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October 4, 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.
SUDDEN IMPACT
The book on NHL expansion is an epic with several different endings. It was a fairy tale on Long Island and a horror story in Atlanta. But the plot is always the same: Team struggles against odds with hope of joining league’s ruling class. Excluding the annexation of World Hockey Association teams in 1979, the San Jose Sharks are the first team in 17 years to try their hand at expansion. They have the same vigor that gripped the California Seals when they tried to sell Northern California on hockey in 1967. Here are 10 reasons why the Sharks will be successful: 1. General manager Jack Ferreira, a former scout, is a respected judge of talent who knows when to roll the dice and when not to. An example of a Ferreira gamble: He signed highly-skilled…
FLYERS
PLAYOFF DREAM ALIVE… It’s Monday night, March 30, 1992 and the Philadelphia Flyers are on their way to Pittsburgh, fresh off a 6-2 win over the New Jersey Devils. The victory moved them into a tie with Washington for third place in the Patrick Division and, after two disappointing seasons, it looks like the Flyers are back in the playoffs again. Ron Hextall, who hasn’t been bothered by any of the groin problems that plagued him the previous two seasons, sits near the front of the plane, across the aisle from young goaltender Dominic Roussel. Roussel, who moved into the No. 2 spot at midseason, has been brilliant as Hextall’s backup. One row back, veteran defenseman Mark Howe works on a crossword puzzle with some help from power-play partner Steve Duchesne. No one thought Howe…
JETS
PADDOCK BRINGS COHESION… The best thing that could happen to the Winnipeg Jets in the 1991-92 NHL season would be the usual thing. As the yo-yo goes, it’s time for an upturn in fortunes. Never having followed an improved year with another one, the Jets also have an uncanny habit of bouncing back after going down hard. In which case, it’s not completely outrageous to think that once again, nobody will pay any attention to the Jets and new coach John Paddock will gain the instant respect of his players. Parlay the fresh approach from behind the bench and it stands to be a rallying point for a team that finished last in the Smythe one year ago with 63 points. Paddock, 37, could be the centerpiece or the catalyst of the revival, but…
PEDAL TO THE METAL
The raw frustration is still tresh on the face of Dirk Graham. As captain of the Chicago Blackhawks, Graham knows as well as anyone just how much sweat and pain went into Chicago’s first-place overall finish last year in the NHL season, the first time since the 1969-70 season the Hawks had topped the league in points. When the playoffs rode around, however, the Hawks were knocked out by the surging Minnesota North Stars in six games, the first time a first-place overall finisher had been eliminated in the first round since the 1970-71 Boston Bruins. Those big, bad Bruins, you may remember, registered 121 points during the season then fell prey to a hot rookie goalie named Ken Dryden of the Montreal Canadiens in the first round, with the Habs going…
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