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July 31, 1987
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.
Blackhawks Go For Goalies In Bid To Improve Defense
CHICAGO—The Chicago Blackhawks, light years removed from their glory days of Glenn Hall and Tony Esposito, have begun to stockpile goaltenders. They chose Chicoutimi’s Jimmy Waite in the first round of the National Hockey League entry draft, and signed free agents Bob Mason of the Washington Capitals and Ed Belfour of the University of North Dakota. The driving force behind the moves was Hawk president William Wirtz, who said he was determined to change the team’s outlook in goal. “We’ve gone with this goaltending (Murray Bannerman and Bob Sauve) for the last two years,” Wirtz said. “I told our fans I guaranteed better goaltending. They deserve better goaltending.” Bannerman, who has time remaining on his contract, apparently will be in training camp. But Sauve is in limbo, having not been offered a contract as of…
Clarke Advocating Shorter Center Ice
Calgary assistant GM Al MacNeil and Flyer GM Bob Clarke are among the more outspoken execs on the subject of NHL ice surfaces being too small. MacNeil wants the rinks lengthened; Clarke proposes an experiment which could be tried during the exhibition season. “We need more room behind the nets,” says Clarke. “Have the blue lines moved closer to the red lines and use the center line only for icing. We should also eliminate the two-line offside pass.”…MacNeil is crusading for one significant improvement in rules enforcement—the elimination of cross-checking from behind. “It’s the reason so many young players wind up in wheelchairs for the rest of their lives,” warns MacNeil. “A player should get 10 minutes for that and if he does it again, should be tossed out of…
Penguins Think They May Have Got No. 1
PITTSBURGH—It would have been easy enough to confuse the Pittsburgh Penguins’ drafting strategy with many of the trades made during the National Hockey League entry draft. Future considerations played a major role in both. When the Penguins chose Seattle Thunderbirds’ defenseman Chris Joseph with their first-round pick, the fifth overall, they did so without expecting him to contribute significantly for at least a year. Not only because Joseph’s defensive play needs further refinement, but also because he was the youngest player available in the draft. He was bom Sept. 10, 1969—five days before the eligibility deadline. “If he was in next year’s draft, I think he would have been the first player chosen overall,” said Bruce Haralson, the Penguins’ scout in Western Canada. According to Penguin general manager Eddie Johnston, some other NHL teams had Joseph…
Official Recognition…Finally
Ray Bourque knows now that he has officially joined the National Hockey League’s elite. Not that there was any doubt in his, or the minds of anyone else, that he deserved that ranking. It was just that, without some tangible proof, Bourque felt a little left out. He’d been an all-star seven times. Even won the Calder Trophy his first year. But, not until June 10 did he have the honor he coveted most—the Norris Trophy. “A lot of people say I’m the best (defenseman). but until my name’s on the trophy I can’t say I’m the best,” said Bourque. Two hours later, on Canadian national television, he was named the NHL’s top rearguard. Relief washed over him. To have lost the Norris again would have been all but unbearable. “I would have been very…