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March 16, 1984
The Hockey News has been providing the most comprehensive coverage of the world of hockey since 1947. In each issue, you'll find news, features and opinions about the NHL and leagues across North America and the world.
Blues’ Owner Practises What He Preaches
ST. LOUIS—When the National Hockey League season opened last fall, the Blues’ management set what seemed then like a rather modest goal. As Ron Caron, the team’s hockey vice president, has so often put it, “If the season ends and I can look over my shoulder and see one team. I’ll be happy.” At the end of January, the question wasn’t whether the Blues would make the playoffs, but where they would finish in the Norris Division. Second? Third? Fourth? That’s how comfortable their lead was over Detroit and Toronto, the teams at the bottom of the division. Now, a month later, the Blues are fighting for their lives. As February came to a close, the Blues had picked up only 10 of a possible 28 points during the month. They had slipped…
BEDCLOTHES
Montreal’s Old Glory WE CAN DISCARD those battle calls of puck patriots in Montreal. Eliminate the term for Guy Lafleur when he was a commanding player, “L’homme-eclair.”The top man in any language. Throw out the collective cry for the Flying Frenchmen, the Gallically gleeful “Les Canadiens sont la!” Eschew the phrase which put a Montreal demigod named Rocket Richard in gaudy perspective, “Richard est synomyme de la vitesse.” The quintessence, in sluggish English, of excitement. All of that flaming stuff can be stuffed in the ashcan of nostalgia, postscripts to a palmy past. Lafleur is no longer “L’ homme-eclair,” in any language. No modem Canadien is the quintessence of excitement. The only time now in Quebec when you hear gleeful Gallic exulting, it is “Les Nordique sont la!” The most sophisticated franchise in NHL history is…
The Name Is Synonymous With Hockey In The U.S.
There have been plenty of prominent people named Christian: Fletcher Christian of the H.M.S. Bounty; Christian Dior; Dr. Christian Barnard and Hans Christian Anderson. But if you move in hockey circles, especially American hockey circles, there is only one family Christian—the Christians of Warroad, MN, a three-generation clan of gold medal-winners, top amateur and professional skaters and major stick manufacturers. David Christian is the standard-bearer for the family now. The family name is visible in rinks throughout the world on sticks of their manufacture, but it is David, starring at center for the fast-rising Washington Capitals, who is most prominent. “David is a first-class boy and a very classy skater,” said Winnipeg general manager John Ferguson, who nonetheless traded him to Washington at last summer’s entry draft. Ferguson made the deal only because…
Capitals Suddenly Have Goaltending Glut
LANDOVER-AU season long, the one tactical decision over which Washington coach Bryan Murray has lost no sleep at all has been the identity of his starting goal tender. For the first half of the season, Al Jensen started virtually every game—17 straight at one point—because he was hot and backup Pat Riggin was ineffective in his few opportunities in the net. Then, for 17 games in a row, it was Riggin who got the nod, because an inflammation around a nerve in the back kept Jensen out of the lineup. Fortunately for Murray and the Capitals, Riggin demonstrated that the first half was not a true indication of his ability. When the Olympic Games ended, Bob Mason came back from Yugoslavia, signed a contract with the Capitals and was given an opportunity to…
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