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Hockey's Greatest Rivalries

The Hockey News - Rivalries 2014

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0152-0319/10095899-1-eng-US/f0152-032.jpg" title="f0152-03" width="775" height="785"><figcaption class="caption-body">BRIAN CAMPBELL (JOEL AUERBACH/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0152-0144/10095906-1-eng-US/f0152-012.jpg" title="f0152-01" width="163" height="93"></div>AS ONE OF THE NHL&rsquo;S most poorly managed teams in its 21 years &ndash; and one that has made the playoffs just once since 2000 &ndash; the Florida Panthers are all but bereft of the high-stakes moments that create world-class rivalries. But they continue to try heating things up with their most natural foes, the Tampa Bay Lightning.In the early days of the two franchises, it was easy to stoke the intra-state fires. Before a game was even played between the teams, the GMs of the Panthers (Bob Clarke) and Bolts (Phil Esposito) were attacking each other in the press, with Esposito saying the Lightning would &ldquo;beat the hell out of&rdquo; Florida and Clarke calling his counter-part in Tampa a pussycat. But since then, Tampa has had greater success, necessitating a jump-start campaign.That came in the form of the Governor&rsquo;s Cup, launched in 2013 and awarded to the winner of the annual series between the clubs. Last year&rsquo;s inaugural Cup went to Tampa, who won all four games by a combined score of 22-10.The two teams meet Oct. 9, March 1, March 24 and April 4.<h2>TOP RIVALS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0152-0412/10095892-1-eng-US/f0152-042.jpg" title="f0152-04" width="578" height="276"></div>Roberto&nbsp;Luongo was mishandled by the Vancouver Canucks and can&rsquo;t wait to face them again Jan. 8 and Jan. 19.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0152-057/10095885-1-eng-US/f0152-052.jpg" title="f0152-05" width="578" height="276"></div>David&nbsp;Bolland doesn&rsquo;t get along with the Canucks&rsquo; Sedin twins, calling them sisters during his Chicago Blackhawks days.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0152-063/10095878-1-eng-US/f0152-062.jpg" title="f0152-06" width="578" height="276"></div>Shawn&nbsp;Thornton has fought fellow tough guy Krys Barch &ndash; the player he replaced &ndash; five times in the past three seasons.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0152-0230/10095871-1-eng-US/f0152-022.jpg" title="f0152-02" width="226" height="322"></div><h2>PUBLIC ENEMY&nbsp;NO. 1</h2>JAY BOUWMEESTER is so quiet, you wouldn&rsquo;t expect him to make enemies. But Panther fans loathe him because he didn&rsquo;t stick around, opting to sign in Calgary. &#9632;

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IN THIS ISSUE

STATE SPAT

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0159-093/10096889-1-eng-US/f0159-092.jpg" title="f0159-09" width="775" height="805"><figcaption class="caption-body">ALEXANDRE BURROWS (JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0159-074/10096896-1-eng-US/f0159-072.jpg" title="f0159-07" width="156" height="92"></div>THE VANCOUVER CANUCKS will forever have a blood feud with division rivals from Canada, the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers, but epic battles with the Chicago Blackhawks in three consecutive playoffs have been a trending topic in recent seasons.After not facing each other in the postseason the previous 14 years, the Canucks and Blackhawks locked horns back-to-back-toback starting in 2009. Chicago won the first two encounters &ndash; both went six games in the second round. The Hawks ended up winning the Stanley Cup in 2010. In 2011, fortunes turned in Vancouver&rsquo;s favor. But it wasn&rsquo;t easy. The Canucks won the first three games of the opening-round series against the defending champions, but Chicago rallied to even the series, including an overtime thriller in Game 6. When Alexandre Burrows scored in overtime of Game 7, it averted a choke of historic proportions. Since then, a game between the Canucks and Blackhawks has always been special.The two teams meet Nov. 23, Feb. 11 and April 2.<h2>TOP RIVALS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0159-103/10096882-1-eng-US/f0159-102.jpg" title="f0159-10" width="578" height="276"></div>It&rsquo;s only natural to measure Nick Bonino against Ryan Kesler, even though the trade was more than a swap of No. 2 centers.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0159-113/10096875-1-eng-US/f0159-112.jpg" title="f0159-11" width="578" height="276"></div>Ryan Miller&rsquo;s first encounter with his former team in Buffalo (Jan. 30) will be more notable than it will be contentious.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0159-123/10096868-1-eng-US/f0159-122.jpg" title="f0159-12" width="578" height="276"></div>Kevin Bieksa and San Jose&rsquo;s Andrew Desjardins have been fight combatants each of the past two seasons.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0159-083/10096861-1-eng-US/f0159-082.jpg" title="f0159-08" width="226" height="322"></div><h2>PUBLIC ENEMY&nbsp;NO. 1</h2>All those soft punches to the face of Daniel Sedin a few years ago contributed to Boston super-pest&nbsp;BRAND MARCHAND&nbsp;becoming a super-villain in Vancouver. &#9632;

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WINDY CITY WAR

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-012245/10092552-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"></div>HOCKEY&rsquo;S GREATEST RIVALRIES&nbsp;features dozens of the game&rsquo;s most intense blood feuds. What&rsquo;s nice about rivalries in hockey is that, in most cases, the two sides have an underlying respect for one another and can shake hands at the end of the day, like &lsquo;Sugar&rsquo; Jim Henry and &lsquo;Rocket&rsquo; Richard in 1952. &#9632;

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RIVALRIES

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0156-092/10096493-1-eng-US/f0156-092.jpg" title="f0156-09" width="775" height="820"><figcaption class="caption-body">CLAUDE GIROUX (BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0156-073/10096500-1-eng-US/f0156-072.jpg" title="f0156-07" width="153" height="92"></div>PHILADELPHIA FANS ARE well known for their lustful booing &ndash; it&rsquo;s practically a sport at the Wells Fargo Center &ndash; but a special hate is reserved for cross-state rival Pittsburgh. A frequent playoff opponent, the Pens may seem to be the less goonish of the two teams, but when it comes to playing the Flyers those flightless birds are not afraid to peck at the eyes. Even back in 1981 you had a brawl-fuelled contest in which no less than two Pittsburgh players launched successful sucker punches at unsuspecting Flyers (Paul Baxter on Behn Wilson and Russ Anderson on Ken Linseman).But perhaps Philly has lost the public relations war because of the boneheaded plays that stick out in history. For example, in 2009, with the Flyers facing elimination but winning a game 3-0, Philly goon Daniel Carcillo decided to fight below his weight class by taking on Maxime Talbot. The Penguins ended up with the motivation after the dust-up and scored five straight goals to win the game and the series.The two teams meet Oct. 22, Jan. 20, April 1 and April 5.<h2>TOP RIVALS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0156-102/10096486-1-eng-US/f0156-102.jpg" title="f0156-10" width="578" height="276"></div>Luke Schenn and Gregory Campbell have matched up a couple times in scraps in physical Flyers-Bruins games.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0156-112/10096479-1-eng-US/f0156-112.jpg" title="f0156-11" width="578" height="276"></div>Jay&nbsp;Rosehill has many dance partners, but his favorite pugilist is Shawn Thornton, now with the Florida Panthers.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0156-122/10096472-1-eng-US/f0156-122.jpg" title="f0156-12" width="578" height="276"></div>Philly fans protect their house, and they don&rsquo;t like NHL boss Gary Bettman. They showered him with boos at the 2014 draft.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0156-082/10096465-1-eng-US/f0156-082.jpg" title="f0156-08" width="226" height="322"></div><h2>PUBLIC ENEMY&nbsp;NO. 1</h2>SIDNEY CROSBY&nbsp;is derogatorily referred to as &lsquo;Cindy&rsquo; by Flyer fans, He&rsquo;s the perfect establishment superstar foil for the rebels Flyers fans perceive themselves to be. &#9632;

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BOO THE BIRDS

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-012307/10092590-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="526" height="923"><figcaption class="caption-body">(RYAN BROOK/TC MEDIA)</figcaption></div>APPROXIMATELY 25 YEARS AGO, WHEN I WAS A cub reporter at The Hockey News trying to piece together an opus on the top stories of the 1980s (yes, it was that long ago), I contacted Detroit Red Wings coach Jacques Demers at his hotel room on the road. When I inquired about an interview, the usually affable Demers replied bluntly, &ldquo;No, I&rsquo;m going to decline. The Hockey News has kicked me in the teeth too many times lately.&rdquo; Click.I relayed the exchange to my editors, Bob McKenzie and Steve Dryden. They chuckled and shared words of wisdom that still resonate: you know you&rsquo;re doing something right in this business when you&rsquo;re pissing people off.Two-plus decades later, there have been many angry birds in the hockey world, courtesy the dastardly media. A couple of the loudest, most meaningful battles are captured in these pages. Russ Conway&rsquo;s dogged pursuit of Alan Eagleson and the truth are recounted on pg. 112-113. Larry Brooks&rsquo; frequently entertaining sparring sessions with John Tortorella are detailed on pg. 54-55.Those encounters just scratch the surface; there has been bad blood between media and the hockey fraternity in every NHL city. Some of it has gotten physical. Former Tampa Bay Lightning GM Phil Esposito was charged with assault after an incident with McKenzie at Maple Leaf Gardens in 1992. Charges were dropped when Esposito apologized. The late Jim Kelley, a long-time Buffalo News writer and a member of the THN family, was accosted by Dominik Hasek after a game. Kelley had questioned the goalie&rsquo;s mental toughness. Hasek grabbed Kelley and ripped his shirt. Hasek subsequently apologized and was suspended. THN&rsquo;s Mike Brophy, after Tie Domi was traded to Toronto, criticized the player&rsquo;s work ethic in a piece called &ldquo;The Ego Has Landed.&rdquo; Brophy said the next time Domi saw him, he was the recipient of a couple angry &ndash; and painful &ndash; jabs to the chest.My wars have happened almost exclusively behind the scenes, when irate owners, GMs and agents have either threatened to sue over something we&rsquo;ve reported or have just shaken an angry finger at us. I&rsquo;ve received letters from lawyers asking for retractions and apologies, or to cease and desist. I&rsquo;ve had GMs call to protect their players and even players&rsquo; wives. I&rsquo;ve had PR people snap at me at what they perceive is overly harsh and persistent criticism.While the battles aren&rsquo;t necessarily pleasant, I understand the emotion behind them. Sometimes, I even take them as compliments. It must mean we&rsquo;re doing some things right.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021956/10092583-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="414" height="222"></div> &#9632;

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PLEADING THE FIFTH (ESTATE)

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-012539/10092673-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">LIGHTNING RODMilan Lucic is often at the center of vicious feuds with various Montreal players. (BRIAN BABINEAU/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>IT WAS EARLY IN MILAN Lucic&rsquo;s rookie season with the Boston Bruins when he looked around the TD Garden during warmups Oct. 22, 2007, that he noticed something strange. First, it was a sellout, which was not seen much in those parts during the Bruins&rsquo; rebuilding years. Second, about 8,000 seats were filled with people in red sweaters.That was Lucic&rsquo;s official welcome to the Montreal Canadiens-Boston Bruins rivalry, which enters its 91st season in 2014-15. The Canadiens and Bruins have played each other more than any two other teams when you factor in the playoffs and their team histories are pockmarked with battle scars they&rsquo;ve administered to each other. From the Bruins having too many men on the ice in 1979 to Stan Jonathan beating Pierre Bouchard to a bloody pulp in 1978 to Rocket Richard and &lsquo;Sugar&rsquo; Jim Henry, both bloodied and haggard, shaking hands after a Game 7 playoff series and Richard&rsquo;s greatest-ever goal in 1952, the two teams have easily the most storied rivalry in the history of the game.And that night, the first time he played the Canadiens in his NHL career, Milan Lucic made it his own.&ldquo;I remember (Zdeno) Chara getting booed in our own rink,&rdquo; Lucic recalled. &ldquo;And I was like, &lsquo;Oh, wow,&rsquo; this is not just another game.&rsquo; Here was our own captain and he was getting booed. That was something that really energized our group and it was one of the things that really got it going for me.&rdquo;Since then, Lucic has played almost a season&rsquo;s worth of games against the Canadiens and has had running battles with almost all of them at one time or another. If you&rsquo;re looking for the downward spiral in Mike Komisarek&rsquo;s career, pick one of the three fights he&rsquo;s had against Lucic, two of them as a Montreal Canadien. He lost all three badly, including the 2009 playoffs when Lucic one-punched Komisarek and sent him down in a heap. (&ldquo;He threw in the towel!&rdquo; gushed the unequivocally unbiased Bruins play-by-play man Jack Edwards. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a mercy killing!&rdquo;) Alexei Emelin, as we all saw in the handshake line after the Bruins first-round loss to the Canadiens in 2014, is most certainly not on Lucic&rsquo;s Christmas card list.But it has been in the playoffs where Lucic has had his most memorable moments against Montreal. In his seven-year career in Boston, he has played the Canadiens four times in the post-season, with three of the series going seven games. Twice the Bruins have won, twice they&rsquo;ve been on the losing end. In the 2009 series in which he fought Komisarek, he also piled up 31 penalty minutes in three games and was suspended for Game 3 after a vicious crosscheck he delivered to Jaroslav Spacek.But really, does Lucic hate the Canadiens? After all, he trains in the off-season in Vancouver with Ian Gallagher, whose son Brendan just happens to play for the Canadiens and has been a particular burr in Boston&rsquo;s side early in his career.You bet he does.&ldquo;How could I not?&rdquo; said Lucic, who maintains his off-season conversations with Gallagher include anything and everything but what happens on the ice between the Bruins and Canadiens. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s a completely different buzz in the air in Boston when those guys come into town. There&rsquo;s a lot of dislike for those guys. But at the end of the day, you can&rsquo;t let your emotions and your hate for them overshadow what you&rsquo;re trying to do, and that&rsquo;s to beat them.&rdquo;And if beating them on the scoreboard isn&rsquo;t in the cards, a physical beating is always a good option for Lucic. He and Komisarek had a running battle when Komisarek played for the Canadiens and that has been picked up by Emelin, a player who has been at the receiving end of a Lucic pitchfork to the groin and always seems to be on the ice going nose-to-nose with Lucic during the playoffs. The peak of their rivalry came in the spring of 2014 when Lucic, livid that his Bruins had lost Game 7 to the Canadiens, told Dale Weise and Emelin, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to f---ing kill you next year.&rdquo;&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to apologize for how I acted or what I said,&rdquo; Lucic explained. &ldquo;But I definitely could have handled the situation better than I did. More than saying what I said to their players, I was upset with losing to them because we had such a great team and we won the Presidents&rsquo; Trophy and that being the end and losing the way we did, it all just accumulated into me losing my cool in the handshake.&rdquo;It was his clashes with Komisarek, though, that were legendary. During Lucic&rsquo;s rookie season in 2007-08, the Canadiens and Bruins played each other 15 times, including a gruelling seven-game playoff series. In each of those contests, Lucic and Komisarek went hammer-and-tong, giving no quarter along the boards and in the corners. When Komisarek was at the height of his career, he outweighed Lucic by 23 pounds &ndash; 243 to 220 &ndash; clocking in at an inch apart at 6-foot-4 and 6-foot-3. With Lucic being a left winger and Komisarek a right defenseman, the unstoppable force met the immovable object time and again.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-012427/10092666-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="878" height="1271"><figcaption class="caption-body">MILAN LUCIC & BRANDON PRUST (JARED WICKERHAM/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-021866/10092659-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="2731" height="1718"><figcaption class="caption-body">SPRING FLINGLucic seems to do his best and most vicious work against the Habs in the playoffs. (ALEX TRAUTWIG/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>134&nbsp;Penalty minutes for Milan Lucic in 60 games vs. Montreal, including playoffsThe two players didn&rsquo;t fight each other once in those 15 games in Lucic&rsquo;s first season, not by Lucic&rsquo;s choice. He tried to engage Komisarek a number of times, but was always turned down. Then the second time they met in 2008-09, with the Bruins leading 4-1 late in the game, Komisarek decided to throw down the gauntlet.He has had better ideas. Like the time during the team breakfast when he decided to jam his fork into a plugged-in toaster. Komisarek was beaten badly and threw out his shoulder. Then, after getting one-punched by Lucic in the playoffs that same season, Komisarek became a shell of his former self. He was never the same dominating physical player again.&ldquo;It took 17 games for that fight to happen,&rdquo; Lucic recalled. &ldquo;Maybe he wasn&rsquo;t the same player after that, but you have to give him credit, because he never backed down from me as far as playing physical.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-012154/10092652-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="397" height="691"><figcaption class="caption-body">MILAN LUCIC</figcaption></div>What&rsquo;s this? Lucic showing a member of the Canadiens organization some respect? Well, see, that&rsquo;s the thing. Lucic has never once said he doesn&rsquo;t respect the Canadiens or their fans. Quite the contrary, actually. He has an enormous amount of respect for what the Canadiens have accomplished as a franchise over the years and nothing gets his competitive juices flowing quite like a sold-out Bell Centre full of passionate Canadiens fans. Growing up in Vancouver and being a Canucks fan, Lucic never really knew much, or cared, about the Canadiens. He was obsessed with the Canucks and when Vancouver did get the early Hockey Night in Canada game, it was usually one that featured the Maple Leafs. The Canadiens were just another team to him, albeit one with 25 Stanley Cups, a murderers&rsquo; row of superstars and a history that runs deep with success.Which is part of the reason why the Bruins hate the Canadiens so much. In 1971, a team that had Phil Esposito and Bobby Orr and broke every offensive record known to man was upset by a Habs team that had some gangly rookie named Ken Dryden in net. What made it even more distasteful was that Dryden was originally a draft pick of the Bruins six years earlier.<blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;THERE&rsquo;SA DIFFERENT BUZZ IN THE AIR IN BOSTON WHEN THOSE GUYS COME TO TOWN&rdquo; &ndash; Milan Lucic</blockquote>The Bruins, historically, have never been a match for the Canadiens in the playoffs. They&rsquo;ve lost to the Habs when Montreal has been a powerhouse and they&rsquo;ve gagged up series they should have easily won. The victory by the Habs in 2014 represented the 25th time the Canadiens have beaten the Bruins in 34 series. There was a period between 1946 and &rsquo;85 &ndash; a total of 18 playoff series &ndash; where the Bruins failed to defeat the Canadiens even once. And when it comes to Cup finals, it&rsquo;s a laugher in favor of the Habs, who have beaten the Bruins each of the seven (1930, &rsquo;46, &rsquo;53, &rsquo;57, &rsquo;58, &rsquo;77, &rsquo;78) times the two teams have faced off.As far as Lucic is concerned, that&rsquo;s what being an athlete is all about. It&rsquo;s about competition and even though the competition has been one-sided in Montreal&rsquo;s favor, Lucic has won two of four playoff series, and the Bruins have won a Cup. Perhaps Lucic will help turn that record in the other direction. And really, the playoffs aren&rsquo;t whole unless the Canadiens and Bruins clash, don&rsquo;t you think? Lucic knows what it&rsquo;s like to play in those games. He notices the difference when the Bruins visit or host the Canadiens. The games are harder to play but more satisfying to win.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s where real men come out, real competitors who embrace that challenge,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The real character comes out.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-021513/10092645-1-eng-US/f0009-022.jpg" title="f0009-02" width="813" height="708"><figcaption class="caption-body">LOVE-HATEContrary to popular belief, Lucic respects the Canadiens and loves battling them. (BRIAN BABINEAU/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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MILAN LUCIC VS. MONTREAL CANADIENS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0010-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-012406/10092711-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">NINE LIVESTie Domi and Bob Probert fought each other nine times over the years. (B BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>IT WAS A BATTLE SO BIG THAT IT often eclipsed the hockey game itself. Two of the most feared and revered fighters of the era, Bob Probert and Tie Domi went at each other with gusto nine times during their career, creating a buzz any time their teams met.Probert, who began his career as the enforcer of the Detroit Red Wings, was a few years ahead of Domi and already had the reputation of being the toughest player in the NHL. At 6-foot-3, 225 pounds, it wasn&rsquo;t too hard to figure out why.Domi, on the other hand, was generously listed at 5-foot-10, but at 207 pounds. He was built like a fire hydrant. As a member of the New York Rangers, &lsquo;The Albanian Assassin&rsquo; wanted a piece of Probert to show the hockey world what he was made of. On Feb. 9, 1992, the two collided.&ldquo;Tie was just a young kid coming up and he said &lsquo;Come on, Probie, give me a chance at the title,&rsquo;&rdquo; Probert said in 2010, shortly before passing away at 45 from a heart attack. &ldquo;And I obliged, because that&rsquo;s how I was brought up in the game.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011994/10092704-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="402" height="597"><figcaption class="caption-body">BOB PROBERT (HARRY SCULL/ALLSPORT)</figcaption></div>336&nbsp;Fights for Tie Domi &ndash; 34 more than Bob Probert, and the most in NHL historyThe match featured big blows from both sides, but a flurry of lefts by Domi late in the scrap seemed to give him the edge. As he was being led away to the penalty box, Domi pantomimed a championship belt being fitted around his waist, crowning himself the new heavyweight champ in the process.Probert was not amused.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just something you don&rsquo;t do,&rdquo; he said, adding that he made note of the gesture. &ldquo;You put it in your memory bank.&rdquo;In the rematch, nearly a year later, Probert challenged Domi just 37 seconds into the first period. This time, the big Red Wing got the upper hand early, crashing down on Domi with a barrage of right hands for a good 20 seconds before Domi could stabilize himself.&ldquo;According to Steve (Yzerman), I won the rematch,&rdquo; Probert said.Between 1992 and 1998, the two fought nine times, including three bouts in &rsquo;96 when Probert was skating for the Chicago Blackhawks and Domi was a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs.&ldquo;He reminded me of Stan Jonathan: low center of gravity, pretty stocky guy,&rdquo; Probert said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;d try to get you in tight and land those big haymakers.&rdquo;And while Probert and Domi looked like they were out for blood on the ice, enforcers never took it personally back then. Actually, in the days before charter plane flights, teams often stayed in opposing cities overnight, meaning run-ins in public often occurred.&ldquo;I remember fighting Bob McGill one night, then seeing him at a bar after the game,&rdquo; Probert said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not even brought up. There was the code that you left it on the ice.&rdquo;Probert and Domi even crossed paths in another pastime as contestants on the CBC figure skating reality show Battle of the Blades in 2009.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s actually a pretty good guy,&rdquo; Probert chuckled at the time. &ldquo;We just laugh about the old times. There&rsquo;s no hard feelings.&rdquo; &#9632;

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BOB PROBERT VS. TIE DOMI

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0012-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-012342/10092763-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">COMIN&rsquo; FOR YAThe KHL still plays second fiddle to the NHL, but its tune is slowly catching on. (ISIFA/MAFRA/MICHAL SULA)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-012043/10092756-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg" title="f0013-01" width="356" height="596"><figcaption class="caption-body">ALEXANDER MEDVEDEV(VLADIMIR BEZZUBOV/YURY KUZMIN/KHL PHOTO AGENCY VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;FROM ITS INCEPTION, THE KHL HASN&rsquo;T JUST SAT BACK AND ACCEPTED THE NHL&rsquo;S TABLE SCRAPSI&rdquo;</blockquote>IN AUGUST OF 2014, THE NHL AND the Russia-based Kontinental League extended a memorandum of understanding &ndash; an agreement in which both leagues agree to respect the player contracts signed by the other organization &ndash; until June 30, 2015. But just because there&rsquo;s a basic level of trust between the two leagues doesn&rsquo;t mean there&rsquo;s no rivalry.In fact, the opposite is true, and the rivalry may only be heating up.When the KHL was founded in 2008, its mission wasn&rsquo;t to put the NHL out of business. But the rivalry between the leagues hasn&rsquo;t been a straight-ahead, no-holds-barred battle for survival. Instead, it&rsquo;s developed into a complex, slow-burning, quiet competition with geopolitical elements and the occasional shocking defection from North America to Russia.For the most part, the players the KHL has lured away from the NHL have been mid-to-lower-tier Russian or European players (such as former Penguins winger Alexei Morozov or Lightning winger Ruslan Fedotenko) who prefer playing closer to home, or similarly skilled North American players who&rsquo;ve been squeezed out of an NHL job and/or are closer to the end of their career and/or can make more money &ndash; and tax-free money, at that &ndash; playing on the eastern side of the Atlantic Ocean. Their best initial attempt at bringing in a marquee name came when surefire Hall of Famer Jaromir Jagr left the NHL in 2008 and spent three years playing for the KHL&rsquo;s Avangard Omsk, but at that point in his career, Jagr was 36 and hardly among the sport&rsquo;s cream of the crop.That said, right from the inception of the KHL, there have been indications the league won&rsquo;t just sit back and accept the NHL&rsquo;s table scraps. The first real salvo in the KHL-NHL rivalry took place in 2008, when Nashville Predators star Alexander Radulov announced he was leaving the NHL with one year left on his rookie deal to sign a three-year pact with the KHL&rsquo;s Salavat Yulayev. The day prior to the announcement, the KHL and NHL had agreed to respect each other&rsquo;s contracts, so the protests &ndash; from the Preds, the NHL and the International Ice Hockey Federation &ndash; that followed Radulov&rsquo;s return were laced with heightened senses of anger and betrayal. But the Russian league did nothing and allowed Radulov to come home.However, the outcry over Radulov&rsquo;s breach of contract (a situation that was tempered somewhat when Radulov came back to the NHL for just nine games in the spring of 2012, then returned to the KHL seemingly for good) was nothing compared to the KHL&rsquo;s biggest coup: the shocking decision Ilya Kovalchuk made in 2013 to leave the NHL in the prime of his career to sign with SKA Saint Petersburg of the KHL. Nobody saw it coming &ndash; after all, the then-30-year-old was just three years into a mammoth 15-year, $100-million contract extension with the New Jersey Devils and was still a dangerous on-ice threat. But, citing family considerations, Kovalchuk &ldquo;retired&rdquo; from the NHL and signed a four-year deal with SKA. And he didn&rsquo;t take a pay cut, with an average salary of $10.3 million &ndash; nearly $3 million more than the KHL&rsquo;s second highest-paid player (Radulov, at $7.5 million per season).The stunning decision left the Devils in a major bind. They were suddenly without their best player and still faced a slew of punishments levied by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman after they attempted to circumvent the salary cap with their first attempt at a Kovalchuk deal. But they had no power to keep &lsquo;Kovie&rsquo; in New Jersey, and the KHL &ndash; which was preparing a close-up view of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia &ndash; wasn&rsquo;t about to intervene and prevent one of the country&rsquo;s best players from returning home.Although the Sochi Games were a significant motivation for Russians to hang onto as many homegrown talents as possible, acquiring the services of Kovalchuk hasn&rsquo;t satisfied the KHL&rsquo;s hunger to strip away as many top talents from the NHL as it can. If the words of KHL president Alex Medvedev are any indication, they&rsquo;re just getting started. In September of 2014, Medvedev made some cryptic comments hinting Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin and Pittsburgh Penguins phenom Evgeni Malkin could follow Kovalchuk&rsquo;s lead and sign with a KHL team as early as 2015-16. If he did leave the Caps, Ovechkin would be forfeiting $60 million over the final six years of his current 13-year, $124-million contract. Malkin, meanwhile, would be walking away from the final $66.5-million owed to him over the next seven seasons. Yes, it&rsquo;s hard to imagine either one of those scenarios coming to pass, but remember, the same could once be said of Kovalchuk.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-012320/10092749-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg" title="f0014-01" width="1244" height="842"><figcaption class="caption-body">ILYA KOVALCHUK (EDUARD ERBEN - ISIFA/GETTYIMAGES)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-021748/10092742-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="2734" height="1218"><figcaption class="caption-body">TOUGH LUCKPreds fans got caught in the middle of an NHL-KHL fight over Alexander Radulov. (JOHN RUSSELL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>0.2&nbsp;Percentage decrease in Russian players in the NHL since the KHL began in 2008-09In terms of a direct on-ice rivalry, it&rsquo;s unlikely we&rsquo;ll see the best teams from the NHL and KHL square off in a champion vs. champion type game in the near future. The leagues have staged three exhibition games (two of which were won by NHL teams), but any genuine rivalry that exists between North American and Russian hockey has been exhibited in premier international competitions such as the Olympics. Absent the presence of any raised stakes, players aren&rsquo;t going to expend the same amounts of passion and energy on the ice in any battle of leagues.That&rsquo;s why what we&rsquo;re likely to see from the KHL-NHL rivalry in the years to come is something similar to what we&rsquo;ve seen in the first six years of it. The NHL will continue to put out the better product and its higher standard of competition will almost always prove more attractive to the game&rsquo;s best players. The KHL will have to pick its spots in terms of the players it targets for recruitment, but will continue to have a niche appeal to a particular type of athlete. But here&rsquo;s what could be different: recent increased political tensions between Russia and the West may ratchet up the pressure in KHL circles to bring home as many Russian players (of all calibers) as possible. And if NHL GMs believe there&rsquo;s more of a chance the KHL hoovers up all the Russian talent, it&rsquo;s more likely teams draft fewer Russian players. Now, nobody is predicting a return to the time when the NHL employed no Russian players, but the pendulum may yet swing to the point where Russians are less likely to remain in North America for their entire playing careers.Then again, with the NHL experiencing sustained and notable financial growth, don&rsquo;t expect the league to just lay down and allow all its Russian talent to leave. Kovalchuk was one thing, but if Malkin or Ovechkin departs for home, NHL officials could draw a line in the sand and a real standoff could take place.Similarly, don&rsquo;t plan on Russian players forgetting the allure of the Stanley Cup and the improved amenities (including five-star hotels and luxury chartered planes) the NHL has to offer. Indeed, even as he was leaving the Devils for his homeland, Kovalchuk left open the possibility of returning to North America America to chase the game&rsquo;s most cherished chalice.&ldquo;(The) Stanley Cup remains my target,&rdquo; Kovalchuk told Russian media website <a href="http://Rsport.ru">Rsport.ru</a> in August of 2013. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m just 30, it&rsquo;s yet to come.&rdquo;So too is the best &ndash; and maybe, the worst &ndash; of the KHL-NHL rivalry. &#9632;

f0012-01

THE NHL VS. THE KHL

ON SESAME STREET, BERT AND Ernie run through the same routine every episode. The shorter Ernie patiently out-waits the taller Bert with half-baked answers until Bert succumbs to exasperation and falls flat on the floor in frustration. At that point, Ernie chuckles at having gotten the better of his buddy, again, and the show goes on.Gary Bettman and Bob Goodenow were hardly pals, but seeing them go at it during the 2004-05 lockout was like watching Ernie and Bert banter back and forth. The pint-sized Bettman would patiently bait his lanky foe with an apparent lack of comprehension skills, frustrating Goodenow beyond his breaking point. Eventually, Ernie wore Bert down.Bettman never publicly chuckled at the expense of Goodenow, but you had to believe his inner Ernie was laughing on the inside at having finally gutted Bert, who had flipped the script on him a decade earlier.Back in 1994-95, Goodenow was buoyed by the successful 10-day strike prior to the 1992 post-season, which netted players a large increase in playoff bonuses, as well as changes to free agency and arbitration. Two seasons later, he faced off against Bettman, the owners&rsquo; greenhorn commissioner. Good-enow toyed with Bettman for the better part of half a season and then offered just enough for him to save face when it came to crunch time.&ldquo;The NHLPA felt it had discovered the secret to dealing with Bettman: feed his ego as much as it could take until he fell into blissful self-reverie,&rdquo; wrote Jonathon Gatehouse in his book The Instigator: How Gary Bettman Remade the League and Changed the Game Forever. &ldquo;During negotiations, Goodenow&rsquo;s side had played to the commissioner&rsquo;s vanity by suggesting that he was bright enough to succeed where others had failed and make the NHL work as a free market, without the crutch of a cap. And such attempts at manipulation continued even after the deal was done.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-012086/10092801-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="364" height="626"><figcaption class="caption-body">GARY BETTMAN (BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;HE HAD GOODENOW&rsquo;S HEAD ON A PLATTER AND DIDN&rsquo;T HAVE TO USE HIS OWN GUILLOTINEO&rdquo;</blockquote><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-021590/10092794-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="2292" height="1510"><figcaption class="caption-body">SUIT WARSGary Bettman and Bob Goodenow settled in 1995, but 2005 was different. (JON LEVY/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>Bettman, who wasn&rsquo;t around for the first fight (John Ziegler was the NHL&rsquo;s president), had been commissioner fewer than two years prior to that lockout and hadn&rsquo;t yet gilded his iron fist with part of the players&rsquo; share of the $2-billion pie. By the time the 2004-05 rematch rolled around, however, he ruled with impunity and had victory on his mind, not negotiation.&ldquo;(Bettman and the NHL&rsquo;s lawyers) discussed the business model they were shooting for and the ones they might be willing to settle upon,&rdquo; Gatehouse wrote. &ldquo;They crafted the message that would be sold to the press and the fans. They discussed the nuances of labor law in the United States and Canada. But mostly they obsessed about how to get the better of Bob Goodenow this time around.&rdquo;Goodenow, meanwhile, wasn&rsquo;t about to back down after wiping the floor with Bettman in their first fight. As the league went into lockdown, the disdain the two heads had for each other became so palpable that they had to remove themselves from the negotiations, leaving their sidekicks, Bill Daly for the NHL and Ted Saskin for the NHLPA, to do the dirty work while they launched missives through the media. When the two did get back down to business, the mercury on the hate meter quickly reached its boiling point.&ldquo;Goodenow and Bettman joined the group and things started to fall apart,&rdquo; Gatehouse wrote. &ldquo;In the presence of the main combatants, all the bad blood from the first lockout flowed back into the room and winning became more important than bargaining.&rdquo;Despite his hardline stance &ndash; or perhaps because of it &ndash; Goodenow never really had a chance in the rematch. Public opinion had tilted toward the owners away from the players, who were making as much as $11 million per season. Goodenow, however, wasn&rsquo;t content to save face. He wanted to beat Bettman, again. That would be his undoing.After playing to Bettman&rsquo;s vanity 10 years earlier, Goodenow made the mistake of pitting the players against &ldquo;Gary&rdquo; this time around. The Hockey News covered all the machinations in front of and behind the scenes during the lockout and looking back now it&rsquo;s clear that Goodenow believed vilifying Bettman was his best chance at winning. And so he made the fight personal:&ndash; &ldquo;Gary wants a salary cap. Until he gets off the salary cap issue, there&rsquo;s not a chance for us to make an agreement.&rdquo;&ndash; &ldquo;He misrepresented a lot of the issues that he uses as basis for lashing out. Gary says a lot of things, frankly, that I take with a grain of salt.&rdquo;&ndash; &ldquo;I hoped we would never see the owners and their commissioner do the unthinkable and cancel an entire season. Unfortunately, Gary Bettman and the owners did exactly that today.&rdquo;2,208&nbsp;Regular season games lost in the three lockouts during Gary Bettman&rsquo;s reign as commissionerBettman, meanwhile, seized on Goodenow&rsquo;s ad hominem attacks and returned fire with a more impersonal approach with the intent of arousing a rebellion among the players:&ndash; &ldquo;This is a decision by one side, the union, as to how to hold onto as much money as possible&hellip;to use a hockey term, they&rsquo;re instigating a fight. They think they can win this fight.&rdquo;&ndash; &ldquo;The union is trying to win a fight, hoping the owners will give up. That will turn out to be a terrible error in judgment for the union.&rdquo;&ndash; &ldquo;The union has done as good a job unifying our owners as it has unifying their players.&rdquo;If it hadn&rsquo;t been so agonizing for fans to watch the season slowly slip away, it would have been amusing to watch Ernie and Bert do their shtick. Bettman masterfully goaded Goodenow until he cracked. The first fissure came when the NHLPA proposed 24-percent rollback in salaries, which Goodenow was sure would placate his archrival.&ldquo;Bettman rejected the deal and countered with an offer that treated the rollback as a starting point, piling a cap and other draconian conditions on top,&rdquo; Gatehouse wrote. &ldquo;Goodenow was apoplectic. The union had been beaten with its olive branch.&rdquo;With Goodenow resolutely determined to continue the fight and not give in to Bettman&rsquo;s demands for a salary cap, the players revolted. But it was too late to save the season and Bettman announced its death Feb. 16, 2005.Soon, the cracks in Goodenow&rsquo;s sanity grew into a chasm within the NHLPA and the players eventually gave in to the owners&rsquo; demands. As if victory weren&rsquo;t sweet enough for Bettman, he enjoyed the additional pleasure of watching the players decapitate their leadership. He had Goodenow&rsquo;s head on a platter and he didn&rsquo;t even have to use his own guillotine.History has a way of evening things out. In the end, the players didn&rsquo;t fare too badly back in 2004-05. Although Bettman had gotten his coveted &ldquo;cost certainty,&rdquo; he still wasn&rsquo;t able to rein in the spending of the owners, who continued to dish out delicious contracts to players. Soiled by their monetary incontinence, Bettman had to go to war again in 2012-13 &ndash; the third time in his 20-year tenure.Ernie may have bested Bert, but try as he might, he just couldn&rsquo;t control the Muppets on the NHL&rsquo;s board of governors. &#9632;

f0016-01

GARY BETTMAN VS. BOB GOODENOW

WHEN PEOPLE ARE ASKED to name the best rivalry in pro sports in the late 1990s and early 2000s, they tend to go right to the usual suspects: Red Sox-Yankees, Dodgers-Giants, Celtics-Lakers, Bears-Packers and Maple Leafs-Canadiens.Not even close. None of them. Not the rivalry, anyway. That honor belongs to the Detroit Red Wings vs. Colorado Avalanche.Some of the better rivalries in pro sports from about 1995 to 2002 or so had a nastiness quotient to approach that of the Wings-Avs, but when you combined the nastiness plus the high skill level from both teams involved, nothing really came close.Consider a few facts:- The Wings and Avalanche met in the Western Conference playoffs five out of seven years, from 1996 to 2002, and the teams won a combined five Stanley Cups in that span. Either Detroit or Colorado made it to the Western final in every one of those years.- The rosters of the two teams from those years had 21 players who either already have made it to the Hockey Hall of Fame or are considered shoo-ins for future consideration.- The skill players fought each other, the goalies fought, the goons fought, the fans fought and even members of the press from both cities nearly came to blows on more than one occasion.It was hockey at its best played and ugliest. In other words: perfect.&ldquo;The more that time goes by, the more I keep looking at those years and thinking, &lsquo;Did that really happen?&rsquo;, &rdquo; said Avalanche defenseman Adam Foote, who played in all the games from those years and has the scars to prove it. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard to describe actually; the games were beyond intense. You felt like every single second was life or death in some way. Nothing felt better than beating them, and nothing felt worse than losing.&rdquo;<blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;THE GAMES WERE BEYOND INTENSE. YOU FELT LIKE EVERY SINGLE SECOND WAS LIFE OR DEATH&rdquo;&ndash; Adam Foote</blockquote><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011964/10092860-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="537" height="744"><figcaption class="caption-body">SCOTTY BOWMAN (DAVE SANDFORD/GETTY IMAGES/NHLII)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-021448/10092853-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="3223" height="2732"><figcaption class="caption-body">ICONIC BATTLEFuture Hall of Famers Steve Yzerman and Patrick Roy were key members in the rivalry. (ELSA/GETTY IMAGES/NHL)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-011716/10092846-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="813" height="800"><figcaption class="caption-body">PATRICK ROY & CHRIS OSGOOD (DAVID E. KLUTHO/SPORTS ILLUSTRATED)</figcaption></div>The thing about the Wings-Avs rivalry that makes it even more amazing: it probably never should have happened. If a drop in the Canadian dollar and an escalation in player salaries in the mid-90s hadn&rsquo;t squeezed the province of Quebec, the beloved Nordiques never would have moved to Denver, which was a failed NHL town when the Colorado Rockies moved to New Jersey in 1982. If the Red Wings hadn&rsquo;t run up the score on an embarrassed Patrick Roy and the 1995 Montreal Canadiens in a Dec. 2, 1995 game at the old Forum, Roy never would have forced his own exit in a trade four days later to the fledgling Avs.And if a feisty winger named Claude Lemieux hadn&rsquo;t absent-mindedly signed his name to a faxed contract offer late in the regular season of 1994-95 in New Jersey &ndash; shortly before winning the Conn Smythe Trophy, against the Wings &ndash; he never would have forced a trade to Colorado. In that case, two of the most central players of the great Detroit-Colorado rivalry never would have been on hand.Another bizarre fact: the Avalanche&rsquo;s first game in Denver &ndash; Oct. 6, 1995 &ndash; was a placid affair, against Detroit. Seven months later, blood literally was splashing on the ice, and the hatred between the teams was real.&ldquo;It was probably the best rivalry I was ever a part of,&rdquo; said legendary Detroit coach Scotty Bowman.Most people remember Lemieux&rsquo;s vicious hit from behind on Detroit&rsquo;s Kris Draper in Game 6 of the &rsquo;96 Western final as the touchstone to the intense rivalry, but many forget it actually started in Game 3, at the old McNichols Sports Arena in Denver.On a play to the left half-boards in the Colorado end, Foote&rsquo;s head was driven into the glass by a sucker punch from Detroit&rsquo;s Slava Kozlov, opening an 18-stitch gash on his forehead. A few minutes later, Lemieux drilled Kozlov with a sucker punch of his own, which led to him being suspended for Game 4.Leaving McNichols after Game 3, with his wife and infant son in tow, Lemieux walked past the idling Red Wings team bus when he heard a shout from inside.&ldquo;Hey Lemieux, you son of a bitch, I hope they suspend your ass,&rdquo; Bowman yelled.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-021232/10092839-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg" title="f0020-02" width="2727" height="1500"><figcaption class="caption-body">BOARD GAMESWhen the Avs and Wings get together, the action often spills over into the benches. (TIM DEFRISCO/SPORTS ILLUSTRATED/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>&ldquo;Excuse me?&rdquo; said Lemieux, who instantly recognized the voice as belonging to Bowman.Lemieux went so far as to step inside the bus to confront Bowman and was greeted with numerous further shouts of profanity from Bowman and Red Wings players, still savoring the 6-4 victory that had closed their series deficit to 2-1.When Colorado came home with a 3-2 lead for Game 6, Lemieux ran Draper head-first into the boards, resulting in multiple facial fractures and blood all over the ice by the Wings bench. Lemieux, who would be suspended for the first two games of the Stanley Cup final against Florida, seemed to shrug off the hit as an innocent act, which only inflamed the Red Wings and their fans &ndash; who hadn&rsquo;t tasted Stanley Cup success since 1955 &ndash; even further.&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t believe I shook his freakin&rsquo; hand,&rdquo; said Detroit&rsquo;s Dino Ciccarelli after the game.Detroit vowed revenge, but entering a March 26, 1997 game at Joe Louis Arena, the Avalanche were not only the defending Stanley Cup champs, they were dominating the Western Conference again. Detroit seemed old and tired next to a team that featured Roy and numerous other stars such as Peter Forsberg, Joe Sakic, Adam Deadmarsh and Sandis Ozolinsh.But starting with that memorable night and continuing for the next two years, bragging rights belonged to Detroit. Brash, rugged third line forward Darren McCarty saw an opportunity to exact physical revenge on Lemieux during a stop in action late in the first period. And get revenge he did, pummeling Lemieux with a flurry of punches that left the Colorado winger dazed and bloodied on the ice, with his hands over head in meek defense.218&nbsp;Combined PIM assessed to the Avs and Wings during an April 1, 1998 game.That started a wild donnybrook that saw Roy and Wings goalie Mike Vernon trade blows at center ice, a rare goalie fight that left Roy with a bloody face. When McCarty &ndash; whom referee Paul Devorski would later admit should have been tossed from the game for cold-cocking Lemieux unprovoked &ndash; scored the winning goal on Roy in overtime to cap a 6-5 comeback win, the arena went wild. Detroit seemed a new team after that, winning the next two Stanley Cups.&ldquo;It changed the complexion of our team,&rdquo; McCarty said. &ldquo;We were kind of getting the reputation at the time around the NHL of a team that was too pretty and not gritty enough. After that game, we felt we could play any kind of style and still win games.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-011376/10092832-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="829" height="910"><figcaption class="caption-body">PATRICK ROY (TIM DEFRISCO/SPORTS ILLUSTRATED/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;MY STOMACH STILL CHURNS WHENEVER I SEE THAT DETROIT LOGO&rdquo;&ndash; Mike Keane</blockquote>The Avs remained defiant, with Mike Keane mocking Detroit for only fighting on home ice, calling the Wings &ldquo;a bunch of homers.&rdquo; In the &rsquo;97 Western final, in the waking moments of a blowout loss in Game 4, Colorado coach Marc Crawford launched into a profane tirade at Bowman &ndash; even mocking the metal plate he supposedly had in his head from a junior hockey accident (Bowman never had a plate inserted).Bowman responded with a simple &ldquo;I knew your father before you did,&rdquo; referring to Crawford&rsquo;s dad, Floyd, a longtime coach. Crawford only responded with more profanity.&ldquo;Yeah, and he thinks you&rsquo;re a f---ing a--hole, too,&rdquo; Crawford said.Detroit won the Cup in &rsquo;97 and &rsquo;98, with Roy and Detroit goalie Chris Osgood having another fight at center ice in an April, 1998 game in Detroit. The Wings seemed well on their way to a third Cup in a row after taking a 2-0 Western Conference semifinal lead on the Avs in 1999. The first two wins came on Denver ice, and workers from Detroit-based Northwest Airlines greeted Colorado&rsquo;s charter plane prior to Game 3 with mocking sweeps of their broomsticks. This time, the Avalanche would fight back.Colorado suddenly awoke with a blizzard of goal scoring on three different Wings goalies in winning the next four games. The Avs followed that up with likely the rivalry&rsquo;s most lopsided series victory, a five-game triumph in a 2000 conference semifinal match.After Colorado won the Cup in 2001, all bragging rights were back in Denver&rsquo;s camp. And when Forsberg scored in overtime to beat Detroit in Game 5 of the &rsquo;02 Western final, the Avs had a 3-2 lead heading back to the Pepsi Center. One more win and it would be four out of five playoff series in Colorado&rsquo;s favor. The &rsquo;97 series would be an aberration.But what made the rivalry so great was one side&rsquo;s ability to reach back and land a great punch when all seemed lost. The Wings, behind goalie Dominik Hasek, shut out the Avalanche in the final two games &ndash; with the deciding Game 7 a 7-0 blowout in Detroit.Today, players from both sides speak in reverent terms of what it was like during the rivalry, calling it the best hockey they were ever a part of. But still, not all animosity has died away.&ldquo;My stomach still churns whenever I see that Detroit logo,&rdquo; Keane said. &#9632;

f0018-01

COLORADO AVALANCHE VS. DETROIT RED WINGS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0022-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-011597/10092898-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">LOCKING HORNSDozens of epic rivalries have been depicted in card sets over the years (JON WALDMAN)</figcaption></div>THERE&rsquo;S AN AGE-OLD SAYING IN hockey about games not being won on paper, and in the case of rivalries that certainly rings true. Think about the number of times your team, no matter where in the standings it sits, has come up against its age-old foe and, despite it seemingly being an uneven battle, overcome odds just to have that moral victory of beating a nemesis.And while these battles aren&rsquo;t won on paper, at times they are fought on it, or at least depicted on it.Almost since the beginning of its history, the memorabilia world has depicted battles between players and teams as pictorial testaments to the feuds that teams engage in. Today, they stand practically as staples of any hobby product and find their ways into collections in a variety of forms.Perhaps not surprisingly, one of, if not the most vibrant example of where one can see rivalries commemorated is in trading cards. Though individual game souvenirs, such as programs and tickets have been kept as keepsakes for generations, it is in cards that you find a piece that encapsulates and documents history in a collectable form. Whether you want to spend a dollar or thousands of them, you&rsquo;ll be able to find something that pays homage to the great rivalries of yesterday and today.At first, the rivalries were captured in unique game footage. Dubbed &ldquo;Action&rdquo; cards, these featured on-ice photography rather than the more standard posed shots that collectors were used to seeing throughout a card set. Examples of these Action cards can be found in series ranging from the 1950s through the early 1980s, when photography changed from closecropped pictures of single players to larger pan shots of full NHL action.Today, full-bleed photography captures the heat of battle and with it has come themed series that differentiate one set from the next, including some that focus heavily on rivalries. Among them was a product by In The Game, titled &ldquo;Forever Rivals&rdquo; focusing on the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs.Forever Rivals brought a unique dichotomy to the hobby. In the past, there had been series that were produced commemorating single teams or surrounded an event, such as the 1972 Summit Series, but this was the first time a product had been created that was dedicated to two clubs and their storied history.<blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;PHOTOS SIGNED BY TWO HEATED FOES ARE HIGHLY IN DEMAND, WHETHER PURCHASED OR SOUGHT AFTER&rdquo;</blockquote>42 Years since the famed Summit Series, a rivalry that still resonates with fansAnd make no mistake, if there is any rivalry in hockey, let alone all sports, that was deserving of such a commemoration, it is the Habs vs. the Leafs, even in comparison with Canada and the Soviets.&ldquo;When you think about it, the 1972 Summit Series, while certainly significant, was eight games, and subsequent battles between the two sides don&rsquo;t seem to hold as much weight with fans or collectors,&rdquo; said Stephen Laroche, editor of Beckett Hockey. &ldquo;Also, the rivalry between Montreal and Toronto will go on as long as both cities keep battling. The Cold War mystique of the battles between Canada and the Soviets will inevitably begin to fade over time.&rdquo;Still, the prospect of commemorating teams with such polarizing fan bases as those of the Leafs and Canadiens seems, at least on the surface, to be a quizzical product. After all, why would a diehard Montreal fan welcome a Toronto card into their collection? Would it not be at the level of wearing the Blue and White hockey sweater?For the collecting generalist &ndash; he or she who pursues those cards out of interest without loyalty to a club &ndash; the set was perfect. But what about dyed-in-wool Habs or Leafs fans? Laroche, who worked with In The Game when the set was produced, sheds some light.&ldquo;I noticed that fans of both teams were buying boxes and simply sold or traded away cards from the team they didn&rsquo;t like,&rdquo; Laroche said.<h2>CORNUCOPIA OF COMBATANTS</h2>That&rsquo;s not to say that the Canadiens and Maple Leafs have hogged the rivalry spotlight. Over time, cards for almost every battle imaginable between players or teams have been created.One of the continual products that showcases these feuds is Upper Deck&rsquo;s MVP series, which contains an insert of Two-on-Two autographs or swatches of jerseys, features duos from opposing clubs, including the interstate battle between the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings. Recent NHL licensee Panini also got in on the theme. Among its releases over their run in hockey was the 2011-12 Rookie Anthology insert &ldquo;Rookie Rivalry,&rdquo; featuring prospects such as the Pittsburgh&rsquo;s Simon Despres and Philadelphia&rsquo;s Zac Rinaldo together. Other memorabilia depicting feuds can easily be found, such as a Sports Picks two-pack of figurines featuring Calgary&rsquo;s Miikka Kiprusoff in action against Edmonton&rsquo;s Ryan Smyth.But some of the most interesting cards have been created around individual rivalries. During 2002-03, Fleer featured a short-printed series called Squaring Off in its Throwbacks product line. Among the featured combatants were Ulf Samuelsson vs. Cam Neely and Dave Schultz vs. Clark Gillies. In The Game also spotlighted individual wars during its two-year run of the Enforcers brand, commemorating Tie Domi vs. Bob Probert and Tiger Williams vs. Terry O&rsquo;Reilly, among others.But to get a true picture of how collectable these feuds are on a player basis, one instead looks to the signature market. Here, photos signed by two heated foes are highly in demand, whether purchased from a dealer or sought after by an autograph hound. Getting, for example, Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin signing the same photo would be a cornerstone of any collection.Which raises the question: are there any players whose rivalry is so heated that they won&rsquo;t sign a photo that also depicts their foe? It doesn&rsquo;t happen very often, as Frozen Pond President Hersh Borenstein explains, but there are a couple cases.&ldquo;When I was with Marty McSorley, he wouldn&rsquo;t sign a picture of himself and Donald Brashear,&rdquo; Borenstein said. &ldquo;He just said Brashear knows it (the stick swinging incident) wasn&rsquo;t intentional and there was no malice, and he could have easily come to Marty&rsquo;s defense, but he didn&rsquo;t. So Marty said, &lsquo;I really don&rsquo;t like this guy, so I don&rsquo;t want to sign it.&rsquo; &rdquo;Borenstein also reports that Claude Lemieux wouldn&rsquo;t sign photos of him and Darren McCarty at one point, but a promoter in Detroit was able to bring the two together.These, however, are more exceptions to a general rule among players. Take one of the more famed rivalries as an example: Domi vs. Probert. Borenstein notes that before his passing, Probert was more than willing to sign a photo of the two and Domi still will to this day.&ldquo;Guys pretty well sign everything,&rdquo; Borenstein said. &ldquo;When guys have a grudge like that, they usually get over it. Time heals all wounds.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-011371/10092891-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="793" height="589"><figcaption class="caption-body">THE MAIN CARDThe Cam Neely vs. Ulf Samuelsson rivalry was the main draw in the Squaring Off set.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0022-01

RIVALRIES IN HOCKEY MEMORABILIA

HOCKEY&rsquo;S DOMINANT PERFORMER. An icon of the game. A larger-than-life legend. Apply these descriptions to Gordie Howe, or Maurice &lsquo;Rocket&rsquo; Richard and they fit aptly in either case.In some ways, Howe and Richard were kindred spirits. Both played right wing. Both wore No. 9. Both were the spiritual leaders of their respective teams. And yet, they were so different in their approach that they proved the perfect foil in a perfect storm.Throughout the history of hockey, no two rivals have dominated the game and galvanized its fans in the manner that Howe and Richard did. From 1946, the season Howe entered the NHL, through 1960, the year in which Richard bowed out of the game, this duo was as dynamic and dominant as the teams for which they skated.Howe was the game&rsquo;s greatest all-around player, Richard the game&rsquo;s greatest goal scorer.Either Howe (seven times) or Richard (six) was the right winger on the NHL&rsquo;s first all-star team 13 times. On eight occasions, they filled both the first- and second- team positions. Howe led the NHL in scoring six times over that span (1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1957, 1963), while Richard topped the league in goals on five occasions (1945, 1947, 1950, 1954, 1955).In that time frame (1945 to 1960), Richard&rsquo;s Montreal Canadiens won six Stanley Cups and competed in 12 Cup finals. Howe&rsquo;s Detroit Red Wings won the Stanley Cup four times and appeared in seven finals.On four occasions, Howe&rsquo;s Wings met Richard&rsquo;s Habs in the final and Howe came out the winner three times. You didn&rsquo;t have to follow hockey closely to know their distaste for each other. They were the most prominent faces amid hockey&rsquo;s most passionate rivalry.&ldquo;I guess it was a little damn near hate,&rdquo; said former Detroit center Alex Delvecchio. &ldquo;It was quite a rivalry. Montreal was our biggest obstacle to winning the Stanley Cup. They were a powerhouse. It made you play better, because you wanted to beat them so badly.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-011537/10092957-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="365" height="652"><figcaption class="caption-body">GORDIE HOWE (HULTON ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;I DON&rsquo;T THINK I PLAYED AGAINST ANYONE AS DETERMINED AND DRIVEN AS RICHARD&rdquo;&ndash; Gordie Howe</blockquote><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-021107/10092950-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg" title="f0024-02" width="3177" height="2664"><figcaption class="caption-body">BITTER RIVALSThe careers of Gordie Howe and Maurice Richard crossed for 14 hate-filled seasons. (GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-011548/10092943-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="2131" height="2676"><figcaption class="caption-body">ROCKET RICHARD (MARK RUCKER/TRANSCENDENTAL GRAPHICS)</figcaption></div>Both men were known as much for their toughness and dirty tactics as they were for their skill. The first time Howe and Richard met on the ice, the veteran Richard, 25, challenged the rookie Howe, 18, to a fight.Howe knocked out Richard with one punch.Howe&rsquo;s legendary elbows decked many unsuspecting opponents.&ldquo;You had to cope with the stick, the elbows and then that body,&rdquo; Hall of Fame Montreal player and coach Toe Blake explained to Tim Burke of the Montreal Gazette in a 1979 interview.Richard was more open with his miscreant deeds and wasn&rsquo;t afraid to snap his stick over the back of an opponent that was getting on his nerves. &ldquo;The Rocket disdained finesse,&rdquo; former Canadiens managing director Frank Selke wrote in a Canadian magazine piece.In his 1999 book, Gordie Howe: My Hockey Memories, Howe wrote: &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think I played with anyone as driven and determined as Richard&hellip;In terms of raw talent and competitiveness, he was among the best ever and his speed and nose for the net haven&rsquo;t been matched before or since.&rdquo;It was style as much as anything that separated fans into two camps when it came to Howe and Richard.&ldquo;You can still start a fist fight in certain drinking establishments in the old six cities by simply stating that Richard was vastly superior to Howe or vice versa,&rdquo; authors Chrys Goyens and Alan Turowetz surmised in their 1986 Canadiens history book Lions In Winter.Known as Mr. Hockey, Howe was the company man, the type of boy a girl&rsquo;s mother hoped her daughter would bring home to the family. Many believed that had Howe, with his stature in the game, stepped into a greater role, teammate Ted Lindsay&rsquo;s bid to launch the NHLPA in 1957 would have met with success.Other historians cite the Richard Riot &ndash; when fans disrupted a March 17, 1955 Detroit-Montreal game at the Forum to protest NHL president Clarence Campbell&rsquo;s season-ending suspension of Richard following a vicious stick-swinging battle in a game at Boston &ndash; as the launching pad for the Quebec separatist movement, viewing Richard more so as a cultural icon than merely a hockey player.There&rsquo;s no doubt that Richard was a rebel, as fiery as his nickname indicated. He penned a column for Le Journal de Montreal, a French-language newspaper during his playing days and frequently challenged Campbell&rsquo;s handling of the league with his writings.&ldquo;The Rocket had a temper and it backfired on him at times,&rdquo; said former Red Wings broadcaster Budd Lynch said. &ldquo;That was the one thing that gave Gordie the edge.&rdquo;Howe and Richard are frequently paralleled to Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth, the New York Yankees stars who dominated baseball in the 1930s. Iron man Gehrig was the perennially consistent producer with machine-like precision. Ruth was the record-breaking explosive power hitter who set his own rules and whose aura appeared larger than the game itself.In 1953, The Canadian Press commissioned a poll of NHL writers. In it, Howe was proclaimed the league&rsquo;s best player and Richard the NHL&rsquo;s most colorful performer.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-011421/10092936-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="1253" height="1217"><figcaption class="caption-body">TO THE TOPHowe far surpassed Richard in goals, assists and points due to his lengthy career. (CHARLES HOFF/NY DAILY NEWS VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02999/10092929-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="367" height="815"><figcaption class="caption-body">ROCKET RICHARD (PICTORIAL PARADE/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>.56 Goals per game average for The Rocket. Gordie Howe averaged .45&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no doubt that Gordie was better than Maurice,&rdquo; acknowledged Richard&rsquo;s younger brother Henri in a 1980 interview with the Gazette&rsquo;s Burke. &ldquo;But build two rinks across from one another. Then put Gordie in one and Maurice in the other and see which one would be filled.&rdquo;Hall of Famer King Clancy had the answer.&ldquo;The rink that the Rocket playing would be jammed and the overflow from it would be going into the other rink to watch Howe,&rdquo; Clancy said.Richard set the bar &ndash; in 1944-45, he was the league&rsquo;s first 50-goal scorer and in 1957-58 he became the first with 500 career NHL goals, ending up as the league&rsquo;s all-time goal and point-scoring leader by the time he retired.&ldquo;The man made the league what it is today so the rest of us could make a living at it,&rdquo; said Howe, who came along and surpassed The Rocket&rsquo;s totals.Their rivalry knew no bounds, and it wasn&rsquo;t restricted to their playing days. In 1997, Howe announced plans to make a comeback at 69, playing one shift for the International League&rsquo;s Detroit Vipers. Richard, who was still penning a column for La Presse at the time, took Howe to task, writing: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s completely ridiculous. A publicity stunt.&rdquo;Discussing Richard&rsquo;s comments during a conference call to promote his return to the ice, Howe was equally terse.&ldquo;It took me 40 years to get to like the guy,&rdquo; Howe said. &ldquo;He ruined it in one sentence.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0024-01

GORDIE HOWE VS. MAURICE RICHARD

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0028-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-011525/10092995-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">DOOMED DRAFTQuebec took Eric Lindros No. 1 in 1991 even after he said he&rsquo;d never play there. (SCOTT LEVY/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>ERIC LINDROS INDICATED IT WAS just business, not personal. And the Quebec Nordiques were just that &ndash; all business &ndash; when it came to hating Lindros for personal reasons.When hockey&rsquo;s most ballyhooed prospect since (pick one) &ndash; Mario Lemieux, Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr &ndash; said he wouldn&rsquo;t play for Marcel Aubut&rsquo;s Nordiques, it set off a firestorm the likes of which had not been seen since the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in the French and Indian War in 1759.The Nordiques had the first pick of the 1991 draft and used it on Lindros anyway. After he refused to play in Quebec, anti-Eric sentiment in that province grew ugly. &ldquo;There were cartoons of Eric dressed up as a Ku Klux Klan member,&rdquo; said Carl Lindros, Eric&rsquo;s father. &ldquo;It turned into a political and racial thing that was never intended.&rdquo;Lindros spent 1991-92 playing for Canada&rsquo;s national team, which included participation at the Winter Olympics. When it became clear he would stick to his guns about not playing in Quebec, the Nordiques dealt him to the Flyers at the &rsquo;92 draft. Aubut made one last pitch before shopping his prized prospect.&ldquo;The argument would be made, &lsquo;Eric, come to Quebec City and you will be a god,&rsquo; &rdquo; Carl Lindros said. &ldquo;Eric never wanted to be a god.&rdquo;Lindros could never see himself in a long-term relationship with the Nordiques.&ldquo;In the middle of one of our meetings,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;(Aubut) said to my parents, &lsquo;If your kid grew up in Quebec, he&rsquo;d be a better person.&rsquo; Once, he told me he wanted me for life. All I could picture is me with (prison) stripes on my shirt.&rdquo;The controversial trade (which had to be finalized through arbitration because Aubut had made proposals to the Flyers and New York Rangers) came at a steep price to Philadelphia: Peter Forsberg, Ron Hextall, Mike Ricci, Steve Duchesne, Kerry Huffman, Chris Simon, two No. 1 draft picks and $15 million.<blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;WE WONDERED IF THEY MIGHT ACTUALLY TRY TO KILL ERIC. THAT&rsquo;S HOW NUTS IT GOT&rdquo;&ndash; Kerry Huffman</blockquote>1 Player with a higher salary than Eric Lindros&rsquo; in his rookie year (Mario Lemieux)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-011340/10092988-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="813" height="592"><figcaption class="caption-body">ERIC LINDROS (SCOTT LEVY/GETTY IMAGESE)</figcaption></div>At the start of the 1992-93 season, things were going smoothly in Philadelphia, but there was the sticky matter of returning to the scene of the crime, namely Quebec City, to face the Nordiques at Le Colisee.Coach Bill Dineen wisely sat out Lindros for an exhibition game, but when the Flyers returned for a regular season encounter, the public outcry was overwhelming. Hundreds of grown men showed up for the game wearing diapers, bonnets and bibs, waving rattles at No. 88, whose refusal to play fuelled tension between the French and English citizens of Quebec.&ldquo;Those people in Quebec were really passionate, and the hatred they had for Eric was incredible,&rdquo; Huffman recalled. &ldquo;Even the days leading up to the game were a circus. Hexy, Ricci and I were talking before the game and we wondered if they might actually try to kill Eric. That&rsquo;s how nuts it got.&rdquo;Adding to the maelstrom was a local radio station&rsquo;s decision to distribute thousands of baby pacifiers, which were promptly tossed onto the ice.&ldquo;That was wild,&rdquo; Dineen said. &ldquo;It was the craziest thing I&rsquo;d ever seen at a hockey game.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0028-01

ERIC LINDROS VS. QUEBEC NORDIQUES

WITH APOLOGIES TO THE Buffalo Sabres, there&rsquo;s just one intra-New York State NHL rivalry worth talking about: the bright-lights, big-city glamour of the Original Six Rangers versus the sleepy-suburbia, commuter-community kitschiness of the expansion Islanders.It began on June 6, 1972 when Long Island was awarded the state&rsquo;s third NHL franchise to begin play in 1972-73. Brad Park was there from the beginning. He was already a Hall of Fame-caliber defenseman with the Rangers who would have won three Norris Trophies already if a certain guy named Bobby Orr wasn&rsquo;t in the midst of winning eight in a row. Park remembers those early days as anything but contentious; travelling to Nassau Veterans&rsquo; Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y., was a home-away-from-home game.&ldquo;Basically they were a new team coming into Ranger territory and trying to establish themselves,&rdquo; Park said. &ldquo;The first couple years we went in there, it was like home games. They were all Rangers fans.&rdquo;The Islanders won a grand total of 31 games in their first two seasons. But in their maiden playoff voyage, in 1975, they made it to Round 3, toppling the Rangers in a best-of-three series along the way. And with that, the rancor that is the Empire State rivalry was born.&ldquo;We were kind of taking them seriously, but not really seriously,&rdquo; Park said. &ldquo;They beat us in a two out of three, now you&rsquo;ve got a piss-off contest.&rdquo;Denis Potvin, a young, Hall-of-Fame-defenseman-to-be, was instrumental in that series win. He was the bounty of the Islanders&rsquo; horrible, 12-win inaugural season. With the first overall pick in 1973, the Islanders nabbed the ready-for-prime-time blueliner.&ldquo;That &rsquo;75 playoff was a key moment in establishing the Islanders as a team, separating Long Island from New York City,&rdquo; Potvin said. &ldquo;You definitely had two sides &ndash; people who&rsquo;d only root for the Isles and Rangers fans. That series was the beginning of the rivalry.&rdquo;<blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;IT WAS TWO HOURS BEFORE THE GAME. THEY WERE ALREADY IN THEIR SEATS, WILD&rdquo;&ndash; Glenn Healy</blockquote><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-011535/10093061-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="445" height="701"><figcaption class="caption-body">DENIS POTVIN</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-021060/10093054-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="3175" height="2667"><figcaption class="caption-body">PANDEMONIUMThe Rangers-Isles rivalry produced many fights, including this in the mid-1970s. (MELCHIOR DIGIACOMO/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>The rivalry was especially fierce for Potvin. Rangers star center Ulf Nilsson had his ankle broken in 1979 after absorbing a particularly heavy hip check from Potvin. The Rangers faithful went nuts and never forgave the blueliner. A tradition was born and to this day cheers of &ldquo;Potvin sucks! Potvin sucks!&rdquo; rain down from the stands at every Rangers home game punctuating the song Let&rsquo;s Go Band, regardless of the competition. And once the Rangers stopped playing the song to egg on the fans, the faithful just started humming or whistling it themselves so they could yell &ldquo;Potvin sucks!&rdquo;&ldquo;Thirty-five years they&rsquo;ve been doing that chant,&rdquo; said Potvin, a three-time Norris winner. &ldquo;They do it now with a smile on their faces. When I did (color commentating) for the Panthers, people would turn around and say &lsquo;You suck Potvin.&rsquo; &rdquo;There may be a good-natured vibe to the ribbing now, but it wasn&rsquo;t always so. New Yorkers are famous for how they treat opposing players, no matter the sport, and Potvin was one of their most reviled figures. Just getting from the hotel in Manhattan to the Garden was harrowing.&ldquo;Madison Square Garden could always be a dangerous place,&rdquo; Potvin recalled. &ldquo;We would stay across the street and the idea of going to the rink, just walking across the street, maybe 100 yards, I know I couldn&rsquo;t do it. I was so despised by Rangers fans, I couldn&rsquo;t walk those 100 yards.&ldquo;I left the hotel at 2:00 and 2:30 in the afternoon just to get to the rink. The idea of walking at 5:00 or 5:30 was out of the question, because all of those fans would be there and it was a real threat.&rdquo;Potvin recalled one incident when the team bus was leaving the Garden and Rangers fans weren&rsquo;t going to let it go without a fight, despite the mounted police and riot unit on hand. As the bus slowly backed up through the mob, one fan threw a full beer at it. Islander Gord Lane was sitting next to a window, the bottle shattered it, leaving the defenseman with shards of glass in his face.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-011510/10093047-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg" title="f0032-01" width="872" height="900"><figcaption class="caption-body">DAVE LANGEVIN & ANDERS HEDBERG</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-021024/10093040-1-eng-US/f0032-022.jpg" title="f0032-02" width="2732" height="1509"><figcaption class="caption-body">GOALIE MOLYKelly Hrudey and John Vanbiesbrouck weren&rsquo;t afraid to drop the goalie gloves. (BRUCE BENNETT STUDIOS/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>For Potvin, the scariest incident took place during an MSG rendition of the national anthem. He was standing with his helmet off, the lights were dimmed and a spotlight was on the anthem singer. He felt something zip past his ear and when the lights came back up he saw that it was a nine-volt battery.&ldquo;Had that thing hit me from the upper deck or something, it would have been disastrous,&rdquo; Potvin said. &ldquo;From that point on, they never turned the lights off and they still don&rsquo;t.&rdquo;Deadpanned Park: &ldquo;He&rsquo;s lucky they weren&rsquo;t throwing car batteries at him.&rdquo;The rivalry was most heated during the late 1970s. The Isles were on the rise, having drafted a nucleus &ndash; Potvin, Bob Nystrom, Clark Gillies, Bryan Trottier, and Mike Bossy &ndash; that led them to four consecutive Stanley Cups to kick off the 1980s. The Rangers were an up-and-down squad, but might have ended a 39-year Cup drought in 1979 if not for Potvin&rsquo;s hit on Nilsson.&ldquo;The &rsquo;78 and &rsquo;79 seasons were so emotional,&rdquo; Potvin said. &ldquo;(The rivalry) really reached its peak around that point.&rdquo;It peaked in the &rsquo;70s, but it still continues &ndash; it&rsquo;s just been muted by middling-to-poor results in recent seasons. The Rangers have just one Cup in the past 70 years and went through a stretch where they missed the playoffs seven straight years during the 1990s and 2000s. The Isles have been even worse, missing the post season 17 of the past 25 seasons and not getting past the first round since 1993. But the rivalry can flare up again at any time.4 Consecutive years Islanders eliminated Rangers from the playoffs (1981 to &rsquo;84).&ldquo;I remember sitting in the dressing room and I could hear the crowd going nuts,&rdquo; said goalie Glenn Healy of his first taste of the rivalry during the 1989-90 season while with the Isles. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m thinking, &lsquo;What is that noise?&rsquo; And one of the guys said, &lsquo;That&rsquo;s the crowd. This is an Islanders-Rangers game. This thing&rsquo;s enormous.&rsquo; And that was, like, two hours before the game. They were already in their seats, wild.&rdquo;As so many do, the Rangers-Islanders rivalry gets especially heated when the two sides meet in the playoffs. That last happened in 1990. And as has so often been the case, the Madison Square Garden fans were front and center.Islanders star Pat LaFontaine was seriously injured in Game 2 of the teams&rsquo; first-round series, sending the Rangers faithful into a frenzy of series-winning anticipation.&ldquo;They wouldn&rsquo;t let the ambulance leave the building,&rdquo; said Healy, who later saw things from the other side as a Ranger. &ldquo;They were rocking the ambulance. That&rsquo;s as intense as you&rsquo;re going to get.&rdquo;One theory for just why the Islanders are so hated by Rangers fans is that the Isles are like the little brother who took all the abuse, but grew up and kicked his brother&rsquo;s ass.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-011340/10093033-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="540" height="824"><figcaption class="caption-body">GLENN HEALY (SCOTT LEVY/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;MADISON SQUARE GARDEN COULD ALWAYS BE A DANGEROUS PLACE&rdquo;&ndash; Denis Potvin</blockquote><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-02933/10093026-1-eng-US/f0033-022.jpg" title="f0033-02" width="813" height="550"><figcaption class="caption-body">DONNYBROOKRegardless of the era, officials always had their hands full during New York games. (BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a huge rivalry in the sense that the Rangers are New York&rsquo;s team, but yet it&rsquo;s the Islanders that are the dynasty, they&rsquo;re the ones who have won the championships,&rdquo; Healy said.Once the winning started, Rangers fans who couldn&rsquo;t get home tickets and went out to the Isle instead found themselves either unable to get their hands on ducats or severely outnumbered if they did.Healy&rsquo;s favorite Islanders fans during his stint with the team from 1989 to 1993 were two who used to wear their jerseys in the Ranger blue section of Nassau Coliseum. One had No. 19 on his back, the other No. 40. When standing next to each other, they were a very visible reminder of the Rangers&rsquo; last Cup victory, 50-some-odd years before in 1940.&ldquo;You&rsquo;ve never seen two guys get chased out of a building faster,&rdquo; Healy laughed.The rivalry is waiting for its next accelerant, whether that&rsquo;s a playoff series featuring the two teams, a battle for the Metro Division crown or a Cup win for either franchise. Regardless, it&rsquo;s still there, simmering. And to a certain extent it still means a lot, especially to the long-suffering Islanders fans, who&rsquo;ve had little to cheer about recently, aside from their upcoming relocation to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the Islanders&rsquo; Stanley Cup right now,&rdquo; Healy said of the season series with the Rangers. &ldquo;Those games mean a lot more than just your regular games. A lot more.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0030-01

NEW YORK RANGERS VS. NEW YORK ISLANDERS

IT WAS A DEFINING MOMENT IN the histories of the player and the franchise.On Dec. 2 1995, the Montreal Canadiens were absorbing an offensive beating at the hands of the visiting Detroit Red Wings. Getting little help from his defense, superstar goalie Patrick Roy was having an off night and had surrendered seven goals just midway through the second period.The home crowd was starting to razz Roy and he responded to their sarcastic cheers after a routine save by thrusting his arms in the air in mock celebration. After two more goals, Detroit pushed the score to 9-1, and coach Mario Tremblay finally pulled Roy from the game. It was still the second period.Roy came to the bench, brushed past Tremblay without even looking at him, then doubled back to confront team president Ronald Corey, who was sitting nearby in the stands. The legendary netminder told Corey he had just played his last game in Montreal. Days later, Roy was dealt to the Colorado Avalanche along with Mike Keane for Jocelyn Thibault, Andrei Kovalenko and Martin Rucinsky.While the Habs and Roy eventually mended fences, with the netminder&rsquo;s No. 33 being raised to the rafters of the Bell Centre in 2009, the rift at the time shifted the balance of power in the NHL.With Roy in net, the Avs won their first Stanley Cup that spring, while the Canadiens haven&rsquo;t even reached a Cup final. Roy led Colorado back to the Cup in 2001, where he earned his third career Conn Smythe Trophy &ndash; he is the only player with that many &ndash; and fourth championship ring overall.Roy didn&rsquo;t want to revisit the episode, but several of his former teammates in Colorado recall just how intense the scene was when the fiery goaltender squared off against his former Canadiens mates for the first time in Montreal after the trade.289 Wins for Patrick Roy as a Canadien &ndash; second-most in Montreal history.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-021077/10093113-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="760" height="963"><figcaption class="caption-body">PATRICK ROY</figcaption></div>&ldquo;You could cut the tension with a knife,&rdquo; said Warren Rychel. &ldquo;We had a large French contingent on the team, so it was huge and it was a great atmosphere.&rdquo;Mike Ricci, who had been involved in a controversial trade of his own when he was sent to Quebec in the Eric Lindros deal, remembers Roy&rsquo;s determination that night.&ldquo;As players, we all knew how much he wanted to win that game,&rdquo; Ricci recalled. &ldquo;He never badmouthed Montreal, but we knew he wasn&rsquo;t very happy with the way everything went down&hellip;and he kinda walked up to the board, put some cash on the board and just looked at everybody and said, &lsquo;We win tonight.&rsquo; I think we beat them 5-1 or 5-2, and that&rsquo;s when we became a team.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-011536/10093106-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="440" height="426"><figcaption class="caption-body">MARIO TREMBLAY (BRUCE BENNETT STUDIOS/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-03847/10093099-1-eng-US/f0034-032.jpg" title="f0034-03" width="813" height="800"><figcaption class="caption-body">STRIKE NINECoach Mario Tremblay waited until goal No. 9 went past Patrick Roy before pulling him. (STEVE BABINEAU/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>Of course, the Avalanche surely would have never acquired Roy if the franchise was still in its original setting as the Quebec Nordiques, Montreal&rsquo;s hated provincial rival.&ldquo;He respected us for going out and putting out a good effort,&rdquo; Ricci said. &ldquo;And he realized that we were behind him and would do anything to help him get what we all wanted.&rdquo;Roy was as intense a competitor as they come. That his demands to leave Montreal were so easily met had a lot to do with the confidence he had in himself and isn&rsquo;t necessarily a recommended negotiating strategy for every NHLer.&ldquo;If there was a guy who could get away with it, it was him,&rdquo; said Rychel, who still talks with Roy frequently. &ldquo;Patrick is Patrick, and that&rsquo;s the way he rolls.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-011415/10093092-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg" title="f0035-01" width="2123" height="2667"><figcaption class="caption-body">CURSE OF ROY?The Canadiens haven&rsquo;t won a Stanley since trading Roy 1995. (BRUCE BENNETT STUDIOS/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0034-02

PATRICK ROY VS. MONTREAL CANADIENS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0036-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-011436/10093186-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">ROLE REVERSALPartnering with the NHL, Rogers went from TV&rsquo;s underdog to the alpha dog. (AARON VINCENT ELKAIM/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>SHOCKWAVES COURSED THROUGH the hockey world in 2013 when Rogers Media, the conglomerate that owns Sportsnet, won the NHL&rsquo;s national broadcast package for the next 12 years. That national package had been the dominion of archrival TSN since 2003. During that span, TSN had become the dominant TV voice in Canadian hockey, but $5.2 billion meant NHL commissioner Gary Bettman had no problem cutting a new deal.Which means an interesting new chapter in the rivalry between Sportsnet and TSN is about to begin. Ever since CTV Sportsnet launched in 1998, the network has been seen as a second fiddle to TSN, the Canadian titan that dates back to 1984. That underdog status has sometimes bubbled to the surface, most infamously when Sportsnet analyst Nick Kypreos accidentally tweeted out what was supposed to be a private message to the world during the 2011 trade deadline. Kypreos had reported that the New York Rangers were close to acquiring defenseman Bryan McCabe from the Florida Panthers, only to see TSN&rsquo;s Darren Dreger respond that the deal wasn&rsquo;t close. Kypreos then tweeted out that &ldquo;those (meanies) at TSN try to discredit me all the time.&rdquo;Of course, the actual adjective Kypreos used began with an &lsquo;f&rsquo; and ended with an &ldquo;ers,&rdquo; and he wouldn&rsquo;t be the last Sportsnet employee to use it in reference to TSN. In a widely known industry story confirmed by folks on both sides of the barricades, another accidental missile was fired off after the conclusion of the 2012 Olympics in London. In an odd situation, on-air talent and production crews from TSN and Sportsnet worked together during the massive event. Once the festivities and all the hard work had wrapped up, a Sportsnet producer sent out an email to his crew, saying now that they were done with those (meanies) from TSN, they could go back to kicking their (rear ends).<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-011393/10093179-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg" title="f0038-01" width="813" height="796"><figcaption class="caption-body">JAMES DUTHIE & BOB MCKENZIE (TOM SZCZERBOWSKI/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>Except he accidentally sent it to the TSN folks as well.For all the venom sent TSN&rsquo;s way by Sportsnet, the anger doesn&rsquo;t seem to go both ways. According to TSN insiders, they&rsquo;ve always respected their Sportsnet brethren, and any sense the TSN folks think they&rsquo;re better is misguided. And in reality, there are few days during the season when the two networks are actually in direct competition with each other. The trade deadline and the beginning of free agency are two examples, but the trade deadline is the mother of all overhyped events. Both networks start broadcasting many hours before any trades actually occur, because advertisers will buy time and people will watch. The event is so serious that work begins at noon the day before the deadline, and on-air talent is put up in a hotel nearby. Mike Brophy, who has worked on Sportsnet in the past and is an esteemed alum of The Hockey News, recalls the rush. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s actually exciting, working the phones and trying to get the story first,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The race to get information out between the two is amazing. They feel it&rsquo;s important to say, &lsquo;We broke the story.&rsquo; &rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-02972/10093172-1-eng-US/f0038-022.jpg" title="f0038-02" width="447" height="425"><figcaption class="caption-body">DARREN DREGER (BRIAN BABINEAU/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>Every year, the two competing soundstages seem to get bigger and bigger, with a never-ending phalanx of reporters sitting at desks staring at their phones. But no matter how many talking heads are added, Sportsnet usually had its eyes on two particular targets. &ldquo;You&rsquo;ve always got your eyes on the other guy,&rdquo; Brophy said. &ldquo;TSN had the two best news breakers in Bob McKenzie and Darren Dreger.&rdquo;According to TSN insiders, the trade deadline will be more important for them in 2015 and in the ensuing years, since they no longer have the national TV package. While TSN will still broadcast regional games (most importantly, a chunk of the Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; schedule), it will be important for the network to keep itself in the minds of viewers, who must choose which trade deadline show to watch. That 12-year Sportsnet contract is a long one, and TSN must hope its influence doesn&rsquo;t fade too much during that span. TSN can&rsquo;t convince viewers to stop watching national hockey broadcasts, but it can steal eyeballs on trade deadline day when presentation and information trump actual game footage. This is especially true in a day and age when Twitter has rendered the on-air trade scoop nearly dead. After all, once a fan has seen a trade blasted across social media by numerous different sources, it really doesn&rsquo;t matter who had it a split-second faster. Back in the day, the gulf in time between the original trade breaker and the poor schmuck who found out second was much greater. So personality means a lot these days.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-03784/10093165-1-eng-US/f0038-032.jpg" title="f0038-03" width="2736" height="1717"><figcaption class="caption-body">LOADING UPSportsnet now has Ron MacLean, George Stroumboulopoulos and Don Cherry.</figcaption></div>What will be interesting to see is Sportsnet&rsquo;s reign as the big boy. The network has always operated with an underdog&rsquo;s feisty mentality, but now it&rsquo;s on Bettman&rsquo;s books and can&rsquo;t play the rebel card anymore. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve shot the moose,&rdquo; said president of broadcasting Scott Moore. &ldquo;Now we have to get it out of the forest.&rdquo;Even before the first puck was dropped, reports were leaking out that the $5.2-billion price tag was weighing on Sportsnet&rsquo;s parent company. David Shoalts of The Globe and Mail was told that the Rogers board of directors was putting the pressure on its employees, and the last time a big investment didn&rsquo;t turn out (the Olympics), a wave of layoffs and firings was the result.39 Announcers, hosts, reporters and analysts on Sportsnet&rsquo;s hockey broadcast team<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-04640/10093158-1-eng-US/f0038-042.jpg" title="f0038-04" width="475" height="556"><figcaption class="caption-body">BOB MCKENZIE (TOM SZCZERBOWSKI/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>And that&rsquo;s what the winners of the TV contract battle have to deal with. Over at TSN, the network is preparing for life without (national) hockey. According to insiders, the first couple days after the Rogers announcement were crushing, as no one saw it coming. TSN thought it had a great relationship with Bettman, but the Sportsnet coup cast doubt over that.At the least, TSN did retain its most important assets after the storm. McKenzie, play-by-play man Gord Miller and host James Duthie were all inked to new contracts shortly after the Rogers deal, which helped morale (an interview request for Duthie was not fulfilled by TSN&rsquo;s media relations department). And make no mistake: those personalities were in high demand. One storyline mentioned by an independent insider was that poaching Duthie was one of Rogers Media&rsquo;s promises to the NHL when the contract was being negotiated. Obviously that didn&rsquo;t come to fruition. Instead, the corporation hired CBC host George Stroumboulopoulos to jump over from the entertainment world and into the sporting realm.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-011275/10093151-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg" title="f0039-01" width="494" height="830"><figcaption class="caption-body">NICK KYPREOS (SPORTSNET)</figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;WE&rsquo;VE SHOT THE MOOSE. NOW WE HAVE TO GET IT OUT OF THE FOREST&rdquo;&ndash; Scott Moore</blockquote>With the contracts signed and history about to be furthered, the only question now is how Sportsnet fares with its new powers. Certainly the channel is not used to being the &ldquo;establishment,&rdquo; and this is the network that went with a &ldquo;no neckties&rdquo; edict to differentiate itself from TSN years ago.&ldquo;There is a perception change, to be sure,&rdquo; Kypreos said. &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t take that lightly. But you have to be true to yourself. I pride myself on bringing fans insider information but also on giving strong opinions.&rdquo;Though there are some diehards who may wrap themselves in the banner of Sportsnet or TSN, it seems as if on the whole, there is a mutual respect among the top names in the business. Even if that doesn&rsquo;t make for the bloodiest of rivalries, the gargantuan dollar amounts attached to the television business help push the stakes that much higher anyway.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-02869/10093144-1-eng-US/f0039-022.jpg" title="f0039-02" width="813" height="917"><figcaption class="caption-body">MEN OF ACTIONKeith Pelley and Scott Moore were the driving forces behind Rogers&rsquo; coup of a deal. (2013 TORONTO STAR)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0036-01

TSN VS. ROGERS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0040-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-01990/10093231-1-eng-US/f0040-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">SNUBBEDDoug Harvey was initially kept out of the Hall of Fame due to excessive drinking. (BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>FOR THE RECORD, THE ONLY PERSON to turn down his nomination for the Hall of Fame is former NHL president Gil Stein, who did so after it was learned he had helped engineer his own induction in 1993.But 20 years prior to that, Doug Harvey made his own emphatic statement concerning the Hall of Fame, a principle from which he never wavered when it came to one of the game&rsquo;s most hallowed institutions. The truth is that Harvey never wanted any part of a Hall of Fame that judged his actions off the ice.Harvey never acknowledged his induction and did not attend the ceremony. The Hall still has the letter from Harvey&rsquo;s ex-wife, Ursula, which politely informed the Hall of Fame that Harvey hadn&rsquo;t changed his stance on his decision to refuse induction. It also still has the ring that is traditionally presented to each inductee because Harvey never bothered to pick it up.It&rsquo;s a rivalry that will never be quelled because Harvey died of cirrhosis of the liver in 1989.Was Harvey a Hall of Famer? Well, considering he was the best defenseman of his generation and, depending upon who&rsquo;s giving the opinion, the greatest blueliner of alltime, that&rsquo;s a given. Harvey won seven Norris Trophies in eight years, was a pivotal figure in six Stanley Cups with the Montreal Canadiens and was a first-team all-star 10 times.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-01866/10093224-1-eng-US/f0041-012.jpg" title="f0041-01" width="460" height="688"><figcaption class="caption-body">DOUG HARVEY</figcaption></div>But Harvey also had a tragic flaw. He had a drinking problem that some think was the result of bipolar disorder and depression that was diagnosed too late in his life. Tales of Harvey&rsquo;s drinking were sometimes as legendary as what he did on the ice. Harvey once told a reporter that when he died, his body would not decompose for a long time because, &ldquo;It&rsquo;s full of alcohol. It&rsquo;s got its own embalming fluid.&rdquo;And it&rsquo;s why the Hall of Fame refused to induct him in 1972 after the customary three-year wait had lapsed for Harvey. Former Canadiens GM Frank Selke, who was a member of the Hall of Fame&rsquo;s selection committee, essentially told Harvey he&rsquo;d been turned down because of his drinking.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-02579/10093217-1-eng-US/f0041-022.jpg" title="f0041-02" width="732" height="723"><figcaption class="caption-body">NOT BITINGHarvey refused to attend his induction ceremony and went fishing instead. (BRUCE BENNETT STUDIOS/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>So when the Hall of Fame decided to induct him the next season, Harvey took so much umbrage with what had transpired the year before that he refused to have anything to do with his induction. On the day of the ceremony, he instead went fishing.He was also upset that it took the Hall of Fame so long to induct former Maple Leafs star Busher Jackson, who had also fallen on hard times because of alcoholism. Jackson retired in 1944, but wasn&rsquo;t inducted until 1971.&ldquo;What they&rsquo;re telling me is they won&rsquo;t put me in because I&rsquo;m not averse to sampling the nectar of the gods now and then,&rdquo; Harvey said at the time. &ldquo;The difference is I&rsquo;ll hoist a few in full view of everyone where other guys will sneak around the corner to do theirs.&rdquo;540 Career points by Doug Harvey. The only D-man with more at the time was Bill Gadsby (568) &#9632;

f0040-01

DOUG HARVEY VS. THE HOCKEY HALL OF FAME

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0042-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-01920/10093297-1-eng-US/f0042-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">BEST VS. BESTIt&rsquo;s a marquee event when Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin go head-to-head. (JOE SARGENT/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>ONE IS THE SON OF AN OLYMPIC champion, the other the progeny of a junior goalie who never made it to the NHL. One grew up amidst the bright lights of one of the biggest cities in the world, the other in small-town Nova Scotia. One has a slightly bigger bank account and individual trophy case, the other has two Olympic gold medals and a Stanley Cup to keep him warm at night.Perhaps the greatest thing about Alex Ovechkin vs. Sidney Crosby is that it&rsquo;s a rivalry still on the front nine of the players&rsquo; careers. Assuming both can retain their good health &ndash; knock on wood &ndash; we could be treated to them going hammer and tong for another 10 or 12 years.The truth of the matter is that Crosby and Ovechkin don&rsquo;t know each other well. They don&rsquo;t hang out together off the ice, and their on-ice meetings haven&rsquo;t exactly resulted in sparks. It&rsquo;s not like they meet in the corner and growl at one another or try to take each other&rsquo;s knees out in the neutral zone.No, the beauty of this rivalry is in the traits possessed by those who are involved. Both sublimely talented, both with levels of passion that go off the scales, both with the willingness to drive the net, both with the capacity and the desire to be difference-makers.In their first five seasons in the league, each player eclipsed the 100-point mark four times. They were separated by a total of just 23 points at the time. To be sure, Crosby has been far more successful in terms of team achievements, but Ovechkin has something Crosby will never be able to get: He won the Calder Trophy as top rookie over Crosby in 2005-06.All told, over the course of their nine seasons in the league, Ovechkin and Crosby have gone head-tohead 35 times, including playoffs. The Penguins won the first 10 of 11 meetings before the Capitals went on a run that saw them win seven of eight. Pittsburgh has won the past seven games involving Crosby and Ovechkin head-to-head. The Penguins, of course, bettered the Capitals in the second round of the playoffs in 2009. In the 35 meetings, Crosby had 24 goals and 60 points, Ovechkin 25 goals and 45 points.<blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;TO SAY WE HATE EACH OTHER, I DON&rsquo;T THINK SO, BUT WE&rsquo;RE BOTH COMPETITIVE GUYS&rdquo;&ndash; Sidney Crosby</blockquote><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-01893/10093290-1-eng-US/f0043-012.jpg" title="f0043-01" width="393" height="671"><figcaption class="caption-body">ALEX OVECHKIN (MITCHELL LAYTON/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>There have been times when the two have briefly sniped at one another on the ice and off, with the most intense exchange coming in a 5-2 Washington win Feb. 22, 2009. Neither seemed terribly impressed with the other, but it was still fairly tame and civil.Prior to the game, Crosby and the Penguins said they felt an Ovechkin hit on Crosby in the previous meeting was dirty. Commenting on Crosby&rsquo;s penchant for yapping and talking to officials, Ovechkin said, &ldquo;What can I say about him? He is a good player, but he talks too much. I play hard. If he wants to do something like hit me again, try to hit me again &ndash; and I&rsquo;ll talk to you guys (about) who plays dirty. That&rsquo;s not my game. It&rsquo;s not cheap shots, it&rsquo;s a game moment. But if he doesn&rsquo;t like it, it&rsquo;s his problem.&rdquo;Crosby responded by saying that he was less than impressed with Ovechkin&rsquo;s goal celebrations.&ldquo;Like it or lump it, that&rsquo;s what he does,&rdquo; Crosby said. &ldquo;Some people like it, some people don&rsquo;t. Personally, I don&rsquo;t like it.&rdquo;Then came the dormant years. Hits to the head by David Steckel Jan. 1, 2011, and Victor Hedman four days later &ndash; as well as the 2012-13 lockout &ndash; knocked Crosby out of the lineup for most of the next two years. He managed just 22 games in a span of 24 months.Ovechkin, meanwhile, had his two worst seasons in 2010-11 and 2011-12. He had 70 goals in 157 games, a pace of 37 goals over 82 games. That&rsquo;s a far cry from the 54 goals he averaged over his first five seasons.The real magnificence in the rivalry lies in what the two accomplish on the 200-by-85 foot sheet of frozen water. An example of their brilliance in that respect came in Game 2 of the &rsquo;09 playoffs, when both players scored hat tricks in a 4-3 Washington win.&ldquo;The only thing I can honestly say is that if people can take anything out of this,&rdquo; Crosby said, &ldquo;I hope they see it&rsquo;s the passion we have.&rdquo;Even if they display it in different ways. When Ovechkin scores a big goal, everyone in the world knows about it. He often hurls himself against the glass back-first or, as was the case when he scored his 50th in 2008-09, choreographs a stick-on-fire celebration that does not go over well with those in the hockey establishment who take themselves far too seriously.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-01800/10093283-1-eng-US/f0044-012.jpg" title="f0044-01" width="813" height="676"><figcaption class="caption-body">ALEX OVECHKIN & SIDNEY CROSBY (ELSA/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-02527/10093276-1-eng-US/f0044-022.jpg" title="f0044-02" width="1252" height="1292"><figcaption class="caption-body">TILTED ICECrosby&rsquo;s Penguins have taken it to Ovechkin&rsquo;s Capitals in recent games. (G FIUME/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>45 Career point lead for Alex Ovechkin over Sidney Crosby, in 129 more games<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-03401/10093269-1-eng-US/f0044-032.jpg" title="f0044-03" width="501" height="759"><figcaption class="caption-body">SIDNEY CROSBY (DAVE SANDFORD/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>Could you ever see Crosby making like his stick is on fire? Most of the time, you&rsquo;ll see him pull the mouthguard out of his mouth and open his arms to his teammates after a happy moment. There&rsquo;s a clear demarcation here. Even in celebrations, Ovechkin is far more the individual, while Crosby can&rsquo;t seem to wait to celebrate with his teammates. There isn&rsquo;t necessarily anything wrong with either of them, but it does illustrate some differences in character.One of the things that makes the rivalry so good is that not only do the two seem to rise to the occasion in just about every encounter, neither one is a perimeter player.When asked in 2010 about his feelings about Ovechkin, Crosby said he doesn&rsquo;t hold any ill will toward him, but they&rsquo;re not about to start exchanging birthday cards, either.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s like asking me if I&rsquo;m going to be best friends with five guys on the Flyers,&rdquo; Crosby said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s probably not going to happen. To say we absolutely hate each other, I don&rsquo;t think so, but we&rsquo;re competitive guys and that&rsquo;s kind of the result of everything and how it&rsquo;s been built up.&rdquo;When asked the same question, Ovechkin replied, &ldquo;I respect him as a person. But when I step on the ice, I respect only my teammates.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-01704/10093262-1-eng-US/f0045-012.jpg" title="f0045-01" width="2132" height="2676"><figcaption class="caption-body">SIDNEY CROSBY & ALEX OVECHKIN (GREGORY SHAMUS/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0042-01

SIDNEY CROSBY VS. ALEX OVECHKIN

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0046-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-01713/10093349-1-eng-US/f0046-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">FOLLOW PHILPhil Esposito almost singlehandedly willed Canada to win the 1972 Summit Series. (DENIS BRODEUR/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>IN THE HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL sport, few if any rivalries match the mythology that has grown up around Canada versus Russia in hockey. Dominations and meltdowns. Boycotts. The Summit Series. The Super Series. Canada Cups. The Punch-up in Piestany. All have helped create an aura like none other surrounding the two hockey superpowers. Competitiveness? Intensity? Both are hallmarks of Canada-Russia encounters, but it is the romanticism underlying it all that has kept the rivalry alive for seven decades.Since the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989, globalization of the game and a pacification of global politics have taken some of the edge off the rivalry, the intrigue surrounding the contests now involves &ldquo;who will win?&rdquo; not &ldquo;who are these guys?&rdquo;But it wasn&rsquo;t always that way.There was a time when Canada was virtually unbeatable in hockey. From 1920 to 1952, the Canucks won every Olympic gold medal save for one &ndash; 1936, when a Great Britain team stocked with Canadians was victorious. And from 1930 to 1952, Canada won 10 of the 12 world championships it entered.But when the Soviet Union joined the international hockey scene, it was like aliens had landed.In 1954, the USSR made its first appearance at the world championship &ndash; and won. The Soviets finished with a 6-0-1 record and a plus-27 goal differential. Canada won silver. And an on-ice dogfight was born. The Canucks bounced back the next year, claiming gold and outscoring their opponents by 60 goals, including a 5-0 pasting of the Soviets in the gold-medal game, but that marked the end of Canadian trounces.In 1956, the Soviets ended Canada&rsquo;s Olympic run &ndash; and began the Great White North&rsquo;s 50-year drought &ndash; by winning gold at the Cortina d&rsquo;Ampezzo (Italy) Games. During the 1960s, &rsquo;70s and &rsquo;80s, Soviet domination and Canadian frustration continued. From 1963 to 1993, the USSR won 26 gold medals at world championships and Olympics and 33 medals overall.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-01504/10093342-1-eng-US/f0048-012.jpg" title="f0048-01" width="812" height="800"><figcaption class="caption-body">BRAD PARK & VLADIMIR SHADRIN</figcaption></div>The USSR&rsquo;s domination was so overwhelming that Canada boycotted international play during the 1970s. The Canadians contended the Soviet players were professionals playing amateur tournaments. The protest kept Canada out of the 1972 and &rsquo;76 Olympic Games and seven world championships. The acrimony grew.While Canada&rsquo;s national amateur sides were missing competitions, Canadians in general were infuriated and embarrassed that they could no longer lay claim to world hockey supremacy.&ldquo;I was out to prove that this was our sport,&rdquo; said Canadian defenseman Brad Park. &ldquo;We developed it and we&rsquo;d been taking a kicking from the Soviets in international hockey for a while, and if we had our best players we could show you what we can do,&rdquo;And that bruised &ndash; or, rather, battered &ndash; ego gave rise to the seminal moment in international hockey history: the 1972 Summit Series. Canada saw the series as a chance at redemption, to prove once and for all its on-ice superiority. The Soviets saw it as a chance at vindication, to prove their perceived professionals could beat the best the cocky Canadians had to offer.Most fans know the history: Canadians, including the players themselves, figured the series would be a walkover &ndash; an eight-game warm-up for the upcoming NHL season with a nice Swedish vacation tossed in for good measure. It was, of course, anything but. Eventually won 4-3-1 by Canada, the series was a back-and-forth affair that surprised everyone &ndash; except, of course, the Soviets &ndash; with how competitive it was.&ldquo;I think early in the &rsquo;70s with the Canada Cup and the &rsquo;72 and &rsquo;74 series, everyone realized very quickly how good these players were,&rdquo; said Lanny McDonald, who played in the 1976 Canada Cup. &ldquo;We were going to have our hands full.&rdquo;The Summit Series became a political and patriotic tour de force that changed the face of hockey forever and is remembered &ndash; however romantically &ndash; as some of the greatest hockey ever played.&ldquo;By the time we left Canada, our backs were against the wall,&rdquo; Park said. &ldquo;The media had basically taken a lot of shots at us, the Canadian people were unhappy. The Russians looked like the good guys, we looked like a--holes.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-02325/10093335-1-eng-US/f0048-022.jpg" title="f0048-02" width="2727" height="1509"><figcaption class="caption-body">ICON TO ICONGretzky to Lemieux in the &rsquo;87 Canada Cup capped off one of the best series ever. (BRUCE BENNETT STUDIOS/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>But for the players, the series wasn&rsquo;t a political event until it shifted to Moscow.Park, who referred to his then 24-year-old self as &ldquo;political as a Golden Retriever,&rdquo; said the series became political &ndash; personal, really &ndash; when the games shifted to Moscow. Food was rationed, beer went missing, in-room intercoms suddenly played music in the middle of the night, prank calls were regular happenings and run-ins with the Soviet military were not uncommon. The guys were able to deal with those distractions, but when it came to the wives who had made the trip, no quarter was given.While in Sweden for two weeks before heading to Moscow, the Canadians got word that their wives would have to stay in a different hotel in Moscow, poor treatment like that continued once the Canadians landed in Russia.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s when it started to get political,&rdquo; Park said. &ldquo;The wives were treated like s---.&rdquo;That, of course, wasn&rsquo;t what the public saw. It saw a battle of titans on the ice: two styles that couldn&rsquo;t have been more different &ndash; free-flowing, puck controlling, stoic Soviets vs. crash-and-bang, anklebreaking, emotional Canadians. The entire series became a metaphor of sorts for the Cold War.147 Canada&rsquo;s PIM during the Summit series &ndash; almost double what the Soviets hadDenis Potvin played in the 1976 and &rsquo;81 Canada Cup tourneys. He remembers the Soviets as very different from the brash, outgoing, even cocky stars of the NHL people know today.&ldquo;They were very much under the Iron Curtain, the thumb of the Red Army,&rdquo; Potvin said. &ldquo;So you didn&rsquo;t have that kind of swagger.&ldquo;They were very different, I mean, they were controlled. As great hockey players as they were, they just came from a whole different regime, whereas now (Alex) Ovechkin and all those guys they were born free.&rdquo;The Canadians, meanwhile, were led on the ice in 1972 by the passionate Phil Esposito, who laid bare his soul to interviewer Johnny Esaw on national television after Game 4 in Vancouver, pleading with Canadians to back their boys. The take-no-prisoners Harry Sinden was coach with former NHL tough guy John Ferguson his assistant. The Canadian contingent also included the bombastic Don Cherry and Alan Eagleson, best remembered for flipping the bird to Russian fans in Moscow.As was written in the pages of THN all those years ago: &ldquo;It was almost impossible to describe the emotion that gripped the Moscow Sports Palace.&ldquo;The 3,000 Canadian fans who were over for the games were hysterical at the finish and they never let the Russians forget for a minute that they had won it all.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-01499/10093328-1-eng-US/f0049-012.jpg" title="f0049-01" width="401" height="921"><figcaption class="caption-body">KEN DRYDEN (MELCHIOR DIGIACOMO/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;EVERYONE REALIZED VERY QUICKLY JUST HOW GOOD THE SOVIETS WERE&rdquo;&ndash; Lanny McDonald</blockquote>In the years that followed the Summit Series, the best of Canada and the Soviet Union clashed more often &ndash; not at the Olympics or world championship, but in club and international exhibitions, although they weren&rsquo;t treated as such by the players.In 1974, the second, and considerably less-billed, Summit Series was played between Canadian World Hockey Association players and the Soviet national side. And during the 1975-76 season, the Red Army and Soviet Wings club teams traveled to North America and played the Super Series against eight NHL teams. The New Year&rsquo;s Eve contest between the Red Army and the Montreal Canadiens is still considered one of the greatest games ever played.In 1976, the inaugural Canada Cup &ndash; featuring the best from Canada, the USSR, Czechoslovakia, Sweden, Finland and the U.S. &ndash; was won by Canada. A second place finish in &rsquo;81 was followed by three more titles for the Canucks, with one win and a runner-up going to the USSR. The two bitter rivals met twice in Cup final, splitting them.The Canada Cup featured the world&rsquo;s best until the final tournament in 1991. Bobby Orr, Vladislav Tretiak and Wayne Gretzky were three of the tournament&rsquo;s MVPs and set the stage for professionals at the Olympics.&ldquo;I knew when we were in a sort of &lsquo;us against the world&rsquo; kind of thing,&rdquo; Potvin said of the &rsquo;76 Canada Cup. &ldquo;And it wasn&rsquo;t just the Russians, we had the Czechs &ndash; those teams that came from the &lsquo;dark side,&rsquo; the Iron Curtain.&rdquo;During the turbulent 1970s, Summit Series, Super Series and Canada Cups set the stage for the biggest rivalry in hockey history. Those competitions created the legend that is Russia vs. Canada.&ldquo;No question,&rdquo; said Hall of Famer Michel Goulet, who played in the 1984 and &rsquo;87 Canada Cups, &ldquo;1972 was really the start of it.&rdquo;In recent years, Canada and the U.S. have forged what some consider to be the international hockey rivalry of the 21st century. But even if Canada-Russia is a little less heated than in years past, a game between the two still boils blood in both nations.It&rsquo;s a struggle for supremacy that was forged in the 1970s and will live for as long as hockey lives.&ldquo;They&rsquo;re still Russians, we&rsquo;re still Canadians,&rdquo; Potvin said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s still there, whatever there means.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0046-01

TEAM CANADA VS. TEAM RUSSIA

IT HAS BEEN SAID THAT PEOPLE who live in Montreal can&rsquo;t wait for Friday night, while people who live in Toronto can&rsquo;t wait until Monday morning.The idea is that there exists more of a joie de vivre in Montreal, which is only logical since it is a French expression. That, and it&rsquo;s kind of true. Toronto has been, and will always be, the buttoned-down business hub of Canada. Montreal, on the other hand, is where attractive people dress well and take themselves a little less seriously.When it comes to hockey, you can see why the people of Montreal have had just a little more spring in their steps over, say, the past 45 years or so. Since expansion, the Canadiens have essentially taken the Maple Leafs out to the woodshed in just about every category imaginable. The rivalry between Canada&rsquo;s two biggest cities still runs deep, but that is based more on long-ago clashes than those in the modern day.The two teams haven&rsquo;t even met in the playoffs since 1979, for heaven&rsquo;s sake, but that doesn&rsquo;t stop fans of the two teams from having a pretty good hateon for one another. Over the past 20 years or so, the two franchises can&rsquo;t seem to be good at the same time, but even when it&rsquo;s a meaningless game in March, there&rsquo;s an electricity in the air all day when the Maple Leafs are in Montreal that you don&rsquo;t see at any other time. Maple Leaf fans invade Montreal. They swarm the streets by day, they take over Schwartz&rsquo;s Deli at lunchtime, they cheer from the cheap seats during the games and then they hit up the bars afterward.The Leafs won their last Cup in 1967, beating Montreal in the final. Since then, however, it&rsquo;s been a Canadiens rout. They&rsquo;ve won 10 Stanley Cups since the Leafs last won it. In terms of individual awards, the Canadiens have won 90 in their history, compared to just 34 for the Maple Leafs. (Can you believe the Leafs have never had a Norris Trophy winner? Montreal has had 12.) The Canadiens have had 16 MVPs in their history, the Maple Leafs two. Montreal has 28 Vezinas, the Leafs six. The Leafs do have a commanding lead 9-2 in Lady Byng Trophies, which really isn&rsquo;t something about which you go around beating your chest.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-01490/10093422-1-eng-US/f0050-012.jpg" title="f0050-01" width="521" height="833"><figcaption class="caption-body">DARRYL SITTLER (BRUCE BENNETT STUDIOS/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>724 Regular season games between the two teams. Montreal leads 343-285-88-8<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-02373/10093415-1-eng-US/f0050-022.jpg" title="f0050-02" width="3176" height="2667"><figcaption class="caption-body">ONE-SIDEDToronto and Montreal once competed for Cups, but the Leafs haven&rsquo;t won since &rsquo;67.</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-01373/10093408-1-eng-US/f0052-012.jpg" title="f0052-01" width="1250" height="1000"><figcaption class="caption-body">FIRE DIMMEDNot meeting in the playoffs since 1979 has calmed the Habs and Leafs&rsquo; rivalry. (DENIS BRODEUR/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>But it wasn&rsquo;t always this way. Prior to expansion, the teams were fierce rivals. When the Leafs defeated the Canadiens in &rsquo;67, the Canadiens were two-time winners prior to that and won the next two, meaning had they won in &rsquo;67, they would have won five straight. It was also the year Montreal was hosting the World&rsquo;s Fair and if you ask any old-time Canadiens about that loss, they&rsquo;ll admit it still sticks in their craws.&ldquo;The Toronto Maple leafs are becoming almost as proficient at winning Stanley Cups as the Montreal Canadiens,&rdquo; The Hockey News said after the Leafs won their 11th Stanley Cup in &rsquo;67.But the rivalry goes way, way back and takes its roots in 1946 when Frank Selke left the Leafs to rebuild the Canadiens. Selke was the Leafs&rsquo; assistant GM under Conn Smythe, but when Smythe went off to fight in the Second World War, he returned to find what he perceived as an attempt by Selke to take his job. The fact Selke traded Frank Eddolls to the Canadiens for the rights to Ted Kennedy without his approval set Smythe off.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-02241/10093401-1-eng-US/f0052-022.jpg" title="f0052-02" width="448" height="458"><figcaption class="caption-body">GEORGE ARMSTRONG & ANDY BATHGATE (PICTORIAL PARADE/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>&ldquo;Eddolls joined the Air Force soon after signing with us,&rdquo; Smythe wrote in his book If You Can&rsquo;t Beat &rsquo;Em in the Alley, &ldquo;and I thought trading him was a stinking trick to play on a man who was going overseas.&rdquo;<blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;THE LEAFS ARE BECOMING ALMOST AS PROFICIENT AT WINNING CUPS AS THE CANADIENS&rdquo;&ndash; THN, 1967</blockquote><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-03170/10093394-1-eng-US/f0052-032.jpg" title="f0052-03" width="618" height="734"><figcaption class="caption-body">CAREY PRICE (FRANCOIS LACASSE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>Forget that Kennedy went down as one of the greatest players in Leaf franchise history while Eddolls had an undistinguished career in parts of three seasons with the Canadiens. Selke was sent packing and went about building the Canadiens into a powerhouse.And there were ugly incidents to be sure. In January, 1949, Ken Reardon of the Canadiens and Hal Gardner of the Leafs got involved in a stick swinging duel that THN described as &ldquo;nothing short of barbaric.&rdquo;Gardner broke his stick over Reardon&rsquo;s back and Reardon retaliated, breaking Gardner&rsquo;s jaw with a punch. Two years later, Reardon was contrite about the incident: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to walk into the Leafs dressing room and shake hands with Gardner,&rdquo; he said.To which Gardner replied, &ldquo;He might as well stay out for all the good it will do him.&rdquo; When asked whether that might be a callous attitude, he snorted, &ldquo;Like hell. Who did all the suffering?&rdquo;Another ugly incident occurred in the 1951-52 season between Rocket Richard and Bill Juzda. Richard and Fern Flaman were involved in an altercation and Juzda intervened. As Richard and Juzda were skating off the ice, Richard one-punched Juzda, who fell to the ice face-first with his arms crossed in front of him.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-04131/10093387-1-eng-US/f0052-042.jpg" title="f0052-04" width="812" height="709"><figcaption class="caption-body">P.K. SUBBAN & PHIL KESSEL (CLAUS ANDERSEN/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>&ldquo;If Juzda had minded his own business then nothing would have happened to him,&rdquo; Richard said. &ldquo;Flaman and I were fighting. It had nothing to do with him. It&rsquo;ll teach him to mind his own business from now on.&rdquo;Juzda&rsquo;s take: &ldquo;(Richard) has never hit another player when he was looking, but geez, how he can punch.&rdquo;Earlier in the altercation, Canadiens captain Emile &lsquo;Butch&rsquo; Bouchard and Juzda were also going at it.&ldquo;He nearly bit my finger off,&rdquo; Bouchard said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to ask president (Clarence) Campbell to order that guy to wear a muzzle the next time.&rdquo;Things are a bit more civil now between the cities that represent Canada&rsquo;s two solitudes. Heck, Canadiens fans even belt out the Canadian national anthem in English during the playoffs. But that comportment will go out the window if these two teams ever meet in the playoffs again.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-01348/10093380-1-eng-US/f0053-012.jpg" title="f0053-01" width="2133" height="2666"><figcaption class="caption-body">CRISTOBAL HUET, BRYAN SMOLINSKI & MATS SUNDIN (ANDRE RINGUETTE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0050-01

MONTREAL CANADIENS VS. TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS

SINCE HE FIRST BECAME AN NHL coach in 2001, John Tortorella never has been known to soft-pedal or shield his passionate opinions from the hockey-watching public and media.So when the volatile, Cup-winning bench boss became coach of the New York Rangers halfway through 2008-09, it was only natural that Tortorella eventually would disagree with professional hockey columnists paid to present strong opinions.And given that Larry Brooks &ndash; New York Post columnist and longtime Rangers correspondent for The Hockey News &ndash; is acknowledged as one of the strongest voices in the sport today, it was only proper that he and Tortorella would quickly and publicly clash on numerous occasions.The first time Brooks and Tortorella sparred actually came in late April 2007, when Tortorella was coaching the Tampa Bay Lightning.After the Bolts had been shut out 3-0 by New Jersey in Game 5 of the first round, Brooks asked Tortorella questions in a post-game scrum. Tortorella had been vague or combative in his answers &ndash; and tempers raised, with the Lightning coach telling Brooks to, &ldquo;get the f---out of here,&rdquo; and Brooks replying, &ldquo;f---off.&rdquo;Their next memorable public spat took place in January 2010, by which time Tortorella had been Rangers coach for nearly a year. Brooks had asked a question pertaining to why Blueshirts star Marian Gaborik fought Flyers pest Daniel Carcillo, but Tortorella &ndash; still displeased by a previous Brooks column ripping Wade Redden &ndash; refused to answer:Tortorella: I&rsquo;m not going to answer any questions from you.Brooks: You&rsquo;re not? Oh good, I&rsquo;ll speculate then.Later in the same media scrum, Tortorella posed a question for Brooks:<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0054-01362/10093460-1-eng-US/f0054-012.jpg" title="f0054-01" width="428" height="642"><figcaption class="caption-body">JOHN TORTORELLA (SCOTT LEVY/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;HAVE YOU EVER FOUGHT? YOU WERE PROBABLY BEAT UP AT THE BUS STOP MOST OF THE TIME&rdquo;&ndash; John Tortorella</blockquote>Tortorella: Have you ever fought before?Brooks: Yeah.Tortorella: You have?Brooks. Yeah. Why, are you challenging me?Tortorella: No, no I&rsquo;m not challenging you. You were probably beat up at the bus stop most of the time.Brooks: You&rsquo;re a great representative of the city, you know that?To his credit, Brooks didn&rsquo;t want to make his feud with Tortorella the focus of post-game Rangers press conferences. And he refused to shy away from his consistent criticisms of Tortorella (whom he called a &ldquo;dictator&rdquo; in an earlier column), Rangers management and the team&rsquo;s inability to make the playoffs in Tortorella&rsquo;s first two seasons.In a Post column published the day after the Rangers failed to make the 2010 playoffs, Brooks summarized the situation: &ldquo;John Tortorella&rsquo;s last two full seasons behind an NHL bench have resulted in finishes of 30th overall with the Lightning in 2007-08 and 21st overall (in 2009-10). He has a small-market mentality, does not understand at all what New York is about and is a professional bully who has earned the enmity of nearly everyone with whom he has come into contact.&ldquo;I regret that I have become so personally entwined with this coach that I&rsquo;m compelled to stipulate that I am not engaged in a vendetta against him. I have neither written about nor spoken of the breakdown in our relationship and have no interest in doing so.&ldquo;But I must state that my relentless criticism of Tortorella &ndash; whom, by the way, I enthusiastically endorsed for the job a week before he replaced Tom Renney &ndash; is the cause of the rift and not its effect.&ldquo;I do not believe a coach can win in this league by creating an environment of underlying tension, or by constantly screaming at players, or by changing line combinations every five minutes, or by obsessing over players staying out of the penalty box at the expense of protecting teammates, or by trying to win with two forward lines.&rdquo;A veteran NHL executive who has experience dealing with both Brooks and Tortorella said that, while their distaste for one another may make for gripping drama, it does neither party much good.&ldquo;If you talk to both guys 1-on-1, it&rsquo;s hard not to like them,&rdquo; said the executive, who spoke under condition of anonymity (&ldquo;It would be a race to see who would want me dead first,&rdquo; he laughed). &ldquo;But together, they&rsquo;re like sugar in a gas tank.&rdquo;&ldquo;With Larry, you know it&rsquo;s part of his job to be critical &ndash; even though I must say, having been roasted by the media, it&rsquo;s not easy to read harsh criticisms about yourself or your organization,&rdquo; the executive said.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m sure even Larry would tell you his job in New York is much harder to do on a day-to-day basis now, because people think, whether they&rsquo;re right or not, he has an ax to grind. But he&rsquo;s been part of that community for a long time, which makes me wonder why John continued butting heads with him.&ldquo;And with John, I know people have tried to tell him many times that you can&rsquo;t really ever win a fight with a media member. But that never stops him from doing what he thinks is right, even when he comes off looking like the bad guy.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-01319/10093453-1-eng-US/f0055-012.jpg" title="f0055-01" width="2122" height="2676"><figcaption class="caption-body">SOUR APPLEJohn Tortorella&rsquo;s coaching tenure in New York lasted just over four seasons. (ELIOT J. SCHECHTER/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0054-01

LARRY BROOKS VS. JOHN TORTORELLA

THERE&rsquo;S THE OLD STORY ABOUT the hockey fan asking his Calgary friend what he was going to do after the Edmonton Oilers advanced to the 2006 Stanley Cup final to face the Carolina Hurricanes.&ldquo;You have to cheer for the Alberta team, don&rsquo;t you?&rdquo; he asked. &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t imagine you&rsquo;ll be cheering for Carolina.&rdquo;&ldquo;Are you kidding?&rdquo; the Calgarian responds. &ldquo;If the Oilers were playing the Taliban all-stars, I&rsquo;d be painting Al-Qaeda banners to take to the game.&rdquo;Gross hyperbole, to be sure, but welcome to the Battle of Alberta. This is what it is &ndash; a pure, unadulterated out-and-out hate for the other team in the province. There&rsquo;s no love lost because it was never there to begin with.&ldquo;It goes way back before the Flames and Oilers,&rdquo; said Hall of Famer and former Flame Lanny McDonald, a native of Hanna in south central Alberta. &ldquo;In football, it was the Stampeders and Eskimos who fought for the bragging rights between the two cities and that goes back many decades.&ldquo;Edmonton is the capital. We &ndash; I hate to say we, but &ndash; Calgary always considered themselves the big boys always trying to prove their worth. When Edmonton came into the league (from the World Hockey Association in 1979) and Calgary transferred from Atlanta (in 1980), it didn&rsquo;t take long to heat up. Those are the great things in sport. You&rsquo;re doing everything possible not to let your team down or the city down. And you know your friends are going to give it to you if you lose to the bad guys.&rdquo;The rivalry between the cities surely dates back a century when the oil-rich deposits around Calgary began boosting its economy and it started to compete on a variety of levels with the provincial capital and administrative hub of Edmonton. In sports, senior hockey teams from the two cities sparked a competitive fire, then pro football arrived in Calgary in 1948 and Edmonton a year later. But the moniker &lsquo;Battle of Alberta&rsquo; wasn&rsquo;t created until the NHL arrived in the 1980s.<blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;YOU&rsquo;RE DOING EVERYTHING POSSIBLE NOT TO LET YOUR TEAM DOWN OR THE CITY DOWN&rdquo;&ndash; Lanny McDonald</blockquote><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-01291/10093519-1-eng-US/f0056-012.jpg" title="f0056-01" width="395" height="755"><figcaption class="caption-body">LANNY MCDONALD (STEVE BABINEAU/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-02191/10093512-1-eng-US/f0056-022.jpg" title="f0056-02" width="3177" height="2663"><figcaption class="caption-body">LITTLE BROTHERCalgary&rsquo;s vitriol stems from a perceived air of superiority in Edmonton. (DAVID E. KLUTHO/SPORTS ILLUSTRATED/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0058-01296/10093505-1-eng-US/f0058-012.jpg" title="f0058-01" width="443" height="435"><figcaption class="caption-body">DAVE SEMENKO (HHOF IMAGES)</figcaption></div>&ldquo;The first season in the old Corral, I can remember Dave Semenko going over and trying to spear one of the Calgary players at the Calgary bench,&rdquo; said longtime Oilers play-by-play man Rod Phillips. &ldquo;That was the first season the two teams played against each other. It started right off the get-go. They were always very, very tough hard-played angry games&hellip;all of them.&rdquo;After a couple of growing years, the Oilers dominated not just the rivalry with Calgary, but the entire NHL. And that forced the Flames to become stronger. The Battle of Alberta intensity level went off the charts in the &rsquo;80s, when the Oilers won five Stanley Cups in a seven-year stretch and the Flames won once and lost in the final another year. The head-to-head battles were epic.The Edmonton dynasty was led by Hall of Famers Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Jari Kurri, Paul Coffey, Glenn Anderson, Grant Fuhr and coach-GM architect Glen Sather. But it was warriors such as Semenko, Marty McSorley, Don Jackson, Kevin McClelland, Lee Fogolin, Dave Hunter and Esa Tikkanen who kept the rivalry spirited and physical.The Flames had a number of premier players themselves, such as McDonald, Joe Nieuwendyk, Joe Mullen, Doug Gilmour, Al MacInnis and others. And they also had a strong cast of soldiers who did the dirty work in the trenches; Joel Otto, Jim Peplinski, Tim Hunter and Doug Risebrough to name a few.&ldquo;Because Edmonton had become successful, there needed to be a team from Calgary that tried to stick with them,&rdquo; Otto said. &ldquo;Gretzky was very difficult to stop. Our strategy was to do whatever we could to get Messier off his game. And that opportunity for me got me in the league. Calgary was looking for a big center. I couldn&rsquo;t match his skill, but I could be physical with him.&rdquo;Said Phillips: &ldquo;Messier and Otto were like two bull rams running at each other for many years.&rdquo;When regards for one another were at their worst, the Battle of Alberta went on around the clock, 12 months a year, not just the length of the hockey season.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0058-02200/10093498-1-eng-US/f0058-022.jpg" title="f0058-02" width="2736" height="1463"><figcaption class="caption-body">LOW ON FUELThe Battle of Alberta has dulled in recent years with both teams struggling. (JIMMY JEONG/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>&ldquo;The level of hatred was pretty high,&rdquo; said Calgary play-by-play man Peter Maher. &ldquo;I used to be involved in a charity summer golf tournament in Red Deer for Special Olympics. My job was to get celebrities for it. In those days you could get five guys from each side to go. But they never inter-mixed. The Calgary guys stayed on their side and the Oiler guys stayed on their side. They&rsquo;d have the dinner the night before and it was pretty clear, keep them separate.&rdquo;The Battle of Alberta in the &rsquo;80s went beyond provincial borders. Calgary-Edmonton games were highly anticipated as television spectacles on Hockey Night In Canada and TSN. Said Phillips: &ldquo;The whole country couldn&rsquo;t wait for a Calgary-Edmonton game because they were great battles. They hated each other.&rdquo;Locally, you could forget about buying tickets for those games. You&rsquo;d be lucky to even get into a sports bar unless you showed up well in advance. Even the players admit the encounters were truly special.&ldquo;People used to ask &lsquo;Do you look at the schedule and mark down when those six or eight games are?&rsquo; &rdquo; McDonald said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d say, &lsquo;no, it&rsquo;s just part of the schedule. One game is as important as the next.&rsquo; Those are the things you&rsquo;re supposed to say.&ldquo;Heck, in reality, I had them X&rsquo;d off as soon as the schedule came out. You knew when they were going to be playing you. You geared up for it. Even though you never said it, you knew exactly when the next game was.&rdquo;8 Goals in five games for Mark Messier vs. Calgary in &rsquo;83 Smythe division final seriesWith every rivalry, there&rsquo;s a level of respect for the opponent. Or so they say. Was their even a shred or moral value between a Flame and an Oiler? In a way, there was.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s definitely a respect factor because in this case, they were the guys owning the Cups and we were the guys chasing,&rdquo; McDonald said. &ldquo;(Flames coach) Bob Johnson did a phenomenal job in the 1980s preparing us not only to win the Cup, but build a foundation to find a way to beat Edmonton. He always said if we found a way to beat Edmonton, we&rsquo;d have a great chance to win the Stanley Cup.&rdquo;That almost happened in 1985-86. The Oilers were favored to win their third Cup in a row, but lost to Calgary in a second-round series when Edmonton defenseman Steve Smith scored into his own net in the third period of Game 7. Calgary went on to the final before losing to Montreal. After Edmonton rebounded for Cup wins in 1987 and &rsquo;88, Calgary won one of its own in 1989.The intensity of this provincial rivalry waned in the 1990s as the Oilers dealt off their assets and the team missed the playoffs four straight seasons. The Flames went through a rebuilding phase as well, in which they made the playoffs just once in a nine-year run starting in the late 1990s. Sure, the Alberta squads wanted to beat each other, but it&rsquo;s tough to get a big hate-on for a fellow crappy team.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0059-01236/10093491-1-eng-US/f0059-012.jpg" title="f0059-01" width="582" height="847"><figcaption class="caption-body">MARK MESSIER (STEVE BABINEAU/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;THEY&rsquo;D GO OUT OF THEIR WAY TO AVOID EACH OTHER. IT WAS ENGRAINED&rdquo;&ndash; Peter Maher</blockquote>&ldquo;They&rsquo;ve never matched that intensity level from the 1980s,&rdquo; Maher said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think it will ever get to that level again. The players&rsquo; mindset today is so much different. Nowadays, you see after games Flames guys talking to the Oilers guys while they&rsquo;re waiting to get on the bus. You&rsquo;d never see that in the &rsquo;80s. They&rsquo;d go out of their way to avoid each other. It was engrained in their fibers back then.&rdquo;The Battle of Alberta rivalry absolutely spills over the boards and envelops fans. When Calgary went to the Cup final versus Tampa Bay in 2004, some of the more open-minded hockey supporters in Edmonton caused a big controversy. A handful of them actually had the gall to cheer for the team representing their province.&ldquo;There were a number of people in Edmonton who put on those Flames car flags as a show of support for Calgary,&rdquo; Maher said. &ldquo;And some people, especially the talk shows, took offense to that. I remember all the talk about the Edmonton fans being called turncoats for cheering for the Flames. And they&rsquo;d counter saying they&rsquo;re just cheering for the team from our province, from our country.&ldquo;Then when the Oilers went to the final in 2006, here in Calgary, there was the odd person who adopted Edmonton and had car flags with the Oilers on them. Hard to believe, but they could have been Edmontonians just passing through town.&rdquo;The Flames and Oilers shared little in common over the years, so suffice it to say, they weren&rsquo;t going to be trading partners. That changed in 2009-10 when defenseman Steve Staios became the first player to get traded from one team to another, landing in Calgary after eight seasons in Edmonton. Last season, the Oilers traded Ladislav Smid to the Flames.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re professionals,&rdquo; Staios said at the time. &ldquo;I have no problem going into that dressing room. I couldn&rsquo;t say this when I was with the Oilers, but I have a high amount of respect for the Flames organization.&rdquo;Maybe the world is changing. Heck, when the NHL&rsquo;s two top enforcers &ndash; Calgary&rsquo;s Brian McGrattan and Edmonton&rsquo;s Luke Gazdic &ndash; go at it these days, the heavyweights end their bouts with a pat on the head. That&rsquo;s downright neighborly for Alberta. &#9632;

f0056-01

CALGARY FLAMES EDMONTON OILERS

IT WAS SO INTENSE, IT REALLY could be scary.&ldquo;Incredible,&rdquo; said Mark Recchi, a witness to several epic battles between his Pittsburgh Penguins teammate, defenseman Ulf Samuelsson, and Cam Neely, the Boston Bruins&rsquo; Hall of Famebound right winger. &ldquo;I was glad I was watching it, and not part of it.&rdquo;The rivalry between the 6-foot-1, 218-pound Neely and Samuelsson, listed at 6-foot-1, 205 pounds, peaked during the 1991 Eastern Conference final, when Neely sustained injuries that eventually led to premature retirement. Post-season intensity wasn&rsquo;t the only reason such all-out war was waged, though.Neely and Samuelsson were in each other&rsquo;s faces and at each other&rsquo;s throats from the moment Neely became a Bruin, via trade with the Vancouver Canucks, prior to the 1986-87 season. Samuelsson, a draftee from Sweden, arrived in Hartford in 1984-85 and was blossoming into a physical (162 penalty minutes), competent (plus-28) shutdown defenseman when Neely came to the Adams Division for eight annual vicious regular season meetings between the New England neighbors.Neely, relatively anonymous over his first three seasons with the Canucks (he averaged 17 goals), quickly became synonymous with the term &ldquo;power forward.&rdquo; He had great hands around the net and his shot was feared, but he also left teams wary of his tremendous hits on the forecheck, as well as his ability &ndash; and even eagerness &ndash; to fight.Just as quickly, Samuelsson was the defenseman assigned by the Whalers to try to keep Neely contained. Like few others, Samuelsson wasn&rsquo;t afraid to check (face-to-face or from behind), cross-check, elbow, knee or punch Neely during ferocious shifts in Hartford territory. Neely, by now a developing star and fan favorite in Boston and across the NHL, gave back whatever he hadn&rsquo;t dished out and vice versa.<blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;IT WAS A MONUMENTAL EFFORT FOR CAM TO NOT GET PRE-OCCUPIED WITH HIM&rdquo;&ndash; Andy Brickley</blockquote><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0060-01243/10093578-1-eng-US/f0060-012.jpg" title="f0060-01" width="445" height="716"><figcaption class="caption-body">ULF SAMUELSSON (DENIS BRODEUR/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>&ldquo;I totally understood where Samuelsson was coming from and what his job was,&rdquo; said Andy Brickley, who joined Neely and the B&rsquo;s in 1988-89. &ldquo;It was to preoccupy Cam, get him off his game, whatever it took and no matter how badly his image was marred as a result. He didn&rsquo;t care. He really didn&rsquo;t.As enraged as Neely could become because Samuelsson wouldn&rsquo;t fight, he was generally successful against the Whalers in the early years of the rivalry. Most notably, he helped the Bruins survive the temporary absence of Hall of Fame defenseman Ray Bourque in a first-round playoff series in 1990, putting up 4-6-10 scoring totals over seven games, including a game-winning goal in Game 5. Neely piled up 27 penalty minutes in that series, while Samuelsson collected 18.&ldquo;It was a monumental effort for Cam to not get preoccupied with (Samuelsson),&rdquo; Brickley said. &ldquo;With that game within a game, those 1-on-1 confrontations, it was so hard for him to just stay the course and play his game. He had plenty of nights when he did, but some nights when he just couldn&rsquo;t.&rdquo;Samuelsson&rsquo;s trade to Pittsburgh at the 1991 deadline only served to accelerate the battle. The already powerful Penguins, further fortified by ex-Whalers Samuelsson and center Ron Francis, met the favored Bruins in the conference final, with the Neely-Samuelsson match-up attracting almost as much pre-series attention as that given to names like Bourque, Mario Lemieux, Paul Coffey and Jaromir Jagr. Neely scored the Game 1-winner and helped the Bruins take a 2-0 lead in the series, but Pittsburgh charged back to win in six games en route to the first of consecutive Stanley Cups.One of the indelible images of the series is a kneeon-knee hit with which Samuelsson upended Neely in open ice.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0061-01218/10093571-1-eng-US/f0061-012.jpg" title="f0061-01" width="1253" height="1467"><figcaption class="caption-body">PURE HATENo opponent got under Cam Neely&rsquo;s skin quite like Ulf Samuelsson did. (STEVE BABINEAU/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>&ldquo;Every series there is something that draws attention, makes it emotional and that was it in that series, I guess,&rdquo; Samuelsson said. &ldquo;I was trying to hit his shoulder, but I guess he moved at the last second and I hit his knee&hellip;I wasn&rsquo;t trying to take him out.&rdquo;Neely, however, had actually sustained more significant damage earlier in the series. While trying to hit Samuelsson in a corner, he sustained a thigh injury that led to a condition known as myositis ossificans, where damaged muscle begins to turn to bone.&ldquo;They played on the edge, both of them,&rdquo; Recchi said. &ldquo;They were both going to do whatever it took to win a hockey game. On one shift, Cam would get the better of Ulf and the next Ulf would get the better of Cam. Neither one of them was going to back down.&ldquo;They&rsquo;d drawn a line in the sand and they were going to go. That&rsquo;s why both teams were where they were at. We were both in the (Stanley Cup) semis because guys like that were willing to take it to the edge and do whatever it took to win.&rdquo;Confrontations between Neely and Samuelsson were rare after &rsquo;91. Thigh and knee injuries limited Neely to just 22 games over the 1991-92 and &rsquo;92-93 seasons and led to hip damage that forced him to retire after 1996-97.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0061-03111/10093564-1-eng-US/f0061-032.jpg" title="f0061-03" width="487" height="636"><figcaption class="caption-body">CAM NEELY</figcaption></div>55 Fighting majors for Ulf Samuelsson over his 14 seasons in the NHL<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0061-02151/10093557-1-eng-US/f0061-022.jpg" title="f0061-02" width="813" height="1042"><figcaption class="caption-body">TO BE CONT&rsquo;DSamuelsson and Neely still haven&rsquo;t patched up their differences. (STEVE BABINEAU/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>Neely and Samuelsson never had a bygones-bebygones discussion. (&ldquo;We haven&rsquo;t talked at all,&rdquo; Samuelsson said.) Neely no longer discusses the matter, simply saying, &ldquo;my feelings haven&rsquo;t changed.&rdquo;In one of the last interviews in which he addressed the rivalry, the impression is left that had Samuelsson been more willing to settle matters with his fists (they only fought twice, in 1990 and &rsquo;93, with Neely getting instigator penalties both times), things may not have ended quite so bitterly.&ldquo;I just didn&rsquo;t respect the way the guy played,&rdquo; Neely said. &ldquo;If you play a certain way&hellip;you know you&rsquo;re going to upset some people and you&rsquo;ve got to be prepared to drop your gloves and go at it and settle your differences.&rdquo;As things played out, each Neely vs. Samuelsson meeting was the 1-on-1 equivalent of one of the NHL&rsquo;s oldest, most storied rivalries: Montreal vs. Boston.&ldquo;To see that kind of hatred, that was really relegated for us toward the Canadiens, focused on one guy &ndash; it was so similar,&rdquo; Brickley said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s one of the things that makes it so memorable.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0061-0487/10093550-1-eng-US/f0061-042.jpg" title="f0061-04" width="811" height="509"><figcaption class="caption-body">CAM NEELY (ANTHONY NESTE/SPORTS ILLUSTRATED/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0060-01

CAM NEELY VS. ULF SAMUELSSON

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0062-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0062-01239/10093644-1-eng-US/f0062-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">HIGH STAKESPittsburgh&rsquo;s Ruslan Fedotenko scores against Philly in this 2009 playoff game.</figcaption></div>IT&rsquo;S RIGHT OUT OF THE WILD, WILD West, this four-decade rivalry between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers. So it was fitting when late Penguins coach Herb Brooks invoked legendary outlaw Jesse James during a playoff series in 2000.It happened after a late-game cheap shot, when Flyers defenseman Luke Richardson shot a puck from short range at Penguins defenseman Bob Boughner, who was wrestling with Keith Jones at center ice. The puck hit Boughner in the chest.Brooks didn&rsquo;t mince words when asked about Richardson.&ldquo;I&rsquo;d go back in his family tree,&rdquo; Brooks said. &ldquo;Maybe he&rsquo;s a direct descendant of the guy that shot Jesse James in the back. You know, the coward that shot Jesse James in the back. It must be in his family tree. There&rsquo;s a code for tough guys in the league. This was way past the code.&rdquo;Way past the code? That could describe an infinite number of incidents between these teams, each of which joined the NHL as part of &lsquo;The Expansion Six&rsquo; in 1967-68.But then, we assume you consider biting, stickswinging and hallway arguments with coaches to be way past the code.Let&rsquo;s sink our teeth into the alleged biting incidents first (yes, there are more than one).In 2009, Flyers left winger Scott Hartnell appeared to munch on Penguins defenseman Kris Letang&rsquo;s hand during a scrum along the boards.&ldquo;A first for me,&rdquo; Letang said, memorably.Hartnell&rsquo;s take: &ldquo;A lot of stuff happens on the bottom of the pile. He had his hands in my face, doing the face wash, and we were rolling around. I can&rsquo;t say what happened.&rdquo;Funny, neither could Pens left winger Matt Cooke when he was accused of biting Arron Asham in 2010.<blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;IN ONE OF MY FIRST GAMES IN PHILADELPHIA, I LOST A COUPLE OF TEETH&rdquo;&ndash; Sidney Crosby</blockquote><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0063-01182/10093637-1-eng-US/f0063-012.jpg" title="f0063-01" width="493" height="689"><figcaption class="caption-body">SIDNEY CROSBY (LEN REDKOLES/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not bad, but he&rsquo;s a gutless guy,&rdquo; Asham said. &ldquo;I have no respect for him at all. I lined up against him asked him to fight and he didn&rsquo;t want to. If you go and bite someone&hellip;He&rsquo;s garbage to me, and I have no respect for him at all.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0064-01195/10093630-1-eng-US/f0064-012.jpg" title="f0064-01" width="444" height="467"><figcaption class="caption-body">FRED SHERO (STEVE BABINEAU/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>Let&rsquo;s move on to the hallway incident, shall we? It happened after an 8-2 Flyers victory in 2007, a game that featured 156 penalty minutes. Afterward, Flyers tough guy Ben Eager passed Penguins coach Michel Therrien in the hallway and said, &ldquo;You&rsquo;re a joke.&rdquo;Therrien&rsquo;s two-word comeback is not printable.That was the same night 41-year-old Penguins left winger Gary Roberts beat the 23-year-old Eager to a pulp. Which is nothing compared to what Flyers goalie Ron Hextall wanted to do to Penguins winger Rob Brown during the 1989 Patrick Division final.Brown had just completed a windmill fist-pump after putting the Penguins ahead 9-2, in what would become a 10-7 victory. Hextall lost his mind. He chased down Brown in Jason Voorhees-like fashion, goal stick above his head.Brown took off like a frightened squirrel.&ldquo;Probably the quickest I&rsquo;ve ever skated,&rdquo; Brown later said.Finally, consider &lsquo;The Kaspar Krunch.&rsquo; It happened on March 7, 1998, at the Civic Arena, when Penguins defenseman Darius Kasparaitis felled Flyers star Eric Lindros with a thunderous hit. A sell-out crowd cheered manically as Lindros crawled along the ice.It so happened the teams played the next night in Philly. Robert Lang, who played for the Penguins that year, laughed as he recalled the rematch.&ldquo;They got Kaspar on the first shift,&rdquo; he said.That they did, legally mugging Kasparaitis behind the Penguins&rsquo; net. He emerged with a smile.Penguins captain Sidney Crosby knew what he was getting into when he entered the NHL in 2005-06. He&rsquo;d heard all about the bitterness on both sides.&ldquo;I was told,&rdquo; Crosby said. &ldquo;I had seen (Penguins-Flyers) games before, and in one of my first games there, I lost a couple of teeth.&rdquo;Penguins fans think the Flyers are brainless brutes, descendants not of Jesse James, but of the 1970s-era Broad Street Bullies, an outfit coached by Fred Shero, the late father of former Pens GM Ray Shero. Flyers fans think the Penguins are pretty boys. They despise Crosby, taunting him each time he visits Philadelphia.The Flyers lead the all-time series, 146-93-30, though the Pens have won three Stanley Cups and the Flyers, two. But once upon a time, the Flyers owned the Penguins like few teams have ever owned another. Their dominance was highlighted by an unfathomable 39-0-3 steak at home over a 15-year span beginning in 1974.&ldquo;We were the dirt on the bottom of their shoes,&rdquo; recalled former Pittsburgh left winger Phil Bourque, now a Penguins broadcaster.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0064-02117/10093623-1-eng-US/f0064-022.jpg" title="f0064-02" width="1243" height="1209"><figcaption class="caption-body">MAN OF STEELDarius Kasparaitis made his presence felt for Pittsburgh with thunderous hits. (BRUCE BENNETT STUDIOS/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0064-0364/10093616-1-eng-US/f0064-032.jpg" title="f0064-03" width="476" height="863"><figcaption class="caption-body">RON HEXTALL (ALLSPORT)</figcaption></div>1.56 Sidney Crosby&rsquo;s points-per-game average against Philly since his rookie yearThat streak finally ended on Feb. 2, 1989, at the Spectrum when Wendell Young, a former Flyer, made 39 saves in a 5-3 Penguins victory.Other memorable rivalry moments:&ndash; On April 23, 1997, Mario Lemieux scored what many figured would be his last goal in Pittsburgh, in Game 4 of a playoff series against the Flyers (the Penguins trailed three games to none and had no plans to return to Pittsburgh for Game 6). &ldquo;That was the first time I cried on the ice for a long time,&rdquo; Lemieux said.&ndash; Notoriously hostile Philadelphia fans twice showered Lemieux with standing ovations: The first came March 2, 1993, when he returned from a layoff after treatment for Hodgkin&rsquo;s disease. The second came April 26, 1997, when Lemieux played in what was thought to be his final game, a playoff series-ending loss to the Flyers.&ndash; Former Pens goalie Ken Wregget, starting for ailing Ron Hextall in Game 7of the &rsquo;89 Patrick Division final, stoned the Pens in a 4-1 victory at the Civic Arena.Finally, there was &lsquo;The Game&rsquo; &ndash; Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinal in 2000. It started May 4. It ended at 2:35 a.m. May 5, when Philly&rsquo;s Keith Primeau beat Ron Tugnutt on a wrist shot at 12:01 of the fifth overtime. That was the 72nd shot Tugnutt faced.Afterward, then-Pens coach Brooks was asked to sum up the game.He managed a smile and said, &ldquo;Where do you start, and where do you finish?&rdquo;The same could be said in attempting to describe a wild, wild rivalry that remains as hot as ever.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0065-01196/10093609-1-eng-US/f0065-012.jpg" title="f0065-01" width="2336" height="2935"><figcaption class="caption-body">SIDNEY CROSBY & CLAUDE GIROUX (LEN REDKOLES/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0062-01

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS VS. PHILADELPHIA FLYERS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0066-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0066-01196/10093696-1-eng-US/f0066-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">GOOD TIMESDany Heatley&rsquo;s trade demand besmirched his two 50-goal seasons in Ottawa. (LOU CAPOZZOLA/SPORTS ILLUSTRATED/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>DANY HEATLEY&rsquo;S MOVE TO THE Ottawa Senators was born from tragedy. In fall 2003, Heatley, driving with teammate Dan Snyder, lost control of his speeding Ferrari 360 Modena. Heatley was severely injured, while Snyder died six days after the crash. After two years of rehab and toiling in Atlanta, Heatley asked for a trade amid rumors he wanted a change of scenery to put the unspeakable incident behind him.On Aug. 23, 2005, Heatley&rsquo;s wish was granted. The Thrashers sent him to the Senators in exchange for star sniper Marian Hossa and defenseman Greg de Vries. Heatley&rsquo;s arrival immediately formed one of the NHL&rsquo;s most dangerous trios, the &lsquo;CASH Line&rsquo; (Captain Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza and Heatley).Heatley, a star in his own right, came into the fold already with a 41-goal, 89-point season under his belt, so there were expectations for him to perform, especially with such talented linemates. He didn&rsquo;t disappoint. Over the next two seasons, Heatley turned in back-to-back 50-goal, 100-plus-point campaigns, culminating with a 2007 run to the Stanley Cup final. The Senators were dispatched in five games by the Anaheim Ducks, but Heatley had come in and made the CASH Line the top performing forward unit in hockey.Following the Cup loss, Heatley re-upped with the Senators to the tune of a six-year extension worth $45 million. That season, Heatley had 41 goals and 82 points despite missing 11 games with a separated shoulder. The following season, however, Heatley and the rest of the CASH Line suffered a decline in production and the team dropped in the standings, costing coach Craig Hartsburg his job.Cory Clouston, coach of the Senators&rsquo; farm team in Binghamton, became the new coach. He brought a new system to the table, one that would result in diminished ice-time and a move to the second power play unit for Heatley, who would finished with his lowest point totals since his rookie season.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0067-0277/10093689-1-eng-US/f0067-022.jpg" title="f0067-02" width="700" height="1049"><figcaption class="caption-body">DANY HEATLEY (JIM MCISAAC/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>22 Dany Heatley had 22 points in 20 games in Ottawa&rsquo;s run to the Cup final in 2007<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0067-01136/10093682-1-eng-US/f0067-012.jpg" title="f0067-01" width="885" height="643"><figcaption class="caption-body">EUGENE MELNYK, DANY HEATLEY & BRYAN MURRAY (PHILLIP MACCALLUM/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>On June 10, 2009, it was reported Heatley had requested a trade. Citing an unhappiness with his role, Heatley thought it would be best to move on.&ldquo;I was shocked and disappointed,&rdquo; said Senators GM Bryan Murray at a press conference. &ldquo;The frustrating part for us is we have gone through several coaches here that we couldn&rsquo;t win enough games with. We brought in a guy, the results we were very happy with. The team started to look like a real team again. And then to be kind of blindsided in his way of thinking anyway by one of your players &ndash; not wanting to fit in &ndash; that&rsquo;s hard for a coach to accept.&rdquo;The Senators then took on the unenviable task of trading a star who had made his demands public. On June 30, 2009 &ndash; two days before the Senators were on the hook to pay Heatley a $4 million bonus &ndash; a trade was reached with the Edmonton Oilers to send Heatley in exchange for Andrew Cogliano, Dustin Penner and Ladislav Smid. Heatley &ndash; whose contract held a notrade clause &ndash; refused the trade, further increasing the already boiling resentment towards the star winger in the nation&rsquo;s capital.After a summer of can-kicking and posturing, the Senators were finally able to reach a deal with the San Jose Sharks. Heatley was sent, along with a fifth round pick, to the Sharks for Milan Michalek, Jonathan Cheechoo and a second-rounder.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0067-0359/10093675-1-eng-US/f0067-032.jpg" title="f0067-03" width="616" height="368"><figcaption class="caption-body">TRADE DEMANDOttawa fans were quick to turn on Dany Heatley when he wanted out of town. (PHILLIP MACCALLUM/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>Heatley&rsquo;s antics weren&rsquo;t quickly forgotten. Demanding a trade has always been an unpopular decision among Canadian fans, and they let him hear it nationwide while he was with the Sharks, primarily in Edmonton and Ottawa. Heatley&rsquo;s participation with the 2010 Canadian Olympic gold medal team did wonders to smooth his reputation with the rest of Canada, but in Ottawa Heatley will remain one of the most hated players of all-time. &#9632;

f0066-01

DANY HEATLEY VS. OTTAWA SENATORS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0068-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0068-01146/10093762-1-eng-US/f0068-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">PUPPET STRINGSHarold Ballard loved being in control of his Leafs, figuratively and literally. (DICK LOEK/TORONTO STAR VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>THOUGH HIS NAME IS INFAMOUS IN Toronto, Harold Ballard is often referred to with bemusement by former employees, even those he mercilessly trashed to get headlines.Owner of the Maple Leafs from 1972 until his death in 1990, Ballard had first bought into the operation as a part-owner in 1962, along with Stafford Smythe and John Bassett Sr.But once Ballard and his idiosyncratic ways took hold full time, the Maple Leafs fell into a state of ruin until he passed away. Under his reign, the &lsquo;Buds&rsquo; never won a division title, never appeared in the Stanley Cup final and rarely had any semblance of continuity.Ballard went through 11 coaching changes in 18 years, once firing the legendary Roger Neilson and then offering him his job back if he wore a paper bag over his head. Neilson only accepted the former.The fact Ballard made his affairs so public was part of his hubris but also an integral part of his memorable personality. He would be very cordial to players and staff to their faces, then turn around and rip them publicly in the press.&ldquo;He was the opposite of most bosses today,&rdquo; said Gord Stellick, who was GM of the team for just one season (1988-89) but was part of the organization since his youth. &ldquo;He knew that to get Page 1, you had to say something outrageous.&rdquo;Bruce Boudreau, coach of Anaheim, was Maple Leafs property during the Ballard era. Boudreau played 134 games in the NHL between stops in the minors. He remembered a nice owner, though he did so cautiously. &ldquo;He always said hi, he was always smiling,&rdquo; Boudreau said. &ldquo;To my face, he was great.&rdquo;<blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;HE KNEW THAT TO GET TO PAGE 1, YOU HAD TO SAY SOMETHING OUTRAGEOUS&rdquo;&ndash; Gord Stellick</blockquote><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0069-01125/10093755-1-eng-US/f0069-012.jpg" title="f0069-01" width="788" height="684"><figcaption class="caption-body">GORD STELLICK & HAROLD BALLARD (TONY BOCK/TORONTO STAR VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>And therein was the rub.Stellick recalled one incident on a team flight when, ravaged by injuries, the Leafs had called upon Czechoslovakian import Miroslav Ihnacak to step in. Ballard, a virulent anti-Communist, had helped bring Ihnacak over to North America and freedom from Soviet rule, but he felt had been sold a false bill of goods when the import failed to put up numbers at the NHL level.As Ihnacak walked down the aisle to get to his seat, Ballard heartily welcomed him onto the flight. Ihnacak responded in kind, thanking Ballard for the opportunity before proceeding down the aisle.&ldquo;As he walked away,&rdquo; Stellick recalled, &ldquo;Ballard turned to me and said &lsquo;boy, we&rsquo;re really scraping the bottom of the barrel now, aren&rsquo;t we?&rsquo; &rdquo;Another infamous incident occurred after a member of the press noted to Ballard that star right winger Rick Vaive was up for another contract. Vaive had led the team in scoring two of the past three seasons.&ldquo;He told him &lsquo;Vaive would be a mediocre player in a six-team league, I&rsquo;m not paying him another dime,&rsquo; &rdquo; Vaive said. &ldquo;It didn&rsquo;t bother me &ndash; I (eventually) got a raise. It was after my third 50-goal season.&rdquo;But that sense of entitlement was the death of Ballard. He was the owner and treated the organization as such. It was his way or the highway and, unfortunately, he didn&rsquo;t know how to win NHL hockey games.&ldquo;The building was his domain,&rdquo; Stellick said. &ldquo;He signed the checks, he was front and center. He wanted to win but couldn&rsquo;t make the sacrifice of not meddling.&rdquo;Added Vaive: &ldquo;We had a lot of good players, but we couldn&rsquo;t bring in the top hockey people, because he wouldn&rsquo;t pay them and they wouldn&rsquo;t work for him.&rdquo;Ballard&rsquo;s legendary cheapness &ndash; which defenders point out was offset by his many contributions to charity (which itself was off-set by the fact he was convicted of 47 counts of theft and fraud involving Maple Leafs money in 1972) &ndash; also damaged the ability of Maple Leafs players from putting in maximum effort.In the 1980s, Ballard skirted NHL per diem rules by having flights take off five minutes after the cutoff of 7:30 p.m. &ldquo;It was only a half day he would have had to pay anyway,&rdquo; Vaive said. &ldquo;There would be delays and they weren&rsquo;t jets back then, they were turboprops. So we would get in to St. Louis or Minnesota at 11 p.m. or midnight. Eventually we sat down and said we would give up the meal money if we could just leave at a decent time, like 4:30 p.m., so we could get rest and go out for a meal. We did that for a while.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0070-01127/10093748-1-eng-US/f0070-012.jpg" title="f0070-01" width="808" height="717"><figcaption class="caption-body">HAROLD BALLARD & KING CLANCY (DOUG GRIFFIN/TORONTO STAR VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0070-0270/10093741-1-eng-US/f0070-022.jpg" title="f0070-02" width="1252" height="1208"><figcaption class="caption-body">TWO-FACEBallard was friendly to his players face-to-face only to slam them later in the press. (JEFF GOODE/TORONTO STAR VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>Vaive did admit to a benefit of flying commercial.&ldquo;Because we would stay overnight instead of flying right home, guys started hanging out more and getting to know each other,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It was beneficial to us.&rdquo;But even when Ballard began to inch towards modernity, his scowling nature would pull him back to the dark side. The team eventually took charters, but it was a bumpy transition. One night, a stewardess was coming down the aisle with little chocolate bars after dinner. King Clancy, Ballard&rsquo;s best friend and a longtime Leafs exec, told her Ballard, sitting two rows behind, could only have one because he was diabetic.&ldquo;When she came to Ballard, he put his whole paw in, so she slapped his hand and told him &lsquo;you can only have one,&rsquo; &rdquo; Vaive said. &ldquo;He cancelled the charter, so we flew commercial the rest of the year.&rdquo;Despite his crusty exterior, many of his former charges remember a softer side to Ballard. Stellick recalled a man who could pass for your favorite uncle when he was in a good mood, while Vaive thinks he has an idea of why Ballard was so sour in his final years.&ldquo;When King Clancy was alive, Harold was a different person,&rdquo; Vaive said. &ldquo;After King passed, he became very grumpy, worse in his dislikes for things. That was his best friend, probably the only friend he had.&ldquo;You always hear about when a spouse dies after a long marriage, the other person goes downhill fast? It was very similar.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0070-0340/10093734-1-eng-US/f0070-032.jpg" title="f0070-03" width="258" height="275"></div>738&nbsp;Losses during the Ballard era, fourth most in the league over that period<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0071-01123/10093727-1-eng-US/f0071-012.jpg" title="f0071-01" width="2132" height="2666"><figcaption class="caption-body">HAROLD BALLARD & T.C. PUCK (FRANK LENNON)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0068-01

HAROLD BALLARD VS TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS

IT WAS LIKE ONE OF THOSE SOUTH American revolutions,&rdquo; said a 1983-84 Devils player. &ldquo;Billy was in Chicago, at a board of governors meeting, and, boom, the whole government changed overnight.&rdquo;It&rsquo;s hard enough to lose. Harder, even, when the score is lopsided. And harder again when the greatest player in the game rubs salt in your wounds. But that&rsquo;s what happened Nov. 19, 1983 when the New Jersey Devils visited the Edmonton Oilers.The &rsquo;83-84 season wasn&rsquo;t exactly a banner one for the Devils. Two years removed from a move out of Colorado and coming off a 17-win campaign, the Devils were just trying to make some headway in the Garden State. When New Jersey limped into Edmonton to play the juggernaut Oilers, the Devils did so with a record of 2-17-0. After a 13-4 drubbing, Wayne Gretzky ripped the Devils right to their core, calling the franchise a &ldquo;Mickey Mouse operation&rdquo; that was ruining hockey. Ouch.&ldquo;I happened to be coaching that game,&rdquo; said Marshall Johnston, an assistant coach with the Devils under Billy MacMillan in early 1983. &ldquo;It was into the third period and we got a penalty. Out come Wayne and (Jari) Kurri and (Paul) Coffey and (Glenn) Anderson&hellip;and then, of course, after the game there was the comment.&rdquo;So Gretzky &ndash; who had three goals and eight points on the night &ndash; and the Oilers weren&rsquo;t exactly taking it easy on the Devils, on the ice or off it.There was more depth to Gretzky&rsquo;s comment, but it was &ldquo;Mickey Mouse operation&rdquo; that made hockey headlines. It didn&rsquo;t matter what he meant or didn&rsquo;t mean. That characterization was all anyone cared about.&ldquo;He was young at the time, and I&rsquo;m sure he didn&rsquo;t expect it to have the repercussions it did,&rdquo; Johnston said. &ldquo;But it did.&rdquo;41&nbsp;Points for the &rsquo;83-84 Devils, still the fewest since the team moved to New Jersey<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0072-01124/10093800-1-eng-US/f0072-012.jpg" title="f0072-01" width="747" height="959"><figcaption class="caption-body">WAYNE GRETZKY (FOCUS ON SPORT/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>Three days after the Gretzky comment, Devils owner John McMullen cleaned house, firing coach-GM MacMillan and player personnel director Bert Marshall. Johnston was moved upstairs from behind the bench to become New Jersey&rsquo;s new director of player personnel.&ldquo;The owner was embarrassed,&rdquo; Johnston said, &ldquo;as we all were.&rdquo;Gretzky later clarified his statement, however, taking a long view.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0072-0262/10093793-1-eng-US/f0072-022.jpg" title="f0072-02" width="3175" height="2171"><figcaption class="caption-body">MOUSE TRAPWayne Gretzky called the Devils a &ldquo;Mickey Mouse operation&rdquo; and couldn&rsquo;t take it back. (BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>&ldquo;(The Devils) are going to lose a lot of games,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re going to have an empty building soon, and we&rsquo;re going to be without another team. I hope for the league&rsquo;s sake the Devils turn it around.&rdquo;They didn&rsquo;t &ndash; at least not that season, finishing with a 17-56-7 record, good for second-last overall. (To add insult to injury, by finishing with three more points than Pittsburgh, New Jersey missed a chance to draft a Quebec junior named Mario Lemieux.)&ldquo;We were struggling as it was, and there were a lot of games where we felt embarrassed,&rdquo; Johnston said when asked if there was any pushback from Devils players against Gretzky later in the year. &ldquo;Everyone would try to do their best, and it wasn&rsquo;t good enough. That was the bottom line. That&rsquo;s what happened.&rdquo;If the Devils players wouldn&rsquo;t or couldn&rsquo;t push back, what few Devils fans there were did, in a manner of speaking. When the Oilers next made their way to East Rutherford, New Jersey supporters were there &ndash; with Mickey Mouse masks on. &#9632;

f0072-01

WAYNE GRETZKY VS NEW JERSEY DEVILS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0074-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0074-01119/10093873-1-eng-US/f0074-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">SEN-SATIONALAlexei Yashin led the Sens in scoring six of the seven seasons he played in Ottawa. (CRAIG MELVIN/ALLSPORT)</figcaption></div>ANY GROUP OF ANGRY FANS can boo a villain. But it takes a special kind of hate to file a lawsuit against your hockey-playing anti-hero and burn him in effigy.Those are just some of the measures Ottawa Senators&rsquo; boosters took in expressing their contempt of one-time local fan favorite Alexei Yashin.At issue was &ndash; what else? &ndash; money. Many Senators fans viewed the gifted Russian as a greedy, lazy, me-first individual, devoid of principle. The Yashin camp, conversely, said his holdout during the 1999-2000 season was all about integrity.Whatever the case, when Yashin threatened to withhold his playing services for the third time in five years despite being under contract and the Senators called his bluff, public sentiment was squarely in the team&rsquo;s corner.&ldquo;Everywhere you went around town that year people were talking about Yashin,&rdquo; said Jim Boone, former president of the defunct NHL Fans Association and an Ottawa resident. &ldquo;It was as big a deal here as the lockout was league-wide. There was so much anger towards this guy.&rdquo;That wasn&rsquo;t always the case. The first player ever drafted by the Sens, second overall in 1992, Yashin mostly lived up to the buzz that surrounded his lofty status. While the team struggled year after year, Yashin grew and eventually blossomed into an NHL all-star and a Hart Trophy runner-up in 1999. That same year, he finished tied with Jaromir Jagr and Tony Amonte for second in the goal-scoring race with 44, just three behind league leader Teemu Selanne.The problem was Alexandre Daigle, the club&rsquo;s first overall selection in the 1993 draft. More precisely, it&rsquo;s the monster that Daigle became, as created by the franchise and media, that soured the scenario.Daigle was a golden boy, a charismatic teen from nearby Quebec who was supposed to be the next big thing. Forecasting a potential for conflict, Yashin&rsquo;s agent, Mark Gandler, said he went to the Senators to renegotiate for the first time in order to protect his client&rsquo;s interests and was assured Yashin and Daigle would be paid on par. This transpired before Daigle&rsquo;s landmark five-year, $12.5-million deal was inked, the largest pact ever for a first-year player.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0075-0197/10093866-1-eng-US/f0075-012.jpg" title="f0075-01" width="465" height="641"><figcaption class="caption-body">ALEXEI YASHIN (DENIS BRODEUR/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;I&rsquo;M OLD-SCHOOL IN THAT YOU SIGN THE CONTRACT, YOU LIVE WITH THE CONTRACT, THEN MOVE TO THE NEXT ONE&rdquo;&ndash; Marshall Johnston</blockquote>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to say anything derogatory about the people involved,&rdquo; Gandler said, &ldquo;but when Daigle&rsquo;s contract showed up, it was a 180-degree turnaround. We felt Alexei was slighted.&rdquo;As the seasons passed and it became clear Yashin was the superior player, bad blood simmered and the Yashin camp went back to the trough a couple times looking to make good on what it says it was promised. The problem was, by the time the third occasion arose, the Sens had gone through a chorus line of GMs that included Mel Bridgman, Randy Sexton, Pierre Gauthier, Rick Dudley, and, finally, in 1999-2000, Marshall Johnston. Continuity was an issue, as were lack of funds for owner Rod Bryden, and Johnston said he wasn&rsquo;t made aware of any verbal agreements. What he knew categorically was Yashin was due $3.6 million in the final year of his deal and Johnston was going to draw a firm line. Play in Ottawa or play nowhere. No new pact, no trade out of town.&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t know anything about the first two (renegotiations), it was before I got there,&rdquo; Johnston said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m old-school in that you sign the contract, you live with the contract and then you move on to the next one. You don&rsquo;t try halfway through the contract and say, &lsquo;Oh, well, I didn&rsquo;t get enough&rsquo; or &lsquo;they low-balled me.&rsquo; &rdquo;The spat became very bitter and very public. The Senators spiked the propaganda war by releasing to the media a letter written to them by Gandler in which he stated their hardline position. Yashin validated that it wasn&rsquo;t just the agent pulling strings when he told a reporter in the fall of 1999, &ldquo;I can sit out two years if I have to.&rdquo;Owner Bryden&rsquo;s comeback? &ldquo;Alexei Yashin? That name doesn&rsquo;t even register with me.&rdquo;Further fuelling hard feelings was the way the Senators had been stunned in the 1999 playoffs, being swept 4-0 in the first round by the underdog Sabres. Ottawa had finished second overall with 103 points, 12 more than Buffalo and, as the No. 2 seed, was supposed to roll over No. 7. Captain Yashin, expected to lead the charge, failed to register a point. Sens supporters were incredulous.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0076-01109/10093859-1-eng-US/f0076-012.jpg" title="f0076-01" width="804" height="800"><figcaption class="caption-body">ALEXANDRE DAIGLE (MARCO CAMPANELLI/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0076-0254/10093852-1-eng-US/f0076-022.jpg" title="f0076-02" width="1244" height="1301"><figcaption class="caption-body">P.R. NIGHTMAREYashin&rsquo;s milliondollar donation to the National Arts Centre didn&rsquo;t go as expected. (EZRA C. SHAW/ALLSPORT)</figcaption></div>Not everyone agreed, however, the finger of blame should be pointed at Yashin.&ldquo;He had 24 shots on goal in four games,&rdquo; Dudley recalled. &ldquo;We happened to play against Dominik Hasek. If anyone else was in goal, &lsquo;Yash&rsquo; would have had four or five goals at least in those games. He played hard, and he wanted it, and it would be difficult for someone to tell me anything different.&rdquo;Still, the local critics became more vocal. They looked at his less-than-efficient skating style and accused him of apathy.Yashin&rsquo;s image also took a severe pounding over a donation he&rsquo;d made, then rescinded, to Ottawa&rsquo;s National Arts Centre in 1998. Yashin pledged $1 million to the hall over five years, with a proviso. What that stipulation was depends on who you believe. Media reports said he demanded his parents be put on the payroll for $425,000 for consulting fees. Gandler says the figure was $60,000 for his mother only and was for legitimate services rendered: to secure high-level Russian performers, a task she was never allowed to complete.&ldquo;Alexei fulfilled the first year of the pledge,&rdquo; Gandler said, &ldquo;(but) nobody from Russia was invited to perform. We met with the conductor and people from the Arts Centre and there was no plans to invite the Russians. They reneged on their promise and we feel that moral obligation was no longer there. Alexei had the right to pull the plug and he did.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0076-0337/10093845-1-eng-US/f0076-032.jpg" title="f0076-03" width="544" height="1042"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0077-01109/10093838-1-eng-US/f0077-012.jpg" title="f0077-01" width="2121" height="1134"><figcaption class="caption-body">GREAT YIELDYashin garnered the Senators an excellent return when traded to the Islanders. (HARRY HOW/ALLSPORT)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0077-0260/10093831-1-eng-US/f0077-022.jpg" title="f0077-02" width="410" height="625"><figcaption class="caption-body">MARSHALL JOHNSTON (JOHNSTON: GETTY IMAGES/NHLI)</figcaption></div>More than anything, though, it was the decision to sit out an entire year that earned Yashin epic scorn. Things came to a head when MARSHALL JOHNSTON an arbitrator ruled after the 1999-2000 campaign ended that Yashin &ndash; who&rsquo;d spent much of the season practising with a team in Switzerland &ndash; still had to honor the final year of his contract before being granted free agency. He returned to Ottawa that autumn convinced he&rsquo;d made the right decision and unwilling to show contrition. At his first media conference following his return to the Sens, he remained quietly defiant.&ldquo;The media expected Alexei to say, &lsquo;I&rsquo;m sorry, I made a mistake. I love my teammates, I love this town,&rsquo; but Alexei said it how it was,&rdquo; Gandler recalled. &ldquo;He was there because the arbitrator compelled him to play. Otherwise, he wouldn&rsquo;t have gone back.&rdquo;It was a dreadful experience for the Russian, who was mercilessly booed by the hometown fans much of the season. One irate zealot launched a $27.5-million lawsuit against him, claiming breach of contract. It was eventually tossed out of court. Others burned him in effigy.&ldquo;We knew that he was going to be under fire,&rdquo; Gandler said. &ldquo;I can tell you, to play all year under those circumstances when your own fans boo you when you touch the puck &ndash; and score 40 goals &ndash; that&rsquo;s not easy. You have to be made of iron. He went through a tough time, no question about it.&rdquo;<blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;THEY RENEGED. ALEXEI HAD THE RIGHT TO PULL THE PLUG AND HE DID&rdquo;&ndash; Mark Gandler</blockquote>38&nbsp;Yashin&rsquo;s 94 points in 1998-99 were 38 more than the closest Ottawa teammateParadoxically, while the fans were taking out their anger, those in the organization have only fond memories of Yashin the person and player.&ldquo;I enjoyed &lsquo;Yash,&rsquo; &rdquo; Dudley said. &ldquo;I thought he was a good guy and a good person and I thought he played hard for us.&rdquo;Says Johnston: &ldquo;I have nothing negative to say about him. He was a good guy. He wasn&rsquo;t any problem off the ice. He was a durable player. He was a good player.&rdquo;And former Ottawa captain and teammate, Daniel Alfredsson: &ldquo;He was a quiet person, but he was good as a teammate. He cared about his teammates, no question.&rdquo;There was a silver lining to the affair &ndash; maybe a couple. Johnston traded Yashin to the Islanders for Zdeno Chara, Bill Muckalt and New York&rsquo;s second overall pick, which Ottawa spent on Jason Spezza. As for Yashin, he finally scored that mega-deal, oneupping Daigle and then some, when he accepted an $87.5-million payout over 10 years from the generous Islanders.And to this day both camps remain steadfast in the approaches they took.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m glad things turned out the way they did,&rdquo; Johnston says. &ldquo;I know I wouldn&rsquo;t have done anything differently.&rdquo;Said Gandler: &ldquo;Had we known the result in advance, we&rsquo;d do it again. No matter what.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0074-01

OTTAWA SENATORS VS ALEXEI YASHIN

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0078-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0078-01103/10093904-1-eng-US/f0078-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">EARNING ITThe Soviets usually came out on top vs. Czechoslovakia, but it was never easy. (ARI OJALA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>SOVIET AND CZECHOSLOVAK teams had a fierce rivalry in the 1950s and early 1960s, one which reached a peak after the invasion of Soviet tanks to quell a political uprising against Communism in August 1968.Making things worse, Czechoslovakia was supposed to host the 1969 World Championship, but had to pull out because of the invasion. The result was a war on ice that lasted for more than a decade.When the two countries met in Stockholm in the spring of 1969, the Czechoslovaks came on to the ice with fire in their eyes and beat the defending world and Olympic champion Soviets twice, 2-0 and 4-3.Czechoslovak star Jaroslav Holik rubbed salt in the emotional wounds of Soviet goaltender Viktor Zinger after his team&rsquo;s first goal, poking his stick repeatedly at Zinger&rsquo;s face and calling him a &ldquo;bloody Communist.&rdquo;Team captain Jozef Golonka displayed his feelings towards the Soviets by pretending his stick was a rifle.&ldquo;We said to ourselves, even if we have to die on the ice, we have to beat them,&rdquo; said Golonka in an interview many years later.Before the first game, some Czechoslovak players had defied the Communist Party by covering up the red star on their jerseys with tape. The star pledged allegiance to the USSR. Soviet winger Evgeny Zimin remembered the game during an interview in Moscow in 1989 for Lawrence Martin&rsquo;s book, The Red Machine.&ldquo;The integrity of the Czechoslovak players and their pride was on the line,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;They decided that if they couldn&rsquo;t beat us with tanks, then they could beat us on the ice rinks.&rdquo;The pot was still boiling three years later when Vaclav Nedomansky fired a puck into the Soviet bench at the 1972 Olympics in Japan. The Soviets won that gold medal with a 5-2 win. The Czechoslovaks, however, exacted revenge on home ice in Prague two months later, upsetting the Olympic champions 3-2 to win the gold medal at the 1972 World Championship, snapping a nine-year Soviet run.<blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;WE SAID TO OURSELVES, EVEN IF WE HAVE TO DIE ON THE ICE, WE HAVE TO BEAT THEM&rdquo;&ndash;Jozef Golonka</blockquote>12&nbsp;Wins over the Soviets for Czechoslovakia in 61 attempts from 1954 to 1992In April 1967 &ndash; more than a year before the Soviet invasion &ndash; Stepan Chervonenko, the Soviet ambassador to Czechoslovakia, had sent a top-secret cable to Moscow. He recommended serious consideration be given to halting matches between the two countries in Czechoslovak territory and not sending Soviet officials to work games involving Czechoslovakia. When Czechoslovakia stunned the Soviets 5-4 at the 1968 Olympics in France, people in Prague scribbled the score on streets, walls and kiosks in a show of defiance.At the 1985 worlds, a 2-1 win over the Soviets in the medal round was a stepping stone to the gold for Czechoslovakia. From the day the two countries first met at a World Championship in 1954 until the 1992 Olympics, the Soviets went 40-12-9 against Czechoslovakia, but the perennial world champs earned few of their wins without paying a heavy price physically. During the same 38-year period, the Soviets once went undefeated against Sweden for 47 consecutive games. Canada, represented by players from the NHL, beat the Soviets only once between 1977 and 1992.But as hot as the rivalry was, there were occasions when the Soviets did favors for the Czechoslovaks whom, despite the political turmoil, they considered their Slavic brothers. At the 1982 worlds in Finland, the Soviets clinched gold early and Canada was in line for silver if the Soviets defeated Czechoslovakia. It has never been proven, but many observers believe the Soviets tanked the final game, which ended in a 0-0 tie, so that the Czechoslovaks would get a point and earn silver. It is said Sergei Makarov had a clear-cut breakaway, but instead of shooting circled back into the neutral zone with the puck. Recalling the game in an atmosphere free of government sanctions 20 years later, Soviet center Viktor Zhluktov would only say: &ldquo;I guess we can talk about those things now, can&rsquo;t we.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0078-01

SOVIET UNION VS CZECHOSLOVAKIA

FOR YEARS, MATT COOKE HAD been considered a dirty, reckless player, but the reputation really took off March 7, 2010, on a hit that didn&rsquo;t even earn Cooke one of his six career NHL suspensions. The Boston Bruins were attacking in the Pittsburgh Penguins&rsquo; zone when Milan Lucic dished off a pass to center Marc Savard, who attempted a quick shot. But Savard didn&rsquo;t see Cooke, who swooped in from the blind spot and caught Savard with a direct hit to the head that would have serious ramifications for Savard and the league.It wasn&rsquo;t the first dangerous, careless check thrown by Cooke, but this one was different. This one ended Savard&rsquo;s career, but it didn&rsquo;t lead to any on- or off-ice punishment because the legality of the hit was defensible at the time. This hit was different because the lack of action taken against it by the league and the public outrage that followed helped usher in the new Rule 48.Through hockey history, some rule changes can be attributed to the excellence of certain teams or individuals. For instance, the trapezoids behind the nets were introduced to defend against the excellent puck handling abilities of certain goalies, namely Martin Brodeur. And the reason why a minor penalty expires when the team on a man advantage scores is because the 1955-56 Montreal Canadiens were simply too dominant. Rather than Cooke&rsquo;s skills, Rule 48 can at least partly be attributed to his sins.The wording of the new rule specifically targeted hits like the one Cooke threw that March and the one Mike Richards threw on David Booth a few months earlier. That Richards hit inspired a conversation among league GMs to change the rules to better protect players. The Cooke hit fast-tracked the process.&ldquo;The managers had a meeting in November, like we do every year and (the Richards hit) had occurred just prior to that meeting,&rdquo; said former chief disciplinarian Colin Campbell when Rule 48 was introduced for the 2010-11 season. &ldquo;They just said, enough, we have to do something about these concussions. Certainly that got us going. We were going to do something about it. We don&rsquo;t do something mid-season, never have until the Savard hit took place. We drafted a rule that would apply to supplementary discipline and applied the major penalty this summer.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0080-0192/10093970-1-eng-US/f0080-012.jpg" title="f0080-01" width="435" height="677"><figcaption class="caption-body">MATT COOKE (BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;THIS PLAYER SHOULD NEVER BE PLAYING IN THIS LEAGUE. IT&rsquo;S A LEAGUE FOR ELITE PLAYERS&rdquo;&ndash; Eugene Melnyk</blockquote><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0080-0245/10093963-1-eng-US/f0080-022.jpg" title="f0080-02" width="3175" height="2664"><figcaption class="caption-body">REHABILITATED?Matt Cooke has made a late-career push to mend his reputation as a dirty player.</figcaption></div>Cooke was in the league&rsquo;s crosshair, but that didn&rsquo;t slow him down. It wasn&rsquo;t long before he was again making headlines for all the wrong reasons. In November 2010, he hit Erik Karlsson&rsquo;s head into the boards after the Ottawa defenseman had already been checked by Max Talbot. In December, Cooke took a run at Keith Yandle and drove his elbow into the back of the Coyotes defenseman&rsquo;s head. Seven days after the Yandle incident, Cooke elbowed Atlanta&rsquo;s Evander Kane in the head. For those three hits, Cooke received four minutes in penalties and no suspensions. Because none of the hits were ruled to be from the &ldquo;blind side,&rdquo; Cooke wasn&rsquo;t breaking the new rule made, in effect, to stop his menace. He was suspended four games in February for a knee against Alex Ovechkin, and in March Cooke received what became a 17-game suspension for another reckless hit on New York Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh.And while Cooke was making a name for himself as one of the NHL&rsquo;s most notorious evil-doers, he was also making his owner look like a hypocrite. Just one month prior to the McDonagh incident, Penguins owner Mario Lemieux called out the NHL for acting too softly in how it responded to the brawling that took place in their game against the New York Islanders.&ldquo;We, as a league, must do a better job of protecting the integrity of the game and the safety of our players,&rdquo; Lemieux said. &ldquo;We must make it clear that those kinds of actions will not be tolerated and will be met with meaningful disciplinary action. If the events relating to Friday night reflect the state of the league, I need to rethink whether I want to be a part of it.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0082-0189/10093956-1-eng-US/f0082-012.jpg" title="f0082-01" width="1252" height="1083"><figcaption class="caption-body">LAST STRAWCooke&rsquo;s blindside on Marc Savard led to the NHL creating rules prohibiting high hits.</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0082-0244/10093949-1-eng-US/f0082-022.jpg" title="f0082-02" width="1819" height="1542"><figcaption class="caption-body">REPEAT VICTIMErik Karlsson has been on the receiving end of two dangerous Cooke collisions. (JUSTIN K. ALLER/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>Meanwhile, Cooke was playing for the Penguins on a three-year contract paying him $1.8 million a season.In 2011-12, the NHL amended Rule 48 by dropping the term &ldquo;blindside&rdquo; and allowing the rule to include all hits where the primary point of contact is the head.At the same time, Cooke was promising change in his game after his wife, Michelle, survived a serious kidney infection that hospitalized her for 10 days in January of 2011. He had reassessed what kind of a hockey player he wanted to be and what kind of legacy he wanted to leave. He pledged to keep hitting, but to do it &ldquo;the right way.&rdquo;&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t care what they say about me,&rdquo; Cooke told The Pittsburgh Tribune before the 2011-12 season. &ldquo;I can take it. I go back to, &lsquo;Stick and stones&hellip;&rsquo; but names &ndash; hey, your kids hear the names.&rdquo;&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got this chance and I need to look at it as an opportunity to show everybody I can change my approach, that I can play within the rules. The rest of my career can be proving that it&rsquo;s possible to change. It has to be about that. There&rsquo;s no excuse for it not to be about that.&rdquo;34&nbsp;Games Matt Cooke has been suspended, including playoffs, across 15 seasons<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0083-0181/10093942-1-eng-US/f0083-012.jpg" title="f0083-01" width="812" height="833"><figcaption class="caption-body">(JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>And, really, he did change. In 2011-12, Cooke recorded only 44 penalty minutes, down from 129 the season before, and scored a career-high 19 goals. In 2012-13, he posted 36 PIM in 48 games &ndash; and he didn&rsquo;t receive a suspension in either season.But his old reputation continued to follow and haunt him, as the hatred for him always bubbled below the surface, waiting for a reason to erupt. In February 2013, Cooke had another run-in with Karlsson, but this time, there didn&rsquo;t appear to be malicious intent. While Cooke and Karlsson jostled towards the boards, Cooke&rsquo;s skate inadvertently severed Karlsson&rsquo;s Achilles tendon and knocked him out for an extended period of time. It looked like a freak accident, but Senators owner Eugene Melnyk was livid about losing his best player and lashed out at Cooke and the Penguins.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s something that never should have happened,&rdquo; Melnyk said. &ldquo;This player should never be playing in this league. It&rsquo;s a league for elite players. At what point do you say, &lsquo;You know what? Maybe he&rsquo;s not changed.&rsquo; You do this enough times, don&rsquo;t try to convince me or anybody else. People are way too intelligent. The guy gets suspended five times. That&rsquo;s how many times he&rsquo;s been suspended, never mind how many times he&rsquo;s not been suspended.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m just shocked that organization employs that type of individual. You&rsquo;ve got some good people at the top there. Come on, these guys are former players, they are elite players, they know what these guys can do.&rdquo;The Penguins let Cooke go that summer and he signed on with the Minnesota Wild as a free agent. Again his penalty minutes stayed low &ndash; 54 in 82 games &ndash; and again he survived the regular season without a suspension. Cooke had spent three years trying to scrub the stain left on his image by a long suspension history and an even longer list of incidents many people think should have resulted in suspension. But in April 2014, during a playoff series against the Colorado Avalanche, all Cooke&rsquo;s progress was reset when he caught Tyson Barrie with a knee-on-knee hit. The Avalanche defenseman left the game and did not return to the series. Cooke was suspended seven games and returned for the end of Minnesota&rsquo;s second-round series.<blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;THE REST OF MY CAREER CAN BE PROVING I CAN CHANGE. IT HAS TO BE ABOUT THAT&rdquo;&ndash; Matt Cooke</blockquote>The more things change, the more they stay the same. Cooke&rsquo;s first NHL suspension came in a different time &ndash; a 2004 incident at the end of the Dead Puck Era. He became a hated player in the years to come and when Rule 48 was introduced to target players like Cooke, he still got away with more controversial plays than he was suspended for. When he declared himself a changed player, suspicion loomed that he would inevitably strike again. So when he hit Barrie, Cooke restored his place as one of the NHL&rsquo;s most hated, most controversial figures.Matt Cooke: a rival of the fans, a rival of NHL players &ndash; a rival for the entire NHL.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0083-0247/10093935-1-eng-US/f0083-022.jpg" title="f0083-02" width="744" height="1301"><figcaption class="caption-body">MATT COOKE (BRUCE KLUCKHOHN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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MATT COOKE VS THE NHL

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0085-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0085-0180/10094001-1-eng-US/f0085-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">LET ME OUTChris Pronger wanted out of Edmonton just one season into a five-year contract. (2006 GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>WHEN THE NHL CAME OUT OF the 2004-05 lockout with a salary cap, many teams started maneuvering their rosters to position themselves properly in the new economic era. On Aug. 2, 2005, a trade that before the lockout would have been reserved for fantasy hockey leagues was made between the St. Louis Blues and Edmonton Oilers. The Blues shipped off hard-nosed defenseman Chris Pronger for Eric Brewer, Jeff Woywitka and Doug Lynch. Pronger&rsquo;s arrival got Oilers fans giddy.Small-market Edmonton often had to move out its coming-of-age stars as they hit their primes because of the price tags that came with them, but with a new system in place to produce parity, Edmonton was all of a sudden in the market for acquiring one of those superstars.&ldquo;The hockey world turned upside down when the Oilers obtained Chris Pronger, the Hart Trophy and Norris Trophy winner in 2000, by sending the kind of package Edmonton had always sought under the old system to a club, St. Louis, that had previously been a buyer of big names,&rdquo; THN wrote back in 2005.The Oilers had missed the playoffs the season prior to the lockout, but the addition of Pronger gave the team a stalwart to build around. And although the team squeaked into the playoffs as the No. 8 seed, the presence of the towering blueliner paid big dividends.The Oilers knocked off the Presidents&rsquo; Trophy-winning Detroit Red Wings in six games, the San Jose Sharks in six and then the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in five to complete a miraculous run to the Cup final. Edmonton lost to Carolina in seven games and while Cam Ward won the Conn Smythe, many argued it should have been given to Pronger, who lifted the Oilers to unexpected heights.With 21 points in 24 playoff games, Pronger had notched the most post-season points by a defenseman since Brian Leetch put up 34 in 1994. Pronger also became the first player to score on a penalty shot in the Cup final, achieving the feat in Game 1.<blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;EVEN THOUGH HE WISHED HE WERE ELSEWHERE, PRONGER WAS A PRO WHEN IT CAME TO HIS JOB&rdquo;</blockquote>8 Consecutive seasons missing the playoffs for the Oilers since Chris Pronger&rsquo;s departureBut Edmonton&rsquo;s new hero was about to become Public Enemy No. 1.On June 23, 2006, four days after the final, Pronger requested a trade from Edmonton, where he&rsquo;d signed a five-year contract when first acquired. Rumors of infidelity circulated, but the truth was his wife, Lauren, wasn&rsquo;t happy in their new city and was the catalyst for the move. On July 3, 2006, 11 months after bringing him in, the Oilers shipped Pronger to Anaheim for Joffrey Lupul, Ladislav Smid, two first-round picks and a second-rounder. (Because of her influence, Lauren Pronger wound up on THN&rsquo;s top 100 list of People of Power and Influence in the hockey world in 2006-07).&ldquo;The organization was aware of Pronger&rsquo;s desire to be moved early in the year, yet it rode him all the way to Game 7 of the Cup final,&rdquo; THN senior writer Mike Brophy wrote in 2006. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s because even though he wished he were elsewhere, Pronger was professional when it came to doing his job. He played part of the year on a broken foot and through a portion of the playoffs with a partially separated shoulder.&rdquo;But Edmontonians have a much different view on the matter. The blogosphere and fan radio airwaves were filled with vitriol and most fans refuse to forgive Pronger. Naturally, he was booed vociferously whenever he returned to Edmonton.Like every story, this one has two sides. On one hand, Pronger was taking care of his family, but on the other he was abandoning a franchise only a few days after a run to the final.Never mind he was the leader of the magical year. The way the big guy left town left a sour taste in the mouths of Oilers fans that will linger on in the history books. &#9632;

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CHRIS PRONGER VS. EDMONTON OILERS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0086-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0086-0186/10094067-1-eng-US/f0086-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">WINGS CLIPPEDAfter Ted Lindsay worked to start a union, Detroit traded its captain away.</figcaption></div>THE FACT THAT FOUR years ago NHL players decided to rename the trophy awarded to their choice for MVP after him says all anyone needs to know about the reverence reserved for Ted Lindsay.&lsquo;Terrible&rsquo; Ted lived up to his nickname (based on his rugged play) when he took on the NHL establishment and sought justice for the players in 1956-57, when owners treated NHLers like serfs, setting into motion the founding of the NHL Players&rsquo; Association.&ldquo;I did it because I believed in it,&rdquo; Lindsay said. &ldquo;The owners met 10 times a year. We never met.&rdquo;In the Original Six era, players on opposing teams barely tolerated each other and fraternizing was out of the question. The only reprieve came during the All-Star Game, which back then was played before the season began.Lindsay and Montreal defenseman Doug Harvey led the charge, speaking through team captains and eventually collecting $100 from every player in the NHL except one &ndash; Ted &lsquo;Teeder&rsquo; Kennedy of the Toronto Maple Leafs.&ldquo;He didn&rsquo;t believe in it and I have no problem with that,&rdquo; Lindsay said. &ldquo;I hated his guts when I played against him, but he was a hell of a player and I respected him.&rdquo;The players had enlisted the help of two New York City lawyers, Norman Lewis and Milton Mound, who had worked with Major League Baseball players in their union efforts and were introduced to Lindsay through Cleveland Indians pitcher Bob Feller.The &rsquo;56-57 season proceeded without a peep until February, when the players were ready to make their union known. On a Monday night (traditionally a travel day when no games were scheduled), the players held a press conference at 3 p.m. to ensure the wire services had time to blast out the announcement. Owners, GMs and even coaches had no idea what was coming.&ldquo;Believe me,&rdquo; Lindsay said, &ldquo;that hurt them more than anything else.&rdquo;Ironically, Lindsay believes the one player who was harmed most by the secret union movement was Kennedy &ndash; because he didn&rsquo;t tell Maple Leafs owner Conn Smythe what was happening.&ldquo;Smythe came back from the war and believed in loyalty,&rdquo; Lindsay said. &ldquo;I believe it cost Kennedy a lifetime job with the Leafs because he kept our secret.&rdquo;Not surprisingly, enraged NHL owners also targeted Lindsay. Despite finishing second in league scoring to linemate Gordie Howe in &rsquo;56-57, Lindsay, along with Glenn Hall, was shipped to the woeful Chicago Black Hawks that summer for Johnny Wilson, Forbes Kennedy, Hank Bassen and Bill Preston. The triggerman on the deal was GM Jack Adams, the powerful and intimidating muscle for Detroit owner James Norris. Adams would often bench or demote players to the minors on the slightest whim. He was the living embodiment of why the players wanted a union.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0088-0192/10094060-1-eng-US/f0088-012.jpg" title="f0088-01" width="2132" height="2671"><figcaption class="caption-body">TED LINDSAY (BRUCE BENNETT STUDIOS/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0089-0183/10094053-1-eng-US/f0089-012.jpg" title="f0089-01" width="1252" height="1083"><figcaption class="caption-body">POWER COUPLEPart of Lindsay&rsquo;s punishment included getting separated from Gordie Howe. (BRUCE BENNETT STUDIOS/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0089-0245/10094046-1-eng-US/f0089-022.jpg" title="f0089-02" width="365" height="590"><figcaption class="caption-body">TED LINDSAY (HARRY HOW/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>10 Years between Ted Lindsay&rsquo;s attempt to form a union and the creation of the NHLPA&ldquo;Adams was a jerk,&rdquo; Lindsay said. &ldquo;Dumbest manager in all of hockey &ndash; and I say that in all honesty.&rdquo;But Adams had the ear of the press and never missed a chance to slam his ex-star once Lindsay was traded.&ldquo;I can tell you, Howe won&rsquo;t miss Lindsay a bit,&rdquo; Adams told THN before the 1957-58 season. &ldquo;He helped Lindsay more than Lindsay helped him.&rdquo;For the record, Howe&rsquo;s production dipped after Lindsay became a Hawk. But what Adams got wrong in prognostication, he made up for in witty propaganda.&ldquo;Only one thing hurt me as Lindsay went into the dictionary to denounce me,&rdquo; Adams said. &ldquo;That was his statement I had made uncomplimentary remarks about his wife. I never met his wife. So far as I know, she is a most admirable woman. She must be, to put up with Lindsay.&rdquo;When Adams wasn&rsquo;t cutting down Lindsay, he had the media do the sniping for him. Lindsay&rsquo;s salary &ndash; generally in the high four figures &ndash; was reported instead to be at least $20,000, while unnamed Red Wings were quoted as saying they were glad Lindsay was gone. Of course, the reporter hadn&rsquo;t asked the unnamed source &ndash; Adams had fed him the quote second-hand. Needless to say, Adams and Lindsay never made up.&ldquo;There was no apology expected, no apology necessary,&rdquo; Lindsay said. &ldquo;He had a job to do and I was doing what I thought was right.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0089-0334/10094039-1-eng-US/f0089-032.jpg" title="f0089-03" width="448" height="625"><figcaption class="caption-body">JACK ADAMS</figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;I DID IT BECAUSE I BELIEVED IN IT. THE OWNERS MET 10 TIMES A YEAR. WE NEVER MET&rdquo; &ndash; Ted Lindsay</blockquote>Even though the initial union movement lost steam in 1958, the seeds planted by Lindsay and Harvey had begun to slowly take root and by 1967, agent Alan Eagleson helped found the NHL Players&rsquo; Association.In 2010, the Lester B. Pearson Award &ndash; the league&rsquo;s MVP as voted on by the players &ndash; was renamed the Ted Lindsay Award in honor of the man&rsquo;s service to his profession. Lindsay, 89, is steadfast in his beliefs.&ldquo;Edmonton was our farm club in the Western League, Indianapolis in the American League,&rdquo; Lindsay said of his Detroit days. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m making $5,500. The guys in Edmonton or Indianapolis are on two-way contracts, and I saw things happen to these kids&hellip; (Adams) would send kids to Edmonton, wouldn&rsquo;t pay them five cents. &lsquo;You&rsquo;re gone, kid.&rsquo; It was a dictatorship. I wanted the owners to know I was not stupid. I had brains.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0089-0417/10094032-1-eng-US/f0089-042.jpg" title="f0089-04" width="804" height="1080"><figcaption class="caption-body">TED LIVES ONThe award for the MVP as voted by the players was renamed after Lindsay in 2010.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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TED LINDSAY VS. THE NHL

THANKFULLY THE MOMENT WAS caught on tape to provide evidence and even a little bit of laughter in hindsight. The New Jersey Devils, in the playoffs for the first time since moving from Colorado a decade prior, met the Boston Bruins in the 1987-88 Wales Conference final, but it wasn&rsquo;t your ordinary seven-game series.After Game 3, which the Bruins won 6-1 to take a 2-1 series lead, Devils coach Jim Schoenfeld was upset with the job done by referee Don Koharski. As Koharski left the ice and walked down the tunnel with an angry Schoenfeld in his face, Koharksi lost his balance and when he accused Schoenfeld of pushing him, it teed up one of the most unforgettable off-ice moments in NHL playoff history.&ldquo;You tripped and fell, you fat pig!&rdquo; Schoenfeld yelled. &ldquo;Have another doughnut! Have another doughnut!&rdquo;After the incident, Schoenfeld said, &ldquo;I had a point I wanted to make, and he obviously didn&rsquo;t want to hear it. I said, &lsquo;I didn&rsquo;t touch you. You bumped into me.&rsquo; Those were the first words out of my mouth. Then he stumbled and said, &lsquo;You&rsquo;ll never coach again&rsquo; and all that kind of garbage.&rdquo;The confrontation had a profound impact on the series. NHL commissioner John Ziegler suspended the Devils coach for his derogatory remarks toward the referee, but the mess didn&rsquo;t end without a fight. New Jersey moved to block the suspension by serving the NHL with a restraining order granted by New Jersey Superior Court judge J.F. Madden, which allowed Schoenfeld to return to the bench in Game 4.&ldquo;The New Jersey Devils cannot tolerate the injustice that has been done to Jim Schoenfeld and our organization,&rdquo; said Devils president and GM Lou Lamoriello in a statement at the time. &ldquo;We are owed the right of a hearing and appeal.&rdquo;In turn, the three NHL officials who were scheduled to work Game 4, Dave Newell, Gord Broseker and Ray Scapinello, staged a wildcat strike to protest what they felt were unsafe working conditions. With fans in their seats and the teams on the ice, the game start was delayed for an hour while the league had to turn to amateur substitute officials to work the game.2 Series wins for Jim Schoenfeld in &rsquo;87-88. He won just one in six more career series<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0090-0186/10094112-1-eng-US/f0090-012.jpg" title="f0090-01" width="517" height="1050"><figcaption class="caption-body">JIM SCHOENFELD (DOUG PENSINGER/ALLSPORT)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0090-0242/10094105-1-eng-US/f0090-022.jpg" title="f0090-02" width="448" height="467"><figcaption class="caption-body">LOU LAMORIELLO (B BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>When the substitutes took the ice, only one, 52-year-old Devils off-ice official Paul McInnis, wore the black and white striped referee shirt. The linesmen, 51-year-old Devils off-ice official Vin Godleski and 50-year-old Jim Sullivan, an Islanders off-ice official, wore green sweat pants and yellow practice jerseys with white helmets. The game went on and the Devils evened the series with a 3-1 win. Bruins coach Terry O&rsquo;Reilly wasn&rsquo;t pleased with how everything played out.&ldquo;To me that wasn&rsquo;t a National Hockey League game,&rdquo; O&rsquo;Reilly said at the time. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a shame it happened in the playoffs. It&rsquo;s a shame it happened at all.&rdquo;The league worked out the problems with its on-ice officials and the New Jersey organization. Schoenfeld&rsquo;s suspension was rescinded, and the league agreed to the NHL Officials&rsquo; Association&rsquo;s demands for safer working conditions. NHL refs returned to the ice for Game 5, but more than 25 years later the incident still strikes a chord. Koharski and Schoenfeld respectfully declined to be interviewed for this story, as did ex-Devil Pat Verbeek, whose doubleminor for roughing tipped Schoenfeld over the edge.The Bruins won two of the final three games and advanced to the Stanley Cup final.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0091-0171/10094098-1-eng-US/f0091-012.jpg" title="f0091-01" width="2122" height="2677"><figcaption class="caption-body">FOGGY DETAILSDon Koharski said Jim Schoenfeld pushed him, while Schoenfeld said Koharski tripped. (GLENN CRATTY/ALLSPORT)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0090-01

JIM SCHOENFELD VS. DON KOHARSKI

SWITCHING FROM ONE SIDE OF a bitter feud to the other in the prime of your career is a tough thing, especially when the hatred you have for the city you&rsquo;re now expected to represent has been clearly stated in book form.Brad Park was 27 and Broadway to the bone when the New York Rangers traded him along with Jean Ratelle to the archrival Boston Bruins for Phil Esposito and Carol Vadnais in November of 1975. A few years earlier, in his book Play the Man, Park spelled out in no uncertain terms how he felt about Boston and Bruins fans.&ldquo;He hated Boston,&rdquo; said Stan Fischler, a longtime hockey writer and broadcaster who ghostwrote Park&rsquo;s book.And the feeling was mutual. Getting Bostonians angered by anything New York-related is no more difficult a task than finding a proud Texan, but B&rsquo;s supporters took their hostilities to another level when Park came to play their team.&ldquo;When I was with the Rangers, I was public enemy No. 1,&rdquo; Park said. &ldquo;The FBI used to escort me on and off the ice in the Boston arena because of the hate mail I got.&rdquo;That made it all the tougher for anybody in the game to wrap their head around the swap cooked up by Rangers GM Emile Francis and Bruins boss Harry Sinden. The headline in The Hockey News read: &ldquo;Espo Crushed &ndash; Park Stunned As Shocked Hockey World Ponders Trade.&rdquo;The story, written by Norman MacLean in New York, described Esposito as a &ldquo;hated ogre&rdquo; at Madison Square Garden.Ratelle was second on the Rangers&rsquo; list of all-time scorers with 336 goals and 817 points in 862 games when the deal went down. A classy, reserved player, Ratelle couldn&rsquo;t hide his feelings on the move.<blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;THE FBI HAD TO ESCORT ME ON AND OFF THE ICE IN BOSTON BECAUSE OF THE HATE MAIL I GOT&rdquo; &ndash; Brad Park</blockquote><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0092-0188/10094178-1-eng-US/f0092-012.jpg" title="f0092-01" width="419" height="744"><figcaption class="caption-body">BRAD PARK (DENIS BRODEUR/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0092-0240/10094171-1-eng-US/f0092-022.jpg" title="f0092-02" width="3176" height="2675"><figcaption class="caption-body">CIVIC PRIDEThe Boston-New York rivalry is an outgrowth of the cities&rsquo; hatred for one another. (MELCHIOR DIGIACOMO/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0094-0180/10094164-1-eng-US/f0094-012.jpg" title="f0094-01" width="2123" height="2676"><figcaption class="caption-body">BOBBY ORR (TONY TRIOLO/SPORTS ILLUSTRATED/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been in New York 15 years and leaving the city will be a big problem for me,&rdquo; he told THN at the time.One could be forgiven for thinking the bigger problem for Park was heading off to represent a city and team he&rsquo;d previously required law enforcement protection from. But Park&rsquo;s competitive spirit ensured he&rsquo;d do his best to prove the Blueshirts made a mistake.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to show the Rangers that Boston got the better of the deal,&rdquo; he told THN. &ldquo;Yes, I&rsquo;m reporting, what else would I do, work in a mine?&rdquo;Thirty-five years later, Park admits that despite his conviction to come back and bite his old employer, he was &ndash; as always &ndash; going to keep his head up upon landing in Massachusetts.&ldquo;I was looking over my shoulder,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;There was a point where we went on the road and we lost the first game and we came back to Boston and we&rsquo;re winning like 6-0, got three power play goals and some guy yells out, &lsquo;Hey Park, welcome to Boston.&rsquo;&ldquo;Coming to Boston, once they saw how I was on the point, playing with Bobby Orr and how good the power play was going, they accepted it very quickly.&rdquo;Perhaps more than any conflict in hockey, the New York-Boston hate is as much about the cities themselves as the teams that represent them. That explains why the rivalry still exists today, despite the fact the Bruins and Rangers didn&rsquo;t square off in a playoff series between 1973 and 2013. Bostonians relish any chance they get to take a bite out of Big Apple egos, while Fischler, a lifetime New Yorker, is only too happy to share the prevailing view in his city that Boston is a &ldquo;two-bit town with a lousy subway.&rdquo; He also enjoys sharing tales from the rivalry&rsquo;s earlier days, back when both clubs were struggling to keep up with the rest of the pack in the six-team league.&ldquo;The Rangers had a lot of trouble after World War II making the playoffs, and for a stretch of several years they would always be beaten out for the fourth spot by the Bruins,&rdquo; said Fischler, who actually worked for the Rangers in 1954-55. &ldquo;And they did it in a lot of dirty ways.&ldquo;I remember, one year for example, Milt Schmidt, he was a star center for the Bruins and the Rangers had a star center named Edgar Laprade. There was about a week-and-a-half left in the season and Schmidt broke Laprade&rsquo;s leg and that was the end of the Rangers.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0095-0175/10094157-1-eng-US/f0095-012.jpg" title="f0095-01" width="813" height="708"><figcaption class="caption-body">PHIL ESPOSITO & RON GRESCHNER</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0095-0327/10094150-1-eng-US/f0095-032.jpg" title="f0095-03" width="1244" height="1217"><figcaption class="caption-body">I LOVE N.Y.Jean Ratelle (No. 19) was heartbroken when the Rangers dealt him to the Bruins.(BRUCE BENNETT STUDIOS/GETTY IMAGES;)</figcaption></div>97 More wins for Boston than New York when Brad Park played for the Bruins.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0095-0233/10094143-1-eng-US/f0095-022.jpg" title="f0095-02" width="456" height="923"><figcaption class="caption-body">PHIL ESPOSITO (STEVE BABINEAU/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>Another sinister seed was sewn in those days when coach Lynn Patrick jumped ship from the Rangers to Boston in the summer of 1950. New York was coming off a stunning playoff run in which it upset the mighty Montreal Canadiens in the semifinal and took the powerhouse Detroit Red Wings to double overtime of Game 7 in the final before falling.The fact the Rangers had come so close made Patrick&rsquo;s decision to bolt for a new bench all the harder to take &ndash; but all the easier to hate Boston. A few seasons later, Phil Watson was coaching the Rangers and Patrick delighted in verbally jabbing the man who held his old job when the hockey writers would gather with Watson &ndash; who, despite his English name, was actually French-Canadian &ndash; and the coach of the Rangers&rsquo; next opponent every Tuesday at noon at a restaurant near MSG.&ldquo;The coach of the Bruins was Lynn Patrick; articulate, witty and in fact he&rsquo;d been a teammate of Watson&rsquo;s (with the Rangers),&rdquo; Fischler said. &ldquo;Every session, when they would be in town, it was just hilarious to watch how Lynn Patrick would ridicule Watson and Watson, with no command of the language &ndash; he&rsquo;d talk half in French and half in English and make no sense at all.&rdquo;Rangers and Bruins fans, however, never seem to have trouble communicating directly with each other and, according to Fischler, the heyday for strife between the cities was back in the black-and-blue 1970s.&ldquo;If you were a Ranger fan and you went to Boston Garden in those days, you took your life in your hands,&rdquo; Fischler said. &ldquo;And I speak first-hand.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0092-01

NEW YORK RANGERS VS. BOSTON BRUINS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0096-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0096-0192/10094237-1-eng-US/f0096-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">SWITCH IT UPWayne Gretzky began his pro career in the WHA before the moved to the NHL. (B BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>THE FIRST MENTION OF THE World Hockey Association in The Hockey News is in a Nov. 19, 1971 issue on page 3: &ldquo;New World Hockey League Eyeing October &rsquo;72 Start With 10 Franchises Set.&rdquo; The story is below the fold.Above the fold is an NHL story that is clearly reaction to the WHA rumblings. &ldquo;Long Island, Atlanta Swell NHL To 16 Teams.&rdquo; No way any WHA news was going to trump NHL headlines. The rivalry between the two leagues was akin to Hatfield vs. Mc-Coy from Day 1.&ldquo;They tried to crush us from the get-go,&rdquo; said WHA co-founder Gary Davidson. &ldquo;They sued us in every city they had a franchise and we had a franchise &ndash; and we countersued for anti-trust and won.&rdquo;Davidson was a Santa Ana, Calif., lawyer who helped spearhead the formation of the American Basketball Association as a rival league to the NBA in 1967. When promoter Dennis Murphy approached him four years later with a far-fetched idea he had, the attorney jumped on it.&ldquo;Dennis came to me and said, &lsquo;You know, Gary, there&rsquo;s only one league in hockey,&rsquo; and I said, &lsquo;Oh, let&rsquo;s start another one,&rsquo; &rdquo; Davidson recalled. &ldquo;And I had never seen a hockey game at that time. Three guys from Canada came down to meet with us (Bill Hunter, Ben Hatskin and John Bassett). The next thing you know, the NHL was trying to shut us down.&rdquo;Neither Davidson nor Murphy had any hockey experience, which prompted a lot of NHL people to slough it off as a rouse. But the WHA didn&rsquo;t hesitate battling the NHL head to head, naming New York, Boston, Toronto and Chicago as locations for its 12-team launch in 1972.The upstart league started operating as though it controlled the landscape with little regard for the NHL. It held a player draft in February, and two weeks later goalie Bernie Parent from the Toronto Maple Leafs was the first player to announce he&rsquo;d be playing in the WHA the next fall. That opened the floodgate for others. Before long, established NHLers such as Bobby Hull, Derek Sanderson, Ted Green and J-C Tremblay were announcing new lucrative deals in the fledgling league.&ldquo;Many in our league, including (NHL president) Clarence Campbell, said it would fold before it even started,&rdquo; said Philadelphia Flyers founder Ed Snider. &ldquo;But I was worried because in studying the (American Basketball Association), the (American Football League) and other rival leagues, they may move cities, but what they do is start. I made a point of signing all our players and not lose anybody to the WHA. In fact, that helped us win the Stanley Cup (in 1974 and &rsquo;75).&rdquo;The court battles began. That only intensified the rivalry. But the courts ruled in favor of the WHA and deemed the NHL&rsquo;s reserve clause to be not binding. WHA teams were offering better contracts and a lot of players bolted. Before the end of that first WHA season, Snider and New York Rangers president Bill Jennings hammered out a deal with WHA representatives that would have seen the NHL swallow 11 of the WHA&rsquo;s 12 teams for an expansion fee of $4 million apiece.&ldquo;That story was never reported,&rdquo; Snider said in 2010. &ldquo;That never made it to the media. It was all set to happen. We could put those 11 teams in any city we wanted, but (Chicago owner) Bill Wirtz and Clarence Campbell led a group to censor us for even talking to them. They shot it down.&rdquo;Howard Baldwin, founder of the WHA&rsquo;s New England Whalers, remembers that near resolution.&ldquo;That would have ended the rivalry right then, after the first season,&rdquo; Baldwin said. &ldquo;That was the great untold story. A few people in the NHL got it. They realized if they could nip it in the bud quickly, they should.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0098-01101/10094230-1-eng-US/f0098-012.jpg" title="f0098-01" width="2132" height="2667"><figcaption class="caption-body">BERNIE PARENT (MELCHIOR DIGIACOMO/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>Ed Snider and Bill Jennings, they got it early on. Ed was right on. Ed had the vision with Bill &ndash; hey we can get rid of this now and take in 11 teams. But Campbell wasn&rsquo;t for it.&ldquo;We duked it out, then by the end of the fourth year we looked at possible ways to put the leagues together.&rdquo;Through the 1970s, WHA franchises were constantly on the move. Teams and the league struggled with financial instability, but NHL players still came and went. The WHA also provided an opportunity for minor leaguers to play on the big stage, albeit in a rival league to the NHL.&ldquo;There were a lot of veteran guys like myself who were on the fringe in the NHL, but wanted to take this chance,&rdquo; said Jack Stanfield, a 30-year-old career minor-leaguer in 1972 who joined the Houston Aeros and later became the team&rsquo;s vice-president. &ldquo;The NHL didn&rsquo;t like this either because it robbed their farm teams as well. I think it pissed them off. It was a thorn in their side.&rdquo;The NHL kept expanding as well, adding Atlanta and the New York Islanders in 1972, and Washington and Kansas City in 1974 to get to 18 teams. But the WHA was more experimental. It realized there was a plethora of talent in Europe and the Winnipeg Jets hit the jackpot with the likes of Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson. Overtime was a WHA creation.&ldquo;The quality of hockey was pretty good as well,&rdquo; said WHA historian Timothy Gassen. &ldquo;(The NHL) lost every court case against the WHA and as part of the court settlement were forced to play pre-season games against the WHA. For five years, NHL playoff teams played WHA teams and in 80 games, the WHA won 45 of them. That&rsquo;s fascinating.&rdquo;Not only did the WHA lure proven players away from the NHL, it also started taking building blocks in the form of yet-to-be-drafted teenagers in the late 1970s.&ldquo;When the really young players started to move, that&rsquo;s when you could tell things were going to get nasty,&rdquo; Stanfield said. &ldquo;Take Mark and Marty Howe, Terry Ruskowski, Morris Lukowich, John Tonelli, the (Baby Bulls of Birmingham). Tonelli was only 18. Then Wayne Gretzky. I think it was the weight of all those young players moving that led to a resolution.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0099-0171/10094223-1-eng-US/f0099-012.jpg" title="f0099-01" width="804" height="759"><figcaption class="caption-body">GORDIE HOWE & CLARENCE CAMPBELL (DENIS BRODEUR/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0099-0231/10094216-1-eng-US/f0099-022.jpg" title="f0099-02" width="1252" height="884"><figcaption class="caption-body">MR. HOCKEYGordie Howe spent six seasons in the WHA before one last year in the NHL. (BRUCE BENNETT STUDIOS/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0099-0324/10094209-1-eng-US/f0099-032.jpg" title="f0099-03" width="458" height="872"><figcaption class="caption-body">BOBBY HULL (MELCHIOR DIGIACOMO/SPORTS ILLUSTRATED/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>50 Losses in millions of dollars sustained by the WHA over its seven-year existence.Michel Goulet was one of eight Baby Bulls in Birmingham in 1978-79. Other Bulls teenagers were Rick Vaive, Craig Hartsburg, Rob Ramage, Louis Sleigher, Gaston Gingras, Pat Riggin and Keith Crowder.&ldquo;I scored 72 goals in 73 games at 17 (in the Quebec League),&rdquo; Goulet recalled. &ldquo;Mr. Gilles Leger (Birmingham GM) gave me a call and said they wanted to sign some underage players. I said, &lsquo;I&rsquo;m interested.&rsquo; I was making $16 a week, I can make $50,000 the first year, no problem. But you know what? It was not the money. It was, &lsquo;I think I can play.&rsquo; &rdquo;The WHA was doing a great job getting under the skin of NHL owners and GMs, but it was the accountants who came to the NHL&rsquo;s rescue. Many WHA franchises were struggling financially, and when a viable &ldquo;absorption&rdquo; proposal was tabled in 1979, the rival league&rsquo;s strongest teams &ndash; Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg Jets, New England Whalers, Quebec Nordiques &ndash; figured the best chance to survive was to cross the line and become part of the NHL.&ldquo;Merger discussions failed three times,&rdquo; Baldwin said. &ldquo;The fourth time we got the job done. Look, the NHL is a great league, they were smart. Who&rsquo;s kidding who? When we finally did the merger or expansion, we (the WHA) were suffering, but both leagues were suffering. They just had more troops.&rdquo;Chicago Blackhawks owner Bill Wirtz was defiant as ever when the discussion of merger or absorption with the WHA came up. He put the muzzle on Snider in 1973 when the notion was proposed and even fought it in 1979 when it became inevitable, saying the WHA &ldquo;cost the NHL $1 billion in lost revenue. We&rsquo;re not going to reward them.&rdquo;Players, coaches, scouts and managers joined NHL teams, and the hard feelings eventually evaporated. Thirty-five years later, many in the industry believe the WHA made for a healthier environment in pro hockey today.&ldquo;It made players realize there is money to be made out there,&rdquo; Stanfield said. &ldquo;The big bonuses and salaries didn&rsquo;t go away when the WHA went under. NHLers started making better wages immediately.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0096-01

THE NHL VS. THE WHA

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0100-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0100-0179/10094282-1-eng-US/f0100-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">TOUGH TO TAMESprague Cleghorn was as rough and wild off of the ice as he was on it. (BRUCE BENNETT STUDIOS/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>TO HIS ADMIRERS, EDDIE GERARD, captain of the Ottawa Senators when the team won the Stanley Cup three times in four seasons from 1920-23, was a natural.&ldquo;He was one of the greatest men the game has known,&rdquo; former Ottawa manager Tommy Gorman once told the Globe & Mail. To his detractors, Sprague Cleghorn caused natural disasters of epic proportions.&ldquo;He was ready, willing and eager to swing fists or stick, at any time,&rdquo; Gorman said, assessing Cleghorn&rsquo;s hockey strategy to the Ottawa Citizen.Together they were dynamite, the first great defense pairing in NHL history. Even though this duo was anything but two of a kind &ndash; and rarely kind to each other. The rivalry between Gerard and Cleghorn developed because they were polar opposites in personality and in playing style.&ldquo;Gerard didn&rsquo;t always like Sprague&rsquo;s freewheeling ways,&rdquo; wrote Baz O&rsquo;Meara of the Montreal Star.An original Hockey Hall of Famer in 1945, Gerard carried himself with class and deportment.&ldquo;As a competitor and in the years after he had retired from active competition, (Gerard) earned a reputation for sportsmanship of the highest order,&rdquo; the Globe & Mail noted upon his death in 1937 (Following his playing days, Gerard served on the NHL rules committee).During his playing days, Cleghorn served to rage against said rulebook. &ldquo;Sprague used to test every guy who came into the league,&rdquo; the Montreal Gazette&rsquo;s Dink Carroll wrote. &ldquo;Two-handers across the ankles as soon as the guy came into the slot.&rdquo;According to some reports, Marie Evelyn Moreton, wife of the Viscount Byng of Vimy, was so appalled by the work of Cleghorn that she donated the Lady Byng Trophy in 1924 to encourage sportsmanlike play.It wasn&rsquo;t merely his roguish play that left Gerard unimpressed, though. Off the ice, Cleghorn went equally out of bounds. A notorious womanizer, Cleghorn was divorced twice. Sidelined by a fractured leg in 1918, he was arrested for assaulting his wife with his crutch.The grounds for Evelyn Cleghorn&rsquo;s divorce were explained in a July 29, 1921 New York Times article:&ldquo;A chance visit of Mrs. Evelyn Cleghorn to Ottawa&hellip; not only located her missing husband&hellip;but revealed the fact that he was living there with another woman whom he introduced as his wife.&rdquo;Traded to Montreal in 1921, Cleghorn promised fireworks when the Canadiens came to Ottawa on Feb. 1, 1922. He delivered, putting three Senators out of commission, including his old partner.&ldquo;Gerard received an ugly gash over the eye and was removed to hospital for treatment,&rdquo; the Globe reported. Ottawa sought Cleghorn&rsquo;s permanent expulsion from the NHL, but was denied.Gerard turned to coaching after his playing days were cut short by a throat ailment, leading the Montreal Maroons to the 1926 Stanley Cup. Cleghorn coached the Maroons in 1931-32, but was let go after one season. According to Trent Frayne in his book, The Mad Men Of Hockey, team discipline was a major problem, and Cleghorn was known for sneaking women into his berth on the train during road trips.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0101-0172/10094275-1-eng-US/f0101-012.jpg" title="f0101-01" width="410" height="509"><figcaption class="caption-body">EDDIE GERARD (HHOF IMAGES)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0101-0241/10094268-1-eng-US/f0101-022.jpg" title="f0101-02" width="1261" height="792"><figcaption class="caption-body">CEASEFIRECleghorn and Eddie Gerard won a Stanley Cup together with Ottawa in 1921. (B BENNETT/GETTY IMAGEST)</figcaption></div>According to O&rsquo;Meara, later in life the two men patched up their differences during an encounter at a golf course: &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s not be foolish any longer,&rdquo; Cleghorn reportedly said to Gerard. &ldquo;You were the greatest player on defense I ever played with.&rdquo;After shaking hands, Gerard countered, &ldquo;You were pretty good, too.&rdquo;3&nbsp;Cleghorn&rsquo;s ranking in points and PIM among defensemen upon retiring &#9632;

f0100-01

SPRAGUE CLEGHORN VS. EDDIE GERARD

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0102-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0102-0175/10094341-1-eng-US/f0102-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">MIKE TIMEMike Milbury has proven to be one of hockey&rsquo;s edgiest commentators. (BRIAN BABINEAU/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>BEER OR BROUHAHA; those were Mike Milbury&rsquo;s options.He was in the visitors dressing room Dec. 23, 1979 at Madison Square Garden, gearing down and thinking about Christmas holidays following a 4-3 win for his Boston Bruins over the New York Rangers, when he noticed a serious dearth of teammates around, save for goalie Gerry Cheevers.Turns out the rest of the Bruins were busy chasing Rangers fans through the stands after a 30-year-old spectator named John Kaptain allegedly leaned over the glass during an altercation after the final buzzer and whacked Bruins enforcer Stan Jonathan with a program before making off with his stick.Led by Terry O&rsquo;Reilly, who believed Kaptain had punched Jonathan, the Bruins tore into the stands in search of revenge. Word eventually reached Milbury in the dressing room and he had to make a call; stay and have a social drink with the goalie or beat up some Blueshirts backers.&ldquo;I was already on my second beer,&rdquo; Cheevers, who was going nowhere, told the New York Times with a laugh when recalling the night&rsquo;s events 30 years after the fact.Milbury was a little more motivated by the opportunity to enter the fray and the night of mayhem remains an infamous one thanks to the vision of Milbury whacking Kaptain with his own shoe after he&rsquo;d been cornered by the trio of Milbury, O&rsquo;Reilly and the normally more reserved Peter McNab.Those were just three of 18 Boston players who got up close and personal with fans that evening, but it&rsquo;s the image of Milbury giving Kaptain some tough loafer love that lives on.&ldquo;If you watch the tape &ndash; and I can freely throw my teammates under the bus now after 30 years &ndash; people were throwing some serious shots down below us that were obscured by the fact that everybody was focusing on the idiot highest up in the stands hitting somebody with a shoe,&rdquo; Milbury told the Times.Milbury and McNab were given six-game suspensions by NHL president John Ziegler; O&rsquo;Reilly drew an eight-game sentence. All were fined $500.Kaptain, who has since passed away, launched a lawsuit in 1980 that never amounted to much. But that doesn&rsquo;t mean Milbury is short on battles to fight. From hurling insults at player agents to tearing a strip off people he believes support for the &ldquo;pansification&rdquo; hockey, the hard-hitting former defenseman, coach, GM and current TV analyst is never short on opinions.During his tenure as GM of the New York Islanders from 1995 to 2006, Milbury had an acrimonious round of contract negotiations with sniper Ziggy Palffy. When commenting on Palffy&rsquo;s agent, Paul Kraus, a frustrated Milbury offered up this timeless gem:&ldquo;It&rsquo;s too bad he lives in the city. He&rsquo;s depriving some small village of a pretty good idiot.&rdquo;Anybody who saw Milbury log huge penalty minutes on the Bruins blueline from 1976 to 1987, or bark at the opposition as Boston&rsquo;s coach for two seasons in the early 1990s, knows he takes an old-school approach to the game. So it was no surprise Milbury invented a word &ndash; pansification &ndash; to describe what he thought some people were trying to do to the game when discussing whether fighting has a place in hockey as an analyst on Hockey Night in Canada.The term actually drew the ire of a group called Equality for Gays and Lesbians Everywhere, which filed a complaint with the CBC&rsquo;s ombudsman.There was also the famous tale of Milbury driving former Isles goalie Tommy Salo to tears during an arbitration hearing back in the late &rsquo;90s, but, years later, Milbury claimed it was a false story drummed up by Salo&rsquo;s agent to gather sympathy for his client.Milbury declined comment for this story, but his former CBC co-worker, Kelly Hrudey, confirmed the version of Milbury people see on their TV isn&rsquo;t a lot different than his real-life persona.&ldquo;How he behaves on air is exactly who he is away from the studio and, that&rsquo;s what makes him really endearing or popular because he&rsquo;s not putting on an act,&rdquo; Hrudey said, though he admitted Milbury is a little less gruff when the cameras aren&rsquo;t rolling.Hrudey was coming into the NHL when Milbury was on his way out. Still, the old Isles and L.A. Kings goalie was very aware the scrappy Massachusetts boy had a well-earned reputation for tough play and a willingness to follow through on menacing promises.&ldquo;He really backed it up,&rdquo; Hrudey said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the thing that stood out to me. He didn&rsquo;t talk a great game, then go out and just play like everybody else. He was a physical force out there.&rdquo;Milbury isn&rsquo;t shy about offering his take, but one area in which he&rsquo;s a bit tight-lipped is when offering insight into the impetus behind some bad trades he made for the Isles. He&rsquo;s most frequently skewered for the deal that sent Olli Jokinen and Roberto Luongo to Florida in 2000, clearing the way for them to draft Rick DiPietro first overall, and the trading of a young Zdeno Chara and the second pick in the 2001 draft to Ottawa &ndash; who took Jason Spezza &ndash; for Alexei Yashin.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0104-0180/10094334-1-eng-US/f0104-012.jpg" title="f0104-01" width="812" height="708"><figcaption class="caption-body">FAN FISTICUFFSMilbury&rsquo;s 1979 fight in Madison Square Garden&rsquo;s stands will live on in infamy. (B BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0104-0243/10094327-1-eng-US/f0104-022.jpg" title="f0104-02" width="1253" height="1425"><figcaption class="caption-body">BEAR MARK-ITMilbury, right, was one of many Bruins players who could rough it up. (LEWIS PORTNOY / HHOF IMAGES)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0104-0325/10094320-1-eng-US/f0104-032.jpg" title="f0104-03" width="357" height="650"><figcaption class="caption-body">MIKE MILBURY (GLENN CRATTY/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>It&rsquo;s easy to pile the blame on Milbury for those moves, and while some bad decisions were certainly completely his own error in judgment, he also toiled under some extremely volatile, meddlesome and even criminal ownership groups on Long Island.&ldquo;He gets kidded all the time on TV and radio and in the papers as &lsquo;Mad Mike,&rsquo; but he didn&rsquo;t make all those trades,&rdquo; said Don Cherry, Milbury&rsquo;s CBC colleague and his former coach in Boston.Added Hrudey: &ldquo;There will always be mistakes on (a GM&rsquo;s) record. It&rsquo;s just the nature of the business. Secondly, just because you are a manager doesn&rsquo;t mean you&rsquo;re calling all the shots.&rdquo;As for how malleable Milbury can be, Hrudey said beyond the bluster is a man who can keep an open mind to other points of view.&ldquo;He does have those old-school values, but he certainly has no problem engaging people in a conversation if they see it another way,&rdquo; Hrudey said. &ldquo;If you actually have enough points to back up what you&rsquo;re trying to say, he is very much willing to listen and take note of it.&rdquo;16 NHL goalies signed or released by Mike Milbury during his 11 seasons as Isles GM<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0105-0170/10094313-1-eng-US/f0105-012.jpg" title="f0105-01" width="2184" height="2717"><figcaption class="caption-body">MIKE MILBURY (ANTHONY NESTE/SPORTS ILLUSTRATED/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0102-01

MIKE MILBURY VS. THE WORLD

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0106-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0106-0174/10094386-1-eng-US/f0106-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">SLICK SWEDESToronto fans have differing opinions of Daniel Alfredsson and Mats Sundin. (DAVE SANDFORD/GETTY IMAGES/NHLI)</figcaption></div>FORMER SENATORS CAPTAIN Daniel Alfredsson was a pillar in the Ottawa community. He was revered for contributions and leadership on the ice and highly respected for his charity work around town. Alfredsson supported Right to Play and Boys and Girls Clubs, and he was a spokesperson for the Royal Ottawa Hospital. Former NHL goalie turned television analyst Glenn Healy described Alfredsson &ldquo;as much a gentleman as you can possibly get.&rdquo;Yet, in the minds of many Toronto Maple Leafs fans, this mild-mannered, much-respected NHL veteran has been Public Enemy No. 1, bar none.Check out Facebook, where Alfredsson is &ldquo;hated by the power of 1,000 suns,&rdquo; by a group of Leafs lovers.Alfredsson is booed relentlessly every time he touches the puck at Toronto&rsquo;s Air Canada Centre. He has been ever since a controversial hit he administered to Darcy Tucker in the 2002 playoffs. The series and score were tied at two. In the waning moments, Alfredsson nudged Tucker from behind, depending from which fan perspective you viewed the hit. Seconds later with Tucker lying prone on the ice, Alfredsson proceeded to score the game-winning goal.Looking back, even Alfredsson admits he may have gotten away with one.&ldquo;In today&rsquo;s game, it would have been a penalty,&rdquo; Alfredsson said. &ldquo;At the time they (the officials) probably didn&rsquo;t call a penalty as it was late in the third period of the playoffs.&rdquo;Two seasons later, Alfredsson gave Leaf supporters another reason to jeer him. Toronto captain Mats Sundin had broken his stick in the previous game. In a fit of frustration, Sundin tossed his stick over the glass into the crowd and was issued a one-game suspension for his carelessness.With Sundin out of the lineup, it was Alfredsson who was having stick issues. While on a scoring chance, Alfredsson&rsquo;s stick snapped. Instead of dropping his stick immediately, he looked up to the rafters and pretended to toss his stick in the air. Fans in attendance did not see the humor.<blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;PRETENDING TO TOSS THE STICK WASN&rsquo;T PLANNED. SUNDIN THOUGHT THAT IT WAS FUNNY&rdquo;&ndash; Daniel Alfredsson</blockquote><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0107-0168/10094379-1-eng-US/f0107-012.jpg" title="f0107-01" width="552" height="718"><figcaption class="caption-body">(BRUCE BENNETT STUDIOS/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0107-0234/10094372-1-eng-US/f0107-022.jpg" title="f0107-02" width="813" height="1250"><figcaption class="caption-body">TUCKER OUTLeaf fans&rsquo; venom toward Alfredsson started with a playoff hit on Darcy Tucker. (PETER POWER/TORONTO STAR)</figcaption></div>&ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t planned,&rdquo; Alfredsson said. &ldquo;I had broken three, four sticks in the morning and three more in the game&hellip;It just happened to be in Toronto.&rdquo;Alfredsson thought the incident was blown way out of proportion and said, &ldquo;Sundin thought that it was funny.&rdquo;Alfredsson has also gotten a rough ride from Leafs players on occasion. One particular incident from late in the 2007-08 season stands out. Toronto journeyman Mark Bell levelled Alfredsson with a heavy hit. With Alfredsson on the ice gasping for breath, Leaf fans cheered. Alfredsson sustained an MCL injury on the play, causing him to miss two playoff games. Until the &rsquo;08 post-season, Alfredsson had appeared in every Senators playoff game.Despite all of the constant catcalls from the Leaf throng to this day, Alfredsson, who spent last season with the Detroit Red Wings, does not harbor any ill will towards the Toronto fans.&ldquo;Toronto fans are knowledgeable,&rdquo; Alfredsson said. &ldquo;They cheer for their team. I have no problems with their fans. There will be fans that dislike me to a certain level. When I walk in Toronto, I feel nothing but respect towards me. There is nothing that bothers me.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0106-01

DANIEL ALFREDSSON VS. TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0108-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0108-0181/10094452-1-eng-US/f0108-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">PLAYOFF UPSETMontreal&rsquo;s series win over Boston in the 2014 playoffs stunned the Bruins. (JARED WICKERHAM/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>IN DON CHERRY&rsquo;S DEFENSE, HE was only answering the question asked of him.It was during the classic 1979 Stanley Cup semifinal series between the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens that Cherry, one of Canada&rsquo;s most outspoken supporters, experienced a little trouble getting into his home country from the United States.The Bruins had just scored a massive 5-2 Game 6 win over the Habs in the Garden to force a decisive Game 7 in Montreal. Waiting in the final were the overachieving New York Rangers, a team widely considered to be fodder for either the three-time defending-champion Canadiens or the powerhouse Bruins.Cherry was asked a standard question while passing through customs, but his reply was far from stock.&ldquo;You know how they ask, &lsquo;What&rsquo;s your purpose for coming to Canada?&rsquo; &rdquo; Cherry relayed. &ldquo;I said, &lsquo;To beat the f---in&rsquo; Montreal Canadiens.&rsquo; &rdquo;The Bruins bench boss may have just been speaking from the heart, but his agenda didn&rsquo;t go over very well with customs agents who immediately flagged him as a potential threat to national hockey security.&ldquo;Every bag of mine was all over the place, (even) my shaving kits,&rdquo; he said, noting every piece of his luggage was picked over before he was finally allowed to proceed.Once they got to Montreal, Cherry&rsquo;s Bruins nearly knocked off the Habs, but an untimely too-many-menon-the-ice penalty was their undoing, as Guy Lafleur tied the score 4-4 late in the third. Yvon Lambert tallied in overtime for the Habs to add another legendary chapter to the long rivalry between the two teams.Montreal went on to beat the Rangers and claim its fourth consecutive Cup. The previous two years they had beaten Boston in the final with a club many consider to be the best ever assembled. And it had to be, because the Bruins were a lethal combination of skill and toughness in the late 1970s, a time when the feud with Montreal likely reached its zenith because both sides iced legitimate Cup-contending clubs every year.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0109-0175/10094445-1-eng-US/f0109-012.jpg" title="f0109-01" width="397" height="818"><figcaption class="caption-body">DON CHERRY</figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;WALKING INTO THE FORUM WAS LIKE GOING INTO THE LION&rsquo;S DEN&rdquo;&ndash; Don Cherry</blockquote>In addition to snipers such as Lafleur and Steve Shutt, the Habs also benefited greatly from &lsquo;The Big Three&rsquo; blueline trio of Larry Robinson, Serge Savard and Guy Lapointe.&ldquo;They were so powerful and had such depth, that you get in a seven-game series with them, it was impossible to win because they had Robinson, Savard and Lapointe on all the time,&rdquo; Cherry said. &ldquo;You walk into (The Forum), it was like going into the lion&rsquo;s den.&rdquo;Historically, Montreal has dominated the playoff rivalry between the teams, though Boston has had its moments. The most amazing run of Habs supremacy stretched all the way from 1946 to 1987, when the Canadiens won an unbelievable 18 consecutive playoff series over Boston, prompting many to suggest the B&rsquo;s were simply incapable of victory when it came to facing Montreal in the post-season.But that theory was eviscerated when a determined bunch of Bruins finally bested the Habs in a five-game series in 1988 after having lost to Montreal the previous four years in the playoffs.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s over,&rdquo; long-suffering Bruin Keith Crowder told The Hockey News at the time. &ldquo;The jinx is dead. What jinx? What hex? What Forum? All kaput.&rdquo;And it was, mostly. Though they never were able to bring a title to Boston, the Bruins teams led by the likes of Ray Bourque, Cam Neely and Andy Moog had their way with the Habs, winning five of six playoff series between 1988 and 1994.Most recently, the Canadiens have been able to regain the upper hand, winning four of six series between the teams in the 2000s to run their all-time playoff record against their American rivals to 25-9.Of those 25 triumphs that included the second round upset in the 2014 playoffs, the most are the aforementioned &rsquo;79 series, the Ken Dryden-led huge upset of the heavily favored Bruins in 1971 and the series that may have given hockey its best picture ever, the 1952 Stanley Cup semifinal clash.It was in the seventh game of that showdown that Maurice Richard, bleeding over the eye and woozy from a second period collision with Boston winger Leo Labine, scored a spectacular goal late in the third to give Montreal the lead in a game it won 3-1.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0110-0175/10094438-1-eng-US/f0110-012.jpg" title="f0110-01" width="812" height="715"><figcaption class="caption-body">MAURICE RICHARD</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0110-0244/10094431-1-eng-US/f0110-022.jpg" title="f0110-02" width="1252" height="1083"><figcaption class="caption-body">PASSION PLAYThe Montreal-Boston hate has been burning since long before this 1970 game. (DENIS BRODEUR/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0110-0328/10094424-1-eng-US/f0110-032.jpg" title="f0110-03" width="382" height="646"><figcaption class="caption-body">STEVE BEGIN (BRUCE BENNETT STUDIOS/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo; LIKE ALL GREAT HOCKEY FEUDS, THE FEELINGS OF HATE EXTEND WELL BEYOND THE BOYS ON THE ICE &rdquo;</blockquote>After the contest, photographer Roger St-Jean captured one of the game&rsquo;s enduring images as Bruins goalie &lsquo;Sugar&rsquo; Jim Henry, sporting a black eye, seems to bow in deference to the Rocket as the two men shake hands while blood trickles down Richard&rsquo;s cheek. When asked what happened on the collision with Labine, Richard answered very honestly.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know,&rdquo; he told THN. &ldquo;Suddenly, everything went black and the next thing I knew I woke up in the medical room. And I want to tell you, I was still groggy when I scored that goal. I don&rsquo;t remember it clearly.&rdquo;Boston coach Lynn Patrick didn&rsquo;t have any trouble recalling it.&ldquo;I have never seen a better goal,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;When he saw his chance and cut for the net he looked like only one thing, a rocket. That&rsquo;s how he got the name, and it fits.&rdquo;Steve Begin is in a unique position to speak about the conflict between Montreal and Boston, having spent four-plus seasons with the Habs beginning in 2003-04, before signing with the B&rsquo;s for the 2009-10 campaign.Like all great hockey feuds, the feelings of hate extend well beyond the boys on the ice, spilling into stands where backers of the Black and Gold and the Bleu, Blanc et Rouge do whatever they can to give their beloved squads an advantage.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve seen both sides and it&rsquo;s funny how each team hates each other, especially the fans,&rdquo; Begin said. &ldquo;But it&rsquo;s fun. I&rsquo;m glad I&rsquo;ve been on both sides.&ldquo;At playoff time it&rsquo;s always one or two notches higher, but it was fun. It&rsquo;s a lot of intensity on the ice and in the stands.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0111-0174/10094417-1-eng-US/f0111-012.jpg" title="f0111-01" width="2133" height="2676"><figcaption class="caption-body">C&rsquo;S THE DAY&nbsp;Habs captain Kirk Muller jostles for position with Bruins star Ray Bourque. (DENIS BRODEUR/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0108-01

BOSTON BRUINS VS. CANADIENS MONTREAL

BOBBY ORR WAS THE MAN WHO introduced Alan Eagleson to Russ Conway. An unwitting and unfortunate victim of hockey&rsquo;s greatest-ever scam artist, Orr can take solace in the fact he made the initial connection between hockey&rsquo;s most powerful man and the journalist who helped bring him down. Eagleson was the founding executive director of the NHL Players&rsquo; Association and the promoter behind the 1972 Summit Series. He was also the player agent for Orr and other players during the league&rsquo;s heydays of the 1970s. He was the self-proclaimed hockey czar.Conway was sports editor for the Eagle-Tribune, a small newspaper based out of Lawrence, Mass. He started covering Boston Bruins games in the 1960s and the publication had a well-earned reputation for quality journalism. Conway kept in touch with Eagleson through the 1970s, saying he was a good source for big stories such as the 1976 Canada Cup and the NHL merger with the World Hockey Association.&ldquo;I could call him at home, call him direct at the office,&rdquo; Conway said. &ldquo;We were close for a lot of years.&rdquo;But during that time, Conway also heard grumbling from players unhappy with Eagleson&rsquo;s leadership. He kept those notes &ndash; and those connections. By 1989, growing unrest among player agents and accusations of misdirection and misappropriation of union funds prompted Eagleson to announce he&rsquo;d be retiring from the NHLPA position in 1992.By June, 1991, Conway had accumulated enough evidence to go forth with a series of articles in the Eagle-Tribune exposing Eagleson for the scoundrel a U.S. grand jury eventually determined he was. Eagleson was charged with fraud, theft, racketeering, obstruction of justice and embezzlement, and sentenced in 1998 to 18 months in prison.Conway said he first confronted Eagleson about the allegations in July 1991. After a round of niceties, Conway told the union head what the Eagle-Tribune was about to run. That was met with a barrage of cursing.<blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;HE SAID &lsquo;GOOD LUCK TO YOU. OTHER PEOPLE HAVE TRIED. NO ONE HAS GOTTEN ANYWHERE&rdquo;&ndash; Russ Conway</blockquote><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0112-0183/10094490-1-eng-US/f0112-012.jpg" title="f0112-01" width="410" height="625"><figcaption class="caption-body">ALAN EAGLESON & BOBBY ORR (MELCHIOR DIGIACOMO/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>&ldquo;The last time I spoke with him was that infamous phone call,&rdquo; said Conway, now semi-retired and living part time in Pompano Beach, Fla. &ldquo;He said, &lsquo;Good luck to you. Other people have tried. No one has gotten anywhere.&rsquo; He hasn&rsquo;t talked to me in 20 years since. We exchanged glances in the courtroom, but that&rsquo;s it.&rdquo;Since that conversation, Conway said he has more than 25 documented interview requests that were rebuffed. In addition to the Eagle-Tribune articles, Conway wrote the book Game Misconduct: Alan Eagleson and the Corruption of Hockey in 1995. Conway was runner-up for the Pulitzer Prize in 1992.During that period, CBC reporter Bruce Dowbiggin was researching and reporting the Eagleson saga from Canadian soil. Dowbiggin said the rivalry between the two was based on duty and profession.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think it ever got personal between the two,&rdquo; Dowbiggin said. &ldquo;Russ was a meticulous and factual reporter who documented every note, every phone call and Eagleson was just defending himself. I don&rsquo;t think they personalized it.&rdquo;Even when Dowbiggin was chasing Eagleson with questions, Eagleson dodged them like a street fighter.&ldquo;His only response to one question I had was asking me, &lsquo;Have you stopped beating your wife?&rsquo; &rdquo; Dowbiggin said. &ldquo;Al&rsquo;s a weird dude.&rdquo;18 Months that Eagleson was sentenced to serve in prison in 1998. He served six<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0113-0171/10094483-1-eng-US/f0113-012.jpg" title="f0113-01" width="2195" height="2726"><figcaption class="caption-body">HOCKEY CZARFor most of the 1970s, Alan Eagleson was the most powerful man in hockey. (B BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0112-01

RUSS CONWAY VS. ALAN EAGLESON

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0114-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0114-0178/10094549-1-eng-US/f0114-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">GOLDEN GLORYCanada&rsquo;s Marie-Phillip Poulin scored the gold medalwinner in Sochi. (BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>CANADA&rsquo;S HOCKEY RIVALRY with the United States extends into every permutation of the sport &ndash; including, and especially, the women&rsquo;s game. And if you think the women&rsquo;s rivalry doesn&rsquo;t match the one between their male counterparts &ndash; because the women&rsquo;s game is smaller and/or because many women from both countries are teammates in the U.S. collegiate system &ndash; Hayley Wickenheiser begs to differ.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s still a bitter rivalry there,&rdquo; said Wickenheiser, longtime Team Canada captain and one of the all-time greatest female players. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s no love lost between the two teams. It&rsquo;s changed a bit in the sense that players play together on their NCAA teams, so some are friends, but when you step on the ice for Canada vs. the U.S., that feeling is still very much there. There&rsquo;s a genuine dislike or rivalry between the two teams that keeps it one of the better rivalries in sports.&rdquo;Adds former U.S. alternate captain Angela Ruggiero: &ldquo;With their win-loss record, you have to respect the Canadians. They play the game tough and hard and that lends itself to stirring up emotions in their opponents. We&rsquo;re not any different. We expect neither side cares about anything other than winning.&rdquo;The Canada/U.S. rivalry was intense long before 1998, when women&rsquo;s hockey was first played as an Olympic sport at the Nagano Games. But that inaugural Olympic showdown for the gold medal &ndash; won 3-1 by the Americans, who went undefeated in the tournament &ndash; seemed to ratchet up the antipathy.During the round-robin portion of those Games, the Canadian team was disgusted by American forward Sandra Whyte&rsquo;s alleged mocking of the recently deceased and Alzheimer&rsquo;s-stricken father of Team Canada forward Danielle Goyette (Whyte denied the allegations).<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0116-0178/10094542-1-eng-US/f0116-012.jpg" title="f0116-01" width="1369" height="1514"><figcaption class="caption-body">NO LOVE LOSTCanada&rsquo;s Hayley Wickenheiser battles America&rsquo;s Krissy Wendell in 2002. (CLIVE MASON/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>At the next Winter Olympics, in Salt Lake City, Utah in 2002, the Americans would deny another allegation that angered Canada&rsquo;s players.At that tournament, a rumor made the rounds that had the U.S. placing a Canadian flag on their dressing room floor and stomped all over it.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0116-0243/10094535-1-eng-US/f0116-022.jpg" title="f0116-02" width="886" height="780"><figcaption class="caption-body">ANGELA RUGGIERO (B BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>Again, the Americans quickly dismissed the rumor, but judging by a passionate speech Wickenheiser made after Canada&rsquo;s gold-medal win, it was clear Canada was motivated by it.&ldquo;The 2002 Games would be hard to top, in terms of emotion,&rdquo; Wickenheiser said eight years later. &ldquo;The whole feeling during those Olympics was us against the world almost and being in the U.S. when Sept. 11 had recently happened, it was a very emotionally charged game and very different from (the 2010 Winter Olympics in) Vancouver.&rdquo;Ah, yes, the 2010 Vancouver Games. The women&rsquo;s hockey portion of those Games was won by Team Canada &ndash; its third consecutive gold medal &ndash; in a 2-0 win. And again, the rivalry between two of hockey&rsquo;s greatest nations revealed itself &ndash; this time at the medals ceremonies after Canada&rsquo;s win.When they received their silver medals, many of the American women cried quietly. Some people attempted to chide the emotional U.S. team for what they labeled as poor sportsmanship when they&rsquo;d just won a silver medal. But, at least for once, Wickenheiser jumped to the defense of her rivals.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s kind of a really ignorant comment in a way because you don&rsquo;t really &lsquo;win&rsquo; a silver medal in hockey &ndash; you lose the gold,&rdquo; Wickenheiser said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been at that stage back in &rsquo;98, and at some World Championships, and it&rsquo;s devastating. It&rsquo;s just hard to switch gears and think to yourself, &lsquo;Wow, I won a silver medal.&rsquo; I don&rsquo;t think I would&rsquo;ve been any different. I would&rsquo;ve been quite upset, because of all the work that goes into everything and how invested you are. It&rsquo;s almost like the death of something when that happens.&rdquo;The death of a particular dream, absolutely. But the rivalry between the Canadian women and their American counterparts will continue to exist for quite some time.&ldquo;Every game we play against them is always going to matter,&rdquo; Wickenheiser said. &ldquo;We want to continue to grow the game and eventually develop better rivalries with teams like Sweden and Finland. But there&rsquo;s no doubt that with all that&rsquo;s happened between us already, the (U.S.-Canada) rivalry is only going to get better.&rdquo;Wickenheiser was right, apparently. With the two teams meeting in the gold-medal game of the 2014 Olympics and the Americans holding a 2-0 lead heading into the final three and a half minutes, Team Canada&rsquo;s streak of gold seemed all but over until Brianne Jenner scored off the rush to make it 2-1.With desperation in the air and Canadian goalie Shannon Szabados off to the bench, a flurry of Canadian chances resulted in a loose puck in front of the U.S. net for Marie-Philip Poulin. She made no mistake, flipping the puck past American goaltender Jessie Vetter to tie the contest 2-2.The Canadians went on to win the game and the gold, in overtime, on a power play goal by &ndash; who else? &ndash; Poulin. Canada&rsquo;s fourth straight gold in women&rsquo;s hockey may have been its sweetest yet.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0116-0326/10094528-1-eng-US/f0116-032.jpg" title="f0116-03" width="885" height="643"><figcaption class="caption-body">2010 GOLD MEDAL CHAMPS (LUIS ACOSTA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>20&nbsp;Consecutive Olympic wins by Canada since U.S. beat them at the 1998 Olympic final<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0117-0170/10094521-1-eng-US/f0117-012.jpg" title="f0117-01" width="2336" height="2935"><figcaption class="caption-body">HAYLEY WICKENHEISER & KELLY STACK (MARTIN ROSE/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0114-01

CANADIAN WOMEN VS. AMERICAN WOMEN

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0118-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0118-0173/10094594-1-eng-US/f0118-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">CONN THE MANConn Smythe, right, didn&rsquo;t like it when his staff made decisions without his consent. (BRUCE BENNETT STUDIOS/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>ONE OF THE BEST TRADES IN Toronto Maple Leafs history also brought to a head one of the franchise&rsquo;s all-time rifts.From the late 1920s through the latter stages of the &rsquo;50s, very little happened in Leafland without the approval of Conn Smythe. On the most basic level, Smythe was simply the boss and one of his shrewdest moves came early in his tenure when he brought an astute young hockey mind named Frank Selke into the Toronto fold.There was a definite kinship between the two men, who were bound by a common passion for the game and spotting players who really knew how to play it.&ldquo;There was a real camaraderie there, there was a real partnership and I think there was a mutual admiration,&rdquo; said Kevin Shea, editor of publications and online features for the Hockey Hall of Fame. &ldquo;They both knew Toronto-area hockey like no other and that&rsquo;s one of the reasons they banded together.&rdquo;One of Selke&rsquo;s earliest and largest contributions to the organization came via his employment history as an electrician. Leveraging the union connections he made plying that trade, Selke was instrumental in getting Maple Leaf Gardens built when most doubted it would ever happen.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0119-0165/10094587-1-eng-US/f0119-012.jpg" title="f0119-01" width="443" height="643"><figcaption class="caption-body">FRANK SELKE</figcaption></div>Job titles in those days weren&rsquo;t as rigid as they are now, but suffice it to say Selke was Smythe&rsquo;s righthand man. To that end, when Smythe departed to lead troops in Europe during the Second World War, Selke was left in charge of hockey personnel decisions, with the understanding all transactions would be subject to final approval from afar by Smythe.<blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;SELKE TALKS TO HIS ADVISORS AND MAKES THE DEAL. AND SMYTHE GOES BALLISTIC&rdquo;&ndash; Kevin Shea</blockquote>6 Cups won by Frank Selke with Montreal after leaving Toronto, where he won threeIn September 1943, Selke moved to acquire a young center named Ted Kennedy from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for defenseman Frank Eddolls, whose rights the Habs had previously traded to the Leafs three years earlier.According to lore, Selke made a failed attempt to connect with Smythe. After consulting with another prominent member of Leafs management, Hap Day, and believing the trade was one that simply had to be made, Selke went ahead with the deal that landed Toronto one of its best players in franchise history.&ldquo;He talks to his advisors, including Day and makes the deal,&rdquo; Shea said. &ldquo;And Smythe goes ballistic, even though it turned out to be the greatest deal, certainly of that era (for the Leafs).&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0119-0235/10094580-1-eng-US/f0119-022.jpg" title="f0119-02" width="443" height="688"><figcaption class="caption-body">CONN SMYTHE (B BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>To Smythe, who valued loyalty above all, Selke was making a play in his absence to seize control of the Leafs. Not particularly caring for the accusation and increasingly fed up working for such an authoritarian, Selke allegedly scribbled something to the effect of, &ldquo;Lincoln freed the slaves 80 years ago. Thanks very much; it&rsquo;s been nice working for you.&rdquo;Whether that was just Selke&rsquo;s way of saving face after being fired is irrelevant. All that matters is, in 1946, he moved into the GM&rsquo;s chair in Montreal and set about building the farm system he&rsquo;d begun to put in place in Toronto. Given Selke&rsquo;s mind for the game and drive to succeed, perhaps his feud with Smythe only expedited what was an inevitable separation.&ldquo;Selke was a talented guy and his talent was never going to be recognized or realized in Toronto,&rdquo; said D&rsquo;Arcy Jenish, a hockey historian who authored The Montreal Canadiens: 100 Years of Glory. &ldquo;He got the perfect job, perfect employer in Senator Donat Raymond. The board in Montreal gave Selke a clear mandate. They just wanted a good team. The famous line was, &lsquo;Go ahead and build an empire.&rsquo; &rdquo;Much of the work Selke had done with the Leafs came to fruition when the team won four Cups in five years between 1947 and 1951. The fact Toronto was winning in the immediate aftermath of his move masked how important the shift was. But once the Habs started reaping the rewards of Selke&rsquo;s far-reaching feeder system, his ability to build high-end teams became blatantly apparent.Smythe and Selke co-existed as GMs in a six-team league, even working together on the creation of the Hall of Fame in 1961. In essence, the two were just a contrast in personalities, Selke the more measured man, Smythe always seeing things in distinct shades.&ldquo;Smythe was hot and cold,&rdquo; Shea said. &ldquo;It was black, it was white and it was never grey.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0118-01

CONN SMYTHE VS. FRANK SELKE

DON CHERRY CAN GET PRETTY worked up when talking about European hockey players, especially the ones he likes.&ldquo;My favorite Russian, except when he slew-footed a guy and I called him a weasel, was Pavel Bure,&rdquo; Cherry said. &ldquo;I always thought he was absolutely terrific.&rdquo;OK, so even when Cherry praises Euros, there tends to be a qualifier. But even if Bure wasn&rsquo;t above some bashing from Canada&rsquo;s notoriously outspoken homer, it didn&rsquo;t seem to bother the slick Russian.&ldquo;He&rsquo;d come right in the studio sometimes to say hello,&rdquo; Cherry said. &ldquo;I really liked Pavel Bure, he was my type of player, gutsy little guy.&rdquo;It&rsquo;s fair to say those words represent the exception to the rule regarding Cherry&rsquo;s feelings toward European players. Maybe it started when Cherry, in his one-year stint as Colorado Rockies coach in 1979-80, was wedded to Hardy Astrom in goal, a man Cherry has previously referred to as the &lsquo;Swedish Sieve.&rsquo;Truth be told, even if Astrom had been Dominik Hasek, it&rsquo;s hard to imagine Cherry&rsquo;s views on players from across the pond changing much. There&rsquo;s a bred-in-the-bone element to his hockey views and he&rsquo;s been happy to share them throughout 34 years as Canada&rsquo;s most prominent hockey commentator.It&rsquo;s not that Cherry doesn&rsquo;t believe there&rsquo;s a place for Euros in the game. He just feels they have to bring something unique to the table. &ldquo;If the Russian is better and can score better and do everything better, that&rsquo;s fine,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But don&rsquo;t give me guys who can score 12 or 13 goals. Canadians can do that.&rdquo;Even the staunchest pro-Canadian supporter will concede European players have toughened up over the years. The question is are they thin-skinned when it comes to Cherry&rsquo;s comments, or does his take on them just gently roll off their backs like a soft pass from Nicklas Lidstrom&rsquo;s stick?<blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;DON&rsquo;T GIVE ME (EUROPEANS) WHO CAN SCORE 12 OR 13 GOALS. CANADIANS CAN DO THAT&rdquo;&ndash; Don Cherry</blockquote><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0120-0173/10094660-1-eng-US/f0120-012.jpg" title="f0120-01" width="644" height="820"><figcaption class="caption-body">PAVEL BURE (B BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0120-0241/10094653-1-eng-US/f0120-022.jpg" title="f0120-02" width="3484" height="2935"><figcaption class="caption-body">EURO-TRASHOne of Don Cherry&rsquo;s pet peeves over the years is Europeans taking Canadian jobs. (KEVIN LIGHT/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>Journalist Bruce Dowbiggin has had run-ins with Cherry over the course of his career in newspapers, TV and radio. He believes Euros haven&rsquo;t been crazy about the opinions offered by the High-Collared One. Dowbiggin also thinks the fact people started tuning in en masse to hear Cherry&rsquo;s black-and-white stance only spurred a former coach looking to cement himself in a new career to keep pushing the envelope.&ldquo;I definitely think the Europeans are hurt by comments like that,&rdquo; Dowbiggin said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s not something anyone likes to hear. But for Don, I think it&rsquo;s all an act. When it first happened, the response was such that it made him more popular, and because of that he played it up. That&rsquo;s not to say Don wasn&rsquo;t burned by any Europeans, and so to some degree he might believe (his anti-European stance), but when he&rsquo;s given a promotion or raise every time he calls someone a &lsquo;chicken Swede,&rsquo; why wouldn&rsquo;t he continue to do it? I know he got mad at me once when I told him I thought it was all an act, but I still think it&rsquo;s an act.&rdquo;For his part, Cherry steadfastly claims the views people hear from him are simply what&rsquo;s in his heart.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the way I feel,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d like to say, &lsquo;No, I don&rsquo;t feel that way,&rsquo; but I believe in Canadian hockey players because I&rsquo;m Canadian.&rdquo;His interaction with Bure aside, Cherry said he rarely crosses paths with players, so the occasion for a European to exchange opinions rarely comes up.&ldquo;They don&rsquo;t talk to me,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t talk to many guys.&rdquo;Scott Moore, the former executive director of CBC Sports (now with Rogers Media), had an intimate view into what the world of Cherry is all about. In his mind, Cherry&rsquo;s opinions are authentic, though they may be more malleable than people give him credit for.&ldquo;He has softened his view over time,&rdquo; Moore said in 2010. &ldquo;You do hear him pay compliments to European players from time to time. He&rsquo;s not as dismissive (of them) as a group as he used to be.&rdquo;If Cherry has undergone a metamorphosis, it wasn&rsquo;t at the behest of his CBC superiors. When Cherry first came onto the TV scene in the early 1980s, longtime Hockey Night executive director Ralph Mellanby fought to keep him on air when many thought Cherry&rsquo;s rudimentary grasp of the English language made him better suited for another line of work. More than three decades later, Moore says he wasn&rsquo;t about to ask a man who has entrenched himself in Canadian culture to start altering his stripes as an analyst.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0122-0174/10094646-1-eng-US/f0122-012.jpg" title="f0122-01" width="886" height="781"><figcaption class="caption-body">DON CHERRY (STEVE BABINEAU/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0122-0239/10094639-1-eng-US/f0122-022.jpg" title="f0122-02" width="1369" height="1330"><figcaption class="caption-body">CORNER MANRon MacLean&rsquo;s stand-up approach is a nice foil for Cherry&rsquo;s bleating bluster. (TRAVIS GOLBY/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to change Don too much, especially in the latter years of his career,&rdquo; Moore said in 2010.At this point, there&rsquo;s no denying Cherry is what he is. But Dowbiggin believes there is a divide with regard to how Cherry&rsquo;s years of rants and outrageous suits are perceived.&ldquo;I think for the younger population he&rsquo;s viewed as a kind of Mr. Burns, a cartoon character of sorts, a guy with a lot of bluster but not much substance,&rdquo; Dowbiggin said. &ldquo;For the older viewers, I think there&rsquo;s a real like for Don. He&rsquo;s a guy who was frank and backed up what he said.&ldquo;He came on the (Hockey Night) scene after Howie Meeker, who was all fussy and detail-oriented. Here was Don with his insights and edge and he was refreshing, and it was like listening to (comedians) Steven Wright or Henny Youngman, and he was popular. But since then he&rsquo;s become a self-parody of himself, and I don&rsquo;t know if his views are endorsed by a lot of people anymore.&rdquo;Whatever their take, people still tune in to Canada&rsquo;s most recognizable hockey-talker.&ldquo;There are many things about Don that make me chuckle or have a reaction, but the reality with Don is that he&rsquo;s a superstar in this country,&rdquo; Moore said. &ldquo;One of the reasons &ndash; if not the reason &ndash; is people have a reaction to him, both positive and negative. The positive way outweighs the negative.&rdquo;51.8 Percent of Canadaborn NHLers in 2013-14. It was 84.4% in Cherry&rsquo;s final year of coaching<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0122-0329/10094632-1-eng-US/f0122-032.jpg" title="f0122-03" width="574" height="962"><figcaption class="caption-body">(JIM MCISAAC/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0123-0163/10094625-1-eng-US/f0123-012.jpg" title="f0123-01" width="2336" height="2935"><figcaption class="caption-body">DON CHERRY (RICK STEWART)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0120-01

DON CHERRY VS. EUROPEANS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0124-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0124-0177/10094705-1-eng-US/f0124-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">SERVED COLDMike Ilitch&rsquo;s Red Wings beat Peter Karmanos&rsquo; Canes for the Cup in 2002. (ELSA/GETTY IMAGES/NHLI)</figcaption></div>IT ALL STARTED WITH 12-YEAR-olds, between midgets, peewees, bantams and squirts. Before too long, Michael Ilitch and Peter Karmanos Jr. were fighting over stars and the Stanley Cup.The rivalry between Ilitch, the Detroit pizza baron and owner of the Red Wings, and Karmanos, the Detroit software magnate and owner of the Carolina Hurricanes, is one of the oddest &ndash; and fiercest &ndash; in sports.Their personal enmity has seen teams evicted from arenas and players offered millions of dollars &ndash; with the Cup hanging in the balance. The 2002 final saw the millionaires&rsquo; private spat writ large across the face of hockey when the elite Wings and upstart Hurricanes brought the feuding owners to the forefront.&ldquo;If there&rsquo;s acrimony &ndash; if &ndash; we share it equally,&rdquo; Karmanos deadpanned before Game 1. Six months earlier, in an interview in his office, his tone was a little different: &ldquo;I have no use for Mike Ilitch.&rdquo;The rivalry between the two has its roots in youth hockey in the 1970s, when Karmanos started Compuware&rsquo;s youth operation to compete with Ilitch&rsquo;s established Little Caesar&rsquo;s program. The fact Karmanos is the son of Greek immigrants and Ilitch the son of Macedonian immigrants, who grew up in Detroit neighborhoods that didn&rsquo;t see eye-to-eye either, may play into it as well.Since then, the two have fought it out at every level of hockey. Relations between the Detroit titans reached a nadir in 1995, when Ilitch declined to renew Karmanos&rsquo; lease at Joe Louis Arena for his Ontario League Junior Red Wings. Ilitch&rsquo;s public justification was that the building was better served hosting concerts than junior hockey, but Karmanos &ndash; a longtime Red Wings season-ticket holder &ndash; had openly rooted for the New Jersey Devils to beat the Red Wings that spring.Three years later, Karmanos took his revenge. Red Wings star Sergei Fedorov was in the middle of a contract dispute when Karmanos stepped in with an offer sheet. Karmanos&rsquo; public justification was that a star like Fedorov was exactly what the fledgling Hurricanes needed to take root in North Carolina, but the offer was loaded with huge bonus payments that would only have to be made if Fedorov reached the conference final.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0125-0166/10094698-1-eng-US/f0125-012.jpg" title="f0125-01" width="542" height="1013"><figcaption class="caption-body">SERGEI FEDOROV (IAN TOMLINSON/GETTY IMAGES/NHLI)</figcaption></div>26 Millions in bonuses that Karmanos&rsquo; offer sheet to Sergei Fedorov cost Ilitch<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0125-0242/10094691-1-eng-US/f0125-022.jpg" title="f0125-02" width="443" height="688"><figcaption class="caption-body">PETER KARMANOS (BRUCE BENNETT STUDIOS/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>The struggling Hurricanes were unlikely to make it that far. The Wings did &ndash; and ended up paying Fedorov a $12 million bonus after matching Carolina&rsquo;s offer.Time has passed, and the relationship has thawed somewhat of late. In March, 2010, Karmanos&rsquo; Plymouth Whalers &ndash; direct descendants of the Jr. Red Wings &ndash; became the latest Detroit-area OHL team to enjoy a practice day at Joe Louis as guests of the NHL Red Wings.Off the ice, Karmanos and Ilitch are both major contributors to a public-private partnership that is funding a light-rail project on Detroit&rsquo;s Woodward Avenue, helping to raise $125 million. It&rsquo;s the latest in an increasingly long list of occasions where Karmanos and Ilitch have joined forces in support of the revitalization of downtown Detroit.Nevertheless, there&rsquo;s always something extra on the line when the Hurricanes and Red Wings face off, whether on the game&rsquo;s biggest stage or in a September rookie camp scrimmage &ndash; or, for that matter, whenever rival 12-year-olds take up the banner. &#9632;

f0124-01

PETER KARMANOS VS. MIKE ILITCH

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0126-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0126-0171/10094764-1-eng-US/f0126-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">FIGHT FOR AIRBlackhawks fans detested Bill Wirtz because he refused to televise home games. (BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES FOR NHLI)</figcaption></div>IT&rsquo;S HARD TO FIND ANYONE WHO believes Bill Wirtz&rsquo;s policy not to televise Chicago Blackhawks home games was a good idea, but there was at least one occasion when it absolutely worked to his advantage.March 19, 1998 was Denis Savard jersey retirement night at the United Center and Wirtz, as team owner, wanted to pay homage to his former star with a speech and ceremony at center ice. But as Wirtz stepped onto the red carpet and approached the podium, the boos began to cascade from the crowd &ndash; and they didn&rsquo;t stop until he made his exit.&ldquo;They booed him off the ice,&rdquo; remembered longtime Chicago hockey writer Matt Carlson. &ldquo;He didn&rsquo;t even say a word. It was over the top. And he just walked off in disgrace.&rdquo;While video of the spectacle doesn&rsquo;t reside on You-Tube or anywhere else on the Internet &ndash; likely a result of Wirtz&rsquo;s no-home-TV policy &ndash; it was by all accounts a night to remember and a night to forget.&ldquo;That was inappropriate,&rdquo; said former Blackhawks goalie and broadcaster, Darren Pang, who was in attendance that evening as a fan. &ldquo;Savard was someone near and dear to Bill Wirtz. That wasn&rsquo;t a night to boo him.&rdquo;And so it went with Wirtz. Hawks fans and those on the outside detested the man widely referred to as &lsquo;Dollar&rsquo; Bill. They blamed him for squeezing his wallet and allowing Bobby Hull to flee to the World Hockey Association in 1972 (though many believe it was his father and owner at the time, Arthur Wirtz, who called the shots). They held him responsible for the franchise&rsquo;s epic Stanley Cup drought, which reached 46 years by the time of his death in 2007 and ended at 49 years when the Hawks won in 2010. But mostly, they reviled him for not airing home games in the local market.Conversely, those employed by Wirtz saw a different side, a fiercely faithful boss who&rsquo;d take care of his own. Talk to people who played on or managed his teams and virtually to a man they speak with reverence.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0127-0166/10094757-1-eng-US/f0127-012.jpg" title="f0127-01" width="494" height="811"><figcaption class="caption-body">DARREN PANG (STEVE BABINEAU/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;WIRTZ BELIEVED HE WAS BEING TRUE TO THE SEASON TICKET SUBSCRIBERS&rdquo;&ndash; Darren Pang</blockquote>Michel Goulet, Hall of Famer and Blackhawks left winger from 1990 to 1994: &ldquo;I loved the man. Sometimes people have a bad reputation, but I don&rsquo;t really listen to that. I want to find out on my own.&rdquo;Rick Dudley, a consultant/assistant GM in Chicago from 2004 to 2009: &ldquo;He was a wonderful guy. He was a kind-hearted man who would do anything for you. He was one of the most loyal people I&rsquo;ll ever know.&rdquo;And Pang, a goalie for the club in the 1980s: &ldquo;He was so loyal you could actually screw up two or three times and he&rsquo;d still stand by you.&rdquo;Pang credits Wirtz with helping him land on his feet, figuratively and literally, when his playing days abruptly ended in 1989. The netminder sustained a career-killing knee injury and knew his insurance claim was no slam-dunk. That&rsquo;s when Wirtz intervened and ensured all the paperwork was in order to secure Pang&rsquo;s short-term financial future. He also extended a broadcasting job to Pang and made certain his employee, who had a newborn son with medical issues, didn&rsquo;t lose any health coverage.&ldquo;I remember a man who really wanted to help me out,&rdquo; Pang said. &ldquo;And Bill Wirtz was true to his word.&rdquo;But for every employee who fondly recalls their benign dictator, there are thousands of fans who only saw a cheap tyrant. Frustration that had simmered for years bubbled more ferociously after 1991, when Mark Weinberg started publishing the satirical, unofficial game program, Blue Line.At first, Weinberg wanted to work with the Blackhawks, complementing the magazine the team sold on game nights with a stats-filled, pre-game analysis package. Upon pitching the idea to the club, Weinberg says he was summarily dismissed.&ldquo;They told me to get lost,&rdquo; he said.Instead, he went solo and started distributing the four-page newsletter outside the arena, filling it with biting satire and scathing editorial cartoons, much of it aimed at Wirtz. Weinberg&rsquo;s dissension landed him a trespassing arrest and a four-hour stint in jail. That&rsquo;s when he really amped things up.&ldquo;We quickly discovered that making fun of Bill Wirtz was a great way to get a response from the fans,&rdquo; Weinberg said. &ldquo;But we weren&rsquo;t cutting-edge. Bill Wirtz was already reviled. You can&rsquo;t successfully satirize someone who is beloved. We were just being reactive. But we were ruthless.&rdquo;The negative Wirtz legacy snowballed and it became de rigueur in Chicago &ndash; a city renowned for loathing its sports teams&rsquo; owners &ndash; to put the Hawks owner at the top of their hate list. ESPN pegged him as the third greediest owner in sports in 2002; two years later, the network ranked Wirtz&rsquo;s franchise as the worst in all of sports. Even in death, Wirtz wasn&rsquo;t safe from derision. After his passing, GM Dale Tallon gave a memorial speech at United Center and catcalls and boos bounced around the arena. Video of that episode, incidentally, can be found on YouTube, most probably because the Hawks started airing homes games after he died. For Wirtz, it always comes back to home TV.So why the policy? Ironically enough, the quality that so endeared him to people in his inner circle was at the heart of fans biggest source of disdain: loyalty. His dad, Arthur, owned many of America&rsquo;s arenas in the 1950s and firmly believed home TV would have a detrimental impact on attendance. Bill inherited his father&rsquo;s beliefs, or at least remained true to them, until the bitter end. It was joked that if Bill Wirtz ever aired home games, his dad would come out of the grave and spank him.In addition, Wirtz put a high value on his regular customers.&ldquo;Bill believed he was being true to the season-ticket subscribers,&rdquo; Pang said. &ldquo;They weren&rsquo;t season-ticket holders, he always used the phrase &lsquo;subscribers.&rsquo; Why should other people get to watch it at home for free when (the subscribers) have paid their money?&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0128-0175/10094750-1-eng-US/f0128-012.jpg" title="f0128-01" width="927" height="964"><figcaption class="caption-body">A BAD RAPAny player or exec who worked with Wirtz insists he was a loyal, lovable man. (HHOF IMAGES)</figcaption></div>But Pang recognizes why the policy left the masses alienated. He got to witness it first-hand with his seven-year-old son, who wanted to see his local heroes on TV, but couldn&rsquo;t. So he wrote a letter to the owner.&ldquo;I remember it,&rdquo; Pang said. &ldquo;It went, &lsquo;My dad used to play for you, he was a goalie, we love hockey and now my favorite team is the Detroit Red Wings because we can&rsquo;t watch you on TV.&rsquo;&ldquo;We never got a response.&rdquo;On the ice, Chicago came close to glory a few times under Wirtz, enjoying success in the early 1990s, highlighted by a Cup final appearance in 1992. At the same time, the club had bitter partings with marquee high-profile players such as Savard, Steve Larmer, Jeremy Roenick and Ed Belfour.While the feuds were often about money, it would be inaccurate to say Wirtz was always unwilling to spend. He was on record as saying he never took a dividend from the Hawks, that all profit was put back into the product. And significant signings &ndash; Doug Gilmour, $18 million over three years and Nikolai Khabibulin, $27 million over four &ndash; speak to that philosophy. Dudley says the management team he was part of with GM Dale Tallon was never shackled.&ldquo;When Dale asked me to talk about a player or an acquisition and I went to Bill Wirtz, I don&rsquo;t think he ever turned us down,&rdquo; Dudley said. &ldquo;And what&rsquo;s unfair, terribly unfair, is that everybody associates this big Chicago turnaround (in the late 2000s) with Bill and Bob (Pulford) not being there. It started long before that. The day they hired Dale Tallon is when that started and Bob Pulford was still the president and Bill Wirtz still the owner. They began the process.&rdquo;Fair or not, it&rsquo;s reality. The fans, for the most part, haven&rsquo;t forgiven. But we&rsquo;re not sure Wirtz would mind.&ldquo;Wirtz often said he put family first, business second and nothing else third,&rdquo; Weinberg said. &ldquo;That included the fans.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0128-0247/10094743-1-eng-US/f0128-022.jpg" title="f0128-02" width="312" height="271"></div>55 Years between first NHL game on TV and first Blackhawks game on local TV<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0129-0168/10094736-1-eng-US/f0129-012.jpg" title="f0129-01" width="2336" height="2935"><figcaption class="caption-body">CHICAGO STADIUM (BRUCE BENNETT STUDIOS/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0126-01

BILL WIRTZ VS. CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

IT&rsquo;S LATE JUNE 2014. TYLER DELLOW and Steve Simmons want to kill each other. Hyperbole? Probably. At the very least, Simmons is about to boil over. Dellow calmly relishes it.Dellow, a Toronto-based lawyer, and Simmons, a Toronto Sun columnist, are debating the validity of advanced statistics on a radio show and, more specifically, statistical darling Mikhail Grabovski versus clutch playoff performer Dave Bolland. Simmons tells Dellow, a leading voice in the analytics community, to throw his stats out the window and look at Grabovski&rsquo;s lone-wolf tendencies as a center.&ldquo;I just judge players based on whether their team scores more goals than the other team,&rdquo; Dellow says, &ldquo;and when Grabovski&rsquo;s on the ice, that happens.&rdquo;&ldquo;One guy, who won a Stanley Cup scoring the gamewinning goal in the final minute of Game 6? The other guy&rsquo;s never been close to that,&rdquo; Simmons retorts, twice as loudly.&ldquo;Yeah, and what did Dave Bolland do?&rdquo; Dellow teases. &ldquo;Is he Jonathan Toews&rsquo; dad? Because I&rsquo;m not sure how you&rsquo;re giving him credit for the team he played on.&rdquo;The heated exchange is what we&rsquo;ve come to expect from a rivalry that exploded over blogs and the social media universe in recent seasons. Little did we know the advanced statistics versus old-guard debate, the nerds versus dinosaurs war, would go from hot fad to revolution over the summer.It was a full-on NHL takeover for the stat heads. Dellow now works for the Oilers. Sunny Mehta, a pro poker player turned Oilers blogger, was named the New Jersey Devils&rsquo; director of analytics. Whiz-kid stat guru-turned Ontario League GM Kyle Dubas, 28, is now the assistant GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs, who also launched an analytics department. The slew of hirings brought validation to the growing community of thinkers who believe possession-driven statistics like Corsi and Fenwick are the best predictors of success in the NHL. And they poured gasoline on the fiery fight emerging between the stat heads and the traditional-thinking journalists.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0130-0170/10094816-1-eng-US/f0130-012.jpg" title="f0130-01" width="464" height="826"><figcaption class="caption-body">STEVE SIMMONS (JIM THOMPSON/TORONTO SUN/QMI AGENCY)</figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;THEY THINK I&rsquo;M A MORON. NOT SOMEONE WHO&rsquo;S COVERED THE NHL FOR 34 YEARS&rdquo;&ndash; Steve Simmons</blockquote>&ldquo;They think I&rsquo;m a moron, to be honest,&rdquo; Simmons said. &ldquo;Not someone who&rsquo;s covered the NHL for 34 years, not someone who coached hockey for 25 and is a level 3 instructor, not someone who ran hockey schools. I&rsquo;m a moron.&rdquo;In one corner, we have the stats movement. Its general position: we should rely less on our eyes and more on possession statistics, which tell us who has the puck more and, in the case of Corsi and Fenwick, which teams or players drive the play toward the other team&rsquo;s goal more than others. Corsi includes not just shots, but missed shots and blocked shots, as both constitute possessing the puck as an attacker. Fenwick is similar, but without the blocked shots. Tim Barnes, a.k a. Oiler stats blogger &lsquo;Vic Ferrari,&rsquo; points out that advanced statistics help us study the game better, recording specific shifts in puck control and matchups between players better than the eye can.&ldquo;The stats aren&rsquo;t just stats, but events,&rdquo; Barnes said.In the other corner: the purists. These are the reporters who believe the best hockey analysis comes from sitting in arenas, sipping hot coffee and observing the actual game. They champion the tangibility of seeing Bolland score a Cup-winning goal over what Grabovksi&rsquo;s team subtly accomplishes with him on the ice. Many, like Globe and Mail hockey columnist David Shoalts, warn us hockey doesn&rsquo;t lend itself to statistics the same way a sport like baseball does, as the speed of the game and unpredictability make it difficult to track, especially with on-the-fly substitutions. The old guard is also quick to remind us the stats are young and flawed.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve seen this before,&rdquo; Shoalts said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s like any kind of fad that strikes. Everybody goes on the Atkins diet, even though it&rsquo;s an extremely dubious way to lose weight or get any kind of decent nutrition (laughs).&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0131-0166/10094809-1-eng-US/f0131-012.jpg" title="f0131-01" width="2336" height="2935"><figcaption class="caption-body">CHICKEN OR EGGJonathan Toews is good because he has the puck. Or he has it because he&rsquo;s good. (JONATHAN DANIEL/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0132-0169/10094802-1-eng-US/f0132-012.jpg" title="f0132-01" width="886" height="872"><figcaption class="caption-body">KYLE DUBAS (JIM EGAN)</figcaption></div>Why, Simmons asks, were the New Jersey Devils bad and the Colorado Avalanche good last season when the possession numbers suggested the reverse?&ldquo;Jake Muzzin is the best defenseman in the NHL according to Corsi,&rdquo; Simmons said. &ldquo;There are teams he probably couldn&rsquo;t play for.&rdquo;The team Muzzin does play for, however, is the Los Angeles Kings, and they&rsquo;ve won two of the past three Cups, largely on the strength of a dominant possession game. They get exemplary marks in Corsi and Fenwick, creating a correlation that&rsquo;s tough to ignore. That&rsquo;s why reporters like James Mirtle, who covers the Leafs for the Globe and Mail, have decided no one can turn a blind eye to advanced statistics anymore. While many of the biggest stat proponents are bloggers coming from other industries, Mirtle is among the first high-profile journalists to embrace analytics.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no reason to be threatened by this kind of stuff,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not that complicated, it&rsquo;s not that difficult, it&rsquo;s not going anywhere. You can incorporate some really simple ideas from it &ndash; that possession&rsquo;s important, &lsquo;here&rsquo;s the number that reflects possession&rsquo; &ndash; and it can add a lot of value to the work you do.&rdquo;Why is each side of the debate so openly venomous toward the other? The better question is what you&rsquo;d ask your quarrelling children: who started it? The answer is one thing each side agrees upon. It began with the blogging community. Sites like Irreverent Oiler Fans started breaking down and critiquing their teams&rsquo; play from a statistical standpoint as far back as 2006. On top of analyzing the game, some began critiquing the critics. They&rsquo;d slam journalists they believed had a myopic view of how the game is played.&ldquo;They would take something that someone wrote in the mainstream and tear it apart line by line or piece by piece, a lot of times without talking to the person, contacting the person, doing the basic journalistic ethical thing,&rdquo; Simmons said. &ldquo;At least in my mind, that&rsquo;s where it started more than anything else. It&rsquo;s funny, because if people in the mainstream hadn&rsquo;t written things, the bloggers wouldn&rsquo;t have had things to respond to. So one created the other, and now you have what you have.&rdquo;The advanced stats bloggers had the perfect conditions to gain notoriety and build a rivalry with the oldguard media. First, as Simmons said, his side gave the bloggers material to critique. Secondly, and contrary to what Simmons said, they didn&rsquo;t have to adhere to traditional media standards.&ldquo;Some of the guys on the analytics side, they&rsquo;re not journalists, right?&rdquo; Mirtle said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think these guys necessarily have to act like journalists. They&rsquo;re fans.&rdquo;Lastly, many of them wrote with a biting sense of humor, most notably the acid-tongued lawyer Dellow, who has shown a remarkably keen ability to get under his opponents&rsquo; skin. His own community heralds him as a sort of watchdog who keeps journalists in check.&ldquo;No single person has done more to improve the quality of hockey print and broadcast journalism than Tyler Dellow,&rdquo; Barnes said.Once the advanced stat proponents developed a strong social media presence, with tens of thousands of Twitter followers, their influence spiked. The sudden prevalence of analytics bloggers-turned NHL team employees reflects that. Simmons insists many GMs in the league are forced to feign interest in possession numbers now to avoid being publicly flogged by the bloggers, and that &ldquo;guys I know personally who really don&rsquo;t care much for the stats will say when you ask them on the record, &lsquo;Oh yeah, we do a lot of work in that area.&rsquo; &rdquo;With the analytics voice louder than ever, the sniping went into high gear, too. The most high-profile example: a seemingly innocuous Simmons tweet that went viral. One year ago, when the Toronto Maple Leafs started their season 10-4-0, the analytics community predicted the team would fall off a cliff. The reason: the Leafs relied too much on Jonathan Bernier&rsquo;s stellar goaltending, and their Corsi numbers were terrible. They were getting lucky by winning without having the puck much at all. Simmons scoffed at the time: &ldquo;Good thing the Leafs don&rsquo;t play in the CHL. The Corsi Hockey League. They&rsquo;re doing just fine in the NHL, though.&rdquo;After the Leafs indeed tanked late in the season and L.A., the league&rsquo;s top-ranked Corsi team, won the Cup. Simmons was a sitting duck. The stat advocates trolled him to kingdom come. &ldquo;&ldquo;Hardly a day goes by when I don&rsquo;t get a tweet with somebody chuckling, &lsquo;How&rsquo;s the Corsi Hockey League going?&rsquo; &rdquo; Simmons said. &ldquo;That was daily to the point of that moment. Them being 10-4. It wasn&rsquo;t a broad statement. It&rsquo;s 140 characters, so you can&rsquo;t explain yourself.&rdquo;Mirtle says he gets bombarded from the other side with just as many attacks, many of them too inappropriate to print and often picking apart his appearance.Talk to the stat folks and their most consistent request is for the purists to open their minds and stop fearing new world order. Talk to the old guard and they want the analytics community to lighten up. Simmons and Shoalts say they&rsquo;re goaded by their rivals, but admit to deliberately doing the same to stir the pot.&ldquo;Some of the advanced stat people tend to be really thin-skinned,&rdquo; Shoalts said. &ldquo;And you combine that with what seems to be, in broad terms, a sort of condescending attitude. That makes for a pretty explosive combination. That all being said, I do know us in the media tend to be a little thin-skinned, too, which has always struck me as kind of odd, because we dish it out, and too many of our members can&rsquo;t take it sometimes. But I will say this: I find a lot of the advanced stats people kind of annoying.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0132-0245/10094795-1-eng-US/f0132-022.jpg" title="f0132-02" width="2034" height="1651"><figcaption class="caption-body">KING OF CORSIPurists object when they see a player like Jake Muzzin rate so highly in possession. (JEFF GROSS/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>1 The Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; Corsi rank in their Stanley Cup 2013-14 seasonTake a bird&rsquo;s eye view of this war of words and, as is the case with most fights in life, you&rsquo;ll see the sides relate to each other far more than they realize.Look at Simmons&rsquo; assertion the stat crowd thinks he&rsquo;s a moron despite his many years of experience in hockey. Mirtle says his family laughs whenever critics tell him he knows nothing about the game, as all he&rsquo;s done his whole life is study it obsessively. And the traditionalists paint Dellow as a guy who lives in his parents&rsquo; basement surrounded by blinking monitors. Edmonton Sun reporter Derek Van Diest criticized the Oilers&rsquo; Dellow hiring, insisting one sees the game differently in an arena, in the press box. The ironic part about that stance: Dellow has spent many a day in a rink.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve actually played hockey with him a couple of times,&rdquo; Mirtle said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a very good hockey player. He&rsquo;s from a small town in B.C., he&rsquo;s highly educated, he knows the game very well, he plays regularly. He&rsquo;s probably a better player than most of the people in the media. We have to get past these petty judgements on people, because whether you like numbers or not has nothing to do with how much you know about hockey.&rdquo;Both sides bristle at the notion they&rsquo;re being called out for not understanding the game, not realizing the very people calling them out suffer from the same frustration. And they may not even disagree on stats as much as they think they do. Check out these &ldquo;anti&rdquo; Corsi statements. First, one from Simmons:<blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;THERE&rsquo;S NO REASON TO BE THREATENED BY THIS. IT&rsquo;S NOT HARD TO UNDERSTAND&rdquo;&ndash; James Mirtle</blockquote>&ldquo;Stats guys have made the case to me that the Chicago Blackhawks win because they&rsquo;re advocates of analytics. The Chicago Blackhawks win because they have Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith and Patrick Kane, three of the best players in all of hockey. And why do the L.A. Kings win? Not because they believe in possession. They win because they have the best players. When you have the best players, guess what happens? You have the puck more.&rdquo;Now, from Shoalts: &ldquo;They&rsquo;re basically telling us whoever has the puck most wins. I&rsquo;m sorry to disillusion any of the advanced stats crowd, but that&rsquo;s not exactly new. Syl Apps might have told you the same thing 80 years ago.&rdquo;The takeaways: good teams and players have the puck, and it&rsquo;s nothing new to declare that good teams and players have the puck. And what do advanced statistics attempt to tell us: good teams and players have the puck. Sorry to spoil the fun, but the two sides unknowingly agree. Neither even dismisses the other&rsquo;s viewpoint entirely. Barnes, who stays out of the mudslinging, says it&rsquo;s equally wrong to ignore advanced stats and to rely on them exclusively. Shoalts says he&rsquo;d hire an analytics expert if he ran an NHL team, albeit he laughs at the idea of installing one as an assistant GM.Maybe the old guard and new wave will kiss and make up. Or maybe there&rsquo;s no onus on anyone to embrace a belief contrary to his or her own.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never understood this powerful need some guys have to make everyone understand their point of view,&rdquo; Barnes said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s your edge. If you have a really good edge in business, why on earth would you spend enormous chunks of your time trying to give everyone else that same edge? I don&rsquo;t get it.&rdquo;Or maybe, as one NHL executive suggests, it&rsquo;s a matter of simple nomenclature. What seems foreign now will be common hockeyspeak in a few years.&ldquo;Imagine asking a coach what he considered &lsquo;advanced stats,&rsquo; &rdquo; the executive said. &ldquo;Would you say to him, &lsquo;That assistant coach in the press box is an advanced statistician? Because 20 years ago there were none of those guys. If we just called it &lsquo;information,&rsquo; would people still be as upset?Maybe he&rsquo;s right. Maybe cooler heads will prevail. And if they don&rsquo;t, it&rsquo;ll be fun. It sure has been so far. &#9632;

f0130-01

ADVANCED STATISTICS VS. THE TRADITIONALISTS

ON PAPER, IT PROMISED TO BE A perfect relationship between a Hall of Fame icon and a supposed future Hall-of-Famer.While relations between Flyers GM Bob Clarke and Eric Lindros started off OK, it took only a few years before the association began to show cracks. After a mega-trade from Quebec to the Flyers in 1992, Lindros started to bring Philadelphia back to respectability. He won his first and only MVP in the lockout-shortened 1994-95 campaign, when the Flyers ended a five-year playoff drought.Soon after, injuries began to plague Lindros, headlined by a series of concussions that unofficially originated in a game where Pittsburgh&rsquo;s Darius Kasparaitis levelled him just after the 1998 Winter Olympics.The injury that really drove a wedge between Clarke and Lindros, however, occurred April 1, 1999, when the &lsquo;Big E&rsquo; sustained a collapsed lung due to a hit by Nashville defenseman Bob Boughner. According to Clarke, Lindros&rsquo; parents, Carl and Bonnie, later accused the GM of allowing their son to fly back to Philadelphia after his release from a Nashville hospital, a risky proposition due to changes in cabin pressure.&ldquo;Eric brings all the problems on himself,&rdquo; Clarke said at the time. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s pretty hard to believe (our training staff) wouldn&rsquo;t treat him properly, or (that) I&rsquo;d put him on a plane to try to kill him.&ldquo;This kind of stuff never ends and it&rsquo;s hard on a club. It&rsquo;s disruptive. You can&rsquo;t tell me a 27-year-old man could have his dad speaking for him, taking him to the doctor, showing up in the locker room after an injury. You do that to a 14-year-old boy and he&rsquo;s embarrassed.&rdquo;Lindros survived, but the problems continued. Over his nine years with the Flyers, he sustained an estimated six concussions. The last and most famous one in 2000 completely ended his relationship with Clarke and the Flyers. In Game 7 of the 2000 Eastern Conference final, Lindros was knocked unconscious on a massive hit by New Jersey&rsquo;s Scott Stevens. The Devils completed a three-game comeback with a win in that contest and Lindros was on his way out the door.<blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;YOU CAN&rsquo;T TELL ME A 27-YEAR-OLD MAN COULD HAVE HIS DAD SPEAKING FOR HIM&rdquo;&ndash; Bobby Clarke, 1999</blockquote>68.6 Percentage of games Eric Lindros was healthy enough to play while with the Flyers<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0134-0171/10094861-1-eng-US/f0134-012.jpg" title="f0134-01" width="885" height="872"><figcaption class="caption-body">ERIC LINDROS (JOHN GIAMUNDO/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>&ldquo;Over the years, there were way too many controversies,&rdquo; Clarke said before trading Lindros to the Rangers Aug. 20, 2001 for Jan Hlavac, Kim Johnsson, Pavel Brendl and a third-rounder. &ldquo;He gets hit (by Stevens), and his dad and his butler are running around the locker room.&rsquo;&rsquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0134-0245/10094854-1-eng-US/f0134-022.jpg" title="f0134-02" width="443" height="459"><figcaption class="caption-body">BOBBY CLARKE (GETTY IMAGES/NHLI)</figcaption></div>Lindros never really had public criticism for Clarke. Instead, he referred to the difficulty in abstract terms.&ldquo;There was a tremendous amount of support in Philadelphia,&rdquo; Lindros said at his introductory press conference with the Rangers. &ldquo;Come playoff time, that city was rocking. Even through the many highs and lows, there was always support.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got nothing but good things to take away from what occurred as far as the players and fans. That certainly overrides anything that took place with management.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0134-0332/10094847-1-eng-US/f0134-032.jpg" title="f0134-03" width="885" height="644"><figcaption class="caption-body">RETURN TRIPEric Lindros joined Bobby Clarke for the alumni game at the 2012 Winter Classic. (LEN REDKOLES/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0134-01

ERIC LINDROS VS. BOBBY CLARKE

YOU KNOW IT&rsquo;S A GOOD HISSING contest when the league has to step in and break it up. But what do you expect when two short-fused battlers like Kevin Lowe and Brian Burke decide to drop the verbal gloves? It was epic. Better stuff than fans saw on the ice some nights. Fun while it lasted.The two have since made up &ndash; realizing, after the death of Burke&rsquo;s son Brendan, that life is too short to waste on juvenile bickering &ndash; but when they did get into it, they got into it good.It started in 2007 when Lowe, then GM of the Edmonton Oilers, pitched a five-year, $21.3 million offer sheet to Anaheim Ducks Group II restricted free agent Dustin Penner (and a bigger one to Buffalo&rsquo;s Thomas Vanek before that), which then-Anaheim GM Burke deemed reckless and irresponsible. Over and over and over. He blamed Lowe for an escalation in player salaries and said he couldn&rsquo;t wait to cash in on the draft picks Edmonton handed over with the offer sheet because with Lowe running things, they were guaranteed to be high ones.&ldquo;(Players in their second contracts) are all being re-signed at inflated prices,&rdquo; Burke said. &ldquo;Everything I said a year ago has come true. Every single word. Most managers don&rsquo;t like starting fights with any other managers. But you go right now from entry-level to what used to be the third contract, thanks to two offer sheets from Kevin Lowe.&rdquo;He didn&rsquo;t stop there. Burke came at Lowe again, on TSN&rsquo;s 2007-08 season preview show.&ldquo;If I had run my team into the sewer like that, I wouldn&rsquo;t throw a grenade at the other 29 teams and my own indirectly,&rdquo; Burke said. &ldquo;So I have no intention of speaking to him any time soon.&rdquo;Lowe finally blew his stack, firing back in July 2008.&ldquo;Where do I begin?&rdquo; Lowe asked. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a moron, first of all. He loves the limelight, and I don&rsquo;t think anyone in hockey will dispute that. He&rsquo;s in a pathetic hockey market where they can&rsquo;t get on any page of the paper let alone the front page of the sports.<blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;IT WAS GOLD. FOR THE NEXT 18 MONTHS, YOU COULD HAVE PLAYED SHINNY ON THEIR ICY RELATIONSHIP&rdquo;</blockquote><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0135-0170/10094899-1-eng-US/f0135-012.jpg" title="f0135-01" width="456" height="758"><figcaption class="caption-body">BRIAN BURKE (STEVE BABINEAU/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>&ldquo;This guy is an absolute media junkie, and I guess he&rsquo;s achieving what he wants because he gets his name in the headlines. But I hate the fact my name is linked to his. He&rsquo;s an underachieving wannabe in terms of success in the NHL. He won a Stanley Cup? Great. I&rsquo;ve won six Stanley Cups, you want to count rings? Who cares, it&rsquo;s just a little pathetic that he carries on.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0135-0245/10094892-1-eng-US/f0135-022.jpg" title="f0135-02" width="443" height="688"><figcaption class="caption-body">KEVIN LOWE (BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGESY)</figcaption></div>&ldquo;(Craig MacTavish) said it best &ndash; he&rsquo;s like the Wizard of Oz, you pull the curtains away, and there&rsquo;s not much substance.&rdquo;From a media perspective it was gold. The NHL didn&rsquo;t think so, and Gary Bettman called both men into the office and issued a cease and desist order. That didn&rsquo;t mean they put the feud behind them, though. For the next 18 months, you could have played shinny on their icy relationship. It wasn&rsquo;t until tragedy struck that they finally ended the hostility. Brendan, before the car accident that claimed his life, told his father he and Lowe needed to make things right.When Lowe learned of Brendan&rsquo;s passing, he e-mailed Brian, offering his condolences. Burke called back immediately and made it known that he wanted to follow his son&rsquo;s wishes and mend the broken fence.They came face to face for the first time at the 2010 Olympics, where they shook hands and hugged. &#9632;

f0135-01

BRIAN BURKE VS. KEVIN LOWE

THE MONTREAL CANADIENS ARE coming out ahead in the &lsquo;Battle of Quebec&rsquo; these days, but not without a fight.The Nordiques may have left Quebec City after the 1994-95 NHL season, but the duel for provincial bragging rights is still waged on a regular basis in the form of alumni games that attract upwards of 15,000 fans. Most games that feature players from past eras amount to nothing more than a lazy skate to stir up some memories for the players and fans. That, however, isn&rsquo;t always the case when the old Nords and Habs have at it. Jacques Demers, who coached both clubs, recalled one alumni game where, as bench boss of the Habs, he had to speak with his Quebec counterpart, Michel Bergeron, after things started spiralling out of control.&ldquo;In 2008 we played &ndash; this is true &ndash; the Montreal old-timers against the Nordiques old-timers,&rdquo; Demers said. &ldquo;After the first period, I had to talk to Michel Bergeron. I said, &lsquo;Michel, we can&rsquo;t go on like this.&rsquo; It was getting chippy. These guys who played 15 years ago&hellip;(the emotion) stayed.&rdquo;Michel Goulet, who had four straight 50-goal years with Quebec, was one of those guys. He said the feelings of animosity never go completely dormant and require only a couple bumps in the corner to bloom again.&ldquo;A couple hits happen and Jacques and Michel had to be like, &lsquo;Calm down, guys, we all have to work tomorrow,&rsquo; &rdquo; Goulet said.When it comes to Montreal consistently claiming the games that are played now, there&rsquo;s an intrinsic trouble for the former Nordiques.&ldquo;The problem we face is for the last 15 years we have the same 20 guys getting older and Montreal is getting younger all the time,&rdquo; Goulet laughed.As for the games that really mattered, they were among the most intense ever witnessed in hockey. Former Habs goalie Brian Hayward doesn&rsquo;t need to put his pads back on to recall the fierce nature of Montreal-Quebec collisions. Don&rsquo;t let memories of firewagon hockey or the skill of Goulet and Peter Stastny fool you. These games were as much about toughness and intimidation as finesse and skill. For every soft pass by a Stastny brother or Mats Naslund, there was a menacing hack or whack coming from the likes of Chris Chelios and Dale Hunter.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0136-0174/10094965-1-eng-US/f0136-012.jpg" title="f0136-01" width="402" height="748"><figcaption class="caption-body">JACQUES DEMERS</figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;I HAVE A CONSTANT REMINDER OF THE RIVALRY: A CRACKED VERTEBRA IN MY BACK&rdquo;&ndash; Brian Hayward</blockquote><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0136-0248/10094958-1-eng-US/f0136-022.jpg" title="f0136-02" width="3484" height="2935"><figcaption class="caption-body">ETERNAL FLAMEQuebec and Montreal fought wars that still bubble to the surface at alumni games.</figcaption></div>&ldquo;I have a constant reminder of the rivalry,&rdquo; Hayward said. &ldquo;Gord Donnelly cracked a vertebra in my back, he cross-checked me so hard behind the net one time. He almost folded me in half &ndash; it still hurts to this day.&rdquo;There are a lot of layers to the conflict between the Canadiens and Nordiques, starting with the fact Montreal is a cosmopolitan city that has played host to major events such as Expo &rsquo;67 and the 1976 Summer Olympics. It also houses a hockey team that has set the gold standard for success in the NHL.Quebec City is the provincial capital, but it&rsquo;s a smaller center that rarely attracts the world&rsquo;s attention on a large scale. That&rsquo;s why it was such a validating moment when the Nordiques joined the NHL from the World Hockey Association.&ldquo;The Quebec Nordiques fans, they had been waiting and hoping to get an NHL team, so the young generation fell in love with them,&rdquo; Demers said.Having their own entry in the world&rsquo;s best league also offered people associated with the Nordiques &ndash; even a genuine Montreal boy like Demers &ndash; a chance to carve out a niche of their own.&ldquo;When I went to the Nordiques, that&rsquo;s how I felt,&rdquo; Demers said. &ldquo;Screw you guys, we&rsquo;re the Nordiques, we&rsquo;re going to do something good with this.&rdquo;Demers coached the Nords during their last two WHA seasons and their first campaign in the NHL, 1979-80. He said Montreal initially welcomed Quebec City under the banner of the fleur-de-lis and provincial pride. But that all changed in 1982, when the clubs met for the first time in the playoffs. The heavily favored Habs fell in a best-of-five first-round series that went the distance, with Hunter scoring the overtime-winner in the decisive game.&ldquo;I really believe the rivalry started there on that playoff game and series,&rdquo; Goulet said. &ldquo;After that, Montreal was paying a bit more attention to our team.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0138-0166/10094951-1-eng-US/f0138-012.jpg" title="f0138-01" width="886" height="781"><figcaption class="caption-body">PATRICK ROY & JOE SAKIC (DENIS BRODEUR/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0138-0245/10094944-1-eng-US/f0138-022.jpg" title="f0138-02" width="1369" height="964"><figcaption class="caption-body">WAKEUP CALLDropping a 1982 playoff series to the Nords made Montreal take them seriously.</figcaption></div>Like with all great rivalries, the hatred between Montreal and Quebec City was accentuated by consistent playoff skirmishes. The teams met in the postseason on four occasions between 1982 and 1987, with each claiming two series. The rubber match came in 1993, after the Nords had resurrected their franchise with a number of high draft picks through some lean years. Quebec jumped out to a 2-0 series lead by opening with two wins at home, setting the stage for a very anxious scene in Montreal.&ldquo;It was hell, it was really hell,&rdquo; said Demers, who had switched sides to coach the Habs by that point. &ldquo;I could sense the tension&hellip;it&rsquo;s like everybody is whispering in my ear, &lsquo;You can&rsquo;t lose this series.&rsquo; &rdquo;Demers said Habs GM Serge Savard was hearing even worse things from somebody who was taking the rivalry way too far.&ldquo;When we were down 0-2, somebody called my GM, Serge Savard, with some threats and Serge, who&rsquo;s a very calm man, said to me, &lsquo;Stay around me. There&rsquo;s something going on.&rsquo; &rdquo; Demers said. &ldquo;He didn&rsquo;t get into too many details.&rdquo;The Canadiens stormed back to win the series in six games and went on to claim the Stanley Cup that spring, thanks largely to the goaltending of Patrick Roy. Three years later, Roy was tending goal for a Cup-winning Colorado Avalanche team that moved to Denver from his hometown of Quebec City after the 1995 season. Hockey historians have always debated if the Habs would have moved Roy to that franchise had it remained in Quebec. According to Roy, Montreal would have traded him to their oldest rival, the Toronto Maple Leafs, before ever shipping him up the highway to the Nordiques.&ldquo;Nope,&rdquo; replied Roy flatly when asked if the Canadiens would have considered trading him to Quebec. &ldquo;The reason why I&rsquo;m saying no to you is simple: it&rsquo;s because at the time (Habs GM) Rejean Houle told me he would not trade me in the same conference as Montreal.&ldquo;The teams that I heard at the time were Chicago, Toronto and Colorado.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0138-0328/10094937-1-eng-US/f0138-032.jpg" title="f0138-03" width="496" height="881"><figcaption class="caption-body">MICHEL GOULET (BRUCE BENNETT STUDIOS/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>4 Seasons, out of 16 in Quebec, when the Nordiques had more points than Montreal<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0139-0152/10094930-1-eng-US/f0139-012.jpg" title="f0139-01" width="2336" height="2935"><figcaption class="caption-body">MARIO GOSSELIN & BOB GAINEY (DENIS BRODEUR/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0136-01

MONTREAL CANADIENS VS. QUEBEC NORDIQUES

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0140-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0140-0160/10095017-1-eng-US/f0140-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">SWEET SWEDEMats Sundin stuck it to the Finns on many occasions during international play. (ELSA/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>EVEN THOUGH TWO OUT OF THE three European players who&rsquo;ve scored more than 600 NHL goals are from Finland &ndash; Teemu Selanne and Jari Kurri &ndash; the country is still not known for skilled snipers or silky-handed playmakers. Finland is famous for its goalies, which is perfectly in line with the national temperament. Finns are self-proclaimed loners &ndash; hard-working, yes, but loners. The strong, silent type.Two major Finnish literary classics &ndash; The Unknown Soldier and Under the North Star, both by Vaino Linna &ndash; depict heroes who go it alone. In The Unknown Soldier it&rsquo;s Rokka, an aloof sniper, while Under the North Star begins with, &ldquo;In the beginning, there were the marsh, the hoe &ndash; and Jussi.&rdquo; Jussi is a pioneer, clearing marshland to create a croft to live in.Maybe it&rsquo;s not surprising then that Vaino Linna&rsquo;s son, Petteri, was a Finnish SM-liiga goalie in the late 1980s. Being alone between the pipes &ndash; the last man standing &ndash; is perfect for Finns who are, geographically, stuck between one of the biggest countries in the world, Russia, and the one that thinks it&rsquo;s the biggest in the world, Sweden.It may be genetic. According to the Finnish Institute for Molecular Medicine, &ldquo;Finns are unique on the genetic map of Europe; (they) differ considerably both from Central Europeans and from (their) neighbors to the east. Genetically, Finns have more in common with, for example, the Dutch or Russians living in the area of Murom to the east of Moscow, than with our linguistic relations, the Hungarians.&rdquo;Note: Not a mention of the neighbors to the west.Swedes are different.They&rsquo;ve had ABBA, Mats Sundin, Ingmar Bergman, Peter Forsberg, Volvo, Saab, Anders Hedberg, Ingrid Bergman, Greta Garbo, Mats Naslund, Markus Naslund, Dolph Lundgren (who played Drago &ndash; Rocky&rsquo;s opponent in Rocky IV), Hakan Loob and IKEA. While a Finnish man will spend an entire day swearing as he tries to put together IKEA&rsquo;s Billy bookshelf, the Swedes turn it into a family event where everybody can be involved, trying to figure out how the shelf is put together &ndash; and maybe that was the whole purpose, anyway.Until 1809, Finland and Sweden were a single country. There&rsquo;s a sizable Swedish-speaking minority in Finland, and Finns are the largest minority group in Sweden thanks to emigration during Finland&rsquo;s lean post-war years. Finland and Sweden are like Newman and Seinfeld &ndash; &ldquo;Newman!&rdquo; &ndash; and the rest of the world is like George Costanza &ndash; &ldquo;You think you&rsquo;re better than me?&rdquo; &ndash; or Donald Duck and his cousin Gladstone Gander, a lazy and infuriatingly lucky fowl who never fails to upset Donald. That&rsquo;s the most fitting comparison, considering that the Donald Duck comic is the biggest weekly publication in Finland, and that Finns themselves relate strongly to Donald.Sweden&rsquo;s the big brother, the lucky goose.&ldquo;Individually, I don&rsquo;t know one bad Swedish guy, but as a team, you always want to beat them,&rdquo; Selanne said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re like big brothers, and you want to beat your big brothers.&rdquo;Hockey, being the biggest sport in both countries &ndash; and one in which both Sweden and Finland are world class &ndash; becomes the vessel for all those emotions.Finland played its first game against Sweden, in 1928, and lost 8-1. Sweden won the World Championship in 1953, 1957, 1962 and 1987 before Finland had even won a medal. A silver at the Calgary Olympics in 1988 helped the Finns (Sweden finished with a bronze), but the Swedes managed to get another World Championship gold in 1991.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0142-0153/10095010-1-eng-US/f0142-012.jpg" title="f0142-01" width="657" height="956"><figcaption class="caption-body">JARI KURRI (BRUCE BENNETT STUDIOS/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>6 Times Finland has lost to Sweden at the Olympics. The Finns have won only twice.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0142-0230/10095003-1-eng-US/f0142-022.jpg" title="f0142-02" width="1369" height="1331"><figcaption class="caption-body">PETER FORSBERG & JANNE NIINIMAA (OLIVIER MORIN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>At the 1986 worlds, Finland had a 4-2 lead against Sweden with 40 seconds remaining, but somehow Anders &rsquo;Masken&rsquo; Carlsson netted two and tied the game, giving Sweden the point it needed to get to the medal round, where it finished second. Finland finished fourth.In 1991, Finland had a 4-2 lead with 52 seconds remaining, when Sundin got Sweden to within a goal and, 15 seconds later, tied the game. Sweden went on to win the World Championship. Finland wound up fifth.Between 1970 and 1979, Sweden&rsquo;s Tre Kronor won nine World Championship medals, three silvers and six bronzes. Finland&rsquo;s record in the same period: 4th, 4th, 4th, 4th, 4th, 4th, 5th, 5th, 7th and 5th.In 1987, Finland lost a game against (West) Germany, but after it became clear the Germans had used a non-eligible, Polish-born player who&rsquo;d previously represented Poland in an IIHF tournament, the score was overturned and Finland awarded the win. The Swedes brought the case to a civil court in Vienna and won. The IIHF had to reverse the ruling, again making Finland the loser. Finland wound up in the relegation round, while Sweden played for a medal. The Swedes ended up winning the tournament.At the 2003 World Championship in Helsinki, Finland, the home side had a 5-1 lead against Sweden in the quarterfinal halfway through the game. To make a long story short, the Swedes &ndash; with Sundin &ndash; won the game 6-5.In 1992, Finland won its first World Championship medal, a silver. The Finns lost just one game in the tournament: 5-2 against the Swedes, in the final. At the 2006 Turin Olympics, Finland also lost just one game: the final against Sweden, 4-3. Most recently, however, the Finns beat the heavily favored Swedes &ndash; in Sweden, to boot &ndash; at the 2014 World Junior Championship.It&rsquo;s easy to see why the Finns have adopted the role of unlucky Donald Duck. What makes matters worse is that Swedes don&rsquo;t seem to care about beating the Finns as much.&ldquo;Swedes like to beat Finland because we know that they get a kick out of beating us in a major tournament,&rdquo; said Mattias Ek, a reporter at Swedish Expressen, who has covered many a Finnkampen &ndash; Finn fight &ndash; as the term is known in Swedish. &ldquo;Personally, I love to see Sweden beat Canada. It&rsquo;s just tougher.&rdquo;Finns don&rsquo;t care if they lose, as long as the Swedes don&rsquo;t win. But the Swedish media always gets behind Finland if Tre Kronor is out of the competition &ndash; like in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.Of course Finland&rsquo;s won some, too. In 1998 at the Nagano Games, Finland beat Sweden in the quarterfinal. And in 1995, the Finns beat Sweden in the World Championship final in Stockholm. Finland went crazy. Fighter planes escorted the team home and more than 100,000 people gathered in downtown Helsinki for a parade.For a generation of Finns, that was a dream come true. But it&rsquo;s been 19 years now and a new generation is starting to dream the same dream. A nightmare.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0143-0156/10094996-1-eng-US/f0143-012.jpg" title="f0143-01" width="2336" height="2935"><figcaption class="caption-body">NO, FINNISHEven Teemu Selanne n&rsquo;t g the Finns best the Swedes in the biggest games. (ANDREJ ISAKOVIC/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0140-01

TEAM FINLAND VS. TEAM SWEDEN

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0144-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0144-0156/10095048-1-eng-US/f0144-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">BEANTOWN WARIt&rsquo;s been nearly 100 years of hate between Boston College and Boston University.</figcaption></div>WHEN IT COMES TO RIVALRIES in college hockey, there is none bigger than the one between Boston College and Boston University.The series began Feb. 6, 1918, when the BC Eagles defeated the BU Terriers by a score of 3-1. More than 95 years later, the rivalry burns brighter than ever. Entering 2014-15, the teams had faced off 265 times, with the Terriers holding a 129-119-17 edge.As far as games with meaning go, BU has won 29 of the 62 Beanpot tournaments, an annual meet between the four major college hockey schools in the Boston area. BC currently ranks second and has won the tournament 19 times. In total, BU has faced BC 21 times in the Beanpot final, with the Terriers coming out victorious 12 times.One of the most memorable games in Beanpot history came in the 2000-01 final, when BC defeated BU 5-3. It was the first time BC had triumphed over BU in a Beanpot final in 25 years, having gone 0-7 during that span. Buffalo Sabres right winger Brian Gionta was captain of that Eagles team.&ldquo;It was my senior year and in my first three years our team had been to two NCAA finals, but everyone still judged us by our lack of Beanpot success,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;To finally get over that hump and win the Beanpot on our way to a national championship was a huge thrill.&rdquo;While BC has more Hockey East crowns with 10 (BU has seven), the Terriers outshine the Eagles in national championships by a count of five to four.On Jan. 8, 2010, the rivalry was made into a spectacle, becoming the third NCAA game in history to be played outdoors. With 40,000-plus fans cheering the teams on, BU edged BC 3-2 at a perfect setting for one of hockey&rsquo;s greatest rivalries, historic Fenway Park.The two men who are most entrenched in the rivalry are Jack Parker and Jerry York, who are the legendary coaches of BU and BC. Parker started coaching the Terriers in 1973 and stepped down after the 2012-13 season, while York has led the Eagles since 1994. Both men are graduates of their respective schools and were on-ice rivals from 1965 to 1967.&ldquo;They are the epitome of rivalries in college sports as far as coaches go,&rdquo; said L.A.&rsquo;s Rob Scuderi, whose 168 games played for BC is the most in the team&rsquo;s history, a number he shares with Mike Brennan.But for two men who spent years battling in the BC vs. BU war, they leave the rivalry on the ice.&ldquo;They&rsquo;re actually pretty good friends off the ice,&rdquo; said Brandon Yip, who tallied the game-winner against BC in the 2006 Hockey East championship. &ldquo;They play tennis a lot and communicate with each other all the time. Once the game starts, though, they become enemies. They&rsquo;ve played countless games against each other, but I&rsquo;m sure every time they face off it&rsquo;s special for them.&rdquo;Though the rivalry may have started on the ice, it&rsquo;s gone way beyond that. BU/BC games are always played in front of a packed house, with the fans getting just as into the rivalry as the players do. Sometimes, even the mascots get involved.&ldquo;I remember one time one of our guys took a pretty good slash at the BU mascot, which is a big, stupid terrier,&rdquo; Scuderi recalled. &ldquo;He hit him right in the shins and under that costume the guy had to be a pain, it was pretty hard slash.&rdquo;Yip has gotten his feet wet in a few big rivalries in the NHL during stints with the Avalanche, Predators and Coyotes, but he said nothing compares to the one he was part of during his college years.&ldquo;Coming into Colorado and playing teams like Detroit and Calgary, those are huge games for us,&rdquo; Yip said. &ldquo;Coming from Boston, I guess I&rsquo;m a little prejudiced, but nothing beats the BU/BC rivalry.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0144-01

BOSTON COLLEGE VS. BOSTON UNIVERSITY

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0146-0318/10095107-1-eng-US/f0146-032.jpg" title="f0146-03" width="775" height="757"><figcaption class="caption-body">CAM FOWLER (ANDRE RINGUETTE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0146-0155/10095114-1-eng-US/f0146-012.jpg" title="f0146-01" width="165" height="93"></div>THE HONDA CENTER in Anaheim and Staples Center in Los Angles are just 30 miles apart, but there&rsquo;s nothing neighborly about the relationship between the Ducks and the Kings. The rivalry between all three California teams is well documented, and you could make a case the blood feud between the San Jose Sharks and Ducks is equally intense as the Anaheim-Los Angeles squabble.But the geographic proximity, not to mention the Ducks and Kings facing each other in the second round of the 2014 playoffs, makes this a compelling rivalry. It took a long time to get that way. In the first 16 years of Anaheim&rsquo;s existence (1993-94 to 2009-10), not once did the Ducks and Kings qualify for the playoffs in the same season. But since 2010-11, they&rsquo;ve both been part of the post-season three times, finally playing each other this past May. Racheting up the dislike is the fact Anaheim no longer is the only California team to win the Cup. The Ducks now trail the Kings 2-1.The two teams meet Nov. 12, Nov. 15, Jan. 17, Feb. 27 and March 18.<h2>TOP RIVALS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0146-048/10095100-1-eng-US/f0146-042.jpg" title="f0146-04" width="578" height="276"></div>Corey&nbsp;Perry and David Backes of the St. Louis Blues play a style that have them butting heads. They&rsquo;ve fought twice.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0146-057/10095093-1-eng-US/f0146-052.jpg" title="f0146-05" width="578" height="276"></div>Ryan&nbsp;Getzlaf didn&rsquo;t appreciate Antoine Roussel of Dallas going after him while Getzlaf wore facial gear protecting an injury.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0146-065/10095086-1-eng-US/f0146-062.jpg" title="f0146-06" width="578" height="276"></div>Sheldon Souray and Jarome Iginla have a spat that dates all the way back to their days as rivals in the Battle of Alberta.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0146-0228/10095079-1-eng-US/f0146-022.jpg" title="f0146-02" width="226" height="322"></div><h2>PUBLIC ENEMY&nbsp;NO. 1&gt;</h2>Kings captain DUSTIN BROWN&nbsp;has long been the antagonistic face of rival Los Angeles. Brown is routinely at his best against the Ducks. &#9632;

f0146-03

CALI CONFLICT

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0146-092/10095173-1-eng-US/f0146-092.jpg" title="f0146-09" width="775" height="791"><figcaption class="caption-body">KEITH YANDLE (VICTOR DECOLONGON/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0146-073/10095180-1-eng-US/f0146-072.jpg" title="f0146-07" width="159" height="92"></div>THE LAST TIME THE COYOTES saw the Stanley Cup playoffs, they dropped a five-game series to the eventual champion Los Angeles Kings in 2012. The Coyotes were also seething mad about the way things ended.It was in overtime of Game 5 when Kings winger Dustin Brown delivered a post-whistle knee-on-knee hit to Michal Rozsival that knocked him out of the game. Inexplicably, Brown wasn&rsquo;t penalized, and the Kings scored later in the first overtime period to win the Western Conference final. The Coyotes were steaming mad. Shane Doan and Mike Smith received game misconducts for verbally abusing the officials after Dustin Penner&rsquo;s winner.Doan&rsquo;s post-game tirade was one for the ages, and you can see it on YouTube. The Coyotes believe the officiating was unfair, but that rage comes out in the form of a blood feud against the Kings. In a pre-season game, L.A.&rsquo;s Jordan Nolan knocked Rostislav Klesla out with a concussion and whiplash.The two teams meet Oct. 11, Dec. 4, Dec. 20 and March 16.<h2>TOP RIVALS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0146-102/10095166-1-eng-US/f0146-102.jpg" title="f0146-10" width="578" height="276"></div>Shane Doan didn&rsquo;t like how the Coyotes series ended versus the Kings in 2012 and let Dustin Brown know about it.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0146-112/10095159-1-eng-US/f0146-112.jpg" title="f0146-11" width="578" height="276"></div>Mike&nbsp;Smith got seriously hurt last season when New York&rsquo;s Derick Brassard crashed the crease and fell on his right leg.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0146-122/10095152-1-eng-US/f0146-122.jpg" title="f0146-12" width="578" height="276"></div>Sam Gagner has proven to be a hot-and-cold player. He&rsquo;s sure to be stoked playing his old team from Edmonton.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0146-082/10095145-1-eng-US/f0146-082.jpg" title="f0146-08" width="226" height="322"></div><h2>PUBLIC ENEMY&nbsp;NO. 1&gt;</h2>DUSTIN BROWN&rsquo;S&nbsp;late knee-on-knee hit to Michal Rozsival in the 2012 playoffs went unpenalized. He&rsquo;s not welcome anywhere in Arizona anymore. &#9632;

f0146-09

SPRING FLING

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0147-0318/10095239-1-eng-US/f0147-032.jpg" title="f0147-03" width="775" height="796"><figcaption class="caption-body">PATRICE BERGERON (FRANCOIS LAPLANTE/FREESTYLE PHOTOGRAPHY/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0147-0149/10095246-1-eng-US/f0147-012.jpg" title="f0147-01" width="143" height="93"></div>WHEN THE BRUINS MET the Montreal Canadiens for Game 5 of their second-round playoff series last spring, it marked the 900th time the two teams have squared off. And we use the term &ldquo;squared off&rdquo; literally, since that&rsquo;s usually what they do when they play one another.The rivalry goes back to the Bruins inception 91 years ago, but much of it germinated during the 1950s, &rsquo;60s and &rsquo;70s when the Canadiens dominated the Bruins. To be sure, Boston fans hate the Canadiens far more than the Canadiens hate the Bruins. After all, who doesn&rsquo;t love his little brother, even though he beats on the guy all the time?If you need affirmation of the hate the Bruins have for the Habs, just watch last year&rsquo;s playoff series and see the pitchforks fly. It was a series chock with dastardly deeds, from water bottle squirts to sticks to the junk. And it went the distance before the Canadiens won. The rivalry has evened out in recent years as the Bruins improved. But there will always be fireworks.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>The two teams meet Oct. 16, Nov. 13, Nov. 22 and Feb. 8.<h2>TOP RIVALS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0147-049/10095232-1-eng-US/f0147-042.jpg" title="f0147-04" width="578" height="276"></div>Milan&nbsp;Lucic told Montreal&rsquo;s Alexei Emelin &ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to f---ing kill you next year.&rdquo; We can assume they don&rsquo;t get along.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0147-057/10095225-1-eng-US/f0147-052.jpg" title="f0147-05" width="578" height="276"></div>Zdeno&nbsp;Chara drilled Max Pacioretty&rsquo;s head into a stanchion a couple of years ago. They&rsquo;ve battled one another for years.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0147-067/10095218-1-eng-US/f0147-062.jpg" title="f0147-06" width="578" height="276"></div>Brad Marchand is an equal opportunity antagonist. Everybody hates him. He yaps, cross-checks or scores a big goal.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0147-0226/10095211-1-eng-US/f0147-022.jpg" title="f0147-02" width="226" height="322"></div><h2>PUBLIC ENEMY&nbsp;NO. 1&gt;</h2>PHIL KESSEL, Boston&rsquo;s No. 1 pick in 2006, has been the subject of derision from Bruins fans for years. Chants of &ldquo;Thank you Kessel&rdquo; rain down every time the Leafs visit. &#9632;

f0147-03

ORIGINAL HATE

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0147-094/10095305-1-eng-US/f0147-092.jpg" title="f0147-09" width="775" height="795"><figcaption class="caption-body">MATT MOULSON (BILL WIPPERT/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0147-076/10095312-1-eng-US/f0147-072.jpg" title="f0147-07" width="141" height="92"></div>ANYTIME THE TORONTO Maple Leafs visit the First Niagara Center, about 10,000 fans come along for the ride. And they almost always go home unhappy. The Sabres have made a habit of laying a beating on the Leafs in Buffalo, compiling a 66-27-6 mark. Going into 2014-15, the Leafs were a miserable 11-31-6 against Buffalo since the Sabres moved out of the Aud.The rivalry goes back to the Sabres&rsquo; inception in 1970 when they named Punch Imlach, the architect of the Leafs dynasty teams of the 1960s, their first GM and coach. The rivalry has been dubbed &lsquo;The Battle of the QEW,&rsquo; after the stretch of highway known as the Queen Elizabeth Way that connects Toronto and Buffalo&rsquo;s Peace Bridge. They&rsquo;re the closest team geographically for the Leafs and the cheers for Toronto often drown out those for the Sabres in Buffalo.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>Toronto refers to itself as a cosmopolitan, world-class city. Buffalo? Consider Joffrey Lupul tweeted from his Buffalo hotel room once, &ldquo;Are there any windowless rooms?&rdquo;The two teams meet Oct. 28, Nov. 15, March 11 and April 1.<h2>TOP RIVALS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0147-104/10095298-1-eng-US/f0147-102.jpg" title="f0147-10" width="578" height="276"></div>This one has yet to germinate, but expect Josh Gorges to get a rough reception from Leafs fans. He nixed a deal to Toronto.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0147-114/10095291-1-eng-US/f0147-112.jpg" title="f0147-11" width="578" height="276"></div>Cody&nbsp;Hodgson and the Avalanche&rsquo;s Matt Duchene both have their pictures up at their hometown arena in Haliburton, Ont.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0147-124/10095284-1-eng-US/f0147-122.jpg" title="f0147-12" width="578" height="276"></div>Michal Neuvirth has a lot to prove to the Washington Capitals, who gave up on him at the trade deadline last season.<h2>PUBLIC ENEMY&nbsp;NO. 1</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0147-084/10095277-1-eng-US/f0147-082.jpg" title="f0147-08" width="226" height="322"></div>Bruins winger&nbsp;MILAN LUCIC&nbsp;ran Ryan Miller over in 2011, and some people believe the ex-Buffalo goalie was never the same. Even Miller&rsquo;s wife took Lucic to task. &#9632;

f0147-09

BORDER CROSS

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0148-0319/10095371-1-eng-US/f0148-032.jpg" title="f0148-03" width="775" height="792"><figcaption class="caption-body">CURTIS GLENCROSS (CLAUS ANDERSEN/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0148-0155/10095378-1-eng-US/f0148-012.jpg" title="f0148-01" width="149" height="93"></div>THE BATTLE OF ALBERTA hit its peak in the 1980s when every game between the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers was psychological warfare in the stands and community and a physical confrontation on ice. The provincial rivals detested even the sight of one another.The passage of time has tamed the encounters to a degree as both teams spend more time rebuilding than re-arming, but it&rsquo;s always a special game when the Flames play the Oilers. Edmonton fans chide Calgarians that the Stanley Cup count is still 5-1 in favor of the northerners. Calgary fans love reminding Edmontonians they&rsquo;re in season No. 9 of their laborious rebuild back toward the playoffs.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>The Flames, who only accepted a teardown in 2013 when they traded Jarome Iginla, even passed the Oilers in the rebuild department finishing 10 points ahead of them in the standings. A Calgary high point last season was an 8-1 thrashing of the Oilers in Edmonton March 22. Curtis Glencross had a hat trick.The two teams meet Oct. 9, Dec. 27, Dec. 31, Jan. 31 and April 4.<h2>TOP RIVALS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0148-0410/10095364-1-eng-US/f0148-042.jpg" title="f0148-04" width="578" height="276"></div>Ladislav&nbsp;Smid is one of just two players traded to Calgary from Edmonton. It didn&rsquo;t take him long to butt heads with the Oilers.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0148-057/10095357-1-eng-US/f0148-052.jpg" title="f0148-05" width="578" height="276"></div>Bob&nbsp;Hartley won&rsquo;t have any bench battles with John Tortorella this season, but the latter might be an analyst on TV games.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0148-063/10095350-1-eng-US/f0148-062.jpg" title="f0148-06" width="578" height="276"></div>Brian&nbsp;Burke is looking forward to his first win with Calgary against the Maple Leafs, who unceremoniously sacked him in 2013.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0148-0230/10095343-1-eng-US/f0148-022.jpg" title="f0148-02" width="226" height="322"></div><h2>PUBLIC ENEMY&nbsp;NO. 1&gt;</h2>When 2009 first round pick TIM ERIXON refused to sign, forcing a trade, he incurred the wrath of all Flames fans, who now cheer his every demotion to the AHL. &#9632;

f0148-03

FIGHTING FOES

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0148-092/10095437-1-eng-US/f0148-092.jpg" title="f0148-09" width="775" height="777"><figcaption class="caption-body">ERIC STAAL (GREGG FORWERCK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0148-073/10095444-1-eng-US/f0148-072.jpg" title="f0148-07" width="182" height="92"></div>THE HURRICANES DON&rsquo;T have much of a playoff track record of late, and with brand new division mates the hate hasn&rsquo;t had much time to foment. For hard feelings, you have to go with Buffalo, in a rivalry that dates back to the 2006 playoffs. These were the days of Rod Brind&rsquo;Amour and Glen Wesley, Daniel Briere and Chris Drury &ndash; heady times for both franchises.The Canes knocked the Sabres out of the Eastern Conference final in seven games, paving the way for Carolina&rsquo;s first and only Stanley Cup. And while you would think the victors would be happy with that, an invasion of Buffalo fans in Raleigh led to some ugly altercations after the games, at one point involving promotional pint glasses being smashed in the parking lot of the arena. Needless to say, there were some arrests. Ever since, the Canes have been territorial about their home ice when the team plays Buffalo (Sabres fans travel well) and even though the stakes haven&rsquo;t usually been high, don&rsquo;t tell that to Hurricanes fans.The two teams meet Oct. 14, Jan. 8 and April 6.<h2>TOP RIVALS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0148-102/10095430-1-eng-US/f0148-102.jpg" title="f0148-10" width="578" height="276"></div>Jay&nbsp;Harrison is one of the few people brave enough to fight Zdeno Chara. The two have squared off twice in three years.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0148-112/10095423-1-eng-US/f0148-112.jpg" title="f0148-11" width="578" height="276"></div>Jeff&nbsp;Skinner was just returning from a concussion in 2011-12 when a Brooks Orpik hit put him back on the shelf.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0148-122/10095416-1-eng-US/f0148-122.jpg" title="f0148-12" width="578" height="276"></div>Alexander Semin will probably never live down his &ldquo;bongo drum&rdquo; fight with New York&rsquo;s Marc Staal back in 2008-09.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0148-082/10095409-1-eng-US/f0148-082.jpg" title="f0148-08" width="226" height="322"></div><h2>PUBLIC ENEMY&nbsp;NO. 1&gt;</h2>ALEX OVECHKIN&nbsp;has been a Cane killer. The powerful Washington winger has averaged better than a point per game against Carolina during his NHL career. &#9632;

f0148-09

BUFFALO THRILL

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0149-0322/10095503-1-eng-US/f0149-032.jpg" title="f0149-03" width="775" height="786"><figcaption class="caption-body">PATRICK KANE (JONATHAN DANIEL/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0149-0148/10095510-1-eng-US/f0149-012.jpg" title="f0149-01" width="155" height="93"></div>THE BLACKHAWKS AND RED WINGS epitomize the notion of hate as tradition. If you&rsquo;re a Chicago fan and you detest Detroit, chances are your parents did, too, and so did their parents, as no two franchises have met more during the regular season in NHL history.The teams have met 16 times in the playoffs, most recently a seven-game war in 2012-13, which Chicago won en route to the Cup. Today, with the teams in separate conferences, the feud is less about bad blood &ndash; gone are the days of Bobby Hull climbing the stands to fight fans at Olympia Stadium &ndash; and more about fast, frantic hockey. In their first meeting as cross-conference rivals last season, they traded eight goals and battled to a shootout.Interestingly, while GM Stan Bowman was the architect of Chicago&rsquo;s past two Cups, his dad, Scotty, coached Detroit to three titles and now works for Chicago in an advisory role. There&rsquo;s a healthy amount of family history woven into to this Original Six rivalry.The two teams meet Nov. 14 (in Detroit) and Feb. 18 (in Chicago).<h2>TOP RIVALS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0149-0415/10095496-1-eng-US/f0149-042.jpg" title="f0149-04" width="578" height="276"></div>Blues fans want Brent Seabrook&rsquo;s head after his devastating hit on David Backes swung last spring&rsquo;s series Chicago&rsquo;s way.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0149-0511/10095489-1-eng-US/f0149-052.jpg" title="f0149-05" width="578" height="276"></div>Marian&nbsp;Hossa was the victim of a vicious Raffi Torres blindside in the 2012 playoffs, which earned Torres a 25-game ban.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0149-067/10095482-1-eng-US/f0149-062.jpg" title="f0149-06" width="578" height="276"></div>There&rsquo;s no hate between Jonathan Toews and Sidney Crosby, but best-in-the-world debates constantly put them head to head.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0149-0232/10095475-1-eng-US/f0149-022.jpg" title="f0149-02" width="226" height="322"></div><h2>PUBLIC ENEMY&nbsp;NO. 1&gt;</h2>The Hawks goal song Chelsea Dagger and fans&rsquo; taunts haunt&nbsp;ROBERTO LUONGO&nbsp;after he struggled in three straight playoff series versus Chicago from 2009 to 2011. &#9632;

f0149-03

FOREVER FOES

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0149-094/10095569-1-eng-US/f0149-092.jpg" title="f0149-09" width="775" height="758"><figcaption class="caption-body">NATHAN MACKINNON (PAUL BERESWILL/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0149-076/10095576-1-eng-US/f0149-072.jpg" title="f0149-07" width="148" height="92"></div>COLORADO&rsquo;S BLOOD FEUD with Detroit is the NHL&rsquo;s best of the last 25 years, but it&rsquo;s pretty much dead. The Avs play their most heated hockey within the Central Division, versus St. Louis, which they fought tooth-and-nail for the division crown last season.During an April tilt, Colorado enforcer Patrick Bordeleau laid a high hit on Blues D-man Kevin Shattenkirk, bloodying him. Minutes later, Avs rookie Nathan MacKinnon levelled Blues captain David Backes. The hulking Backes took exception, tackling MacKinnon and pummelling him. Colorado coach Patrick Roy was disgusted with Backes. &ldquo;It shows you what kind of leader he is, if you&rsquo;re going to go after an 18-year-old,&rdquo; Roy told the media, adding Shattenkirk hit himself in the face with his own stick.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>The game ended with 167 combined penalty minutes and finger pointing has become commonplace when the teams meet. That Paul Stastny left Colorado to sign with St. Louis this off-season will only intensify things.The two teams meet Nov. 1, Dec. 13, Dec. 23, Dec. 29 and Jan. 19.<h2>TOP RIVALS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0149-104/10095562-1-eng-US/f0149-102.jpg" title="f0149-10" width="578" height="276"></div>The Avs are eager to avenge Tyson Barrie after Minnesota&rsquo;s Matt Cooke hit him knee-on-knee in the 2014 playoffs.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0149-114/10095555-1-eng-US/f0149-112.jpg" title="f0149-11" width="578" height="276"></div>Patrick&nbsp;Roy earned his team&rsquo;s respect early last season climbing over the glass to yell at Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0149-124/10095548-1-eng-US/f0149-122.jpg" title="f0149-12" width="578" height="276"></div>Don&rsquo;t expect a warm welcome when $7-million man Paul Stastny returns to Colorado in a Blues uniform Dec. 13.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0149-084/10095541-1-eng-US/f0149-082.jpg" title="f0149-08" width="226" height="322"></div><h2>PUBLIC ENEMY&nbsp;NO. 1&gt;</h2>TODD BERTUZZI&nbsp;reached a settlement with Steve Moore, but Colorado will never forgive Bertuzzi for ending Moore&rsquo;s career in a vicious on-ice attack in 2004. &#9632;

f0149-09

RED SNOW

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0150-0318/10095635-1-eng-US/f0150-032.jpg" title="f0150-03" width="775" height="792"><figcaption class="caption-body">RYAN JOHANSEN (JAMIE SABAU/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0150-0151/10095642-1-eng-US/f0150-012.jpg" title="f0150-01" width="160" height="93"></div>THE RIVALRY BETWEEN Ohio and Michigan goes way beyond hockey, so it&rsquo;s no surprise that for years, the Jackets&rsquo; main divisional rival was Detroit. It helped that the Red Wings were perennial contenders, while Columbus couldn&rsquo;t even get to the post-season. Then the Jackets finally made it, in 2008-09, and, of course, Detroit unceremoniously swept them.Geography, plus the fact Columbus is also home to Ohio State, the University of Michigan&rsquo;s chief rival, made this one a no-brainer. And even though the Red Wings are one of the least-truculent teams in hockey these days, players such as Jordin Tootoo have still managed to raise the ire of Blue Jackets fans.Now that the Motor City Machine is in another division (and lessened in force), Columbus fans may find themselves hating another Midwest neighbor &ndash; the Pittsburgh Penguins &ndash; more in the future. But you never forget your first hate and Detroit provided a great foil for the lunch pail Blue Jackets.The two teams meet Nov. 18, Dec. 16 and March 12.<h2>TOP RIVALS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0150-049/10095628-1-eng-US/f0150-042.jpg" title="f0150-04" width="578" height="276"></div>Sergei&nbsp;Bobrovsky got a punch instead of a greeting from Rick Nash when Nash, now a Ranger, battled his former team.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0150-057/10095621-1-eng-US/f0150-052.jpg" title="f0150-05" width="578" height="276"></div>Jared Boll is the team&rsquo;s main enforcer and that has often meant taking on new Florida Panther and ex-Bruin Shawn Thornton.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0150-065/10095614-1-eng-US/f0150-062.jpg" title="f0150-06" width="578" height="276"></div>President of hockey ops John Davidson had terse words for agent Kurt Overhardt during the contract spat with Ryan Johansen<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0150-0227/10095607-1-eng-US/f0150-022.jpg" title="f0150-02" width="226" height="322"></div><h2>PUBLIC ENEMY&nbsp;NO. 1</h2>JEFF CARTER&nbsp;was supposed to be the elite center Columbus never had when he was acquired in 2011-12. Instead, he sulked his way into a trade to Los Angeles. &#9632;

f0150-03

FIRST BLOOD

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0150-092/10095701-1-eng-US/f0150-092.jpg" title="f0150-09" width="775" height="800"><figcaption class="caption-body">JAMIE BENN (GLENN JAMES/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0150-073/10095708-1-eng-US/f0150-072.jpg" title="f0150-07" width="198" height="92"></div>RIVALRIES ARE SOMETIMES like romances: you chase what you can&rsquo;t have. Teams like Nashville and Minnesota hate the Stars, but Dallas turns its gaze upward toward Chicago. Big moves in recent summers like the Tyler Seguin and Jason Spezza trades were ultimately about measuring up to the Central Division&rsquo;s top team.As the Stars rose to relevance last season, they got the Blackhawks&rsquo; attention. Last December in Chicago, Dallas super-pest Antoine Roussel beat Corey Crawford on a penalty shot for what turned out to be a game-winning goal. After scoring, Roussel taunted the United Center crowd, putting a hand to his ear to listen for cheers. That same game, Roussel had a vicious fight against Andrew Shaw and a penalty for elbowing Jonathan Toews in the head.The Stars-Blackhawks rivalry got a major spark with Dallas moving into the Central Division last season and, with the Stars looking like a team on the rise, these two teams will start hating each other more by the day.The two teams meet Oct. 9, Nov. 16, Jan. 4, Jan. 18 and March 21.<h2>TOP RIVALS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0150-102/10095694-1-eng-US/f0150-102.jpg" title="f0150-10" width="578" height="276"></div>Antoine Roussel has a rivalry with pretty much the entire NHL. He&rsquo;s the reigning champ at getting under opponents&rsquo; skin.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0150-112/10095687-1-eng-US/f0150-112.jpg" title="f0150-11" width="578" height="276"></div>Tyler&nbsp;Seguin twists the knife into Boston &ndash; the team that gave up on him when he was just 21 &ndash; every time he lights the lamp.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0150-122/10095680-1-eng-US/f0150-122.jpg" title="f0150-12" width="578" height="276"></div>The Stars and their fans still get Buffalo&rsquo;s blood boiling, as the Sabres believe Dallas beat them in the &rsquo;99 final on an illegal goal.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0150-082/10095673-1-eng-US/f0150-082.jpg" title="f0150-08" width="226" height="322"></div><h2>PUBLIC ENEMY&nbsp;NO. 1</h2>SEAN AVERY&rsquo;S&nbsp;disastrous tenure with Dallas lasted 23 games, and he&rsquo;s engaged in a social media war with his former team, even thanking them &ldquo;for the $16 million.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0150-09

STAR GAZING

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0151-0322/10095767-1-eng-US/f0151-032.jpg" title="f0151-03" width="775" height="811"><figcaption class="caption-body">HENRIK ZETTERBERG (OCKY WIDNER/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0151-0144/10095774-1-eng-US/f0151-012.jpg" title="f0151-01" width="172" height="93"></div>EVEN THOUGH THEY NO longer play in the same division, the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks have a long and storied rivalry, one that has heated up now that the Blackhawks are what the Red Wings used to be.For eight straight years, the Red Wings ruled the former Central Division until the Blackhawks knocked them off their perch in 2010 and won the Stanley Cup. The rivalry is not as heated as the one the Red Wings had with the Colorado Avalanche in the mid-1990s, in part because the Red Wings don&rsquo;t really do much to antagonize anyone these days. They fight less frequently than any other team and just go about their business.But there was fuel added to it when the Original Six rivals met in the second round of the 2013 playoffs. It was a nasty piece of work, with the Wings working Hawks captain Jonathan Toews over. It almost worked. The Red Wings had a 3-1 stranglehold in the series until the Blackhawks rallied and won three straight, capped by a 2-1 overtime win in Game 7.The two teams meet Nov. 14 (in Detroit) and Feb. 18 (in Chicago).<h2>TOP RIVALS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0151-0411/10095760-1-eng-US/f0151-042.jpg" title="f0151-04" width="578" height="276"></div>Team owner Mike Ilitch and Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos have a rivalry that goes back to youth hockey.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0151-057/10095753-1-eng-US/f0151-052.jpg" title="f0151-05" width="578" height="276"></div>Team president Jim Devellano mentored Neil Smith, but after a falling out the two no longer speak with one another.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0151-067/10095746-1-eng-US/f0151-062.jpg" title="f0151-06" width="578" height="276"></div>Pavel&nbsp;Datsyuk and Patrick Kane don&rsquo;t play physical games, but they are the two best players in the game with the puck.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0151-0227/10095739-1-eng-US/f0151-022.jpg" title="f0151-02" width="226" height="322"></div><h2>PUBLIC ENEMY&nbsp;NO. 1</h2>SIDNEY CROSBY&nbsp;receives a rough ride pretty much everywhere he goes and was integral in leading the Penguins to the 2009 Cup win in Detroit. &#9632;

f0151-03

DIG UP THE PAST

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0151-094/10095833-1-eng-US/f0151-092.jpg" title="f0151-09" width="775" height="795"><figcaption class="caption-body">JORDAN EBERLE (ANDY DEVLIN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0151-076/10095840-1-eng-US/f0151-072.jpg" title="f0151-07" width="138" height="92"></div>THE YOUNG EDMONTON OILERS have been pushovers for the rest of the NHL for the better part of a decade, but there&rsquo;s always a lot of pride on the line when they play their provincial rivals, the Calgary Flames.The battle between the Alberta cities goes well beyond hockey and sport, but it is in the 200-by-85 arena where passions are heightened. The Oilers and Flames were two of the top teams in the NHL through much of the 1980s. Wayne Gretzky and Co. were the league&rsquo;s last great dynasty and even though they had a huge edge over Calgary that decade, there were no easy games against the Flames. The Oilers have a decided leg up on Calgary when it comes to Cup titles and Hall of Famers, so in Edmonton&rsquo;s mind, the Flames are more undernourished kid siblings than heavy-weight contenders. The advent of social media and online blogs has intensified this rivalry even though both teams are closer to sedimentary rock than the league&rsquo;s stratosphere.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>The two teams meet Oct. 9, Dec. 27, Dec. 31, Jan. 31 and April 4.<h2>TOP RIVALS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0151-104/10095826-1-eng-US/f0151-102.jpg" title="f0151-10" width="578" height="276"></div>Justin Schultz turned his back on Anaheim to sign with Edmonton. The Ducks didn&rsquo;t get a thing in return.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0151-114/10095819-1-eng-US/f0151-112.jpg" title="f0151-11" width="578" height="276"></div>Taylor&nbsp;Hall delivered a dangerous knee-on-knee hit to Cal Clutterbuck in 2013 that shelved the Wild player for two weeks.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0151-124/10095812-1-eng-US/f0151-122.jpg" title="f0151-12" width="578" height="276"></div>Andrew Ference bloodied the nose of former Flame Lee Stempniak in a one-sided fight last season.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0151-084/10095805-1-eng-US/f0151-082.jpg" title="f0151-08" width="226" height="322"></div><h2>PUBLIC ENEMY&nbsp;NO. 1</h2>ALEXANDRE BURROWS&nbsp;can be a super pest and a productive scorer when he&rsquo;s at his best, playing with Vancouver&rsquo;s Sedin twins against Edmonton. &#9632;

f0151-09

BIG BROTHER

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0152-092/10095965-1-eng-US/f0152-092.jpg" title="f0152-09" width="775" height="809"><figcaption class="caption-body">ALEC MARTINEZ (NOAH GRAHAM/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0152-073/10095972-1-eng-US/f0152-072.jpg" title="f0152-07" width="140" height="92"></div>IT&rsquo;S ALWAYS A BIG DEAL when the Kings battle the Anaheim Ducks or San Jose Sharks in a California encounter, but one matchup has surpassed that the past couple seasons. It is the de facto, tongue-in-cheek, Stanley Cup final between Los Angeles and the Chicago Blackhawks in back-to-back years.Chicago won the Western Conference final in five games in 2013, then dispatched Boston to win the Cup. Last season, the Kings responded with an exciting and dramatic seven-game conference final triumph. D-man Alec Martinez scored the series winner in overtime of the deciding game. Los Angeles then beat the New York Rangers in the real Cup final.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>Los Angeles and Chicago have now won four of the past five Stanley Cups, with only Boston getting in the middle of that run. So will this Illinois-California rivalry continue in the power-ful west? Consider that for the Kings or Hawks to achieve a dynasty label by today&rsquo;s definition, they&rsquo;ll need another Cup.The two teams meet Nov. 29, Jan. 28 and March 30.<h2>TOP RIVALS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0152-102/10095958-1-eng-US/f0152-102.jpg" title="f0152-10" width="578" height="276"></div>It&rsquo;s mostly water under the bridge, but Dean Lombardi spent a decade in NHL management with rival San Jose Sharks.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0152-112/10095951-1-eng-US/f0152-112.jpg" title="f0152-11" width="578" height="276"></div>Jeff&nbsp;Carter and Mike Richards always have a little something to prove when the Kings play the Philadelphia Flyers.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0152-122/10095944-1-eng-US/f0152-122.jpg" title="f0152-12" width="578" height="276"></div>Kyle Clifford and Anaheim (previously Calgary) fighting foe Tim Jackman have traded fists each of the past four seasons.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0152-082/10095937-1-eng-US/f0152-082.jpg" title="f0152-08" width="226" height="322"></div><h2>PUBLIC ENEMY&nbsp;NO. 1</h2>Kings fans aren&rsquo;t fond of the chippy way Ducks star&nbsp;COREY PERRY&nbsp;plays, but the dislike is mainly because Perry is an excellent player and clutch scorer. &#9632;

f0152-09

DYNASTY QUEST

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0153-0323/10096031-1-eng-US/f0153-032.jpg" title="f0153-03" width="775" height="797"><figcaption class="caption-body">RYAN SUTER (BRUCE KLUCKHOHN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0153-0140/10096038-1-eng-US/f0153-012.jpg" title="f0153-01" width="184" height="93"></div>THE MINNESOTA WILD have played just 14 NHL seasons. Believe it or not, though, only one team has stayed in their division for that entire period: the Colorado Avalanche. The Avs followed the Wild from the Northwest to the Central, where the two sides continue to play heart-stopping and sometimes bitter playoff series.The first time the Avs and Wild clashed in the post-season was in 2002-03, when the Wild rallied from a 3-1 series deficit, winning Games 6 and 7 in overtime. The Avs answered in 2007-08 with a six-game victory. Then came last season&rsquo;s back-and-forth war. The hockey itself was sensational, with four games going to overtime, and the bad blood made the series even more memorable. Matt Cooke, known for his spotty disciplinary record, knocked Colorado D-man Tyson Barrie out of the series with a knee-on-knee hit in Game 3, earning himself a seven-game suspension.With both teams on the rise as Stanley Cup contenders, the hatred will grow.The two teams meet Oct. 9, Oct. 11, Feb. 7, Feb. 28 and March 8.<h2>TOP RIVALS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0153-0413/10096024-1-eng-US/f0153-042.jpg" title="f0153-04" width="578" height="276"></div>Zach&nbsp;Parise broke the New Jersey Devils&rsquo; hearts, just like Ryan Suter did Nashville&rsquo;s, when the pair left for Minnesota in 2012.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0153-0510/10096017-1-eng-US/f0153-052.jpg" title="f0153-05" width="578" height="276"></div>It&rsquo;s&nbsp;more than just Tyson Barrie. Matt Cooke has enemies all over the NHL, injuring the likes of Ottawa&rsquo;s Erik Karlsson<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0153-068/10096010-1-eng-US/f0153-062.jpg" title="f0153-06" width="578" height="276"></div>Wild fans still curse the Dallas Stars&rsquo; 1998-99 Stanley Cup, as Dallas was the Minnesota North Stars until 1993-94.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0153-0231/10096003-1-eng-US/f0153-022.jpg" title="f0153-02" width="226" height="322"></div><h2>PUBLIC ENEMY&nbsp;NO. 1</h2>JAROME IGINLA was a perennial Wild killer during his Calgary days. Now he dives back into the Minnesota rivalry after signing with nemesis Colorado in July. &#9632;

f0153-03

ROCKY ROAD

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0153-094/10096097-1-eng-US/f0153-092.jpg" title="f0153-09" width="775" height="777"><figcaption class="caption-body">P.K. SUBBAN (FRANCOIS LACASSE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0153-075/10096104-1-eng-US/f0153-072.jpg" title="f0153-07" width="167" height="92"></div>DEFENSEMAN P.K. SUBBAN said it best when talking about the Boston Bruins. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s good for the game, it&rsquo;s good for the fans to know these guys are making millions of dollars but it&rsquo;s real,&rdquo; Subban said of Montreal&rsquo;s most intense rivals. &ldquo;Guys want to win. It&rsquo;s competitive.&rdquo;The Canadiens have pretty much had their way with the Bruins over the years, but that one-sided aspect of the rivalry is beginning to even out. Max Pacioretty referred to the Bruins as a &ldquo;measuring-stick team&rdquo; for the Canadiens. Not many players still circle dates on their calendars, but Pacioretty does that when the NHL schedule comes out and he sees the word &ldquo;Boston&rdquo; on it beside the Canadiens.You won&rsquo;t find a more heated rivalry. That&rsquo;s because the histories of these Original Six teams have intersected so many times. They&rsquo;ve always played in the same division and, with a few exceptions, both have been competitive at the same time. Even when the Bruins are superior, winning against Montreal is never easy.The two teams meet Oct. 16, Nov. 13, Nov. 22 and Feb. 8.<h2>TOP RIVALS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0153-104/10096090-1-eng-US/f0153-102.jpg" title="f0153-10" width="578" height="276"></div>Alexei&nbsp;Emelin did something to get under the skin of Boston&rsquo;s Milan Lucic. He should keep his head on a swivel this season.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0153-114/10096083-1-eng-US/f0153-112.jpg" title="f0153-11" width="578" height="276"></div>The Habs still wonder if they would&rsquo;ve reached the final last year had Carey Price not been run over by Chris Kreider.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0153-124/10096076-1-eng-US/f0153-122.jpg" title="f0153-12" width="578" height="276"></div>Dale Weise was on the receiving end of a dirty late hit by John Moore of the New York Rangers in last year&rsquo;s playoffs.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0153-084/10096069-1-eng-US/f0153-082.jpg" title="f0153-08" width="226" height="322"></div><h2>PUBLIC ENEMY&nbsp;NO. 1</h2>Bruins behemoth ZDENO CHARA was never very cuddly with Montreal fans, but his hit on Max Pacioretty prompted a police investigation and enduring derision. &#9632;

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