> out of his house during the late hours on Friday nights, hockey gear in tow, during the summer months and climb into the backseat of his parent&rsquo;s car. After clicking in his seatbelt, Johnson would settle into his seat, lay back and nod off to sleep.</p><p>By the time the sun rose and the youngster rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, the seven-hour drive from his home in Spokane to Vancouver would be complete and a weekend full of hockey awaited the then nine-year-old before the family returned home late Sunday night.</p><p>Those long miles logged between Washington and British Columbia in the summer months paved the path that led to Johnson&rsquo;s NHL career. He finished off his rookie season with the Tampa Bay Lightning and banked 24 goals and was named as one of three finalists for the Calder Trophy, along with teammate Ondrej Palat.</p><p>The weekend trips the family took allowed Johnson, now 23, to face tougher competition than he encountered during the winter months as a youth. His parents, Ken and Debbie, worked additional jobs to increase the family income so their son could have the opportunity to play more competitively. &ldquo;Without (dad) and mom doing what they did, there would have been no way I would have been able to do what I did,&rdquo; Johnson said. &ldquo;They were working so much, but they were able to take the time off in order to help me.&rdquo;</p><p>Seeing his parents sacrifice so he could continue to play hockey also helped Johnson learn about perseverance, a trait that has served him well in his career to this point. When the center went undrafted, he was undaunted. Instead of bemoaning his situation, he kept working on his game, creating a resume that included a Memorial Cup championship with the Spokane Chiefs in 2008 and a pair of stints with the U.S. World Junior team, including helping Team USA to a gold medal at the 2010 tournament.</p><p>Al Murray, who was head scout for Canada&rsquo;s World Junior program from 2007 to 2010 &ndash; and joined the Lightning organization in 2011 &ndash; liked what he saw in 5-foot-9, 182-pound Johnson. &ldquo;It was clear he was one of the best players in the (Western) League,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;He was the full package, except for height.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>TEAM NEEDS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-0489/10010639-1-eng-US/f0056-042.jpg" title="f0056-04" width="305" height="467"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(JOHNSON+STAMKOS: ANDRE RINGUETTE/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Steven Stamkos</b> was off his usual scoring pace after Martin St-Louis was dealt, scoring 11 goals and 17 points in 20 games, but that had as much to do with Stamkos coming back from a broken leg as it did the absence of his set-up man. Still, the Bolts need to find someone who can get the puck to Stamkos the way St-Louis did.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-0552/10010632-1-eng-US/f0056-052.jpg" title="f0056-05" width="305" height="461"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(PHANEUF: CLAUS ANDERSEN/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>The Leafs need a serious upgrade on defense. Captain and whipping boy <b>Dion Phaneuf</b> is on the trade market after signing a monster seven-year deal worth $49 million. He played against top competition all season and failed, so the Leafs need a shutdown player who can log minutes and stay healthy playing a difficult role.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-0645/10010625-1-eng-US/f0056-062.jpg" title="f0056-06" width="305" height="467"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(KESLER: JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Vancouver&rsquo;s greatest need is for either Eddie Lack or Jacob Markstrom to take ownership of the No. 1 job in the crease. That expectation will be matched or surpassed if the Canucks decide they&rsquo;ll cede to the wishes of <b>Ryan Kesler</b> to deal him elsewhere. It&rsquo;s tough to imagine the return being anything close to an NHL-ready No. 2 center</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-0729/10010618-1-eng-US/f0056-072.jpg" title="f0056-07" width="305" height="459"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(GREEN: GRAIG ABEL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>With weapons Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and <b>Mike Green</b> at your disposal, it&rsquo;s best to have the puck often. Washington, alas, was one of the worst possession teams in the NHL. Whether it comes from a personnel shakeup or a philosophical shift by new coach Barry Trotz, the team must find a way to hang onto the disc.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-0814/10010611-1-eng-US/f0056-082.jpg" title="f0056-08" width="305" height="467"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(PAVELEC: JONATHAN KOZUB/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>The Jets need a No. 1 center to help their power play. Paul Stastny is the only free agent who fits that description and he&rsquo;ll carry a hefty price tag. The Jets&rsquo; easier path to improvement is to upgrade their goaltending. <b>Ondrej Pavelec&rsquo;s</b> .901 SP was 46th out of 51 qualified goalies. If that&rsquo;s not grounds for a compliance buyout, nothing is.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0056-02

THE LONG ROAD TO SUCCESS

<div class="byline">WITH ADAM PROTEAU</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0058-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0058-02194/10010691-1-eng-US/f0058-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>BETTER LEFT UNSAID?</b></p><p>Would the Flyers be better if Ed Snider, middle, gave Paul Holmgren and Ron Hextall full autonomy?</p> <span class="photo-credit">(ZACK HILL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0058-01287/10010698-1-eng-US/f0058-012.jpg" title="f0058-01" width="193" height="229"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span>HE MIGRATION OF ON-AND-OFF-ICE</b> talent from the Philadelphia Flyers to the Los Angeles Kings franchise that has won two of the past three Cups is not lost on observers. At various points in the past 15 years, the Flyers (a) employed L.A. GM Dean Lombardi as their western scout, and Kings assistant coach John Stevens as their coach; (b) centered their core of forwards around Jeff Carter and Mike Richards, who each have two rings with the Kings; and (c) had Ron Hextall as their director of player personnel before he joined L.A. and was part of their Cup win in 2012.</p><p>Hextall returned to the Flyers last summer and will enter his rookie year as Philly&rsquo;s GM. His best chance to deliver a Cup is if owner Ed Snider leaves him alone to work at it. That hasn&rsquo;t always been true in the nearly five decades Snider has owned the team. And the success of the Kings &ndash; the success of components not good enough for the Flyers &ndash; should show Snider the best thing he can do to satisfy his competitive urges is to wall himself off from hockey decisions.</p><p>Because in the modern era, it&rsquo;s a fact: Stanley Cups are won by teams whose owners stay out of the picture.</p><p>This is not to say Snider has directed every move made by Paul Holmgren, Bob Clarke or any past Flyers GM. Team insiders insist certain moves, including the trades of Carter and Richards in 2011, would&rsquo;ve been made regardless of who was signing the checks. But Snider has weighed in on team direction, at times indulging his prerogative to have the final word. He said so himself after the team acquired Ilya Bryzgalov in 2011: &ldquo;I was part of making it happen,&rdquo; Snider said at the time. &ldquo;It was hard to sit and watch the Cup final, knowing what (Tim) Thomas was doing for Boston.&rdquo;</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">IN THE MODERN ERA, STANLEY CUPS ARE WON BY TEAMS WHOSE OWNERS STAY OUT OF THE PICTURE</blockquote><p>Forget that Snider and the Flyers were overdue in making goaltending a priority and whiffed when they committed to Bryzgalov with a rancid, nine year, $51-million contract. Instead, ask yourself: when was the last time Kings owner Philip Anschutz called Lombardi and dictated what deals needed to be made? When have Red Wings owners Mike and Marian Ilitch ever told Scotty Bowman or Ken Holland which players to discard or pursue? When did the owners of the New Jersey Devils or Colorado Avalanche, during their successful stretches, have any hand in the blueprint laid out by their GMs? There&rsquo;s one answer to all those questions.</p><p>Virtually every Cup-winner is a squad unburdened by overzealousness from the owner&rsquo;s box. Even franchises whose owners didn&rsquo;t understand this eventually learned. The Chicago Blackhawks stopped struggling once the megalomaniacal Bill Wirtz passed away in 2007 and his son Rocky left the hockey side alone. The Bruins have been owned by Jeremy Jacobs for four decades, but only when Jacobs stopped pinching pennies and allowed GM Peter Chiarelli to work did Boston win. The Flyers aren&rsquo;t the only team with an owner willing to inject himself into hockey ops. Islanders owner Charles Wang and Vancouver&rsquo;s Francesco Aquilini have been hands-on over the years. And as long as franchises are owned by titans of industry, we&rsquo;ll see some pull an owner-knows-best game.</p><p>They never do, though. The combination of hockey fundamentals and intangibles required to win a Stanley Cup cannot be achieved simply by possessing deep pockets. So if you&rsquo;re a Flyers fan, the thing you should most hope to see out of Snider is to not see him at all anymore and, instead, only hear from Hextall.</p><p>An NHL team is a restaurant. And business managers of restaurants don&rsquo;t make the best cooks.</p><p><b>WANT MORE PROTEAU?</b> GET DAILY UPDATES AT <a href="http://thehockeynews.com">THEHOCKEYNEWS.COM</a><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0058-02

PHILADELPHIA NEEDS LIBERTY

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0060-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0060-02145/10010750-1-eng-US/f0060-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>HIGH-MOTOR OIL</b></p><p>Edmonton relied on hard work and a commitment to defense en route to its championship.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(DAVE SANDFORD/HHOF)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0060-01233/10010757-1-eng-US/f0060-012.jpg" title="f0060-01" width="75" height="85"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span>HOUGH IT WAS FAR FROM A</b> mismatch on paper, the 2014 Memorial Cup in London, Ont., ended with a shocker when the Western League&rsquo;s Edmonton Oil Kings dominated the Ontario League&rsquo;s Guelph Storm 6-3.</p><p>Guelph had been a juggernaut throughout the OHL playoffs and ran roughshod over the other Memorial Cup teams in the round-robin, but the Oil Kings used defense to shut down the Storm, while reaping countless goals from the line of Henrik Samuelsson (Phoenix), Mitch Moroz (Edmonton) and tournament MVP Edgars Kulda of Latvia, who will surely see his name called in the June 27-28 draft after being passed over in 2013. Overall, it was a solid tournament for draft prospects. Not as good as last year, when three of the top four picks(Nathan MacKinnon, Jonathan Drouin and Seth Jones) squared off in the final game, but when will that ever happen again?</p><p>Along with Kulda, one of the most impressive performances came from Edmonton defenseman Dysin Mayo (ranked 48th in THN&rsquo;s 2014 Draft Preview, but sure to rise). Playing on the second pairing with Colorado Avalanche signee Cody Corbett, Mayo logged huge minutes when coach Derek Laxdal played most of the game with four blueliners. Skating is a strength for Mayo, and his two-way game was apparent in the final, where he embraced a shutdown role and bailed out his team on several occasions. &ldquo;He played unreal,&rdquo; said fellow blueliner Griffin Reinhart, the New York Islanders first-rounder. &ldquo;There are a lot of similarities between him and Mark Pysyk. He got better as the year went on and he&rsquo;s going to be a great player.&rdquo;</p><p>Pysyk, now with the Buffalo Sabres, was the Edmonton organization&rsquo;s first draft pick ever, in 2007, and had an exemplary career. Reinhart took over the &lsquo;D&rsquo; corps once Pysyk turned pro and logged even bigger minutes than Mayo in the tournament. Reinhart and Ottawa first-rounder Curtis Lazar are the most NHL-ready of the Oil Kings and both will get their chances this fall.</p><p>Lazar, a physical two-way center who always wears a smile, also took on a mentoring role this year with left winger Brett Pollock, a lanky 2014 draft prospect (ranked 33rd in DP). The two were linemates and with Pollock also bringing a physical edge to the ice, opponents had to watch out when the pair were out there with right winger Reid Petryk. &ldquo;(Lazar) is a great leader on his line,&rdquo; Pollock said. &ldquo;Me and &lsquo;Petey&rsquo; really feed off him. He keeps it positive, lets us know when we make mistakes and how to fix them, and he works so hard you have to keep up with him. It makes you a better player.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0061-01212/10010743-1-eng-US/f0061-012.jpg" title="f0061-01" width="1101" height="971"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>SAVES AND SPEECHES</b></p><p>Val-d&rsquo;Or might not have reached the Memorial Cup without goalie and vocal leader Antoine Bibeau.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(BIBEAU: KENNETH ANDERSEN/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0061-02146/10010736-1-eng-US/f0061-022.jpg" title="f0061-02" width="201" height="217"></div><p>Pollock&rsquo;s results indicate that. After scoring twice in 40 games as a rookie, he had 25 goals this season. Pollock has a knack for finding open space in the offensive zone, though his skating is a work in progress.</p><p>Edmonton&rsquo;s opponent in the final had a great draft prospect of their own in center Robby Fabbri (ranked 20th in DP). He made magic on a line with Columbus first-rounder Kerby Rychel and brings an incredible offensive skill to Guelph. At 5-foot-10 and 170 pounds, Fabbri doesn&rsquo;t have ideal NHL size, but his battle level is high and the projected first-rounder demonstrated his gritty side in the OHL playoffs while battling Islanders prospect Adam Pelech in the conference final versus Erie. &ldquo;Great hands, shifty and quick,&rdquo; said one NHL scout. &ldquo;Is size a concern? Well, he&rsquo;s certainly played through it so far.&rdquo;</p><p>Another shifty draft prospect to watch is Nicolas Aube-Kubel (ranked 60th in DP). A right winger for the Quebec League&rsquo;s Val-d&rsquo;Or Foreurs, Aube-Kubel was behind Detroit first-rounder Anthony Mantha on the depth chart, but the 2014 prospect was a whirlwind every time he stepped on the ice at the Memorial Cup, rushing the puck up ice with vigor and hunting it down when the other team had possession. Even though he didn&rsquo;t score in the tourney, he got positive feedback a week later at the draft combine when interviewing with NHL franchises. &ldquo;I told them it was a great experience,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Most of the teams told me I played well.&rdquo;</p><p>The Foreurs won the &lsquo;Q&rsquo; thanks in large part to Mantha, an unholy sniper who showed a nasty side at the Memorial Cup. He now heads to the pro ranks in the Detroit Red Wings organization along with Colorado signee Samuel Henley. &ldquo;Our whole first line will be gone next year, so my coach told me I&rsquo;ll be a top player in Val-d&rsquo;Or,&rdquo; Aube-Kubel said. &ldquo;I have to be ready. It will be good for me to play as a top forward and on the power play.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0061-03106/10010729-1-eng-US/f0061-032.jpg" title="f0061-03" width="1582" height="800"><figcaption class="caption-body">EDGARS <b>KULDA</b> <span class="photo-credit">(KULDA: CHL IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>A big turning point to Vald&rsquo;Or&rsquo;s season came when the team acquired goalie Antoine Bibeau from the Charlottetown Islanders just before the calendar flipped to 2014. A Toronto Maple Leafs draft pick, Bibeau put in several signature performances in London. He opened up the festivities with a 51-save shutout of the host London Knights and then won a 4-3 double-overtime thriller against Edmonton in the round robin that saw the Oil Kings outshoot the Foreurs 50-33.</p><p>Bibeau is a big, 6-foot-2 body who is practically a slave to the butterfly style of netminding, though he can challenge shooters when necessary. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m a tall guy,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;When I go down in the butterfly, I can still cover the top of the net, so that&rsquo;s one of my strengths.&rdquo;</p><p>Another, according to his teammates, is his ability to settle down the troops off the ice. Goalies are stereotypically quiet in the dressing room, but the Foreurs benefitted from the 20-year-old&rsquo;s presence. &ldquo;Good leader, a good person and everybody likes him,&rdquo; Henley said. &ldquo;It didn&rsquo;t take long to get used to Antoine because everyone liked him right away.&rdquo;</p><p>For the London Knights, playing at home turned out to be a nightmare. The usually potent squad was deep-sixed by Guelph in the second round of the OHL playoffs and never recovered from the layoff, which was more than a month. One of the only players who benefitted was left winger Christian Dvorak. The 2014 draft prospect (ranked 88th in DP) wrecked his knee earlier in the season, so the Memorial Cup hosting duties let him show off his recovered body to scouts after a mentally trying campaign. &ldquo;I just had to keep working hard in rehab, every day,&rdquo; Dvorak said. &ldquo;Luckily I got rewarded for that.&rdquo;</p><p>A gifted offensive player with great vision, Dvorak will be back in London. While the Knights would love to avenge their winless appearance next year, it will be tough to get back as OHL reps. Fabbri&rsquo;s Guelph team will still be solid, while Erie has phenom 2015 draft prospect Connor McDavid in what will undoubtedly be his junior swan song. With the Quebec Remparts hosting next year, another traditional power is guaranteed a spot in the tourney. But Philippe Boucher&rsquo;s squad will have to stock up and get ready: much like the Knights, the Remparts are a target in their league and no one will go easy on them.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0060-02

THE KINGS OF MAJOR JUNIOR

<div class="byline">BY SEAN SHAPIRO</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0062-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0062-02131/10010802-1-eng-US/f0062-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>CLUTCH AND GRAB</b></p><p>The Texas Stars came through at crunch time, allowing them to take hold of their first AHL title.</p></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0062-01231/10010809-1-eng-US/f0062-012.jpg" title="f0062-01" width="75" height="85"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>W</span>INNING ON THE ROAD IN</b> the American League is tough enough. Doing it the way the Texas Stars did to clinch a Calder Cup championship is unheard of</p><p>After splitting the first two games at home and losing homeice advantage in the AHL&rsquo;s 2-3-2 format, Texas travelled 2,648 miles to the easternmost edge of North America for Games 3 through 5 with the St. John&rsquo;s IceCaps.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0062-0383/10010795-1-eng-US/f0062-032.jpg" title="f0062-03" width="205" height="161"></div><p>All three contests went to overtime. Each ended with a Texas Stars goal, including defenseman Patrik Nemeth&rsquo;s dash and backhand that gave Texas a Cup-clinching 4-3 victory in Game 5. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been in some good series,&rdquo; said Stars coach Willie Desjardins. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never been in something like that. You have three back-to-back overtimes, and you&rsquo;re on the road for all three? That&rsquo;s so tough and I&rsquo;m so happy for these guys.&rdquo;</p><p>After turning the Cedar Park Center into a fortress in the regular season and winning 29 of 38 home games on their way to the AHL&rsquo;s best regular season record, Texas flexed its true playoff muscle on the road, going 8-3. Six went to OT and Texas won them all, setting a new AHL standard for sudden death road excellence. The 2011 Binghamton Senators, 2004 Milwaukee Admirals, and 1996 Saint John Flames shared the previous mark at 4-0.</p><p>Nemeth, 22, was the fifth different player to score in overtime for Texas when he beat St. John&rsquo;s goalie Michael Hutchinson over the glove. He was also an unexpected hero. The Swede had just four goals in 84 games over the past two seasons. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think any of us thought he had that in him,&rdquo; said Travis Morin, the AHL regular season and playoff MVP. &ldquo;For a second it was a little bit of disbelief of what just happened. Then I just skated toward him and celebrated.&rdquo;</p><p>The goal may have been Nemeth&rsquo;s last tally in an AHL uniform. He should compete for a full-time spot with the Dallas Stars in October. While the likes of Morin, Derek Meech and captain Maxime Fortunus provided veteran leadership, Texas&rsquo; playoff success hinged on the maturation of young talent. That drew added attention from Dallas GM Jim Nill and coach Lindy Ruff, who attended multiple games at the Cedar Park Center.</p><p>Dallas draft picks Brett Ritchie, Matej Stransky, Jamie Oleksiak, Curtis McKenzie, Jyrki Jokipakka, Scott Glennie, Jack Campbell, Radek Faksa and Nemeth were all staples in the lineup when healthy. &ldquo;One of the things I looked at before taking this job was the AHL team,&rdquo; Nill said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;ve done a great job down here and this is an example of how the system should work. The location is perfect, and the way players develop under Willie is fantastic.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0062-0462/10010788-1-eng-US/f0062-042.jpg" title="f0062-04" width="1024" height="654"><figcaption class="caption-body">BRETT RITCHIE, MIKE HEDDEN & <b>JUSTIN DOWLING</b> <span class="photo-credit">(COLIN PEDDLE)</span></figcaption></div><p>Texas&rsquo; championship also helped springboard the careers of players who weren&rsquo;t on Dallas&rsquo; radar before the season. Undrafted center Justin Dowling impressed Nill enough to sign his first NHL contract late in the regular season. Brendan Ranford &ndash; the nephew of Stanley Cup-winning goalie Bill Ranford &ndash; turned a professional tryout contract into an AHL deal and could sign his first NHL contract this summer after scoring 16 points in 21 playoff games. &ldquo;Players have to take advantage of their opportunities,&rdquo; Desjardins said. &ldquo;We can coach them as much as we want, but at the end of the day they have to execute themselves. This group worked so hard and was willing to sacrifice to get this done.&rdquo;</p><p>And with that attitude, the future is bright for both the Dallas and Texas Stars.</p><h2><b>6</b></h2><p>Overtime victories on the road for the Texas Stars in the 2014 Calder Cup playoffs, setting a new AHL record. Texas went 6-0 in sudden-death games on the road, eclipsing the previous high of 4-0 reached by three teams<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0062-02

PAYING IT FORWARD

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0065-01189/10010930-1-eng-US/f0065-012.jpg" title="f0065-01" width="474" height="508"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(GUESS WHO: DALE MACMILLAN/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote"><i>&ldquo;I scored 20 goals 11 straight years from &rsquo;99-00 to &rsquo;10-11. I led the NHL with 50 in &rsquo;02-03.&rdquo;</i></blockquote><blockquote class="pullQuote"><i>&ldquo;I rank third all-time in goals (375) and points (805) among Czech NHLers.&rdquo;</i></blockquote><blockquote class="pullQuote"><i>&ldquo;I won the Cup in 2000-01 and spent my entire career with the Colorado Avalanche.&rdquo;</i></blockquote><p>WHO AM I: MILAN HEJDUK<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0065-01

Guess WHO!

<div class="byline">By Larry Humber</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0065-02137/10010961-1-eng-US/f0065-022.jpg" title="f0065-02" width="913" height="913"></div><p><b>ANSWERS AVAILABLE IN THE NEXT ISSUE AND AT <a href="http://THN.com/XWORD">THN.com/XWORD</a></b></p><h2><b>ACROSS</b></h2><p>1 Places one pad atop the other, ___ the pads</p><p>4 Display remarkable skill, put on a ___</p><p>9 Caused an opponent to fall</p><p>10 Kind of hat once sported by Jacques Plante</p><p>11 Toss out</p><p>12 First-year players</p><p>13 The great Jean Beliveau&rsquo;s number</p><p>15 Game (or, to go out with)</p><p>18 Boston&rsquo;s ___ Bergeron</p><p>21 Former Blackhawk coach ___ Yawney</p><p>23 The letters on Finland&rsquo;s sweaters</p><p>24 Home of the WHL&rsquo;s Chiefs</p><p>25 ___ hockey is a Paralympic sport</p><p>26 Philly&rsquo;s Mark ___</p><h2><b>DOWN</b></h2><p>1 He&rsquo;s coach in L.A.</p><p>2 Still in contention</p><p>3 &lsquo;Kopi,&rsquo; pictured, is a King</p><p>5 Release: two words</p><p>6 Gustav ___ toils for the Red Wings</p><p>7 Goalie&rsquo;s area 8 Tom ___ was with Rockies, Penguins in 1970s</p><p>14 Result</p><p>15 Where &lsquo;The Joe&rsquo; is</p><p>16 Sudden contractions</p><p>17 The Cup-winning Flyers were dubbed &lsquo;The Broad ___ Bullies&rsquo;</p><p>19 Sending the puck the length of the rink</p><p>20 Hockey ___ is an NCAA conference</p><p>22 Dodge</p><p><b>LAST WEEK&rsquo;S CROSSWORD SOLUTION</b></p><p><b>ACROSS</b> 1. STREAK, 4. SCOUTS, 9. WINDSOR, 10. RYDER, 11. NONIS, 12. WESTERN, 13. MATS, 15. HOST, 18. HUSTLES, 21. APRIL, 23. SWEEP, 24. LEMIEUX, 25. RESULT, 26. ANGELS</p><p><b>DOWN</b> 1. SEWING, 2. RUN-IN, 3. ASSISTS, 5. CHRIS, 6. UNDRESS, 7. SHRINE, 8. DREW, 14. ANSWERS, 15. HEADMAN, 16. CHASER, 17. FLEXES, 19. LUPUL, 20. SALT, 22. REESE<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0065-02

CROSSWORD

<div class="byline">&#x2013; MATT LARKIN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0065-03102/10010992-1-eng-US/f0065-032.jpg" title="f0065-03" width="846" height="789"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(MASK: DAVID GUNNARSSON/DAVEART.COM)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>CAM TALBOT</b> | NEW YORK RANGERS</p><p>If you grew up in the &rsquo;80s, Talbot&rsquo;s mask by Dave Gunnarsson will tickle you pink. It maintains a <i>Ghostbusters</i> theme, complete with the creepy library ghost, Zuul and a possessed Statue of Liberty. Why the <i>Ghostbusters II</i> logo with characters from the first film? It&rsquo;s Talbot&rsquo;s second mask with this theme.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0065-03

Behind THE MASK

<div class="byline">&#x2013; RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0065-0473/10011023-1-eng-US/f0065-042.jpg" title="f0065-04" width="577" height="581"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(JERSEY: ACADIE-BATHURST TITAN)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he Quebec League&rsquo;s Titan had a pretty cool sweater in the first place, but this new version is quite sharp. The shield-and-Viking-helmet logo has been replaced by a gladiator-style helmet and the color scheme has been reworked.</p><p>Now simplified to red and gold (black is gone), the Titan sweater looks more distinct than in the past and more intimidating.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0065-04

JerseyHOUND

<div class="byline">WITH KEN CAMPBELL</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0066-02116/10011054-1-eng-US/f0066-022.jpg" title="f0066-02" width="817" height="852"><figcaption class="caption-body">PATRICK <b>ROY</b> <span class="photo-credit">(KARL GEHRING/THE DENVER POST)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0066-01187/10011061-1-eng-US/f0066-012.jpg" title="f0066-01" width="192" height="212"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>Y</span>OU CAN ALWAYS TELL WHEN PATRICK</b> Roy wants his players to make a line change. No matter how deafeningly loud the building is, there is that ubiquitous whistle. Once they hear that shrill sound, Avalanche players scurry to the bench as though their paychecks are waiting there for them. He uses it in practice, too, prompting the kind of classical conditioning from his players Ivan Pavlov would envy.</p><p>Roy is the most engaged coach you&rsquo;ll ever see during a practice. After he explains a drill, he turns to his charges and says, &ldquo;Did everyone understand that?&rdquo; And at the end of the workout, he insists on all of his players coming to center ice and forming a circle, putting their hands in the middle and chanting, &ldquo;Team!&rdquo; as they raise their hands in unison.</p><p>Seriously. Patrick Roy gets away with all of this. In the NHL. That kind of stuff might have gone over well in Quebec City, where he coached the Remparts for six seasons, but Roy is in the big leagues now. Someone should tell him NHL players can see through all that rah-rah crap and doing that is a good way to get fired.</p><p>But somehow Roy pulls it off. Stunningly well, we might add. THN&rsquo;s choice for NHL coach of the year, Roy has gone where few Hall of Famers have gone before. History tells us superstar players, generally speaking, make lousy coaches. Rocket Richard lasted two games with Quebec in the World Hockey Association before quitting. Wayne Gretzky, Bernie Geoffrion and Doug Harvey were all sub .500 coaches in the NHL. In fact, the only three Hall of Fame players who had similar careers as coaches are Lester Patrick, Jack Adams and Toe Blake and none of them has coached for almost 50 years. Take a look at the list of winners of the Jack Adams Award. The only Hall of Fame players to win the award since it was introduced 40 years ago are Jacques Lemaire, Bill Barber and Bob Pulford. Lemaire and Barber deserve to be there, but Pulford is regarded as one of the least worthy players in the Hall of Fame.</p><p>History also tells us coaches with Roy&rsquo;s approach have a short shelf life with the same organization. At first, players love having a coach who&rsquo;s their ally, but invariably they begin to take advantage of him and run roughshod over him, eventually prompting management to replace him with a hard-ass. And said coach usually goes to another organization, where he replaces the hard-ass who was just run out of town. &ldquo;The first thing I said to my players is I want a partnership with them,&rdquo; Roy said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to be their coach. I want to have an open door where they can talk to me about anything. The system is not for me, it&rsquo;s for them.&rdquo;</p><p>What will dictate Roy&rsquo;s future as a coach is more tied to two other factors. The first is whether the Avs can continue to respond to his culture change in subsequent years the way they did this season and keep improving in the NHL&rsquo;s Western Conference.</p><p>The second is whether or not the Avalanche can prove the analytics crowd wrong. Those who embrace advanced statistics predicted the Avalanche&rsquo;s playoff demise, pointing to the fact they were one of the worst puck-possession teams. Most will argue the only thing that kept the Avs afloat was a career season by goalie Semyon Varlamov.</p><p>And they make a pretty compelling case. The Avalanche gave up 32.7 shots per game, 25th in the league. In the playoffs, their shot differential of 8.4 per game was second worst to Tampa Bay. Colorado was 25th in the league in Corsi Close 5-on-5 percentage (which takes into account shots, missed shots and blocked shots) and 27th in Fenwick (shots and missed shots). The Avalanche are decent on faceoffs in both the offensive and defensive zones, but their 35-percent success rate in the neutral zone was worst. Their team shooting percentage of 10.1 was second only to the Anaheim Ducks, and, it had better remain that high or they&rsquo;re going to be losing games.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">THE COMPETITIVE STREAK THAT MADE HIM ONE OF THE GREATEST GOALIES NOW DRIVES HIM AS A COACH</blockquote><p>Clearly Roy and his assistants have some work to do, and this is where Roy&rsquo;s mettle as a coach will be most seriously tested, because all the co-operation and open door policies in the world aren&rsquo;t going to make the Avalanche a better puck possession team. But Roy is a smart guy who seems to pick up on things quickly. The first time he ever picked up a golf club, he shot a round of 90.</p><p>And what he doesn&rsquo;t know, he&rsquo;s clearly proven he&rsquo;s willing to work hard to learn. Roy didn&rsquo;t have to ride buses in the Quebec League, but he chose to do so, and continued to even after the NHL came calling. The competitive streak that made him one of the greatest goalies in the history of the game drives him as a coach. &ldquo;The only thing I&rsquo;ve earned since I started coaching is the opportunity to coach tonight,&rdquo; Roy said earlier this season. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s my passion, and I&rsquo;m surrounded by passionate people.&rdquo;</p><p><b>CAN&rsquo;T GET ENOUGH CAMPBELL?</b> GO TO <a href="http://thehockeynews.com">THEHOCKEYNEWS.COM</a> FOR DAILY UPDATES<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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2014 Season Commemorative

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STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS JOURNEY TO THE CUP