Search for your favorite player or team
© The Hockey News. All rights reserved. Any and all material on this website cannot be used, reproduced, or distributed without prior written permission from Roustan Media Ltd. For more information, please see our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
September 6, 1991
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.
HOWE IN LINE FOR A COMEBACK SEASON
If you were puzzled by that Philadelphia Flyer skating past your front yard this morning, don’t call the neighbors. It was Mark Howe, on in-line street skates, getting a head-start toward a pivotal season. Howe, the Flyers’ all-time defenseman scoring leader, hopes to build up momentum for the start of training camp. It has been seven months since back surgery cut Howe’s season to just 19 games. The 36-year-old opted for the operation after missing half of the 1989-90 season with disc problems in his back, followed by another painful setback last year. Thus the 1991-92 campaign becomes a critical one. The Flyers have been patient, waiting to see if their all-star rearguard can overcome his physical problems. And Howe has been patient with himself, refusing to set a timetable for a comeback. After…
INTERNAL CHANGE MORE THAN ENOUGH FOR MEEHAN
Not much has been done to change the on-ice look of the Buffalo Sabres this summer. But does that mean the Sabres will not be a changed team next season? In a word, no. “There are players who are ready to step up and at least make a challenge,” Sabres’ general manager Gerry Meehan said. “Players we took two and three years ago as prospects have been developing. The next logical step for them is the NHL.” Meehan all but ruled out being active in the free-agent market the remainder of the summer, although the Sabres did seriously consider Edmonton center Adam Graves. Meehan sent reams of statistical data and video tape to John Muckier, the new director of operations, with the idea Muckier would view and review individual performances and make recommendations. What…
SEASONED KEENAN TAKES SOFTER APPROACH
Iron Mike. Captain Hook. Keenan the Barbarian. All these tough-sounding nicknames have been applied to Chicago Blackhawks’ coach-general manager Mike Keenan, as well as others that can’t be printed. Keenan’s reputation—initially forged during his years as coach of the Philadelphia Flyers—as a hard-nosed, unyielding, in-your-face son-of-a-gun was substantially enhanced in 1987 when he steered Team Canada to victory in the fourth version of the Canada Cup. In that tourney, Keenan’s methods and tactics drove some of the best players in the world to launch an internal rebellion that stopped just short of a demand for a public execution. This time around, however, things seem to be a significantly different as Keenan prepares Team Canada for a run at its third consecutive tournament title. Keenan’s new easy-going style has attracted attention and raised a…
COACHING CHALLENGE WHETS LEACH’S APPETITE
He’s one of America’s bright, young hockey minds. He’s affable and good humored, too. But Jay Leach, who was named coach of the Hartford Whalers’ American League affiliate in Springfield Aug. 7, is the first to admit his knowledge and demeanor have not withstood the frying pan of head coaching. And although Leach, 38, was selected to assist Bob Johnson for Team USA in the Canada Cup tournament—a prestigious feather in his career cap—Leach knows head coaching is the ultimate challenge. That’s why Leach, who spent the last three seasons as assistant coach of the Whalers, pushed for and received the job to replace new Whalers’ coach Jim Roberts as head of the back-to-back Calder Cup champions. In a related move, Roberts named Darcy Regier, who had spent 13 years in the New…
Made possible with the support of
