The Hockey News has been providing the most comprehensive coverage of the world of hockey since 1947. In each issue, you'll find news, features and opinions about the NHL and leagues across North America and the world.

May 10, 1991

The Hockey News May 10, 1991

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-021205/5935252-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg"></div> &#9632;

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DEPARTMENTS

ELSTON

<div class="byline">BY STEPHEN HARRIS</div>For Craig Janney and the Boston Bruins, what a difference 48 hours made.As the Adams Division title series raced toward its dramatic Game 7 climax at Boston Garden April 29, Janney and his team went from terrible to terrific in Games 4 and 5.During this season&rsquo;s playoff campaign, the level of Janney&rsquo;s play has been a remarkably accurate barometer of teamwide success.When the 6-foot-1, 190-pound center scored at least one point in the Bruins&rsquo; first 12 playoff games, the team had a 6-0 record. But when the 23-year-old Hartford native failed to score, Boston had a disappointing 1-5 record.When the Montreal Canadiens routed the Bruins 6-2 in Game 4 of the Adams Division final at the Forum April 23, the Bruins were no match for the Habs in skill or effort.And Janney, the Bruins&rsquo; No. 1 center, was particularly ineffectual&mdash;only hours after Bruins&rsquo; coach Mike Milbury had criticized he and Ken Hodge for their play in Game 3.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not talking about their production,&rdquo; said Milbury. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m talking about their skating and their involvement.&rdquo;After his poor showing that night, Janney admirably accepted a big part of the blame for the loss.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not making the plays,&rdquo; Janney said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not doing my job. If we don&rsquo;t win and I don&rsquo;t help us, I&rsquo;ll certainly take a lot of the blame.&ldquo;My job is to create. That&rsquo;s what I get paid for. I deserve to get crap when I (play badly). But hey, no one can be more disappointed than me when we lose. If I play like I should, then maybe we don&rsquo;t lose.&rdquo;Two nights later at Boston Garden, Janney did play as he should.And the Bruins didn&rsquo;t lose. They outclassed, outhustled and outplayed the Habs, winning 4-1. Janney earned assists on all four goals&mdash;three by linemate Cam Neely.&ldquo;We finally put one together,&rdquo; Janney said. &ldquo;We finally put it on the ice instead of talking about it.&rdquo;Janney&rsquo;s desire to get his game back in order, he insisted, had nothing to do with negative publicity he has received in the playoffs.&ldquo;The only doghouse I was in was built by the media,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Mike has shown faith in me. All that matters to the people in this room is wins. If you think I was trying to prove anything to (the media), you&rsquo;re crazy. The only people I want to prove anything to is my teammates.&rdquo;And as long as one of those teammates is Neely, the Bruins have a chance to win.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s easy to make a pass to someone, but it&rsquo;s hard to finish off a pass,&rdquo; said Janney. &ldquo;Cam is great at finishing off passes. That&rsquo;s why he makes $1 million, and I don&rsquo;t.&rdquo;Actually, consistency is a big reason why Janney hasn&rsquo;t cracked the NHL&rsquo;s big money level.Milbury has been upset with the up-and-down play of many individuals this season&mdash;Janney included.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been a little bit of an enigma this year,&rdquo; he said after Game 3 &ldquo;I think we&rsquo;ve fallen into the trap thinking we&rsquo;re good enough to wir without a maximum effort.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been taught the lesson sc many times this season, that if we have anything less than a full effort, we&rsquo;ll lose. I&rsquo;d hate to think we have to learn this lesson again during the playoffs. Because if we play the way we&rsquo;re capable of playing, we have a chance to go a long way.&rdquo;<h2>BOSTON</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Craig Janney, Dave Poulin, Randy Burridge, Ken Hodge, Wes Walz.LW&mdash;Chris Nilan, Petri Skriko, Ron Hoover, Jeff Lazaro, Nevin Markwart.RW&mdash;Cam Neely, Dave Christian, Peter Douris, Vladimir Ruzicka.LD&mdash;Don Sweeney, Glen Wesley, Al Pedersen, Ken Hammond.RD&mdash;Ray Bourque, Jim Wiemer, Bob Beers.G&mdash;Andy Moog, Reggie Lemelin, Matt DelGuidice, Norm Foster.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Bobby Carpenter, LW, fractured left kneecap, out for season Stephane Quintal, torn ankle ligaments, out for season.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Neely, 11. A&mdash;Janney, 13. P&mdash;Bourque, 15. PIM&mdash;B. Sweeney, 35. &#9632;

THE NHL

JANNEY CENTER OF CUP HOPE ATTENTION

<div class="byline">BY RANDY RUSSON AND BRIAN COSTELLO</div>The Windsor Spitfires aren&rsquo;t sure if a dismal end to a good season should to be enough to restructure the Ontario League team&rsquo;s front office.The Spitfires improved from last place in the Emms Division in 1989-90 to fourth place (3329-4) this season, but team president Vince Bassman hardly gave coach Brad Smith and general manager Wayne Maxner a ringing endorsement.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re somewhat satisfied with the season we had,&rdquo; Bassman said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s true we moved from last to fourth and beat London (Knights, in the first round of the playoffs), but we&rsquo;re not happy about losing four straight to Niagara Falls.&rdquo;Smith&rsquo;s two-year contract expires June 15. On occasions this season, Smith and Maxner had their differences and at one point, Maxner would monitor the team and Smith from directly behind the Windsor bench during games.Maxner arrived in Windsor last summer after being fired as coach-GM of London, despite the Knights&rsquo; 41-19-6 record.&ldquo;Anything can happen,&rdquo; Maxner said. &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t say for sure one way or another what&rsquo;s going to happen (in Windsor). I thought everthing would be okay in London last year. You can&rsquo;t be sure about anything in this business.&rdquo;<h2>KELLY IN CHARGE</h2>As general manager of the Guelph Storm, Michael Kelly&rsquo;s toughest task will be convincing his players he&rsquo;ll be around for more than a couple months.In three seasons, the floundering franchise has been in three cities, had four GMs and four coaches. It&rsquo;s almost to the point that come Ontario League priority selection, the team considers taking a coach or two in the later rounds.All that&rsquo;s about to change.&ldquo;I can understand what the players have been through,&rdquo; Kelly said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s why I want to convince them this is a stable environment. I don&rsquo;t think they&rsquo;ve had the chance to really feel part of a community. I want to make Guelph an enjoyable experience for them.&rdquo;The franchise had two unsuccessful seasons in Hamilton after moving over from Toronto. Kelly was hired April 15 to guide the Storm in its first season in Guelph. He was director of operations for the Can/Am Hockey Group in Guelph for three years. Kelly also has 12 years coaching experience, including the past eight in Italy.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know if that changed the way I look at hockey,&rdquo; Kelly said. &ldquo;The Italians play a North American style rather than east bloc style. It was a learning experience.&rdquo;Kelly&rsquo;s first course of action is to hire a coach before the May 25 OHL draft. He said one of four qualified candidates is Jerry Andreatta. who took over the Dukes at mid-season. Former Dukes&rsquo; coach Gerry Harrigan is also considered a front-runner for the position.Next priority is the draft, when Guelph picks fifth overall.&rdquo;We have a lot of capable players, so I have no plans to clean house,&rdquo; Kelly said. &ldquo;I suppose we&rsquo;d look for a big defenseman or an offensive-type forward with our early pick. I do want to stay away from players who are talking about U.S. colleges. We want players who will report.&rdquo;<h2>SCOUT SWITCH</h2>OHL director of scouting Sheldon Ferguson has accepted a similar position with the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association. Ferguson becomes director of scouting for high performance programs and takes over the position May 25 following the OHL priority selections. Ferguson succeeds Dave Draper, who left the CAHA position to join the Quebec Nordiques&rsquo; scouting staff&hellip;Doug Shedden and Alan Heppie are two names mentioned most prominently as candidates for the Owen Sound Platers&rsquo; coaching vacancy. Shedden, 30, and Hepple, 27, both played in Newmarket of the American League this season. Platers&rsquo; GM Robert Holody said he expects to announce a replacement for the fired Len McNamara before the OHL&rsquo;s priority selections May 25. &#9632;

IN THIS ISSUE

SPITFIRES CONSIDER FRONT-OFFICE MANOEUVRE

<div class="byline">BY MARK HERRMANN</div>There were only seconds remaining in another losing game in the last week of a tedious season, when Gary Nylund raced down the ice and suffered a serious injury that will prevent him from walking until late June.His injury, a broken left heel, was so serious that the surgeon who repaired it used several plates and screws to reconstruct the heel.The doctor later told Nylund to use crutches until June 30, adding that the veteran probably wouldn&rsquo;t be able to begin his 10th NHL season before his 28th birthday Oct. 28.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011370/5935713-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="567" height="648"><figcaption class="caption-body">Defenseman Gary Nylund is recuperating from a broken heel.</figcaption></div>All of that occurred because he chased a puck and sought an icing call late in the Islanders&rsquo; 3-2 loss to the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden March 24.The Islanders had pulled their goalie and Ranger right winger Paul Broten was bearing down on the puck, with an empty net within easy reach.&ldquo;I must have done that 1,000 times,&rdquo; Nylund said. &ldquo;But, this time, just as I passed the goal line, my feet went out from under me.&rdquo;Nylund hit the boards with such force that trainer Ed Tyburski rushed out, not knowing what to expect.While the Islanders finished out the schedule, Nylund was in a Manhattan hospital.Ironically, it wouldn&rsquo;t have made any difference in the game or the Islanders&rsquo; season had Nylund let the puck and Broten go.&ldquo;I guess it&rsquo;s the athlete in you that makes you do it,&rdquo; said Nylund. &ldquo;You can say to yourself, &lsquo;There&rsquo;s only four games left, so let&rsquo;s just try not to get hurt.&rsquo; Then, you&rsquo;re just asking for trouble.&ldquo;If I had it to do over, I&rsquo;d probably end up doing the same thing.&rdquo;Nylund, a bruising, physical defensive defenseman, was pressed into service on the power play after the November trade that sent Doug Crossman to Hartford.He finished with two goals and 21 assists in 72 games. He also managed a minus-6 plus/minus rating&mdash;an accomplishment considering the team&rsquo;s poor finish in the NHL standings (19th overall).But as much as Nylund would have preferred an opportunity to come back refreshed next season, he realizes his off-season won&rsquo;t be any more comforting than the winter months have been.Aside from a lot of reading, Nylund plans to do as much conditioning work as his injury will allow. He said he has already begun lifting weights at a local gym to develop his upper body.The 6-foot-4, 210-pound Surrey, B.C., native is no stranger to recuperating from an injury, having endured a serious knee injury early in his career.&ldquo;I know what it takes to come back,&rdquo; he said.He also acknowledges the potential pitfalls. Doctors have told him that, in years past, surgeons wouldn&rsquo;t have touched a heel that was as badly shattered as his.&ldquo;And if it didn&rsquo;t heal, then it didn&rsquo;t,&rdquo; he said.Nylund believes he had a head start on his recovery, having received advanced medical attention. But he also knows he could wind up with the expansion San Jose Sharks next sea son&mdash;each NHL team must expose at least one defenseman who has played a total of 70 games over the past two seasons.Or the injury could bring worse news.&ldquo;I could be done,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But I think I have a couple years left with the Islanders.&rdquo; &#9632;

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NYLUND’S HOLIDAY A CHANCE FOR WOUND TO HEEL

<div class="image-hero"><img title="Cover-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/cover-01882/5937054-1-eng-US/cover-012.jpg"></div>NEW HART SHOULD EASE HULL&rsquo;S PLAYOFF BLUES - PAGE 6MIRACLE MINNY&rsquo;S SMITH THE TIE THAT BINDS - PAGE 18PENS WRITE NEW PLAYOFF CHAPTER - PAGES 7, 10CAP NEIL SHEEHY&rsquo;S LAW AND ORDER - PAGE 35OILER SHADOW GRABS SPOTLIGHT - PAGE 36 &#9632;

Cover-01

PITT BULLS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0002-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-011319/5935135-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Vancouver right winger Stan Smyl looking at trying a new career next season? Page 34.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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THIS WEEK

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-021069/5935166-1-eng-US/f0002-022.jpg" title="f0002-02" width="518" height="608"><figcaption class="caption-body">BOB MCKENZIE</figcaption></div>Just between you and me:&#9632; Here&rsquo;s the scoop, or a small part of it anyway, on the new deal between the Minnesota North Stars and San Jose Sharks.The North Stars will be able to keep Rob Zettler and Neil Wilkinson, two young defensemen who were originally ticketed to go to San Jose in the cross-pollination draft June 17.In exchange, San Jose will get defenseman Brian Glynn and forward Ulf Dahlen. Actually, the Stars have the option of taking Glynn and Dahlen, but would have to give up Zettler and Wilkinson. They won&rsquo;t.As for right winger Mike Craig, the Stars&rsquo; second-rounder in 1989 who made the team as an underage this season, he will stay in Minnesota. But at a price.The Stars must surrender to San Jose either their first pick in the 1991 entry draft (No. 8 overall) or their first-and second-round choices in 1992.If I were a betting man, I&rsquo;d say Star GM Bob Clarke will gamble on the two picks next year, speculating that the team will climb into the top half of the NHL. If so, the first-round pick will be between Nos. 11 and 22 and the second rounder no better than No. 33 overall.Calgary GM Cliff Fletcher is among those who say the Stars won&rsquo;t likely be hurt by the cross-pollination draft with the Sharks.&ldquo;They could have a better team next year,&rdquo; says Fletcher. &ldquo;Whoever they may lose (to San Jose) may be replaced by a player as good or better (from the expansion draft, which they get to share with the Sharks).You have to hand it to the Stars&rsquo; flamboyant owner Norm Green. He didn&rsquo;t like the rules, so he had them changed and his division champion club will be the better for it.&#9632; There are some prominent Canadian stars who would love nothing better than to refuse an invitation to the Canada Cup tournament.At least three players who have earned superstar designation and would be automatics on the roster have confided to friends they don&rsquo;t want to play in the Alan Eagleson-run tournament that goes 46 days, from the opening of camp Aug. 3 to the final game Sept. 18.They cite a demanding pre-toumament schedule of games&mdash;four intra-squad games and nine exhibitions against the U.S., Czechoslovakia and Soviet Union spread all over the map&mdash;as one reason. General manager-coach Mike Keenan and his traditional boot camp are another. It&rsquo;s also a no-win situation because Team Canada is expected to win it all and anything short of that is regarded by the public, and media, as abject failure.It is, however, doubtful any of the dissidents will go public with their feelings because to do so is considered unpatriotic and bad for their public image.Still, it will get interesting if one breaks rank and pops off between now and Aug. 3.&#9632; Eagleson, his power base weakened by Bob Goodenow&rsquo;s rise to the head of the NHL Players&rsquo; Association, is aiming to conquer a new empire.Canada&rsquo;s longtime czar of international hockey has apparently targeted the presidency of the International Ice Hockey Federation as his next stop.Current IIHF president Dr. Gunther Sabetzki will step down in a year. Eagleson has already begun lobbying international delegates.The subplot is the hard feelings caused within the Canadian international hockey community. It had always been presumed that Gordon Renwick of Cambridge, Ont., the current IIHF vice president, would succeed Sabetzki.&#9632; The Vancouver Canucks will make a spirited bid to get ace right winger Pavel Bure of the Soviet Union in the NHL next season.The presumption has always been that Bure wouldn&rsquo;t be made available until after the 1994 Winter Games in Norway.But now, more than ever, the Soviet sports clubs require hard currency. If a player is interested in leaving, and Bure is, it&rsquo;s going to be difficult for the Soviet Ice Hockey Federation to stand in his and the cash-strapped clubs&rsquo; way.That&rsquo;s why you can reasonably expect Bure to be in Vancouver after the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville.And that is also why a record number of Soviets, even in the first three rounds, will be taken in this year&rsquo;s entry draft.But remember, all this is just our little secret. Bob McKenzie is editor-in-chief of The Hockey News. &#9632;

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COLUMNS

SHARING A FEW HOCKEY SECRETS

This is an open letter to the New England sports media (including THN&rsquo;s Kevin Dupont):I&rsquo;ve heard enough nonsense regarding the &ldquo;Mike Milbury/Bobby Carpenter lie to the media.&rdquo; As reporters you really blew this story. Instead of whining about not getting the scoop on Carpenter&rsquo;s return to action, you should have reported his quick comeback and great performance after a potential career-ending injury.Carpenter was voted the third star of that April 5 win over Hartford which only begins to reward his work ethic, determination and heart-&hellip;qualities we all should admire.As for Milbury, his only responsibilities are to Bruin management, his players and the fans to do whatever it takes to win.The local TV station&rsquo;s poll taken April 9 overwhelmingly shows I speak for many Bruin fans&mdash;they voted 88 per cent in favor of Milbury&rsquo;s actions.I think it&rsquo;s time members of the New England media checked their egos at the door.Leslie Lynn Pacia North Providence, R.I.<h2>RUGGED GAME</h2>How does the NHL hierarchy come up with its by-laws?It&rsquo;s okay to spit (Denis Savard), kick (Sergei Makarov), gouge an oppenent&rsquo;s eye (Chris Chelios), or high stick (Viacheslav Fetisov) and seriously hurt someone. But if your name is Bob Probert, you can&rsquo;t, with a gloved hand, poke a goalie in a mask which is designed to absorb shots of 100 mph.Hockey is supposed to be a rugged game, not the dirty, sneaky game John Ziegler thinks it is.Jim Valois Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.<h2>LAST LAUGH</h2>If ever there was a case of poetic justice, it took place in the Ontario League playoffs this season.A year ago, the London Knights, after a successful regular season, fired general manager-coach Wayne Maxner because the Knights were upset by Niagara Falls in the first round of the playoffs.This season, the always dynamic Maxner landed a job as GM of the lowly Windsor Spitfires and promptly led them to a much-improved record. In fact, in the first round of this season&rsquo;s OHL playoffs, they pulled off a stunning upset of&mdash;you guessed it&mdash;the London Knights.As the Knights mull over yet another playoff loss, perhaps London ownership will think twice about letting the axe drop so quickly.Sim Shapiro Brookline, Mass.<h2>OFFICIALLY BAD</h2>Incompetent? Inconsistent? Prone to slipping off into your own fantasy world? Submit your resume to become an NHL official, you have all the qualifications.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011481/5935221-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg" title="f0003-01" width="541" height="876"><figcaption class="caption-body">Better offensive skills give the edge to Luc Robitaille.</figcaption></div>I guess it&rsquo;s because I&rsquo;d be ashamed to get paid for the performance that NHL officials put in. But if I performed as badly at my job as NHL officials did at their&rsquo;s, I wouldn&rsquo;t have my job very long.If my comments seem harsh, they&rsquo;re meant to be. I&rsquo;m tired of seeing these horrible performances by officials while the league does nothing to fix the problem. And with expansion coming, I see the situation getting worse.I don&rsquo;t know what the answer is, but you have to acknowledge a problem before you can fix it.Ken Acon Middletown. Penn.<h2>YOU&rsquo;RE KIDDING</h2>In the April 19 issue of THN Bob McKenzie writes,&rdquo;Hartford&rsquo;s Pat Verbeek is the best left winger in the NHL. Sorry Luc.&rdquo; Nothing against Verbeek, but isn&rsquo;t April Fool&rsquo;s at the beginning of the month?Considering this season&rsquo;s stats, Robitaille had more goals (45/43), more assists (46/39), a better plusminus rating (plus-28/even) and a better shooting percentage (19.7/17.4).Furthermore, Robitaille is the only current player to score 45 or more goals in each of the last five seasons. He won the Calder Trophy and has been a first-team all-star at left wing the past four years. He has also played left wing for five years, not half a season.No, Robitaille is not a chippy player, nor does he excel in getting penalties as does Verbeek. Robitaille plays left wing his way and gets the job done with star quality.Louise A. Jauschnegg Baltimore, Md.Make your feelings known. Send your comments to:&nbsp;Letters, The Hockey News, 85 Scarsdale Rd., Suite 100, Don Mills, Ont., M3B 2R2&nbsp;or fax us at&nbsp;(416) 445-0753. Include home and business phone numbers. THN reserves the right to edit submissions. &#9632;

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NEW ENGLAND MEDIA MISSED THE BOAT

&#9632; The Minnesota North Stars. As late as mid-season, the Stars were still the people&rsquo;s choice to unseat Quebec as league doormats and triumph in the Eric Lindros Derby. Months later, after knocking off the top two regular-season teams, they&rsquo;re Norris champs, the toast of the Twin Cities and the most improbable champions since baseball&rsquo;s Miracle Mets.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-03795/5935290-1-eng-US/f0003-032.jpg" title="f0003-03" width="372" height="360"></div>&#9632; Luc Robitaille. Heavily criticized over the years for disappearing in the playoffs, Robitaille solidified his status as the NHL&rsquo;s premier left winger by scoring 12 goals. Then, after his team suffered a crushing defeat, he graciously accepted a last-minute invitation to play for Canada at the World Championships.&#9632; Marty McSorley. Bush is the only way to describe the King defenseman&rsquo;s attack on the Oilers&rsquo; Glenn Anderson in Game 5 of the clubs&rsquo; series. With 21 seconds remaining, and the Kings up comfortably 5-2, McSorley jumped Anderson and started punching him for no apparent reason. We wonder if he would have tried the same move on tough guy Dave Brown.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-04441/5935283-1-eng-US/f0003-042.jpg" title="f0003-04" width="359" height="360"></div>&#9632; Nevin Markwart. Some say it&rsquo;s accepted practice for NHLers to call French Canadian teammates or opponents &ldquo;frogs.&rdquo;. We say it&rsquo;s racially degrading. While Markwart&rsquo;s comments&mdash;directed at Mario Roberge during Game 4 in Montreal&mdash;were treated as humor in some quarters, it&rsquo;s clear they weren&rsquo;t intended to be funny. &#9632;

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CHEERS JEERS

<div class="byline">BY THN STAFF</div>A group of nearly 200 retired players and referees, led by former Toronto Maple Leaf Carl Brewer, has filed a lawsuit totalling roughly $40 million with the Ontario Court of Justice against the NHL its member clubs and the NHL Pension Society regarding the misallocation of pension funds.Brewer&rsquo;s group, which includes ex-NHLers Andy Bathgate, Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull, Allan Stanley, Eddie Shack and Leo Reise, alleges the league, with approval of the Players&rsquo; Association, used $25 million of Pension Plan surplus funds that arose before 1982 to pay off current debts to the pension plan. The group contends the money, along with interest and other damages, should be given to the retired players who contributed to the plan.The pension surplus, which came about when the money invested earned seven per cent more interest than orginally projected, was declared in 1985. In 1986, the NHL Pension Society decided to reallocate the money, with the lion&rsquo;s share ($16.5 million) going back into the fund as NHL club&rsquo;s future contributions.The group has retained Mark Zigler, one of the top pension lawyers in Canada, to represent them in the civil suit. The case is expected to be heard before the end of the year.<h2>SENATOR ANKA?</h2>Singer-songwriter Paul Anka is expected to submit an offer to the Ottawa Senators that will make him one of the principal owners of the fledgling NHL franchise.Paul Abraham, Anka&rsquo;s cousin and financial adviser, said Anka is considering purchasing 24.5 per cent of the team for$14.5 million. The Senators will begin play in 1992-92.Anka, an Ottawa native, is also considering buying a piece of of the team&rsquo;s proposed 22,000-seat home, the Palladium, and land surrounding the stadium.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011480/5935321-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="546" height="641"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dave King&rsquo;s national team will play in Prague next year.</figcaption></div>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m convinced that there&rsquo;s a proper (management) team in place, not only to establish an NHL team but equally important, to operate on an on-going basis,&rdquo; Abraham said.Meanwhile, the Senators have secured a five-year television contract with CTV&rsquo;s Ottawa affiliate, CJOH.The contract with the station owned by Baton Broadcasting, covers five years. CJOH will broadcast 30 games per season.The Senators had been demanding $15 million for their television rights. No figure was released on the terms of the deal.How the TV package affects the Senator&rsquo;s participation in CBC&rsquo;s Molson Hockey Night in Canada is not known. CBC has national network rights through 1994.<h2>WORLD UNREST</h2>The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association&rsquo;s decision to send Dave King&rsquo;s national team to future world championships instead of the traditional makeshift NHL squad has the International Ice Hockey Federation hinting retaliation.IIHF president Gunther Sabetzki said Canada signed an agreement in 1976 guaranteeing the use of NHL players in the World Championships in exchange for being able to host a Canada Cup every four years.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s up to each country to decide what team is sent to the championship,&rdquo; said Sabetzki. &ldquo;But it is also hoped that every nation comes to the championship with its best possible team, just as European nations take their best teams to the Canada Cup.&rdquo;The CAHA announced earlier this year it intends to send King&rsquo;s national team, one which plays international events throughout the season, to world championships as early as next year in Prague, Czech.<h2>LUCKY STARS</h2>Scott Bradford&rsquo;s goal with 2:35 remaining in the first period stood up as the Calgary North Stars beat provinical rival Sherwood Park (Alta.) Chain Gang 2-1 in the Air Canada Cup championship game.Bradford&rsquo;s goal came six minutes after teammate Shawn Davis had tied the game midway through the opening period. The Chain Gang&rsquo;s Brent Symes opened the scoring at the 10:02 mark, but it was all the offense his team managed as North Star goalie Norm Marcale was unbeatable the rest of the way.The April 28 win at Calgary&rsquo;s Max Bell Arena was the North Stars&rsquo; first national midget title and the third time a host team has won the event. The Richelieu Riverains won at home last year while North Bay Pine Hill captured the title in 1984.The North Stars advanced to the final with a 6-3 win over the Winnipeg Hawks, while Sherwood Park upset Lac St-Louis in the other semifinal. Lac St-Louis earned the bronze medal after beating Winnipeg 5-3 in the consolation match.Next year&rsquo;s tournament will be held in Dartmouth, N.S. &#9632;

f0004-01

EX-NHLers SEEK $40 MILLION IN PENSION LAWSUIT

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Damien Cox</div>Call it the Miracle at the Met Center.The incredible story of the Minnesota North Stars, who are now four wins from a berth in the Stanley Cup final, continued to unfold after the Stars shut down super-sniper Brett Hull and knocked off the St. Louis Blues in six games to capture the Norris Division title and a berth in the Campbell Conference final.The Stars got two huge goals from Bobby Smith in the decisive 3-2 victory at home in Game 6. The checking of Stewart Gavin and Gaetan Duschene held Hull to just six points.Minnesota has now beaten the two clubs, Chicago and St. Louis, that finished one-two respectively in the overall NHL standings during the regular season.&ldquo;There are only four teams left now and, on paper, none of them are as good as the two teams we&rsquo;ve just beaten,&rdquo; said Smith.The Stars, the 16th best team during the regular season, will face the defending champion Edmonton Oilers in the Campbell final.The Oilers persevered in six games against the Los Angeles Kings in a series that included four overtime games, all decided by 4-3 scores, and three of them in Edmonton&rsquo;s favor.The Oilers won the decisive game 4-3 in overtime on Craig MacTavish&rsquo;s goal.The Pittsburgh Penguins qualified for the Wales Conference final by winning their first division championship in 24 years. The Pens shut down the Washington Capitals in five games to win the Patrick Division crown.Pittsburgh goalie Tom Barrasso stopped 97 of 100 shots in the final three games of the series, all Penguin wins.The Pens may have to compete for the rest of the playoffs without star defenseman Paul Coffey, who suffered a broken jaw against the Caps and will be out another three to five weeks.The other Wales final berth will be filled by the winner of the Boston-Montreal series, which went to a seventh game after Shayne Corson scored in overtime of Game 6 to give Montreal a 3-2 win. &#9632;

MIRACLE NORTH STARS SET FOR WESTERN SHOWDOWN

<div class="byline">BY STAN FISCHLER</div>One of the major issues behind the firing of New York Rangers&rsquo; president Jack Diller was the concern over Madison Square Garden selling luxury boxes next season. (For more on the firing see page 12.) The Garden, which is completing a $300-million renovation, had planned an across-the-board ticket increase. But the Rangers abrupt exit from the playoffs&mdash;coupled with awful public reaction&mdash;has forced MSG to limit the increase to only 2.000 expensive seats&hellip;MSG management will decide soon whether to name Neil Smith president-GM or find a highprofile type in the Scotty Bowman mold&hellip;Smith is expected to make a major pitch for Penguins&rsquo; free agent right winger Mark Recchi in the offseason. He also plans to look at other high-profile free agents while packaging several players in a blockbuster deal. Darren Turcotte, who went into the tank after the all-star break and was criticized by Smith, is likely to be shopped around as part of the exchange. If Smith can find a good exchange for goaltender John Van-biesbrouck, Mark LaForest will be Mike Richter&rsquo;s backup. If that can&rsquo;t be accomplished, Vanbiesbrouck will share the goaltending chores 50-50 with Richter. Smith, who was criticized for his post playoff condemnation of his players, won&rsquo;t back off. &ldquo;You regret things only if, in the heat of battle, you say things you didn&rsquo;t mean. I don&rsquo;t regret any of it.&rdquo;<h2>BAD TIMING</h2>Washington players claim New York coach Roger Neilson&rsquo;s time-out with his Rangers leading the Capitals 6-0 in Game 3 of the Patrick Division semifinal helped motivate them. &ldquo;The feeling on our bench was his time out was a way of rubbing it in,&rdquo; says Capitals&rsquo; left winger Kelly Miller. The Capitals didn&rsquo;t lose a game to the Rangers after that&hellip;Members of the Flyers&rsquo; management resent suggestions owner Ed Snider and president Jay Snider controls rookie GM Russ Farwell when it comes to making deals. &ldquo;The perception that they are blocking deals is untrue,&rdquo; Flyers&rsquo; PR director Rodger Gottlieb says. &ldquo;Ed and Jay have received a bad rap. There&rsquo;s a difference between being involved and being meddlesome. Ed is not a George Steinbrenner. Russ has full authority to do his job.&rdquo; The Flyers claim they weren&rsquo;t the culprits in the botched three-team deal involving Edmonton and Hartford just prior to the March 5 trading deadline. &ldquo;There was a deal with Edmonton, but it was contingent on Hartford and this was unknown to Russ,&rdquo; Gottlieb says. &ldquo;He had Sather on the other line and needed an answer. But because Eddie Johnston (Whalers&rsquo; GM) stalled, that, in turn, precluded the possibilites of the deal.&rdquo; Farwell adds: &ldquo;As far as me and Jay (being prevented from) approving deals, that hasn&rsquo;t been the case at all.&rdquo;<h2>&rsquo;BAMA TALK</h2>Successful minor league baseball magnate Art Clarkson says he&rsquo;s being besieged by leagues interested in an Alabama hockey franchise. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve heard from every league in the world from the IHL to the Global League to the NAHL,&rdquo; Clarkson says. &ldquo;But my No. 1 priority is to get a franchise in the East Coast League.&rdquo; Clarkson says there&rsquo;s also an impetus to form a Southern League for the 1992-93 season. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got a basic formula for it,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;Minor league hockey is the next frontier (in terms of boom sports) in the next ten years, just like minor league baseball was for the past decade.&rdquo;&hellip;Bryan Murray was amused by some St. Louis writers who insinuated his Red Wings were ruffians. &ldquo;The only guy we play that way is Bob Probert. After that, I don&rsquo;t know if you can find one guy on our team who plays that way. We&rsquo;re not a real big team.&rdquo;&hellip;A consolation for Whalers&rsquo; fans this season is the fact defenseman Zarley Zalapski has yet to reach his potential. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know about Zarley being a superstar,&rdquo; Hartford coach Rick Ley says,&rdquo;but he can be very close to that level in stature.&rdquo;&hellip;Pittsburgh goaltender Frank Pietrangelo, who personally saved the Patrick Division semifinal against New Jersey for the Penguins, admits he tried to talk GM Craig Patrick into unloading him last summer. &ldquo;I asked Craig if he would release me,&rdquo; Pietrangelo says. &ldquo;I thought I was an NHL goaltender but if they didn&rsquo;t want me, I had to make some money for my family. Patrick told me I could go and I had a deal made out with an Italian team. Then, Craig changed his mind.&rdquo;<h2>MONEY BAGS</h2>NHLPA executive director Bob Goodenow has some work to do concerning monies made by NHL teams. An insider reports with the exception of Minnesota, not one club failed to have a net cash flow this year. Even the Winnipeg Jets are said to have made $3 million and the 21st place Quebec Nordiques had a $5 million cash flow. Thanks to radio-TV rights, Quebec has developed a solid market. Goodenow acknowledges that the NHLPA will be checking each team&rsquo;s financial position. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to have the numbers now,&rdquo; Goodenow says. &ldquo;One of the things we have to determine in the final analysis is what is the business of hockey&mdash;does that include things like parking and concessions? We&rsquo;re going to have talks with the league about that.&rdquo; NHLPA&rsquo;s first post-playoff meeting will be June 10 in Toronto&hellip;An NHL officiating supervisor says he won&rsquo;t be surprised if several NHL referees jump ship and sign with the North American League next season. &ldquo;We lost people to the WHA so it&rsquo;s reasonable to assume some will go if they think they can make more money,&rdquo; he says. &#9632;

DILLER, MSG HAD ROW OVER SEATING

<div class="byline">BY DAMIEN COX</div>There was a definite tinge of suspicion to Viacheslav Fetisov&rsquo;s words.&ldquo;Dave King is very smart,&rdquo; said the Soviet national team rearguard, who moonlights on the blue line of the New Jersey Devils during the NHL season. &ldquo;He is saving something for the final. This is just a warmup.&rdquo;Fetisov&rsquo;s cautionary words came after the Soviets had beaten King&rsquo;s Canadian side 5-3 April 25 in the round robin portion of the world hockey championships in Finland.And he may be right. This year&rsquo;s world tournament seems to have seen a more cagey Canadian entry that is gunning for Canada&rsquo;s first world title since 1961. After going undefeated in last year&rsquo;s round robin only to finish fourth in the medal round, the Canucks seemed to pace themselves through the round robin portion of the tourney this year, achieving little more than the minimum success required to qualify for the medal round. The Canadians went 4-2-1 and finished third behind the Soviet Union and Sweden.Canada also hoped to have two members of the Los Angeles Kings overseas in time for the medal round. With the Kings eliminated, left winger Luc Robitaille and defenseman Rob Blake accepted invitations to join the squad for the championship round.On the down side, the Canadians did not win any of their last three starts, losing to the Soviets, tying Sweden 3-3 and dropping a disappointing 4-3 verdict to Czechoslovakia on April 28, the final day of the round robin.Canada will play the Swedes in the opening medal round game, while the Soviets will play the upstart Americans, who knocked the host Finns out of the tournament with a stunning 2-1 win on the final day. The U.S., which was held to a 4-4 tie by Germany two days before, had to beat Finland to make the medal round, while the Finns required just a tie to move on.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-011387/5935400-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg" title="f0005-01" width="558" height="727"><figcaption class="caption-body">Team USA used a Todd Krygier goal to gain a medal birth.</figcaption></div>&ldquo;This is one of the best achievements of U.S. hockey, considering many NHL players chose not to come,&rdquo; said U.S. head coach Tim Taylor, who had only 11 NHLers at his disposal.This year&rsquo;s tourney marks the first time in six years the Americans have qualified for medal play. Todd Krygier of the Hartford Whalers broke a 1-1 tie with a goal at 11:49 of the third period to give the U.S. the crucial win over Finland.Though the U.S stunned the heavily-favored Finns, Krygier was unimpressed.&ldquo;We haven&rsquo;t really accomplished anything yet,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We want to bring home a medal.&rdquo;Detroit&rsquo;s Kevin Miller scored the American&rsquo;s first goal, while But Christian Ruuttu had Finland&rsquo;s goal.The Swedes finished the robin undefeated at 3-0-4 and give Canada a tough test in the round opener, particularly sin Swedes are 11-9-2 against Can the worlds.In the Canada-Soviet round game, both teams entered the with identical 4-0 records, and tied 3-3 in the third period.But some poor goaltendin Mike Vernon&mdash;a surprise start place of Sean Burke&mdash;allowe Soviets to pot two more in the th a game Canada trailed 3-1 at onebut could easily have won.King&mdash;who is 0-7-2 against S teams in the world championsh was criticized for playing Vern&ldquo;It was the wise time to play said the Canadian head coach.&rdquo; Vernon can play better.&rdquo;Vernon was pulled in favor of Billington late in the game, and also in goal for part of the lol Czechoslovakia. Burke was un ated (3-0-1) in his starts for CaAfter the loss to the Soviets, B was back in the nets against! Swedes and was outstanding in tie, particularly when the Swedes shot the Canadians 20-4 in the se period but scored only twice.&ldquo;If (the Swedes) aren&rsquo;t better the Russians, they&rsquo;re awfully clo said Steve Larmer, who scored tying goal in the third period aga Sweden.The Soviets finished the rd robin on top with 13 points, follo by Sweden with 10, Canada nine, U.S. with eight, Finland seven, Czechoslovakia with Switzerland with two and Germ with one. &#9632;

f0005-01

CANADA PLAYS POSSUM; U.S. PLAYS THE ‘DOG’

<h2>RON FINN</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-021010/5935431-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg" title="f0005-02" width="548" height="1174"></div>Born: Dec. I, 1940, Toronto. Ont. Height: 5-foot-9. Weight: 176 pounds. Position: NHL linesmen. First NHL game: Oct. 11. 1969.On breaking John D&rsquo;Amico&rsquo;s NHL record for the most playoff games worked (252): &ldquo;I told the office staff &lsquo;Isn&rsquo;t it great to have a record?&rsquo; I said, &lsquo;I finally got one and I don&rsquo;t care if I only have it for one year!&rsquo; I&rsquo;ve done something no one else has.&rdquo;Most embarrassing moment: &ldquo;About 12 years ago in Toronto they had a streaker on the ice and I was doing the game. What made it so comical was when I went over to the penalty box to get the police to get the fella off the ice, they didn&rsquo;t want to go and get him. I said, &lsquo;I&rsquo;ll be damned if I&rsquo;m going out there. I&rsquo;m only an official.&rsquo; It was like a standoff. The next day, they had picture in the paper of the streake and me and I had this stupid, sill look on my face.&rdquo;On his relationship with players: &ldquo;We get along great. I have lot of respect for them and the show it back to me. The other nigh I fell down and some of them cam over and said, &lsquo;Are you all righ Ron?&rsquo; I think they show respect to all our guys.&rdquo;On being recognized off the ice &ldquo;A lot of times I&rsquo;m surprised I am It&rsquo;s always nice to achieve thing and have people talk about you.&rdquo;On getting booed by fans: &ldquo;I doesn&rsquo;t bother me because 99.9 pe cent of the time I&rsquo;m right. If I&rsquo;m wrong. I&rsquo;m only human. I don&rsquo; care because I&rsquo;m proud of the job do.&rdquo;How he&rsquo;d like to be remem bered: &ldquo;Just a nice guy. That&rsquo;s all.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0005-02

PRO FILE

<div class="byline">BY DUHATSCHEK</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-011567/5935462-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Winning two awards will be a consolation prize for Chicago&rsquo;s Ed Belfour.</figcaption></div>ay not look like much of a consolation ze now, not with the Chicago Blackhawks of the NHL playoffs, but this may be nder Ed (The Eagle) Belfour&rsquo;s year come&rsquo;s time.will go out on a limb and predict Belfour absolute lock for two of the seven major is&mdash;the Calder Trophy and Vezina ies. The last player to turn that worthy was goaltender Tom Barrasso in 1984. four put together monster regular-season ers (43-19-7, 2.47 GAA, .910 save perge) and even if his play dropped off signifi-in the playoffs, well, that didn&rsquo;t matter, votes were cast the day before the play-egan.ly should you believe us? Well, not to brag ything, but we were seven-for-seven last which doesn&rsquo;t happen very often.r thinking is the Hart, Norris (best defense Byng (most gentlemanly), Selke (best sive forward) and Adams (best coach) ies will all feature close races.l awards, except for the Vezina and s, are voted upon by 66 members (three in of 22 chapters) of the Professional Hockey:rs&rsquo; Association. NHL general managers for the Vezina and the NHL Broadcasters ciation votes for the Adams.award winners will be announced June 5 oronto during the NHL&rsquo;s Celebration of llence.<h2>HART</h2>Winner: Brett Hull, St. Louis.Finalists: Wayne Gretzky, Los Angeles and our.rst, a quickie reminder. The Hart Trophy is ded to the player adjudged most valuable to earn, which is why voters had so much cultly separating Hull and Gretzky this sea-Many ask themselves: Where would this finish without candidate X in the lineup? the case of both the St. Louis Blues and Los eles Kings, the answer is the same: No-re near as good as they were. Hull&rsquo;s 86 goals &gt;unted for almost 28 per cent of the Blues&rsquo;:k. Gretzky&rsquo;s 163 points meant he was in on &gt;er cent of the Kings&rsquo; goals.o why Hull over Gretzky? Simply because voters will be seduced by Hull&rsquo;s goals than Gretzky&rsquo;s assists.<h2>NORRIS</h2>Winner: Ray Bourque, Boston.Finalists: Al MacInnis, Calgary and Chris:lios, Chicago.Statistically, the numbers say the winner uld be MacInnis. His 103 scoring points led NHL defensemen and established team and sonal bests. So you can&rsquo;t argue with his ensive production. His plus-42 was third best he league and pointed to an outstanding desive season as well.So why choose Bourque over Maclnnis? For rters, Bourque also had another outstanding son. His 94 points was the third-highest total lis career&mdash;and 10 points more than he scored season when he was runner-up to Mark Messier as league MVP.Moreover, there&rsquo;s a perception that Bourque is stronger defensively than Maclnnis. In some ways, the Norris Trophy is a little like boxing&rsquo;s heavyweight championship. They won&rsquo;t give it to you on a decision. You pretty much have to knock out the champ before you get the title. Early in his career, Bourque fought that prejudice when Rod Langway and Paul Coffey were winning back-to-back Norris Trophies.There also appears to be a mindset among the voters that the award should go to the best player&mdash;who is clearly Bourque&mdash;not to the player that had the best season&mdash;who is probably MacInnis. Bourque likes to handle the puck and over time, a player that likes to handle the puck is going to turn it over a certain percentage of the time. On balance Bourque gives you much more than he takes away.<h2>VEZINA</h2>Winner: Belfour.Finalists: Patrick Roy, Montreal and Andy Moog, Boston.If you asked 21 general managers which NHL goalie they&rsquo;d take to start a new franchise, the majority would opt for Roy, a two-time Vezina Trophy winner. However, the GMs historically vote by the numbers, not by their private convictions and you cannot argue with Belfour&rsquo;s record-setting numbers. Chicago finished almost half-a-goal ahead of second-place Montreal in the competition for the Jennings Trophy, giving up only 211 goals. Belfour was in goal for 43 of the Blackhawks&rsquo; 49 wins and even if he benefitted from their commitment to team defense, he also made his share of outstanding saves.Considering Roy battled injuries all season long, his numbers may surprise you. He got into 48 games and managed a respectable 25 wins and a 2.71 GAA. Moog, who became the Bruins&rsquo; clear No. 1 this season after years of splitting the job with Reggie Lemelin, posted comparable statistics&mdash;25 wins and a 2.87 GAA.<h2>CALDER</h2>Winner: Belfour.Finalists: Sergei Fedorov, Detroit and Mike Richter, New York Rangers.Under the new Calder Trophy criteria, which puts an age limit of 26 on the trophy, Belfour almost didn&rsquo;t qualify. He turned 26 April 21, meaning he made the cutoff by less than a full season.Moreover, Belfour played 23 games for the Blackhawks back in the 1988-89 season, so had he made another three appearances that year, he would also have been ineligible. Belfour&rsquo;s second coming began in last year&rsquo;s playoffs when he made nine appearances and posted a 2.49 GAA.Like many Europeans, Fedorov found the going toughest early in the season (because of the adjustment to the North American style of play and size of ice) and late in the season (because of the length of the NHL schedule). In the end, it averaged out into an excellent first season. Fedorov produced 39 points in the first half and 40 in the second half, which worked out to seven fewer than Sergei Makarov scored in his Calder Trophy win last season.<h2>BYNG</h2>Winner: Gretzky.Finalists: Hull and Joe Sakic, Quebec.Do voters believe in awarding a consolation prize? We think so. For the same reasons that Gretzky and Hull will go down to the wire for the Hart, they will also battle it out for the Byng.In general, the voters tum to the penalty minutes column first in the Byng voting and Gretzky and Hull were in a virtual dead heat there as well&mdash;-16 PIM for Gretzky, 22 for Hull.You could make a strong case for Sakic, who produced 109 points for the lowly Quebec Nordiques and may have taken half his 24 penalty minutes out of frustration at his team&rsquo;s ineptitude.<h2>SELKE</h2>Winner: Esa Tikkanen, Edmonton.Finalists: Dirk Graham, Chicago and Guy Carbonneau, Montreal.Even if the playoffs have no bearing on the final vote, they illustrate why Esa Tikkanen is the best defensive player in the league. Too often, voters penalize a player for his skill level, especially for his offensive skills, which Tikkanen possesses in abundance. However, the same qualities that make him a decent NHL scorer&mdash;speed, shifty moves&mdash;also make him an effective NHL shadow.Accordingly, you watched Tikkanen ride herd on Theo Fleury and Wayne Gretzky in successive playoff series, disrupting both players to the point where their coaches felt a need to do something, anything, to get them away from the Finn.The Blackhawks promoted two players for the Seike, Dirk Graham and Steve Larmer. Graham will get the nod from voters for the aforementioned reason&mdash;Larmer is too skilled and scored too many points.<h2>ADAMS</h2>Winner: Tom Webster, Los Angeles.Finalists: Brian Sutter, St. Louis and Mike Milbury, Boston.Gretzky put in his vote for Webster with about a month to go in the season, citing his ability to build chemistry on a team many people figured for fourth or fifth in the division. Instead, the Kings produced 102 points and won the first-ever division crown in their 23-year history. That marked a 27-point improvement over the 1989-90 season. If the broadcasters who vote on this award have developed a pattern the years, it&rsquo;s to give it to the coach of the most improved team.That may be why Brian Sutter will finish second. His Blues moved from a midd road 83-point team last year to a 105-point club, second overall.Milbury&rsquo;s Bruins actually slipped a point from last season&mdash;101 points to 100&mdash;but the big mystery in Boston is why, on the basis of their talent level, they didn&rsquo;t fall further. Once again, Milbury did a fine job of keeping a patchwork, injury-prone Bruins&rsquo; team among the NHL&rsquo;s elite with his charismatic, all-for-one-and-one-for-all approach to coaching. &#9632;

f0006-01

WARDS GHT LL BE ELFOUR’S HOW

<div class="byline">BY TOM MCMILLAN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0007-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011413/5935493-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Type I free agent Mark Recchi is in an enviable position.</figcaption></div>Say this for Mark Recchi and Kevin Stevens: They&rsquo;ve got an impeccable sense of timing.Both rejected moderate contract offers from the Pittsburgh Penguins before the season and&mdash;at some risk&mdash;chose to play out their options. Suddenly, they&rsquo;re heroes.And it&rsquo;s not just that each of the rambling wingers rang up 40 goals during a fantasy regular season when their long scoffed-at Pittsburgh team won its first division title in franchise history. Now that it&rsquo;s Stanley Cup playoff time, Recchi and Stevens are threatening to carry the Penguins into uncharted territory&mdash;and the club is already in the Cup semifinals for the first time since 1970.&ldquo;Surprised? No,&rdquo; says Mario Lemieux, their far more famous teammate. &ldquo;They&rsquo;ve always had talent. They always work hard. Recchs and Kevin are great players.&rdquo;Problem was, it was a parochial Pittsburgh secret before this year. Recchi and Stevens were middleround draft choices who came up the hard way, each spending time with the Penguins&rsquo; International League farm team in Muskegon. Not until the 1989-90 season, in fact, did either make much of an impact in the NHL.So no one could blame Pittsburgh eral manager Craig Patrick for making less than monumental contract bids last summer. The Penguins, remember, had reached the playoffs only once since 1982, and a lack of team success has a way of tightening owrer Edward DeBartolo&rsquo;s purse strings.But things have changed.&ldquo;We just hope they keep going until the beginning of June,&rdquo; says Patrick. &ldquo;Those guys have played extremely well for us.&rdquo;To put it mildly. Through April 28, the 23-year-old Recchi was the league&rsquo;s leading scorer in the playoffs with 21 points on six goals and 15 assists in 12 games. And the 26-year-old Stevens paced the Penguins with seven goals&mdash;three of them gamewinners, all in the division finals against Washington.&ldquo;Fybody says the playoffs are good players and the great player ome to the front&mdash;and we&rsquo;re aware of that,&rdquo; says Stevens. &ldquo;Recchs and I wanted to prove we&rsquo;re right up there with the top players. We feel we can play hard and help our team win.&rdquo;They&rsquo;ve done it over and over and over since the start of the season. But while Recchi has been a model of consistency in the playoffs, chipping in a point or two a game, Stevens has played in outrageous bursts of offense. He was overwhelming in Games 2, 3 and 4 against Washington.Just ask Caps&rsquo; coach Terry Murray.&ldquo;He was the best player in the series,&rdquo; Murray said after the Penguins had rubbed out his team in five games. &ldquo;He scored big goals. And the one he scored in Game 4 was the biggest.&rdquo;That particular beauty is preserved in the all-time Stevens&rsquo; highlight film. Rumbling down the right side in the third period of a tight 1-1 game, the 6-foot-3, 217-pound human locomotive took a pass from Recchi&mdash;who else?&mdash;swooped around defenseman Rod Langway, cut towards the net, and banked the go-ahead goal off the far post behind Don Beaupre.It stood up as the winner and sent the Penguins home with a prohibitive 3-1 series lead.&ldquo;Stevens made an all-star play off the boards,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s as strong a play as you&rsquo;re going to see any player in the NHL make in that situation. It was a great play. A tremendous play.&rdquo;Recchi is also capable of tremendous plays&mdash;he was the No. 4 scorer in the league with 113 points in the regular season, and ranked third behind Brett Hull and Jeremy Roenick with nine game-winners&mdash;but it would be tough to find two skilled forwards more different in style than he and Stevens.Stevens can be a robust, physical player who is beginning to use his size to full advantage; Recchi is a fireplug at 5-foot-10, 185 pounds, and he plays pinball hockey in the comers.Stevens, who improved his footwork during a 1988 stint with the U. S. Olympic team, is a blazing open-ice skater who can beat defensemen wide (ask Langway); Recchi uses a choppy, awkward-looking skating style but gets from point A to point B as well as any player in the league.Stevens, thanks to his size, plants himself in front of the net on power plays and one-times passes or swats away at rebounds. Recchi&rsquo;s best play is a solo rush down the right side, capped off by a deceptively wicked wrist shot from the faceoff circle.And while Stevens plays a textbook kind of game&mdash;he&rsquo;s the big, strong power forward every scout dreams of&mdash;Recchi simply improvises.&ldquo;The word that comes to mind when you think about Recchs is &lsquo;competitor,&rsquo;&rdquo; says teammate Paul Coffey. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a great kid with a big heart. I mean, he&rsquo;s 5-foot-8 or whatever the hell he is, but he plays about 6-foot-5. And he&rsquo;s a big-game player.&rdquo;Recchi and Stevens seem genuinely embarrassed by all the praise. They stood in awe this season at Chicago Stadium when they played together in their first NHL All-Star Game. But they also form their own sort of mutual admiration society.&ldquo;Recchs has gone beyond what a lot of people thought he&rsquo;d do,&rdquo; Stevens says. &ldquo;But I played with him in the minors and I knew what kind of talent he had. You need guys to show up when the game&rsquo;s on the line, and he&rsquo;s one who always does. You knowRecchs is going to be there. Every game.&rdquo;Now listen to Recchi.&ldquo;Kevin has just been outstanding-&hellip;and he has helped me a lot on the ice,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;He skates so well, and he&rsquo;s so big and strong and has such touch, it&rsquo;s just Cough to stop him. He was on a roll the last 15 games and he has carried that over playoffs. Look at the Washi series. He just dominated.&rdquo;Regardless of what happens i rest of the playoffs, Recchi Stevens will find themselve powerful negotiating positions they sit down to talk contract Patrick in the summer. They had told team success would be pi when it came to money matters, delivered on their end.Recchi, the best bargain in the this year, earned just $105,000 113 points and will probabl asking for a jump to about $800Stevens, who pulled in $150,0 1990-91, is likely to want a deal $500,000-$600,000 range.Recchi is in the more lucrative gaining spot because he is a T free agent, meaning the Pen would not have the right of first al on another team&rsquo;s offer. As a re there is mounting pressure in sburgh to sign him before the free-agent deadline.But the team would have a we match any offer to Stevens, who into the Type II free-agent categBut both players say they&rsquo;ve gotten about dollar signs and dec points and bonus clauses while ing to the Stanley Cup. Playoff is sweeping Pittsburgh and grip the dressing room. Winning is thing.&ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t even given the contr thought,&rdquo; says Recchi. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re trying to win here. If we do that erything else will take care of itse &#9632;

f0007-01

WINGERS STEVENS, RECCHI LEAD PENS’ FLIGHT

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-011497/5935524-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="492" height="620"><figcaption class="caption-body">STAN FISCHLER</figcaption></div>NHL owners will pay for what seems like 1,287 awards this spring&mdash;and omit a very important prize in the process.For some strange reason, league management has never gotten around to giving a piece of silverware to their very own&mdash;and it&rsquo;s high time they did.So let&rsquo;s come up with an honor for Best Owner of the Year. To make everyone happy, we can call it the Norrispatricksmytheadams Trophy.This season&rsquo;s hands down winner must be Norman Green, owner of the Minnesota North Stars.Not because he&rsquo;s the only NHL boss ever to be nicknamed Tootsie or because he gave away large amounts of money to fans.Not because he ostentatiously drives a Rolls-Royce through beautiful downtown Bloomington, causing neighbors to jealously wince.Not because Norman said the trouble with the North Stars before he took over was it lacked a &ldquo;Yiddishe Kopf.&rdquo; (Jewish mind.)No, Norman gets it because this outrageous hunk of Harris Tweed and 14-carat gold cufflinks has saved the North Stars for Minnesota in a manner unusual for a multi-millionaire.He has pressed the flesh, selling his team face-to-face to fans. He has done everything but pilot the Zamboni around the Met Center between periods.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m probably the only NHL owner with a direct I ine to the fans on a game-to-game basis, &lsquo;&rsquo; Green says.And who&rsquo;s to argue with him? When Green arrived in Minnesota, the North Stars were in such a state of disarray, the United Nations Emergency Relief Organization would&rsquo;ve turned the other way. The fans hated them. The media hated them and the list of reasons for anger stretched from Minneapolis to Eveleth (Minn.).&ldquo;Absentee ownership was a major negative,&rdquo; Green says. &ldquo;Fans need to relate to the owner. The most important thing I&rsquo;ve done this year is walk the (arena) concourse and talk to the people.&rdquo;Norman&rsquo;s favorite trick is to walk into a Twin Cities&rsquo; restaurant and strike up a conversation with a couple.&ldquo;What are you doin&rsquo; tonight?&rdquo; he&rsquo;d ask. &ldquo;Nothing,&rdquo; would be the answer. Wrong. Green would present them with a pair of tickets to that evening&rsquo;s North Stars&rsquo; game and two more fans would be created on the spot.By playoff time, his club had become THE story in the NHL. They pushed the Minnesota Twins, Vikings and Timberwolves off the sports pages.&ldquo;I had no doubt that, given time, we&rsquo;d be successful,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;The only question was how long it would take. My confidence was based on the fact we&rsquo;re in an area that&rsquo;s the closest thing in the U.S to a Canadian community.&ldquo;Every kid plays hockey and that means they&rsquo;re all potential fans. That&rsquo;s the good news. The bad news is they know when something is not right on the ice. They come for the quality of the game not just for a good time.&rdquo;A less determined chap would&rsquo;ve pulled his hair out every time the media mocked Norman for one of his many promotional gimmicks, like the teenaged dance group called the Electric Stars.They laughed because Green&rsquo;s product, through the first half of the campaign, was as palatable as wet potato chips.&ldquo;I knew in my heart what I was doing was right and healthy,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;The way I could sway the media was by being successful.&rdquo;One advisor told Norman to tell his general manager Bob Clarke to dump the coach. Green did the smart thing. Nothing.&ldquo;I always said I would never influence my GM as far as the coach was concerned,&rdquo; says Green. &ldquo;That judgement was for Bob Clarke.&rdquo;The Blackhawks regretfully will tell you Clarke&rsquo;s decision was superb.&ldquo;When I came to Minnesota, I had the best and worst of ownership,&rdquo; Green says. &ldquo;The worst part was I didn&rsquo;t come in brand new, which meant I inherited a lot of baggage. From the start, I had to put out a lot of fires on a daily basis. Instead of building, I was repairing.&ldquo;The best part was me having 100 percent of the franchise and complete control of the building. It was a treat to do what in my heart I wanted to do. That was a dream come true.&rdquo;Stormin&rsquo; Norman now has more plans for next year than he has thousand-dollar suits.One Green project is a $30-million retail complex around the Met Center.&ldquo;I need the project to pay Bob Clarke&rsquo;s salary,&rdquo; Green laughs.He can afford to laugh. He has no doubt he&rsquo;ll succeed and after what happened at the Met Center this spring, who are we to doubt him? Stan Fischler is a freelance writer based in New York City. &#9632;

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GREEN TOP CHOICE FOR OWNER OF THE YEAR

A goaltender with Atlanta, Calgary, Quebec and Winnipeg for 14 seasons between 1972-73 and &rsquo;85-86. Daniel Bouchard, 40, is a goaltender consultant for the Quebec Nordiques. &ldquo;The main highlight for me was just playing in the NHL,&rdquo; Bouchard said. &ldquo;But once you&rsquo;re there, it&rsquo;s just the beginning. I was happy I had the parents I had to help me along. My father played in the NHL and knew what it was all about.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-021185/5935555-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="512" height="412"><figcaption class="caption-body">Daniel Bouchard</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0008-02

THEN & NOW

<h2>ISLANDERS</h2>Despite a financially rocky first season in Troy, N.Y., the Islanders don&rsquo;t have plans to move their American League affiliate, Capital District. &ldquo;We have an agreement in place,&rdquo; Islanders&rsquo; GM Bill Torrey said, adding he has met with the AHL team&rsquo;s ownership to propose several unspecified changes. Capital District, which finished next to last in its division, finished the season with a very small staff. The strapped franchise let go its public relations director during the regular season&hellip;Glenn Healy received an award for having compiled the most points in star-of-the-game balloting. Pat LaFontaine was named player of the year in a poll of SportsChannel viewers. Brent Sutter received the Bob Nystrom Trophy for hustle, determination and leadership.<h2>PENGUINS</h2>Left winger Kevin Stevens got the game-winning goal in the Penguins&rsquo; first three victories in their second-round series against Washington. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s big, he&rsquo;s strong and he&rsquo;s the prototype winger you want to have in the NHL,&rdquo; Capitals&rsquo; coach Terry Murray said. &ldquo;He made the big goals, made the big plays. He was definitely the (series) MVP.&rdquo; Praise is nice, but Stevens&rsquo; real payoff for his superb performance during the postseason will come this summer, when he becomes a free agent&hellip;The Penguins knew they would be facing a team with a much richer tradition than their own in the semifinals, but said it wouldn&rsquo;t be a factor. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s us playing against those guys,&rdquo; right winger Joe Mullen said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s all it is. Humans playing against humans.&rdquo;&hellip;Pittsburgh never has been much of a road team, but had a league-best record of 4-1 in away games through the first two rounds&hellip;The Penguins became the first team to win the Patrick Division regular-season and playoff championship in the same year since Philadelphia in 1987.<h2>CAPITALS</h2>The day after the Capitals were eliminated in the Patrick Division finals, Calle Johansson flew to Finland to join the Swedish team at the World Championships in Finland. Johansson might have enjoyed a day to catch his breath, but he grabbed his equipment and left. &ldquo;If I say no, people in Sweden will think I&rsquo;m a cocky, professional hockey player,&rdquo; said Johansson. &ldquo;Swedish people really appreciate you if you play for your country.&rdquo;&hellip;Shoulder surgery seems to be the popular medical procedure in the organization. Goalie Olaf Kolzig, who spent time in Baltimore (AHL) and Hampton Roads (ECHL), had his shoulder operated on in early April. Right winger Peter Bondra, who was hampered in the second half of the season by a left shoulder that popped out several times, was going to have surgery now that the seas complete.<h2>FLYERS</h2>The arrival of the San Jose Sharks will mean some changes in the Flyers&rsquo; schedule next season. The Flyers will play the same schedule against the Patrick Division (each team seven times) and the Adams Division (each team three times). In the Norris Division, the Flyers will play the St. Louis Blues and the Detroit Red Wings only twice (one home, one away). In the Smythe Division, the Flyers will play the Vancouver Canucks only twice (one and one). The Flyers will play two road games against the Sharks and, for the second straight year, two games at Los Angeles&hellip;Defenseman Kjell Samuelsson joined Flyers&rsquo; teammate Pelle Eklund on the Team Sweden roster at the World Championships in Helsinki, Finland.<h2>RANGERS</h2>The Rangers&rsquo; alumni association had made impressive progress under the impetus provided by now-deposed team president Jack Diller. One longtime Ranger favorite, troubled by diabetes, received a blood-sugar monitor from the association while another ex-Ranger, battling Multiple Sclerosis, received $2,000 (U.S.) toward an electric wheelchair&hellip;It also was under Diller&rsquo;s stewardship that surviving members of the Rangers&rsquo; Stanley Cup champions received rings to acknowledge the achievement. Players from long-gone Ranger eras often had complained of neglect by the team, but Diller and GM Neil Smith seemingly had made strides toward reweaving the fabric of the Ranger family&hellip;Defenseman James Patrick led the Rangers&rsquo; parade to off-season surgery by having two dislocated bones repaired in his left wrist. Defenseman Randy Moller had some ligaments tightened in his left shoulder, and center Mark Janssens followed Moller to the hospital the next day for similar work on his left shoulder.<h2>DEVILS</h2>Owner John J. McMullen, who continued to dismiss rumors of the franchise&rsquo;s sale, said there would not be an off-season housecleaning. &ldquo;Obviously things never stay exactly the same, but I don&rsquo;t see any dramatic changes being made,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I think we have an overall organization that has done a tremendous job of getting this team together. Certainly there is nothing to tear apart.&rdquo;&hellip;GM Lou Lamoriello&rsquo;s job is very safe, according to McMullen, who respects Lamoriello&rsquo;s hardball negotiating stance with players and Lamoriello&rsquo;s money-making decisions in the front office&hellip;The Devils were negotiating to sign collegians David Emma (Boston College) and Jim Dowd (Lake Superior State). Emma (6th round, 1989) won the Hobey Baker Award. Dowd (8th round, 1987) would be the first New Jersey native to play for the Devils. &#9632;

ISLES WON’T MOVE AFFILIATE

<div class="byline">BY WAYNE FISH</div>After missing the playoffs two seasons ago, the Philadelphia Flyers made a management change to help solve their woes.But after missing the playoffs this season, the team will likely make more serious personnel moves.Russ Farwell, who is about to complete his first year as Flyers&rsquo; general manager, gives the impression he will go just about any route to create a more competitive team for the 199192 season.Those options could include:&#9632; The possibility of trading their No. 1 pick (sixth overall) in the June draft for a young but proven player who can step in and help right away.&#9632; Pursuing big-name free agents, including some who are currently playing in the NHL and at least one (Jari Kurri) who is not.&#9632; Giving young prospects in the organization a better chance to make the team.&#9632; Entertaining trade offers for just about any player with the exception of Rick Tocchet, Mike Ricci and Pelle Eklund.The Flyers were steadfast about their No. 1 selection (fourth overall) in last year&rsquo;s draft. They knew they would get an impact player, regardless of which three players were chosen first, and gladly selected Ricci.This year is a little different. The draft is nowhere near as deep and the picture is a bit cloudier.&ldquo;After (Eric) Lindros, it&rsquo;s still up in the air who even San Jose might pick (second),&rdquo; said Farwell. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s very much up in the air for the next seven or eight guys.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think there are near the number of guys who can step in and play in the NHL. The overall caliber is down a little bit.&rdquo;Would the Flyers give up a pick that high? It would be their third highest selection since 1979.&ldquo;I think if we were adding a young player that could help us, we would have to look at it,&rdquo; Farwell said. &ldquo;We would consider it.&rdquo;Reports surfaced recently that the Flyers made an offer to Edmonton last season for the rights to Jari Kurri. They also made a pitch for Mark Messier, who is having contract problems with the Oilers.&ldquo;We were willing last year and we did inquire when things did come out and guys were rumored to be available,&rdquo; Farwell said. &ldquo;We tried to inquire about every guy. And certainly a guy like Kurri we would be interested in.&rdquo;Kurri recently indicated he would play a second season in Italy.The Flyers aren&rsquo;t ruling out the possibility of acquiring free agents in the NHL either.The progress of Craig Fisher, Claude Boivin, Pat Murray, Len Barrie and Bill Armstrong at Hershey means some veteran Flyers may have a battle on their hands at September training camp.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re actually looking for a change,&rdquo; Farwell said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been two years now where we haven&rsquo;t been involved in the playoffs and we haven&rsquo;t done what we set out to do.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t say they (veterans) have to prove themselves&hellip;I would go a step farther and say they&rsquo;re going to have to fight to hang onto their jobs. We&rsquo;re looking for some young players to come in and make the team. There will be a lot more competition.&rdquo;Farwell has been taking some heat from the Philadelphia media and radio talk shows for failing to make a significant move during his tenure. So far, the 35-year-old GM has kept his cool.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think I can worry about those comments,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been out of town quite a bit and maybe I&rsquo;ve been fortunate that I haven&rsquo;t heard too much. I can understand people being frustrated.&rdquo; &#9632;

FARWELL PLANNING FOR MAJOR SUMMER SHAKE-UP

<div class="byline">BY RICH CHERE</div>From the moment he arrived in the NHL in October, 1989, Viacheslav Fetisov felt there was an effort throughout the league to make him regret the contract he signed with New Jersey.Between the physical pounding he took from Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; left winger Wendel Clark Oct. 23, 1989, to the mental anguish he endured after accidentally injuring Pittsburgh&rsquo;s Paul Coffey in the Patrick Division semifinal April 9, Fetisov has struggled through two turbulent NHL seasons.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve enjoyed my couple of years with the Devils, but they were difficult,&rdquo; Fetisov said. &ldquo;Not only the hockey. Everything is different for me. My whole life has been different. I know much more in life now.&rdquo;The veteran Soviet defenseman, who turns 33 May 20, will enter the option year of his $275,000 contract with the Devils next season.He has received lucrative contract offers to play in Sweden or Switzerland next year, but the decision is not Fetisov&rsquo;s alone.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the call of the Devils,&rdquo; general manager Lou Lamoriello explained. &ldquo;If the team does not exercise the option by offering a new contract in several forms, then the player is a free agent. Right now we certainly want everybody back.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011447/5935634-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="558" height="617"><figcaption class="caption-body">Viacheslav Fetisov may be playing in Switzerland next season.</figcaption></div>Including Fetisov, who was a much better player in this season&rsquo;s Stanley Cup playoffs than he was in his 1990 playoff debut.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s up to Lou,&rdquo; Fetisov said. &ldquo;But I would like to know how they want to play me next season. If the coach or management trusts me, I play different hockey. Don&rsquo;t kill my confidence. I give my inside if the coach trusts me. It&rsquo;s like a new job anywhere. If the coach trusts you, you can do great instead of just enough.&rdquo;Fetisov felt his first two NHL coaches, Jim Schoenfeld and John Cunniff, did not trust him. He also believed Cunniff would&rsquo;ve received much more out of both Fetisov and fellow Soviet Alexei Kasatonov by playing the longtime teammates together and on the power play.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not just the power play,&rdquo; Fetisov said. &ldquo;All my life Alex and I played together, on the power play, killing penalties and even-strength. We don&rsquo;t speak to each other, but on the ice, sometimes it&rsquo;s automatic.&rdquo;While they remain distant off the ice, the two Soviets exchange hugs and high-fives when they perform well on the ice. There is definitely a chemistry between them that goes back many years.Fetisov&rsquo;s second NHL season (316-19, plus-5 in 67 games) was punctuated by a mid-February run-in with Cunniff, the high-sticking incident with Coffey in the playoffs and a costly seventh-game mistake against the Penguins in which Fetisov skated into Kasatonov in his own end, coughed up the puck and saw Jiri Hrdina score the game&rsquo;s first goal.&ldquo;No luck this season. I don&rsquo;t know why,&rdquo; Fetisov said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve had a long career. I&rsquo;m going to think about this season and what has happened.&rdquo;The odds are, he&rsquo;ll be back for another season with New Jersey and still another new experience.&ldquo;My wife (Lada) is pregnant,&rdquo; Fetisov said. &ldquo;She will have the baby at the end of June or early July. It could be bom on July 4.&rdquo;He smiled at the thought of having an American-born child on Independence Day. &#9632;

f0009-01

FETISOV SURVIVES TURBULENT TIMES

<div class="byline">BY DAVE MOLINARI</div>The Pittsburgh Penguins made franchise history May 1 by doing something absolutely amazing. They played a hockey game.Maybe that doesn&rsquo;t sound like much&mdash;heck, four teams do it every year&mdash;but this is the first time in its 24 seasons in the NHL that Pittsburgh has survived this deep into spring.Of course, a lot of things have happened this year that aren&rsquo;t part of the routine around the Civic Arena. The Penguins have won two playoff series in the same year for the first time in franchise history. They are in the Stanley Cup semifinals for the first time since 1970.There are numerous reasons the Penguins were still around May 1 to face the Adams Division survivor in Game 1 of the Wales Conference final.High on the list is the play of goalie Tom Barrasso who, after recovering from a shoulder injury that allowed backup Frank Pietrangelo to perform some impeccable relief work, put up some of the best goaltending numbers in the league.Through two rounds, Barrasso had a 2.46 goals-against average and 918 save percentage. He saved his best work for the final three games of the Penguins&rsquo; second-round series against Washington, when he stopped 97 of 100 shots.&ldquo;This was Tommy Barrasso&rsquo;s series, without a doubt,&rdquo; said left winger Phil Bourque.Barrasso came to Pittsburgh 2&frac12; years ago carrying the tag of being a selfish player who folded under biggame pressure. Whatever was left of that label got shredded during the first two rounds of the playoffs.&ldquo;To be able to step in and help the team out and have the team be successful is much more gratifying (than winning individual honors), because hopefully people will see me as the team player I feel I am,&rdquo; Barrasso said.But the real heroes of the second round were the Penguins&rsquo; defensemen, a unit that was gutted by injuries but refused to fold under the postseason pressure.Pittsburgh played the final three games against Washington without Paul Coffey (broken jaw), Ulf Samuelsson (broken hand) and Peter Taglianetti (bruised foot), but what was left of its defense played a major role in limiting the Capitals to one goal in each of those games.A defense corps of Larry Murphy, Gordie Roberts, Randy Hillier, Grant Jennings, Paul Stanton and Jim Paek doesn&rsquo;t look very impressive on paper, but it was quite another story when you put them on ice.<h2>PITTSBURGH</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>April 23: Jason Smart, C, Mike Needham, RW, Sandy Smith, RW, Jeff Daniels, LW, Glenn Mulvenna, C, Gord Dineen, D, and Todd Nelson, D, recalled from Muskegon (IHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Mario Lemieux, Ron Francis, Bryan Trottier, Jiri Hrdina, Randy Gilhen, Barry Pederson, Ken Priestlay, Jason Smart, Glenn Mulvenna.LW&mdash;Bob Errey, Phil Bourque, Kevin Stevens, Troy Loney, Jeff Daniels.RW&mdash;Mark Recchi, Jaromir Jagr, Joe Mullen, Scott Young, Jay Caufield, Jamie Leach, Sandy Smith, Mike Needham.LD&mdash;Ulf Samuelsson, Gordie Roberts, Grant Jennings, Jim Paek, Gord Dineen.RD&mdash;Larry Murphy, Peter Taglianetti, Paul Stanton, Randy Hillier, Todd Nelson.G&mdash;Tom Barrasso, Frank Pietrangelo, Bruce Racine.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Paul Coffey, D, jaw surgery, indefinite. Gilbert Delorme, D. leg stress fracture, indefinite. Wendell Young, G, dislocated right shoulder, indefinite.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Stevens, 7. A&mdash;Recchi, 15. P&mdash;Recchi, 21. PIM&mdash;Trottier, 35. &#9632;

MAY DAY, MAY DAY! PLAYOFF DRIVE CONTINUES

<div class="byline">BY DAVE SELL</div>The goals never came cheap for the Washington Capitals this season. When they barely came at all for three straight games, the season was over.The Capitals managed just one goal in each of the last three games of the Patrick Division finals, which was won by the Pittsburgh Penguins, four games to one.&ldquo;When you get only one goal in the each of the last three games, you should expect to lose,&rdquo; said defenseman Rod Langway.The Capitals were shaking their heads over the Pittsburgh series. They certainly gave credit to Penguins&rsquo; goalie Tom Barrasso, who played well. But the Capitals felt they didn&rsquo;t press him enough. They hit posts or cross bars, or hit Barrasso in the chest. There were botched two-on-one and three-on-two breaks and they didn&rsquo;t jump on anywhere near enough rebounds.Those problems were emphasized in a 5-on-3 power play early in the second period of Game 5. The Capitals&rsquo; power play was dead last on the road during the season and though they had some success on the road in the playoffs, they came up empty in that crucial situation. Pittsburgh then scored the game-winning goal less than a minute later.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t have an answer,&rdquo; Kelly Miller said of why the Capitals had trouble scoring. &ldquo;Everyone worked hard.&rdquo;Indeed, the Capitals&rsquo; forwards did work hard but there simply wasn&rsquo;t enough scoring. In Game I, the only game the Capitals won, three defensemen had the first three goals and Miller had the last one into an empty net.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got a lot of bases covered,&rdquo; general manager David Poile said of his team. &ldquo;However, scoring is a vital part of the game and we certainly came up short.&rdquo;The Capitals reached the Wales Conference finals last season, their first such trip in team history. There were some similarities this season, but some crucial differences.Just as they did last spring, they had excellent goaltending. This time, Don Beaupre handled nearly all the work and handled it quite well. He finished with a 2.79 goals-against average in the playoffs. As is tradition with this team, the defense was generally solid.The trouble was scoring. Last spring, Dino Ciccarelli scored eight goals in the semifinal victory over New Jersey and John Druce had nine goals in the division finals against the Rangers.This year, no Capital even averaged a point-a-game. Dale Hunter, who had a goal and nine assists, was the only player to reach double figures in points. Ciccarelli had two gamewinners, including the overtime goal in Game 5 against the Rangers, but just three more against the Penguins. Druce finished with one goal and one assist. Against the Penguins, Calle Johansson had the highest point total, but that was just two goals and five assists.&ldquo;When we lost the Boston series, it was more inevitable that we were going to lose,&rdquo; Poile said. &ldquo;We had injuries and Boston outplayed us as a team. With Pittsburgh, to a man I thought we felt we were going to win.&rdquo;<h2>WASHINGTON</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Mike Ridley, Michal Pivonka, Dale Hunter, Tim Bergland.LW&mdash;Kelly Miller, Dimitri Khristich, Dave Tippett, Nick Kypreos.RW&mdash;Dino Ciccarelli, John Druce, Steve Leach, Alan May, Peter Bondra.LD&mdash;Rod Langway, Calle Johansson, Ken Sabourin.RD&mdash;Kevin Hatcher, Al lafrate, Mike Lalor, Neil Sheehy.G&mdash;Don Beaupre, Mike Liut.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Mikhall Tatarlnov, D, partially torn left hamstring.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Ciccarelli, 5. A&mdash;Hunter, 9. P&mdash;Hunter, 10. PIM&mdash;Hunter, 41. &#9632;

SCORING DROUGHT FINAL NAIL IN COFFIN

<div class="byline">BY FRANK BROWN</div>Somebody was going to have to take the hit for the New York Rangers&rsquo; near-complete selfdestruction in the season&rsquo;s final month, and it did not take long for the first soldier to fall. Team president Jack Diller was beheaded vocationally by Madison Square Garden boss Richard Evans, kicking off another summer of Garden craziness.In other places, people throw out the ceremonial first ball of a season. In New York, when the sticks and pucks are put away early every summer&mdash;sometimes even before then&mdash;they throw out the first executive.Sometimes it is the coach. You may recall Michel Bergeron&rsquo;s summary execution on the final weekend of the 1989 regular season.Sometimes it is the manager. You may recall Phil Esposito lasted a good seven weeks longer than Bergeron.This time, the fire climbed up the ladder to the president&rsquo;s office, and it literally burned away the corporate insulation between Evans and general manager Neil Smith&mdash;whom Diller had hired after a seven-week search that followed Esposito&rsquo;s dismissal. On the Rangers&rsquo; corporate masthead, Evans is chief executive officer and governor, Diller was president, and Smith is vice-president and GM. Simple as 1-2-3.Except there no longer is a &ldquo;2.&rdquo;Evans said he had embarked on a complete &ldquo;evaluation&rdquo; of the organization. This evaluation seemingly can lead only to one outcome if Smith is to keep his job, and that is to elevate Smith to president. If someone else is named, that someone else might want his own GM and might just decide to fire Smith&mdash;unless Evans does it first. Regardless, there will be pressure on Smith to fire coach Roger Neilson if the team gets off to a poor start (or heads again toward a weak finish) next season.So the fragile house of stable Ranger cards is in utter shambles from one gust of the hot breath Smith now feels on his neck. The breath belongs to Evans&mdash;who was every bit a firebreathing dragon as he savaged the club&rsquo;s overall performance.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think we had a particularly outstanding regular season,&rdquo; Evans said. &ldquo;You could say, &lsquo;Yeah, you were in first place (for 147 consecutive days).&rsquo; But we started off very well in the first one-third, basically played. 500 hockey for the next part of the season, then fell off miserably.&rdquo;&ldquo;When you measure the playoffs, we certainly didn&rsquo;t have a successful season,&rdquo; Evans added. &ldquo;The performance of the franchise was not acceptable. I, along with all the fans, was very disappointed.&rdquo;You can factor in the Paramount accountants, whose tabulations were concluded after just three home playoff games. Paramount owns the Garden, the Garden owns a Sports Group that also includes the NBA Knicks. Officially, the Rangers are a &ldquo;Paramount Communications Company,&rdquo; and Evans made sure to live up to the description.He communicated Diller out of a job. Ex-communicated him, leaving the Rangers in their usual state: Turmoil. Zip code: 10001In the closing weeks of the season, Smith rapped center Bernie Nicholls for using a shoulder injury as an excuse for poor play. Then Nicholls rapped the coaching staff for ignoring the fact he was hurt. Then Smith levelled a blistering attack on the team after it had been outworked and outmuscled and out-thought and out-couraged and outdone everywhere by the Washington Capitals in six first-round games.So, possibly, it was a simple, natural progression that Evans should fire Diller and Diller should fire back.In a prepared statement, the former president said he disagreed with the decision. When fired executives say they disagree, that virtually always means they are sputtering in some kind of rage but are using sweeter language to keep the peace.In Rangerville, though, there is no peace to keep.<h2>N.Y. RANGERS</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>April 22: Jack Diller, president, fired. April 23: Corey Millen, C, signed contract. &#9632;

DILLER FIRST TO FALL FROM FRAGILE HOUSE OF CARDS

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-011382/5935768-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg" title="f0013-01" width="519" height="625"><figcaption class="caption-body">STEVE DRYDEN</figcaption></div>Some questions that need answers:Why are players who strike masked opponents in the face not penalized as heavily as those who strike unmasked opponents in the face?What would possess Glen Wesley to high stick Guy Carbonneau in the midst of a Bruin five-minute power play in Game 4 of the Montreal-Boston series?Was it because referees always call even-up penalties during majors-(as Dave Poulin insists) and Wesley figured he may as well get some satisfaction since Boston was bound to get a penalty anyway?Or was it because he is a hockey player and hockey players think discipline is something to exorcise, not exercise?Is Mike Liut, with 20 penalty minutes (as far as I can tell) in 642 career regular-season games, the cleanest goalie of all-time?If nets were moved out an extra foot from the end boards to open up the game, why was scoring down this season?Why weren&rsquo;t players consulted about the choice of (Iron) Mike Keenan as coach of Canada&rsquo;s entry in Canada Cup &rsquo;91?Do you think the Canada Cup players who give up big parts of their summers for our entertainment (and the NHL Players&rsquo; Association&rsquo;s financial gain) feel appreciated?Wasn&rsquo;t it great to see Marty McSorley penalized for hauling down Craig MacTavish in overtime of Game 6 in the Edmonton-Los Angeles series?Is it just coincidence NHL referees started calling overtime man-advantage penalties after The Hockey News printed a story four years ago that revealed there had not been an extra-period power play for three years?Is the preceding question self-serving?If you had a choice between Cam Neely and Brett Hull, who would you take?Do you think Pittsburgh will trade for San Jose&rsquo;s first pick in the fourth round because it has had more success at the No. 67 slot&mdash;picking Rob Brown (1986) and Mark Recchi (1988)&mdash;than any team in history?Is anyone else sick of those silly put-music-to-pictures intermission features on Hockey Night in Canada?Wouldn&rsquo;t Hockey Night be better advised to devote itself to the here-and-now rather than take those boring trips down memory lane?Having said that, am I the only Canadian grateful to The Sports Network&rsquo;s hard work for forcing Hockey Night to upgrade its playoff coverage?If you were a referee and faced with the choice of Rick Ley or Tom Watt as a dinner companion, who would you choose?Will you take Doug Gilmour in your playoff pool next year?Would it be safe to say that the only thing as certain as the Rangers&rsquo; annual playoff collapse is that Los Angeles will flop?Isn&rsquo;t it ironic that an infusion of American capital was necessary in the Canadian capital to finance the Ottawa Senators?If you were given a choice between Mats Sundin, Sergei Fedorov and Jaromir Jagr, who would you choose?Is Grant Fuhr the best money goalie of alltime?Is Bill Ranford the best backup money goalie of all-time?How long can the NHL continue to permit injustices such as disallowance of Anatoli Semenov&rsquo;s overtime goal in Game 6 of the Edmonton-Los Angeles series?Have you ever seen a more uninspired biggame performance by a big-name player than Stephane Richer&rsquo;s efforts in Game 6 of the Montreal-Boston series?If you had a choice between Esa Tikkanen and Wayne Gretzky for the playoffs, who would you choose?Why is interference called when a player blocks an opponent to create a scoring opportunity but not called when a player pushes a rival over the blue line to force an offside call and kill a scoring opportunity?Do you agree with Brett Hull&rsquo;s assertion that following a guy around&mdash;as Stew Gavin did him&mdash;is an easy job?Can you imagine anything worse than having somebody shoulder to shoulder with you, breaking your pencil, maybe poking you in the ribs, hitting the erase key on your computer and generally being a nuisance all day while you go about your work?Can you imagine making $1.36 million in one year?Can you imagine making $1.36 million in one lifetime?Steve Dryden is managing editor of Inside HOCKEY. &#9632;

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AN INQUIRING MIND WANTS TO GET SOME ANSWERS

&hellip;Pittsburgh Penguins&rsquo; defenseman Jim Paek is the NHL&rsquo;s only South Korean-born player? The 24-year-old rearguard was bom in Seoul, South Korea April 7, 1967. Paek grew up in Weston, Ont., and played junior hockey with the Oshawa Generals (Ontario League). He played three regular season games this season.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-02994/5935799-1-eng-US/f0013-022.jpg" title="f0013-02" width="976" height="510"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jim Paek</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0013-02

DID YOU KNOW…

<h2>WHALERS</h2>Hartford GM Ed Johnston stopped just short of assuring coach Rick Ley will return next season. &ldquo;I foresee no change, but I want to meet with Ricky,&rdquo; Johnston said. Citing statements, public and private by owner Richard Gordon. Ley had said in late March he felt he may be fired. Gordon, however, says the decision is &ldquo;100 per cent EJ&rsquo;s.&rdquo;&hellip;Although it was portrayed in Boston as one of the most vicious cheapshots ever, Pat Verbeek was not suspended and received only a $500 fine from the NHL for punching an unsuspecting Bob Sweeney in the face during a third-period brawl in Game 5 of the Adams Division semifinals. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s nice there&rsquo;s no suspension,&rdquo; said Verbeek. &ldquo;But I hate shelling out the cash. But, hey, I&rsquo;ll take it.&rdquo;<h2>BRUINS</h2>Cam Neely registered his third career playoff hat trick&mdash;and the second during the spring season&mdash;in Game 5 of the Adams final against Montreal&hellip;Garry Galley returned for Game 5 after missing three games with a pulled hamstring muscle&hellip;Offensive specialist Vladimir Ruzicka did his job in Game 5, scoring the game-winning goal on a power play late in the second period. It was only his second shift of the night&hellip;Journeyman defenseman Ken Hammond moved into the lineup for Games 4, 5 and 6 and played well&hellip;Peter Douris and Ron Hoover did the same thing for Boston. Hoover, playing with left-winger-turned-center Randy Burridge, did a tremendous job checking Montreal&rsquo;s Brian Skrudland-Shayne Corson-Stephane Richer line late in the series.<h2>CANADIENS</h2>Enforcer Mario Roberge was the target of a racial slur from Boston&rsquo;s Nevin Markwart during Game 4, won by the Habs 6-2. Canadiens&rsquo; players claimed Markwart said to Roberge,&rdquo;Hey, frog, why don&rsquo;t you speak English?&rdquo; To which Brian Skrudland replied,&rdquo;Hey, the score is 5-2. That&rsquo;s Mr. Frog to you.&rdquo; Markwart claimed Roberge made some uncomplimentary remarks about his mother&hellip;Coach Pat Burns scored a psychological coup the day before his club faced elimination in Game 6 of the Adams Division final. With his players in full equipment and on the bus heading to a suburban arena, he decided to cancel practice and hold a meeting instead two blocks from the rink. The bus rolled through the heat, rush hour and the working class neighborhood of Verdun while Bums gave his talk. The message was the Habs had not lost anything yet. The club responded with a 3-2 overtime win April 27 to force Game 7&hellip;Center Denis Savard felt some heat from the media in the latter stages of the Adams final. After scoring two goals and eight assists in the Adams semifinal, Savard had just two assists through the first five games against the Bruins. He set up Stephan Lebeau for the Habs&rsquo; first goal in the Game 6 win.<h2>NORDIQUES</h2>Rumors in Quebec suggest assistant coach Robbie Ftorek will leave the Nordiques in the near future to accept a head-coaching job with another NHL team. Ftorek is happy in Quebec, but with Dave Chambers and Jacques Martin ahead of him, his chances of ending up as the main man behind the bench are slim&hellip;Another rumor has Martin going to the Ottawa Senators for the 1992-1993 season. Martin is from the Ottawa area&hellip;Now that the spring cleaning is about over in Quebec, GM Pierre Page is planning to do the same thing in Halifax, the home of the team&rsquo;s American League affiliate. &ldquo;There are simply too many players who are mad because they are not playing in the NHL,&rdquo; Page said. &ldquo;So I&rsquo;m going to clean house over there too.&rdquo;&hellip;The Nordiques have just renewed their lease with Trade Centre Ltd., the Halifax-based company that operates the Metro Centre and the Convention Centre. The Nords will supply the players and hockey personnel for the franchise, while everything else&mdash;marketing, sales, promotions, public relations&mdash;is out of their hands. &ldquo;We can now concentrate on hockey and let the people of Halifax sell the team themselves,&rdquo; Page said.<h2>SABRES</h2>Though Sabres&rsquo; coach Rick Dudley said he felt he might not be back next season, he had nothing but good things to say about the team and the city. Dudley believes the Sabres have excellent potential for next season. He also said he enjoys Buffalo and the community. If Dudley does return, however, he would likely have more responsibility. Many players felt the coach was hampered because of decisions made by GM Gerry Meehan&hellip;Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; rookie Rob Ray not only set a team record for the most penalty minutes in a game this season, he led all NHL players with 348. The next closest was Chicago&rsquo;s Mike Peluso (320) and Detroit&rsquo;s Bob Probert (315)&hellip;Dale Hawerchuk was Buffalo&rsquo;s road scoring leader with 42 points (he had 47 at home). Pierre Turgeon (38) and Dave Andreychuk (33) were second and third respectively&hellip;Buffalo was the only team to fail to win a road game during the first round of the playoffs. The Sabres also gave up more goals (29) than any team in Round 1&hellip;Buffalo showed little in the way of comeback ability this season. They were 1-21-9 in games in which they trailed after the second period&hellip;Hawerchuk won the three star awards balloting this season taking six firsts, two seconds and three thirds for 25 points. Alexander Mogilny was second (21) and Andreychuk third (16). &#9632;

WHALERS’ LEY WILL LIKELY BE BACK

<div class="byline">BY CHRIS STEVENSON</div>Ryan Walter walked into the Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; dressing room, sweat dripping down onto his white practice jersey.Around him, his teammates were chatting with the media and undressing following the morning skate for Game 6 of their Adams Division final against the Boston Bruins.While you wouldn&rsquo;t have known it by the smile on his face or his pleasant greetings to visitors, Walter was disappointed. He was hurting inside as he has been on all but four game days in the Habs&rsquo; playoff drive.The white sweater told the story. It was the color given to the players who would not be dressing for the game the Habs had to win that night.Walter, a 13-year veteran who had celebrated his 33rd birthday a few days earlier, has found himself skating with the rookies and farmhands following practices.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m ready to run Cam Neely over,&rdquo; said Walter as he settled into his cubicle. &ldquo;But I guess I won&rsquo;t get the chance.&rdquo;Walter is a proud man. It hurt him deeply that his coach did not call upon him when his team was facing elimination as the Habs were that night against the Bruins. Walter has been forced to become an unwilling passenger on a rollercoaster over which he has no control.The Habs&rsquo; Adams Division final series against Boston has been an unlikely series of improbable twists and turns.On the night of his birthday, April 23, Walter watched his teammates roll to a convincing 6-2 win over the Bruins in Game 4, tying the series.Two nights later, it was a 4-1 loss in Game 5 at the Boston Garden, pushing the Habs to the edge of elimination.Game 6 brought a gut-wrenching overtime win on a goal by Shayne Corson with just over two minutes left in the first overtime period.&ldquo;There are two ways I can approach this,&rdquo; said Walter of his being cast aside. &ldquo;Every game we lose, I can say I don&rsquo;t care or it can hurt. It still hurts.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got a big &lsquo;CH&rsquo; on my heart. When you lose, it&rsquo;s hard to disassociate yourself from the loss even if you had nothing to do with it.&rdquo;This has been the most difficult season in Walter&rsquo;s professional life. He was not dressed for the first four games of the regular season. Then, 30 seconds into his first hift of his first game, he broke his wrist, putting him on the shelf for 42 games. Bums chose not to dress him in 13 other games.Compounding the problem is his personal scoring drought. Walter ha not scored since Valentine&rsquo;s Day 1990.Those factors have all combined to leave Walter with some hard decisions to make about his future.&ldquo;The injury has made it more difficult,&rdquo; said Walter. &ldquo;Have I lost it was it just the injury? I&rsquo;d like to play one more year. That could change in a month or two months, but right now that&rsquo;s what&rsquo;s in my heart.&ldquo;My plan is the day after we win the Stanley Cup, I&rsquo;ll go see Serge (Savard, Habs&rsquo; GM). I&rsquo;m not going tc tell him to do anything, I&rsquo;ll just ask his advice and make my mind up.&rdquo;<h2>MONTREAL</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Guy Carbonneau. Andrew Cassels, Stephan Lebeau, Denis Savard, Brian Skrudland.LW&mdash;Mike McPhee, Shayne Corson, John LeClair, Ryan Walter, Brent Gilchrist, Gilbert Dionne, Sylvain Turgeon, Mario Roberge.RW&mdash;Russ Courtnall, Stephane Richer, Mike Keane, Tom Chorske.LD&mdash;Mathieu Schneider, Sylvain Lefebvre, Donald Dufresne, J.J. Daigneault.RD&mdash;Lyle Odelein, Eric Desjardins, Alain Cote. Sean Hill.G&mdash;Patrick Roy, Andre Racicot, Jean-Claude Bergeron.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Todd Ewen, RW, broken right hand indefinite. Petr Svoboda, D, sore knee, indefinite.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Corson, Richer, 9. A&mdash;Savard, 11. P&mdash;Corson, 15. PIM&mdash;Odelein. 52. &#9632;

WAITING GAME FOR WALTER

<div class="byline">BY JIM KELLEY</div>Barring injury or a monumental playoff upset, mid-April is traditionally the start of the olf season for members of the Buffa Sabres.But Grant Ledyard is going to missLedyard, arguably the Buffalo abres&rsquo; best offensive defenseman own the stretch and their leading corer in the playoffs, is currently porting a hip-to-ankle brace.He injured his left knee in the final econds of Buffalo&rsquo;s 5-1 season-nding playoff loss to the Montreal Canadiens in Memorial Auditorium uring the sixth game of the Adams Division semifinal.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011354/5935902-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="543" height="777"><figcaption class="caption-body">Grant Ledyard was chosen Bufalo&rsquo;s unsung hero this season.</figcaption></div>Now the 6-foot-2, 200-pound Winnipeg native is hoping to avoid major urgery.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re not sure what&rsquo;s going to lappen,&rdquo; Ledyard said. &ldquo;The tendon nd some of the muscles around the neecap have pulled away from the neecap. Right now, we&rsquo;re kind of waiting for things to settle down bebre we decide what happens next. We&rsquo;re hoping to avoid surgery.&rdquo;Ledyard injured the knee when he ried to check Montreal Canadiens&rsquo;:enter Guy Carbonneau along the boards.Carbonneau managed to avoid nost of the check and Ledyard&rsquo;s knee lit the boards at full speed. He limped off the ice just moments before the est of the team did the same.Ledyard takes no solace from yet mother Sabres&rsquo; first-round playoff oss (Buffalo has either missed the playoffs or been out in the first round ince 1983).He had a strong season (31 points in &gt;0 games) and was voted the team&rsquo;s unsung hero by the booster club. To nany, he was also the team&rsquo;s com-:back player of the year.&ldquo;I had a tough start and I&rsquo;m not plaming anyone for that,&rdquo; Ledyard said. &ldquo;The good thing is I was able to come back from that and refocus on what I was contributing and what I could contribute. It got better for me after I did that.&rdquo;Ledyard was seemingly out of the picture at the start of the season. He played in only three of the team&rsquo;s first 19 games and there was talk he&rsquo;d either be a spare part or would be moved.As the first quarter came to a close, however, it was clear rookie Greg Brown was struggling. That&rsquo;s when Ledyard got a second chance.&ldquo;I worked at it and I had some people work with me,&rdquo; Ledyard said. &ldquo;When I got back in there I knew what I had to do to stay in there and I tried to play in a way that they couldn&rsquo;t find a way to take me out.&rdquo;Ledyard did that by using his two best tools, strong skating and a hard shot.Eventually he became the replacement for Phil Housley (not his equal, just his replacement). Ledyard had the ability to take the puck and exit his own zone with speed and could jump into the play and become a fourth attacker in the offensive zone.He was a big part of a mid-season streak when the Sabres lost just once in 14 games. He also shone during a 6-2-2 run through the last 10 games of the regular season.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s what made the playoffs such a disappointment this season,&rdquo; Ledyard said. &ldquo;We thought we were there and we felt we were ready.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0015-01

LEDYARD MUST MEND BEFORE STROLLING FAIRWAYS

<div class="byline">BY JEFF JACOBS</div>As the Pittsburgh Penguins advanced to the first divisional title in their 24-year history, a couple of strong emotions passed through Hartford Whalers&rsquo; general manager Ed Johnston.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m proud that I helped build that club,&rdquo; said Johnston, who ran the Penguins from 1983 to &rsquo;88. &ldquo;But I&rsquo;m also disappointed, angry. Why? Because I feel we could have contended for the Stanley Cup much, much sooner there if the Andy Moog deal hadn&rsquo;t been nixed.&rdquo;Mario Lemieux, of course, was the centerpiece of Johnston&rsquo;s renovation project. He seeks no praise for taking The Magician first overall in the 1984 draft.After the Penguins finished last overall, it didn&rsquo;t take a rocket scientist to draft Lemieux.But Johnston also got a prospect named Kevin Stevens for Anders Hakansson in 1983.He then drafted Rob Brown in the fourth round (67th overall) in 1986. And his regime (Tony Esposito had just replaced him) followed by drafting Mark Recchi in the fourth round (67th overall) in 1988.Those duplicate picks out of Kamloops (Western League) turned out to be mid-round gems.And Johnston showed majorleague guts when he pulled the trigger on the Paul Coffey deal in 1987 on his birthday (Nov. 24). Coffey was traded to Pittsburgh with Dale Hunter and Wayne Van Dorp for Craig Simpson and Dave Hannan.But if you want to raise Johnston&rsquo;s ire, just ask about the Moog deal with Edmonton for a first-round pick and Steve Guenette shortly before the trading deadline in 1988.&ldquo;It was a done deal,&rdquo; Johnston said. &ldquo;We had Guenette&rsquo;s pads out of the locker room. I had watched Moog closely while he was with the Canadian Olympic team after he walked out on the Oilers. He was in his prime. He&rsquo;s an excellent big-game goalie. A winner.&ldquo;Well, I&rsquo;m ready to take off for the airport at7:30a.m. and all of a sudden the phone rings. It&rsquo;s Paul Martha (Penguins&rsquo; vice president) and he says, &lsquo;We can&rsquo;t do the deal. Eddie DeBartolo says no.&rsquo; What I didn&rsquo;t find out until a few months later is that Tony Esposito was already aboard.&rdquo;Was he embarrassed?&ldquo;Not embarrassed,&rdquo; Johnston said. &ldquo;I was furious. Glen Sather was angry, too. He said, &lsquo;What&rsquo;s going on?&rsquo; Up until that point, the ownership had never interfered with the trades. It was Tony. He squashed itAfter pushing Johnston asid Esposito finally did get a goalie Tom Barrasso.Barrasso has been playing extrerr ly well this spring, but Esposito end up paying two first-rounders (Do Bodger and Darrin Shannon) to B falo to get him.&ldquo;I had Moog for one,&rdquo; Johnst said. &ldquo;And he (Esposito) gave some talented youth in other trade He was trying to deal Kevin Stever too. I told him, &lsquo;No. Don&rsquo;t do it. He a blue chipper.&rsquo;&rdquo;Although Johnston, who stu around one year as assistant G under Esposito, is obviously not era; about the man who replaced him, he profuse in his praise for current Pe guins&rsquo; GM Craig Patrick.&ldquo;Tremendous job,&rdquo; Johnston sai,&rdquo;I&rsquo;d make the John Cullen-Zarl Zalapski trade we made (March again today. We got what we neede But so did Craig. He got the two-w center (Ron Francis) behind Mar And he got the tough defenseman (U Samuelsson).&rdquo;<h2>HARTFORD</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>April 26: Pat Verbeek, LW, fined $50(by NHL for punching Boston&rsquo;s Bot Sweeney in Game 5 of Adams Divisior finals. &#9632;

JOHNSTON’S GUIDANCE HELPED PATRICK WINNER

<div class="byline">BY KEVIN JOHNSTON</div>Pittsburgh Penguins&rsquo; rookie left winger Jaromir Jagr proved on numerous occasions this season that he&rsquo;s destined for stardom in the NHL.And the fact the 19-year-old Czechoslovakian excelled in his first full season irked many Quebec fans who felt the team made a grave mistake by selecting right winger Owen Nolan ahead of Jagr.Nolan, 19, the first pick overall in the 1990 draft, had a disappointing year for the Nordiques. He scored just three goals and 13 points in 59 games, while Jagr notched 27 goals and 57 points in 80 games.But the Nordiques weren&rsquo;t the only team to pass on Jagr. Vancouver, Detroit and Philadelphia all selected ahead round.The Nordiques balked at Jagr because the previous season, they drafted Swedish center Mats Sundin first overall. Unsure of how Sundin would adjust, the Nords were hesitant to carry two Europeans who were at the infancy stage of their careers.General manager Pierre Page admitted Jagr&rsquo;s play this season has made Nordique management look bad.&ldquo;I know things look bad right now,&rdquo; Page said. &ldquo;But let&rsquo;s talk again in a couple of seasons. I know where I&rsquo;d put my money. On Nolan without thinking twice. Don&rsquo;t forget Owen hasn&rsquo;t had the international experience Jagr has. Owen jumped a few rungs a little fast. Don&rsquo;t forget he was playing bantam only a few years ago.&rdquo;Another factor hindering Nolan, Page said, was his insistence on putting on weight to fight better along the boards. He ballooned from 195 to 207 pounds.The weight gain caused him to lose mobility and speed.&ldquo;At 207 pounds, I was way too heavy,&rdquo; Nolan said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m a lot more effective aroung 195.&rdquo; But despite his poor season, Page feels Nolan&rsquo;s determined character will help him turn things around. &ldquo;If you looked at Owen towards the end of the season, you couldn&rsquo;t help but notice the change,&rdquo; said Page. &ldquo;If he&rsquo;d have played that way all year, he would&rsquo;ve had as much impact as the other kids of the 1990 class.&rdquo;Many critics felt Nolan should&rsquo;ve played in Cornwall (Ontario League) this season. But Nordiques&rsquo; management didn&rsquo;t agree. Nolan didn&rsquo;t either.&ldquo;I never thought for one single nute I&rsquo;d have benefitted from an) thing by returning to the Royals,&rdquo; said. &ldquo;I would&rsquo;ve played with an against the same players. I had nc thing more to prove at the junior leve I had to live through this tough up bringing in the NHL.&rdquo; Which in a way opened his eyes what it takes to become a first-clas player in the pros.&ldquo;Next year, I won&rsquo;t have to through the adaptation process,&rdquo; said. &ldquo;I know my teammates and th league. I know what to expiect. I&rsquo;v always been the kind of guy wh doesn&rsquo;t make too much noise when go to someplace new. I like to study to evaluate my new surroundings Now that all that&rsquo;s done with, I ca concentrate on being myself on the ic again.&rdquo;Nolan&rsquo;s strong finish helped eras some embarrassing totals. He scoresix of his 13 points during the las seven games. And he was also plusduring that span.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the way I saw myself be fore the season, before things went little sour,&rdquo; said Nolan. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m th kind of guy who likes to pick up hi fair share of points and also be ver aggressive.I want to start off nex season the same way I ended this one &ldquo;I was very frustrated at times, thi year. I felt in the way. I was not con tributing. But all that&rsquo;s behind now. It was a tough experience to liv through, but one I had to experience.&rdquo; &#9632;

NOLAN FINDS QUICK SOLUTION

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-011091/5935981-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="546" height="623"><figcaption class="caption-body">ERIC DUHATSCHEK</figcaption></div>Random thoughts and observations as the playoffs reach the halfway mark:A little known fact about Minnesota North Stars&rsquo; goalie Jon Casey: This is not the first time he has worked miracles in April.Last year, after the North Stars took Chicago&rsquo; to seven games, Casey went to the World Hockey Championships and played brilliantly for Team USA. The only problem was, nobody saw him play.The U.S. was out of medal contention early on, so they played their consolation round games before a handful of spectators between days of the medal round.So even though Casey backstopped the U.S. to a respectable fifth-place finish and deserved a spot on the tournament all-star team, his good play was largely overlooked.Up until two seasons ago, that was basically the story of his life. Casey was signed to a termination contract by former North Stars&rsquo; general manager Lou Nanne only three seasons ago.Then the Jack Ferreira/Pierre Page regime took over, resurrected Casey and gave him a second chance. The result: The North Stars shocked the Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues in the playoffs.Casey does not play a textbook style of goaltending and maybe that&rsquo;s why he was so easy to overlook. The perceptive Rick Wamsley once called his style &ldquo;unschooled&rdquo; and to me, that sums it up perfectly.But then Chicago&rsquo;s Eddie Belfour isn&rsquo;t schooled in the classic, standup sense either and he stopped a lot of pucks for Chicago this season.In general, goalies who play an unorthodox style tend to be more streaky than the ones who play the Mike Richter classic, stand-up style.They can run hot and they can run cold, but as Casey demonstrated in the first two rounds, one of those hot streaks is enough to propel a team to untold heights.&#9632; It&rsquo;s easy to agree with the premise that the art of the hip-check has been basically lost&mdash;but I think it has also been lost on Oilers&rsquo; defenseman Craig Muni.Only the blindest of observers would think that those were hip-checks Muni used to level the Kings&rsquo; Tomas Sandstrom and Bob Kudelski, breaking the leg of one, tearing the ligaments of the other.Muni&rsquo;s style is to drag his leg as a player steps around him, so that his knee connects with the exposed knee of the opposition player.As he gets older and slower (and therefore gets beat more often to the outside), Muni uses the tactic more and more. It&rsquo;s a sneaky, dirty play that does much more damage than your standard hockey fight&mdash;and yet, you hardly ever hear the do-gooders complain about that &ldquo;hidden&rdquo; violence in the game. Maybe because you&rsquo;ve got to pay attention to see it.&#9632; It was silly of University of Wisconsin coach Jeff Sauer to suggest the Calgary Flames didn&rsquo;t want their American-born players to play in the World Championships this season.The fact is, the Flames didn&rsquo;t want any of their players to go over, not after Joe Nieuwendyk ripped up the ligaments in his left knee at last year&rsquo;s tournament.But the matter was completely out of their control. The NHL Players&rsquo; Association sends out the invitations and the teams can&rsquo;t do much about it except insist players who do participate are completely healthy.The most honest response came from center Doug Gilmour, who pleaded both a sore shoulder and an upcoming contract negotiation.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m going into my option year,&rdquo; Gilmour said,&rdquo;and I couldn&rsquo;t take a chance on the same thing happening to me that happened to Nieuwy.&rdquo;Gilmour had a close-up view of the collision&mdash;he was peering into his face seconds after the accident happened.&#9632; With three weeks to go in the season, the Penguins waddled into Calgary and put on one of the most pathetic displays of defensive hockey ever.How bad was it? In addition to over a dozen two-on-ones, three-on-ones and clear breakaways, they also managed to give up a three-on-nobody&mdash;and the Flames were so confused about how to play it goalie Tom Barrasso actually made the save on the play.So after harboring illusions that the Penguins could be a playoff darkhorse&mdash;remember, at this time, they weren&rsquo;t even guaranteed a playoff berth&mdash;I mentally crossed them off my list.Then they lost three key defenseman in the second round and beat the Washington Capitals in the Patrick Division final&hellip;with defense.Which is why trying to predict the outcome of this stupid game can really drive you crazy sometimes.Eric Duhatschek is a hockey writer for the Calgary Herald. &#9632;

f0017-01

PREDICTING PLAYOFFS HAZARDOUS OCCUPATION

May 14, 1985: Edmonton Oilers&rsquo; defenseman Paul Coffey set an NHL record for the most points in a playoff game by a defenseman&mdash;six. Coffey scored one goal and five assists in a 10-5 win over Chicago. Four other defenseman have had five points: Detroit&rsquo;s Eddie Bush; Philadelphia&rsquo;s Bob Dailey; New York Islanders&rsquo; Denis Potvin; and Quebec&rsquo;s Risto Siltanen.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-02836/5936012-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="621" height="405"><figcaption class="caption-body">Paul Coffey</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0017-02

FLASHBACK

<h2>BLACKHAWKS</h2>No one needs to remind Greg Millen that his career with the Blackhawks is probably over. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s pretty much a given,&rdquo; Millen said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s obvious I won&rsquo;t be here next year.&rdquo; It was a trying year for the 33-year-old veteran goaltender, who appeared in only three games during the regular season (one start) for a grand total of 58 minutes. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m appreciative to Mr. (Bill) Wirtz and Bob Pulford for the opportunity to play with the Blackhawks,&rdquo; Millen said of the team&rsquo;s owner and senior vice-president. &ldquo;They treated me very well. Right now, I&rsquo;m looking forward to next year and playing somewhere. I feel I still have a lot of ability. I&rsquo;ve got a lot to prove.&rdquo; Millen no doubt will be exposed by the Hawks in the June 17 expansion draft to stock the San Jose Sharks. &ldquo;San Jose would be exciting for me,&rdquo; Millen said. &ldquo;I think as an older goaltender, I can help a younger team develop. But that&rsquo;s looking too far ahead. I&rsquo;ve learned you have to let the chips fall where they do.&rdquo;&hellip;Wirtz said he would give other clubs permission to talk with associate coach Darryl Sutter about head coaching positions, although Sutter has expressed no intention of leaving. Wirtz says the Hawks still have &ldquo;big plans for Darryl,&rdquo; which is thought to mean Sutter will eventually succeed Mike Keenan as head coach, perhaps after next season.<h2>NORTH STARS</h2>The North Stars have played for the conference championship four times, in 1980, &rsquo;81, &rsquo;84 and &rsquo;91. They only advanced to the Stanley Cup finals once (&rsquo;81), upsetting Calgary 4-1 before losing to the Islanders in five games&hellip;Goalie Jon Casey&rsquo;s eight playoff victories ties a team record set by Gilles Meloche in &rsquo;81&hellip;With eight post-season wins, Bob Gainey already ranks third among North Stars&rsquo; coaches. Only Glen Sonmor (26 victories) and Jack Gordon (13) have more&hellip;The last players in line to shake hands after the North Stars eliminated the St. Louis Blues were Stewart Gavin and Gaetan Duchesne. The last player they shook hands with was Brett Hull, the player they sha dowed throughout the series&hellip;The North Stars, who averaged fewer than 8,000 fans during the regular season, sold out three of six playoff games. They&rsquo;ve sold more than 2,300 new season tickets for next season.<h2>BLUES</h2>The blanket coverage Minnesota threw over Brett Hull limited Hull to just three goals in the Norris final, five fewer than he scored against Detroit in the Norris semifinals. Hull, though, worked hard, taking checkers Stewart Gavin or Gaetan Duchesne to the net to create openings for teammates. &ldquo;It has made me a better player,&rdquo; Hull said. &ldquo;No one thought I could play like that. A lot of people didn&rsquo;t think I had that in me.&rdquo; Coach Brian Sutter commended him. &ldquo;Brett Hull played his heart out-.&rdquo;&hellip;Adam Oates led the Blues in the playoffs with 20 points, on seven goals and 13 assists&hellip;Dan Quinn ranked fourth in Blues&rsquo; scoring, one point behind Jeff Brown with 11 points on four goals and seven assists. He had a goal and three assists in the Blues&rsquo; 4-2 victory in Game 5 that forced the sixth and decisive game&hellip;Goalie Vincent Riendeau recovered nicely from two premature departures in games three and four, losses of 5-1 and 8-4 in which he gave up nine goals on 27 shots in just over two periods of play. He allowed just four goals in the last two games of the series, facing 58 shots.<h2>MAPLE LEAFS</h2>Leaf president Donald Giffin is reported to have reached an agreement with a prominent and experienced hockey man to become the club&rsquo;s director of hockey operations and chief executive officer and is expected to appoint him shortly. The person&rsquo;s identity remains a closely-guarded secret, but rumours persist that Chicago Blackhawks&rsquo; president and former Leaf Bob Pulford has agreed to take the job. &ldquo;No one from the Leafs has ever contacted me,&rdquo; offered Pulford in dismissing the report, which claimed that whoever has agreed to take the post has already tendered his resignation with his current club-&hellip;Giffin, 76, recently underwent surgery to remove a lump from under his arm and was released from hospital a few days later&hellip;Leaf coach Tom Watt and GM Floyd Smith were in Montreal for the Canadiens-Bruins series after watching junior prospect Felix Potvin tend goal for the Chicoutimi Sagueneens in the Quebec League playoffs.<h2>RED WINGS</h2>NHL executive vice-president Brian O&rsquo;Neill suspended Red Wing defenseman Steve Chiasson for cross-checking St. Louis forward Rich Sutter during the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The suspension would begin at the start of next season. The Wings, however, are investigating an appeal. &ldquo;Unfortunately, the appeal is probably in front of Brian O&rsquo;Neill, too,&rdquo; Wings&rsquo; GM/coach Bryan Murray said&hellip;Center Jimmy Carson underwent surgery April 25 to tighten ligaments in his left shoulder, which bothered him since early in the season&hellip;Murray said he believed the Wings were close to a new deal with enforcer Bob Probert, who played out his option&hellip;The Wings had three players in the tournament-forward Johan Garpenlov for Sweden, forward Kevin Miller for Team USA and defenseman Yves Racine for Team Canada. They would have had a fourth if Sergei Fedorov had had his way. Fedorov inquired about joining his former teammates on the Soviet national team, but was rejected by coach Viktor Tikhonov. &#9632;

MILLEN KNOWS HE’S THROUGH AS A HAWK

<div class="byline">BY GARY OLSON</div>Only one Minnesota North Stars team has gone farther in the NHL playoffs than the North Stars of 1991.And Bobby Smith remembers it well.Smith was a big, young center on the 1981 team that played the New York Islanders for the Stanley Cup. This time round, he&rsquo;s bringing experience to a young North Stars&rsquo; team.If time hadn&rsquo;t thinned his hairline, added character lines to his face and robbed him of a half step, it might seem as though he never left.The Stars&rsquo; portfolio was playoff rich when Lou Nanne traded Smith to Montreal in 1983. And now the Stars are among the NHL&rsquo;s final four again.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a tremendous feeling to come back to a North Stars team that just eliminated the two best teams in the NHL,&rdquo; Smith said after scoring two goals&mdash;the winner into an empty net&mdash;in the deciding game of the Norris Division championship series against the St. Louis Blues. &ldquo;I played on a lot of good teams, but none who did what this team has done.&rdquo;Smith played seven seasons, perhaps the seven best of his 13-year career, with the Canadiens. He was part of one Stanley Cup championship team (1986) and another that played for the Cup. He was traded back to Minnesota last summer for a fourthround draft pick in 1992.The six-game victory against the Blues lifted the North Stars into the Campbell Conference finals against Edmonton for the first time since 1984, when they lost four straight to the Oilers.Minnesota&rsquo;s incredible march in the postseason includes steps over Chicago and St. Louis, teams that finished the regular season better than anybody else in the NHL, collecting 106 and 105 points.The North Stars were fourth in the Norris Division and now they&rsquo;re Norris Division champs.Bobby Smith could&rsquo;ve become a spectator for the postseason. Recently, a Twin Cities television station reported that part of coach Bob Gainey&rsquo;s late-season strategy was to rest Smith for three of the last 11 games.&ldquo;You&rsquo;re darn right it wasn&rsquo;t a rest,&rdquo; Smith said, able to look back at his benching and see the reasons for it. It had strained a friendship between Smith and Gainey, teammates in Montreal.&ldquo;The mistake I made this year was not having high enough expectations for myself,&rdquo; Smith continued. &ldquo;I came back to Minnesota intending to play well. It&rsquo;s my 13th season in the NHL and I decided my job was to help the younger players, be a steadying influence and all the rest of that B.S.&ldquo;Maybe it took Bob Gainey putting me in the seats to realize that I have to play the game like I want to be the best player on the ice.&ldquo;I&rsquo;d had my eye on the playoffs for a long time.&rdquo;Smith finished the regular season as the North Stars&rsquo; sixth most frequent scorer, getting just 15 goals and 46 points in 73 games. He had four goals and 10 points through the first two playoff series.&ldquo;We put Bobby into a role that didn&rsquo;t suit him,&rdquo; Gainey said, looking back to much of the regular season when Smith was used as a defensive center.<h2>MINNESOTA</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>April 27: Dan Keczmer, D, recalled from Kalamazoo (IHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Neal Broten, Dave Gagner, Bobby Smith, Marc Bureau, Perry Berezan, Cal McGowan.LW&mdash;Gaetan Duchesne, Brian Propp, Brian Bellows, Basil McRaeRW&mdash;Stewart Gavin, Mike Modano, Ulf Dahlen, Shane Churla, Mike Craig, Doug Smail.LD&mdash;Mark Tinordi, Neil Wilkinson, Brian Glynn, Rob Zettler, Derian Hatcher.RD&mdash;Chris Dahlquist, Dan Keczmer, Shawn Chambers, Curt Giles.G&mdash;Jon Casey, Brian Hayward.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Jim Johnson, D, bruised hip, day-today.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Bellows, 8. A&mdash;Bellows, 10. P&mdash;Bellows, 18. PIM&mdash;Churla, 78. &#9632;

SMITH’S RETURN ENGAGEMENT A SMASHING SUCCESS

<div class="byline">BY DAVE LUECKING</div>With the Chicago Blackhawks and Calgary Flames eliminated in the first round, the Blues thought they faced a smooth road to the Stanley Cup.Chicago and Calgary had been the only teams to beat the Blues in a season series, and with neither looming in future rounds, it was an open road for the Blues.But the Minnesota North Stars had other ideas. The surprising North Stars threw up a sturdy roadblock and the Blues found no detour in the Norris Division finals.After upsetting Chicago in six games in the Norris semifinals, the North Stars knocked out the Blues in the same number of games in the Norris final, the fourth consecutive season the Blues have dropped out in that round.This was the most devastating, coming after the second-best season in team history. The Blues were 4722-11 for 105 points, two fewer than the 1980-81 season in which they also were eliminated in the second round.&ldquo;The finality is absolutely devastating and it hurts,&rdquo; Blues&rsquo; coach Brian Sutter said.&ldquo;Reality has set in, and it feels awful,&rdquo; said right winger Brett Hull, held to three goals in the series after scoring eight in the Norris semifinals. &ldquo;You work so hard and play so many games and sacrifice so much during the year, to lose this way.&rdquo;Rich Sutter completed the thought.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s pretty disappointing, what else can I say?&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m kind of speechless. This makes for a terribly long summer.&rdquo;The Blues failed in their bid to become the first team in NHL history to come back from a 3-1 deficit twice in the same playoff season. They recovered from 3-1 to beat the Detroit Red Wings in the Norris semifinals, but found the hole too deep against the North Stars.&ldquo;We just couldn&rsquo;t bounce back,&rdquo; Rich Sutter said. &ldquo;At this time of year, it&rsquo;s tough to come back no matter who in the hell you play.&rdquo;Even if that team finished with 20 fewer victories and 37 fewer points, as the North Stars did. The Blues were 5-1-2 against Minnesota in the regular season.&ldquo;We felt we had a team with a shot to go all the way, that&rsquo;s the most frustrating thing about it,&rdquo; defenseman Garth Butcher said. &ldquo;We had a good bunch of guys. We felt we could do it. It&rsquo;s always disappointing when you don&rsquo;t achieve what you want to.&rdquo;Minnesota finished the regular season with a 27-39-14 record for 68 points, fourth in the Norris Division and 16th overall.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not a good feeling,&rdquo; said center Adam Oates, who led the Blues with 20 points in the playoffs. &ldquo;They beat Chicago, and that made us the No. 1 team in the league. They beat us, and I&rsquo;m not going to take anything from them, but we were the much better team most of the year and didn&rsquo;t keep it going in the series.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-011062/5936091-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="544" height="915"><figcaption class="caption-body">Brett Hull says the Blues didn&rsquo;t capitalize on their chances.</figcaption></div>The North Stars seemed to be a team blessed, getting the crucial bounces throughout the series and in the series finale, a 3-2 victory at the Met Center.Hull had a flip shot land on top of the net and a slap shot clang off the post, both with the score tied 0-0.As usual, Minnesota&rsquo;s bounces ended up in the net. Chris Dahlquist&rsquo;s shot deflected past Vincent Riendeau off Dave Lowry&rsquo;s stick 19 seconds into the final period, and Bob Smith scored on a scramble in front of the net at 3:50.Hull tied it with Riendeau pulled, but he gave up the puck to Smith in the slot in the Blues&rsquo; end and couldn&rsquo;t make a leg save on Smith&rsquo;s shot that put away the game.&ldquo;I thought I saw someone in the middle and didn&rsquo;t get a good play,&rdquo; Hull said. &ldquo;It was a stupid play.&rdquo;Butcher cut the lead to one with 17 seconds to play, but the Blues couldn&rsquo;t pull off the final miracle. At game&rsquo;s end, the Met Center erupted, and the North Stars rushed onto the ice to mob goalie Jon Casey, who stopped 18 shots for his eighth victory in 11 playoff decisions.<h2>ST. LOUIS</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>April 29: Pat Jablonski, G, Kelly Chase, RW, Dave Thomlinson, LW. assigned to Peoria (IHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Adam Oates, Bob Bassen, Dan Quinn, Ron Wilson, Rick Meagher.LW&mdash;Gino Cavallini, Dave Lowry, Rod Brind&rsquo;Amour.RW&mdash;Brett Hull, Rich Sutter. Steve T uttle, Darin Kimble.LD&mdash;Scott Stevens, Paul Cavallini. Harold Snepsts, Glen Featherstone.RD&mdash;Jeff Brown, Garth Butcher, Mario Marois.G&mdash;Vincent Riendeau, Curtis Joseph.<h3>INJURIES</h3>None.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Hull, 11. A&mdash;Oates, 13. P&mdash;Oates, 20. PIM&mdash;Butcher. 54. &#9632;

f0019-01

CUP DREAMS GONE AS TEAM HITS SOUR NOTE

rowing up in tiny Carman, Man&hellip;elfour dreamed of being a Chicago hawk. Now that he is, Belfour in-one.fact he officially becomes a free, Belfour expects to be back in a form next season.ill be a Group II free agent, mcanks will have the right to match any they lose Belfour. compensation 100,000 and either two first-round Bn the top seven choices or five first-to stay here and be a Blackhawk.&rdquo; d. &ldquo;This is where I got my start. ht be along slowly and showed a lot ce in me. They didn&rsquo;t trade me.&rdquo; was the biggest bargain in the NHL at a salary of $120,000. (Only Stu $100,000 made less among the elfour more than earned his salary, league with 43 wins and a 2.47 Bist average. He has already won the rophy for being the goaltender on the ve team and stands a strong chance of home the Calder Trophy as rookie of nd Vezina Trophy as top goalie.r and his agent, Los Angeles-based er, likely will seek a new deal in the $600.000 to $800,000 a season.t forsee any problems,&rdquo; Belfour said, asonable man and I believe the Chicanawks want me here. I believe we&rsquo;ll be ways.&rdquo;r was asked if he thought the Hawks&rsquo; playoff failure will cost him money at the negotiating table.&ldquo;If that&rsquo;s the case, there&rsquo;s nothing I can do about it,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t worry about all that stuff during the season and I&rsquo;m not going to worry about it now. Like I said, I want to stay here and play. I don&rsquo;t want the business part to interfere.&rdquo;Belfour noted his prime responsibility is to his wife and son, so he might have to listen to offers from other clubs to see what his market value is.The contract was the last thing on Belfour&rsquo;s mind as he cleaned out his locker at Chicago Stadium for the final time this season following the stunning first-round loss to Minnesota. Like most of the Hawks, Belfour tried to figure out what went wrong in the playoffs.&ldquo;I still can&rsquo;t believe it,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I feel I didn&rsquo;t play the way I can. I didn&rsquo;t get anything going like I did during the season. It&rsquo;s pretty disappointing.&rdquo;Belfour had a 4.07 GAA in the playoffs, but when a team gets nine power-play chances a game like Minnesota did it&rsquo;s pretty hard to blame the goaltender. Head coach Mike Keenan didn&rsquo;t lay any blame at his goalie&rsquo;s feet.&ldquo;Sure, we would have liked to see Eddie stone&rsquo;em (the North Stars), but he probably played decent,&rdquo; Keenan said. &ldquo;He didn&rsquo;t play as well as he did during the regular season, but our team didn&rsquo;t play as well and he wasn&rsquo;t getting the protection he needed.&rdquo;Despite his dominating regular season, Belfour knows he must earn the No. 1 job all over again in training camp with both Dominik Hasek and Jim Waite breathing down his neck.&ldquo;Everyone&rsquo;s equal going into training camp every year,&rdquo; Belfour said. &ldquo;You&rsquo;ve got to pull your weight from the start and prove yourself all over again. In pro sports, there&rsquo;s always someone else who can step in and do the job.&rdquo;&ldquo;Just as we told him all year, he&rsquo;s a proven NHL goaltender now and he&rsquo;ll have to continue to play well,&rdquo; Keenan said of Belfour. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the good part of competition.&rdquo; &#9632;

AGENT FOUR ITS TO

<div class="byline">BY MARK HARDING</div>It is dubbed the club&rsquo;s &ldquo;honor roll&rdquo; but there hasn&rsquo;t been an honoree in 24 years.Making matters worse, it&rsquo;s mounted prominently on the wall of the dressing room, where it serves as a constant reminder just how long it has been since a Leaf won a major piece of NHL silverware.Not since Brit Selby copped the Calder Trophy as the league&rsquo;s best rookie in 1965-66 has a Leaf garnered either the Hart, Vezina, Norris, Calder, Lady Byng or Selke trophies.Since there&rsquo;s no chance that any current Leaf is going to end that drought this June 5, why not honor the players whose contributions this past season would have otherwise gone unnoticed?Lady Byng: This is a tough one to start with since the majority of the team&rsquo;s more gentlemanly players had horrible seasons.Gary Leeman and Daniel Marois aren&rsquo;t worthy of any distinctive recognition and would no doubt just as soon forget the entire nightmare. Brian Bradley is as gentlemanly on the ice as they come, so much so he couldn&rsquo;t bring himself to inflict the embarrassment on an opposing netminder of scoring against him.Dave Reid is certainly a candidate, but doesn&rsquo;t produce the necessary numbers to solidify his nomination. Which leaves us with two choices: Peter Zezel and Mike Krushelnyski. Zezel, despite playing only 32 games in the blue and white, gets the nod.Selke: This is where Reid receives more serious consideration, but he&rsquo;s in tough against linemate Dave Hannan. Together, they form one of the best penalty-killing tandems in the league.Lucien DeBlois also filled a valuable role in this department, as did Aaron Broten before injuring his shoulder. But basically, this is a two-horse race. Heads it&rsquo;s Reid, tails it&rsquo;s Hannan. Congratulations, Dave!<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-01937/5936146-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="698" height="590"><figcaption class="caption-body">There&rsquo;s no looking back for Leafs&rsquo; Seike&rsquo; candidate Dave Hannan.</figcaption></div>Calder: Peter Ing wins this one pads down. There are one or two others, however, who deserve honorable mention.Soviet defenseman Alexander Godynyuk, besides driving everyone crazy with the spelling of his name, acquitted himself well in his first half-season and showed he&rsquo;s not out of place.Vezina: Ing becomes the first double award winner in club history, unofficially of course.Norris: This gets interesting. Captain Rob Ramage had some awful nights, agreed, but carried a tremendous workload over six months and finished with a respectable plus-2 rating, the only Leaf defenseman to finish in the black. Todd Gill enjoyed his finest season as a pro, earning the Bill Masterton nomination in the process. Dave Ellett provided the offensive punch the club was looking for. Michel Petit was by far the most physical of all the blueliners. Ahh, decisions, decisions. Gill by a nose.Hart: The Molson Cup, awarded to the player receiving the most points based on game-star selections over the course of the season, is generally a fair measuring stick by which the team&rsquo;s MVP can be gauged. This year&rsquo;s winner was Ing and it&rsquo;s tough to argue. &#9632;

f0020-01

ING KING OF FANTASY AWARD SELECTIONS

<div class="byline">GAVE</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0020-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-02627/5936177-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Johan Garplenov is one of several Europeans enticed to join the Wings.</figcaption></div>troit Red Wings&rsquo; coach and general manager Bryan Murray and his assistant Nick Polano went abroad to Helsinki to Be medal round of the world cham-o tournament and perhaps sign a playeron their list was Niklas Lidstrom, 21, Bngest player on the Swedish national he and the Wings come to terms, and des appeared optimistic, Lidstrom could Bing in Detroit next season.would rate pretty high on our team right Polano said. &ldquo;The question is, can he the banging, the intimidation, the grind ing 80 games in the NHL right away?&rdquo; strom, a lanky and mobile puck-carrying eman, is equally curious. He asked Johan nlov, the Wings&rsquo; left winger who also is for Sweden in the tournament, what he to do before coming to Detroit.et stronger, &ldquo;Garpenlov told him.&rdquo; &ldquo;Those games of the season are really difficult.&rdquo; rray also intended to speak with forward Gustafsson, whom the Wings claimed Washington in the waiver draft last October. The Wings need to determine if Gustafsson, at 33, can still play in the NHL and if he would like to return to North America for one more season under Murray, who coached him for several seasons with the Capitals.The Wings were under the impression, however, that Gustafsson was leaning towards playing in Switzerland next season.The Wings denied plans to spirit either of their two Soviet draftees&mdash;defenseman Vladimir Konsantinov and center Viacheslav Kozlov&mdash;away from the national team, though doubtless there would be rumors to that effect upon Polano&rsquo;s arrival in Helsinki. He has been in the middle of two much-publicized cases involving Europeans walking away from their teams&mdash;Petr Klima defecting from Czechoslovakia in 1985 and Sergei Fedorov leaving his Soviet teammates during the Goodwill Games last summer.&ldquo;If we do anything at all, it will be above board,&rdquo; Polano promised. &ldquo;But with the Russians, timing is everything, and they don&rsquo;t even like to talk about losing a player to the NHL during major tournaments. And the world championships and the Olympics are their two big events.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0020-02

MURRAY, POLANO COURT TWO SWEDES’ HEARTS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0021-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-01706/5936208-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">London Custom Skate tournament champions are, front row (from left): John Held, Joe Sadlowski, Steve MacGillivary, Norm Kay, Dan Hurrell, Dave Warren, Tim Flynn (most valuable player, inset). Back row: Brian Dennis, Alan Gorrie, Dave ren DeVries, Dave Brown, Dave Hurgett, John McI Craig McCarthy. Not pictured is Steve Stoyanovich.</figcaption></div>The only goal Dave Hurgett scored was the biggest one of The Hockey News Classic Cup tournament for London Custom Skate.Hurgett&rsquo;s goal late in the first period stood up as the game winner and gave London a 2-0 triumph over Belle River Manning Road/Cooper Court in the championship final of the April 26-28 tournament in London. The Classic Cup tournament was the last in a series of 10.Joe Sadlowski scored into an empty net and London goalie Norm Kay earned the shutout.Custom Skate won its three preliminary games and a 7-1 semifinal game over Windsor Horwood Construction, thanks to two goals by Dave Warren. London also beat London Auto&rsquo;s Athletics 10-1, Dunnville 3-2 and Aurora Saints 6-3.Alan Gorrie (4-4-8) and Darren DeVries (2-68) led Custom Skate in scoring. Craig McCarthy (3-3-6), Sadlowski (3-3-6), Steve MacGillivary (four goals) and John McLean (three goals) also had good showings.Tim Flynn was the most valuable player. He had a goal and five points in five games.Custom Skate picked up $1,000 for winning. Belle River, which won three preliminary round games and beat the Burlington Rockies 7-1 in the other semifinal, earned $700.In the consolation final, Joe Hrysko, Rick Chittley and Chris Luscombe scored twice as the Rockies beat Horwood 8-3 for $300.The 15 teams involved in the three-day tournament (including win-loss record) were: London Custom Skate (5-0), Belle River (4-1), Burlington (4-1), Windsor (3-2), Stratford Army and Navy (2-1), Kitchener Coronet Bulldogs (2-1), Scarborough Northern College Huskies Alumni (2-1), Dunnville (2-1), London Blue Notes (1-2), Brantford Bell City Bandits (1-2), Aurora Saints (1-2), Sudbury Golden Shield Alumni (0-2-1), Thornton Rangers (0-21), London Paton&rsquo;s Plumbing (0-3) and London Auto&rsquo;s Athletics (0-3). &#9632;

f0021-01

HOCKEY NEWS TOURNAMENT WIN A CUSTOM FIT

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0022-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-01824/5936239-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Don Biggs and Nelson Emerson (inset) led their teams to wins.</figcaption></div>h Don Biggs is in the Rangers&rsquo; team photo, very time they look at nories of Biggs&rsquo; play-the Rochester Amer even more.a second-period hat chester to an 8-5 vic1 of the American Cup semifinals April the winning goal 3:32 In Game 3 April 28 to leans a 4-3 victory and the verge of a series ster won Game 2 4-1 semifinal series, Moncth a 4-3 win April 24 in Springfield, with the Indians rebounding for a 3-2 victory in Game 2 two nights later.Biggs, a six-year AHL veteran, was originally signed by Binghamton in late October when he returned from playing in Switzerland.But before he could play for the Rangers, AHL rules required he clear waivers. Rochester claimed him Nov. 1, a day after he sat for the Rangers&rsquo; team photo.He went on to lead the Americans in scoring with 31-57-88 in 65 games, and was the AHL&rsquo;s leading playoff scorer with 7-8-15 totals in eight games. He had five goals and seven points in the three games against the Rangers.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s the type of player that wherever he&rsquo;s playing, he&rsquo;ll always be a big part of that hockey team,&rdquo; Binghamton coach John Paddock said.<h2>AHL</h2>Biggs&rsquo; third goal in Game 1 broke a 5-5 second-period tie, and defensemen Bill Houlder and Kevin Haller scored in the third period to clinch the victory.Rochester goalie Dave Littman injured his left knee when he was run by Binghamton left winger Daniel LaCroix at 7:30 of the first period. Littman&rsquo;s knee banged into the goal post and he missed the next two games with a bruised thigh and kneecap.LaCroix was assessed a charging major and suspended two games.Darcy Wakaluk, who rejoined Rochester when the parent Buffalo Sabres were eliminated in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, took over in goal and was the winner in all three games. He made 17 saves in Game 1, 23 in Game 2 and 22 in Game 3.In Springfield, Mass., Moncton&rsquo;s conservative, defensive-oriented style dictated much of the play.The Hawks had only 19 shots in Game 1 but scored four times on Kay Whitmore, with Luciano Borsato breaking a 3-3 third-period tie with a goal at 14:51.The Indians rebounded to win Game 2 as Mikael Andersson scored two power-play goals and Terry Yake the eventual game-winner at 16:52 of the second period. Moncton closed to within 3-2 on Rudy Poes-chek&rsquo;s goal at 12:50 of the third but the Indians held the Hawks off. Moncton had only 18 shots and Springfield 27.<h2>IHL</h2>The Peoria Rivermen finally threw a roadblock in front of the Phoenix Roadrunners in the division final of Turner Cup playoff action but trailed the series 2-1. After three games in the International League&rsquo;s East Division, Kalamazoo and Fort Wayne were winning at home with the Wings holding a 2-1 edge over the Komets.The Rivermen, who finished first in the West Division and first overall, dropped their first two games at home to Phoenix, which ran its post-season winning streak to six games. The Roadrunners won their openinground series with the Salt Lake Golden Eagles in four games.And Phoenix wasted little time putting a dozen shots past Peoria goalies Guy Hebert and Tom Draper, who anchored the IHL&rsquo;s best defense this season. The Roadrunners won the first two games 5-2 and 7-5.Phoenix spotted Kevin Miehm a game-opening goal in the first period then got goals from five players to win the opener April 24.The Rivermen also scored first in Game 2 two nights later but the Roadrunners responded with three in a row&mdash;two by defenseman Stephane Richer&mdash;before Peoria&rsquo;s Nelson Emerson tied the game with goals five minutes apart in the second period.A four-goal third period wrapped it up for Phoenix.Two more goals by Emerson&mdash;tying him with Michel Mongeau for the team lead with eight in the playoffs&mdash;weren&rsquo;t wasted in Game 3 April 28 in front of 10,252 fans at Phoenix.Emerson&rsquo;s second goal of the game at 7:19 of the second period was the game-winner in Peoria&rsquo;s 5-4 win.Sylvain Couturier, returned by the Los Angeles Kings April 26, had a pair of power-play goals for the Roadrunners, who were three for nine in man advantage situations.In the East, the Wings shut down the vaunted offensive punch of the Komets. They held Fort Wayne&rsquo;s leading playoff scorer Bruce Boudreau to a single point-a goal in Game 2&mdash;in jumping to a 2-1 lead in the series.Kalamazoo won Games 1 and 3 at home 5-1 and 5-3; the Komets, led by Scott Gruhl&rsquo;s two goals, won Game 2 5-1 at Fort Wayne.Peter Lappin scored twice and assisted on Mitch Messier&rsquo;s third period goal in the opening game April 24, and left winger Larry DePalma had a pair of goals in the third game April 27.Kalamazoo goalie Jarmo Myllys went six consecutive games without giving up a first-period goal. Gruhl broke that string at 15:38 of the first period at Fort Wayne April 26. Myllys also had the only shutout of the IHL&rsquo;s post-season through the first three games of the Turner Cup semifinals, a 4-0 decision over Muskegon April 13&hellip;Phoenix scored first in all four victories over Salt Lake City.&mdash;With files from Kevin Oklobzija and Bill Pickett &#9632;

f0022-01

AMERICAN DREAM

<div class="byline">BY PAUL ABRAMOWITZ</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0023-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-01740/5936270-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Promoting Quebec&rsquo;s farm team in Halifax will be one of Guy Lafleur&rsquo;s new duties.</figcaption></div>The Halifax Citadels and Quebec Nordiques extended their agreement with a new twist.The original three-year deal ended after the 1990-91 season. The new deal, termed as multiyear, will have a distinct set of responsibilities.The Nordiques will be responsible for the on-ice product and Trade Centre Limited, the group that operates the Halifax Metro Centre, will take care of promotions, marketing and ticket sales.Representing the Nordiques at the April 24 press conference were general manager Pierre Page, coach Dave Chambers, president Marcel Aubut and assistant GM Gilles Leger. There had been rumors that Quebec might move its farm team to Sherbrooke.&ldquo;Marcel and I felt that if we divide that up and we take what he&rsquo;s best at and we take what we&rsquo;re presumably good at, the whole thing would mesh and we&rsquo;d be successful,&rdquo; said Ken Mounce, president of Trade Centre Limited. &ldquo;The division is pretty simple. They&rsquo;re responsible for the product on the ice and we&rsquo;re responsible for everything off it with the exception of finance.&rdquo;Quebec moved to Halifax after its dual affiliation with the Vancouver Canucks in Fredericton expired after the 1987-88 season. Halifax finished second in the Northern Division in &rsquo;8889, fourth in &rsquo;89-90 and sixth this season.Attendance has improved each season from 135,290 to 156,112 and 164,197.&ldquo;There are incentives built into the contract for them to do a good job on the ice and incentives for us to do a good job putting people in the stands,&rdquo; Mounce said. &ldquo;If either of us fails, we could have a problem with the agreement but we&rsquo;re not taking that view right now.&rdquo;Neither side would divulge those incentives. One other note from the new agreement is that Guy Lafleur will be involved in the promotion of the team, but will not be based in Halifax.<h2>SAINTS AIN&rsquo;T</h2>Angered by newspaper reports and an editorial in the Newmarket Era-Banner, Newmarket mayor Ray Twinney has informed the paper the city has withdrawn its offer to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Toronto&rsquo;s five-year agreement with Newmarket expired after this season and the city was trying to get a renewal. Twinney said he had made an offer to the Leafs, who were to meet April 29 to discuss the proposal. But in the April 24 edition of the Era-Banner, an editorial said the city should not use taxpayers&rsquo; money to keep the team in the city. The headline on another story indicated it would cost $1 million to keep the team.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re getting a lot of calls regarding taxpayers&rsquo; dollars,&rdquo; said Twinney, who had indicated the money wouldn&rsquo;t come from taxpayers. &ldquo;This is very poor reporting. The Saints also look at it and you have to wonder if there is any support up here. The paper didn&rsquo;t give me a chance to explain my side of the story. You have to have community support and media support to run a team. Plus, I don&rsquo;t think the Maple Leafs would come up here now anyway.&rdquo;If Newmarket is out of the picture, the two other possibilities for the Leafs are St. John&rsquo;s, Nfld. and Charlottetown, P.E.I. &#9632;

f0023-01

NORDIQUES, CITADELS RENEW DEAL

<div class="byline">BY ADAM TEICHER</div>The Salt Lake Golden Eagles finished 20 points ahead of the Phoenix Roadrunners in the regular season. Some observers were calling it a huge upset when the Roadrunners swept the Golden Eagles in their first-round International League playoff series.But Salt Lake coach Bob Francis isn&rsquo;t.&ldquo;They were the better team, no doubt about it,&rdquo; Francis said. &ldquo;Phoenix obviously has a much better team than people give them credit for. They improved themselves throughout the season.&rdquo;That doesn&rsquo;t ease the pain in Salt Lake City, where playoff expectations for the Golden Eagles were high. After a sluggish start, they rebounded for 50 wins and 105 points, tying them for second in the league behind the Peoria Rivermen.But Salt Lake was hurt tremendously by the series schedule, which saw the first game played at the Salt Palace and the next two at Phoenix.The Golden Eagles fell behind 5-1 in the opener and lost 6-4.&ldquo;Phoenix was better prepared than we were going into Game I,&rdquo; Francis said. &ldquo;If you don&rsquo;t have the home-ice advantage for a series, that&rsquo;s the ideal set-up. You have absolutely nothing to lose in that first game. If you lose it, you&rsquo;re supposed to anyway and you go home for two games. If you win it, you&rsquo;re in pretty good shape.&rdquo;Phoenix was fortified with help from the parent Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; affiliate in New Haven (American League). The Golden Eagles also lost goalie Steve Guenette with an injury, forcing them to use rookie Warren Sharples in goal.But Francis isn&rsquo;t sure how much of that mattered. The Roadrunners were on a roll and he predicted a possible upset of Peoria in the West Division final.&ldquo;Phoenix has the skill and experience,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;They can throw three strong lines at you. They will be tough to beat.&rdquo;<h2>LOACH SIGNS</h2>Fort Wayne left winger Lonnie Loach signed a free agent contract with the Detroit Red Wings April 20. The deal is for two years plus an option.&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s a good situation in Detroit,&rdquo; Loach said. &ldquo;They want some scoring on the wings. They said they would give me an opportunity. That&rsquo;s all I want is a chance. That&rsquo;s why I came to Fort Wayne.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-02471/5936301-1-eng-US/f0023-022.jpg" title="f0023-02" width="619" height="1213"><figcaption class="caption-body">Leading the IHL in scoring pai Fort Wayne&rsquo;s Lonnie Loach.</figcaption></div>Loach led the IHL in scoring th getting 55 goals and 76 points for 131 was a second-team all-star left wing Peoria&rsquo;s David Bruce.<h2>KOMETS OUT</h2>Negotiations broke off between the Maple Leafs and Fort Wayne Kom bringing the Leafs minor league affili Indiana city. &ldquo;They told us they&rsquo;re Canada,&rdquo; owner Steve Franke sa Komets are talking about an affiliation Tampa Bay Lightning when that fran gins NHL play in 1992-93&hellip;Phoenix setback on the eve of its West Divis series against Peoria when the Kings center Sylvain Couturier, who led th runners in the regular season with 5&hellip;Muskegon was sent home for the su the earliest time in the team&rsquo;s seven se the Lumberjacks. Muskegon was bel Kalamazoo in five games in their quar series. The Lumberjacks lost in six gam 1987-88 quarter-finals to Flint, but ml Turner Cup finals in the other five seal &#9632;

f0023-02

FRANCIS NOT SHOCKED BY PLAYOFF UPSET

<div class="byline">BY NICK GATES</div>The list of job openings for coaches in the East Coast League is growing almost as fast as the league itself.Two teams&mdash;the Nashville Knights and Roanoke Valley Rebels&mdash;joined four expansion teams in search of a coach for next season.Nashville owners Bob Polk and Ron Fuller fired Peter Horachek after one season and Claude Noel resigned at Roanoke Valley April 19.The Dayton Bombers, Raleigh IceCaps and first-year teams in Charlotte and Cleveland/Columbus, Ohio are interviewing to fill openings.The Toledo Storm, another expansion team, got a head start on their rivals by signing veteran coach Chris McSorley April 11.Polk and Fuller, who dumped Archie Henderson a year ago, made another change April 17. The Knights (29-31-4) missed the playoffs after qualifying with a losing record in their first season. Only Knoxville (377) scored more goals this season than Nashville (307), arguably the league&rsquo;s biggest underachievers.Don Borgeson, who lives in Nashville and was a volunteer assistant last season, is believed to be interested in the job. Borgeson, a one-time Nashville Dixie Flyer, applied after Henderson was dismissed.Roanoke Valley owner Henry Brabham has not set a timetable for finding a replacement for Noel. The Rebels finished 26-31-7 and missed the playoffs in Noel&rsquo;s only season at the helm.&ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t thought about it,&rdquo; Brabham said.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll probably talk with someone who has coached here before.&rdquo;McSorley, a former Toledo Goaldigger, comes home after unsuccessful coaching stops at Winston-Salem (1989-90) and Richmond (1990-91). The Hamilton, Ont., native operates a summer hockey camp in Toledo.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s great to come back home,&rdquo; McSorley said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve played hockey all over the U.S. and Canada, but I&rsquo;ve always considered Toledo to be my home because of the friends I&rsquo;ve made here.&rdquo;Owners Pete Bock and Miles Wolff of the Raleigh IceCaps have narrowed their search and expect to name a coach soon.Franchises in Charlotte and Cleveland/Columbus had until May 1 to inform commissioner Pat Kelly whether they would begin operating or delay a year. Arena renovation in Ch and securing a suitable arena in Clevelan the major hangups.Likely, both franchises will debut in 191 bringing the number of ECHL teams to lively realignment debate was forecasted board of governors meeting at Winston-(May 30-June 1).Bill Allen, who had ties with the Ch: Checkers of the defunct Eastern League, the Charlotte franchise. No nickname has chosen.Horn Chen, who owns the Indianapol (International League), plans to sell his sh the Louisville IceHawks to Leo Hunstige bring an expansion team to Cleveland. If cannot secure a building, he plans to oper Columbus. &#9632;

KNIGHTS, REBELS JOIN HUNT FOR COACHES

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0024-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-01802/5936356-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Western League MVP Ray Whitney staked Spokane to a 2-0 lead over Lethbridge.</figcaption></div>Chicoutimi Sagueneens players ed at the plane tickets and were imsed. They appreciated the gesture but boldly said,&rdquo;No thanks, we&rsquo;lllined was the organization to clinch Memorial Cup, it did everything to layers were ready for Game 6 of the ague semifinal series with two-time champion Laval Titan.mi trailed 3-2 in the series and ictory in Laval April 22 to force a me at home. The only problem was, ms don&rsquo;t usually win in Laval. The lost at home since Feb. 5&mdash;a stretch es.Sagueneens&rsquo; executive bought plane the team. If Chicoutimi was going to al, it would have to be because the a better club, not because the Sagueht be weary from a five-hour bus trip, ying for the Memorial Cup is very, rtant to the whole organization, &ldquo;Chibach Joe Canale said.&rdquo; We&rsquo;ve had and season at the gate and (the execught flying them to Laval would make her for the game.The players didn&rsquo;t want to break the they wanted to keep the focus on the plane trip. They all decided to take nstead.&rdquo;<h2>QMJHL</h2>agueneens took the arduous route to wound up routing the Titan 8-4. said winning in Laval was such a gical triumph, the Sagueneens cone surge in Game 7 April 24 winning 4-2 the series 4-3.ane Charbonneau scored three goals for Chicoutimi and Steve Larouche added a pair. Sagueneens&rsquo; goalie Felix Potvin was solid in the final two games holding Laval leading scorers Martin Lapointe and Marc Beaucage to just one goal between them.Because the Memorial Cup tournament is in Quebec this year, two QMJHL representatives qualify. Chicoutimi will battle the Drummondville Voltigeurs to decide league champion.The Sagueneens won the first two games against Drummondville 3-1 April 27 and 3-2 April 28.<h2>OHL</h2>Thanks to a home show at the Oshawa Civic Auditorium April 23-28, the Generals and the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds had a week off before starting the Ontario League final series.When they did begin in Oshawa April 29, the teams played four games in five nights. The only day the teams had off (May 1) was occupied by a nine-hour bus trip to Sault Ste. Marie.Even more remarkable is Games 5, 6 and 7, if necessary, to be played on successive nights&mdash;with a trip to and from Sault Ste. Marie in between. Such haste is necessary because the Memorial Cup begins May 10 in Quebec City.The teams split the season series 1-1. The Generals won in Sault Ste. Marie, without league-leading scorer Eric Lindros, 6-5 Dec. 14. The Greyhounds won in Oshawa 6-4 Dec. 21.<h2>WHL</h2>Diminutive center Ray Whitney is expected to be a big goal scorer for the Spokane Chiefs. But defenseman Jon Klemm? He&rsquo;s known more for his assists.Whitney and Klemm each scored twice lifting the Chiefs to a 4-1 home ice victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes April 27. Spokane led the Western League best-of-seven final 2-0.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s comforting to know we&rsquo;re going to Lethbridge leading the series 2-0,&rdquo; said Klemm, who recorded seven goals and 65 points during the regular season. &ldquo;But we can&rsquo;t afford to get emotionally high. There&rsquo;s a lot of hockey left to play.&rdquo;Whitney, the WHL player of the year, opened the scoring for the Chiefs with a shorthanded marker at 14:37 of the first period. But Hurricanes&rsquo; right winger Brandy Semchuk replied to tie the score before the end of the frame.Whitney netted the eventual game winner at 2:49 of the third period, before Klemm scored a pair of late goals. The latter was a shorthanded marker into an empty-net.Goalie Trevor Kidd made 31 saves for Spokane, while Jamie McLennan stopped 39 shots for Lethbridge.The Chiefs won Game 1 of the series 3-2 April 26.Lethbridge earned the right to face the Chiefs with a 7-4 decision over the Medicine Hat Tigers in the seventh and deciding game of the East Division final April 23.Semchuk, who joined the Hurricanes Jan. 21 after opening the season with the New Haven Nighthawks of the American League, collected a hat trick to lead Lethbridge.&mdash;With files from Brian Costello and Vance Oliver &#9632;

f0024-01

LANE AND SIMPLE

<div class="byline">BY VANCE OLIVER</div>Bruce McNall and the Toronto Argonauts may have one Rocket, but Marcel Comeau has a whole team of them.The Western League&rsquo;s newest franchise&mdash;the Tacoma Rockets&mdash;signed Comeau to a three-year contract as coach April 17. Terms of the deal were not released, but they&rsquo;re nowhere near what Raghib &lsquo;Rocket&rsquo; Ismail picked up from the football Argos.Comeau is well-known in WHL circles. After spending the 1983-84 season with the defunct Calgary Wranglers, Comeau guided the Saskatooon Blades the next five years. He has a 236181-15 WHL career coaching record.&ldquo;He was the first and only candidate for the job,&rdquo; Rockets&rsquo; general manager Bruce Hamilton said.Hamilton, his Saskatoon-based family and Tacoma investors own the expansion club. Hamilton knew Comeau from his coaching days with the Blades.Comeau, 39, left the Blades after the 1988-89 season to join the New Haven Nighthawks of the American League. He spent 1&frac12; years in New Haven before being fired last November. Comeau then hooked up as coach of the Winston-Salem Thunderbirds of the East Coast League in January.&ldquo;I could have waited to see what happened in the American League, but this offer gave me an opportunity to get settled for next year,&rdquo; said Comeau. &ldquo;I thought long and hard about what direction I should go for next season and this gives me a good chance to get in on the ground floor, start from square one, and set the pattern for the franchise.&rdquo;<h2>RED DEER HOPE</h2>The only two Alberta teams in the WHL were also the two best teams in the East Division this season. If the people of Red Deer, Alta., have their way, the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Medicine Hat Tigers will have company next season.Lowell Hodgson, manager of the city&rsquo;s recreation and culture department, has talked with a couple of East Division clubs about the possibility of moving to Red Deer.A new arena in the city, the 6,000-seat Centrium, is scheduled to open Nov. 1.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-01708/5936411-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg" title="f0025-01" width="585" height="677"><figcaption class="caption-body">Marcel Comeau coached the Wranglers and Saskatoon Blades</figcaption></div>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m optimistic,&rdquo; Hodgson said. anything else, there are a few i&rsquo;s to dot a cross. If we&rsquo;re not successful this optimistic we will be successful next yThe Regina Pats, whose five-year ag with the Regina Exhibition Park expi season, are one team interested in reloc Red Deer. Pats&rsquo; GM Bill Hicke, in fact, Red Deer recently to visit the new buill&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no question with the ec situation the way it is in Saskatchewan looking at other things,&rdquo; Hicke said. &ldquo;I&rsquo; from the beginning that we want to stay i ina, but you have to have the perks to kJ team there.&rdquo;The Medicine Tigers and Brandon Kings are also rumored to be interested in ing to Red Deer.<h2>FIVE FOR &rsquo;75</h2>The Tacoma Rockets claimed five 197 players from other teams&rsquo; protected lists a special expansion draft.The Rockets acquired defensemen Masters from the Moose Jaw Warriors and sell Sharpe from Lethbridge, centers Tibbatts from the Swift Current Bronco Joey Young from the Kamloops Blazers forward/defenseman Don Armstrong fro Portland Winter Hawks. &#9632;

f0025-01

TACOMA HIRES COMEAU AS ROCKET BOOSTER

<div class="byline">BY KEN WARREN</div>Everything fell into place at just the right time for coach Jean Hamel and the Drummondville Voltigeurs.Considering last year&rsquo;s horrible season in Drummondville, simply making the Quebec League playoffs this time around would have been considered a success.The Voltigeurs went from 29 points and also-rans in 1989-90 to 87 points and third place in the Dilio Division this season. And as the playoffs rolled on, the Voltigeurs proved to be getting stronger and stronger.In the first round of the playoffs, Drummondville recorded a mild upset of the Trois Rivieres Draveurs, scoring 29 goals in a 4-2 series victory. In the league semifinal, the Voltigeurs swept College Francais in four games, averaging 7&frac12; goals per game. That guaranteed automatic entry into the Memorial Cup, which starts May 11 in Quebec City.Drummondville and the Chicoutimi Sagueneens are battling each other in the QMJHL final, even though both will compete in Quebec City.&ldquo;It was pretty quick. I didn&rsquo;t expect that kind of semifinal series with College Francais at all,&rdquo; Hamel said. &ldquo;It was wide-open style hockey and there wasn&rsquo;t as much hitting as I expected.&rdquo;As surprising as the semifinal sweep of College Francais was, there are a few solid reasons why the Voltigeurs are playing so well, from goaltender out.Goaltender Pierre Gagnon, acquired from the Victoriaville Tigres early in the season, battled mononucleosis for more than a month and didn&rsquo;t regain his form until the stretch drive. Gagnon was particularly outstanding in Drummondville&rsquo;s playoff victory over Trois Rivieres.On defense. Patrice Brisebois&mdash;a candidate for the Canadian Hockey League&rsquo;s most outstanding defenseman award&mdash;has turned his game up a notch since returning from the Montreal Canadiens. Overage rearguard Martin Charrois and 19-year-old Guy Leroux have also been two of the better defenders through the playoffs.To top it off, 19-year-old Alexandre Legault turned his back on an American college career with Boston University after two years, joining Drummondville for the final 20 games of the regular season.Roger Larche, Rene Corbet. Denis Chasse and Brisebois have provided the bulk of the offense, but there has also been big contributions from young players Eric Plante and Claude Jutras.&ldquo;It really is funny, because 12 of the guys were here at the end of last year,&rdquo; Hamel said. &ldquo;The guys have learned how much fun it is to win. The big asset on our team is that everyone plays together.&rdquo;<h2>LASER TO STAY</h2>The St-Hyacinthe Laser are staying.Laser management signed a three-year contract with city officials April 24, keeping the club in St-Hyacinthe.Since St-Hyacinthe&rsquo;s quick exit from the playoffs&mdash;they were swept in four games by College Francais in the Lebel Division semifinals&mdash;there had been speculation the club would move, perhaps to Sherbrooke.In another announcement, coach Norman Flynn picked up the dual title of directorgeneral. Former director-general Michel Rousseau left the club after this season.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-02455/5936442-1-eng-US/f0025-022.jpg" title="f0025-02" width="647" height="962"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jean Hamel watched his Voltigeurs prove from last season.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0025-02

VOLTIGEURS PEAKING AT PERFECT TIME

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0026-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-01766/5936473-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0026-01

CLASSIFIED

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0027-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-01712/5936511-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-01743/5936504-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="3086" height="3611"></div> &#9632;

f0027-01

NHL PLAYOFF STATISTICS

<h2>Mon., Apr. 22</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-01646/5936710-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="600" height="2646"></div><h2>Tues., Apr. 23</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-02431/5936703-1-eng-US/f0029-022.jpg" title="f0029-02" width="580" height="692"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-03276/5936696-1-eng-US/f0029-032.jpg" title="f0029-03" width="585" height="1587"></div><h2>Wed., Apr. 24</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-04195/5936689-1-eng-US/f0029-042.jpg" title="f0029-04" width="595" height="1818"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-05169/5936682-1-eng-US/f0029-052.jpg" title="f0029-05" width="586" height="780"></div><h2>Thur., Apr. 25</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-06136/5936675-1-eng-US/f0029-062.jpg" title="f0029-06" width="609" height="2281"></div><h2>Fri., Apr. 26</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-07111/5936668-1-eng-US/f0029-072.jpg" title="f0029-07" width="579" height="296"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-0897/5936661-1-eng-US/f0029-082.jpg" title="f0029-08" width="593" height="1304"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-0990/5936654-1-eng-US/f0029-092.jpg" title="f0029-09" width="583" height="978"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-1082/5936647-1-eng-US/f0029-102.jpg" title="f0029-10" width="577" height="224"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-1177/5936640-1-eng-US/f0029-112.jpg" title="f0029-11" width="542" height="529"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-1270/5936633-1-eng-US/f0029-122.jpg" title="f0029-12" width="543" height="445"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-1361/5936626-1-eng-US/f0029-132.jpg" title="f0029-13" width="540" height="620"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-1457/5936619-1-eng-US/f0029-142.jpg" title="f0029-14" width="547" height="469"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-01738/5936612-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="579" height="832"></div><h2>Sun., Apr. 18</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-02510/5936605-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="573" height="1076"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-03346/5936598-1-eng-US/f0030-032.jpg" title="f0030-03" width="593" height="1108"></div><h2>INTERNATIONAL</h2><h2>Mon., Apr. 22</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-04241/5936591-1-eng-US/f0030-042.jpg" title="f0030-04" width="591" height="705"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-05170/5936584-1-eng-US/f0030-052.jpg" title="f0030-05" width="577" height="508"></div><h2>Tues., Apr. 23</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-06134/5936577-1-eng-US/f0030-062.jpg" title="f0030-06" width="584" height="1405"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-07110/5936570-1-eng-US/f0030-072.jpg" title="f0030-07" width="574" height="188"></div><h2>Thur., Apr. 25</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-08100/5936563-1-eng-US/f0030-082.jpg" title="f0030-08" width="600" height="1252"></div><h2>Fri., Apr. 26</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0990/5936556-1-eng-US/f0030-092.jpg" title="f0030-09" width="578" height="443"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-1080/5936549-1-eng-US/f0030-102.jpg" title="f0030-10" width="585" height="740"></div><h2>Sun., Apr. 28</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-1174/5936542-1-eng-US/f0030-112.jpg" title="f0030-11" width="583" height="1197"></div> &#9632;

f0029-01

PLAYOFF SUMMARIES

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0030-12" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-1268/5936748-1-eng-US/f0030-122.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-01682/5936741-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="1929" height="3603"></div> &#9632;

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SCOREBOARD

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-01728/5936779-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg" title="f0032-01" width="552" height="613"><figcaption class="caption-body">KEVIN DUPONT</figcaption></div>Winter&rsquo;s game is about to end. We go from rinks of reverie to fields of dreams. From hockey to baseball.In a matter of days, we&rsquo;ll be saluting another Stanley Cup champion, and then skate off to the bleachers for the unending days of the summer game.But, before you go, just a few reminders why hockey is better than baseball. Sure, if you must, go out to your local ballpark and take in a game or two.A former diamond junkie, I understand the addiction. But don&rsquo;t get hooked, don&rsquo;t main line baselines, and don&rsquo;t let some sad soul with a mustard-slathered hot dog try to win you over.Remember, I want you back next fall, buried in the back pages here with me among the scoring summaries, the Adams Division notebook and the ads for hockey schools.Hockey&rsquo;s just better, because:1. All players report to work on foot. There are no bullpen carts to take, say, the goalies out to their nets. I walked to school as a kid. I think players should be able to get themselves to work.2. Hockey has the Canadiens. Baseball has the Yankees. Would you want your kid to grow up more like Rocket Richard or George Steinbrenner?3. Bo can&rsquo;t play hockey.4. Everybody sweats. In baseball, players are glorified for getting their uniforms dirty. So what if it only happened when they tripped over first base? No one breaks a sweat playing baseball.5. There is no cousin of the seventh-inning stretch. Hockey fans get into the action&mdash;okay, sometimes too much&mdash;and they don&rsquo;t have to be roused from their nap after two or three hours of snapping open peanuts.6. No one bleeds Dodger blue. Yuck. I had a date once with this crazy woman in L.A. who used her eye teeth to open a gash on my neck. I know she wanted to see if I was a Dodger fan. I just know it.7. The San Diego Chicken can&rsquo;t skate.-8. When the hockey season&rsquo;s over, you hit the beach. After the World Series, then what? Rake the yard and pray that there are at least four days of snow deep enough that they call off school. What kind of reward is that?9. There is just a lot more you can do with a puck than a baseball. Imagine trying to level a couch or an end table with a baseball.10. No one chews tobacco.11. Coaches dress better and look better than managers.12. Cleveland doesn&rsquo;t have a franchise.13. One guy, the referee, makes the call. Why does baseball need four umpires and then two more in the post-season? The game creeps along at the rate of a &rsquo;53 Studebaker, and six guys have to get together to figure out if the ball is fair or foul.14. Hockey has gross misconducts. The closest thing baseball has is Pete Rose.15. No one gets a hat trick in baseball. Ifaguy gets three of anything in baseball, he wants a $1 million bonus or he&rsquo;ll leave the team. The biggest trick, of course, is not to get three strikes.16. Hockey players make the best performers for Lite beer commercials. Really, would you rather drink with Bob Uecker or &lsquo;Boom Boom&rsquo; Geoffrion?17. Nothing comes free. Baseball has groundrule doubles when a ball hops over the fence. Imagine if they gave half goals for a shot off the post. Please. And, anyway, how would that sound on the 11 o&rsquo;clock TV news: &ldquo;And in the NHL&hellip;Detroit snuck by St. Louis, 3&frac12; to 3. Here&rsquo;s Bob Probert&rsquo;s winning miss, off the crossbar.&rdquo;18. The ice is real, there is no fake turf. There aren&rsquo;t cheap passes in hockey like there are cheap hits in that other game.19. Hockey has the Maple Leafs. Go ahead, name one baseball team that employs even half as many comedy writers. And don&rsquo;t try to convince me they make it up as they go along in Toronto. Only a writer could crank out that many Laffs.20. The Blackhawks have an organ that breaks into a nuclear blast when they score a goal. &ldquo;Take Me Out To The Ballgame&rdquo; scratched out over some Wurlitzer inside the HomerDome just doesn&rsquo;t cut it.21. In hockey, a guy scores because he has a cannon for a shot. There are no banjo scorers.22. God likes hockey better than baseball. It&rsquo;s true. He told me that when he created the North Stars.On a more personal note: Dear God, what were you thinking when you created Esa Tikkanen? I know he&rsquo;s a good guy, but You already gave Wayne Gretzky to the Oilers once. Can&rsquo;t You let someone else win now and then? Kevin Dupont is a hockey writer for the Boston Globe. &#9632;

f0032-01

HOCKEY DEFINITELY SUPERIOR TO BASEBALL

Many people believe the road to the Stanley Cup is a lot tougher than it used to be for the President&rsquo;s Trophy (first-place overall) winner. But in 24 seasons since expansion in 1966-67, the team that finished first won the Stanley Cup 14 times. The first-place finisher won&rsquo;t win the cup this season. Mike Hudson&rsquo;s Chicago Blackhawks lost in the first round.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-02512/5936810-1-eng-US/f0032-022.jpg" title="f0032-02" width="719" height="435"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mike Hudson</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0032-02

NUMBERS

<h2>KINGS</h2>Luc Robitaille, criticized in the past for his inconsistent post-seasons, set a Kings&rsquo; record for goals in a playoff year with 12 in 12 games, three more than Chris Kontos scored in 11 games in 1989. He also led the team with 16 points. &ldquo;A lot of people say I don&rsquo;t show up in the playoffs,&rdquo; Robitaille said. &ldquo;I wanted to show them that they&rsquo;re wrong, sort of stick it to them.&rdquo; The 25-year-old left winger had 10 goals and 30 points in his previous 31 playoff games. He has tied Dave Taylor for the club career playoff lead with 22 goals&hellip;Larry Robinson turns 40 June 2 and is entering the option year of his contract. He said it was too early to talk about his future plans, but he had a strong season and should be able to help for another year&hellip;Kelly Hrudey was 6-6 with a 2.78 goals-against average and a .903 save percentage in the playoffs. He broke Rogie Vachon&rsquo;s team record for post-season wins by a goaltender in one year.<h2>OILERS</h2>L.A.&rsquo;s Marty McSorley jumped Glenn Anderson in Game 5 of the Smythe Division final with 21 seconds to go. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s always a sweetheart, isn&rsquo;t he?&rdquo; said Anderson. &ldquo;I had no idea what was going on. I knew he was getting a minor penalty, so I went down and I don&rsquo;t know what happened after that.&rdquo; McSorley picked up a minor, double major and game misconduct, while Oiler Steve Smith intervened, drawing a major and game misdonduct. The Oilers&rsquo; brass maintains the incident is similar to one involving McSorley and Winnipeg&rsquo;s Doug Evans during the regular season. McSorley was suspended for that offense and GM Glen Sather is seeking similar disciplinary action for the latest mugging&hellip;In Game 6, Anderson assisted on Craig Simpson&rsquo;s goal&mdash;the 100th in Stanley Cup play for the veteran right winger&hellip;Center Mark Lamb left Game 6 in the second period with a bruised shoulder sustained in a collision with L.A.&rsquo;s Tomas Sandstrom. &ldquo;He fell on it, but it&rsquo;s only bruised, no big deal,&rdquo; shrugged Lamb&hellip;There&rsquo;s no deal in the works yet for Jari Kurri, according to Sather&mdash;not that anything could be announced now anyhow. &ldquo;I could make a deal and verify it after the playoffs,&rdquo; said Sather.<h2>CANUCKS</h2>Co-captain Doug Lidster was named captain of Team Canada at the world championships in Finland. &ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s probably that I have a bit more experience than some of the other players that are over here at the world champinship level, but we have lots of leaders on this team,&rdquo; said Lidster, 30. &ldquo;On this team it&rsquo;s more of a ceremonial type of role than in leadership.&rdquo; Lidster was a member-Canada&rsquo;s silver medal team at the 1985 world championships and played for Canada at the 1984 Olympics in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia&hellip;Soviet winger Pavel Bure, drafted by the Canucks in 1989, has been kept under wraps and was been virtually off limits to Canuck officials at the world tournament&hellip;Czechoslovakian defenseman Jiri Slegr, Vancouver&rsquo;s second-round pick in the 1990 entry draft, likely won&rsquo;t be at the Canucks&rsquo; training camp in September. He came to training camp last year in Victoria, B.C., but made it known he wanted a one-way contract and wouldn&rsquo;t consent to starting the year in Milwaukee of the IHL. The Canucks won&rsquo;t pursue buying out Slegr&rsquo;s contract as long as he demands one-way treatment.<h2>JETS</h2>Both defenseman Bryan Marchment and goalie Rick Tabaracci become Type I free agents in the offseason, meaning they&rsquo;ll be able to sign elsewhere without the Jets having a chance to keep them by matching any offer. There are reportedly three teams already interested in the bidding for Marchment&hellip;Winnipeg&rsquo;s average attendance this past season dropped 278 per game from the year previous, from 13,055 to 12,777&hellip;The Jets announced April 26 that ticket prices will rise next season an average of more than eight per cent&hellip;GM Mike Smith dropped in on the Moncton Hawks for the first two games of the AHL divisional final in Springfield, then dashed off to Finland for the World Championships. When he returns to Winnipeg, the search begins in earnest for a new head coach and the hiring should take place in early June.<h2>FLAMES</h2>Center Joe Nieuwendyk said he turned down an invitation to play for Team Canada at the World Championships, not because of a serious knee injury he suffered in last year&rsquo;s tournament, but cited other reasons. In the past three off-seasons, Nieuwendyk had to recover from a major knee injury, a broken wrist and tom ankle ligaments. He has not spent fewer than six weeks in a cast in any of the past three summers. &ldquo;Last year was the most devastating,&rdquo; he said,&rdquo;because when it happens to you twice, you don&rsquo;t think too much about it too much. But when it happens three times, you wonder. So this year is going to be a nice change for me. I&rsquo;m looking forward to relaxing, taking in a few Blue Jays&rsquo; games, training hard and getting ready for next year.&rdquo; For the first time all season, Nieuwendyk acknowledged his knee was not entirely right. Nieuwendyk did not have surgery last summer, but rehabilitated his knee through a physiotherapy program. &ldquo;My knee feels great, but it&rsquo;s not 100 per cent. I think it&rsquo;s just best if I pass up the World Championships,&rdquo; he said&hellip;Nieuwendyk is also the Flames&rsquo; player representative and as a result, will spend most of the summer preparing for the upcoming I collective bargaining negotiations. &#9632;

LUC SHOWS UP IN A BIG WAY

<div class="byline">BY RICK SADOWSKI</div>It wasn&rsquo;t supposed to end this way for the Los Angeles Kings.Buoyed by the first regularseason title in their 24-year history, the Kings had planned on extending their post-season into May after failing to advance beyond the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs in six previous trips.Make it seven.Even the surprising and courageous return of right winger Tomas Sandstrom to the lineup only six days after fracturing the femur bone near his right knee wasn&rsquo;t enough for the Kings to get past the Edmonton Oilers in the Smythe Division championship series.A 4-3 overtime loss in Edmonton April 28 eliminated them from the series, four games to two.It was their eighth consecutive second-round road loss since a 3-2 overtime win in Vancouver April 16, 1982.The Kings took little solace in the fact three of their four defeats were decided after regulation time, including a pair of 4-3 double-overtime losses.&ldquo;We were so close,&rdquo; said Wayne Gretzky, who needed injections of xylocaine to numb the pain of the 25-stitch cut on his left ear, an injury sustained early in Game 3 when he was struck by a Steve Duchesne shot. &ldquo;Obviously, we&rsquo;re pretty shaken up right now. I thought we played as hard as they did.&rdquo;Gretzky said the medication &ldquo;numbed the whole left side of my upper body&rdquo; and he finished the series with no goals and five assists.Luc Robitaille scored eight of his dozen playoff goals against the Oilers, including a hat trick in the Kings&rsquo; 5-2 win at the Forum April 26 that drew them to within 3-2 in the series. His offensive outburst barely eased his disappointment.&ldquo;We were one goal away,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We were saying before (Game 6), if we win this one, it could mean the cup for us.&rdquo;Ah, the Stanley Cup.Club owner Bruce McNall has spent heavily and general manager Rogie Vachon has traded frequently in an attempt to build a Stanley Cup championship team.But, in the end, it was the same sad story for the Kings.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s tough,&rdquo; said Kelly Hrudey, who played splendidly in goal. &ldquo;I mean, let&rsquo;s face it, we desperately wanted to get past this round. It has been our stumbling block. To lose three in overtime&hellip;as far as your job goes, it&rsquo;s devastating.&rdquo;The Kings had received a huge emotional lift when Sandstrom, wearing a cumbersome knee brace, came back for the fifth game and set up Robitaille&rsquo;s game-winning goal.Sandstrom, assured by team doctors he would not be taking a risk by playing, also scored a goal in what proved to be the season finale.&ldquo;It just came out that it was a broken leg,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just a small fracture, nothing to worry about. I had a hard time getting used to the brace and I was a little nervous but it was okay.&rdquo;To say the least, his teammate; were moved.&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t say enough about him,&rdquo; Gretzky said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s as tough as they come. I don&rsquo;t know if I&rsquo;ve met any body as tough. Anybody else probably would have had a cast on.&rdquo;<h2>LOS ANGELES</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>April 26: Sylvain Couturier, C, assigned to Phoenix (IHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Wayne Gretzky, Todd Elik, John McIntyre, Steve Kasper.LW&mdash;Tony Granato, Luc Robitaille, Mike Donnelly, John Tonelli, Scott BjugstadRW&mdash;Tomas Sandstrom, Dave Taylor, Brad Jones, Jay Miller, Ilkka Sinisalo, Jim Thomson.LD&mdash;Larry Robinson, Brian Benning, Tim Watters, Bob Halkidis.RD&mdash;Marty McSorley, Rob Blake, Steve Duchesne, Dennis Smith.G&mdash;Kelly Hrudey, Daniel Berthiaume.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Frank Breault, RW, right knee surgery. Rod Buskas, D, fractured left thumb. Bob Kudelski, RW, sprained right knee. Tom Laidlaw, D, three bulging discs in back.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Robitaille, 12. A&mdash;Gretzky, 11. P&mdash;Robitaille, 16. PIM&mdash;McSorley, 56. &#9632;

COURAGEOUS SANDSTROM CAN’T STOP GUSHING OILERS

<div class="byline">BY TIM CAMPBELL</div>Pat Elynuik has gone about his business pretty efficiently for the Winnipeg Jets for three seasons.Now he&rsquo;s about to do some business for himself in the off-season.By the end of the first week of May, Pat Elynuik&rsquo;s Cards and Collectibles should open its doors in the north-east end of Winnipeg. Hockey cards have caught the right winger&rsquo;s fancy over the last season and the hobby has now become more than a passing interest.The idea of opening a store belonged to Elynuik&rsquo;s partner in the venture, 23-year-old fanatical collector Tony DaCosta, who&rsquo;s a member of the Jets&rsquo; dressing room staff.&ldquo;This hobby has just caught me,&rdquo; Elynuik, 23, said as he has been scrambling to sign leases, find stock and make contacts with card companies. &ldquo;One day, Tony just asked me if I was interested in starting a card shop. He&rsquo;s a big collector and I knew the hobby had caught me so&hellip;&rdquo;The more the Jets&rsquo; leading goal-scorer the past two seasons (32 and 31 goals) thought about the idea, the better he liked it.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m interested and intrigued by collecting hockey cards. I guess you can&rsquo;t help but be with all the kids that are around the rinks these days. I know that there are a lot of guys on our team that collect cards.&ldquo;This is a chance for me to open a small business and I was going to have a lot of time this summer anyway. I always try to do something with my summer.&rdquo;Elynuik hasn&rsquo;t been one to waste his time in the off-season. Two years ago, he spent most of his summer working to learn the grain business with a Winnipeg company. A year ago, he spent the bulk of his time in Calgary working at another love, training harness horses.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-01733/5936889-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="717" height="916"><figcaption class="caption-body">Pat Elynuik has been swept up by the card-collecting frenzy.</figcaption></div>Elynuik is to be married July 6 and is still hoping to put in two summer weeks with race horses at Calgary&rsquo;s Stampede Park. But he still plans to devote plenty of the off-season to his new store.&ldquo;This business seemed like a good idea,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to have a lot of time to spend there, as much as I can. And besides, I like being around kids anyway.&rdquo;Elynuik says the store will have a special interest in &ldquo;old wax,&rdquo; older unopened packs which offer the chance to find cards of value.&ldquo;We want it to be a store with a lot to offer,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We hope to have a big variety, old and new, and deal with baseball, basketball and football, too.&rdquo;Elynuik is not the first NHLer involved in such a business. Dave Reid and former Toronto Maple Leaf teammate Alan Bester opened their own store a year ago and Elynuik said he spoke to Reid recently about it.&ldquo;Dave told me he has had a lot of fun with it,&rdquo; Elynuik said. &ldquo;He says he&rsquo;s there all the time.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0034-01

ELYNUIK MIXES BUSINESS, PLEASURE

<div class="byline">BY MIKE BEAMISH</div>By all that is right and proper, Stan Smyl&rsquo;s last hurrah should have been on the ice, not in the press box.But that is where the veteran right winger&rsquo;s season ended in April, an inglorious end to a 13-year career that will likely be his last with the Vancouver Canucks.Smyl turned 33 in January, which makes him two years younger than Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; right winger Dave Taylor and two months older than Kings&rsquo; left winger John Tonelli, two players whose crashing and banging style are similar to Smyl&rsquo;s.But while Tonelli and Taylor played a major role in helping the Kings eliminate the Canucks in the first round of the playoffs, Smyl didn&rsquo;t get to dress. There is a good possibility he has played his last game in Vancouver, or in the NHL for that matter.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll be making some decisions in the next couple of months,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll just have to weigh everything. Certainly, I&rsquo;m thinking more of the retirement decision than I was a couple of years ago. It is going to be hard to let go, hard to imagine life without hockey. It has been part of me since I left home at 14.&rdquo;Smyl signed a five-year contract in 1986 as a reward for his dedication and service to the Canucks. However, the Canucks chose not to offer him another contract when he entered his option year last summer.Smyl has played more games (877), scored more goals (262) and had more assists (408) than anyone in the franchise&rsquo;s 21-year history. Yet, for the past two seasons, it was clear Smyl had ceased to be a force offensively.His last flirtation with glory came in overtime of Game 7 of the 1989 opening-round playoff series aginst Calgary. Do Canuck fans have to be reminded how Mike Vernon broke Canuck hearts with his marvelous save on Smyl&rsquo;s breakaway in overtime? The goal would have produced one of the greatest upsets in Stanley Cup history.Instead, the Flames went on to win the game and the series. It was their closest brush with defeat in Calgary&rsquo;s only championship season.Smyl&rsquo;s glorious miss seemed to follow him like an albatross over the next two seasons. He scored only one goal in 47 games during the 1989-90 season, the goal coming in the first period of the Canucks&rsquo; 80th game. Last season, he saw action in 45 games, scoring two goals and 12 assists.It was a far cry from his salad days, starting in the 1979-80 season, his second with the Canucks. That year, Smyl led the team in goals, assists, points and penalty minutes. If they kept track of bodychecks, he would have been a runaway winner in that category, too.Despite his reduced production in his later years, Smyl remained the inspirational heart of the Canucks. Whenever the team needed a lift or a big hit, he was waiting in the bullpen to provide it.Starting in 1981, he had been the longest-serving captain in the NHL until last October, when he agreed to relinquish his &lsquo;C&rsquo; because of his reduced role with the team. It took a triumvirate to replace him. Coach Bob McCammon decided to split the leadership duties three ways, naming Doug Lidster, Trevor Linden and Dan Quinn as tri-captains.It is Smyl&rsquo;s lot never to have played on a team with a winning record. The Canucks&rsquo; last came in the 1975-76 season. Even in 1982, the year in which the Canucks advanced to the Stanley Cup finals, the team finished three games below .500 during the regular season.When the Canucks needed some inspiration in their playoff against the Kings this spring, Smyl rummaged through his attic and pulled out the highlight video of the Canucks &rsquo;82 dash to the finals. He showed it to his teammates to prove that anything was possible.As much as he hates to think about it, Smyl&rsquo;s final contribution to his team may be as a role model for spirit and determination. &#9632;

MR. CANUCK FADES AWAY QUIETLY

<div class="byline">BY ERIC DUHATSCHEK</div>Doug Risebrough has promised to assess the season, his Calgary Flames&rsquo; team and the reasons why they won and lost this year.But not until mid-May.&ldquo;All the questions you ask deserve answers,&rdquo; said Risebrough, following the team&rsquo;s early exit from the playoff. &ldquo;But I want to sit back and assess things myself for a month or so. Because the frame of mind you&rsquo;re in now can maybe prejudice your view of some things, so&hellip;&ldquo;I mean, I don&rsquo;t look at it as a total negative. I can&rsquo;t. So, I&rsquo;m not looking for any major answers, I can say that. But I am looking for some answers.&rdquo;Unlike last season, when the Flames lost to a demonstrably worse Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; team in the first round, there wasn&rsquo;t the same call for a major bloodletting following Calgary&rsquo;s sevengame loss to Edmonton.A year ago, the questions revolved around the team&rsquo;s effort. This season, the Flames fell short for reasons other than motivation.That apparently is why Risebrough needed time to puzzle through the debris, to sort out his emotions.Following three first-round losses in the last five years&mdash;all to teams below them in the standings&mdash;the realization began to dawn on Flames&rsquo; management that there was a fundamental flaw in the team&rsquo;s composition.&ldquo;No, I didn&rsquo;t question the effort,&rdquo; said Risebrough. &ldquo;The thing we have to look at is: How did we arrive at this end result? What did we do that made us compete so hard? And what did we not do that prevented us from advancing?&rdquo;Immediately following the Flames&rsquo; elimination, Risebrough switched to his assistant general manager&rsquo;s cap and headed to the World Championships in Finland for some private reflection and to scout a couple of possible European recruits.&ldquo;I think that is a real positive,&rdquo; said Risebrough, of his dual role. &ldquo;A coach is generally a short-term thinker. What does the team need right now? Today. To win. I&rsquo;m not sure that&rsquo;s the best thing for an organization.&ldquo;Now, going too far the other way means your day-to-day product is not going to be very good. I think Cliff (GM Fletcher) is comfortable with the fact I&rsquo;m part of management and can make decisions long-term.&ldquo;Because there has to be some answers for what happened. We&rsquo;re fooling ourselves if there aren&rsquo;t. But I also think the team is in a better position today than last year.&rdquo;Risebrough is in a much better position than the average NHL coach because of his managerial post in the organization. He left himself open to second-guessing with a roster move in the final game of the playoffs.When Stephane Matteau couldn&rsquo;t play because of an injury, Risebrough had a chance to reinsert Sergei Makarov into the Flames&rsquo; lineup.Makarov, the team&rsquo;s third-leading goalscorer, was benched for three of the first six games of the Oilers&rsquo; series, mainly because of its physical nature.However, Makarov&rsquo;s history this season was to play well after a challenge had been issued to him, either by the coaching staff or through negative press coverage.Perhaps a chance to play in the deciding game of the series would&rsquo;ve brought out the best in him.The Oilers were forced to ponder a similar move after Joe Murphy went out with food poisoning. Their response was to insert Anatoli Semenov&mdash;and Semenov responded by scoring the pivotal third goal in the deciding game.Instead of putting in Makarov, however, Risebrough opted for Colin Patterson. Now there&rsquo;s no question the Flames missed Patterson defensively all season long, but in a seventh game? After missing the entire season? When you needed all the scoring you could get against Grant Fuhr&rsquo;s all-world goaltending?Risebrough&rsquo;s explanation: That with Patterson in the lineup, he didn&rsquo;t have to worry as much about matching lines against the Oilers. He did not want Makarov on the ice whenever Mark Messier was there.For his part, Makarov threw the Flames a curve the day after the season ended by saying he wanted to play another year in the NHL, if not in Calgary, then for another team.Before the playoffs began, Fletcher said he would leave the decision up to Makarov himself&mdash;that if he wanted to return for his option year, then the Flames would welcome him back with open arms.<h2>CALGARY</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>April 15: Thomas Forslund. RW, signed two-year contract. &#9632;

RISEBROUGH TAKING TIME TO ASSESS TEAM

<div class="byline">BY BOB AMESSE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-01698/5936968-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg" title="f0035-01" width="531" height="625"></div>Tucked away in a metal filing cabinet in a small room in his Maryland single-family home, there is a gleaming, white, letter-sized envelope which Neil Sheehy prefers to keep sealed.Inside are the results of the law school aptitude tests the Washington Capitals&rsquo; defenseman so arduously prepared for this past winter when he wondered whether he would ever play hockey again.A law career seemed like a natural alternative. It has been a season of trials.There was trouble off the ice: Sheehy and a pair of teammates were accused of sexual assault. A grand jury decided not to bring an indictment against Sheehy, Geoff Courtnall and Dino Ciccarelli.There was trouble on it: He cracked a leg bone during a pre-season fight with Buffalo&rsquo;s Mike Hartman. Two months later he suffered a herniated disk in his back, requiring surgery.&ldquo;It has certainly been a trying year,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Pain? How do you spell that? P-a-i-n? I don&rsquo;t have a dictionary so I don&rsquo;t know what that word means.&rdquo;The Harvard graduate was joking, of course. Spelling the word was difficult, describing it easier. The most intense pain flared as he readied to return to the Capitals the day after Christmas.&ldquo;I went to a pre-game skate and I had pain all the way down my leg. I had absolutely no power in it. I couldn&rsquo;t even turn. The way it felt when I skated was as if someone had taken my skate blade and moved it all the way to the other side of my skate. So if you turned one way, your leg just flied out from underneath you. The doctors told me to take a month off. They said, &lsquo;Do nothing.&rsquo; I didn&rsquo;t know if I would ever play again.&rdquo;In hospital, he spent half an hour inside a giant contraption as it took X-rays of his bones. Doctors discovered a massive herniated disc. Sheehy, 31, discovered that an injury-filled season in the option year of his contract left him with very few options.&ldquo;I decided that law school was certainly a road that I would like to pursue,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I knew if I sat around the house I&rsquo;d be frustrated because I wasn&rsquo;t getting closer to playing. I felt I should use this time for something after hockey.A law degree, he admitted, would enable him to stay associated with the game, following in the footsteps of the two attorneys who represented him, Vancouver Canucks&rsquo; vice-president and director of hockey operations Brian Burke and NHLPA executive director Bob Goodenow.Sheehy applied to 10 law schools while studying for the LSATs. A Minnesota law school, St. Paul&rsquo;s, accepted him. And although the schools know what his results are, he&rsquo;s waiting to hear from all of them before checking his score.Six weeks after surgery, Sheehy was back on the ice and took regular shifts during the second and third games of the Washington Capitals&rsquo; first-round playoff series against the New York Rangers. He didn&rsquo;t see action in the Patrick Division finals against the Penguins.His brief time on the ice was spent in typical fashion&mdash;goading players into taking foolish penalties, and making everyone mad at him. He suckered Ranger tough-guy Joey Kocur into a penalty on his very first shift. Minutes later, Dino Ciccarelli scored on a power play.Sheehy, 6-foot-2 and 215 pounds, is something of an anomaly. An agitator on the ice, he&rsquo;s deeply religious off it. A Catholic bishop (and long-time friend) has celebrated mass at his home. Sheehy gives Capitals&rsquo; tickets to priests from nearby Oblate College.&ldquo;I pray that I&rsquo;m a good guy,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I pray that I do the right things for other people. I&rsquo;m not one of these guys who say, &lsquo;Please, Lord, help us win this game so we can get to the next round.&rsquo; I don&rsquo;t pray for things like that.&rdquo;Belief in God, he said, provided him with strength and solace during the horrifying grand jury investigation. &ldquo;I was on my knees everyday,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Hey, it was a serious charge. You just hope that during the investigation people will see the truth and it&rsquo;ll be over with. You&rsquo;re locked up in your house and you can&rsquo;t discuss the case with anyone except your lawyer. You&rsquo;re so alone. When you feel that alone and that locked up, praying is all you can do.&rdquo;Meantime, the future lawyer will spend the summer making the case for his defense. The Capitals have told him they&rsquo;ll only talk about a possible contract after July 1, but he wants to stay in Washington.&ldquo;The game has given me everything I have,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I just can&rsquo;t see myself giving it up. The only way anybody is going to get me out is by kicking me out.&rdquo;For a time last summer, it appeared that might be his fate but a year later&hellip;Bob Amesse is managing editor of The Hockey News. &#9632;

f0035-01

SHEEHY A LAW MAN ON AND OFF ICE

Bryan Murray coached the Washington Capitals in the playoffs for seven seasons. And despite finishing lower than second only once during, the regular season, his team failed to make it out of the Patrick Division during the playoffs, losing four times in the first round. Since brother Terry Murray took over in Washington last season, the Capitals have not finished higher than third, but won last season in the Patrick Division final.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-02530/5936999-1-eng-US/f0035-022.jpg" title="f0035-02" width="556" height="421"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bryan Murray</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0035-02

ODDITIES

<div class="byline">BY DICK CHUBEY</div>Esa Tikkanen, it seems, would make a heck of a trucker.With the Edmonton Oilers&rsquo; Stanley Cup playoff theme this spring 18 wheels of Let It Roll, Tikkanen&rsquo;s adjusted best to blue line or red line or whatever line fever.With Tikkanen&rsquo;s main Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; assignment, Wayne Gretzky, nursing a bad ear, the 26-year-old not only held No. 99 in check, but kept coming up with offensive gems of his own.Eventually the Oilers ran the Kings and their Bentleys and Porches into the ditch and kept rolling along the highway towards the Stanley Cup.Afterwards, John Muckier couldn&rsquo;t say enough about Tikkanen.Entering the Smythe Division final, the Oilers&rsquo; coach informed Tikkanen it&rsquo;s seldom possible to keep No. 99 off the scoreboard, but go out and do his best.Well, the final tab is now in&hellip;Not only did Tikkanen hold Gretz ky goal-less&mdash;limiting him to five assists&mdash;but he also found time to score four goals and assist on two others. One goal was the winner in overtime and his second in Game 6 (45th in 93 career playoff games) set the stage for OT, while he also set up a Petr Klima double OT goal in Game 2. As well, Tikkanen struck for the overtime goal that sunk the Calgary Flames in Game 7 of Round 1.&ldquo;Tik showed he could do the best job possible versus Wayne Gretzky. Not only could he check him, but he also found time to contribute offensively,&rdquo; said Muckier. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s amazing, he was the difference in the series.&rdquo;Craig MacTavish agreed.&ldquo;He checks Gretz and he scores goals, too,&rdquo; said MacTavish, the OT hero of the last game. &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t believe it, he&rsquo;s too much.&rdquo;Tikkanen was sharing the credit for his work on Gretzky.&ldquo;One guy can&rsquo;t do it,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Checking Gretz only matters if we win. And, we win with 20 guys&mdash;not one.&rdquo;Did Gretzky say anything to him at the end?&ldquo;He just congratulated me on a great series,&rdquo; said Tikkanen,&rdquo;and he said he hopes we go all the way.&rdquo;For their first three victories against L. A., Tikkanen shared the hero&rsquo;s role with goalie Grant Fuhr. But, when the Oilers advanced to the Campbell Conference final against the Minnesota North Stars, Fuhr had just arrived back from the hospital to witness MacTavish&rsquo;s winning tally at 16:57 of OT.On the Kings&rsquo; go-ahead 3-2 goal, Fuhr was knocked into the goal post by his own defenseman, Steve Smith, and suffered a bruised right forearm. X-rays proved negative and Fuhr was pronounced fit to start the Minnesota series.Enter Bill Ranford, who lost Game 1 of the series 4-3 on Luc Robitaille&rsquo;s OT marker. No warmup, one mistake, one bad goal and the game was likely over.But, Ranford mopped up with a perfect 32&frac12;-minute performance, stopping the 12 shots he faced in a fine relief stint.<h2>EDMONTON</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Mark Messier, Craig MacTavish, Adam Graves, Mark Lamb, Ken Linseman.LW&mdash;Craig Simpson, Martin Gelinas, Esa Tikkanen, Joe Murphy, Kelly Buchberger.RW&mdash;Glenn Anderson, Dave Brown, Petr Klima, Anatoli Semenov.LD&mdash;Steve Smith, Kevin Lowe. Norm Maciver, Geoff Smith.RD&mdash;Jeff Beukeboom, Charlie Huddy, Craig Muni. Chris Joseph.G&mdash;Bill Ranfcrd, Grant Fuhr, Mike Greenlay.<h3>INJURIES</h3>None.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Tikkanen, 11. A&mdash;Simpson, 8. P&mdash;Tikkanen, 16. PIM&mdash;S. Smith, 31. &#9632;

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May 10, 1991

ELSTON

JANNEY CENTER OF CUP HOPE ATTENTION

SPITFIRES CONSIDER FRONT-OFFICE MANOEUVRE

NYLUND’S HOLIDAY A CHANCE FOR WOUND TO HEEL